章 38: The Neighboring Kingdom
"You uncivilized barbarian. How dare you speak vulgarly in front of Crown Prince and Duchess of Agrus! How can you present yourself as a noble?" One of the nobles in the table a few seats away shouts at William after recovering from the initial shock. Many guests, including servants (Except for Crown Prince's), whispers to each other as they just witnessed the rude behavior towards Crown Prince.
William was supposed to introduce himself to Prince Benton and request permission to take a seat. Also, bringing fully armed followers is considered an act of rebellion, especially in the same room with the royal family. It makes sense if William thinks about it for a second, but to him, it doesn't matter as he was sitting next to two friends, not high-ranking nobles or royal family members.
"Sorry if I was rude and all, but I'm not a noble. I'm an adventurer hired to help them out with vampire problem." William explains the misunderstanding and quickly signals two battle-brothers to remain still. The two Black Templars were ready to draw their bolter pistols and unleash the punishment, but after seeing the signal from their Champion, they remain where they are.
"An adventurer? My lord, how can we have a mere peasant be present in this hall? Guards, remove them at once!" A second noble gave an order to make the entire situation much worse as William's battle-brothers are about to end their tiny lives. Before blood could be spilled, Prince Benton halts the guards and stands up from his seat to announce. Crown Prince's action silence everyone in the room once again. As for two Black templars paused their action thanks to William once again signaling them to stand by for further instruction.
"Lords and ladies of Draphia. I'm aware that my companion William doesn't hold noble titles similar to you all. But, I have to remind you all that he saved my life multiple times during the military campaign and earned my trust as a friend." Crown Prince spoke with emphasis and firmly, which surprised everyone. For the nobles of Draphia, there was no arrogance or ignorance of the next heir of the crown, but rather the presence of veteran warriors in front of them.
"Of course, your highness, it seems some of us made a mistake due to lack of information. William, please forgive our rudeness. I will personally take responsibility for their actions as highest lord in Draphia." Viscount Lindver apologizes to William, which he quickly accepts to reduce the tension, especially two very murder-hungry Black Templars standing behind him.
With the end of 'misunderstanding,' the head butler of Viscount claps his hands to begin dinner. Many maids serve various dishes while footmen pour drinks to empty cups of each guest. William is aware of multiple dishes served during dinner but not familiar with how to conduct himself to eat different types of food. Thankfully, Rana (Duchess Beckett) quickly takes the initiative on each meal so William can copy her second after.
There were eight-course meals that started with soup and ended with sweet desserts such as puddings and fruits. William had no problem finishing each meal and drinks as he receives new information from each meal and immune to alcohol (Space Marines are can easily consume poison and obtain knowledge from the food).
When dinner is finally over, and most of the nobles excuse themselves to retire. The leading group William, Crown Prince, the Duchess, and Viscount, also left the dining hall to the Viscount's study to continue their tales of the previous war and the vampire campaign. As for the two battle-brothers, William places them outside of the door to continue their 'guard' duty.
"William, I know you are an adventurer, but I'm still boggled by how you became a commander of personal military force. The giant black knights, high-quality equipment, and men under your command, I need to know the truth. Who are you?" Viscount Lindver asked William with curiosity as he wants to know William's true identity. Prince Benton and the Duchess already know William's answer to the question but open their ears to learn new information.
"Well, as you know, I'm William and an adventurer of Greenhill, but I'm also a servant of God-Emperor, the Master of Mankind. I'm his Champion which I believe is equal or greater to the Paladin. For the men under my command, they are also servants of God-Emperor, and black knights are my battle-brothers who sworn same oath just like me." William carefully explains his background and avoids the potential spread of chaos or misunderstanding. For these reasons, William decided to pursue the religious path since it is easier for natives of this world to understand (The Emperor's Champion = Paladin).
"I see. Prince Benton already told me about your achievements and how you stopped the daemons during the Battle of Stormfist. As I trust his highness's words, I will believe you. I hope you will do the same when the time comes." Viscount Lindver easily accepts the legitimacy of the religion and William. For many generations, Lindver noble family followed the royal family and supported them. A single word from Crown Prince was enough for the nobleman to believe William's tale and his accomplishments and compare the story from his uncle, who was saved by a giant man with black armor many weeks ago.
The conversation continued with Prince Benton's tale of battles, victory dinner after the campaign, and new guns that could be a potential new weapons project for him when he comes back home.
The Duchess also agrees with the young prince's desire to start a new weapon project as she saw the effectiveness of the rifles and Vollet Cannons. If the Kingdom of Alderim could manufacture the new weapons and train the soldiers to be efficient, neighboring kingdoms will think twice before invading Alderim again.
When Prince Benton mentions the capital city, Viscount Lindver's facial expression changed as if he has bad news to deliver. With her sharp perception, the Duchess of Agrus was the first to saw the sudden change of emotion from the host nobleman.
"Is there something you want to tell us? I can tell you have great weight on your shoulder," Rana asked the host, to which William and Prince Benton turn their attention to the Viscount. After a quick second of silence, Viscount decided to spill the bean right after taking a quick sip of his drink. With heavy breath Zachary Lindver, the Master of the Draphia explains his concern to the Crown Prince of Alderim.
"Your highness, before the beginning of tonight's dinner, I received the message from the Royal Court that emissary of Legellan arrived today. They will meet with your father tomorrow and discuss a possible alliance with Alderim." Viscount explained to Prince Benton and gave a piece of paper he received to prove he was telling the truth. Reading what was written in the paper, Prince Benton crushes the message and throws his drink at the fireplace.
The alcohol sets the fire and brightens the study for a second before it calms down. William, who is confused by the Crown Prince's reaction, turns to ask Rana. But when he did, he saw the same bitterness and anger from the Duchess, just like Prince Benton. Seeing there is no way to get an answer from two commanders, William turns to Viscount, to which he quietly explains the situation.
"Three years ago, Alderim was invaded by the neighboring kingdom, Legellan. We won the war, but it was costly, and we lost several towns from the invading forces. Just a day before the Legellan declaration of war, they publicly executed our ambassador and former Crown Prince, who was visiting the embassy. They killed our first prince, Prince Benton's older brother, for the false accusation of the assassination attempt of King of Legellan's life." Viscount's explanation helped William understand the situation as he foresaw a new problem when they make it to the capital city.
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