How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 232 - Festival (2)

In the momentary silence that brought about a slight awkwardness, I scanned the audience. Of course, I was acting as the emperor’s loyal knight.

I maintained a cold solemnity and a resolute expression, while also creating a slight smile at the corners of my mouth.

It was an important smile. It shouldn’t look artificial, nor should it appear too light. Just enough to show a moderate self-confidence.

The widened eyes and open mouths of the people were clear, but such shock didn’t last long.

At most, it was about 2 seconds. The only ones still gaping were the newly elevated nobles.

The seasoned nobles had already managed their expressions. The silence didn’t last long either.

Starting with someone, the hall became noisy again. However, even while conversing, all eyes were on me.

Amidst the exchanged glances, they were gauging each other. Because I had almost no acquaintances here.

‘Even Hanut Campbell, after introducing me, I haven’t met separately.’

There were some people I knew under Erendil, but I couldn’t really say we were close.

Duchess Lyurik was near the center of the hall.

It was a prepared order. The nobles gathered, then Duchess Lyurik, and I was next. In a sense, it was Erendil’s declaration that she valued me higher than the grand duchess.

It lent weight to the opinions of the speculators, but in fact, this was natural. After all, I was the one who had recruited Duchess Lyurik in the first place.

Our eyes met, and after a brief pause, I walked towards the grand duchess. As I started walking towards her, I could sense the disappointed sighs of those who were about to take a step after watching carefully.

It was a deliberately timed move. The nobles’ interest and admiration for me was also something I could use.

The nobles around Duchess Lyurik stepped back as they saw me approaching.

It was the first time I had seen the grand duchess since the day Erendil was made emperor. Her face was slightly flushed, perhaps from having already had a bit to drink.

“My lord, that was quite a quiet and stylish entrance.”

It was a meaningful comment.

“It was the same when you entered, Grand Duchess.”

“Indeed. Anyway, belated congratulations. Both for regaining your honor and for catching the devilish dragon.”

“Thank you.”

“The more I think about it, it’s a good thing. That a loyal servant like you regained your honor.”

“Actually, I tried to dissuade Her Majesty.”

Duchess Lyurik frowned one eye.

“I see the advantages of being invisible while outside were quite appealing to you.”

It was quite a sharp observation.

“Well, you did return after detecting clues of a terrorist plot against Her Majesty outside the capital. That’s remarkable.”

“You’re too kind.”

“In any case, even with such advantages, I think it’s right that you regained your honor. Is there another loyal servant like you? Moreover…”

The grand duchess tilted her head.

“I thought Her Majesty would make such a choice, but did you not anticipate it?”

“I hadn’t particularly thought about it. I only thought about acting as Her Majesty’s sword in the shadows.”

“As I felt before, you’re too goal-oriented. That’s good, but… Her Majesty will have a hard time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

The grand duchess turned her head slightly and smiled mischievously.

“By the way, I knew you would do well, but to this extent…”

“The situation has changed a lot since I first met you, Grand Duchess.”

“‘A lot’ seems insufficient. Hmm, I regret not making you my husband, even if it meant pushing a bit back then.”

The duchess whispered so others couldn’t hear. Of course, it wasn’t sincere.

There was a playful tone in her voice. I smiled and brushed it off.

“If that had happened, wouldn’t your popularity have decreased, Grand Duchess? Even now, the gazes are intense.”

Grand Duchess Lyurik, one of the highest meritorious subjects of the new emperor, was still unmarried. By this world’s standards, she was past marriageable age.

However, with her looks, ability, and power, she lacked nothing.

Moreover, if one could marry a grand duchess, it would be close to a life reversal even for a powerful noble.

It was natural that the attention of many noble men was focused on her.

“Well, I think you alone are better than those fellows.”

“Well, I don’t think that’s entirely wrong.”

The grand duchess laughed out loud. The whispering followed by laughter caused questioning looks from the people around.

“And from what I see, more than half of these gazes seem to be directed at you.”

Strictly speaking, it would be both of us. After all, the first and second most powerful figures under Erendil’s reign were together.

“I won’t deny it.”

Smiling, I took a sip of champagne. Grand Duchess Lyurik looked around and sighed discreetly.

“It’s already dizzying. To think we have to do this tiresome thing for five days.”

“I agree.”

Duchess Lyurik wasn’t originally the type to enjoy this kind of thing either. She gave a bitter smile.

“But isn’t your situation better? Surely you don’t plan to attend all the banquets?”

“No, you’re right. I’m thinking of showing my face once more on the third day.”

While the entire capital continues the festival, only the nobles of the empire participate in the first two days of the five-day banquet.

The next three days include royalty and nobles from other countries.

Erendil said she would only appear twice, like me. It wasn’t particularly a flaw.

This banquet was more for the nobles visiting here rather than for Erendil.

As I was nominally Erendil’s knight, it wasn’t mandatory for me to participate.

But it was different for the grand duchess.

She was currently the empire’s top noble. She had to be mindful of relations with other nobles in the empire and with other countries.

“I envy you.”

The grand duchess spoke honestly.

“You must be busy, it must be hard work.”

Grand Duchess Lyurik had been granted additional land adjoining her territory. It wasn’t a small amount of land, so there would be a lot to manage.

She must be tired after running around to sort out internal matters of the empire until now.

“It’s not hard work. Just annoying.”

Right. Especially for a grand duchess, there was a high possibility that everyone she met would bring up the topic of marriage.

There might be people who wouldn’t dare, but isn’t it a noble’s quality to probe if there’s even a sliver of possibility, even if it seems unattainable?

“I should leave soon. If we stay any longer, they’ll start talking about us.”

The grand duchess looked around and continued. I nodded too. The atmosphere was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Staying together for so long at a banquet meant for building connections wasn’t something that would be well-received.

“It would be nice if Her Majesty came at this time.”

The grand duchess said, looking towards the door. And as soon as the grand duchess’s words ended, a knight’s booming voice was heard.

“The new sun of the empire! Her Majesty Emperor Erendil Kisturath enters!”

The flowery words weren’t that long. Being the emperor of the empire itself meant being higher than anything else.

The crowd fell silent, just as they had when I entered earlier. One difference was that everyone was standing at attention.

Erendil entered through the opened door. Someone was heard gasping. It was understandable.

Just as I had, Erendil had also made a perfect entrance.

Each curl of her hair seemed to ripple as if alive, and her originally beautiful appearance seemed to shine twice as bright.

Even from an objective point of view, it was an incomparable beauty. Following a moment of shock, people bowed their heads in greeting as if on cue.

Erendil, scanning the crowd, spotted me and Duchess Lyurik and smiled lightly.

***

The banquet was boring. Erendil’s speech announcing the empire’s new beginning was quite good, but that was it.

Meeting with nobles is always accompanied by fatigue.

As the nobles were the main characters of this banquet, Erendil maintained her seat for a while and then withdrew. In the remaining space, the nobles moved busily on their own.

Duchess Lyurik was diligently dealing with people, and so was I.

Those who had been cautious when Erendil was present were now lingering around me.

As people flocked, it seemed that half of them had come worried they might not get a chance to talk to me.

“My lord, we met briefly before, do you remember…”

“Of course, Count. It was at the restaurant in front of the imperial palace.”

“Haha, do you still have the same thoughts about what we discussed then?”

“If you’re referring to marriage proposals, I still have no such intentions.”

This was someone who had said that a true man should marry early. There were more than just one or two such people.

Anyway, the tone had changed a bit since then. The count had become more cautious, and I had become more comfortable. He wasn’t a bad person, so I intended to deal with him appropriately.

“My lord!”

But there were often people who lacked tact. Well, rather than tact, should I say shame?

Usually, when people are in conversation, others linger around waiting or try to join the conversation according to the flow.

Barging in suddenly like this was rude. I turned my head to see a noble young lady.

The count I was talking to frowned, showing his displeasure.

“I, I am Leila Sanat.”

The daughter of Count Sanat? The count was known to be a follower of Duchess Lyurik and had quite a good reputation.

However, it seemed his child-rearing skills were a bit lacking.

Perhaps because of Leila’s sudden interruption, the attention of those around focused on me. They had been listening in from the start, but now their gazes became more direct.

As I glanced around, I saw other young ladies with wide eyes. The servants helping with the banquet were the same.

“Young lady, what is the matter?”

“I was wondering if you would like to dance with me.”

I chuckled. Usually, it wasn’t the woman who made such proposals.

It wasn’t innocence. She was fairly pretty and there was an intentional skillfulness in her words.

Perhaps she had excessive confidence in herself or was trying to seize even the smallest possibility.

It’s annoying for the one on the receiving end, but I don’t view the attitude itself negatively.

If you can achieve greater results by sacrificing a bit of face, it’s right to try.

“I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of a conversation with the count.”

“Are you refusing a lady’s courageous invitation to dance?”

Despite my firm words, Leila smiled boldly without hesitation. It meant that was rude.

“I believe it’s also impolite to interrupt a conversation.”

“I’m sorry, my feelings of admiration for you were so great that I… I showed an unseemly side. Then I’ll wait until your conversation is over.”

Seeing how smoothly the conversation flowed, it seemed she had prepared for various possibilities on her own.

I shook my head firmly.

“Please don’t. I’ve never learned to dance. I’m worried I won’t meet your standards.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you!”

“Leila.”

The one who spoke in a low voice was Count Sanat, who had rushed over. The count bowed to me.

His face was red, perhaps from embarrassment.

“My lord, I apologize. My daughter has committed a breach of etiquette.”

“It’s fine.”

“Father!”

Leila tried to say something, but the count bowed again and dragged his daughter away. A lecture would follow. It was a minor incident.

I maintained my position appropriately after that. While conversing with the nobles, I also had a separate goal.

‘I need to show that I’m not interested in power.’

The interest in me was beyond imagination. If I wanted, I could receive a greater reward than Grand Duchess Lyurik.

It was natural for nobles sensitive to the political landscape to try to gauge my thoughts.

To the questions they asked in roundabout ways, I firmly stated that I had no such intentions.

If I actually showed such movements, it was clear that checks, if not outright opposition, would come.

There probably wouldn’t be anyone badmouthing me to Erendil, who had just become emperor, but there was no need to create trivial problems when facing a great task.

I maintained my position like that and then left the imperial palace. Even after returning to my lodgings, some fatigue remained.

As I lay in a chair with my eyes closed, a thought suddenly occurred to me, and I immediately went to my companions.

I wondered if Terka had gone out, but since it was the first day, he was spending the festival with the others.

“Brother! You’re here!”

After responding to the enthusiastic greetings from my companions, I immediately called Terka aside.

“What? What’s up?”

“You know the east well, right?”

“Of course. I trained there for a while.”

“Compile all the information you know and pass it to me. If possible, even trivial details.”

“Why? Are you going to the east?”

“It’s not confirmed yet.”

I then called Rina separately and requested information about the east. There were two reasons why I didn’t have them collaborate.

Rina disliked Terka, and I also needed cross-verification.

In fact, I had judged that it was quite late for the east. The devil had already gone there before I came to the empire.

But my thoughts had changed a bit.

As I possessed Devil’s Blood, the appearance of a devil would be news immediately conveyed to me.

But so far, I hadn’t felt anything. That’s why I thought it might be okay to go.

I can check what’s happening. Of course, I need to be as careful as possible.

‘Although my flying ability was transmitted through the devil of domination…’

The results could be beyond imagination if things went positively.

What if I rode a dragon carriage, moved, and threw a glowstone at the place where they were plotting?

It didn’t matter even if it was right after the devil’s summoning. Even if it was a bit late, a newly summoned devil is incomplete.

If this succeeds, it could virtually end this fight.

Of course, this was in the realm of possibility. The risk if things went wrong was also beyond imagination.

If I move, it might be better to bring a Sword Master along.

Of course, it should be after the festival ends. Although I plan to discard the plan if a devil is summoned during the festival…

I requested the information because preparation is necessary in a situation where it’s unclear how things will turn out.

‘Huh?’

Despite these worries, suddenly my mind became strangely calm. It was a familiar experience. It was a precursor to reaching peak condition.

It didn’t happen every time, but it was quite probable.

In fact, it was about time for peak condition to arrive. I hoped for it. The timing was just right.

The day after tomorrow, Orhen is coming, so tomorrow would be better if possible.

And the next morning.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I could tell that today was my peak condition.