episode_0123

Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was in full swing.

It was said that the sparkling liquor was served to quench thirst, but after drinking more than three or four glasses, I became moderately intoxicated, and as time passed, the rumbling grew loud enough to drown out the sound of the music.

In such an untidy space, Hugo was dealing with people approaching him to make friends.

“Long time no see. Sir Hugo.”

A man dressed in ivory robes greeted me with an elegant gesture. He prefaced his greeting by saying it had been a while, but unfortunately, his face was not in Hugo’s memory.

“Nice to meet you…”

However, there was a possibility that he might have forgotten his face, so Hugo replied with a trail of silence.

Hugo did not have a superhuman memory, and had an ordinary memory that easily forgot ‘unimportant’ characters.

Normally, Eldrina, who dominated the social world, would have appropriately interacted with her and led the conversation, but for some reason, Eldrina gave up her place to her daughter, Siriel.

Eldrina’s absence.

But that didn’t cause any real difficulties.

‘This is Viscount Fosse. Duke Ermenst’s second brother-in-law.’

Just before I faced a difficult situation, I heard a tip from my daughter.

It’s much more comfortable from now on.

“Viscount Fosse. We all meet in places like this.”

“Did you remember?”

Was it because his name was called? The expression of Viscount Fosse, the man in ivory robes, brightened noticeably.

“I heard that this expedition was completed safely. It is truly a reduction.”

“…I should have been glad that it ended at this level.”

Without stopping the conversation, Hugo glanced around. Even though I had dealt with quite a few people, there were still many people looking for an opportunity to chat.

‘Why on earth do I have so many people coming to visit me?’

Hugo felt mildly dizzy.

‘As expected, this position is not suitable for me.’

A thought I’ve had all along. It was becoming clearer by the day.

artificial lighting. Awful perfume smell. A lot of people. Loud conversation.

-……I was thinking about beating up the dog.

‘…what?’

In an instant, my developed hearing caught the swearing sound. But Hugo couldn’t afford to worry about that.

In places where alcohol was present, it was common for people to grab their head due to drunkenness, and Hugo’s mental strength was already at its limit just from dealing with the man in front of him.

“Now that I think about it, there was an interesting rumor…”

Likewise, Viscount Fosse also paid little attention to the commotion he had just noticed. Hugo erased the existence of the distant commotion from his mind.

“I heard that Sir Hugo’s son is also a student at the academy. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“They say there has been a lot of trouble at the Academy recently. Have you ever heard of it?”

“…What do you mean?”

Hugo, conscious of his daughter sitting behind him, answered with a question.

“There is a rumor that the daughter of the Strasser family and the son of General Voss suffered a broken nose after being beaten by a classmate.”

‘yawnful story.’

I thought so, but Hugo didn’t show it.

“…If the rumors are true, it’s a shame.”

I just want to respond appropriately and end the conversation.

“Yes. But fortunately, they called a therapist quickly and treated the patient without any scars.”

But perhaps he was oblivious, or perhaps he had the temperament of a pompous man, he began to get excited by the story.

“Here’s another interesting news: Count Schreyer’s second son and Margrave Karr’s grandson broke their limbs in sparring class?”

“…Hmm?”

Hugo’s head tilted.

Why is it interesting news that a nobleman’s son’s limbs are broken? At the words that left me with no choice but to harbor doubts, my eyes narrowed as I looked at the man.

‘Does this person have a mental problem?’

Viscount Fosse’s eyes widened as if he understood Hugo’s intentions.

“Did you find the story boring?”

“…Not really.”

“Then?”

“You know… Isn’t breaking limbs a common occurrence? Since it was a sparring match, I didn’t feel anything special about it.”

“Ah! In that case, I think my explanation was insufficient.”

Viscount Fosse took a step closer to Hugo.

“This is also a story I heard from my brother-in-law, and they say that all of the young people I talked to were assaulted by one student. Broken limbs, broken nose. Oh my, it wouldn’t have been a mess.”

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes. From what I heard, the number of young people that that student knocked down is easily over double digits.”

“So, are you saying that others didn’t take any action until that happened? I think someone must have called for measures.”

“Interestingly, no one has done it.”

Hugo was not interested in the story, but responded by nodding appropriately.

Perhaps because the response was positive, a faint smile began to appear on Viscount Fosse’s face.

“What? Isn’t it common to break limbs? Moreover, since it was a conflict between children, it must have been funny for adults to come forward and criticize it.”

“…I see.”

“Ah! Then I will excuse myself. I was hogging too much time.”

Viscount Fosse walks away with his back turned. The way he just said what he wanted to say and then disappeared gave the impression that he was a very difficult person to deal with.

The empty space of the person who left was immediately taken by someone else. This time it was a man wearing thick glasses, and this also had a face that Hugo did not remember.

“Sir Hugo. Talking directly like this…”

“Father.”

Just as he was about to greet Hugo with a bright smile. I heard my daughter calling from behind.

“A moment. Excuse me.”

Hugo, who spoke as if giving notice, turned his body back. There, Siriel, with a bad complexion, was holding her forehead.

“…Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“Can I go out to get some air for a moment? I felt a little dizzy after standing for a long time.”

“And so on.”

Hugo turned his head slightly and made eye contact with his glasses.

“I’m sorry, but can we postpone it until next time?”

“Yes, yes. Welcome back.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Hugo nodded, supported Siriel, and left the banquet hall.

*

A banquet held in the imperial castle, Night of the Long Sword.

Although quite a few people gathered, it was a place where only selected VIPs could visit, so no part of what happened there was leaked out.

The fact that Prien’s legitimate son insulted the first prince, Austin, to his face was not leaked out.

That would be a good idea, Austin thought.

“It would be better if what happened yesterday did not spread to the public.”

A hotel in Lien, a room reserved anonymously.

Austin, who was sitting on a red leather sofa, spoke to the man facing him as if making a suggestion.

The man spoke while stroking his bushy beard, which suited the rhetoric of being dirty.

“What if you say it happened yesterday?”

“I… was insulted by something whose roots were uncertain. Could it be that you didn’t see it? From what I remember, you also attended the banquet.”

“I couldn’t see it in person, but I heard about it from Count Elgar.”

“…Thank goodness.”

Austin deliberately looked relieved. It had to be that way.

“My blood pressure isn’t very good these days. It’s better for as few people as possible to remember something embarrassing.”

“You are right.”

The man in front of me was not a man of the Empire before he was a man of Austin, so it was better for him to be perceived as a man who prioritized respect above all else.

‘It’s extremely troublesome.’

Even so, Austin couldn’t just lie to the man in front of him.

It is false to say that the man is happy because he cannot see what happened yesterday, but it is true that his blood pressure is abnormally high these days.

Austin had to mix up the truth and convey it to the man.

Count Volland was a man from the Principality of Adjani who came with news of his younger brother, who had been dethroned from his position as a member of the royal family five years ago.

He introduced himself as a shaman from beyond the desert, but in a separate letter from Henry, he said he was a famous monk from the Principality of Adjani. Yet, the fact that he still holds a title is ridiculous.

however,

Although Count Boland was not trustworthy, he was the most capable of Austin’s cards.

There was nothing different about being capable.

If you make a wish to someone, it usually comes true.

He said he did not want to be abandoned like his younger brother.

He said he didn’t want to die.

He said he couldn’t die like this.

Lastly, he said that he wanted to become emperor.

Austin had no choice but to hire Count Boland, even though he knew it was suspicious.

However,

I guess it’s inevitable to feel unknown, suspicious, tired to deal with, and dizzy.

Austin, who was rubbing his heavy eyelids as if they were made of lead, wanted to end the story quickly.

‘If I don’t finish the story quickly…’

“Deterioration.”

At the moment when I felt like my heart was going to stop, a wrinkled hand squeezed Austin’s hand.

“I have one thing to ask you.”

“What do you mean?”

Is it because my hands are held tightly? Austin felt his eyelids becoming lighter.

The feeling that was as heavy as lead has gone somewhere,

I felt like my mind became clearer, and my mind also felt at ease. When Austin held Bolland’s hand, he felt as if he had escaped his damned body and was walking on clouds.

Very naturally, without any discomfort.

Austin’s consciousness focused on him.

“Looking at your condition, if this continues, you will die before the emperor. I think it would be better to gradually adjust the strength of the tool.”

“…is it that much?”

Austin frowned and handed over his cane.

A cane given to Count Volland after he wished to become emperor. From what I’ve heard, it is a tool that uses the user’s life force as a sacrifice to destroy the lives of others.

Kagak-

Boland twisted the handle of his staff and separated it from the pole.

“Not only does your blood pressure drop, but your complexion is also abnormal, so we will adjust the amount. Um… I’ll just take three pinches.”

Boland tilted his white body and moved his hands as if taking something out.

-Tsk tsk tsk tsk

The sound of something falling on the table.

But Austin couldn’t see it.

‘It’s beyond creepy. I can recognize it as being in front of my eyes, but I can’t see it…’

The shaman’s touch in front of him only seemed to make it easier to lie by playing his hand in the air.