Trouble

While Adam suffered from the empress's gaze, Harold reported on his accomplishments and those of the Ashenwald family. He apologized for his father's inability to attend due to illness.

"Sickness? Walking near the room of that cruel father, I heard very clearly the moans of the maids! And not just one!" Adam was inwardly dissatisfied.

However, he understood the real reason why Edric and Harold's father, Albert, had no contact with the imperial family. From the emperor's family, Adam sensed a strange atmosphere. There was a sense of unnaturalness, and as an experienced man, Adam could tell that they were at odds.

Especially to the inept prince Most likely, the cause of the unstable condition in the imperial family was him!

"When Gabriel entered the scene, I heard whispers. If you put the scraps together, you get this story... Gabriel, being greedy and foolish, provoked the ambassador from the elven country.

What kind of provocation? Well, how to say...

"Sexual harassment. One might even say attempted r*pe. Nasty, stupid, and irresponsible," Adam thought and inwardly cringed, "the Forest Children's Union immediately stopped supplying important forest resources after that and also changed its mind.

For more than a hundred years, humans and elves fought. This resentment lodged deep in the hearts of the two races. Even though there was trade between the two races, the commoners still hated each other.

A year ago, however, the humans, or rather, the Isengard Empire, announced their intention to form a friendly alliance. This was due to the fact that the Empire was no longer so great.

At first, the Forest Children's Union showed no reaction, but after a long silence for two months, they finally agreed.

Adam was sure that Leonardo was literally jumping for joy. He even wondered what the look on Leonardo's face was when he found out about his son's antics.

It is a great pity that the Marquis Aschenwald could not come. I wanted to give him a mission to mine minerals in the Mountain Canyon, but since he's not here, I'll have to give that opportunity to someone else," the emperor said with a dejected look.

Harold turned pale, and Adam only looked at Harold ambiguously. It seemed that the area was of great value. However, Adam was sure that the emperor had mentioned it only to provoke Harold and, subsequently, Albert.

"Wants to show what benefits Albert has forfeited because of his 'betrayal,' eh?" In his mind, Adam mocked Albert and Harold.

His brother and father seem to have lost an important resource that could have made them richer.

It took Harold at least fifty seconds to calm down. When his complexion returned to normal, Harold bowed.

"I really am sorry," Harold said with a strained smile.

There was no attention on Adam, by the way. He only listened to what those around him were saying. Then a sudden thought popped into his head.

"What if I could use the character influence ability to leave a good impression on the Imperial family?" thought Adam, narrowing his eyes, mentally targeting the Imperial family.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound, and out of the corner of his eye, Adam found the book. He saw new lines.

[Current book level: medium. The "Effect on Characters" sub-skill can only be used on one character].

Adam shuddered and sighed inwardly. He wasn't 100% sure he could do it, but there was a faint hope.

"Then who to use on? Harold? No, he's useless to me. The empress? Um, I don't think that's a good choice."

Adam wasn't sure about the empress; she was too mysterious. Looking like the weakest of the imperial family, she was actually the strongest.

So he chose the most accessible option—the princess. Adam heard a rustle, and new words appeared on the book, making his face grow weirder and weirder.

[Emilia Vermont Isengard felt intense boredom as she watched Harold's face. This fool's attempts to leave a good impression were pathetic, which made Emilia feel disgusted.

Suddenly, she looked at the man next to Harold and froze].

Adam's gaze grew strange, and he saw Princess Emilia turn on him and freeze as if following a script.

[Her heart thumped loudly, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. There were stars in her eyes.]

Adam turned dark as Emilia really blushed. He certainly wanted to leave a good impression, but he certainly didn't want to fall in love with this girl!

[Emilia found this guy pleasing to the eye. And as if sensing her gaze, the man looked at her, too.]

Adam blinked his eyes perplexedly and suddenly felt his head forcibly lifted upward and his eyes staring unblinkingly at Emilia.

"Please, just don't fall in love with me!"

[Seeing the young man's innocent yet manly appearance, Emilia thought...]

"Is this really going to be something along the lines of, 'Ah, is it love at first sight?' from Shoujo novels?"

["Oh, how I want to make fun of him... to strip him naked and torture him for a long, long time!]

Adam blinked his eyes and saw Emilie's breathing become labored and her pupils turn into a heartbeat. Adam controlled his facial muscles with difficulty.

In his mind, however, Adam screamed, holding his head.

"What the hell?! She's a sadist! She'd better be from a Shoujo novel!"

***

- Harold, don't you want me to introduce this young man to you? - Emily's voice suddenly sounded, causing four pairs of eyes to stare at her.

Nevertheless, even under such pressure, Emilia only smiled and waited for Harold, who was stunned, to respond. He looked at Adam angrily, thinking he had done something wrong.

"What's the matter, asshole? It's not my fault at all! She's nuts!" complained Adam in thought.

Harold looked at Adam for a while and then smiled softly.

- Your Highness, this is Edric von Aschenwald, my beloved younger brother. Unfortunately, he was deprived of talent. - Harold introduced Adam.

Adam wanted to roll his eyes when he heard Harold's words. The bastard wasn't wasting his time, and he didn't miss a chance to diminish Adam's status in the eyes of the imperial family.

Obviously, in this world, talent is synonymous with power. This is especially evident among the nobility. However, Harold was wrong about one thing:

"Edric's character has the best talent in this book. It's just buried deep in Edric's soul," Adam recalled and smiled. "A move like that was made to make Edric look weak and then show how good he is. A common trick popular with writers"

As for the reactions of the other members of the imperial family, the reactions of the emperor and the prince were understandable: Adam saw undisguised contempt, but the reaction of the empress and the princess was unusual.

Emilia's eyes glittered, for Harold had explicitly alluded to Adam's low status, which would cause Emilia no problems.

As for the Empress' reaction, Adam couldn't understand her expression, so he became even more alert.

It took Harold a long time to get the meaning of Emilie's question. He was not, however, happy about this chance to torture Adam.

Certainly, even if Adam were the princess' dog, his status would be higher than Harold's or even Albert's. So he dared not give any reaction.

- Well, talent is not the most important thing. Mr. Edric is very handsome, I wonder how he hasn't been kidnapped by noble ladies. - Emilia laughed and giggled, covering her lips with her hand.

Unfortunately, looks are all my little brother has. I tried to steer his attention toward science and literature, but even so, Harold sighed heavily and shook his head as if regretting something.

Adam looked at him strangely and raised an eyebrow. From Edric's recollections, he had never received good treatment from his own brother. Edric had never even seen a regular book!