Chapter 121
Respectable Rewards for Respectable Deed
When they arrived at the palace, they were greeted by rows and rows of Knights in blue armor. They saluted them as they went up the stairs.
Three Officials came up to them and asked them for their weapons. Everyone but Connie – who was weaponless from the beginning – had to comply. Only after that could they enter the Audience Chamber.
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“Presenting, Lady Cornelia Asterium Steelheart, of the House Steelheart. Illumca Fir Liban of an unknown tribe. Akula Altanghazar of Clan Altankheer. Nick, B-Rank Hunter of the Hunter’s Guild, and the sla – “ The Palace Official announcing their arrival coughed and managed to stop himself from saying the rest of the word. “Martell Lobelia.”
Connie walked forth with both hands behind her back. The others following two steps behind.
She saw both friends and foes watching her every move. A smile then appeared on her face, a smile that knew that she had successfully done the opposite of what her enemies wanted her to do. And this enraged them.
Her friends from Al-Khemiya were also there to watch the ceremony. To the side was Akira, who looked on her with a heavy expression.
She finally stopped his feet, two meters before the steps leading to the King.
They all kneeled before the King except for Akula, who saluted him with the way of her people. She would not kneel to him as he was not her King.
“Please stand, Lady Cornelia. Your father was a friend of mine. And for his heroism, I have allowed him not to kneel before me. You too are now allowed this privilege,” King Gerard announced. This uncommon privilege was responded to by the audience with great bewilderment.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Connie said, standing up.
The King accepted her words with a small nod and continued speaking. “On this day! On behalf of the Kingdom, I - King Gerard the Second – shall bestow unto heroes of Calendia their reward!”
He then gestured for Alrond. The old man unfurled a luxurious scroll that an Official had presented him with on a silver platter.
“For the meritorious service in stopping the evil plans of Kurosaki Yuuji of Vorzenny , the Kingdom shall bestow upon Lady Cornelia Asterium Steelheart Gold Coins in the amount of five hundred thousand pieces.”
“five hundred thousand Gold Coins?!”
“That’s enough for a normal Noble family to live without working for a generation!”
“In addition,” Alrond continued. “We will also bestow to her a land of her choosing. And as most members of her party are not subjects of Calendia and cannot be granted land, each member of her party shall be granted one wish.”
The audience gasped. It was a generous gift that was very rare
“You may each state your wish,” The King exclaimed. “Let us start from you, Lady Cornelia.”
“Perhaps it would be better for mine to be discussed in private, Your Majesty,”
“Very well, how about the Hunter named Nick?”
Hearing this, without wasting any time Nick came forward. “Your Majesty. I served the Kingdom in the North under Commander Ferdinandt a few years ago.”
“A loyal subject of the Kingdom,” Gerard complimented him. “What do you wish for?”
“I request the use of the Royal Library, Your Majesty.”
“The Royal Library? It’s supposed to only be allowed for officials…” the old king closed his eyes and pondered for a moment. “Very well. It is approved. But you will have to be accompanied by an Official of the Palace.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Nick stepped back and exhaled nervously.
“What about you, Lady Illumca?”
“Your Majesty, at this moment, I have no wish.” The Dark Elf said
Martell then stated that he wanted an Item Ring that could house very large objects. To this, the King did not approve but offered three normal Item Rings instead. The ones normally used by Captains.
“I thank you, Your Majesty,” Martell smiled in gratitude. Item Rings were not that expensive, but they were rare. In Courandhel, the number of people that had them would not exceed a few hundred. Even now poor Hannah did not manage to replace the one Connie robbed her of.
It was finally Akula’s turn.
“Your Majesty, what I wish is an answer to a question,” the Centaur said with all honesty.
“Ask, then.”
Akula looked straight at the King and asked. “To you, King Gerard of Calendia. What is a hero?”
King Gerard was rather taken aback by this question. But he then smiled and gave his answer with a face full of pride. “A hero…is someone who would sacrifice his life for the sake of protecting his people. Yes. Just like the First King of Calendia.”
This answer resonated with the people in the Audience Chamber, who applauded the King for his wonderful answer.
“Exemplary! Truly exemplary!”
“Our King is indeed wise!”
Akula bowed in thanks after hearing King Gerard’s answer. However, inside her heart, she was incredulous of it. If it were so, what difference is it from what her Clan had been doing since time immemorial?
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Still, she kept her silence.
With the awards given, the King proceeded to announce that Calendia will work together with Al-Khemiya to investigate Vorzenny’s affairs. And if need be, they were prepared to take desperate measures.
They were worded beautifully, yet everyone knew what the King really meant.
War.
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After the formalities were observed, Connie and his companions were invited to the King’s study to discuss more about the details that went with the reward.
“Once again, I thank you all for your great merit to our Kingdom,” King Gerard said as he took a seat behind his desk.
“It is our pleasure, Your Majesty,” Connie said as she folded her hands together.
Alrond came over to the desk and opened a map that charted all of Calendia’s territories.
“Now then, I called you here to talk about your reward. The first thing, about the gold, it will be sent over to the mansion where you are staying within the week. As for the land, we will have to discuss it between us, Lady Cornelia,” the King steepled his fingers together. “It will take quite some time, so how would your companion like to take a tour of the Palace?”
“I’d like to go to the library instead. If that’s all right with you, Your Majesty,” Nick said, hardly unable to keep his legs calm. If he had a choice, he would have run out of the blue room and straight to the library.
“Very well. Alrond, get an Official to come and accompany the man to the Royal Library. Mind you, there are books and records that you are not allowed to touch. Any infringement will be met with harsh punishment. Is this understood?”
“Perfectly, Your Majesty.”
“And how about the rest of you?”
“I’ll take that offer, Your Majesty,” Martell said excitedly. “I’ve only been to a few places in the Palace before. I heard from Lord Alugor that the Palace has many famous paintings. I’d very much like to see them.”
Indeed, last time he was there, he was involved with too much at once and had no chance to enjoy what the Palace had to offer.
“You know Alugor?” Alrond raised an eyebrow. Alugor and he had a few chances to play Chess before. The former had managed to baffle him a few times, though the old Advisor had won every game except for one. He wondered why the vain bastard would even bother to talk to a Beastfolk.
“Yes, he taught me much. He did not allow me to call him Teacher, though.”
“Can you go with him, Illumca? Try to keep him out of trouble.”
Illumca nodded. “What about you, Akula?”
“I think I’ll just go to the garden,” the Centaur said. “All these lifeless stones and marbles have been making me uncomfortable.”
And she indeed felt suffocated. In there, she had to watch her steps, otherwise, she would knock or break something.
“I’ll take them around, Your Majesty,” the Commander of the Blue Lions offered.
“Thank you, Klein.”
The short-haired Commander opened the door and lead them out, leaving Connie and the two of the highest authorities in the land to talk.
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With them gone, Cornelia turned her attention towards the map on the desk. The map was made of tanned leather and had a distinctive smell of age. The color was off on some parts and had clearly been used many times.
“At this time, we have three lands that we can give you. Two to the East, here and here,” Alrond pointed at two patches of land, what looked like a full six days journey from Courandhel. “And one to the North.”
“I advise you to take the last one. It’s nearer to your family’s land.”
Alrond then explained the details of the three lands. Their main products, the number of people, and such.
The first two lands that they showed her were surrounded by or near to one or more members of the Noble’s Party. It would prove troublesome for her in the long run. Especially because Connie had no intention of governing the land. And the last one was nothing special.
Then, she spotted a land that piqued her interest.
“What is that one?” Connie’s eyes landed on the spot of the map where it was quite far from the center of Calendia. It was practically the boonies.
“That one is Arlaine,” Alrond said succinctly. “The only thing of note of that place was that it housed a Dungeon. One named the Untouchable Marshes, a new dungeon that appeared a few years ago,” the old man said with his raspy voice. “There had been attempts to delve inside, but most Hunters could only do it up to the fourth floor.”
“Is it that dangerous?” Connie asked.
“It is not that it is dangerous, per se. It is because the dungeon is filled with venomous monsters.”
“Sorry, I think I heard you wrong. Venomous Monsters?”
“Yes. Ones powerful enough to kill normal Hunters.”
“…” A smile that was unbecoming of a young girl began to appear on Connie’s face. Enough to make Alrond frown.
“Go on...”
“Reports say that on the fifth floor, even the air is saturated with poisonous pollen that irritates the lung. Not enough to kill, but enough to cause illness.”
“Ooh, very…very interesting.”
“With that much danger, the Hunters soon abandoned the idea of going inside. Too much risk for too little reward.”
Ooh, stop, I could not get more…excited.
“I want this land,” Connie slapped her hand on the map.
“Why do you want such a dangerous land? The first two are better,” King Gerard was bewildered by the nonsensical choice.
“Is it not possible?”
“It is possible, but – “
“Then this land is good enough for me, Your Majesty,” Connie paused for a few seconds. “But can I ask for it to be given to me, and not to my family?”
Alrond and the King looked at each other. They knew of what was happening in her family and understood why she asked such a strange request. What they did not understand was her odd choice of land.
“That is…a strange request…” The old Advisor said.“…but not without precedent.”
“That would be excellent,” Connie nodded happily. “If there is nothing else, I should go and tell everyone the news.”
“Ah, before you go,” King Gerard stopped her. He then made a difficult face. A hint of hesitation in his eyes. “Will you…not think about talking it over again with my son?”
“…” Connie’s earlier good humor turned sour from the mention of the bastard.
“…Between your son and I…there is no love lost…as there has never been love,” Connie’s words were eloquent, yet biting. “All there was, was a promise made without our consent. And with that broken, we are now but strangers.”
“I see,” the King said with a tone of resignation. This golden-haired youth before him was steadfast and stubborn in her ways. This he learned too late. Once she was disappointed there was no more that they could do.
“My son had done you wrong, and you are correct in your disdain. But I and my wife still see you as our niece. I just want you to know that.”
Connie did not answer his statement. She merely rubbed her chin and asked the King for permission. “then…permit me to speak frankly, Your Majesty.”
“Go ahead.”
“I don’t hate your son. I have nothing to hate him for. But with how he is right now, only one caste can benefit.”
“A Kingdom is many things. A system, a government, an organism. But…being made for the exclusive benefit of a single caste is not one of them,” Connie said with the gravitas that betrayed her age. “Such things bring discontent, and discontent is poison to a country. It should not be ignored.”
With that said, Connie excused herself, leaving King Gerard and Alrond to ponder her parting words.
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After parting ways with Akula who wanted to see the Palace Inner Garden, Klein led the Beastfolk boy and the Dark Elf to see the King’s Collection. After Martell had his fill, the handsome Commander continued to guide them through the Palace’s magnificent hallways.
“How would you like to see the Training Ground?” Klein offered. “This should be time for their daily drills.”
“That would be lovely! I’ve always wondered how Knights train!”
Illumca did not answer. Klein had started to get used to the Dark Elf’s terseness and took the silence as agreement.
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Commander! You’re here! Thank Junnaveil!” a White Lion Knight came running towards him.
“I am with guests right now,” Klein scolded him. “Why are you in such a hurry?”
“It’s the Prince’s Private Guards, Commander.”
Without him finishing his report, Klein already had an inkling of what had transpired. “Dammit!”
“Is there some trouble?” Martell asked. When he heard the Prince’s name, he knew it could not be anything good.
“Yes. I’m sorry, but I really need to handle this. Won’t be a second.”
“Of course. You need to do your duty. We understand.”
“Thank you,” he gave them a quick bow before walking briskly to the Training Ground.
“W-wait, Commander!” the Knight was confused as he was left with the two. He turned to them, then back at the rapidly disappearing back of his Commander before deciding to follow him.
“What do we do now?” Illumca asked.
The boy’s answer was a one-sided grin. “To see what makes the Prince's cronies tick.”