Chapter 332 – Before the Storm
#332.
A splendid three-story mansion built on land famous for being the most expensive in the capital.
Gaon stood in front of him, adjusted his clothes, and followed the butler’s guidance to the banquet hall.
He was contacted by Hirencia yesterday, and after returning to the guild today, he rushed straight to the mansion without a break for several hours.
I get nervous thinking that I will soon be meeting the strongest knight in the empire.
‘There’s no need to fight, right?’
No matter how much he flies and crawls, he cannot catch up with the gap of 11 stars.
Even if you squeezed all the mana into the aurora borealis, the duke would probably cut it off as if nothing had happened.
For a swordsman, being able to cut everything is just as powerful a weapon.
As I walked on without lowering my tension a bit, after a while, the butler stopped in front of an ornate door.
Smart.
“Duke Duke. I brought the Savior Guild leader.”
– Come in.
When permission was given, the butler took a step aside and pointed inward with a restrained yet polite gesture.
Gaon checked himself for the last time and then opened the door and went inside.
The first thing that caught my eye was neither the dining table that occupied the center, nor the brilliantly shining chandelier hanging from the ceiling, nor Hirencia, who still boasted dazzling beauty, but a handsome middle-aged man sitting in the seat of honor.
The sharp momentum that encroached on the surroundings seems to be cut at any moment even though it is far away.
Gaon slowly lowered his head, feeling the feeling of facing a sword rather than a person.
“Long time no see. It’s on vacation.”
“This is the Duke of Austin Chevrons. Nice to meet you Sit down.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
As I put her buttocks on the opposite side of Hirencia, the maid who pulled out her chair gave me a napkin.
Then, those who had been clinging to the wall like mannequins moved, brought trays, and started putting food down.
The Duke watched the food being set and opened his mouth.
“This is the first time since the last Ark Rich incident. How are you?”
“Hey, there was no problem. How have you been, Duke?”
“No. I haven’t been well. The imperial family brought up the story of her marriage with her daughter again. You said you need to make sure you own the holy sword. It’s getting a bit rotten.”
There was no change in pitch or pitch in his expression or voice, to the point of doubting whether it was true, but it was probably not a lie.
To the question that was difficult to answer, Gaon simply nodded.
“That is a big deal.”
“Yes. Rather, my daughter has been talking about you a lot lately. I seem to see her often, but is she in the middle of a textbook?”
“Ah, Father! Those words… !”
“Herencia, be quiet. I am talking to this person now.”
Hirencia intervened to dissuade her from her much more direct attitude than she thought, but she bowed her head powerlessly, weighed down by the duke’s prestige, as she had learned since childhood.
Gaon slowly shook her head, comforting Hirencia inside.
“… No. Not really. We are just slowly getting to know each other.”
“I’m getting to know… Interesting. Certainly, if you’re on the level of yourself, you’re a worthy son-in-law of the duke’s family.”
It was a clever conversation. Even though Gaon didn’t say much, he was quickly put to the test as Daryl’s son-in-law.
“Yes? You mean Daryl’s son-in-law?”
“Okay. How about I don’t think it’s a business that’s hurting you.”
It was a casually asked question, but the thorns hidden within it were very sharp.
Originally, he is a person with dry emotions, so he is good at poker faces.
The duke’s intentions were clear.
He trusted Hirencia’s words and waited, but since there was no news, doubts began to rise.
He must have been quite anxious since he was even under pressure from the imperial family.
That’s why I’m handing over this suggestion to see Gaon’s clear attitude.
If he accepted it, he would no longer have to suffer from the marriage rumors brought up by the imperial family, and if he did not accept it, he would be able to firmly separate Hirencia and him.
Given the duke’s position as the strongest knight in the empire and Gaon’s power and influence, even the royal family could not maintain their current attitude.
The duke made the most effective move to break the current situation.
“A marriage with Miss Hiresia… I am of course honored!”
“There is but one condition.”
“Tell me! I will accept any condition.”
The attitude he threw out without a moment’s thought made him look like an idiot who would go crazy for Hirencia and take out his liver or gallbladder.
The Duke was satisfied, but did not dispel his suspicions and stated the condition.
“Keep your distance from women except Hirencia.”
“… I mean keep your distance.”
“There have been quite a few rumors about you. I don’t want the duke’s son-in-law to be embroiled in a scandal, so I’m saying draw a line.”
In other words, it means that it is understandable to meet in public affairs, but cut off all private relationships.
Gaon’s expression hardened.
Of course, this is all just smoke. That’s what I had in mind, of course. In the first place, Hirencia’s suggestion of imitating her lover was all because of this.
However, anticipating and contrasting it was another matter.
‘From now on is important.’
Once, through a series of processes, the flow of the conversation was grasped, but now it was necessary to advance the story in a direction that would be helpful to this side.
In fact, even if he said he would break up with his lovers, the duke would be satisfied and move on, but he did not want to say such a thing, even in empty words.
Gaon, who accelerated his mind to the limit and simulated the future conversation, made a decision and opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry, but that’s difficult. The majority of my faction members are intertwined with personal ties. Asking them to cut it off is no different from asking me to tear down the tower I painstakingly built on my own.”
“Hmm… Then there is nothing you can do Instead, refrain from meeting Hirencia after today. This child is the heir to the ducal family. I can’t tarnish the family’s honor with useless rumors.”
The duke uttered a word close to notification and moved the knife to bring the sliced steak to his mouth.
It was as if he thought Gaon would take it for granted.
Of course, he didn’t suit the rhythm.
“I will refuse that too.”
“What?”
“You just said defamation, but isn’t there something more important than that now?”
“Is it important?”
Gaon laughed lightly while facing the Duke’s bloody eyes, as if he would cut him down if he said nonsense.
‘The answer is simpler than I thought.’
The Duke’s purpose is to further prosper the Chevron family. Hirencia is heartbroken to think this way, but she is nothing more than a means to achieve it.
And now, it can be seen that she is in danger of losing that means to the imperial family.
But what if there was a way to resolve the conflict once and for all?
Can the duke really turn away?
That’s something you should find out by now.
“Imperial horse. Didn’t you say there was a lot of conflict over the ownership of the holy sword? That problem, I will solve it.”
“Hoo… How?”
“I can’t tell you that. Please promise me in advance. In exchange for resolving the conflict, he said that he would no longer discuss his meeting with Hirencia.”
For a moment, their eyes collided head-on.
There wasn’t much to say about it because it didn’t emit any particular momentum, but Gaon felt as if an invisible knife was cutting his body.
Conversely, the Duke also felt as if he had been caught up in an endless storm from Gaon.
The Duke put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and asked.
“… Is that all?”
“Yes. There are no other conditions.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. If it doesn’t solve it neatly, it’s not too late to take action then. Don’t you know?”
Gaon’s request is not to ask the duke to do something, but to simply stay still.
I’ve been doing well for several years now, so I just have to keep my attitude going forward.
The duke put his hands on his chin and took a listening position.
“I promise. Say it once.”
“Yes. I’ll ask this first. Engagement with the imperial family, which one is it related to?”
“Both sides. Because of the previous first prince’s mistake, the order of succession to the throne became ambiguous. The imperial family promised to take the position of empress.”
“Then it’s not like we’re getting married in the near future.”
“But the moment you accept it, you won’t be able to take it back.”
The royal treasure called the holy sword was at stake. There’s no way it’s possible to break something that’s already been decided too late.
In the end, if you clearly draw the line now, you can’t come out behind the scenes.
“I was well aware of the situation. There won’t be any problems.”
“You are full of confidence. So how?”
“In the case of Her Highness, the 2nd Prince, I am acquainted with Princess Himiris, so I will tell you well.”
If she said that her precious youngest daughter, sent with a big heart, might become her concubine, Emperor Drakanis would surely be enraged.
If they received a letter of protest, the imperial family would not dare to think of going ahead with it.
“… How about the first prince?”
“In fact, I received some very interesting information through Lucipheon not too long ago. It is said that His Highness, the first prince, is slowly recovering from his habit. She’ll hand over that information. That should be enough.”
She has no words to say if the Duke’s family points out that how long it’s been since she was caught doing the same thing by the Demon Jok Park and that she’s doing the same thing again.
In the end, negotiations for ownership of the holy sword will fizzle out and end at a reasonable level.
“Whoa… Surely that would be enough.”
“Then you keep your promise.”
“Okay. If it really works, that is. Thank you for coming to dinner tonight.”
“It was nothing. I’ll just go there. See you next time. Hirencia, see you later.”
Gaon, who got up from her seat, exchanged greetings lightly with Hiren Sia, who had a bright expression on her face, and left the dinner hall without regret.
‘Is it safe now?’
He had somehow resolved the cessation of communication with Hirencia, but she did not allow him to become her lover.
She would watch and intervene if she wanted to cross the line, so she had to think of a sure way until then.
‘The most certain thing is to reach 11 stars.’
At the very least, if we were able to face off against Austin Chevrons head-on, we could ignore him even if he objected and forcefully advance with Hirencia.
There will be many side effects, but it means you don’t have to force a breakup anyway.
But the problem is that I still haven’t been able to catch the galpi.
‘The strongest…’
In the case of ordinary images, it is normal to be implemented with the strongest image that the person concerned thinks as a motif.
However, the image of him as the strongest has changed greatly from his previous life.
The strongest image that Gaon thought of in his previous life was a dragon. The skill of the windstorm light dragon was that, but it wasn’t for him at the moment.
The strongest he thinks right now is himself.
The existence that monopolized all of the countless talents that existed in the world and eventually became able to stand against monsters tearing dimensions fit the image of the strongest he currently thinks.
So that was a problem.
How do you mean to embody the image of oneself in a previous life as an image? The more I think about it, the more I feel like I’m falling into an abyss.
“Ha… Let’s take care of things first.”
After clearing his mind with a deep sigh, Gaon hurried to deal with the matter about the imperial family.
