Chapter 79.2: Neutral Nations Conference (1)

"You pitiful bastard. Now you've crawled into the castle and shamelessly showed us that foolish face…"

"…"

"I don't want to see you, so go away."

The King of Earth Hill, Longford, glared at the man in front of him. His eyes were filled with love and hatred, but he soon withdrew his gaze.

The man, Tair, bowed his head and stepped out of the room.

The Earth Hill Kingdom, the capital city of Seraf.

The capital, which he returned to after a long time, had not changed at all. But because of the upcoming meeting, the atmosphere was much stricter than usual.

Tair, who reached the garden outside the palace, let out a small sigh.

I'm already regretting it…

He wondered if he had come back for nothing.

After leaving the capital for a long time, he suddenly returned without warning, so it's natural that he had nothing to do in this situation.

He was just wandering around in and out of the palace like he was doing now.

Tair was lost in thought as he touched the leaves of the bush.

Originally, he had no intention of returning to the royal castle just because the meeting was approaching. It had nothing to do with him, anyway.

Nevertheless, there was one reason for returning home after a long wandering.

A man I met before in the Fifth Lord's territory.

It was because of his words that kept on lingering in his mind after he introduced himself as the Seventh Lord.

…Go back to where I belong.

What did he mean by that?

He even said that he might be of help to Earth Hill someday, in relation to the unusual situation in the two neutral countries.

Tair couldn't figure out anything.

Was that man really the Seventh Lord of Calderic?

"Hey."

Hearing the voice calling him, Tair turned his head.

A woman in a neat dress was standing on one side of the garden before he knew it.

Tair stared at her for a moment, then smiled faintly.

"Are you here to greet your brother, Seri?"

She replied with a slight frown.

"Do I have to treat the idiot who came back after wandering around for almost two years like a brother?"

"…"

"So, what are you really doing here, Brother?"

She said that, but she still didn't hesitate to call him 'brother'.

Tair continued to fidget with the leaf he was touching and quietly passed the answer.

Seeing his listless attitude, Seri's expression was filled with pity, sadness, and regret.

She opened her mouth again and asked.

"Why did you suddenly come back? You left after saying that you would never come back."

"That's right. I'm sorry for making it even more confusing, returning at a time like this."

"Argh, that's not what I'm saying! Who said I didn't like my brother's return?"

She groaned and let out a deep sigh.

There was an awkward air for a moment, followed by a calm voice.

"Why did you leave in the first place? You clearly…"

"Stop."

Tair cut off her words adamantly.

"Stop it, Seri. You know that wasn't the problem."

"…"

"Rather than that, what are you doing here? Have you finished all the preparations? Are there any problems?"

Seri couldn't say anything more as he forcibly changed the topic.

She swallowed the suffocation welling up inside her and calmed herself down.

"Don't worry about it. If there was a problem, I wouldn't be here."

At the blunt reply, Tair smiled bitterly and said.

"The people from Santea have arrived, and now only Calderic is left."

"…Yes."

Not only the royal family of each neutral country but also all the people from the Santea side, including the emperor, arrived at the castle just yesterday afternoon.

Seri suddenly thought of an annoying person, and her mood sank even more. The first prince of the Kajor kingdom.

She said to Tair.

"Anyway, don't hang around outside and just stay in your room. Until the meeting is over…"

Then footsteps were heard.

Seri looked away and frowned at the people coming this way. A man and a woman in colorful outfits and an escort knight.

"You are here, Princess Seri."

Among the two who came closer, the man opened his mouth with a greasy smile.

Jordan, the first prince of Kajor Kingdom, and Olivica, the Second princess.

They were one of the representatives of Kajor who accompanied the King to take part in this meeting.

"I was looking for you. It's a nice day and I'm going to have tea with the other princes and princesses. How about joining us?"

Seri swallowed the irritation rising inside and managed her expression.

There was still quite a bit of time left until the talks, so the neutral countries who came to the castle were interacting with each other and building friendships. And it was all centered on Kajor's first prince, Jordan.

In fact, when all sides were already divided, Earth Hill had no allies. She was well aware of that fact.

Even so, they continued to come and showed their face to her with the obvious purpose of embarrassing her in front of everyone.

"I'm sorry, but I'm busy preparing for the conference, so I don't think I have time for that."

"You keep giving that reason. But looking at it, aren't you relaxing now? This is really embarrassing."

Princess Olivica intervened.

"It would be better not to refuse this time, Princess Seri. The fifth princess of Santea will also join us."

"So what?"

"I mean, we're giving you a good opportunity to have a private conversation with a precious person. So stop refusing and hang out with us."

There was a subtle condescension in his voice as he said that.