My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 157

Merit Ceremony (2)

§ 157 – Merit Ceremony (2)

“Pardon? To Ruben with you?”

Elena’s head tilted to the right once more.

Sian nodded again and said,

“Didn’t I promise you could come visit Ruben?”

“Well, that’s…”

Well, as Sian said, she was supposed to visit Ruben.

To be precise, she had received permission to visit.

Hadn’t 20 million gold been spent in the process?

Therefore, it wasn’t strange for Elena to go to Ruben.

However.

“So suddenly?”

It didn’t mean she was going so suddenly.

And Sian knew that.

The reason he brought it up so suddenly.

‘There’s nothing better to shake off Aaron than this.’

It was none other than to shake off Aaron’s surveillance.

To be precise, it was to create a reason to head to Ruben instead of ElanDour after the event.

Sian was out of the ElanDour mansion because of the event.

But once the event was over, he had to return to the mansion and be confined again.

Well, if he ran away, there was nothing he could do.

Durac, worried about that, had Aaron assigned as his escort.

Aaron was an absolute master-level expert.

The current Sian couldn’t shake off Aaron.

But if Elena intervened, the story would be very different.

Think about it, the princess, of all people, was coming to Ruben to play.

But the lord was away from his seat?

Of course, he had to drop everything and rush to Ruben to prepare to welcome the guest.

Durac’s order?

That meant nothing.

So Aaron couldn’t say anything.

What could a mere knight do?

Of course, how could a master-level knight be considered ‘mere’.

Master-level knight or whatever.

It was nothing more than a ‘mere’ at the princess’s words.

Besides.

‘While the princess is in Ruben, Durac won’t be able to move rashly.’

If Elena was in Ruben, Durac would be severely restricted in his actions.

So he couldn’t easily oppress Sian and Ruben.

Before long, Sian’s embezzlement would be discovered.

And Sian’s escape would also be revealed in detail.

Then Durac would be furious and try to kill Sian.

Perhaps he would lift his heavy butt and lead his troops to Ruben himself.

In other words, the prelude to war.

But what if the princess was in Ruben?

That was treason.

How could he use force when the princess was there?

It was treason that would lead to immediate capture and execution.

ElanDour, Durac, or whatever.

No one in the empire would dare to touch the princess.

So Durac would be stuck, only able to seethe with anger.

During that time, Sian could calmly prepare in Ruben.

When Elena first said she was coming to visit, it was such a headache.

‘You never know what will happen in life.’

Sian smiled kindly and said to Elena.

“Is it not possible?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to…”

Elena trailed off without answering.

It seemed she was grasping Sian’s intention in making the sudden proposal.

The Sian that Elena had seen so far would never suggest visiting first.

But only for a moment.

“Okay. I didn’t expect you to suggest it first, but it’s good.”

“You are always welcome, Princess.”

“Is that why you were so defensive?”

Sian pressed his lips tightly.

Elena smiled slightly at Sian’s expression and said,

“Then I’ll go prepare right away.”

Elena turned around immediately.

The merit ceremony would begin soon.

If she wanted to head to Ruben after the merit ceremony, she had to prepare now.

Sian watched Elena leave and suddenly.

‘Ah, right.’

He grabbed Elena as she was leaving, remembering something.

“By the way, where is His Highness? I haven’t seen him since earlier.”

“My brother…”

Then Elena couldn’t easily continue speaking.

She even seemed flustered, as if something had happened.

And just then.

“The ceremony will begin soon! Distinguished guests, please move to the venue!”

A booming voice echoed throughout the banquet hall.

And Elena said one word.

“I think you’ll see when you go now.”

Elena left after saying that.

#

The merit ceremony was held in the Imperial Palace’s Grand Hall.

A large hall that could accommodate at least thousands of people.

Sian followed the guide’s instructions and moved his steps.

The place he arrived at was none other than the front seat of the Grand Hall.

It seemed they had prepared a separate seat for the person with the highest merit.

And.

“Well, you came too.”

Panat was also there.

Panat Rorschild, who had gone to the North with Sian to provide support.

He wasn’t at the banquet hall, so he wondered if he hadn’t come.

Of course, there was no way he wouldn’t come to an event hosted by the Emperor.

Of course, the relationship between ElanDour and Rorschild wasn’t good.

But that had nothing to do with Sian.

“You came too, Panat?”

Sian said to Panat with a happy heart.

Then Panat frowned with a disappointed expression.

“Even so, I am also a contributor to the North. Of course, you solved everything… but I still have the most merit after you. Don’t tell me you don’t think I’m a contributor?”

“That’s not what I meant. I was just asking because I didn’t see you at the banquet hall.”

“Hahaha. It was a joke. You’re still the same.”

Panat laughed softly and waved his hand.

Sian took a seat next to Panat.

And like Sian, many nobles took their seats in the Grand Hall one by one.

As they waited for the event to begin.

“Can I ask you just one thing?”

Panat suddenly asked Sian.

Looking at his gaze.

Panat was looking at Sian with serious eyes.

Sian tilted his head, and Panat asked immediately.

“That dark knight back then.”

“Dark knight…?”

“The Death Knight who fought the Forest Keeper in the North.”

“Ah.”

Only then did Sian nod his head.

The Death Knight who fought AslanDiz, who was corrupted by Instiz in the North.

That was none other than Kendrick.

“It seemed like you summoned him…”

Sian was at a loss for words at Panat’s question that followed.

It wouldn’t be good for Kendrick’s existence to be revealed.

First of all, it wouldn’t be good for the existence of a master-level being to be revealed.

More than anything, the Death Knight was a being of magic.

Even dark elves who simply used dark mana were ostracized.

Not to mention the Death Knight, who was a true being of magic.

That’s why Sian had hidden Kendrick’s existence in the North.

Kendrick’s help was great in suppressing the barbarians of the North.

But he hid Kendrick’s existence by putting the Ruben Knights forward.

But in order to suppress AslanDiz, who was corrupted by Instiz, he had no choice.

He couldn’t think about the aftermath at that time.

Sian summoned Kendrick, and Panat and others were able to recognize Kendrick’s existence.

But since there was no further mention of it, he thought it would just pass.

Sian stared at Panat quietly.

Summoning a Death Knight meant dealing with dark mana.

A necromancer.

Evil beings who summon the souls of the dead and use them as a source of power.

Beings who chose the easy path to gain great power.

But Panat’s expression was far from that.

In other words, he didn’t seem to suspect that Sian was a necromancer.

It was like…

“Are you still worried about dark mana?”

How Sian was able to summon the Death Knight.

He seemed to be curious about that itself.

As expected, Panat nodded slightly and said.

“I can’t forget what you told me back then.”

Sian chuckled.

From what he had seen in the North, Panat was interested in dark mana.

He was so interested that he even tried to use it himself.

So Sian had casually told him about Elodie’s knowledge of dark mana.

Elodie’s knowledge, who was called the Great Wizard.

Thanks to that, he was even mistaken for a magic swordsman…

Well, anyway.

Panat couldn’t forget what Sian had told him back then.

To be precise, he seemed to be continuing his research on dark mana.

‘Is a wizard just a wizard?’

Sian shook his head.

The goal of all wizards in the world was only one.

The truth that makes up this world.

The truth that only God knows.

To bring that truth into the realm of human reason.

Thus, to define all providence as law and to make all truth understandable by reason.

That was the ultimate goal of all wizards in the world.

And dark mana was still an unexplored area.

It was a type that was known to be impossible to handle.

Only a thousand years ago.

Only Elodie, who was Arnise, used that power.

That meant.

It didn’t mean it was impossible to handle.

Yet the secret had not been revealed until now.

This was like a long-cherished wish that wizards had to fulfill.

Panat seemed to be working day and night to solve that wish.

He was already an excellent wizard.

The star of the empire was not the star of the empire for nothing.

“Instead of here, come to my territory, Ruben, sometime. Come and have a frank conversation with AslanDiz. I’ll tell you what I know then.”

“Really?”

Panat said with a bright expression at Sian’s words.

Sian chuckled at Panat’s expression.

A wizard asking a knight for advice.

What kind of situation was this?

‘But well…’

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

It wouldn’t be bad to form a relationship with Panat.

ElanDour and Rorschild.

The rivalry between the two families was a fact known to everyone in the empire.

And now that Sian was at odds with ElanDour.

There was nothing wrong with joining hands with Rorschild.

As he was having this and that conversation with Panat.

The seats in the Grand Hall, which could accommodate thousands of people, were filled.

And after some time.

“His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince are entering!!”

A booming voice echoed throughout the Grand Hall.

Soon, the eyes of everyone in the Grand Hall turned to one place at once.

And at the very front of the Grand Hall.

The huge main gate opened and two beings appeared.

An aura of dignity and grace that could be felt just by their existence.

An existence that made you feel unnecessarily intimidated even without any particular momentum.

The Emperor, Balua von Charlotte.

And the Crown Prince, Conrad von Charlotte.

With the appearance of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, everyone in the Grand Hall rose from their seats.

Sian and Panat also stopped talking and rose from their seats together.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The voices of everyone in the venue echoed like thunder.

“Everyone, raise your heads.”

At the dignified voice that followed, everyone raised their heads.

“Today, this is a place that I have personally hosted for those who have worked hard for the empire. Although the empire’s situation is not good due to the famine, the more that happens…”

And the Emperor’s long speech followed.

Sian listened to the contents of the speech with one ear and let it flow out with the other.

Well, to summarize it roughly.

Thank you and welcome to the many people who helped.

He prepared this place to commend that gratitude.

It was a speech with various flowery words attached to these contents.

“Then let’s start the event right away without delay.”

At Balua’s words, a man stepped forward.

Looking at his attire, he seemed to be a secretary of the Imperial Palace.

The secretary spread out a long parchment and shouted loudly.

“In accordance with His Majesty the Emperor’s order, I will call the names of the contributors to the North. Distinguished guests who are called, please come out of your seats and stand on the platform. Then let’s start right away. First, Count Triel of the Triel family. Please come forward.”

At the secretary’s words, a man walked out from behind Sian and stood in front of the platform.

“Count Triel did not spare support for materials even in the midst of the famine…”

And the secretary’s long explanation followed.

It was an explanation of what merits Count Triel had made.

To summarize it roughly, it was material support.

The words just got a little longer because the contents were packaged with all sorts of flowery words.

After the long explanation was over.

“Therefore, in order to commend this merit, we bestow two villages to Count Triel.”

“……!”

“……!”

“……!”

In an instant, shock fell throughout the Grand Hall.

That was because the reward given to Count Triel.

That reward was more enormous than expected.

It was not just to think of it as two villages.

The manpower and taxes included in it.

It was all about bestowing all of those things.

In addition, the increase in the number of villages under jurisdiction meant that the power also increased.

Of course, it was natural to give rewards commensurate with the merits.

However, Count Triel’s merits were not like that.

At best, he had only provided a few materials.

It was an excessive and unconventional reward compared to the merits.

The shock that fell throughout the Grand Hall did not easily subside.

Whether he knew such feelings or not.

Conrad approached Count Triel.

“I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of His Majesty and the Imperial Family for the hard work you have shown.”

“T, thank you! I will devote my loyalty to the point of shattering my bones!!”

Count Triel shouted with a moved expression.

“Next is…”

In that way, the place to commend the merits in earnest continued.

Quite a few people had unknowingly helped the North.

And they all received excessive rewards compared to their merits.

“Ah… If I had known this would happen, I would have supported it even if it was too much.”

“I made the wrong decision.”

At this point, the exclamations of the nobles who had shrugged off responsibility naturally leaked out.

But it was already too late.

In that way, the place continued.

And now, just as he was getting bored and his butt was getting sore.

“Panat Rorschild of the Rorschild family. Please come forward.”

Panat’s name, who was sitting next to Sian, was called.

Panat immediately rose from his seat and took his place on the platform.

And the secretary’s words followed.

“The Rorschild family was the first to come forward in the crisis in the North. In addition, he mobilized the Arcanic Magic Corps along with Panat…”

This time, the words continued for quite a long time.

That was because, unlike the others, Panat was a contributor who had directly jumped into the incident in the North.

Perhaps because of that, the secretary’s words continued as if they did not know the end.

The words ended only after almost two pages of parchment were used.

“Therefore, in order to commend this merit, we bestow 10 villages under the jurisdiction of the Marquisate. In addition, we exempt the taxes collected by the Rorschild family for the next three months.”

“Wow…!”

“Oh my gosh!”

And a great exclamation erupted throughout the Grand Hall.

“Oh.”

This time, Sian also exclaimed slightly.

First of all, 10 villages were villages.

And the tax exemption for three months was really enormous.

Having been appointed as the vice-administrator of ElanDour.

He could roughly know how much the tax scale was.

He was sure that it would easily exceed at least 10 million units [currency].

Considering that Rorschild was a wizard family here… it was really an astronomical amount.

Wizards used money like water for research and other things.

But they also earned a lot.

At the very least, 10 million gold came out as taxes in one month.

So the tax was reduced by at least 30 million gold.

“Thank you for always working hard for the empire.”

“I have only fulfilled my responsibilities.”

With Conrad’s blessing, Panat slowly stepped down from the platform.

“Lastly, Sian. Come forward.”

And the secretary’s words that followed.

Everyone in the Grand Hall sparkled their eyes.

Having watched the rewards of the previous people.

They all received rewards that were more than they deserved for their merits.

And Sian was the highest contributor to this incident.

In fact, it could be said that Sian alone had solved the incident in the North.

What kind of reward would be given to such Sian, to ElanDour?

In everyone’s expectations, Sian slowly rose from his seat and took his place on the platform.

“In the crisis of the empire, Sian’s wit shone. He protected honor and glory with courage and justice, and respected the weak…”

And the secretary’s words that followed were different from the beginning.

“He despised injustice, meanness, and deception, and his actions to always care for the empire with a sincere heart…”

It was at the level of plastering gold paint on all sorts of flowery words.

However, people did not show any particular aversion.

It was true that Sian’s merits were that great.

Rather, they were just curious about the reward that Sian would receive.

In that way, the secretary’s words continued as if they did not know the end.

On the other hand, Sian was listening to such words.

‘When will it end?’

To be honest, Sian was not expecting anything at all.

He had no expectations of what he would be rewarded with.

That was because he had already received a reward.

20 million gold from the Emperor.

12 million gold from the Imperial Family.

A total of 32 million gold, an enormous amount of money.

In some ways, it could be seen as similar to Panat’s reward.

But Panat was only an expected profit earned through the method of tax exemption.

Besides, it was a reward given to Rorschild, not Panat.

But Sian was the money given to an individual.

Moreover, he received the gold directly in kind, not expected profits.

What kind of reward would be given here?

Rather, Sian was just suspicious.

Why did they bother to prepare such a place?

‘It would have been fine if you had just called me quietly.’

He just wanted them to create a reason to get out of ElanDour.

He didn’t want such a place.

Even borrowing the Emperor’s name.

‘What are you thinking…’

Sian was lost in thought, letting the secretary’s words flow out with one ear.

After some time.

“Therefore, having recognized all these merits.”

The secretary’s words, which had been heard as if they did not know the end, finally came to an end.

And the secretary’s one word that followed.

“We ennoble Sian above Count.”

Thud.

There was an illusion that such a sound was heard throughout the Grand Hall.

At the same time, a heavy silence fell on the Grand Hall where thousands of people were seated.

No one made a sound.

They couldn’t.

Before they could even blink an eye, people’s bodies froze in their seats.

The Grand Hall was dyed with shock.

It was as if the concept of time had stopped.

Only.

“…… Pardon?”

Only Sian’s dumbfounded voice echoed softly.

My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]

My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]

현질하는 영주님!
Status: Completed Author: Native Language: Korean
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[English Translation] In a world where progress is measured in gold, and power is just a purchase away, one lord is rewriting the rules of the realm. Stuck on a quest? Outmatched in battle? The answer is simple: cash in! Witness the rise of a prudent lord who understands the true language of power. From upgrading knight training schools to drawing transcendence-grade equipment, no advantage is too extravagant. Dive into a saga where strategy meets spending, and discover how far a resourceful lord will go to conquer all!

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