Chapter 226
Chapter 226
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: The Empire's Envoy (1)
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“You have…… a son?”
“That’s right.”
“With the chieftain……?”
“No.”
“Then, is your wife in the Cerned Barony? In the Kingdom of Dane?”
“No.”
“I don’t mind riddles, but this is a bit frustrating. Where is your wife right now?”
“She’s gone now.”
Rene flinched at Fernandez’s words. A sticky, melancholic air lingered between them. Rene straightened her posture and asked cautiously.
“You’ve been widowed……?”
“…….”
A kind of widowhood, yes. He had witnessed her death firsthand on that stormy day. The festering emotions and boiling grief were no longer there. All that remained was dust, a soul torn apart, and memories from that day more like phantoms than recollections.
Beitasser had separated his past life’s emotions from himself. It was unforgivable, but the silver lining was that he didn’t need to dwell on regrets beyond sorrow.
“I see…… I’m sorry. Truly.”
“You needn’t be, my lady.”
“And your son, where is he now…….”
“Far away.”
Very far away. Rene’s eyes gradually lit up, as if she understood Fernandez’s words in her own way. She pondered alone with a hum, then nodded.
“Well, a flaw like this among nobles isn’t even considered a defect. I like it.”
“What are you talking about……?”
“Let’s get married. You and I.”
“No.”
The refusal was immediate. Rene stared at Fernandez with a blank expression. No emotion showed in his eyes. The corners of her mouth trembled.
“You’d gain…… so much from it?”
“There’ll be plenty of losses too.”
“I’ll compensate you……?”
“Where do I sign the rejection clause?”
“You’re so stubborn.”
“…….”
“Hand over the strawberries.”
* * *
A reply to the duke’s letter had arrived. Accompanied by a massive procession and a boisterous band. As he watched the heavily armored knights enter the outer gates of Reuby, the duke furrowed his brow.
The lead standard-bearer at the forefront was clad in ornate armor, striding in leisurely with a smug expression. It was warranted. The style of that armor belonged to the Radiant Lances of Light Knight Order, the oldest and most prestigious among the imperial knight orders.
The Radiant Lances wouldn’t mobilize just to escort a mere envoy. The standard-bearer held two flags. One was a small banner emblazoned with the knight order’s insignia in splendor. And the other—
“The imperial family has come personally……?”
A purple cloth embroidered with tulips, a crown, sun and eye, and a deer in gold thread. The tulip represented the empire, the crown the nobility, the sun and eye Shield and the Holy Pantheon respectively. Finally, the deer symbolized the current imperial house—the Elector Count Tremulle Court Chamberlain family crest.
The crown’s gold thread shimmered silver embroidery catching the sunlight. The second imperial prince. Duke Erbe stroked his chin and slowly prepared to receive the envoy delegation.
Even if the counterpart was a prince, the throne wasn’t hereditary. Thus, a prince was merely a title for nominal respect; in reality, he was the second son of an earl’s house. If the Tremulle family adhered to primogeniture, that young man would end his life not even as an earl, but as an ordinary robed noble.
Therefore, Erbe—as Elector Count, duke, and commander-in-chief of the empire’s expeditionary legions—had no need to show deference. His retainers wouldn’t want that either. Yet the duke dismounted without hesitation and stepped forward personally.
“Glory to the great Levanteir! The empire’s legitimate second son of the imperial house, noble Tremulle Court Chamberlain, Quartermaster General and Imperial Treasurer, Lord Robert Benitier de la Tremulle, enters the citadel!”
The squire matching pace beside the standard-bearer bellowed at the top of his lungs. It was a ridiculous envoy procession. Erbe suppressed a chuckle and bowed his head slightly. Nominal titles or not, a prince was a prince. Politicians’ power stemmed from names and pretexts.
And the Tremulle family was a great noble house clutching immense military and commercial power incomparable to Reuby.
“Welcome, Lord Robert. It’s been ages since that last celebratory banquet.”
“Indeed, Duke Karvelier! Have you been well? I should have visited more often to ease the burden of the imperial commander-in-chief—it’s my failing!”
“Thank you for your concern. Ha ha, come in. A banquet is prepared!”
“My thanks for the hospitality.”
Robert was a handsome young man whose ornate coat suited him perfectly. The Tremulle bloodline’s signature radiant golden hair sparkled in the sunlight.
An ivory dress suit with lavish gold embroidery hugged his lean frame without a gap. Prince Robert approached Rene, who stood beside the duke exchanging proper courtesies, and lightly kissed the back of her hand.
“Delighted to see you again, Lady Karvelier.”
“Yes…… Lord Robert. It’s been since the last social gathering.”
“The western campaign celebration was the last.”
The western expedition was officially an imperial “victorious war.” They had repelled the sultan’s offensive and safeguarded imperial territory—that was the rationale. She remembered the lavish banquet hall here in Reuby, back when it was still the center of power.
One could call it a splendid funeral. It was the day Reuby’s political and economic lifeline was severed. She couldn’t know exactly what conversations flowed among the nobles that day.
But afterward, Reuby’s funding lines were cut one by one. No more logistics passed through Reuby. And it was clear the imperial chancellery had meddled in those flows.
High imperial offices traditionally went to the Elector Counts. Just as Duke Erbe held the imperial quartermaster’s legion commander post, ministerial positions passed to them.
Yet beyond those nominal powers, others actually ran the departments. The treasurer in the treasury, the court chamberlain in the palace interior, the Levante knight captain in the quartermaster……
The empire’s real power went to the emperor’s appointees alongside the throne. The Elector Counts were busy enough managing their domains beyond nominal posts.
Thus, the political machinations in Reuby here were surely the work of one of those figures. Given the collapse of commerce, it was highly likely this young treasurer before him.
But nobles didn’t reveal emotions on their faces.
“You’ve become truly gallant.”
“Ha ha! You remain as beautiful as ever, my lady!”
With those words, the cavalry and band began entering the citadel. At Erbe’s subtle glance, Rene bowed her head and withdrew.
“The journey from the capital to Reuby must have been taxing—warm yourself in the banquet hall and rest easy. Lord Robert, pray treat it as your own castle.”
At Erbe’s words, Robert smiled softly and expressed his gratitude.
* * *
And due to the extravagantly flashy entrance, the scene was clearly visible even from Reuby’s inner citadel, atop the towers still under repair. This distance was practically next door to Fernandez.
—The prince himself……
‘Bold move.’
Fernandez scowled at the Tremulle house crest. Robert de la Tremulle. A noble renowned even in his past life.
After the Century War, the Karvelier ducal house—which clutched military and financial power—would safely inherit the throne at the next Elector Conference. After the previous emperor’s death, the Tremulle earls returned to their domain.
The Tremulle Court Chamberlain’s stronghold was the northern trade port of Guirda. All imperial northern sea trade routes passed through Guirda, which amassed wealth rapidly through links with eastern triangular ports—a massive city.
Hence its nickname, the “Platinum Harbor” Guirda. From walls to docks, the vast domain was clad in marble, blazing gorgeously like platinum in the morning sun.
And the fierce battlefield where jet-black Erik fell.
‘That bastard’s a formidable swordsman even at this time.’
Robert de la Tremulle Court Chamberlain was one of the empire’s great heroes who shone on the front lines during the northern invasion. When northern barbarians raided, burning all eastern kingdom ports and war engulfed the east, the imperial northern ports weren’t spared either.
Robert was the one who quelled that chaos. Lauded as the flower of imperial knighthood for both personal prowess and strategic insight, he nearly perfectly defended the imperial north.
Naturally, Robert was one of the human civilization heroes Feizashi had marked, with no gaps in his intel.
Or so he thought. His father, Emperor Tremulle, had died before Feizashi’s heyday, so no need to track him. But Robert de la Tremulle’s family composition, personal history, and connections were under Feizashi’s information network.
—But the second son.
‘Right. The eldest is separate.’
The imperial high noble roster the pope had handed over. Reading the report detailing the Tremulle lineage without omission, Fernandez intuited it. A figure absent in his past life, unseen. Tremulle’s firstborn.
‘For a great noble of Elector Count caliber, if the heir suddenly dies or is poisoned in succession, scandals can’t be hidden. No info Feizashi gathered mentioned Robert having an older sibling.’
‘If Robert’s brother is still alive and slated to die later, and we missed it?’
—Robert’s sixteen. If an older brother older than him has lived this long, there’d be no lack of succession talk.
‘Then it’s certain.’
—Pretty much.
Fernandez stroked his chin, gazing at the prince’s face. Things were spiraling into chaos. Reading his thoughts, Feizashi grumbled.
—Damn it, Beitasser. This on purpose?
‘No sane father throws his daughter into peril and demands we rescue her.’
Fernandez chuckled at that. Everis. Absent in his past life, the Tremulle house’s lady. The imperial eldest princess showing signs of corruption……
‘Raziel or Soardel. One of the two.’
One of the remaining two angels. At any rate, another reason to deal with the emperor. So thinking, Fernandez entered the palace.
* * *
Though incomparable to the grand banquets or lavish socials in the imperial capital Levante, Reuby’s feast was ostentatious, as if to boast the domain’s vitality.
With palace repairs unfinished, the banquet hall was outdoors. It was springtime, and this spring on the wasteland-turned-plains was humid and warm. The late evening social venue glowed under dense mana lamps.
Countless servants bustled with fresh drinks and delicacies. Fernandez sat among the beastkin warriors, smirking. The duke’s coffers were draining in real time.
Far off, he spotted Kirhas at the duke’s table. She occasionally glanced his way desperately. Finding it amusing, Fernandez deliberately met her eyes.
‘I’m in danger right now! Save me, benefactor!’
Kirhas mouthed fervently. Fernandez chuckled, raised his glass, and teased her.
Kirhas stared at him with eyes trembling in shock and betrayal.
“Playboy.”
“What’d you say?”
“Strawberry thief.”
“I’ll compensate you?”
“Womanizer.”
“Never happened.”
—For real?
Fernandez ignored Feizashi’s aghast look. “Pardon me briefly,” Rene said, shooing the beastkin and sitting opposite him. The beastkin glanced at Rene and Fernandez, snickered among themselves, and left.
“Anything else?”
“Plenty. What happened. What’re you planning?”
“The prince’s personal visit. Unexpected, but.”
“What does it mean?”
“We’ll see if it’s the prince’s will or the emperor’s that brought him here.”
Fernandez leaned back, eyeing Kirhas, the duke, and the prince conversing with them afar. The prince was daintily slicing meat with astonishingly noble hand movements.
“If it’s the emperor’s will?”
“He’d scout Reuby’s situation and cover their failed ploy.”
“If the prince’s?”
“An emperor eyeing hereditary rule, a competent eldest daughter. And a second son pushed down the succession. The empire follows primogeniture by noble law. If the second son steps out of the imperial house to a region clearly hostile…… Doesn’t that paint an interesting picture?”
Fernandez wet his throat with wine as he spoke. He couldn’t kill or imprison the prince. That man was one of civilization’s shining heroes. So……
‘We use him.’
Rene gazed at his face in admiration. She soon nodded primly, elegantly lifting her champagne with a graceful gesture.
“Shall we marry?”
“No.”
“Ah, why!”