Chapter . 133
Except for the dead duke, the people who had been on Mount Petrafis kept their mouths shut about what happened there. The people of Montova Castle who had heard the duke’s words did too.
‘No matter how much brothers kill each other in a succession war, they do not dirty their own hands directly.’
My brother had not actually killed his half-brother, but it would not do him any good if word spread that he had.
The Empress Faction had kept their mouths shut even before their downfall because it was humiliating.
I also made my people keep their mouths shut. As for my brother’s misdeeds, it was better to spread them when my fight with him truly began in earnest.
However, it was impossible to silence everyone who had been there. Talk that Desmond had nearly died circulated openly amid sneers.
They said it was no wonder the Empress Faction had fallen, since they had endangered the life of a candidate for the throne. Only Maximilian’s na was neatly left out.
‘Even Alexander, who saved his younger brother, kept his mouth shut instead of showing it off.’
So to the point that people even started saying Alexander had been the one to put Desmond’s life in danger. My brother and even Grimiati were suspected less.
The reasonable guess was that my brother, who was popular among knights, could simply have others do it; there was no way he would personally stain his na by putting his own hands in his brother’s blood. And in truth, my brother had not intended it.
Grimiati also slipped out of suspicion, since people said he was usually kind to Desmond. Desmond would find that unfair, but still.
‘Desmond is trying to cover it up as if nothing happened.’
Whether he had intended it or not, he would go to the coming-of-age birthday banquet of the half-brother who had put a blade to his neck if that was what it took.
“So in the end, you are saying you will not do what Your Highness did in the past, but you will imitate the Leontes of the present, aren’t you?”
But whatever Desmond’s circumstances were, my people did not hold back. When Rolf pointed it out calmly, Michelon openly laughed.
“Prince Desmond does not need to pretend to be weak. You already are weak.”
Desmond ground his teeth.
Among my people, he hated Michelon and Rolf the most, because I had entrusted them with the dead duke’s territories and made them acting lords.
He hated Michelon even more. When Desmond’s acting castellan had hurried to the Imperial Palace in an ergency, he cursed behind my back and then received a duel challenge from Michelon.
He ran away, claiming he had suddenly fallen ill and would postpone the duel. Since that was a severe blow to one’s dignity, he never appeared again.
“…Isn’t a younger brother’s resolve to learn not only from his brother’s good sides, but also his bad sides, truly admirable?”
Even while baring his teeth, Desmond forced a smile.
“I don’t know about admirable. Unlike , your ability to judge situations is lacking.”
“What did you say?”
“Even the fact that you asked that again, thinking I would answer you point by point, shows a lack of judgnt. Think for yourself. That is what I did. If you want to emulate , emulate that.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Kekeke!”
Michelon and Jero laughed, and Rolf smiled politely as he patted the shoulder of the knight escorting Desmond in a consoling manner. The knight reddened, seemingly grateful.
Yolande made another hole in Desmond’s cloak. She should just laugh; was she planning to turn it into sh at this rate?
While Desmond only grew redder and could not continue, we arrived.
“Your Highness Prince Leontes, welco.”
Reinhard ca out to greet us before we even stepped through the doorway. Welcoming people was not even his duty, so he must have been watching my approach with magic.
“Count Petrafis, Baron Graf, Baron Lagardie, Chief Mage Yolande, Deputy Chief Mage Vincent.”
After bowing to , Reinhard greeted each of my attendants one by one and shook their hands. Ever since they rose in status, he stared straight into their eyes and squeezed their hands hard when he shook them.
There were no lances or horses between them, but it was exactly the sa as greeting an opponent before a joust. He did not shake hands with the two mages, but he still stared into their eyes all the sa.
-Whenever Sir Reinhard does that, the tip of the staff I keep tucked inside my clothes tingles. Soday, please let land the first strike before Lord Michelon or Lord Rolf, Your Highness. You will, right?
-Reinhard, whoever hits first wins! Don’t mark him in advance like a coward!
-Michelon is right. You shouldn’t be dividing things into yours and mine in front of an enemy.
-I feel like Lady Yolande is ignoring . If I turn into a wolf, I can attack him too.
-Ah, I’m sorry, Lord Jero, hoho.
Reinhard was especially popular among my attendants. Whether he knew or not.
“Your Highness Prince Desmond, welco.”
Only then did he turn his head to Desmond. But he ignored Desmond’s attendants without greeting them, and then spoke to again.
“I will guide you, Your Highness Prince Leontes.”
Desmond tried to say sothing to him, but this ti the chamberlain, whose role was originally to welco guests, ca out and took over the guidance. Only I and my group were escorted by Reinhard straight toward my brother.
“So where is my brother lying down this ti?”
“His Highness Prince Maximilian always preserves his spine in good health. If Your Highness Leontes lies down often as well, both of you will be very healthy.”
It was infuriating, but it was true that my brother was healthier than I was. I would beco healthier once I ca of age too, but still.
Wait, was my brother healthy because he lay down so often? Michelon taught knights that they must not lose muscle, but did my brother preserve his muscles by lying down?
I would never admit it, but it was true that Reinhard’s advice to lie down often sounded more appealing than Michelon’s advice to go out and exercise. It had to be the temptation of a sycophant…….
“If you wait here for a mont, His Highness will finish preparing and co out.”
“I hope he will not be carried out lying on a stretcher.”
“That will not happen, so do not worry, Your Highness.”
Leaving the sa ominous words as always, Reinhard disappeared.
Whether he did or not, my people were busy looking around the banquet hall.
“Oh, as expected of Prince Maximilian’s banquet. It is splendid again today.”
“It is truly beautiful.”
“It is truly impressive.”
Jero, Yolande, and Michelon exclaid. I could only sigh.
Beautiful and impressive? Maximilian’s banquet hall was a gigantic bedroom itself.
That vast banquet hall had been decorated entirely as one enormous round bed. From here to there, it was all bed.
He must have expanded it with magic, but unless you were a mage on my level, you still needed a certain amount of physical structure to achieve this size. It was absolutely a waste of money.
And atop it, barefoot noblewon and knights were shrieking and giggling as they ran around. They hid their bodies between long-hanging silk drapes in places.
The center was left open in a circle, and it was a dining table piled with food. Musicians played music in the courtyard, but if you wanted to dance, you would have to do it on the bed.
Even when people slipped and toppled over while trying to dance on sothing soft, they loved it, collapsing together and rolling around.
‘So Armatia has rotted away with luxury and debauchery.’
I wanted to sigh, but my people burned with jealousy.
“We need to hold a banquet like this soon.”
“Lord Michelon is right. Your Highness cannot lose to your own full brother.”
“Lady Yolande is right. If the banquet is any worse than this, would Your Highness’s dignity survive?”
I was always obsessed with becoming Emperor and making the treasury burst, but my people were obsessed with emptying my vault. And shalessly, they pinned it on .
“I won’t hold a banquet that is worse than this. I can’t do that to Leontes either.”
“Then it will take a long ti to prepare.”
“But how many years of banquet experience does the First Prince have? We’re beginners. That can’t be helped.”
“Like Lady Yolande said, let’s not be impatient.”
Fortunately, Michelon’s vanity was holding back the act of emptying my vault for the mont.
“His Highness Prince Leontes has arrived!”
“Count Petrafis!”
“Baron Graf!”
“So that is the famous Chief and Deputy Mage married couple.”
“Jero, welco!”
“Jero, over here, over here!”
I did not know why, regardless of gender, everyone called only Jero by his na. But he was clearly the leader of the banquet-crazed.
“Haha, I will be there soon. Please wait just a mont.”
Even as he smiled brightly and responded in all directions, Jero gave cold orders to my subordinates.
“Today, we must find out whether a certain countess truly accepted a certain baron’s courtship. Only then can we win the bet with a certain viscountess. To do that, Lord Michelon should approach the baron and look like he is envious, and Lady Yolande should win the countess’s favor by suggesting she could lightly sprinkle charm magic for her. I will probe the viscountess and identify everyone who joined the bet.”
And there it was: the dragon who had been so insolent since he was a hatchling, and the teacher who had been so strict before the regression, both nodding ekly at Jero’s words. They would question my orders just fine when they thought sothing was off, yet in a banquet hall they could not be more obedient to Jero. They should try doing that with .
“That is how we dominate court society again today. Especially at the First Prince’s banquet, shouldn’t we sweep through it all, if we are to be loyal to His Highness Leontes?”
At that, even Rolf and Vincent, who were not banquet-crazed like them, nodded. They were doing it because they liked it! They were just playing because they wanted to play, yet they dressed it up as loyalty to !
“One last reminder. Lord Michelon’s confident attitude is good, but do not let it show in your eyes that you want to knead an opponent who does not go the way you want. It can be misunderstood as sothing entirely different. Even if the other person is a man. Lady Yolande, your witty way of speaking is excellent, but you do not need to be the one to initiate conversation every ti. Good sociability is desirable, but if you will continue, do it with a different person each ti. Make the ones who wait until Lady Yolande approaches them wait longer. You must also know how to make them miss Lady Yolande’s presence.”
“Thank you for your words, Lord Jero. They really help.”
“Yeah, I got it, Jero.”
Seeing my teacher, who had been kind yet strict when scolding before the regression, being corrected by soone else and obedient like I used to be brought a strangely satisfying feeling that did not suit a disciple. But my friend’s was truly irritating.
-You got so annoyed whenever I told you to learn so politics, but you obey Jero so well?
-So what? High society is more fun than politics!
-Why?
-Well… because this is the true world of survival of the fittest.
That idiot, talking about becoming my friend-brother…….
Still, the sight of Yolande heading off with an excited face to carry out the mission Jero assigned softened those feelings.
Of course, no one in high society had accepted her before. I had simply appeared with a mage in tow, like other royals.
But when that mage wore splendid clothes like the nobles, wore the jewels I bestowed, linked arms with her husband with a story behind him, and appeared together with young handso nobles who were popular in court right now, people could not help but be intrigued.
And when that mage told thrilling stories, with confident and witty speech, of how she saved the prince, she rose to a standout position in court society, where only court romances had been running rampant.
At first, she drew attention because of the people around her, including , but gradually she drew interest with her own charm and ability.
-I still don’t have friends.
User Comments
0 comments from readers