novelzi Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
Chapter 184 : Chapter 184
In front of the Plank Royal Castle.Thud—!
“Get out.”
A soldier opened the door of Loa’s carriage without permission and spoke rudely.
At that, Loa’s guard, Aeris, glared slightly at the soldier, but then she became intimidated again by the power of the Plank Kingdom she had witnessed on her way here.
‘An explosion that could fill a plain…… if they call that training, it would be several times more threatening on a real battlefield.’
Of course, it was uncertain whether the Plank Kingdom could bring the ‘flying monsters’ all the way to the Jerpan Archipelago.
But if that were possible…….
‘No castle in the Jerpan Archipelago would be able to withstand it.’
Imagine them throwing that exploding thing called ‘Madan’ from the sky.
To put it bluntly, it would be more dangerous to gather inside the castle.
‘It’s not like there’s a good solution if the troops scatter either. To shoot down the flying monsters, you’d have to shoot arrows or magic, but they wouldn’t be foolish enough to get hit. And the Plank army wouldn’t just wait around while that’s happening.’
But even without that.
Aeris already knew that the Plank Kingdom’s army itself was stronger than the Jerpan Archipelago’s.
Training status, nutritional status, morale, equipment—there was nothing that didn’t overwhelm the Jerpan Archipelago.
‘Most importantly, the biggest difference between our army and the Plank Kingdom’s army is…… their loyalty to the king.’
Aeris, who was having various thoughts, said to Loa.
“My lady, let us disembark.”
“……Yes, we should.”
Aeris got out first and helped Loa get out of the carriage. As soon as they got out, the coachman drove the carriage somewhere without even a goodbye.
“……?”
‘Where are we supposed to go if they just leave us here?’
The carriage that brought them here, Ronak, and the other soldiers had all gone somewhere.
Leaving them standing alone in front of the castle gate.
‘Did the King of Plank order them to treat me with such contempt until the end?’
It didn’t seem so.
‘That knight named Ronak said in the carriage earlier. The king instructed, 「“Do not treat them too rudely.”」’
That means, being left alone in front of the castle was…… not King Leonardo’s will, but the will of the person in charge—.
It was then.
Creeak…….
The castle gate slowly opened.
A group of knights and soldiers came out. It wasn’t a large number, but their armor and equipment were distinctly different from the knights and soldiers she had seen so far.
The armor was thick and sturdy, and the spears were even sharper.
Clank—Clank—Clank—!
As the knights and soldiers who came out first formed a line, a single knight came out behind them.
Judging by the silhouette of the armor, it seemed to be a female knight.
The female knight approached Loa and said.
“I am Yoanna, Vice Commander of the Kingdom’s Royal Guard Knight Order. From now on, I will be in charge of the envoys from the Jerpan Archipelago, so I expect you to follow my words well during your stay in our kingdom.”
Her tone was strange. It was polite, yet not polite.
In the first place, the statement ‘I am the knight who will manage you’ was not polite to begin with.
Thanks to becoming a little used to this kind of treatment, Loa smiled lightly and said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Yoanna. My name is Hideon Loa. I didn’t expect the Vice Commander of the Royal Guard Knight Order to greet me—.”
“We will not engage in idle chatter. Follow me.”
She had tried to strike up a conversation since they were both women.
But Yoanna was even colder than the other knights and soldiers of the Plank Kingdom.
As Loa and Aeris followed Yoanna.
Clank—Clank—Clank—Clank—.
The other knights and soldiers of the Royal Guard Knight Order surrounded Loa and Aeris.
It was a scene reminiscent of escorting a prisoner.
“The place where you two will be staying is the East Palace of the royal palace. Originally, we were going to give you a small inn near the royal capital, but His Majesty ordered us not to treat you too rudely, so we are guiding you to the East Palace.”
“Ah…… yes.”
To think they were planning to have an envoy stay at an inn in a town near the royal capital.
She already knew, but it really seemed like the army of the Plank Kingdom treated them as enemies.
“Once you enter the East Palace, you two will be using separate rooms. You will have your meal tomorrow at 06:00 in the barracks, and a soldier will come to get you before then. After the meal, at 08:00, His Majesty will—.”
“W-wait a minute. What did you say? We’re eating in the barracks?”
Aeris cut Yoanna off.
Her tone implied that this was going too far.
However.
Swoosh—.
Yoanna looked at Aeris with a cold gaze.
She then subtly placed her hand on her sword and said.
“If you have a complaint, you can go back. Though if the envoy from the Jerpan Archipelago were to return without seeing His Majesty, you probably wouldn’t even make it to the port.”
Wouldn’t even make it to the port.
—That meant they would kill her on the way.
Loa, who understood the meaning, calmed Aeris down.
“Aeris, I’m fine. Let’s do as they say.”
“……My lady, even so—.”
“Aeris.”
“……”
“Trust me here. Let’s not cause any trouble if possible.”
After speaking to Aeris, Loa smiled again and passed the speaking turn back to Yoanna.
“I’m sorry, Sir Knight. Would you please continue what you were saying?”
“Meal at 06:00, and a morning meeting presided over by His Majesty at 08:00. If you wait in your rooms, the maids will come to get you. So be ready on your own.”
Loa noticed something strange in this statement as well.
First, someone who was the ‘Vice Commander of the Royal Guard Knight Order’ was using honorifics for the maids. The Royal Guard Knight Order was the best of the knights who protected the king, and their vice commander would be a very high position.
‘Perhaps she’s one of King Leonardo’s favorite concubines. It wouldn’t be easy for a woman to become a vice commander.’
It was too dark to see well, but at a glance, Yoanna was a very beautiful woman.
Her sun-tanned brown skin suited her strangely well.
But what concerned Loa more was that the meeting, which the king himself presided over, was so early in the morning.
“Does the King of Plank always hold meetings so early in the morning? Himself?”
“He doesn’t just hold meetings. His Majesty also trains with the knights and soldiers before breakfast.”
“The King himself trains……?”
“That’s right. You will see it tomorrow at breakfast.”
Yoanna finished speaking in a stoic tone and pointed to a certain building with her chin.
“That palace over there is the East Palace. And the one in the center is the Central Palace, where His Majesty is staying. From here on, idle chatter is forbidden. It may disturb His Majesty’s sleep.”
“Ah…… yes, I understand.”
Loa followed Yoanna into the East Palace.
All the while, she continued to look around.
‘The soldiers on duty are all on edge too.’
It’s natural for soldiers on duty in the early morning to have a certain look of fatigue on their faces.
They’ve either just woken up or are on duty after sleeping late.
But the soldiers guarding the vicinity of the East Palace showed no such signs. They were all standing still, their eyes sharp and fully tensed.
‘The more I see…… the more I think we shouldn’t go to war with the Plank Kingdom.’
Loa once again came to that conclusion.
The difference from before was that her spirit was much more broken.
***
05:50 AM.
As Yoanna had announced yesterday, Loa was heading to the barracks under the guidance—no, instruction—of a soldier.
To eat breakfast.
‘……I’m tired.’
Loa was exhausted from her long journey.
However, she hadn’t been able to rest properly since arriving at the castle in the early morning yesterday.
It wasn't that she couldn't rest because the bed was uncomfortable. The bed was soft, and the pillow fit her neck surprisingly well.
The reason Loa couldn’t sleep properly was because she was nervous.
How many people could sleep peacefully before a ‘meeting with the king of another kingdom’ that would change the fate of themselves and countless people of their kingdom?
‘Aeris doesn’t seem to have slept well either.’
Since she was young, Loa had always slept in the same room as Aeris. Aeris was a guard who protected Loa 24 hours a day.
But yesterday, they couldn't sleep together because of the orders from the Vice Commander of the Royal Guard Knight Order—the female knight named ‘Yoanna.’
“Aeris, are you very tired?”
“No, my lady. I am fine.”
“Let’s hang in there a little longer. If things go well after we meet the King of Plank, we might be able to live a little more comfortably.”
“Yes.”
After speaking quietly to Aeris, Loa looked forward again. She could be reprimanded for unnecessary chatter.
‘Somehow…… it feels like when I was receiving etiquette lessons as a child. Being this conscious of others’ opinions—.’
Just as Loa was lost in other thoughts.
—Iyaaaaaaaaaah!
—Kkeuyaaaaaaah!
—Teuaaaaaaah!!
Vigorous shouts were heard from the training ground next to the barracks.
At the sound, not only Loa but also Aeris naturally turned their gazes in that direction.
‘Is that……. Sir Ronak?’
Ronak’s appearance was recognizable even from a distance.
A man with such long hair and wearing armor was not common.
‘What is he doing?’
Ronak and two other knights were charging at ‘a single knight.’
And they were doing so with real swords, as if they were really going to cut him down.
The ‘single knight’ was wearing a helmet, so his face was not visible.
‘Isn’t that…… dangerous? Sir Ronak is incredibly strong, isn’t he?’
At the port of the Jerpan Archipelago.
Ronak’s ‘subordinate knight’ had overwhelmed General Milton of the Jerpan Archipelago.
That meant Ronak was stronger than the subordinate knight who had overwhelmed General Milton.
And yet, such a Ronak was attacking one person with two others.
Naturally, it was a sight that Loa could not comprehend.
But then, Loa saw something even more incomprehensible.
Clang— Clang— Claaang—!
The ‘single knight’ who was being attacked by Ronak and the other two knights began to block their combined attack without any trouble at all.
Loa didn't know much about swordsmanship, but anyone could see that he was at ease.
It wasn't as if Ronak and the other two knights attacking the ‘single knight’ were just swinging their swords half-heartedly either.
Even at a glance, they were putting their all into it. One could tell just by looking at Ronak’s long hair flying wildly.
“Who, who is that?”
Out of sheer curiosity, Loa asked Yoanna, who was leading her from the front.
“Who are you referring to?”
“Th-that knight over there, who is fighting Sir Ronak and two other knights at once. It doesn’t seem to be Sir Jereuth.”
Swoosh—.
Yoanna looked in the direction Loa was pointing.
A hint of annoyance could be felt.
Then, after identifying the man on the training ground.
She spoke in a slightly shy voice, as if referring to a man she admired.
“That is His Majesty Leonardo. His Majesty spars with the knights in rotation like that every morning.”
“……That’s the king?! Ah, no. That is His Majesty the King?”
Loa realized her slip of the tongue and quickly corrected herself.
“Yes. And the knights His Majesty is training are Commander Hagen, High-Knight Ronak, and Lord Walter.”
“……”
“Is there anything else you are curious about?”
Curious?
There was a lot.
But there was so much that Loa didn't know what she wanted to ask.
“Uh…… no.”
She said that for now, but.
Loa knew one thing she was definitely curious about.
‘The king is that strong…… so that’s why the knights and soldiers respect him?’
***
After a hurried meal.
Loa was now heading to the ‘meeting hall,’ guided by a maid.
‘……My head is a mess.’
Loa’s mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, so much so that she could actually feel it.
The worry of meeting the king with formidable martial prowess she had seen on the training ground, the concern that she had to persuade such a king for her and the people of the Jerpan Archipelago to survive, and above all—.
‘I don’t know what to say.’
The woman named ‘Olivia’ whom she had spoken to through the carriage's crystal ball yesterday had given her some advice.
If she showed her concern for the people, the King of Plank would help her.
‘She also told me not to try to seduce the king. But…… is that really true?’
With so little information about the King of Plank, Loa couldn’t formulate a proper strategy.
In the meantime, they seemed to have arrived at the meeting hall, as the maid walking ahead said.
“You may go inside. Well then.”
Leaving only those words, the maids walked off down the corridor.
She was being ignored even by the maids.
‘I’m getting a little used to it now, though.’
As the maid had said, Loa opened the door to the meeting hall. It was a rather large door, so she grunted with effort.
Creeak—.
“Hoo……”
As she barely opened the door and entered.
—…….
—…….
—…….
—…….
—…….
—…….
In the large meeting hall, which looked like a banquet hall, everyone silently looked at Loa in unison.
Based on the red path in the middle, it seemed that knights were standing on the left and nobles on the right.
“……”
Enduring the pressure of the gazes from both sides, Loa slowly walked inside.
After coming in some distance, a beautiful woman with skin so pale it was almost white spoke to Loa.
“I am Olivia.”
“Ah…… so you are Lady Olivia. The one I spoke to through the crystal ball.”
“Yes. Welcome to the Crimson Banquet Hall.”
“……What banquet hall?”
“The Crimson Banquet Hall. This is the place where His Majesty Leonardo personally purged the nobles.”
Hearing that.
Loa now understood what the dark red stains splattered on the walls were.
Those were bloodstains.
“The reason I told you the history of this place is not to pressure you, the envoy. I simply explained the most important historical space as part of introducing our kingdom.”
That was a lie. This was pressure.
Pressure that said, ‘If you don’t please the king, I will kill you here.’
“Yes, yes……”
“As long as you don’t violate the warning I gave you before, you should be able to leave this place safely. Probably.”
“……”
“So please keep that in mind.”
As if she had said all she needed to say, Olivia walked forward. To the very front of the people standing on the right.
Seeing that, it really seemed that Olivia was the highest-ranking person among the ‘people on the right.’
Loa forced her trembling hands to steady and calmed her mind.
‘D-don’t have any other thoughts about the king. Just honestly ask him not to go to war for the sake of the people of Jerpan. Just say that. Don’t say anything unnecessary. If I say something wrong, I could really die.’
Just as Loa was thinking that.
—His Majesty Leonardo is entering!
As soon as those words were heard.
Clank—!
The knights and what seemed to be nobles standing on both sides assumed a posture.
It was one thing for the knights, but for even the people who looked like nobles on the right to be so disciplined.
It was a part that showed the characteristics of the Plank Kingdom.
‘What kind of person is this king? King Leonardo is……?’
Loa slightly turned her head back to observe the king who was said to be entering.
And as soon as she saw that king, ‘Leonardo.’
“……Ah.”
Loa understood.
Why Olivia had told her, 「“Do not seduce the king.”」
He was handsome.
So handsome that it made her forget all the tension and sense of crisis of the moment.
Thump— Thump—.
As King Leonardo walked in, he casually swept his golden hair back with his right hand.
Then he walked up to the dais without hesitation, sat down on the chair, and said.
“As you all know, the envoy from the Jerpan Archipelago over there wants peace. But in that Jerpan Archipelago, most people, except for that envoy, want war.”
—…….
“In this situation, I ask you. Those who think it is right to launch a preemptive strike, raise your hand.”
Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick! Flick!
Everyone raised their hands.
Truly ‘everyone.’
Even the maid standing next to the king on the dais for some reason raised her hand.
“H-how could……!”
Loa let out a bewildered sound.
It seemed the Plank Kingdom’s policy was already set before she could say anything.
Looking at Loa, King Leonardo crossed his legs and asked.
“As you can see, my vassals are ready to lay waste to your land.”
“……”
“So if you want to live, try to persuade me. I am the only one who can make them lower their hands.”
This was a test.
A test to persuade him if she wanted to live.
‘……I can’t make a single mistake. Not a single word.’
Gathering her thoughts.
Loa slowly opened her mouth.
“I- I am ‘Hideon Loa,’ daughter of the Great Lord of the Jerpan Archipelago, Hideon Tyrrell.”
“……”
“From now on…… I will express my thoughts to the great King, King Leonardo, so I would be grateful if you would listen.”
Loa found herself bowing her head without realizing it.
As if she were already part of a vassal state.