Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 98: The Royal Letter
However, the thin man did not leave, and continued to persuade:
“Duke Eddie, both of these matters are extremely urgent. Please reconsider.”
He wasn’t doing this out of pure diligence.
The thin man knew very well that Duke Eddie was an extremely unreasonable person. If the duke were to find out about these matters later, he would surely blame him for not reporting sooner, and the punishment would inevitably fall on him.
So, even though he knew Duke Eddie was in a foul mood, the thin man had no choice but to grit his teeth and report.
What could be so urgent? Duke Eddie narrowed his eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and finally decided to let the thin man continue.
“Go ahead then—what are these two matters?”
Hearing this, the thin man quietly let out a breath of relief. If he made Duke Eddie any angrier, he might be punished on the spot.
After quickly organizing his thoughts, the thin man began:
“The first matter concerns the payment for a commission. The Guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild came yesterday to ask when the payment will be made. This is the bill they submitted for the commission fee.”
As he spoke, he produced a sheet of parchment detailing a rather large total sum.
Because last winter they did not need to go to Bianshu Town and instead claimed they would defend against the undead monster locally, the number of adventurers who took up the commission had reached a record high, and the amount of payment required naturally increased.
Of course, to Duke Eddie, this sum was nothing.
“What commission payment?”
The moment he heard it was about money, Duke Eddie’s brows furrowed deeply.
“I don’t recall ever issuing a commission to the Adventurers’ Guild!”
“Your Grace, you did indeed issue such a commission…”
The thin man had to remind him.
“At the request of the Holy Knights, you agreed to recruit manpower from the Adventurers’ Guild before winter, to join forces against the undead monsters.”
Oh! Now that it was mentioned, Duke Eddie remembered. Because it was a request from the Holy Knights, he had approved it without even looking.
Weren’t Holy Knights supposed to be incredibly powerful? He had thought that with them, plus the many knights stationed here, they would be more than enough to deal with the undead—yet they still needed to recruit adventurers?
Just the mention of the Holy Knights made Duke Eddie’s blood boil.
The undead had been completely blocked at Bianshu Town, and the adventurers recruited here hadn’t done a single useful thing. And now they had the gall to demand payment?
“Tell the Guildmaster that since the adventurers were completely useless throughout the winter, there’s no way that payment will be made.”
“Eh! Your Grace, if you do that…”
“What? Is there a problem?”
Duke Eddie said unhappily.
The thin man cautiously speculated.
“This commission was taken up by many adventurers. If payment is not made, it will surely provoke their dissatisfaction. Some of them might even gather to cause trouble in protest.”
These adventurers had taken the job through official channels, wasted an entire winter, and in the end received no pay—anyone would be angry.
“If they dare cause trouble on my territory, then they must truly have a death wish!”
Duke Eddie straightened up from his half-reclining position in the chair, sat upright, and said angrily:
“Pass my order—have the patrols increase security in the city for the next few days. If any rioters appear, arrest the main instigators, cut off their heads, and use them to scare those useless fools who did nothing yet still want money.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The thin man accepted the order.
“Then what are you waiting for? Go!”
The thin man quickly reminded him:
“Your Grace, there’s still one more matter I haven’t mentioned.”
“Oh? Then hurry and say it.”
“The city hall has just received two important letters.”
Putting away the bill, the thin man took out two sealed letters.
“I don’t want to read them. Just read them out to me.”
Duke Eddie assumed they were just more letters from some noble asking for favors, so he didn’t even care to look and reclined lazily in his wide chair again.
“Your Grace, these letters are from the royal family. I dare not open them.”
“Hmm?”
Duke Eddie’s eyes snapped wide open.
Two letters from the royal family? Could something have happened in the capital? He dared not take such a matter lightly.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier? Bring them to me.”
Scolding lightly, he straightened in his chair again.
Taking the two letters from the thin man, he broke the wax seals one by one, untied the narrow leather straps, unfolded the parchment, and began reading.
The first letter was from the Third Prince. It stated that the king had passed away and, according to the royal will, the throne had been passed to him. The coronation would be held on an auspicious day in the coming summer.
In other words, it was an invitation to the Third Prince’s coronation.
The second letter was from the First Prince. It accused the Third Prince of using conspiracy and deceit to forge a false will, and declared that he would lead an army on behalf of the late king to punish the usurper.
After reading both letters, Duke Eddie’s expression grew more and more grave.
“The king has passed away. A war for the throne is about to break out in the capital.”
“What?! Is that true?”
The thin man clearly understood the seriousness of this news.
“These are royal letters. They cannot be false.”
“Then what does Your Grace plan to do?”
“Bring me paper and pen. I will write to Count David of Lingshui City.”
The thin man quickly ordered the servants to bring over a table, parchment, a quill, and other writing tools.
Duke Eddie soon finished his letter, tied it with a narrow leather strap, sealed it with wax, pressed his family crest into it with his signet ring, and handed it to the thin man.
“Send this letter over as soon as possible. Also, send word to Counts Collette, Pearl, and Youm—tell them there is an urgent matter to discuss. We will meet at city hall the afternoon after tomorrow. Make sure the message is delivered.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The thin man accepted the order and left.
The next day, when the adventurers learned they would not be paid, they were indeed enraged, and some gathered to riot.
Under the knights’ command, several patrol units were quickly deployed to suppress the disturbance. They captured the three most aggressive instigators, announced that they had committed a serious crime, and sentenced them to death by beheading.
That very afternoon, the three heads were mounted on wooden poles in the square as a warning to all.
Seeing this, the rest of the adventurers were completely cowed. They dared not cause more trouble, merely grumbling quietly in private.
On the third afternoon, Duke Eddie arrived at the meeting room in city hall.
Around the long table sat three powerful nobles from the Eastern Rise Fortress region, along with their subordinate nobles and knights.
On the left were Count Collette and Count Pearl; on the right was Count Youm. Their families, along with the Eddie family, were known as the Four Great Houses of Eastern Rise Fortress, holding absolute power in the eastern territories of the kingdom.
Of course, the Eddie family was the strongest of them all.