Cave King – 267

Chapter 267 – Sad Circumstances!

---

I decided to head to the royal capital with Rish.

According to Rish, Elserd spent most of each year there. In other words, it was highly likely that we could meet him there.

Additionally, Elserd had told Rish that he usually stayed at the royal palace or a separate villa, and that he wanted her to visit him whenever she was in the city.

Regardless, the problem was getting there. We could not use the Mappa go in front of Rish.

However, Mappa had an idea. After I gave him some gold and silver ingots, he left the mansion. Apparently, he was going to solve the transportation problem.

In any case, we would leave Leodorf as soon as preparations were made.

Just then, I heard the sound of someone knocking on the door.

Rish turned around and asked,

“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Rish. I thought you should greet your father.”
“My father! Lord Heal, my father is here.”

Rish said, and then the door opened.

A kindly looking middle-aged man with white hair entered the room. It was Count Leodor.

He walked up to me and went down to his knees.

“I am Count Leodor. I am sorry that I could not welcome you sooner.”
“No, I am the one who is sorry for visiting while you are busy. More importantly, it’s been a long time…”
“Indeed, it has. When was the last time we spoke… I heard that you are now the lord of Sheorl.”
“We are in the middle of traveling. You see, I thought that I should have more knowledge of business as the lord. And so I am visiting different places.”
“Is that so? However, I am surprised you would choose to visit us…”

Count Leodor said as he turned to Rish.

Now that I was here, the talk of marriage would have to wait.

But according to Rish, he had said that he would turn down the offer if she wanted…

Rish nodded and answered.

“I spoke to Lord Heal about it. We know that we were just children at the time. It was no promise or engagement.”

Rish said as she looked down at the ring. There was a sadness in her face.

Not because of me, but because of the marriage with Elserd.

“And so, I…I am going to meet with Lord Elsed directly, and tell him that I accept the proposal.”

Count Leodor asked her hesitantly.

“Are you sure…? You seemed so anxious about it before.”
“Don’t worry. It is not a bad thing for our family. Besides, I can’t turn him down.”

There was too much of a difference in power between the families. If she turned him down, it might make him an enemy. And that anger might extend to the land, not just House Leodor.

Even Count Leodor should know that it was a difficult situation.

Rish just lied to him in order to ease his mind.

No…if Elserd was innocent, then she meant to accept the proposal.

Count Leodor was teary-eyed as he nodded.

“I’m sorry…if I had more power…”
“No, I’m sorry for being selfish, father…”

There was a somber atmosphere in the room.

Perhaps even Rish felt that she suspected Elserd too much.

As for me, I had never spoken to him, so I could not come to any conclusion regarding the conspiracy.

However, all of the royals and nobles of Sanfaris were ambitious. The country had continued to expand. It was hard to believe that Elserd just wanted to marry Rish because he was fond of her.

In any case, there was no harm in finding out.

Just then, a voice was heard from the other side of the door.

“Your Highness, please excuse me.”

Count Leodor wiped his eyes and turned to the door.

“What is it?”

“Lord Alva from the Arubul trading company is here.”
“I…see… Take him to the drawing room.”

The servant went away and the count turned back to me with a smile.

“I’m sorry to have made a fool of myself, Your Highness.”
“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, isn’t Arubul one of the great companies in the capital? Are you going to purchase something?”

“No… This is rather embarrassing…but I am in need of some money.”

So he was going to borrow money from them.

Still, they were not living extravagantly.

For a noble, there was very little furniture in the house. And I doubted they were eating cake every day, like the ones we had earlier.
And yet they still did not have enough money?

Besides, if he borrowed from the Arubul company, the interest would be very high. And if he was late on payments, it would affect his reputation as a nobleman.

“Did something happen to your lands?”

“I do not think I should… Well, if you are going to be traveling, then you will likely see it anyway…”

He muttered with resignation.

“…A few years ago, a group of bandits appeared in a mountain near the main road to the capital. And they started to attack merchants who traveled to nearby towns and villages. I lead a team myself in order to hunt them down. But they have an old fortress in the mountains, and their equipment is surprisingly good…and so we have not been able to defeat them.”
“I see… And that has affected trade and the lives of the people?”
“To try and stop it, we have increased security on the roads and have soldiers patrolling the villages. So for now, it is mostly just burglary and pick-pocketing. I and even my daughter are doing what we can to deal with the bandits, but…”

So that was why the lands still seemed to be peaceful.

In any case, I could not ignore this problem. Count Leodor seemed like someone who really cared about his people.

I put my hand in my pocket and took out three gold ingots that I had removed from my Inventory. And then I placed them on the table.

“Count Leodor. Take this. Don’t borrow from them, as they have high interest rates.”

Leodor and Rish were wide-eyed.

“What!? I cannot accept such a thing!”
“Ye-yes! It’s too much…”

I shook my head.

“Don’t get carried away. You will borrow it. Of course, you can return it whenever you are able to. In spite of everything, I’m still a prince of Sanfaris…a person who lives because of the taxes of the people. I cannot just look away.”
“Your Highness…”
“Heal…”

Count Leodor shook his head as tears fell from his eyes.

It seemed extreme, but he bowed his head.

“I cannot accept it… I…did my best to keep my daughter away from you since she was young. Even when she said that she wanted to talk to you.”

So that’s why we didn’t meet for a long time.

I suppose it was only allowed when we were too young to have any romantic attachment. But for an emotional girl to fall for a prince who had the most useless crest…

As a father, he was not wrong.

“Count Leodor. As I said before, as a prince, I do not want to see the people of this land in trouble. You are doing your best for your people. And so you must borrow this money and use it to help them.”

I said. After a short silence, he bowed his head deeply.

“…I am grateful for your consideration. I promise to put the money to good use. And of course, I will repay the debt.”
“Aye. Good.”

Count Leodor nodded.

“Haha. Now, I must take my leave. I will go and meet the merchant.”
“Yes. Please don’t mention me or the gold.”

Count Leodor seemed to think about it for a moment, but then he nodded.

“…Yes. Certainly. You are the savior of this land. I hope that you have a pleasant stay.”

And then he went outside.

Perhaps he had detected that I was here secretly and did not want to attract any attention.

Of course, that was not my only concern. There was no guarantee that the Arubul company was not connected to Count Besel and Elserd. The best merchants often visited the palace a lot.

Besides, I was also suspicious of the bandits. They had good equipment, but could somehow survive on burglary and pickpocketing. To be honest, it was strange.

I didn’t know if they were involved with House Besel, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they were being aided by someone.

“Heal…I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“It’s not just the money. But how my father kept me away… And I also…obeyed him and avoided you.”
“That’s just how it is with royals and nobles. You keep your child close to the house you want to be allied with. It is not your fault. It is all in the past now.”

Besides, she was only avoiding me. Unlike Oren, who would do much worse. I had no reason to hate her.

“More importantly, Rish. Can you tell me which mountain the bandits are hiding in? I want to take a look before going to the city.”

“Y-yes… But why?”
“It’s just that… I am curious. You understand?”

“Uh…you think it is part of the conspiracy? I don’t know about that…”

“Aye. It is too much. But bandits are bandits. And so I might as well get rid of them.”
“Heal…”

Rish looked a little surprised.

Even Fule seemed impressed.

“You really have changed, Lord heal…”

Rienna also nodded.

“Yes. He is very reliable now… No, uh! He was like that when we first met!”
“Yes…”

How had I appeared to Rienna and Fule?

Now that I thought about it, they had also said something similar when we left Sheol. Even Number 15. That I had changed.

Well, it was not a bad thing…

As for me, I felt like I was returning to my original self. Before, I had been very suspicious.

After all, the royal capital was a place filled with conspiracies.

But then again, I was known for being useless. So I doubted I would get involved in anything. And I would not interfere with their affairs.

“…In any case, I will do what I can to help. In regards to Elserd as well. So don’t worry, Rish.”
“Thank you, Heal…”

It was then that I noticed some noise from outside.

“Huh? What is that?”

“It’s from outside of the house. I’ll go and see.”

Rish said as she went to look out of the window.

There was a great carriage pulled by six white horses in the plaza. It was decorated extravagantly with silver.

Eventually, it stopped in front of the mansion.

Fule said,

“Co-could that be Elserd…”
“Did he come to see you again?”

Rienna asked. Rish shook her head.

“N-no. His carriage was not that big… Isn’t it yours?”

I have never seen it either… But I knew who it belonged to. Because the driver was Mappa in armor.

Mappa waved at us.

Apparently, he had prepared a carriage for us.

The people in the plaza were now gathering around in astonishment.

Mappa was as fast as always… He must have looked around the town and understood that humans use carriages.

He had a good eye for observation. But his sensibilities were unique. It really attracted attention.

The Arubul company would see it… I just hoped that no strange rumors would spread in the royal capital.

Still, it was too late to remake it.

“It’s the carriage I asked for…”

I answered to Rish.

Next Chapter