275. Engagement Ep – The Return of the Prince

A carriage crossed the gray city. It bore the emblem of the Brina family. But the one aboard was no mere count.

The actual owner of the carriage, Count Brina, was galloping alongside it, looking as if a fall would spell disaster for his rotund figure, far from athletic.

Stumble, stumble.

The citizens of Barnau glanced at the pig on horseback and couldn’t help but snicker! Too proud to outright mock a noble, many coughed awkwardly instead.

It was deceitful to think this moment wouldn’t come.

If only I had prepared two carriages from the start! Then I wouldn’t be galloping around looking foolish and serving as a jester to the common folk. But it was Count Brina himself who insisted on sticking with just one carriage.

As the carriage presented this rare spectacle to the citizens, it rushed toward the royal palace. Upon reaching the castle, the sweat-drenched count quickly dismounted and exclaimed,

“Your Highness, we have arrived.”

The person who alighted from the carriage was none other than Prince Anolf de Klaus, the country’s heir with striking navy blue hair.

Prince Anolf spoke with a somewhat sheepish expression.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to arrive comfortably. I apologize for the trouble.”

“Trouble? What an absurd statement! I can only apologize to you for being able to do so little for you, having returned from the arrogant Belita Kingdom.”

Ah, is that so? I will not forget your consideration. ─ Yet, the sight of Count Brina was nothing short of embarrassing.

His curly hair was drenched in sweat, and his fine silken garments were far too delicate for rubbing against a saddle. The prince understood why this fellow came to greet him and took him in his sole carriage, but he couldn’t help but feel compelled to say something.

“Not at all. You have provided great convenience. My role as a prince is to gather the grievances of the people and report them to the king. We are on our way to see the king now, do you perhaps have a proposal?”

The count shamelessly responded.

“As someone renting a small plot under the shade of the Klaus family, it would be a sign of negligence not to have any suggestions. Of course, I do. My second son oversees a distant castle, the Avril Castle, which is a strategic point adjacent to the Jerome Holy Kingdom. However, the previous ruler was so dreadfully lazy that it is a disgrace. My second son must be lamenting this! There are many expenses, yet insufficient revenue, and it’s become a great issue.”

…I saw this coming.

The prince crossed his arms and frowned. What Count Brina was about to request was a matter of utmost concern for the nobles of the entire kingdom.

Count Brina continued.

“For the defense of the kingdom, I cannot simply stand by as a noble. However, as you know, it is strictly forbidden for nobles to interfere with lands delegated by the royal family. I understand the intent behind that. However, given the situation, I hope you could relax the laws allowing us, the Brina family, to maintain Avril Castle. Since my domain borders Avril Castle, it would be preferable to combine our administrative regions.”

The Klaus family had many lands that had been stranded due to civil war. The kingdoms of Austin and Aster. The Asran Kingdom had been divided, and after the truce, Austin Kingdom expelled nobles who supported Aster Kingdom.

They gobbled up the remaining land, nationalizing it, and it was impossible for the royal family to directly govern territories covering half of the national territory.

This was the limit of the feudal system’s poor administrative structure. Thus, the royal family filled the administrative gap by selecting representatives to govern those territories.

So far, so good. The problem was,

The absence of public education. The only people available to send as agents were nobles. The centralization occurred due to a sharp decline in the nobility, yet there was no intellectual class to support the concentrated power. Eventually, opportunities went to the second sons or illegitimate children of noble families.

Though it would be a future issue, it would later be evaluated as a rehash of the old regime masquerading as a new system. The agrarian-based feudal system would take a long time to collapse under the commercial class, and for now, the nobles were trying every trick in the book to incorporate the lands governed by their sons into their families’ domains.

Like this fat fellow before me.

Prince Anolf de Klaus sighed lightly.

His motives were obvious, but given that he used national defense as a pretext, he had to give an appropriate response.

“I see. I hadn’t known you had such concerns. However, it’s beyond my authority to interpret and relax laws set forth by the king, so please gather specific data.”

“Spe, specific data?”

“Yes. We require maintenance status and projected repair costs for Avril Castle, as well as current revenues and expenditures. Since you said your son is in charge of Avril Castle, it would be quicker for you to collect the information directly rather than going through the offices. Additionally, there must be local residents living in that castle, right? Please also submit their consent regarding the merging of administrative areas.”

This kind of thing was frequent enough that the prince didn’t even need to take a breath before speaking.

He was well aware that they would collude with his son to forge the documents, and even with such a tactful refusal, if they were to proceed with this, he planned to send an inspector to cross-check the papers. In fact, there were already over seven merger requests piling up.

And ha ha, to gain consent from the local residents would cost quite a bit. If they were going to spend that much to merge the territories, well, from the royal family’s standpoint, approving the request wouldn’t incur any loss.

Since gaining independence from the Acaian Empire, the local natives (the northern barbarians) classified as free men absolutely supported our Klaus royal family, descendants of King Maunin and Queen Letty.

Prince Anolf de Klaus understood better than anyone that the power of the royal family rested on their ability to secure benefits for these people.

‘Damn it all.’

Count Diego Brina’s shoulders drooped. If this were the case, the exhausting journey from the morning would have been in vain, and he fought to suppress his changing complexion.

“Y-you are absolutely correct. I was hasty. I will promptly prepare the supporting documents.”

“Please do. Thank you for your efforts for the kingdom’s defense. I will review it positively.”

With words he didn’t mean, the prince sent Count Brina away.

However, as the count turned to leave, the prince overheard the citizens buzzing,

“What? Noel Dexter?!”

Unbeknownst to him, he ran off in excitement. He had made his entrance to the royal palace.

This was the prince’s return after being invited by the Belita Kingdom last year. The fanfare sounded, and the royal guards lined up to greet him, but Prince Anolf’s expression was not particularly bright.

Visiting the great power of the Belita Kingdom was a valuable experience.

He grasped the culture and trends there and got a glimpse of the legal and administrative systems that had evolved from the Acaian Empire. He was also impressed by the vast market that was beyond comparison to his kingdom and even invited the leader of the merchant group with hundreds of carriages to engage in discussions.

This experience would greatly aid him when he ascended to the throne and led the kingdom.

But that wasn’t all.

He felt the political situation of the Belita Kingdom in a more visceral way. It was entirely different from his kingdom.

Noble families burdened with hundreds to thousands of years of history.

The Belita Kingdom was overflowing with mighty noble houses that even the likes of Count Diego Brina could not hold a candle to.

Among them, one family stood out.

Compared to the Klaus family from Austin and Aster Kingdoms, Isadora from the Aisel Kingdom, the Yeliel family from Conrad Kingdom, the Lognum family from Orun Kingdom, and the Frederick Royal Family from the Jerome Holy Kingdom, this massive family was none other than…

The Tatian family.

The current head of the Tatian family was a man named Benard Tatian. Commonly referred to as the ruler of the western Belita Kingdom, Prince Anolf de Klaus could hardly shake the feeling that he was significantly undervalued.

He was, of course, aware of the Tatian family. Rather, it was the history known only to the aristocracy and not well known to the nobility; the Tatian family, which started as a merchant family, was once referred to as the “Lords of Gold” during the Acaian Empire.

Not simply because they were rich.

They minted currency.

The family that created the current monetary system represented by gold, silver, and copper coins was the Tatian family, and the count had been in charge of minting during the Acaian Empire.

They had since retired; they said they had withdrawn as brass needed for copper coins became scarce… Nevertheless, they were a family that left a tremendous impact on human history.

Upon returning from the Belita Kingdom, Prince Anolf de Klaus naturally met Count Benard Tatian.

The striking blue eyes and the tilted green scales left quite an impression. He seemed to be plotting something new.

‘He seemed very interested in the borderlands between Austin, Aster, and Belita… Though he tried not to show it.’

Whatever it was, it must have had something to do with commerce. Even when inviting random merchants for discussions, the count’s name was mentioned frequently, allowing him to easily deduce the influences he wielded in the commercial affairs of the Belita Kingdom.

Yet, such an incredible family was lying low, to the extent of yielding power to a mere knightly family like the Forte family.

Whether or not they had grasped power did not particularly concern a family that could realistically sway the kingdom. The question was what lay behind that… That was the key issue.

‘I shouldn’t be overly concerned.’

As long as he didn’t cross swords with the count.

From the prince’s perspective, the count was a frightening figure, and he was taking care to negotiate appropriately while gauging the count’s desires. What pained Anolf de Klaus most was a different matter entirely.

The princess who invited me kissed someone else right in front of me.

Am I angry as a man?

Surely not. A royal tasked with carrying the future of our kingdom should never be swayed by such personal feelings.

Yet I felt rage.

I expressed my rage.

How dare you insult the prince of the Austin Kingdom? This isn’t merely about me, it’s about the dishonor of our kingdom. I couldn’t help but be enraged.

Princess Chloe de Tatalia.

I do not wish to know what you were thinking when you insulted me. Your brother, Prince Klian de Tatalia, comforted me by saying you occasionally behaved in ways difficult to understand, but once spilled, water cannot be gathered again.

I won’t say I disliked you. You are beautiful, indeed. But I held the burdens of war in my heart.

I left your capital city, wishing you would kneel in repentance in the mud of the Asgard Plains, ready to punish those who deem my people barbarians. Your kingdom may be more powerful than ours, but I intended to take it as my lifelong goal.

However,

What sins have the common folk committed?

My beloved kingdom’s sons and daughters and brothers have no reason to sacrifice their lives for that prided honor… I have learned that protecting their lives is what a king should do.

As a child, from my deceased father.

He was a remarkable person. Had he not died young, he would undoubtedly have become a great ruler.

But he is gone, and I must inherit half of the land he should have ruled, so Princess Chloe de Tatalia, I shall forgive you. No, I will forget.

─ So I swore.

But when he left Oberg and returned to his homeland, the Second Knight Commander Jensen Bailei and Baron Bailei, who led to victory in the Nine-Day War, were out inspecting the border. They were not there to welcome the prince.

It was obvious they were preparing for war.

Upon hearing that the royal decree had been issued and could not be reversed, Prince Anolf de Klaus sighed.

Ah! I shouldn’t have accepted the invitation from the start. If I had known this would happen. I expected that if I were to be tied to Princess Tatalia, the long-standing grievances between the Belita Kingdom and our kingdom would unravel! Instead, it ignited war!

Whether we win or lose, countless people will die. Feeling the responsibility weigh heavily on him, he controlled his breathing and made his way to find his father. Eventually, he presented himself before the king, who loved to sit upon his high throne.

The king, Paolo de Klaus, who enjoyed all that sparkled, looked down at his son with emotionless eyes.