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Not everyone in the East supported the punitive force. No, on the contrary, there weren’t many territories that were at that level, and they were mostly concentrated in the Cherkah dukedom.
However, if the head of the Eastern aristocratic faction and its key figures increase their reputation by making achievements, wouldn’t the subordinates save face and gain even a few crumbs?
Therefore, they showed greater prey to those who did not hesitate to add words and power, with a justifiable justification for that.
“If it’s for the sake of the whole East, wouldn’t Duke Cherkah also make concessions?”
“He doesn’t have to, but if he’s generous
 Even if he has a territory in the west, it’s useless. If he wants to ask for western specialties for a low price, the West is currently barren. They need help instead. So this is not a bad suggestion.”
The idea made the faces of Duke Cherkah’s vassals blush. It was difficult for them to refute because it was too vague to say it was wrong.
“As expected.” A sigh escaped the mouth of one of the Eastern nobles. A lion’s cub, even when young, is a lion. Perhaps because he resembled the emperor, even his mind was amazing.
However, the emperor continued to look at Ascensio as if asking if that was all. Ascensio didn’t open his mouth and silently received the emperor’s gaze. Because the correct answer for this test was to stay still.
Instead of dividing each territory according to merit, if each faction was given territory and asked to allocate it on its own, in the process without outside interference, the strength of the forces would inevitably be put at the center of the forces.
For example, in the imperial faction, which occupied more than half of the central region, the emperor was the target. And the center of the surviving Western aristocracy would be Young Master Benjamin and 2nd Consort Elisha.
The act of sharing merit established the authority of the leader and gathered the subordinates. It would urge people to lose their voice to give their sincerity.
Especially in the case of the West, it would be of great help in leading the Western nobles who were in an ambiguous position. While opposition and negotiations continued, the basis for moving together would be laid.
And they were benefits that could be easily inferred by those with common sense but didn’t want to mention. Who in the world would like it when they knew it was a dog’s leash?
Even if they approached it with their own feet and wore it with their own hands, wrapped it up with a nice word of loyalty, nobody wanted to be seen as an existence that needed to be tamed by their superiors.
“Is that all?”
The emperor poked and pressed him again, but Ascensio dealt with it resolutely.
“Yes.”
“I think it’s still insufficient to convince me or other nobles.”
“Then, can I say one more thing?”
“Why? Did you suddenly think of something that didn’t exist?”
“No. I just didn’t say it because I thought it was a result, not a reason.”
At the crown prince’s answer, the emperor tapped the table with his fingertips. It was a ‘tell me’ sign.
“That person will accept this without objection, too.”
The emperor’s fingertips stopped on the table. “It sounds as if this empire has two masters. So even if it’s not me, I still need that person’s permission?”
“The owner of the empire is, of course, His Majesty the Emperor. However, it is reasonable for His Majesty to have the moon next to him because he is the sun. If the sun and moon are together, day and night will be in harmony, so there will be no problem. Please don’t misunderstand me because I said that.”
Ascensio de Rappelcia Atien. A boy with black hair and blue eyes, heir to the crown.
Age of thirteen. He was the first to properly show his teeth to his father.
As the atmosphere between the emperor and the crown prince became heavy, the other nobles didn’t dare to intervene. Those two were no ordinary rich people. The owner of Barossa and the person appointed as the next owner.
No matter how great the prestige and strength of the forces were, this was the world where those who were not the blood of Barossa could not intervene. When clouds hung over Barossa, those who must live under it, no matter how high their rank was, had no choice but to get soaked in the rain and hit by the snow.
Then the door to the conference hall opened without a sound.
The slowly-opening door was located on the lower right side of the concave shape of the conference hall. If one turned their head from the emperor’s seat, one could see it right away, to the left.
Upon entering the conference hall, the emperor passed through the door and took his seat, and the rest filled a semicircular table with layers at each seat made in the form of a wide staircase according to their status.
Of course, sitting on the highest seat made it difficult to be noticed by the emperor, so this place was occupied by aristocrats with low titles.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange when exclamations from the bottom spread like a wave upward after the attendees noticed the figure that could be seen out of the door.
The silver-colored 2nd consort had returned to Barossa covered in blood.
***
As soon as Elisha left the portal, she asked about the emperor’s whereabouts. The mages who managed the portal were flustered because she arrived at a different time than expected. Then said after counting the time and date that it was time for a political meeting now.
Elisha took the lead and went to the conference hall.
“Hiiy!”
The people she encountered in the middle were surprised, gasped, and looked down in a hurry. Not because they felt uncomfortable around Elisha, but because her appearance covered in blood was unusual.
Blemir was still angry, and the redness in his brown eyes didn’t go away. Seeing them, he approached one of the frozen ones and tried to remove their outer garment, but hesitated. Blemir, who alternately looked at the clothes he was trying to take away and Elisha, eventually took his hand off the other person’s clothes and returned to Elisha.
He glanced down at his own clothes again, but his condition, which was as bad as hers, couldn’t have suddenly improved.
“Tsk.” Blemir clicked his tongue lightly and frowned, thinking he would have to prepare extra clothes from now on. It was all because of them, he murmured.
“The second ambush just before we crossed the portal. They knew we were going to use that portal.”
They even killed all the mages so that they could not move in front of the portal, and then tried to hunt them. The power of the long-range attack from afar was considerable. None of them would’ve survived had it not been the three of them.
“They were not the snakes.”
The Viper Killer Group did not associate with outside forces. If there was a pitiful fellow countryman or client who would eat away at the notoriety they had accumulated on the entire continent by doing such a thing, they would be the first group to kill and eliminate them with their own hands. Elisha had heard about them in the past, and she was pretty sure about that.
She seemed to agree with Blemir and Rohan as well.
“There are two culprits, and it seems that each has made a different request. In particular, the second culprit seems to be familiar with our information. This can be seen from their knowledge of the duchy’s broken portal and their preemptive strike at the portal where we were likely to move,” said Rohan.
Blemir was about to ask about his guess but paused. There were countless people who wanted to covet or bring down that 2nd consort. They had no evidence to find the culprit immediately, so why complicate the minds?
Elisha entered the building where the political meeting was being held and walked down the aisle. Eventually, when the familiar door came in, she brushed the attendants aside and reached out to grab the handle.
She pushed a little and it opened slowly. Elisha stopped for a moment at the sound from inside. She stood and listened quietly. Her cold eyes softened, and the sky blue eyes bent gently.
She opened the door completely when Ascensio was facing the emperor alone in silence.
Ascensio sprang to his feet as soon as he found Elisha. He wanted to run right away but held it in.
“Welcome back. Are you hurt?” he belatedly corrected his behavior and politely asked, and Elisha shook her head.
“It’s all someone else’s blood.”
“That’s a relief.” Only then did Ascensio wipe the sweat from his palms caused by tension on his pants.
“You should’ve greeted me first. How could you go to the crown prince first?”
As the emperor pointed out indifferently, the air that had been agitated and disturbed by Elisha’s appearance froze again.
“I apologize. It seems like His Highness is surprised by this appearance, so I wanted to clear up the misunderstandings first. Otherwise, of course, reporting to His Majesty would be the priority.” Elisha bent her upper body, covering her heart with her right hand. Her bloodied figure, wearing a uniform of pants and a cape, was that of a general who had just returned from the battlefield.
Rohan and Blemir, who were one step behind Elisha, greeted the emperor in the same movement.
“You did a great job. In particular, 2nd Consort, your specialty is dazzling.”
“
” Elisha did not respond much. It was just true. The emperor also changed the subject, perhaps not going to paint gold on her name anymore.
“Right, did you hear what the crown prince said? It was a fairly adventurous proposal. I wonder if there was your consent there. ”
Elisha looked back at Ascensio. Ascensio’s complexion was bad. She turned to the emperor again.
“I heard it for the first time here.”
“Of course, you never agreed.”
Elisha did not immediately answer.
“Did the crown prince suggest it arbitrarily?”
“Hoh! Are you going to clean up his mess?”
The sound from the stairwell pierced Ascensio’s back, but the boy straightened his shoulders and straightened his posture. Since he did what he did, wouldn’t it be right to bear the consequences as well?
And no matter how the 2nd Consort judged, Ascensio would not hold grudges. This place itself was already eating the flesh of the 2nd Consort. How could he think like that?
However, he regretted that it would’ve been nice if he could have talked with the 2nd Consort before expressing his opinion. No matter how hard it was, he didn’t know if the 2nd Consort would try to outline the prize that would be handed down in the future.
Once such a thing was decided, it would be very difficult to tear it down and add a new one later. That’s why Ascensio took on the challenge boldly after thinking about it.
He remembered that the 2nd Consort had asked him to do his will for a while last year, but Ascensio thought that didn’t mean he should be silent when he should’ve stepped up. In fact, since he was allowed to attend the political meeting, she had been pushing him to do whatever he wanted.
Ascensio didn’t feel joy because this was the first time he showed his nervousness in front of that hateful father, nor because he had been accepted to some extent by stating the framework of a big plan that could move the county.
He realized he feared he might have disappointed the woman he wanted to call mother.
As Ascensio swallowed, Elisha’s voice soon resonated throughout the conference hall. “Is it really necessary to have my consent? His Highness the Crown Prince can convey what he thinks. I will unconditionally spoil him no matter what because he’s so intelligent and lovely.”
When the people doubted their ears from hearing something they hadn’t expected or guessed, Elisha’s words did not end there.
“The conference hall isn’t just a place to announce what has been decided, is it? It is where we listen to each other’s opinions and adapt to create better results. So, even if the crown prince made a mistake, his Imperial Father and the prestigious nobles would have comforted and taught him well.”
Isn’t it so? When Elisha asked with her eyes, no one could openly refute. As a rule of thumb, there was nothing wrong with that.
“Even so, if there were any problems, His Highness the Crown Prince would accept his mistake, and I would have been happy to help with all the cleanup. So, like today, now, and in the future, please listen to His Highness the Crown Prince. Isn’t he growing up so wonderfully? This is the crown prince of this empire.”
Elisha turned around and stood before the crown prince. She tried to wipe her bloody hands on her clothes, but they were also dirty, so it was no use. Then Ascensio reached out and grabbed Elisha’s hand tightly.
Then he lifted it up and put it on top of his head. Elisha patted his black hair with her red fingers. Ascension’s blue eyes filled with joy.