It was a lavish and spacious office.
A desk that looked far too large for one person to use, luxurious bookshelves, and ornaments pleasing to the eye decorated the interior. With its white base and golden embellishments, the place looked as though it could belong to royalty. In the center of it all sat a middle-aged man, pressing his temple hard as he looked ahead. A look of profound headache was palpable on his face.
“We’ve lost contact?”
The man’s index finger tapped against the documents. The man across from him, who had been listening to the rhythmic sound, finally could bear the silence no longer and spoke first.
“Count Promin, surely nothing has happened?”
At his urgent question, Count Promin raised his eyes. Even at a glance, the other’s attire looked truly expensive, and his face bore all the signs of having grown up in pampered luxury. However, his youthful face, unable to hide its emotions, made it clear that he was still very much a novice. For someone aiming to break into the center of the political world, he seemed remarkably inadequate.
That such a man remained as the Hisvian noble to replace Robellia, even if only temporarily. It showed how little Hisvia thought of Impel. Though from Count Promin’s standpoint, it was far more convenient that this man had stayed behind.
“Do not worry, Lord Listelin. They are at sea, so it may simply be that contact cannot be reached.”
Count Promin put on a kindly and reassuring smile. At that sight, Listelin asked back in an uneasy voice.
“Is that really the case?”
“Of course. The Blue Loop is a passenger ship built in Hisvia. Is it not Hisvia’s technology that allows them to traverse the seas as if they were land? Nothing serious will have happened.”
Even after Count Promin’s words, Listelin’s expression did not improve. This was Impel, and lately, the atmosphere in Impel was very grim. Resentment toward Hisvia had reached its peak, and protests were breaking out with disturbing frequency. Though it hadn’t been said outright, Robellia—who had governed and exerted influence here for ten years—had fled in haste out of fear of the escalating protests.
Listelin had also heard the news that Robellia’s younger sibling had been killed by radical protestors. Because of that, he wanted to leave this grim country at once.
He gnawed at his lips, regretting it every night. He hadn’t originally come to such a place as an envoy. He had joined the diplomatic delegation out of mere greed to gain some influence in the political sphere, and before he knew it, he had ended up the only one left in Impel. The other Hisvian nobles who had accompanied him had already returned to the homeland alongside Robellia.
Listelin had been desperately waiting for the departed delegation to return to the homeland and deliver news even a day sooner. Yet now he had heard that contact with the returning delegation had been lost. How could he feel at ease?
He folded his arms anxiously. Though Count Promin told him not to worry, Listelin couldn’t feel the slightest relief. Whatever the case, Count Promin was also a noble of Impel. In the end, it felt as though he had not a single ally in this country.
“They need to decide on a new house to govern Impel soon.”
Count Promin narrowed his eyes at Listelin’s low muttering. However, he pretended not to hear and turned his head. Instead, he took out several other documents and handed them over.
“Rather than that, please look at this.”
“What is this?”
His nerves were so focused on the delegation that had lost contact that the contents of the documents failed to register in his eyes. Listelin skimmed over them. White was paper; black was text.
Even to Listelin’s visibly lukewarm reaction, Count Promin paid no mind. Frankly, he wanted to proceed with the work alone, but whether he liked it or not, Listelin was currently Robellia’s proxy. Only with Listelin’s approval and signature could he later present them confidently to whoever Hisvia officially dispatched.
“This country is too unstable to wait until a new house is officially dispatched. For now, even those of us here must put this land in order. Should someone from the homeland arrive officially later and find Impel in a far more organized state, your merit too shall be recognized, Lord Listelin.”
Listelin, who had been indifferently looking away from the documents, subtly raised his eyes. Count Promin, confirming that he had reacted to these words, smiled a cunning smile.
“Merit?”
“You remained behind to manage Impel, albeit temporarily. If Impel improves, that is all your accomplishment, Lord Listelin.”
At the word “accomplishment,” Listelin’s expression changed subtly. Truthfully, the atmosphere in Impel was indeed very poor right now, but there were also many houses that viewed this place as a land of opportunity. If one governed it properly, it was a chance to be rewarded several times over for one’s efforts.
Not only in the center of the homeland, but when the time came to stand shoulder to shoulder with the continental nations, he would be able to boast of his prestige from the vanguard. Listelin let out a dry cough and averted his gaze.
“Hrm, w-well, I suppose that may be so?”
Confirming that the corners of his mouth had subtly risen, Count Promin smiled in satisfaction. He gave thanks once more to the delegation that had left Listelin behind. With such a greenhorn, he could manipulate him to his heart’s content.
Robellia’s house, Lormand, had been quite prestigious in Hisvia. Because of that, even when one humored him, his pride and arrogance made him difficult to control. In comparison, Listelin’s house fell far short of Lormand. His ambition for the political sphere was exceptional, but he lacked tact, so it was simply a matter of coaxing him along.
“Yes. As a noble representing Impel who has come to assist you, I intend to devote myself sincerely. That is why, you see—for a successful annexation, this country must be normalized. First, we must restore the lands and buildings destroyed by war. Then who shall do this work? Why, the commonfolk outside. I thought we might placate the angry populace with food and mobilize them for corvée labor.”
Listelin, who had momentarily shown an intrigued expression, soon furrowed his brow.
“It is a reasonable argument, but most of the devastated lands are in Hisnoir. Even if we give them food, would they obey willingly? They who are so infuriated that they would kill nobles?”
Commoners had killed a noble. A noble of the victorious nation, no less. To Listelin’s knowledge, the slain Akanders had been a man of exceptional martial ability who had vigorously served as Robellia’s right hand. Yet such a man had been killed by radical protestors, even if it was in Hisnoir, a lawless region. He wouldn’t have been this surprised had the man died fighting the Resistance instead.
The grudge accumulated by Robellia and Akanders was considerable, so Listelin had to feel threatened simply by being a Hisvian noble. And they thought to placate them with mere food? It might only further stoke their anger.
Even to Listelin’s skeptical reaction, Count Promin spoke as if it were no great matter.
“That is because they still retain the identity of Impelians.”
“What do you mean? An Impelian is an Impelian.”
“It has been ten years since the royal house of Impel fell. The term ‘Impelian’ is merely an illusion, a leftover concept. Now we must accept that we are Hisvians.”
Listelin narrowed his eyes. Count Promin seemed quite worked up as he spoke. His slightly flushed face and raised voice attested to that.
“Which is why I propose that, once the urgent restorations are complete, we teach the Hisvian language throughout the entire nation!”
Count Promin’s eyes gleamed. In truth, both Impel and Hisvia had a continental language used in common. Nevertheless, his declaration that he would separately teach Hisvian was a statement of exceptional significance.
However, Listelin did not look particularly pleased. Rather, he even seemed somewhat displeased. He looked at Count Promin with distaste and spoke slowly, as if muttering.
“Ahem. Even if they speak Hisvian, Impel and Hisvia cannot stand in equal positions.”
At those words, Count Promin very faintly furrowed his brows, but soon smiled as if nothing were amiss.
“Of course. But think about it. Imagine the sight of the commonfolk here speaking Hisvian. How delighted the homeland would be to see that. Not only you, Lord Listelin, but your entire house would be elevated.”
“Hrm……”
Count Promin did not lose his smile. Having spent ten years swallowing his pride and accommodating others, he found it effortless. At the sight of Count Promin so openly trying to humor him, Listelin too eventually had to relax his expression.
Whatever the case, at this very moment, Count Promin was the only person who could be called his ally. He couldn’t keep showing displeasure when the man was spouting such honeyed words. Listelin nodded reluctantly and replied.
“For now, it seems best to proceed with Impel’s restoration. But where do you plan to procure the funds?”
Count Promin smirked. For some reason, his languid smile felt chilling.
“You need not worry about that.”