Episode 115

I entered the magnificent Eastern Palace.

A grand dining hall unfolded before me.

A long table surrounded by splendid folding screens.

‘I never knew such a place existed within the empire…’

Gold-plated chairs were set around the luxurious table.

I was seated right in the middle.

Next to none other than the empire’s 3rd Princess.

“Hehehehe, please make yourself comfortable. You two look good sitting together.”

The Duke chuckled and sat across from us.

With Lidia’s stern aunt, uncle, and cousin.

“Thank you so much for inviting me to this banquet.”

‘It feels more like an interrogation than a meal…’

I forced a smile to express my gratitude.

However, the relatives still wore expressionless faces.

“The meal will be served shortly. Please wait comfortably.”

The Duke spoke in a relaxed tone.

But his relatives looked at me as if they wanted to devour me rather than the meal.

“Stay comfortable, relax.”

“Indeed, what use is a man if he’s so tense?”

The aunt and uncle spoke in emotionless voices.

“Th-thank you.”

I swallowed hard.

My only thought was of escaping from this place.

“Uncle, don’t scare Vail for no reason. Today, this boy has come as our benefactor.”

Lidia chided her relatives in a sharp voice.

Not in her usual stern Princess voice, but like the youngest daughter of the family.

I glanced at the Princess.

Feeling my gaze and sensing my intent, she asked quietly.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was a bit surprised because your way of speaking is different than usual.”

Normally, despite her young age, Lidia’s spoke like a superior.

Seeing her like this, she seemed quite friendly.

“Since we’re among family, I’m speaking comfortably, you know.”

Lidia replied with an expression as if to say, ‘Why are you asking something so obvious?’

“It seems nice to see such a friendly way of speaking too.”

I laughed and complimented the youngest Princess’s way of speaking.

At this, the young ruler of the East looked at me with a sly gaze.

“You’ll be seeing me often from now on, so it’s better to get used to it.”

‘Eh…?’

I was going to see her often?

While I was blankly pondering the meaning of her words.

I noticed the figures of servants approaching from a distance.

“We will prepare the meal.”

I looked at the round lid made of iron.

A luxurious tray adorned with gilded dragon decorations.

That tray was placed on the table.

Then, the moment it was opened.

“…?”

I was a bit startled.

Because the food revealed upon opening the lid was none other than boiled potatoes.

Plain potatoes that made the luxurious porcelain plates seem inconsequential.

That was the first appetizer for the Eastern royalty.

“Come on, dig in. It’s quite a feast today as well.”

The Duke was not at all perturbed by the modest potatoes.

Instead, he offered me the dish with a very gracious look.

“I will eat it gratefully.”

Following his gesture, I took a potato.

And then, I quietly observed Lidia’s relatives sitting opposite me.

“……”

None of them touched the potatoes.

They just silently observed me eating first.

‘Good, it’s better this way.’

Since I joined the meal anyway, I might as well eat heartily to lessen the formality.

I imagined Lidia’s frequently emulating ‘commoners’ and picked up the potato.

And then…

I bit into it like an apple, as if to show off.

“…!”

Seeing me eat a potato with my bare hands, all the relatives frowned at once.

Especially the Duke, who was elegantly slicing a potato with a fork, was quite startled.

With a look that seemed to say, ‘Did this guy starve for days…?’

However, I didn’t care.

Because even potatoes were precious during my childhood in the orphanage.

Even during my time as a knight candidate, it was hard to eat warm potatoes while on the cold northern frontlines.

Remembering that time, I savored the potato as I ate it.

“Phew….”

I drank the water refreshingly.

And then, wiping my lips with the back of my hand, I looked at the Eastern royalty.

Indeed, everyone seemed flustered.

‘Good. Now the flood of criticism will start.’

Satisfied with that scene, I exhaled deeply.

But.

Clap…! Clap…! Clap…!

The sound of applause came unexpectedly.

At the sound of the applause, everyone looked at the Duke.

“This fellow, even your eating manner is excellent!”

Lidia’s maternal grandfather and the former ruler of the East.

Jerome VIII chuckled and looked at me with pride.

“Others from the empire would frown upon being served potatoes. But you… you’re different!”

I gazed blankly at the Duke, who seemed to enjoy it.

“Ha… Haha. I’ve always liked potatoes. I ate them often on the front lines, too.”

Swept up in the mood, I ended up laughing along.

“Wait, you’re from the front lines?”

While everyone was clapping.

Lidia’s cousin, Darhan, wearing an officer’s cap, asked me.

“Was it the Northern Front, by any chance?”

“Yes, I served there for quite a long time during my knight candidate days.”

I answered with a bitter expression.

Then, the face of the 17-year-old boy, previously expressionless, brightened.

“Is that true? I’m going to be dispatched to the Northern Front soon.”

He said to me with a pleased expression.

“Does it really snow there?”

“Yes, you’ll see it to the point of getting tired of it if you go.”

Lidia’s cousin looked at the senior of the unit he was about to be sent to with curiosity.

“I heard it’s insanely cold there. And the military discipline is strict too.”

“It should be better now. It became peaceful after we subdued the enemies during my time.”

The junior’s eyes grew more interested as the senior spoke.

“Indeed, I’ve heard. Were you one of the promising ones who defeated them?”

“Yes, I was one of them, but I was just a bystander.”

I humbly replied.

“Ha, it’s truly amazing! To see a senior from my batch here!”

Lidia alternated her gaze between her cousin, who had just been trying to protect her and me.

Seeing the two men quickly engage in conversation about the front lines, her eyes showed relief.

“Do you know someone there by any chance?”

I rested my chin on my hand.

And then, after pondering for a while, I spoke to him.

“I do have one peer there, but…”

My peer, Cain, whom I met at the nomination ceremony.

Coincidentally, he’s serving on the Northern Front.

“Could you tell that peer about me?”

If I entrusted this young boy to him, he would surely treat him well.

It would also provide support to Cain, who was struggling alone in a foreign land.

It would be beneficial for both of them.

“Yes, I will convey that.”

A boy who was royalty in the East was to be sent to a remote area without any connections.

The corners of his mouth lifted into a wide smile.

“This is good, Darhan. I was worried, but I’m glad now.”

“Yes, it seems to have worked out well. Father!”

The commander of the East.

Lidia’s uncle, calmly cutting a potato, said,

“However, don’t show excessive kindness to my son. Treat him as just another soldier.”

He was planning to send his son away deliberately to gain experience.

Yet, he had been worried about him deep down…

His face showed happiness due to the unexpected backing.

“I will convey that, Commander.”

I respectfully bowed my head in acknowledgment.

“You looked like a fancy man, but you are a true soldier.”

“That’s right, Father. It seems I misunderstood him.”

Normally, when someone revealed they were from the front lines, they were dismissed as rough people.

But the response of the Eastern royalty was very different.

‘This isn’t what I intended…’

I felt like I’d inadvertently left a good impression while trying to help a friend from afar.

“Haha… You all have finally recognized the true worth of Knight Vail.”

The Duke looked pleased at his son and grandson, who had come to acknowledge me.

“We misunderstood based on appearances.”

“That’s right, you’re a man whom my cousin has taken a special interest in!”

Lidia flinched at her brother’s words.

And then, with her gaze, she subdued her taller, younger cousin.

“Don’t talk so carelessly about such things outside!”

The Princess glanced at me.

Then, she carefully tried to wipe my lips with a napkin.

“You should be mindful of your position now.”

When Lidia’s hand touched my lips, I was startled.

However, I couldn’t resist because of the proud look of the Duke.

“Aren’t you now a proper knight of the empire, not just a candidate from the Northern Front?”

The 3rd Princess was smiling with her sly red eyes.

“Now, you should shed your commoner appearance, right?”

She looked up at me and grinned mischievously.

Like a lady wanting to care for a child.

“I… thank you…”

I expressed my thanks with a hesitant expression.

Then, amidst the improved atmosphere, I started to eat in earnest.

Starting with pork fried in oil and coated in sauce.

To a dish made of shrimp balls turned into dumplings.

Although all the dishes were oily, they were quite delicious.

“The food is very tasty.”

“Chuckle… That’s good. Eat a lot.”

For a while, I put aside other thoughts and enjoyed the Eastern cuisine.

However.

Not everyone was simply enjoying the meal.

“……”

Unlike her uncle and cousin, Lidia’s aunt still looked at me coldly.

The great merchant of the East looked at me with a cold expression.

‘It worked out well with the uncle and cousin. What about this aunt?’

The venomous gaze of the woman made the taste of the food gradually fade away.

“We will prepare the dessert.”

Along with the servant’s words, an elegant tea set was placed on the table.

The fragrant smell of tea leaves filled the spacious, detached palace.

“This tea was brought by my second daughter, Arieta, the Merchant Lady.”

The elderly man pointed to the cold woman sitting beside him.

“I’ll drink it with thanks, Arieta, Merchant Lady.”

I took a deep breath inwardly as I sipped the tea.

“You’re Knight Vail, right?”

She finally spoke.

An opponent who seemed stronger than the father and son.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Being in the Capital Defense Command Unit, your salary must be low. How are you managing your finances and retirement plans?”

Her calculating, emotionless gaze was befitting of a Merchant Lady.

Her gaze pierced through me.

“Aunt, Vail has just turned twenty…”

The youngest Princess was flustered by her mischievous relative’s behavior.

“Oh my, Lidia. At twenty, he’s an adult. He must be thorough in managing his finances.”

The merchant smiled broadly at her precious niece.

Then, looking at me fiercely, she said,

“That way, you won’t make a ‘partner’ suffer, right?”

Her gaze was menacing, clad in a black fur coat.

Like a female leopard protecting her young.

“As for wealth, I already have a domain.”

“A northern domain? Isn’t that a wasteland? How can you farm on a land full of rocks?”

She was well aware of the soil conditions in the empire’s north.

Indeed befitting a Merchant Lady.

But.

“Ah, sorry, I forgot to add something.”

I, too, was not someone to be taken lightly.

“My land is in the western part of the capital, right next to the Western Imperial Palace.”

“…!”

Arieta was well aware of the insane land value in the capital’s west.

She flinched for a moment upon seeing my proud gaze.

“Just now, you were merely a Defense Knight…”

“Not all defense knights are without money.”

Arieta chewed her lip.

Then, she signaled to bring fruit as a counterattack.

“We will serve the fruit.”

Servants in elegant silk clothes neatly placed the fruit plate on the table.

Red and smooth flesh.

And, artistically sliced into the shape of an elephant…

…a watermelon.

“This is a fruit called watermelon, newly introduced.”

“Oh…”

The aunt confidently introduced the fruit.

Then, the Eastern royalty showed interest.

They admired the lavish visuals they were seeing for the first time.

“Hoho… It’s surprising. It was difficult to obtain.”

Arieta crossed her arms alone.

Then, she looked at me with a very arrogant gaze and said,

“Shall we call it a premium dessert exclusive to the South?”

The Merchant Lady looked at me as if wondering if I had ever seen such a luxury item.

She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for my reaction of admiration.

But.

“How much did you pay for this?”

Her eyebrows furrowed at my unexpected response.

“It was 1 gold per piece, but why are you asking that?”

“What?! 1 gold?”

I asked her back with a look of disbelief.

My intense reaction drew the attention of the royalty to me.

“Haha, are you shocked by the high price? I understand. It’s a premium fruit, after all.”

Arieta chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

“No. It seems like you suffered a huge loss for that price.”

When I answered firmly, the Merchant Lady’s shoulders twitched.

“A loss? That can’t be. It was imported by one of the largest trading companies in the empire.”

Arieta crossed her arms alone.

And looked down on me with disdain.

“Which trading company did you deal with?”

However, I did not back down.

I observed the watermelon with an expert gaze and said,

“It’s the Rooper family trading company from the North.”

Rooper.

Upon hearing that name, I couldn’t help but snort.

I never imagined I would hear my senior’s name after so long.

“Oh, really?”

I intended to let it go, but remembering his misbehavior irked me greatly.

Moreover, this was a golden opportunity to open my farm’s first trade deal.

A perfect first step for my retirement plans.

“Sigh…”

I took a deep breath in a situation that was hard to refuse.

Then….

With my hands clasped, I spoke with a sly expression.

“Oh my. You’ve been swindled.”

Arieta’s face turned pale upon hearing my words.

“What? What did you say?”

I picked up the watermelon.

And then, with a sly smile like a schemer, I answered,

“Rooper, that guy… After being expelled from his family, he’s now hoarding, isn’t he?”

“Do you know the people at the trading company?”

To Arieta’s question, I replied with a look of sympathy.

“Yes, he was a disgraced knight of our Capital Defense Command Unit. His family has a long history of misdeeds at the level of a Sword Master.” ¹

I chewed on the watermelon.

Its sweetness wasn’t very high. It wasn’t even first-grade.

“Break off the deal. I’ll supply you with better watermelons from our farm.”

Watermelon was a top-tier fruit eaten by the royalty.

Arieta was stunned to hear that I was farming such a valuable fruit.

“I’ll give it to you for half the price of Rooper’s trading company.”

At the mention of half the price, Arieta’s eyes sparkled.

She had been suffering from the empire’s distribution monopoly until now.

Quickly calculating how much she could save with the proposal from the man before her, she concluded.

“Is… is that true, Vail? No, Knight Vail?”

The way he addressed me became more respectful.

“Yes, I also happened to need a trading partner.”

Lidia’s grandfather chuckled as he looked at me, clasping my hands like a schemer.

The elderly man alternated his gaze between his granddaughter and me.

He had the sly eyes characteristic of Lidia’s family.

“I’ll prepare the contract later. Let’s talk about it slowly together.”

Unaware of this, I excitedly talked about the deal.

I was so engrossed in enjoying my first trading partner that I didn’t notice the old man’s gaze.