Chapter 116

I Am the Monarch – Chapter 116 : A Good Person (3)

“By now, he should have received the branch……”

The young man happily making a strange smile was in fact Clay .

Unlike when he met Roan, his looks were completely different .

The hair was neatly organized and his suit looked neat and clean despite being old and humble .

But the thin eyes that seemed doubtful whether it could see in front were the same .

Standing on the summit of a rather tall mountain, he looked down at the wide open field that spread out below .

“Whenever I see it, it’s quite the beautiful sight . ”

But the smile on his mouth was instead bitter .

“Although it’s probably hell when up close . ”

Just how many people live in pain down below .

Clay’s mouth felt bitter .

“There’s just no good person . A good person……”

No, just a good person isn’t good enough .

He also had to have the strength and ability to change the world .

And at the same time .

‘Someone who could recognize my talent . ’

Such a person was needed .

Clay wasn’t a philanthropist and neither was he a saint .

He was the type that was only satisfied when he received treatment that was on par with his abilities .

‘It would be good if Sir Baron Tale is such a person, but……’

He let out a long sigh .

‘If he isn’t worth serving then I should go into the mountains and spend the rest of my life reading books . ’

It would be a waste to not use the vast knowledge within his head, but he had no desire to carelessly use them .

‘I’m sorry since it feels like I’m going against master’s tenants, but……’

That was the master’s teaching .

But he didn’t want to do good for the world without any rewards .

Clay inhaled deeply as he looked down at the field .

“Should I go down about now?”

It had already been four days since he entered the mountain .

Clay slowly moved his feet .

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how the elder brothers are doing . ’

The sorely missed faces suddenly appeared in his mind .

But he soon shook his head .

‘The elder brothers should have already accomplished more than just settling down . ’

That’s just how talented they were .

‘I should just worry about my own future . ’

It would be fine to be nosy after that .

Clay’s footsteps slowly became faster .

*****

“Is that so?”

Roan checked once again .

Keep nodded his head .

“Yes . We checked through multiple routes . The symbol of Viscount Holten House is……”

The two’s eyes met in the air .

“Definitely an owl . ”

“Hhm . ”

Roan let out a low sigh .

‘Is this owl the owl Clay was talking about?’

There wasn’t any way to be certain .

But the invitation the owl sent was stamped with the symbol of a tree branch .

A combination too perfect to be called a coincidence .

Tap . Tap . Tap .

Roan tapped on the table with the tip of his finger .

His thoughts became deeper .

‘He said that there would be great danger to me when the owl brings a branch . If so……’

If he saw the Viscount Anthony Holten as the owl and the invitation as the branch, then there was a great possibility that this hunting competition wasn’t ordinary .

Tap .

Roan stopped the finger that was tapping on the table and looked at Keep .

“Keep . Thoroughly investigate the hunting competition Viscount Holten and his house is hosting . ”

“Yes . Understood . ”

Keep slightly lowered his head and answered .

With a cold expression, Roan spoke one more time .

“You cannot miss even a single, small detail . ”

“Yes . I’ll keep it in mind . ”

With a resolute expression, Keep once again lowered his head .

‘This is the first time he emphasized something twice . ’

Roan was usually the type to trust and let other be after he gave out a command once .

Until now, there had never been a time when he would emphasize or give out the same order multiple times .

‘This mission, it’s exceptionally important . ’

Keep clenched his fist .

With a short salute, he exited the office .

“Huu . ”

Roan, who was left alone, let out a short sigh and grabbed a pen .

He needed to organize the chaotic thoughts within his head .

‘I must have really become a noble . ’

A sensation of truly being in the center of a behind-the-scenes fight .

‘But either way, I don’t plan on being taken down without a fight . ’

It would be wrong to think of him as a mere amateur noble that just became a baron .

He was a veteran soldier that walked the battlefield for twenty years .

‘Then, should I start the fight?’

A fight without a sword or a spear .

The battlefield was the capital, Miller .

The first to attack may be Viscount Anthony Holten, but Roan was already preparing a counterattack .

*****

“Sir Duke . However you think, it can’t be helped to be disappointed . ”

Viscount Lary Borg, who turned exactly forty this year, shook his head with a disappointed look .

The white haired elder sitting across from him creased his forehead .

“There’s no need to be disappointed . Because what’s important now is who will be the next king . ”

The elder, who was letting off a strong pressure despite being old, was Edwin Voisa, one of the four dukes of the Rinse Kingdom and the one with the strongest faction .

Lary smacked his lips .

“But if he stayed a bit longer, he would have even received a title of nobility from Estia Empire……”

“Quiet! Don’t say unnecessary things . ”

Edwin loudly shouted and glared with his two eyes .

‘Oops!’

Suddenly shocked, Larry closed his mouth .

“Mills is the firstborn of our Duke House and the next duke of the Rinse Kingdom . He must be known only as that to the people . Do you understand?”

Lary quickly lowered his head at Edwin’s words .

“Yes . I, I understand . ”

“Hmm . ”

Edwin didn’t look very convinced .

No, he looked completely annoyed .

Truthfully, he didn’t really like summoning Mills Voisa, the firstborn who was studying abroad in Estia Empire, back to Rinse Kingdom .

‘Even though the results of purposely sending him abroad to the unfriendly Estia Kingdom were just starting to come out . Tch . ’

If he stayed a bit longer, he would have been able to receive a title of nobility from Estia Empire .

‘Dammit . ’

He grinded his teeth .

‘The rest of the damned dukes are calling back all the kids sent out to other kingdoms . ’

With the monster expedition as the trigger, the competition for the next king had truly began .

In this situation, Edwin simply couldn’t just stand by and do nothing while the other dukes moved .

‘I don’t want to admit it, but the other damned dukes’ children, as expected, have been outstanding talents since they were young . ’

If they returned, he may be left behind in the competition for the throne .

Because of that, Edwin also quickly summoned his firstborn, Mills, back to the kingdom .

‘If Mills comes back, those brats wouldn’t be able to do anything even if they come as a group . ’

He trusted Mills .

To Edwin, Mills was the pride and treasure of the house .

‘Once Mills comes back, we can flip this situation where the first prince is in the lead . ’

His eyes were cold and a smile hung from his mouth .

The return of the duke houses’ successors .

Rinse Kingdom’s competition for the throne had now entered a new stage .

*****

Tak .

Roan put down the thick stack of paper with a satisfied look .

“Good . It’s good enough with this . ”

“Thank you . ”

The person lowering his head on the opposite side was Keep .

For some reason, his face looked haggard and rough .

Roan stood up from his seat and grabbed Keep’s hand .

“Keep . You’ve really done a lot of work . ”

“No sir . I simply did what I had to do . ”

Keep lowered his head .

Because he had been meticulously investigating the hunting competition that Anthony and Viscount Holten’s house prepared, he hadn’t had an ounce of sleep in the last three days .

It was a tiring and hard mission, but his heart skipped a bit every time a hidden information was revealed .

‘If we passed it without knowing, Sir Baron would have been in great danger . ’

He once again felt how powerful information was .

At that moment, he heard Roan’s voice .

“Now, should we put together a plan of our own based on this information?”

A face full of playfulness .

Keep brightly smiled without knowing and nodded .

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth . And we should return a trap for a trap . ”

Roan nodded instead of answering at those words .

Soon, Austin and Harrison, the two hundred-man commanders, and the ten-man commanders below them were called .

Putting his head together with them, Roan began a heated debate .

Each’s words hit against one another and a plan was slowly formed .

At the same time, words poured down onto an empty white paper .

Meticulously and perfectly, the plan was constructed .

*****

“Hhm . This is quite troublesome . ”

The young man’s expression was extremely serious .

He was looking at three cards on top of a table .

The middle-aged man, who was staring at that scene from the side, cheerfully smiled and shook his head .

“Please don’t lie . You have already made your decision . ”

At those words, the young man scratched his nose and brightly smiled .

“Does it show?”

“Of course . It has already been thirty years since I supported Master Clyde . I can tell with just a glance . ”

“Thirty years? Even though I’m thirty years old right now?”

The young man, Clyde, asked back with a playful expression .

Copying that playful look, the middle-aged man shrugged .

“Since I’ve been at your side ever since you were born, I have served you for thirty years . ”

“Yeah . You are right . ”

Nodding his head, Clyde looked at the three cards again .

“Goden . ”

At Clyde’s call, the middle-aged man, Goden, came closer .

“Yes . Master Clyde . ”

“I believe……”

Hesitating the end of his words, Clyde picked up a card amongst the three cards .

“The next king will be this person . ”

“I’m not sure . I simply trust and follow Master Clyde’s decision . ”

He was honest .

Even until now, Goden didn’t doubt Clyde’s decision even once .

Looking at Goden, Clyde made a smile .

A confident and satisfied expression .

He shook the card in his hand .

“So I’m planning to invest in this person’s faction, but……”

He hesitated his words .

He put down the card he was holding up .

The smile disappeared and the expression once again turned serious .

“A variable appeared . ”

Goden made a bitter smile at those words .

“Do you mean Baron Tale?”

Clyde nodded his head instead of answering .

His gaze turned back to the three cards on the table .

On the three cards, the names Simon, Tommy, and Kallum were each written .

“Is Baron Tale an influential enough person to change the throne’s successor? No, can he become such a person?”

It wasn’t a question directed at anyone .

Muttering to himself, Clyde fell deep into contemplation .

With the tip of his finger, he touched Simon’s card .

Goden simply stared at that scene without a word .

After an unknown amount of time .

“Huu . ”

Clyde let out a long sigh .

With the tip of his finger, he pushed Simon’s card away .

“As expected, I should go with my original decision . ”

Clyde picked up a card amongst the other two .

“However I think about it, the person who will become the next king is this person . ”

“I simply trust and follow Master Clyde’s decision . ”

Goden repeated the words he said before .

Clyde intensely stared at the card he picked up .

“Goden . ”

“Yes . ”

“Please collect all the spare funds in the company . I’m personally going to the palace . ”

“Understood . ”

Goden exited the office as he answered .

Clyde, who was left alone, was still staring at the card he was holding .

‘It should be a good decision, right?’

It certainly wasn’t a decision based on instinct .

Based on all the information he had gathered, he selected the card with the highest possibility .

But there was one thing that continued to bother him .

“Baron Roan Tale . ”

One of his eyes thinly closed .

“Just where did you pop out from?”

A humorous voice .

But his face, at least, was humorless .

“Running about any more than this is no good . Because the merchants like me……”

A cold air hung from the tip of his eyes .

“Really don’t like losing . ”

*****

“Oh! Baron Tale . Welcome . ”

The middle-aged man who handsomely grew out a moustache brightly smiled and opened his two arms .

Roan quickly dismounted from the horse and lowered his head .

“It is an honor to meet you . Sir Viscount Holten . ”

The middle-aged man was Viscount Anthony Holten, the very man who sent Roan the invitation to the hunting competition .

“An honor…… hahaha . I’m the one honored to meet the hero of the expedition . ”

The two shook hands and exchanged simple greetings .

Looking at the nobles and the knights behind Anthony, Roan inwardly made a bitter smile .

‘If you all openly let out hostility like that, that dark plan of yours would be recognized . ’

It was a point where the Amaranth Information Squad’s report wasn’t needed .

The nobles’ gaze toward Roan was that sharp and cold .

“Now, let me introduce the guests who will be enjoying the hunt with us today . ”

One by one, Anthony introduced the nobles who wordlessly stood and were completely unaware of Roan’s thought .

“It is an honor to meet you . ”

For each and every time, Roan greeted in a very polite and courteous manner .

At least, it seemed like that to Anthony and the other nobles .

“Should we then go to the hunting field?”

Anthony, who finished the introductions, asked with a subtle expression .

“Let us go, then . ”

“Let us depart quickly . ”

Several nobles hurried others and got on the horses’ saddles .

Roan also nodded instead of answering and grabbed the horse’s reins .

“Uurat!” 1

Anthony led the House’s knights and departed first .

The nobles who were glancing at Roan immediately followed behind Anthony, and as expected, they were each accompanied by three or four knights .

‘The knights are…… at amateur levels . ’

Since he checked with Kalian’s Tears, it was certain .

Roan snickered and kicked the horse .

Unlike the other nobles, he brought just one subordinate .

And even then, he was a subordinate who was quite unlike a knight .

“Sir Baron . Isn’t the number too big for trappers?” 2

The one who asked him with a worried expression was Harrison .

Looking at Viscount Holten House’s soldiers following behind, he creased his forehead .

Roan faintly smiled at those words and shook his head .

“Don’t worry . ”

A confident voice .

A self-assured attitude .

“Because our preparations are perfect . ”

End .

exclamation for starting(?) a horse here, the trappers are those who lure the animals toward the hunters/nobles