Chapter 93

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

Ponsonia Imperial Council

A high-ranking official working in Ponsonia’s internal affairs scurried towards the council room . It was almost 10am . The regular meeting that the king himself attended would start soon . Most of the agendas discussed during this meeting were on a kingdom-wide scale, and as such one couldn’t miss even a day .

9:30am . The official arrived at the council room .

「Hmm . 」

The seats – five rows in total – were installed in a semi-circle, facing the king’s seat at the center . He was half an hour early, yet the fifty seats were almost full . Those who couldn’t secure a seat had to stand at a distance .

「May I take this seat?」he asked .

「Uh, my friend is—」

「Thank you . I might miss something if I’m standing over there . 」

The official shamelessly took the seat . He didn’t even care that the man he was talking to was someone from financial affairs . One of his cousins was a Marquis anyway, so the man couldn’t do anything to him .

If one were not seated, they might not hear the things that the Grand Chamberlain whispered to the king, or the murmurs of the higher nobles .

You have to be here by nine, I suppose . Everyone’s on edge these days, he thought .

The Imperial Council attracted increasing attention like never before . So the official thought about gathering information for the one he worked for – Princess Kudyastoria . He wasn’t doing so out of loyalty . Right now, he was too far from the next king, the Crown Prince . Climbing the ranks through a backdoor was his best bet at the moment .

「His Majesty has arrived . 」

The king arrived at precisely ten o’ clock . There were already plenty of people standing . The high-ranking nobles – the Crown Prince, Duke, Marquis, sat at the back in their reserved seats . The Captain of the Knights was in one corner .

「Thank you for all your hard work . 」

A man with glaring eyes entered the room . His cheekbones were sharp, the luster fading from his almost entirely gray hair . It was as though he quickly aged ten years . His extravagant, red clothes almost seemed to crush him under their weight . Up until a while ago, he was enjoying himself, surrounded by women .

「Let’s begin . 」

「Yes, Sir . 」

The man standing next to the King was neither the head of internal affairs, nor the Prime Minister . It was the Grand Chamberlain . Having won the favor of the King, he was now the one presiding over the meeting .

「First on our agenda is Gafrasti N . Valves’s movements . 」

The King grabbed the armrests of his chair and leaned forward .

「He’s been stripped of his noble rights a long time ago!」

「Yes, Your Highness . You are right . I want to discuss about the movements of the traitor Gafrasti . 」

「Very well . 」

Despite knowing that he would anger the King, the Chamberlain mentioned Gafrasti’s initial “N” – something given only to Viscounts . He must’ve done it on purpose, the official thought . The chamberlain wanted to show that the king held great interest in this case and anyone who sided with Gafrasti would be deemed an enemy .

「After claiming that he had right to the throne, he fled to Mount Elka . 」

The official quickly took notes, recalling the reason why Ponsonia stopped its advance through the Quinbland Empire and retreated . Gafrasti claimed he was a descendant of the King of Poelnxinia in this council . He presented conjectures and proofs . Overwhelmed, no one could speak for a while .

Not until the king declared to kill Gafrasti . Everyone started moving all at once . But Margrave Grugschilt stood up and shouted “Don’t move!” The knights standing guard in the conference room froze, intimidated by the leader of a military faction .

「This is quite interesting . 」the Margrave said . 「We should investigate this . 」

「Mount Elka? That’s Grugschilt’s territory!」

「Exactly . 」

「So they were working together!」

「We don’t know that yet . 」

The place Gafrasti fled to was part of Margrave Grugschilt’s territory . By questioning the legitimacy of the current ruler, the historian could’ve been arrested and charged with treason . Grugschilt backing him up gave him time to escape the Royal Capital safely .

His whereabouts were unknown after that, but most people assumed he was under the Margrave’s protection . As a noble who had his domain in the borders, Grugschilt possessed a powerful army . His men weren’t part of the force that invaded Quinbland . They were ordered to be on standby in case of a counterattack .

Due to a shortage of troops in the Royal Capital, they couldn’t suppress the Margrave . By the time the kingdom’s forces, including Captain Lawrence, returned, Grugschilt was already back in his place .

「Who else is siding with Gafrasti?」

「One Count, three Viscounts, and eleven Barons . 」the Grand Chamberlain answered .

They were people who, after the incident, didn’t answer the summons to the Royal Capital, saying they were sick or that there was trouble in their domain .

They might actually be telling the truth . Yet they’re still labelled as enemies, huh .

The official’s mood turned gloomy . It felt like the king was a bit too sensitive about this case .

「Are you here, Lawrence?」

「Yes, Your Majesty . 」

「I want you to take the Order and bring me back Grugschilt’s head . Can you do that?」

The King’s straightforwardness shocked the people present .

Wait, is he serious? Dispatching troops internally? They will be up against the Margrave . Even the Master Swordsman can’t fight the kingdom’s own powerful army .

But Lawrence wasn’t in the least bit perturbed .

「I can . 」

「Very well . 」

「Please wait . 」

A voice rang out . It came from a young man with condescending eyes, wearing an indifferent expression .

「What is it, Austin?」

「You have every right to be furious . Grugschilt and Gafrasti are both fools trying to oppose your rule . But there’s no need for the Master Swordsman to go himself . 」

「You sound like you have a plan . 」

「I do . Grugschilt foolishly suggested to verify Gafrasti’s claim . So we’ll just tell them to come so we can do that . 」

「Ridiculous! Clearly he didn’t mean what he said . There is no way he will come . 」

「If they don’t, that’s fine . They want to verify the legitimacy of your rule . I’m sure their claims are all nonsense anyway, but we’re going to tell them that we’ll oblige . As you said, Grugschilt won’t come, which will expose him as a liar . It is said that he’s popular among our forces because of his honesty . If we impugn his reputation, we can prevent chaos after he’s subdued . 」

Oh… not a bad idea, the official thought . He might’ve gotten a hint from someone, but he’s on to something . No one loses anything with his plan . We should go with this…

「No . 」

「I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?」

「I said we’re not doing any foolish verifications . No petty tricks whatsoever . 」

Mouth gaping, the prince couldn’t say anything . The official didn’t expect the king’s answer either . No one believed Gafrasti’s words . In fact, it came as a surprise that Grugschilt trusted the historian . Which is why the Prince’s suggestion was great . It was also a chance to show the king’s magnanimity . Yet he rejected the idea .

Is he really that angry? Is it because he lost the chance to crush the empire?

The official didn’t know that Gafrasti’s claims were true . That the current king was not a legitimate descendant of Poelnxinia . That the king was the only one who was aware of this and that he was scared of even a simple verification .

「Lawrence!」

「Yes, Sir!」

「You will depart today and kill Grugschilt!」

「Understood!」

「F-Father! How about we gather some information first? I believe there are people among the special forces who excel at gathering intel . Ruining Grugschilt’s reputation would do us good in the future—」

「No . I’m not redirecting the special forces over there!」

「Father!」

「Go, Lawrence!」

「As you wish . 」

After saluting, Lawrence left the room . The conference room was in an uproar . And it was understandable . There hadn’t been a civil war – calling it as such was surely appropriate – as big as this in decades .

Wait a minute .

The official looked puzzled . The prince was right . The king’s special forces should be free right now . It would be best to send them to gather intel . Dispatching Lawrence would be too risky .

What did he mean by redirecting? Strange… The special forces would’ve been an indispensable asset in the invasion of Quinbland, yet they weren’t deployed . Are they on a different mission?

He couldn’t recall any case that would require the deployment of the special forces . Among the recent big news were the invasion of Quinbland and the murder of Count Morgstad .

I thought the culprit was the daughter and she was kidnapped . Hmm, I did hear something about the special forces being sent after her . But they couldn’t possibly still be on that case until now .

「Ahem . Silence . 」

The Grand Chamberlain continued the proceedings like things were of no concern to him .

「Next on our agenda is the increase in monster activity during summer . Every year in the Great Forest of Un el Portan, where our kingdom, Quinbland, and Forestia meet, monsters multiply rapidly starting from spring and this year is no exception . We’ve been sending troops every year—」

「We’re not sending any this year . Let the adventurers do it . 」

「Yes, Your Majesty . 」

Culling monsters . The army would usually take on the job as part of their training . But right now they were at war . The king wanted his forces to stay in the Royal Capital . As such, this job would be passed on to the Adventurers Guild .

With that, the meeting ended . A civil war would engulf Ponsonia soon .