13 (44)

“Rise.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Fred Vesk and Phillipeu James slowly rose from their places. The two hesitated, then raised their heads, and their eyes met Louis’s. The one who could not meet his eyes for even a moment and turned his gaze away was Vesk.

He said, “I apologize,” to Louis, then wiped the sweat flowing down his forehead with a handkerchief. Even so, Louis had no intention of lowering his mana for their convenience.

There was one attendant in the hall, and his hands were busy. He was writing down Louis’s words and theirs on a long piece of parchment. When the quill stopped, Louis spoke in passing.

“I hear rumors about the two of you are widespread.”

Because a slight personal killing intent had mixed into the latter part of the words, Vesk did not know what to do from just that one sentence. On the other hand, Phillipeu James beside him was looking at Louis with an expression that said, even if you are who you are, you cannot harm me.

While Vesk was making a clumsy excuse, Louis let his words pass by and looked at Phillipeu James. The killing intent kept rising, and amid this, Phillipeu James could not remain still either. When his Adam’s apple rose greatly as he swallowed, Louis added one more sentence.

“The investigation will begin ten days from now, so until then, try hiding everything you can. You had better not do it clumsily. Ah, right. Have you ever been attacked by an assassin while bathing?”

“……….”

“You have not, I suppose. No. You should not have that happen in the future either.”

Louis smiled faintly. His voice was light.

“Go.”

After the two disappeared, Louis was looking at the information window when someone quietly entered. This man with a shaggy beard was a man named William. He was a great noble, and the post he roughly held was managing the fish that came from the sea stretching behind Lebledna, in other words, the fishing industry.

He bowed his head to Louis and immediately opened his mouth.

“Did you call for me?”

“Yes.”

“……”

“I want you to monitor those two.”

“………. Understood.”

The method of judging who could truly be trusted and who could not was to create eyes and ears in many places. William might betray Louis, but Louis intended to give not only William, but also several nobles under him, something called an opportunity.

Being a great noble did not always mean severe corruption. As far as Louis knew, William, who was now lowering his head and leaving, was relatively clean. There was no one who was not dirty. However, the degree was what mattered.

Louis, who opened the information window, learned that the penalty was quite serious. The infamy created by the new trait called Reign of Terror was tremendous. The capital was only half-functioning, and regions far from the capital, for example the region ruled by House Boarne, were completely red lights.

They were resisting, and the worst situation would be if they resisted until the remaining children and blood relatives of House Boarne united tightly as one. If that happened, he would have no choice but to raise the army again.

Louis knew that in this situation, he did not always have to push forward. After all, the throne was his, and if he added stubbornness to that, the only thing left would be a terrible stench of blood.

‘Hmm…. The first thing to resolve is satisfaction.’

It was right to remove the red lights in the country. From the experience he had gained so far, he knew well that the way to raise satisfaction was to give the people enjoyment.

There were still funds. Louis made up his mind to build the largest arena in the capital, larger than anything he had built so far. To grant that effect, he had to build the unique building, the Great Colosseum.

And the second thing he had to do was recognize the ruling authority of House Boarne. He judged that the lord-vassal relationships they had formed over a long time were too deep to kill each survivor one by one. For now, he intended to throw the dice, watch their reaction, and decide whether to finish them off or give them an opportunity.

The weather was clear. Seagulls were flying in the sky, and merchant ships and trade ships were cutting across the sea at intervals. A cool wind blew once, and Louis was working on a terrace that was nothing short of enormous.

Beside him, beautiful and young attendants were each holding water, food, ink, or brushes, and the recorder was writing down what Louis was doing from one side, as if deeply impressed. Sunlight poured down onto the clearly connected marble.

Amid that, the tabletop, too enormous to be called a table, was filled with a huge piece of parchment. The one filling in that parchment little by little was Louis, and beside him, the engineers said to be among the finest in the Duchy of Eron had gathered.

There were four engineers with great talent, each with at least 10 in the related talent. There were even more below them. About twelve such people were only rolling their eyes. Their mouths were half-open, and they wore expressions as if they could not believe the actions Louis was drawing.

On top of that, their faces showed that they were constantly bothered by the existence of the woman beside him. She was Enneu, whom Louis had personally brought from his territory.

Enneu had, before anyone knew it, grown into a remarkable engineer, and her Metallurgy value had reached 15. Considering that even among great engineers, the rough range was between 13 and 15, hers was the highest value among the four.

Of course, works were not made with numbers alone. In the additional information, there was also an item called each individual’s creativity. Louis had not yet invested related points, so he could not see it. No, he did not even know yet whether it existed. In any case, what Louis was drawing was the largest framework of the Great Colosseum.

It was an incredible building that raised satisfaction by as much as 6. Since the capital’s current state was dissatisfaction -5, adding 6 would return it to a satisfied state, and various halted production activities would continue without striking.

Anyway, since Louis had roughly laid out the outline, he handed the quill to the attendant beside him. She received Louis’s pen with both hands. Louis looked around at the engineers.

“I have laid out the full outline, so you can fill in the rest.”

“There were rumors, but you truly know how to do architectural design. I am surprised.”

Louis nodded briefly and concluded by telling them that the sooner, the better. Leaving behind the people who had begun discussing, Louis shifted his gaze toward the sea. At that moment, a man appeared from behind.

It was Vesk, with his bald head, bulging belly, and tremendous height and size. Not long ago, Louis had given a warning to the powerful ministers, Fred Vesk and Phillipeu James. Since not even a week had passed yet, Louis did not know the exact reason Vesk had come.

When Vesk appeared, the attendants and the engineers who had been looking at Louis’s design plans all focused their gazes. They murmured that Marquis Vesk had appeared. Amid that, Vesk slowly approached and knelt on one knee before Louis.

“I greet the king.”

“What is the matter?”

“There was something I wished to give you.”

He cautiously looked at Louis, then turned his body to the side. Behind him, two soldiers were holding a luxurious box. When he said, “Show it to the king,” the soldier slowly unwrapped the luxurious cloth that gave off a dark red glow. What soon revealed itself was a long scabbard engraved with a lion crest.

There was a longsword inside the scabbard, and the handle protruding from it was bordered with gold.

“It is an item I offer to Your Majesty. I have a hobby of collecting swords, and I had a good item.”

He continued speaking confidently, and compared to when Louis had scattered killing intent not long ago, his attitude was completely different. Louis looked at him for a long while, then grabbed the body of the scabbard. He did not know what kind of leather had been layered over it, but the black scabbard felt just right in his hand.

Indeed, since Vesk said he had a hobby of collecting swords, the longsword currently hanging at Louis’s waist was about to look a little hateful, but Louis lightly opened the sword. White light rode the sunlight and shimmered transparently. He did not know what had been done to it, but on the blade’s surface, elegant runic letters had been engraved one by one.

The attendant let out an exclamation, perhaps because the sword’s appearance and Louis’s figure looked impressive, and the engineers exclaimed at the excellence of the engraving carved into the sword. That was how much elegance clung to it. Louis was also a little impressed. Moreover, the cool chill felt from the blade’s surface was genuine. Magic dwelled within it.

“Interesting. Is it a magic sword?”

“You recognized it immediately. It is a famous sword I barely managed to obtain after searching with every means, materially and physically, for five years. It is called Frost Heart.”

“Frost Heart, is it…….”

Louis smiled faintly. Vesk, who had been secretly expecting what reaction Louis would show, seemed relieved and was letting out a sigh of relief when Louis put Frost Heart back into the scabbard with a clack. The chill disappeared, and what seeped out at the same time was Louis’s killing intent.

“Do I look that easy to you?”

Vesk did not know what to do and wiped his forehead, where cold sweat was flowing, with a handkerchief.

“T-That is. That was not my meaning.”

“Take it away. If you still have the intention after the investigation is over, present it then.”

“T-That is not what I meant.”

“If that is not it, then what? Are you saying you have come to like me? That would be funny in its own way.”

“………….”

“If you do not want to be cut by this Frost Heart, you would be wise to listen to me. Unlike Orpendius, I am rather lacking in patience. As you well know.”

“I apologize. I will withdraw. When Your Majesty’s mood has settled, I will come again.”

He hurriedly received the sword with both hands, but he was so startled that he dropped Frost Heart. When the sword slipped from the scabbard and revealed its white blade, all the royal guards standing watch at each corner immediately drew their swords at once. That was surprising in its own way, so Vesk comically braced himself on the floor.

A scene that the surroundings could neither laugh at nor not laugh at unfolded. Louis quietly watched what he was doing, and in the end, Vesk grabbed Frost Heart and barely put the sword back in. The white frost that had formed on the white marble floor once again made it certain that it was a magic sword.

When the royal guards once again sheathed their swords at the same time, he put Frost Heart back into the box, and the soldiers holding it quickly closed the box. No one moved until Vesk bowed and scraped as he went back out of the terrace. No, even after he left, everyone stayed frozen, watching Louis’s mood. Until Louis urged them to work.

Even after becoming king, Louis had no intention of neglecting secret inspections. That was because there was nothing better than going around personally to learn truths he could not see as king. Even when he governed the ducal territory, he had often disguised himself shabbily so no one would recognize him and inspected the territory.

What he was doing now was that kind of work. Since Louis himself was stronger than most armed warriors, he did not actually need guards, but he had come out of the castle now with only one royal guard, who strongly insisted on following him just in case.

The direction Louis was heading was a region managed by the powerful ministers, even within the enormous capital of Lebledna. Originally, it was right that all land in the Duchy of Eron belonged to the king. And the king distributed it to marquises, while the marquises and nobles gave loyalty to the king in return. However, the problem arose after a long time passed and royal authority weakened.

Because the land they governed continued to be inherited by specific houses, those rights had naturally moved from the king to the nobles. Therefore, although Orpendius could officially confiscate the lands of the powerful ministers, in reality, it was impossible.

However, the rule that had been maintained that way changed when Louis usurped royal authority. Since he was not the existing king, invalidating the rights they had held in the past was very easy.