Chapter 4

***

***

Honun was a landlocked country bordering the southeastern border of Valloise. The Honun Kingdom was in a position where it could not go out to the ocean unless it was a route through the island of Awai, Valloise’s territory. For this reason, Valloise and Honun have been in frequent disputes over the island of Awai since a long time ago.

Again this time, Honun demanded joint ownership of the island of Awai, and the Marquis of Ingeliger, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, had launched a provocation from the border.

“That’s what I expected. When do you expect the Marquis to return?”

Tehez asked what she was most curious about to the casual sheep, Jacques.

“Since the negotiations are in the final stages, it is likely that he will come back within a month at the earliest or within two months at the latest.”

Although it was not unusual for Tehez to secretly investigate the news of her father and hear from others, she did not find it strange. Because she was all too familiar with this.

However, when she heard that there was only a month left before the return of the Marquis of Ingeliger, her mood subsided.

‘A month.’

She continued with a stiff expression, feeling her heart beating fast, which had been dormant all along.

“How’s Enland these days?”

“Cassava leaf blight* is on the run. It is a highly contagious disease. More and more people are starving because the cassava planted in the field has rotted.”

[T/N: ‘Cassava leaf blight’ – Cassava Bacterial Blight (CBB) is a severe bacterial disease in plants. Symptoms include leaf spotting, wilting, die-back, gum exudation on young shoots, and vascular discolouration in mature stems and roots of susceptible cultivars. ]

“Oh, no. What about the Haz tribe alliance?”

“A new tribal chief has been elected. He’s the second son of a former tribal chief, and he’s belligerent, but has a rather extraordinary brain.”

“Is that all?”

Tehez raised her eyebrows and looked at Jacques.

“Because they are a closed tribe, it is not easy for outsiders to access and get information about them.”

Jacques answered with his head down, but a raspy voice came out.

“I still need it. Gather more information about the newly elected person. This is not enough.”

“No, you always tell me to gather more information, but you don’t help me, and you don’t hire more people…”

Jacques began to pretend to cry.

Don’t be fooled.

He was receiving monthly payments from her for the activities, almost the price of a luxurious mansion in the central district of Lubern, and it was obvious that she was exaggerating.

“That’s all right. How far have you been with what I was talking about before?”

Tehez brushed off his pretend and asked.

“I’m looking for the right person. I’ll have some good news for you soon.”

“Good.”

“I always go through a lot of problems in the process.”

Tehez patted Jacques on the shoulder a couple of times without sincerity. Still, Jacques was talking to himself so she could hear everything. She stood up, listening to Jacques’ self-talk.

The spacious conference room was crowded with people. It was a regular aristocratic meeting. 

The nobles shook hands and had a private conversation.

“It’s hard to see your face these days.”

“I went to the East for a short vacation. But there’s a terrible rumour in the capital.”

“What rumour?”

“People are dying…”

“It has already been fixed. Don’t take it out of your mouth for nothing.”

The old nobleman thought he was talking about Prince Fabrice, so he gestured and made a young aristocrat join.

Count Liddell, whose hair was beginning to turn grey, said to Viscount Isaac sitting next to him.

“I heard heard something nice this time.”

“Yes, Count. I got a black horse from Honun. I was lucky.”

“Everyone in Lubern knows you’re a horse lover. What do you mean by lucky?

Count Liddell gave the young man a scolding for no reason.

“Well, it’s not the kind you can get just because you want to.”

Isaac laughed shyly, scratching his head.

“That’s amazing. We don’t have a good relationship with Honun, but you’re getting all the talks.”

It was then that Viscount Isaac realized that Count Liddell was not talking to him in a good way. In Count Liddell’s words, Valloise was hostile to Honun, and he was accused of buying enemy goods.

Oh, my God. 

Count Liddell was famous for being a conservative noble.

“Haha, that’s right.”

He pretended to be busy, shaking the agenda papers of the meeting in front of him. Seeing Viscount Isaac like that, Count Liddell clicked his tongue. 

***

Meanwhile, Denis and the courtier entered the conference room.

“Your Majesty is absent today, so I am in charge of the meeting. Let’s get started right away.”

Denis glanced briefly at the unoccupied chair and then turned his head to the front. 

It was the seat of the King and Fabrice.

The King wanted to make his own final decision on any issue. He seemed to think that attending the nobility council would undermine his authority. So, except for exceptional circumstances, he rarely attended meetings. And Fabrice didn’t have time to devote to meetings or anything like that. Playing at that time was more important and urgent to him.

The first item on the agenda was the revised aristocratic preferential law submitted by new aristocrats. The documents on the table included measures to raise taxes and further strengthen the rights of the currently guaranteed nobles.

Come and read on our website wuxia worldsite. Thanks

“Is it the aristocratic preferential law?”

The Duke of Briem, the head of the old nobles and the maternal grandfather of Fabrice, asked. Then the Count of Lemac, the mainstay of the new noble forces, received his words.

“Yes. There is preferential treatment for nobility, but it is not enough. More and more people become nobles by buying titles. And naturally, the rights of the nobility are getting weaker.”

“You’re introducing yourself.”

Count Liddell chewed his cigar and spoke to himself. But there was no one in the hall who didn’t hear that.

“What did you just say?”

Count Lemac glared at Count Liddell.

It was. 

Originally, the Lemacs were a family of commoners who used to be landowners. They had ‘bought’ the noble title and became a Count.

As the number of nobles who bought titles increased, it was natural that they had to divide themselves into ‘Old Nobility’ and ‘New Nobility’. The old nobles valued their honour, history, and face as true aristocrats. Therefore, they considered the behaviour of the capital-centred new nobles to be vulgar.

Conversely, the new aristocrats regarded the behaviour of the old nobles as unsightly except for tradition. They were the same nobility, but they had been dissatisfied with subtly dividing the ranks according to whether they were old or new aristocrats.

It was true that the rights of the nobility weakened as the number of nobles increased. The new aristocrats bought titles to exercise their influence and rights as nobles, but they couldn’t stand it when their influence weakened.

Denis sat with his arms crossed, watching the two sides fight.

“Now, now, everyone, calm down.”

A man sitting at the end of the seat of the New Nobility came to mediate the atmosphere.

“Yes.”

Unexpectedly, the Duke of Briem agreed. The gazes of the seated nobles all gathered at the Duke. The Duke took the cup in front of him, took a sip of tea, and continued.

“Shouldn’t those who are deserving enjoy the rights they deserve?” 

Duke Briem shot a glance at Denis once and put down his glass.

Deserving, entitled, and qualified.

There was no one in the hall who did not understand the implications of those words.

The Duke of Briem did not agree with Count Lemac. It was just like picking up a knife and stabbing Denis, who was standing still. Denis raised his eyebrows once. Still, his arms were crossed.

Noticing that the meeting was going crazy, Count Lemac sat down in his chair. No one could stop the Duke of Briem, who was the oldest, and at the same time, the most decisive in the hall in the absence of the King.

From time immemorial, the Duke of Briem has hated Denis terribly. It wasn’t just because he was Fabrice’s maternal grandfather. He despised Denis’ lineage, and looked down on his lack of posterity.

“It’s already been more than 10 years since I’ve been to the Garden of Light. If I remember correctly. My memory is not good as I get older, My Prince.”

“Eight years, to be exact.”

“Is it?”

In the Garden of Light, when a new member was born to the royal family, the first birthday banquet was held in the garden made of glass. It was called the Garden of Lights because the glass garden was filled with light from the ceiling to the floor when you enter it. Whether it is winter or summer, the temperature in the garden is always mild, making it perfect for a child’s birthday banquet.

Duke Briem’s remarks were also a disparaging remark that Prince Julien’s birthday party was the last time the Garden of Light was opened, and again, it was a remark that undermined Denis.

Denis looked at the Duke of Briem in silence and turned his head away. 

Denis’s face was nothing but calm.

Since then, similar things have been repeated. The new aristocrats placed their bets on the agenda of the old nobility, and the old nobility voted against the new nobility’s agenda, so none of the items was properly discussed.

“The agenda submitted today will be discussed again at the next regular meeting.”

The regular meeting ended without much profit. In the end, Denis was the only victim in the struggle between the nobles. The conference hall, where people had left, was just silent. 

Denis sat still without getting up. The man behind him cautiously called out to him.

The courtier, who was standing behind him, spoke.

“Prince.”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you go home?”

“I should.”

He heard the chair pulling, and Denis got up from his seat. His back looked a little shaky as he left the meeting room.

***

After returning from meeting Jacques, Tehez was sipping a glass of wine while organizing her work for tomorrow. It was a deep night with the moon going down. 

The sound of grass bugs came from outside the wide-open terrace window.

And she heard the footsteps of the uninvited guest from afar.

It was him. 

She could paint him without seeing him in person by listening to the footsteps.

The figure of him approaching step by step seemed to be alive as her eyelids dropped. 

Tehez took a deep breath, closing her eyes to erase the afterimage of him. But it was as if he was still alive in those closed eyes.

She heard the door open, and the footsteps stopped.

“…”

Her face felt hot. 

He would most likely be looking at her.

Suddenly, Tehez’s face turned around with a strong force. Denis grabbed Tehez’s chin with one hand and turned it towards him. She slowly opened her eyes. Even under the moonlight, his beautiful face could be seen.

Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only

“My wife, good night.”

(To be continued in the next episode)

***