Chapter 135: The Seagull Covenant

So peaceful.

I cant think that is something a man who just almost died should be saying though.

When I muttered to myself while looking out the castles window, Sebas retorted.

It has been a few days since we went to the hot spring.

I ended up drowning. It was the second time that happened in my life. However, it was not that bad of an experience for me. Some people say that no harm is done just by seeing a naked girls body but it is the girl who decides that stuff.

After that, the three were behaving awkwardly around me but things are gradually returning back to usual. Im grateful.

What I am even more grateful for is that no one tries to take me outside these days. Maybe they were being considerate because I almost drowned. Anyway, it has been very peaceful for the last few days.

Well, I lost my consciousness in the water after all. Maybe I got off easy given that I was inside a womans bath where the hero was in. if its me then I would totally hold a grudge against the perp you know.

That is certainly reasonable.

Plus, its not just me that is currently peaceful.

Saying so, I squint at the castle town.

After the rebellion caused by Duke Kruger, the Imperial Capital had been visibly declining but its vigor is gradually returning.

The distribution network which was slightly paralyzed before is beginning to recover and commodities and people have begun to flow again.

The chain of turmoil has hit the Empire. There was no time for us to fully recover with problems arising one after another. I think this ceasefire is a good thing.

However, it is also true that the momentum we had has disappeared.

I sigh at Sebass words. 

It is true.

Leo has been solving incident after incident. His fame was rising so more and more people were starting to follow him. Then theres this ceasefire.

It was our opportunity for us to catch up with Eric. The timing was just too bad.

Our momentum has certainly disappeared but Eric is not an opponent we can win against with just momentum alone. In his case, the moment we make a move against him, he will say that it will impact the lives of the people and create this kind of situation anyway. If thats the case then we will be undoubtedly made out to be the bad guy. We were involved in all the incidents after all.

If it is His Highness Eric then that is certainly plausible. He has been observing the situation from the side and showing the attitude that he would put the Empires interest first, at least on the surface that is. However, I can not fathom his true intention. It may have been an arrogance of the strong but he never sought out to destroy his competitors. One might say that it is exactly because of him that the succession war was intensified to this extent.

It is exactly as Sebas says. The succession war wouldnt have intensified to this extent if Eric, who has the biggest faction gets up and does something about his rivals. Whether its Gordon or Zandra, they are all small fry in Erics view. Of course, that included us as well.

However, Eric doesnt nib his competitors in the bud. He maintains his superiority and only counterattack when provoked and rarely goes on an offense himself.

The strongest bystander. That is my impression of Eric.

I dont know what he intends to do but I am sure that he is troublesome as an enemy. If we make a move on him, the succession war would only get more intense. Its not a bad idea to give the Empire some time to recover. If he sees the people suffer, Leo will surely stop running. That is what I want to avoid.

Then we will not make any move at this time?

Yeah, at least we will not be the one who starts it.

Father prohibited us from making a move. Even so, there are many things we can do that he will not notice. However, there will be no point to it if the public well-being deteriorates.

Lets leave that until the 25th-anniversary festival is over and the ban is lifted.

Still, it doesnt mean that we shouldnt do anything.

So? Even if I was playing around, it doesnt mean that you have been enjoying your time off right? Have you uncovered any usable information?

Yes, sir. There is some information that might pique your interest.

Information collection is Sebass job. Even during this ceasefire period, Sebas is still actively working to collect information.

In terms of scale, let alone Eric, our faction is still inferior to Gordon. Now that we have lost our momentum, we may be blind if we do not gather new information and anticipate the future.

Lets hear it then.

First, it is about Heilung, the place we went to the other day, the place was supposed to be reserved for us but it seems that there were some customers staying in its annex.

What? Even though the Brave house reserved it?

Thats quite a daring thing to do. Even when the Brave house rented a place out for me, and Leo from the imperial family, Finne, Fathers favorite, and Elna, the next head of the house. If it is known to the public then Heilungs reputation will fall.

Yes, the customer who was using it was accompanied by an imperial knight. To be precise, it was the Captain of the second Corp of the Imperial Knight Order, sir.

The Second Corp Captain?

The first to the Third Corp Captain of the imperial knight order boast exceptional strength. That being the case, tasks that are being assigned to them are considerably important. Especially now that Elna is not among them, the importance of the two Captains has increased.

The Captain wouldnt have been relaxing in the annex alone and he wasnt assigned to protect us either right.

Yes, that person was definitely on escort duty for someone else at the annex.

Then there was a VIP that warrants the mobilization of the Second Corp Captain huh. This smells like trouble.

Was that a VIP from our country or from a foreign one? Either way, if that person stayed there overnight, their destination should be near the capital. I guess I will have to look out for someone who is visiting Father huh.

Since the information has been completely blocked, that person must be traveling here incognito. So it must be the case where the VIP would be in trouble if their identity got found out.

I will be heading out to collect more information, sir.

Yeah, I will leave that to you. Anything else?

There is another piece of troublesome information. Arnold-sama, are you aware of the [Seagull Covenant]?

Cant say that I do but if its seagull then it should be related to Finne right?

Yes. The [Seagull Covenant] is like a non-aggression pact between gentlemen of the Empire. In other words, they all swore to not make any move on Finne-sama, sir.

They have a pact for something like that?they sure have a lot of free time huh.

It will make sense if you imagine the situation where all those free gentlemen propose to Finne-sama all at once, sir.

I guess.

If their proposal came flooding in when Finne arrived at the capital, Finne might even return to her territory in fear. In that sense, that is a sound reason.

Thanks to this covenant, no one has ever directly applied for marriage with Finne-sama or pushed for a matchmaking interview with her. However, it seems that the covenant is about to collapse.

Why?

The cause is you, sir. Your reputation has been improved recently. Leonard-sama is one thing but for them, at worst, Finne-sama might end up getting taken by Arnold-sama. For many aristocrats, there is nothing to complain about if she ends up with Leonard-sama but their pride wont allow them to let her be taken by you, sir.

So idiotic.

I mutter that from the bottom of my heart. Its just ridiculous that they can give up if its Leo but not me.

If it is for Finne then if its Leo he would be willing to give up no matter who she chooses.

Blau Mowe, the Emperors favorite, the unrivaled beauty, the lady of house Kleinert. Most of them are probably aiming at her for those extra things. Thats why they will not let her end up with me.

They probably couldnt allow someone who they have been looking down on to rise above them. If Leo marries Finne, his current position will not change but mine would definitely rise up. That is what they cant allow. How pathetic of them to raise their voices in protest now.

They have been using the handoff approach until now but considering recent events, it is not impossible for Arnold-sama and Finne-sama to get engaged. Of course, most people still see Leonard-sama as the prime candidate though.

And now they are burning with jealousy? they will give up if its Leo but they will be irritated if its with the Dull Prince? Ridiculous.

Thats true. Id love for them to take a lesson from Duke Reinfeld here.

Seriously. That person never gives up after all.

I mutter while being a little annoyed.

A person who thinks of Finne and has the will to never give up might celebrate with her but those who joined in on that stupid covenant and back out for even a stupider reason will not be able to do it.

So? Whos their leader?

One person has already announced his withdrawal from the covenant, sir. His name is Marquis Laurenz von Weitling.

Marquis Weitling you say.?

I couldnt hide my surprise that his name was not unheard of to me.

To think that someone like him would agree to such a covenant.

Since he had withdrawn from the covenant, he should be making a move on Finne-sama in the near future. He will probably bring it up directly with His Majesty, sir.

Marquis Weitling is a 20 years old young court noble.

He is the successor to the famous Marquis Weitling, who succeeded in his house and became the center of the attention of the high society due to his neatly arranged facial features.

However, the reason that he is the focus of attention is not just his face alone. It also involved his two older sisters.

Marquis Weitling has two older sisters, the eldest one is married into the imperial family and the second eldest one is the current commander of the First Corp of the Imperial Knight Order. He holds quite an extraordinary amount of influence.

The problematic one here is his eldest sister.

The person she married is already dead.

In other words, she was the wife of my eldest brother, the Crown Prince.

This is going to be troublesome

Since this is unrelated to the succession war at first glance, His Majesty will not interfere as well.

You made it sound like this will be related to the succession war though?

Within that covenant, there is also Reiner-sama from the Ducal house of Horsvath, sir. It seems that he is on a good term with Marquis Weitling as well.

I see..Gieds younger brother huh. Unlike his brother, isnt he supposed to be a more decent one?

this is probably not an instruction from Eric.

So it is probably the will of Duke Horsvath huh.

The Empire seems to be able to maintain its peace but I guess my peaceful days are at its end.

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