Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

944 – Exchange is Thorough – 4

The communication port that had accidentally been split in half was restored exactly three hours later.

If it had been completely pulverized, it wouldn’t have been possible to repair it, but since it was split cleanly in half, it could be repaired without a problem. There was no need to ask Tricky, as the magician in Wiridia took care of it.

And when I turned on the communication port that had been silent for a while, the messages that had piled up for three hours came rushing in like a flood.

‘If it had been later, I would have come in person.’

I burst into laughter at the barrage of letters that seemed to embody the emperor’s desperation.

As expected, three hours was the right amount of time. If the recovery had been completed faster than three hours, the Emperor would have received an enthusiastic message, and if it had been delayed by three hours, the Emperor would have come to grab him by the collar.

After all, the virtue of moderation is the best, rather than being too little or too much. Moderation is truly a human virtue. Of course.

[ It seems that you are busy with the Cultural Specialization District. I am truly delighted that the pillars of the Empire are devoted to the Empire. This is something that even the Lord, the eldest of Ribnoman, would nod in admiration. ]

After checking each letter with such a happy heart, I checked the emperor’s last letter.

‘Ugh.’

It was such a ridiculous story that I couldn’t help but laugh.

A reprimand asking what on earth he was doing to ignore the Emperor’s call. At the same time, he threatened that he had a powerful supporter in the current Dragon Lord, so they should not do anything they would regret.

It sounds like he’s saying that if I use Atellius’ scales, he’ll use the scales of the current Dragon Lord. No, it’s probably written with that meaning. So this is a strong threat, like mutually assured destruction,

‘you?’

Unfortunately, threats are only threatening when they are realistic. The likelihood of the Emperor doing something like that is close to zero.

The current Dragon Lord is the son of Emperor Aimanka. Although the Emperors after the Great Emperor are the children of the Empress, and the Lord is the son of the previous Lord, the current Emperor is not the Lord’s descendant─but the Lord is still the son of a distant ancestor. He is the pillar and symbol of the Livnoman royal family.

But would you use the precious treasure that such a being bestowed to you to try to harm me? An emperor who values ​​justification would never do that. Even if you were to do something like that with your eyes turned upside down, the situation and the empress would stop you, and the palace and finance departments would shout out warnings. They would tell you not to use those precious dragon scales for something like that.

Of course, I don’t mind using it in places like this. Atellius is someone I should respect, but it’s hard to call him a superior. Besides, every time he gave me a scale, he said, ‘Use it wherever you want.’

‘If you make a statue of the emperor with dragon scales, you are a loyal subject.’

Crucially, my actions are a fatal counterattack against the Emperor, but to the outside world, they are the actions of a loyal subject among loyal subjects.

Erecting a statue for the emperor using dragon scales, which are not even treasures. If this is not loyalty, then what is? Is it loyalty to make a statue using the spine of a dragon?

So this fight will turn out to be my victory, huh…?

‘for a moment.’

I was enjoying the feeling of victory, but then I felt a sense of discomfort.

‘How does this kid know?’

If the Emperor is talking about the current Dragon Lord, then he must have figured out that I intend to use the scales of Atellius. Otherwise, he would never have spoken of the elder of Livnoman so carelessly.

But how did you know? I only told the Emperor that it was a symbolic sculpture. I didn’t say that I was planning to make a statue, nor did I say that the materials contained Atellius’ scales.

Yet this guy knows. He has sensed my grand plan and my sincerity.

‘Have you learned the law of interest?’

I had that thought for a moment, but I shook it off right away. If he had read my mind with the Interest Law, he would not have threatened me with a text message, but would have flown to Wiridia on the Dragon Lord.

‘It came from somewhere.’

If so, the most likely and only possibility is that the Big-Gilbert Project was leaked.

In fact, it is not impossible. Wiridia is now my territory, but it was under the direct control of the imperial family until just a few years ago. In fact, many of the civil servants currently supporting Wiridia are former local officials and aides from the imperial family era.

Although these local officials or aides may not have connections to the emperor, it is highly likely that they have public or private connections with civil servants in the system.

‘Were you too excited?’

After reaching this extremely obvious conclusion, a bitter smile came out of my mouth.

I let my guard down. My territory, a one-sided attack that I couldn’t counterattack, a temporary blockade of contact. If it were a normal noble, I would have won a landslide victory, so I was too excited. How excited must I have been to the point of momentarily forgetting the Emperor’s information power and connections?

No matter how much I fly and crawl in the empire, I cannot have the authority of the Emperor. In three hours, I can dig up all the information about Wiridia.

– Count?

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor. I, Karl Crassius of Tylglehen, head of House Crassius, greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

So after thinking about it for a while, I contacted the emperor first.

– Huh. Are you finally free? I was worried that something might have happened since I hadn’t heard from Jim.

“I apologize. I was so busy thinking about the materials for the goods that would enhance Your Majesty’s dignity and glory that I forgot to prepare the communication device.”

– It’s really a shame. I wonder how much trouble you’ve been in that you haven’t heard from me for three hours. So, did you get the results you wanted after all that trouble?

“Yes, Your Majesty. I have selected only the largest and most glittering scales that Elder Atellius has bestowed upon me.

I said it proudly to his face.

No matter what you say, I will use the scales of Atellius. Even if the yellow one barks, the black one runs.

‘What would you do if you knew?’

I admit, I underestimated the Emperor’s influence and intelligence. I failed to take into account the imperial authority that still existed within Wiridia.

But what does that matter? What difference would it make if you knew my plan?

‘Nothing changes.’

Even if the Emperor finds out, there is nothing he can do except beg him not to build such a thing, and threaten that if this happens, he will have no choice but to use the Dragon Lord’s scales.

The Emperor must have known that, and that’s why he sent only tearful threats despite the three-hour contact cutoff. Perhaps he was furious as soon as he found out about my Big-Gilbert plan?

– Okay, go.

In fact, the Emperor’s pupils began to shake violently.

As if they were shaken by my unyielding and hard-line declaration.

‘How are you, kid?’

I was proud of myself for showing a confidence that I normally wouldn’t be able to show.

If I had shown this attitude in normal times, I would have been immediately counterattacked. The Emperor would have accepted the Big-Gilbert statue, not to mention the Dragon Lord’s scales, and would have thrown a bamboo spear at me when I wasn’t expecting it.

But the current emperor cannot do that. This statue is not my first, but change for the ‘excessive’ compensation the emperor has given me. This time, I have a justification.

What if the Emperor loses his temper and counterattacks this change? Then it will be a true mutually assured destruction. At the same time, it will be proof that he is a weakling who cannot even receive the change properly.

– The Count’s loyalty and sincerity are truly admirable. However, the dragon’s scales are too valuable to be used in a place like this. How about giving up on that idea?

“Your Majesty. We are creating an image of the most noble being on this continent. So shouldn’t we use the most precious materials?”

– If the authority is to be established with mere material, then it is only at that level to begin with. I fully understand the Count’s feelings, so I hope the Count uses it for a better purpose.

“There is nothing more important to me than to bring glory to His Majesty the Emperor. Please stop talking.”

The emperor also wanted to avoid such a hopeless future, so he tried to cancel the construction of the statue through earnest persuasion instead of issuing a coercive imperial decree.

He knows it too. In this situation, he will only make a fool of himself by issuing an imperial edict. On the surface, he will show his loyalty and devotion, but on the inside, he will be destroying his ability to settle accounts.

– …Jim gave the Count something big, and the Count showed great loyalty to Jim.

After that brief silence, the Emperor nodded bitterly.

A declaration of surrender that virtually acknowledges the construction of a statue. The first defeat in which the Yellow One bows its head to the Black One.

‘Okay.’

I feel like crying over my first historic victory. I endured and endured under a crazy boss, and now days like this have come.

You damn yellow b*stard. It was nothing since I had the right to do it.

‘Once you win, twice is easy.’

Just wait and see, you little punk. There’s going to be a lot of days from now when the black one will bite the yellow one.

***

I put the communication device in the desk drawer with a bitter look.

‘I lost.’

It was an inexcusable defeat. The Count suffered a one-sided defeat.

Since we discovered six relics that could rewrite the history of the continent, and since the Count also offered a prayer for his mother, I thought a somewhat excessive reward would be acceptable.

‘You’ll wrap it up in loyalty by linking it to the relics.’

I couldn’t help but laugh. The owner of the land where the ruins were located built a statue to honor the emperor and show off the emperor’s majesty to all the tourists who visited the ruins.

No matter how much I think about it, it’s an excuse. There’s no way the Count would erect a statue with such a pure and beautiful heart. However, if he pretends to have such a justification, there’s no way to stop him.

If I stop it, the nobles will come out and support the count. The emperor is against a statue honoring him? Anyone can see that it is an act to test the loyalty of the nobles.

‘Should we also build a statue of the Count next to it?’

I had that desire for a brief moment, but then gave up.

The scales that had been tilted by my ‘excessive’ bestowal of the barony have now been leveled. They were leveled by the erection of the statue on the other side of the barony, but if I were to add a new weight, the count would have no choice but to bring in a different weight.

‘I have to be careful from now on.’

That’s why I made a promise. From now on, I will not give the Count any excuse.

To prevent this kind of disaster from happening again, we need to give them not just a reason to refuse what I give them, but a reason not to even fight back.

‘That’s right.’

After a while, a chuckle came out.

Is it because he has been a bureaucrat for about 10 years? An immature and crude young nobleman is now able to defeat the emperor.

Time really is amazing.