Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Diplomacy (3)
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The moment he received the summons from the king, Duke Randaron headed straight for Norba Kingdom territory, and it wasn't long before...
"...The sword of Norba Kingdom comes before its master."
Upon arriving at the royal castle, Duke Randaron bowed his head, but the king's expression as he looked at him was far from pleased.
Right after that, Duke Randaron realized why he had been called.
"Wh-what do you mean? It's true I sent an envoy to Lartania territory, but I never gave any orders like that...!"
"So, you're saying it's a misunderstanding?"
"Yes!"
And on top of that, he realized just how absurd the misunderstanding was.
"So, you're saying that envoy you held so dear had the gall to screw you over by asking Lartania's lord about his parents' well-being, ignoring your orders entirely."
"...I haven't confirmed with the envoy since he hasn't returned yet, but once I verify the truth, if it turns out to be the case, I'll discipline him—"
The duke spoke hastily.
But the king waved him off dismissively, cutting him off as if there was no need to hear it.
"What's the difference if you handle it that way now? The damage to Norba Kingdom from your actions is already clear."
He showed the duke a letter with an irritated expression.
Soon, the duke could read the letter the king had dropped in front of him.
----
To the great master of the Iron Kingdom, Norba, called the hegemon of the East, King Troman. I am Kim Hyunwoo, lord of the small territory of Lartania. I deeply regret having to greet you by letter instead of in person. Great King of Norba—(omitted)— The reason I'm writing this letter is the magic stones that can now be continuously produced in Lartania. Magic stones hold tremendous potential to greatly advance this continent if production scales up, but they are a power too great for me to handle alone. Rather than foolishly hoarding it, I thought to entrust it to the king of Norba Kingdom, who can protect me from the threats of this harsh continent. However, suddenly, an envoy from Norba Kingdom—no less than the strongest of the three dukes, called the Sword of Norba Kingdom, Duke Randaron—came to me, insulting my parents and making all sorts of threats.
...
..
.
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Duke Randaron let out an involuntary hollow laugh and stopped reading the letter.
He had already grasped its entire contents anyway.
The duke ground his teeth and scowled without realizing it.
Even without finishing the letter, he could summarize its message in one line.
'I was going to contract with Norba Kingdom, but your envoy insulted me, so now I'm humiliated and will look for other buyers.'
Lartania's lord had written that he had intended to do business but one of your subordinates acted like a complete asshole, so now he had no interest in dealing.
'This fucking bastard...!'
Duke Randaron nearly cursed aloud as he realized he'd been completely outmaneuvered.
This letter had effectively pushed away all the benefits he could have gained from Norba Kingdom.
"..."
In truth, it was a bit odd for a mere letter from a lord not even affiliated with Norba Kingdom to create this situation.
No matter how many magic stones Lartania's lord had, he was still an outsider, while Duke Randaron was one of Norba's three dukes.
Yet the king was berating him and damaging his dignity like this because he was checking him.
Duke Randaron commanded military power great enough to be called Norba's sword.
Perhaps even more than his predecessor, who had been a loyal servant of Norba.
On top of that, his territory was growing rapidly, becoming a thorn in the king's side. A letter like this would normally mean nothing, but now it was the perfect weapon to check him.
Thus.
"Thanks to you, duke, Norba Kingdom has suffered massive losses. How do you plan to take responsibility for this?"
Thus, Duke Randaron ground his teeth in fury, thinking of Lartania's lord who had orchestrated this.
A few days later.
"...How did you predict it would turn out like this?"
Kim Hyunwoo smiled as he read the letter from Norba's king, and Elena's voice came laced with wonder. He replied.
"I could guess from the information."
"Information?"
"Yeah. Didn't you tell me? Duke Randaron is one of Norba's three dukes, commands the kingdom's largest military force, has a violent temper, and has grown a lot recently."
"...Right."
"That's how I predicted it. More precisely, I predicted Norba's king's reaction."
"Norba's king's... reaction?"
Kim Hyunwoo continued.
"Yes. In truth, my letter was just meaningless scribble from an outsider to the king. But for him, it became a great tool to check a duke whose power is starting to rival his own."
"And by leaving room that we could recontract if he dealt with Duke Randaron, it created a situation where the king could definitely profit if he moved against him."
Kim Hyunwoo shrugged as he spoke.
"By now, Duke Randaron probably can't move easily. The king and the lords who dislike him will be seizing the chance to tear him down."
"...With just that one letter?"
"That's how political infighting works. You can slap meaning onto a worthless letter, blow it out of proportion, and crush someone... as long as you have reason and justification."
Kim Hyunwoo muttered, recalling the endless office politics and faction wars at his old company. Elena looked admiring for a moment before speaking.
"So, are we siding with Norba Kingdom now?"
"No? Not at all."
"Huh? But didn't you just send that letter to the king using the contract as bait?"
"Right. But it was just 'room'—I never said we'd actually contract."
"...If Norba's king finds out, won't that create an even worse situation than now?"
Elena worried.
But Kim Hyunwoo grinned and said,
"It's fine. By the time Norba's king gets angry, we'll have ties to Kalan Kingdom and the Eastern Alliance clans."
"...What do you mean?"
"You know this too, Elena—Kalan Kingdom, Norba Kingdom, and the Eastern Alliance clans don't get along."
"Yes, I know."
"So, by the time the king blows up, we can make lines to Kalan or the Eastern Alliance."
"Ah."
"Even if Norba notices then, they won't be able to do anything to Lartania. None of the three kingdoms wants a magic stone territory allying elsewhere. Of course, we might cross a tipping point, but—"
"Adjusting that until the territory stabilizes—that's my job now."
Kim Hyunwoo laid out the vision he'd been planning. Elena gazed at him with genuine admiration.
Lani's daily life could be called extremely monotonous.
Basically, from waking in the morning to sleeping at night, her routine revolved around cooking.
Yet she had never once felt exhausted by it.
On the contrary, she loved her current life.
Because in Lartania territory, through cooking, she received the recognition she'd never gotten before—from everyone.
And when Kim Hyunwoo, her benefactor who had saved her, ate her food with relish every day, her heart filled with happiness.
Seeing the lord enjoy her cooking made her feel suddenly validated.
That's why she was thoroughly enjoying life in Lartania, and today she was especially excited.
Because today was the day Kim Hyunwoo would repay her for all the cooking by making a meal himself.
So Lani anticipated the food he would make.
But that evening.
"...Sorry, it's bad, right?"
The 'curry' Kim Hyunwoo made was, to Lani, utterly revolting.
"This... um... didn't turn out well?"
He had casually tried making instant curry from his modern days, thinking he knew the ingredients so it should be fine—and ended up with a total disaster. He apologized to Lani with a sorry look.
"N-no, it's okay! I messed up a ton at first too...!"
"...Guess I'll learn from you properly next time and treat you then."
At his following words, Lani comforted him repeatedly.
"I-I'll teach you well...!"
"Then, next time, I look forward to it."
She gained the big win(?) of teaching him her favorite dishes, and they finished dinner with hastily made sandwiches.
And that night.
At a rather late hour.
"Haa... haa... this is... food made by the master..."
A red-eyed wolfkin appeared at the restaurant.
The next day.
"...Huh? Did I throw it out yesterday...? No, I don't think so...?"
Lani stared puzzled at the pot of Kim Hyunwoo's curry from yesterday, scraped clean without a single spoonful left.
And.
"...?"
Waking up in the morning, Kim Hyunwoo also looked baffled at the alert window floating before his eyes.