episode_0192

Thanks to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor who held a surprise trolling event even though it wasn’t his birthday, the venue became a scene of chaos.

Ordinarily, it wouldn’t fall into chaos even if one was flustered, but the problem was that the Emperor’s left arm was on the list.

It’s rare for nobles to happily accept talk of adding something more to a family that already enjoys influence comparable to a Duke.

Because power is not infinite, and it’s a zero-sum game where if someone takes a lot, someone else gets little.

“Haa…”

In that complex and subtle atmosphere, my father, after twitching his eyes for about 3 seconds, let out a deep sigh, covered his face with a bored expression, and moved his steps towards the dais where His Majesty was standing.

“Father.”

“You are not yet Count Hume, so you don’t need to come up.”

“Yes…”

And he maintained his composure, sending back my older brother, who had regained his senses a little later than my father and was hurriedly following behind.

“Wow…”

Admiration flowed out naturally.

If it were anyone else, being suddenly called by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and receiving countless attention from the nobles, I think I would have just stood there for 5 minutes, staring blankly at the sky.

He organized his emotions and took action in just a few seconds.

He didn’t just endure as the left arm for nearly 20 years for nothing.

“Hmm…”

Feeling relieved that I had survived, and staring blankly at my father’s back, I noticed that all ten nobles had already ascended the dais and were lined up neatly to the left and right of His Majesty.

His Majesty, who scrutinized each of these nobles, let out a snort and a chuckle.

“Surprisingly, no one was missing, a real shame.”

“……”

Having gathered their wits and come up due to the sudden summons, the nobles on the dais let out awkward laughs at the situation where the culprit of the incident showed disappointment that no one who was called was missing.

It must be agony because, of all people, it is the Emperor who is doing this, so they can’t laugh loudly, nor can they express displeasure.

“─”

My father saying something on behalf of the other nobles who had frozen stiff caught my eye, but I couldn’t hear it well, perhaps because of the distance from the microphone.

However, seeing His Majesty’s calm expression, it was clear that he had offered very standard words of humility.

“Yes, they are loyal subjects always ready to assist Us, so they were able to appear so promptly, truly they are blessings to the Empire.”

Therefore, His Imperial Majesty the Emperor also appropriately praised the nobles and received the sword handed to him by the Chief Chamberlain who had approached his side.

“I shall bestow rewards in the order they were called, so Count Suffolk, come forward before Us.”

The moment His Majesty raised the sword, the time for bestowal of rewards began immediately.

Count Suffolk, who was called first, slowly walked forward, knelt before His Majesty, and bowed his head.

“Count Suffolk has…”

After that, a somewhat tedious explanation of achievements and rewards followed.

Frankly, I wasn’t very curious about who did what well, and the rewards were merely the addition of a title of Baron or Viscount, so most listened indifferently and clapped appropriately when they received the reward and stood up.

Everyone knew that the main event was the moment our father received his reward anyway.

“Good, finally, Count Hume, come forward.”

When it was my father’s turn, the main dish, the actions of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and the chamberlains changed.

First, unlike the previous people who were handed an seal and emblem by one chamberlain, when it was my father’s turn, two chamberlains came out carrying the items to be given to my father.

His Imperial Majesty the Emperor also wore a smile on his face and looked at my father.

“Count Hume’s achievements include fulfilling his duty as the spear and shield of the Empire generation after generation for the stabilization of the Northern Plains, bringing infinite development in the realm of magic as a magician, and being a loyal subject who did not spare loyal advice to steadfastly support the Crown Princess and ensure that proper laws were upheld even at the moment when We were momentarily lost in delusion and made incorrect judgments.”

“Ohh…”

The gold-plating was intense from the start.

It was terrifying to think what he was trying to throw at us by packaging something that was not genuine but merely for show as life-threatening loyal advice and hyping it up.

“For a loyal subject who sacrifices himself day and night for the Empire, We bestow upon Count Hume the eastern territory of the Pontus region and the Countship of Pontic.”

Pontus?

The southeastern part of the Northern Plains, a grassland difficult for farming even though it has a large lake, because it doesn’t rain much.

It was a distant land from our father’s territory, beyond one barony and reaching the territories of two nomadic tribes.

Roughly a 3-day straight distance.

Considering that the horses here can cover the distance without rest by doping with techniques like magic or divine power, it’s a considerable distance.

A reward that doesn’t hold much significance compared to the intense gold-plating.

Therefore, everyone waited anxiously for His Majesty’s words that would follow.

“Furthermore, Count Hume shall hold the duty of managing the areas around the plains and frozen lands, and for this, he shall be promoted to Marquess and be granted special authority to sufficiently fulfill his duties.”

Management of the plains.

One might think it was something my father had been doing all along, but until now, superficially, it was His Imperial Majesty the Emperor who directly bestowed titles upon the nomads and communicated with them.

What our father did was merely to understand the nomads’ movements and keep them in check.

Of course, due to the distance, my father was quite directly involved, but now he explicitly stated he would grant my father full authority.

Like Count Tigris, the head of the Beastfolk, confirming my father as the head of the nomads carries extraordinary weight.

Because he would have the right to mobilize the nomads in case of emergency.

Considering military strength alone, it would be fitting to call him the Grand Duke of the North.

“─!”

The nobles became noisy at the news that wings, in the form of nomads, were being attached to my father, who already possessed strong military authority limited to the North.

Especially the faces of the Northern nobles, who had suffered quite a few burglaries by the nomads in the past, were worth seeing.

It would be fine if our family’s relationship with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor remained smooth forever, but if things went slightly wrong, a dangerous element could arise where nomadic archers, along with mounted magicians, could race towards the Imperial Capital.

And when such a thing happens, the place that gets raided first is naturally the North.

In this situation, the person with the worst expression was none other than my father.

“……”

My father failed to maintain his expression even in front of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, his face contorting as he deeply bowed his head.

He had planned to pass on his title to my older brother in a year, or rather, just one quarter, and then live leisurely with my mother, watching their grandchildren’s faces.

I heard he even bought villas so they could travel anywhere in the empire, east, west, south, or north, at any time, but it seems he’ll have to sell them all again.

On top of that, he’ll have to roll around on the plains for several years, so it must naturally be terrible for him.

“Count Hume, raise your head and receive the seal and emblem We bestow!”

But His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, who did not know the heart of a man who only awaited a comfortable retirement, tapped my father’s shoulder with his sword, pushed the seal and emblem forward, and urged him to take them quickly.

“─!”

My father, who received the seal and emblem with trembling hands, bowed his head and shouted his thanks loudly.

His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, who looked on with satisfaction, signaled that he could now step back and turned towards us, who were looking up at His Majesty from below the dais.

“If another noble who devotes loyalty to the Empire and to Us appears in the future, We can bestow rewards such as today’s at any time, so you shall always keep in mind not to forget your loyalty to the Empire and to Us! That is all.”

His Majesty, who explicitly mentioned that there could be more pocketing in the future, subtly lowered the microphone, waved his hand dismissively as if the tedious speech was over, and turned his body.

“Long live His Imperial Majesty the Emperor! Long live the Great Plantagenet Empire!”

With the nobles’ thunderous cheers, the coronation ceremony concludes.

All that remains now is the banquet held inside the Imperial Palace.

Since His Imperial Majesty the Emperor had sowed a very large problem, it was clear that a path of hardship had opened up for my father and older brother.

_

“Your Majesty… If you were going to pull off such a big thing, please give us some notice beforehand, shouldn’t we also prepare?”

Immediately after the speech ended, Marquess Hume, who did not head for the banquet hall but instead followed Us closely, leaned in with a face steeped in fatigue and audaciously complained to the Emperor.

“Ha, prepare?”

Not giving notice on the grounds of it being a surprise gift could be called Our fault, but the request for notice to prepare only brought laughter.

“It was merely Us officially recognizing what you were already doing and transferring some authorities, nothing much has changed except that you’ve gained some land full of grass, hasn’t it?”

Right, We merely clarified what he was originally doing and slightly changed the name, why is he so sensitive…

“It is a matter where the official hierarchy changes, shouldn’t I at least coordinate with Count Alp of the plains? At least I’ve been speaking with him on equal footing, but suddenly I’ve become his superior, haven’t I?”

“What do you mean, you were already treating him informally? And how can I coordinate with a fellow who is holed up on the plains and difficult to see even once?”

“That’s why you should tell me in advance…”

“Tsk tsk…”

We clicked Our tongue, looking displeased at Marquess Hume, who kept talking back point by point until the end.

Despite Our own family putting in such special effort for the sake of his family-in-law, he’s making such a fuss.

Ah, perhaps he’s like this because the gift was too small?

If so, for the sake of Our pride, We cannot stand still.

“Well… if the Marquess dislikes it, We can retract it.”

We showed a yielding attitude, pretending to surrender with a faint smile.

“Really?”

Then Marquess Hume’s face brightened up radiantly.

After watching that face for a moment, We shrugged Our shoulders and added.

“Instead, there might be a possibility of filling the vacant positions of Duke or Marquess that became empty due to the events of 21 years ago with you, would that be alright?”

“……”

Marquess Hume, touched by the gift of Duke or Marquess, could not speak and squeezed his eyes shut.

“I will be satisfied with Marquess…”

“Hmm, how modest.”

But when offered a large gift, he seemed burdened, declined, and chose the initial one.

He was going to accept it anyway, so why play hard to get…

Baron Howard is also like this, the father and son are bothering Us in pairs.

Hmm… Baron Howard needs to be promoted a step soon as well, but just one job related to the plains is a bit unstable…

“Marquess, We wish to promote Baron Howard soon, so give the Baron a suitable task.”

“A task, Your Majesty? However, those who wear uniforms are only in the army, other than…”

“That is a matter for you and the other ministers to ponder upon now, We intend to definitely promote him to Viscount this May, so somehow create a justification.”

“I will endeavor to do so…”

“Mm.”

Having laid down one insurance policy in case of the unexpected, he will definitely be able to be promoted around Elizabeth’s birthday.

“Ha-”

Truly, where is there a maiden family that looks out for their daughter-in-law’s family like this?

Did Marquess Hume and Baron Howard save a country in their past lives?

They are truly a blessed family.

They themselves don’t seem to know it well, but I, with My generous heart, must understand.