NOVEL NEXT ‘Is this the royal palace?’
There were jewels with luxurious colors engraved in the high ceiling, and the wide floor was covered in high quality marble.
There were beautiful symbols following the walls, and several portraits hanging on them.
“Are you surprised?”
Io grabbed his shoulders and smiled.
Roan smiled in embarrassment and nodded.
Io, who saw that, pointed at the other end.
“This is merely the front room. The real palace is beyond that door.”
“Ah……”
Roan let out a low cry of exclamation.
‘How would the real palace look?’
He couldn’t even guess how it was.
“Roan. Now, we will soon be meeting his majesty……”
When Io spoke up to that point.
The east door of the room opened up.
At the same time, youths that looked similar but had different auras, appeared.
They were the 2nd prince, Tommy Rinse, and the 3rd prince, Kallum Rinse.
They approached the center of the room while leading several nobles.
Their faces were filled with displeasure and annoyance.
On the other hand, the face of Simon looking at them had a faint smile on it.
‘Prince Simon……’
Roan slightly bowed and then let out a sigh.
Because the moment he saw Kallum and Tommy, he remembered the report the agency brought him before leaving Mediasis Village.
It was a short declaration.
But even with just that, Roan could guess how the situation had flowed.
‘Prince Simon didn’t notify the other princes about the final exodus.’
Thanks to that, innocent citizens had lost their lives.
The western region of the kingdom became ruins.
‘I knew that he had incredible ambition……’
He hadn’t expected that he would ignore his citizens because of his ambition.
No, he thought that perhaps he may do so in a corner of his heart.
Even if Simon was fine now, he was someone who would one day become a mad monarch.
‘No one was following behind him.’
He was that cruel and frenzied.
A monarch that couldn’t lead even one citizen.
That was the mad monarch.
The only things that followed him were monsters and the undead.
‘At least, it was like that from what I know……’
There was a bitter taste in his mouth.
‘What do I have to do……..’
He decided to become a monarch by himself.
But to raise a country, the situation was still too lacking.
He still had to raise his strength for now.
In that process, he was wondering how to continue the relationship with Simon.
‘I tried to help him to not become the mad monarch…..’
He thought that it was plentily possible if he watched and helped him starting from now.
But with this case, he realized that there was another problem.
Simon wasn’t the ideal monarch he wanted.
‘How stifling.’
A sigh came out on its own.
Meanwhile, Tommy and Kallum arrived in front of Simon.
“I’m meeting the 1st prince.”
The two people slightly bowed.
They didn’t treat nor suck up to him because he was the eldest brother.
But rather they acted as if they weren’t related at all.
On the other hand, Simon shook his head with a nice laugh.
“Hahaha! The 1st prince……. I told you to just call me brother. Right, I feel good knowing that you’re all safe.”
His mouth was sweet but he was hiding a knife in his stomach. (Idiom)
Simon wasn’t planning to bring out the noble spies in front of the two brothers.
He didn’t have to use favorable cards as he wished.
‘I certainly have to tie up one of the two.’
A fishy smile appeared on his face.
Then.
Boom!
A huge door at the center of the room started to slowly open up accompanied by a heavy sound.
It was finally time to meet Deni Von Rinse, the king.
“Hahaha! Then, shall we enter together?”
Simon was completely relaxed.
He started to move ahead of Tommy and Kallum.
‘Damn.’
‘Acting all good.’
The faces of the two princes contorted.
The nobles that were behind the three princes also moved with stifled looks.
The faces of the ones following Simon were bright, and the faces of the others were a bit complicated.
Especially among them, there was also Count Jonathan Chase, who had enmity with Io Lancephil.
‘Damn. His life thread is a really long one.’
His blue eyes stabbed behind Io’s head.
On the other hand, Io didn’t even mind the ones like Jonathan.
His only interest was in Roan.
“You can’t be mannerless.”
“Yes. I will take that into account.”
Roan listened to Io’s words and nodded.
The nobles following Kallum and Tommy saw that and frowned.
‘Who’s that greenhorn?’
‘It’s the first time that I’ve seen that guy.’
‘That young bastard is meeting his majesty?’
They had received reports about Roan’s merits, but they didn’t know how he looked.
The only one that did know was Jonathan.
‘So that bastard is that Roan.’
The one that made Benjamin Doyle, who he was giving interest to get a grasp on the eastern region, fall on a downslide.
‘Now that I see it, what happened to the bastards that infiltrated below that young bastard?’
It had been quite a while since he sent bright and skilled underlings to the region of Tale.
He had received some short letters, but they weren’t of any help.
‘Tch. I will have to investigate.’
Jonathan frowned and clicked his tongue.
Boom!
As they entered the room, the open doors were closed shut.
“Ah……”
Roan let out a cry of exclamation.
And that wasn’t because the room was luxurious.
But rather, it was small and unshapely compared to the front room.
‘But I don’t know why I feel regality.’
There were no such things like luxurious jewels, golden goods, or symbols.
The room, that was just decorated with marble and wood, was simple and small.
But he felt an amazing pressure from that small look.
“This is the real palace.”
Io’s voice rang out.
Roan thought he knew the meaning of that statement.
It wasn’t that it was the best just because it was luxurious.
‘Being majestic doesn’t come out just because you decorate it.’
A palace was a palace.
A royal room was a royal room.
So he automatically had the thought that the royal family was the royal family.
It was the regality made from tens and hundreds of years.
At the sides of the room, there were chairs made from wood and leather placed there.
And in those places the counts, dukes, marquises, and other important nobles were seated.
In the center of the room, there was another chair placed that wasn’t luxurious, but as it was too large, it made you feel some pressure.
‘That’s the seat of the king.’
Roan swallowed with his dry mouth for nothing.
It was the first time being in the royal room, even while counting his two lives.
Then the grand chamberlain, Viscount Logan Dayle, hit the marble floor three times with a large staff.
“The sun of the kingdom, and the deputy of the god, Krea Deni III, his majesty, is coming. The loyal retainers of the kingdom, show your manners.”
Right after he finished speaking, all the nobles that were seated, stood up.
They bowed towards the king’s seat.
And soon, an old man appeared with a face that full of laughter.
He was the king of the kingdom and the father of Simon, Tommy and Kallum, Deni Von Rinse.
“Hohoho.”
A laugh that was pleasing to listen to, rang out.
It was the unique laughter of Deni III.
“Everyone, sit.”
A soft voice spoke out.
The nobles bowed once again and then carefully sat down.
Deni III looked at the three princes that were standing politely and spread out both of his arms.
“Oh! My proud children.”
He seemed to truly be glad.
“I heard that you finished the subjugation safely. And of course…..”
The last part of his words dimmed.
“The merits of each person are different. Hohoho.”
They were words he said as if it was nothing.
But the faces of Tommy and Kallum contorted.
On the other hand, there was a faint smile on Simon’s mouth.
“Grand Chamberlain.”
At Deni’s call, Logan slightly bowed.
The king leaned his body on the huge chair and shook his hand.
“Shall we hear the reports of the three princes?”
“Yes.”
Logan replied shortly and then raised up a huge paper scroll.
“I will be starting with the merits of the 1st prince, Simon.”
After that, Logan kept naming the countless battles without even breathing.
And the longer the report became, the more the nobles trembled.
“Ho! That’s more amazing than what we received.”
“It’s really overwhelming.”
“I knew that the abilities of the 1st prince were great, but to be this much…….”
The nobles were filled with joy and sorrow.
“It’s the end. Next is the report of the 2nd prince, Tommy Rinse.”
Meanwhile, Logan finished Tommy’s merit report and started with Kallum’s.
“Next is the report of the 3rd prince, Kallum Rinse.”
And followed by that, Kallum’s report was also told.
The two people had raised excellent merits.
But compared to Simon, they were lacking too much.
“Even when they held hands together, they can’t follow the merits of the 1st prince.”
“On top of that, the counterattack they suffered at the last moment was too much.”
“They say the western region became complete ruins.”
Voices filled with regret were heard everywhere.
And the more that happened, the darker Kallum’s and Tommy’s faces became.
Even when they heard, Simon’s merits were overwhelming.
‘There was this much of a difference?’
Their faces became red.
They were embarrassed, angry, and annoyed.
“With this, I will be finishing the merit reports.”
Logan let out a deep sigh and put down the scroll.
At that moment.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Deni III suddenly started to clap.
The nobles looked at him with confused faces and followed his actions late.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
The sound of claps filled the entire room.
“Amazing. The three of you are amazing.”
Deni III continued to laugh.
“But of course, the best among you…..”
His eyes twisted in a strange way.
“Is Simon.”
A declaration.
It was the declaration of the king that you couldn’t lightly pass off.
Simon bowed.
“I just did my best.”
“No, it’s really amazing. Really amazing.”
Deni III loudly laughed and nodded.
And the nobles supporting Simon brightened up.
On the other hand, the nobles following Kallum and Tommy had their faces scrunched up.
Then.
“But anyways, you said that something not related to the subjugation occurred?”
Deni III asked with a gentle voice.
A smile appeared on Simon’s face, who was bowing.
‘He’s talking about the rebellion.’
He slightly glanced back and looked at Tommy and Kallum.
Their faces were completely contorted now.
‘That’s nice to see.’
Simon snorted and raised his head.
“A group of nobles have raised their blades towards me.”
“Right. I heard that they were Luke Aip and Mito Posis.”
At those words, Tommy slightly trembled.
‘There’s no one that knows that Luke and Mito are my spies.’
Tommy forced himself to calm down.
Then, Simon’s voice was heard.
“They didn’t have enough by raising their blades against a prince but they also did something really disgusting and nasty.”
“What was it?”
Deni III raised a brow and asked back.
Simon took out some letters from his chest and gave it to Deni III.
“Read it.”
At Simon’s words, Deni III took the letters and started to slowly read them.
The more he read, the more his face contorted.
Tommy, who was looking wondering what happened, became pale.
‘Th, that’s!’
The envelope for the letters was too familiar.
‘Those are things that I sent to Luke and Mito.’
They were letters saying that they should stay next to Simon and check up on him.
‘But just that is enough to prove that Luke and Mito were my spies.’
In any case, their rebellion would become something caused because of him.
His hands and feet became cold.
‘Ho, how is that in Simon’s hands…….’
His eyes rolled anxiously.
Meanwhile, Deni III read all of the letters and looked at Simon and Tommy.
“Are the contents of this letter true?”
Tommy couldn’t speak as he wished and just looked at Simon.
Deni III asked again with an angered voice.
“Is it true that Luke Aip and Mito Posis aimed for your throat after receiving Tommy’s instigation?!”
Boom!
It seemed like a huge wave fell on the room.
Everyone received a great shock.
And especially for Tommy, it was too big.
‘Instigation? What instigation? I have never sent something like…..’
When he thought up to that moment.
Simon smiled brightly and shook his head.
“No. That letter is a fake one made by Luke and Mito.”
“Fake?”
Deni III frowned and asked back.
Simon nodded and looked at Tommy.
“Luke and Mito tried to separate me from my brother with just those small letters. That’s a really disgusting and nasty thing to do.”
His cold eyes made Tommy’s eyes hurt.
Tommy just nervously swallowed with his dry mouth.
Deni III raised the letters and asked.
“Is that really true?”
It was a voice that was asking a question.
Simon nodded.
But he was still looking at Tommy.
“Of course. Would there be a reason for my brother, Tommy, to kill me? Isn’t that right Tommy?”
Again, it was another voice that was asking a question.
Tommy bit his lower lip.
‘Simon. You’re playing with me!’
But he couldn’t act as he wished here.
He forced a smile and nodded.
“O, of course. What reason should I have to harm my eldest brother?”
He even used the word eldest brother which he usually didn’t use.
‘It seems like you sure are pressured. Kuk.’
Simon forcefully swallowed the laughter that was trying to come out.
His sight naturally moved to Kallum.
‘While we were capturing Luke and Mito, bastards like Elton Coat and Gary Renard, that followed Kallum, escaped.’
It was something he came to know from a report of Roan’s, while he was retrieving the battlefield.
‘Sons of bitches.’
He gritted his teeth.
But thanks to that, he gained a good card.
“Kallum. You also think like that too, right?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
Kallum replied hurriedly and then frowned.
‘Simon, this bastard. He wouldn’t have the letters I gave to Elton and Gary, right?’
Sour emotions surged up inside of him.
If those letters were revealed here, he would be driven into a corner.
Because it was him that used Luke and Mito to cause that rebellion.
But fortunately, Simon didn’t say anything and just looked at Tommy and Kallum in succession.
It was some kind of threat and pressure.
‘Wait for it. I will tie you up really well.’
The smile on Simon’s mouth became even denser.
He had laid down the trap for now.
Now, he just had to see who would fall for it more.
“To dare to make something like this.”
Bang! Deni III slammed the table with a reddened face.
Simon bowed as if he was waiting for it.
“Don’t worry too much about it. Those bastards aren’t in this world anymore.”
“Mmm.”
Deni III forced himself to calm down and then nodded.
“Right. You have handled it well even in that difficult situation. You are really great.”
Compliments poured out of him.
His original mindset was good, but as he was incompetent, Deni III didn’t know how to act properly in certain circumstances.
He just nodded at Simon’s words, became enraged, and felt joy.
He was just pondering if he had something to give to the dependable eldest son, Simon.
“Ah!”
His face brightened up.
“The land of Aip and Posis became ownerless grounds.”
He spoke with an excited voice.
“Simon Rinse. I will give you the territories of Aip and Posis because of having perfectly carried out the subjugation and overcoming a difficult situation.”
“Ah……”
Cries of exclamation were heard everywhere.
As Aip’s and Posis’ territories were from baron’s, they weren’t that large.
But the location was the problem.
The two territories were located between the capital of Miller and the Pedian Plains, so it was really fertile and a strategic location.
If Simon was to give these two territories to two nobles that supported him, the nobles of the northern region of the kingdom would have to pass through Simon’s forces to enter the capital of Miller.
‘If an urgent thing happens, I can block the path to perfectly cut off the nobles supporting Kallum and Tommy who are also located at the northern region of the kingdom.’
Simon smiled at the greater reward than what he thought he would receive.
Tommy, Kallum, and the nobles supporting them also knew of this truth.
But they couldn’t stand up to oppose to it.
‘Damn. He’s saying that he’s giving the territories of the rebel nobles to the one that suppressed them. There’s no reason to oppose it.’
‘At a slip up, the letters of Prince Tommy may be brought forward.’
‘It’s better to just keep our mouths shut here.’
An uncomfortable silence spread through everywhere.
On the other hand, Simon bowed with a bright expression.
“Thank you, your majesty.”
“No. No. You are the one that raised the greatest merits, but this much isn’t enough.”
Deni III wasn’t thinking of ending the merit awarding ceremony like this.
Then, Simon turned around and shook his head.
“Your majesty. I didn’t do the subjugation and the capture of the rebels by myself. The reason I could raise this great of a merit was because of the help of several people.”
He spoke with a humble attitude and voice.
Simon’s words continued.
“Especially among them, there’s someone that raised a merit so great, it’s unimaginable.”
Right after he finished speaking, Deni III smiled brightly and nodded.
“Aha! If it’s that report, I’m also very aware about that. That…….Ro, Roan was it?”
“Yes. That’s right your majesty.”
Simon nodded and pointed towards his back with his right hand.
Io, Tio, Ralph, and etc. moved to the sides as if they had been waiting for it.
At that moment, Roan, who was standing at the very back, appeared.
He had a childish but manly face.
His deep and clear eyes shone.
Deni III and the others all looked at Roan.
‘That kid is Roan?’
‘I heard that he was as large as a monster…..It seems that it wasn’t true.’
‘That kid raised those amazing merits?’
‘Hoho. For that greenhorn to have rescued the life of Prince Simon.’
Everyone had expressions of disbelief.
Then, Simon’s voice was heard.
“He raised the greatest merits in this subjugation and rescued my life…….”
It was a voice with strength.
“He is Roan Tale.”
Right after he finished speaking, Roan slowly moved up and stood next to Simon.
He kneeled down with a composed and confident posture and saluted.
“Roan Tale greets his majesty.”