165 Young man, have spirit
***[Heroine Oscar]***
The hot midsummer light faded and the wind became cool.
Summer seems like yesterday, but it’s already the beginning of autumn.
After Renée’s death, it seems that the surge of demon beasts on the border has stopped.
At one time, it was not uncommon for a village to be destroyed by a demonic attack, but such news was not heard anymore.
instead of that
The area around the royal road is riotous.
It was as if the increasing number of monsters all over the country had flocked to the capital all at once.
It didn’t happen gradually over a long period of time.
In a short period of time, the number of monsters around the capital increased so that anyone could see it.
Part of the road leading to the royal road was so dangerous that no one walked through it, and in the end, there were many places where the road was cut off.
This has resulted in isolated villages and cities.
The number of villages destroyed by demons also increased.
The royal family had already announced that the reason for the increase in the number of demons was because of Igor, but no one believed it anymore.
Word spread among the common people that the royal family, not Igor, had incurred the wrath of the gods, and it even penetrated the aristocratic society.
The royal family sent an emissary when the whole kingdom was in a bad mood with that kind of atmosphere.
Rumors in the royal capital say that the king was very angry and sent someone to inquire.
A civil servant staying in the capital hastily sent news.
However, the king’s appointment was somewhat questionable.
The person sent by the king was a nobleman who was kind to me and was very helpful when I first entered the palace.
For a while, I was staying in the manor because I was not feeling well.
Recently, she is sending her son instead to the royal capital banquet held on New Year’s Day.
I continued to correspond with him, but I heard that temple healers are being called for treatment.
I said in the letter that I was getting better, but in fact, I think it’s getting worse day by day.
To send such a person on purpose as an emissary does not fit the rumor that he sent an emissary out of great anger for some reason.
He wasn’t even visiting the duchy as an official emissary.
Unlike the lively atmosphere of the royal capital, he sent a separate letter saying a personal visit before arriving.
Benno seems angry after seeing such a series of processes.
‘Well, it’s not unreasonable for Benno to be angry.’
Judging from the way he looks now, it seems that the king is trying to show a strong side to the other nobles, but actually doesn’t do anything.
While taking the form of sending a messenger from Heal Moon, I deliberately called in someone close to me to do the work in order not to offend the ducal family.
When others see it, it seems that the king is taking a strong line, but in reality it is not, so it is difficult to react openly from this side.
Benno is angry, saying that it only ruins the duke’s face.
But I also understand the king’s position.
Rumors are spreading among the common people that the royal family has incurred the wrath of the gods, but the nobles are slowly sympathizing with them.
There, the grassland tribes attacked and several noble families were annihilated, including the head of the family, and the duke, the largest family in the kingdom, was defending the grassland tribes.
That alone is a headache, but the crown prince openly criticizes the duke, and the other prince defends the duke.
In addition, a large number of upstart nobles who sided with the Crown Prince and big families who stood up for the duke.
On one side, there were many, if not very large, families, and on the other side, there were small but large noble families with one family leading several vassals.
As a king, it would feel like sitting on a burning raft and floating on the open sea.
You can’t be doing nothing in that state.
Anyway, something must be done.
From the king’s point of view, he couldn’t side with the steppe people who attacked the domestic aristocracy, so he inevitably confronts the duchy, but he didn’t want to be openly angry with them.
I took a small breath and moved on.
The king’s unofficial messenger was waiting in the largest reception room.
His appearance in person was not very good.
Although he hid his sickness with makeup and a beard, he was very emaciated.
When I entered, he got up in a rather slow motion.
“It’s been a while, Count Banton.”
I walked across the waiting room and walked up to him with quick steps.
“Oh my God, the duke has just become an adult. It seems like yesterday that he was cute like a doll, but now it’s hard to find him back then.”
The count laughed and leaned down.
I stopped him from bowing and held his hand.
Support his body and lead him to sit in the chair.
“Count, there is no need for a very formal greeting between us.
“Thank you. I’m sure it’s hard to travel long because I’m old.”
Wrinkles formed around the eyes of the elderly count.
“But… I did well to come like this, even if I forced myself to do so. I can go back with the image of the duke who has grown like this in my eyes, so I have something to brag about to my granddaughters. Everyone will say that my grandfather is great, and their eyes will shine. All the women in my family are dukes. I’m a huge fan of.”
Not empty words, the count seems really happy to see me.
Even though Wang used a shallow trick, this appointment was certainly successful.
I heard that this person was about the same age as his grandfather, the former duke, and that they had been on the battlefield together.
When I was young, every time I saw me, I told stories of my grandfather’s bravery and treated me like a grandson, so I couldn’t go out strong against this person either, and my heart softened.
“It’s embarrassing to hear that. Oh, come to think of it, my wife hasn’t interacted with them yet. I want to visit with her next time.”
“That’s really appreciated…”
The count’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ve heard that you’re beautiful. You look exactly like Countess Becker. When the Countess first came out to society, it wasn’t really a fuss. Everyone was excited, even married men. I’m really looking forward to meeting her.”
“I heard that my wife is preparing dinner tonight. It was the first dinner for a non-ducal family, so I was very excited.”
“Gee… I’m so glad I know… such an honor.”
The Count said that and put strength in his hand.
“Peacock.”
“…”
“Don’t hate the king.”
“Did you ask him?”
When I asked, the count smiled.
“Yes, I accepted the request. Because the duke is afraid of making enemies with the royal family. From before, the king feared the duke’s rebellion the most. But that’s not why I accepted this job.”
“…”
“I am. In the past, I had a conversation with your grandfather about the king while walking on the battlefield. The current king was in his prime.”
“…”
“Even then, the king was just as timid and a bit mean-spirited as he is now.”
“That’s a little bit poignant.”
When I laughed, the count nodded.
“I’m a royalist, but the royal family doesn’t always look good. There was a time when our family was cornered because of the royal family. At that time, we really made a fuss with the determination to rebel. There is a word the deceased duke said to me at that time.”
“…”
“The king said that no matter who he was, he was rotten.
No, it’s my grandfather, but can I say that?
Besides, it’s ridiculous that someone who came as the king’s messenger would say such a thing.
When I hesitated without reacting, the count opened his mouth with a serious face while holding my hand tightly.
“The duke’s grandfather advised me, “You don’t have to love the king, you don’t have to hate him. What’s important is you and your people, not the king.” Because it’s the law.”
“…”
“When a country is divided, it is the people who live in the land who suffer. It is better than the country being confused, no matter how stupid the king is.”
“Thanks for the advice, Count.”
I bowed my head slightly.
The Count said nothing more after that.
He handed over the King’s letter, and told stories of his granddaughter and his deceased grandfather’s exploits.
What was written in the king’s letter was plain.
What follows the ceremonial greeting phrase is that it is fortunate that there is no beast damage compared to other regions.
The content of the inquiry was not written anywhere.
There is not even a story about steppe tribes.
The king finished the story without even mentioning the word ‘cho’ of the steppe people.
I thought at least one word would be written in passing, but I didn’t even mention it.
After the Count was ushered into the mansion’s guest room, Benno came to my room.
He must have wondered how the king would react.
I looked at his face and sighed lightly.
“I think I went too far, Benno.”
“…”
“The letter didn’t mention anything about the steppes. The count did what the king wanted to say instead. He directly mentioned the treason.”
“That’s a bit of a problem.”
Benno’s face became a little serious.
Unless you’ve heard of the steppes often, you don’t know how strong they are.
He just looks like an uncivilized savage.
What should I do to make such people prepare for war at least a little?
While thinking about it, I showed other families the duke’s preparations for the steppe tribe.
I did not hide the fact that I was preparing for the Steppe Tribe, but to others, the duke’s actions would have been seen as a threat to the royal family.
A noble’s top priority is to protect his family and land.
If they thought that a war might break out in their country, they would prepare anyway.
But at the same time, he also took care of himself so that the royal family would not be anxious.
Through letters and civil servants, he explained the situation to the king several times and informed the steppe tribes in detail.
The fact that Prince Emile came to the fore must have stirred up the king’s anxiety, but he had subtly revealed through various channels that I had no intention of using force in the struggle for succession.
Even if there were some misunderstandings, they thought it wouldn’t matter because they would be resolved if the grassland tribes invaded.
“But if even Count Banton came running thinking that I might rebel…”
“There may be people who are reckless.”
“…”
If things go wrong, unplanned rebellion will occur.
A deep vertical crease formed between Benno’s eyebrows.
“The gentle nature of the master is angry here. It’s scary when a normally gentle person gets angry. Maybe that’s why people get flustered.”
“…”
what to do
To have a headache.
“Anyway, I’d rather go to the royal capital myself.”
“But now it’s dangerous because of the Witchbeast. Besides, if the King is suspicious, you have to be even more careful. The number of soldiers increases.”
“That’s also troublesome.”
If you lead more soldiers than usual, the royal family will fall into a panic.
There will be uproar throughout the royal capital.
“I have no choice but to rely on Count Becker.”
“hahahaha, I can’t help it.”
Count Becker is a person who is good at digging into people’s hearts even though he doesn’t look like that.
I didn’t know it was that type originally, but this time I found out.
It is said that Count Becker itself was originally a strong family in the diplomatic direction.
An aristocratic society was originally a place where connections were made through blood ties, but Count Becker’s family was literally connecting blood here and there like a spider’s web and using it.
If the Duke’s family is well-unified internally, the Becker family has a strong connection between blood ties that have extended to the outside, so they look after each other and cooperate if something happens.
This time, too, there was no place to follow Count Becker in terms of gathering information.
How to find out, it pulls out the internal affairs of other families like a ghost.
It was like digging up sweet potato stems, and even the researcher of the duke, who had quick information in his own way, stuck out his tongue.
While I was writing a letter to Count Becker, Benno suddenly opened his mouth.
“Why don’t you write a word to the Countess as well? The Countess is a very sociable person, so she might be able to soften the atmosphere a little inside.”
“Well… if even the countess thinks that I’m threatening the royal family, that’s also difficult.”
The Count may not believe me no matter how much I say no.
But if it were the countess, she would have met her face several times and seen her face, and if she explained it in a letter, she would recognize it right away.
I let out a small sigh.
I have no intention of rebelling, but if I do something wrong, I will be pushed by the atmosphere.
If you do something wrong and ignite rumors, it will be absolutely out of hand.
At least, I think I should send a letter to each family so that there is no such misunderstanding even among close families.
It was then that a letter from his maternal grandfather, the Marquis Hoven, arrived.
“…”
“What’s the matter, master?”
“Grandpa…”
A small sigh flowed.
“It looks like you’ll be our ally. To the war.”
“…”
I didn’t say it outright, but it was written in the letter that I would always come running with a knife if I ever needed strength.
I don’t think it’s a steppe story.
My grandfather must have known about preparing for steppe tribes, so maybe this is turning around and impulsing me.
“…”
I can’t.
You should hurry up and send a letter.
“Benno, don’t send the messenger from the Marquess of Hoven. Please wait. So I can take my letter.”
“I understand. But… the Marquis of Hoven is really correct. I heard that in the prime of life the enemy attacked before they even came, but it doesn’t seem to have changed at all.”
“… I see. The letter said it was good for me to have some spirits.”
“…”
The situation is serious, but Benno laughs.
I couldn’t help but smile a little.