Chapter 239
Chapter 239
Iron Emperor — Chapter 239
"Count Heil Solon of the Malin Kingdom, entering!"
The chamberlain's booming voice resounded through the Imperial Hall as Count Solon and the rest of the envoys, following Gye Ung-sam, filed inside with dazed expressions.
Seeing their faces, King Alsein and King Bera Han—the same Bera Han who had been thunderstruck when Jin-cheon arrived in the Haian Kingdom—couldn't help but smile to themselves.
"What's with those faces?"
"I didn't do a thing, I swear!"
The envoys reached Jin-cheon without even offering a greeting, their mouths still half open. Jin-cheon frowned and asked what was wrong, and Ung-sam, perhaps conditioned by his recent beatings, immediately jumped to defend himself.
Only after Jin-cheon and Ung-sam exchanged words did Count Solon recover his wits and, startled by the sight before him, bow and pay his respects.
"Count Heil Solon of the Malin Kingdom offers his greetings to the King of Gauri."
"......."
When no answer came, Count Solon began to feel anxious. Already unsettled by the presence of an Archmage, he could not help being strung tight with tension.
At that moment, Eulji Buru's furious roar erupted.
"Why, you— General Gye. Did you not teach them on the way?"
"That's not true! I clearly explained the proper etiquette!"
Ung-sam's aggrieved voice burst out. He had, indeed, repeatedly instructed them to use the title "Your Majesty" when greeting the sovereign.
It was just that their minds had not been capable of registering it.
"Then why did you let them spout such nonsense before His Majesty? Or is our Great Gauri so easy that envoys behave like that!"
At Buru's fiery words, Count Solon realized they had made a grave blunder. It had never even entered his dreams that they would proclaim themselves an empire. Moreover, he had even forgotten—despite having been told by merchants—that the king here was called the Yeolje.
"The fault is entirely mine. Having experienced things beyond belief on the journey here, I committed an inexcusable error."
Count Solon swiftly acknowledged his mistake. Although he was a secret envoy, a blunder at the very first meeting was clearly a serious failing.
And besides, weren't they the ones who needed this?
"Brother, it seems they truly did not know."
"Indeed. Please let go of your anger, Your Majesty."
"Hmm. Since it is the first meeting, for the sake of my two younger brothers, I will overlook it this once."
At the defense offered by King Alsein and King Bera Han, Jin-cheon relaxed his furrowed brow.
"Raise your heads."
Only now, when Jin-cheon at last addressed them, did Count Solon sigh inwardly in relief and slowly lift his head.
"Ah!"
He was astonished once more.
The two people who should have been beside Jin-cheon—those he had called younger brothers—were people he knew well. Were they not sitting to Jin-cheon's left and right?
"Are you in good health, Your Highness Bera Han? I also offer my respects to Your Highness Alsein."
"Count Solon, it has been two years."
"Y-yes, that is so."
At King Bera Han's words, Count Solon again bent his back, receiving the greeting.
"Hmm. Younger brother, have you seen this fellow before?"
"Yes, Brother. He is a distinguished diplomat of the Malin Kingdom who has visited our Haian Kingdom several times."
"He also came to our Roselin Kingdom once or twice, Brother."
Count Solon had already known the intelligence that King Bera Han himself had visited; because they were neighboring states, Haian had a considerable number of informants. But he could not help being stunned by the fact that King Alsein was unexpectedly present and that they were addressing one another as elder and younger brothers with easy familiarity.
'Could it be that they have declared themselves vassal states!'
If so, the Malin Kingdom's position would become awkward.
The purpose of his visit here was to form an alliance in secret. Naturally, an alliance on equal terms. But if the two kingdoms were united around Gauri, presenting themselves as brother kingdoms, then the Malin Kingdom's alliance proposal became awkward.
No matter how much the Malin Kingdom had been holding out by pursuing policies contrary to the Federal Empire, the reality was that they had only been holding out because the Federal Empire, mindful of the other empires, had not dealt with them coercively.
In pure military terms, they could overpower the Haian Kingdom, but in terms of financial power, they were clearly inferior to Haian. Which meant that if Haian built up its strength without worrying about the empires' watchful eyes, it could raise itself to the Malin Kingdom's level in a short time. Compared to the Roselin Kingdom's military strength, they were either similar or slightly inferior. For even though Roselin was a nation that had been destroyed once and had endured frequent wars, it possessed abundant experience and could not be dismissed.
With those two kingdoms as Gauri's vassals, the Malin Kingdom's alliance proposal was highly likely to come across as arrogant.
And if this was a nation that even had an Archmage—something not even the empires possessed—the situation became even more different.
"What business brings you all the way here?"
When Dae Mu-deok, who had been standing in attendance below Jin-cheon, posed the question, Count Solon, who had been struggling with himself for a moment, drew a scroll from his bosom and held it out.
"It is a secret missive conveyed by His Majesty the King of my country."
Jin-cheon's guard commander stepped forward, received the missive, and presented it to Jin-cheon. Jin-cheon slowly unrolled the scroll, fell silent for a moment, and then let out a low groan.
"Hmm."
"What is the matter, Your Majesty?"
Alsein, burning with curiosity, ventured the question, but Count Solon had no choice but to shut his eyes. The only relief was the fact that Jin-cheon had not flared up in blistering anger.
That was a misconception.
Without a word, Jin-cheon handed the scroll to Yunias, who was seated to one side.
Was it not only natural that Jin-cheon could not read the Continental language?
"Damn it, I just can't get used to these curly squiggles."
"Heh-heh, I shall read it for you."
Yunias, receiving the scroll, slowly read through it.
Grind.
As Yunias spoke, the sound of grinding teeth began to come from the martial officers seated in the Imperial Hall—Eulji Buru, Uru, and others.
'Hrrk!'
The killing intent closing in around him left Count Solon more and more rattled.
Though he served as a diplomat, he was still a knight trained in swordsmanship. In all his experience, he had never encountered such overwhelming killing intent.
At last, Yunias's recitation came to an end.
"......."
Inside the Imperial Hall, only deep silence and killing intent hung.
Crack!
The armrest of the Yeolje's throne, which Jin-cheon had been holding, shattered beneath the strength of his grip.
"So, in other words......"
Despite his actions, Jin-cheon's voice remained calm.
"Because we have fallen out of favor with the Holy Empire......"
"......."
At times, a quiet voice could be more frightening than a shout. Jin-cheon's subdued tone was like that now.
"We should join hands? And the King of Malin will provide assistance, so I should come pay a visit? In person? And that he is inclined to offer help?"
He had exaggerated somewhat, but that was roughly the gist of the letter.
"Please calm your temper."
"That is right. Please calm your temper."
Alsein and Bera Han, on either side of Jin-cheon, were urging him to soothe his rage.
"It must have been a mistake. That our Roselin Kingdom, which serves Brother's nation as the Great Gauri Empire, should have such a secret missive directed toward it......"
"Count Solon, truly regrettable. Haian is hardly pleased either. How could one send a letter with such content to Brother's nation?"
"M-my deepest apologies."
These words simply confirmed Count Solon's suppositions. Gauri was not some kingdom panicking because it had fallen out of favor with the Holy Empire—it had become an empire in name and in fact.
"Feed them and send them back."
"P-please, wait a moment, Your Majesty!"
At Jin-cheon's expulsion order, the desperate voice of Count Solon rang out. The current situation on the continent—with the emergence of Gauri and the collapse and fragmentation of North Roselin, which had relied on the Holy Empire's backing—was such that it was impossible to predict what would happen next. Under these circumstances, the birth of an empire called Gauri meant that the Malin Kingdom could no longer maintain its peace. With the Federal Empire already nearby, the rise of another empire in Gauri made the danger ahead obvious.
"Let us give him a chance, Brother."
"Is there any need?"
"Still, why not at least hear him out first?"
Amid the conversation of the three affectionately (?) bonded brothers, Count Solon was busily shuttling back and forth between heaven and hell.
"Hmm. Let's hear him out."
"Th-thank you! Our kingdom, in its dullness, failed to grasp the situation in time. If you grant me time, I will contact my country and, within a few days, bring you a different proposal."
"Proposal?"
"Please grant me a few days!"
Jin-cheon's brow furrowed again. For Count Solon, too, his stomach tightened with anxiety.
"I do not care for the word 'proposal.'"
"Your Majesty!"
Count Solon was desperate.
"We shall see tomorrow morning. Let us go, younger brothers."
"Y-your Majesty!"
Jin-cheon, having granted only a single day, left Count Solon's cries behind and, accompanied by the two kings, exited the Imperial Hall with unhurried steps.
"So we're not going to war with the Malin Kingdom?"
"Don't make me talk. I'm itching to lead the mustered troops and strike right now."
As Jin-cheon left, the Eulji brothers each shot Count Solon a glare and spoke loudly enough for him to hear.
Words with plenty of room for misunderstanding, at that.......
* * *
"Brother."
After exiting the Imperial Hall, Alsein quietly called out to Jin-cheon. At that, Jin-cheon frowned and answered gruffly.
"Enough of that now."
"Come on, Brother. What's wrong?"
When even Bera Han stepped forward and added his voice, Jin-cheon put on a stern expression.
"Why is even King Bera Han doing this?"
"Oh, come, speak casually with me, Brother."
"Hrrgh."
In truth, the visit from the Malin Kingdom was something that Gauri also welcomed. However, it was a matter of convenience, not an absolute necessity. That was why Alsein had proposed the act in the first place. The idea had been that if Jin-cheon and the two kings showed a close relationship before the envoy, it would definitely make the Malin Kingdom anxious. After all, it had not even been a day since those two had declared themselves vassal states.
They had put on the act because it served their interests. Yet while Alsein, who had already quietly come to think of Jin-cheon as an older brother and had treated him that way for some time, had no problem, for Bera Han to join in and address him so intimately was naturally unfamiliar to Jin-cheon.
"I've always wanted an older brother, you see."
"Ugh, let's just go fishing."
"Ha ha ha!"
Following behind Jin-cheon, who quickened his pace ahead, Bera Han's eyes held genuine sincerity.
'To me, he is heaven itself. What does it matter if I call him Brother?'
It was Bera Han who gazed warmly at Jin-cheon's retreating back.