Chapter 85 The die is thrown
Chapter 85 The die is thrown
Duke Montersen made his own inferences based on the information obtained from the Marquis of Marlborough.
After thinking about it for a while, he came to a conclusion similar to Marlboro’s.
Cecilia is currently working behind the scenes for trade with Sergel Kingdom with Duke Kailos, the head of the imperial faction.
‘Then, it must be important to find out how far we have prepared.’
Looking at what hasn’t been made official yet, it probably isn’t very ready.
So it was necessary to collect as much information as possible at this timing.
‘How should I move… ….’
Getting information is a race against time.
“I guess I have no choice but to move myself.”
Montersen made a quick decision.
He intended to make contact with those of the imperial faction who maintained a relatively moderate relationship with the aristocratic faction.
‘Pyramids like Astro are not helpful.’
Must be a member of the imperial faction, holding at least the rank of a count.
At the same time, you should be aware of important information.
Of course, even a minnow could be useful, so I decided to leave the possibility open.
Montersen asked his aide to bring a list of the imperialists. After that, he went through the list in his office and selected people to contact.
There are a total of 3 people.
Montersen wrote a letter to the three asking for a meeting.
The venue is, of course, the residence of the Duke of Montersen.
It won’t be difficult to appease them here.
However, Duke Montersen’s expectations were dashed.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear anything either… ….”
The one who came first said that and lowered his head.
“Since Duke Kailos said he would actively support His Majesty, it has been quiet.”
This is the second visit,
“There are no rumors about him within the imperial faction, Duke.”
He replied that he did not even know who came to the third place.
Montersen groaned in displeasure and clutched his forehead. He failed to get
Information.
However, he knew that if he went deeper, the information that he was moving would be leaked to Duke Kyloth.
‘I have no choice but to change my strategy.’
Fortunately, the noble meeting was not scheduled to be held for a while.
Duke Montersen locked himself in his room, thinking over and over again.
No, he didn’t just think about it over and over again. He also carefully looked through the books related to Sergel Kingdom in the library.
At the same time, I predicted what Cecilia would do in the future.
‘It’s clear that that girl will bring up the issue of trade with Sergel Kingdom as an agenda at the noble meeting sooner or later.’
At that time, the imperial faction led by Kylos will express their active support.
To express dissent here, a justification was needed.
If the justification is plausible, then some members of the imperial faction will be persuaded.
“Hmm. That’s the problem…….”
Montersen did not stop thinking even in the middle of the night.
Then he came up with a good cause.
Compared to the Eckhart Empire, the Sergel Kingdom is only one-fifth the size of the country. In addition, the history of the kingdom was very short compared to that of the empire.
Apologizing to such a country first and requesting resumption of diplomatic relations?
“This is to trample on the pride of the Empire.”
Besides, there was no matter in which the empire benefited greatly from trade with it.
In other words, it is tantamount to wasting national power on meaningless work.
“As soon as the information becomes clear, I will share it with my subordinates.”
The subordinates he was referring to were the aristocratic faction.
I want to see the thing he was trying to do fall into tears.
Montersen raised one corner of his mouth and gave a fishy laugh.
Then, with his eyes gently closed, he let out a languid sigh.
I felt like I could sleep a little more comfortably now.
* * *
“Luke.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Shortly after lunch, Cecilia suddenly called me.
“Are you doing this because of the correspondence?”
“Yes.”
She nodded her head once.
“Are you writing?”
Flora, who was sitting with me in the dining room, raised her voice. Mullia also had a curious expression on her face even though she didn’t say anything.
Cecilia called the two maids and had them look at her.
“Yes!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I will only tell you, don’t tell anyone else.”
To Cecilia’s request, the two ladies-in-waiting replied that they would at the same time.
“I plan to send a letter to the Sergel royal family soon.”
“Are you finally contacting me?”
Flora raised her voice more excitedly than before.
“That’s how it is. She has now completed a draft of the letter, and intends to seek comment from Luke.”
“Your Majesty. Can we see it too?”
A look of trouble appeared on Cecilia’s face after hearing Flora’s request.
I thought I knew why Flora made such a request.
Perhaps he wanted to check if there were any more parts to be corrected in the letter.
“… ….”
I also checked the look of Mulia staring at Cecilia. Her amethyst eyes were the same fervor as Flora’s.
“Yes. When the final version comes out, I will ask you guys to review it as well.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Me and Mulia will do our best to help as much as possible.”
“I will work hard.”
Cecilia looked at the two ladies-in-waiting alternately, then gently raised the corner of her mouth.
“There will be more tasks to entrust to you from now on. Be prepared.”
Not only Flora, but also Mulia answered with a strong voice this time.
From noble mtl dot com
“Luke. Go to my room.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
We left the dining room leaving the maids behind.
As soon as Cecilia arrived at her room, she kicked out her maid who was making her blankets. Thanks to that, there was no one here except me and Cecilia.
While she was sitting at her desk, I took an extra stool and sat down next to her.
“I wrote the first draft like this, would you like to take a look at it?”
“Yes. Of course.”
I politely received her letter with both hands.
What exactly did you write?
[With affection and apology to OO, the current king of Sergel Kingdom]
The reason why the king’s name is written as OO is because he still doesn’t know the name of the current king.
‘If you were Count Clusio, would you know?’
I should ask him when he comes to the palace to translate the letter.
Otherwise, the count might be able to teach you something while letting out a deep sigh.
Still, the beginning of the letter seemed fine.
“… ….”
Cecilia’s gaze was very ardent in this direction.
To the extent that I can tell without looking sideways…….
Should I say it’s a little burdensome?
At that moment, such a thought flashed in my mind, but I didn’t put it into action.
Cecilia must be just as nervous.
‘Let’s be patient.’
I concentrated and read the letter very carefully. While trying to read the meaning of the sentence as much as possible.
“Your Majesty. I saw them all.”
“What do you think?”
“I think it contains His Majesty’s sincerity.”
“I see.”
A faint smile appeared on Cecilia’s face.
But the story I am about to tell is not yet over.
“However, you seem a little impatient.”
The smile quickly disappeared from her face. Instead, her serious expression took its place.
“Could it be that she did that when she explained the benefits of resuming trade?”
“Yes.”
“I see… ….”
It seems that he himself was puzzled while writing it.
Seeing that you immediately pointed out what I was about to point out.
“I should remove the part you pointed out. Anything else?”
“I think she wrote well enough. I also felt that I was fully reflecting on my past mistakes.”
“I see.”
As Cecilia shook her head, she looked over the letter she had written.
“I’ll have to show it to you and her ladies-in-waiting as I complement it a bit more.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I look forward to your completed correspondence.”
“Whoops. I will try.”
Then she turned her head to the grandfather clock. I followed her and cast her gaze in the direction of her grandfather clock.
1:10 P.M.
At some point, half of the lunch break had passed.
“I took too much of your time. Just go back and rest.”
“Yes. I’ll see you in the office in a bit.”
I greeted her and returned to her room.
* * *
Two more days have passed since then.
Cecilia called Me, Flora, and Mulia to her desk before starting her afternoon work in her office.
“Since the letter to be sent to Sergel Kingdom has been completed, please confirm how it is.”
First I checked her correspondence.
Like the last time, all details about trade were omitted. Instead, it contained sincere content of regret for past mistakes and a desire to restore the relationship.
It’ll be all right.
I passed this letter to Flora.
“I think it’s good.”
After Flora left a brief comment, she delivered her letter to Mullia one last time.
“What do you think? Luke and Mulia.”
Upon receiving her letter, Cecilia immediately turned to the two of us and asked for their thoughts.
“It looks better because it has been polished more than the last draft I checked. I’m sure the King of Sergel will like it too.”
“I could feel that you were trying to ask for reconciliation first.”
Cecilia, who listened to Mullia and me, gently moved her hair. A look of satisfaction showed on her face.
Now, the next thing to do is to translate this letter into Sergel Kingdom.
That evening, Cecilia sent someone to summon Duke Kailos and Count Clusio to the drawing room of the imperial palace.
“Meet Her Majesty Empress Cecilia.”
The two old men bowed their heads toward the seated Cecilia.
Cecilia ordered the two of them to sit down, and then she got to her point.
“I have completed the letter to be sent to Sergel Kingdom, so I want you guys to check it too.”
The two old men checked her letter and then gave their ratings.
“Hmm. It seems fine.”
Duke of Kylos gave a brief comment,
“It was a sincere letter. By the way, the current King Sergel is a jayol named Betel Seimer.”
“Thanks for letting me know.”
As soon as Cecilia received her letter back, she wrote King Sergel’s name in the blank space for her name.
“Count Clusio. Now I want you to translate this letter with my secretary.”
“Yes. I am willing to do so. Luke.”
Count Clusio beckoned me to come to his side.
I took a chair next to him and sat down.
“Take a good look.”
“Yes, Count.”
I watched Count Clusio translate the text of the letter onto new paper.
I think it would be more accurate to say that we are not just watching, but monitoring whether the translation is done properly.
Thanks to studying the kingdom language every day, it was no problem to read the kingdom language now. There is still a long way to go before reaching the level of reading as fast as your mother tongue.
‘Does it better than expected?’
In addition, a suitable paraphrase was added to make it more suitable for the kingdom language.
When I suddenly turned my head, Cecilia was also staring intently at Count Clusio translating.
After a while,
“I’m done, check it out.”
Count Clusio handed over the letter to me.
I already checked it from the side, but I checked it one last time.
“How is it?”
Cecilia threw a question mark at me.
“Properly translated.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Only then did her voice take on a hint of relief.
At that time, Kylos, who was watching the situation from the side, raised his voice.
“Are you going to send this letter now?”
“Yes. I’m going to leave it directly to the head of the post department.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Kaylos lightly bowed his back.
“Your Majesty. What are your future plans?”
“For now, wait for a reply from Sergel Kingdom. If a positive reply comes, I plan to submit it as an agenda to the noble meeting based on this.”
“Yes. Even in God’s opinion, I think that’s the most desirable.”
After talking with them some more, Cecilia dismissed them from her drawing room.
“Luke. You should leave this letter with the head of the post department.”
“Are you talking right now?”
“That’s how it should be. And I’m thinking of having Lucia attached as an escort.”
With this enough, it can be said that Cecilia made up her mind.
“That sounds like a very good idea, Your Majesty.”
I packed her letters and headed to her postal department, as Cecilia had instructed. Then he told the head of the post department where he was going, and secretly delivered the letter.
Now the die has really been cast.
-Continued