episode_0026

“Lucille, I have to be away for a while and your father has retired. You will go while I am gone.”

Lucille quietly lowered her head.

“I will take good care of my family.”

He put his hand on Lucille’s shoulder and turned her back. Well, Lucille will do just fine without me. That’s because even in the original story, she was the strongest tactician.

And a few weeks later. When we arrived at our destination, Krusenstein Castle.

“Are you Franz?”

A handsome man with brown skin and a slightly shorter height than me spoke to me. I recognized him at a glance.

“This is Garcia Granada, the guide. Thank you very much.”

He bowed his head. Garcia Granada. He has been Leona’s friend and loyal subordinate since childhood.

‘There are two loyal subordinates that Leona has led since she was young, and one of them was Garcia.’

Aside from that, Garcia was an outstanding talent. He is a person who cannot do anything, including internal affairs, diplomacy, politics, combat, architecture, and conduct of life.

However, he is also an ambiguous person who is good at many things, but cannot be first-rate at any of them.

In addition, something special is… Could it be that in the original story, he lived the longest among Leona’s subordinates?

In many ways, he is a person with a long lifespan. Political lifespan and physical lifespan. I thought there was nothing wrong with being close to him as he was that kind of person.

“Thank you, Mr. Garcia.”

When I bowed my head together, Garcia looked slightly surprised.

“Your first impression is different from what I heard. Let’s go first.”

We boarded the carriage prepared by Garcia and headed to Krusenstein Castle. I asked, sitting across from him in the carriage.

“What first impression did you have of me?”

“He is a very cool-headed and ruthless person… The rumor was that it was a monster without blood or tears.”

“Ah.”

I understand why such a rumor spread. What happened in the dungeon has spread.

But I would like to say that it is a misunderstanding. The reason I killed all the prisoners in the dungeon was entirely due to political calculations. I don’t really like murder because I think there’s nothing good about the remnants of the old forces remaining.

“Well, regardless of whether the first impression is real or not, I applied for this reception position myself.”

“Hmm?”

“I am Beomjae. They learn everything quickly, but they cannot reach a high level. What should such a commoner do to survive this cruel and difficult times?”

I was tired and laughed. I know this man’s life well. So the answer wasn’t difficult.

“You have to choose well.”

Yes. The man in front of me was a man who always made the right choices. When Leona was doing well, he was seen well by Leona and her entourage, and after Leona died, he waggled his tail at the next monarch. When the next monarch fell, he quickly latched onto the person who would become the next monarch and avoided the disaster. This man is an opportunist. An opportunist with great sense.

Garcia opened his eyes wide.

“That’s amazing. For the first time in a while, I met someone with the same thoughts.”

“Yes. Because I am the same type of person as you.”

I am also an opportunist. An opportunist who can even betray his master.

“Well, since you say it like that, the story will go quickly. Actually, I have one feeling. It’s a feeling that tells you how to survive. That sense of survival is telling. to hold your hand If I do that, my lifespan will increase.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Actually, Leona doesn’t have any tricksters. Of course, Leona’s teacher, Rainvern, is acting as a teacher, but Rainvern is well over 70 years old, so not only is it difficult for him to rise to the top, but he is also at an age where he is thinking about retirement. That’s why it’s time for Leona to need a new counselor… Who will it be?”

“Unexpectedly, it turns out to be Mr. Garcia?”

Garcia waved his hand.

“Me? This sounds absurd. I can also be someone’s strategist, but that’s not Leona. Leona is a special person. Look in a different place than others. In order to become Leona’s advisor, you must be someone with an exceptional vision like Leona.”

Is that the story about me? Although it was an overestimation, it was not completely wrong. Actually, the reason I came here was to become Leona’s counselor.

“Franz. Lady Leona does not discriminate against captains, but not all family members are like that. Your position in the family is not very good right now. I don’t know about Clemens, the same port commander, but other vassals do not look favorably on the treacherous man who betrayed their lord. That’s why you’ll need at least one ally. So what if I were your first ally?”

Are you asking me to take your side instead of empowering me? It’s just a suggestion that Garcia would think about. And, for me, it is also a very beneficial proposition.

I held Garcia’s hand.

—–

As we climbed up the mountain, Krusenstein Castle came into view.

Krusenstein Castle did not have as much defense power as Torgenberg Castle. However, there was an old-fashioned atmosphere and a vague beauty.

When I arrived at the conference hall following Garcia’s guidance, there were four people in the conference room.

Leona, Leona’s right-hand man Clemens de Balboa, Leona’s teacher and teacher Rainvern, Leona’s left-hand man Haakon, and finally Garcia went to one place and sat down.

I also followed Garcia’s instructions and sat next to him. Then Leona spoke to me.

“Franz, you had a hard time coming this long way.”

“Master.”

“It is no exaggeration to say that the five people here are the ones leading the family. Our meetings always decide the big and small matters of the family. And do you know what it means to have been called here?”

“Well, ”

“Franz. The story is that you too have become a person who decides the big or small affairs of your family. It is none other than my own will.”

At this moment, I saw other people’s reactions. There is one person who maintains a non-responsive, emotionless expression. One person nods. There are two people who look like they don’t like it.

It looks like it was split in half. Those who like me and those who dislike me. It seems like one person is making a gesture to remain neutral.

“I am just so sorry.”

“Actually, we were already having a meeting before you came in.”

“Is that so?”

“So what do you think the conclusion will be?”

Everyone’s eyes were focused on Leona. Not me. What if I ask for the conclusion without even telling you what the agenda is? But I wasn’t really embarrassed. Because it was obvious what agenda Leona was meeting about.

“Ongrip.”

Everyone was shocked at those words. Because that was the correct answer. Leona also looked a little surprised. It seems like he didn’t know how to answer. Leona smiled happily.

“Hahaha! How are you? Didn’t I tell you! Franz Mayer is a genius! Did you understand this well?”

“Didn’t Your Highness tell you the answer in advance?”

“Uh-huh! Haakon! Are you saying you don’t trust me? I have told many lies to make fun of you, but I never lie even in meetings.”

Hakon closed his mouth. Because it was an absolute truth. Leona is a tyrant, and although she treats people she is close to lightly, she takes meetings seriously.

“Yes. It’s a lie. From now on, we will enthrone the crown prince’s younger sister and make her the new emperor.”

The crown prince’s younger sister. That was the agenda of this meeting. To know about this, you have to explain the story in detail, but in fact, there was a large empire called the ‘Arcadian Empire’ on this continent.

Nevertheless, the reason why it became a difficult time was because the Arcadia Empire also collapsed, just as the fall of the Qin Dynasty led to the beginning of the Chuhan Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms due to the fall of the Han Dynasty.

Elector Philip von Arcadia was a troubled man who had no children until he reached his old age.

However, on such topics, he always wanted to entrust the emperorship to someone else. Because Adele von Setia loved kite flying, and Emperor Philip loved gardening and the tea ceremony.

[I want to get back to work quickly and pursue a hobby without being caught up in political affairs.] That was Philippe’s idea. Therefore, Philip chose his younger brother as the successor to the emperor. The idea was to first select him as the successor and pass the throne on to his younger brother when the time was right.

But suddenly, a child who never existed suddenly appeared. It was a shocking incident for Philip, who believed that he was sexually disabled.

In such a situation, his wife demanded that her child be appointed as the next emperor, and Philip had no choice but to take away the title of next emperor that he had given to his younger brother and give it back to his son.

But my younger brother refused. He raised an army, saying, “How can you take something again when you have already given it to him? Even if a son is born, you promised to give him the throne.” He raised an army, and more than 200,000 people participated in the rebellion.

The faction supporting the emperor’s son also raised an army and raised more than 200,000 troops. As a result of the two armies continuing to stare at the capital for a long time, the capital was sacked and left in shambles. That was the beginning of this game.

Now, 46 years have passed without the next emperor being appointed, and the son of the previous emperor’s son has now ascended to the throne of the crown prince.

But the crown prince was murdered. This was for the Ambrosia family, the losers in the central region. From the Ambrosia family’s point of view, it was easier to control state affairs as the emperor’s throne remained as the throne.

So, what did the crown prince believe in and press ahead with his ascension to the throne, even though he knew he would be murdered? The answer is simple. This is because the crown prince himself was a sword master.

Having studied swordsmanship from the world’s strongest and second-strongest sword masters, he also rose to the rank of sword master, and was confident in his immense strength and believed that he could survive based on his strength even when enemies attacked.

But it was a big mistake. The Ambrosia family first sent a large army. However, in the hall of the imperial palace, the crown prince planted hundreds of famous swords on the floor and cut down countless enemies. Each time a sword broke, a new sword was drawn, and he single-handedly cut down hundreds of soldiers. It was good up to that point, but the Ambrosia family did not end there. In the end, perhaps because they thought that hand-to-hand combat would not work, they used cannons to destroy the imperial palace.

The crown prince was crushed under the rubble of the imperial palace and disappeared without even a trace being found. That is the story so far.

And Leona was discussing the prince’s surviving younger sister.

“The crown prince’s younger sister is as ambitious as the crown prince. Even though he doesn’t have the original power, he has the intention to gather forces and become the next emperor. So, we must find the crown prince’s younger sister, enthrone her, become the losers of the central region, establish a new imperial family, and become the only force that controls that imperial family.”

Like Cao Cao, who upheld the imperial system.

Therefore, the correct answer is Onglip. He enthrones the princess and establishes her as the new emperor. That was the correct answer.

“Then, it is a matter of support. The princess is currently entrusted to the Sthenia family, a northern family. However, the Sthenian family has no interest in establishing a new imperial family. It would be a good idea to send someone to secretly take the princess away from the Stenia family, but is there a good person?”

No one could answer. In order to make a good impression on the princess, one must first of all be from a prestigious family and be well-versed in the etiquette of the imperial family. Among these, there was no one who was from a prestigious family and at the same time was well-versed in etiquette.

But at that moment, Franz Mayer raised his hand.

“I know the right person.”

She is from a prestigious family that even the emperor would recognize, and is well-versed in etiquette. She is the same woman, and because her family also fell, she is the right person among the right people to create a sense of kinship.

I knew one person like that.