The Necromancer Who Was Despised - The Necromancer Who Was Despised chapter 200
I convinced her by saying I had a gift for Archbishop Cornerbine and that I had to bring it to him, and fortunately, she accepted my request, given her position as a noble who couldn’t ignore the internal affairs of the territory.
…I was lucky.
I was going to go myself, but Prina said it wasn’t necessary and sent someone else instead.
The next day.
With Archbishop Cornerbine joining us, we set off towards the capital.
◈ The Capital
Prina had prepared a carriage.
It was quite luxurious, to be honest.
Prina had sold almost everything, but she kept this carriage, which she and her brother used occasionally, and was grateful to have it for our trip to the capital.
“There must be many people who want this carriage.”
“That’s why we used to move with a merchant group when we went to the capital.”
There was a merchant group that regularly visited the territory to supply the royal soldiers and the Rennetta territory, and they had received their help.
“I must have disliked it.”
It’s a fact that the royal family’s order had been maintaining the upper class, but if someone like Jimbang were to intervene, it would naturally be unwelcome.
To ensure safety, it was necessary to include the upper class in our plans…
Now that we’ve revived, it’s indirectly evident how much Linetta had fallen.
“Heh heh. Then, we might get attacked this time too.”
Cornerbin’s words made our group laugh lightly.
In reality, our group was very humble.
There was me, Kayla, Priena, and Cornerbin.
Plus, the coachman driving the carriage outside and the knight, Atorak, guarding it.
That was all.
If Priena achieves her goal, the number of people will increase when we return, but that’s a future concern.
With such a luxurious carriage traveling without proper guards, it’s highly likely to become a target for bandits.
The scale was humble, to the point of being laughable.
“It’s pitiful for those who get attacked.”
“Heh heh heh. That’s true.”
However, the members were not ordinary.
Not to mention Priena, the lady of the manor, but Atorak was a high-ranking expert, and Cornerbin was a bishop of the Grand Temple, possessing divine power.
That wasn’t all. With a mage and a master added to the group, it was a power that would make anyone who dared to touch them regret it.
Even the coachman was a new recruit Atorak had brought in, making the carriage a hellish ride for anyone who dared to touch it.
“By the way, I didn’t expect Lord Do Inha to give me a gift and invite me to the royal capital.”
“I didn’t think Bishop Cornerbin would easily permit it either.”
“Heh heh. How could I refuse a gift from him?”
Bishop Cornerbin had a kind smile, but considering the gift was a living human, a priestess of the Goddess’s Church, it would seem psychopathic to a third party.
‘He’s definitely not normal.’
He’s a very good person, but his hatred towards the Goddess’s Church is abnormal.
Of course, it wasn’t my place to say anything about the gift he had given.
“I think I can make up for the regret from back then.”
He seemed to be thinking about the time he wanted to take over Bolledi. Currently, Bolledi had become Rich.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was very bright as we headed towards the royal capital.
Whether it was due to good luck or quick reflexes, there were no attacks on the way to the royal capital.
As we passed through the border regions, the castles we saw were clearly different from the ones we had seen so far.
As we approached the royal capital, excluding the castles where the lords resided, most castles seemed to be used for defense purposes, and the towns surrounding them were barely large enough to be called towns.
When we arrived at the royal capital, the capital of the kingdom, the coachman let out a sigh of amazement at the enormous castle.
I couldn’t help but be amazed as well, but for a different reason.
‘Is this level of defense possible?’
All sorts of grand magic defense systems were engraved, and various defense magic was layered on top, maintaining its current state.
As the capital of a country, it was crowded with people, and a ridiculously long line had formed from the entrance.
Of course, we didn’t need to wait in line.
There was a separate line for nobles, and as the Linetta family was a count’s family, and with the title of national merit, we didn’t need to wait.
‘It seems there are people who understand.’
However, it was impossible to avoid the whispers of the low-ranking nobles who recognized the family crest as we passed through the city gate.
It seemed to be quite famous in another sense.
Freina didn’t say anything out of the ordinary, as if she was used to it.
The royal road we entered was not as grand as I had imagined.
However, there were three city walls, and as we passed the second wall, the atmosphere of the street changed.
It was a place where only those with a certain status or higher could enter, and in fact, even the first city wall was clean and lively enough for commoners to feel satisfied. But this place was incomparable.
As before, our carriage became the center of attention.
However, that didn’t last long.
“I’ve been waiting.”
“…Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”
To my surprise, the Crown Prince himself had come to greet us.
“I was startled to hear that the Count of Rinetta had entered the royal road. It’s an honor.”
He lightly laughed and exchanged brief greetings with Freina, then looked at me and Kayla and said:
“First, I must thank you for granting my request to come to the royal road. I heard about the victory. Although it’s regrettable that you couldn’t capture Lucese, you still managed to capture the Duke, so your achievement is great.”
It seemed that the Prefect had reported quickly.
“Thanks to you, the civil war will likely end soon. His Majesty is very pleased. He is also looking forward to meeting you.”
“Is that so.”
Honestly, I thought it was unavoidable, but it was a situation that couldn’t be ignored.
“I’ve prepared a palace for you to stay in with the Count of Rinetta.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
A separate attendant would also be assigned to us.
Freina seemed quite used to it, and it seemed that every time she came to the royal road, the royal family would assign an attendant and a lady-in-waiting to her.
After all, it would be strange for a high-ranking noble like a count to come to the royal road without an attendant and a lady-in-waiting.
It was unavoidable due to circumstances.
The Crown Prince also had a brief conversation with Cardinal Cornerbin, and it was clear that the title of Cardinal was not something that could be given to just anyone, as the Crown Prince also showed respect in their conversation.
It was more polite than how he treated Freina, and I learned a surprising fact from their conversation.
“It seems that the Great Temple of the Earth Mother is indeed interested in the Duke of Doín. They even sent the only Cardinal to the Rinetta territory.”
“It’s only natural that we received such a great favor.”
‘The only Cardinal?’
The Great Temple of the Earth Mother had been revived, but it was a recent event, and it wasn’t strange that there were few people qualified to be Cardinals.
However, sending the only Cardinal to a remote region like this… and saying that the reason was because of me…
I couldn’t help but be surprised, as I had never heard of such a fact before.
However, that didn’t change my attitude.
I was surprised, but it didn’t mean that I was being treated specially because I was looking for Rinetta.
As we followed the Crown Prince to the palace, which was the center of the royal road, I could feel the gaze of the people inside the second city wall concentrating on us.
Among them, those who recognized the Rinetta family crest seemed to have even deeper doubts, and some even looked at me, who was having a direct conversation with the Crown Prince.
Leaving them behind, we crossed the third city wall and were assigned a palace, just as the Crown Prince had said.
Cardinal Cornerbin, on the other hand, headed to the temple of the Great Temple of the Earth Mother, which was built in the royal road, instead of coming to the palace with us. He was going to wait for the gift I had sent.
It was a place where a temple of the Goddess Church was once destroyed and rebuilt.
Perhaps because of that, Cornerbin, the Archbishop, seemed to have expected a temple visit from us.
The palace assigned to us was called the “Active Palace”, a somewhat unusual name.
It’s ridiculous, but I heard that the palace of the Sprietran royal family was named after a weapon.
There’s even a place like the “Mace Palace”.
When I heard Prina’s words, I initially thought it was a joke.
“We reverence the weapon, that’s why.”
“Even so, a name like that…”
I couldn’t help but feel ridiculous, but I didn’t say anything more since I didn’t have the right to speak.
We arrived late, so we were guaranteed a day’s rest, and the audience with the king would be arranged as soon as possible.
“It’ll be done by the day after tomorrow at the latest.”
“Yes, it’s a special privilege that even high-ranking nobles can’t enjoy.”
Even a duke wouldn’t be able to get the king to cancel their schedule like this.
It’s common for things to be discussed in advance, but I could indirectly sense how much the royal family was concerned about me and Kaila.
I had expected the crown prince to come out and greet us, starting from the beginning.
Prina seemed quite tense because of that.
It was natural that this was our first time visiting the palace as guests.
However, I didn’t feel uncomfortable.
The servants and maids assigned to the palace were very familiar and attentive, and since we didn’t have any particular connections with other nobles, there weren’t any visitors.
It would be strange if Prina didn’t have any connections, but it was natural that I didn’t have any since I wasn’t from a noble family.
A family that was about to disappear wouldn’t have any connections to maintain, and it was natural that any existing connections would be cut off.
So, a day passed, and the audience schedule was set.
On the same evening, the king invited us to dinner.
As a result, the servants and maids were busy.
Kaila was once a knight, and Prina was a lord of a territory.
So, they were familiar with etiquette, and we only needed to make some minor adjustments.
“…….”
As a result, I had three servants and maids attending to me, and until evening, they were drilling etiquette into me like a mantra.
I wasn’t completely ignorant of etiquette, but what was required in the royal palace was even more demanding, and there was much more to learn.
Fortunately, since I became a mage, my learning speed increased, and I was able to acquire at least the minimum etiquette before the evening.
The servants and maids were amazed by my transformation and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
The dinner invitation was undoubtedly grand and luxurious in scale.
It was impressive, but not tacky, and I couldn’t imagine how much effort had been put into it.
However, that wasn’t important to me.
What was important was the people.
In the banquet hall, there were a few people who seemed to be members of the royal family, excluding the king, who had arrived earlier.
Among them were the crown prince and the three princesses, including Sharon.
Sharon smiled brightly at us and gave a casual greeting.
However, only the two of them knew us.
Among them, there were people who exuded an extraordinary aura, even if their faces were unfamiliar.
‘Master…’
It wasn’t just one person.
A middle-aged man and a relatively young man, both of whom were emitting an unusual energy, caught my attention.
Their gazes were fixed on me and Kayla.
However, soon their attention shifted to Kayla, and Kayla didn’t avoid their gaze either.
“Why are you standing like that? Sit down.”
At the prince’s suggestion, the three of us, including myself, took our seats.
“Father will be a bit late. The Duke of Tynail is holding him back, so to speak.”
The Duke of Tynail, a powerful noble who owned a gemstone mine and operated a massive trading company.
Even the king wouldn’t dare to underestimate him.
“The meal will be delayed, but we can’t waste this precious time. Since most of you are meeting for the first time, let’s exchange some light greetings, shall we?”
The prince, who had already solidified his position, seemed extremely comfortable in this setting.
The people the prince introduced were all princes and princesses.
It was only natural, since they were all members of the royal family. Most of them were direct descendants, and they all bore the surname of Spiert.
They seemed to have already learned about our true identities, or maybe the king had directly invited them to the banquet, as they all showed polite courtesy, exchanging ritualistic greetings.
And finally…
From noble mtl dot com
“I think you’ve heard of this person’s name.”
“…Yes. Although we’re meeting for the first time, I somehow feel like I know who you are.”
“Haha. Let me introduce you. This is Master Gallic, the pride of the royal family and the husband of my aunt, Lady Madeline. He’s also my maternal uncle.”
Master Gallic.
Like Master Lucches, he was a renowned knight within the Spiert Kingdom.
Although not a member of the royal family, he had married into the royal family and became a part of it.
As a result, he was even more well-known than Master Lucches.
However, there was another person…