CH 42

“This person has the worst handwriting.”

Haron put down the documents that he was reading and frowned. He didn’t know who wrote this report, but the writing was awfully messy.

Whether the writer had edited this or sent it directly to him as it is, Haron was still pissed off to the point that he wanted to take disciplinary action against that person.

“Oh, I recognize this! This is the report that Hermila handled.”

“As expected.”

Hearing Kozen’s words next to him, Haron clicked his tongue.

These three knights, namely Lord Icus, Hermila, and Kozen, along with Haron, were knights with excellent skills that Duke Blake personally placed as commanders for the Devil subjugation.

Icus was a famous commander who made a name for himself several times in battle, and Kozen and Hermilla were new knights who were considered rising talents that appeared suddenly like comets.

However, during the subjugation of the Devil, they all fell into the Devil’s trap without even getting a chance to fight. They were all quite shocked by that.

They were pretty famous before this incident, but later, they became a joke right after what happened. It was Haron who accepted the three of them when they were almost thrown away by the Duke.

‘The letter will not come for a while.’

Haron suddenly paused his hand while signing the document and thought for a while.

‘Since I sent my reply yesterday, does that mean that I’ll have to wait for a reply for another month? Since all the letters come and go about once a month.’

‘…I should have written a little more.’

Ten sheets were not enough for Haron, since there was a lot that he wanted to say to her, and it was difficult for him to put them into words.

He turned to look at the small box lying near the desk drawer.

It was a box for collecting letters and invitations that came for him.

Even though he checked every day without missing a single morning, it was still piled up as if it was ready to explode.

Most of the time, it was about inviting him to attend a party, or flattering him needlessly by showering him with compliments. Occasionally, there were letters asking him where they could invest or donate.

Originally, the letters would have gone to the Duke rather than to him, but as rumors started to spread that the two of them had broken up, they began to be sent directly to the famous Haron.

Moreover, the Duke was being secretly ridiculed by people for his successive business and investment failures.

“Warrior.”

“Just call me by my name.”

“That’s not possible, Warrior.”

“Then I’d rather have you call me Master.”

“All right, Master.”

It was in Kozen’s character to be very honest. To put it bluntly, he was the only one who demanded honesty from his superiors, and had no intention of showing himself off with vain words.

So, while there were a lot of people who respected him, he also tended to make a lot of enemies as well.

Haron didn’t hate people like Kozen, whose character was very transparent, especially since he was such an honest person.

“A new letter had just arrived.”

“Just put it inside the letter box.”

“Well, I think you should look at it soon since it’s coming from the Imperial Palace.”

‘Imperial Palace’.

At that, Haron turned his head.

The letter from Kozen was a simple dinner invitation.

Except that the sender was the Emperor of this country.

“When is the date?”

“I think it’s for tonight.”

“Ah… but if you can’t go since you have a prior appointment for tonight…”

“I’m okay with that, it’s fine.”

But, of course, it wasn’t alright.

Haron let out a long sigh and got up from his seat.

“I want you to cancel all dinner plans for tonight.”

“I understand that, but Master doesn’t have any dinner plans for tonight though…”

“Not me.”

His fingers naturally pointed towards Kozen.

“Did you think I’d go alone?”

~*~

Whenever Haron would ask Riggs if he was already renowned or popular within society, Riggs would often say that he didn’t know. But in fact, he really couldn’t tell as well.

‘In the past, whenever I would pass by or go to the Imperial Palace, I would only exchange ceremonial greetings to whoever was in attendance, but these days, I have been caught many times.’

At that time, Kozen clearly felt that Haron’s personality had changed from before.

The Haron that he knew before was a person who didn’t know how to say no, even though it was obvious that he didn’t like that person.

But now, whoever the person was, he would reject them with just a simple wave of his hand or just frown at the person himself.

Kozen felt that he was better now than before.

“Welcome.”

“Thanks for the invitation, Your Majesty.”

“Hmm, you don’t seem to be grateful at all .”

However, that shouldn’t be the case if the one he’s facing is the Emperor of this Empire.

Kozen then looked over at the Emperor and towards the face of his rightful aide, who seemed to be trembling with nervousness now. Of course, no one would dare ask the Emperor to be understanding as well.

‘Hey… I think I have no choice but to step up.’

He whispered in a low voice that only Haron could hear.

“Let’s relax a little, Master.”

“…”

“When you fight tomorrow morning, I’ll take care of you. If you’re still annoyed, then please allow me to solve the issue on your behalf.”

At that moment, Haron’s brow, which had been in frown, slowly returned to its original indifferent state.

Kozen didn’t know whether to be happy about it or not.

“Sit down.”

At the command of the Emperor, Haron sat down on the opposite side of the table.

There were dozens of dishes, prepared by the royal family’s exclusive chef, on the table.

Only after confirming that the Emperor had picked up the food first, did Haron pick up his tableware.

“Well, you have fought a lot in this last battle, right? You are likely becoming a legend within the Empire.”

“It’s overrated.”

“It’s not really over-exaggerated. Ever since that oracle came down, the Warrior has already become a figure to be looked up to and will be written in the history of the Empire.”

“I’m sorry.”

Haron only gave a polite answer to the Emperor’s words without any emotion. But the next words that flowed out made him stop.

“Of course, the path and the oracle are a little bit different, but it’s normal for people to make a mistake at least once in their lives, isn’t that right?”

Hah. A mistake.

He was definitely talking about Haron’s failure to subdue the Devil.

As an emperor, there was no way he could not have known that the incident was Haron’s act of rebellion. It was one of the most talked about stories among those who admired him.

Haron slowly put down the knife that he was holding.

‘What is he trying to say to me?’

He thought that this dinner was simply just to compliment him on his achievements, but now, it appears that this doesn’t seem to be the case.

Emperor Holferst.

He was not a very talented Emperor. Nevertheless, the reason why he was able to lead the empire with ease was most likely due to his incredibly talented servants.

Rokden, Blake, Elszartha, Frenbell, Altor…

However, the fact that there were many families with excellent abilities was not necessarily a good thing for the Emperor.

This is because it shows how weak the Emperor’s power is.

There must be something in the Emperor’s mind, who purposefully said those provocative words to Haron in what was supposed to be a simple dinner, when suddenly a servant announced upon the arrival of another member of the Imperial Family.

The Emperor stared at him deeply, then raised the corner of his mouth and smiled.

Haron frowned again without realizing it.

“Why did you suddenly-“

“Your Majesty, Princess Shiana Holferst has arrived.”

‘Ah. So this was what you were aiming for.’

Haron looked at the princess who was sitting right in front of him with a hardened face. She was a woman with red rosy hair, resembling the bloodline of the Emperor.

Princess Shiana glanced at Haron, who was sitting right opposite of her. Then she placed her hand in the arms of the Emperor, who was sitting next to her. As she softened her green eyes, she started to speak.

“Your Majesty, I had no idea that you have a very important guest right now, so it might have been rude of me to come in…”

“Shiana, don’t worry, my dear. It was just a simple dinner, the Warrior and I were simply chatting.”

Hah. A simple dinner he says…

Haron, remembering how the food was set up from the time that he came in, thought that this was the Emperor’s real intention. He suddenly closed his mouth shut.

The Emperor and the Princess started talking to each other and Haron just listened quietly in front of them.

‘If this was just a congratulatory dinner, then he should have just said it and gotten it over with. I don’t intend to listen to their talk all night.’

But the other side didn’t seem to mind his irritation at all.

Even while talking to his daughter, the Emperor made Haron speak, which was odd, since most of the topic was related to Princess Shiana.

“Come to think of it, even from before, our Princess has always been like that since she was a little girl, you have always adored heroes…”

“Ah, Your Majesty! Why are you saying such things like that? It’s just because of the fairy tales that I’ve read from before when I was still a young child.”

“When you grow up, why don’t you marry a hero then, so that you would feel happy as always.”

“Your Majesty!”

‘What the hell is with this atmosphere.’

Warmth spread out from this father and daughter talk, but Haron just felt bored to death. As they continued on with their small talk, one of the Emperor’s aides cautiously approached them.

“I… Your Majesty, it seems that the refreshments and the dessert are ready to be served.”

“Yeah? Then, what are you doing without bringing them out?”

“Well, I know that there are actually two people having a meal with His Majesty right now, but the dessert was only prepared for two people…”

The servant continued to speak, keeping his eyes on Haron the whole time. Haron could barely hold back his laughter.

How many imperial chefs say that they lack dessert servings inside the palace and have to come all the way here to tell them in person? If that was the case, then hire an actor, not a servant.

He got up from his seat, while holding back a low laugh.

“It’s okay. I’ll see you another time, Your Majesty, so that the two of you can continue to have a pleasant conversation between you and the Princess.”

“Oh, no. That’s fine. I need to deal with something first, so you young people should just enjoy your time together.”

Then the emperor left his seat as if he had been waiting for this exact moment. The Emperor’s intentions were so obvious that Haron nearly burst out laughing.

He muttered a little while looking at Princess Shiana, who had been left alone with him.

“…Tomorrow’s match will be quite long.”

Only Kozen, who was waiting outside the door, felt an unknown chill.