episode_0094

“Your Majesty the Archduke, are you here?”

I say this while looking at Alexander, who is smiling slyly.

“How have you been?”

This is the first time I see Alexander since I woke up.

Seeing as they haven’t come until now, it looks like they’ve prepared a secret trick of their own.

You should be a little nervous.

“Hehe… You have no idea how angry His Highness Ioanes was when he found out that there was someone in his country who was trying to assassinate His Highness the Archduke and His Majesty the Emperor.”

He must have been angry.

I got caught for making a clumsy plan. It’s strange if you don’t get angry.

“First, we are catching a traitor in our kingdom. I’ll probably be able to give you some good news soon.”

I answer, looking at Alexander with a gentle smile.

“I’m looking forward to it since you said that. But if I see something I haven’t caught yet, I’ll have to help.”

Alexander’s expression, which had been smiling at my words, changed slightly.

“If you say help… what does it mean?”

At those words, I smile as leisurely as I can.

“Our Grand Duchy has been releasing spies in Nicaea since the time of Valorant. I think you all know why.”

It is true that Valorant has planted spies in Nicaea, who pose a threat to him, for a long time.

On the other hand, once I complete my training as an intelligence agent, I plan to build a large-scale intelligence network not only in Nicaea, Epirus, and Egypt, but also in all the great nobles and rival countries…

There is no need to say this.

“Since Valorant died, their work is focused on gathering information, and they are in high positions. It was difficult for us to easily order them to return, so we just left them alone.”

Alexander flinches slightly at my words, but then frowns and speaks.

“If that’s the case, I think you should have asked for our understanding first?”

-Pisik.

“In this assassination attempt, all of the assassins entered the imperial palace after His Majesty Ioanes came to Roman. Coincidentally, that is.”

“That is an excessive guess.”

I nod my head at those words.

“Yes. This may be speculation, but this is what I think. The assassins believe that it was the actions of a traitor who was close to His Highness Ioannis.”

I push harder as I see Alexander, whose eyes are slightly trembling at my words, calculating whether to confirm or deny my words.

“Couldn’t that be something His Highness Ioanes did? I’m sure you’re not, but is there a reason you’re certain?”

Now… either confess to assassinating the emperor, or say you don’t know.

Alexander will have to choose one of the two.

And of course…

I would choose the latter.

“There is no reason, but what is your reason for thinking that way?”

But Alexander does not answer as I expected.

It’s not easy either. This old man.

“The point of what I am saying is that I have a very clear suspicion that someone quite influential in the Kingdom of Nicaea attempted to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor and me.”

Alexander snorts in response to my words.

“Is there any evidence?”

I say that with a smile.

“There is evidence, but it is difficult to disclose it to outsiders.”

Alexander looked at me as if I was saying something nonsense.

“Then it’s hard for us to believe it.”

“It is difficult to disclose the evidence, but I can tell you the source.”

While saying that, I look at Alexander intently.

“Are you saying that the source was a spy?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He shouts as if his words are absurd.

“Isn’t that spy mistaken? In the first place, if you trust too much in a spy who is working darkly in the shadows, something can happen.”

I say that with a straight face.

“These are people who risked their lives for ten years for our Grand Duchy. I believe them and the evidence they presented.”

“This is absurd. What on earth is that evidence that makes you say that?”

There is no evidence.

In the first place, the spies we dispatched were not very high-ranking.

Infiltrating high-ranking officials may not have been easier than expected, but most of the time, information was passed on to government officials or in the back alleys.

No… maybe they’re just stealing money in the name of funding their activities.

“It is difficult to provide evidence. Because our information source may be exposed.”

When I spoke brightly, Alexander pressed his temple and spoke with a troubled expression.

“Couldn’t their words or evidence be wrong?”

I answer those words leisurely.

“The evidence is so clear that I believe their testimony.”

“Then, who is the traitor? I see you are saying this. It seems like you want us to punish the traitor ourselves. Can you tell me your name?”

I waited for those words.

But to put it bluntly, since it is sewage, I pause for a moment with a faint smile.

Three, two, one.

Open your mouth, slowly counting to 3 seconds in your mind.

“He is Count Savinelli.”

Alexander’s eyebrows twitch.

“Such…”

Perplexed eyes.

I speak slowly, enjoying his reaction as he didn’t expect me to bring up that name.

“He is in deep contact with His Highness Ioannes. I don’t think he would do such an evil thing.”

He gazes at Alexander with the utmost confidence in his eyes.

“I have solid evidence. But I’m just frustrated because I can’t reveal this.”

“Ha… Archduke. You’re joking too much.”

-Pisik.

“Is it me who is joking too much? Or maybe it’s Representative Alexander, who doesn’t believe me until the end. If you are trying to protect Count Savinelli… I have no choice but to doubt the intentions of the Kingdom of Nicaea.”

It doesn’t matter whether Savinelli tried to harm me or Teodora or not.

I think removing him, who is currently at the top of Ioanes and has a reputation for being very capable, could be quite damaging.

It doesn’t matter that I have a lot of good talent, but does it bother me that my future enemy has a lot of good talent?

“Great Duke!”

Alexander pretending to be angry in front of me.

He is a very rational person.

I can feel that he was pretending to be angry without actually being angry.

“Let me summarize our position again. We are convinced that Count Savinelli is behind the assassination attempt on the Emperor and me. If you try to protect him, you cannot trust the Kingdom of Nicaea.”

Would you like me to serve Savinelli? Or do you want to break the alliance?

So I am forced to choose between the two.

***

Long negotiations.

Alexander said he would convey my thoughts to Ioanes and went back first.

It’s a matter that Ioanes has to choose anyway.

Since then, I have been working at the Ministry of Education.

Data on tax revenue collected last year and tax revenue collected by region are difficult to see.

Normally, I would have to check and process it right away, but…

Maybe I’m too sleepy today, but my eyes are blurry…

Should I sleep for a bit?

Let’s sleep for ten minutes.

I’m so tired.

So I lean back on the desk and close my eyes.

I lost consciousness.

How much sleep did you get?

-Kok…Kok!

Something long is stroking my head.

“Honey, if you want to sleep, come to my room and sleep.”

“Umm…”

When I woke up, rubbing my sleepy eyes, Theodora, dressed comfortably, stroked my cheek with a worried look on her face.

“If you sleep like that, it will hurt your body.”

Is it true that that worried expression is acting?

Red eyes and frowning face.

All of that makes men excited.

Come to your senses… Her very presence weakens a man’s spirit.

Like a nine-tailed fox.

When you sleep later, won’t you see that you have 9 tails? I say this while thinking a trivial thought.

“Haaam… There’s still a lot to see.”

Although it is less common in Romania, there are many reports that heavy snow is falling in the north and that support is needed.

Currently, aid is being sent to the north using Pieta Company funds, but it is not certain whether it will arrive in time with the poor means of transportation here.

And another thing I’m worried about.

It snowed quite a bit in Roman last night, so we have to take a look at the lives of low-income people.

“No, there’s still a lot to see. Since it is winter, it will be difficult for imperial citizens in poor circumstances to buy firewood, so they must prepare an emergency winter budget.”

Because that is the duty of those in power.

I rub my sleepy eyes and try to somehow overcome sleep.

“Then something really big happens.”

I say this while gently holding Theodora’s hand that is caressing my cheek.

“I’m going to take a short walk to wake me up. Do you want to walk too?”

Theodora says, nodding weakly at my words.

“Well… then I’ll bring my coat. Wait here.”

Theodora leaves the room and soon returns.

“Did you wait a long time?”

He says this while looking at Theodora, who is wearing a long white mink coat.

“No, I didn’t wait long.”

So, I leave the imperial palace with her and take a walk.

I walk with Theodora through a world covered in snow everywhere.

“It’s not as cold as I thought?”

“So?”

It’s winter with a cold wind blowing, but right now, at this moment, the wind is not strong.

at that time.

-Tuk!

Something tapped my back and I looked back…

Theodora with a mischievous face holds a snowball in her hand…

“Yap!”

-Tuk!

The snowball hit me squarely in the face.

“What… what are you doing?!”

-Tuk!

He hurriedly wipes the snow with his hands and gathers the snow in the snowfield to make a snowball.

“This!”

When I throw a snowball at Theodora, she easily dodges it.

Soon she smiles like a mischievous person.

“Puhup… They said they didn’t get it right, they didn’t get it right.”

Seeing her provoking me, I gathered three together and tried to throw them at her.

“Aaagh!”

Theodora runs away screaming.

Let’s grab her wrist and throw a snowball at the back of her head…

“Aaaah! What’s this! You have to throw it from a distance. This is foul!”

“What is the foul and who started first?”

The face with an expression of resentment soon turns into a wide smile.

“Me. And today I will beat you.”

As I watched her making snowballs while saying that, I also balled up snowballs and threw them at each other.