Chapter 146 - How dare he insult your men?

“What’s wrong?”

“They’re new recruits, but we don’t like them. Half of them are applying as guards and the other half will be our juniors, but they all seem corrupt. So, we came up with a pretty good final test among ourselves.”

Instead of asking what that was, Izek just looked at them with a questioning gaze.

Ivan raised his shoulders and shouted confidently, “We’re going to have those newbies face off against our tough lizard. Anyone who loses will be eliminated…”

“Are you planning to kill them before they even join? Whose idiotic idea was this?”

“It wasn’t me. Was it you, you dumba**?”

“No, it wasn’t me. Was it him?” Ivan pointed to someone else.

Everyone turned to look at the person they called “him.”

Meanwhile, Ruve stood there smiling, twirling his hair as usual.

“Why are you all looking at me?”

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“Well, I’m pretty ignorant, but I wouldn’t worry too much honestly.”

“Why is that?”

“Didn’t you already think of that famous water garden at the Omerta Castle, right? Aren’t you just too tense?”

A replica of the famous greenhouse garden at the Omerta Castle was being built on a larger scale in the palace courtyard. At the same time, they were also working on connecting an underground canal to a place known as the current secret military base.

Izek growled like an animal and grabbed his head.

“I can’t think of anything, how can I relieve the tension?”

“Wasn’t it a mistake to ask him in the first place? What do you expect from a man who’s so anxious that he tears everything to pieces?”

With a smirk, Ruve opened his mouth with a smile directed at Camu.

“Shut up before I tear your throat out.”

There was a moment of silence.

Camu, who had only been opening and closing his mouth without being able to counterattack, turned his head and looked at Izek.

Izek was still holding his head and groaning.

“Your Majesty, are you going to leave it like this?”

“What?”

“How dare he insult your men in your presence…”

“Speaking of the South, didn’t you say something interesting to our friends from Romagna earlier, Ivan?”

The perpetrator who dared to insult in the court quickly changed the subject.

Ivan, who had been opening his mouth wider than anyone else to talk about a topic that was dirtier than anyone else’s, suddenly came to his senses.

“Huh? Oh yes. Your Majesty, I heard some vaguely funny news about our dear southern friends….”

“Are you implying that they finally went crazy?”

“That’s not something you should say… Anyway, do you remember Gonfalonier? Not that disgusting man.”

Why did the dead Gonfalonier suddenly come up?

Izek finally lifted his head slowly and looked directly at Ivan.

Ivan scratched his head.

“You didn’t meet him, but you remember he was a famous red light visitor, right? He really caused a stir as soon as he arrived here, didn’t he?”

“Didn’t he cause an accident before he died?”

“Something like that. He did it with the niece of Cardinal Baltasar, who is the right-hand man of the current Pope. And, I’m friends with him!”

A tribute to the persistent troublemaker Gonfalonier, even after death!

For a moment, the scene of the plump Baltasar de Chirolo collapsing and trembling in anger in front of everyone, appeared.

“He must have done it before coming to Elendale.”

“No, it was a little while ago. Her parents sent her to their country villa under the pretext of nursing, and she secretly took care of it. The problem is that this time Baltasar de Chirolo arranged a marriage meeting with a nobleman from the Rembrandt family, and his daughter, who was guilty, confessed her past misdeed as a way of atonement.”

“Is that nobleman from the Rembrandt family the cousin of that scoundrel? The one who wrote to me saying that he got married a while ago?”

“Yes, that’s the one. But why would that person send you a letter?”

“Not me, he kept insisting that we were acquaintances from when we attended a swordfighting match together. Anyway, is that girl his niece, the bride of the newlywed?”

“Exactly. Even though they are hushing it up, such a big gossip can’t help but spread in that dull town. Baltasar de Chirolo was going crazy for a while, and even during prayers, he suddenly stood up alone and ranted about what he would do with the deceased Pope’s son, how he would find that b*stard and ask about his father’s sin, etc.”

He knew it.

But unlike his cheerful friends who chuckled, Izek didn’t look like he found the story amusing.

“So what happened?”

“Huh? So, what happened…?”

“Did he find the child and ask about his father’s sin?”

“Oh, no way. He looked for him, but he’s still just a baby, so he would have to wait forever.”

It was doubtful who would give in first if he kept waiting endlessly.

The frustrated Baltasar de Chirolo reportedly signed some papers for an orphanage affiliated with the most notorious monastery in Romagna.

“Not like I saw him before, but he’s a small guy despite his size.”

“Should I go find him?”

Thanks to the sudden question, a moment of silence descended.

As it was a completely contextless statement, everyone looked at the person who asked the question with suspicion and unease.

Eventually, Izek broke the silence.

“Where to?”

“Romagna.”

“Why?”

“To solve a problem that concerns Your Majesty.”

“How did you decide that problem concerns me?”

“Why are you suddenly so suspicious? It’s obviously about the queen, you don’t want her to worry about unnecessary things or think of the past.”

“Well…”

“Besides, if it’s the nephew of the queen, it’s only right to provide him with a decent place to live, don’t you think? So I’ll go and take care of it myself. And while I’m there, I can also check out Romagna and report back to you about what’s going on.”

There was no alternative to this proposal.

Izek let out a resigned sigh.

“You, you son of a… From now on, you’re my number one servant for this matter.”

“Geez… I, I’m laughing so hard I’m about to fall!”

Ivan, who had been watching the situation from a distance, shouted.

Camu also had a bewildered expression on his face.

Did that b*stard with an eyepatch suddenly get high on drugs?

“What kind of trick are you playing?! And when did you become so proactive? Why are you suddenly causing chaos while loitering around?”

“Don’t be fooled, Your Majesty! I think that kid has been nursing ambitions lately. He’s definitely hiding his desires. He’s like a duck among swans!”

“You’re talking nonsense! You are the duck! From the beginning, your interest in this matter is very suspicious!”

“Hey, of course it’s not my place to say anything about that… “

“Look at this, Your Majesty! Just look at how he talks! It’s ridiculous that he was given such a humanitarian mission in the first place!”

“Yeah, yeah! He’s the kind of man who kills people for fun, whether it’s at an orphanage or a camp!”

“…And yet he’s our friend.”

Ruve was exasperated by the baseless criticism from his colleagues, and the king simply ignored it.

“Let’s all go! We should be able to return before the festival if we hurry.”

“Indeed. If we have time, let’s look for some local specialty products that are worth trying.”

“We truly are his most loyal subjects.”

They were getting so close that they almost held hands and became sworn brothers.

Ivan suddenly interjected, “Then I will also uphold your secret mission with all my heart!”

“Why you?”

Why indeed? Ivan was initially taken aback by the question, but quickly regained his composure.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea, as he could bring back a rare specialty product from the southern region as a lovely gift for his fiance.

“Of course, he can’t handle it alone.”

“I think you’re even more incompetent.”

Izek gave a long sigh.

Ivan briefly wavered at the betrayal of his friend with whom he had shared a bond of friendship since their childhood days of fighting over snacks.

“Whatever, do as you please. Do you need anything?”

“No, I don’t. Then I’ll go prepare first.”

After waving goodbye with a smile, Ruve left, and everyone watched his back in silence for a moment.

“Why does that b*stard give me chills the more I see him?”

“He’s truly astonishing, and it gives me chills. I never knew he was such a thoughtful and loyal friend. Anyway, damn it, I can’t think of a suitable gift, it’s driving me crazy, really.”

Camu wanted to grab Izek’s collar and shake him hard, but he tried to restrain the urge to do something evil.

Instead, he glared at Ivan, who was barely recovering from the shock.

“Are you really going with him?”

“As a knight, I won’t take back my words…”

“Okay, okay. Just be careful.”

“Why are you being so annoying, b*stard? You are weird too. He has been through so many adventures with us, this is only fair.”

“I know that too. Ezekiel and him are… Well, Ezekiel always does whatever he’s told, so that’s understandable, but I have no idea what that man is thinking with his elbow joint.”

It seemed that Camu was still pretty angry that he couldn’t properly retaliate for the insult earlier.

Anyway, he was a sharp-tongued guy. Ivan swallowed a bitter laugh and looked away.

“Well then…”

“That’s it.”

“Huh?”

“That’s it.”

Izek suddenly raised his head and fiercely glared into the air.

Before his two friends could even ask what he was thinking this time, Izek had already stormed out like a hurricane, giving them chills once again.