Chapter 125

Del Conti's four-horse carriage ran through the streets of Merion.

The carriage, pulled by four black horses, was so ornate and black that it attracted attention.

I, Shion, sat next to the coachman and looked down at the streets. I even waved to the children.

Pneuve Freira sat alone in the passenger seat.

It was because I had refused to sit with him.

Pneuve glanced anxiously at me and the coachman.

I ignored his gaze and looked at the old coachman, who was looking at the carriage.

The old man, unable to hide his discomfort, pulled his hat down even lower.

“Mr. Coachman.”

“…Yes?”

The thin-lipped coachman looked a bit flustered. He hadn't expected me to talk to him.

“Have you been working for Del Contis for a long time?”

“…Yes. I’ve been with Del Contis since I was young.”

“You can talk to me comfortably. I don’t have a hobby of making people older than me uncomfortable.”

“…Understood.”

“Would you like candy?”

I offered him candy.

It was the same one I always carried in that metal tin, the one I had bought from the Shaebo Confectionery, the raspberry lozenge with a hint of peppermint.

The old man took the candy with the hand that wasn't holding the reins.

His heart softened a little at the sweetness.

“How are Del Contis doing these days?”

“Well, what would a mere coachman know?”

“If you’ve been working for a long time, there must be things you hear even if you don't want to.”

“As I get older, my ears get worse…”

It was a gentle refusal.

The old coachman, unable to hide his discomfort, continued to try to keep his distance.

I, on the other hand, smiled broadly.

“To be honest. I'm sponsoring the Verchellos. You wouldn't say you don't know the relationship between the Del Contis and the Verchellos, would you?”

“…Of course not.”

“They’re not on good terms at all, so I don't know why the Del Conti lord suddenly invited me.”

I stroked my chin.

“What do you think his ulterior motive is? Is he trying to buy me out?”

“…I really don't know about this. How would a mere coachman know my lord's intentions?”

“Don’t be like that.”

I took out three gold coins from my pocket and offered them to the coachman.

He didn't try to take them, so I forced them into his hand.

It was a month's salary for an ordinary coachman.

The old coachman stared at the gold coins and fell into thought.

Then he put them in his pocket.

“…Ahem, I don’t think it's a buyout.”

“Why not?”

“Are you going to be bought out?”

“No.”

“Exactly.”

The old coachman’s lips, after receiving the gold coins, became much lighter than before.

“My lord has the discernment to know whether or not a person can be bought out.”

“Oh, you seem to know the Del Conti lord well. I guess you've seen him since you were young.”

“…That’s right.”

I took out three more gold coins and offered them to the coachman.

The old coachman now took the gold coins without even pretending to refuse.

“Then why did he call me?”

“He’s probably trying to intimidate you.”

“Do I look like I’d be intimidated?”

“I don’t know.”

The old man’s answers also came quicker than before.

“He'll probably say you chose the wrong opponent. Del Conti’s wealth is beyond your imagination. I think it’s a threat like that.”

“Hmm, a more childish reason than I thought.”

I brushed back my blonde hair.

“Just one last question.”

The carriage was already close to its destination.

It was a huge mansion located right in the middle of Merion, a splendor that didn't blend in with its surroundings, truly befitting a nouveau riche.

“What if it's the other way around?”

“…You mean, Del Contis chose the wrong opponent?”

“If that were the case.”

“…I don't know why you’re asking me that, but…”

Under the deeply pulled-down hat, the old coachman’s eyes shone sharply.

There was a firmness and a viciousness that didn’t belong to an ordinary coachman.

“…He’ll have to prostrate himself.”

“That’s wise. If there were more people like you, Mr. Coachman, the world would be a better place to live in, don't you think?”

I reached out my hand to the old coachman.

The coachman hesitated for a moment but then grabbed my hand.

“Good work. I'll see you again.”

***

They got off in front of the Del Conti mansion.

The coachman took the carriage and disappeared.

“It's huge.”

A mansion like this in the middle of the city.

How much money did they have, and how much did they want to show it off?

Pneuve Freira, ignoring my grumbling, stood in front of the main gate.

He opened his mouth and spoke to the firmly closed door.

“Pneuve Freira has brought a valuable guest.”

Instead of a creak, it was a clank, clank, thud.

The sound of the door opening was incredibly extravagant.

They could have just let it open on both sides, but they had to use some kind of magic clockwork to make it break into pieces and disappear.

“This way, Mr. Shion.”

Del Conti’s employees lined up to greet them.

The people who looked like butlers and maids greeted me and Pneuve courteously.

There must have been thirty of them.

Pneuve walked on, naturally receiving their greetings.

Two maids opened the doors of the mansion for them.

The outside was extravagant, but the inside was even more so.

The crystal chandelier was as big as a carriage.

There was no floor that wasn’t covered in expensive carpets, and all the lights were mana lamps.

In addition, there were works of art placed everywhere.

Nothing was cheap.

It was as if they would break out in a rash if they put any ordinary items there.

My eyes were dizzied by the sheer number of expensive and extravagant items.

A person who was not accustomed to aesthetics would have mistaken this for beauty and lost their mind.

‘How ridiculous.’

Unfortunately for the Del Conti family, I, Shion Pollinglight, was a prince of the Great Empire of Cordis.

I knew the beauty that came from dignity.

To me, who knew the aesthetics of pride accumulated over a long period of time, the Del Conti mansion was not only ridiculous but also shabby.

Pneuve guided me and introduced me to the works of art placed everywhere and I had to hold back a yawn.

What was the point of introducing works of art to a person who runs an art gallery?

My attitude, which couldn't hide my boredom, made Pneuve Freira flustered.

‘When I think about it like this, the Great Imperial Palace of Cordis was amazing.’

I had been feeling this ever since I came to the West.

They competed with each other and thought they were great, but in front of the Empire’s power, they were all shabby.

That’s why I hated the Empire even more.

All the beauty and history they had built up was despicable.

I, Shion, locked up my feelings once more.

“Huh?”

One painting caught my eye.

It was an oil painting that depicted a man and a woman spending a leisurely time by a summer river in a calm tone.

The white lady holding a parasol on the boat particularly caught my attention.

“This painting…”

“Boating on the Toja River, a genuine piece by Holst.”

A voice cut in.

“I liked Holst so much that I paid a fortune for it. As you run a gallery, you must have a deep appreciation for art.”

It was a thin-lipped man.

He looked a little over forty, and a black-haired woman in a butler's uniform was next to him.

I called the man’s name.

“Kukulo Del Conti.”

“This is the second time we’ve met, Mr. Shion.”

Kukulo Del Conti smiled with his thin lips.

This was the first time we had met since the duel with the Verchellos.

“Or should I call you Viscount Rampo?”

“Shion is fine.”

“What do you think of our family’s mansion?”

“The garden is a bit small.”

“Haha, well, it can’t be helped since it’s in the city. The villa outside the city is not like that, so please come and see it sometime.”

He lightly glossed over my bluntness and continued.

“I had to prepare in a hurry, so there are many shortcomings, but I'm sure you’ll like the dinner.”

The woman in the butler's uniform, Tibel Bartole, took the lead. She was as courteous as her attire.

“Please come inside.”

***

“Normally, I would have invited all the notable people of Merion and had a party, but…”

An entire floor of the mansion was a dining hall.

It looked like it could hold fifty people.

“It would be rude to invite them so suddenly, and since you don’t seem to enjoy such flamboyance, we have prepared a humble meal for ourselves.”

Only five people sat at the long table.

One was, of course, me, Shion Pollinglight, and another was, of course, Kukulo Del Conti.

The other three were Onseu Om, Pneuve Freira, and Tibel Bartole.

The three guest knights of the Del Conti.

'Brass Arm' Onseu Om glanced at me.

For a person with such a short temper, he was surprisingly quiet.

His navy frock coat was also clean. Still, the worn-out patches here and there didn't go away.

“Our chef agonized over this a lot.”

Kukulo Del Conti rubbed his hands together.

“Since you are an art dealer, you must have traveled to many countries. What kind of dinner should I prepare, what kind of experience can I give you that you haven’t had before…”

He raised his hand pompously.

“So, very specially,”

Kukulo clapped his hands.

Clap, clap, clap, three times.

“I prepared a Cordis Imperial style meal.”

Dozens of plates of food appeared on the empty table.

The fact that they appeared so suddenly, as if out of thin air, seemed to imply that the kitchen had used some kind of teleportation magic.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I, Kukulo, don’t like Cordis either. I just think that personal feelings shouldn’t get in the way of aesthetics.”

“I think they should be separated too.”

“As expected of a person who understands art. There are some foolish people who just despise the Empire no matter what.”

“He's talking about me,” I muttered to myself.

No matter how much of a regressor I was, I never expected to be served an Imperial-style dinner in a place like this.

The moment I heard the name Cordis, the hunchback inside me went wild, but I pressed it down and locked it away. It was a familiar feeling.

“No matter how much you hate something, you should accept its good points, shouldn't you?”

I gave a bitter smile.

Kukulo Del Conti looked even more loathsome.

I didn't like people who said the right things so lightly.

It felt like they were devaluing the weight of the right words.

“I hope it suits your taste.”

There were dozens of plates of food on the table.

The three largest plates had beef, pork, and lamb dishes.

A bird dish was served to the right of each person, and a fish dish was served to the left.

The way the soup and vegetable dishes were placed and even the arrangement of the tableware, was all in the Cordis style.

‘Is this all they can show me?’

They had tried to imitate the etiquette, but it was ridiculous.

Cordis was a great empire that had lasted for a thousand years.

There were hundreds of different etiquettes depending on the region, era, and situation.

All kinds of etiquette were haphazardly mixed in this dinner.

The etiquette of the Imperial family and that of the vassals, the old era and the new era, the eastern part and the central part… To me, who had experienced Cordis etiquette to the point of being sick of it, it was so ridiculous that it was pathetic.

‘He's so desperate to prove that he's a nouveau riche. I don’t even feel like humiliating him.’

If you look closely, each of the dishes was excellent.

They were cooked with expensive ingredients and great care.

But what was the point of it all?

It would have been better if they hadn't so clumsily imitated an Imperial-style dinner.

“I’ll eat it gratefully.”

There was no end to pointing out the etiquette, so I just picked up a fork.

Why were there three forks?

Using so many forks was a style used in the Empire four hundred years ago.

Even Emperor Continua used a maximum of two forks at a dinner party.

‘…Hmm?’

The woman in the butler’s uniform, Tibel Bartole, caught my eye.

She picked up the vegetable dish on the right, served it in front of her, and placed it on her left.

Then she naturally placed her water glass in the now-empty space on the right.

‘….’

I looked closer, and she only used one fork, not even touching the other two.

This was a stark contrast to Pneuve and Kukulo, who were struggling to use all three forks as if they were familiar with them.

There was even a slight smirk on Tibel Bartole’s lips.

I, Shion Pollinglight’s eyes, shone with a blue light.

‘…That woman, she’s from the Empire.’