The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 164

Episode 164

‘A guest at this time.’

I’m sorry, but Raoul did not personally meet guests below a certain level.

This is because there were so many people who wanted to meet him as he was already famous in the capital as the ‘Guardian of Turium’.

However, if the customer was not resolved by Branch Manager Alias, it meant that they were not of ordinary status.

When the servant informed him of the guest’s identity, Raoul nodded as expected and moved to the waiting room to greet the guest.

“Welcome, prince.”

When Raoul bowed his head and greeted him, the customer waved his hand and stopped him.

“We decided to talk comfortably in private. “It’s more burdensome because I use formal language.”

“If that’s the case.”

The person who came to see Raoul was Gerard, the 6th prince.

After forming a relationship as classmates at the academy, they developed a close friendship(?) through the knight investiture scandal.

They had corresponded occasionally since leaving the capital last year.

“What kind of tea should I give you?”

“I’d like some simple milk tea, please.”

“okay.”

After ringing the bell and asking the servant for tea, the two sat down on the sofa facing each other with a table in front of them.

“I heard the news. “I heard something big happened in the territory?”

The story, which started with the story of Raoul’s fiefdom war, went beyond the civil war of the Earl of Ashton and continued to the current situation in the capital and the atmosphere of the royal family.

“…So it looks like the current royal noble council is feeling uncomfortable with you and the Ashton family.”

“Right. “I’m grateful that you came and gave me this information.”

“No, you probably already knew the news anyway. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help even though I was in the capital.”

“That doesn’t even seem like something to say. “Thank you for coming here.”

To be honest, 6th Prince Gerard had no real power and lacked a background.

Because he was so far in the line of succession, he and those around him had no interest in it, and his mother, the third queen, had already passed away from an illness a long time ago.

Thanks to this, by the time Gerard heard about Raoul’s territory war or the news about the Ashton family, the situation had already ended.

Although he was a prince, his situation was worse than that of a nobleman in the capital.

“But how did you even think of coming here? “The surveillance must have been unusual.”

Looking at Gerard’s behavior, I didn’t think he was a prince at all.

It’s just plain clothes and a slightly worn-out cloak that only wealthy commoners would wear.

It was probably done to deceive the eyes of surveillance, but I don’t know how effective it would have been.

“Well, maybe it’s thanks to you. Because the result of the confident push of my third brother and the noble council was very disappointing. “Thanks to this, surveillance has become somewhat negligent.”

“It’s a good thing to be self-employed.”

The 3rd prince must have been quite embarrassed as well.

The intention may have been to moderately reduce the power of the local lords, but in reality, chaos is unfolding in the style of the might of the jungle.

In the past, the royal observer’s intervention would have worked, but not now.

Thanks to Raoul’s very clean start of uniting the territories, the other lords seemed to be fighting until one side was finished.

‘The result will ultimately be the birth of a powerful local lord.’

Just looking at Raoul, didn’t he unite 6 territories at once this time?

Thanks to this, he became the owner of a huge territory that surpassed the viscountries of the 10 baronies combined in terms of the area of the territory alone.

‘If we could just populate it, it would be comparable to most count families.’

If this type of consolidation of territories continues, small-scale barons will dry up, which will accelerate the royal family’s loss of control over the provinces.

For now, I stopped thinking about the royal family’s failures and focused again on Gerard in front of me.

“Now, can you get to the point? “Isn’t there a reason why you took the risk to visit in person?”

I wouldn’t have disguised myself and come here just to see my friend’s face.

Then 6th Prince Gerard sighed and cautiously opened his mouth.

“I feel bad saying this, but I want you to stop my brother.”

The older brother Gerard was talking about was 4th Prince Jonas, not 3rd Prince Herdian.

It is very complicated to explain the current situation of the royal family, but to put it briefly, there were factions divided around the queen.

There are four queens in total in the Kingdom of Leuven.

However, only one of the four queens is currently alive.

The first queen with the highest legitimacy was the deceased crown prince and the third prince, Herdian.

The second prince, the son of the second queen, died.

The 3rd queen’s offspring were the 4th and 6th princes Gerard.

And the remaining 5 princes and 8 princes were the children of the 4 queens.

So, if you look at factions, the three princes are the ones with the highest level of legitimacy and ranking.

The only five princes whose mother is still alive.

And the four princes with no one to rely on.

Although the factions are divided among the three.

‘Honestly, the 4th Prince will have a hard time if things continue like this.’

And Gerrard seemed to think the same thing.

“Recently, I think my brother has started to become greedy for the throne. “It seems like someone is cheating on me from the side… It’s hard to say it myself, but it’s very unlikely.”

Considering the background forces, the game itself was not established.

And if you look at the characters.

‘Honestly, I don’t know.’

Since these people would have already died in their past lives, there was no remaining data on their abilities or evaluations of those around them.

The ages of the 3rd prince are thirty-two, the fourth prince is twenty-seven, and the fifth prince is twenty-four.

Although he was old enough to aim for the throne, no one had achieved anything notable.

We have been collecting data through the Ministry of Information, but it has not been easy to obtain reliable information due to the nature of royal family members who do not have much external activity.

“…So my brother wants to meet you. “He asked me to tell him to stop by when he enters the palace this time.”

“So you want me to stop your brother?”

Gerard nodded.

They were concerned that they would be ‘sorted out’ while being greedy in an unwinnable battle for the throne.

I didn’t know if it was out of concern for my brother or fear that the spark would spread to me.

But for now, it was the most reasonable decision.

“how about you? Don’t you want to give it a try?”

When Raoul asks, Gerard is startled and puts his finger in front of his lips with a stiff expression.

“Raul, be careful! These days, if you say something like that in the royal capital, you can get in big trouble. And what about my king…”

Although he was shaking his head in disgust, he seemed sincere.

‘I’m not saying I don’t like it. Well, who would reject it?’

It would be rather strange that a prince who grew up watching the king in the castle all his life would not be greedy for the throne.

However, since I don’t have the circumstances, I just suppress my greed.

In that sense, I thought Gerard was more patient and thoughtful than the Four Princes.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of.

There was no need to provoke him when he had not decided anything yet.

“okay. First, I will speak carefully to the 4th Prince Jonas. In the current situation, going against the Third Prince would not be a very wise choice. But I don’t know if he will listen to me. “Don’t expect too much.”

“That is enough. thanks.”

Raoul’s last words were spoken to Gerard as he was about to return from his visit.

“I don’t know if it will help, but if something happens, take refuge in ‘Duke Templeton’. I’ll tell Dalton in advance. “If that’s not the case, you can come here.”

There was no need for an afterword.

Gerard bowed his head in gratitude and left the room with a slightly relieved expression.

Raoul was alone, quenching his thirst with cooled milk tea and lost in thought.

‘I don’t plan on getting too involved, but just in case…’

The more cards you have in your hand, the better.

* * *

“What should I say about this?”

Raoul, who returned from the royal castle, collapsed on the sofa feeling listless.

“Did things not go well?”

Raoul shook his head in response to Kane’s question.

“No, it’s funny how things go as I expected. “In some ways, it’s a bit disappointing.”

Raoul slowly recalled what happened in the palace.

The place where Raoul was summoned was not a daejeon or a conference hall, but a kind of reception room.

This is because Raoul did not break the laws of the country or commit a crime to the point of being reprimanded.

In addition, although he was summoned in the name of the royal family, it was not the king but the third prince (who was not yet the crown prince), so it was bound to be a somewhat private event in some ways.

When Raoul arrived, it was not the three princes who greeted him, but some nobles.

The age group consisted of people in their 20s and 30s, and they were either descendants of prestigious families or had just inherited the position of head of the family.

‘Looking at them, are they the hands of the three princes or the so-called think tank?’

In the past, the Third Prince said that he would reorganize the political world with young nobles when he ascended to the throne, and it appears that they were included in that plan.

Among the roughly six or so people, the one who stood out the most was Viscount Brayden.

He was also a genius who reached expert level in his mid-thirties, and was the fifth son of the current master, the Marquis Clifford de McNeill.

‘It’s you.’

Just looking at it, the center of this group was none other than Viscount Brayden.

In fact, even after the 3rd prince entered the room, he took the lead in all the talking, and the 3rd prince seemed to listen to what he said.

Anyway, the story that came out on the spot was, of course, about the Battle of Territory.

Looking at the way things were going, it seemed like this territory war was the work of these young guys.

And more than anything, what made Raoul dumbfounded was the fact that the 3rd prince did not seem to know much about the current situation nor was he interested in it.

‘I think I finally understand why something like that happened in my past life.’

The 3rd prince was extremely lacking in capabilities.

He was an authoritarian who thought the world revolved around him, and he was also proud of his royal lineage.

Perhaps that is why, while their greed and motivation for power were strong, their practical thinking and judgment skills were below par.

He had no idea what was going on with the results of all the territory war approvals he had signed this time.

Since they are only hearing good news by attracting people who tell them what they want to hear, they have become blind to what is happening outside the castle.

And the gathered guys were the same.

They seemed to be confident that they were young aristocrats and had an open mind, but they were young chicks who had no real knowledge of practical work and did not know what practical work was.

They were just smart-ass people who believed that everything could be solved with papers and theories at the desk.

So, isn’t this just spewing out nonsense like, ‘Why don’t we return the baronies that were annexed through the Territory War to the barons?’ or ‘We own too much territory for our own sake, so the royal family should reclaim some of it.’

Of course, Raoul did not blink an eye and refuted their nonsense point by point.

If they wanted their fiefdom back, they asked the royal family to convert the value of the barony, including war expenses, into money and pay it to them. Everyone fell silent when they saw the amount.

He coolly stated that if the royal family wanted to take away the territory without any justification, he would officially make the matter public through the feudal lords’ union and be willing to go to war.

And when he said he would challenge the person who gave his opinion to a duel, his face turned pale and he even apologized… Of course, the

three princes seemed to be a little uncomfortable, but when they faced their reality in person, they were worried. I almost looked ridiculous.

But only one.

I couldn’t look down on Viscount Brayden.

He cleverly used his mouth to elicit the opinions he wanted from others.

Unlike other young nobles whose minds were filled with nothing but nonsense, he clearly knew the full story of the current situation.

And that may be his opinion as well….

‘The one who is really leading the situation is the Marquis MacNeill.’

The Marquess of McNeil is the biggest supporter pushing the 3rd prince to become king and is currently expanding his metallurgical influence through the Yeongjijeon.

In the end, it was highly likely that this series of events was the work of Marquess McNeil, who presented himself as the third prince.

As was the case in the past life, it seemed that this time too, for the sake of the Kingdom of Ruben, they had to be resolved somehow.

In any case, the royal visit ended with simply confirming the differences in each other’s positions.

In the past, there was no way a threat-like proposal would work against Raoul, who now owned as many as seven baronies.

Also, since the situation was resolved without any problems for the Earl of Ashton, it would have been burdensome even for the royal family to start a fight right away.

Honestly, in this case, it was a situation where it was necessary to question whether the royal family had not kept faith, but Raoul did not go that far.

‘There is no point in fighting with words for a hundred days.’

A meaningful smile appeared on Raoul’s face, as if he had something on his mind.

(Continued in the next part)