Antonio has been staring blankly into the distance these days, and he often laughs to himself or frowns. This symptom started after Eve said she would think about reconciliation with Belteor.
'7th Princess Evienrose..."
He felt a strange thrill pass through his chest, a thrill he had never felt with Brigitte.
In fact, he didn't care who his partner was as long as he could become the Emperor. For him, marriage to the imperial family was not a romantic union between a man and a woman, but rather an activity that was free of emotions, like business.
It was also based on this kind of thinking that he didn't feel any complaints about Brigitte, who was a man-traveler and self-centered.
But when Eve was presented with a choice, his values began to waver.
For no reason, his eyes followed her, and his ears listened to her news.
Whenever he heard that Eve had been recognized by the Emperor or had achieved merit, Antonio felt proud and even arrogant, as if his own honor had been raised. The underlying thought was this.
'Yes, that's the extent of it you have to go through to make me your Emperor.'
That's right. In Antonio's mind, he was already Eve's fiancé, not Brigitte's. When he put Eve next to him and compared her to Brigitte, there were more than a few things that made him inferior.
He thought Eve would suit him. And he was sure that Eve would suit him the best. He was the son of the Belteor family and the best of the best.
The corners of his mouth collapsed involuntarily, puffed up by the dream. But soon, Antonio made a face. It was because there was something he didn't like.
'They say that the 7th Princess is more passive than the 3rd Princess.'
Antonio was still busy coming and going from the palace.
But even when he ran into Eve, she would at best just say hello or pass by without even saying anything.
Even though they had different political stances externally, Antonio was getting impatient and even annoyed at their attitude of not trying to talk things out.
'It won't work. I want to hear a definitive answer today.'
On that long-awaited day, Antonio entered the palace as his father's assistant as usual. Then, under the pretense of taking a walk, he loitered around in front of the main palace.
After a long wait, the meeting was over, and he was able to find the face he was looking for in the hallway.
“Your Highness the 7th Princess!”
“Lord Belteor?”
Eve was embarrassed. She had just come out of the council of elders, so there were a lot of nobles around her. She had never imagined that they would pretend to know each other in such a public place.
In fact, that was exactly Antonio's gamble.
“Your Highness, I would like to continue our conversation from last time, but would you have a moment?”
Antonio's calculation was that if he came at him so blatantly, Eve would no longer be able to avoid him.
The gentle light disappeared from the amber eyes that had seen through the intention. Antonio was slightly intimidated, but he didn't show it.
'It's all because Your Highness avoided me.'
Just then, the nobles could be heard murmuring nearby. Antonio waited for Eve to say, “Let’s move.”
But his expectations were dashed.
“I have nothing to do with someone as reckless as you. Well then, that’s all for now.”
Eve had humiliated him, and in front of many nobles.
Antonio, whose eyes had turned away for a moment, tried to grab her arm.
“I... ! Huh!”
The rude hand could not reach Eve and was stopped by Michael.
“How impertinent. What kind of reckless action is this?”
“Ugh! Hey, let go of this!”
His wrist, which had turned red from being held so tightly, was trembling.
“Michael, let him go.”
Antonio was delighted, thinking that Eve was taking his side. But Eve's next words were cold.
“If you continue like this, I will no longer be able to treat you as Betty’s fiancé. Please refrain from doing so.”
The cold attitude and cutting remarks made Antonio feel bad again. In the end, he ended up saying something that crossed the line.
“Ha, but obviously at that time!”
“Obviously?”
“Didn’t you say you fell for my charm?!”
Of course, Eve didn't even blink an eye.
'Yeah, that's right. This level of dramatization is standard in the palace.'
The shocking remark was intended to provoke the onlookers, not Eve. As expected, the nobles who love gossip had their eyes lit up.
'Oh my gosh!'
'The 7th Princess and the fiance of the eldest princess?!'
It was a scandal worthy of the gossip press's headlines. The commotion grew uncontrollably louder.
But then it happened.
“Oh, no! This is a big problem!”
A nobleman who had just emerged from the main palace caught my attention.
He was one of the nobles who was called to a separate audience room after the meeting.
The expression on his face was ominous.
'What happened in the audience room?'
The noble who had been summoned to the audience room whispered to the nobles of his faction about the situation. As the whispers passed from one person to another, the pale faces increased.
It was clear that a major incident had occurred in the audience room that would cover up Eve and Antonio's scandal.
“Hmm.”
As Eve was watching the nobles with narrowed eyes, someone who could explain the situation to her appeared.
“Be, Lord Belteor! We’re in big trouble...! Ah, no, Your Highness the 7th Princess? Why are you two here together?”
It was Count Fritz, Brigitte's bookkeeper and a vassal of the Margrave of Leimkal.
The emotion in Count Fritz’s eyes as he looked at Eve was half wonder and half discomfort. Eve smiled gently.
“Tell me. I was just wondering about the situation.”
"That is..."
“Doesn’t Her Highness have any questions, Count?”
Even Antonio tried to persuade him to side with Eve, but Count Fritz bit his lip. In the end, he decided to close his eyes and open his mouth.
“His Majesty is very angry with His Excellency the Marquis of Belteor.”
“What, what did you say? Why on earth? What happened that made His Majesty say that to my father?!”
It was funny to see Antonio, who had never imagined that something related to his family would happen.
Count Fritz continued his explanation with a look of reproach, asking why he acted like Eve's spokesman.
“Because the Marquis neglected his duties as a leader, the Confederacy collapsed!”
The thunderous sound took Antoniou's breath away.
“Oh, like that.”
Eve quietly covered her mouth and looked at him with pity.
Of course, the lips hidden behind the delicate jade beads were in a deep curve.
Three days ago.
The conference room where the southern powers gathered was now a chaotic scene reminiscent of a market floor.
“I can’t stand it anymore!”
“I can’t stand it either!”
Grevicon, in charge of iron production, and Hill Man, in charge of black gold production, expressed their anger.
“Ha, what are you going to do if you can’t stand it?”
Fabliose , who was in charge of silver production, just folded his arms and grinned. He was a bright-eyed man who had secured a bar of gold coins.
The eldest son of Count Grevicon shouted with a sharp tongue.
“You're going to go all the way, then let's see how it goes. From now on, we will only accept gray iron for our dragon weights in gold coins!”
“No, what?! Wait! Count Grevicon, you’re saying something different...!”
Countess Hillman's face turned pale with embarrassment. Their promise to join forces to pressure Fabliose had been broken.
Count Grevicon made a show of pity and said:
“I’m sorry. I had to make a decision to preserve the family line..."
“You, you little brat!”
“What the heck? This kid!”
Whether or not Count Grevicon was embarrassed, Count Hillman gritted his teeth and shouted.
“I get it now! I had a feeling that the price of gold would go up again last week, and it was because you were hoarding it!”
“Oh, did you notice? The inertial response is something that only backroom old men like me would do. I decided to adapt to the rapidly changing market conditions. I bought the gold coins as soon as Fabliose released them. Now it’s my turn.”
Countess Hillman's face turned pale with embarrassment. Their promise to join forces to pressure Fabliose had been broken.
Count Grevicon made a show of pity and said:
“I’m sorry. I had to make a decision to preserve the family line..."
“You, you little brat!”
“What the heck? This kid!”
Whether or not Count Grevicon was embarrassed, Count Hillman gritted his teeth and shouted.
“I get it now! I had a feeling that the price of gold would go up again last week, and it was because you were hoarding it!”
“Oh, did you notice? The inertial response is something that only backroom old men like me would do. I decided to adapt to the rapidly changing market conditions. I bought the gold coins as soon as Fabliose released them. Now it’s my turn.”
“Hey... You fool! How dare you think there’s still something to eat at the end of this world!”
Count Fablios encouraged the feud between Count Grevicon and Count Hillman.
“Yes, you’ve jumped in now. But Grevicon’s intelligence is better than Hillman’s.”
“You bastard!”
“Oh, please calm down. You’re old, so you need to watch your blood pressure, sir.”
Count Hillman glared at them with a single, piercing gaze. But Fabliose and Grevicon only grumbled even more.
Count Fablios encouraged the feud between Count Grevicon and Count Hillman.
“Yes, you’ve jumped in now. But Grevicon’s intelligence is better than Hillman’s.”
“You bastard!”
“Oh, please calm down. You’re old, so you need to watch your blood pressure, sir.”
Count Hillman glared at them with a single, piercing gaze. But Fabliose and Grevicon only grumbled even more.
Countess Hillman, who had barely managed to pull herself together, opened her mouth.
“You’ll regret it. Kids! Bring ‘it’!”
At the command of Count Hillman, the servants brought a chest and opened its lid.
The faces of Count Fablios and Count Grevicon turned pale at the sight before their eyes.
“No, this, this is...!”
“W-This is commercialized?! W-This is ridiculous!”
The chest contained a huge arrow from Ballista. What was unusual was that the tip was not made of silver but of black gold.
Count Hillman said, one corner of his mouth curling up.
“Even if it’s rotten, it’s still a good tooth. If you guys have ever handled military weapons, you’ll know right away that this is special.”
“Ugh...The magic receptivity is better than that of pure silver..."
“Ah, no... The condition for supplying to the imperial family is the best technology in existence... So, does this mean that all the silver nibs have to be replaced with black gold nibs...!”
Count Fablios and Count Grevicon let out a sigh.
It was then that Count Grevikon changed his stance.
“Ah, ah, Count Hillman! Oh, no, uncle!”
“What? Why am I your uncle?”
“If you trace your ancestors back to your cousin’s family, wouldn’t you be related by blood to your cousin’s cousin’s cousin? Hahaha! Let’s go to my uncle's house!”
“This kid is funny.”
“Yes, yes! Please do this kid and that kid more! From now on, I want to be a nephew who is like my uncle's child!”
“You’re back, kid.”
Despite Count Hillman's cold rebuke, Count Grevicon remained steadfast.
“Anyway, Uncle, that’s what I’m saying, but are you thinking of receiving the black gold torch in gold coins..."
“Do you know that I am you?”
“Ah, as expected of an uncle's loyalty!”
The faces of Count Fabliose and Count Grevicon brightened and their eyes sparkled. But the next moment, Count Hillman crushed their hopes.
“I will accept payment in black gold coins.”
“What? Black gold coins?”
“Th-what is that?”
They had never heard of such a call. Count Hillman threw a black coin in front of them, who were flustered.
“We recently hired a very capable treasurer in our territory. Following his suggestion, we started producing these coins at our Hillman Castle last week. By the way, the value is set at 1,000 gold coins per black gold coin.”
“No, that’s not true! That’s ridiculous! Buying black gold with black gold coins? And at a rate you set yourself?”
“Isn’t that ratio crazy? If we circulate that kind of currency, the economy will be destroyed by inflation!”
Count Hillman turned a deaf ear to their words.
“Can’t we just collect more taxes and reduce the currency? Expand the budget and control prices. What about other territories? It’s my job.”
“Hey, are you crazy?”
“What? Are you done talking?”
“I’m done. What should I do?”
The nobles' fighting continued all night. The next day, the representatives of each family returned with torn clothes and disheveled hair, declaring their withdrawal from the alliance.
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