“It’s Tristan, my lady.”

There was no further greeting.

“……”

Fortunately.

Reina was rather relieved.

Since we both know the truth, there’s no need for unnecessary words.

“……”

Just as she felt relieved, Arthur commented.

“How blunt.”

Reina widened her eyes and looked at Arthur.

Tristan said without blinking an eye.

“I’m usually like that.”

Arthur smiled and requested.

“Say it again, longer.”

Tristan let out a short, silent sigh and looked at Reina again.

“I am Tristan Gottfried, assistant to His Excellency Arthur Sildin Roas Julius and an honored knight of Flamber. I’m in my thirties. I’m married. I have a thirty-year-old wife and a five-year-old son. I became a baron for my merits in this war, and as a peculiarity, I’m blunt.”

“……”

Tristan tried to kiss the back of Reina’s hand again with courtesy.

Arthur stopped him.

“You don’t need to do that again.”

“Yes.”

Arthur then escorted Reina as he was.

Reina followed in a fluster.

[This is the timeline separator]

Knock knock.

Tristan knocked on the door.

“……”

The door opened, and a middle-aged woman in her early sixties came out.

She saw Tristan and Arthur and paid her respects.

She seemed to already know who they were.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lord Arthur.”

Arthur took off his hat and bowed his head slightly, giving a polite greeting that took a little time.

“It’s an honor to meet you, madam. I apologize for visiting like this.”

A faint smile appeared and disappeared on the middle-aged woman’s lips.

No, it was closer to trying to smile but not quite managing to.

Arthur looked into the lady’s eyes for a moment, then after a moment of silence, he spoke.

“No matter how much we loved him, we dare not fathom your sorrow, but we wish to offer our condolences.”

Reina, standing a little way behind, realized the meaning of this visit and held her breath.

Arthur’s words continued.

“Your son was an excellent knight and a comrade we could trust with our backs. He always made jokes to make us laugh even in difficult situations. ……He remains one of the best friends in my heart even now.”

A quiet wind blew.

Arthur continued speaking calmly with his hat against his chest.

“Losing him was a great loss and pain for us. None of us doubt that God loved him and called him early. He was the best knight to the end and was honorable. I hope that fact can comfort your heart a little. ……I’m sorry.”

The lady who had been looking at Arthur lowered her head with tears after a moment.

“……Thank you.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Sometimes large families with many children came out, and sometimes only one person came out.

Even when it was just a girl around Reina’s age who came out.

Even when a young child came out, eyes sparkling with excitement at Arthur’s arrival, pulling on their mother’s hand.

Reina couldn’t hold back her tears.

Some bereaved families came out in clean, most courteous attire, while others came out staggering and haggard.

Some calmly accepted the sorrow, while others showed tears or finally collapsed, unable to overcome their grief.

Some just looked at Arthur, silently saying nothing.

Each time, Arthur conveyed different words of condolence, incorporating stories about each of his subordinates.

Reina cried behind them every time she heard it.

Even though neither Arthur nor Tristan cried, she tried to hold back, thinking it was foolish and unsightly for her to cry when she didn’t even know the departed person.

[This is the timeline separator]

Will you stay in the carriage?

Arthur suggested to Reina, whose eyes had turned red.

Reina shook her head, holding the handkerchief Tristan had given her.

And every time, she got out of the carriage, and every time, she stood behind him, holding back her tears.

Until the day’s schedule ended under a starry night sky, after the sun had set and dusk had fallen.

[This is the timeline separator]

Julius Marquis Mansion. 2 AM.

“……”

After experiencing the “Arthur Special”, the Marquis and his wife’s evaluation of Arthur had changed 180 degrees in just two days.

Arthur is not arrogant.

He just knew his own worth well.

He wasn’t reckless either.

He knew how to lead negotiations favorably.

They silently looked at the pile of gifts in front of them and the servants who were still flustering even after moving them for two days straight.

Among the gift piles that were not decreasing but only increasing, a huge grand piano said to have been made by the most famous craftsman of the time, and a massive pedal harp that some famous critic had highly praised, were being moved in turn.

Despite being moved carefully, the grand piano was so large that it precariously touched the gift piles.

At the butler’s startled cry, servants rushed over, hurriedly grabbing the tipping items and rearranging other gifts to make space for the piano to pass through.

Such a shower of gifts, too overwhelming to handle, was something they had never experienced even at Julius’s coming-of-age ceremony or wedding.

“……”

The Marquis and his wife, who had managed to get a short rest after completing a schedule that raged from dawn to night, were looking down at the gift piles lined up in the front yard garden from in front of the main building of the mansion.

Observing from the stairs the gift piles accumulated in the garden, unable to even bring them into the mansion, the Marquis pondered over the busy schedules that had continued all day and the underground negotiations that had taken place within them.

It was unbelievably satisfying.

Even for Julius, who had been a nobleman since birth and the richest man in the empire, such preferential treatment was a first.

The most prominent merchant guilds and haughty nobles of the empire each brought gifts and showed humility.

It was also shockingly impressive to him that not a few gifts came with just brief cards saying “Congratulations. We wish you prosperity.” or “Congratulations. With respect and affection.” without presenting any conditions or even the hope for a meeting.

They send such expensive gifts with just this kind of message?

If it were me, I wouldn’t end it just putting on airs like this without gaining anything while spending such a large sum on bribes.

Such thoughts crossed his mind as a line of magnificent gifts continued to come in.

Ordering the head butler Jim to record all the people who sent those gifts and messages along with their family names without omission, Julius immersed himself in this monumental scene of piled-up gifts with an empty head.

‘So… This is what it was. Indeed….’

Marquis Julius was completely immersed in the taste of honor and power that ‘Arthur’ had brought.

It felt like a new world he had never known before had opened up.

There was a world I didn’t know.

To realize this only now.

Above all, what encouraged Antonio Julius was that people had begun to treat them as ‘the most dignified nobles and the most respected power holders’ instead of ‘difficult and important business partners who needed to be adjusted in a favorable direction somehow’.

People’s attitude towards them had clearly changed.

Antonio Julius realized.

‘The richest man in the empire’ was not the top of society.

One had to be at least ‘a rich and honorable prince-elect, a powerful prospective power holder’ to be at the top of society.

Julius’s view of power, having ascended to that position, was elevated to a completely different horizon.

For the first time, Julius keenly realized why he had to pursue honor and gain power while spending such meaningless money.

Recalling how much his father, the previous Marquis Ronald Julius, had longed for it all his life, Antonio Julius was deeply immersed in wistful regret as he gazed at the banquet of bribes shining in the moonlight.

‘Father, I’ve finally done it.’

The Marquis sank into contemplation, recalling the words of his mother, the Marchioness, who used to scold his deceased father, amid new realizations and quiet emotion.

“Honor and power are another currency that allows you to buy what money can’t buy.”

‘Mother, I now truly understand the meaning of those words…!’

“What should we use to appease Arthur’s anger?”

The Marchioness’s stiff voice broke his reverie.

“……”

Whether she lacked sensitivity or simply couldn’t feel the same emotion looking at that beautiful scene, the Marchioness muttered with a serious face.

“…What could Arthur want from us?”

Although disappointed by the interruption that came in just as he was deeply immersed, the Marquis, whose heart had become quite generous, didn’t snap back with irritation like a petty person, but spoke haughtily.

“Do whatever Arthur wants. What can’t we do? We are the ‘Julius’ family.”

“He needs to at least say what he wants for us to do everything.”

The Marquis frowned and sighed.

He was tired of his wife’s fussing.

He was displeased with his wife’s inability to maintain dignity befitting their elevated status.

“First, we need to set up a schedule with Arthur.”

Let’s see when we might have some free time in our schedule…

“……”

Come to think of it, he realized they had been neglecting the important Arthur while paying attention to external guests.

A son-in-law is a permanent guest.

Of course, Arthur would just want to rest thoroughly, so it was a considerate act to not bother him with our attention.

Surely he wouldn’t consider that as neglect?

Marquis Julius rubbed his chin and rolled his eyes.

In any case, since his son-in-law had greatly contributed to this remarkable achievement of the family, he thought it proper to be more mindful so that he wouldn’t feel slighted.

“Is our son-in-law resting enough? Is the chef taking care of his meals? Everything that can be done with the highest-level guest treatment…”

The Marchioness looked at the Marquis with an expression of disbelief and bewilderment.

“You… You haven’t forgotten who’s beside Arthur now, have you?”

There was irritation in the Marchioness’s voice.

The Marquis’s mood started to sour and his face hardened.

‘Christina. That ill-tempered and fussy daughter, always causing trouble…’

If she had just obediently followed what I said five years ago, this wouldn’t have happened.

Having completely erased from his memory that he himself had been gleeful at the thought of selling his daughter twice, the Marquis snapped coldly.

“I know. But what can we do? If Arthur wants, we should let him take a mistress. Isn’t she old enough now to learn that one must take responsibility for their mistakes? What, can’t she handle even that much for the grave she dug herself? Really, how immature!”

The Marquis ranted irritably.

“Who on earth does she take after to be so unmanageable? Not even thinking about cleaning up the mess she made! What is she doing, anyway? What’s she up to!”

“I came to cool my head.”

Suddenly, a gentle voice intervened from a different direction.

The Marquis and Marchioness, who turned their heads simultaneously, widened their eyes.

There stood their daughter, wearing a snow-white dress with a relaxed smile.

As if she had just strolled on a beach, she held a white lace parasol unsuitable for the moonlit night, and her white bonnet was adorned with jewels and feathers.

Gently brushing her hair behind her ear, Christina lowered and folded the parasol she had been lightly spinning on her shoulder.

“Christina!”

The Marchioness quickly went down the stairs.

Two or three handsome footmen were coming up behind her, carrying luggage in both hands.

Christina, standing at the front, smiled gently from under her bonnet.

“I should go apologize soon, shouldn’t I? How is Arthur’s mood? Is Reina soothing his temper well?”

The Marquis and Marchioness looked down at their daughter with surprised faces.

Brushing back the blonde hair that had fallen forward as she bowed her head while folding her parasol, Christina smiled coolly.

“I came back without being able to ask them to take good care of my husband.”