Chapter 122 - Different Dreams in the Same Bed (3)

The delegation had to walk for quite a while even after passing through the city gates.

Even after marching for nearly half a day, the distance to the imperial palace visible in the distance did not close in the slightest.

It was only natural if one thought about it.

Because the Imperial Knight had chosen such a path to begin with.

The Imperial Knight in charge of guiding us was clearly taking a detour. Even though there was a main road leading to the imperial palace, he led us in circles around the outskirts.

Unable to endure it any longer, Siorin Kirgayen asked the Imperial Knight why he was taking a detour.

The Imperial Knight's response to that was truly a sight to behold.

He said that since we had come all the way to the imperial capital, shouldn't we sightsee to our hearts' content so we would have something to talk about when we returned.

The way he answered as if he were doing us a great favor was like he was giving a tour of the city to country bumpkins.

Even if only in name, we were a delegation representing a nation, yet we were treated in such a manner.

There was no greater disrespect than this.

I stopped an angry Siorin as he was about to formally protest to the Imperial Knight.

There was no need to waste energy on a childish battle of nerves.

I simply urged them to engrave today's humiliation in their hearts and remember it.

At those words, the restless atmosphere of the knights suddenly changed.

The Iron Lions, with their helmets pressed down firmly, no longer wavered. Even when the Imperial Knight occasionally tried to provoke them with ridiculous provocations, they did not respond at all.

"This is the middle of enemy territory. Do not forget that fact."

"Stay alert."

The Iron Lions continuously reminded each other that this was the middle of enemy territory and focused on their mission.

Their consistent attitude was enough to exhaust the Imperial Knight who had been dragging the delegation around while acting arrogant.

"Then that's enough sightseeing."

The Imperial Knight chattered shamelessly and resumed the route.

Only then were the delegation and I able to step onto the main road heading towards the imperial palace.

However, the true humiliation was only just beginning.

While walking along the main road, the citizens of the empire mocked me and the delegation.

They treated our group like country bumpkins and ridiculed our dust-covered appearances.

"Ahem! They are noble figures in their own country! How can you ignore them just because their attire is shabby! Act like the wise citizens of the empire you are!"

The Imperial Knight pretended to take our side, but instead incited the mockery of the imperial citizens.

"Please enter the carriage, Your Highness."

Siorin, whose face was completely stiff, advised me to enter the carriage. He said there was no reason to intentionally show myself and endure their mockery.

Instead of answering him, I called out to the Imperial Knight walking ahead and asked for his name.

"What do you intend to do by learning the name of a lowly knight?"

The Imperial Knight sneered.

"Thanks to you, I got to sightsee the imperial capital to my heart's content, so I must repay you later."

"I wasn't hoping for repayment, but if you insist. I am Rouen of House Yves Saint."

I wondered why he was giving such a nasty tour, and it turned out he was a member of House Yves Saint.

"Good. Rouen of House Yves Saint, I will remember that name."

Rouen snorted at my words.

It was a tone that showed he was not the least bit afraid of a prince from a small country.

After walking for quite a while with the man from House Yves Saint leading the way, the imperial palace finally began to come into view.

"The delegation of Leonberk will be staying at the 15th Palace. I will notify you separately when the schedule begins, so you may rest freely until then."

The Palace Count who came out to greet us barely even offered a greeting before immediately taking care of his business.

"There seems to have been some mistake. The royal family's eldest legitimate son is also present in our kingdom's delegation. Please check again."

At Siorin's words, the Palace Count pretended to skim through the roster and answered with an indifferent face.

"There is no mistake. The entire Leonberk delegation is in the 15th Palace."

Then, as if dealing with us was a bother, he immediately turned his body and disappeared towards the inner castle.

"Your Highness. I apologize. It is all because of my inadequacy."

Siorin, who had been standing there in despair, apologized to me and explained the situation.

In the Bourgogne Empire's imperial palace, excluding the 1st Palace where the emperor resided and up to the 9th Palace where the imperial family resided, there were a total of ten more palaces, and among them, the 15th Palace was a place that existed for nobles who fell somewhat behind in the protocol rankings.

"It's better to be in a quiet place since we won't have to get tangled up with those arrogant imperial nobles."

"Indeed, considering Your Highness's temper, it might be better not to get tangled up with the haughty high-ranking nobles of the empire."

At Erhim Kilinger's joke, the Iron Lions burst into laughter.

The servant guiding the way looked back in surprise before quickly resuming the path.

* * *

My expectation that the 15th Palace would be somewhat quiet was wrong.

The 15th Palace was already swarming with those who had arrived earlier.

Among them, there were those who looked like imperial figures, and there were those who looked like envoys from other countries.

Distinguishing between the two was not a very difficult task.

Those who arrogantly lifted their chins and openly scanned us were the imperial nobles, and those who hunched their backs, read the room, and glanced our way were clearly the envoys from other countries.

"Tsk. Where did these riffraff come from again."

The imperial riffraff, who were also pushed back in the protocol rankings, called our group riffraff upon seeing us.

I took long strides and stood in front of the imperial nobles.

"W-What."

"How dare a figure from a small country do this to the nobles of a great nation."

The imperial nobles who had flinched and stepped back scolded me belatedly.

I smiled broadly at them and offered a greeting.

"Nice to meet you, riffraff."

Not in the imperial language, but in the kingdom's language.

"W-What is he saying?"

"Looking at his expression, it seems to be a greeting?"

"It seems he doesn't know how to speak the imperial language."

The imperial nobles, who had arbitrarily misunderstood after seeing my expression, spoke with deliberately dignified faces.

"The embrace of a great nation is broad, so we don't know who you are or where you're from, but get some good rest before you leave."

I nodded at their arrogant greeting.

"Alright. I'll treat it like my own home and stay a while."

This time too, it was in the kingdom's language.

"But where exactly is this delegation from?"

The imperial nobles whispered among themselves.

Seeing them tilt their heads even after looking at the golden lion emblem prominently engraved on our chests, I had no way of knowing whether the kingdom's prestige was low or if their knowledge was just lacking.

And I didn't care either.

I gave the servant a look again, and the quick-witted servant guided our group to the outskirts of the 15th Palace.

"They really give us one hell of a treatment."

At my brief impression of the accommodation assignment, which could be called malicious, Siorin shook his head.

"It seems Marquis Montpellier's identification plaque doesn't work in the imperial palace."

"Or maybe it's a punishment for being insolent."

Considering the things we had done so far, being assigned to a somewhat secluded accommodation was no big deal.

I unpacked my bags in the 15th Palace where the riffraff were gathered, in the most cornered place of them all.

* * *

The young prince of the Dotrin Kingdom gritted his teeth.

It felt like he would burst into laughter if he let his guard down even a little. He forcibly held back his laughter, even pinching his own thighs.

The attendants shook their heads as they watched his lips twitch.

Everyone just brushed it off, thinking the prince with the eccentric personality was having some delusion alone again.

"D-Did they leave?"

"They left, Your Highness."

The attendant informed him that all the imperial nobles had left the area.

"Pfft-haha!"

At that moment, the young prince burst into laughter.

"It seems your sense of humor is broken again."

The attendant spoke as if it were pathetic. The young prince protested as if he felt wronged.

"No. I didn't just burst into laughter for no reason this time."

The young prince explained what had just happened in a low voice.

What the meaning was behind the greeting the guest who had just arrived at the 15th Palace had given to the imperial nobles.

"Is that funny?"

"It's funny. It's even funnier when you think about those imperial nobles acting all arrogant without even knowing what was being said."

"I doubt you learned the Leonberk language for that purpose."

The attendant clicked his tongue and warned him in a low voice.

"Anyway, I understand, so please lower your voice. Someone might hear you."

"Hear me? Who? So what if they hear? They won't even understand it anyway."

Among the imperial nobles who were steeped to their bones in the ideology of the empire being supreme, there was no one who would bother learning the unnecessary language of a small country.

Even if there were, there were none here at the very least.

The attendant, who had been unwittingly convinced, changed the subject.

"More importantly, is that group from earlier the rumored Leonberk delegation?"

"There are many families that use a lion as their symbol, but the only place that uses a lion trampling a dragon as their family symbol is the Royal House of Leonberk."

"Indeed!"

At the prince's answer, the attendant with a sharp impression let out a gasp of admiration.

"Hearing that they achieved total victory against the Imperial Knights, their basic stance was extraordinary."

"You don't know jack shit about swordsmanship."

"I may not know swordsmanship, but I have an eye for people."

"You said basic stance. How does a guy who doesn't even know swordsmanship know what a good stance is..."

"Ugh. I doubt you learned swordsmanship just to use it to show off."

The Dotrin prince, who had let out a chuckle, quickly put on a serious face.

"It seems they've really gotten on their bad side. From what I heard in the rumors, they were backed by a high-ranking imperial noble, but seeing as they were assigned accommodations in the 15th Palace suited only for riffraff like this..."

"We are also one of those riffraff."

Lightly ignoring the attendant's interjection, the prince continued speaking again.

"At a glance, it didn't look like he regretted his past actions. He also didn't seem like the type of person who would cater to the imperial nobles just to set things straight."

"I'm just saying this just in case, but don't go poking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Are you crazy? It would be a disaster if we got swept up in it for no reason."

"Can I trust you?"

The attendant narrowed his eyes into a glare and looked at the prince.

"What do you take me for!"

The prince jumped up, claiming it was unfair.

* * *

"It is an honor to meet the protagonist of the rumors like this."

During a walk I had taken to get some night air, a boy who suddenly appeared offered a greeting in fluent kingdom language.

"I am Doris Dotrin of the Dotrin Kingdom."

Doris Dotrin, a handsome boy with a small stature, smiled amiably and introduced himself right away.

"This is my attendant, Jin."

As I was just staring blankly at that sudden greeting, Doris Dotrin offered the name of his attendant, which I hadn't even asked for.

"... I consider it the honor of my lifetime to meet the legitimate son of the Royal House of Leonberk. I am Jin of House Katrin."

The attendant with a sharp impression gave me a polite bow. It was only for a moment, but a sign of displeasure flashed across his expression.

Judging from that, I could tell that this current meeting was accidental and had been arranged solely by Doris Dotrin's arbitrary decision.

"Adrian Leonberk."

At my short words, which could barely be called a greeting, the eyebrow of the man named Jin twitched.

"His Highness Doris is twenty-six years old this year."

"He looks young for his age."

At my words, the expression of the one named Jin subtly stiffened.

I was not unaware of his intention in mentioning his superior's age in such a situation. But I didn't feel the need to use honorifics either.

Since the person in question didn't seem to mind much.

"More importantly, what is your business?"

I asked with a bit of vigilance.

"Just a greeting?"

"If that's all, then your business is done."

"And perhaps pure curiosity as someone who walks the path of the sword?"

Doris Dotrin's expression was not much different from when we first met.

A flawlessly clear smile, but since a smile was the most suitable thing for hiding dark ulterior motives, I did not lower my guard.

This was the heart of the empire, which could be called enemy territory.

It wouldn't be strange if someone popped out from anywhere at any time to pull some tricks.

I took a step back and observed the two men.

Naturally, the [Authority of Judgment] settled in my eyes.

"Huh?"

Upon seeing the status window floating in the air, my eyes widened.

"If the opportunity arises, I would like to experience the swords of the highly renowned Leonberk knights..."

"Your Highness. I don't think reputation or swords are the issue right now."

"Then what is the issue?"

The man named Jin slowly looked around before speaking in a low voice.

"Didn't you just get a chilling feeling just now?"

"No. I didn't feel anything."

"You're too dense. That's why there's no use learning the sword for a hundred days."

"So what are you trying to say?"

Jin Katrin stared intently at me and spoke.

"It seems we got caught."

"Hey, no way."

Doris rolled his eyes around to look at me.

"Oh. You're right."

And then he just froze.

"We got caught."

Doris laughed like a fool.

I also smiled as I looked at Doris and Katrin.

However, just because we were both smiling didn't mean the meanings behind them were the same.

One side was an awkward smile shown to hide their predicament,

and the other side was a smile that was nothing more or less than genuine amusement.

Of course, the latter was me.

Honestly speaking, it couldn't be said to be completely pure though.

* * *

The Third Imperial Prince was in a very bad mood.

He had been in that state ever since he heard the story that the prince of the Leonberk Kingdom, who had recently become his sworn brother, had been assigned to the 15th Palace.

Leaving aside the sincerity of their relationship, if they had considered his face, they would not have placed the Leonberk delegation in the 15th Palace.

It was a clear disregard, and a blatant provocation.

And he was absolutely not the type to tolerate being disregarded by anyone. It was the same this time.

His short patience ran out in just an hour, and he immediately took action.

"Y-Your Highness."

The Palace Count turned pale with fright upon discovering him.

"You dare humiliate me?"

The Third Imperial Prince grabbed the collar of the retreating Palace Count and violently shook him.

"Y-Your Highness! It was not my intention!"

"Then whose intention was it!"

When he raised his hand high as if he was going to slap his cheek, the Palace Count squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

"I-It was an imperial command!"

"What?"

The Third Imperial Prince asked with a dumbfounded face.

Taking the opportunity, the Palace Count wriggled out of his grasp and prostrated flat on the floor, shouting.

"It was a matter directly instructed by His Majesty the Emperor! Your Highness!"

"His Majesty, who is busy with public and private affairs, personally assigned the accommodations for a petty delegation?"

"Before whose presence do you think I would speak lies! Please believe me!"

The Palace Count banged his head on the floor again and again as he shouted.

"But why?"

The Third Imperial Prince could not understand it.

The delegations of dozens of kingdoms that came every year,

His Majesty the Emperor had never paid them any attention before.