The Hunting Season (5)
The summit will be held informally for about a week.
After the talks are over, the leaders of each country will make announcements to their citizens about the Great Rift.
Beginning with the Emperor's opening speech, the Prince of Romena and the Pope of Shancrecia took to the podium to declare that the cooperative relationship between the three nations would last forever.
The atmosphere in the banquet hall was subdued throughout.
There was no one who was not nervous in the face of the Great Rift, a crisis that threatened all of humanity.
I looked around the banquet hall while listening to the speeches of the leaders.
In the sacred seat of Shancrecia, more than thirty people were sitting solemnly.
Among them, seven people caught my eye.
They looked like septuplet twins in their red cardinal's cassock and red zucchetto. They stood out among the attendants in their ordinary priestly cassocks.
Only ten men filled the positions of Grand Duchy of Romena.
Excluding the aides, there are two key figures: an old man with a strict air and a young man in his 20s.
It was none other than the Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Romena. Halstaille Regas, and the second Grand Duke, Anton Romena.
First, I observed the prime minister carefully.
In my past life, I only heard about Oslo, so I didn't know much about it, but when I actually saw it, the feeling of being overwhelmed was unusual.
He has a solid physique and a straight posture like a soldier, his gaze is sharp, and his tightly shut lips show his stubbornness. It wasn't for nothing that he was nicknamed the Iron-Blooded Prime Minister.
On the other hand, the Grand Duchy of Romena had a rather plump body type.
His face was not visible because his shoulders were hunched, but it was clear that he was not making eye contact with others.
"Are you hot?'
It wasn't that hot because it was indoors, but my back was soaking wet with sweat.
Suddenly, I remembered the gossip Oslo had been spreading about him in my past life.
"He doesn't even take care of himself. He's so fat that he sweats profusely even when he's just sitting still. When we're together, the smell of sweat makes it hard to breathe."
Several people around him were seen covering their noses.
The more this happened, the more Anton became discouraged. Halstaille looked at him with pity.
'How did you end up getting engaged to Sierra? You two are such a mismatch.'
About twenty people were sitting on the throne of the Antin Empire.
Among them, only two members of the royal family and four nobles were formal attendees, the rest were aides.
What caught my attention were the two middle-aged men sitting across from Ian and Kjer.
Count Saiga and Count Gideon, both representing the power of Oslo, were chosen as official attendees.
The Emperor seems to have been conscious of the opposition of the nobles and tried to maintain a balance between the powers of Oslo and Kalit.
After the opening remarks by the leaders, lunch followed.
The attendants, who had entered in a row, served meals to the attendees' tables. The types of food varied, perhaps taking into account the characteristics of each country.
Nadia, who had been waiting outside, came into the banquet hall and prepared my meal.
"Miss, I left the food in front of you. Please eat quickly."
"Thank you."
The attendees glanced at me. Some even whispered and giggled.
Have you ever wondered how a blind person eats?
Rahon pushed the plate towards me, who couldn't even touch the food.
"Don't mind."
"..."
"Eat."
"... Yes."
The attendees were broadly divided into two groups.
Those who openly show their friendship with Oslo and those who secretly show their displeasure towards them.
Anton Romena was the former, and the Cardinals Sancresia were the latter.
There were also those who, like the Iron-Blooded Chancellor Halstaille, did not belong to any organization and just ate in silence.
In any case. It was true that Oslo seemed to have virtually taken control of the summit.
'Do you really want to be the commander in chief?'
Among the agenda items discussed at the summit, the most important one is the election of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces.
Bach country has one vote, and the person who secures two of the three votes is elected Commander-in-Chief.
In my previous life, Oslo had become the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, beating out his biggest rival, Kalit, by enticing the attendees in advance.
But in this life, Oslo was not only after the Allied Commander-in-Chief.
Excluding me from the summit.
Even so, it would be a waste of effort.
My concern now was other matters.
'Who among the attendees should we bring to Kalit's side?'
The Guardians should take a step back from the summit.
In particular, we must not create a situation that is advantageous to one of the three countries or support a specific person.
That is, it was necessary to naturally induce people to support Kalit.
To do this, there was no need to persuade many people like in Oslo.
All we need to do is get one influential person on our side.
Suddenly, Rahon tapped my plate with a knife.
"Millenia."
My mind was suddenly cut off as I was running wild. I answered a ste plate.
"... Yes?"
"Why hasn't the food come out since a while ago? Aren't you going to eat?"
"Ah... No, I'm eating."
"I'll check later. If there's any food left then I'll feed it to you."
Rahon's expression was too serious to be considered a joke. He stopped worrying and focused on eating.
After the meal, tea time began. Nadia whispered softly while serving tea.
"Miss, I'm ready."
"Great job."
Unlike meals, tea time was held in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Kjer, who was greeting the attendees, naturally approached us.
"Youngest, did you enjoy your meal?"
"Yeah, what about you, brother?"
"I ate well. Hmm? There's something on here."
He whispered secretly while pretending to take something off my shoulder.
"His Highness asked me to convey that someone with a special connection to us has been appointed as the head of the aide."
"Who is the head of the aide?"
"Baron Nokron."
"Ah..."
Kjer quickly turned his gaze to check without knowing.
The fat middle-aged man standing next to Oslo, is he Baron Nokron?
They tried to confine us by going to extreme lengths.
It was because Oslo had been promised a seat at the summit.
"Most of the aides, including the chief, are on the Third Prince's side. The situation is not good."
Unlike Oslo, which was surrounded by people, Ian was the only one next to Kalit. Even his aides were gathered around Oslo.
"..."
The aides played a major role in the meeting.
Once the attendees get the gist, the details are coordinated by the aides of each country meeting in person.
That's why having my people on my staff was as important as winning over the attendees from the other country to my side.
It was clearly a disadvantageous situation for Kalit, who was only able to return to the palace two days before the summit.
"But His Highness said this. 'Fork' Do you know what that is?"
A fork is a chess tactic that involves attacking two or more pieces with one piece.
That is, Kalit intends to strike the first blow to Oslo by attacking Baron Nokron on the giant chessboard called the Summit.
It is difficult to change the attendees other than the guardians during the summit, but it is possible to change the aides.
"Tell His Highness that it would be best to move to Knight."
Fork tactics can be used with any piece, but the knight is mainly used because of its unique movement compared to other pieces.
Like Hugh, the only one in our group who did not attend the summit.
Kjer patted my shoulder silently and returned to his seat.
He lowered his gaze after seeing the corners of Kalit's lips slightly rise while talking to him.
And at the moment when I calmly lifted my teacup, Oslo got up from his seat.
He tapped his teacup with a teaspoon to attract the attention of the attendees and greeted them politely.
"Before we begin the full-scale meeting, I have come here to propose an agenda item to the participants."
Beautiful flowing hair, formal attire, gorgeous looks, and an elegant smile.
He opened his mouth in the image of a perfect Prince.
"Everyone, do you think we need a guardian at the summit?"
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment