Chapter 227

The princess hammered the gavel, and as the meeting began, the audience, which had been magically hidden, gradually appeared. From close relatives to all sorts of key figures, everyone gathered in the conference hall to observe.

The number of eyes watching grew immensely.

The nobles felt as cold as winter despite the warm weather, as if they were frozen solid.

They must be quite nervous.

If they had achieved decent results, they would have been proud. But since they hadn’t, this was their fate.

It was like watching students quivering during a big school presentation.

The first person trembled as if performing a ritual, barely making it up there.

How much he was trembling. The rustling of paper in his quivering hand could almost be heard from where I stood at the front.

Of course, it was even worse behind him.

“The results of collecting more taxes from the residents are just this?”

Ouch.

“Are you saying that you’ve squandered the blood and sweat of your subordinates so carelessly?”

Double ouch.

“You’re talking nonsense about being in the black. You covered up such a huge loss with the family’s money, didn’t you?”

Triple ouch.

From the first person, one could see the souls of the nobles being sucked out one by one.

“Useless. Next!”

As if doused with cold water, the next in line approached.

With each person’s turn approaching in order, the faces of the noble offspring hardened.

They were praying desperately that they wouldn’t be treated as badly, looking pathetic and pitiful.

This scene repeated several times.

Every time Arshien asked a question, the confidence of the noble candidates waned, and complaints and criticisms grew louder.

“Ah, we need a break.”

“We declare a recess.”

Arshien and Florence, the main judges, declared a break.

I couldn’t tell if it was my imagination, but…

The break seemed to come a bit early.

No, it wasn’t my imagination.

The clock hands were placed in slightly different positions than I remembered.

That must be because those two were angry.

It’s probably to cool off.

Judging from the results so far, it makes sense they’d be mad.

Even though they didn’t say anything, they couldn’t help but throw down their pens and stand up in frustration.

It felt familiar.

Like the student council president and vice-president declaring a break after drinking cold water when they couldn’t tolerate the students who were caught cheating during a surprise exam.

In this country, the noble offspring were no different.

They used shortcuts and deception to get good grades.

When they relied on their parents’ power and failed an unexpected question in the surprise exam, they stumbled and made a fool of themselves.

So what happened with that surprise exam?

Predictable.

“What a moron! How could you create a system that cuts into the benefits of the territory?!”

“How can you fail to calculate profits and losses?!”

“Why did you take so much of the family’s money…?! Did you think the royal court wouldn’t notice such obvious tricks?!”

Now.

Instead of being scolded by the princess, they were being scolded by someone attending the exam.

A break might as well be hell for them compared to presenting.

Those lacking in ability were being hit harder by their parents than the criticism from the princess, enduring verbal and physical abuse along the way.

And it wasn’t just those watching.

External observers, who had high expectations, must have seen shoddy and inadequate results, witnessing the nobles being thoroughly humiliated by Arshien and Florence.

This situation put the heads of the families in a difficult spot.

But I had other things to do during this time.

– Ding!

“A break has arrived. You need to talk to one person among the people below.”

[1. Isabella Bargrand]

[2. Arina Bargrand]

[3. Claire Bargrand]

[4. Flora Bargrand]

I needed to meet one of my family members, simply because it was my turn.

Originally, Carsein should have presented before the break and was indeed scheduled to present first.

However, through a proposal, my presentation slot was moved to the very end.

Even though the final presentation schedule was announced earlier, this rule, proposed by the royal court to ensure fairness, was kept secret.

Anyway, to explain my fixed presentation slot, I had to go and explain it to one of them.

“Hmm. Honestly, it doesn’t matter who I talk to.”

At least 2 is out of the question.

Explaining to the eldest daughter would be too much for me.

“Flora? Telling her won’t change anything.”

What could a child understand?

Option 4 is also out.

That leaves Isabella and Claire.

“Isabella is better.”

Claire just said something crazy.

If I provoked her now, it might decrease our affinity.

Better to choose the lesser of two evils.

Nodding, I headed towards Isabella in the audience.

“…You’re here. Carsein. How are you? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Isabella reached out anxiously, but I easily avoided her hand.

“Carsein…?”

“I’ll keep it short.”

There was nothing to elaborate on.

Briefly.

I would state my business succinctly and leave.

“My presentation slot is last.”

***

This symposium had a significant impact on the noble offspring, imposing new restrictions they weren’t used to.

Without the support of the family head or advice, and even borrowing family power came with restrictions or required permission.

Given these factors, many expected this meeting to be the toughest test ever for retainers.

Isabella agreed, but she wasn’t overly worried.

Her daughters, Arina and Claire, who had performed well in previous eastern noble meetings, had been diligently learning under her guidance.

The youngest, Flora, might be a concern, but since she wasn’t a formal participant, she would likely just observe and learn from her sisters.

The only real worry was Carsein.

She was concerned about her son, whose performance was beyond her reach.

But then, he scored the highest in the first week and received the Peselros Privilege, so perhaps her worries were unfounded.

Yet, her concerns grew over time.

He postponed the midterm evaluation, creating anxiety, and rumors spread about a split within the Shatren Territory, with the lord failing to prevent it.

Though unsure of the details, the extent of the rumors couldn’t be ignored.

Today, the day of the final presentation, with no movement despite the approaching schedule, her unease grew.

“Break time… Yes, I should go meet Carsein now.”

Isabella, growing increasingly anxious, decided to seek out Carsein during the break.

Surprisingly, Carsein came to her instead and explained everything.

He detailed the skipped mid-term presentations, the relationship between delayed weekly reports and the final presentation, and why he ended up presenting last.

Carsein left nothing out.

Isabella waited silently until he finished explaining.

But…

He never finished the story.

Just as Carsein bowed his head to leave, Isabella grabbed him urgently.

“Wait, wait a moment, Carsein.”

“I won’t do anything to harm the family.”

“What… do you mean?”

“I will handle this properly, so don’t worry.”

“Carsein, wait a moment. Carsein!”

Carsein replied calmly and walked away without looking back.

His wrinkled hand, extended in vain, stopped.

“…Why doesn’t he ask for help?”

Isabella muttered to herself, watching his retreating figure.

– Ding!

“Isabella’s affinity has increased.”

[Current level: 75%]

***

Under the guise of a break, some found it another form of hell.

Again, Arshien and Florence’s relentless evaluations began.

“Let’s begin.”

The princess nodded.

“That’s… him.”

He was the one.

The ringleader who claimed he could cover for the bottom line, the one she had trusted.

Only recently did she realize how bad he was.

After all, the rest were predictable.

They would surely be thoroughly criticized.

In the game, ignoring his criticism would trigger conditions.

“He boasts about others while pointing out flaws, yet his results are like this?”

“No! If we focus on facility changes, compared to the rumors about the territory…”

“You plan to continue making a fool of yourself.”

Arshien stood up, lowering her voice to an almost inaudible level.

What’s going on?

The lines seem different.

Didn’t they usually just point out mistakes without getting involved?

Plus, standing up in the game…

– Ding!

“You have met all the conditions.”

[1. Withstood all provocations from Bellar.]

[2. Ignored all friction in the conference hall except with family.]

[3. Arshien’s affinity has risen above 40%.]

“The conditions have been met, triggering the event.”

“You thought we hadn’t investigated your territory thoroughly, but we investigated yours particularly closely! Do you still want to compare and criticize despite seeing this?”

-Zip!

Arshien stood up and used a data scroll, revealing a status window.

“Bellar, during the defense time of other presentations, you are prohibited from exercising your rights.”

“…What?”

As he blurted out a stupid response, other nobles rose in protest.

“Princess, defense time is a right given equally to everyone attending this symposium!”

“Don’t the facts that need to be pointed out have little to do with the grades?”

“Didn’t you say that Carsein also has the right to criticize correctly?”

“Yes, that’s true. However…”

The princess’s eyes, clearly showing her anger, turned to the nobles.

“Has Carsein ever criticized Bellar?”

“…”

“That…”

“There’s no precedent for the opposite example, so I wonder if there’s any reason to enforce this clause.”

“Even Prince Florence…!”

“Your opinion isn’t wrong, but allowing someone who ruined their territory and received the highest scores repeatedly to give advice to someone who barely managed to maintain their territory is unacceptable.”

At this, the nobles fell silent.

“I agree with my sister’s judgment. This clause needs to be revised. It’s unfair to give the same rights to someone who received the highest scores for weeks and held the Peselros Privilege and someone who currently receives the worst evaluations.”

Even Florence joined in.

The nobles couldn’t express their dissatisfaction.

These two warned them.

“Even if defense time comes, consider your grades when speaking.”

Their eyes, filled with anticipation, looked at me.

Grin!

“…”

Hey, you guys.

You want fairness.

Well, it’s beneficial for me, so I won’t complain.

“…”

One person seems unhappy.