Chapter 141
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 141 – The Messenger Was Turned Away
After Warren has finished speaking, Sylvird opened his mouth.
“Well, it’s time to get back to the ship. It’s a good time to eat and take a break.”
When Ain realized it, it was indeed a good time.
It was about the time they would normally sit down to eat, and when he realized it, he saw that everyone was hungry.
Maybe the atmosphere of the meeting affected them, but they didn’t realize it.
However, when the situation calmed down like this, it was only natural for them to realize it.
And as Sylvird stood up, the group of Ishtalika left the large conference room.
＊＊＊
The atmosphere of the island could be summed up in one word: tropical.
The warm, distinctive trees and white sandy beaches. The crimson color of the ocean also gave a different impression from that of Magna.
Even if it wasn’t for the pretext of a meeting, it would be a place worth visiting.
The sight of Ishtalika’s fleet lined up in a row also exudes a unique atmosphere.
“Hmm… what shall we do tomorrow?”
Ain muttered, and the two people walking beside him reacted.
“Yes. According to the schedule, we should partic.i.p.ate as well.”
“In my case, I’m Ain-sama’s bodyguard, so I’ll always follow you.”
It was about the meeting.
According to Warren’s words, it was no longer necessary for Ain and the others to attend.
If they did, the question was what to do with their free time.
“If there’s nothing to do, why don’t we play with the twins? They’ve accompanied us so far. I think it’s okay to do that much for them.”
Seeing that Ain looked worried, Krone suggested
“That’s right. I think it’s a good idea.”
Hearing this, Chris also expressed her agreement.
“Ah… that’s not a bad idea either.”
Even though they came here to hold a meeting, sometimes Ain wondered if it was really the best thing to do, but it was probably more effective than doing nothing.
After thinking that, Ain suddenly remembered today’s meeting.
“Well, that was a brilliant suicide attack.”
As he looked at the setting sun, Ain’s face had a kind, gentle expression, as if he was looking at something endearing.
“Are you talking about the Third Prince?”
“Well, King Heim too, but mainly the Third Prince.”
Hearing Ain’s words, Krone and Chris smiled.
“How much do you think today’s talks have helped?”
“I think half of them have already been broken.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
He asked for their opinion about the results of the first day’s talks.
If they managed to break half of them in one day, that’s certainly a good result.
“The rest is, well, as Warren-sama said, a sense of security… I think that’s the last line of defense.”
Ishtalika does not launch a preemptive strike.
The people of the Heim royal family consider this to be absolute security.
Or, to put it another way, they might say they take advantage of it.
“Well, I understand how you feel. It may not be the right way to put it, but we Isthalika have made our own choices.”
If you call it an opportunity to take advantage, Ain was not completely unaware of it.
However, it was difficult for him to speak out as a member of the royal family.
“What exactly is Warren-sama planning to do?”
Chris muttered as they talked.
It’s true that Warren told everyone that he would destroy this sense of security.
Although Ain and the others would not be present at that meeting, they wondered how he planned to destroy that sense of security.
“Krone-san, do you know what Warren-sama is going to do?”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t really understand either.”
Only Sylvird and Lloyd knew.
The three of them, including Ain, didn’t understand.
“Since Warren-sama explained it, I think he’ll bring the results back…”
Despite their discussion, they could not figure out how it was done.
However, since it was Warren who made the declaration, they had no intention of doubting it.
“For now, let’s get some rest on the ship. We’ve been having these meetings in the light, so we need to make sure we don’t get sick.”
As the three of them talked, they came to the front of the Princess Olivia.
The results of the first day’s discussions were good. Ain and the others were able to return to the ship with satisfied faces.
On the second day, only Warren would go to the meeting, but he would be fine. Such a feeling of security enveloped Ain and the others.
＊＊＊
When Ain and the others returned to the ship, they were met by Olivia and Martha.
After dinner in Olivia’s room, everyone finally had a chance to relax.
Chris and Krone retired to their rooms early, and Martha went out as well.
Since Ain was still at Olivia’s side, only the two of them remained in the room.
——Is this a good time?
Thinking so, Ain asked Olivia a question he had been wondering about.
“Mother, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, what is it?”
Even though it was a sudden question, Olivia answered in a good mood.
“If it’s too difficult to answer, that’s fine, but I was wondering how you are so calm…”
Even after arriving on the island, Olivia had always been calm.
After all, she was now so close to Logas and Grint.
And yet, she didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all, and he wondered why.
“Huh… I wondered what that was about.”
He was relieved that Olivia wasn’t offended.
She had been sitting across from him, but now she moved to sit next to Ain.
As always, Olivia was beautiful today; even the way she walked was beautiful.
“It’s because it has nothing to do with me.”
“Nothing to do with you…?
“Yes, that’s right.”
When she said it had nothing to do with her, Ain waited for her next words.
“Roundheart is not my family. And they’re not the people of Ishtalika that I love. So I guess it probably doesn’t matter anymore… that’s how I feel.”
Even for Olivia, who was known as a saint, the objects of her compa.s.sion were not unlimited.
There was a time when it was clear that she had completely lost her feelings for Heim.
That was when she boarded the Princess Olivia in the port city.
The Princess Olivia arrived at the port city of Roundheart.
The residents of the port city were moved by this and called out to Olivia for help.
However, Olivia did not answer their calls, and she only cared about Ain.
At that time, her feelings for Heim must have completely disappeared.
“If something strange happens at the meeting and Ain and the others feel bad, I will feel bad too. But if you ask me if I have any special feelings for those people… I don’t have any at all.”
Olivia smiled worriedly and said this to Ain.
If it were possible to summarize Olivia’s words now, the people of Roundheart were no different from the other people of Heim. It would be something like this.
Therefore, even if Logas and Grint came, there was nothing special to think about.
“Did you exchange words with them at today’s meeting, Ain?”
“Well, they seemed surprised, but there wasn’t anything special to talk about.”
“Hmph. Ain has become so big and magnificent. It’s only natural for them to be surprised.”
Logas spoke, but he didn’t have a conversation with Ain.
Therefore, the only reaction Ain saw was a surprised expression.
“Actually, after Ain and the others went to the meeting, a messenger from Roundheart came to my ship.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes, it’s true. That person sent a messenger to say that he wanted to talk to me.”
——What is it now?
Ain could not approve of Logas’ actions.
Although he was curious about what they wanted to talk about, he did not feel good about being approached like this.
“The messenger was apparently turned away by the royal guards, but that’s what I heard.”
“Of course they would turn them away.”
“Yes, that’s true. Besides, I didn’t want to talk to them anyway, so the result would have been the same either way.”
Still, Olivia seemed to be in a good mood.
In spite of the unpleasant incident, why was she in such a good mood?
“Mother, how can you be in such a good mood after something like that happened?”
“Oh, you couldn’t understand something so simple?”
Then Olivia boldly put her hand around Ain’s head and held him close to her chest, stroking his head.
“It’s a simple thing. …If Ain is by my side like this, then whatever troubles Heim has are small matters.”
He listened to her words, his head spinning from the sweet scent and warm touch of Olivia.
He felt embarra.s.sed, and various emotions swirled within him, but there was something like a drug in the way Olivia caressed him, no matter when it was.
“Well, it’s a little embarra.s.sing…”
“Yes, you’re a good boy, Ain.”
Ain made a shy comment against Olivia’s chest.
After that, Ain would continue to be stroked for a while.
He would silently submit to Olivia until she was satisfied.
＊＊＊
The next morning.
Warren had finished getting ready for the meeting and was on his way to the main conference room.
“Lili, are you ready?”
“Yes, everything is in order.”
Warren’s secret group did have a uniform.
They wore robes that cover their entire bodies in black, so it’s quite easy to recognize them, but they do have such a thing.
There are about ten people in these robes, including Lili, who followed Warren.
“The time for blowing the whistle is over, too, right?”
“No problem.”
“Yes, that’s good. I’ll leave the third day’s meeting to Krone-dono. I want to finish the difficult things today.”
Compared to the group from the first day, the group from Ishtalika looked rather desperate.
This was because the only person who could be called a key figure was Warren, and he had said that he would go alone.
“Your Excellency, this would not be possible without the influence of Ain-sama…”
When Lili spoke to Warren, he nodded in agreement.
“Yes, that’s right. This is a measure that can only be taken because Ain-sama is called a hero and is held in such high esteem that he is on a par with His Majesty the First.”
“As far as I know, the Duke of Fors is also in favor of it.”
“His son Leonard and Ain-sama are close friends. Perhaps that is why the Duke of Fors seems to be in favor of it.”
“I see. That’s wonderful.”
Then Warren took out a piece of paper and handed it to Lili.
“What is this?”
“The distribution of those who are for, those who are against, and those who can’t say either way.”
Hearing this, Lili looked at the paper.
“The pro-Magna and pro-Royal Capital groups stand out. Especially since almost the entire population of Magna is pro-Magna, isn’t it?”
“These are the results of a poll conducted last spring. Since this information can’t be made public, everyone’s answers are based on a.s.sumptions.”
“If that’s the case, is it possible that Magna’s ratio is even more biased?”
“That is definitely the case. The recent tree-planting event in Magna… perhaps because of that, the number of people speaking out against Ain-sama is only increasing.”
The story of Ain creating a large ripple tree during the tree-planting event spread quickly.
The crown prince, who also gives people the blessings of the earth. There was no way that Ain’s story, which was already popular, wouldn’t become a topic of conversation.
“It was quite an interesting doc.u.ment.”
Lili handed the paper back to Warren.
“Wasn’t it? Information is good to have in abundance, because you can use it at times like this.”
Warren spoke happily and seemed to be in a good mood.
“Lili, let me tell you something.”
“If these are Your Excellency’s words, I’ll engrave them on my heart.”
Lili replied and waited for Warren’s next words.
Then Warren, who had stopped, spoke to Lili as follows.
“Military officers are a symbol of a country’s strength. And the job of civilian officials is to make that strength known.”
Of course, there were other jobs.
Warren was telling Lili this and giving her one aspect of the job of a civilian official.
＊＊＊
An hour later, Heim’s group arrived in the main conference room.
But when they saw Warren and the others on the other side, they felt a sense of intimidation they had never felt before, and their faces showed their confusion.
Despite their puzzled looks, Heim’s dignitaries also took their seats.
The same doc.u.ments that Warren had shown Lili were already laid out, and everyone picked them up and looked through them.
…In the middle of them was a small, thin wooden box that was placed on Tigre’s seat.
“Warren, what is this box on my seat?”
Tigre asks Warren, showing his caution.
“You can open it if you want. Don’t worry about it. Even if you open it, Heim will not be harmed, and no harm will come to you.”
Hearing this, Tigre turned to Ralph, who was standing nearby.
Ralph called to the guards and ordered them to open the box.
“You there. Open the box and show us what’s inside.”
“….Yes!”
He looked confused for a moment, but he couldn’t disobey the order.
The knight approached Tigre and opened the wooden box.
“Warren… you! What do you think you’re doing showing me this?”
Tigre looked at the open box and realized what was inside.
Then, not understanding the meaning of it at all, he complained loudly.
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