I see emperor stats-Chapter 132
homecoming
puck!
"evil!"
Someone slapped Keynes on the back of the head, who was still crying despite Julius' answer.
“How disrespectful is this guy to His Highness the Prince!”
"hmm?"
Julius moved his gaze to the back with a puzzled expression.
"father! I'm wounded! Isn't that where Your Highness sees? The name is the successor, but you should rather use your spirit... … .”
“You stupid bastard!”
puck!
His palm struck the back of his head, frowning. Then, he tapped Keynes' head and forced him to bend at the waist.
"majesty! I apologize for the rudeness of the poor son of a bitch.”
"child?"
Julius was watching the father and son's quarrel with an expression of interest. The person arguing with Keynes was an elderly gray-haired aristocrat.
'Then is this the Viscount Keynes of the time?'
“I wondered if I had changed my personality a bit, but just looking at this, I can guess your life in the Knights! phew… … .”
The old aristocrat sighed and hurriedly turned his head to Julius, then fell flat on the ground and bowed.
“I see His Highness, the First Prince. My name is Viscount Keynes. I am the father of this ugly bastard.”
“… … !?”
Julius put on a slightly puzzled expression. No matter how high his current status is, it's not to the point where a noble with the title of Viscount would bow down and say hello.
He quickly glanced at Keynes.
'Why is your father doing this?'
"haha… … .”
Keynes hurriedly tried to raise the Viscount with a look of embarrassment, but he did not move, his head bowed, and he was trembling with emotion.
“Thank you so much for rescuing that unanswerable bastard!”
"what?"
* * *
It started a few weeks ago.
"older brother! This is really award-winning. Something is going to happen, but I'm the only one on vacation.”
"well? Would His Highness send you back to your hometown and send you on a mission? Then you must have said something right away.”
“It is, but… … .”
It was Keynes and Devan who were talking in the carriage heading south.
The two of them were similar in age, and perhaps because they had wandering memories, their personalities matched quite well, so they became close enough to help each other before they knew it.
Devan's tone was relaxed.
“I rather envy you? Listening to the story, it seems that Your Highness has been very interested in it from the beginning, but if others hear it, they might be jealous.”
“Does your brother say that too?”
“Anyway, from what I hear, the plan is to be made in the capital. It could be that he cared for you and deliberately took you out of a dangerous position.”
“Listening to what your brother said, it seems like that.”
Nodding to Devan's words, Keynes thought it made sense.
'Come to think of it, my hometown is a poor place compared to the capital, but what could happen there?'
He shook his head with a slight blush on his face.
But because of that, I couldn't see Devan's expression as he was looking out of the carriage. He was secretly smiling.
“Then, the roads diverge from here? I will return to the Legion. I hope you enjoy your vacation too.”
“Please feel free to enter, brother.”
After breaking up with Devan in the middle, Keynes arrived at his hometown.
Even though the scenery of his hometown was all he could see was a vast wheat field, but he felt a peace in his heart for the first time in a while.
'It's still a rural manor with nothing. But I can sit around for a long time!'
With such a swollen dream, Keynes headed for the castle in the center of the estate. However, there was something strange about Yeongji's appearance.
'Around this time of year, I'm busy with farming, so why can't I see Young Ji-min?'
In the fields that stretched out around the road to the castle, no one was seen pecking their noses.
'Where do you all get together and have a festival? Wouldn't that be the right time?'
Shaking his head, he approached the castle gate and announced his arrival. As the eldest son and heir of the famous Viscount, he came to meet him quickly because he had returned.
The castle gate opened, and an old knight with neatly tied gray hair welcomed Keynes.
"young master! You are back.”
“Sir Max, long time no see.”
The loyal old knight, Sir Max, had taken good care of him since he was a child. He smiled and opened his mouth.
“Since joining the Knights, I have been hearing about all of your activities. The Viscount was also dubious at first, but I could see that he was happy inside.”
"Father? Come to think of it, I have to say hello first, but where are you?”
That's what he said, but Keynes' expression wasn't very good. His father, the Viscount, was a very strict man, and his father-son relationship was not very friendly.
In addition, as he began to become lazy, the relationship deteriorated further, and he stopped even sending and receiving correspondence. It has been several years since Keynes joined the Knights, but it was all for a reason that he came down to his hometown now.
Sir Max put on a slightly worried expression.
"Actually, you've been out for a while. The situation in the fortress manor is not so good.”
"Come to think of it, there was no one outside. Is there something going on?"
Keynes looked even more puzzled. Because, in his opinion, there was no such thing in this estate.
What kind of incident would happen to a small estate where there was no big source of income like a mine, and the land was only slightly fertile?
“… … .”
But Sir Max did not answer the question for a moment.
"actually… … .”
cooong!
Eventually, as he tries to open his mouth, he suddenly hears the gate being lowered. Hearing that, Sir Max turned his horse around.
“It looks like the Viscount has returned at this time. Let's go say hello. You will be very happy.
At that, Keynes turned to the gate. His father, Viscount Keynes of the time, was a former member of the Central Knights and was recognized for his merits and was a unique case of receiving a small estate in his later years.
The Viscount, who entered the castle with a moderate gait like a former knight, ran into his son, Keynes.
Keynes hastily lowered his head.
“Meet your father.”
“… … .”
The Viscount seemed surprised for a moment, but soon put on a cold expression and looked at Keynes for a while.
“How come you, living in the capital, come to a corner like this?”
Keynes flinched at the words so cold, but said that he had come on vacation. At that, the viscount snorted.
"joy! Looks like you haven't broken your lazy habit yet. I heard that she has been quite successful lately. Did you come to brag about her to this father?”
No matter how much he was a son, he said it was no different from starting a fight, so Keynes couldn't help but cry.
"father!"
"There's no way your personality has changed... It's a relief that even flattered the prince well. please come back soon I don't even want to see your face!"
The Viscount gave a cold expression and strode past Keynes.
'No, why is that old man doing that again!'
Keynes was moved and tried to argue right away, but there was a hand that quickly grabbed him. It was Sir Max.
“Why are you here? Did I do something wrong?”
“Whew… … .”
Sir Max sighed. The Viscount firmly ordered never to speak, but he was a man who sincerely wanted a reconciliation between the Viscount and Keynes.
“For now, I will guide you to the room the young master was using. I'll talk to you there.”
after a while
Keynes widened his eyes in his room.
“Yeongjijeon?”
"That's right. It's only words, but it's actually close to coercion.”
Sir Max began his explanation with a rare expression of indignation.
“First of all, recently, aristocrats who are said to be using strength nearby have been secretly contacting them.”
[We, the New Confederacy, are trying to protect the order of the Empire against the tyranny of the first prince.
… (syncopation)…
So, I ask Viscount Keynes to cooperate. Its contents... … .]
Recently, a group called the New Confederacy has been established among the aristocracy of the South. They didn't reveal it on the outside, but they were plotting something by bringing the nobles of the south together. But not all nobles agreed with that idea.
“All the lords nearby, including the Viscount, refused. But then they started blatantly arguing.”
At that time, it was impossible to ask for mediation from the center because state affairs were not running properly due to the protests of the aristocrats.
Nobles belonging to the New Confederacy are catching pods in any way and requesting a territory war to subjugate or drive out the lords.
“In the end, our territory also had a proxy war through a duel. The Viscount must have decided that since the number of soldiers is so small, it is better to do so than to shed blood.”
Keynes put on a puzzled expression.
“No, shouldn’t you rather welcome me to a duel? There shouldn't be any good knights in this territory, right?"
Although he was a little shy to say it, Keynes had recently made quite a name for himself. Yes, it was normal to get beaten up in the special training.
Sir Max's expression became more serious.
“Actually, I tried to say that too, but the Viscount was stubbornly against it.”
“But you hate me?”
“It is not. The problem was the opponent to fight the proxy war.”
“… … !?”
Keynes looked even more curious. At most, how high was the lord's personal knight?
“The person who applied for the Territory War this time is Count Lawrence, who boasts the greatest power in the area. He has already fought a duel on two estates. The results were shocking.”
“Shocked?”
“A knight from the side of Count Lawrence defeated the other knight in just over ten rounds. That defeated knight was a master class.”
“… … .”
Only then did Keynes realize the seriousness of the situation. I don't know how a knight of that level could be under the earl, but this must have been a well-prepared plan.
But if you knew they were reckless, you could join them, so why did the Viscount bother to choose a duel?
Sir Max pondered the question for a moment before opening his mouth again.
“Actually, there is another reason why the Viscount didn't summon the Bocchan.”
“For what reason?”
“Isn't the young master currently occupying a place in His Highness' knights? The viscount made this choice because he thought about the future of the young boy.”
"ah!"
Understanding everything, Keynes let out a small exclamation. Sure, his father was blunt, but he wasn't the kind of person to start a fight like he was just before.
Sir Max continued.
“You didn't reveal it outwardly, but as I said, the viscount was very pleased whenever he heard the news of the young master. I hope you don’t take to heart the hard treatment this time.”
After those words, there was silence in the room for a while.
“… … .”
Eventually, Keynes' mouth opened.
“Sir Max.”
“Yes, Bocchan.”
“When are we going to do that goddamn proxy war?”
He stood up from his seat with a determined expression.
* * *
On the other hand, the shabby achievements of the Viscount Keynes are contrasted with a rather splendid castle.
The man was wearing a pod in his thick, fleshy hand and making a pleased expression.
'hmm… The estate of the Viscount Keynes is said to be quite fertile even though there is no other source of income.'
He was the Earl of Lawrence, who had the largest estate around here. Based on that solid foundation, he was also a nobleman with considerable connections in the center.
Being one of the nobles who most actively participated in the formation of the New Confederacy, he took on the important task of absorbing the nobles around him in return.
'Heh... Nothing would happen if I obeyed quietly, but for you to dare to accept Yeongjijeon, blessings rolled in from heaven.'
A muffled voice rang in his ears as he was smiling like that.
“You look very happy?”
"omg! Are you here?”
The frightened Earl Lawrence jumped up and bowed his head respectfully with a speed that was unimaginable for his bloated body.
Seeing the faint fear in his eyes, the man who came in smiled.
“The next opponent has been decided, so I came to hear the information.”
"lol… To be honest, I wonder if you'll ever have a turn. I've heard that all knights, including the lord, are old.”
“I can’t be careless. You know what else the first prince will do.”
“This is a wise statement. Of course I did my research properly!”
The man was only in his mid-thirties and was wearing ordinary armor without a crest, but Count Lawrence, who was over fifty years old, was motionless at the words of the young knight, and was only amused.
He would do the same because this man was the one who was in charge of the most important position in this plan. In a way, it was safe to say that he was the general manager.
“I am really grateful to His Excellency for coming.”
"Shh! Now I am an ordinary free knight. Please refrain from talking.”
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