Dream Life

It was just ten years ago, when I was thirty-two, that I took over the status of Duke and Elder from my father. There was no confusion because my father, who was detrimental to his health, decided to retire, because he had been ready for more than a year before he took over.

But the responsibilities imposed on me were heavy and I sometimes wanted to enjoy a slightly easier position. Of course, I've been working as an Imperial Army general since that time, and I wasn't playing around.

The first great job I did in succession to my father's trail was not as an elder, but as a lord.

At that time, the city of Ezarrington, although a major traffic shock, was said to have cumbersome procedures for castle gate traffic and a neck for land transport, which had long hampered the development of the central and eastern regions.

I embarked on reform because of the development of the Ezarrington Territory and Empire.

At the outset of the reform, it was plagued by many resistance forces, such as the merchants of Aurelia, who undertake maritime transport, and the nobles with their support, and the reform did not proceed as late as possible.

However, the reform proceeded once and for all after gaining knowledge with Lord Phyllobisher, the prime minister as prime minister. This is the result of Lord Feelobisher not taking into account his own detriment and holding the resistance back by force.

Lord Feelobisher said such a thing to me, "Until I did what was natural for the development of the Empire". I felt indelibly indebted, as well as reinforcing the thought that the Prime Minister was a selfless man who gave the imperial national interest the highest priority.

It is also important to work with the head of the Duke of Ezarrington family, but even more so as an elder at the helm of a huge nation called the Empire and as the head of the Fourth Regiment defending his country.

The elder is often in the imperial capital because he does not know when an urgent convocation will come. Meanwhile, it is desirable for the Legion Leader to be with his own Legion, but it is difficult and troubling to leave the Imperial Capital when an operation is being carried out against the Holy King of Lukes.

As far as the Senate is concerned, you do not necessarily have to attend if you delegate to the Chancellor. In fact, Grand Duke Langton and others were often absent due to private matters.

Having said that, I could not throw a round of difficult imperial operations at my benefactor, Lord Feelobisher, and I could not be absent frequently.

Furthermore, the Fourth Corps, which I command, is basically a force for the defense of the imperial capital, but is frequently hunted in the war against Lukes. This was often requested directly by the Chancellor in order to prevent the Leopold principals from getting on track and expanding the war. Although it is honorable to be trusted by the famous Chancellor, Lord Feelobisher, this was also a factor leaving the territory.

My family, but my real wife Mercedes has two men and two women, and there are five other children in the two side rooms. There are as many as nine children, but few are the owners of the Duke's house. So much so that the Duke of Cheslock is rumored to have children in dozens.

Stephen, a young man who has just turned twenty, works as one of the secretaries in the Chancellery. The ability is unknown, but I hope he learns something from Lord Feelobisher.

My second son, Lucien, is thirteen, two years old in elementary school. After graduating from the Academy of Higher Studies, he serves the country as a soldier in some regiment, and wants him to lead the Fourth Corps in the future, but the corps leader is not a hereditary, so it will depend on his own efforts.

Each of the two daughters is studying at the Academy of Higher Education.

My oldest daughter, Laurencia, is going to let some house daughter-in-law her after graduation, but she doesn't intend to do that herself, which is the seed of my troubles. I'm not willing to deny encouraging you to study, but I want you to think a little more about the future.

My second daughter Primrose still doesn't have a fiancée either, but she doesn't have a sense of crisis because of her natural personality.

If it's the direct line of the Duke's house, it's natural to have a fiancé in his early teens, and many of his daughter's classmates should be engaged, but I guess I let him go too free.

Either way, I am blessed with a family and as a Duke I have a peaceful family.

As for myself, but Lord Feelobisher has told me to take over the office of Chancellor in a few years, and that is a burden.

If not after him, I'm confident I can do it. But when you think you're going to carry on the trail of a famous prime minister fighting for one or two in the history of a long empire, you're really going to feel heavier.

And I'm being poked by that prime minister at a certain difficulty.

That was around the middle of November, a few days after the Lockhart family lord decided.

Lord Feelobisher visited my mansion in the Empire City.

"I need a favor from Lord Alexis," he said, then turned his sharp gaze to me.

"Will you persuade the Lockhart family to join our faction?"

I don't even have to ask why, but I don't know why you've asked me.

"No, but isn't Lord Clement better suited?"

Marquis Clement Seawell has been with the Lockhart family longer than I have, especially his belly Viscount Radford, who has a good relationship through alcohol.

"It would be difficult for the Grand Duke and the others to get their hands on the Elder, Lord Alexis, but not in Clement. Besides, the Lockhart family enters your territory before the Empire. Aim for that plane and we'll get through the Grand Duke."

Lord Feelobisher is right. The Marquis Seawell family is a prestigious family that brings them to the royal family, but it does not extend far to the elders in terms of power. Assuming Marquis Seawell takes control of the Lockhart family, faction leaders such as Grand Duke Langton and Lord Ingolslop will not shy away, and are likely to strike a forceful hand.

In that regard, if I draw in, an elder and cousin of His Majesty the Emperor, a forceful hand is hard to strike, even if it comes out of hand. Furthermore, the Grand Dukes will not move directly until they enter the Imperial Capital, which is very sensible in the sense of hitting the lead.

"Sure it is...... ok. Let's try."

I took it lightly then, but the next day I would hear from Marquis Seawell and Viscount Radford and hold their heads.

"It may be difficult," said Lord Clement, who listened to me.

"Why not? The Lockhart family was originally under the authority of Lord Hubert. On the face of it, the Raswell Border House is difficult to say neutral, but Lord Hubert has been in friendship with His Excellency the Chancellor over the years. So, I don't think it's going to be difficult?

Radford answered my question on behalf of Lord Clement.

"I'm afraid I do. The Lockhart family is not under the influence of the Raswell family. Therefore, even if His Excellency the Chancellor and His Excellency the Governor of the North are friendships, I wonder if they may follow."

"Isn't that strange? I hear Lord Hubert's beloved daughter, Rosalind, is married to a Lockhart man. I'm assuming you're related to someone who's not your own faction?

When I hear that, he starts explaining as he chooses the words.

"The Lockhart family has a second son, Zacharias. That one has an unspeakable talent in the word English talent. And we know exactly what is going on in the Imperial Family today, and we fear that the Blacksmith Guild, the source of our own strength, will be used no matter which faction we join."

"I know that, but what's the point in using the power you have?

"The Lockhart family feels strongly indebted to the Dwarf blacksmiths. Because the Bishop of the Light Divinity protected the Lockhart family when he ran wild. Moreover, at the time of the Undead's assault, the Dwarves threw everything away and headed for rescue. The Lockhart family weighs their faith above all other than in the days of their predecessor Sir Govan, and it is unlikely that they will use their friends…"

Lord Clement is also nodding at the words.

"... beside our Lord Masaias, there is Zacharias who knows exactly what is going on, which means he is likely to follow his words. In other words, I would fool myself not to make decisions that would use the Dwarves in the political arena."

Radford is famous as a gastronomer, but I appreciate his ability as a politician more than that.

At present, the Marquis Seawell family is gaining strength because of Lord Clement's own talent, but I believe that the heavy use of Radford is a major factor.

That he affirms means it's really hard to achieve.

"So what do I do?"

When I groan so, Lord Clement answers in a slow tone.

"We don't try to force them into it, we move to protect them from the Grand Duke and others. It's not Ignacious' word, but Lockhart is instrumental. Show us the attitude we're trying to protect and you'll be on our side every step of the way. Instead of being forced to pick it, wait for the fruit to ripen while protecting it from the wind and rain."

It's a house famous for its wine, but I know what he's trying to say. However, I did not follow their words and decided to set the policy after ascertaining it with my own eyes.

However, I will strike my hand so that I can switch to what Lord Clement said.

Then I started gathering information about the Lockhart family.

Initially, it was thought that a great deal of information would be gathered because it was a small house on the edge that could not be described as imperial territory.

But more information was gathered than I thought. There was a lot of information about Zacharias in particular, and every time I looked at the information gathered, I was only sixteen years old, which was so diverse that I wondered if it was about the same person.

The first information available was that he was a magician of all attributes, enrolled at the youngest in the Tilia School of Magic in the academic city of Doctus, and graduated as such in chief. With that strength also gained, he soon realized that he had been an adventurer since school and had become a first-rate fourth-level adventurer.

But that's where the questionable information enters.

I mean, I've upgraded as an adventurer, but if you say you've upgraded with good magic, I can still tell. But the information I got was that I became an adventurer to raise my sword skills.

Moreover, he said his level had already reached the top of the fifth class of mercenaries, mid forty of the veteran mercenaries.

When I contacted the Adventurer Guild branch in the city of Ezarrington, I received an answer that the average age of fourth-level adventurers was over thirty and that the average years of experience were more than fifteen years. It seems that the authenticity of the ten year old boy became the subject of discussion when that information came in, not in the ranks that he would ascend in five years, but also in the Adventurer's Guild.

During that inquiry, new information was obtained in the Adventurers Guild. It wasn't just about him, it was about his childhood tamers. Almost all three childhood acquaintances of the same year had a skill of a thousand, including Zacharias, and the name "Zack Cartel” was the story of no stranger in Doctus.

Up to this point there was nothing I was not yet convinced of. Nor is it possible to grow up with rigorous instruction from leading teachers from a young age.

Swordsmanship crossed each other with that Luke's Beastman Slave Squad, while magic is coached by Lydiane Dupree, the chief of the Tilia School of Magic. With such a good mentor close by, and training from an early age, none of them will be possible.

But in stories about politics, I had to doubt my ears. Having publicly stated that that skilled politician, the magician guild chancellor Worgman, would not only let go and praise him, but would not be hostile, he has actually approved his proposal immediately.

The result is the replacement of the Archbishop of Light Divinity, the supreme power of the Holy Kingdom of Lukes. A mere fourteen-year-old boy has accomplished what our empire could not have accomplished with any plot.

I was so stunned that I said to my source, Lord Clement, "no way" to the story of Lord Hubert, who also had a territory so vast that His Majesty the Emperor was vigilant that he tried to hold it by giving it half of his own territory, informally.

Lord Hubert is one of the few politicians I respect.

His excellence as a politician is demonstrated by his continued protection of his difficult position as Governor of the North for more than twenty years.

I was struck by what Lord Hubert said to the boy, only fifteen years old, that he wanted to be a substantial successor.

I am also a politician and I know how difficult it is to do something called “politics”. Insights cannot be gained without experience, and moving people is not something that knowledge alone can do. Even though he was a genius, he had a question about how he could get that far into a fifteen-year-old boy.

There was also a lot of information so far that was incredible, but also a lot of information that seemed to be eyebrow saliva.

Too many things were too absurd for Russia to believe, such as anecdotes that would be "all-round Prince Harlem (All-Range Prince)" or “Friends of Dwarves” at just fifteen years of age and recognized by the Blacksmith Guild as key figures alongside Scott Wishkey, already known as the legendary distiller.

Without being able to organize the information, the day approached when the Lockhart family would arrive in our territory of Ezarrington.

The information was appropriately obtained from Radford, but I had other sources of my own. Those are the subordinate nobles of the Grand Duke of Langton and Lord Ingolslop's children and their ministers.

The Viscount Furfree family has abbreviated the decree and has obtained a copy of the report sent by the Viscount to the Grand Duke. There are also many others who pass through us, and on the basis of the information obtained from them, after identifying the actions of the Lockhart family, we decided to face them directly.

From Teito to Ezarrington it's about a four-day ride by carriage. I took Laurencia and Primrose and returned to my territory.

At this time, what I was thinking was how to draw Lockhart in.

To do so, I intend to present the conditions that I would most like after identifying Masaias Lockhart and Zacharias. Status, honor, territory, property, security… No one, whoever it is, is completely abnegated.

Fortunately, Lord Feelobisher had entrusted me with full powers, so I can also meet some greedy demands, unless I want more than a marquis, for example, or I want to marry the Crown Princess.

Assuming you want a kinship with our Ezarrington family, you could approve of the engagement of your second son Lucien to Lockhart's eldest daughter, or even put Laurencia or Primrose out to Zacharias' daughter-in-law if you want a further relationship.

In addition, Lord Clement had been stabbed with a nail, but there is no way to hang a threat.

The source of power for the Lockhart family is the Blacksmith Guild and the Mage Guild.

If you are Queen Katrina, who is called Queen Dwarf and has influence over the Blacksmith Guild, or Speaker Worgman of the Mage Guild, you will know the horror of hostility to Lord Feelobisher.

In other words, he thought it was possible to subjugate both guilds no matter how strongly influential they were against the power of the Empire.

On January 23rd, the Lockhart family arrived in Ezarrington.

Everyone, including him, is surprised to see me because I haven't told Radford the information that I'm waiting either.

This is what I dared to do to take the lead. It was not for the Duke to do, but he intended to do whatever was necessary to move the negotiations forward in his favor.

The thought of bringing in the Lockhart family collapsed brittle at the dinner table.

Not only did Zacharias reject the terms of the breakdown I put out, but he also did not succumb to the intimidation of my belly Count Adolf Rednap. I thought it would be somewhat troubling and I was thinking of taking the lead by fishing out the conditions and adding threats, but my thoughts were fully read.

For once, the pressure was hanging from me too, but I didn't expect this to be turned down lightly either.

The only thing that seems fascinating about the conditions put forth by Lord Clement is that even that is a clear no.

Furthermore, the moment I saw his wives, I understood that there was no option to give them daughters.

Those four are not only beautiful and strong, but they love Zacharias with all their heart. And it was obvious that he loved them too, and he realized that if it was a family thought, as Radford put it, he couldn't force it.

Hearing about the Lockhart family training, I also found it impossible to marry my second son Lucien to Seraphine, the eldest daughter of the Lockhart family. A report from a knight who saw his first day of training said he was an arm unlikely to be an 11-year-old girl, comparable to a regular knight of seventeen or eight for our Fourth Legion.

Lucien, on the other hand, made him start training at the age of ten with the intention of becoming a martial officer, but after more than three years he is still only level five, which is said to be a rush out.

The Duke will not actually hold the sword and fight, and I myself, the head of the Fourth Corps, have no problem with swordsmanship skills because they are no big deal with the Fifteen, but I don't think that this difference will make the relationship between the two of us any better.

I immediately switched to a policy of selling favors to the Lockhart family.

I can only thank Lord Clement for this, but I was fortunate enough to keep my hands on it so that I could change policy.

The next day, I thought I was greatly impressed with Zacharias' relationship with his daughters thanks to the good work they had done. This minimized the interference of the Grand Duke and Lord Ingolthrop, and reassured the Lockhart family that they would now be able to sell their thanks.

But there was a breakdown unexpectedly. By the Dwarves, the most distant being from the plot.

I'm going to attend the Blacksmith Guild banquet.

I also have a lot of civilian men, and I have the pride of being the best with them among the elders. But there's just never been anything like joining their feast.

Because if I go, I thought they'd atrophy, but now I'm more atrophic.

Because I don't know how to hang out with Dwarf, but more than that, this is where I'm supposed to be.

When I told Lord Clement about this, he gave me advice.

"Lord Hubert has attended the blacksmiths' feast. What I can say from that story is, why don't you just enjoy the feast?"

I don't know exactly what to do, though I snort at that word. The banquet we perform is an extension of politics, and we sensibly do not know that it is purely enjoyable.

When I tell you about it,

"If you don't know, it's best to ask what you know."

"Who understands?" When I heard back, he gave me even more valuable advice, laughing.

"If you're talking about Dwarf, you just have to ask Zacharias, the person you know best. I'd love to enjoy the banquet, but if you ask me honestly what to do, I'm sure you'll tell me."

I nodded "I see" loudly.

Then, after the evening's training, I caught Zacharias trying to make his way to the guild and asked him about it.

"I'd like to enjoy a banquet with the blacksmiths, what should I do"

To my inquiry he began to speak in a slow tone after having a puzzled look on his face.

"Has Your Excellency ever had a drink with an unmindful companion? For example, when I was younger, I made a scene with my classmates at the academy."

I follow my memory without knowing the intent of his question. And I remember when I was eighteen.

"Mm-hmm. More than twenty years ago, but before I graduated from the Academy, I sprinkled my father's namesake and made a fool of myself in an Imperial Tavern. The next day, I'm gonna suffer from a hangover, I'm gonna eat my father a big eyeball. So it was scattered, but that was fun..."

That's all I said. I understood what he was trying to say.

"Then I was wondering if you could remember those days. There is no Crown Prince, no Crown Prince, no Neutrality, making foolish noises with like-minded companions. It may be difficult in your current position, but why not be desired in that way?"

I took his advice and came up with a little prank.