The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 92
Episode 92
A week has passed.
The gate outbreak that occurred in the capital Turium has been resolved to some extent.
All gates were destroyed and most of the monsters that poured out were suppressed.
The total number of residents affected was more than 50,000. Even though Raoul and the First Guild did their best, it was impossible to completely block it.
One could say that it was better than his previous life, but Raoul was not at ease after witnessing the cruel sacrifices of the residents.
‘If only I had prepared a little better…’
Raoul bit his lip as he looked at the half-collapsed buildings and the residents shedding tears while clutching the bodies of their families.
“But if it wasn’t for the Master, the damage would have been much greater.”
Philip comforted Raoul in the carriage heading to the royal palace.
“If the central army had just listened to us, the number of casualties would have been reduced by half.”
Jake also complained that he did not like the situation outside the window.
Currently, Raoul and the knights’ officers were on their way to the castle after receiving a summons from the king.
He was recognized for his contribution to rescuing the royal family from a difficult situation.
Even if that were not the case, it was Raoul who received the greatest support from the citizens of the capital after the Gate incident, so the royal family could not have postponed the award forever.
‘Because a great sacrifice occurred, an issue would have been needed to calm public sentiment and normalize state affairs.’
By making Raoul a hero, you will want to repair the damage while distracting the residents and show that the royal family is alive and well.
‘It’s a good thing from my perspective, but…’
It didn’t seem easy to resolve the confusion.
The capital’s gate has been cleared, but monsters are appearing outside the walls right now, and the situation in local fiefdoms that have not yet been reported is likely to be much more serious than here.
Moreover, what made Raoul uncomfortable was the fact that he had not been able to completely sort out the Imperial Hound.
I wasn’t able to get much information from Viscount Planck, which I had hoped for.
After being tortured by Kane, he used magic to open his memories at Gray’s Magic Tower, but the only thing he saved was a few bribed minions.
From the documents obtained from his mansion, only rough information could be found, but the identity of the men could not be clearly revealed.
Cleverly, they completely hid their identities so that even the executives could not know each other’s identities.
The only person who knows everyone’s identity is the branch leader, ‘Silver Zero’.
‘Only two out of ten officers were caught…’
Jose, a senior guard knight, and Viscount Planck, head of the finance department.
That meant that there were still people hiding their identity operating somewhere in the kingdom.
I also heard that many of the enemies who occupied the royal castle had escaped, except for the horsemen.
At that time, I wished I had stayed until the end and fought them, but at the time, Raoul was in a state where it was difficult to continue the fight due to the side effects of Regnator.
And since there were royal families to protect, it was difficult to fight against the enemy’s main force.
Anyway, I took care of two executives and the enemy’s capital and my base. Now, it will be difficult to kidnap the capital’s residents and create horse armies, and since they have lost a lot of troops, their momentum will be greatly weakened.
It rattled.
The carriage finally arrived at the royal castle.
As I walked through the gates to the main castle, the charred and trampled gardens and collapsed walls reminded me of the battle that day.
After waiting in the guest room for a while and being guided, when we arrived in front of Daejeon, the servant shouted loudly.
“Prince Raoul de Ashton, the third son of the Earl of Ashton, and his three attendant knights are entering the room!”
Sigh.
The door opened and hundreds of nobles lined up on both sides of the large hall to watch Raoul enter.
And on the throne placed on a splendid platform inside the main hall, King Thaddeus II, looking slightly haggard, was sitting, and the five surviving princes were standing side by side one step below.
In the center of Daejeon, in addition to Raoul and his group, there were people waiting to receive rewards, and strangely enough, the central army corps commander was also seen among them. Jake was angry, but Philip stopped him.
In fact, I couldn’t objectively say that the corps commander was at fault. Because Raoul was not his boss and it was his choice other than taking advice.
Moreover, regardless of the initial response, it was the central army that took care of the remaining monsters, so it cannot be said that the leader was without merit.
The award ceremony went smoothly and finally Raoul’s turn came.
“…I hereby grant Raoul de Ashton the title of Viscount and a mansion in the capital of the fiefdom.”
Amidst applause, Raoul was awarded a medal symbolizing his title and a blank territory and land document.
There were some nobles who were jealous of him, but most nobles recognized and congratulated him for his achievements.
There was no room for disagreement because he did not perform a feat on a battlefield far away, but because he blocked monsters right in front of their eyes.
It was decided that the estate and mansion to be given to Raoul would be ‘discussed’ separately at a later date.
Viscount Planck, who was caught, the finance minister, the nobles of the Rhine, the treacherous royal guard knight Jose, and his associates were currently imprisoned and awaiting trial.
There is a high probability that their property will be recovered, and Raoul will have the right to occupy any place he wants.
After the awards ceremony, a small dance was prepared. Since it was right after the disaster, it could have been omitted, but it seemed like it had no choice but to be held to save face for the royal family and comfort the nobles.
It was Raoul’s first time attending a proper ball, but he was the star of the day anyway, so he felt at ease.
The problem was that he didn’t even have time to eat properly due to the nobles coming to meet him, but Raoul accepted the hassle as he thought about the future events.
After a conversation with a group of nobles, I was drinking a glass of water and trying to catch my breath when a servant came up to me and spoke to Raoul.
“The Third Prince would like to see the Viscount. “This way…”
The direction we were directed to was a small study a little away from the ballroom.
The Third Prince was sitting cross-legged, sipping wine, and waiting for him with an arrogant attitude.
“Did you call me, Third Prince?”
When Raoul lowered his head, the Third Prince silently gestured with his chin as if telling him to sit down.
The 3rd Prince, in his early 30s, had a strong body as if he had been training hard, and his slightly angular face and protruding chin looked stubborn.
“You have made a great contribution at such a young age. “On behalf of the royal family, I express my gratitude.”
“I just did what I had to do.”
In response to Raoul’s answer, the 3rd Prince nodded and expressed his dissatisfaction.
“Yes, of course. If you are a subject, shouldn’t you naturally follow your master’s orders and sacrifice your life for him? But there are a lot of people who forget that and only look out for their own interests…”
Raoul frowned slightly as he listened to the authoritarian Third Prince’s words, but then pretended to have a blank expression and nodded quietly, pretending to agree with what he said.
“As you know, my father’s condition is serious. You probably won’t last long. And unfortunately, my two older brothers also lost their lives.”
He probably wanted to talk about the next throne. Well, since the crown prince who had firmly maintained his position died in battle, there was no way he wouldn’t be greedy.
“Once I ascend to the throne, I plan to get rid of the rotten old men currently occupying the position and bring in young talents. “I will call you when the time comes, so be prepared in advance.”
Then he drank his wine again as if he had no intention of listening to what Raoul said.
Raoul, who took this as a sign to leave, quietly got up, bowed his head slightly, and went outside.
‘This is outrageous.’
The third prince seemed to already think that it was natural for him to ascend to the throne.
And the fact that he just said what he had to say and sent it away as if he didn’t need to hear Raoul’s opinion clearly showed what he thought of Raoul.
‘Are you looking down on me because I’m young? ‘Otherwise, is your insight really limited to that level?’
Raoul sighed at the pathetic behavior of the third prince.
Even in the scenario of Connect before reincarnation, the next king was the third prince. At that time, only the 3rd and 8th princes survived, so he was able to easily defeat the teenage 8th prince and ascend to the throne.
And while he tried to wield power by treating the nobles carelessly, he was reduced to a scarecrow king whose real power was taken away by a prestigious noble family.
With the hidden sword and pillar of the royal family called Cardenas gone, there was no way the masters would simply obey the king’s words.
‘Instead of showing off my authority, I should have persuaded the nobles to take my side by promising them benefits.’
Moreover, this time, as many as five princes survived. There was no guarantee that he could become king just because he was a little older.
To be honest, Raoul expected that the Third Prince would call him and try to appease him in some way. But to spit out such meaningless words…
I hoped things would go according to the flow of the original scenario, but I felt like I would get really tired if that guy became king.
‘There’s still time left, so let’s think about it slowly.’
The rib cage is king, but it will still last for at least a year. Since there will not be a fight for the throne right away, it is not too late to decide what to do next after watching the situation unfold.
Raoul returned to the ballroom and spoke with other royals, including the 4th and 6th princes, before being able to return home.
* * *
“long time no see.”
Raoul was in a small residence inside the academy.
This was a place prepared for visiting professors who did not have mansions in the capital, and the most famous of them all, Sage Gray, was staying there.
“I heard the news. You did a great job, Raoul. Should I call you Viscount Raoul?”
“No, Professor. “Raul is enough.”
When Raoul repeatedly declined, Gray smiled.
“Yes, Raoul. “Then, shall we listen to the story in detail?”
Although the news had already been delivered in writing and through employees, Gray wanted to hear what had happened directly from Raoul.
Raoul also calmly spoke about things about the Guardian of the Imperial Hound Gate, as there were many stories that could not be conveyed through letters alone.
“Hmm. “That is exactly what happened.”
After hearing Raoul’s story, Gray closed his eyes for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and then opened his mouth.
“It wasn’t just the Kingdom of Ruben whose royal palace was attacked. “All four kingdoms were attacked, and the seals they protected were broken.”
From the beginning, the empire’s biggest goal was undoubtedly to break the seal. After the Gate occurred, Gray was also concerned about it and warned the royal families of each country, but ultimately was unable to stop it.
No matter how wise he was, his political influence had limits. Instead, Gray has created amazing things together with the magic tower owners.
“This is it?”
“is it so. [Gate creation prevention barrier stone] Also known as dimensional protection barrier stone.”
A black stone the size of a fist had fine magic circles engraved on it.
On the outside, it was nothing more than a rough rock, but in reality, it was a barrier stone that was difficult to find even if you paid money.
If you activate this, new gates will not be created within a certain range.
Currently, these barrier stones are being installed in all cities where Magic Tower branches are located.
They say that mana stones are constantly consumed to maintain the barrier, but is that really a problem?
And Gray gave as many as five of those precious dimensional protection barrier stones to Raoul.
It was a reward for Raoul’s performance and also a price for the prisoners and information he handed over.
‘oh my god.’
The corners of Raoul’s mouth quirked up.
(Continued in the next part)