[The Reason for Expanding the Board (2)]
“Do you drink?”
It was dawn, just after the bedroom meeting had concluded.
Viyan was walking away with his shoulders slumped and his feet dragging, when Aiden, who was standing behind him with his arms crossed, tilted his head.
“The head chef gave me a bottle of wine. Apparently, it’s quite a decent one.”
“...Are you speaking to me, sir?”
“Of course.”
Aiden smiled leisurely. In reality, however, his own pupils were trembling in his heart.
Asking someone if they drink. It was something he would never have done under normal circumstances. Even though he liked working with his colleagues, the moment a subordinate’s private life entered his ears, Aiden’s eyes would glaze over with indifference. It was just as awkward for the person doing the asking as it was for the person hearing it—stopping a subordinate who was trying to go home for a drink, especially when it wasn't necessary for work.
‘I’ve lost my mind.’
It was an impulsive suggestion. The sudden urge to offer a word of comfort to his loyal knight, who had looked so dejected at the end of the meeting, was, for Aiden, akin to a deviation from his nature.
“I will accept it with gratitude.”
Aiden had prayed desperately for him to just refuse, but Viyan accepted it immediately.
“Can I come too?”
“Me too.”
“There should be some cheese in the kitchen. I’ll go get it.”
The adjutants, who had been about to scatter, joined in as well.
‘Damn it.’
It had turned into a drinking party by accident. Aiden thought that if he could turn back time, he would have slapped the back of his own head from five minutes ago.
“No way, you’re giving such precious wine to someone who doesn't even drink...! Chef, you’re really playing favorites!”
Jamie, having returned to Aiden’s bedroom, beamed at the sight of the bottle. It seemed to be a rather famous wine. Roland hadn't even returned with the cheese yet, but Aiden couldn't ignore the desperate gazes of his two wine-loving adjutants, so he popped the cork first.
Pop.
As the cork was pulled, a sweet aroma soon filled the room. Jamie and Kalisa’s eyes were already half-glazed just from the scent.
“Let’s drink in moderation.”
Aiden warned them as he poured the glasses himself. But the excited adjutants didn't seem to hear him properly.
“I don’t even know how long it’s been since our last drinking party.”
“It’s been about a year, hasn't it? We only had one long before Roland joined.”
“Wow. Administrator. I really respect and love you, but seriously, where else do people hold drinking parties like an annual event? From now on, we should have these gatherings more often...”
“Shut your mouth and drink.”
“Yes, sir.”
Aiden couldn't understand why they wanted to drink together after work when they already spent over ten hours a day in the same space.
‘I’m crazy, I’m truly crazy.’
No matter how much he felt for Viyan, who was walking away with his shoulders slumped, he should have just called him in for a consultation the next day. Asked him why he was in such a bad mood. This is why problems arise when people do things they aren't used to.
“Alright, let’s down a glass before Roland gets back. Cheers!”
Whether he knew Aiden’s heart or not, Jamie downed his wine in one shot, determined to drink at least one more drop before his rival for the alcohol arrived. He was busy refilling the glasses, looking frantic.
“Oh, Sir Viyan?”
Jamie, who had filled his own glass to the brim and only filled Kalisa’s a third of the way—almost getting his hair pulled for it—hesitated. He wondered if he should fill Viyan’s glass halfway out of conscience, but he brightened at the sight of the knight’s blotchy, flushed neck.
“Are you not good with alcohol?”
“Ah, yes. I don’t handle it well. I can sober up if I circulate my mana, but...”
“Oh, come on! We’re drinking to get tipsy, why would you force yourself to sober up? Drink some water! I’ll pour you another when you feel a bit better later. Hehe.”
Jamie was grinning, happy to have eliminated one competitor, though he wasn't sure if there would be any wine left later.
“What about you, Administrator?”
“I don’t really know the taste of alcohol, so I’ll just drink a different one. There should be plenty of wine in the cabinet below.”
He had seen the good stuff, and that was enough. He gave the rest to the guys who loved to drink as a gift, and picked out a bottle with a label he liked from the pile of gifts he had accumulated, pouring it into an empty glass.
“Please, give me a glass.”
But Viyan, his face bright red, reached out his hand, asking for a glass as well.
“Don’t overdo it.”
Aiden thought about stopping him, but figured if it really became too much, the knight would just use that mana circulation thing, so he pretended not to notice and clinked his glass against his.
“That’s cheating! You already started? That’s too much!”
Roland, who had arrived late with various cheeses, ham, and pickled olives, grumbled, but they soon settled in and started pouring and drinking. Aiden chuckled, finding it funny how naturally they acted, as if they had forgotten this was their superior’s bedroom.
“I! Huh? Back in the day at the Capital Academy, huh? I wasn't the top, but I was, what do you call it, a scholarship student! Huh? If it weren't for that damn succession war, my life would have been on a smooth path!”
“So, kid, do you regret it? You feel stifled being stuck in this backwater village, you city slicker? Hehe.”
“What do you take me for! I mean! I regret that past, being among those damn Lontes people! They were framing people!”
“Hehehe.”
Jamie and Roland, their tongues already tied, were half-hugging each other, spouting meaningless words like, “You, kid, you’re the best. Have some confidence!” and “You jerk, look who’s talking! You’re a truly cool guy!”
Kalisa, looking as if she’d rather drink than watch that mess, was possessed by the spirit of a sommelier, downing one wine after another.
“...Thank you, my Lord.”
Viyan seemed to have the lowest tolerance, but perhaps a knight could overcome it with sheer willpower; he looked like he was about to burst, but he finally began to speak his mind.
“You must have been frustrated because I didn't understand the meeting well.”
His voice was sluggish from the alcohol, but his pronunciation wasn't bad, as if he were determined to keep his wits about him.
“You have worked so hard for the barracks, and yet I am struggling just to keep up with your plans...”
The usually composed knight was choked up. His eyes seemed red-rimmed, but Aiden didn't have a hobby of wiping away a man’s tears, so he just pretended not to notice.
“Well... that’s not your fault, Sir Viyan.”
Still, he had to offer some comfort. Among his colleagues who worked well according to the manual, there were occasionally people like this. People who withered away day by day under an impulsive and fickle superior. Compatibility, or chemistry—that wasn't just something needed between lovers. If these were his people, whom he had to work with for a long time in a world without rotating shifts, he had to clear up misunderstandings the moment they fell out of sync. Otherwise, he would just be wasting precious time on useless emotional drain during a period when he was already busy enough with work.
“I’m sorry. I was in a rush, and the situation was urgent, so I proceeded without sufficient explanation.”
So, Aiden offered a sincere apology.
“The original plan was just to cause some losses for those arrogant horse merchants, but as I proceeded, I felt like I could afford to be a bit more greedy. After crunching the numbers, it seemed quite plausible.”
“You mean the Lontes plot?”
Jamie, who had been arm-in-arm with Roland, chimed in, his eyes suddenly clear of the alcohol’s haze. True. Even if the adjutants understood how the situation was unfolding, they hadn't been able to see through his heart, so they must have had many questions.
“I didn't know the two hundred horses were ordered by the Second Prince, but I knew that if I made them suspicious of Lontes, those horse merchants would definitely intervene in the civil war.”
They were obsessive types who had even seized his invitation to the horse market just because he had tamed fifty wild horses; it was only natural that they would try to take revenge on the frontier territory that had snatched their horses.
“If Lontes falls into chaos, the number of refugees will increase, and I thought I might be able to sneakily take some land near the port under the guise of helping to stabilize the situation. But looking at how the board is turning, it would be a waste to just take one port and walk away.”
“Administrator.”
At that moment, Kalisa, who had quietly been drinking and had already polished off three bottles of wine by herself, asked with low, sunken eyes.
“I fully understand that you intend to set them against each other, watch them lose their strength, and then devour both of them.”
“Yes.”
“But hunting is like that. No matter how much tempting meat you pile up at once, there’s a limit to what you can digest at one time, isn't there?”
Predators don't attack a herd of deer and kill dozens at once for no reason. If they kill them all, they’ll just rot in the fields, so they only take what they need and leave the rest.
“You know this, Administrator, so why are you being greedy this time?”
Aiden let out a dry laugh. Compared to Jamie, who was sincere about administration but didn't understand politics, and Roland, who enjoyed politics but couldn't read human desire, Kalisa was the best at seeing through people, even if she had no interest in administration or politics. She had read his true intentions, which he himself had only realized recently, just because he had swapped a few plans.
“May I ask if you have finally made up your mind?”
“Yes.”
Now it was Aiden’s turn to answer. Why he had risked so much to expand the board. Why he had to make this plan succeed.
“Because being a ‘deputy’ has become cumbersome.”
Aiden emptied his glass in one go and threw a piece of the truth he had buried deep in his heart onto the table.
“I must become the Lord.”
This land, which I have touched and will touch in many places. I don't want to hand it over to anyone.
“What about the Second Prince’s side?”
The First Prince’s palace. Compared to a few months ago, the complexions of the First Prince and his retainers had improved significantly, and they seemed to have a healthy glow. It was because they were beginning to feel that the succession war was moving in a different direction.
“They are still trying to expand the war. They say they have finished preparations for the expedition, so they will soon be heading to the Great Forest for a personal campaign.”
“Let’s give them a grand send-off ceremony. Since my courageous younger brother is personally raising an army for the Empire, as his older brother, I must encourage him to return in good health.”
At the First Prince’s jest, the retainers couldn't hold back their laughter. Recently, the succession war between the First and Second Princes had been flowing in a strange way. The Second Prince continued to bring news of victory in large and small wars of territorial expansion, but the First Prince no longer countered them or played along. The First Prince had begun to withdraw the front lines that his forces had been maintaining, one by one, and started diverting the funds that had been going there toward internal affairs.
- Since my younger brother is raising the prestige of the Empire abroad, I shall take care of those who have newly become subjects of the Empire and focus on internal governance.
In other words,
You keep fighting with foreigners. I’ll score some points with the Imperial subjects.
“Your Highness. A letter has arrived from the North.”
“Bring it in.”
The First Prince, who had been dealing with various matters, brightened at the Chief Chamberlain’s words. It was a letter from the one who had ended the sluggish war of attrition. He was already looking forward to it, wondering what interesting thoughts they had come up with this time.
“Wise First Prince, are you in good health...”
“Skip the pleasantries, get to the point.”
The masked person (3) who had brought the letter adjusted their voice.
“I will bring down Lontes, so please grant it to the North. The unified North is preparing to change its flag.”
The northern territory of the Empire, which was still watching from the sidelines, having barely decided which prince to support. Among them, Viscount Lontes, who had been particularly vocal in his support for the Second Prince. The Wolf of the North was asking for his due share in exchange for cutting off that throat.