Ch.113Vested Interests (5)

“…I stand before His Majesty Claude, the sovereign of Rotaring.”

Why the hell am I even here…

I was following my father’s orders, rebuilding our social faction and working at its center to strengthen relationships with various nobles, when the very thing I’d been dreading happened.

His Majesty specifically requested to meet me.

The letter from His Majesty was written in a casual tone, suggesting something like “How about we meet if it’s not inconvenient?” But who in their right mind would refuse an invitation from His Majesty?

“Raise your head. Hahaha, the etiquette must have changed not too long ago, but you seem to have mastered it properly. I’m very pleased.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

Moreover, the etiquette had completely changed since the days of the Burgon Duchy, so I had to memorize everything anew.

Of course, it’s natural that the protocol for addressing a duke differs from addressing a king, but the newly established etiquette became even more complex and difficult to memorize after passing through the Queen’s hands. There are countless nobles who have suffered embarrassment for making mistakes in court protocol.

As a member of the Vermang ducal family, one of the more powerful houses in the Kingdom of Rotaring, I absolutely couldn’t afford such humiliation. I barely managed to memorize everything after staying up for several nights. I wasn’t sure if I had learned it correctly, but judging by His Majesty’s reaction, it seems I did well.

“Hmm… When I compliment you and you say I flatter you, doesn’t that suggest my judgment is wrong?”

I was mistaken.

Oh shi—

“I’m… sorry, Your Majesty. Please forgive—”

“Hahaha, I’m just joking. No need to be so tense.”

“Ah… hahaha…”

…I miss my father.

In my life, I’ve only had conversations with people of higher status than myself with my father and mother, and both of them have such casual personalities that I’ve never had to be careful during our conversations.

For that reason, I have absolutely no resistance to twisted words, and that’s why His Majesty’s casual remarks make my skin crawl.

A joke? It clearly wasn’t a joke.

To me, it sounded like, “Why is this bastard talking back when he should just accept the compliment?” I’m certain anyone else in my position would have interpreted it the same way.

‘They say that even if a rumor is false, such rumors don’t arise about innocent people—and that seems to be true.’

I’ve heard numerous malicious rumors about His Majesty: that he has an inferiority complex about his birth and enjoys treating his enemies like livestock regardless of their nobility; that he ignores both the Holy Emperor’s warnings and the Queen’s sorrow while indulging in womanizing; that he immediately beheads anyone who mentions his origins; that he fathered a child with his own sister; that his hobby is injecting poison into people’s bodies to observe its effects… Given His Majesty’s personality that I just witnessed, most of these rumors are probably true.

Tsk… If I don’t focus, I’ll touch a nerve and won’t even have bones left to collect. I need to speak as carefully as if walking on thin ice.

‘Never answer impulsively, always think before—’

“Well… anyway, the reason I summoned you is that I’d like you to manage the university students within your faction, if it doesn’t interfere with your studies. There’s a high-class grand hall that was used for receiving foreign guests before the palace was converted into a university—I’ll give it to your faction as your venue.”

“Gah?!”

Just as I was inwardly making resolutions about how to proceed, His Majesty utters something that renders all my preparations meaningless.

“Are you alright?”

“I… apologize, Your Majesty. I was startled by your sudden generosity. Do you mean that all university students should be brought into my faction?”

“That’s right.”

What is this about now? The conversation is moving too quickly for me to follow.

Put all the university students under the faction I’m leading? This clearly benefits both me and my father.

If I become the leader of a faction that includes almost all nobles of Rotaring, the prestige of our Vermang family would reach the heavens. And the internal affairs of various noble families that I would overhear as the head of such a faction would certainly prove extremely useful.

It’s sweet. So sweet my teeth might rot. As sweet as if I had a disease that turns blood and urine into honey, rotting my body alive.

‘I shouldn’t hastily accept something like this.’

Nothing in this world is free. Unless you’re creating gold through alchemy, you must always pay a price equivalent to what you receive.

I want to ask His Majesty right now why he’s making such an offer and what he wants from me.

But judging from his earlier reaction, if I asked that, His Majesty would likely become angry, saying something like, “Are you dismissing my goodwill?” So I must be careful.

“Hmm… You don’t need to be so wary. What I want is just one thing—use the power of your faction to thoroughly ostracize students who act in extreme ways.”

“Extreme actions… You mean political factions?”

“Not just political factions, but also students who still engage in duels in secret.”

Fortunately, His Majesty explains what price I’ll have to pay.

So His Majesty’s intention is that since he cannot directly deal with extreme students for various reasons, I should punish them on his behalf. The form of punishment should be either thoroughly excluding these extreme students from the social faction that all students join, or using that faction to pressure them.

The benefits and drawbacks are clear.

The benefits are as I mentioned earlier, but if I accept His Majesty’s proposal, I’ll bear the full brunt of hatred from the excluded students. Since His Majesty’s instructions to me would naturally be kept secret, from the perspective of the excluded students, it would seem that I’m persecuting them without reason.

Given that these students still engage in duels or remain in political factions despite His Majesty’s decree, they likely have difficult personalities. If such students grow up and inherit territories, the Vermang family would gain very troublesome enemies.

“If those who are excluded express any dissatisfaction toward you, explain that I ordered you not to accept extreme individuals into the faction. Ah, of course, the ostracism must appear entirely as your own will. Also, if these extreme individuals repent and reform, they should naturally be accepted into the faction.”

“…As you command, Your Majesty.”

Even though the benefits and drawbacks are clear, I can’t weigh them carefully. It’s because His Majesty has made the suggestion.

How could I refuse a suggestion from such a ruthless sovereign? I never had a choice to begin with. I can only obey.

……….

Well, he’s quite the fine specimen.

Excellent etiquette, sharp features, tall stature, good comprehension, and even a pleasant personality.

‘He’s agreeing to everything I ask.’

I wanted to create a social circle partly to keep troublesome nobles in check, but without the cooperation of the Vermang heir who controls the largest social faction, it would have been extremely difficult.

I can’t create a social faction myself, can I? To use an analogy… it would be like a chairman personally running a social club—no student would want to join such a place.

So I was worried he might refuse, but fortunately, the Vermang heir accepted my proposal without a moment’s hesitation. Since he’ll make many enemies because of this, I should reward him generously later.

[Leclerc, nobles are creatures who stake their lives on honor… right?]

[Yes. Though there are individual variations, many would stake not only their own lives but their family’s fate for the sake of honor.]

Such people simply cannot bear being ostracized from social circles where everyone else belongs.

When I asked Leclerc beforehand what punishment would be appropriate, he replied that social exclusion is the harshest punishment for nobles who have shown disrespect to Your Majesty. Since direct punishment would be too burdensome for various reasons, I ended up outsourcing the punishment in this way.

The reason for outsourcing is, of course, to cut off the tail and drastically reduce the risk, hmm.

“—So that’s how it turned out.”

“I see…”

“Uuung…”

After work, while resting in Ines’s room, I told her everything that happened in the audience chamber and what I intended to do.

Liliane, sleeping in Ines’s arms, had lost all the wrinkled skin she had at birth and had become a plump baby.

Her lips and cheeks are so smooth they look like droplets of water. She’s cute. Of course, Claudia is equally adorable. If I were to compare them, it would be impossible to determine which is cuter.

“My lord, don’t you think the punishment is too light?”

“Huh?”

I had just finished explaining everything that happened to Ines and was happily observing Liliane when Ines suddenly said that.

The punishment is light? But Leclerc said it was the harshest punishment possible.

“You think it’s too light? Why?”

“Well, while it may be the most humiliating punishment, I think ending a punishment with mere humiliation isn’t enough.”

Ah, I see.

Ines has a point. If it’s a punishment, it should inflict actual damage, not just end with humiliation.

“It’s fine. The sins of the children can be answered for by their heads of household.”

“That’s…”

“Isn’t it more elegant and less likely to leave bad feelings if their family heads administer the punishment instead of me doing it directly?”

In other words, “Even if someone gets hit, I won’t be the one doing the hitting.”

If I punish the extreme students directly, there would certainly be talk, but if their guardians punish them, there would be no issue at all. It’s perfectly legitimate discipline for guardians to punish their children.

Of course, I’ll provide guidelines for what that discipline should entail, but the important thing is that I’m not the one directly implementing it.

Sigh… I would have preferred to directly punish those disrespectful fools who don’t listen to me, but I can’t because I have to consider the nobles. Someday I’ll have to sweep away all the feudal nobles, but most of the surviving feudal nobles are absolutely loyal to me, so there’s no proper justification to cut them down.

Hmm… well, if they’re loyal to me, it would look bad to turn my blade on them anyway, so I’ll just keep watching for now.