Plat looked back at her with a resentful heart, but Arkan's voice immediately grabbed him by the collar and turned him around.
"What happened that you forgot to knock? I'll listen and decide."
In other words, unless it was urgent, they would wait and see.
Arkan didn't usually scare people by beating around the bush like that, but right now, that was definitely what he meant... There was no way Plat, who had been working hard in the castle, would be so oblivious.
"Th, th... It's really urgent. Your Majesty, right now... Right now, Hirschsten's soldiers are outside the castle gates..."
Erdene's eyes flashed.
Plat, who had unconsciously rolled his eyes to check her, turned pale with a fierce gaze.
Arkan's expression was equally serious.
He reflexively stood in front of Erdene as if protecting her, blocked Plat's gaze, and spoke.
“You’re saying that you’re leading soldiers from the empire?”
“Ah! That... I, y-it seems that the messengers have arrived. But the soldiers... came armed. So right now, the commander of the knights of the palace... is waiting outside the palace with the remaining soldiers.”
Arkhan sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“Yes. Let’s go right away.”
At that moment, Erdene followed him and stood up from her seat.
“I’ll go with you.”
Arkan and Plat looked back at her at the same time.
“You too?”
“Yes.”
Erdene answered briefly, and after a while, she added, uncharacteristically, in a hushed tone.
“Because we don’t know what Tenek might do.”
Plat looked at Arkan with an expression that showed that he still didn’t trust her. He would probably just ignore such nonsense that didn’t even know the ‘foreign’ part of diplomacy. So that’s what happened...
“Yes, let’s do that. Let’s go together.”
Plat’s eyes widened. But neither Arkan nor Erdene paid him any attention anymore.
Arkan, who was about to step forward, said,
“Wait, you can’t do that in that outfit. It’s pajamas.”
“Who do you think is an idiot? It’s so crazy.”
Erdene, who had hurriedly changed her clothes with the help of Sophia and Anne, quickly got up from her seat, unable to wait for the time to put on her hair ornaments.
Thanks to this, Sophia had to follow her hurriedly and carefully put on her ornaments so that they wouldn’t get messed up.
Erdene, who was hurrying along the corridor toward the audience room, looked down at the palace courtyard through the large window.
Familiar flags, familiar armor, and armed figures... It should have been nostalgic, but now it was rather shocking.
“Oh my God, you’re really armed. Is this kid crazy?”
At the harsh curses that came out of Erdene’s mouth, Sophia glanced around the empty surroundings.
“Your Majesty, I don’t think that’s a very appropriate expression to use in the palace.”
“I’ll hold it in and say this.”
When she entered the audience room, Arkan was already sitting on the throne, receiving the messenger’s greetings.
The imperial messenger, who had been standing stiffly with an arrogant expression, glanced at Erdene and raised the corners of his mouth.
‘This kid looks familiar, but I don’t know where he’s been or what he’s been doing. I know he’s the type to stick with Tenek.’
If Arkan had heard, he would have been horrified and thought, ‘What if I use such an unpolished expression?’
Erdene sat down in her seat on the right side of the throne and stared at the messenger.
“I have come to greet the King of Vetor by order of His Majesty the Emperor Tenek Eshi Badd, the Emperor of the Hirschsten Empire who rules over light. I am Rolls, who has received the Emperor’s favor. I have come to Vetor for the eternal peace between the Empire and the Inner Alliance.”
Whether it was grease on his tongue or he had prepared in advance, his words were so slick that even a fly could slip by. Arkan nodded as if he was listening to him, and then said,
“It’s a bit late for that. As far as I know, the time difference between Hirschsten and Vetor isn’t that big.”
“I wanted to carry out my mission quickly, but I guess I was too eager.”
It was nonsense. Vetor hadn’t even heard that the Empire would send an envoy in the first place.
That alone would have been enough to cause international controversy, but the fact that a single envoy and armed soldiers, instead of several envoys, had entered the palace at dusk was even more serious.
Arkan said,
“My soldiers wouldn’t have opened the gates so easily.”
The imperial envoy, Rolls, said with a faint smile.
“Ah, yes. There was a slight misunderstanding. However, I had the order with His Majesty the Emperor’s seal.”
“The soldiers are a mess. They looked embarrassed in front of the disciplined imperial army.”
“Why would you say that? The inland kingdoms, including Vetor, are peaceful places. Isn’t their wealth and seclusion an advantage?”
Plat’s eyes widened. But neither Arkan nor Erdene paid him any attention anymore.
Arkan, who was about to step forward, said,
“Wait, you can’t do that in that outfit. It’s pajamas.”
“Who do you think is an idiot? It’s so crazy.”
***
Erdene, who had hurriedly changed her clothes with the help of Sophia and Anne, quickly got up from her seat, unable to wait for the time to put on her hair ornaments.
Thanks to this, Sophia had to follow her hurriedly and carefully put on her ornaments so that they wouldn’t get messed up.
Erdene, who was hurrying along the corridor toward the audience room, looked down at the palace courtyard through the large window.
Familiar flags, familiar armor, and armed figures... It should have been nostalgic, but now it was rather shocking.
“Oh my God, you’re really armed. Is this kid crazy?”
At the harsh curses that came out of Erdene’s mouth, Sophia glanced around the empty surroundings.
“Your Majesty, I don’t think that’s a very appropriate expression to use in the palace.”
“I’ll hold it in and say this.”
When she entered the audience room, Arkan was already sitting on the throne, receiving the messenger’s greetings.
The imperial messenger, who had been standing stiffly with an arrogant expression, glanced at Erdene and raised the corners of his mouth.
‘This kid looks familiar, but I don’t know where he’s been or what he’s been doing. I know he’s the type to stick with Tenek.’
If Arkan had heard, he would have been horrified and thought, ‘What if I use such an unpolished expression?’
Erdene sat down in her seat on the right side of the throne and stared at the messenger.
“I have come to greet the King of Vetor by order of His Majesty the Emperor Tenek Eshi Badd, the Emperor of the Hirschsten Empire who rules over light. I am Rolls, who has received the Emperor’s favor. I have come to Vetor for the eternal peace between the Empire and the Inner Alliance.”
Whether it was grease on his tongue or he had prepared in advance, his words were so slick that even a fly could slip by. Arkan nodded as if he was listening to him, and then said,
“It’s a bit late for that. As far as I know, the time difference between Hirschsten and Vetor isn’t that big.”
“I wanted to carry out my mission quickly, but I guess I was too eager.”
It was nonsense. Vetor hadn’t even heard that the Empire would send an envoy in the first place.
That alone would have been enough to cause international controversy, but the fact that a single envoy and armed soldiers, instead of several envoys, had entered the palace at dusk was even more serious.
Arkan said,
“My soldiers wouldn’t have opened the gates so easily.”
The imperial envoy, Rolls, said with a faint smile.
“Ah, yes. There was a slight misunderstanding. However, I had the order with His Majesty the Emperor’s seal.”
“The soldiers are a mess. They looked embarrassed in front of the disciplined imperial army.”
“Why would you say that? The inland kingdoms, including Vetor, are peaceful places. Isn’t their wealth and seclusion an advantage?”
It seemed as if he had come to harass or flirt rather than to meet the King of a country. All the while, he kept glancing at Erdene, probably to see how she would react and then report to Tenek when he returned to the empire to tell him everything.
‘I’m not that stupid,’
Erdene thought. So she left everything to Arkan and quietly kept her mouth shut.
However, she continued to glare at Rolls with eyes that seemed to devour him.
Rolls avoided Erdene’s gaze and took out a letter from his bosom.
“What’s that?”
“Ah, this is a letter from His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire to the King of Vetor.”
As Arkan nodded, Plat took the envelope from his hand. Arkan, who took out the letter after tearing off the seal that had been pressed too hard, couldn’t help but laugh.
Erdene, who was reading the letter next to him, was the same.
It was a diplomatic letter that only an Emperor would write, filled with flowery words and difficult words.
However, unlike most such letters that ended with a half-hearted greeting or a question about the state of affairs, Tenek’s letter had a clear purpose.
“You mean the food that the Allies are providing to the Empire is insufficient?”
Rolls said.
“I don’t know much about how the treasury works. I don’t know what His Majesty the Emperor said in that letter.”
He’s lying, Arkan thought. Tenek was shamelessly and slyly demanding more food.
The amount of food that the Allies had collected and shipped was by no means small.
Only then did Arkan realize why this snake-like messenger had been followed by armed soldiers.
It was clear from the start that the Emperor of Tenek was trying to discourage him.
“I can’t just let it go that easily,”
Arkan said, roughly folding the letter in his hand.
“I’ll consider it.”
“Oh, yes.”
Rolls judged that the situation was not favorable and took a step back.
However, this time, he turned his arrows toward Erdene.
“And also, His Majesty the Emperor has asked me to check in detail to see if our Highness the Princess is doing well in this unfamiliar environment.”
Erdene’s teeth cracked.
The moment she grabbed the armrest and tried to jump up, Arkan’s hand gently wrapped around the back of Erdene’s hand.
“What are you talking about? ‘Our Highness the Princess’? How can you call someone who is clearly the Queen of Vetor and my wife as if she were a hostage? Call her Queen Vetor.”
Rolls seemed flustered when Arkan unexpectedly stepped forward to protect her.
Then he glanced at Erdene, who was glaring at him with her eyes wide open.
There was no way she could have just sat there, but she should have jumped out of her seat and thrown something at him by now...
At that moment, Erdene glared at Rolls and spoke in a murderous voice.
“Why are you looking at me? Didn’t you hear what His Majesty said?”
Rolls flinched and moved his vulgar-looking eyes here and there.
Something... was different from what he had thought. And it was different from what Tenek had expected.
“Your Majesty... In a place where you are called the Emperor.”
The moment Rolls murmured in his mouth, Erdene spoke in a clear voice.
“He just said something insolent. Did you hear that, Your Majesty?”
Rolls, flustered, licked his lips with a red face. Arkan said, his brow furrowed and his expression half-laughing.
“I didn’t hear that. What did you say? Say it again.”
“T-that’s not it. I didn’t say anything...”
“Rolls Rederty.”
Erdene’s voice tautly tightened the chaotic and tense atmosphere in the audience room.
Rolls unconsciously lowered his head and pretended to bow to Erdene, then winced and bit his lip.
“I just remembered. Rolls Rederty. When the Emperor ruled the empire, you served the chamberlain and carried luggage, but now you’re a diplomat. How many steps have you been promoted? I’m surprised. After living in the palace that long, you should be able to tell when to talk and when not to, right? His Majesty Vetor just ordered you to ‘say it again.’ Say what you said again.”
Otherwise, there was a murderous atmosphere where they would rip out his tongue right there.
Rolls was embarrassed that Erdene knew him inside out.
He said, wiping the sweat flowing down his forehead carelessly and pacing like a dog that was getting wet.
“That, sire, is a title that only the Emperor of the Empire... deserves.”
‘I’m not that stupid,’
Erdene thought. So she left everything to Arkan and quietly kept her mouth shut.
However, she continued to glare at Rolls with eyes that seemed to devour him.
Rolls avoided Erdene’s gaze and took out a letter from his bosom.
“What’s that?”
“Ah, this is a letter from His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire to the King of Vetor.”
As Arkan nodded, Plat took the envelope from his hand. Arkan, who took out the letter after tearing off the seal that had been pressed too hard, couldn’t help but laugh.
Erdene, who was reading the letter next to him, was the same.
It was a diplomatic letter that only an Emperor would write, filled with flowery words and difficult words.
However, unlike most such letters that ended with a half-hearted greeting or a question about the state of affairs, Tenek’s letter had a clear purpose.
“You mean the food that the Allies are providing to the Empire is insufficient?”
Rolls said.
“I don’t know much about how the treasury works. I don’t know what His Majesty the Emperor said in that letter.”
He’s lying, Arkan thought. Tenek was shamelessly and slyly demanding more food.
The amount of food that the Allies had collected and shipped was by no means small.
Only then did Arkan realize why this snake-like messenger had been followed by armed soldiers.
It was clear from the start that the Emperor of Tenek was trying to discourage him.
“I can’t just let it go that easily,”
Arkan said, roughly folding the letter in his hand.
“I’ll consider it.”
“Oh, yes.”
Rolls judged that the situation was not favorable and took a step back.
However, this time, he turned his arrows toward Erdene.
“And also, His Majesty the Emperor has asked me to check in detail to see if our Highness the Princess is doing well in this unfamiliar environment.”
Erdene’s teeth cracked.
The moment she grabbed the armrest and tried to jump up, Arkan’s hand gently wrapped around the back of Erdene’s hand.
“What are you talking about? ‘Our Highness the Princess’? How can you call someone who is clearly the Queen of Vetor and my wife as if she were a hostage? Call her Queen Vetor.”
Rolls seemed flustered when Arkan unexpectedly stepped forward to protect her.
Then he glanced at Erdene, who was glaring at him with her eyes wide open.
There was no way she could have just sat there, but she should have jumped out of her seat and thrown something at him by now...
At that moment, Erdene glared at Rolls and spoke in a murderous voice.
“Why are you looking at me? Didn’t you hear what His Majesty said?”
Rolls flinched and moved his vulgar-looking eyes here and there.
Something... was different from what he had thought. And it was different from what Tenek had expected.
“Your Majesty... In a place where you are called the Emperor.”
The moment Rolls murmured in his mouth, Erdene spoke in a clear voice.
“He just said something insolent. Did you hear that, Your Majesty?”
Rolls, flustered, licked his lips with a red face. Arkan said, his brow furrowed and his expression half-laughing.
“I didn’t hear that. What did you say? Say it again.”
“T-that’s not it. I didn’t say anything...”
“Rolls Rederty.”
Erdene’s voice tautly tightened the chaotic and tense atmosphere in the audience room.
Rolls unconsciously lowered his head and pretended to bow to Erdene, then winced and bit his lip.
“I just remembered. Rolls Rederty. When the Emperor ruled the empire, you served the chamberlain and carried luggage, but now you’re a diplomat. How many steps have you been promoted? I’m surprised. After living in the palace that long, you should be able to tell when to talk and when not to, right? His Majesty Vetor just ordered you to ‘say it again.’ Say what you said again.”
Otherwise, there was a murderous atmosphere where they would rip out his tongue right there.
Rolls was embarrassed that Erdene knew him inside out.
He said, wiping the sweat flowing down his forehead carelessly and pacing like a dog that was getting wet.
“That, sire, is a title that only the Emperor of the Empire... deserves.”
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