~CHAPTER 94~
“Leave? Is it urgent?”
“Yes. That is what they say.”
Harvich frowned at the unexpected matter.
He had already negotiated certain terms with the delegation in advance.
So even if Hyu had been sent in his place, things should have been resolved without issue.
Although Harvich had broken his prior commitment, it was not the kind of agreement that would fall apart over that.
Therefore it was clear they wanted something different from what had been arranged in advance with the Kingdom of Rensier.
Harvich let out a sigh.
“Understood.”
Harvich left the messenger standing outside the bedroom and went inside.
He looked at Lincia, who was lying on her side, and then drew the curtains.
After lowering the canopy, he left a note.
[An urgent matter has come up and I will be away. I will return no later than today.]
Harvich quietly left the bedroom and nodded to the messenger.
“Hyu will find him on his own, so you clean that up.”
Harvich nodded toward the grotesque book and the messenger bowed his head.
The major holding of Hesta could be reached through a secret passage.
Hyu had sent the messenger ahead and would be coming through that passage.
Harvich descended into the secret passage and did not have to walk far before he met Hyu.
“You came for me.”
Hyu glanced at his master and fell silent.
There was nowhere suitable to speak, and with the area so exposed, it seemed difficult to talk.
Harvich gestured, and Hyu moved to a corner and spoke.
“The Prince of Rensier requested the repeal of the tariff adjustment.”
Hyu handed him an envelope of documents.
“Giving me something like this and expecting that.”
It was ridiculous.
Harvich glared at the wax-sealed envelope.
These people were usually incomprehensible, but this time it was extreme.
“Yes, and… they warned to watch out for poison.”
Poison?
Lately he had heard many stories related to poison, even just recently.
With a nagging unease, Harvich opened the envelope.
He frowned as he examined the thick bundle of papers inside.
Reports?
They were too crude in format to be called proper reports and had no title.
He flipped through the tightly bound stack of papers.
Expecting some nonsense about tariff adjustments, what he found instead was shocking.
[The Emperor of Durand intends to reduce northern forces for the purpose of seizing the Pink Diamond mines.]
[Among the three kingdoms, the country that suffers the greatest harm will be granted an exemption from a 5% tariff.]
[If not that, a 5% tariff exemption for ten years will be granted, and this will be agreed upon as the final document.]
[The kingdom that seizes northern lands will be given mining rights to the mines in those lands, and the Emperor of Durand intends to induce the north to participate in this war.]
[The final document of this secret treaty — Tariff Agreement to Strengthen Relations with Friendly Nations — is to be kept secret; all documents except the last public record are to be destroyed.]
[Personal opinion 2. This treaty could be judged a strategic opportunity for the Kingdom of Rensier to enhance its influence within the empire.]
[Note: Follow the secrecy clause; destroy all documents except the one left as the final public record.]
What Rensier had sent through Hyu was a document detailing the true story of the war their father had participated in.
The more Harvich read, the more furious he became.
They expected him to present such a thing and ask for tariff adjustments?
Did they want to plead that the previous emperor left them no choice?
It was absurd to expose evidence that they had deliberately harmed the north and then beg for mercy.
Was it brazenness or had they truly underestimated him so much?
Harvich flipped through the pages.
Just from the concise summary his anger boiled, and in the thick pages there were handwritten records of conversations between the emperor’s deputies and people from Rensier and the kingdom.
[This time the northern lord is tough, and unlike other years they planned the conquest ten years earlier; they promised generous compensation since the timing was moved up.]
[The subjugation of the north, recurring roughly every fifty years.]
Harvich’s expression darkened further and Hyu asked,
“What does it say?”
Harvich wordlessly handed Hyu the stack of papers.
Hyu’s face hardened as he read the contents.
“This kind of thing.”
At present the document had no legal effect or diplomatic binding force.
The only actually valid paper was the Tariff Agreement to Strengthen Relations with Friendly Nations.
After thinking for a moment, Harvich recalled the disturbing clause.
Inducing the north to participate voluntarily.
Normally a vassal would not join a war just because a lord wanted it.
Harvich remembered that his father had not been particularly eager to protect the Pink Diamond.
Having grasped the outline, Harvich rose from his seat.
“I need to see the Prince of Rensier.”
“Yes.”
“Write a letter. Deliver this to him.”
Harvich wrote a letter for Hyu to deliver.
His chest seethed with anger.
The bastard who sided with the north in rebellion could have no knowledge of these inner workings, so to verify the truth he would have to meet a minister of the imperial palace.
And Harvich had no intention of handling that process peacefully.
* * *
Lincia had fallen asleep unexpectedly because she liked the sound of Harvich reading.
She was tired, but not so sleepy that she wanted to sleep; his soft, gentle voice suited a storybook.
But Harvich occasionally faltered over certain passages, which made her laugh at seeing him so embarrassed; she had not seen him like that in a long time.
The sight of him flustered was quite endearing.
However, when Harvich’s earlier words came back to her, her mood sank.
“Yes. They said it is good for the child to hear the husband’s voice often.”
The word “husband” felt awkward in that sentence.
But Harvich seemed to feel no discomfort using it.
Lincia’s discomfort did not end there.
Harvich’s face tightened at a sudden fetal movement.
Seeing that he wanted to withdraw his hand, Lincia changed the subject.
“…How could I ever give up this child? I am the father.”
He had said that to soothe her.
Yet Harvich still seemed not to accept the child as his own blood.
It stung, but she understood.
Without memories, it was hard to accept the truth.
Lincia placed her hand on her belly and felt the child move.
At that moment the man who had been out working returned.
Fatigue was plainly visible on his face.
From his furtive manner Lincia sensed he had something to tell her.
“There is a villa in Welhatten registered under the Ducal House of Cassius. The hot springs make it warmer than other places.”
“How about staying there until you give birth?”
It was an unexpected suggestion.
“I will assign Tereo to be your escort.”
She knew Harvich was saying this for her sake.
So why did she feel so unsettled?
“…I was wrong. Just don’t say you will leave me.”
“Is that not all I ask of you?”
He spoke as if that was the only thing he hoped for, that she would not leave his side.
So what change of heart had come over him?
“I can safely take you there via the secret passage.”
“And you?”
“I will stay here and do what I must do. Did you not tell me to work for you?”
At Harvich’s words Lincia could no longer keep her expression neutral.
“It is not that I hate the child, is it?”
