"Annoying brat! Who the hell does he think he is?! Just a mere lowly brat of a rural aristocrat and repeatedly being rude to His Majesty!!"
Simon Geffert, the current head of the Duke Geffert household and one of three dukes of the Empire, slammed his fist on the table out of anger. Because of Simon's force, the wooden table got partially destroyed, but no one blamed him. Not only Simon but all members sitting at the table in the room also had their faces dyed with the color of rage.
That was natural. For Simon and the others, who were prestigious traditional nobles, the Former Emperor was the key to their power and influence. To be so rude to him in public, it was as if the name of traditional nobility had been tarnished. Even if His Majesty had no intention to punish him, the kid would have to be severely punished.
"That's also because of Cyrus' betrayal and that imbecile Hero being disobedient to the Emperor!!"
The Former Emperor had taken a keen interest in Hero Yukihiro, a visitor from another world, and given him various orders. And each time he overcame his trials, the Emperor gave him a fortune, women, and fame. The one taking advantage of this was one of the former three duke households, the Cyrus family. They well-guarded hero Yukihiro, calling him a true hero after he defeated the ancient demon king. And with the fact that they were able to oust a powerful rural family, the Count of Salzburg, they became the most powerful of the three dukes.
However, Cyrus, who had such wealth and power in his hands, foolishly betrayed his country this time. His Majesty the Emperor certainly valued his excellent lineage and abilities above all else, but he would never forgive a traitor. Therefore, he condemned the whole family.
Due to this incident, the Former Emperor was so infuriated by Cyrus's betrayal that he ordered the whole family to be charged with capital punishment. However, beginning with the Current Emperor, other ministers opposed him.
Eventually, it'd ended up with Cyrus only receiving a penalty, as well as revoking the title of the Cyrus family and confiscating their lands and some of their properties.
"Humph. What's the point of talking about that defeated dog now, don't you think so? Or am I mistaken?"
A hulking man, whose face was fully powdered like a woman, said this with a vicious smile on his face.
The words of mockery worked like adding fuel to the fire. The faces of the attendees, which had already dyed with rage, flared even more.
"I don't want to hear that from you who didn't even move from the imperial capital during the undead assault!!"
"That's right, you should be ashamed of yourself!"
He just shrugged his shoulders at the indignant and furious lords and said, "You know, you guys have misunderstood me. My employer is the Former Emperor, not the current Emperor. Besides, you didn't need to think about the safety of the imperial capital where the Former Emperor resides. Is this why you said that?" He shook his head.
"You don't need to say, I know that!" Simon was somehow able to squeeze out the words.
Anyway, they'd managed to push the monsters against each other. The only thing left to do was to watch the fight between them from a distance.
However, anyone who had been on the battlefield knew first-hand the absurdity of that little boy. Above all, the foundation of Sagami Co. couldn't be underestimated. Cutting them down was a must. There must be a certain reassurance.
Conveniently enough, Garbesse West, the chairman of the West trading firm, one of the largest trading firms in the Empire, had approached with a proposal.
That was the complete extermination of Sagami Co. by "Laguna."
"Laguna" was a massive underworld organization with branches all around the world. It could demolish something like a trading firm in an instant.
It was a hundred years too early for a poor, lowly aristocrat from the frontier to have the power to change the world. It was absolutely unforgivable that he had more wealth than the high ranking aristocrats.
That’s right. This was the matter of control and order being passed down from generation to generation ever since the beginning of the Empire.
Simon stood up, clenching his fist tightly, and shouted, "Everyone, that filthy, lowly boy, has openly spat on the seal of our Purebred aristocratic faction. We must teach him a lesson that even his soul will remember!"
"That's the spirit!"
"I also agree with Lord Geffert!"
Wiping the sweat off their forehead, the other lords stood up in succession and announced their support to Simon's plan.
"Laguna'' in the dark and the Purebred aristocratic faction in the light, cornering Sagami Co. thoroughly. This time, that little boy was eyed upon by the worst pervert. Schildore would give that little boy the highest despair and death.
Simon and the other members of the aristocratic Purebred faction would steal everything from that little boy. Then, they would aim for the Empire—, no, world hegemony. That much would be possible if the rumors about the material that supposedly destroyed the kingdom's army in the former David territory was true.
Simon dreamed of his own future glory and raised his fist to the sky.