Chapter 61
Chapter: 61
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 61
>Chapter Title: Sowing (5)
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>Seongjin's sudden words threw the Bretons into complete disarray.
"What did you just...?"
"Ahh. But no matter how much you resent us, couldn't you have kept the slander to a reasonable level? Like calling the marquis a XXX, or the young lord of House Raviguri a XXX XXX—it's so embarrassing I can't even repeat it myself."
"What kind of lunatic just blurts out...?"
It was obviously nonsense. But...
What if this madman actually spouted that rubbish to the guards?
Bowl Cut spun his thoughts into overdrive.
A disturbance involving foreigners. To avoid any disputes, Delcross would surely send every detail of the guards' investigation straight to Brittany—including this absurd nonsense.
And those documents would reach their employer, the Marquis of Raviguri, first and foremost.
If the boy claimed straight-faced that they had insulted the Holy Imperial Family, it could balloon into a massive diplomatic incident.
In that case, House Raviguri would do anything to bury the matter before it went public. They'd claim the boy was slandering innocent men and spare no money or connections to back up their own pleas of injustice.
But what if he merely claimed to have overheard "slander against House Raviguri"?
It wouldn't escalate to a diplomatic issue, and as a minor, everyday squabble, his words would actually carry more credibility. The young lord of Raviguri might not even hear their excuses before shipping them straight back to Brittany.
And they'd have to face the marquis, fuming in the heart of the Empire for besmirching his house.
'No way...'
Bowl Cut eyed the boy before him with deep suspicion.
'Rather than wait for House Raviguri to cover it up, he's planning to downplay it and screw us over for sure. No... he couldn't be?'
No way an immature kid like that had thought it through that far.
And yet.
'That face...'
Staring at the boy—his lips twisted into a sly smirk—stirred an inexplicable unease. It felt exactly like this:
-I'm ready to screw you over however I have to.
An overwhelming sense of crisis, as if he'd do anything if things went south!
Bowl Cut opened his mouth, his voice trembling slightly.
"You think the guards will buy that... that blatant lie? Anyone can see it's your ridiculous frame job!"
"Frame job?"
Seongjin curled his lip into a nasty smirk.
"That's your claim. Got any proof? Can you prove to the guards you never said it? Bring in a third party who speaks this backwater Brittany tongue if you can. You XX bastards."
"Eeeek!"
The Bretons' faces flushed redder than their rouged cheeks.
Meanwhile.
Seongjin was needling them relentlessly, but his own mind raced along similar lines.
'Infuriating, but no other choice. Better to bury the details.'
If he'd known from the start they were chattering in Breton, he wouldn't have confronted them in public. He'd have picked a subtler approach.
'I've got the justification on my side. But with the Imperial Birthday Festival looming, sweeping it under the rug benefits both Delcross and Brittany.'
The Bretons obviously wouldn't admit their knights had openly insulted the Holy Imperial Family. They were already chafing under the Empire's meddling in their affairs— no sense digging themselves deeper diplomatically.
Delcross had little to gain either. A formal protest to Brittany over this would yield nothing worthwhile.
-The Empire lodged a protest with Brittany, they say. Rumors are swirling about the Holy Emperor's princess...
-Coming from some foreign bodyguard knight? Sounds like there's some truth to it...
In the end, the rumors would spread, tarnishing the Holy Imperial Family's reputation.
'And dragging this into a brawl wouldn't paint a pretty picture either.'
No matter the reason, causing a scene in a civilian eatery was scandal material.
If word got out that the Holy Imperial Family's wastrel prince was the instigator, it'd become a continent-wide laughingstock for ages.
-That wastrel's gone and drawn steel on foreign guests here for the Imperial Birthday Festival? Some thousand-year holy kingdom—now we know their hospitality standards.
Right or wrong hardly mattered at this point.
'I'd rather they draw first. Damn, these guys are more cautious than I thought...'
Seongjin narrowed his eyes at Bowl Cut.
In fact, he'd been deliberately suppressing his aura in his dantian to lower his activity, goading them on. Outnumbered, if he played weak enough, maybe they'd lunge.
They'd leaped up like they were about to charge, but their hands hovered uncertainly over their sword hilts without committing.
Their tempers urged them to draw, but practical concerns held them back. A bloody clash would be a headache for both sides.
In that case.
'Stalemate for now, then head to the guards...'
Seongjin kept the Bretons in check while sorting his thoughts.
Then.
The entrance grew rowdy, and soon a squad of armed knights and guards marched smartly into the restaurant.
Considering how little time had passed since the standoff began, their response was impressively swift.
Crisp uniforms, gleaming silver armor, and precise movements radiated elite training.
"Halt! Capital Guards!"
"Hands off your weapons, now!"
Surrounded by the guards' intimidating presence, the Bretons awkwardly relaxed their stances and raised their hands slowly. They'd held their ground with bravado, but facing the Capital Guards left dismay plain on their faces.
"Told you. Should've just apologized from the start."
Seongjin lowered his hands from the nutcracker position and flashed Bowl Cut a grin.
"I'll give you credit for not drawing that sword to the end. If you had, even summary execution for attempted regicide would've been no defense. But from now on, watch that mouth of yours."
Bowl Cut glared back with a ferocious scowl.
"Trying to spout more nonsense here? Regicide? What the hell is—"
"Oh, you didn't know?"
Yi Seongjin tilted his head, then broke into a rare, bright smile.
"I'm that 'piglet of the Holy Imperial Family' you were yapping about."
The Bretons stared blankly at first, uncomprehending. Then horror slowly drained the color from their faces.
* * *
The man arrested from the restaurant commotion turned out to be none other than the wastrel Prince Morres.
The Capital Guards' gazes were predictably cold.
Unfortunately, the escort knights hadn't been much help. Dame Maria, utterly clueless in Breton, still had no idea what the issue even was.
"Please cooperate with the investigation, Your Highness. Stop dodging the point."
"I've been cooperating fully. As I said repeatedly, it was just a minor misunderstanding with them."
"So what exactly was the misunderstanding? Details..."
"Hmm. With all misunderstandings cleared up, is there any need to drag it out? It touches on House Raviguri's honor, so I can't go into detail. We simply had a gentlemanly debate."
Hey, quit making that "cut the bullshit" face so openly.
"But Your Highness, witnesses say they were this close to drawing steel..."
"Ah, that was a misunderstanding too. We were speaking Breton, which led to the confusion. As you know, Breton sounds so crude and punchy it could pass for curses at first listen."
"Pardon?"
"Folks call it a refined tongue, but to me, it sounds tailor-made for profanity."
"...Pardon?"
The knight scribbling the report stared blankly at the Bretons standing nearby.
The Bretons could speak the Imperial common tongue to some degree. They understood most of Seongjin's words but could only flush red occasionally, offering no retort.
And why would they? They'd spewed royal slander right in front of a Holy Imperial prince. They'd even faced off with weapons drawn in public—grounds for immediate imprisonment on charges of lese majeste.
They simply fretted that the reckless prince might spout nonsense in front of the guards.
Soon after, the Bretons' leader arrived in a hurry upon hearing the news.
Young Lord Charles of House Raviguri.
He looked even younger than Morres, more boy than representative of his house.
Like the detained knights, he sported a bowl cut and rouged cheeks. Thankfully, the blush suited his youthful face like a natural flush.
'Maybe I should suggest a cultural isolation policy to Father. Or at least ban rouge...'
Facing him, Seongjin thought seriously.
"Our knights seem to have committed a grave discourtesy, Your Highness. My deepest apologies."
Young Lord Charles bowed politely in slightly accented Imperial common.
"This is all due to my own shortcomings as a mere youth. With the Imperial Birthday Festival so near, their excitement must have led to this mistake. I beg Your Highness's generous forgiveness."
"Hmm..."
Seongjin's brow arched slightly.
Apologizing formally before even hearing their side?
"But we haven't even begun questioning your knights yet?"
The knight looked puzzled, but Charles shook his head calmly.
"It's obvious. My inept escorts must have been ignorant and rude to Your Highness."
"No, but..."
"My sincerest apologies, Your Highness."
"..."
With a scion of a prominent foreign noble house bowing so low, the knight was at a loss for words.
Clever kid.
This made it awkward for Seongjin's side to press for details.
"Fine. With Young Lord Raviguri apologizing like this, detaining them further would be unseemly. What do you say? We call it even, no harm done, and part amicably?"
The report-writing knight shot Seongjin an incredulous glare.
"Your Highness, a armed clash in the capital—and a formal report at that—how can we just pretend it never happened?"
"Armed clash? All a misunderstanding, I said."
"Such nonsense... There's clear damage to the restaurant, eyewitnesses who fled mid-meal—how can you—"
Charles, listening beside him, widened his round eyes innocently at the knight.
"I've already instructed ample compensation to that restaurant—three times their lost business. Though nothing was actually broken, and no one was truly hurt."
"Pardon? But..."
As the knight faltered, Seongjin piled on.
"If you're uncomfortable deciding alone, shall I summon your superior? I'll explain everything in 'detail' from one to ten. I can even arrange a 'direct' report to my father if needed."
"..."
The knight paled.
His boss—dragged out late evening, grilled by the prince, then facing the Holy Emperor—where would that stress go?
"...If Your Highness insists, then... we'll consider it never happened."
"I have no doubt your decision today greatly aids Delcross-Brittany relations."
Seongjin beamed, clapping the knight's shoulder.
Exiting the guardhouse, dusk had deepened into near night.
The once-crowded streets had thinned, carriages and wagons flowing freely.
'So much for training today. Completely wasted.'
He'd tried to save time, but what a mess.
Grumbling inwardly while waiting for Dame Maria to fetch the carriage, Young Lord Charles approached quietly.
"Are you sure we can't escort you to the palace, Your Highness?"
"..."
Seongjin looked down wordlessly at the boy.
Charles gazed up with a childlike innocence.
He'd shelled out a fortune unnecessarily thanks to the notorious wastrel prince—reason enough to be annoyed. Yet his clear eyes held nothing but utmost goodwill.
Which made Seongjin think instead:
'What a sly little brat...'
But he couldn't just spit in that beaming face.
"I owe you one today, Young Lord Charles."
Thanks to the kid's mature handling, a potential explosion had fizzled quietly. Whatever his motives, Seongjin had to admit they synced well.
At his words, the boy bounced excitedly, waving his hands.
"Owe us? Nonsense! We're the grateful ones for Your Highness's magnanimity."
"Magnanimity might be..."
"No! I can guess the rudeness my escorts inflicted. I'll punish them severely upon return, so please quell your anger."
"..."
"They deserve harsh lese majeste charges, yet for our nations' ties, you show such mercy! I am deeply ashamed."
Look at this one.
Feigning politeness while dreading details from Seongjin's mouth. Even soothing with promises of private punishments.
He already knew what his knights blabbed about.
In that case.
Seongjin smiled radiantly down at Charles.
"No need for a palace escort, but if it's alright, Young Lord—keep me company until the carriage arrives?"
"Wow, such fluent Breton...!"
Charles's eyes sparkled even brighter up at him.
After that, Seongjin chatted lightly in Breton with the young lord.
Nothing substantial—just Holy Imperial Family wellbeing, Brittany trends, trivialities.
Only the bowl-cut knights clustered behind Charles flinched tensely each time Seongjin spoke.
Naturally, Charles exclaimed in awe at his Breton several times.
"Truly impressive, Your Highness! A foreigner pronouncing Arrhc so smoothly—it's my first time seeing such!"
So what the hell was this Arrhc anyway?