81. Reuniting with him was the worst
1.
“…….”
Anyway, the role required of me is just a totem.
Of course, the aristocrats sitting down there would see me sitting next to Elena and have their own thoughts and imaginations, but that’s not my business.
I didn’t have anything to do as long as it was a role where I could just sit still and talk to Elena and then quietly leave.
Even so, if there was a problem, it was that the event itself, the closing ceremony, was very boring.
‘When will it end?’
As an analogy, it was like the principal’s meeting on a Monday morning that never ends. It’s certain that it will end someday since I have to do first-class classes anyway, but it would be perfect to describe it as the feeling that the teachings are getting longer and longer.
After listening to the royal court in charge of a kind of host raising his voice that a certain noble from a certain family attended as a guest to make this event shine, for about 30 minutes, you would even get bored.
To be honest, just introducing guests for 30 minutes is a bit over the line.
It is said that it is nobleness to risk one’s life on meaningless ostentatiousness, but around the time I thought that this was a bit excessive.
The door to the banquet hall, which had been firmly closed for a while, opened, and the lady-in-waiting at the entrance exclaimed coldly.
“The legitimate ruler of the Principality of Nord! Her Highness, Archduke Eileen of Nord, the Black Lion of the Empire and the shield that protects the north, enters!”
A familiar face appeared through the open door.
As if to prove that it is an important position, he appeared to have put on a little bit of strength wearing his usual uniform.
Black eyes like her hair stared at the audience. Even in front of prominent nobles from all over the world, she did not feel intimidated in the slightest, and the process of sitting down was natural, as if she had come to the place where Aileen should be.
And Eileen raised her head, and my gaze met precisely in mid-air.
“……?”
At first, she tilted her head, then a look of astonishment spread over her face.
A face as if asking why you are there.
“……Whoops.”
“Why?”
“Nothing.”
And then, Elena’s low laugh came from the side just in time.
I asked, but Elena made fun of it, saying it was nothing.
‘…… It’s not what it is.’
Eileen’s gaze, which had been staring at me until just now, turned towards Elena before I knew it.
If her eyes alone could kill a person, then by now, Elena’s eyes were bloody enough to make me wonder if she wasn’t at least savage. Although Elena, the person in charge of her eyes, was passing it off as if nothing had happened.
…… It’s not like they’re kids, but this time I’m taking them. Well, I laughed and provoked them like this, and Aileen wouldn’t accept that again.
I wanted to believe that it wouldn’t be as much as that.
Not even real kids, that’s too childish.
2.
The closing ceremony, which Rudrick thought was boring, culminated in the position of the crown princess instead of the sick emperor due to poor health.
In Rudric’s previous life, it was a form of politics that was already difficult to find except for a few dictatorships that were extremely rare, but in an empire that still had an absolute monarchy, the emperor’s authority was absolutely absolute.
A super-legal existence that is stated to rule over the imperial law, and an entity entrusted with the right to govern this vast empire by God.
Therefore, the birthday ceremony, which was simply to commemorate the emperor’s birthday, had a meaning beyond what it seemed on the surface.
‘But if the emperor doesn’t come out because he’s sick, isn’t this just a jousting match?’
Despite the disrespectful thoughts of Rudrick, who faithfully fulfilled his role as a totem, the closing ceremony proceeded step by step.
Eileen, who was glaring at Elena as if she was going to kill her until just a while ago, couldn’t bring herself to openly clash with Elena in a place like this, so now there’s nothing she can do other than just let her anger go inside and move on. .
And that was exactly what Elena was aiming for.
“The Count of Weiss… Well, to think that the next court mage’s lumber would come from such an insignificant family. Until then, most of the people who didn’t even know that such a family existed in the empire.”
“Why, but the other day, the eldest daughter of Count Weiss took the second place in her academy, and it made a lot of noise. She said that talent came from an unknown family.”
“The eldest daughter to succeed the family is the youngest to join the Imperial Knights, and her eldest son is the court magician Sara…
And even during the closing ceremony, the nobles present were arguably the hottest topic, Ludrick, and each one worked hard.
“The present court mage is probably quite old. There are rumors that he will give up his position as a court mage once he finishes his recent research.”
“Still, it will take at least a few years. In that case, the eldest son of Count Weiss, who is sitting next to Her Highness the 2nd Princess, will take the place.”
“The current court mage has a bad relationship with the mage tower, but I don’t know what will happen to the next court mage. For now, the mage tower will support the 2nd princess, Her Highness.”
“Isn’t there not much time though? I heard that His Majesty is doing it today and tomorrow.”
Originally, the physiology of nobles is more sensitive to power than anyone else.
Each of them had their heads complicated as they thought about what would happen after the current emperor passed away. First of all, according to the principle of succession to the eldest daughter, it was the crown princess who took precedence in the justification, but simply looking at her ability and power, the second princess, Elena, was superior.
In the worst-case scenario, a succession struggle could lead to a civil war. It wouldn’t be strange if the entire family suffered a catastrophic blow if they got caught up in the wrong way, so the minds of the nobles who were doing their calculations inwardly became naturally complicated.
For that reason, the nobility did not focus on the actual event and applied political logic to continue complicated calculations, and Rudrick, who emerged as a hot topic, was just sitting next to him and waiting for the closing ceremony to end as a totem who only occupied his seat. .
And Eileen and Elena didn’t back down an inch from each other and continued a fierce battle of nerves.
“With this in mind, everyone gathered here prays for the recovery of His Majesty the Emperor, the rightful ruler of the empire and the sun of the empire, and declares the end of the birthday celebration.”
The royal court, who skillfully conducted the closing ceremony with no one paying attention, declared the end of the event, and it became a place for socializing after that.
And, by far, the hottest topic throughout today’s closing ceremony was Ludrick, who was sitting at the head of the table and waiting for this boring event to end, and was delighted at the same time as the royal court official announced the closing ceremony.
There followed a natural process in which several aristocrats with daughters of marriageable age were interested.
“My daughter is eighteen this year, so not bad.”
“Ha ha, the Marquis Bellini jokes too much. My daughter is twenty-two and she hasn’t married yet, so I was looking for a good marriage partner.”
“Ugh, Marquis Cavalli. Keep the order.”
From a political point of view, it is obvious that having a marriage relationship with Count Weiss will not help, but if you approach it with the idea of linking the faction of the second princess with the next court wizard, the story will be a little different.
Aristocrats, who smelled power like wolves hunting sheep, huddled together, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
Elena, accompanied by Rudrick, is heading to the terrace to get some fresh air. Looking at the back, the nobles each licked their lips as if they were sorry.
“……It wasn’t just a clique.”
“It seems that Her Highness, the 2nd Princess, has feelings for Young-Sik of the Weiss family.”
“Then I can’t help it.”
At such a social event, the aristocrats, who had experienced it physically in their youth, each sent a pitying glance at what it meant for two men and women of marriageable age to head to the terrace together.
And.
Eileen, who had been sitting quietly taking advantage of such a tumultuous situation, also quietly followed her.
Eileen is not in a good mood right now.
That’s why she was thinking that, instead of holding back her f*cking cousin’s clutches, she was going to bludgeon the plan head-on. However, at her closing ceremony, which she arrived without much thought, those thoughts were shattered as soon as she saw the face of Rudrick, who was sitting right next to Elena at her head table.
‘…… Why?’
I thought about it throughout the closing ceremony, but I couldn’t come up with a sharp reason.
Then, the natural conclusion is that Rudrick, who has a good nature and cannot refuse her request, has no choice but to follow Elena’s compulsion.
It’s up to Rudrick to pick one out of five anyway, but if Elena still comes out that way, it’s no wonder she feels bad.
When Eileen also went out to the terrace, suppressing her anger, the moment she naturally saw Elena’s face standing next to Rudrick, the anger that had been barely suppressed began to rise to the tip of her head.
Elena, who greeted her with a hateful face, was a bonus.
“Sir has finally arrived. I was just thinking that it might come out.”
“……Helena.”
Eileen’s voice was as cold as the ice caps of her domain, the Principality of Nord.
And then, the eyes of Rudrick, who had not yet been able to grasp the situation and was flustered, rolled back and forth.
‘…… Surely they won’t fight again?’
Unfortunately, Rudrick’s expectations were soon to be betrayed.