Chapter 229
With Crevasse as his mode of transport, Joshua had already arrived at the Imperial Palace of Avalon, and the entire journey only took him half the day upon receiving Emperor Marcus’ summons.
Meanwhile, Icarus and Cain set out at the same time but they had only just made their way out of Aiden Gorge.
They were currently in the largest nearby city of Anorad. Anorad was a city with the second-highest income tax throughout the empire, second only to Shardi, the city within the territory of the Pontier Family.
“The people here look livelier than I expected. I guess this is all because their ruthless lord, who has been taxing them so heavily, is no more,” said Icarus as she looked around the bustling and lively city.
On the other side of the road, a woman was walking down the street with a basket. Children were weaving in and out of the alleys, and there were even people sitting on the streets hawking their goods.
They were minding their own businesses, but they all had something in common. Their faces were bright. Icarus could have never imagined that a territory that had just lost in a territorial war would be so bustling and lively.
“Count Rebrecca’s territory wasn’t like this.”
“Yes?”
“Count Rebrecca fought fiercely, but he still lost in the end. If you walked down the streets of Count Rebrecca’s territory, then you would see armed soldiers who weren’t there yesterday. Yes, the Imperial Law exists, and it protects Avalon’s citizens, but the weak will still worry about their safety,” said Cain with a grim look.
“Marquis Crombell stepped up and gave them respite. When he arrived, he lowered the income taxes and promised that they would remain unscathed…Ordinary citizens don’t really care about their lord’s inner thoughts. It’s what they see that matters,” Cain’s eyes gleamed coldly as he continued. “A nobleman can say that he would sacrifice even his limbs for his people but do all kinds of atrocious things in secret. It’s horrible, but politics had always been like that.”
“Sir Cain…”
“Marquis Crombell is a typical nobleman. This place is safe to live in, and because the taxes are low, there will be no shortage of people willing to settle here. Soon, the people will get used to the status quo, and Marquis Crombell would then swoop in.”
“He would suck the city dry, and once he was done, he would then leave the city in ruins similar to the old Rebrecca territory. In other words, a noble’s common modus operandi when it comes to dealing with captured territories is like rearing pigs for slaughter.”
“...” Icarus didn’t know what to say as she stared at Cain’s face. She had never expected that Cain was capable of saying such profound words. After all, Cain had always been the type of person who would rather use his fists rather than his brain.
‘Viscount Harry,’?Icarus muttered to herself. Ten years ago, Bron de Harry, Cain’s father, rose to the aristocracy as an administrator, not a knight. In fact, he was later promoted to count, making him the only man to attain that rank through sheer administrative talent.
However, the Harry family was not a count’s house. Dozens of nobles rose and fell every year, and the Harry house was not fortunate enough to retain its position in the capital. Their estate was far from Arcadia. It was in a barren land to the northwest.
It was puzzling why their estate was located so far. Icarus couldn’t help but think whether it was some sort of punishment or if the place was truly their hometown.
Staring at Cain, Icarus couldn’t help but think that the matter was more than what met the eyes.
“Did I ruin the mood? Why does the pretty lady look so pensive?” Cain asked, wearing his usual smile again.
.
“Nothing, really. Well, it doesn’t matter.”
“Anyway, if you get what I’m saying, then could you postpone the announcement? It will just bring about unnecessary panic for these people here.”
Icarus lowered her head and said, “As I said, I didn’t think it would turn out this way. I just thought that there might be another traitor. Unlike the Rebrecca family, the vassals didn’t band together; yet, this place hasn’t been gutted.”
“Indeed,” Cain nodded firmly and replied. “However, even after restoring the territory from all the damages, the Pontier Family would not be able to continue its name as one of the five ducal families. After all, they can’t be depending on the Mercenary Guild indefinitely.”
“I guess so…” A bitter expression appeared on Icarus’ face.
“Well, wouldn’t it be fine as long as Master marries Lady Charles?”
Icarus scowled.
“If the new Pontier family had our master as patriarch, they’d eclipse their former prestige—”
“No!” Icarus cut him off.
“I mean, Master is still a man, right? We really can’t say for sure,” Cain hurriedly explained.
“No is no. It’s impossible,” said Icarus.
“Anyway, Lady Charles is honestly a perfect match for Master. She’s a member of a prestigious family, and she’s gorgeous—I mean, just look at her body. Yes, especially her body.” Cain pointed out.
Icarus stared at Cain in disgust, as if she were looking at a bug.
“Honestly, Lady Charles is not good enough for our master.”
“Huh?” Cain asked, seemingly confused.
“He said that he wants to become the emperor, right?”
“Yeah, so he should aim to marry an actual princess?”
“That makes sense, but only if Master thinks of marriage as mere business transactions,” Icarus made a sidelong glance at Cain and shrugged before saying, ”I don’t really think that Master thinks of marriage that way.
Icarus saw the confusion on Cain’s face, so she changed the subject and looked up at the sky. “I didn't realize that it’s already this late.”
“You’re right now that you said it.”
“And did they say why they were going to follow us?”
“Um…” Cain bitterly smiled. “Actually, are you really a woman? And by any chance, you have a secret crush on Master? Is that why you are being like this?”
“Are you going to continue on like this?” Icarus said with a glare while raising her tiny clenched fist in front of Cain.
Tap!
Cain took a step back and hurriedly said, “Come on, I was just joking.”
“Anyway, they weren’t really saying anything, so how are we supposed to know? Besides, they have a lot of power in addition to our master’s backing, so they’re hardly normal people. There has to be something else we don’t know. Ask them yourself—Look, they are coming over.” Cain pointed to the other side of the road.
There stood a person covered from head to toe. They were already walking toward Icarus and Cain.
“Shall we?” asked Cain.
With that, the pair picked up their pace.
***
In the aftermath of Marquis Crombell’s arrest, the throne room was gripped by a terrible silence. Emperor Marcus sat broodingly upon his throne, and the nobles sitting at his flanks didn’t dare let out so much as a cough.
The silence was perfect.
The silence went on for so long that they had to stifle yawns before a servant’s voice interrupted the silence.
“Baron Sanders will now enter…”
The nobles watched intently as Joshua entered. Ash tiptoed after him, but no one was paying attention to him.
“I have returned after carrying out your orders, Your Majesty.” Joshua saluted the Emperor.
“You never fail to surprise me every time you stand before me. Now, I’m starting to get worried rather than interested in you.”
Worried? The proud emperor and sun of Avalon? The nobles’ eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as they stood rooted on the spot. They couldn’t believe it at all.
“Joshua Sanders.”
“...”
“I heard that your journey in Reinhardt went well. Did you bring the Wilhelm Knights along with you?”
“Well…”
“It looks like you didn’t bring them with you,” said Emperor Marcus. He didn’t even let Joshua explain his side. “Of course, you have made your own decision, and I won’t judge you for it.”
Joshua remained silent. In fact, he had no idea that the Emperor had issued a decree.
“I’m not going to be angry about the Wilhelm Knights entering my lands.”
“I thank Your Majesty’s grace.”
“At the same time, I will grant you the rank of Marquis for your contributions to Avalon’s glory.”
The nobles visibly stirred with surprise, and even Duke Agnus was blown away by the generous reward.
“This peerage will place you right below your father, Aden. No one has ever leaped from baron all the way to marquis until now. However…” Emperor Marcus trailed off.
The audience members held their breaths.
“Become my sword.”
“I am already Your Majesty’s sword,” Joshua answered amidst the silence.
“You know that’s not what I meant, right?”
“...” Joshua didn’t say anything in response.
The nobles remained silent as well, but Emperor Marcus’ next words shocked them to the core.
“If you want, I could give you my daughter’s hand in marriage, Serciarin.”
“...!” The nobles were beyond surprised, and it was all because they knew what Emperor Marcus’ words meant.
‘Great!’?Ash’s eyes twinkled. He had been following the situation closely, and he knew more than enough about human society to know that a marquis was a very
important position.
In addition, His Majesty the Emperor himself clearly wanted Joshua because he prepared to offer, even his daughter!
‘Agree! You have to agree! This is the time to agree!’
Ash’s hand itched to prod Joshua, but he managed to hold the urge down and rocked back on his heels instead. He was still running on adrenaline from kicking the doors open.
Unknowingly, Ash was already shaping up to be Joshua’s most faithful servant.
“Y-your Majesty…!” Duke Reye, the widely acclaimed smartest individual in Avalon, exclaimed. It seemed that he couldn’t take it anymore as he said, “I apologize for the interruption, but Her Highness’ health is…”
“In that case, it’s an even better deal.”
“I’m sorry?” Duke Reye was dumbfounded. He was the smartest, but even he was stumped by Emperor Marcus’ words.
“He doesn’t have to be bound to a dying princess. Once Serciarin signs the marriage contract, he will be a part of my Imperial Family, even after Serciarin passes on. He’s just a marquis, yes, but he can compete for the throne as well.”
“Even without my blood running through his veins, he will be allowed to compete with my sons for the throne,” said Emperor Marcus, dropping bombshells after another.
The throne room became wrapped in an absolute silence reminiscent of a region that had recently been devastated by a thunderstorm. The nobles fumbled to maintain their composure as they stood there trembling ever so slightly.
“How does that sound? It’s a straight trip past Duke Agnus and the other dukes. I am sure that you’re smart enough to know what that means…”
”Become my sword—the sword of Marcus ben Britten. Say yes, and everything that I said will be yours and even more to come.” Emperor Marcus folded his arms in front of his chest and stopped speaking. It was clear that he had already said everything.
Emperor Marcus seemed confident. As far as he was concerned, the offer he made was too sweet that no one could possibly refuse it. It didn’t matter even if the offer was made to Joshua, who seemed like he already had everything he needed.
Only a few seconds had passed, but it seemed like a few hours had passed before Joshua finally opened his mouth and spoke.
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