145 – The Imperial Ball – (complete)

Darren Rustitzel has always been a smart mover.

That was the teaching of the Duke of Rusticel. He buys the other person’s favor, gives out what they crave, and offers them a deal they can’t refuse.

It didn’t matter what kind of noise came out in the process. If the results prove it, the gossip that follows could have been buried.

Darren has lived that way all along. Despite being labeled as his second son, it was all thanks to these teachings that he took the place of heir to the family, overtaking his good-natured and tactless elder brother.

“Your Majesty, would you like to form a marriage relationship with me and lead the empire?”

And now.

As soon as Darren’s words finished, there was still silence in the banquet hall.

Look around. Some of them were watching Darren’s marriage proposal in silence, as if it was somewhat expected. A few turned their envious glances, others widened their eyes and pursed their lips.

‘I won.’

Darren exclaimed inwardly.

An empress left alone without a guardian. And the Duke of Rusticel, called the Imperial Shield.

The Empress and the Empire need a strong guardian and money, and Rusticel wants honor and a position that is incomparably higher than before.

In other words, the imperial family and Rusticel both had what they wanted. No need to negotiate further, it was a perfect understanding.

How beautiful this plate is. It was as simple as lying down and eating rice cakes.

The problem was to play the ball, but fortunately, it seemed that the other two dukes did not have a person as active as Rustithel.

“How are you?”

Darren lifted his head slightly and looked at the empress.

The Empress, Lynthia Ayrn, looked at Darren’s outstretched ring and at his face with a puzzled look. She then looked around her, and as if tired of staring at her, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

Every single one of them brought joy to Darren.

“If you refuse…… We will respect that will.”

Darren laughed bitterly as he said that.

‘What kind of refusal did you do?’

The answer was as if it had been decided.

Rejecting Rusticel’s proposal here was tantamount to saying that the empire would take a completely different path from the duchy. That would surely be fatal.

And it wasn’t something that such a young empress could decide on her own.

If there is something I regret a little…….

‘You look poor.’

Darren scanned Lynthia Ayrn’s body up and down.

Even in empty words, the figure of the empress was not to his taste.

It can be said that the place to come out came out, but it was still meager.

‘Well, unripe fruits must be delicacies in their own way.’

Darren grinned at the thought.

After all, if you become the official state secretary of the empire, you’ll be able to enjoy such pleasure until you get tired of it.

“I-I…… That… ….”

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Lin Xia opens her mouth.

Her little lips were sweet, but her voice didn’t leak out any more.

The pale complexion had turned dark by now.

“Yes. Have you made up your mind?”

“Oh, no…… That is… ….”

“Please.”

Darren took a step closer.

Every time his shoulders shrink, water droplets form on the corners of her eyes.

‘This is fun as it is.’

Darren licked his lips.

At first, she was disappointed because the empress was a human being and a little girl, but based on her reaction, it seemed that she would enjoy it in many ways.

While thinking about that, Lincia shook her head to control her emotions and slowly opened her mouth.

“I-I… …. Uh huh Lyncia Eyren…….”

“Yes.”

“With Darren Rustitel, the daughter of the Duke of Rusticel… ….”

As the words continued, Darren’s mouth soared.

Now, the moment with only one step left.

It was at that moment when Lynthia was about to gnaw her teeth and spit out the next word.

“Stop! All the way!”

A voice came from above her head.

Darren frowned, wondering where the voice came from.

‘Over your head? Ceiling?’

As Darren hurriedly lowered his head and looked at the ceiling, a huge figure fell onto the podium.

Koo Goong.

The podium was broken in two because it could not withstand the heavy weight, and the tables piled with delicacies collapsed and food was fried everywhere.

The young ladies let out shrill screams, and the servants let out lamentations mixed with lamentation.

And there was a man in the place where the podium was split. Appears to be clumsily dressed. A few buttons were undone, and the tie, which should have been tied in the middle of the tailcoat, was tied awkwardly.

At first glance, he’s an idiot who can’t even wear a suit properly. He was a person who was nothing more and nothing less.

“…… What are you?”

Darren unconsciously felt intimidated and took a few steps back.

A well-trained body that couldn’t be hidden even under a thick suit, and colored hair that hung down to one eye, like a handful of silver powder mixed with lye. Lastly, the moonlight eyes you suck in and the scars around your mouth

Darren intuitively knew that the man in front of him was no stranger.

“Ummm… ….”

However, despite Darren’s vigilance, the man who fell from the sky turned and looked at Lyncia as if nothing was wrong.

When Lyncia saw the man, she called out his name with a look of relief.

“Ph, freed…” ….”

Hearing the name made Darren’s hair stand on end.

In the imperial castle, there was only one person with three letters in the name Fried.

And his name had spread throughout the empire in less than a year.

There were countless words to describe him.

The sole survivor of the rebel Count Iscobal. The first disciple of the sage Yuriad. A guardian knight and protector of the border. Or mad dogs.

Lastly, the Apostle Slayer.

The rumored article was right in front of Darren’s eyes.

“…… Mmm.”

Indeed, the driver, not paying attention to Darren’s gaze, looked around and scratched his cheek with a disapproving expression.

“It appeared a little noisy.”

*

It’s been almost 8 months since I entered the body of a superman named Fried Iscobal.

But if there was one thing he was still clumsy with, it was power control. Who would have known that trying to land on top of a podium with moderate amounts of mana would create such a mess.

Looking over his head, I saw Cora on the balcony looking at me like she had seen a ghost.

The guy’s mouth is moving.

‘What the hell are you doing? Oh!’

“That’s right. What am I doing?”

After mumbling helplessly, I had a new question.

Why the hell am I in the middle of this? Wherefore? Did you even make an appointment with Korold? You even promised not to get involved?

I thought about it for a while, but the answer came quickly.

Lynxia’s tears I realized as soon as I saw her pale face mixed with runny nose.

The main character of my favorite game is going through such a hard time, but is he just watching?

Lynxia recognized me and struggled with her arms.

“Fu, freed…” ….”

“Uh, hmm.”

“Why did you come here?” ….”

She cried, then sniffed her snot, then ran at me with her messed up face, and again, worried about the eyes around her, she didn’t jump in, she crouched down and looked at her. Buried her face in his lap.

She said, looking at her pitiful figure in silence.

“Your Majesty.”

She chose the words carefully, but I couldn’t come up with a particularly convincing sentence for me, who has poor language skills.

So I just spit out whatever came to mind.

“To be honest, I don’t know what great things these high-ranking people do.”

“… ….”

“I think it’s okay to say you don’t like what you don’t like.”

Lin Xia lifted her head slightly and looked at me.

Make-up smeared along the path of tears running down her cheeks. It’s like watching a Peking Opera actor.

“Ha, but…… Otherwise, the empire…… The imperial family…….”

“Imperial Stability? Imperial position? Is that all that important?”

“Something like that…… ?”

“Yes. The empire, the imperial family, whatever. Isn’t everything the emperor’s property anyway?”

Lyncia looked at me blankly.

The look on his face asked what the hell this idiot was talking about.

What do you know? I continued to wrestle.

“You say that you will use your possessions as you please, but why do you say so much?”

“… ….”

“Just do whatever you want. Don’t mind the complicated stuff. Isn’t that Your Majesty?”

At my words, Lin Xia tilted her head slightly.

Are you sure you don’t understand?

Well, no matter what.

“Yes, you bastard! What kind of nonsense is this!”

At that moment, a loud voice came from behind.

When I turn around, I see a dwarf physique that looks like a parasite. Around it, nobles who seemed to belong to several influential families were all pointing at each other.

“Even if you are a national protectorate, this incident cannot be tolerated!”

“Huh? Are you recognizing?”

I don’t even have the epaulettes of the protectors, but if you recognize them, it seems that I’m already quite a celebrity within the empire.

Feeling a little strange, I stared at the man in front of me, Darren Rustitzel.

This guy is a piece of sh*t in the world who gave the ring to Lynchia.

“Whoa.”

I couldn’t figure out why I was doing this.

The bullsh*t that Cora threw a moment ago lingers in my ears.

A mother? Longing? Love? I’m not sure about that.

But one thing became clear the moment I saw that hideous face.

“It’s like f*ck.”

Now I was very displeased.

Of course, the arrowhead was pointed at the gisaeng brother in front of me.

I slowly looked over at Darren Rustitzel. The guy flinched slightly as if he was overwhelmed by my gaze.

Seeing his body up close, it was even more spectacle. He had a slender physique on the outside, but he had flab all over his body, and his mana circulation was messed up, probably because he was lazy in training.

And.

“Huh.”

I grabbed my nose.

Freed’s sense of smell cannot be fooled, no matter how strong the perfume is.

“Ugh. Did you take any medicine before coming?”

“What, what?!”

“Your face is red. It even smells bad from the mouth. Why don’t you make an effort to hide it a little?”

Darren’s expression turned red.

It looked like it was hit right in the middle.

Honestly, even the pupils were slightly open, and at a glance, it was the eyes of a drug dealer commonly seen in underground canals.

“There is a merchant in the basement of Sigrun who distributes things you like. You have a connection with me too. If you want, can you introduce me? I will pay you cheaply.”

“…… How rude! Do you know what this place is!”

“What is it? It’s a banquet hall. This is a place for dancing, not a place for crying women.”

“Awesome!”

At my word, Darren started yelling at me.

“You bastard! Aren’t you afraid of the Duke of Rusticel?!”

“Yes. I’m sorry, but I’m not afraid at all.”

Duke Rusticel.

I didn’t know him well, but he was a duke within the empire.

Then he had nothing to fear.

It’s not calm like Edwin’s, nor does it have overwhelming power like Arwen’s. He is neither as powerful as Atral, nor as meticulous as Aranion. He probably won’t be pushing on a grand scale like Pedras.

The point is, I have absolutely no reason to be afraid.

Compared to the enemies I’ve faced so far, Darren Rustithel was just a rolling stone, weaker than a mob.

Chin.

I took a step and walked right in front of Darren.

And I met his eyes. Darren and I have a considerable height difference, so it was natural to look down.

“What, what are you doing! Without arresting this bastard quickly!”

“I’m sorry, but the guards can’t catch me.”

Because it’s a national border.

It’s a position given by the emperor of the empire.

The moment you follow the words of the mere duke Yeong-sik, there is no such thing as treason.

I clapped my hands in front of his eyes. Startled, Darren backtracked and tripped on the leg of his chair, knocking him on the buttock.

“Your Majesty.”

“Ugh!”

I laughed out loud.

It was a commercial smile.

“You don’t seem to be feeling well today. That’s why they say they’ll give you the answer to the proposal later, so please come back next time.”

“…… Yes you guys! Our ducal family will not stand still!”

“Do whatever you want.”

“What?”

“If it is sufficient, you may request a duel, or you may apply political and economic sanctions. In any case, hiring an assassin would not be a bad choice.”

I opened my eyes while enumerating them.

Darren sat down and let out a small hiccup.

“But if you have the confidence to do so.”

That was the end.

Darren got to his feet, helped by another nobleman, straightened his clothes and gnashed his teeth.

But he didn’t take action any more than that. I just groaned and turned around.

“Be prepared. I will remember this to the end.”

“I hope so.”

His back as he strode to the entrance of the banquet hall was the loser itself.

As he disappeared from sight, I let out a small sigh.

And.

“…… I did.”

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That’s also very big.

“What, what did you do, what the hell!”

She seemed to have come to her senses before she knew it, and Lynxia came running and stomped her feet and patted my shoulder.

The taste is spicier than expected.

I sincerely apologize.

“Sorry. What to say…… I was watching from afar and got angry.”

“What are you going to do! You’re totally screwed! Strange rumors will spread!”

The nobles who actually attended the banquet were whispering while watching Lynthia and I bickering.

Starting tomorrow, you will be labeled as the Empress’s internal lover.

No, is it the original stigma?

“…… hahahaha. Didn’t you stop getting married though?”

“Are you getting married?”

“Darren that guy. Didn’t you hate it?”

Lin Xia curled her lips and nodded her head slightly.

“Okay then.”

“…… Well, what happened Why is that……. Yes, tell the truth.”

Lin Xia blushed slightly.

“Hmm. There is just such a thing.”

“What is that?”

“… ….”

My face got hot for no reason, so I only shrugged her shoulders.

In the end, instead of answering, he grabbed Lincia’s hand.

“Eh heh?!”

Lynxia made a stupid noise and looked up at her.

I felt sorry for her smudged face as her makeup smeared, so I ran my hand over her cheek.

Then, the smudged makeup spread to the corners of her mouth and made a mess.

Come to think of it, it seems like this has happened before.

Was it National Day?

“Lungs…… No, Lynchia.”

I smiled awkwardly while holding Lynchia’s wrist.

“It’s ruined anyway, let’s get out.”

“I’m leaving? Here? A banquet hall?”

“Yes.”

Being on a cushion of thorns like this was one of my specifications.

Of course, Koreld, who was sitting at the top table, would come running and nag at me, so there were quite a few ulterior motives to run away.

“What do I do when I go out?”

Lyncia said while hesitantly kneading my hand.

The tone was displeased, but there was considerable anticipation on his face.

I thought about it and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, isn’t it prom night tonight?”

“That…… Right?”

“Then isn’t it decided what to do?”

As she said that, she raised one corner of her mouth.

“Lyncia, let’s dance.”

“… ….”

“How are you?”

At my words, Lyncia smiled brightly as if she had heard what she expected.

“…… It’s okay.”