Chapter 157: The Light and Shadow of Crawford

The Crawford Principality was a country with beautiful natural scenery.

Of course, it could not be called the best resort destination.

It could not match the exotic feel of Grand Cape in the southern seas.

But this place was also one the empire’s nobles frequented.

The snowy scenery is absolutely stunning.

Thick piles of snow and densely grown coniferous trees.

A small boat floating gently on a vast lake without a single ripple.

A fishing rod cast alone in solitude.

Wasn’t it incredibly romantic?

Everyone pictured exactly that scene and built themselves a villa in the Crawford Principality.

“Um… there are quite a lot of boats on the lake.”

“Indeed.”

Vargas wore a slightly disappointed expression.

I also smiled bitterly at the view, which differed from what I had imagined.

Romance, my ass.

This was practically a flea market.

The villa I received from Count Schultz was merely one of the many mansions in this area.

Of course, it was not that crowded.

It simply differed a little from the image that came to mind when thinking of Crawford.

The houses along the lakeside stood with considerable distance between them.

“Still, it is not entirely without charm.”

“I thought we would have the lake all to ourselves. What a shame.”

Vargas gazed at the dock with a gloomy face.

I watched him and suddenly asked a question.

“Why are you here instead of doing the research you were supposed to do?”

“It is comfortable being in the lab, but I still need to get some fresh air once in a while.”

“You stayed put when we went to Grand Cape?”

“Actually, I wanted to go then, too. It was a time when I was deeply immersed in such interesting research. Haha!”

“You can go on vacation whenever you want, but please do not cause any accidents. It is hard to clean up messes in a foreign country.”

“Yes!”

Vargas gave an awkward military salute and grinned.

When I saw him like this, he seemed like a perfectly normal person.

Never let your guard down. You never know what sudden action this guy will take.

I tapped Feltron’s wing lightly and sent a mental whisper.

“Keep a close eye on him. Station subordinates on him at all times.”

Then will you give me the guild master position again?

“No.”

—Ah, why!

“Instead, I will double the vital energy massage.”

Whoa yeah!

As expected, this half-demon was simple, and his attitude switched incredibly fast.

I wanted to smack him once out of annoyance, yet that very trait also felt cute.

I briefly appreciated the lakeside view before turning my steps.

As I approached the area packed with carriages, I saw people moving busily.

“Hey! Handle that carefully. If it breaks, we are in big trouble!”

“Ah, yes, understood.”

Uncle Brandon was supervising the workers.

Having served as my exclusive coachman for so long, he knew every detail about my luggage.

“Uncle Brandon.”

“Your Highness, what brings you here? The dust is flying heavily, so please stay back a little.”

“This much is fine. I want to leave right away—can you prepare the carriage?”

“Of course!”

“I think we only need to load that gift box over there.”

“Yes.”

Uncle Brandon moved immediately.

Even without extra words, he seemed to have figured out where I was heading.

Watching his hardworking back, I felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance.

Clop! Clop!

Soon I boarded the carriage and headed toward Crawford Palace.

Taking control of national affairs was already scheduled, so there was no particular urgency.

For now, the priority was to make contact with the royal family and observe the movements of the power holders.

But suddenly the street leading into the city caught my eye.

“This is……”

A charmingly decorated city and beautiful natural scenery.

Yet in one corner, shantytowns and crowds of poor people swarmed.

Thousands of people crammed together in that narrow zone.

It was like witnessing the extreme wealth gap of Britain during the Industrial Revolution in real life.

The surprising part was not only that.

“Oh my! Look at that. It is utterly disgusting.”

“They are swarming like a bunch of bugs trapped in a barrel.”

“Ew! It is creepy.”

Nobles stood on the bridge observing the slums.

The empire’s style had apparently not spread much yet; their clothing looked somewhat outdated.

Because of that, it felt even more like a page from a world history textbook.

This is a bit scary. The empire also had overflowing slums, but not to this degree.

Old Perias had also been right on the verge of exploding.

But here it felt as if that stage had already been surpassed.

At least the empire had never turned slum-gazing into tourism.

If left like this, a revolution seemed inevitable.

So this is why the Crawford Prince requested help.

He probably lacked the confidence to restore a shattered society.

He must have wanted to leave Princess Eustia at least a somewhat intact country.

I pondered while viewing both the light and shadow of the Crawford Principality at once.

Soon the carriage passed through the palace’s main gate and traveled along the well-paved road.

“We have arrived, Your Highness.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

It was not as splendid as the empire’s palaces, yet modest and charming.

The place packed with nobles appeared to be the banquet hall hosting the welcome ceremony.

“Nice to meet you for the first time, Duke Carius, Your Highness. I am Agenf, the chamberlain.”

“Yes, pleased to meet you.”

“Please come this way.”

As I walked across the red carpet, the voices of nobles lined up on both sides reached me.

“Oh my! What? I heard the genius administrator who revived Delriat was old, but he is really young?”

“And he is insanely handsome, too.”

“His clothes look incredibly sophisticated.”

The noble young ladies’ reactions were enthusiastic.

Every time this happened, I felt an inexplicable sense of dissonance.

My appearance back in Korea had been utterly ordinary.

Yet here I was a transcendentally handsome man who enchanted everyone.

I thought I would get used to it someday, but excessive attention is still burdensome.

Of course, I did not wish to become ugly.

As some celebrity once said, being handsome is the best.

“Hah! What is so great about looking like a pale eunuch?”

“A man should be muscular by default.”

“You are saying a bookworm like him will take the chancellor position?”

“It is obvious he will be crushed under bureaucratic pressure.”

“He will not last a few weeks and will flee back to the empire. Crawford is a country of real men.”

“I cannot wait to see that. Heh heh heh!”

On the other hand, the young male nobles’ reactions were extremely crude.

They did not seem pleased by the young ladies gazing at me with admiration.

Of course, no matter what those guys spouted, I did not care at all.

Let them chatter all they want.

Empty carts make the most noise, and the weak only talk big with words.

I completely ignored their voices and stared straight ahead.

There stood the Crawford Prince with a kind smile.

His original image was not like this.

He had possessed immense passion even in old age, yet he seemed to have aged drastically in just a few years.

The stress must have been more than even the dried cordyceps pills could overcome.

It was surely because of Crawford’s severely tilted domestic situation.

“It has been a while, Your Highness the Prince.”

“Haha! Thank you for coming like this, Duke Carius.”

I exchanged a warm greeting with Peilly III.

Soon, as we entered the banquet hall, the lavishly decorated interior came into view.

They prepared quite a lot despite the difficult circumstances?

Because an imperial duke was visiting, a grand banquet had been arranged.

In one corner, over a dozen musicians played instruments, and the nobles who had followed in took their seats.

Then Peilly III called me up to the dais and spoke in a booming voice.

“This is Duke Carius, who will temporarily serve as the principality’s chancellor. He has agreed to work hard for our country, so please welcome him sincerely.”

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

A restrained round of applause burst out briefly before the banquet hall fell quiet again.

As expected, the atmosphere was not very welcoming.

That was inevitable.

They were the long-standing privileged class of the Crawford Principality.

How could they feel good about a rolling stone coming to dominate the country?

They probably only hoped he would keep his place modestly and leave quickly.

I understand.

In fact, I did not view nobles that badly.

Of course, it was true that I had mostly encountered those steeped in greed and malice so far.

My position had made that unavoidable.

People who came to court for trials were highly likely to be villains.

But in various places around the world, there were quite a few truly noble people.

Like Baron Lelbrant, who had served as prison warden, and the strict principled Patton brothers.

Nobles who fully fulfilled their roles, even if not to the level of noblesse oblige.

But here, they are just idiots trying to protect their own rice bowls.

The country had deteriorated to the point of requesting experts from abroad, yet they did not seem to realize that fact.

Well, that was to be expected.

All they enjoyed was the glamorous and abundant life of nobility.

The miserable sight of the slums had merely become a spectacle for sightseeing.

“Hello? Duke, Your Highness.”

Suddenly a clear voice rang out.

The banquet had begun, yet everyone was only glancing at me.

It seemed someone had finally mustered courage.

When I turned my head, a familiar silhouette came into view.

“It has been a while, Princess Eustia.”

“Was this the first time since the wedding?”

“Yes.”

“Alice was quite disappointed. She took a liking to you, Duke, and the imperial guard member.”

Listening to Princess Eustia’s words, a terrifying memory suddenly assaulted me.

The blind-date hell that had fallen into infinite king night bread.

“Hic!”

As soon as she mentioned that, a hiccup sounded from behind.

It was Cordell McNeil’s intense reaction; he had been hiding behind my shadow.

“Haha! It seems we were not fated. Is Lady Soltri doing well?”

“After that, she met a good match. She is pregnant, so she could not attend the banquet.”

“That is really fortunate… No, congratulations.”

I nearly slipped up.

Hearing that Alice had not come, Cordell seemed to relax.

He even completely released the stealth technique he had been subtly maintaining.

While Princess Eustia briefly left her seat, I whispered to Cordell McNeil.

“Why is the famous womanizer acting like this?”

“I told her that next time we meet, I would teach her infinite mussel hell.”

“That is a proposal as terrifying as king night bread.”

Seeing Cordell tremble like an aspen tree, I almost burst into a smile.

But I could not laugh openly.

Princess Eustia had already returned to her seat.

And she had brought someone familiar with her.

“Long time no see, Your Highness.”

“Hello?”

The person who greeted me was Izkaya Soltri.

He was the man married to Princess Eustia.

From what I had heard in passing, he seemed to have inherited the title.

He was now called Marquis Soltri.

Unlike before, he now carried quite an adult atmosphere.

We exchanged greetings and chatted about various things when Izkaya subtly lowered his voice.

“Duke Carius, Your Highness.”

“Yes.”

“I heard you have taken the chancellor position. His Highness the Prince has granted you tremendous authority this time.”

“That is correct.”

“Excuse me for saying this, but may I ask you one favor?”

I quietly observed Izkaya.

In truth, I did not have much closeness with this man.

He was Princess Eustia’s fiancé, so I had seen him only a few times.

Moreover, in the past he had been nothing more than a frivolous guy obsessed with playing knight.

So I did not think highly of him, yet he starts with a request? I am quite disappointed.

Still, bluntly refusing would be rude.

For Princess Eustia’s sake, I decided to hear what he had to say.

“Please speak.”

Marquis Izkaya Soltri took a moment to steady his breath.

Then, with a solemn face, he said,

“Please thoroughly destroy our family.”

What the heck?