Chapter 20: The Imperial Banquet [3]
Chapter 20: The Imperial Banquet [3]
Carl lowered his head, muttering intently,
looked around, and clumsily bowed his waist, following what the other nobles were doing.
"Hello. Father."
"… … ."
Everyone who listens gets a cold sweat.
When everyone was at a loss for what to do with Carl's absurd words, Azgoth slowly opened his mouth.
"Why did you lower your head?"
Why is he asking that?
"Brother Nero told me to do that."
Nero, who was slowly walking away while holding Bella hand, felt like screaming at those words.
He was startled and looked up to see Azgoth looking straight at Nero with his sun-like eyes.
"Yes, you are being a good brother."
"… Thank you, your majesty."
Nero hesitated for a moment at the unexpected words, then answered quietly and lowered his head again.
He have no idea what Carl and Azgoth were thinking.
"Good job. Nero."
"… … ."
Nero was so horrified by Azgoth's praise that he could not move. But Nero responded with his trademark cheerful smile as he held his mother's hand tightly as he was so frightened that he could not breathe.
"I was just doing it for my brother. Your majesty."
Azgoth nodded slowly and spoke with only his lips moving with a mysterious expression that could not be interpreted.
"Even so, the credit for maintaining the royal blood is truly great. Is there something you want?"
For a moment, Nero looked at Carl without realizing it. However, Carl was still secretly munching on the cake in his hand, avoiding Azgoth's eyes with an innocent expression.
"How dare I covet what belongs to the imperial family?"
A little…This is a statement that can be interpreted politically.
"is it."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
That was the end of it. Azgoth took his gaze away from Ias and looked at Carl again.
"Why did you come here dressed like that?"
"Yes? Is something wrong?"
Carl fumbled with his pure white pyjamas with his dirty hands, making an even bigger mess.
And then, with an expression on his face as if he knew nothing, Carl looked straight ahead…. Yes, he said, making correct eye contact and looking straight ahead.
"This is all I have. I didn't know I had to wear different clothes."
Azgoth nodded slowly at Carl's words and spoke calmly.
"For the royal family to walk around dressed like this, the imperial discipline has fallen to the ground."
As if thunder had struck, everyone stopped breathing in fear.
"Punish those responsible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chamberlain Orten bows and answers straight away.
The only person who takes care of Carl is Lilly, but there is an attendant assigned to him according to the royal family's laws.
The person who wanted to use the servant for something else was Azgoth, and the person who understood his wishes and assigned him to another place was Orten, the chamberlain.
However, the responsibility will have to be taken from beginning to end.
"Carl."
Azgoth spoke Carl's name with his expression, energy, and voice that had not changed since the moment he entered the party.
"This is to celebrate your recovery, but looking at you now, you don't seem worthy of being here."
"Oh, I just came because I heard there was something to eat. I'll just go now."
Carl spoke jokingly as if he didn't know anything.
And he enjoyed the moment when everyone dared not look up and see him, and only Azgoth was looking directly at him.
Carl thought that, at least for now, He only needed to know one thing among the etiquette he had learned from his attendant.
For this very moment.
As Carol had learned from his attendant, he put his left foot back, placed his right hand on his chest, and slightly bowed his head to show respect.
Anyone can see that he has a flawless, disciplined, polite, and elegant appearance.
And, the look in the eyes of a wild beast crouching in the bushes, raising its eyes to fill its hungry stomach.
Carl looked straight at Azgoth and bowed like that.
Despite its shabby appearance and dirty clothes, it was something a lion's child should have.
Carl proved that Azgoth's eyes were not wrong.
He made it clear to the emperor of the great Morgan empire that he was better suited for this position than anyone else.
"I'll just go. father."
Carl once again became the face of an innocent child who knew nothing, and, completely ignoring the imperial etiquette, passed by Azgoth and left the party without his permission.
Azgoth looked at Carl's small back with an unchanged face and then opened his mouth.
"I was so caught up that I forgot to say anything. Just raise your head."
At those words, the nobles finally raise their heads. However, no one can meet Azgoth eyes, so they just stares at the floor.
Azgoth walked across those who were avoiding his eyes with a leisurely pace, like a lion, and sat down in his seat reserved only for the emperor.
Azgoth already knew that Carl would participate in the struggle for the throne.
And hehad already realized that he was a strange being, completely different from Carl before.
However, even Azgoth could not know how much the new Carl would be able to increase the composition
But now, that weak and insignificant thing spoke confidently to Azgoth.
'I don't have anything, so I can't communicate anything, so I have to get this and that from you who have a lot.'
Azgoth spoke in a low voice, but with a deep resonance that resonated throughout the party.
"How can you not enjoy the party?"
The nobles approached cautiously, starting with those with the highest rank and bowing to Azgoth. Following imperial etiquette, the first thing to do is to introduce yourself to the emperor and bow to him.
'Did you see through it?'
Azgoth thought so as he accepted the greeting with an unchanging face.
It would be impossible to think that Carl would know all of Azgoth plans through Lucas's memories memories, so it was a natural judgment from Azgoth perspective.
First Prince Aric is acting as if the empire is already his.
The 2nd prince, Adrian, had the greatest ability among the princes, but he tried to do nothing.
The 3rd prince, Nero, enjoys the support of the military due to his cheerful personality and strong military power, but he only wanders around.
However, the 'failure' who had been on the verge of death and doing nothing for 16 years suddenly rose, overcoming all adversity, opened his eyes and spoke to Azgoth.
'That place will be mine.'
Azgoth found it quite enjoyable.
Originally, he was planning to change the game by empowering Nero, but this would increase the number of cards he could use.
If Carl has enough ability, it wouldn't be a bad idea to empower him to go on a rampage.
'Aric already has much power, and Adrian is reaching out in the darkness. He needs to Raise Carl to maintain balance, and use Nero as a weight to balance the broken balance depending on the situation.'
Of course, Carl will have to prove that he has the ability.
If he is nothing compared to his courage, if he is ultimately nothing more than an arrogant flea, he can only be discarded.
As per the original plan, he raises Nero using Bella as a hostage, creating a triangle.
'How far can he go?'
Azgoth sat high up, looked down at everything looking up at him, and leisurely made his next move.