All the important stories were shared at the negotiating table.
At dinner, the conversation between Philip IV and the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg was all about gossip and humor.
But the Grand Duke couldn't hide his hurt feelings at the negotiating table.
“Isn’t the greatest virtue of a monarch to be strict with himself and generous to those around him, following the teachings of Yesak’s Gon?”
It was a story that the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg had casually thrown out.
His ascetic grey eyes were simultaneously fixed on the goblet in Philip IV's hand, on Princess Auguste whom he was embracing far too closely, and on the great emerald ring shining on her finger.
It was as if he was criticizing her with his eyes, saying, 'Do you know how many soldiers could be equipped with weapons if you sold just one emerald ring?'
But Philip IV answered shamelessly without even blinking an eye.
“That’s right. Frugality and economy are the greatest virtues of a virtuous monarch.”
Princess Auguste added with a smile.
“Frugality and economy should always be a habit, no matter where you are. It is the same even when preparing for battle or war. If a ruler is capable and meticulous, wouldn’t he be able to achieve the best results with a small amount of money?”
She told him not to expect to receive a lot of war funds and to manage it well with what be had. If he can't do it, it's because he's incompetent.
As the expression of the Archduke of Yuldenburg distorted, the one who came forward as a relief force was Prince Alfonso, who had been sitting with his mouth shut like a barley sack that had been left lying around.
“I think there is something special about war. It is because it encourages subordinates to risk their lives for their country and their monarch. If the people who sacrifice themselves are not treated with great respect, who will step forward for their monarch, their country, and their people?”
Princess Auguste glared fiercely at Prince Alfonso.
It was an attitude that could not hide, or rather did not hide, one's feelings of resentment.
She had been rude to the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg, but never this rude.
Prince Alfonso's displeasure, which had once been irritated by the use of rattan gore, only grew worse.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg smiled and agreed with Prince Alfonso.
“Once a fraud is broken, it cannot be stopped, and once trust is broken, it takes a great price to put it back. It may even be impossible. If you are going to bestow grace, do it in a big way, and its fame will spread throughout the Central Continent, not, throughout the entire world of the Yesak Sect.”
Philip answered with a smooth face.
“That’s a good point. I’ll consider it.”
Then Alfonso added a word.
It was a feminine tone, but considering the timing of the conversation, it wasn't feminine at all.
“A monarch also must protect his subordinates.”
Philip answered with a smiling face like a mask.
“That is what a great monarch should do, young cousin.”
Little cousin, little Prince. I'm dying to cut you down.
Although Alfonso was eager to protest the injustice of Philip's words, he showed no sign of it and moved on to the next story without hesitation.
“Your Majesty Philip IV, will you help your bloodline become a great monarch?”
Philip IV's eyes were wrinkled like a crow's eye. He was smiling.
Auguste was impressed. She abhorred any action that might be a burden to her brother.
But now she is in front of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg. Auguste pauses for a moment.
Philip IV was also conscious of the eyes of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg. He answered kindly.
“Let me see if there’s anything I can do.”
“I have heard that my knight is under Your Majesty’s wing.”
“Was there such a person?”
Philip frowned. Alfonso spoke clearly.
“He is the knight sent by Etruscan together with Princess Valoa, Lady Lariesa, when she returned. His name is Elko. He is 23 years old. He has gray hair and...”
When it seemed that Alfonso would not go away easily, Philip IV stopped pretending not to notice and waved his hand in annoyance.
“Ah, ah. I remember. He's the criminal brought in on suspicion of murdering the Duke of Mireille.”
“Has he been found guilty?”
Alfonso knew this from the information he received from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
Sir Elko never confessed, and there was no formal trial or other final judgment in the Kingdom of Gallico after that.
“Since there is a sin, isn’t it that they sent him from the Etruscan kingdom?”
Philip tried to slip away, but Alfonso was persistent and wouldn't let him go.
“No. The Etruscan kingdom had no time to prove that Sir Elko was guilty. It was only because the Gallico kingdom requested it that the investigation and trial proceedings were delegated to the Gallico kingdom. The Etruscan kingdom did not establish anything.”
"However?"
“Even in Gallico, you could not find out his guilt.”
Philip opened his narrow, long eyes and glared at Alfonso. His gaze was like a snake's.
Alfonso glared at Philip without giving in. Auguste looked restless.
She knows her brother's temper. He shouldn't scratch like that.
He was an impatient and persistent man.
He was a great man who would pursue and receive resentment even if it took three generations.
Princess Auguste was worried that King Philip would upset the table, but instead, he burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
The Archduke of Yuldenburg's gaze swept over Philip IV.
And King Philip, of course, knew that too.
The Grand Duke of Yuldenburg was highly regarded among the Catholic monarchs for his faithfulness.
It is not known whether Pope Louis, who lived like a fox that lived in a cave for 100 years, truly held the faithful in high esteem, but he was a man who lived according to the duty of an ecclesiastical monarch who even treated the faithful with favor.
His own reputation would be determined to a large extent by the words of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg.
“It is touching to see you care for your subordinates. You will become a good ruler in the future.”
“He is a loyal friend to me and a friend who grew up with me... If he has not been found guilty yet, I hope you can give him back to me.”
“That’s not right..!”
Philippe raised his left hand to stop Auguste, who was getting angry.
“Auguste.”
Princess Auguste, who had been so proud, immediately fell silent like a docile lamb at a single word from Philip IV.
“...Yes, I am a generous monarch.”
Considering what Alfonso would soon give him, it really didn't matter whether he gave him one knight or not.
If he were to be released as the culprit for the murder of Duke Mireille, it was expected that there would be opposition from the Duke's faction, but after the Duke himself died, his faction had failed to unite and had become a ragtag group.
His uncle, Archduke Oded, was also in a position where he could not go anywhere after he had been caught in the act of taking his daughter, Lariesa, away from the Etruscans.
Now Philip was at ease.
“The suspicion that he is a heinous criminal who murdered a high-ranking nobleman of a foreign country has not been cleared. However, I highly respect my cousin's feelings for his subordinates.”
Prince Alfonso waited silently for the remaining words of Philip IV.
“I’ll give him back to you. I’ll send him to your residence.”
Prince Alfonso's face brightened. But then Princess Auguste's sharp voice came flying in.
“Doesn’t the Etruscan palace teach gratitude? Even though my brother is so gracious as to release a sinner!”
Alfonso would like to protest here that 'Sir Elko is not a criminal', but this is the center of the enemy's territory.
Besides, he had just received word that Elko Sir would be returned.
If he keeps doing whatever he wants, Sir Elko may end up rotting away in the dungeons of the Kingdom of Gallico.
The Prince, who had been taken hostage, gritted his teeth and slowly spat out each sentence.
“Philip IV, I thank you for your grace.”
Philip answered with a pleased smile.
“No, I am truly honored to be able to help my young cousin take his first step as a monarch. Please become a good lord.”
“...Yes.”
And the Archduke of Yuldenburg of Sternheim was watching with a watchful eye the cycle of humiliation of the Etruscan Prince that Philip IV and Princess Auguste were carrying out together.
Sir Elko was handed over to Prince Alfonso late that evening, immediately after dinner.
Sir Manfredi, who had been told that Sir Elko would return, also waited for Sir Elko in Prince Alfonso's room.
Alfonso thought that when he met Sir Elko, he would immediately embrace him.
Elko was like the older brother Alfonso had.
As a knight six years older than him, he always waited patiently for young Alfonso and silently took care of the little things that Alfonso did not have time to take care of.
Alfonso promised that he would welcome back his brother-like friend by embracing him and congratulating him on his hard work.
But Alfonso couldn't say anything, let alone congratulate Sir Elko, as he watched him enter the residence.
He walked with a limp as if he had been struggling and with an unbalanced gait.
But that wasn't the first thing that caught my eye.
“Elko... Your arm...”
His high self-esteem as a knight came from his quick and precise arm movements.
Sir Elko's right arm, which had been long and muscular and strong, was cut off from below the shoulder and was nothing.
“No way... Eyes too?”
Behind him, Sir Manfredi muttered in surprise as he looked at Sir Elko's left eye, which was unnaturally closed.
There was fat on the eyelids, and the area underneath where the eyeballs should be was sunken.
Sir Elko slowly raised his head and looked at Prince Alfonso, blinking once, opening and closing his eyes.
The orbit beneath his dry left eyelid was empty.
Alfonso couldn't stand it anymore and raised his voice.
“Those guys, those guys tortured you!”
“The right arm was torture.”
It was a deep, muffled voice. It almost sounded like phlegm was boiling.
“Galicco’s enemies were gradually eliminated, starting from the tips of his fingers. I will never forget their faces until the day I die.”
Sir Elko's voice was low as if a child had cried out in surprise, and as if the life had been drained from it, but at the same time it had a strange power.
“It wasn’t necessarily their fault that I lost my left eye. I was hit with a club and a piece of wood flew into my eye. It got infected and I lost it.”
Elko originally had a calm personality. But now, something inside him seemed to have died.
“Philip you son of a bitch...!!!”
Prince Alfonso shouted in anger, paying no attention to the guards on Gallico's side.
The reality that he could do nothing but scream fueled his anger.
“Rotten, rotten, mortal enemies who can’t even share the same sky!”
Sir Manfredi was speechless and just stood there silently, blinking.
Because he knew that no words could comfort Sir Elko.
Some knights successfully return to battle even after losing one eye.
Some knights lose their right hand and use their weapons with their left hand.
But neither of them had ever heard of a knight returning to the battlefield after being disabled. Elko's life as a knight was over.
“Your Highness.”
Sir Elko called Alfonso in a low voice. Alfonso looked at Sir Elko with reddened eyes.
“I am satisfied.”
He continued speaking slowly.
“I’m just happy to have survived.”
Moisture began to form in Elko's one remaining eye.
“I can no longer hold a sword, but I have escaped with my life, and I will teach those sons of Gallico an example by any means I can.”
The moisture soon turned into tears and flowed down his cheeks.
“And I am deeply touched that the Prince did not forget me and came to see me. I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life.”
Alfonso just broke down here.
“Elko...!”
Alfonso approached Sir Elko, crawling on his knees and hugging his torso.
“It’s all my fault that you ended up like this.”
Hot tears flowed from his eyes too.
“Thank you to me, that’s ridiculous. I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
Sir Elko shook his head.
Despite his gaunt, gaunt neck and sunken cheeks, his nods had the strange strength of a feverish man.
“It’s not the Prince’s fault. It was my choice to protect that woman.”
His word choice was subtly different from before: from 'him' to 'that woman.'
“I know very well how many lords throw away their men like old shoes. My loyalty to Prince Alfonso will never change.”
At dinner, the conversation between Philip IV and the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg was all about gossip and humor.
But the Grand Duke couldn't hide his hurt feelings at the negotiating table.
“Isn’t the greatest virtue of a monarch to be strict with himself and generous to those around him, following the teachings of Yesak’s Gon?”
It was a story that the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg had casually thrown out.
His ascetic grey eyes were simultaneously fixed on the goblet in Philip IV's hand, on Princess Auguste whom he was embracing far too closely, and on the great emerald ring shining on her finger.
It was as if he was criticizing her with his eyes, saying, 'Do you know how many soldiers could be equipped with weapons if you sold just one emerald ring?'
But Philip IV answered shamelessly without even blinking an eye.
“That’s right. Frugality and economy are the greatest virtues of a virtuous monarch.”
Princess Auguste added with a smile.
“Frugality and economy should always be a habit, no matter where you are. It is the same even when preparing for battle or war. If a ruler is capable and meticulous, wouldn’t he be able to achieve the best results with a small amount of money?”
She told him not to expect to receive a lot of war funds and to manage it well with what be had. If he can't do it, it's because he's incompetent.
As the expression of the Archduke of Yuldenburg distorted, the one who came forward as a relief force was Prince Alfonso, who had been sitting with his mouth shut like a barley sack that had been left lying around.
“I think there is something special about war. It is because it encourages subordinates to risk their lives for their country and their monarch. If the people who sacrifice themselves are not treated with great respect, who will step forward for their monarch, their country, and their people?”
Princess Auguste glared fiercely at Prince Alfonso.
It was an attitude that could not hide, or rather did not hide, one's feelings of resentment.
She had been rude to the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg, but never this rude.
Prince Alfonso's displeasure, which had once been irritated by the use of rattan gore, only grew worse.
Meanwhile, the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg smiled and agreed with Prince Alfonso.
“Once a fraud is broken, it cannot be stopped, and once trust is broken, it takes a great price to put it back. It may even be impossible. If you are going to bestow grace, do it in a big way, and its fame will spread throughout the Central Continent, not, throughout the entire world of the Yesak Sect.”
Philip answered with a smooth face.
“That’s a good point. I’ll consider it.”
Then Alfonso added a word.
It was a feminine tone, but considering the timing of the conversation, it wasn't feminine at all.
“A monarch also must protect his subordinates.”
Philip answered with a smiling face like a mask.
“That is what a great monarch should do, young cousin.”
Little cousin, little Prince. I'm dying to cut you down.
Although Alfonso was eager to protest the injustice of Philip's words, he showed no sign of it and moved on to the next story without hesitation.
“Your Majesty Philip IV, will you help your bloodline become a great monarch?”
Philip IV's eyes were wrinkled like a crow's eye. He was smiling.
Auguste was impressed. She abhorred any action that might be a burden to her brother.
But now she is in front of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg. Auguste pauses for a moment.
Philip IV was also conscious of the eyes of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg. He answered kindly.
“Let me see if there’s anything I can do.”
“I have heard that my knight is under Your Majesty’s wing.”
“Was there such a person?”
Philip frowned. Alfonso spoke clearly.
“He is the knight sent by Etruscan together with Princess Valoa, Lady Lariesa, when she returned. His name is Elko. He is 23 years old. He has gray hair and...”
When it seemed that Alfonso would not go away easily, Philip IV stopped pretending not to notice and waved his hand in annoyance.
“Ah, ah. I remember. He's the criminal brought in on suspicion of murdering the Duke of Mireille.”
“Has he been found guilty?”
Alfonso knew this from the information he received from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
Sir Elko never confessed, and there was no formal trial or other final judgment in the Kingdom of Gallico after that.
“Since there is a sin, isn’t it that they sent him from the Etruscan kingdom?”
Philip tried to slip away, but Alfonso was persistent and wouldn't let him go.
“No. The Etruscan kingdom had no time to prove that Sir Elko was guilty. It was only because the Gallico kingdom requested it that the investigation and trial proceedings were delegated to the Gallico kingdom. The Etruscan kingdom did not establish anything.”
"However?"
“Even in Gallico, you could not find out his guilt.”
Philip opened his narrow, long eyes and glared at Alfonso. His gaze was like a snake's.
Alfonso glared at Philip without giving in. Auguste looked restless.
She knows her brother's temper. He shouldn't scratch like that.
He was an impatient and persistent man.
He was a great man who would pursue and receive resentment even if it took three generations.
Princess Auguste was worried that King Philip would upset the table, but instead, he burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
The Archduke of Yuldenburg's gaze swept over Philip IV.
And King Philip, of course, knew that too.
The Grand Duke of Yuldenburg was highly regarded among the Catholic monarchs for his faithfulness.
It is not known whether Pope Louis, who lived like a fox that lived in a cave for 100 years, truly held the faithful in high esteem, but he was a man who lived according to the duty of an ecclesiastical monarch who even treated the faithful with favor.
His own reputation would be determined to a large extent by the words of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg.
“It is touching to see you care for your subordinates. You will become a good ruler in the future.”
“He is a loyal friend to me and a friend who grew up with me... If he has not been found guilty yet, I hope you can give him back to me.”
“That’s not right..!”
Philippe raised his left hand to stop Auguste, who was getting angry.
“Auguste.”
Princess Auguste, who had been so proud, immediately fell silent like a docile lamb at a single word from Philip IV.
“...Yes, I am a generous monarch.”
Considering what Alfonso would soon give him, it really didn't matter whether he gave him one knight or not.
If he were to be released as the culprit for the murder of Duke Mireille, it was expected that there would be opposition from the Duke's faction, but after the Duke himself died, his faction had failed to unite and had become a ragtag group.
His uncle, Archduke Oded, was also in a position where he could not go anywhere after he had been caught in the act of taking his daughter, Lariesa, away from the Etruscans.
Now Philip was at ease.
“The suspicion that he is a heinous criminal who murdered a high-ranking nobleman of a foreign country has not been cleared. However, I highly respect my cousin's feelings for his subordinates.”
Prince Alfonso waited silently for the remaining words of Philip IV.
“I’ll give him back to you. I’ll send him to your residence.”
Prince Alfonso's face brightened. But then Princess Auguste's sharp voice came flying in.
“Doesn’t the Etruscan palace teach gratitude? Even though my brother is so gracious as to release a sinner!”
Alfonso would like to protest here that 'Sir Elko is not a criminal', but this is the center of the enemy's territory.
Besides, he had just received word that Elko Sir would be returned.
If he keeps doing whatever he wants, Sir Elko may end up rotting away in the dungeons of the Kingdom of Gallico.
The Prince, who had been taken hostage, gritted his teeth and slowly spat out each sentence.
“Philip IV, I thank you for your grace.”
Philip answered with a pleased smile.
“No, I am truly honored to be able to help my young cousin take his first step as a monarch. Please become a good lord.”
“...Yes.”
And the Archduke of Yuldenburg of Sternheim was watching with a watchful eye the cycle of humiliation of the Etruscan Prince that Philip IV and Princess Auguste were carrying out together.
***
Sir Elko was handed over to Prince Alfonso late that evening, immediately after dinner.
Sir Manfredi, who had been told that Sir Elko would return, also waited for Sir Elko in Prince Alfonso's room.
Alfonso thought that when he met Sir Elko, he would immediately embrace him.
Elko was like the older brother Alfonso had.
As a knight six years older than him, he always waited patiently for young Alfonso and silently took care of the little things that Alfonso did not have time to take care of.
Alfonso promised that he would welcome back his brother-like friend by embracing him and congratulating him on his hard work.
But Alfonso couldn't say anything, let alone congratulate Sir Elko, as he watched him enter the residence.
He walked with a limp as if he had been struggling and with an unbalanced gait.
But that wasn't the first thing that caught my eye.
“Elko... Your arm...”
His high self-esteem as a knight came from his quick and precise arm movements.
Sir Elko's right arm, which had been long and muscular and strong, was cut off from below the shoulder and was nothing.
“No way... Eyes too?”
Behind him, Sir Manfredi muttered in surprise as he looked at Sir Elko's left eye, which was unnaturally closed.
There was fat on the eyelids, and the area underneath where the eyeballs should be was sunken.
Sir Elko slowly raised his head and looked at Prince Alfonso, blinking once, opening and closing his eyes.
The orbit beneath his dry left eyelid was empty.
Alfonso couldn't stand it anymore and raised his voice.
“Those guys, those guys tortured you!”
“The right arm was torture.”
It was a deep, muffled voice. It almost sounded like phlegm was boiling.
“Galicco’s enemies were gradually eliminated, starting from the tips of his fingers. I will never forget their faces until the day I die.”
Sir Elko's voice was low as if a child had cried out in surprise, and as if the life had been drained from it, but at the same time it had a strange power.
“It wasn’t necessarily their fault that I lost my left eye. I was hit with a club and a piece of wood flew into my eye. It got infected and I lost it.”
Elko originally had a calm personality. But now, something inside him seemed to have died.
“Philip you son of a bitch...!!!”
Prince Alfonso shouted in anger, paying no attention to the guards on Gallico's side.
The reality that he could do nothing but scream fueled his anger.
“Rotten, rotten, mortal enemies who can’t even share the same sky!”
Sir Manfredi was speechless and just stood there silently, blinking.
Because he knew that no words could comfort Sir Elko.
Some knights successfully return to battle even after losing one eye.
Some knights lose their right hand and use their weapons with their left hand.
But neither of them had ever heard of a knight returning to the battlefield after being disabled. Elko's life as a knight was over.
“Your Highness.”
Sir Elko called Alfonso in a low voice. Alfonso looked at Sir Elko with reddened eyes.
“I am satisfied.”
He continued speaking slowly.
“I’m just happy to have survived.”
Moisture began to form in Elko's one remaining eye.
“I can no longer hold a sword, but I have escaped with my life, and I will teach those sons of Gallico an example by any means I can.”
The moisture soon turned into tears and flowed down his cheeks.
“And I am deeply touched that the Prince did not forget me and came to see me. I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life.”
Alfonso just broke down here.
“Elko...!”
Alfonso approached Sir Elko, crawling on his knees and hugging his torso.
“It’s all my fault that you ended up like this.”
Hot tears flowed from his eyes too.
“Thank you to me, that’s ridiculous. I should be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
Sir Elko shook his head.
Despite his gaunt, gaunt neck and sunken cheeks, his nods had the strange strength of a feverish man.
“It’s not the Prince’s fault. It was my choice to protect that woman.”
His word choice was subtly different from before: from 'him' to 'that woman.'
“I know very well how many lords throw away their men like old shoes. My loyalty to Prince Alfonso will never change.”
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