Chapter12. Hide your dagger and smile. (5)
Next is Mikel Nord Concellare, who rules the northern Nord territory.
He was sitting in a similar position to Carlo. This meant that the power of the North and South were equal.
‘Carlo was the opponent who kept me in check the most.’
The Concellare family has protected the North from the harsh cold of the snowy mountains for generations.
Lord Mikel was not only outstanding in his inaction, but was also one of the first people whose name was added to the list of nobles.
In terms of the family’s history, it could not be compared to the Ardante family.
‘Well, you still can’t beat money.’
In the face of practicality, a cause cannot shake its power.
It was like that when we saw Carlo, who had risen rapidly as a new nobleman in the south, and now controlled the empire.
“Hmm….”
Emperor Theodore’s gaze darted like an arrow as he quickly compared and contrasted the name plate and the person in front of him.
“hmm?”
Then it stopped in front of me. After checking the nameplate ‘Obest Territory’ on the desk, he looked at my face.
“It’s a face I’ve never seen before.”
He scanned my face with curious eyes.
“Did Lord Diego send a representative again this time? He looks very young for a knight.”
After thinking for a moment, Emperor Theodore tilted his head.
“Now that it’s not enough to send an agent, have you sent a squire?”
The corner of his mouth twitched in discomfort.
“Is this the sincerity that the Kindreal family shows me?”
… … No, wait.
‘Is your eye sprained?’
Even after looking at this face, you don’t know who I am?
At this point, it was clear that the emperor was pretending not to know.
Fortunately, there was someone who could resolve this misunderstanding.
“No, Your Majesty.”
The aide spoke in a calm tone.
“Abel Ovest Kindreal, the eldest son of Lord Diego. He is present holding the Lord’s seal.”
“Hoooh.”
Emperor Theodore whistled lowly. A faint alertness and clear interest appeared on his face.
“What brings you here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I put on a polite smile and opened my mouth.
“My father has been very sad about not being able to participate in meetings in person.”
It was a shameless lie.
Abel’s father, Diego, is a man who considers going to noble meetings to be extremely inconvenient and useless.
‘Well, it wasn’t like that from the beginning.’
In the beginning, Diego would come out and visit the place where I am sitting now. But he was only strong when he held a sword, not a pen.
‘He’s a character who would win the world’s best old man competition.’
Authoritarian, lacking in verbal communication, and inflexible.
For Diego, the noble meeting was a very embarrassing situation. He was unable to adapt to the atmosphere in which the lords taunted him with cunning tongues and flattered him.
‘Especially because of that person, Carlo.’
After being bitten a few times, he became less talkative in meetings. It was natural to be pushed out of the emperor’s attention.
‘So, I guess I’ll be stuck in that rough area for a few years, chasing after monsters.’
Anyway, it doesn’t matter what Diego thinks or not. Because I’m not here anyway.
I naturally continued to lie.
“He was especially sorry that it had been a long time since he had seen His Majesty, and that he could not say hello to you in person.”
“Hoo, Diego?”
The corners of Emperor Theodore’s mouth slowly rose.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but feel good that Diego, like that guy, did that.
My plan to win the emperor’s favor was going smoothly.
“Yes. So, father….”
“A person so loyal never shows his face?”
Of course, there were saboteurs.
“It takes a few days to get from there to here. You’ve been sending agents for years, but what you’re saying is incoherent, isn’t it?”
It was Carlo, with a face full of ridicule.
“No problem. We don’t have meetings often.”
“Is it that difficult to attend meetings that happen once every few months?”
Other lords sitting behind him helped.
‘okay. Carlo, you are not a great person to keep quiet.’
I snorted inwardly.
It was retaliation for my challenge to his power earlier. There may also have been a purpose to prevent him from receiving the emperor’s attention.
‘What are grown adults doing in a childish way?’
What on earth is so important about sitting down late? It was really funny how they couldn’t bear it and tried to press it down.
“Oh, of course you might think so.”
I responded in a calm voice.
“But the western mountains are prone to monster invasions. Unlike the peaceful southern coast.”
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“…….”
“What would happen if a powerful monster invaded while my father was away?”
The moment Carlo twitched his lips to refute,
“The western mountains are a possibility. That’s where trolls flock in droves.”
Support came from an unexpected place.
“-!”
Carlo and I both looked to the side in surprise. Mikel was smiling with his eyebrows drooping.
“It’s a shame to talk about the ruggedness of the western mountains.”
“Well, that’s right.”
When even Emperor Theodore nodded, Carlo remained silent as if speechless.
The opportunity was now.
“Rather than jeopardize the well-being of the empire like that, my father chose to remain at the border with tears in his eyes.”
“…….”
“The choice to send a representative was inevitable. It was a decision made after a fierce conflict.”
The moment you speak in an earnest tone and bow your head,
“-under!”
A small clicking sound was heard. It was a sound so faint that only my enhanced hearing could pick it up.
Out of the corner of my eye, I looked in the direction the sound came from and saw Carlo flaring his nostrils like a bull.
‘I guess I really didn’t want to hear it.’
Well, for someone who knew Diego’s temperament, it was a shocking and upsetting story. How displeasing must it be for him to spit it out without even putting saliva on his tongue.
But the mood has already shifted towards me.
“So, please do not doubt Obest Territory’s loyalty to the empire, Your Majesty.”
“Hehe, I see.”
Emperor Theodore nodded slowly.
“It is in the same context that I have come this time. I, Abel Ovest Kindreal, bow my head deeply in apology for my disloyalty.”
I raised my head and pretended to be a loyal subject.
“I am also grateful for the great learning opportunity. I will humbly accept all teachings with an open attitude.”
As I spoke to those around me, the lords cleared their throats and slowly turned their heads.
“The young man is quite smart.”
“Hum hum, it should be like that. It’s not my first time here.”
When asked to take good care of the clumsy newcomer, everyone seemed satisfied, even though they pretended not to. The other person bends first and comes in, so you can’t just be stiff.
Except for one person, Carlo.
“I… I….”
He frowned as if he had a headache.
‘The real owner of the Mare Guild.’
It was clear that he knew about the rumors going around about me in the Obest territory. Plus the irreverent attitude he showed when they first met.
It must be shocking that I am acting while hiding my true colors.
‘What are you going to do anyway?’
I grinned at him. On the surface, it was just a smile, but Carlo would have clearly read the meaning behind it.
“……!”
Carlo’s forehead crumpled mercilessly.
Oh my.
I shook my head and tapped my forehead.
‘Then wrinkles appear.’
In the sense that.
Crack.
Carlo clenched his fist, and bright blue tendons were seen sprouting from it.
‘Shall we stop here?’
I finished, suppressing the laughter that threatened to burst out.
“Thank you all for your consideration. I will participate with all my heart on behalf of the Kindreal family in this meeting.”
At first glance, it seemed like he was going to do as Diego wanted, but his intentions were completely different.
‘Do you think I’m crazy, Diego, and do what that old man tells you?’
In Jonas’s arms, there was not only a seal but also a piece of paper on which he had written how to respond to the meeting agenda. Of course, the paper had been torn into pieces and thrown into the river a long time ago.
There was no one who could stop me now.
No matter how quickly Diego noticed my absence, there was an absolute physical distance between him and me. He is not a great person who will come directly to catch me.
“Heh heh. Yes, yes.”
Emperor Theodore had a smile on his face.
“I heard that my Diego has a grown son, but it’s great to see him in person.”
“I am devastated, Your Majesty.”
As I bowed my head politely, the Emperor’s smile deepened.
“The face is identical to that of the father, but the personality seems very different.”
He suddenly lost his wariness and took on a more friendly attitude.
‘Because he is more sensitive to power than anyone else in this world.’
It was thanks to me being polite and pleasing them. Well, when would he have been treated like this by the Kindreal family?
Meanwhile, all the knights who came as agents of the lord resembled the lord and were as stiff as bamboo.
I wonder if it feels good that the Kindreal family treats me, their son, Diego, like a tongue in their mouth.
‘This is called taking one step back to take three steps forward.’
But it would have been difficult to mistake my current attitude for loyalty. Actually, the emperor wasn’t even on my mind.
‘For now, just leave it alone since it won’t disturb me.’
If I wanted to, I could turn this empire over. It’s just that I’m not ready yet and I just don’t feel the need to do so.
Contrary to the snake-like thoughts I had inside, I simply answered innocently.
“Thank you for saying that.”
I glanced around out of the corner of my eye.
As expected, the reaction of the surrounding great lords was unusual.
They looked wary, wondering if I was trying to collude with the emperor or build a new power.
“Okay, then Saddam ends here.”
Emperor Theodore clapped his hands twice.
“Let’s just start the meeting.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The aide, who was extremely bent, nodded.
“Secretary.”
“I’m ready.”
When all preparations were completed, the servants who stood like stone statues on the wall of the conference hall began to move.
One by one, they took out documents piled like a tower on the table and laid them down in front of the lords.
“This is today’s agenda.”
The aide spoke loudly.
“Then let’s start with the first item. It has to do with the grain sales commission.”
The long-awaited regular noble meeting began.
fantasy,
