Chapter 40 : Chapter 40
Chapter 40
“My lord Count!
My lord Count!
We're in trouble!”
Seeing the butler rushing over in a fluster, Count Obsol took a bottle of whiskey from his desk drawer.
If it was something that could make the butler, who had been with him for the past several decades, this flustered, it was surely something difficult to hear sober.
“What is it?”
“The royal palace has dispatched a negotiator for mediation!
They said he would arrive through the Magic Tower today at the latest……!”
In that instant, the Count's hand, which was bringing the strong whiskey to his lips while listening to the butler's report, froze.
“That's great news!”
They had to improve their relationship with Merchen and end the dispute with the damn Moner family as soon as possible.
Even to resume food sales, which was one of the domain's biggest sources of income, the intervention of the royal palace was desperately needed, so the news that the royal palace had dispatched a negotiator was welcome.
“Th-that is… the one dispatched is the second prince.”
Clang!
At the sound of the second prince's name, the bottle of liquor he was holding in his hand fell to the floor and shattered.
“That psycho?”
The second prince, despite being the legitimate son of the queen, was a scarecrow prince with no support base due to his excessive wickedness.
“How could the king……”
If it had been negotiations with another family, the second prince might have been a good choice.
If the prince threatened or acted wickedly, using the name of the royal family, he would be able to draw out a smooth agreement no matter who the opponent was.
The problem was that the opponent was the Moner family.
The butler, who was watching the Count's expression, opened his mouth.
“That is… they say the prince himself requested it from the king.”
“Himself?
I guess he's finally tired of the maids in the royal palace?”
The Count wiped his face with his hand and muttered as if in lament.
The relationship between the Moner family and the Reime royal family was ambiguous.
Long ago, after receiving the dukedom, the Moner family had established itself in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, declaring itself the vanguard of the forest, and had since insisted that they would not interfere in the affairs of the royal family and the kingdom.
At that time, the royal family had welcomed the decision of the first Duke to block the Forest of Demonic Beasts, which was threatening the kingdom, with open arms and had even lifted the limit on the ducal family's private army.
The problem was that in less than ten years, the Moner family's military power had grown to a level that threatened the royal family.
“The Moner family is not an opponent that can be moved just because that crazy brat throws a tantrum.”
The first Duke of Moner had invaded the kingdom, which was trying to wage a war of conquest using the Moner family, and had personally beheaded the general and given his head to the queen, demanding that they not invade each other's territory.
The royal family's persistent check on the Moner family, which had continued until now, was for that reason.
“Even if the Duke is gone, that family has not one, but three people who have reached the Master level.”
No matter how much the ducal family had lived as if dead after the Duke's disappearance, no one knew how they would react if there was direct intervention from the royal family.
“For now, let's prepare to receive the prince.
Prepare some strong liquor and a few women to keep him from running wild.
Don't use drugs.
I need to send him back quietly as much as possible and then request another mediator.”
For a moment, the Count recalled the young lord of Moner, who had threatened him with a smiling face through the crystal ball.
Grit.
The ruffian who had casually threatened him, the Count, that he would kill his second son if he did not pay back the money.
‘He probably killed Rojin, who delivered the warning, too.’
“Under no circumstances, absolutely no circumstances, should the second prince and the ruffian of the Moner family ever meet.
Do you understand?”
For two people who ran wild at their own whim to meet and negotiate, there could be no greater disaster.
“Make sure that never happens……”
Knock, knock.
Thud.
Just as the butler was bowing his head and answering, a knight who opened the door and entered with a sharp salute delivered the shocking news.
“My lord Count, the young lord of Moner has come to see you.”
The bewildered butler's and the Count's gazes turned to the knight.
* * *
In the empty reception room, the seated Ian muttered in a dissatisfied tone.
“The reception is shabbier than I thought.”
I had expected not to be welcomed, but to think they would leave a young lord alone in the reception room.
“Maybe I should just go out and look around.”
Just as I thought it would be better than waiting for an opponent who I did not know when would arrive and got up, the reception room door opened and a cute-looking girl entered.
“Natasha of Obsol greets the young lord of the Moner family, who protects the Forest of Demonic Beasts.”
The girl, who introduced herself as Natasha, lifted the hem of her skirt in a formal manner and greeted him.
Ian stared at Natasha for a long time.
It was because she was a person he was seeing for the first time, even though he prided himself on knowing most of the characters in the game.
‘The fact that I don't know her means that she will die within the next 10 years.’
Just in case, he examined her face carefully, but since it was a face he had never seen before in his life, it was clear that she was not a person who was active under a hidden name.
“Is there something on my face?”
Only after Natasha, with a faint blush, covered her face with both hands did he turn his eyes away from her.
“Ah, excuse me.
Are you the Count's daughter?”
“Yes.”
Ian pushed his body, which he had raised, back deep into the sofa and sat down.
“I said I wanted to see the Count, why did you come?”
“He suddenly had an urgent matter come up, so I had to come unavoidably.
I'm very sorry.”
Natasha bowed her head and apologized.
“He will come here after he finishes his work, so could you please wait for a moment?”
The Count, who was on his way to the reception room, had headed to the prince upon hearing the news of his imminent arrival, and had no choice but to ask his daughter to buy him some time.
“Hmm……”
Ian looked at the girl smiling brightly before him with displeased eyes and smiled back.
“I don't want to.”
Ian said, sneering at Natasha.
“Did you think I would wait with a hearty laugh if you said the Count was busy?
It seems you were looking down on me more than I thought.”
After finishing his words, Ian shot up from his seat, and a flustered Natasha quickly got up and blocked his way.
“Yo-Young Lord!
The Count also said he was very sorry.
Please, just for a moment, if you could just wait for a moment……”
“To make a guest wait endlessly, the ducal family is more ignorant of etiquette than I thought.”
As Ian chided the clinging Natasha with a frown, Natasha flared up and shouted.
“Th-that's because you came without a word, Young Lord……!
Hup!”
Of course, anyone could see that it was largely Ian's fault for suddenly barging in and requesting an audience with the Count, but it was not something that could be pointed out in front of him.
Natasha, realizing her mistake, quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but the water had already been spilled.
“Ah, so it's my fault?
Because I barged in suddenly, I'm not even worth seeing?
My, I'm terribly sorry.”
Ian said, bowing his body in an exaggerated gesture.
“I have committed a great discourtesy to the great Obsol family.
To visit like this without any prior notice.
I was sincere in my desire to restore our relationship with Obsol, but it seems I was the only one who thought so.”
As he turned his head and headed towards the door, as if he were truly disappointed, a pale Natasha quickly ran out and blocked his path.
“No, that's not it at all.
I, I misspoke.”
At her somewhat desperate words, Ian looked at her again.
No matter how much it was in front of a young lord, she was incredibly subservient for the daughter of a ducal family.
‘No matter how I look at it, this is strange.’
To send his daughter to the ruffian of the Moner family.
No father in his right mind would ever make such a decision.
Moreover, to send his daughter in his place, wasn't that clearly sending her to be the target of the ruffian's anger?
“I'm liking this less and less.”
Only then did he realize that the reason Natasha had been trembling since she entered this room was not because of the title of ruffian.
“I-I'm sorry.
The Count will be down soon, so……”
The Count's daughter, who could not even call the Count "Father" since a while ago.
The fear she was showing now was probably as much fear of the Count as it was of the ruffian young lord.
“To make a young lord wait even though he visited in person, where is the Count?”
“I'm not sure about that… He said he'll be down soon, so he asked me to be your conversation partner for a while.”
“A conversation partner……”
Ian turned his head for a moment and looked into Natasha's eyes.
“It's boring to wait endlessly, won't you show me around this area?”
“Th-the Count said to be sure to stay inside the reception room……”
I fell into thought as I met her eyes, which were trembling like an aspen leaf.
A child who could not even call her father "Father" would not know the detailed circumstances of the ducal family.
However, those who had lived their entire lives reading the room could not help but be more sensitive to change than anyone else.
Just like Ian in the diary, since there was no one to tell them anything, they had no choice but to focus on and obsess over minor changes and the changes in the behavior of those around them.
“Then can you at least satisfy my curiosity?”
“I-I don't know much……”
At her appearance, which was unbelievable for a daughter of a ducal family, he let out a smirk and continued.
“By any chance, were there any guests who suddenly came to the Lord's Castle about a month ago?
They probably looked like mercenaries.”
Natasha, who was thinking hard after hearing the question, clapped her fist into her palm and smiled brightly.
“The guests who came about a month ago… Ah!
They are my older brother's friends!”
Ha.
So it was the Count's eldest son who had brought in the elf hunters, not the Count.
“Yes, those friends came to the ducal family, but I was so busy I couldn't greet them.
Are they by any chance still here?”
“Um… I haven't heard that they left, so I think they're still here, but they stay outside the Lord's Castle more often.
Shall I have someone find out for you?”
“No, it's fine.
As long as I know they're still in this domain, that's enough.
Is the Count's young master here too, by any chance?”
“Th-that, I'm not sure……”
Ian, who had obtained the information he wanted, patted Natasha's shoulder with a satisfied face and said.
“It's alright.
Thank you very much for your help.
The Count seems to be busy today, so I will contact him separately and visit again.”
“W-wait, just a moment……!”
* * *
“It's certain today, right?”
At the question of the Count's eldest son, Treon, who was frowning deeply, the elf hunter who was checking his weapon nodded his head.
“The preparations are already finished, so don't worry.
By the way, is the slave trader coming?”
At the elf hunter's sarcastic voice, Treon's face crumpled even more.
“You just do your job.
If the slave trader doesn't come, our ducal family will pay the fee.”
Elf slave trading was strictly illegal in all countries, but there was no more popular item in the capital than an elf slave.
Ever since he heard a rumor that a good-for-nothing from a viscount's family, who had graduated from the same national academy, had entered the royal knightly order by offering an elf slave, Treon had been desperate to get an elf slave.
A month ago, he had succeeded in luckily discovering the land where the Dark Elves lived, but he had not been able to catch a single one due to the fierce attacks that poured in as soon as he crossed the border.
“Don't worry.”
A man in armor that covered his entire body like a formal knight said.
“No matter how scary an elf's arrow is, it can't pierce through plate mail.
Besides, we've even prepared a special trap for the elves, so there's no need to worry.”
An arrow imbued with mana could easily pierce through an iron plate, but hunters who made a living hunting elves had their own secret plans.
“This poison is made by mixing Mandrake root and Insulation grass, and the elves who drink this will not be able to move a single speck of mana.
Hehehe……”
Unfortunately, the elves of the western forest had finished their preparations against mana-suppressing poison with Ian's help, but the hunters did not know that at all.