A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

Chapter 70

70 – Sell Everything Except Your Wife and Children (2)

It’s already been a month since returning from the County of Seirene.

The Imperial Newspaper that arrived this morning was truly a special report, containing historical events.

[Will the door to peace open? Sirene-Casablanca port opens!]

Within a month, the two countries officially established peace by opening each other’s ports for exchanges.

[Hapsburg Crown Prince: “I wish for peace between the two countries and plan to erect a monument to Hayreddin.”]

[Mayor of Casablanca: “We welcome the people of the Kingdom. We will take a strict stance against price fixing.”]

Kingdom of Sirene County.

The imperial city of Casablanca.

The two cities were opened to each other, allowing both countries to conduct commercial activities across the lower reaches of the river.

Various procedures will be needed, and issues such as the use of currency between the two countries will be resolved to some extent over time.

“Personally, it’s disappointing.”

“What else do you regret?”

“Gibraltar should have enjoyed the benefits of opening up. What do you think, Sir Robert?”

“Uh, well, if the port is opened, will there really be a lot of traffic?”

I swung the baton and wrapped the Empire Ilbo around the end.

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, we’ve been enemies up until now. Even if the Crown Prince and Her Majesty the Queen signed an agreement, the fight we’ve had so far doesn’t disappear in an instant.”

The resentment between countries does not disappear in an instant.

Even if the atmosphere has calmed down a bit due to General Hayreddin’s death-

“It’s truly a miracle that these two ports have opened, but I don’t know how long this will last.”

To shout, ‘We will live in peace from now on!’ You can only tilt your head.

“Yes. Still-“

“Master. That was a wrong move.”

Robert holds the baton and swings it lightly.

The Empire Newspaper wrapped around the end of his pole flutters loudly, and the Empire Newspaper on the end of my pole falls to the floor as if fluttering in the wind.

“…Tsk.”

“Young master, you really don’t have any talent?”

“It’s not that he doesn’t have talent, it’s just that the kingdom’s military etiquette is unnecessarily complicated.”

Why did they make it so difficult for 500 years?

“That’s it. Today’s practice ends here.”

“Huh? Are you giving up?”

“It’s not that I’m giving up, it’s that I have other busy things to do.”

I flicked the Imperial Newspaper that had fallen on the floor with the tip of the stick, grabbed it and pointed at one side where there was a large photo.

“The Empire is slowly trying to spread honey over the Gibraltar Gorge.”

“Let’s see… [The Gate of Peace is meaningless unless the canyon is opened.] Isn’t this just a personal opinion?”

“It’s a political commentator’s column. A trumpeter who received kickbacks from the imperial government pretends to be an intellectual.”

The stories being told by various columnists behind the Imperial Newspaper are all aimed at misleading public opinion.

“What we should note is that here, the people of the empire do not really think that it is a peace negotiation even if the Sirene Port is opened.”

“Well… That’s the same for us too.”

“Then, Sir Robert, where is the door to true peace?”

“Of course-“

Squeak.

The door opens-

“Gibraltar Gorge!”

“…”

“Oh, correction! Gate 3 in the Gibraltar Gorge!”

Maid-Astasia appeared with her hand raised, taking away Robert’s chance to answer correctly.

“Ha…”

“I think so too, master.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You guessed it right, right? Hehe.”

Robert raised his thumbs towards Astasia, and Astasia smiled brightly, raising her thumbs with both hands towards Robert.

“Then, Master. I will leave Miss Ellie to guard you and go out for a while.”

“What do you mean, I’m the master’s bodyguard?”

Astasia put her hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks.

“I’m just assisting you, Master! If you say that, you’d think I’m strong enough to replace Sir Robert! Hmph!”

“Oh, that’s right. Then, shall I call another escort?”

“Well, Master, you will protect me, but I will try my best!”

“Wow, that’s amazing, Miss Ellie.”

“Even though I knew it was Astasia!”

“Miss Ellie! Then, please take good care of the master.”

Sir Robert continued to raise his thumb towards Astasia, then turned his head to me with a smile on his face.

“Master! Then I’m going to run an errand!”

“Who ran the errand in the first place-“

“I’ll pick up a cake to eat with Miss Ellie on the way!”

“…”

I threw a bag of gold coins to Robert as he headed out, and he snatched them up in one go and left the room.

“Ha.”

“Were you practicing batonjutsu?”

“No. Practice for the kingdom’s military flag ceremony.”

“That’s what Naria showed me!”

Astasia closed the door and pointed to the window that looked outside the orphanage.

“Like what you see over there right now!”

“…”

Outside the orphanage, vacant lot.

Naria, wearing a maid uniform, is sparring with Sir Mente.

What’s unique is that Naria is holding a musket, not a wooden sword.

“I, Lia, are really amazing too. She learned the imperial bayonet skills so quickly.”

“Imperial bayonet technique is easy, isn’t it?”

“It’s not that easy!”

Even though it wasn’t particularly a provocation, Astasia jumped up and got angry.

“How difficult it is to handle that!”

“If you teach the orphans in the orphanage the traditional bayonet technique, they will master it within a month.”

“No! It will take at least half a year?!”

“Half a year, isn’t that the time when Your Majesty learned bayonet skills?”

“Ugh… !”

Astasia clenched her fists.

“Well, you really aren’t good at handling guns!”

“…That can’t be possible. I’m so good with a gun.”

Same goes for this gun.

Same with that gun.

“You will be surprised. If you see me using a musket.”

“The kingdom’s military parade ceremony continues to fail.”

“That’s because the kingdom’s etiquette is as complicated as trash. If it’s as simple as the empire, you can learn it as much as you like.”

“Hmm, really…?”

Astasia’s eyes lit up and she picked up a spare baton that I had left on her desk.

“Then, give it a try! I’ll show you just once!”

Astasia wrapped a large piece of her imperial newspaper around the end of the pole and then stood in the middle of her room.

“Whoa.”

Take a deep breath.

Boom!

Then, Astasia started swinging her baton with a stern expression.

She moves her spinning pole from her right hand to her left, and moves her feet as if walking in front of her.

Boom!

“How about it!”

Although it was a short moment, Astasia seemed more confident than ever.

“…”

“Can you watch and follow along at once? Isn’t it difficult? You can’t, right?”

“It’s not like that.”

Just watch it once and imitate it?

Unless you have perfect memory like Naria, it is virtually impossible to accurately perform the rituals you have learned for half a year at once.

However, I am not half a year.

I don’t know at what age Astasia started practicing the musket technique, but I practiced and got used to it for 7 years.

‘Traitor Gray learned from someone for 7 years.’

Because this girl in front of me right now, the future princess, was my teacher.

“It must be difficult, right? Huh, that’s too bad. I was thinking that if I succeeded the first time, I would at least give you a kiss on the cheek!”

“Follow me.”

“Yes?”

“Right now.”

I grabbed Astasia’s wrist and went out.

“Huh? Master. What’s going on here?”

“Naria. Could you please lend me your musket for a moment?”

“…”

Naria, who was sparring with Sir Mente, took a step behind her when I held out her hand.

“I won’t steal it. I’ll just borrow it for 5 minutes.”

“…5 minutes?”

“Yes. 5 minutes. I’ll give it back to you right after.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Naria reluctantly handed me her musket her her, like a child who did not want her her birthday her present her taken away.

“Boss. What’s going on all of a sudden? Are you trying to practice your bayonet skills too?”

“I just want to show you how easy imperial etiquette is.”

“Oh, it’s not easy!”

“…Aha.”

Sir Mente immediately understood the situation as he saw Astasia getting angry.

“But, young master. Have I ever sent you a separate book on imperial etiquette?”

“Astasia showed me once. Just now.”

“Lord Mente! You are ignoring the imperial etiquette! You say the kingdom’s etiquette is difficult, and you can follow the imperial etiquette just by looking at it at once!”

“Hmm… “

Sir Mente scratched his head and took something out of his arms.

“This isn’t the actual size of the flag, but it’s almost the same size.”

“What is that?”

“A handkerchief with the kingdom’s emblem engraved on it?”

“…”

A fairly wide handkerchief with Nostrum’s emblem engraved on it.

“Isn’t it an insult to the national flag if you use the imperial bayonet technique, Sir?”

“Master. I guess that’s not important right now?”

Sir Mente tied the handkerchief so that it was tied into a knot at the end of the musket.

“At this point, I think it would be good for you to know for sure.”

“What?”

“Master Gray Gibraltar has no talent for the Chairman’s Ceremony.”

“Do you have to say that with such a straight face?”

“It’s reality. How long are you going to keep making excuses that the kingdom’s etiquette is so difficult?”

“It is true that it is extremely difficult, but…”

Naria said, raising her hand.

“Even the current king can’t do that.”

“…”

“I can do it. All I have to do is follow what is written in the textbook.”

Naria has already been presented perfectly.

“Imperial style…Well.”

“Naria! What is that expression?”

“No. Just. Well…”

The corners of her mouth her her rose slightly, as if she was clearly ridiculing anyone.

“Imperial style bayonet techniques, etiquette, and rituals are excellent. Unlike the kingdom style, it has the advantage of being easy for anyone to follow.”

“The advantage is that anyone can do it! It’s so needlessly complicated like a kingdom, it’s like you can’t do it properly even now!”

“He said something to me in the room earlier.”

I felt like if I stayed still, a war of etiquette between the kingdom and the empire would begin, so I immediately took the posture that Astasia showed me.

“…Huh?”

Astasia looks at me with surprised eyes for a moment.

“As I told you, it’s not that I don’t have talent for batonmanship. It’s not at a level where I wouldn’t be able to join the honor guard if I take the honor guard exam.”

Lightly place your wrist on her musket and spin it widely.

“It is true that the kingdom has made operations unnecessarily difficult for 500 years.”

She continues to turn it using the snap of her wrist, and attaches it to the musket barrel with the back of her other hand.

“It is also true that the imperial bayonet technique is easy.”

Then, he catches the musket with his other wrist, turns it, and follows the same movements Astasia did.

‘It was wrong originally.’

Action.

From noble mtl dot come

Astasia made the wrong move, exactly the same.

Flap.

“How do you feel?”

“…”

At the end of the empire’s musket, the kingdom’s flag fluttered loudly.

“It’s not that I’m not good at this, I’ve said this over and over again, but kingdom etiquette is needlessly difficult.”

“Uh, um, ho, by any chance you didn’t practice in advance…?”

“It’s my first time seeing it.”

Astasia scratched her cheek with her sour face-

“Oh, wait a minute.”

Soon, she must have remembered what she had said.

“When I thought about it, something urgent came to mind!”

“I don’t know what the urgency is, but is it really okay for the escort to leave the room?”

I immediately grabbed both of Astasia’s wrists.

“Ik…!”

“You are weaker than me.”

“Uh, what… Well, like that…”

In an instant, the resistance to pull his hand out of my hand gradually decreases.

“Well, that is…”

“What are you doing, master?”

“Astasia said that if I followed along perfectly the first time, she would at least give me a kiss on the cheek of her.”

“…Ahahaha!!”

Sir Mente started to laugh as he held his stomach.

“Somehow, they said they were serious!”

“For some reason.”

“Did you do that because you wanted to be kissed so much, my master?”

“It’s important.”

Over there, some of the children from the orphanage are watching from afar.

The white shadows next to them are secretly looking this way.

‘Okay. Report to the crown prince.’

Gray Gibraltar is said to have fallen in love with Astasia to the point where she even learned the imperial etiquette exactly for just one skinship with her.

“Hmm. Is it a kiss on the cheek?”

Naria looked at me and Astasia alternately.

“Now that I think about it, I see that children at orphanages are playing pranks like these these days.”

Putting both her hands on her chest, with a serious face-

“Kiss it.”

Pair.

I started singing a strange song.

“…?”

Now, what?

“Do it. Do it. Do it.”

“What, what, what are you talking about!!”

Astasia jumped up and shouted.

“Kiss! What is that? We’re already talking about that!”

“Is there anything you can’t do?”

“I, Naria…!”

“You’ve already kissed me.”

“…”

Suddenly, the arm I was holding on became tense.

“Master?”

“I’m talking about kissing the back of the hand like a knight of the kingdom would give his lady his. I’m not talking about the kiss that adults give.”

“…”

“It’s true, Astasia. I’ve never been kissed before.”

All I did was press my lips to the back of my hand to pledge my loyalty.

“It’s me, Ria. Please don’t say anything that will be misunderstood if someone hears it. If I say something like that, won’t they think I’m just lip-slamming with her?”

“So.”

Naria looked like she was asking something obvious.

“If you don’t hesitate to kiss the back of your hand, what’s wrong with kissing your lips?”

“…Yes?”

“Just a kiss on the cheek. Ha.”

Naria sneered at Astasia, raising the corner of her mouth.

“If it were me, I would have given you a kiss on the lips as a reward.”

“Uh, uhm…! It’s my first time!”

“It’s my first time too.”

“…”

“Ahahahaha!!”

Lord Mente burst into laughter, shedding tears, and Naria continued to clap her hands.