Chapter 130

From a young age, Sansio had exceptionally good eyes.

Thanks to them, he was the first in the crowd to realize that the small dot in the distance was a carriage.

“Another carriage is coming?”

“It’s true!”

Susanna decided to believe the twin’s words.

Sansio had a wide forehead and was prone to bragging, but he didn’t have a habit of lying.

“What color is it?”

“Uh, umm…….”

Sansio’s eyes narrowed.

If it were Verchello’s carriage, it would be a glossy black.

“…Navy blue.”

“…Oh dear.”

Susanna shook her head, disappointment evident.

If it was navy blue, then it wasn't Verchello’s carriage. ‘Navy blue?’

Someone who had overheard their conversation muttered.

Soon, Sansio felt someone smack the back of his head and shouted.

“Ouch! Who was that?”

“Hey, Sansio!”

“…Old man Arellay?”

The former head of the craftsmen’s guild, Arellay Irellas, waved his hand.

“Let me get on your shoulders! I need to get a better look at that carriage!”

“Pardon?”

“Hurry!”

Arellay held out his hand and glared at Sansio as if to ask what he was waiting for.

Though bewildered, Sansio lowered his posture to let the old man climb on.

Get up, now! At Arellay’s roar, Sansio shot up.

The old man, who had somehow gotten ahold of something like a telescope, was looking at the carriage.

“…I was right!”

The old craftsman exclaimed.

“Why is that carriage here……!”

“What is it?”

“That’s, that’s…….”

Arellay couldn't easily continue.

It was due to shock.

He had seen a carriage like that only once in his youth.

The elegant navy blue, the splendid goldwork, and the engraved crest of three morning glories.

“It’s the imperial carriage of Maesh!”

“““……!!!”””

Astonishment swept through them.

Everyone nearby, who had been pretending not to listen to Arellay’s words, widened their eyes in disbelief.

Maesh, a powerful nation whose strength couldn't even be compared to Merion.

One of the three nations holding hegemony in the West.

“Why is an imperial carriage from Maesh in Merion!?”

“…They must have borrowed it.”

“They’d lend that out?”

“It’s possible if you’ve done a huge favor for the imperial family. But who on earth…….”

Arellay, who was looking through the telescope, let out a sigh.

“…Good heavens, it’s Verchello…….”

A small flag was planted next to the Maesh imperial carriage.

It indicated who had borrowed it.

The color was black, and on it was a painted skylark.

“…Verchello has borrowed the imperial carriage of Maesh.”

***

“Is something the matter?”

Kukulo Del Conti felt a sense of bewilderment.

He was in the center of the festival, waiting for the Parade of Seven Carriages to conclude. Verchello’s carriage had not yet entered.

That was because he had Onseu Om destroy it.

Once the loud performances of the clowns and minstrels ended, both the Parade of Seven Carriages and the Merion Harvest Festival would come to a close and Verchello, unable to present their carriage, would be utterly disgraced.

The plan was perfect.

But he felt a strange sense of dissonance.

Kukulo was at the heart of the festival.

The carriage parade, minus Verchello’s, the splendid performances of the clowns and minstrels, and all sorts of food were all on this side.

But the citizens of Merion were not. Instead, they were disappearing one by one, heading over there.

What could be over there.

All the carriages in the parade had already entered, so what else could possibly be coming.

Was there something over there that could draw all those people away.

Unable to overcome his curiosity, Kukulo raised his voice.

“Guild Master Horen.”

He called out to a man passing by.

It was the head of the merchant’s guild, in charge of the operation and management of the Merion Harvest Festival.

The man seemed not to have heard him and was about to pass, so Kukulo raised his voice even louder.

“Guild Master Horen!”

“…Ah, Lord Kukulo.”

“Over there, why is it so noisy?”

“Well, you see……”

Dragging it out. Kukulo smirked.

He was still full of confidence.

He certainly was, until Guild Master Horen began to speak hesitantly.

“Verchello’s carriage has arrived……”

“Verchello’s carriage has arrived?”

Kukulo tilted his head.

“That can’t be right?”

It was a matter of course.

Because Verchello’s carriage, a treasure passed down from their ancestors, was destroyed by Onseu Om.

Kukulo had ordered it himself.

Stroking his thin lips, Kukulo Del Conti nodded his head.

“Ah, did they hastily borrow one from somewhere else?”

“Yes. That’s right. But……”

Guild Master Horen swallowed hard.

He had a look of utter disbelief on his face.

“…They borrowed the imperial carriage of Maesh.”

“What!?”

Kukulo Del Conti couldn’t help but scream.

“Maesh!? The actual imperial carriage of Maesh!?”

“Old man Arellay Irellas said so, so it must be true.”

“…No way!”

Why would the great nation of Maesh send their imperial carriage to Merion?

It was impossible.

The ever-so-haughty Maesh sending an imperial carriage outside its borders……. Kukulo’s eyes darted back and forth.

‘No, wait, that guy Shion, he said he was the owner of the Herteu Mine. Does that mean he had a deep connection with the Maesh imperial family?’

Only then did he understand.

Shion! It was that blond, blue-eyed bastard again.

He had gotten terribly entangled.

If this was going to happen, he should never have gotten involved in the first place.

Kukulo desperately wanted to cover his face and curse.

‘I should never have messed with him……!’

But it was already too late.

It had become an irreversible past.

Shion had become an enemy of Del Conti.

In that case, the regrets ended here.

There was no time to blame his foolish past self.

If they were already enemies, he had to crush him with all his might.

He couldn't be the one to be crushed.

“Stop them! Don’t let them in, no matter what!”

“…How?”

“Because it’s a violation of the rules. Because it’s not the carriage they were originally supposed to send!”

“…Can you really say that after seeing all those people?”

Outside, it was filled with fervor and cheers.

The people of Merion were completely excited before the name of Verchello, in a festive mood.

It was because they realized the day they had long been waiting for had arrived and that fervor was a threat to Del Conti.

“Tch! You coward!”

Kukulo, angered, shoved Guild Master Horen.

He glared, but Kukulo didn't care.

He was practically his subordinate anyway.

The Del Conti lord raised his voice, looking for his guest retainer knight.

“Pneuve, where are you, Pneuve!”

“I have been here all along, my lord.”

Pneuve Freira bowed his head respectfully.

Since getting involved with Shion, he had often brought back disappointing results, but he was still a capable confidant and a skilled magi-knight from Erta.

Kukulo Del Conti commanded, spittle flying.

“Release Del Conti’s private soldiers! Make sure Verchello’s carriage does not enter, no matter what!”

***

Arellay Irellas muttered blankly.

“Beautiful……”

The imperial carriage of Maesh, pulled by six white horses, did not lose its dignity even amidst the crowd.

Old man Arellay’s eyes sparkled, captivated by the navy carriage’s craftsmanship.

As expected of Maesh, a country with a history second only to Cordis, its class was on another level.

“This isn’t something that’s just been stuck in a warehouse. It’s a carriage actually used by the imperial family……”

The ones driving the carriage were the imperial guards of Maesh.

There appeared to be about thirty of them.

What on earth had they done to have the imperial guards of Maesh pull an imperial carriage all the way to Merion?

The guards showed no signs of discomfort and smiled at the people of Merion.

The carriage had a flag with Verchello’s crest engraved on it.

Below the crest was a short phrase.

It was in the Maesh language.

[Proof that Masiet mo Maesh has not forgotten her debt to Viscount Rampo.]

[May this favor be conveyed to my friend, Viscount Rampo, and to the Verchello he cherishes.]

Those who read the phrase were all astonished.

Masiet mo Maesh was the name of the one and only daughter of the King of Maesh.

They were dying of curiosity as to who Viscount Rampo could possibly be.

The Maesh carriage, sent for Verchello, was quietly dignified.

It created a pleasant silence even in the midst of the festival crowd.

People simply watched the disciplined procession of the six white horses and thirty guards.

It wasn't boring at all.

Some children felt as if they had stepped into a scene from a fairy tale.

In fact, it wasn’t just the children. Women, including Susanna, imagined the affair between the man called Viscount Rampo and Serena de Verchello, and let out envious sighs.

Amidst swelling anticipation, the people moved along with the carriage.

Every one of them had a light, childlike spring in their step.

They wanted to stay excited just like that. Isn’t that what festivals were for?

And yet, there was always some vulgar noise that ruined the mood.

“Step back!”

With a gruff shout, a group of men came swarming out.

They all had broad shoulders and carried clubs in their hands.

The Maesh imperial guards pulling the carriage were unlikely to be scared, but the citizens of Merion had no choice but to clear the way.

“You cannot go any further.”

The one leading the group of club-wielding men was Pneuve Freira.

“Turn the carriage around.”

Pneuve held a wooden sword and ordered the Maesh imperial guards.

The guards, realizing that Pneuve Freira was no ordinary man, lowered their eyes.

“We have come on the order of Her Highness, Princess Masiet. She told us to celebrate Merion’s harvest together.”

The leader of the guards stepped forward.

The eyes of the entire crowd were on them.

“Is there a proper reason why we should turn our carriage around, despite the Princess’s command?”

“It is the rule of the Merion Harvest Festival.”

Pneuve Freira’s ears were turning red.

He felt a deep sense of self-loathing, beyond just embarrassment, for having to spout what he himself considered a lame excuse.

Still, Pneuve was a man who could not fail to carry out his given responsibilities.

“This is not the carriage Verchello was originally supposed to enter. Therefore, I cannot permit it.”

“……”

The leader of the guards was so dumbfounded he fell silent.

Pneuve’s ears turned even redder.

But Pneuve neither lowered his wooden sword nor cast down his eyes.

Instead, he just felt the weight of life. Someone in the crowd muttered.

“…What is he saying?”

Then, there was someone pointing a finger.

“Hey, isn’t that guy Del Conti’s guest retainer knight?”

“Del Conti? Did you say Del Conti?”

The fervor that was about to cool down instantly swelled into one mass.

Sansio finally couldn't hold it in and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“It’s Del Conti!”

All the citizens glared at once.

“Del Conti is trying to kick Verchello out again!”

Anger boiled over.

People surged forward, spewing fervor.

They were not the least bit intimidated in front of the club-wielding group of men.

Verchello, a name Merion could not forget.

Right after the war with Cordis, when everyone was struggling just to get by, they could only watch as Verchello fell into ruin.

They had let Del Conti topple Verchello like a cuckoo.

It was the mistake of the people of Merion.

They should not have let Del Conti bring down Verchello.

It’s different now.

Not a second time.

They were already shameless, so they couldn't be more shameless.

Arellay Irellas cried out with a sorrowful voice.

“Verchello!”

Someone else shouted back.

Pneuve and his group of club-wielding men were only pushed back.

The spirit of the people was menacing. The Maesh guards watched them with intrigued eyes.

The shouting continued.

“Verchello!”

“Verchello!”

“Verchello!”

All of Merion raised its voice.

“““Verchel-lo-!!!”””