Dream Life

Tria Calendar, September 24, 2017, around 4 p.m.

When I - Duke Wilfred Swinton - was desperate for the kingdom and his own future in a conference of responses to the blacksmith guild by His Majesty and the House of the Three Dukes, I heard a quarrelling voice outside the door between the glances.

Uncle Edgekamb thanked His Majesty and suddenly the door opened as he tried to go see how it was going.

Unless there are considerable circumstances during the top-secret meeting between His Majesty and the Three Dukes, there will be no interference. I guess the fact that the knight guarding the door admitted it falls under considerable circumstances.

With that in mind, staring at the door, the unexpected came in. It was Her Royal Highness Queen Katrina who lifted the hem of the skirt and hurried to the throne.

Her Royal Highness has rarely been involved in politics before, and she is the kind of person who embodies the word "good wife and wise mother." I could not hide my surprise by showing up on such a more important meeting venue.

A moment of anxiety over unfamiliar sights.

But recalling the earlier explanation of the Shergold Marquis, he forcefully extinguishes his anxiety.

Her Royal Highness was persuaded by Master Drexler and prevented from doing so. Then maybe that reminded me of something to say. By thinking so, I instinctively drove the anxiety I felt into a corner of my mind.

He came in early to near the throne, but when he was admitted to His Majesty's appearance, he could drop his gait and grin. I was uncomfortable with that laugh.

His Majesty is to blame for Her Royal Highness, who progresses slowly.

"It's Katrina. Except for the Three Dukes, we can only put in what the rest of us have admitted. Go back to the rear palace immediately."

Her Royal Highness usually has a gentle grin, but only today has that grin been unspeakably compelling. I noticed there. He said the discomfort earlier was this.

Her Royal Highness had nothing to be afraid of His Majesty's words.

"We are well aware of that. But the crisis in the kingdom is imminent. I can't be watching either."

His Majesty was further tried to blame "but then..." but His Highness blocks His Majesty's words.

"I have a ritual to ask Your Majesty. How do you intend to respond to the Blacksmith Alliance?

On behalf of His Majesty, Marquis Shergold answers.

"Where His Royal Highness's collar is disturbed and his minister is unjust. However, it has already been combined with a more adequate response from His Majesty and the Duke, so you can be worried…"

Here Her Royal Highness's grin disappeared and she reprimanded Shergold with a harsh look.

"Shut up! I haven't heard from you who created the cause! I'm asking His Majesty directly!

It's so compelling that you wonder when it's the same person.

And stuck in His Majesty with that serious look on his face.

"On top of that, I'll ask you. What kind of response would you consider? Do you understand that it involves the survival of the kingdom if you do not give the blacksmith guild a satisfactory answer today?

His Majesty, blinded by Her Royal Highness's compelling power, was explained that the public execution of Uncle Granger and the payment of compensation to Sir Zacharias, as well as full cooperation in the construction of the distillery, were the policy of response.

Her Royal Highness's expression became even more daunting.

"Your Majesty, and do you all think that this will convince the Dwarf blacksmiths!

They bullet us with voices almost as if they were going to scream.

"Dwarves, and if you think that would be an apology to Sir Zacharias, then the kingdom will perish… before that, what are you thinking, such as implementing such a foolishness! As it is, Kaum will be limited to the Blacksmith Guild!

Exactly cursed in front of us, and His Majesty got angry.

risen from the throne,

"What do you mean by foolishness! This time it's not Uncle Granger's fault! ……

Her Royal Highness shook her head to the side, slightly toned down but disputed.

"We know that everyone here, except Uncle Granger, is the result of plotting by His Majesty and Marquis Shergold. But that doesn't matter. How to keep the Blacksmith Alliance connected is important."

His Majesty remained excited,

"No more measures!

Her Royal Highness is taken off her gaze as if to ignore His Majesty's cry, and looks alternately at Lord Moncton and me.

"Does Lord Radislas have the same idea? And Lord Swinton?

The Duke of Radislas Moncton hits the son-in-law of His Majesty, that is, the son-in-law of Her Highness's real son, and Her Highness often calls him by his first name. But Lord Moncton was silent without answering his stepmother's question.

The gaze of everyone here pierces me. "I can't say enough, but I can't think of any more measures," I honestly said of my own thoughts.

Her Royal Highness turned to Lord Norrish,

"Then I will ask Lord Norrish. Do you think this will fix the Dwarves' mood?

Lord Norrish nodded small,

"Regardless of the money, if you cooperate with the brewery, you will be convinced enough."

Her Royal Highness shook her head beside her, "I won't talk to you!," he truncated and asked me and Lord Moncton the same question.

Lord Moncton replied, "Perhaps not convinced," and I also indicated my consent by nodding.

I have also gradually come to understand what Her Highness has to say. It is true that if the Kingdom cooperates in the construction of the distillery, things may proceed quickly. But given the Dwarves' passion for alcohol, they won't want a distillery or anything “tied” with the support of a kingdom that isn't even necessary.

"If you think about the passion and money they hang on booze, you might think that cooperation from the kingdom is more in the way than unnecessary"

Her Royal Highness nods heavily at my whining.

"So what do I do? As it is, the Blacksmith Guild will leave Kaum."

His Majesty cried as if he had forgotten to invite himself.

Her Royal Highness said to Her Majesty, "I have an idea," and I was given a real smile starting today. And it was declared toward everyone here.

"I'll take care of this. Because I was the one who promised to give Chief Drexler a convincing answer. Of course, I spend very little money, and no one here will get scratched. Don't worry."

I had no idea what Her Royal Highness would do, but I was relieved by that lucid smile. Neither could His Majesty say anything to Her Majesty's might, and He sent His Majesty Marquis Shergold his gaze, but the Marquis looked down to avoid His Majesty's gaze.

A few minutes later, the court ruled to leave it to Her Royal Highness.

Her Royal Highness bowed gracefully and left.

The rest of us were left in an unspeakable atmosphere.

Uncle Granger in particular was serious. After his real father told him that it was okay to execute him publicly, he came almost to the point where His Majesty's permission came down. That was the appearance of Her Royal Highness that made her disposition absent, and she was solidified on her knees with an indescribable expression.

■ ■ ■

Someone was influenced by the conference the Duke of Swinton dubbed farce. And that influence will have a great impact not only on the Kingdom of Kaum, but also on later history.

The hour dates back about three hours ago after noon.

A report was brought to King's Capital of the total annihilation of the pioneering village, the village of Clarae, near the midpoint of Toa Street - a street connecting Fort Toa in the east to the boarding town of Barbezi.

Bringing that information was Luis Thackeray, a knight belonging to the Toa Street Guard, who ran through as far as 300 km, replacing his horse, and in just three and a half days followed him to Wang Du.

The information he brought was extremely important.

It was estimated that the cause of the total annihilation of the village of Clarae was a massive herd raid of oaks, the number of which exceeded two hundred. And the important thing was that many of the villagers had been killed, but they didn't match the population of the village. Of course, not all the villagers were in the village at the time to escape or stay away from the village, but that number was too different.

There were further footprints in the footsteps of the orcs who walked away that seemed to belong to the villagers, including speculation that the orcs might have abducted them.

Either way, it was the Street Guard's conclusion that there are many strange things about it for wild oaks and that it needs to be investigated quickly. However, with the strength of the Street Guard, Thackeray was dispatched to request reinforcements from the Knights, not to carry out a full investigation.

Young Thackeray is something he doesn't know very well, but guard executives hesitated to release this information.

If you are simply a herd of wild oaks, it is not that difficult to drive them out, even on a large scale. But if that's an orc led by the Middle-Ghost tribe, things are going to change dramatically.

If the demonic invasion is confirmed, Toa Street will originally stop circulation of Als Street, the aorta, and the price of food and other supplies will soar. Especially at this time of year when we withheld the harvest festival.

If this information were to be circulated, consumption would cool off at once.

There were many town lords along the streets in the upper echelons of the street guard, and there was a strong sense of wanting to avoid the depression in consumption at all costs. That's why he wanted this information to go with the announcement of the Knights' dispatch.

It was an exhausting, rushing into the royal palace, but the opportunity to report never came, left unattended at the Knights headquarters.

Because of his passion for the task and the safety of his people, he believed that it was necessary to deal with it as quickly as possible, and he thought that he had to report it to someone as close to the King as possible. The upper echelons of the street guard were also instructed to report directly to the upper echelons of the Knights or to the King, who stopped waiting for no reason and began to move himself.

At that time, the Royal Palace, and the headquarters of the Black Steel Knights, were not in the situation of a knight in the Street Guard.

Because Uncle Granger, the General of the Knights and the Edge of the House of the Grand Noble Duke of Norrish, one of the kingdoms, caused trouble with the Blacksmith Guild. Formal protests - rumored to be closer to punching rather than protesting - were received by the Blacksmith Guild, and although the Queen's driving managed to avoid a critical clash, below the King, all Knights executives were being chased into that response.

Such a situation, and although he moves aggressively, he did not find anyone at all to whom he should communicate his report. Thackeray, who thought it was a battle against time, switched the target to the deputy class, but couldn't even catch it.

At the end of his struggles, he contacted the cadres of the Knights of St. Silver, a close guard, and succeeded in handing him a report on the village of Clarae and a request for secondment from the street guard.

Originally, I should have reported to the headquarters of the Black Steel Knights, a unit in action, but I assumed that the country-grown Thackeray would hand it directly to the King if he were an executive of the Knights of St. Silver close to the King.

If it's normal, Thackeray is not wrong. But the king himself, desperate to consider the recovery of his own failures, never got it, although the documents that Thackeray had carried with his life in the king's ruling box. Of course, the paperwork was marked “ASAP” and was a complete King's downfall. Even more unfortunately, the documents are sent to the clerk as adjudicated. It was not until October, after the harvest festival, that the clerk, who had processed as usual, realized that it was pending.

In the end, it was ten days after the tragic discovery of the village of Clarae that King Albert XI was about to see the documents.

■ ■ ■

The Sinclair historian, famous for his painful acclaim, had the following acclaim in his book to King Albert XI:

"... then king Albert XI was an ordinary monarch. A mediocre monarch was not uncommon in the Kaum kingdom, but he was a man who could not admit himself to being mediocre. As a result, he could understand himself, i.e. he could only put aside persons equal to or less than himself… if he had acknowledged his own mediocrity and followed his excellent proximity, he would not have used dangerous tactics such as using Dwarves for“ stock ”. Nor should he have been criticized for inadvertently endangering the lives of his people and even pushing others, even though it was unintentional... for him the only salvation was the presence of Queen Katrina... Queen Katrina was a talented woman who saved the crisis of the Kingdom of Kaum many times. She was recognized for her talents by her predecessors, who became the sideroom of Albert XI, the next king, and then the queen's illness and death made her a regular room. If it had not been the birth of the Viscount, but more than the Marquis, it would have been welcomed as a regular room from the beginning...... '

It's a spicy Sinclair, but I was letting go to appreciate it when it comes to Queen Katrina.

"... Her first appearance in the political arena was at the time of the Ars exile of Phototheism, which began with the Lockhart family heretical certification case around 3015 of the Tria calendar. In a series of events, the Royal Government of Kaum had dealt with it with unprecedented accuracy. Expressions of support for the blacksmith's guild were, naturally, unusually close to preparation for the Kaum kingdom, which lacked an international sense, such as finding dissatisfied clerics at the denominational headquarters, secluding them secretly from the denomination, or continuing to obtain information on the bishop's return to his country (more or less). It has been rumored since that time that no more precise judgment could be made in Albert XI or the Shergold Marquis, but the testimony of clerics and blacksmiths now shows that Katrina had masterfully manipulated the nobles and given even more precise instructions to the bureaucrats… Nor had she drawn the Dwarves' mood in the attempted assault on Zacharias Lockhart… While showing so much talent, she continued to support her husband, the incompetent King, and never attempted to take power herself. This point alone deserves praise...... '

Furthermore, the Duke of Norrish has this reputation.

'... The Duke of Theodore Norrish was not as competent as he thought he was. It was just an advantage in his relative relationship with his political opponent, the King… the least I can appreciate is the lack of political sense. If, in response to the King's plot, the heart had responded in good faith to the Blacksmith Guild anyway, and without the presence of Queen Katrina, the Brentwood dynasty would have turned an end in Albert XI's generation, possibly even replacing the Norish dynasty...... the factors that would have prevented the Norish dynasty from being born would have been attributed to Theodore Norish individual. His limitations, like his political enemies, lie in overestimating his own abilities. Even though there was a special circumstance, the Kingdom of Kaum, which did not require an international sense, it was the greatest misfortune for the people of Kaum in this era that the monarch and the head of the largest Duke family were incompetent together. If, after this......'

And with regard to the ten blank days in question, he criticized:

'... If we had dispatched troops as soon as possible, based on information brought in by Knight Louis Thackeray, we would have destroyed the Orcs with minimal damage and would not have received as much criticism later. In fact, it was confirmed by the brave adventurers operating on Toa Street that the oak footsteps were almost grasped and lurked near the village of Clarae for nearly ten days. If we had received information about the tragedy in the village of Clarae and immediately dispatched about a thousand troops, we would have arrived in the vicinity of the village of Clarae within six days. The exact number of orcs at this time is unknown, but it is estimated to be at most three hundred, and if it were a thousand heavily equipped knights, even under unfavourable conditions: in the woods, it would have easily been annihilated... and this was not just a matter for the king. The Duke of Norrish family had a vast territory near Toa Street and a powerful knighthood. This was due to the strategy of the House of the Duke of Norrish to stop the Demons in case Fort Toa fell. In other words, if the Duke's ministerial corps were willing to protect its inhabitants, it would have been capable enough. But Theodore Norrish's ministers are as incompetent as their masters... if they had defeated the Orcs near Toa Street, the tragedy that followed would have been preventable. This will dramatically change the history that follows and will also result in the loss of many more lives…'

In response to Sinclair's criticism of later wisdom, not everyone had Ken, but none disputed that Albert XI had lost his depression in strengthening his own power base and had taken his life lightly.