Chapter 193 – Chapter 193 – For Now, I’ll Push the Princess
“Am I still shaking?”
“You seemed like you wouldn’t even tremble in front of the demon king, but you must have been secretly scared?”
“It’s not that, but the craftsman of the future…”
“Hey. I’m still inside the imperial family.”
Ray pinched me to pay attention. Seeing us like this, the court ladies burst into small laughter. A gentle saintess and a brave warrior. I don’t worship the goddess of death, Ceres, but we were worshiping different goddesses. However, it must be funny since they treat each other without hesitation as if they are very close friends. What kind of expression would you make if you let me watch sex here?
“You thought it was strange.”
“No.”
“Ha. Anyway, I passed the hurdle well.”
Ray wet her parched lips as she sipped her drink brought to her by her maid. And soon the owner of this room comes in.
“You’ve come right away and I’ve been waiting for you.”
Asabel Silve came in looking exhausted. We had just gotten out before the nobles bothered to cling to it. Instead, Asabel would have been baptized with questions about me.
“Ha…”
“There was a little backlash, but it’s fortunate that the conversation went well with His Majesty.”
“Count Dran. More than that, when the hell did you become like that with my sister?”
Than that? Asabel seems to care more about my relationship with Lucia.
“When I first came to the imperial family to see Her Highness, she got on the wrong road and ended up meeting Lucia.”
“That… You mean you fell in love with each other at first sight?”
“As soon as we saw each other, it was like sparks flew.”
Meanwhile, Ray looks at me with her suspicious eyes. Did you notice that even this is old?
“In the first place, the Count wouldn’t have come that often. Isn’t it too close for love at first sight? Whoever saw it thought it was a couple who had been dating for more than a few years.”
“Did it look like that?”
“I can’t believe Lucia’s appearance itself. Originally, she seemed to have no interest in men, and as a princess, she would care about the eyes around her, but she embraced her right away as if no one could see her.”
But. When she met Lucia before her audience with the emperor, she seemed to have no intention of hiding anything. I had no regrets about caring for me sincerely. Of course, it might seem absurd to Asabel.
“Couldn’t you have already promised the future?”
“I would like to get married if possible.”
I candidly stated. It was funny to say such a thing in front of Lucia’s older sister, not even the emperor, but it wasn’t something to hide in the yard where she was also a hero. With just one hero, I deserved it.
“You. … Ha ha no.”
“I know what you are concerned about. She was raised by Her Highness the Princess, and suddenly her sister and I fell in love… Aren’t you saying that I’ll forget the grace and leave?”
“That, that…”
It was a pretty sensitive story. Maybe if I was just a count instead of a hero… Asabel might have been more critical of me. She pushed me so much that I even made her count, but she must have felt a sense of danger that she could be taken away by Lucia.
“It’s because people don’t speak out, aren’t they aiming for the next emperor? You have already been recognized by Her Majesty.”
Asabel has the greatest power among the imperial powers excluding the emperor. But things would be very different if I suddenly supported Lucia. Of course, that alone would not make Lucia the next emperor, but it is true that Asabel’s position is shaken.
“Rather than Lucia, Her Highness Princess Asabel has more ruler-like abilities. Don’t you listen to me without ignoring my status, and don’t you often work hard for the empire?”
“That… They say?”
“She loves Lucia as a man-to-woman. However, I will give my strength to Her Highness, the princess.”
Lucia doesn’t even want an emperor anyway. All Lucia and I wanted was to find happiness as a married couple in a peaceful world.
“If you don’t trust me, can’t you do something anyway?”
“Count. You’re getting a little cocky.”
“As long as you don’t lose your qualities as a monarch, I will follow the actions of the former princess.”
In other words, if you do well as you do, you will be pushed. But on the contrary, it meant that I might turn my back on the loss of this brilliance.
In fact, Asabel was on the lucky side. If it wasn’t for me, I would have died without being able to fully display that talent. Although the power of the empire has grown, in war, it did not have the ability to use its powerful soldiers.
And after the death of the emperor, she wanted to become a female emperor… Was killed by someone’s assassination. So the empire fell into more chaos, and the military power was bound to be weakened.
However, this time I will support you. Even if a war breaks out, with Asabel’s ability, the very strong Imperial Army will be active.
“I will give my love to Lucia, and my loyalty to me… You mean?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. For now… I believe you.”
“Is there anything else you would like to hear?”
“No.”
Asabel showed a slightly bitter smile. Is it because there has been a change in the relationship between the superior and the subordinate? Still, as soon as I became a hero, I was no longer just blindly following the will of the princess. Now my intentions are more expressed…
“Ha.”
“Ray, why are you sighing?”
“Nothing.”
Ray was also a bit suspicious.
“… Anyway, let’s talk about work now.”
Asabel brought up her original subject. In fact, she came to visit the princess because she wanted to know what the current situation was like. While I was away for two weeks, I wondered what kind of conversations had occurred between the kingdom of elves and the kingdom of habs.
“You know that a big incident has occurred in the elven kingdom lately, right?”
“Yes.”
“It looks like the demons are properly polluting the area around the elven kingdom. I sent someone from the empire to find out, but they say there are strong demons stationed on the side of the Demon King’s army too?”
Do you want to become the level of the Four Heavenly Kings? Or that he was a direct subordinate of the Demon King.
“Your Majesty wouldn’t have told me today because I didn’t have time for that, but I told you before that the Count might be able to solve the Elf’s request. So I’m going to send the count. He said he was confident.”
“That’s right.”
“If Count Dran accomplishes another feat, the Empire will reward him again, and the elves will sign a treaty as promised.”
“And… Next is the Harve Kingdom.”
Asabel’s expression changed to a much more uncomfortable expression than before. Compared to the Principality of Lancelot or the Elven Kingdom, the Harve Kingdom was quite troublesome. The elf promised to listen as long as the case was resolved, and the Principality of Lancelot must be a country included in the Empire… The Harve Kingdom was a country that had been in conflict with the Empire for decades. It has been quiet lately, but the perception that they are enemies of each other is still strong. So there was no reason to conclude a treaty easily. Even if the demon king’s army attacks, each of them will try to fight on their own.
“Sermi Harma, Queen of the Harb Kingdom. And her daughter, Princess Ediran, is the problem.”
Eddyran.
Know.
Before the return, even during the war, I did stupid things in many ways, and even the wars I won were lost.
“Did you make any outrageous demands?”
“For now, we only exchanged in writing, but the requirements are commensurate with the empire’s yearly budget.”
“Yes?”
You ask for too much
“Is this the end? They asked for outrageous things that were impossible to hear.”
Asabel handed me a piece of parchment. I read the things sent from the Harve Kingdom step by step. It was roughly like this. The kingdom is very poor and lacks soldiers, so it was about asking for money, supplies, and skills to grow in strength. To be honest, the intention to weaken the empire by strengthening national power was too strong rather than fighting the demon king’s army. This was a condition that exceeded the level of sharpness.
“So we will have a meeting soon as scheduled. I’m going to go and ask them what they were thinking when they made these ridiculous demands.”
I don’t think there will be much benefit to the empire even if we have talks.
“Ha. It’s obvious, to be honest. By cutting off this demand little by little, they will eventually try to conclude a treaty that is unfavorable to the Empire.”
“Oh.”
She was also smart like a princess. It was right when I heard it. After demanding the impossible from the start, she patronizes her requirements slightly. It was a ulterior motive to profit from the empire. Or not~ It’s clear like this.
“When were the talks scheduled?”
“Three days later. We plan to meet at the border area between the Empire and the Kingdom of Harb.”
Maybe the princess will come there herself? And will I ever be able to meet Natasha? Although he was of royal blood, he was an aristocrat if he had to classify it. There was no guarantee that they would come together to the meeting, as their power was weak even among the nobility.
“Didn’t you say that the other day, the elves and people from the kingdom were to gather together?”
“Huh. First of all, the elf side will come too. But Main is the kingdom…”
“Is Her Highness going by herself?”
“Of course. On the kingdom side, Princess Ediran will come. I have to go.”
“Then can I join you?”
“… Okay. That would be great.”
It was an opportunity to see both the elves and the representatives of the kingdom. It’s a gathering of three major forces, and I can’t be without it.
