Chapter 87

The VIP room of the Hope Casino was as extravagant as the Imperial Palace, if not more so.

After taking down two infiltrators, an illegal mage, and an heretical priest who had been prowling between the evening red-light district and the slums, as well as twelve mercenaries hired from a hostile shop to disrupt the business of the enemy, the alcohol went down delightfully.

Indeed, nothing could compare to the drink after work.

Sitting in a golden chair and filling my silver goblet with ice, Lady Trentia spoke up.

“Still, it doesn’t sound too good.”

“What do you mean?”

“The rumors about Duke Valenciaunos have spread like wildfire. Why must it be while I was on vacation…?”

“Don’t worry about it. No one died, and not a single coin came out of my pocket, so that’s good enough for me.”

Lady Trentia narrowed her clear, red eyes.

She looked displeased.

“That’s unexpected.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you might have a grand romantic notion of saying something like ‘Even if no one acknowledges it, I will uphold my own beliefs.'”

Lady Trentia ran her short, red hair through her fingers and laughed.

“Every knight wants to say something like ‘My lord, allow me to take care of this!’ or ‘Young master, I will protect you. You must survive!’ at least once. To bear the blame for a lord or lady and to fight amidst the world’s scorn always makes the blood boil in this heart.”

“But,” she began, pausing to collect her thoughts, “a knight may be able to withstand scorn from everyone, but there’s someone they must never receive scorn from. If someone openly scorns a knight, a true knight must cut that person’s finger or neck to uphold their honor.”

“I see.”

“It’s fine if bad rumors spread. Gossipmongers chatter, but the unaware will simply shrug it off. However, if someone is spreading those bad rumors and we know who it is, a knight must make sure to confront them and reduce them to a state deserving of mercy.”

“You can’t just go around slaying the elders of the Black Iron Order, can you?”

Lady Trentia laughed with an expression that made it hard to tell if she was joking or serious.

“I’m sure I can’t do it alone. I’ll gather my old comrades from the Platinum Knights.”

For someone of her caliber, the camaraderie among knights must run deep.

Thinking back, Lady Trentia also had ties to the so-called Black Iron Knights, who were said to be her foes.

It seemed she had gotten close to the Silver Knights who flew wyverns as well, riding them every day.

…Wouldn’t around 180 of the 200 knights in her order join?

If that many were mobilized, Jeilliris would surely know that the Ivory Tower was in danger of being toppled.

“Hahaha.”

I laughed to prevent a situation that could create a massive power vacuum, regardless of victory or defeat.

“That’s settled. You know, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for such rumors to spread. It could stir sympathy for His Majesty suffering under the bad influence of his elder brother.”

“Still, stopping the infiltration without anyone dying was an achievement, but twisting that into a story of thousands dying crossed a line.”

“Thanks for being angry with me. But it really worked out. You know I’m not someone who would try to kill thousands… right?”

Lady Trentia snickered.

Then she wore a face of contemplation for a moment.

“Answer quickly! I am not that kind of person.”

“Since when have members of the royal family ever said that?”

“I’m saying it isn’t so. You don’t have to worry about what you think of me. And there are bound to be people in the world who wouldn’t care about me.”

“Really? What do you mean by that?”

“Why do you think I stayed here today to receive donations, no, contributions? There’s plenty of good wine in the palace as well.”

Lady Trentia narrowed her eyes.

“Is there someone you need to meet?”

“That’s correct.”

At that moment, the door opened, and people in black uniforms followed by a masked figure flooded in.

Lady Trentia squinted and asked, “Who are they? From the looks of them, they seem to be rather unproductive, their features hazy.”

I adjusted my red sash and fastened the first two buttons of my white uniform as I replied, “They’re members of the council.”

* * *

Surprisingly, there is a council in the imperial capital.

Of course, all bills passed there must be approved by the Emperor, and without his permission, they go straight into the incinerator. The Emperor also has the power to summon or dissolve the council.

If you were to ask why the imperial family tolerates the council with such authority, the answer is slightly different.

It was, after all, the imperial family that established the council.

In order to stabilize the massive direct territory, many laws and systems are necessary, but no matter how capable the administrative officers of the imperial palace may be, they couldn’t handle everything.

Thus, they established a council to say, “If there’s something you want, tell us. If it’s good, we’ll do it; if it’s not, we won’t.”

If there’s dissatisfaction, instead of causing a revolt and dying, send someone to the council.

There were five major factions in the council.

Court nobles, who chose to become lords with the grant of a province while receiving a pension to remain in the capital.

High-ranking clergy from the Church of Radiance.

Intellectuals like professors from the Academy.

Administrative officers sent from the imperial governor province.

And lastly, commoners in the capital burning with ambition to seize power or change the world.

In this council, the seats are hereditary for court nobles, and there are set seats for high-ranking clergy, intellectuals, and administrative officers from the governor province.

The only ones actually elected are the commoner representatives, most of whom are wealthy merchants or executive artisans from guilds.

And naturally, the ones who approached me were members from commoner backgrounds.

As nearly thirty individuals filled the spacious VIP room, it buzzed with activity.

Lady Trentia squinted, looking displeased.

“Duke Valenciaunos, why are you meeting with these council members? Are you perhaps trying to extend your influence into the council as well?”

Several of the council members fidgeted at the coolness of her voice, laced with a blade.

I committed their faces to memory as I spoke.

“I am delighted to see you all here. It fills me with joy to see so many people wanting to serve His Majesty the Emperor, the citizens of the capital, and the citizens of the governor province.”

“Your Excellency.”

“Lady Trentia seems displeased to hear your reputations. Could someone explain why you are here to meet me?”

As soon as I finished speaking, more than ten hands shot up.

Lady Trentia looked surprised.

I pointed to a middle-aged woman in a gray suit, and she began to speak.

“My name is Giselle, and I aim to run for office from the Street of Learning. I have no prior experience. My main promise is to stop fights in the Street of Learning and restore good relations between nearby residents and students. Second, I aim to increase the amount and proportion of scholarships provided by the academies so that students do not fall into poverty, and third, I believe dormitories should be built when the number of students exceeds a certain percentage.”

Lady Trentia’s gaze softened towards her.

Where there had previously been a hint of hostility, now a warm smile graced her face.

“That sounds good. Next.”

I pointed to the middle-aged man beside her.

“I’m Hamun. I’m running for office in the Dock area. My main promise is to install soundproof walls to prevent noise from nocturnal work at the docks.”

Lady Trentia looked slightly taken aback once more.

I pointed to a young man who appeared to be five or six years older than me.

“I’m Alcen.”

He was planning to run from the residential area near the city gates and presented his own logical promises.

* * *

After the council candidates presented a series of their promises, I turned to Lady Trentia and said.

“That sounds promising.”

“I underestimated them; they were better than I thought. I feel a bit embarrassed for having preconceived notions.”

“Not preconceived notions. There are certainly that type of candidate you imagined as well. For example… Hamun, I suspect you have a high-ranking member of the architecture guild among your relatives or friends, am I wrong?”

Countless eyes turned toward the named middle-aged man.

Lady Trentia seemed to have understood the import of my words a moment later and clenched her teeth.

“Is that how it was?”

I shook my head.

“Because you have close ties with high-ranking members of the architecture guild, you know how to block out noise. The idea to install soundproof walls rather than ban nocturnal work came from that knowledge.”

Hamun let out a sigh of relief.

“Of course, occurrences like what you envision can happen. Everyone here has spoken words that can be double-edged. Someone like me could easily misinterpret or oversimplify them.”

“It’s difficult. I believe I suggested you not to trouble me with such things. Besides… you still haven’t told me why they came to see you.”

I looked at Giselle.

“Giselle, can you explain to Lady Trentia why you sought me out? Even going through the manager of the red-light district you seem to disdain.”

Giselle bit her lip for a moment before speaking.

“Sir Knight, do you happen to know what a candidate registration fee is?”

“It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Um… think of it as something you give up when you become a knight and then get back.”

Giselle provided an analogy.

“A trainee can’t hand over a sword. And returning a sword to a knight means breaking a pledge of loyalty.”

Lady Trentia dismissed that analogy immediately, being a born knight herself.

Giselle paused briefly before presenting another analogy.

“You are aware that a knightly title is granted upon graduating from the Academy’s swordsmanship department, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Those who lack skills but have money are seen as trash.”

“They hold onto an enormous sum of money at the time of admission to nurture their abilities. And if they fail the graduation exam, they do not get it back.”

“That makes a bit of sense.”

Giselle spoke with a sigh of relief.

“We have a similar system, known as a candidate registration fee. If you receive a certain number of votes, the money you put down in advance will be returned.”

“Why does such a system exist?”

“To prevent candidates who lack even the minimum qualifications and reputation from thronging around with ridiculous promises.”

Lady Trentia nodded.

“I understand. Since you receive contributions from supporters, even if you’re poor, as long as you have legitimate promises, you could afford the registration fee.”

“Yes. That is correct. The amount is 150 gold coins.”

“!”

Lady Trentia’s eyes widened.

“That’s a considerable sum. Of course, among the representatives, there would be some wealthy enough to spend that in just a few days of drinking… but that’s probably why you’re here, isn’t it? You’re not suggesting that Duke Valenciaunos is lending you money in exchange for supporting legislation, are you?”

Lady Trentia fixed me with a glare from her crimson eyes.

“Your Excellency, please cease such schemes.”

“Lady Trentia, that’s a misunderstanding.”

“You have the soul of a lion within… what?“

Giselle bitterly smiled and continued.

“However, there is a way to avoid paying the registration fee.”

“What is it?”

“To gain recognition from a member of the royal family for your necessity and expertise, and have them sign a document acknowledging that they’re not just some random person. This way, both the registration fee and candidate vetting will be waived.”

Lady Trentia sighed softly.

“I’m not familiar with such matters, but I know that elections are expensive. Considering that, I must conserve the registration fees, so that’s why you came to seek out Duke Valenciaunos…”

She turned to me, shifting her body.

“Your Excellency. Did you call them here to sign for them?”

“I didn’t call them; they came to ask me for that.”

“Though this is not something to be asked directly in front of them, since I’m not running as a candidate, I’ll ask: how many will you sign for them?”

I smiled broadly in response.

“You just heard all their promises.”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s time to consider something else.”

“What do you mean by something else?”

“As long as you can run for less than 150 coins, that’s fine, isn’t it? And there could also be those who want to avoid the candidate vetting rather than just the money.”

I crossed my legs, leaned back against the sofa, and asked the council candidates.

“How much did you all expect?”

Perhaps they were caught off guard by my straightforward question, as they wore expressions of embarrassment.

Once again, Giselle was the first to step forward and whispered, “Recently, there have been many unfortunate incidents on the Street of Learning, so both activities and fundraising have come to a halt. It’s embarrassing, but the only amount I can offer you is 30 gold coins.”

I grinned wickedly and said, “30 coins out of 150? My hand feels ashamed to receive that. I can’t accept such an amount.”

“Ah…”

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Just take the signature and leave. With the money, I can at least buy my old students some meat soup.”