Chapter 123: The Merchant and the Crown Prince
I wiped the blood on my cheek with my thumb.
“I’m s-sorry, Your Majesty! I will report this immediately and have them go after those people!”
The first to regain composure after Alice was the shop owner.
A long-time acquaintance, he approached me on all fours, groveling on the ground as he said this.
“No, it’s unnecessary.”
“Huh?”
“It’s not a serious offense. A mere scratch on the cheek would lead to just a reprimand if taken to court. In fact, it would be more troublesome if it were taken there.”
“B-but, to do such a thing to Your Majesty is outrageous, deserving of a thousand deaths!”
“Don’t be hasty. I never introduced myself; it doesn’t constitute an offense of disrespect.”
As I reflected on how many times I’ve had to explain this, it struck me as somewhat amusing.
Since becoming the Minister of Justice, I’ve had to interpret the law at the request of my father, the Emperor at the time. Perhaps the most misunderstood and the interpretation that needed correcting was regarding this offense of disrespect.
Lese Majeste, the law regarding offense of disrespect punishes the commoners for disrespecting the nobility.
Among these, the offense against the Emperor is sometimes referred to as “great offense of disrespect,” but that is a colloquial term; officially, it is just one clause within the offense of disrespect.
The offense is clearly stipulated as occurring “with the recognition that the other party is of royal or noble status.”
In other words, in a case like this, since the Emperor did not introduce himself, it does not constitute an offense of disrespect, but rather simply an act of assault for injuring the cheek. … I had repeated such explanations in front of my father many times since childhood.
“It’s merely an act of assault, and I have just eliminated the threat based on the principle of retaliatory law.”
“Oh… what great generosity!”
The shop owner said this with a look of deep admiration. At that moment, the other customers also began to praise me in a chorus of cheers.
“Well, at the very least, I will find out their identities. I will circulate a wanted poster to ban them from this area.”
“That’s also unnecessary.”
“Huh?”
“In the end, I did introduce myself, did I not?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
The shop owner nodded hastily. The emblem manifested through the power of Livyathan.
That emblem has the ability—even to those who know nothing—to instill the thought, “This is the Emperor.”
No, it’s a technique. It’s something I devised during the journey to the Realarat.
“What would happen if you, although unknowingly, inflicted an injury on the Emperor?”
“Certainly… I would run away, ah—”
“That’s right, you would run. I have no intention of applying the offense of disrespect, but normally, including you all, people tend to think in that direction. Those people would feel the same. They can no longer remain in the imperial capital now.”
“Unbelievable… to think that you considered all that…”
“It’s not a big deal. Even if, by some chance, someone didn’t get scared and bore a grudge, that resentment would come toward me— I’ve merely protected the place where Alice sings.”
“Your Majesty…”
Alice, who had been listening next to the shop owner, was moved and had tears in her eyes.
“So then… Alice, I’ll send a proper escort later. Shop owner, while Alice is away, you will have to make sure to guard the shop properly.”
“Y-yes! I would do so at the cost of my life!”
I smiled warmly as I said this.
“Everyone, relax.”
While waving my hand, I slowly departed from the shop.
After leaving the shop, I wandered through the streets alone.
I walked with a casual air, taking in the sights here and there.
The scenery of the imperial capital, its prosperity.
I thought I should etch it into my memories since I would be deploying soon.
While it doesn’t hold much practical significance, in case of emergency, perhaps having “something to protect” could ignite my heart and spirit.
With such thoughts in mind, I strolled through the imperial capital, looking around here and there.
As I walked, taking in various sights, a carriage suddenly stopped in front of me.
With the sound of the horse neighing, the carriage came to a halt, and shortly after, a man stepped down.
“Your Majesty—It’s been a while.”
“Alan, is that you?”
The man who stepped down from the carriage was a familiar merchant, Byron Alan.
Byron was a merchant I had met when I was six years old.
I remember he was first chancellor Jan—no, he was the third chancellor at that time.
I met him at a party held at the residence of Jan Blood Reydok.
The man who was middle-aged back then was now approaching his sixties, with gray hair mixed in and a distinguished beard.
“Were you on your way somewhere?”
I glanced at the carriage Alan had come in and asked.
“I was on my way back to the shop. And I have received word that some of the items I ordered from various places have arrived.”
“Oh, really?”
As I replied that way, I started walking.
Byron waved his hand to the driver and sent some signal before following me alone.
He kept a step behind me, not directly beside me, but with an understanding of his position.
“Did you find something interesting?”
“A little something that would make children happy.”
“Children?”
I was a bit surprised and widen my eyes as I turned my gaze toward Alan.
For a merchant like Alan to talk about “things that would make children happy” was not something one would normally expect. I
looked at his face closely to see if there was something more to it.
“Yes. To be more precise, it’s something that adults think children would enjoy. I have heard that a certain distinguished person will be doting their grandchild for a while.”
“…Ah.”
I nodded and chuckled softly.
Since we were in the city, Byron avoided mentioning it directly, but he was referring to my father.
I had entrusted my father to be a “guardian” for Sem—my son. And in my father’s residence, there was the consort that Byron had sent.
For a merchant, having information from the political center makes a significant difference in business.
And when it comes to valuable information, there is no better source than the Emperor himself, who is at the very heart of the center.
Drawing information from the Emperor is normally difficult to imagine, but after all, he is also a man.
The ability to extract various information from a man through pillow talk has not changed for hundreds or even thousands of years.
That’s why Byron chose a woman to become his consort, and with my cooperation, he recommended her to my father’s harem, who was the Emperor at that time.
This route is still active, meaning the information about the guardian for Sem that I entrusted to my father flowed to Byron.
“What kind of things have you prepared?”
“Well, that person is quite strict, so—”
“You should prepare about half simple things that young children would enjoy.”
I interrupted Byron’s words. I could imagine the direction of his story from the start, so I denied it.
“Huh?”
“A father is different from a grandfather. Even a strict man with children shows a completely different side when it comes to their grandchild. Isn’t that right?”
“Y-you’re right… It’s common for a stubborn old man to dote on only his grandchild…”
“But I can’t say for sure. So it’s fine to prepare about half.”
“I understand.”
“But in return…”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know what that certain person thinks, but coincidentally, I have a son too, probably around the same age. If you want to know what he enjoys and what he particularly likes, I can tell you that.”
“—!! Thank you very much!!”
Byron bowed his head with exaggerated enthusiasm. …Or maybe it wasn’t exaggerated at all.
The “grandchild” mentioned in the conversation refers to my son Sem.
If I already know what Sem likes, it will be easier to prepare.
This was information coming directly from me, not through pillow talk via the consort.
Normally, information like this would not be attainable regardless of how much money one offered, so Byron’s reaction was completely understandable.
I told Byron what Sem liked. Byron was incredibly pleased—however,
“…”
Immediately afterward, he looked very troubled.
“What’s wrong?”
“W-well… I don’t know how to thank you…”
“…Ah.”
I chuckled softly. Upon reflection, it was only natural.
When I first met Byron, I was just a mere Prince.
As a Prince—he could give me a gift if it were to another member of the royal family.
But now I am the Emperor.
Everything in the Empire belongs to me—it is the nature of being an Emperor.
If someone does not know me, it is one thing; but if they know my true identity, there is no way they can offer a gift.
Byron realized that he could not offer a return gift—rather, it was impossible and became flustered.
In the first place, offering “a gift to the Emperor” directly could be considered a crime of disrespect.
The Emperor’s “grace” is such a thing.
So strict nobles might even say that questioning my hesitation is “disrespectful!!”.
I laughed again and changed the subject.
“By the way, do you know about the ‘Akkouuma’?”
“Akkouuma…? No, I’m afraid I don’t…”
“It is a horse whose entire body shines a yellow color, looking as if it’s emitting the light of dawn.”
“Such a horse exists!?”
Byron’s eyes changed. He must have pictured the Akkouuma and felt that it could be “profitable” as a merchant.
“Of course, it’s not really glowing. If you feed a certain breed of white horse a specific type of feed, the color of its sweat changes due to the feed’s influence, making it look like it’s emitting a dawn light when combined with its white fur.”
“I see.”
Byron nodded. His eye color had settled, but he still showed a hint of hope, as if thinking that even so, it would still be profitable.
“The quality of that feed—perhaps purity, as they say—determines how much it glows. Just the feed I’ve been wanting to get… Do you think you can gather roughly six months’ worth?”
“—Leave it to me! I will surely get it!”
“Then, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes!”
Byron bowed deeply.
The passersby glanced over, curious about what was happening, but it wasn’t such an unusual sight, and their interest quickly faded away like the tide.
I started walking again, and Byron followed.
“However… you truly are impressive.”
“Hm?”
“The dawn light horse… I had never heard of such a horse before. How did you come across this?”
“I merely restored fragments collected from old texts.”
“Really…?”
“Hm?”
Byron stopped again, looking even more surprised than before.
“What’s wrong?”
“I-It’s incredible… I didn’t know you were someone who conducted scholarly work.”
“I did it because it was necessary.”
“Necessary?”
“Yeah, while researching if there was something good for my bluff, I found references to a golden horse in multiple texts, so I looked into it thoroughly.”
“Just that… you are truly impressive! Even if you were born into a family of scholars, I’m sure you would have achieved great things.”
“A scholar, huh?”
That would be an appealing future in its own right.
“Speaking of which…”
Suddenly recalling something, I turned my head slightly while walking and glanced back over my shoulder at Byron.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Is there something you absolutely cannot forgive?”
“Certainly! I have a benefactor, and I can never forgive anyone who looks down on that person!”
“Fufufu.”
I chuckled softly. The ‘benefactor’ being referred to was me, and Byron was trying to curry favor.
“I understand that part. What about the second one?”
“My second… oner?”
Byron furrowed his brows, taking on a slightly awkward expression.
It seemed my implicit suggestion to talk about something not flattering was causing him some trouble.
“What’s wrong? Is there Nothing?”
“N-No! I mean, if I had to say…”
“Yeah?”
“I cannot forgive anyone who makes my daughter unhappy, I suppose?”
“Oh.”
Byron has a stepdaughter, and I am acquainted with her.
Is he referring to her?
“I see. Take good care of your daughter. My apologies for bringing up something odd.”
“No! Not at all!”
“About the dawn light horse, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes!”
Byron said this, bowed his head once more, and then turned and walked away.
“Daughter, huh.”
Byron’s absolute unforgivable thing was surprisingly straightforward.
Considering he was such a merchant, I had expected his reasons to be more complex, so I felt a little bit taken aback.
There is –>discord<— to get update notifications and releases? I am lazy af these days.
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