episode_0102

The reaction of the audience gathered at the Agora was already completely tilted toward Rupert.

Even when there was talk that the neighboring kingdom of Sylvania might benefit by replacing the vacant position if comic books were banned, the difference was so great that even the nobles supported it by shouting Rupert’s name.

It was natural that Macbeth’s expression was distorted as he appeared as Rupert’s opponent.

‘What the hell, what kind of little kid can talk so well?’

One of the reasons Macbeth and the Imperial Parents’ Association were so confident in calling Rupert was his young age.

The older nobles were those who had lived in the political arena of the empire, which was no different from the demon world, and were specialized in manipulating public opinion.

So, I thought that if I attacked the young Rupert lightly, he would lose his mind and panic, but instead, it was Macbeth who was flustered and unable to respond properly because he was attacked leisurely.

But he was still confident.

‘Anyway, the verdict is favorable since Marquis Laius and Damian are on our side!’

The Duke of Bluewell would naturally take Rupert’s side, but he was certain that Laius and Marquis Damien would also unconditionally take his side.

Due to the nature of the Agora, the decisions of the three judges from the Seven Great Nobles cannot be reversed even by the Emperor.

Even though the crown prince was attending in place of the emperor, there was no room for intervention unless there were major problems with the ruling.

Of course, in the current situation, it was clear that the Crown Prince, who was acting as the Emperor’s representative, would take Rupert’s side, but if he continued to nitpick Rupert’s words by pushing arguments that were difficult to refute, he would have no choice.

“His words are too emotional! The comics are too provocative and contain only interesting content, which is bad for the quality of Imperial literature… .”

“Enough! I’ve heard enough from both sides, I won’t listen anymore.”

However, it was the crown prince who mercilessly cut off Macbeth’s efforts.

‘Tch, how blatantly cutting me off.’

Macbeth was dissatisfied with the crown prince’s instructions, but he couldn’t express it, so he kept it to himself.

“Now that the judges have made their decision, I will announce the winner of this Agora.”

As Crown Prince Alex himself moved to the center stage of the stadium and spoke, a huge cheer began to ring out.

“The Crown Prince, the hero of the Empire!!!”

“It’s the Steel Prince!!! Look at that right arm!”

“The story of how you sacrificed your right arm for a mere soldier is so touching that I can’t stop listening to it!”

Alex’s popularity had already surpassed that of his father, the Emperor.

Every time his right arm, which was replaced by a new type of golem arm that could be considered his symbol, flashed in the sunlight, the people’s admiration and cheers grew louder.

A touching story of how he not only took the lead in eradicating the dark magic organization that was trying to bring down the empire, but also sacrificed his own right arm to save his soldiers.

It was still being sung throughout the Empire by numerous minstrels and troupes, and was a favorite tale among the people of the Empire.

As the cheers of the people continued, the crown prince barely managed to calm the audience and continue his presentation.

“The results of the discussion by 51 members of the Imperial Parents’ Association, including Rupert Somerset and Macbeth, who participated in this Agora… .”

The stadium became quiet as everyone focused on the voice of the crown prince announcing the results.

Finally, the Crown Prince’s lips opened again and the results were announced.

“I declare Rupert Somerset the winner of this Agora by a vote of 3 to 0!”

It was a complete victory for Rupert.

Macbeth’s expression became distorted, almost horrified, and he stared at the judges with his mouth open.

It was the Crown Prince, the Duke of Bluewell, and the Marquis Damien with leisurely expressions.

“Good fight, Count Macbeth.”

Rupert approached Macbeth, who was shaking his hands, and asked to shake his hand with a smile, recalling the events that had occurred before the Agora opened.

***

“Ada has lost a lot of weight since I last saw her.”

“Yes, Your Highness, this is not a joke. We were surprised that you lost weight overnight.”

“What? Overnight! Then, is there something wrong?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already called in a famous doctor and priest to diagnose you.”

Alex was finally relieved when the diagnosis said that he was in very good health.

But he felt a little regretful.

‘I didn’t know before, but Ada was cute even though she was chubby.’

Alex, who had visited the Somerset Countess’s house for the first time in a long time, picked up Ada and hugged her as he ran to her, calling her “uncle” as before.

Of course, I was surprised because the speed at which he was running was unexpectedly fast.

But that wasn’t the point.

Alex noticed that Ada’s weight, which he had lifted with one arm as before, had somehow become lighter, and soon realized that her plump body had disappeared.

Of course, she was still very cute, but Alex was a little sad that she wouldn’t be able to see her running around with her chubby body like before.

Alex, who was playing with Ada for a while, was unconsciously dumbfounded by Ada’s flexible body movements from time to time.

Alex was also a skilled sword user who learned swordsmanship as a basic skill as a member of the royal family.

He was capable of going anywhere and calling himself a knight, but it was embarrassing that he couldn’t keep up with Ada’s movements.

‘Mister, you have a new arm! Ada is sweet too!’

‘What? This shouldn’t happen.’

‘If Ada had four arms, she could definitely defeat the witch Own.’

Alex had a hard time stopping Ada, whose eyes sparkled at the sight of his golem’s number.

At first, I thought that he wanted to replace one of his arms with a golem hand like me, but it wasn’t that. Instead, Ada seemed to still be disappointed at the unimaginable idea of adding a golem hand to a healthy body.

“I came here not only to see Ada, but also to tell you some news.”

“Is it because of Agora?”

“Did you already know?”

Rupert nodded at Alex’s answer.

Rupert had already learned through Esteban that the Imperial Parents’ Association was planning to apply for Agora.

“It’s a headache, even for the royal family, Agora is not easily able to intervene.”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty.”

“If it doesn’t seem to work out, tell me. You are my Ada’s godfather, so you are like a little brother to me.”

Rupert was deeply moved by Alex’s words that if it seemed difficult, he would force himself to make Agora disappear.

‘If you do something like that, you probably don’t know that it will hinder your smooth path forward…’

Before meeting Alex in person, he was just perceived as a scoundrel from the original novel, but from the moment he met him until now, Rupert knew him to be a kind person who could not be described as a good person.

You could tell just by looking at the fact that his younger sister Ada liked him very much and followed him.

Ada’s eye for people is very accurate, so if she sees someone as a bad person, she never hugs them.

“The countermeasures have already been prepared. If you are worried, please do this, it will be of great help.”

“What should I do?”

Rupert carefully explained to Alex what he had already planned, and soon Alex was sharing a slightly sinister grin with Rupert.

***

A mansion located near the Imperial Palace, an area known as the yolk of the Imperial Capital.

A guest arrived early in the morning at the mansion of none other than Marquis Damien, one of the Seven Great Nobles.

Even if they were nobles, guests who weren’t originally scheduled would usually be kicked out, but for some reason, the Marquis gave the order to escort this guest to the reception room.

“Long time no see, Sangdangju.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty.”

“That’s because nothing good will come of you and me meeting, right?”

Marquis Damien spoke sharply while smiling, but Esteban, who was dealing with him, had expected something like this, so he just smiled and drank his tea.

“You must have been in a hurry to come here so early in the morning.”

“Isn’t there a saying that you should tell bad stories in the evening and good stories in the morning?”

“Was there such a story?”

“If you hear a bad story in the morning, you will be in a bad mood all day, but if you hear a good story in the morning, you will be in a good mood all day.”

“That makes sense.”

-Then, would you like to tell me a good story?

Marquis Max Damien was not simply a high-ranking nobleman called a marquis, and was not selected as one of the Seven Nobles.

The Damian family, originally a merchant family, pretended to completely cut off ties with commerce in order to save face as an aristocratic family.

They were still a family that controlled the upper echelons behind the scenes and had great influence on the Imperial world.

Of course, those who knew these facts had to be careful.

If you go around talking carelessly about such facts, you might disappear without anyone knowing because of the enraged writer.

“I have come to save His Majesty the Marquis.”

“Oh, you me? I think it’s the opposite.”

Marquis Damien laughs bitterly at Esteban’s words.

He already knew that Esteban had come to him because of the Agora’s holding.

It was clear that the opposing side, the Imperial Parents’ Association, would be pushing for him as an examiner, so he was probably trying to ask them to take his side.

Salvation? That was such an arrogant choice of word.

“I have a good chance to break the Yuren top blocking the way to the Vera top this time.”

“If you win.”

Esteban also knew that, and he also knew that the Imperial Parents’ Association, which outwardly had the support of the noble class, seemed to have the advantage.

-Winning and fighting is war.

Esteban recalled Rupert’s reaction when he heard the story of Agora.

As a young master, he knew the ways of the world very well.

‘That’s right. Only fools fight and then plan a strategy.’

Esteban deeply sympathized with Rupert’s words.

“I think His Majesty the Marquis is likely to appear as an examiner.”

“That’s not possible. I really want to participate.”

“But do you know who the remaining two seats are?”

“Well, I don’t know yet… No way?”

Esteban smiled and responded to the Marquis’s widened eyes and reaction.

“The Duke of Bluewell is attending. So, the votes will be split 1-1 except for the last one, who is already unknown.”

“… What do you want to say?”

“If it becomes a 1-on-1 battle, His Majesty the Marquis may not gain anything even if he tries hard to be a judge. However, if he takes our side, we can achieve a sure victory.”

“I don’t get anything out of taking your side, do I?”

The Marquis acknowledged that it was not as easy for the Imperial Parents’ Association to win as they had thought.

But there was no need to help Rupert, his rival, as he would suffer losses rather than gain benefits by helping them.

Rather, it is a position that should be opposed even more.

“I can give you a profit.”

“Then tell me, what can you do for me?”

“Do you know what animation was released recently?”

There was no way I didn’t know.

As Marquis Damien, who was controlling the upper ranks from behind the scenes, such information could not be missed.

However, even if I wanted to follow this, the technology was so complex and difficult that it took a long time and cost a lot of money, which was frustrating.

“If you help me this time, I will proceed with the animation business together with Vera Top.”

“Are you saying that together? Are you serious about that?”

The Marquis couldn’t help but be surprised.

In his view, this new culture called animation would shake up the entire empire like comic books do today.

But, I would share that with you.

“Isn’t this a pretty good deal?”

“Hahaha! It’s true that good stories should be heard in the morning! Hey, bring the wine I brought in last time!”

It was no secret that the Marquis, who had been chatting happily with Esteban over quality wine since morning, later welcomed a visit from a member of the Imperial Parents’ Association.

They also promised to act as judges for them and received a bribe.

And to the members of the Imperial Parents’ Association on the day of receiving the scholarship,

‘Have you found the other judge? I’ll recruit Marquis Laius.’

He was the one who received a generous amount of additional compensation.

When he said that the Marquis of Laius owed him something and that he would try to get him to stand as an examiner, the members were so touched that they did not hesitate to empty their pockets.

And he certainly stepped forward as a judge, just not saying he would take their side.

Marquis Max Damien. He was also a merchant at heart.