Chapter 498

Ferdel (POV)

Caitel immediately left the consulate.

I knew what he was going to do, and I knew it wouldn’t satisfy others’ curiosity.

Something had already been done.

Since I no longer needed to be with Caitel, I took the floating ship alone and returned to Agrigient.

Agrigient already had numerous problems that required assistance.

Although they relieved me from the Prime Minister’s position, it still took me less than a day to arrive at the Imperial Palace, and I didn’t have the luxury to rest.

“Sire, why have you arrived so late?”

“There are already a bunch of documents that are long overdue.”

“Attend the most pressing issues first!”

“Sire, this problem is very urgent…”

It had been long since I went back home, rested my feet and body, or took some time to live with my beloved wife and sons—such a trampled wish.

“I’m not the Prime Minister anymore.”

“Are you kidding?”

“It’s true.”

Even if Caitel would come and say it, no one in Podere would believe that. Eventually, the pressure of numerous tasks forced me to swallow my tears.

Right, my life didn’t warrant a vacation.

“One week. I have a feeling that I can’t go home yet.”

“It would be a good thing if this ends in a week.”

Jero said that.

I glanced at him and just sighed. What could I do? It was my fault for staying away for two months.

“Huge things happened in the southern region.”

“I know. It was Pretzia, right?”

A considerable problem for Agrigient, except for the northern affairs, was Pretzia’s invasion.

To attack when there was chaos in the country, they must have been so thorough.

I faced him in person, but I never thought that the Emperor of Pretzia would go ahead with such plans, but he did. It wouldn’t be a massive deal as we were already prepared for such invasions, but our army was getting pushed a lot more than expected.

Caitel was busy looking for Ria in the north, so Agrigient’s problem had to be resolved independently.

“Did that bloody sly Siorn bastard join hands with Emperor Havel?”

If that was the case, we were ruined.

No matter how I thought, things seemed highly planned.

They must have been holding onto their breath in the Langre desert. Langre itself decided to allow the sixth prince to hide in their region, and they didn’t like Agrigent. It wouldn’t be too shocking if the three of them pledged to make the plan work.

No, I couldn’t think much about it; I wasn’t in a position to complain about what they did.

“It’s Izarta’s land. Would it work for us?”

Even Pretzia would have a hard time holding onto prolonged wars.

Except for the case where Caitel returned, the war would call for money. The question was how would we provide supplies to the soldiers.

In the end, it would be tricky to hold onto the southern regions while Caitel was searching for Siorn.

‘It won’t be easy.’

Above all, I already knew what kind of understanding Siorn and Langre had.

Still, the possibility seemed slim. If Siorn failed to kill Caitel or Ria, succeeding the throne would be impossible. No, for some reason, even if the sixth prince succeeded in doing that, it didn’t seem like he would quietly return to Agrigent. All the nobles who supported him were already destroyed.

“Was it a gamble to capture even such a scarce possibility?”

Pretzia’s emperor must have known this. Thus, it must not have been a union with Langre. It must have been scary for Langre to have Agrigent as an enemy.

I contemplated how the problem had to be solved, but the office’s door opened and closed firmly.

I was in the Prime Minister’s office, and there weren’t many who would act like that.

It was Valer who entered.

Given the severe expression on my son’s face, it didn’t take long for me to guess why he came.

“Did father really give up Ria to the sixth prince?”

Who did he hear that from, who?!

I didn’t want him to know, but it wouldn’t matter if he knew either.

“You can think however you want.”

I heard a sharp sound before I could finish my words.

Valer, with his sword out, stared right at me. The cold metal touched my neck.

Now even my son was doing it.

“Rude.”

I opened with a low sound, and Valer responded by speaking through his teeth.

“I am holding back even though I want to cut you.”

“Do it if you want to.”

I pushed the sword with the pen in my hand; it fell as if he had no intention of cutting me. It wasn’t an excellent experience to have a blade at my throat several times.

Valer bit his lips with a disturbing gaze. I never remembered raising my son so finely, but seeing him like that was shocking.

Well, well, it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand his reasons.

“Does Sanse know?”

“No.”

“Does your mother know about it?”

I was really hoping for an honest answer. I was curious about it.

“Do you think mother will be able to smile after knowing this?”

“…”

It was a huge shock. Watching Valer’s frown, I knew he wasn’t comfortable with the situation.

“So, everything I was letting you on, her plans, telling you where she went, and who she was meeting… you were passing down that information to the sixth prince, father?”

“You can think however you want.”

Valer lifted his sword again.

Although he had no intention of killing me, he did point his sword at me. I pushed the blade to the ground.

“I’ll let it go for once, son, not twice.”

Hearing the loud noise, the knights outside entered.

I didn’t want the outside world to know about a father and son’s affairs, but I couldn’t help it, mostly when he acted like that. Valer needed to cool himself up.

“What’s going on, Sire?”

“I order for that Knight Valtorte be placed on standby. Since he pointed his sword at the Prime Minister, he will return to his quarters and reflect on his mistakes.”

“Huh?”

The shocked knight asked for confirmation again. I nodded to his expression.

“Yes, Sire.”

While I looked at the knight escorting Valer outside, Jero, who had been out, entered.

“Did something happen with Valer…”

“It did. A matter between father and son.”

It seemed strange for him, but Jero didn’t push me on that matter.

I had no intention of talking even when asked about it.

“We need to start sending the knights.”

“Sorry?”

“We need to place the Winter Moon knights and Autumn stars knights onto the southern front. How does that seem?”

My son pointed his sword at me, and it seemed like I was acting so casually about it.

I shrugged at Jero’s gaze on me and drafted the new military order. I knew that I was doing a lot, but that didn’t matter.

“Sire.”

“Huh?”

“The soldiers who went to the north…”

I was asked if we could call back the soldiers sent to the north, but the only answer I could give was a bitter smile.

Jero, who didn’t know the reason, frowned. There was nothing I could do for the knights, so I just had to watch.

“You know, Jero.”

“Yes?”

Jero looked at me, and I smiled.

“This is a seat where we see what others can’t and think what others can’t. No matter what we do, this is a position no one will know the value of.”

However, it was a place where work had to be done. That way, in the further future, changes could be made, and chaos could be avoided. Slow, slowly, but effectively.

Meanwhile, Agrigent had always undergone rapid changes, but the future of Agrigent would be different.

“Can you do that?”

“… Sire?”

Jero hesitated.

Reluctance.

Whether he wanted to do the job or not, I had already planned to withdraw from my position.

Whatever the conclusion Caitel would reach after coming back, I would take responsibility for my actions, even if there was no evidence.

Of course, I could be given a splendid retirement ceremony and withdraw from the position.

That would be a little better to look at.

All this while, I had suffered yet achieved a lot, so I could retire and enjoy life with my family leisurely.

That wouldn’t happen, though.

There were reasons for that.

Prime Ministers had full power in the Empire. No nobleman in Agrigient’s history had the Prime Minister position for so long, nor had performed such achievements. Of course, all the policies emerged from my work, and everyone lived on the codes I created.

I was always concerned.

Even if I retire, would it be a real retirement?

There was a lot of confusion if the coming person would handle the burden of the position. Among them, there would be some who would claim to be the second Ferdel.

That wasn’t what I wanted.

“Sire.”

Knock, knock, knock.

As I turned my head towards the sound, I saw an attendant near the door.

The attendants seemed flustered.

“The Countess of Viterbo is here.”

Silvia?

Even Jero seemed shocked.

The door opened; she entered the office with light steps. Even Jero moved away, giving a path for Sil.

Just a short while ago, I expelled Valer from the office, so I couldn’t help but feel awkward. However, Silvia blew away the uncomfortable air with her bright smile.

“After two months of absence, my husband returned, and I went to see him, yet he didn’t even come to see me.”

At the same time, Silvia placed a change of clothes and lunch on the table.

A lunch with her love, it looked hand-made, making me feel strange. I wasn’t skipping meals or anything, but it was unfamiliar to see that.

Looking back, I couldn’t remember when was the last time I ate properly.

It was weird, though.

Did Sil come all the way to bring me that?

Silvia smiled as brightly as she could while bringing me lunch. As always, her smile was warm like the spring sun.

“You look like you have a lot on your hand, right?”

“Huh. How did you know?”

“Your face says it all.”

I guess so. Sil was different from the others; it was amazing how well she knew me.

Bringing me rice right when I was hungry like this made my mouth feel filled with sand.

“Are you worried about anything, Ferdel?”

Her gentle voice pulled me back to reality.

A delicate woman, she had the power to touch my convoluted mind. Even so, it wasn’t easy for me to speak.

“You know, Sil. I might have created a huge mess. Perhaps our titles will be taken away. Of course, that might not happen too, but it could be-”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I tried to say something more, but she cut it off.

I looked into her eyes, searching for confirmation; Sil just nodded as if it was true.

She smiled brightly.

“There must have been a reason for that, right?”

As if she knew everything, her words were enough to make me feel relieved.

Even then, even then…

“Huh.”

“That’s it then.”

What was I worrying about?

I knew that it would turn out like this, but the feeling became too intense for me to forget when I faced the situation.

How could I not love her?

She reminded me of every moment.

How could I not love her?

Sil approached me and stroked my head.

Her small yet delicate arms hugged me. I could feel my insides turning warm at her act.

“Every time you took that seat, I always thought that maybe I put too much burden on you. You always listened to my requests even if they were too hard; I wondered if I was acting too foolish.”

I shook my head at her soft voice. It was never like that.

“No.”

“Even then, that was how I thought.”

She stopped talking and smiled.

The anxiety that remained insignificant, faint worries that were foreign to the other person, and our concerns emerged, letting us breathe again.

Who could do that?

There was one person who could do that.

Since I didn’t want to let go of her, I hugged her back before releasing her. Her eyes were softer than ever.

“But you know…”

Her gaze was a little gloomy.

Above all, her gentle voice flowed like a butterfly.

“But this was the country you made fairer, peaceful, livable, so I hoped that you would sit there for a little more, a little more.”

Was it so?

Instead, I would always feel remorseful of it. Taking up the job always felt terrible; I had to be in the Imperial Palace every day. I couldn’t meet my family because of the job; I always felt sorry for Sil, who had to take up the mother’s role alone in the mansion.

Maybe Sil knew my heart. She smiled and looked at me.

“You have had a hard time. You can have a little rest now.”

I wasn’t sad, but my eyes felt wet. Vague enlightenment calmly collided in my mind. Maybe I had to hear her words.

I guess it was.

“Huh.”

Silvia gently reached out to me. Her pale, thin fingers stroked my tired eyes.

“Thank you, Ferdel.”