Ch.129129. Did His Imperial Majesty Send the Wrong Letter?

“Thank you for handling the funeral. It must have been hard work.”

“Not at all, young master. It was nothing compared to what you went through.”

I sat in the study chair, staring blankly at Federicks.

“How are the defensive formations?”

“The western defensive formation is in the worst condition. It will take quite some time to restore it.”

“Oh? You’re going to restore it?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

He used to lecture me endlessly about building defensive formations, but it seems Federicks has realized something.

I smiled brightly.

“Yes, it’s never bad to be prepared in advance.”

“Indeed. I’ll restore them as quickly as possible. Well, it’s not like there will be a war anyway.”

“Huh? What do you mean there won’t be a war?”

“Well, unless other houses have gone mad, who would dare start a war with the Alphonse family that just stopped the monster wave?”

Now that I heard it, he had a point.

Emperor Malius must have already learned that we stopped the monster wave.

I spoke with a sly smile.

“Soon, there might be a reward from the Imperial family?”

“Ah! Actually, a letter has arrived from the Imperial palace.”

“A letter!?”

Federicks pulled out a piece of paper from his inner pocket and handed it to me.

“I almost forgot the most important thing.”

“…What does this say?”

“I’m not sure either. I thought you would understand it, but apparently not?”

“Good work. A gift will arrive soon, for which I am very sorry.”

What on earth is this?

Why is he apologizing for sending a gift?

I kept tilting my head as I stared at the letter.

“Did His Majesty send the wrong letter?”

“Th-that’s impossible!”

The apology could be indirectly interpreted as regret for not being able to help with the monster wave.

I never expected support in the first place.

After all, preventing secondary damage would be the best the Imperial family could do.

But.

Why does the word “sorry” follow “gift”?

Was Emperor Malius thinking about something else when he wrote this letter, making the sentence strange?

I placed the letter on the desk and continued speaking.

“Anyway, he’s giving us a gift, right?”

“Yes. Considering His Majesty mentioned it personally in the letter, it must be an extraordinary gift.”

“Hmm, I’d prefer money instead.”

When I showed my indifferent reaction, Federicks raised his voice with a reddened face.

“A gift from His Majesty is the highest honor that can be cherished for generations! How could you possibly convert that to mere money?”

“Federicks.”

“Yes, young master?”

“Things that are saved too preciously end up as trash.”

“If it’s His Majesty’s trash, that’s different. Shouldn’t you be more ambitious about honor, young master?”

“Why should I?”

“Haven’t you been notorious as the scoundrel from the eastern continent’s edge? If you enhance your reputation now, you’ll be respected wherever you go.”

Honor?

Yes, as Federicks said, I needed to erase that label of being the scoundrel from the eastern continent’s edge.

And now that I’ve become a historical figure who stopped the monster wave, that tag will gradually fade away.

But that’s all.

Soon I’ll be setting up the foundation to live a life of leisure, so what need do I have for honor when money would be more useful?

I waved my hand dismissively toward Federicks.

“You can keep all the honor. What about the monster corpses?”

“We’re separating the blood and skin as you instructed.”

“Good, extract every last drop without leaving anything behind.”

“Understood.”

“Federicks?”

“…Yes?”

“I thought you’d complain about why we need to extract monster blood, but what’s going on?”

Federicks flinched as if I’d hit a nerve, then cleared his throat.

“I’ve decided not to question your actions anymore.”

“Oh? I don’t think that vow will last long.”

“No, I believe there must be a reason for extracting blood from the corpses.”

It definitely feels like Federicks’ trust in me has increased since the monster wave occurred.

Well, even if he was curious, I would just tell him to ‘do as told.’

“Carry on then.”

“Yes, I’ll take my leave.”

After confirming Federicks had left, I leaned back in my chair and let out a brief sigh.

“Haa…”

Now that the monster wave is over, soon I’ll have to hand over the companions I’ve been keeping to the protagonist who will visit Lake territory.

I need to be careful.

Especially with Luna—I must succeed with her, if no one else.

Knock knock-!

As soon as Federicks left, there was a knock on the door, as if someone had been waiting.

I removed my back from the chair and spoke.

“Come in.”

“…Father.”

The door opened very slowly, and Lucien entered the study.

She looked nervous, having transformed into a dragon without permission.

“You didn’t even come to the mansion yesterday. Where have you been all this time?”

“I-I was just in the Forest of Death.”

“Why there?”

“I used too much magical power, so it was hard to return to human form.”

Honestly, I was grateful to Lucien.

If she hadn’t appeared at the southern defensive formation, the damage would have been much worse.

However.

If I praised her for transforming into a dragon without seeking my permission, it could lead to problems in the future.

I needed to caution her somewhat.

I looked at Lucien with a slightly stern expression.

“Why did you transform into a dragon without permission?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Rather than an apology, I’d like an explanation of the situation.”

At my words, Lucien fidgeted with her fingers and carefully began to speak.

“I heard loud noises outside, so I went to check and saw you fighting monsters.”

“And then?”

“I was going to watch from a distance, but… suddenly you clutched your chest in pain…”

I nodded at Lucien’s words, as I had indeed experienced chest pain as a side effect from using skills excessively.

“That’s right, I had used quite a few skills.”

“When I saw you in pain, I got so angry, and when I came to my senses, I had transformed into a dragon.”

So she’s saying she transformed because of me?

Well, this was also Lucien’s first time transforming into a dragon.

I pressed my fingers against my throbbing temples.

“Can you control your rationality?”

“At first I lost my memory as I mentioned earlier, but after that, everything became clear.”

“Haa… I understand that you transformed into a dragon for my sake, but doing so without my permission was wrong, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes, I was wrong. I won’t do it again.”

I had intended to be stricter, but seeing Lucien’s dejected expression, I couldn’t bring myself to scold her further.

I relaxed my furrowed brow and gently raised the corners of my mouth.

“Let’s stop the scolding here and give credit where it’s due.”

“…Pardon?”

“Lucien, without you, there would have been many more casualties. Thank you.”

“Father…”

This is the right thing to do.

The fact that Lucien is a dragon is known to only a few people.

She essentially made the greatest contribution, yet no one acknowledges it.

And on top of that, she just got scolded by me.

Therefore.

I wanted to give Lucien sufficient reward, at least from my side.

“Lucien, is there anything you want?”

“Anything I want?”

“You often went to the market with Jawill Wilson, right? Like clothes or jewelry you saw there.”

“A-are you buying it for me?”

“Of course. If I’m going to praise you, I should do it properly, shouldn’t I?”

Lucien’s dejected expression disappeared completely, and she bounced her shoulders with excitement.

“I don’t need clothes or jewelry. I want to go on a trip to another territory with Father!”

“Another territory?”

“Yes! Will you grant my wish?”

For a moment, I was dumbfounded by Lucien’s words.

I had been so focused on stopping the monster wave that I never even dreamed of taking Lucien to see other territories.

My apologetic feelings were clearly visible on my face.

“Alright. When I go out next time, I’ll definitely take you with me.”

“R-really!? I love you, Father!!”

Lucien ran over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I thought, so this is why people raise daughters.

Knock knock knock knock knock-!

Just then, there was an urgent knocking sound.

After patting Lucien’s head once, I raised my voice.

“Come in.”

Creeeeak-!

Federicks rushed into the study, looking obviously flustered, opening and closing his mouth with exaggerated gestures.

“Th-that! It’s!! I mean!”

What could possibly make him unable to speak?

I showed him my palms, telling him to calm down.

“I’m not going anywhere, so speak slowly.”

Federicks took several deep breaths and then spoke calmly.

“A-a gift from the Imperial family… seems to have arrived.”

“If a gift has arrived, then it has arrived. What do you mean by ‘seems to have’?”

“I think I now understand why His Majesty sent the letter that way…”

I furrowed my brows at Federicks, who kept saying strange things.

“Speak coherently.”

Just as Federicks was about to open his mouth, the study door opened with a ‘thud.’

I was about to rise and rebuke whoever was entering without knocking, when—

“Selden!!”

“Ah, no… how…”