Chapter 184. Long live the Sultan (1)
‘Somehow, this doesn’t feel strange.’
A smile formed on Lloyd’s lips.
It was more like a bitter smile than a smile.
where his gaze is directed.
The door in the waiting room was open.
Another man who appeared to be a palace official walked through the open door.
A mechanical example was shown towards this side.
said with an expressionless face.
“Everyone has worked so hard to come a long way. Please sit over here.”
The official pointed to the table in the reception area.
It was an ordinary table without any decorations.
The same goes for the chairs placed around the table.
A wooden chair that can be found just about anywhere.
It was common enough to be seen in the homes of commoners, not nobles.
In other words, it was not at the level of recommending to a special envoy sent by the king of a country.
The special envoy, Count Ventura, showed a puzzled look.
“Huh. There seems to be something wrong now.”
“What if you say it’s a mistake?”
“Looks like you took us to the wrong place.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
The Sultanate official tilted his head.
It was still an expressionless face.
Count Ventura protested in a more embarrassing voice.
“Now it seems that this happened because that side did not receive the message properly, but we are not the King’s special envoys sent by Alicia Termina Magentano, the great King of Magentano. In other words, we have come this far to convey the will of His Highness to your Sultan. But such a cramped and shabby reception hall. A low-ranking official, not the Sultan, greeted us. I guess I don’t understand.”
“Why do you say you don’t understand?”
“Because it doesn’t fit the ranks. Go back to your superior immediately and ask again. I wonder if you have not led us to the wrong place.”
“I’m sorry, but you were properly guided.”
“Right? this place? Do you mean that this cramped and shabby reception hall is a proper place?”
“That’s right.”
“What is that….”
Count Ventura’s expression wavered.
A low-ranking official from the Sultanate still spoke with a mechanical and expressionless attitude.
“It is true that you have been properly guided. Aren’t you a special envoy sent by the King of Magentano?”
“The special envoy is right. I should have said that.”
“yes. Then you are rightly guided.”
A low-ranking official who only repeats that word like a parrot.
The eyebrows of the envoy, Count Ventura, furrowed.
“Are you sure you intend to insult our King?”
“I don’t know that part. It’s just that we are moving according to the instructions given down from above.”
“Call your superiors immediately!”
Count Ventura’s screams exploded.
But even so, the lower official of the Sultanate did not blink an eye.
He still nodded his head in a firm manner.
“All right. Then please wait a moment.”
A lower official stepped down.
Count Ventura bit his lower lip.
“What kind of bizarre and absurd….”
Are you trying to hold back your rising anger?
Or is it that I just don’t understand what’s going on right now?
‘It’s probably both.’
Lloyd’s bitter smile grew thicker as he watched the situation.
‘Everyone is slow to grasp the situation. what can’t you do They must have never been treated like this in their entire lives.’
Lloyd’s gaze turned to the special envoy, Count Ventura.
I looked at the face of the special envoy accompanying him.
All of them were tall.
From the bottom of their bones, they were from families that snorted a little in the royal capital.
‘So I guess I’ve never been looked down upon like this in my life. That’s why it’s slow to grasp the situation. I’m not used to it. It’s unfamiliar.’
A bitter laugh that kept flowing inevitably.
Between those smiles, I remembered the time when I lived in Korea.
In particular, memories of the time when I was living in a gosiwon bloomed.
‘At that time, being ignored was a daily routine.’
I didn’t have that much.
I had nothing to offer.
Losing the fence of the family, it was a life that endured day by day to make a living.
Of course, I never dreamed of decorating myself.
As a result, my self-confidence gradually declined.
It was impossible to erase the withdrawn attitude that came naturally from her facial expressions and gestures.
So it was.
Wherever I went, I was ignored implicitly.
At the gosiwon, whenever the secretary saw this side, he would say, ‘You won’t run out of money this month, right?’ as a greeting.
And that wasn’t all.
‘Have you ever received a notice that the members of the special envoys are trying to get on a full bus and the balance on their transportation card is insufficient? Have you ever felt embarrassed by that comment and rummaged through your pockets to pay for the bus fare with cash and then dropped a coin? I picked up all the coins while saying sorry to people, but have you ever been short of 100 won for the bus fare? So, did you ever get on the bus and go down through the front door while people stare at you?’
Even thinking about it now, it was an experience that made my duodenum tremble.
It was because it was a daily routine that I was once so ignored.
Lloyd was able to get a feel for it right away from the moment the party was ushered into this shabby reception room.
How the Sultanate intends to treat the special envoys.
how do you want to come out?
I was able to figure it out in an instant.
Because I wasn’t familiar with this atmosphere.
Because I’m used to being ignored.
‘Maybe it will come out more shamelessly.’
Then let’s see if this prediction is correct.
Lloyd took a seat at a table in the corner.
While he took a step back and watched the situation calmly, a man who appeared to be a high-ranking official from the Sultanate entered the audience room.
“I heard that the special envoy was looking for me.”
“exactly. I found it.”
Count Ventura, who paced the waiting room nervously, reacted immediately.
With a rather calm face, he spoke to the senior official.
“It’s because I can’t really communicate with the lower level staff.”
“Hmm, what made you uncomfortable?”
“This place is beyond words. There seems to be some minor yet serious mistake.”
“Ah, we have already been told that you expressed dissatisfaction with the reception room. Unfortunately, this is the reception room assigned to your special envoy.”
“…what?”
The senior official smiled politely.
Count Ventura’s eyes were colored with bewilderment.
“What is that…So what about the Sultan? Aren’t you going to welcome us?”
“Unfortunately, that’s how it is now.”
“Unfortunately? now?”
“yes.”
“What does that mean?”
“Because the great and all-powerful Sultan is too busy. In other words, it is difficult to greet the special envoys right now because there is a lot of work to be done.”
“But we have Magentano’s….”
“I know. You are a special envoy sent by the king. But what can’t be helped is unavoidable.”
“what…What nonsense!”
A vein stood on Count Ventura’s neck.
“Let me see you, so this is not too much! What country in the world greets the king’s special envoy like this! This is an act that does not conform to diplomatic conventions and is contrary to morality!”
“But I really can’t help it.”
“That can’t be helped! How am I supposed to accept that!”
“If you don’t like it, you can just leave.”
“…what?”
Count Ventura hesitated, doubting his ears.
The corner of the senior official’s mouth rose subtly.
“We have already fully communicated our position. Again, the great and all-powerful Sultan is in a difficult situation to face your side right now.”
“Then do you mean wait?”
“Now you are considering your position. That’s right. Just wait and it will happen naturally.”
“How long do you have to wait?”
“You will have to hold it for at least six months.”
“radish….”
“As I said before, there is no choice. The great and all-powerful Sultan is such a busy man.”
“Are you trying to fool us now?”
“no.”
“Then what the hell!”
“I am asking for your understanding.”
“What kind of nonsensical understanding…!”
“If you don’t like that, you can just leave.”
widely.
The senior official smiled faintly.
He took out a round golden plaque from his bosom.
put it down on the table
“The choice is yours. Are you going back like this or are you staying here enduring the wait? We do not intend to force either choice.”
“…But what is it?”
Count Ventura pointed at the golden plaque with his chin.
The senior official grinned.
“This is a gift bestowed upon you by the great and almighty Sultan.”
“gift?”
“yes. It is a gift that you can receive if you make the choice to endure the wait.”
“…Please explain.”
“The name of this golden plaque is Padashar. Its use is simple. You will not need any money as long as you have this while staying here in Ahinsha.”
“Why?”
“This Padashar is the grace of the great and almighty Sultan. This is because it is a token of the Sultan’s promise to provide any funds you may need.”
Official Seluk’s explanation continued.
“With this, you won’t have to pay for food anywhere in the capital. It is the same when buying clothes, when driving camels and porters, and when finding a place to sleep.”
“…Are you going to openly treat us like beggars?”
“It is a misunderstanding. Could it be that?”
The senior official raised an open corner of his mouth.
Count Ventura’s eyelids trembled.
“Then let me give you some time to think. I’m alone.”
While everyone in the delegation was overcome with anger and bewilderment, the senior official bowed politely and withdrew.
The blush on Lloyd’s mouth also deepened.
‘also. That’s right.’
sultanate.
They are openly ignoring the special envoys.
Go back if you don’t want to wait.
If you’re going to wait, you’ll receive their favor.
In other words, if you don’t intend to throw your ego to the ground, don’t negotiate.
He is saying round and round that he wants to destroy the negotiations like this.
Otherwise, there was no way the king’s special envoy would be treated like that.
‘Are you saying you’re denying responsibility for the monster domino crisis?’
It seemed that way.
So it was a bit difficult.
‘If negotiations break out, it’s war.’
It was strong.
War must be avoided.
Even if I wake up, it won’t help anyone.
In particular, it was clear that there would be enormous damage to the Frontera territory.
‘Then how are you planning to respond?’
It is important from now on.
The sultanate’s rude attitude.
The outcome of the negotiations will depend on how the special envoy accepts and responds to that attitude.
However, Count Ventura and the special envoys were just drooping their shoulders.
“Whoa. what to do with this….”
“That’s right, envoy.”
“I never thought you would greet us this way. Does this make sense?”
“I think the same. This is unfair. It’s something that needs to be called in once again and taken seriously.”
“okay. It should be. But what if our protests don’t work?”
“How about publicly condemning the Sultan?”
“Hmm, but this place is not good.”
“Then why don’t you send a letter to your home country?”
“What correspondence?”
“Why don’t we ask for an additional envoy of a larger scale by informing them of the unfair treatment they have shown?”
“Do you mean increased diplomatic support and pressure?”
“That’s right. Practically speaking, there seems to be not much we can do here.”
“Hmm….”
Count Ventura smoothed his beard with a worried expression.
“I don’t know what to do with this situation. However, if we give up the negotiations and return, His Highness will be disappointed. Even war will become inevitable…But what are you doing?”
One of the count’s eyebrows twitched.
His gaze then turned to the corner of the waiting room.
Lloyd was sitting at the table there.
Receiving the Count’s question, he grinned.
“Oh, I was just looking at this.”
Suddenly, he had a golden plaque in his hand.
It was the Padashar left behind by the Sultan’s officials.
Count Ventura’s eyebrows twitched even more.
“Do you think that’s what you want?”
“It’s just curious.”
“Arthur. It was handed over by the Sultan to bring us shame. I hope you don’t have any curiosity either. More than that-”
Count Ventura’s eyes hardened as he looked at Lloyd.
“You must have noticed their attitude just now, right?”
“yes.”
“Then do you have any comments to offer?”
“Umm, not really.”
Lloyd shrugged.
A look of disapproval passed by Count Ventura’s expression as he looked at him.
‘Because he’s such a snob.’
In fact, Count Ventura didn’t like Lloyd that much.
Being from a country estate, he fell in the king’s eyes?
Are you offended by such a sudden rise?
It wasn’t.
He also acknowledged Lloyd’s ability and reputation.
However, I did not like the snobbish temperament that my young friend sometimes showed.
For example, like now, he looks at the golden plate that the sultan gave away as if he was playing with it, and he is like that.
Count Ventura looked at Lloyd intently.
“Can I give you one piece of advice?”
“Yes, of course.”
“The golden plaque you are holding. Get away from that stuff as much as possible. Don’t give in to greed. Don’t sell your pride for personal gain right in front of your eyes. Please don’t mess with everyone’s work with foolish actions.”
“yes. All right.”
“Are you serious about that answer?”
“Nothing. You can rest assured that we will never mess with everyone.”
“Thank you. You know what I mean.”
“It was nothing.”
Did that put your mind at ease?
Count Ventura nodded in satisfaction.
Lloyd also sent back a smile full of trust.
and that night.
Lloyd’s full-fledged super-luxurious money-making party has begun, having won the Sultan’s golden plate.
