The Embers in the Furnace Remain the Same (3)

Duncan Seymour Tudor was indeed a nobleman from birth.

If he hadnt given up the throne by his own will, he would have become the ruler of his country. Even after he gave up the throne, he remained the only Duke of Teuton and a knight who stood at the top of the kingdom, earning respect and praise from many people.

In short, he was a great man who didnt want to play the role of escort.

If it werent for the princesss mission, he would never have come to such a far-off country as an envoy. Of course, he didnt accept to head the diplomatic mission only because he loved his niece.

Teuton had once been the leading nation on the western part of the continent; it had now lost its former glory and was declining day by day due to pressures of neighboring countries who carried the Empire on their backs.

Although the Empire was engulfed in a civil war and the threat of neighboring countries had lessened, the situation would not last long. At this rate, the glorious Teuton Kingdom would soon have no choice but to fall in line with the other western countries.

The Tudor family made every effort to create opportunities and reverse the trend.

One of these strategies was the alliance with the Kingdom of Leonberg, and that was the reason Duncan Seymour Tudor had come to a faraway country. Of course, there was no intention of forming an alliance straight off. It was first necessary to check whether Leonberg qualified for an alliance with Teuton.

This was one of the duties Duncan had received from the king he had to look at Leonberg with open eyes. The reality of the kingdom he had entered was disappointing. The port was narrow and cramped, and only a few ships fared from Leonbergs waters to Teutons. The roads were full of potholes, and the cities were poor. The nobles Duncan had encountered on the way to the capital were more like village chiefs in the countryside, and the citizens seemed mere peasants.

It was unbelievable that such a country had won the war against the Empire.

The only thing that Duncan found worth looking at was the knights and soldiers who had met him. Their energy was quite good even if they werent that great when compared to the Teutonic knights under Duncans command. Duncan did not know whether the Empire was weaker than he had expected or whether Leonberg possessed potential unknown to him.

Wherever he went, he was overwhelmed with disappointment, but he did not give up his search.

Winning the war against the grasping empire was by no means impossible, so Duncan believed that there had to be something he didnt know about.

But as Duncan crossed Leonberg, he found there to be nothing special about the kingdom. The Kingdom of Leonberg was exactly as it was known to be: A needy country on the continents northernmost tip.

Duncan was quite disappointed and became skeptical about the delegations mission. It seemed that his judgment had been premature, however. He knew it the moment he saw the soldiers and knights who met the delegation at the capitals gate. The aura of the knights shone clear, and there were no jagged edges to be seen. The soldiers were well-disciplined and as sharp as swords.

They were very different from the Leonbergians Duncan had seen thus far, and for the first time, he was interested in the kingdom. He revealed the energy he had kept hidden all the time. The lesser reason was to test their foundation, but he largely did it to enlighten them of the gap between Teuton and Leonberg and so gain the upper hand in future discussions.

However, even if he had bared all his energy, the effect had been unsatisfactory.

He succeeded in showing the superiority of his power, but that was all.

The knights of Leonberg showed no signs of submission in the face of Duncans overwhelming momentum. It was only their energy and breathing that was disturbed. And even that lasted for only a moment when Leonbergs quad knights stepped out and faced his energy with their bodies, letting the knights and soldier regain their comportment. One of them couldnt hide her womanly figure even though her body was covered with iron armor, and the other was a knight with a somewhat decadent air about him.

Duncan couldnt help but admire them, even if only a little. They had the courage to stand without hesitation and face such an overwhelming gap in energy. The fact that their faces showed no distraction while facing his unbearable presence also impressed Duncan. But it wasnt these quad knights of the kingdom that Duncan came to truly admire.

There was a young man who stood beneath the golden lions banner, the symbol of the Leonberger royal family. His presence felt less than that of a quad-chain knight, yet his energy was so clear and clean. Not one word had been spoken, but the greeting was already adequate.

Duncan was convinced that the man was the young lion from the north, who had gained a great reputation in recent years. His energy and appearance were exceptionally mild, not enough to be called a lion, but his reputation on the battlefield was an established fact, and that was what was important to Duncan. The fact that the Leonberger family also had such a fine warrior pleased him. It was good to know that the Kingdom of Leonberg possessed its own powerful personage. It would have been difficult if the person who was to become his nephew had been weak, contrary to the reputation he currently held.

Well? Duncan asked in a smug tone. He suddenly trembled, as if having been hit by lightning. A tremendous energy was approaching from the side of the gate, from beyond the crowd who met the delegation. It was as if an enormous fortress had suddenly risen in front of Duncan; as if tens of thousands of troops were suddenly charging.

Duncan swore that he had never encountered such energy in his life. Goosebumps invaded his whole body as every hair, from the downy strands on his belly to the tips of the hair on his head, stood upright. A cold chill ran through his back.

He managed to suppress the groan that had risen to his lips and sought out the master of the energy. It wasnt difficult; that great presence was such a tremendous thing that it could not be easily hidden. A man had come out of the crowd and now stood under the Leonberger family banner.

Ah!

Duncan realized it at that moment: The person who he had thought to be the lion of the north was a different member of the Leonberger clan. There was a real lion present. His head sat proudly upon his shoulders like a true maned lion, and his fierce energy was like that of a wild beast. The man stretched his lips, and his fierce smile was lionesque, showing no favor.

* * *

Formal greetings came and went by way of the interpreter.

I meanwhile looked at Duncan Seymour Tudor, and he did not avoid my gaze. The man definitely deserved to be called the number one knight in the west. He was the strongest Ring Knight I had ever seen, and I suspected that there was a penta-chain knight under my very nose.

I was not sure, but I figured that very few knights of the ring could beat him, certainly none of the people Ive ever met. Perhaps if I had met him at another time and another place, I would certainly have paid homage to his achievements.

But not so now, for today, Duncan Tudor was not a knight who had risen to the greatest height to me. He was a ruthless man who had forgotten his place as a guest by threatening his hosts.

And it wasnt just that. The other bothersome factor of the Teuton delegation was that the eldest daughter of the Tudor family didnt show her face at all. Although I was asked to understand that the long trip weakened her body, it made the greeting ceremony a decidedly one-sided affair.

I did not like the lack of chivalry and rude behavior of their delegation and the fact that they saw our kingdom as beneath them grated on my nerves.

The anger had swelled within me, but I forced it to subside for now. I couldnt chase away guests who had come to form an alliance before talking with them even if one of those guests was a nasty piece of work who had threatened his hosts.

Brother, I will take things from here.

Fortunately, Maximilian recognized my feelings and said that he would guide the delegation by himself. Duncan Seymour Tudor glanced at me and then disappeared as he followed Maximilian.

Hahaha, I laughed at Duncan, who had remained arrogant until the end.

Lets see how long you will be so arrogant.

I bet that, sooner or later, he would surely pay the price for todays affront I would make it happen. It was fortunate not to have to do the tiring job of serving the envoys, so I comforted myself with that thought and headed to my palace. It turned out it wouldve been better had I guided the delegation.

Your Highness, isnt it time for you to fill your position as a crown prince?

The Marquis of Bielefeld had been waiting for me at my palace; he now came and started to scold me.

If you went away, they might have left. If you come to the table, they can come to terms with us.

Shouldnt you give them a message? Dont you know how meek Maximilian can be?

Do you have any idea how important this mission is to Leonberg?

The nagging continued endlessly.

I did leave a letter, I said at last.

You mean that letter with no due date of return or any detailed explanation of circumstances?

After I had made my excuse, I heard only more henpecking and badgering. So I shut my mouth then and waited for the marshal to calm down.

Fwoo. What the hell was so important that your Highness was away at such an important time? Bielefeld asked with a sigh after his long nagging session.

Montpellier.

When the capital was under attack, Montpellier and his fled northward. All the people who had fled together returned to the capital. Only Montpellier had remained in the north.

I suddenly remembered that I forgot all about him.

My abrupt absence had been to bring Montpellier back to the city.

Why is he suddenly-?

Because hes the sneakiest of guys. Its never safe if you dont put him in a visible place.

The marshals face became grim as he heard my words.

But for that? Is that the only reason to leave at this critical time?

Bielefeld continued to condemn my actions, asking if it wouldnt have been enough for me to order someone to go and fetch Montpellier. I told him the truth.

No. By then, it wouldve been too late.

Is the man so good at running from places, then?

Its not that. I had to do it, and get it done right.

I then told the marshal why I had fetched Montpellier at this time.

Im thinking of entrusting the negotiations with the Teuton Kingdoms delegation to Montpellier.

How the hell can your Highness believe in Montpellier and entrust important matters of state to him? the Marquis of Bielefeld asked me, his face showing me that he wondered what shit plan I had. My response was profound.

It seems that the Great Marshal has already forgotten that the man had been one of the few marquis of the Empire until recently.

What does that matter?

It means that he has a lot of information.

If thats all it is, it makes more sense to force the information from him and leave the negotiations to someone else.

Bielefeld seemed to know all too well how to deal with Montpellier, and this made me very happy. But apart from that sense of satisfaction, my opinion was different from his.

No. I have already decided to leave this work to Montpellier.

The marshal asked me why.

Its best for Montpellier to be doing something to help us out.

Even if he had become far less powerful in the kingdom, Montpellier wasnt incompetent. Rather, he was a person of supreme competence. Of all the people I knew, Montpellier was the best when it came to using words to reach an end, provided he wasnt being threatened by a spear or a knife.

In fact, Leonberg almost collapsed onto its own roots under the attentions of Montpelliers three-forked tongue.

If we think of him as an enemy, we can only punish him. If we think about him as an ally, there are many places where he can be put to use.

He had proved his talent whilst serving as a man of the Empire. Moreover, the possibility of betrayal was slim because Montpellier had nowhere to go. The only path open to him was to settle himself in Leonberg.

I bet he will see this as an opportunity and hang onto it with his life.

And when I thought about the Teuton delegations plans being overturned by the nasty Montpellier, I had to laugh. Unlike me, the Marquis of Bielefeld was honest and decent. He didnt seem to like using Montpellier for such an important task. Still, he didnt go against me.

The marshal simply advised that Count Siorin Kirgayen be added to the negotiations to prevent Montpellier from doing a bunch of crap.

I also had no intention to entrust Montpellier alone with the job, so I readily accepted the marshals proposal. When the work was done, Adelia opened the door and entered my room.

Your Highness. I will tidy your hair.

Only then did I realize that my hair had become messy after flying on the wyvern.

Please do.

Once my permission was given, Adelia started to straighten up my hair.

When she was done, someone entered, looking for me. It was Arwen.

Your Highness. If you had at least given me a proper word, the uproar wouldnt have grown so great.

Her gaze was fixed on Adelia as she said this, and a rare emotion of regret passed over her face. It seemed that Adelia had suffered while I had left without telling her.

Well go together next time, I promised.

Next time, you wont disappear without leaving a message and making trouble for others, Arwen replied coldly, her mouth set into a sneer. I merely laughed at her frank appearance.

Keep that in mind, Arwen stressed in a softer tone and left. Next came Carls.

Your Highness! Really, how long have I been your Highnesss knight? If youre going to leave me in the dark like this every time, you might as well throw me out!

Even if Carls was angry while he complained, his face showed his sincere regret at being marginalized many times whenever I disappeared.

I promise that it wont happen in the future.

I managed to soothe Carls as well. Bernardo Eli came to me then.

Must I comfort you as well? I asked him.

What are you talking about? I knew you would come back, and you came back in time.

Arent you angry?

No way. Im just happy that youre back.

Then why come here and waste words?

Eli shut his mouth when he heard me speak so sternly, then rolled his eyeballs and asked me, But Sir Arwen-

End it!

I ruthlessly drove him out. Next to come to my room was Maximilian.

Brother! Brother! Brother! he kept calling out to me.

You want to nag, too? I asked Maximilian. He shook his head.

I resented the fact that I couldnt reach you and ask you to come back, brother. But now its okay. You were a little late, but at least you came back in time.

Arent you curious about what I have been up to in the north?

If there is anything I need to know, you would have told me right away, he said in a soft tone.

I brought back that Montpellier guy who buried himself in the north.

I told Maximilian what I wanted to do with Montpellier, and he didnt even question my plan. He merely raised his thumb and said it was a good idea.

I smiled as I saw Maximilians sturdy attitude and told him something I had not revealed to Bielefeld.

Its not only Montpellier that I brought from the north.

Maximilian waited for me, his eyes shining like lanterns.

Its really this I wanted to fetch, I said, puffing up my breast as I pulled a large chest from a cupboard, opened it, and showed its contents to Maximilian.

This His eyes stretched wide.

Lets see if they will be so pompous after seeing this, I muttered as I recalled the arrogant Teutons.