episode_0193

“Am I still shaking?”

“You don’t seem to be nervous in front of the devil, but I guess you were secretly scared?”

“It’s not that, it’s the craftsman of the future… … .”

“Hey. It’s still inside the imperial palace.”

Ray pinched me, telling me to be more careful. The court ladies, seeing us like this, burst into small laughter. A gentle saint and a strong-looking warrior. I, Ceres, do not serve the goddess of death, but we worship different goddesses. However, it must be funny because they don’t hesitate to treat each other as if they are very close friends. What kind of expression would they make if they let them watch sex here?

“You thought something strange.”

“No.”

“Ha. Anyway, I got over the hurdle well.”

Ray sipped the drink the maid brought him and moistened his dry lips. And soon the owner of this room enters.

“You came right away and were waiting for me.”

Asabel Silve came in looking tired. We got out quickly before the nobles bothered us. Instead, Asabel would have been baptized with questions about me.

“Ha… … .”

“There was a little resistance, but I am glad that the conversation with His Majesty went well.”

“Count Dran. More than that, when did you become that kind of relationship with my younger brother?”

More than that? Asabel seems to be more concerned about the relationship between me and Lucia.

“When I first came to the imperial palace to see Her Royal Highness, I took a wrong turn and ended up meeting Lucia.”

“That… … So you fell in love with each other at first sight?”

“Sparks seemed to fly as soon as we saw each other.”

Meanwhile, Ray looks at me with suspicion. Did you notice that even this is old?

“In the first place, the Count probably wouldn’t have come that often. Isn’t it too close to fall in love at first sight? If anyone saw it, I thought they were lovers who had been together for more than a few years.”

“Did it look like that?”

“I can’t even believe Lucia looks like that. Originally, she didn’t seem to be interested in men, and as a princess, she was supposed to be concerned about the eyes of those around her, but she was immediately hugged as if no one could see her.”

but. When I met Lucia before her audience with the emperor, she seemed to have no intention of hiding anything. I had no regrets about hugging him and showing genuine concern for me. Of course, it may seem absurd to Asabel.

“Surely we haven’t already made a promise for the future?”

“If possible, I would like to get married.”

I said it honestly. It was funny to say this in front of Lucia’s older sister and not the emperor, but it was not something to hide since she was a warrior. Just being a hero made me worthy of that.

“You. … … Haha no.”

“I know what you’re worried about. Her Royal Highness raised me, but suddenly my younger brother and I fell in love… … Aren’t you thinking that I might forget the favor and leave?”

“Well, that’s… … .”

It was a pretty sensitive story. Maybe if I were just a count and not a hero… … Asabel might have criticized me more harshly. He pushed me so hard that he made me a count, but he must have felt a sense of crisis that he could be taken away by Lucia.

“It’s because people don’t say it out loud, but aren’t they aiming to become the next emperor? You have already been recognized by His Majesty.”

Asabel has the greatest power among the imperial powers other than the emperor. But if I suddenly supported Lucia, things would be very different. Of course, that alone will not make Lucia the next emperor, but it is true that Asabel’s position is shaken.

“More than Lucia, Her Royal Highness Princess Asabel has more ruler-like abilities. Don’t you listen to me without ignoring my status and do a lot of hard work for the empire?”

“That… … Rae?”

“I love Lucia as both a man and a woman. However, I will lend my strength to Her Majesty the Princess.”

Lucia doesn’t even want an emperor anyway. What Luciana and I wanted was to achieve marital happiness in a peaceful world.

“Even if you don’t trust me, there’s nothing you can do anyway, right?”

“Count. You’ve become a bit cocky.”

“As long as you do not lose your qualifications as a monarch, I will follow what Her Highness, the former princess, does.”

In other words, if you do well, they will push you. But on the other hand, it meant that if I lost this intelligence, I might turn my back on him.

In fact, Asabel was lucky. If it weren’t for me, he would have died without being able to fully utilize his talent. Although the empire’s power increased, it was unable to use its powerful soldiers in war.

And after the emperor died, I thought about becoming empress… … He died by assassination by someone. So the empire fell into further chaos, and its military power inevitably weakened.

However, this time I will support you. Even if a war breaks out, with Asabel’s abilities, a very strong imperial army will be active.

“I will give my love to Lucia and my loyalty to me… … What do you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Yes. for now… … I believe it.”

“Is there anything else you’d like to hear?”

“No.”

Asabel showed a slightly bitter smile. Is it because there has been a change in the superior-subordinate relationship? Still, now that I have become a warrior, I am no longer a Jjambap who blindly follows the princess’s wishes. Now I can express my opinion even more… … .

“Ha.”

“Ray, why are you sighing?”

“It’s nothing.”

Ray also had a somewhat suspicious reaction.

“… … Anyway, now I’ll talk about work.”

Asabel brought up the topic he had originally intended to discuss. Actually, the reason I came to visit the princess was because I wanted to know what the situation was like these days. While I was away for two weeks, I was curious about what kind of conversations were taking place with the Elven Kingdom or the Harv Kingdom.

“First of all, you know that a big incident has occurred in the Elven Kingdom these days, right?”

“Yes.”

“It looks like the demons are really polluting the area around the elf kingdom. The empire sent someone to find out, and there are strong demons stationed on the Demon King’s side as well?”

Would you like to be at the level of the Four Heavenly Kings? Or maybe he’s a direct subordinate of the Demon King.

“Your Majesty may not have told you because there is no time for that today, but I told you earlier that I think you, Count, can solve the elf’s request. So I’m planning to send the Count. You said you were confident.”

“Yes.”

“If Count Dran does another thing, the Empire will reward him again, and the elves will sign a treaty as promised.”

“And… … Next is the Kingdom of Habu.”

Asabel’s expression changed to a much more uncomfortable expression than before. Compared to the Principality of Lancelot or the Elf Kingdom, the Harve Kingdom is quite annoying. The elf promised to listen to me as long as I solved the case, and the Principality of Lancelot must be a country included in the empire… … The Harb Kingdom was a country that had friction with the empire decades ago. Although it has been quiet recently, there was still a strong perception that they were enemies. So there was no reason to easily conclude a treaty. Even if the Demon King’s army invades, each person will try to fight on their own.

“Sermi Harma, queen of the Kingdom of Hav. And her daughter, Princess Eddie, those two are the problem.”

What is Eddie?

Know.

Before returning, even during the war, I acted like an asshole in many ways, so I lost the war I was supposed to win.

“Did you make an absurd request?”

“First of all, we only exchanged words, but the request is for materials equivalent to a year’s budget of the empire.”

“Yes?”

That’s asking a lot.

“Is this the end? They also asked for absurd things that were impossible to grant.”

Asabel handed me a piece of parchment. I carefully read the things sent from the Kingdom of Harve. It was roughly like this. Since the kingdom was very poor and there was a shortage of soldiers, it was a request to give money, materials, and technology to increase strength. To be honest, the intention was to strengthen the national power and weaken the empire rather than go to war with the Demon King’s army. This was a condition that went beyond the level of blade robbery.

“So, we will have a meeting soon as scheduled. I should go and ask them what they were thinking when they came up with these ridiculous demands.”

I don’t think there will be much benefit to the empire even if there is a meeting.

“Ha. Honestly, it’s obvious. By reducing this demand little by little, they will eventually try to conclude a treaty that is unfavorable to the empire.”

“Oh.”

As expected of a princess, she was smart. It was true even when I heard it. They ask for the impossible from the start, and then lower the requirements slightly as if they are being generous. The intention was to benefit from the empire. Otherwise, it’s clear that it’s something like this.

“When was the meeting scheduled?”

“3 days later. We plan to meet at the border between the Empire and the Kingdom of Hav.”

Maybe that princess will come there in person? And will I ever be able to meet Natasha? Although he was of royal blood, he was an aristocrat if he had to be classified. Since the nobles there were weak, there was no guarantee that they would come together for the meeting.

“Didn’t you say last time that you would have the elves and people from the kingdom gather at the same time?”

“Yes. First of all, the elves will come too. But the main one is a kingdom… … .”

“Is Her Majesty the Princess going in person?”

“Of course. A princess named Eddy will come to the kingdom. I have to go out.”

“Then can I join you?”

“… … okay. That would be nice.”

It was a chance to see both the elves and the kingdom representatives. The three major forces are gathering in one place, and I can’t be left out.