After a brief contest ended, the maids returned to clean up the messy dueling arena and reset the tables.
Delicious food began to be served in the restored meeting hall. Seeing the amazing aroma of the dishes, Kail realized that the second prince’s past remarks were wrong.
‘What? The academy cafeteria is better than the Imperial Palace?’
Then what was this in front of him now? Whether the second prince was right or wrong, it was clear that there had been some incredible change in the palace’s menu.
“Cold dish made from thinly sliced jellyfish flesh.”
“Prime steak made from the black cattle of Philite Kingdom.”
“Eastern traditional medicinal cuisine known as ‘Yakshik.'”
“Oh.”
Kail couldn’t help but exclaim at the never-ending array of dishes. He wondered if the royal family could even finish all this food, let alone spend so much money on one meal.
But that thought was short-lived. When the food display ended, the Emperor nodded with a gentle smile.
“Let us eat.”
With the eldest elder’s permission, the royals began their meal gracefully. Kail also ate while maintaining as much dignity as possible.
He even managed to teach Arthur, who was struggling with how to eat properly, while eating himself.
“Kail Meyer, was it?”
At that moment, the First Princess called out to Kail. In the middle of his meal, Kail lightly ignored her, but the princess continued talking without realizing she was being ignored.
“You’re incredibly skilled. How about coming under my wing?”
“Hmm, oh. This is delicious.”
“…Kail Meyer?”
Finally realizing she was being ignored, the princess looked unsure of how to react. Having never experienced being ignored in her life, she didn’t know how to handle the situation.
However, she couldn’t just sit there dumbfounded, so she wiped her mouth with a napkin and frowned.
“Are you ignoring me─.”
“Sister, please stop.”
Seeing Bellion cutting her off, Ludmira thought, “Even you’re ignoring me now?” and laughed heartily, her lips curling upwards dramatically.
As the saying goes, laughter is how beasts express anger. Looking at the princess’s face at this moment, one could see that humans are no different from beasts.
“That’s enough, young lady.”
“…Mingyue.”
Ludmira, who was about to unleash her fury, hesitated when Mingyue, who had returned after treating his wounds, stepped in. Although she was a princess, considering most Masters loyal to the empire sided with either the Emperor or the First Prince, she couldn’t ignore the words of Mingyue, her only Master.
Mingyue, who had stopped Ludmira, glanced at Kail and continued speaking.
“This man serves Young Master Bellion. If you wish to discuss anything, it would be proper to speak with him rather than addressing Kail directly.”
“…I see, I was too hasty. Sorry, Bellion.”
“It’s alright, sister.”
Bellion inwardly rejoiced at Mingyue’s words. How could things work out so perfectly? Mingyue had cleanly cut through the tangled mess Kail had created.
If he could, Bellion would have swapped places with Kail and Mingyue! But he couldn’t do that because Kail was his friend, not his subordinate.
The fact that Kail even showed up here was entirely due to his goodwill. Acting like his master would be the end of him.
In reality, even the princess, who was closer to being his master than himself, didn’t treat Mingyue disrespectfully or give him orders. That’s just what a Master was. They could follow someone, but they wouldn’t become someone’s tool.
“So if I want to recruit Kail, should I talk to you?”
“Yes, although Kail isn’t exactly my subordinate… Before coming here, he said it would be bothersome, so he left it to me.”
“My, as expected. Is it because you’re young?”
At first glance, it might seem like youthful arrogance, but when such confidence came from a Master, it appeared as overflowing self-assurance.
That confident demeanor started to increase Kail’s value more and more. After all, he was an unprecedented talent who became a Master in his teens.
Considering he defeated two Masters in sparring matches at this age, he could be immediately employed, and the potential for him to grow even stronger in the future was limitless.
“Bellion, let me have Kail.”
“Yes, I will.”
“…Really?”
Ludmira looked at Bellion with a bewildered expression, not expecting him to actually agree. Bellion nodded and spoke.
“Yes, if you offer good terms.”
“Terms?”
“Did you think I’d introduce Kail to you for free?”
Hearing that, Ludmira conceded. Indeed, it didn’t make sense to introduce someone of Master-level talent without any conditions.
Since she couldn’t monopolize Kail, she decided to introduce him to her siblings and collect the crumbs. The royals’ eyes gleamed.
Introducing Kail without any cost seemed suspicious, but in this case, the motive was crystal clear. A golden opportunity to acquire a Master without any complications!
“Hmm, Bellion. I’ll grant you the territory I received when I was young. You wanted it, right?”
“Yes, having that territory would be quite useful.”
“Is this satisfactory?”
“Well…”
“What do you mean, well? Are you joking with me now─.”
“Ludmila, you need to think straight.”
At that moment, the second prince, Rage, interjected. Ludmila glared at her younger brother who was speaking casually.
Rage paid no heed to her glare and continued speaking.
“Putting aside compensating Bellion for his efforts, we haven’t discussed what we can offer our Master, have we?”
“Ah-.”
Indeed—while Bellion introduced Kail, ultimately, Kail was the main subject of this contract.
If the items offered to Kail were subpar, no matter how valuable the gifts to Bellion were, it would be meaningless.
And also—if they focused solely on Kail and completely ignored Bellion, couldn’t Kail prioritize his friend’s benefit?
In the end, to obtain Kail, they needed to satisfy both Kail and Bellion simultaneously.
“I, Rage, will grant Kail access to the Imperial Treasury.”
“You─! What authority do you have to do that!?”
“I received it on my 15th birthday. And I haven’t used it yet.”
When Rage brought up a nearly decade-old right, Ludmila looked at him incredulously, wondering if he really hadn’t used it yet.
She assumed he secretly opened it since she hadn’t heard anything about it, but to think he hadn’t touched it at all? His patience was truly astonishing.
When the First Princess tightly closed her mouth, the Second Prince smirked and offered a similar right to Bellion.
“Bellion, I’ll gift you the Golden Granary Zone.”
“Do you mean the Golden Granary Zone in the East?”
“Yes.”
Hearing that, Bellion looked at the Second Prince in surprise. It was the most fertile land among the territories the Second Prince owned.
It was rumored that the profits from that land far exceeded those from all his other territories combined. To give it up so easily?
It was clear how highly the Second Prince valued acquiring a Master.
“After all, Brother doesn’t have a Master…”
The First Prince secured the leader of the Empire’s Knight Order, and the First Princess won over a wandering swordsman from the East. Both had Masters protecting them.
But the Second Prince didn’t. Considering the vast difference between having and not having a Master, it was understandable why the Second Prince was going all out to recruit Kail.
“Hmm, everyone’s offering something incredible. I don’t have much to give…”
The First Prince didn’t seem particularly interested in recruiting Kail, but he couldn’t stand idly by while others took a Master. Thus, he started causing trouble.
If one of them was going to take a Master, he aimed to drive up the price as much as possible.
“Brother…!”
“Big Brother!”
While the two royals looked distressed, only Bellion and the First Prince smiled broadly. The First Prince was pleased to see his siblings suffer losses, and Bellion was happy to gain benefits.
The royals then began offering everything they could. They didn’t reveal all their cards at once, but significant losses accumulated.
As the royals engaged in this intense battle of wits,
Kail was.
“Oh, this is delicious.”
Completely thoughtless.
* * *
“Are you really going to do this!?”
“Of course. Would you just watch and let someone else take a Master?”
“You’re both being too greedy. Why don’t you yield to me, who doesn’t have a Master…”
As the three royals fiercely competed to recruit Kail, Bellion cautiously suggested while quietly observing.
“How about doing this instead?”
“What? What do you mean, suddenly?”
“Instead of making Kail a direct subordinate, request reinforcements whenever necessary.”
Bellion’s suggestion made the First Prince snicker.
His intentions were obvious.
“And pay you every time we call upon him?”
“Isn’t that better than fighting like this?”
“Hah, this kid…”
They weren’t clueless. The royals quickly realized that this whole situation was orchestrated by Bellion.
Though annoying, they eventually agreed to a mercenary-like contract with Bellion and Kail.
For Bellion, it was the best outcome.
