episode_0192

Of course, the Count did not sit still.

But, what if you don’t stay still?

Just as the county belongs to the earl and makes it virtually impossible for the royal family to move freely within it, the king also belongs to the royal family.

Because it is politically advantageous to bring nobles inside, they are usually just left to live freely within the royal capital. However, this does not diminish the royal family’s authority within the royal capital.

In order to carry out military activities or conduct research within the royal capital, permission from the royal family is of course required. And even if the royal family grants permission, the military that moves is a military unit directly under the royal family. Infringing on that ‘inherent authority’, on the contrary, is not permitted in one’s own territory or in other territories. It is no different from allowing the affiliated military to move.

“That is difficult, Count.”

After coming out of the palace, Amelia was facing the king and the count at the same time.

Amelia was not the one to inherit the estate, so under normal circumstances there would have been no need to come to this position.

However, no matter how far away one is from the center of the family’s power, or rather, because one is outside, one can become a ‘liaison’ in this royal capital.

It was the same for me. If Brother Harvey had been there like a few days ago, Brother Harvey might have been here instead of me. Usually, I can’t lead a personal ‘guard’ to a meeting with the king.

However, my brother has now returned to his territory.

The Delki family does not send people separately to the royal capital. If there is a need to send someone, it is usually with the Grattonmount family. Even between the two families and in the public perception, the Delki family is a vassal of the Grattonmount family. Because it was.

So, if you call the ‘Delki City representative’, of course an escort from the Gratton Mount contact will follow.

“If we were to search the mansion of a specific noble family at the Count’s request, what would happen to our position in the capital? Even if we are ordinary nobles, nobles are nobles. I don’t want to do that unless we come up with a clear suspicion.◦# ◦

“But, Your Majesty. The only person who could have done such a thing that night was Lady Delkisi over there. And right after that, Lady Kalins, who was my best friend, disappeared. Aren’t the circumstances suspicious? ”

“Don’t you know that Sir Carlins is in the North? If so, she must have gone there too.”

“Then without saying a word—”

“Your Majesty.”

At the same time that Count Hoover opened his mouth to refute, the servant called the king in a polite voice.

The King raised his finger as if to ask Count Hoover to wait a moment, then turned his head towards his servant.

The servant came near the king without making a sound and, still polite, handed him a document.

“Um.”

The King opened the document, read it carefully, and handed it over to Count Hoover.

“This is… … ?”

Count Hoover received the document and read it.

And my eyes got a little bigger.

“Did you see it? Part of the record of entering and exiting the royal capital that day. It is recorded that Lady Carlins went out together when she left Delki City.”

It was a record prepared by Amelia.

However, this does not mean that it was blatantly manipulated.

We actually went out of the capital like that. Of course, I, Amelia, and Adele went out together, and you went out separately.

“He’s a close friend, but I probably won’t see him for a long time, so I went out together to say goodbye. Since there were wolf friends in the forest, Adele also had to say goodbye.”

Amelia, who had been sitting quietly until then, opened the door.

“But wasn’t that why you were able to do something like that?”

“We also heard the testimony, Count Hoover.”

The King responded to Count Hoover’s words.

“The beast that the masked men rode was a monster that looked similar to a horse. It had a mouth on its neck.”

“… … Considering the testimony about its size, it must have been camouflaged as a wolf.”

“So, did you succeed in capturing at least one of those monsters alive?”

“… … .”

“The ‘camouflage’ did not fall, and the monster was not captured alive, so it is against fairness to suspect the daughter of another nobleman. Moreover, the testimonies are not all conflicting. The soldiers who guarded the earl’s territory at that time were all the same. I was scared. I am not so foolish as to believe the testimony of such people.”

The King sighed heavily.

“Of course, it is not that he does not understand the Lord’s feelings, but if there is one thing that is certain, it is that the Count failed to protect the Crown Prince’s would-be fiancée.”

“… … I lost my daughter.”

I almost laughed at those words, but I forced myself to hold back.

“But from a nobleman’s point of view, the daughter was also the crown prince’s fiancée. Because he could not protect the count, the crown prince’s image was damaged. The reason we do not hold him responsible is because he also lost his daughter. It’s because I acknowledge it.”

“… … .”

“In addition, if you want to search the Grand Duchy of Grattonmount or the Barony of Delkisi, wouldn’t it be right to ask the head of each family rather than me? Of course, the Earl has no contact with the Grand Duke, and the Barony is in full swing. It may be difficult to accept because we are protecting the country, but the royal family’s principle is to ‘always’ maintain neutrality.”

The county is located right next to the royal capital. Count Huber is a person that the king cannot ignore, as he is responsible for the production of numerous crops grown there and numerous goods related to the royal capital.

Count Hoover took advantage of it.

Although he did not put pressure on the royal family directly, he blocked the royal family’s mediation whenever friction arose between Earl Hoover and smaller aristocratic families.

And the justification given each time was ‘neutrality’.

Mechanical neutrality is neutral because it sounds good, but in reality, it is no different from taking the side of a strong family. If there is a difference in the size of the families, a small family cannot beat a large family.

And the same is true between the grand dukes and counts who produce gold.

However, there is no option for Count Hoover not to supply crops and goods to the royal capital. That is where Count Hoover’s power comes from.

He created a faction by subduing small families, and used that faction to pressure other families. He was the Earl of Hoover, who was growing in power, but this incident caused everything to become tangled up.

“… … .”

Count Hoover gritted his teeth and glared at us.

Well, but what can we do?

He himself has ruined other families like that, and now he seems angry that he is going to suffer the same thing.

“Lady Grattonmount, and Lady Delkish. If you have something to say, please do so.”

The King stared at Count Hoover not saying anything, then turned his head to us.

This meeting took place because of Count Hoover. It seems like he was trying to have a hearing or something like that by calling us in—

Well, as you can see.

“No, we were just embarrassed to even be here… … .”

Amelia acted as if she was truly embarrassed.

I didn’t say anything.

The King nodded.

“I will apologize on your behalf.”

“No, Your Majesty. Even if it is a little embarrassing, proving objective facts comes first in a situation like this. And, no parent can remain calm if they lose their child. I understand the Count.”

Wow.

I heard the sound of teeth grinding, but again neither of us responded.

The reason why the king appears like this is simple.

Originally, noble families had a relationship of eating and being eaten by each other. Of course, it would be better not to fight with someone who has no benefit from fighting—

Members of the royal family also knew that Hoover was trying to take control of the royal family somehow.

Of course, if we hadn’t moved, we would have tried to do something else, but that would have been a power struggle with Count Hoover. It would have taken a very long time.

Since there are people who take risks and handle such things all at once, they are trying to provide benefits in their own way.

Author Huberbach, who lost this fight, will slowly fall.

However, the family will not disappear, and with time, a foundation for a comeback may be found—

At least, it would be impossible in the ‘current’ Count Hoover’s medical school. Because all that bad image was the image of the later Count Hoover.

Unless Diane’s younger brother becomes a lord, Count Hoover’s wish will not be granted.

And it would be fatal for the Count who wanted to achieve it with his own hands. Count Huber just wanted to enjoy power for himself, not for his family.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll leave here.”

The King said that and stood up.

Although he was a king who uttered the words ‘absolute neutrality’—

For some reason, I didn’t know that the smile on his face would disappear.