CH 2

Three years later. Pitera Palace, the Kingdom of Estonia.

The Privy Council, a royal advisory body, reopened after many years. The council was made up of about twenty advisors who were either aristocrats from the royal family or senior statesmen. They sat in their assigned seats and waited for the King’s spokesman. As the issue of the railway construction was to be raised before Parliament, their faces were full of disapproval. The Privy Council declared that the railway couldn’t be built or should be postponed, but the King seemed to be stubborn.

"A railway… I’m certain that this idea didn’t come from the King himself."

"That’s right. It’s undoubtedly Tristan, that poisonous snake, who coaxed the King into it."

"I have no idea why His Highness hired someone from another country as a royal spokesman. What if the royal secret documents were to be leaked?"

"Isn’t it because Minister Harper actively pushed for it? Apparently, there’s a special relationship between the spokesman and Minister Harper’s daughter."

Their complaints, which poured out continuously, involved not only the King but also Tristan, the royal spokesman, as well as Felix Harper, the Military Minister. Tristan was an official citizen of the Kingdom of Estonia, so their criticism didn’t make sense. In fact, they didn’t like that the King, who had always given in to the pressure of the Privy Council, started to get stubborn when Tristan was put by his side.

After a while, the door of the hall opened and a man stepped inside. The people who had been badmouthing him until then looked at the man with their mouths closed as if possessed. The sight of the man wearing a luxurious suit and walking confidently captured the attention of the audience at once. He was tall, had wide shoulders and his firm body was visible even when covered by clothes. He had harmonious features and a youth that none of the other people in the room possessed. He was a beautiful and dignified man without any flaws.

The man, who went to the center and stood behind the rostrum, looked through the audience after a short silence. There was a relaxed and arrogant expression on his moderately polite-looking face. A considerable number of advisors looked at him and frowned.

"Good morning. I am Tristan Miller, the King’s chief aide and royal spokesman."

Tristan Miller.

A beast-like man who conveyed and carried out the royal will on behalf of the King, and who crushed his opponents with his rhetoric skills rather than with a sword.

He was born to an Estonian mother, but spent his childhood in Atlanta after she had remarried to an Atlantan aristocrat. He graduated at the top of his class from Thebes’ Royal School, the hardest academy to enter in the Western continent, and entered the royal palace two years ago after obtaining Estonian naturalization. Thanks to his outstanding skills, he had managed to gain the King’s trust in a short time, and now enjoyed great authority as the King’s right-hand man. Rumors spread that it was difficult to understand or convince the King without going through Tristan first, and as a result, he garnered both admiration and jealousy from others.

The advisors of the Privy Council were alert. They had to beat Tristan. They had to thoroughly step on him in order to get to get what they wanted.

"I would like to thank all of you once again for being here. Today, I want to bring up the King’s intention to build a railway. The matter of the construction of a railway throughout the Estonian Kingdom will be presented before Parliament."

The hall was filled with rumblings. The advisors’ faces twisted in displeasure at Tristan’s announcement. He snorted inwardly as it was exactly what he had expected. They were about to hound him with their complaints.

"I don’t understand. How can we talk about building a railway when the reliability of the train hasn’t been fully guaranteed yet?"

"The slavery system has been abolished, so how will we cover the cost of hiring workers for the construction?"

"Is it really the right time for our Kingdom to build a railway comfortably? We are in a situation where we don’t know when a conflict or a war with the southern rebels might break out."

As expected, doubts about the effectiveness of the train and the unstable situation of the Estonian Kingdom, now divided between the north and the south, emerged as the advisors’ main excuses. Although they were seemingly revolting due to worries about the uncertainty of the situation, Tristan knew their true intentions. As veteran politicians and businessmen, they could not be unaware of the many benefits of a strong, fast and new means of transportation. They were basically saying that they would not cooperate unless they could secure their own gains. Tristan had already brought a bone to throw at the dogs, but he had no intention to obediently give it away.

"Since the end of the Delmore War, countries have been scrambling to build railways. The Kingdom of Estonia has also put up a railway from Yukon to Emerville as a test and ran a steam locomotive, and there were no accidents."

“…….”

"Compared to transporting the same amount of goods by carriage, the transportation time has been reduced by 30% and the loading amount has been increased by over fifty times the original amount. If the distribution of goods gets faster, not only will it contribute to commercial development but also to the economic development of the Kingdom as a whole. We cannot be left behind on our own while other nations are busy developing themselves by implementing new transportation systems."

Tristan began to refute their two major complaints one after the other.

"In addition, if we build a railway from Yukon to the central part of the continent, we will have the advantage of being able to provide military supplies immediately in the event of a collision between the State of Estonia and the southern rebels. You cannot ignore that the war supplies delivered by train as support became a huge help to bringing victory to the allied forces during the Delmore War."

As of now, Estonia was split into the north and the south. Duke Sigmund Hezelkaiser, who had returned after making a great contribution to the Delmore War, rebelled and proclaimed the Republic. A southern region with Elcassus in its center fell into his hands and as a result, the citizens of the Kingdom called the north Estonia and the south Elcassus.

"Let me ask you a question. Now, Estonia is at the border of the central part of the continent. If we build a railway from the capital, Yukon, to the central part of the continent, won’t the southern rebels be able to use the railway to their advantage to get to the capital in the event of a war?"

It was Lord Campbell, a young Republican Member of Parliament, who listened calmly before raising his hand to ask a question. His calm but sharp question showed his true concern for Estonia.

"If that happens, we can just cut off the railway. As the railway is built on our side, they cannot cut it off if we come down but, on the contrary, we can easily cut it off if they try to come up."

As if it were an expected question, Tristan added a detailed explanation to his answer. Lord Campbell threw a few more difficult questions, but Tristan was never stuck in answering them.

At the persuasive answers, Lord Campbell fell into thought with his eyes closed. Murmurs continued in the midst of the silence, but no one refuted Tristan’s words because nothing of what he had said was wrong.

"You talk as if you've been to the army.”

Someone spat out an irrelevant remark and attacked Tristan. Even though it was a very childish situation, others also sympathized with the man’s words as if they had been waiting.

"As someone who’s never been to the army, let alone the battlefield, I wonder what exactly you know of it. You must not be thinking that our victory was solely due to the supply of goods, do you? The theory learned at a desk and the reality are two different things."

A nobleman who participated in the Delmore War came forward and treated Tristan as a novice. Spiteful laughs erupted here and there. This would have been enough to discourage anyone else, but Tristan laughed leisurely instead.

"Someone said that those who live in a cave see an object’s shadow and believe it to be the real thing."

"What, what the hell does that mean!"

"It’s nothing. I am just reflecting on myself who couldn’t go to the battlefield, only looked at a shadow and talked as if it were real."

At first glance, it seemed like a self-reproach or an apology towards the comittee members. However, everybody in the room was aware that Tristan’s words were not sincere. On the contrary, it sounded more like he was rebuking them saying ‘when I see you babble about me, whom you know nothing about, I wonder if you can do anything else beside childishly picking on others’. Tristan put on a serious expression again and returned to the point of the conversation that had deviated.

"Then, I’ll get back to the point and disclose His Highness’s proposal. If you help me pass this bill before Parliament, the railway building concession will be shared through a fair vote."

Tristan's words stopped the uproar as if it had never happened. The advisors' heads were spinning fast. Obtaining the rights to lay a railway meant that they would provide the materials needed for the construction and that they could earn the same value from the State. They were ready to get on their knees and make a deep bow for such an offer as it could bring them enormous wealth if only they did well.

Tristan smiled nonchalantly and explained his proposal in detail. Now, none of the twenty or so people in the room rebelled against him or threw unreasonable attacks at him. In the game led by Tristan, they followed eagerly. As the meeting was coming to an end, Tristan stretched out the corners of his mouth and smiled.

"Then I trust you will help me."

As if he had expected this outcome from the beginning.

‘Despicable bastard.’

That's what most people here were thinking. Tristan always blocked his opponent's rebuttal on a rational basis and then offered an unsincere apology. After that, he would shut people up by presenting them with a tempting offer and control them as he wanted. A clever but wretched, capable but unsympathetic bastard.

While the advisors laid their heads together to discuss the issue, Tristan walked to the window with his hands on his waist. Before he knew it, the sunlight coming through the window reached his feet. He willingly stuck out his feet and stepped on the light.

*****

"Spokesman Tristan Miller."

Tristan, who had come outside, halted his steps at the voice calling him. Knowing the identity of the voice, he quickly turned around with a polite smile on his face.

"Good morning, Marquis Harper."

The person standing in front of him was Felix Harper, a Royalist Member of Parliament and the Military Minister. He had the greatest influence among the people who supported the King, and he had also gained his absolute trust. He and Tristan’s father were very close, and that’s how Tristan could easily enter the royal palace on the recommendation of the Marquis.