Chapter 65: Diplomacy (3)

As soon as he was summoned by the King, the Duke of Landaron headed to the territory of the Norba Kingdom, and it wasn't long before,

"The Sword of Norba Kingdom greets its Master."

Upon arriving at the Royal Castle, the Duke of Landaron bowed his head, but the expression on the King's face, who was looking at him, did not seem too pleased.

Shortly thereafter, the Duke of Landaron realized why he had been summoned.

"What do you mean? I did send an envoy to the Lartania territory, but I never ordered him to act in such a manner...!"

"So, are you saying it's a misunderstanding?"

"Yes, it is!"

Furthermore, how ridiculous was the misunderstanding he was facing.

"So you're saying that the diplomat you held so dear has insulted you by asking the Lord of Lartania about his parents' wellbeing, disregarding your orders."

"...I haven't been able to confirm since the diplomat has not yet returned, but if it turns out to be true, I will definitely enforce disciplinary action-"

The Duke spoke in a hurry.

However, the King, as if he saw no need to listen to such excuses from the duke, lightly waved his hand to cut him off.

"What difference does it make to handle matters in such a manner? It's clear that your actions have caused damage to the Norba Kingdom."

With an annoyed expression, he showed the Duke a letter.

Soon, the Duke was able to read the letter that the King had dropped in front of him.

To the Great Owner of the Iron Nation, Norba Kingdom, and also called the Victor of the East, King Troman.

I am Kim Hyunwoo, the Lord managing the small territory of Lartania.

I am truly sorry that I cannot meet you in person at this time and must send my greetings through a letter.

To the Great King of Norba Kingdom-(omitted)-

The reason for sending this letter is due to the Magic Stones that we have been able to continue producing in Lartania.

Magic Stones have the potential to greatly develop this continent, provided their production is kept up. They also represent a power too great for me to handle alone, so I wished to request the protection of the King of Norba Kingdom from the threats of this perilous Continent.

However, all of a sudden, an envoy from Norba Kingdom, specifically from the one called the strongest of the three dukes and also known as the Sword of Norba Kingdom, the Duke of Landaron, came to me, insulted my parents, and started making various threats.

...

..

.

"...Ha."

Unintentionally, the Duke of Landaron let out a hollow laugh and stopped reading the letter.

After all, he had already grasped the content of the letter.

Unknowingly, the Duke of Landaron clenched his teeth and frowned.

Even without finishing the letter, he could summarize its contents in one line.

'I intended to make a deal with Norba Kingdom, but since my diplomat was insulted, I feel humiliated and will look for another trading partner.'

The letter written by the Lord of Lartania was about how he originally intended to trade, but one of your subordinates acted so rudely that he no longer wished to do so.

"This son of a bitch...!"

Unintentionally, the Duke of Landaron cursed, realizing he had been placed in a no-win situation.

In reality, this letter had essentially pushed away any benefits the Duke of Landaron could have gained from the Norba Kingdom.

"......"

Truthfully, it was a bit strange that a letter from a lord not even belonging to the Norba Kingdom to the King could create such a situation.

After all, no matter how many Magic Stones the Lord of Lartania had, he was still an outsider, and the Duke of Landaron was one of the three dukes of Norba Kingdom.

However, the reason the king was berating the Duke of Landaron and undermining his dignity was precisely because the King was keeping him in check.

The Duke of Landaron possessed such formidable military power that he could be called the Sword of Norba Kingdom.

Perhaps even more than the previous Duke of Landaron, who had been a loyal vassal of Norba Kingdom.

Furthermore, with his territory growing rapidly and becoming a thorn in the King's side, the letter from the Lord of Lartania, which would have been nothing originally, had now become a very good weapon to keep him in check.

For that reason.

"Thanks to the Duke, the Norba Kingdom has suffered a tremendous loss. How do you plan to take responsibility for this situation?"

Thus, the Duke of Landaron, clenched his teeth in anger, thinking about the Lord of Lartania who had caused this incident.

Several days had passed since then.

"...How did you anticipate that it would turn out like this?"

As Kim Hyunwoo read the letter from the King of Norba and smiled, he answered Elena's voice, which was filled with wonder.

"I could roughly guess because of the information."

"Information, you say?"

"Yes. Didn't you tell me? That the Duke of Landaron is one of the three dukes of Norba Kingdom, and he possesses the most military power within the Kingdom, plus he has a violent temperament. And that he has grown significantly recently."

"...Right?"

"That's what I based my prediction on. More precisely, it would be right to say that I anticipated the reaction of the King of Norba."

"The reaction of the King of Norba...?"

Kim Hyunwoo continued.

"Yes, in fact, my letter might have been just a meaningless one sent by an outsider from the King's perspective, but for him, it became a good weapon to keep in check a Duke who is gradually growing to match the King's power."

"Moreover, by leaving the possibility of renegotiating if the Duke of Landaron is stopped, I've created a situation where stopping him would definitely benefit the King."

Kim Hyunwoo said, shrugging.

"By now, the Duke of Landaron probably finds himself in a situation where he can't easily make a move. The lords who view him unfavorably, along with the King, would be taking this opportunity to undermine him."

"...All because of that one letter?"

"That's how political battles are. Even a meaningless letter can be arbitrarily assigned meaning and interpreted broadly to suppress someone... as long as there's a reason and justification for it."

As Kim Hyunwoo muttered, recalling the constant internal political and factional struggles at the company, Elena briefly wore an impressed expression and spoke.

"So, are we going to side with the Norba Kingdom?"

"No? That's not it."

"What? But didn't you just send a letter to the King under the pretext of a contract?"

"That's right. But I never said we would make a contract, it was just a possibility."

"...If the King of Norba Kingdom finds out about this, wouldn't it create an even more serious situation than now?"

Elena was concerned.

But Kim Hyunwoo said with a sly smile,

"It's okay. By the time the King of Norba is angry, we will have made some connections with the Calan Kingdom and the Eastern Clan Alliance."

"...What does that mean?"

"As you know, Calan Kingdom, Norba Kingdom, and the Eastern Clan Alliance don't get along with each other."

"Yes, I know."

"So, by the time the King gets angry, we could align to join either the Calan Kingdom or the Eastern Clan Alliance."

"Ah."

"By then, even if the Norba Kingdom realizes this fact, they won't be able to do anything to Lartania. All three kingdoms wouldn't want a territory with Magic Stones to align with another place. Of course, there might be a tipping point but-"

"Controlling that until the territory grows stable is now my part to do."

Kim Hyunwoo thus shared the vision he had been considering.

Elena looked at Kim Hyunwoo with a truly admiring expression.

Lani's daily life could be said to be quite monotonous.

Basically, her routine these days involved cooking from the time she woke up in the morning until she went to bed at night.

However, despite this, she had never once thought that she found these moments to be hard.

No, on the contrary, she found her current life to be very enjoyable.

That's because, by cooking in the Lartania territory, she was able to receive recognition from everyone, something she couldn't get before.

Moreover, when Kim Hyunwoo, who could be considered her benefactor for rescuing Lani, enjoyed her food daily, she felt a corner of her heart fill with happiness.

When she saw the Lord enjoying the food that she made, she often felt a sudden sense of being recognized.

Therefore, she was enjoying her life in the Lartania territory very much, and today, she was filled with even more anticipation.

That's because today was the day Kim Hyunwoo was going to cook himself as a way to repay Lani for always making meals.

So, Lani was looking forward to the food that Kim Hyunwoo would make today.

That evening.

"...I'm sorry, it's not tasty, is it?"

The 'curry' made by Kim Hyunwoo was horribly tasteless from Lani's perspective.

"This is, um... not turning out well?"

Kim Hyunwoo, who started with the thought that he could make the curry well since he knew the ingredients, as it was something he often made instantly without much thought in modern times, ended up completely ruining the dish and spoke to Lani with an apologetic expression.

"Ah, no, it's okay! I made a lot of mistakes too in the beginning...!"

"...Next time, I should learn cooking from Lani before trying to serve it again."

Following Kim Hyunwoo's words, Lani comforted him several times along with.

"I-I will teach you well...!"

"Then, I'll ask you next time."

With the great harvest of being able to teach him her favorite dishes, Lani ended the dinner with sandwiches she made in a hurry.

And that night.

When it could be said to be a rather ambitious hour.

"Ha... ha... this is the food made by the Master..."

In the restaurant, a Langin tribe member with red eyes appeared.

The next day.

'...Huh? Did I throw it away yesterday...? No, I don't think I did...'

Lani, seeing that the curry Kim Hyunwoo made yesterday was completely gone without a single spoonful left, wore a puzzled expression.

And then.

An unidentified hero has entered the territory.

An unidentified hero has exited the territory.

"...?"

Kim Hyunwoo, who woke up in the morning, also had a bewildered expression at the notification windows that popped up in front of him.