Chapter 68
Jade, having finished up the affairs in his territory, traveled at a leisurely pace.
Since he had left Baden Village, he took the opportunity to slowly tour the marquisate.
As he did so, Jade distributed the wealth he had taken from the bandits’ den.
He returned it, at least to some extent, to the subjects who had suffered because of the bandits.
He even reduced their taxes a little, though only for this year.
As a result, he arrived at the royal palace almost exactly in time for the crown prince’s birthday.
“It’s still magnificent.”
“Isn’t this rather modest by comparison? I think it was more splendid at the ennoblement ceremony.”
“Thanks for applauding me back then.”
“I wanted to make it a little special. My kin felt the same way. We’re comrades in arms, after all.”
Holding a wineglass, Arrelia smiled brightly.
It was a carbonated drink like sparkling wine, and perhaps because it was sweet, most of the women at the banquet, including Arrelia, were drinking it.
Its pale ruby color also made it quite pretty.
“We are.”
“Then why aren’t you drinking? Someone at your level can expel alcohol as easily as anything, can’t you?”
“It’s not to my taste.”
Unlike everyone else, who was casually enjoying alcohol, Jade was drinking only fruit juice.
He simply did not care for low-proof alcohol.
Besides, he was not the sort of person who mixed and drank various kinds of alcohol.
‘I’m not picky about food, but on days like this, I really crave soju.’
Soju was far from what anyone would call delicious, yet it had a strangely alluring appeal that made him crave it.
It contained not even the slightest hint of sweetness, yet on some days, its aftertaste strangely seemed sweet.
Arpedia had distilled spirits as well, but not a single one tasted anything like soju.
Vodka came the closest, but unfortunately there was nothing like tonic water to mix it with, so Jade simply gave up on the idea.
“What kind do you like?”
“Something with a peculiar bitterness, I suppose.”
“Vodka?”
“That’s too strong. I have my own preferences.”
“Hmm.”
Arrelia scratched her chin with her index finger.
She was trying to think of a drink among those she knew that might be similar.
“There you are, Marquis Jade.”
“It has been a while, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Hearing the familiar voice behind him, Jade bowed politely.
Arrelia, on the other hand, merely waved a hand.
To her, a war elf, Lloyd was neither the king’s representative nor the crown prince, but simply a human, so she greeted him casually.
“I came too, Marquis Jade. Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard bits and pieces about you, Marquis. I’m sorry about what happened this time. The royal family personally selected and dispatched those people with the utmost care, yet they committed such a thing.”
Rainey, who had matured somewhat in the time they had not seen each other, offered a polite apology.
Lloyd’s expression beside her hardened as well.
He too had been furious after receiving the report.
In a sense, it was tantamount to staining the royal family’s name.
“It’s all right. Humans are perfectly capable of such things. Some never change, but others do.”
“That’s exactly right. From what I hear, the bandits approached them first. Few people could remain unmoved when someone came on that strong. Well, the bandits probably knew they had that sort of inclination from the start.”
“I’m still sorry.”
Rainey apologized once again.
Regardless, despite promising to manage things properly, they had in fact failed to do so.
“It really is all right. Alfredo has decided to pay closer attention from now on.”
“I’ll pay closer attention too.”
Rainey’s eyes shone.
Until now, she had neglected Jade’s affairs while helping her younger brother, who had become the king’s representative.
She had trusted the personnel as well, since they had been carefully selected.
But this incident had made one thing perfectly clear to Rainey and Lloyd.
It was foolish to trust people to the very end simply because they were your own people.
And that they could turn against you at any time.
Loyalty and betrayal were two sides of the same coin.
Depending on one’s intentions, either could easily turn into the other.
“It’s late, but this is a present.”
“It’s quite large.”
Anticipation showed on Lloyd’s face.
He had already received gifts from countless nobles, but Jade’s present could not be compared with theirs.
Thus, Lloyd accepted the gift Jade handed him without bothering to hide his anticipation.
“It’s not heavy.”
“Haha, I’ve been training hard in martial arts lately, too. I’ve also been diligently practicing my mana cultivation method. Marquis Haines says I might even reach Expert before the end of this year.”
Lloyd put on a deliberately arrogant expression.
Considering his age, his talent was not bad at all.
He had a solid foundation to begin with.
“You certainly have changed. Your mana capacity, at least.”
“Ugh!”
Arrelia’s remark struck Lloyd squarely in the solar plexus, and he groaned.
Since there was no room to refute it, he could not even offer an excuse.
“At least you’re not making excuses.”
“It’s true that becoming the king’s representative has given me a lot more work, but it’s not as though I’m completely unable to train. They’re all just excuses and pretexts.”
“So you didn’t just grow taller.”
“Hahaha, I’m the king’s representative now, after all. I have to be different from the crown prince.”
“How is your father?”
Arrelia looked around the banquet hall.
But the king was nowhere to be seen.
Just as when she had come last time.
“……He’s in very bad shape. He spends almost all of the day asleep.”
“Good heavens.”
“But his mind is still sound. The priest did tell us to prepare ourselves, though.”
“I see.”
“He is quite old, after all.”
Seeing Arrelia’s expression grow heavy, Lloyd spoke in a deliberately cheerful tone.
It was not as though this was a matter of just a day or two, and he saw no need to darken the mood.
Besides, it was his birthday today.
For that reason, he wanted to stop talking about heavy matters.
“It’s been a while, Marquis Jade.”
“Have you been well, Marquis Haines?”
“As you can see, I’ve been frantically busy. Every day, I wish I had two bodies.”
“I heard you’re raising disciples.”
“It would be wonderful if you came to the royal palace, Marquis.”
Haines said it with a laugh.
But he was only half joking.
The royal family’s safety would be guaranteed simply by having Jade in the royal palace.
“I’m glad to see you looking so healthy.”
“Tsk! You aren’t even considering it.”
Haines made a face full of disappointment.
He couldn’t say he hadn’t expected this, but disappointment was still disappointment.
Lloyd and Rainey, however, were not disappointed.
They had expected it, so they merely smiled calmly.
“Shall we open it, then?”
After Haines returned from checking the banquet hall’s security and took up a position behind them, Lloyd eagerly tore open the wrapping.
It was Jade, of all people, so he was curious what sort of gift it might be.
“I’m curious too.”
Rainey leaned forward, her face full of curiosity.
Soon, the wrapping came off, revealing a sleek bow.
It was smaller than Arrelia’s longbow, but its bowstave was thicker, making it look sturdier.
“Th-this is!”
“It’s a bow made from Black Drake bone. You probably won’t use it often, but I thought it might come in handy if you had one. I understand you’ve also been learning archery.”
“I’ll put it to good use!”
“It’s amazing.”
Lloyd’s eyes sparkled.
His expression made it clear that he truly loved it.
Perhaps because of that, Lloyd forgot he was in the banquet hall and drew the bowstring.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. Hahaha!”
The bowstring did not budge even when he pulled it, so Lloyd answered with an embarrassed laugh.
Rainey, unaware of the reason, tilted her head.
Then, steeling himself, Lloyd took a deep breath and summoned his mana.
He used mana because pulling it with strength alone was difficult.
Whoosh.
Perhaps because he was using mana, the bowstring began to draw back, albeit slowly.
Lloyd’s face, however, turned bright red.
“It looks like you’ll need some time before you can use the present.”
“N-no, that’s not it!”
“It certainly looks like it. Your face looks ready to burst. That string is a tendon too, right?”
Arrelia snickered as she spoke.
Anyone could see how hard he was struggling.
It was so obvious that even Rainey covered her mouth with her hand.
“Yeah. If I’m going to make one, I might as well make it properly. It’s not as if I lack materials.”
“You’ll have to practice a lot.”
“……I’ll have to cut down on my sleeping time.”
Lloyd, unable to draw the bowstring all the way to its limit, wore a crestfallen expression.
His confidence from moments earlier had melted away like snow, leaving only a look of self-loathing.
Yet deep in his eyes, there was a fierce determination.
A determination to use it no matter what.
“There you are, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Duke Scissors.”
“I apologize for being late. Something urgent came up that I had to deal with.”
“I understand. I’ve received a report that the desert tribes have been making suspicious moves of late.”
The still-dashing Duke Scissors came over to join them.
But unlike last time, his children were with him as well.
“This is a gift.”
“Thank you.”
“It has been a while, Princess Rainey. And it has been a while since I saw you as well, Sir Haines. I heard you are teaching your juniors.”
“Yes.”
Unlike Rainey, who merely bowed her head in silent greeting, Haines gave a brief reply.
At the same time, he looked at Duke Scissors with a deep, penetrating gaze.
Yet even under Haines’s penetrating gaze, a relaxed smile remained at the corners of Duke Scissors’s mouth.
“You must be Lady Arrelia. It is an honor to meet you.”
“Me too.”
At her abrupt use of informal speech, Duke Scissors’s attendants flinched.
Everyone was startled because she had spoken down to him so casually.
However, they fell silent at Duke Scissors’s gesture.
“I hear you are staying in Marquis Kang’s territory.”
“That’s right. I wanted to see the Great Forest in person.”
“Please visit my territory sometime as well. It may not be as impressive as the Great Forest, but there is surprisingly much to see. We even have a desert.”
“I’ll think about it.”
It was an ambiguous answer, but Duke Scissors maintained his usual relaxed attitude.
As if it did not matter even if she refused.
“It has been a while, Marquis Jade.”
“Yes.”
“I heard what happened. The beastfolk invaded.”
“It just happened that way.”
“That’s a rare occurrence. What a fascinating thing.”
Finally, Duke Scissors’s gaze fell on Jade.
Surprisingly, despite Jade’s having declined his invitation, Duke Scissors did not act offended.
Instead, he offered a word of consolation.
“I was surprised myself.”
“Still, I’m glad it seems to have ended well. Ah, these are my children.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Roden Scissors.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Lauren Scissors.”
At Duke Scissors’s words, the siblings greeted them in turn.
Both possessed extraordinary features inherited from their father, but their auras were completely different.
Roden, who appeared to be the older brother, stared at him with a distinctly provocative gaze, while curiosity lingered in Lauren’s eyes.
“Pleasure to meet you.”
“I’ve personally wanted to meet you very much, Marquis Kang.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You’re Marquis Kang, a man renowned even for your swordsmanship. So, if it wouldn’t be an imposition, could you teach me a thing or two?”
At Roden’s words, everyone’s gaze turned in this direction.
Even though they had been conversing while listening to soft music, most of the nobles had been listening in.
“You’re going too far, Young Master Roden. Surely you know what sort of occasion this is.”
“I apologize, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I thought this might be my only chance to meet Marquis Kang.”
Roden apologized to Lloyd, who had spoken in a calm but authoritative voice.
Yet his eyes told a different story.
He stared at Jade without concealing his provocative intent.
“I don’t mind. I think it would make decent entertainment. Besides, Young Master Roden is a promising swordsman who will go on to bring glory to the kingdom, isn’t he?”