“…That’s.”
Camille couldn’t answer.
“Are you here to kill me?”
“That’s not the case.”
Camille shook his head.
“Then why?”
Isabel asked.
“You abandoned me, Senior, so why did you come looking for me now, unless you’re here to kill me.”
“I’m just…”
Camille replied.“I only came to see you.”
“Was there ever a reason for us to see each other?”
Isabelle’s voice was cold, full of resentment.
Life as the queen of a tyrant was nothing short of a living hell.
How many times had she wanted to hang herself and end it all?
Siegmund is a being that gnaws at the souls of anyone who stands near him.
Those who stood by him were constantly being drained to the bone.
If Isabel had been a lady from an ordinary noble family instead of a knight who graduated from the academy, she would have hanged herself long ago.
Therefore, her resentment towards Camille was even greater.
In fact, Isabel’s appearance seemed quite haggard.
If only she could have run away with him back then….
“Were you happy to leave me behind?”
“… Every day was an absolute hell.”
There was truth in Camille’s words.
After finally returning to his homeland, he found that his lord and younger brother, Otto, had become an infamous scoundrel.
“I just wanted to come and say that I’m sorry, even if it’s too late.”
“I see.”
“Yes, that’s all.”
With that, Camille turned and walked away.
“His Highness will see to your treatment. Now that you’ve been freed from hell… I hope you’ll be happy in the future.”
“You’re cowardly to the end, Senior.”¹
“…..”
“I missed you, and I’m glad to see you again, even if it’s just like this. Can’t you say these words?”
“It’s not that I can’t, it’s just that I have no nerve to say it.”
“Nothing has changed, then or now.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Now that I’m free, there’s no one to come between us….”
Camille walked over to Isabel and pulled her into a hug.
“I’m sorry it’s late. And I was sorry back then too.”
“Now at this moment.”
“The consequences of the choices I made back then… I’ll pay for them now.”
Camille really wanted to.
To be by Isabel’s side for the rest of his life.
“Be prepared.”
Tears fell from Isabel’s eyes.
“I’ll make it all up to you.”
“As much as it takes.”
Camille was glad.
He could be with Isabel now.
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“His Majesty King Otto de Scuderia is in attendance.”
The footman’s voice rang out.
*Thud* *Thud*
Otto entered the Great Hall of the Kingdom of Slaine and sat down on the throne.
The throne that had belonged to Siegmund only a few hours before, now belonged to Otto.
“I greet His Majesty the King.”
“I greet His Majesty the King.”
“I greet His Majesty the King.”
The heads of the Lota Kingdom’s army.
And the nobles of the Kingdom of Slaine all bowed in unison toward Otto.
“Thank you all for your hard work.”
From his throne, Otto looked down at his subjects and spoke.
“Now that I have killed the tyrant and ascended to the throne, I will endeavor to bring peace and prosperity to the land.”
“We are deeply honored!”
Of course, Otto’s words were, as usual, mere pretense.
‘What reign of peace? Whew.’
He was sorry to say, but peace and prosperity are not in the foreseeable future.
Beginning this fall, all manner of natural disasters will sweep across the continent, and the largest power, the Arad Empire, will officially begin to collapse.
In such a scenario, no nation will be able to avoid waging war.
It’s a matter of survival, even if it means resorting to war.
‘All I can do is to prepare as much strength as possible for the upcoming war.’
Otto knew only too well what he had to do and how to do it.
The first step was to stabilize the kingdoms of Slaine and Baltin, which he had just conquered.
It was still far from reassuring.
In Baltin, the King, Chech IV, is being held hostage, so his loyalists have no reason to revolt.
However, the Kingdom of Slaine was different.
Several local nobles are eager to take advantage of the situation and claim the throne, and many lords of independent fiefs are loyal to the defunct dynasty.
To successfully absorb both the Kingdom of Slaine and the Baltin Kingdom, it would require a considerable amount of time and focus on internal affairs.
With a larger land mass to govern and a larger population, there would be problems here and there.
He was fortunate to have Wazir, an administrative genius, but the thought of managing so many administrative tasks alone almost made him dizzy.
“As these are critical times, the entire army is at full combat readiness, ready for any eventuality. Amukhan.”
Otto glanced back at Amukhan.
“Keep the cavalry ready for immediate deployment at all times.”
“Yes!”
The nobles of the Kingdom of Slaine were greatly surprised by this sight.
‘My God, that nomadic warrior with the reputation for ferocity has been brought to heel.’
“How did he manage to win the loyalty of the nomadic chieftain of the Haver Prairie?
There was more.
“Marquis Helmut.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Proceed to the border at once, and I hereby appoint you commander-in-chief there.”
“I obey your majesty.”
The nobles of the Slaine Kingdom were once again surprised to see that Otto had even Helmut, the famous Marquis, as a subordinate.
It wasn’t enough that he had inherited the bloodline of the Kuntachi Family, a family known for their swords and magic, and yet he had the nomadic chieftain of the Haver Prairie, and even Marquis Helmut, as a vassal?
From the perspective of the High Council of the Kingdom of Slaine, it was a huge revelation.
Of course, they had heard about it from Wazir, but they had their suspicions.
But as they say, seeing things with one’s own eyes is a different story.
“It may be chaotic for a while, but I will do my best to bring order to this turbulent time. I hope you all will cooperate and lend your strength as well.”
“We shall do our utmost!”
The vassals cried out in unison, bowing their heads towards Otto.
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Having successfully occupied both the Baltin Kingdom and now the Kingdom of Slaine, Otto found himself confined to his office for a while, dealing with the chaotic situation.
Having taken over two kingdoms at once, the administrative overload was overwhelming and disastrous.
If it weren’t for Archduke Wazir, Otto would have been stuck with the bureaucracy for years and years before he would have died of overwork.
“Ugh. I’m dying.”
Leaving his office just as the sun was rising in the morning, Otto staggered back to his quarters, dead tired.
“Are you all right?”
“No.”
Camille asked, and Otto answered hoarsely.
“No matter what I do, there is no end to the work, no end.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“What hard work? I brought this on myself.”
Otto snorted.
“How are things with Isabel, by the way?”
“Uh, fine.”
Camille replied, avoiding his gaze.
“I keep apologizing to her.”
“That’s a lot of apologizing.”
“What?”
“You look like you’re suffering a lot.”
“It’s all my fault, isn’t it?”
As it turns out, Camille has been having a hard time dealing with her accumulated feelings of bitterness.
“I can practically see it, I do.”
“What do you mean you can “see it”?
“That you’ll spend the rest of your life as a prisoner unable to make a sound.”
“You mean me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because it seems like whenever something happens, she’ll remind you of the time you abandoned her and give you a hard time about it.”
“…..”
“Yeah. That would indeed give her a reason to nag you for life. Haha.”
Otto said in a knowing, teasing tone, and Camille’s face turned an unearthly hue.
‘Why didn’t you take me with you back then?’
‘Do you have any idea how miserable I was living?’
‘I guess chivalry is more important to you than me, it was in the past, and it probably still is in the future.’
In fact, Camille had been worn out by Isabelle’s nagging over the past few days.
To have to deal with that for the rest of his life….
Well, they do say when a woman holds a grudge, it can get frosty even in May, don’t they?
“See how you can’t be a man and do anything about it? Hahaha”
“Is this not the same with you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re in the same boat, unable to say a word, aren’t you, Your Highness?”
“…..”
“It seems that Lady Elise has been a bit absent lately, so be careful not to let your guard down.”
“B-Be careful?”
“You haven’t been practicing in the sword lately, have you?”
“Where’s the time to practice? There aren’t enough hours in the day.”
“It’s about time for Miss Elise to arrive. Isn’t it risky to keep delaying? I don’t think she’ll accept excuses about being busy.”
“Heok!”
Otto’s face turned pale.
He should have known otherwise, Elise was uncompromising when it came to matters of swordsmanship.
If he failed to show at least some sign of effort, she’d beat….
*Shudder*
Otto imagined Elise’s fury, and then shuddered in horror.
‘I’m disappointed.’
‘Have you only grown by this much?’
‘Do you even practice?’
Otto turned on his heel, imagining Elise’s scathing interrogation.
“Where are you going?”
“…To train.”
“What? You’re not sleeping?”
“How can I sleep after hearing that? Maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned it in the first place.”
“…..”
“I have to train, even if it’s just for two hours, I’m too scared to sleep. Ugh.”
And with that, Otto walked in exhaustion to the training grounds.
‘It’s better than being scolded.’
No matter how tired he was, Otto thought, it was a hundred times better than being scolded by Elise.
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Meanwhile, while the Kingdom of Lota was successfully expanding to the continent, Oberhauser Company was on a downward slope.
The losses from the destruction of the smuggling ships were astronomical, and the Oberhauser were unable to pay their debts and had to sell off all of their assets.
Many of the assets they sold were even things they had been saving for a big business venture in the future.
In other words, Argonne the Great’s plan to seize control of the continent’s economy and unify the continent once again with his vast financial resources was effectively doomed.
It was impossible for even the Great Argonne to control the continental economy without a certain level of capital.
‘What should I do?’
Argonne agonized.
‘If we continue as we are, I’m doomed. I must find a way, a work around.’
But no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn’t come up with a solution.
Despite using all the means and methods at his disposal, it seemed impossible to resolve the current financial crisis.
Just then.
“Your Majesty, you seem deeply troubled.”
Glen, the young merchant, approached Argonne.
“You do not look troubled.”
There was a sharp edge to his expression and tone as he regarded Glen.
Given that Glen was the one who had advised him to get involved in the smuggling that led to the current situation, it was rather odd that Argon took his time regarding him.
“Do you not know what has become of our Trading Company since the destruction of those smuggling ships?”
“Disastrous, to say the least.”
“Have you found out who was behind it?”
“I humbly apologize, Your Majesty, but as of yet, we haven’t been able to identify them.”
“What a bunch of incompetents.”
“……”
“The theft of my tomb, the bombing of those smuggling ships. It must be the same people.”
“I’m ashamed of myself.”
“Yes. How dare you try to disturb my feelings.”
“It’s not acceptable.”
Glen spoke with an almost tearful expression.
“I only wish to be of service to your lordship.”
“What help do you mean?”
The Great Argonne seemed to accept Glen’s input in a very inclusive manner, as the founding monarch of the Empire had once been.
He was never one to be so foolish as to dismiss a subordinate just because he made a single mistake.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Glenn inclined his head.
“In my humble opinion, it is true that the strength of our current Trading Company is not enough to see us through this crisis.”
“Go on.”
“I’m deeply sorry, sir, and I’m sorry for the situation, but I believe it’s better to seek outside help than to rely on your own strength.”
“Outside help… Do you mean the Otto de Scuderia?”
“It is still too soon for that.”
“Then what do you mean to say?”
“Your Majesty, you are still unwed.”
“No way.”
Argonne understood Glen’s meaning and his expression hardened.
“Are you suggesting a political marriage to leverage the power of my wife’s family?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Glenn bowed his head.
“Isn’t the Grand Duke of the North’s granddaughter, Elise, still unwed as well? If you were to marry her, with the Grand Duke’s support, it would be much easier for you to rise again.”
** ** **
TL/N:
1. To those who forgot why Isabel addressed Camille as “Senior” it’s because they went to the same Knight Academy and Isabel is a junior of Camille while in the academy.
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