Chapter 184
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Long Live the Sultan (1)
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‘Somehow, this doesn’t feel unfamiliar.’
A smile crept onto Lloyd’s lips.
It was closer to a bitter smirk than a genuine smile.
His gaze turned to where the door at the back of the audience chamber was opening.
Through the open door stepped another man who appeared to be a palace administrator.
He offered a mechanical bow toward them.
With an expressionless face, he spoke.
“You’ve all come a long way. Please, have a seat over here.”
The administrator pointed to the table in the audience chamber.
It was a plain table with no decorations whatsoever.
The chairs around it were the same.
Just ordinary wooden chairs that could be found anywhere.
The kind commonly seen even in commoners’ homes, not nobles’.
In other words, it was not a seat befitting envoys sent by a king of a nation.
Count Ventura, the head envoy, showed a troubled expression.
“Ahem. It seems there’s been some kind of mistake.”
“A mistake, you say?”
“It looks like you’ve guided us to the wrong place.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
The Sultanate administrator tilted his head.
His face remained expressionless.
Count Ventura protested in a voice growing more troubled.
“It seems your side hasn’t received the proper briefing, leading to this situation. We are the royal envoy delegation personally dispatched by the great King of Magentano, Alicia Termina Magentano. In short, we’ve come all this way to convey Her Majesty’s will to your Sultan. Yet to greet us in such a cramped and shabby audience chamber? To have us met by a low-ranking administrator instead of the Sultan himself? This makes no sense.”
“Why do you say it makes no sense?”
“It’s not fitting for our station. Go back to your superior and confirm again. Ask if you’ve truly brought us to the right place.”
“I apologize, but you have indeed been properly guided here.”
“Properly? This place? You’re saying this cramped and shabby audience chamber is the right spot?”
“That’s correct.”
“What do you...”
Count Ventura’s expression wavered.
The Sultanate low-ranking administrator spoke in the same mechanical, expressionless tone.
“You have indeed been properly guided. Are you perhaps not the envoys from Magentano’s king?”
“We are the envoys. I said so clearly.”
“Yes. Then you have been properly guided.”
The low-ranking administrator repeated the same words like a parrot.
Count Ventura’s eyebrows twisted.
“Surely your country doesn’t intend to insult our queen?”
“I wouldn’t know about that. I’m merely following orders from above.”
“Call your superior at once!”
Count Ventura bellowed.
Yet the Sultanate low-ranking administrator didn’t even blink.
He merely nodded stiffly.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
The low-ranking administrator withdrew.
Count Ventura gnawed at his lower lip.
“What kind of ridiculous, outrageous...”
Was he trying to suppress his rising anger?
Or was this situation simply beyond comprehension?
‘Probably both.’
Lloyd’s bitter smile deepened as he watched.
‘They’re slow to grasp the situation. Well, can’t be helped. They’ve probably never experienced this kind of snub in their lives.’
Lloyd’s gaze turned to Count Ventura, the head envoy.
He scanned the members of the delegation accompanying him.
They were all high-ranking figures.
People from families that puffed out their chests with pride in the capital.
‘So they’ve rarely, if ever, been treated with such disdain in their lives. That’s why they’re slow on the uptake. It’s unfamiliar. Alien.’
An inevitable bitter smile kept slipping out.
Through that smile, memories of his life in Korea surfaced.
Especially the days living in a goshiwon.
‘Back then, being ignored was daily life.’
He had so little to his name.
Nothing to boast about.
He was just a guy without a family safety net, scraping by day to day.
Naturally, he couldn’t even dream of dressing up.
That eroded his confidence bit by bit.
He couldn’t erase the timid posture that naturally seeped into his expressions and gestures.
That’s why.
Wherever he went, he was subtly looked down upon.
Even at the goshiwon, the manager would greet him with, “Rent won’t be short this month, right?”
And it wasn’t just that.
‘Your excellencies of the envoy delegation—have you ever tried boarding a packed bus only to hear the announcement that your transit card is short on balance? Panicked and fumbling for cash to pay the fare, only to drop a bunch of coins? Apologizing repeatedly to everyone while picking them up, just to find you’re still 100 won short? Forced to get off at the front door under glares without even boarding?’
Even thinking about it now made his duodenum quiver.
Thanks to those days when being snubbed was routine.
The moment the group was shown into this shabby audience chamber, Lloyd had instantly grasped the vibe.
How the Sultanate intended to treat the delegation.
What approach they planned to take.
He’d sized it up in a flash.
Because this atmosphere wasn’t unfamiliar.
Because he was used to being looked down on.
‘They’ll probably get even more brazen.’
Let’s see if his prediction holds.
Lloyd took a seat at the corner table.
As he stepped back a pace to calmly observe, a man who seemed to be a higher-ranking Sultanate administrator entered the audience chamber.
“I heard the envoy wished to see me.”
“That’s right. I did.”
Count Ventura, who had been pacing anxiously, reacted immediately.
He spoke to the higher administrator with a composed face.
“It seems we can’t communicate properly with the low-ranking staff.”
“Hmm. What seems to be the issue?”
“This location. There appears to be some minor yet serious misunderstanding.”
“Ah, your dissatisfaction with the audience chamber has already been reported. Regrettably, however, this is indeed the chamber assigned to your delegation.”
“...What?”
The higher administrator smiled politely.
Count Ventura’s eyes filled with bewilderment.
“What does that mean...? So the Sultan won’t receive us?”
“Unfortunately, that’s the situation at present.”
“Unfortunately? At present?”
“Yes.”
“What on earth does that mean?”
“His great and almighty Sultan is exceedingly busy with state affairs. In short, he has a backlog of matters to attend to, making it impossible to receive your delegation right now.”
“But we are from Magentano’s...”
“We’re aware. Envoys from the king. But some things can’t be helped.”
“What...? This is absurd!”
Veins bulged in Count Ventura’s neck.
“Look, this is going too far! Which country in the world receives a king’s envoys like this? It violates diplomatic protocol and basic decency!”
“But truly, it can’t be helped.”
“This ‘can’t be helped’—how are we supposed to take that?”
“If you don’t like it, you can just leave.”
“...What?”
Count Ventura froze, doubting his ears.
The higher administrator’s lip curved subtly upward.
“Our position has already been clearly conveyed. To reiterate, his great and almighty Sultan is currently unable to meet with you.”
“So, we’re to wait?”
“You’re finally understanding. Yes. If you wait, it will naturally resolve itself.”
“How long are we to wait?”
“At least six months, I’d say.”
“Wha...”
“As I mentioned earlier, it can’t be helped. His great and almighty Sultan is that busy.”
“Are you mocking us right now?”
“No.”
“Then what is this!”
“We ask for your understanding.”
“What kind of nonsense understanding...!”
“If you don’t like it, leave.”
Thud.
The higher administrator smiled faintly.
He pulled a round golden plaque from his pocket and placed it on the table.
“The choice is yours. Return now, or endure the wait and stay. We won’t force either option.”
“...And what’s that?”
Count Ventura gestured toward the golden plaque with his chin.
The higher administrator grinned.
“A gift personally bestowed upon you by his great and almighty Sultan.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. One you receive if you choose to endure the wait.”
“...Explain.”
“This golden plaque is called the Padashar. Its use is simple. While staying in Ahinsha, you’ll need no money whatsoever with this in hand.”
“Why is that?”
“This Padashar embodies the grace of his great and almighty Sultan. It’s proof that he will cover all your expenses.”
Administrator Seluc continued his explanation.
“With this, you won’t need to pay for food anywhere in the capital. The same goes for clothing, hiring camels and porters, or securing lodging.”
“...So you’re openly treating us like beggars?”
“A misunderstanding. Surely you don’t think that?”
The higher administrator blatantly curled his lip upward.
Count Ventura’s eyelids twitched.
“Then we’ll give you time to consider. I’ll take my leave.”
As the entire delegation seethed with anger and confusion, the higher administrator bowed politely and withdrew.
Lloyd’s smirk deepened.
‘As expected. Nailed it.’
The Sultanate.
They were openly snubbing the delegation.
If you don’t want to wait, leave.
If you do, accept our charity.
In other words, drop your pride or no negotiations.
They were roundaboutly saying they intended to derail the talks.
Otherwise, no one would treat a king’s envoys this way.
‘They’re denying responsibility for the monster domino incident to the bitter end.’
That seemed to be it.
Which posed a bit of a problem.
‘If talks collapse, it’s war footing. Tricky.’
War had to be avoided.
It wouldn’t benefit anyone.
Especially Frontera Territory, which would suffer massive damage.
‘So how do they plan to respond?’
This was the crucial part.
The Sultanate’s rude attitude.
The outcome of the negotiations would depend on how the delegation took it and reacted.
But Count Ventura and the delegation merely slumped their shoulders.
“Whew. What are we to do...”
“Indeed, Your Excellency.”
“I never imagined they’d greet us like this. Is this even acceptable?”
“I agree. It’s unjust. We should summon someone again and press them sternly.”
“Yes. We must. But what if our protests fall on deaf ears?”
“What if we publicly denounce the Sultan?”
“Hmm, but this is enemy territory.”
“Then how about sending a letter back home?”
“What kind of letter?”
“Detailing their unjust treatment and requesting a larger follow-up delegation.”
“Asking for more diplomatic support and pressure?”
“Exactly. It doesn’t seem we can accomplish much here on our own.”
“Hmm...”
Count Ventura stroked his beard with a troubled expression.
“I have no idea how to handle this. Abandoning talks and returning would disappoint Her Majesty, and it might even lead to war... Speaking of, what are you doing?”
One of the count’s eyebrows twitched.
His gaze turned to the corner of the audience chamber.
Lloyd sat there at the table.
Receiving the count’s question, he smiled brightly.
“Oh, just taking a look at this.”
Sometime earlier, the golden plaque had ended up in his hand.
The Padashar left by the Sultan’s administrator.
Count Ventura’s eyebrow twitched even more dramatically.
“You don’t mean that’s caught your fancy, do you?”
“Just curious, that’s all.”
“Put it aside. It’s something the Sultan tossed our way to humiliate us. Don’t even entertain curiosity about it. More importantly—”
Count Ventura’s gaze toward Lloyd sharpened critically.
“You saw their attitude just now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then do you have any suggestions?”
“Hmm, not really.”
Lloyd shrugged.
A flash of displeasure crossed Count Ventura’s face as he looked at him.
‘What a vulgar sort.’
Truth be told, Count Ventura didn’t care much for Lloyd.
A country bumpkin who caught the queen’s eye?
He wasn’t resentful of the meteoric rise.
He acknowledged Lloyd’s abilities and reputation.
It was just the occasional vulgarity the young man displayed that grated.
Like now, happily fiddling with the golden plaque the Sultan had mockingly offered.
Count Ventura stared steadily at Lloyd.
“May I offer you some advice?”
“Yes, of course.”
“That golden plaque in your hand. Keep your distance from it if possible. Don’t let greed cloud your judgment. Don’t sell your pride for petty gains ahead. Please don’t ruin everyone’s efforts with foolish actions.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Is that sincere?”
“Of course. Rest assured, I won’t do anything to jeopardize things.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you understanding.”
“No problem.”
Only then did the count seem somewhat relieved.
He nodded in satisfaction.
Lloyd returned a smile full of trustworthiness.
And that night.
Lloyd’s full-blown ultra-luxury spending spree party kicked off, golden plaque from the Sultan in tow.