< Chapter 73 - Merit Ceremony #5 >
“Is this a merit ceremony?”
“Yes, His Majesty the King will personally award awards to those who contributed to the resolution of this incident.”
There were two reasons.
One was, of course, for the purpose of reward, and the other was to demonstrate the royal family’s continued existence.
“Among those who will receive awards this time, the two of you who have made particularly great contributions will be granted a countship and a fiefdom… and a new surname directly granted by the royal family.
“What’s your last name? New?”
Count Bayer smiled and answered Cordelia’s question.
“There can’t be two Counts: Count Bayer and Count Chase.”
Of course, it would have been possible to distinguish them by giving them the Great Count Bayer and the Little Count Bayer without having to give them separate surnames, but this time it seemed they had decided to give them new surnames.
‘I expected it… but it looks like the royal family wants us.’
There were two reasons for this too.
One was the need for a new hero to replace the patriotic hero who had fallen from grace to become a traitor.
‘Because we need a hero to cover up the current situation.’
The betrayal of the Guardian King was not simply a shocking incident.
It was the worst scandal that could have dealt a lasting blow to the royal family.
‘Because the Patriot was a hero who saved the country.’
Why did he betray the royal family when he saved the country twice?
Could it be that the royal family had forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to betray them?
There would be countless speculations, and the rumors based on these speculations would continue to plague the royal family.
This problem could not be solved in the short term.
So, first of all, they create a new topic to divert people’s attention.
A new hero draws people’s attention.
‘The other one is… because we are capable… right?’
Although it was an embarrassing story to say out loud, it was true that Uther and Cordelia were capable.
If we limit it to peers, it is a number that can be counted on one hand across the entire continent.
‘It’s natural for the royal family to be greedy.’
So, I don’t skimp on the rewards.
It goes all the way down to the castle to show off its specialness.
‘Well, whatever the intention, it’s something to be thankful for.’
Moreover, if they were this interested in this area, there would be room for a deal.
There is room to tear off a little more of what you want.
[The expression is evil.]
At Cordelia’s comment, Uder coughed in vain, and Count Bayer spoke with a kind face, whether he knew Uder’s intentions or not.
“Then let’s go back and rest for now.”
“Yes, father. I will now go.”
Uder stood up with Cordelia and bowed to Count Bayer and Count Chase before leaving the room.
&
[Five days later, you still have quite a bit of free time?]
[But that’s not the case. There are too many things to sort out.]
It was a major incident that did not end with simply attacking the royal family, but turned the entire royal capital upside down.
The number of people involved in nature was also bound to increase significantly.
Of particular concern was Belkian.
[There are five things to consider right now.]
[Huh? There are five?]
[Oh, five.]
Cordelia blinked at Uther’s words, but didn’t think too deeply about it. She could have just asked Uther.
[Tell me one by one.]
[You haven’t given up on thinking about it, have you? Or just let it go.]
[Stop talking nonsense and explain.]
[Okay, okay.]
Before explaining, Uder took a deep breath and slowed his pace a little as he sent out his message magic.
[First of all, it’s Belkian.]
[Yeah, you said you were in the capital right now? Would it be better to meet before the ceremony?]
[There’s no need to do that. You probably came here to meet the Pink Bomb in the first place… You wouldn’t leave right away when there’s this much chaos in the capital.]
[Hmm, so you have some free time?]
[maybe.]
Of course, we couldn’t let our guard down completely, so we had to keep a close eye on the situation.
[Then what about the second one?]
[Scarlett.]
[Huh? Scarlett?]
[Oh, Scarlett. Did you forget the promise you made with Scarlett?]
Cordelia blinked at Uther’s words, then patted her thigh and said.
“Oh, right. Promise.”
We were supposed to compete for the Log Master position, right?
As Cordelia laughed hehehe as if she had just remembered, Uder narrowed his eyes and continued his message magic.
[Anyway, I’ll be holding out, so I have to sort this out. Of course, neither Scarlett nor the king would want to fight in this situation.]
[That’s right. Because we have to have a theft contest.]
Where on earth should we raid now that the entire capital has been turned into a wasteland?
Of course, there are places where you can steal if you look hard enough, but stealing also requires careful consideration of time and place.
Especially if you’re a master like Log Master.
[I hope Scarlett is okay? She’s not hurt, right?]
[It’ll be okay. He’s a log master, as he says all the time. He’s also one of the future Four Great Prosecutors.]
[That’s true too.]
Scarlett was still a transcendent strength among her peers.
If he hadn’t put himself in danger, he would have been safe and sound.
[You said Lucas was okay?]
[Oh, that’s what Maya said.]
[Dahlia did the same. She came to visit us while we were sleeping.]
[That kid is really kind. I hope things work out with Scarlett.]
[Yeah. With Scarlett… huh? With Scarlett?]
[Ah… If I talk too much, it will get too long, so let’s just skip it.]
[Huh? Wait, why? Isn’t this a really important story?]
[Yeah, no. I’ll tell you the third story.]
When Uther quickly changed the subject, Cordelia puffed out her cheeks with a look of discontent, but from Uther’s perspective, it was actually a reward.
‘Well, she’s still cute.’
Yuder, smiling happily, brought up the third story.
[The third is about the devil followers.]
[Devil’s Hand?]
[Oh, now they’re really going to target us openly.]
From the North and the Wild Lands to the Royal Capital.
These were the two people who repeatedly disrupted the plans of the devil’s followers.
Especially this time, since he played an outstanding role in defeating the Hogukgong, it was only natural that he would receive a lot of attention.
[Eeeeeeeee… Are the higher level mines coming?]
[Maybe. But I can’t come right away.]
[why?]
[Because I will catch the demon followers in the Seilun royal family like catching rats.]
The kingdom of Seilun already detested demon followers.
But the devil’s followers attacked the royal capital.
He corrupted the Duke of Gukje and made him betray the royal family, and took the lives of many royal family members.
[Once the chaos in the royal capital is somewhat resolved, there is a high possibility that they will take action.]
There were several reasons for this as well.
One was that just as new heroes were needed, so too was the need for something to grab people’s attention.
‘To be exact, that would be the target of my anger.’
And the other was the wrath of Henry II.
[The reason the Guardian King became a traitor was because of the devil’s followers. His corruption was all the devil’s followers’ fault.]
Cordelia nodded with a gloomy face at Uther’s words.
The content was secondary, but my heart ached when I thought of Henry II’s heart being torn to pieces.
[He seemed like a really innocent uncle.]
Although Cordelia said some things she didn’t like, Cordelia didn’t care about that much.
Rather, I felt more and more sorry for him as I thought about how much he must have loved his father for him to do that.
[As expected, an angel.]
[what?]
[No, our princess is good.]
Uther smiled slyly and continued his explanation before Cordelia could say anything.
[Anyway, the Seilun royal family will be pounding the demon followers hard, so they won’t be able to pay attention to us for a while.]
[Then I guess I should become stronger in the meantime?]
Enough to be able to compete with higher level mines.
At Cordelia’s words, Uther smiled and nodded.
[Yes, I have roughly thought about the method as well.]
I wasn’t talking about the six gates and the angels.
Cordelia stared into Uther’s eyes, and then realized something.
[Key sword.]
[Correct answer.]
The Ultimate Seven you can get because of it.
[When leveling up is tough, the best thing is to quickly upgrade your items.]
[Right, right. Do you play games?]
[Yes, I will play a game.]
Uther continued speaking, replying wittily to Cordelia’s words.
[And the last fifth one… you know? The incident in the South.]
[Oh, one of the three major incidents that led to the collapse of the Kingdom of Seilun.]
The great invasion of barbarians that devastated the North.
The massacre of the royal family that caused the collapse of the central government.
And the third, the ‘Attack of the Black Dragon Malekith’ that dealt a devastating blow to the Seven Southern Houses, which could be called the pillars of the South.
[If we can stop Malekith, the Kingdom of Cailun will be at peace for a while.]
In the original, the Kingdom of Cailun collapsed helplessly without being able to prevent even a single one of those three incidents, but now it’s different.
Since the North and the Center were intact, if the South could be blocked as well, the Kingdom of Cailun would become a huge wall that would protect humanity from the Seven Great Calamities that were to come.
[Ugh… Then I have to decide in what order to deal with those five things?]
[Oh, I guess I’ll have to think about the details a bit more.]
After saying that, Yuder stopped walking for a moment.
And the same was true for Cordelia.
Because they’re all here.
Because it was right in front of Uther’s room and Cordelia’s room, which were next to each other.
[That… Cordelia?]
[Oh, Yuder.]
Uther and Cordelia looked at each other, then turned their heads again.
They both continued speaking hesitantly, as if they had made a promise.
[So… Don’t you want to talk about it in my room?]
[Huh? Huh… Is that so?]
Because we always discuss it.
As we talked about on the way here, there are many things we need to think about together.
Yeah, yeah. So it’s only natural that we go to Yuder’s room and talk.
Cordelia spoke to herself, biting her lip slightly. She was about to do something she always did, something so obvious, but her heart was strangely pounding.
[Then shall we go?]
[Is that so?]
Yuder answered awkwardly, unlike usual, and opened the door, but there was no one in the room.
As always, it was because Dahlia and Maia left together to create ‘time for just the two of us’.
So the empty room.
A room with no one in it.
“Ahem.”
“Ahem ahem ahem.”
Uther and Cordelia, who had been coughing for no reason, awkwardly avoided each other’s gaze and walked away. It was to sit on the sofa.
But why is that?
It was normal for them to sit facing each other for the purpose of discussion, and that was always the case, but this time it was different.
Because both of them sat on the same sofa as if they had made a promise.
Why is that?
Why is that?
Is it because we’re holding hands?
“Ahem.”
“Ahem ahem ahem.”
Uther and Cordelia cleared their throats again, looked at each other, and then, without saying a word, turned their heads.
Because I remembered what happened last night.
‘Kiss kiss kiss······.’
Cordelia pursed her lips for no reason, and Uther swallowed dryly.
Like that for 1 minute.
Another 2 minutes.
“That… Yudera?”
“Oh, Cordelia.”
“Uh, should we talk?”
“Oh, we should. Discuss. We should discuss.”
That’s why I came.
I came here to discuss something, not for anything else.
“Then… should I… let go of your hand?”
“hand?”
“Uh, hand. It’s… not like you really have to let go… but?”
Cordelia wiggled her fingers, and since they were interlocked, Uther wiggled his fingers too.
And as we were fidgeting with each other like that, I felt strangely eerie.
My heart started beating faster and my breathing became more labored.
And then another few seconds.
Cordelia, who had been pursed her lips, glanced back at Yuder, and Yuder also looked back at Cordelia at her gaze.
Blue eyes and green eyes looked at each other.
Little by little, we narrowed the distance between us.
And then a voice was heard from behind.
“What are you guys doing?”
Fat voice.
At the same time, a familiar voice.
Feeling a strange sense of deja vu, Uder and Cordelia quickly turned around and, without saying a word, both of them jumped up from their seats. Cordelia burst into a bright laugh.
“Scarlett!”
You’re safe!
Cordelia jumped over the sofa and hugged Scarlett, who was dressed in a maid outfit, and Scarlett looked back at Cordelia and gave her gaze to Uther.
I gave him a strange smile that was half apology and half resentment, even though his face had turned sullen for some reason.
&
< Chapter 73 - Merit Ceremony #5 > End
