PART 2
The corners of her mouth had a habit of turning up slightly when she was considering whether or not to execute someone.
Oh my god.
“Could you please give me one more bottle of Wasteland Tears?”
I tried not to shiver.
I tried to appear as a man without ambition who just wanted to live happily for today.
“Okay. I will send it to you. Is there anything more you want?”
“Actually, I want to go to the entertainment district. Could you please give me permission to go out?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the chamberlain and the knights of the royal guard frowned.
“What nonsense are you talking about in front of Her Majesty!”
“Grand Duke Valen. Be polite in your words and actions.”
“Silence for a moment.”
The emperor spoke in an emotionless voice.
“What do you want to do when you go to the entertainment district?”
“I want to drink, gamble, and meet people. I think I’m going to die of boredom just looking at roses every day. Please give me permission.”
The chamberlain gave me a look that asked me if I wanted to die.
But I smiled leisurely.
“Hehe.”
She said as if she was satisfied.
The chamberlain stuttered with a very embarrassed expression.
“Your majesty?! How could you allow the Grand Duke to enter such an insignificant place?”
I knew she would approve.
How good would it be for her if a political opponent were to
indulge in gambling and cut ties with power and martial arts?
“I told him to tell me what he wanted. So are you going to make the emperor’s words turn into a lie?”
I turned around and internally cheered.
I got a sword under the pretext of sparring, and a ticket to go out under the pretext of entertainment.
Now you can practice without worrying about what’s going on outside.
It will become easier to prevent conspiracies in an appropriate manner.
There are people who need to be brought in into my palace.
* * *
“Valen. Now that you have a ticket for a long-term outing, where do you want to go? I know a lot of delicious restaurants in the capital. Would you like me to guide you?”
Rudy was excited and took out summer clothes from my closet.
“Or would you like to go buy some magic tools? There are many
good magic tool stores near the Ivory Tower.”
He liked it so much, but I was so sorry for trying to ignore it.
Still, I had to say it.
I closed my eyes tightly and let out.
“Rudy. Put your clothes back. I can’t go buy magic tools.”
“Why? You got a ticket to go out. It’s actually indefinite because it’s signed by Her Majesty.”
“I do not have money.”
“Yes?!”
His green eyes fluttered.
I wrote down some numbers on a piece of paper.
“This is the dignity maintenance fee we originally received. It’s not as much money as you think, right?”
“I know, right. It’s unexpected.”
“Your Majesty, the previous emperor, revealed his true nature to a
great extent. He changed his empress’s three times, and had a total of thirteen empresses. His concubines were in the triple digits.”
“There were so many people who would receive it. what? then… … Shouldn’t it increase again now?”
Rudy, who said that, lowered his head.
To lighten the mood, I focused on the numbers again.
“Do you remember the five royal family members who committed suicide last time? Among them, there was a member of the royal family who hired four top-notch assassins. Where do you think the military funds that went into that came from?”
They attempted to kill the emperor with the money he gave them.
As the person who gave the money, she was naturally furious.
“Did the money get cut for taking responsibility for that?”
“Huh. So the money I originally received has decreased by this much.”
I erased one number from the paper and rewrote one.
“Now, it’s starting to not be much different from my salary.”
“That’s right. Now this is my monthly maintenance fee.”
“It’s not enough to buy magic tools and have fun.”
Rudy sighed.
I couldn’t bear to say that if I made a mistake, there might be even less in the future.
“So, I have a favor to ask you.”
I handed the newly received bottle of ‘Tears of the Wasteland’ to Rudy.
Rudy took it and blinked.
“A commoner cannot become an imperial palace maid. Rudy, you’re also a lower-class noble in the capital, right?”
“Ges. I didn’t get anything from my ancestor’s fortune because I’m the youngest.”
“Good. Sell this to some wealthy relatives. I don’t know the price these days, but you should be able to get five gold coins. Keep three of them and give me two.”
“Yes? What do you mean by that?”
“It’s a lot of hardship to be in charge of a member of the royal family like me. I want to reward you for your loyalty.”
“You don’t have to do this. As a servant, this is natural. Such a large amount of money is burdensome.”
Rudy slumped his shoulders.
“It means that I will make you suffer more in the future. There will be more rumors from now on, right?”
I said in a theatrically bright voice.
Rudy asked back as if he had heard wrong.
“Yes?”
“Gambler, royal robber, kinslayer, emperor’s dog. I’m expecting a nickname like that.”
I said, while grinning with my golden eyes.
“I might want you to leave your name in history as a servant who remained by the royal family until the end. So take it lightly, for
about three gold coins.”
If all goes well, eventually you will have nobles who bring you gold coins in boxes.
I swallowed those words and smiled again.
“Then let me ask you for a favor. Rudy.”
* * *
Four days later, Rudy came carrying a large leather pouch.
“Valen. Here you go.”
When I opened my pocket, silver coins flowed out like a river.
Even if converted to gold coins, the amount looked like nine coins.
No matter how high-quality the wine was, the price was exorbitant.
“Ru, Rudy. How much did you sell a bottle of wine for?”
“There were so many people who wanted to buy it, so I gathered a few people together and put it up for auction. As expected,
prices went up because there was competition.”
“So how much did you sell it for?”
“Twelve gold coins.”
After all, nobility is good.
You can buy a bottle of wine for as much as the annual salary of a skilled worker.
“So how much is this in silver?”
“Ninety silver pieces. As you said, I took three gold coins and brought nine to Valen.”
I took thirty silver coins and handed the remaining sixty silver coins back to Rudy.
“No. I cannot accept it.”
He shook his head, his green eyes were shining.
“Take it quickly. I didn’t sell the wine because I needed money in the first place.”
I also shook my head.
“You just need the money to go in and set the mood. If everything goes well this time, I won’t have to worry about money for a while.”
“Where do you plan on going?”
Rudy asked, tilting his head.
“Casino.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Rudy shot back sharply.
“I told you.”
I answered without changing my facial expression.
“You will go down in history as the servant of honor for the gambling-mad robber royal family member.”
He moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, then sighed.
“Do you have any thoughts?”
“Think about it as when I throw the glass on the floor and pour it
into my wine robe. It’s the same as back then.”
“I’ll take it as your answer.”
I nodded with gratitude.
“Good. Then, shall we have a drink too?”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you curious what the alcohol sold for twelve gold coins tastes like?”
I held up the first Tears of the Wasteland that I received in return for thwarting a poisoning attempt.
Rudy looked ecstatic and took out a glass from the cupboard.
“I wanted to drink it at least once in my life.”
I poured the blood-red, clear, yet thick liquid into two glasses.
“Valen. It’s really delicious.”
“I’m speechless. It feels like drinking fire and stars together.”
I understand why this drink is given to the generals before the
departure ceremony.
It was very refreshing.
I felt like I could do anything.
When I think about it, it seems like I’m going out tomorrow too.
I have to win and come back.
