Novel Full Chapter 255 : Chapter 255
Chapter 255. I Will Become Independent (2)
“Wow….”
A gasp of admiration escaped Patrick’s lips on its own.
What was making him so impressed was the flower path laid out before his eyes.
It wasn’t a metaphorical expression for a solid path to success, but a literal path made of flowers covering the entire road.
And it wasn’t a small path, but a flower path so dense that it filled the central avenue leading to White Town.
“Young Master. Is the road to the capital always paved with flowers like this?”
“No way, does money fall from the sky? To pave the road with flowers. That’s all money too.”
To pave the road with flowers not just inside White Town but from the main avenue leading to the capital, one couldn’t even guess how much budget it must have cost.
Moreover, this was just the beginning.
The moment Patrick and his men, who had walked for hours, treading softly on the flower path, arrived at White Town….
“To the heroes! Salute!”
“Loyalty!”
“Loyalty!”
Outside the city walls, elite soldiers armed in splendidly shining armor were lined up in an orderly fashion, welcoming Patrick and his party with a military salute.
And in front of them, in an unprecedented move, the king himself had come out in a carriage to greet them.
“Hahaha. Welcome, my son-in-law.”
Patrick immediately dismounted his horse and knelt on one knee. And then….
“Patrick Schneider. I greet the sole and rightful ruler of the Atronia Kingdom.”
He bowed with perfect etiquette.
‘Wow…. Our Young Master knows how to do things like that.’
‘Anyone would think he’s a noble.’
‘He is a noble, isn’t he?’
‘Wasn’t he a demon?’
Even after seeing Patrick bow, the Twin Dragon Knightly Order just stood there, blinking and looking around.
At that sight, Patrick let out a sigh.
‘Those country bumpkin bastards….’
If they don’t know the etiquette, they should at least have the sense to follow along.
The Orc warriors and Elves are of different races, so that’s understandable, but those guys are supposed to be knights, and they’re acting like that.
Fortunately, King Fiesto was in the best mood he had ever been, so he didn’t care about minor breaches of etiquette. Rather….
“Hahaha. So those are the Twin Dragon Knightly Order that my son-in-law personally trained. Indeed, I can see that each and every one of them is a fine swordsman worth a hundred men.”
“Thank you for your praise.”
And the king personally helped Patrick to his feet and shouted.
“Praise the great heroes of victory. Let the triumphal ceremony begin!”
And so, a magnificent triumphal ceremony that would be long remembered in the history of the Atronia Kingdom began.
First, the king personally accompanied Patrick in a roofless golden carriage and entered the royal castle.
As the golden carriage carrying the two passed, the cheers of the people of White Town poured out, and the Royal Knightly Order, in charge of the escort, threw money at the people, drawing even more cheers.
The soldiers of the Schneider fiefdom, following behind with dazed expressions, wondered what was happening.
The decisive finishing touch was the moment the golden carriage, which had been parading like that, passed through a grand triumphal arch.
The triumphal arch, built in the middle of the central road leading to the royal castle (who knows when it was built), was adorned with gold and jewels, and the moment Patrick passed under it, the king shouted loudly.
“Shout for victory! Praise the heroes!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
“Long live Young Master Schneider!”
“Long live the Atronia Kingdom!”
“Long live His Majesty the King!”
It was truly a splendid triumphal ceremony that would be remembered in the kingdom’s history for a long time.
***
After the triumphal ceremony.
Patrick had a private meeting with the king. Glancing at the beaming king, he thought.
‘He’s happy.’
He knew the general situation and had played along.
He was the father of his future wife, and a person with whom it wouldn’t hurt to join hands politically.
Seeing him so happy in person….
‘I’m getting jealous.’
Well, a person’s character doesn’t change.
The king, oblivious to what Patrick was thinking, spoke with a pleased expression.
“You have worked very hard. I was surprised when I heard you had suddenly joined the war in the Harbor Kingdom, but….”
Was he just surprised?
He had snorted the tea he was drinking out of his nose.
But that was all in the past, and….
“In the end, it brought great benefit to the country. Hahaha….”
The king just laughed heartily.
As if to say, ‘I believed in you from the beginning.’
Patrick spoke to the king.
“Well, it turned out well in the end, but it was a bit dangerous.”
“The result is what’s most important.”
“That’s true. Anyway….”
Patrick looked at the king and spoke.
“What are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean, what?”
“Are you going to test the waters? In this situation?”
“……”
The king subtly averted his gaze. And Patrick brought up the main topic.
“What are you going to do with the occupied territories of the Harbor Kingdom? Since this is land I acquired, can I take it?”
“Ahem…. Patrick, what I acknowledged was only the land you acquired while pioneering the Great Forest.”
“So?”
“Isn’t it only right that land acquired through war should belong to the state?”
“So the royal family did nothing, yet you’re going to just swallow up that vast land?”
“Hahaha, that’s how it turned out.”
“And didn’t the royal authority get a huge boost thanks to me in this war? Didn’t you also take a huge amount of money from the nobles under the pretext of that fancy triumphal ceremony?”
“Hahaha, it is a great blessing for the royal family.”
This old man….
He’s trying to get it for free.
He’s treating this Patrick Schneider like a performing bear and trying to get it for free.
As Patrick’s eyes narrowed, the king spoke.
“Hahaha. Aren’t we family? Son-in-law.”
“It is a motto of our Schneider family that transactions between family members should be more transparent.”
“Really?”
“No. It’s a lie.”
“……”
“But when I become the family head, I will definitely make it so. Especially, I will never entrust money management to my father. Never! Never!”
A strong will was evident in Patrick’s voice as he shouted that he would not entrust money to Count Schneider.
“Hmm…. What do you want?”
Finally, the king let out a sigh and spoke.
Honestly, getting that huge land for free was impossible. In a worst-case scenario, what would he do if Patrick stubbornly refused to give it up?
Take it by force?
Against him?
‘I’d rather give up.’
One does not touch a fierce dog’s food bowl.
To such a king, Patrick spoke with a slight smile.
“Well, to be honest, it’s a land too far from our Schneider fiefdom.”
“That’s right, from the eastern end to the western end, with a sea in between, it won’t be easy to manage.”
“But just handing it over is a bit much. You know, right? It’s normal for people to not want to give something to someone else even if they don’t really need it, because it feels like a waste, right?”
“……”
Is that really normal?
“Your Highness?”
“Ahem, yes, that’s right. So what do you want to do?”
“Buy it from me.”
“Buy it?”
“Yes. That’s clean and good. Don’t you think?”
“……”
He’s right.
Honestly, if he could neatly settle things with this guy with money, that would be good.
He had to give him a reward for his achievements in the war anyway. But….
“How much would be enough?”
“Considering the size of the land, its quality, and its future value…. honestly, can this be paid with money?”
“……”
It’s difficult.
Honestly, if he were to try to pay for this with money, it would be a question of whether even emptying the entire royal budget would be enough.
To the hesitant king, Patrick spoke.
“But fortunately, there’s no law that says everything in the world has to be settled with money.”
“Indeed, I was already planning to promote your family to the rank of Marquis. It’s only been a short time since you became a Count, so there will be opponents to your promotion to Marquis, but don’t worry. I will push it through strongly.”
King Fiesto, beating his chest and promising.
Looking at the king, Patrick gave a somewhat subtle smile.
Then, he took a sip of tea, which he usually didn’t drink, before speaking.
“Ahem, Your Highness. As you know, it’s been quite some time since Senior Isabella, no, the Princess, and I got engaged, hasn’t it?”
“…That’s right.”
The flow of conversation suddenly changed.
But the king went along with it for now.
It wasn’t a conversation he could avoid. And it was a conversation they had to have at some point anyway.
“So, I’m thinking of getting married when I go back home.”
“Ah, ah…. yes. Uh… that’s good. Hmm, a very good thing.”
Although he was taken aback, for the king, it was a marriage he had no reason to oppose.
From a strategic point of view, Patrick and Isabella’s marriage at this point would be a great strength to the royal family.
It was a marriage that had to happen at some point anyway.
“Yes. Good. So where are you planning to have the ceremony? If you wish, you can hold it in the royal hall.”
“Well, the ceremony can be held anywhere. It’s going to be a joint wedding, so….”
“Joint?”
“Yes. With the princess of the Elf tribe and a girl I’ve known since I was young… well, that’s not important….”
“No, it seems important.”
“Let’s move on. It’s not important.”
“……”
“What’s more important is where I will live after I get married. That’s it.”
“Ah….”
“Compared to that, whether my marriage partners are three or seven is a very trivial matter.”
“Yes. That is… seven?”
“Ahem, I told you to move on.”
“……”
It was a very unsettling number to just move on from, but that was a secondary issue….
‘Yes, this is important.’
Where will Patrick live after he gets married?
This is an incredibly important matter.
If he changes his residence to the capital, White Town, after getting married, it would be no different from a huge storm sweeping through the central political scene.
Even without doing anything, Patrick’s presence alone could form a large faction.
For the king, who was just about to build a strong absolute monarchy, he was honestly not keen on it.
‘If he helps me by my side, he might be a strength, but he’s too difficult to handle as I wish.’
What is needed to wield absolute royal power is a strong and sharp sword.
Not a bomb with its fuse lit.
‘That’s something to be used only when it’s a matter of you die, I die, we all die.’
No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t good for Patrick to stay in White Town.
To the king with a reluctant expression, Patrick spoke.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of living in White Town.”
“Ah, is that so…. Well, it’s not that I dislike it, so don’t misunderstand.”
“Why would I want to live with my in-laws here, under the watchful eye of my father-in-law, the King?”
“Hahaha. Yes, that’s right.”
“So, I’m thinking of moving out on my own.”
“Moving out is good. Mov… moving out?”
Strange.
Moving out? If he’s just going to live separately, he can just live in the Schneider fiefdom like now, so why move out?
What’s the reason for separating like that?
To the king, who felt a chill run down his spine, Patrick spoke.
He spoke while unfolding a document.
“I will become independent.”
On the top line of the document was a sentence he had never seen or heard of in his life: Grand Duchy of Schneider Independent State Permit.
***
“Patrick oppa.”
A girl, more cute and lovely than beautiful, came running towards Patrick with the sound effect of ‘dodo-do’.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Yes. You’ve been well too, oppa, right?”
The girl’s name was Jeila.
She was the daughter of the merchant guild master Aron and also the younger sister of Patrick’s friend, Matthew.
Now eighteen, she was one of the few people who could act freely around Patrick.
She greeted Patrick and then looked at her older brother behind him and spoke.
“Hi, oppa. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“You’re quick to ask.”
“Hehehe.”
Even at Matthew’s chiding, the girl just stuck out her tongue. And she looked around and then got to the point.
“By the way…. where is Ace oppa?”
Patrick subtly avoided his gaze at the sight of her, blushing like an apple and fidgeting.
“You mean Ace?”
Matthew also avoided her gaze and spoke vaguely.
“He’s in the Schneider fiefdom now. No, should I say he’s no longer in this world?”
At that, Jeila’s expression turned serious.
“What does that mean?”
Seeing Jeila’s serious expression, the two men exchanged glances.
‘Should we just tell her?’
‘She needs to know what she needs to know now.’
‘Won’t she be shocked?’
‘Can’t be helped. At this rate, my sister won’t be able to get married. Are you going to take responsibility then?’
‘Ah… I can’t do that.’
In the end, Matthew approached Jeila and spoke with a heavy expression.
“Little sister. I will tell you a difficult truth.”
“Oppa, what’s wrong. You’re scaring me…. Don’t tell me something happened to Ace oppa during the war? Is that it?”
“Brace yourself and listen.”
“What’s wrong? You’re scaring me, oppa.”
And a moment later….
“Noooooo!”
Jeila’s scream echoed through the mansion.
Listening to the screams, the sound of a girl’s first love shattering into pieces, Patrick spoke quietly.
“The truth is always cruel.”
Across from Patrick, who was speaking thus, sat a middle-aged man with dark brown hair.
“Did things go well for you when you went there?”
“Well? I said everything I had to say.”
“Then things will work out well.”
“Do you really think so? You didn’t see it, mister, but my father-in-law, the King, was practically foaming at the mouth and throwing a fit.”
“It will still work out well. In the end, he will have no choice but to accept it.”
The man in front of Patrick.
Alexander Krupa spoke in a calm voice.
He was a man who had been the Duke of the former Harbor Kingdom and was now a vassal of the Schneider family, by Patrick’s doing.
And the first thing he said to Patrick was this.
[First, you must properly establish your own position.]
Patrick immediately understood what he meant.
Status and position.
Patrick was now a figure who had gained fame throughout the continent and had emerged as the core of the storm along with the Hegemon King.
But unlike Cierion, who had established himself as the monarch of a nation, Patrick’s status was still just that of an heir to a noble family.
On top of that, he was still a student at the Academy.
[Until now, you have pushed through things by force as they came, but as the scale of things gets bigger, it won’t work that way. To gather everyone’s strength and unite them as one, you need a legitimate cause.]
In other words, he was telling him to get a decent title.
Patrick, who understood it that way, nodded and spoke.
[Apart from my father’s title, if I ask His Majesty the King, I can get a title. Will that do?]
At that, Alexander Krupa shook his head and spoke.
[That won’t be nearly enough. If what you have said is true, you need a status that can at least control a nation-level unit.]
Uh, wait, so that means….
[Become independent from the Atronia Kingdom and become a king.]
This was the first strategy Alexander Krupa presented to Patrick.