812 – Buds Under the Old Tree – 2

I decided to keep my first father-in-law’s decision to retire completely secret.

My father-in-law probably doesn’t want to make a fuss starting from the New Year, and if news of his retirement spreads before he even retires, all kinds of nobles will flock to see if he is serious. He probably decided to retire to gain freedom, but there is no need to endure the hassle right before retirement.

The only time you can make a fuss about your father-in-law’s retirement is right after retirement. A banquet to celebrate the retirement of an old man who devoted himself to the empire for decades and the birth of a new duke. Only then will the empire congratulate and applaud with all its heart.

“Time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Is the silver all gone?”

“Wow.”

However, although my father-in-law, I, Jeon Seung-gong, and Geumguk-gong swore to keep quiet, there were two mouths in this place that even nobles could not block.

No, there was exactly one.

‘What should I do?’

The princess’ bright eyes silenced her for a moment.

Mouth does not open easily. I am confident that I can explain the dictionary meaning of the word ‘retirement’ more completely than anyone else, but I am cautious because I feel like it may involve too much of my own opinion.

Retirement is the most beautiful and sacred act in the world. I think it would be explained as a concept that everyone should aspire to.

‘No.’

That’s a problem. She is the princess who absorbs everything her parents and godfather her her her say her. It is difficult to instill in such a princess the perception that ‘retirement = the truth and final point of life.’

If you make a mistake, the next emperor can become a reserve army of runaway ninjas. It can still a sense of freedom, not responsibility, in the emperor who must shoulder everything in the empire and the continent.

“Retirement is…”

I glanced at the three dukes. They are seasoned nobles who have lived longer than me, and they are the heads of families who have looked after their children as well as their grandchildren. Wouldn’t you know enough to know how to answer a child’s innocent question?

However, all of the dukes who made eye contact with me avoided eye contact. As if you should answer on your own.

‘Damn.’

These mean people. And yet you are the dukes of the empire.

Of course, since he is a duke, he can ignore the earnest gaze of the Minister of Inspection. What is the duke so sorry that he goes out on a limb to help others?

“…Your Highness. You know how to play tag, right?”

“Wow! I did it with Pedi yesterday too!”

“You also know that a tagger has to work hard.”

“Ugh! Me! I’m running around!”

Thinking about her miserable life as a tagger, she must have been heartbroken, and the princess’s expression filled with regret and anger made her burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, the prince also looked a little angry, as if imitating his older sister. Anyway, I’m glad that the siblings seem to have a good relationship.

“Retirement means handing over the role of tagger to someone else. Isn’t it difficult if one person continues to play tag?”

Anyway, he seemed to understand the tagger’s pain well, so he responded appropriately.

Retirement means that a person who has been a lone tagger for a long time takes off that role. It’s the act of giving up your spot as a tagger to someone else and relaxing.

In this way, you can avoid the unconditional desire and fantasy about retirement, but roughly explain its meaning. Whether you’re a spy or a tagger, if you hand it over to someone else, you’re retired.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Peddie’s maternal grandfather here has been playing tag for a long time. So, of course he should get someone else to play tag, right?”

“Maja! It’s hard to do it alone for a long time!”

I bitterly smiled at the sympathy that was stronger than expected.

Fedya. Shouldn’t she have been properly taken care of by the Crown Princess? How seriously did she avoid it that she got so horny?

“Red Harabuji! Use up all your mana! Don’t run anymore!”

“Pfft.”

And the Golden Ball laughed at the majestic consolation of the Crown Princess.

In fact, I could barely hold back the laughter that was about to come out of reflex. I mentioned tagging as an example, but I really think my father-in-law played tag. A child’s imagination is pure.

‘Play tag with that big guy.’

Suddenly, I imagined playing tag with my father-in-law chasing after me.

A chase chased by a muscular drone measuring up to 2 meters. My father-in-law chases after me with an angry face after a long game of tag.

‘Ugh.’

The laughter that was about to come out reflexively subsided. It’s scary just to imagine it.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. It is truly an honor for Your Majesty to personally acknowledge this old man’s merits.”

Fortunately, my father-in-law smiled instead of being embarrassed by the princess’s words.

As expected, the skill that she had trained against her numerous children and grandchildren remained strong even in front of the Crown Princess. There is no disturbance in the princess’s surprise attack on her. If it were me, her facial muscles would have broken down or she wouldn’t have been able to open her mouth for a while.

‘Certainly experience cannot be ignored.’

My father-in-law has lived about three times my age. No matter how experienced I was in raising children, I was nothing more than a firefly under the full moon in front of my father-in-law.

“By the way, Your Majesty. You must not tell anyone about what I just said.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Here’s Red… There are people that the next tagger, Grandpa, needs to secretly catch. If they find out that the tagger has changed, they can’t catch them secretly, so they have to hide it until the end.”

“Ugh! I understand! Secret!”

It was a persuasion that I had no idea what was being said, but the Crown Princess nodded her head vigorously.

She said she knew. The Crown Princess may be a bit stubborn, but she is not the kind of girl who will lie or break her promises.

“Karl-kun, you’ve become a skilled father. It’s almost like I’m jealous because I feel like I lost my only granddaughter.”

“That’s right. I don’t know which of your family members this is.”

“You stole someone else’s daughter.” Now you’re going to take her granddaughter as well.”

My father-in-law and the Golden Duke also burst into laughter at Jeon Seung-gong’s words.

I felt strangely like I had suddenly become a thief.

***

This year’s New Year’s wedding ceremony ended without much fuss. Since there was quite a commotion at the end of last year, I thought the beginning of the new year would pass quietly.

I definitely thought that would be the case.

“Did you say retirement?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. To my shame, Soshin is old and dull and can no longer assist you.”

The last day of the New Year’s ceremony. Prince Iron Blood, who had secretly requested a private meeting, asked permission to step down from the Duke’s Committee. He said he no longer had enough vitality and intelligence to assist the emperor.

I couldn’t stop him from saying anything pitiful or disappointing. Rather, Sanghyeolgong held his position longer than my Majesty and I wished.

Although many of the actual tasks and authority were handed over to the successor, the face of the dukedom and the pillar of the empire was still the Iron Blood Duke.

“If the Duke is old and dull, how many young and intelligent nobles will there be in this empire? And the Duke’s mere presence makes the eastern nations fear the Empire, and they dare not raise their heads.”

“How can they be afraid of Sosin? Sosin only punished the ruthless on behalf of the great imperial family and empire, so they are not afraid of the sword, but of His Majesty who holds that sword.”

I let out a small sigh at the polite yet firm words of the Sanghyeolgong.

Yes, if Sanghyeolgong comes out like this, he cannot be dissuaded. If we wanted to prevent Prince Cheolhyeol from retiring, we had to first prevent him from passing on his real power to his successor.

However, the situation had accepted Sanghyeolgong’s retirement preparations. For the duke who devoted himself to the empire for a long time. At the same time, in order to gradually force the duke, who boasts great authority, to step down.

“Today, the people of the continent call the Minister of Inspector General the best on the continent, but His Majesty Jim and Sang-tae are well aware that the young enemy ball is also worthy of being called the best on the continent. Thank you for using that force for the imperial family and the empire.”＜ Br＞

“I am so grateful that Philbu’s small talent is appreciated so highly.”

I laughed when I heard it was a small talent.

If the Minister was the best swordsman on the continent, then Sanghyeolgong was the best warrior on the continent. He is the strongest warrior who crushes his enemies with any weapon, even with his bare hands. If it is a small talent, what is a big talent? It’s a scary thing to even imagine.

“The name of the Duke will forever be remembered by the Empire. Oliver Barenti, the eighteenth Duke of Wolken and a member of the Knights of Lisizariune.”

“It was an honor to live as Oliver of Kpelopen.”

In his last words of thanks to Lord Sangvis, Lord Sangvis bowed his head and got down on his knees.

Among the pillars that supported the empire for decades, the name Iron Blood disappeared.

‘The successor was Richard Barenti.’

Richard Barenti, who will be the next Duke of Wolken, is a great talent, as the Emperor has shown him. There is no doubt that over the years, he has led the House of Barenti and the Duchy of Wolken without any disturbance on behalf of Prince Ironblood.

Moreover, perhaps because he was the first and only son of Prince Iron Blood, he also inherited his father’s great fortune. Of course, it’s not like he’s at the level of an iron-blooded ball, just because he inherited it from his siblings.

‘It would be even stranger if warriors at the level of Iron Blood Ball appeared one after another.’

In any case, we are not in a difficult time where military force is needed, but rather a time when administrative ability is desperately needed. Even the greatest swordsman on the continent, who is much younger than Richard Barenti, is a nobleman of the empire.

So let’s welcome the 19th Duke Ulken with a happy heart.

His head was pounding. It’s already been a few hours since Prince Sangvis retreated, but I still haven’t escaped the aftermath of the duke’s abdication.

‘How should I come up with a new title?’

The title of the newly crowned Duke Ulken. Because once the duke decides on a second name, he must keep it for the rest of his life.

There is no established custom or precedent in the method of determining the title of duke. It is simply decided by the emperor of the time, taking into account the new duke’s tendencies and abilities. It would have been more convenient if there was a clear legal basis.

‘Legendary, Iron Blood, Majong, Gold, Wise.’

First, I thought of the titles of the five pillars of the county,

‘Strife, blood sword, tongue sword, hearing, justice.’

Next, I thought of the five first-class contributors who assisted Emperor Eimanka.

It is the duke’s second name. It is a name that must enhance its dignity, so it cannot be chosen carelessly.

Also, you should avoid duplicating names that previously existed as much as possible. Because the duke’s names overlap seems insincere.

‘Even the cancer soldiers were good at naming dukes.’

I tried my best to keep my head down. Even the last line of emperors who brought the empire to the brink of ruin also named dukes without any controversy. It is impossible to become an emperor worse than those cancer soldiers…

‘Ah.’

It occurred to me that the Duchy of Wolken was in the eastern part of the empire, and that Richard Barenti was the first person to ascend to the throne during his reign.

Did you happen to say that Richard Barenti has a docile and cheerful personality rather than a hard personality? If that’s the case, he’s perfect for the title that he just came to mind.

***

One week after the New Year’s ceremony. What the imperial court announced announced the empire.

[ 18th Duke of Wolken and Head of the Barenti House Following Oliver Barenti of Wolken, Richard Barenti became the 19th Duke of Wolken and Head of the Barenti House. ]

Shocking news that the pillar that supported the empire for decades has been replaced.

[In the name of Eimanka XVII, the name of Dawn is granted to Richard Barenti of Wolken, the 19th Duke of Wolken. ]

Interesting news that a new duke’s name has appeared for the first time in a long time, following Duke Hyeonjeong.

Thanks to this, the new year, which seemed to start quietly, suddenly became turbulent.