Chapter 39
I went prepared after receiving an urgent message from Duke Visconti.
But the Duke himself greeted me with a very calm expression.
"You must have had a hard time cleaning up after your brother's wedding."
To be honest, if I hadn't stepped in directly, the Medici baron family would have had to implement austerity measures for two years to pay off that debt.
Even ordinary people who don't have to care much about face find it hard to live by tightening their belts.
If they had to maintain the family's dignity while also economizing, Albert might have collapsed from stress.
Just for preventing that, I deserve lifelong gratitude from him...
But that person just gave me a few words of thanks and a formal gift and ended it, right?
Sigh, really. Is he jealous of a brother who only has a knight's title?
"Seeing your expression wrinkle just at my words, it seems you had quite a hard time."
"Although I've become independent from my father and brother, I'm still a member of the Medici baron family, so isn't it only natural that I should do this?"
The Duke chuckled hearing my words.
"Humans can't help but feel dirty when they end up cleaning up after others, even if they know it's something they have to do. And from what I've heard, you went all the way to the Kingdom of Granada this time?"
How does he know that even though the Medici family is just a vassal of his vassal family?
No, it's natural to plant spies just in case since we're a vassal of his vassal family.
But to think he'd grasp even the smuggling route that was pursued in utmost secrecy within the family.
Is this the level you need to be at to serve as a duke in the Tuscan Empire, to be able to see through even your subordinate families like the palm of your hand?
"Yes, I took some risks for our family this time."
"It's good to travel around and have adventures when you're young, but a noble should also know how to take care of himself. What if something had gone wrong?"
I don't take risks because I want to.
I just tackle risks that I can handle to achieve great success.
"Isn't it the case that sometimes you have to take risks to rise higher? I just took steps to build my capabilities to be of more help to Your Grace the Duke."
"It's like you've smeared honey on your mouth."
He spoke as if I were a sycophant, but there was a smile on the Duke's lips.
"It's good not to fear danger, but refrain from reckless challenges. There's only a paper-thin difference between recklessness and courage."
"I'll keep that in mind."
As the Duke said, recklessness is sometimes easily confused with courage.
Courage is fighting to the end under rational calculation when there's a chance of winning, even if your legs are shaking with fear.
Recklessness is like rushing in without judging whether you can win or not against an opponent.
It's no different from trying to break a rock with an egg.
In any era, in any country, there are many young people who don't know the difference between courage and recklessness.
Such people generally can't avoid miserable ends.
"I called you urgently because I have good news for you."
I'm reaching marriageable age now, did he find a marriage partner for me?
As long as I live as a noble, I can't avoid a political marriage anyway.
I don't even hope for looks or anything, I just hope it's a woman who won't nag me too much.
I swallowed involuntarily.
"His Highness the Second Prince wants to see you."
When we hear the Second Prince, we often think of an ambitious person who wants to push aside the Crown Prince and ascend to the emperor's throne due to the influence of novels...
But the second princes and princes in various countries of the Albania continent are people with almost no ambition, unlike what we think.
More precisely, they pretend to have no interest in politics because they might receive a gift set of poisoned tea, the originator of radioactive tea, if they show ambition.
They thoroughly perform their role as tools of the emperor and crown prince.
If their older brother the crown prince is a suspicious person like Albert, they even act like a fool.
They do things like forcibly dragging maids or court ladies working in the palace to their room and raping them, getting slapped by the emperor and becoming the subject of gossip.
Such a Second Prince wants to see me?
'There must be the emperor's will behind this.'
"I don't quite understand why His Highness the Second Prince would be interested in a mere knight like me."
"Wasn't it thanks to you that we can extract a huge amount of steel in our Tuscan Empire? And you're the one standing out the most among the young nobles in the empire right now."
"Aren't there many other excellent people besides me?"
Hearing those words, the Duke snorted.
"Well, there are outstanding talents like Count Altina or the young master of the Viscount Cosimo family. Those young guys did directly command armies to capture enemy generals or greatly contribute to victory in battle using small units."
Just as in 21st century South Korea, there's a tendency to value judges or prosecutors who receive less than half the money more highly than technicians who receive 10 million won a month.
In our empire too, setting up military achievements is valued more highly than making a lot of money and revitalizing territories.
"But in the end, it's money that makes a strong army. You need to have a lot of money and prepare abundant food and resources to nurture strong soldiers. In that sense, I think you're the best."
The country that best proves these words of the Duke is the United States.
The United States is the richest country in the world.
They invest that money in soldiers to provide quality meals, cutting-edge weapons with performance incomparable to other countries, and nurture elite troops.
The United States, which has power beyond the Roman Empire, is said to have military capabilities that could win even if it fought alone against all other countries in the world.
"Let's stop the miscellaneous talk here, the imperial family is now starting to eye you. Whether you're a great merchant or a titled noble, if you want to rise higher, how you appear to His Highness the Second Prince is the most important thing right now."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"I believe you've understood everything up to this point."
The Second Prince is an employee tasked with checking what kind of person I am on behalf of the emperor.
And even in the 21st century, if you can't grease palms well or entertain high-ranking people before doing business, it's not uncommon for tens or hundreds of billions to evaporate.
I should think about how to gently rub the prince's palm first.
I need to start by giving a good impression first to pass the emperor's test or whatever and receive opportunities.
"Your Grace, does His Highness the Second Prince have anything he likes? Like hobbies?"
"Things His Highness likes. His Highness puts a lot of effort into hunting and martial arts training. I hear he's at a level that even the swordsmanship guild is in awe of."
The swordsmanship guild has many famous swordsmen as members.
So for those picky guys to be in awe of his swordsmanship?
He must be an incredible fitness enthusiast.
I can understand why the prince has become such an exercise addict.
'He must be under a lot of mental pressure and stress.'
"He must often eat foods that are good for the body."
In any era, there's no one who eats nourishing foods from a young age.
Unless it's chewing things like eel or garlic to enhance virility.
Based on this, it's fair to say that the Second Prince is a healthy person to the extent of being an incarnation of sexual desire.
He's probably also relieving the psychological burden that comes from being the Second Prince through sexual relations.
Even King Sejong and King Seongjong, who is called a sage king comparable to Sejong throughout the Joseon Dynasty, relieved stress through sexual desire.
"As it happens, I have something good besides seaweed."
Coffee, which is used as an aphrodisiac like chocolate in uncivilized Europe.
If they eat this and their mind becomes clear at night, they'll mistakenly think that tiger energy is rising in their body.
"I don't know how His Highness the Second Prince will test me, but I'm fully prepared to gain his favor."
And a few days later, the Duke took me to meet the Second Prince.
I wasn't so nervous that my chest felt like it would burst.
But my hands naturally clenched tightly.
**
As soon as he met the Second Prince, the Duke brought up light conversation.
"How is the sword I sent you last time? It's quite sturdy, forged with steel made using a new technique."
The Second Prince took the sword and started looking it up and down.
As if licking the naked body of a beauty.
"It's beautiful. It must have been tempered by folding good steel over and over again."
The Duke joked.
"I was certain Your Highness would understand the value of this sword."
"I have some expertise in swordsmanship, Duke."
Duke Visconti pointed at me and laughed heartily.
"We did work a bit more on the steel made using the method you devised, but Your Highness has acknowledged that the raw material itself is good."
I bowed my head in respect as if embarrassed by those words.
The Second Prince now turned his attention to me as well.
"So you're the second son of that Medici baron family. I hear you came up with cake, seaweed, and a new steelmaking method? I've been somewhat interested in you for a while."