Episode 186
“Are you really going to be okay like this?”
“There is no other way, I must be honest with you.”
“Yes, that’s true. But then, how will your Majesty come out?…”
As the teacher’s eyes filled with depth, Logan intuitively realized that something else had happened.
However, it was not even worth asking in this situation, so Logan just took a deep breath and stood in front of the office.
When Logan nodded, the knight standing in front of the door loudly announced his visit.
“Archduke Felix Esperanza and Count Logan McLane.”
– Come on in.
Sigh.
The door opened with a familiar voice.
The king with a stern expression is immediately visible.
Logan sighed inwardly and walked forward and knelt down.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. We arrested some of the assassins, but they all committed suicide, so we were unable to find out their affiliations and who was behind them.”
The king sighed.
“Is that so…”
Logan’s eyebrows twitched without his knowledge.
‘As expected, you are doubting me.’
I expected it, but it was unlikely to feel good.
however.
“That must mean they prepared so thoroughly. Then it’s safe to say we won’t find it. Thank you, Lord Logan.”
An unexpected reaction came out of the king.
“…yes?”
Because it was something completely unexpected, Logan couldn’t hide his surprise.
However, the king was looking at Logan with a smile unlike before.
There it is.
“I seem to have been a bit nervous after what happened the other day. Lord Logan, please forgive me for being a poor monarch. Who would I trust if not for me?”
The moment the king stood up, approached Logan, placed his hand on his shoulder, and said that.
The expression of the swordsman standing behind Logan brightened.
“your majesty…!”
But Logan couldn’t smile like his teacher.
The king’s face looking down at him was clearly smiling, but his eyes were not moving at all.
Even if you can’t pinpoint what’s strange about that laugh, you can feel a subtle sense of disconnect.
Logan knew people who laughed like that well.
During his previous life as an independent soldier, he did a lot of things to hide his identity.
‘Smoke…’
A part of my heart felt cold, but I couldn’t express it as it was.
Logan bowed his head with a smile similar to that of a king.
“Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty.”
“Hahaha. It’s obvious. It’s not enough to hear you say thank you. I think all of this is because we’ve been somewhat distant from each other for so long. Let’s take this opportunity to get a little closer.”
“…yes?”
“Get out!”
A sudden order from the king.
However, with that order, court ladies carrying various foods and drinks came in one after another as if they had been waiting.
Logan can’t hide his embarrassment and frowns slightly.
“Your Majesty, why are you acting like this in broad daylight…”
“Ah, the Grand Duke, why bother interfering on a day like this? Isn’t this a place for me and Lord Logan to resolve misunderstandings and reconcile? Come and have a drink, too.”
Even the teacher’s dissuasion could not stop the smiling king.
And so began a drinking party in the king’s office, in broad daylight, which Logan had never expected.
“Haha. Cleo, bring me some more alcohol.”
“Your Majesty, you drank too much.”
“If I don’t drink it on this beautiful day, when will I drink it? Bring more! But I think the Flamma tastes a little different than usual?”
“The characteristic of famous liquor is that the taste is slightly different depending on the time when the liquor was brewed and the food served with it…” “
Really? Haha. This is another lesson I’m learning. Lord Logan, drink to your heart’s content. I will fill your glass as much as I feel sorry for you.”
“Haha. Thank you. Then I won’t hesitate…” It
was a fun drinking party that made even the swordsman, who had been smiling awkwardly, quickly smile.
The drinking party started in broad daylight and continued until the sun set outside the window.
The King and Swordsman Logan left the meeting in a friendly atmosphere, promising the next meeting.
“Did you enjoy it, Your Majesty?”
Everyone has left and only the two of us are left.
The moment the king heard Cleo’s words, the king’s smiling face hardened as if it were a lie.
“Hmm. It’s hard to force a laugh at this.”
“…yes?”
“It can’t be fun. It’s just a way to say hello and get along well. It’s a redress for the foolish mistake I made earlier when I showed my true feelings like a fool.”
As Cleo’s eyes widened, a bitter smile appeared on the king’s face.
“Don’t look at me like that. It was something a powerless king should naturally do.”
“I am very sorry, Your Majesty. That is not what I meant….”
“Even though the Grand Duke, who has lived his entire life only seeing one place, may not know, Duke Logan would have felt what I meant.”
“Then…”
“You must have properly accepted my intention to get along well. It is not a roundabout apology from the monarch to the best of his ability, but a sign of submission.”
Puzzle.
The king’s face, which had been smiling brightly just 30 minutes ago, became horribly distorted.
It did not seem like a simple expression of emotion caused by alcohol.
It looks like something piled up is exploding.
“It’s all because I’m powerless. It’s because the royal family is powerless. Damn it!”
Cleo’s eyes lit up strangely as she watched the king spit out harsh curses, but the moment the king looked back at her, she hurriedly lowered her head and hid her eyes and smile.
“I need a way for the royal family to have power. A way…”
And when the king’s earnest voice rang in his ears.
“Your Majesty. May I tell you what I lack…?”
Cleo spoke carefully with a worried expression.
* * *
“I’m so glad that Your Majesty has resolved the misunderstanding. Hehe.”
The teacher’s proud smile was not simply due to alcohol.
A smile that clearly reveals all the hard work that has gone into.
However, Logan’s expression when he heard the laughter was not so bright.
“But why is your expression like that? Did you drink too much? No, if you were at your level, you wouldn’t have been so distracted by alcohol, right?”
“Oh no. I just have a lot to think about.”
“Haha. Don’t worry too much. Even if there really is a rebel group that follows the first royal descendant behind it, as long as you and His Majesty have strong faith, they will never be able to shake this kingdom.”
That’s not the problem.
Logan smiled bitterly, but he did not want to tell his teacher, who was the idol and example of the kingdom’s knights, an ugly story like the smoke that went back and forth between the king and himself.
“Yes, Master. Still, please watch your Majesty’s surroundings carefully just in case. It’s not just the rebels that are the problem, but also the ‘poison’ within you.”
Logan was talking about the king’s change, but the teacher seemed to have taken it a little differently.
“Yes. I will also take care of the treacherous officials who needlessly feed nonsense into His Majesty’s ears.”
Can you really do that?
It was an answer that made him unable not to worry, so instead of continuing to worry about unnecessary things, Logan came up with a plan of his own.
“Master. I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Um, okay. Tell me anything.”
The teacher’s expression was bright, perhaps because of the drunkenness he had accepted himself, or because the king’s and himself’s acting was that great.
So, I should take advantage of this opportunity to obtain permission to use the secret ship of the kingdom’s highest noble family.
“I plan to take this incident as a lesson and create my own intelligence organization to prevent something like this from happening again. I think the Grand Duchy of Esperanza also has such an organization.”
“Oh, it exists. Hmm, it’s a secret to the outside world, but…”
Logan was relieved to hear his teacher’s answer, which was still generous only to him.
“In that sense, I will send a person in charge, so can you help him a little? Just give him a reference when creating an organization.”
“Of course. What can’t I do for you, who will become the pillar of our kingdom?”
Sorry, Master.
Although I unintentionally deceived my teacher again…
‘I will at least use the results for the kingdom as you said.’
After that, Logan’s footsteps continued to Count Floyd’s family.
“Hehehe. What can’t you do for my son-in-law? Just say anything!”
I was able to obtain similar permission willingly.
* * *
“This incident was largely due to the fact that we had no idea what was going on in the capital. The limitations of the information passed down passively were clear.”
[yes. I agree.]
“Okay. So, I’m thinking of creating our own information organization for the MacLinedo family. We can’t always rely on the guild or other families for information. What do you think?”
[Good decision, Confucius.]
“So, I would like you to become the head of the organization.”
Damian, who was inside the communication port, mechanically nodded his agreement in agreement and then couldn’t help but be surprised.
[Yes yes? Why did you give me that position…?]
“Because I received help with this project and I seem to be quite talented.”
You did extremely well in your past life.
Instead of saying…, I came up with a plausible excuse.
[It was just a stray idea.]
Of course, that excuse wasn’t completely groundless.
Logan laughed as he recalled a report he had recently heard.
“Even if that’s not the case, I heard that you were the one who established an information network by creating a periodic reporting system in the villages around the castles in McLane territory?”
Fortunately, the Evil Brain from his previous life was beginning to demonstrate some of his talents in this life as well.
However, compared to my previous life, I still felt like I lacked a lot of confidence.
[That’s just a shallow plan to quickly spread news from every corner of the territory.]
“Yes. I need that shallow plan right now. I want to expand that plan to the whole country or even the empire. If possible, I want it to be hidden from the outside world. “I mean.”
[It’s too much for me, Confucius.]
“Three times the monthly salary.”
[…Where should I start?]
Pisik.
Yes, if you lack confidence, you can fill it with greed.
“The Grand Duchess Esperanza and the Count Floyd will teach you tricks. Learn from there and apply it to change the system you have created. What you should especially focus on is the information of the royal palace.”
[Yes, I understand. If so, can I go up to the capital right away?]
“Yes.”
Because I can’t go down to the estate without taking any action when the king is suspicious of me.
So that something like this will never happen again.
‘At the very least, we create a system to thoroughly collect information about the king of the palace and then go down to the estate.’
Logan made that promise, remembering the king’s eyes, who were not smiling at all.
But just a week later.
There was news that required even more attention.
– An imperial envoy from the Ares Empire visits the royal palace to celebrate the coronation of the God King.
News of the special envoy’s visit, which will play a very important role in redefining the relationship between the two countries.
An incident occurred that attracted the attention of most of the kingdom’s nobles.
* * *
“Did an imperial envoy visit like this with only a unilateral notice?”
“Is that possible? Since the news had already been announced to neighboring countries after the coronation ceremony, the response must have come a little late.”
“But isn’t it right to inform the royal family in advance?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
Logan absentmindedly asked back at the swordsman’s words.
“Yes . ?”
“Your Majesty said you knew.”
“But does it become known only when the messenger arrives at the border?”
“Something big happened, right? Even His Majesty said that he forgot because of that.”
No, there is something else to forget. How…?
Logan looks at his teacher with bewildered eyes.
“It’s a friendly envoy, so will it be a problem if it was found out a little late? Let’s stop and go in.”
The teacher with an awkward expression took the lead, ignoring Logan’s gaze.
Logan sighed but had no choice but to follow.
‘If it were like before, you would have talked to His Majesty separately and then informed me right away… ..’
For some reason, I felt sad that my teacher’s attitude had changed, but that thought only lasted for a moment.
There were much more important issues at the moment.
‘It’s probably not the worst case scenario… no, not yet.’
I hope the reason for the sudden imperial envoy is not a declaration of war.
Logan entered Daejeon, calming his increasingly anxious mind.