“It is still just a guess on my part, but…”
“That makes no sense! For His Majesty to think so highly of Dien! And the youngest princess is five years older than him, isn’t she?”
“Does age really matter? According to Captain of the Guard Talmon, His Majesty took quite a liking to Dien. He even mentioned feeling a sense of awe toward the boy.”
“Wh-What in the world…”
Oren was so shocked he nearly dropped his teacup. Since King Lonas was not one to give out praise lightly, the impact of these words hit Oren like a tidal wave.
“What did His Majesty see in such a young child to make such a gracious remark…?”
“No, I actually understand His Majesty’s heart. As an administrator myself, I hold Dien in high regard.”
“Please, do not say such things.”
Oren’s eyes shook as if an earthquake were occurring within them. To think that King Lonas liked Dien enough to consider him a son-in-law. Oren’s heart swelled so much he couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or awake.
Oren had thought Dien had simply finished the private audience without making any mistakes.
“Wait a moment, Chancellor.”
“What is it?”
Having been put in a good mood by Persian’s words, Oren stood up from his seat with a newfound liveliness and began packing his things.
“If His Majesty is considering Dien as a son-in-law, does that mean I might become in-laws with the King?”
“Indeed.”
“Suddenly, I’m starting to feel a bit uncomfortable in this position. Haha…”
It was a playful remark from Oren. Persian nodded as if it were nothing.
“Ho ho, look at this man. Just a moment ago, you were saying Dien’s intentions were the most important thing, and now you’re getting dizzy at the thought of becoming in-laws with the direct royal line?”
It wasn’t the reaction Oren had expected from Persian. Seeing the Chancellor’s calm face instead made Oren lose his momentum. He set his luggage back down and sat.
“It was a joke. You’re no fun when you react so calmly to my humor, Chancellor.”
“Hehe, I knew it was a joke. When Dien plays pranks, he makes the exact same face as you.”
“Hahaha, has Dien already started joking with you? It seems he took after my mischievous side.”
Oren and Persian laughed together for a while. Then, they both spotted Dien and Dorothy approaching from a distance.
“Chancellor.”
Watching them, Oren called out to Persian softly with a smile.
“I think I know what you’re going to say. You’re right; wishing for Dien and Dorothy to be together might just be my own hasty greed.”
“Haha.”
Oren gave a laugh that was neither a denial nor an affirmation before continuing.
“Lady Dorothy and Dien are both smarter than we were at their age. So, why don’t we trust them and just watch over them quietly?”
Persian did not reply immediately. After contemplating for a long moment, he gave a small nod.
***
Before long, the frost of winter began to stir. Delos was located at the northern tip of the continent. At this time of year, when cold waves swept through, the people had to endure harsh temperatures, and the Royal Castle never had a quiet day due to monsters appearing across the land.
“Check how many knights and soldiers are available for deployment from the Ministry of War.”
“Yes, sir.”
Today, the Chancellor’s Office was frantically busy with urgent reports coming in from all over the kingdom.
Most of the emergency reports concerned monster appearances. During the winter, monsters living in the mountains would raid villages when their food supplies ran low.
“Chancellor, the Ministry of War reports that every knight order is currently deployed for monster subjugation. There are no available personnel.”
“Sigh… What should we do?”
“How about calling for volunteers among the knight trainees? They will need real-world combat experience anyway,” Dien suggested to Persian after assessing the situation.
Persian thought over Dien’s suggestion for a moment before making a quick decision.
“We shall do as Dien said. For areas where low-level monsters have appeared, accept volunteers from the knight trainees and deploy them. For areas with high-level monsters, draw personnel from the Royal Guard. His Majesty said we could actively utilize the Royal Guard this winter.”
“Yes, we will do so.”
Following Persian’s orders, the aides hurriedly rushed out of the office to quickly process their assigned tasks.
“Things are absolutely chaotic.”
Persian leaned back in his chair for a moment and rubbed his forehead.
“Still, it’s a relief His Majesty permitted the deployment of the Royal Guard. We should be able to handle this year’s emergency reports without much trouble.”
“That is good news, Chancellor. At times like this, I realize how fortunate it is that His Majesty is a Sword Master.”
“I agree, hahaha!”
While the Royal Guard’s duty was to escort the King, the Guard felt somewhat unnecessary for someone like Lonas, who was a Sword Master.
Who would dare harm the kingdom’s only Sword Master? There was likely no one with that level of skill in the kingdom, or even on the continent.
Persian felt that ever since Lonas ascended the throne, the Royal Guard had strangely become a group that just ate and played.
“I feel bad. Calling you out like this even on an academy day…”
“Not at all. The work of the Chancellor’s Office comes first. Besides, the academy lecture happened to be canceled today.”
“Well, that’s a relief then.”
Dien checked his watch as he replied to Persian. Based on the time, it looked like he could still make his scheduled swordsmanship practice with Silro. Lately, Dien was spending more time on his Hohupbeop than on practicing forms. He had already reached the level of an Aura Expert, the gateway to becoming an entry-level knight.
“Come to House Cherbill. Let us have a meal together.”
“No thank you, Chancellor. I have things to do after I leave the palace.”
“Hmm… I feel sorry for making you work so hard every time.”
“It is only right that I do my duty.”
“Ho ho. Very well.”
Under Persian’s gaze, Dien packed his things. It had been a busy day, but he hadn’t frowned even once.
Just as Dien was about to stand up after gathering his belongings, someone knocked urgently on the door of Persian’s office.
“Come in.”
“Count!”
The person who opened the door was neither an aide nor a Secretary from the Chancellor’s Office.
“You! What brings you to the Royal Castle!”
“That is…”
The man who opened the door glanced toward Dien, gauging the atmosphere.
‘It’s the Masked Knights.’
The quick-witted Dien guessed the man’s identity from the flowing atmosphere. The Masked Knights were Persian’s direct knight order that usually remained hidden. For a member of such an order to come all the way to the Royal Castle in a rush, it was clear that a major problem had occurred within the order.
“I will take my leave now.”
Dien quickly read the looks of the knight and Persian and walked toward the door. He felt he should excuse himself from this situation.
“Wait, take this chance to meet him. This is Teris, the Captain of the Masked Knights,” Persian said toward Dien, who was about to exit the office.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Dien. I am Teris, the Captain of the Masked Knights. I am a commoner, so please speak comfortably.”
“No, that’s alright. It is nice to meet you, Sir Teris.”
Dien was surprised that Teris knew him, but Teris was surprised in a different way.
Dien’s humility and politeness were entirely different from the reactions of other nobles, who changed the moment they heard someone was a commoner. This was a first for him.
Persian, who had been watching the two, spoke up.
“But what is the matter? To come all the way to the Royal Castle. Speak; you don’t need to worry about Dien.”
Persian took a step toward Teris. Teris seemed to hesitate because of Dien, but he soon nodded and began to explain his urgent business.
“It’s about… we have lost contact with the members who went on a reconnaissance mission to contact the Rasmos Merchant Group. Their communication devices were cut off after they infiltrated the Empire. Given the circumstances, it seems they were discovered by the Empire before they could even make contact with the Rasmos Merchant Group.”
“What!”
At Teris’s words, Persian clutched his forehead. He had anticipated it wouldn’t be easy, but to be discovered this quickly… Was the Crown Prince’s surveillance of the Rasmos Merchant Group stricter than he thought?
“If they followed the protocol for discovery… there is a high possibility that the deployed knights committed suicide.”
“Sigh.”
Mission failure.
On top of that, he had lost precious members of his order.
Deeply discouraged, Persian let out a heavy sigh and sank into his chair.
“The Scania Empire won’t suspect our kingdom, will they?”
“As long as the mana communication devices weren’t taken intact, they won’t find a connection to the Kingdom of Delos.”
“Tsk. We can’t confirm that yet.”
Deep wrinkles formed on Persian’s forehead.
If the communication devices were seized and the Crown Prince discovered this was Delos’s doing, it would provide a pretext for the Empire to provoke the Kingdom of Delos, which they already disliked. Knowing the Crown Prince’s personality, he certainly wouldn’t overlook this.
The worst-case scenario played out in Persian’s mind.
“The Empire’s borders will become even stricter. Do we have to give up on the Rasmos Merchant Group…?” Persian muttered, swallowing his frustration.
If they could just recruit the technicians from the Rasmos Merchant Group, it would be a gain large enough to more than make up for the wealth invested in the First Prince. That was why Lonas had authorized the mission after much deliberation…
Persian needed to go to the Crystal Palace immediately to report the mission failure, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He had already boasted to Lonas that he would complete the mission and make up for the Foreign Ministry’s mistake.
“Is there no way?”
Even in that moment, Dien’s eyes were shining as he calmly thought about the next step.
‘We can’t give up… The Chancellor still doesn’t know the true value of the Rasmos Merchant Group.’
For the prosperity of Delos, the operation could not stop. Dien evaluated the Rasmos Merchant Group’s technical prowess more highly than anyone else.
“We must see this through to the end.”
Dien, who had been sitting and stroking his chin, spoke quietly. His mind was working faster than ever.
“However, with the Empire’s security tightened, it’s impossible to send the knights back in. It’s regrettable, but it’s better to give up here. The Imperial Capital’s entry inspections will only get more rigorous.”
Dien nodded slightly at Persian’s words, but his eyes didn’t look like those of someone who had given up on the Rasmos Merchant Group.
“If we cannot sneak in secretly, why not enter the Empire officially?”
“Officially?”
“That’s right.”
Having finished his thoughts, Dien stood up and looked at Persian and Teris in turn.
“Go on, tell me.”
Persian turned his body toward Dien, wondering if the boy had found a way.
“This time, our Education Department Secretaries are scheduled to go on a field trip to the Scania Empire.”
“I know. They are going on a study tour to observe the knight academy system for the purpose of introducing it here.”
“Yes, it is an official entry with permission from the Empire.”
“Indeed. Surely you don’t mean…”
“Yes, that’s right. We just need to mix a spy among the Secretaries going on the study tour.”
“No, that’s impossible. Permission was only granted for Education Department Secretaries and aides. It’s impossible for a knight to join them.”
“Of course, it would be impossible for a Masked Knight to join.”
Dien looked Persian straight in the eye with a steady gaze.
“But it would be possible for me. I am a legitimate official of the Chancellor’s Office. And because of my young age, no one will suspect me of being a spy.”
Every time, Dien had provided the best answers to the problems facing the Chancellor’s Office. This time, he had brought the best answer once again, but the atmosphere was very different from usual.