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Louise Merdin, Heed the Calling (1)
After a successful fire show which Evan supported and Serena directed, Gnar performed enthusiastically in the sky of Sherden. Evan jumped off from Gnar’s back and landed lightly at the front door of the Marquis Residence.
“I’ll head in first.”
“We will follow after you.”
“Just Lua. The rest will take some rest in the HQ.”
After giving an appropriate order to his members and ignoring the fierce glare from the Ironwall Knights, he entered the residence of the Marquis proudly. As he entered the reception hall, he saw the Beifeka Kingdom’s envoy frozen from fear, and his brother Eric gave him a dumbfounded look.
“This, this man…”
“Yes. I’m Evan D. Sherden, the Knight-Commander of Astray.”
While staying in Sherden, people kept calling him Master, so he forgot that he had a title. But that title was one of the biggest leverages which Evan could use in areas like official diplomatic relations. Evan used up all the titles he had for this moment and greeted the visitor humbly while appealing his title.
“I’m Vi-Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Beifeka Kingdom, Count Woord Millan.”
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“Count Millan. Pleased to meet you.”
“So, so am I. Count Sherden…”
Evan winked at his brother and sat across the vice minister. The Marquis wasn’t present in the area. Eric briefly spoke as Evan was looking for him.
“He left this matter to you and me.”
“So, he dodged the troublesome work.”
“It’s because you were the one that made this happen.”
Belois, who quietly entered the room a bit later than Evan, wore a neat maid uniform and offered Evan a cup of steaming hot tea, then stood behind him. The vice-minister flinched again, but Evan didn’t mind it and started to talk.
“You can refer to me as Count Evan. Then, shall we get down to business? I heard that you were looking for one of my knights.”
“Ahem, Count Evan. Don’t you think you need to make your maid leave?”
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Even after the dragon’s fire show, he still dared to pick on Evan. Evan took a sip from the tea and spoke while smiling gently.
“She is my guardian knight. You don’t need to worry about any information leaks since she won’t do such things.”
“Guardian knight? A maid?”
“Precisely, she is a member of Astray. She was my former maid, so even after she became a knight, she’s been protecting me by my side.”
‘You lack information gathering.’
Evan spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal, and the vice-minister shrank noticeably.
“I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I’m concerned whether your information is trustworthy.”
“Ahem! No way, I’ve come here for a clear reason! Since things turned out like this, I’ll get straight to the point. I’ve come here since I heard that the heir of Merdin is in this place!”
“If you’re referring to Louise, the daughter of Marquis Merdin, she entrusted herself to the Astray…”
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Evan grinned and asked him a question.
“Merdin’s heir. Isn’t Silan Merdin the heir of Merdin?”
“Let’s stop with the silly jokes now.”
The vice-minister knocked on the table. He looked into Evan’s eyes with a firm will that he wouldn’t be fooled.
“With Merdin turning out like that, we can’t be sure of who survived within it. Then, isn’t it obvious that the sole surviving member, Luden, no, Louise Merdin will become the heir of Merdin?”
“I don’t think Louise will be thrilled to know that she became the heir of a land she can’t enter due to the seal cast on it.”
Of course, this was a lie. Wasn’t Louise’s life goal recapturing Merdin? Such provocation was like fuel to the fire in order to make this conversation flow smoothly.
“Well, the person involved won’t think that way. Allow me to meet Louise Merdin. I’ve brought a magical item that can prove that she is the descendant of Merdin Household! So, after doing that, let’s talk about the rest.”
Excluding Evan in his conversation with Louise? Considering Louise’s personality, that wouldn’t be a problem, but that would be allowing Beifeka to have its way. Evan wriggled his eyebrows and tackled him.
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“I think you are mistaken. She is a member of my Knighthood.”
“That I’m certain of.”
“Then I hope you’ll duly note that whatever you are going to speak with Louise, my decision is what matters the most.”
This time, the vice minister’s eyebrows wriggled. An old eagle was better than a young crow; the atmosphere that the vice minister of the Merchant Kingdom Beifeka’s Foreign Affair gave off was also quite strong since he was a veteran in foreign affairs, after all.
“Are you trying to oppress the nobles of our country?”
“Who are you glaring at?”
“Ah, I didn’t mean it that way.”
The stance of Woord Millan completely vanished! His total defeat was thinking that he could talk with Evan on an equal footing just because he was sitting at the same table as him! Evan bluntly clicked his tongue and asked Belois for another cup of tea.
“I didn’t oppress anyone. Didn’t I just mention that she willingly entrusted herself to Astray? Why would you take my word in such a way?”
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“That…I’m not sure. How did she voluntarily apply to become a knight?”
Evan smacked his lips and chose his words carefully. Hmm, nobody would understand how Louise felt as she escaped barefoot from Merdin, which was turning into a living hell, and struggled to survive…but what mattered now wasn’t the truth.
“I believe she wanted to protect herself. The strength and authority that can protect her from any dangers and not just an illusion like the title of a noble!”
And, of course, Astray was the most reliable organization in this world. The vice-minister groaned as if he agreed with what Evan said.
“So, to protect her, I have the right to stand up for her as her guardian in any matter concerning her. I’m protecting her on behalf of her country that failed to do so. So, let me say this one more time. If you have anything to tell her, you can tell me instead.”
“Failed…failed to protect her is a misleading word. We simply weren’t able to recognize the existence of Louise Merdin…”
“That’s even harsher. It’s like bragging about your incompetence since you weren’t able to find her until she came to Sherden.”
Evan, who was able to silence the vice minister, let out a deep sigh and undid one of his shirt buttons. It was a gesture to lift the atmosphere into a friendlier one.
“So now, let’s be more open to each other. So, you are already aware that Louise is the child of Merdin Household, right? No…rather, it doesn’t matter whether Louise is the actual descendant of Merdin or not, isn’t it?”
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“How dare you!”
“You’re making me deaf.”
“Argh.”
Evan’s eyes became narrow as he stared at the vice-minister.
“Why have you come for Louise? What do you want from her? Such things are too obvious to me, so I’m starting to deduct other possibilities.”
“…”
Evan knew the Merchant Kingdom Beifeka very well. Although their achievements weren’t that great throughout the Yo-Ma Great War series, Beifeka was involved in most incidents. A kingdom that has well-developed commerce to the point it was known as the Merchant Kingdom. A country known for its information and lively activities. But instead…aside from Merdin that contained the undead dungeon, the country’s strength wasn’t that high. So, Beifeka was also called the Mercenary Kingdom. It wasn’t because it raised fine mercenaries, but it consistently hired mercenaries whenever something came up.
“To get down to the bottom, you’ve come here to talk to me in the first place. Haven’t you? You are in need of an army that can reclaim Merdin, isn’t it true? You are trying to take advantage of me by using Louise’s existence. Am I wrong? Trying to manipulate me?”
“That’s not…!”
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“Or, perhaps, you didn’t think of attacking Merdin with just Louise and an army of mercenaries that was formed in haste, did you? They won’t suffice in even scratching the barrier.”
“…”
The vice-minister shut his mouth as he was trying to say something. This might infer that there was someone who tried to exclude outsiders aside from Louise. If that was the case…it meant that they weren’t aware of the situation in Merdin.
“Hmm, aren’t you ready to talk? I guess the authority given to you as the Count isn’t that great.”
“I’ve been given all the authority from the king himself.”
As Evan tried to get up, the vice minister spoke in haste.
“I wasn’t trying to fool you. Please do understand, as what I’m dealing with is difficult to explain. It was true that I had to speak with the person that holds the succession right to Merdin in person…but if you felt offended, I’ll apologize. Let’s talk again.”
Evan looked at him from above then sat down once again. Belois offered him another serving of tea.
“Then, can I take it that you are ready to make an official request to me?”
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“I’d like to confirm the identity of Louise Merdin before that…”
“I’m sure of it. If our talk ends well, I can even go to the Beifeka Kingdom and have her prove herself.”
“I have no problem with that.”
The vice-minister paused and rephrased his words.
“Since Count Evan saw through everything, I don’t need to beat around the bush…yes, we want to recapture Merdin that has been sealed within using Louise as our reason. For the past four years since Merdin was sealed, the damages Beifeka suffered were unspeakable. However, all our attempts to lift the seal were meaningless, and even if we succeeded in lifting it…”
“Yeah, well, that’s true.”
Beifeka royals must be aware of what happened to Merdin that day four years ago. The same thing happened in both Sherden and Pellati. If Merdin had already fallen, and monster forces led by the Demon tribe still existed within the sealed Merdin, it was guaranteed that Beifeka couldn’t do anything with their strength. And that was why it was just observing the situation.
“To go straight to the point, we have the ability to recapture Merdin. You’ve seen us controlling a dragon a while ago, right? That’s part of our abilities.”
“Ohhhhh!”
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“I’ll propose a condition which must be followed absolutely. In ‘Merdin Recapture Operation’, Beifeka must not claim its share.”
“What…?”
The vice-minister was dumbfounded. Evan shrugged as he spoke.
“There’s nothing you can do, right? An army that only fills the head quota is just bothersome and meaningless, so I’m telling you not to dispatch them.”
“But that…!”
“I’m not trying to make Merdin independent. The person who will lead the army as a matter of form will be Louise, and once Merdin is recaptured, she will swear her loyalty to Beifeka as the new Marquis of Merdin. But that’s it. I’m sure you understand where I’m heading.”
“Ahem…”
Merdin was economically and politically quite free from Beifeka, just like the other dungeon cities. Of course, Beifeka was prioritized in trading with Merdin just because Merdin was near it, but the royal family wasn’t satisfied with it. They became greedier. But Merdin was sealed. If the Beifeka royal family succeeded in manipulating Louise, who was the descendant of Merdin, and reclaimed Merdin, what would happen? They would be able to exercise more rights. And Evan was trying to cut off any such attempts.
“I request that Beifeka will not ask too much from Louise and Merdin. She is my student, after all. She’s been through tough times, and I don’t want her to be leveraged by others.”
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Someone would think that Louise and Evan had a huge age gap with the way he spoke. The vice-minister became mute as his intentions were fully seen through, and Evan continued calmly.
“This is what I think. After preparing for the recapture of Merdin, I’ll have Louise as the commander and pay a visit to the Beifeka royal family. And they just need to recognize Louise’s legitimacy. Only then will she reclaim Merdin with ease and became the new Marquis. With that, everything will be solved.”
“That’s an act of letting the Sherden army enter the territory of Beifeka. It’s not something to be spoken of so lightly.”
“An army, that’s an exaggeration. We won’t be a lot in numbers. It will be about 20 people, more or less.”
“With just 20 people, what are you…!”
“Didn’t you see the dragon?”
The vice-minister shut his mouth once more. Ah, making someone silent with power was the most delightful pleasure.
“I can sign the non-aggression treaty with Beifeka anytime. I don’t intend to harm your country. And neither do I want to make Merdin mine. I just want things to go with the flow. I want to reclaim the home of my beloved student. Do you understand?”
“Is…that really all you ask for?”
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“Of course.”
Surely, that wasn’t all. When Louise completely took over Merdin, would she let Evan go empty-handed? Nah, she would give him a lot of things. Merdin and Sherden would be very favorable as long as Louise lived. And it was better that way without having Beifeka butt in.
“By excluding Beifeka, are you trying to exclude us in the trades after recapturing Merdin…?”
“How could we do such a thing? I’ll leave that part to Louise. As I’ve said earlier, once she becomes the Marquis of Merdin, I have no intention whatsoever of undermining her authority.”
“I see.”
The vice-minister nodded. His expressions seemed to brighten up gradually. He must have practiced his poker face as he had traveled a lot for the sake of diplomacy, but he couldn’t fool Evan, who was a seasoned warrior.
‘Louise is a girl, so we can hook her with marriage…’
Evan intentionally gave him a hint to truly think that they were doing a favor for Louise. But the question lay in whether Louise would play by their script, and that would never happen. The darkness inside her was something even Evan couldn’t approach.
“Fortunately, our opinions match well. Shall we meet in the Kingdom next time?”
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“We will wait.”
The vice-minister stood up. Eric, who was sitting down quietly until now, stared at Evan with a thought of ‘Why on earth am I here?’ but that wasn’t true. The conversation between those two became official since the person who represented the Marquis’ household was present.
“Your word on being able to recapture Merdin, there should be no lies in it.”
“You will be surprised. Wait for us for two months at most.”
Two months. Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Woord Millan repeated the word “Two months” silently and stood up while nodding. He didn’t have the slightest idea about the value of two months for the dungeon explorers.