Chapter 59

#059 Frederick Riester (4)

"Sit down."

As soon as Emperor Frederick's words fell, everyone in the hall moved in unison.

Even though quite a few people seemed to be drunk, they all seemed to snap back to their senses with the emperor in front of them.

I admired how Cardinal Boute was smiling faintly in this atmosphere.

"Toasts must be made."

The emperor, who had approached our table, said in a low voice.

Looking at her up close, she had an air of untouchability, from the loosely fastened cufflinks to the single wrinkle on her face.

I gently picked up my aloe juice glass.

The head butler, Lola Mendi, refilled the emperor's glass with a new rosé wine.

"To the endless prosperity of Riester and the eternal peace of my son."

"For that!"

Over 200 voices echoed loudly through the banquet hall.

The orchestra immediately resumed playing, and the hall quickly came to life.

The nobles, who seemed to have been glued to their seats, stood up with their glasses and moved around, chatting noisily.

It was like a high school when the lunch bell rings.

'His Majesty usually lets the nobles be loose. He thinks it's less troublesome that way.'

I recalled a comment Benezaim had once made.

Does 'letting loose' mean this? They did seem to listen well when they needed to.

"I see the sun that has descended upon the earth!"

"François, sit down."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Duke of Dume, who was sitting next to me, stood up abruptly but quickly lowered himself.

The emperor, seated at the head table, slowly surveyed us with a glass in his right hand.

The air felt stifling, though it wasn't the rainy season.

The people at the tables on either side seemed to be enjoying themselves, sacrificing us as entertainment.

"Everyone has worked hard in that young man's territory. Enjoy yourselves and have a good time."

"Your Majesty's grace is boundless."

Sir Elizabeth greeted with impeccable manners.

Kristel and I bowed our heads in response.

Soon, a quiet mealtime followed.

The prince occasionally exchanged a few words with his mother, but the conversation never drifted our way.

Kristel, Sir Elizabeth, and I, along with the Dume brothers, had reached an unspoken agreement to fill our stomachs quickly and leave discreetly.

No one wanted to prolong the evening.

"The Holy Knight from the Vatican has arrived at the House of Sarnes."

"......Yes, Your Majesty."

At that moment, the emperor suddenly spoke to Kristel.

I focused on the information while quietly cutting my cordon bleu.

"When will the training start?"

"Next Monday."

"Quick. That's good."

The Holy Knight that the cardinal had requested for Kristel's training had finally arrived in the empire.

It meant she no longer needed to attend the same 'lessons' as me!

I barely managed to suppress a smirk.

Kristel is a good person and an excellent protagonist, but I didn't want to be entangled with her.

As I put a large piece of cordon bleu in my mouth, the familiar yet new taste enveloped my tongue, and my mood brightened instantly.

The emperor continued.

"You should also receive the training together with my son, if you don't mind."

"Prince, Your Highness...... Is that what you're saying?"

Jackpot.

I lifted my head momentarily but then saw Sir Elizabeth's nose wrinkle and straighten repeatedly, a sign of extreme amusement.

I quickly lowered my face to avoid laughing.

Kristel's hand, holding a heart-shaped palmier, was frozen in mid-air.

"Yes. Everyone in the empire knows that the prince has manifested the abilities of a Holy Knight. The royal family will also request a Holy Knight, but until then, it would be good for you to learn together."

"Mother."

"I know you're not interested in the Holy Knight's appointment. But don't avoid learning how to use your power properly."

The emperor spoke firmly to the prince.

I bit my lip to keep from showing my joy.

So, not only would Kristel and I have separate classes, but I would also be tutoring the prince.

Is this a dream?

"......Receiving the same training as Prince Your Highness is an infinite honor."

She answered as calmly as possible.

Her last words sounded almost like 'muh-heh-ing-yung-neu-deu.'

Though it was phrased as a suggestion, the emperor's words were essentially a command.

Kristel snapped the heart-shaped palmier in half with both hands.

"......"

The prince was poised to carve the pork with his knife as if it were a criminal.

I looked at the two people across from me with a renewed sense of wonder.

Both were acting arrogantly despite the presence of an adult, but they looked so good sitting side by side.

It seemed the author was finally ready to connect them more seriously.

After the 'Spring Ball' and the 'Great Beast Purge,' they had built enough rapport, and now seemed like the right time.

The struggles of the protagonists over the past while flashed before my eyes.

"Stop fighting and stay focused. Once you're known as Holy Knights, all kinds of noble priests in the empire will want to make pacts with you. The House of Sarnes isn't a branch of the royal family, but it's rare for a priest to ignore such power."

The emperor said this and downed the wine in one shot.

The cardinal suggested, "Drink slowly," but she ignored it, accepting a new glass and standing up.

"I should go around to the other tables now."

She didn't forget to leave such a memorable line.

*

11 PM. Duke François Dume died.

"Teacher, you can't sleep here. You need to go home. Where do you live?"

I shook his shoulder.

The duke, who had his head on the table, was thoroughly drunk from Kristel's bomb drinks.

The distilled liquor the emperor had passed around was clearly vodka, but he drank it mixed with grapefruit juice without hesitation......

"Should I call a servant?"

"Phew......"

I almost offered to call a cab for him. I looked around.

Kristel had moved to the left table, where she was with the Duke and Duchess of Sarnes.

Sir Elizabeth was also there, dealing with her drunk mother, and Hervé Dume, the captain of the guard, was asleep in the same position as the duke.

They didn't look much alike except for their hair and skin color, but they were clearly brothers.

I decided to grab a passing servant and entrust the Dume brothers to them, then I would leave.

"Thank you for helping my son."

I jumped and turned my head.

Emperor Frederick, who had returned to the central table, was looking at me.

She still held a glass but showed no signs of being drunk.

The prince was drinking water at the same spot.

"Thanks to you, he obtained the 'Sword of Mars.'"

"......I am honored."

I bowed. Was this the 'praise'?

I was relieved it wasn't done publicly in front of everyone.

"I also appreciate it, Prince. Thanks to you, my heir has found some stability."

"No, Your Majesty."

The cardinal, who had been sitting like a statue, chimed in.

'Stability' meant the prince's ether depletion symptoms had improved.

The powerful ether of the Sword of Mars must have helped.

Then, what about 'Saidy'......? Is she no longer going to change?

"How did Sedric draw the Sword of Mars?"

"I didn't see it directly, but I assume he infused it with fire-attribute ether, the same as the divine object."

"Indeed."

The emperor let a chuckling voice slip into her wine glass. I wanted to go home.

"Tell me, how much do you know about my son?"

"Excuse me?"

When I looked up, her eyes, like red wine, were fixed on me.

"Frederick."

"I need to hear his answer."

Despite the cardinal's attempts to dissuade her, the emperor was resolute. There was no need to think or strategize.

She was curious about how much I, as a prince of the enemy kingdom, had learned about the royal family's secrets.

My survival instinct and intuition guided my response. I had to say what she wanted to hear.

"Nothing, Your Majesty."

"......What?"

The reaction came from the prince, not the emperor. I saw him frown slightly.

"I only know that Your Highness can use fire-attribute ether."

"Hmm."

The emperor let out a sigh. I maintained a calm expression.

It would be foolish to reveal that her precious child had such secrets in front of the person holding my life in their hands.

Since the Holy Kingdom had already abandoned the prince, she could kill me without any consequences.

So, if the emperor wanted it, I had to act like an idiot.

And...... I planned to keep pretending I didn't know, as admitting I had misunderstood would be embarrassing.

A brief silence swept the table.

"You still have a long way to go, Sedric."

The emperor then squeezed and released her son's shoulder. The cardinal let out a small sigh.

Was the topic suddenly changing?

"Building trust isn't easy. Try harder."

The middle-aged man ended with a playful tone.

I glanced over and saw the prince's orange eyes glaring at me as if they could burn me on the spot.

It was more chilling now that I knew it was possible. What's the problem now?

"Since you've done me a favor, I'll give you the chance to ask for anything you want. Your birthday is coming up, isn't it?"

The emperor turned back to me.

It seemed everyone knew about my birthday except me.

"I am honored, Your Majesty."

"You can go and rest now. It's late."

Phew. I forced a smile.

Honestly, I thought I wouldn't be able to leave until dawn, so being dismissed before midnight was a huge stroke of luck.

The cardinal gave a bitter smile at my obvious relief.

He seemed to want to leave too but couldn't bring himself to do it.

I called a passing servant to take care of the Dume brothers, bowed respectfully to the three remaining at the table, and left.

My mind was filled with thoughts of birthday gifts.

Though it wasn't really my birthday, it was a rare opportunity for a hostage to gain something, so I had to make the most of it.

Nobles, holding hands, danced around the hall.

My mind was also spinning with calculations.

*

On the eastern side of the continent where the moon rises, the Penethian Holy Kingdom.

The man tapped the end of his fan nervously.

The spacious palace was filled with the continuous sound of 'tap, tap.'

The servants standing nearby were at a loss, trying to read his mood.

Their faces were tense, unsure if a chair or a vase would fly at any moment.

Their beautiful master was sometimes like an angel, but more often like a demon.

And today's urgent news from across the border was enough to turn him into the latter.

"Why are you still alive?"

This wasn't a question to the servants.

Despite being over fifty, his smooth face was etched with fierce wrinkles.

The man repeatedly opened and closed his fan.

It was a swallowtail purple that matched his faded lavender hair.

"The prince obtained a divine object, and the duke's daughter became a Holy Knight. And at the center of it all is a dirty bastard......"

"Your Highness, the reports about Prince Yasser's exploits are surely exaggerated......"

"Shut up!"

-Clang!

-Shatter!

The man finally overturned the tea table.

The servant who had spoken hunched his shoulders in shock.

Hot tea splashed onto the wallpaper, the floor, and the servants' clothes, but no one dared to move.

The Holy Kingdom's chancellor, Bernhard, swept his hair back and took a deep breath.

"He didn't die then and has been stirring up trouble in the west."

"Your Highness, how could he have such intentions? The emperor of the empire is not an easy person. He won't just focus on the prince's popularity."

The chancellor glared at the servant with venomous eyes.

Oops. I shouldn't have used the word 'popularity.'

"Your......"

-Click!

"Father, Father!"

At that moment, a small doll burst in without knocking.

The chancellor's face showed a moment of confusion.

The servants took this opportunity to quickly clean up the mess.

The servants who followed the uninvited guest were pale.

For the chancellor to enter his bedroom like this was a shocking event.

"Princess."

"Father, Father, did you hear the news? Brother rode a mountain-sized griffin! And he woke up the sleeping prince and the duke's daughter with kisses......"

"It's a rumor."

The chancellor cut off his young daughter's words.

The seven-year-old second princess, Cornelius, was still unable to control her excitement.

The child, with rosy cheeks, shook her small head.

"Brother said he would return after sleeping for a hundred days. But I didn't know he would have adventures!"

"Adventures, huh."

The chancellor chuckled. His chocolate-colored eyes darkened like the night.

"Adventures are always dangerous. You have to risk your life."