CH 19

'Phew, Rainer, you are very tired today as expected.'

Emperor Irwin called out to Rainer as he entered the receptions room.

'Ah, but the aristocrats in the imperial capital, particularly Laurent's hundred faces, were amusing."

'I had not expected my wife Matilda to be so aggressive. However, as a result, the regulation on the rights intervention. Considering the restrictions on the nobles and the like, this one act was a great success."

Irwin and Rainer had moved to a different reception room from the one Chris and Matilda were in.

The reception room has several types of rooms depending on the guests and the purpose of use.

The room where they are now is especially strictly controlled to prevent their voices from leaking out.

They are sitting on a sofa, facing each other across a desk.

There is a cup of tea on the desk, and steam is rising from it.

"But what happened at your end?　Oh, no, it's not just lotion and rinse that anybody would come up with. You must have a secret, don't you?"

Well," he said, "I don't know. Even if there was, I wouldn't be able to tell you the secrets of the territory."

"Hmmm, I suppose so."

They are old friends who have known each other since childhood.

They are old friends who have known each other since childhood, and although their time together is limited now because of their respective positions, they still take time to talk and vent to each other.

I think it's time to put this out there," he said". Are you in trouble again?"

"Yes, that' s right. I can't stand it when they keep coming one after another."

After taking a sip of tea, Irwin began to talk with a wry smile on his face.

"The problem is that a certain country has asked our royal family or nobility to marry," Irwin said.

I believe Irwin's child is about the same age as Rid, and I believe he has a younger brother. I believe Irwin's child is the same age as Lydd, and I believe he has a younger brother.

"Yes, normally that would be the way it would be, but the nobles who want their daughter to be the Princess of the Crown won't allow it. And the sons of the dukes have also rejected all of these marriages."

Then it's either our house or the Count Glade's .

The Magnolia Empire has two territories that are considered as frontiers.

The country's territory extends from east to west, so the counts of the frontier ruled the territory bordering the neighboring country located at the east-west end.

"The Count Glade is no good either."

"...... what do you mean?"

Reiner's voice had a slight hint of anger in it.

He could still understand the difficulty of marrying a member of the royal family.

There is a certain rank, and the future empress.

It is not easy to decide on a fiancée.

"But what do they think of the nobility, that even the dukes and the count Grayedo refuse to marry with the neighboring countries?"

Irwin, reading the anger in Reiner's voice and appearance, muttered gravely.

The Count Glade is too old and his son is too aged to marry him. The one who has been asked is the Princess of Renalute, but she is only six years old.'

Letting out a sigh, the emperor shook his head as he put his hand to his forehead, "Huh."

'...... That's a tough nut to crack, ......."

The Kingdom of Renalute (henceforth: Renalute) is a neighboring kingdom of Bardia territory, which is ruled by Rainer.

It is a country with a unique culture and high level of cultivation of medicinal herbs and plants in general, as well as agricultural technology.

Renalute is adjacent to two countries, the Magnolia Empire (hereafter referred to as Magnolia) and the Kingdom of Balusto (hereafter referred to as Balusto).

The reason for Irwin's headache began with the Balusto Crisis that took place a few years ago.

At the time, there was a conflict between the nations of Renalute and Barsto.

Renalute is a country surrounded by mountains and forests, and has formed its own culture.

In terms of military power, each person has a high level of fighting ability, and even with the military power of the empire, they are not an opponent to be underestimated.

Above all, they are well versed in mountains and woods, so if they were to fight on the battlefields where Renalute excels, the damage would be immeasurable.

In contrast, Barsto is a country located on the sea and has a high economic power and business area through trade.

It is also a country that has been putting its military strength to good use, and its national power has been increasing rapidly in recent years.

It is also a country where non-humans can be bought and sold as "slaves," and as a result, a wide range of ethnic groups have come together.

This "slavery" is the cause of the conflict between Renalute and Barsto.

Renalute is a country ruled by "dark elves," and there have been a number of kidnappings of people by the vicious slave hunters from the side of Barsto.

Renalute naturally complained to Barsto, but the Barsto side did not take any particular action, saying only that they would strengthen their control over the situation.

Dark elves are extremely valuable as slaves. After Renalute's objections came, the overt buying and selling of slaves ceased, but the backroom trade continued.

As a result, relations between the two countries continued to worsen, and the situation came to a standstill.

However, in the case of war, Renalute was at a disadvantage in terms of strength and could not attack.

Barsto, too, would not go on the attack because it would have to fight on the battlefield where Renalute awaited it.

Even after the standoff, Barsto's illegal slave hunting continued.

Renalute, troubled by this situation, asked Magnolia for help.

When Magnolia was asked for help, a great argument ensued as to which side Magnolia would take, Renalute's or Barsto's.

In the end, however, Magnolia chose Renalute.

The reason was that Renalute agreed to become a de facto vassal state as a condition for coming under Magnolia's patronage.

This allowed Magnolia to gain Renalute's territory, technology, and people.

The reason why Renalute came under the patronage of the empire even after becoming a vassal state is largely due to its geographical location.

Surrounded by mountains and forests and not bordering the sea, Renalute could not produce salt on its own and had to rely almost entirely on imports from Barsto and Magnolia.

In the meantime, Barsto stopped exporting salt to Renalute, due to the worsening relations between the two countries.

They imposed economic sanctions. As a result, the price of salt began to rise steeply in Renalute.

Then, a secret letter was delivered to Renalute from Magnolia. The content of the letter was that Barsto had asked Renalute to stop the export of salt.

The strong Magnolia then informed the Renarte as follows. If you become a vassal state, I promise you my full support.

If you refuse, we will stop the export of salt as requested by Barsto.

As a result, Renalute chose to accept all of Magnolia's terms.

As a result, externally, Magnolia and Renalute became allies.

In reality, however, Renalute became a vassal state of Magnolia due to a secret agreement.

In Magnolia, only the royal family, dukes, and nobles higher than a frontier count are aware of this secret pact.

If the secret agreement were to be leaked, even the nobility would not be exempt from the death penalty.

It is such a state secret.

Magnolia announced that it would form an alliance with Renalute.

Magnolia immediately pressured Barsto to resolve the problem, including the issue of the malicious slave hunting.

Balusto, as expected, decides that it cannot deal with the two nations of Magnolia and Renalute.

Since then, the slave trade of dark elves has been completely banned in Barsto, and the illegally slaves dark elves have been freed.

This has greatly improved the friendly relations between Magnolia and Renalute.

It also prevented criticism from other countries that it was "intervening" in the affair, since it announced itself as an ally to the outside world. Magnolia gained a fisherman's advantage.

In addition, Magnolia basically agreed to the same rights of self-government as before for Renalute, which became a vassal state.

Only the final political authority to make decisions related to the management of the state had to be confirmed and reported to Magnolia.

As a result, Renalute remained the same in terms of external relations as it had been until now.

However, the Renalute royal family, which had led the country until now, became Magnolia's puppet.

This time, Renalute approached the empire to marry the king's daughter in the name of bolstering the alliance.

In reality, she would be offered as a hostage to the Renalute side.

This was included in the secret agreement. For Magnolia, there was a possibility that it could intervene in the future in the succession to the throne of Renalute if the blood of Renalute's royal family could be introduced.

Therefore, Irwin wanted to marry off his second prince, but the dukes, who knew about the secret agreement, opposed the idea.

If the prince's wife was to be chosen and then taken in as a side wife, there would be no advantage to having the royal family of Renalute, which had become a vassal state, as the prince's wife.

The dukes may have wanted to make their own daughter a member of the royal family, but since it was a valid argument, they could not be ignored.

However, none of the dukes wanted to marry their own son to the princess of Renalute.

The emperor could have forced them to marry the sons of any of the dukes, but that would have aroused the opposition of the nobles.

In addition, it would be dangerous for the future if a child of a bloodline related to Renalute's right to the throne were to be born among the central nobles.

If things go badly, a new faction could be formed within the central government.

"In other words, Rainer, only your son has a compatible Your son is the only suitable marriage partner."

Irwin deliberately filled the outer moat by explaining once again the relationship between Renalute and the empire.

He told Rainer of his true intentions after he had closed the escape route.

As he listened, Rainer's brow began to furrow and when he finished listening to the emperor, he looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep breath.

Irwin watched him and drank his tea with a satisfied look on his face.

He was relieved to know that he could trust his friend Rainer to solve this problem without a hitch.

'......, you can have her as your wife."

, how can that be from the flow of the conversation just now?"

The unexpected words surprised Irwin, who choked and coughed.

Reiner spun the words further. He added angrily.

"You, with Matilda already a full consort, can take the princess of Renalute as your concubine. Why don't you just watch over her until the time comes? Yes, that's right. That is the way to go. You will be the object of envy of all the little girl lovers of the world. Good for you. Your Majesty?"

"　You know what I'm talking about. Besides, Matilda would kill me if I tried to do so."

"would you still be interested in a young wife?"

Rainer, you know that if you say too much, I can have you charged with impunity?"

"Well, then do apply. I understand what you said about the relationship with Renalute and the central nobility. However, I am your friend, but I am also a frontier count who protects the borders of the country. What does it mean to bring up a matter with a nobleman who has an Important role to play, without any consultation and after everything has been settled? There is a saying, "Even close friends have manners. This matter should have been discussed in advance, not as "friends," but as between the emperor and the frontier count. Am I wrong?"

As a nobleman, Rainer understood everything the emperor meant.

However, as a parent's feeling is that he came to talk to his own child after the decision of the marriage that will make him go through a hardship.

Moreover, he resented the easy way of thinking that he, as Irwin's friend, would be okay with it.

Therefore, he bitterly complained to the emperor as a parent, as a friend, and as a nobleman.

"I agree with ....... The emperor should have discussed this matter with the frontier count's liner more in depth in advance. I am sorry."

Indeed, Rainer was right. The duke and the frontier count have different titles and roles, but they are treated as the same.

The reason being the fact that the duke and the count are not the same in name and role, but the count is treated the same.

"You should ...... consult him properly in advance next time. You are risking your life to convey a bitter message to His Majesty the Emperor...?"

' I will do so."

Reiner sighed "huh" with a tired look on his face after he spoke.

Seeing this, Irwin laughed.