Chapter 29

(3rd person pov)

“Where are you going?”

Rodrigo followed Hela silently and then stopped. This was because the direction Hela was going was exactly to the Emperor Tereo’s table.

“This is the order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Tsk. 

Rodrigo clenched and released his fist. He was uncomfortable facing Tereo because he knew what the emperor wanted.

Tereo wanted to put Rodrigo in the palm of his hand. What he wanted was Erhardt, who would move at his own pace like a puppet. However, Rodrigo’s parents and Rodrigo did not go along with Tereo’s wishes.

It was from then that Tereo’s harassment intensified. It wasn’t just to keep them in check, it was obvious bullying. After that, Rodrigo deliberately avoided the emperor. When he called for no special reason, most of the time he refused for work or health reasons.

Tereo did not leave Rodrigo like that. The day he turned down his promise, an assassin broke in, and Rodrigo’s business was in trouble. Still, Rodrigo could not readily meet Tereo.

-Rodrigo, you must…be sure to survive.

-A bright place may be the best place to hide…there it is…

A terrible memory flashed through Rodrigo’s mind. The deaths of the former Duke and Duchess Erhardt were sudden. Rodrigo was suspicious of Tereo, but his parents told him not to suspect anyone until the last moment of his breath, and to stay alive. They cared for Rodrigo until the last minute.

In the end, the two could not comfortably close their eyes. It was Rodrigo’s responsibility to close the eyes of his parents which were not closed.

“You can go home now. However, please note that unless it is now, there will be no opportunity for you and Estiya to be recognized.”

Rodrigo paused.

If he interprets Hela’s words the other way around, does that mean that if they meet the emperor now, he could see Estiya without Cartina’s opposition?

Clearly, if Cartina doesn’t cause an accident, it would be beneficial to Erhardt in many ways. It will be comfortable.

Rodrigo answered without thinking twice.

“Let’s go.”

On the day of the banquet, Nathaniel was in a bad mood all day because of the news that Erhardt’s watchers had posted on him.

It was said that Estiya of Cartina and Rodrigo of Erhardt seemed to be a real couple. Nathaniel crumpled the paper. The enchanted paper disappeared into powder in his hand.

When Cartina and Erhardt got along better, Nathaniel was at a disadvantage in many ways. Once the power of the two families becomes too strong and the unity of the two families unites the nobility, the imperial power weakens. In addition, the holy power, which has the absolute support of the imperial power, will decrease.

“It won’t be an easy war there.”

Although the empire was strong, there were still minor wars in the border regions. There was one reason: the situation in the empire is still in chaos.

The Vatican meddled in war in the front and sold war weapons in the back, winning both honor and wealth. As such, the feud between Cartina and Erhardt had a huge impact on the entire continent.

To the Empire, to the neighboring countries of the Empire, and to the Holy Church.

Nathaniel, who controlled the situation from behind and used Tereo as a chess piece, now had no choice but to move. The duck that laid the golden eggs seemed to die, but as the owner, if he stays still, he loses his job.

Nathaniel met Tereo. The two found a very satisfactory solution and called Cartina. That was the reason why Nathaniel, Tereo, and Hela appeared together at the banquet.

Tereo smiled contentedly when he saw Rodrigo bowing towards him.

“You seem to be doing well, you have a very fair complexion.”

It was all thanks to Estiya. Having had enough sleep for just a few hours when she was around, the fatigue accumulated over the years disappeared. Rodrigo remembered that sweet bedtime and waited for that day to come again.

‘In order to do that, I have to cross that mountain first.’

Read only at pm tl.

Rodrigo’s gaze shifted from Hela to Tereo and then to Pope Nathaniel.

“May the blessings of god be with you. This is Nathaniel, servant of god. It is an honor to meet you, Sir Rodrigo, the only Duke of the Empire.”

What a sly mouth. Rodrigo heard the words from the voice flowing through the pope’s lips and concluded.

“Nice to meet you, Holy Father.”

He answered briefly. The Pope reached out his hand first. The Pope is treated like an emperor. Although the pope exalts the emperor, he has the upper hand in some circumstances. Just like Tereo and Nathaniel now.

Because of that, the Pope does not bow his head to anyone. There were two empires on the continent, and the emperors of both empires were under Nathaniel’s grasp.

The Pope’s greatest hospitality was a handshake, and Nathaniel had just said hello to Rodrigo in the most willing way he could. But Rodrigo looked down at the Pope’s hand and did not shake it.

“Haha, did you get anything on your hands?”

Nathaniel let out a light laugh.

“No. But…”

Rodrigo bit his lip to say something, but shook Nathaniel’s hand. Rodrigo didn’t grab Nathaniel’s hand right away because a faint green light was emanating. It was weird so it gave him a very bad feeling.

Unsurprisingly, he could feel the force of digging into his body through the palms. Rodrigo focused his attention on his hand. The handshake between Nathaniel and Rodrigo was prolonged. Hela sensed that the airflow between the two of them was strange and coughed heavily.

“You are strong, sir.”

Nathaniel was the first to let go. Rodrigo’s gaze at Nathaniel was not good.

“Your Majesty is waiting, how about we all sit together?”

Hela said to distract from the tense atmosphere. At Hela’s words, Nathaniel and Rodrigo reluctantly relaxed their hands and sat down. Tereo looked at the people around him. Food for four was laid out on the table. Tereo was the first to slowly pick up the teacup.

“It’s nice to see you, Cartina.”

The place where Tereo’s gaze was directed was the banquet hall where Estiya and Ether danced. Rodrigo also saw Estiya. She was smiling brightly as if she was really happy. He was looking at her, and she had a bright smile that made him feel better.

The sight of women dancing together was unfamiliar, so the people stopped blankly and looked at them.

Are they cursing?

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Rodrigo had his nerves sharpened. Contrary to his concerns, however, smiles soon spread across people’s faces. Each time the two women turned, the hem of their dress was like a butterfly’s wings, and their laughter sounded like heaven’s. It seems that happy smiles are passed on to others.

Rodrigo’s heart also warmed. If the Emperor hadn’t talked to him, Rodrigo would have enjoyed it for quite some time.

“I heard that Rodrigo was dating. I thought it was a lie, but it seems to be true.”

Tereo said as he saw a smile on Rodrigo’s lips. Rodrigo’s face then hardened quickly.

“Why would I fake the fact that I am dating?”

“Right. Heh heh, that’s great. No matter what kind of woman you had, you were like a rock, so I was worried about you.”

It was an unbelievable low-quality joke that came out of the emperor’s mouth. Hela noticed that the woman the emperor was referring to was Princess Delia. Hela drank her tea and turned her head.

“The princess was very upset.”

When Delia was mentioned directly, Hela paused as she held her teacup to her mouth. She glanced at Rodrigo’s eyes. With a very slight frown, Hela confirmed that Rodrigo had no feelings for Delia at all. Rodrigo didn’t respond.

Rodrigo was paying attention to Nathaniel sitting in front of him, so he was not listening to Tereo shedding tears. Nathaniel was a bad person. The eyes were eerie. It was quite unpleasant to look at Estiya and Rodrigo alternately with those eerie eyes.

“Do you have anything to say, Your Majesty?”

Rodrigo, who became uncomfortable in his seat, urged Tereo.

“Ah, I forgot. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, shouldn’t you say hello? Please visit the Imperial Palace frequently. Let’s start with this war.”

War?

Rodrigo stopped reaching for the teacup.

“Now, shouldn’t you also serve the Empire as the Duke? Conquer the Veloki Peninsula.”

“War all of a sudden. Did I hear you wrong?”

Rodrigo turned him down. But Tereo came out determined. He would never back down. He said with a strong will to force Rodrigo into battle.

“You know how to concentrate. I have already told the Imperial Army that you are going. Now that everything is ready, just pack a light bag and go. How about leaving tomorrow morning?”

(Estiya’s pov)

“It was so much fun Estiya! Shall we dance one more song?”

Finally, Ether, who danced with me, asked me.

“Can I have some water first?”

I already danced three songs. Considering the dance with Rodrigo, this was the fourth song. It’s not that I’m weak, but I was sweating softly from her body. I was going to see Rodrigo again, but I didn’t want to smell like sweat.

Ether did not show any expression and brought a drinking glass, drank it first, and then handed me one. I leaned against the wall with Ether and Eyla beside me, glancing at Rodrigo.

Rodrigo hated Tereo. Towards the end of the novel, Rodrigo took revenge on him. From the room that Rodrigo came out of, Tereo’s body was found without blood and intestines. It was terrifying, but it was proof that Rodrigo hated Tereo that much.

Rodrigo is also a great person for he was comfortable talking in front of people he hated so much.

“Kaylan is working hard.”

As Eyla muttered to herself, I looked for Kaylan. Kaylan, who was with us, was soon enveloped by the elderly nobles.

“Because father isn’t here.”

Stefen left for the western border and didn’t come.

If Ether and Eyla have a conscience, they should be sorry.

But they didn’t look sorry at all. The two drank the wine coldly and chatted.

“But I didn’t think father was coming this late.”

I said. 

I thought Stefan would get things sorted out soon, but he hasn’t come back home even though he has exceeded his scheduled schedule.

“Are you worried about father now?”

Ether asked in surprise.

“He is very experienced.”

I nodded my head at Eyla’s words. Stefan was a great person. He was someone who could serve as a role model for villains in many ways, such as being able to handle things quickly and keeping it neat and tidy.

“It’s because it’s too late.”

Still, it’s something to be worried about. In the novel, the villain’s end is set to be fatal. I’m here to try to change the ending, but life doesn’t always go as planned.

“Well, this time, the demons were a bit unusual. Right?”

Eyla and Ether started talking about the monsters they saw at the western border. I wasn’t very interested in monsters. Although there were often monster stories in the original, they were mostly one line.

It was clear that the author was not interested in that part either. Normally, it would make the reader tired with TMI, but the explanations of the monsters were normally…

-Cartina went to the western border to deal with monsters.

-Stefan destroyed the village as he came up after dealing with the monsters.

-The Cartinas gathered at the monster hunting ground.

Well, that was all. The identity and description of the monsters were largely skipped. After all, it was not a well-written novel. Living in the novel, I can see how cluttered the explanation is.

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Protagonist centralism.

Everything revolved around the protagonist. Maybe that’s why my eyes kept turning to Rodrigo. Rodrigo’s expression, disguised as calm, slowly grew annoyed.

Looks like I’m going to have to rescue Rodrigo. I looked around for an excuse to get closer to the Emperor’s table. Just then, Detheus approached me.

You!

I decided to use him.