Episode 40: A chance in a game turns into reality

13. Appearance at the Board of Audit and Inspection (2)

Just as many magicians who were called geniuses stagnated for decades because they could not overcome the 7th Circle barrier... … .

Most people fail because they cannot take a single step from the top level of Chivalry Auror Expert to Auror Master.

That's why the saying goes, 'It's a gift from heaven' for archmages and auror masters, and no matter what country they are in, they try to keep them by giving them territory along with the title of earl.

"I meet His Highness Prince Luke Winn Reinhart, the Sword of the Kingdom."

The average age at which knights achieve Auror Master is 50 years old.

In that sense, the second prince in front of us, who became an Auror Master at the age of 33, is a genius among geniuses when it comes to swords.

'Of course, it's not as good as Olivia Duke of Riverdale, a true genius who became an archmage at the age of 23.'

In any case, the 2nd Prince Luke was a royal who proved his abilities, not just by bloodline, and as a result, he is extremely popular among young nobles and knights.

Second in line of succession to the throne.

The crown prince who was first in line of succession to the throne was the son of the queen, and Prince Luke was the son of a concubine, so he was pushed out of the line of succession regardless of his ability.

However, Mal was only second in line of succession, and his power was not inferior to that of the crown prince.

No, as he gained the support of the knights, he can be seen as having a slight advantage over the crown prince.

"You recognized it right away. "Are you really an archmage?"

"You truly have an extraordinary energy. But the reason I recognized His Highness right away was because I saw him several times on TV. If you don't know His Highness Prince Luke in this country, aren't you a spy?"

Aside from the old king, I was faced with a powerful person fighting over the crown prince and the successor, so naturally I had no choice but to be cautious in my actions.

When Baron Walker and I bowed our heads out of respect, Arcia who was next to us also lowered her head as well.

"Raise your head."

Was my answer satisfactory?

To put it in a good way, it was loud, and in a bad way, a voice that was needlessly loud echoed throughout the auditor's office.

After hearing his permission, I raised my head and was finally able to examine the information in detail with the magnifying glass.

[Prince Luke Winn Reinharts / Auror Master]Race: Human

Age: 35

Affiliation: 2nd Prince of the Reinharts Royal Family / Leader of the 2nd Guard Household Division

Talents: Auror (best), physical ability (high), learning ability (medium), intellectual ability (medium), command ability (medium), administrative ability (medium)

Traits: Enhanced strength, arrogant leader

Relationship: Interest / Hostile Force

Status: Observation / Interesting

Not bad abilities.

As expected from an Auror Master, his abilities were considerable.

However, even though he was not a combat talent, when I saw Baron Walker, who had one top talent and three advanced talents, and Prince Luke, I was surprised to see that he was not as good as his reputation.

That's right, I thought he was a genius among geniuses.

However, if I can become an Auror Master to this extent, I think I can turn all gifted wizards and aspiring knights into Auror Masters and Archmages.

'Oh, maybe…' … .'

But soon I immediately noticed the difference between everyone in the Youngjaewon and Prince Luke.

The 'environment' is a condition that cannot be ignored.

Prince Luke is not only a member of the royal family, but his maternal family is the Duke of Anaheim, a family whose power is sky-high in the Kingdom of Reinharts.

Since he was young, he grew up with an Auror Master as his teacher and ate good elixirs and elixirs as snacks, so he realized that Prince Luke should not be thought of along the same lines as ordinary knights.

"Are you measuring my level? "Contrary to your polite tone, you are arrogant."

"It can't be. "How could I commit such disloyalty to His Highness the Prince?"

After all, royal jjambap is not for nothing?

It was Prince Luke who read my thoughts accurately, but since I accepted it calmly, there was no further problem with it.

"Hahaha! You're really good at hiding your facial expressions. "Do you think you have a talent for politics?"

But he suddenly started laughing and I didn't know if I should laugh along with him or just watch him, so I just lowered my head and apologized again.

"I plan to conduct this investigation. "You'll be okay, right?"

"If that is the decision of the Noble Audit Office, then of course we will follow it."

When my gaze turned to the Chairman of the House of Auditors, the Marquess of Hammington, he nodded and answered.

"No problem. "The person responsible for this investigation is His Highness Luke."

"All right."

Prince Luke's eyebrows twitched at the conversation between me and the Marquis of Hammington.

[Status: Observation / Discomfort]'huh?'

And when I saw his condition change, I was puzzled, but quickly understood what was going on and sighed inwardly.

'Surely, you are displeased by receiving additional confirmation from the Board of Audit and Inspection?'

From my perspective, it was a natural step.

If they do not confirm that this investigation is official, they are providing an excuse to be called in for a reinvestigation at any time according to their taste.

The title 'arrogant leader' attached to his characteristic was annoying, but now I see that it largely reflects Prince Luke's personality.

'It's as big as a bear, so it's kind of skinny.'

There was nothing good about blushing with Prince Luke, so I lowered my head again to lighten his mood.

"Please forgive my rudeness. Somehow I ended up reaffirming His Highness's words. "I am still young and lacking in many ways."

"Well, are you apologizing for each of those things?"

"Thank you for saying that."

When I apologized, citing his age, he seemed to think it was worth it.

Because no one knows that the environment in which I grew up was not normal.

"Then let's begin."

The investigation that followed was nothing special.

That's because their cause was so clear.

Naturally, the prince could not find anything to complain about and accepted my argument as is.

"It certainly makes sense. "From the Lawrence estate's perspective, there would have been no other way."

"B, but because of this, only the Raven Margrave side will suffer one-sided damage… … ."

"Uh huh, no matter how much it is a surprise attack, this must be seen as a battle of territory. Shouldn't we also keep in mind that if we start a war, we may suffer unexpected damage? Are you really saying that Viscount Lawrence should have lost the war unilaterally?"

"sorry. "I made a mistake."

I was worried because my relationship with him was marked as a hostile force, but it was surprisingly fair.

At times, the investigation was conducted from a completely neutral standpoint, to the point where managers at the Board of Audit and Inspection were scolded.

The investigation went on for about an hour, and Prince Luke, who had no more questions to ask, probably thought that this was enough, tapped the table twice with his finger to attract people's attention and then revealed his position.

"The investigation seems pointless. "I don't have the courage to book the case."

I was relieved inside.

Prince Luke maintained common sense until the end.

"Your Majesty, Prince Lawrence intentionally killed his half-brother and his wife with an explosion."

The Marquis of Hammington, who was inferior to him, tried to help, but Prince Luke was stubborn.

"Just looking at the data here, their crimes still warrant the death penalty. "Isn't it quite expensive for a funeral for losers who overestimated their abilities?"

"But Margrave Raven is quite a big deal in our camp…" … ."

The Marquis of Hammington whispered to the prince that it was not going to end like this.

The problem is that the whispers are audible enough for superhumans like Arsia and me.

Now it seems that key members of the House of Lords, including the Marquess of Hammington, were lining up for Prince Luke.

And Raven Margrave also belongs to the Second Prince faction.

It appears that the reason my relationship with Prince Luke is marked as hostile is because of my relationship with Margrave Raven, not his will.

'The first impression was not good, but is he actually not a bad person?'

Naturally, my reaction was like this.

Although his personality may be a bit arrogant, he doesn't seem to be a mean person.

I thought that maybe that arrogance was natural for a prince.

"Are you trying to be unreasonable towards me now? "Enough, the story is over."

"I can't help it. All right."

The Marquis of Hammington also gave up his argument with an expression of helplessness, as if he did not want to argue with the prince anymore.

"I don't like to go around talking, so I'll get to the point."

"I will listen."

However, it seems that the prince did not attach much importance to the investigation in the first place.

From the 'main topic' mentioned out of nowhere, I could see that he had come here for another purpose.

This means that even the good performance shown in the survey could be a calculated action.

"I am competing with my brother for the throne. "Currently, the two sides' forces are at an even level, but your appearance is causing a stir."

The status of crown prince has already been granted to the first prince.

However, as the second prince became an Auror master, the crown prince's status is becoming insignificant.

The second prince's side is insisting that the crown prince's status be reexamined, and this is having enough of an effect to put the king in trouble.

Although the two powers are said to be equal, the fact that the 2nd prince rose to this level even though the 1st prince had legitimacy and the status of crown prince meant that the trend had completely turned.

Although it was similar right now, it was not strange if the balance of power reversed at any time.

"In particular, the Raven Margrave can be said to be the main force among my forces. But didn't you break his strength to the fullest?"

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, I'm not really blaming you. As I said before, the incident with Margrave Raven could be said to be entirely his fault. However, if Prince Lawrence goes towards his older brother, the small scandal could become a big one. So, I'm trying to reach out first before you use his hand."

Even if Raven Margrave's power was halved, I don't think it would affect the overall trend.

But the problem is that Arsia and I suddenly seem to have fallen from the sky.

We have not only individual capabilities, but also funds.

The power they would have from now on was enough to break the tense balance between the two camps.

If we go over to the Crown Prince's side, Prince Luke will inevitably be in trouble, and if we stick with Prince Luke, we will put a wedge in the upward trend.

In particular, Arcia and I, apart from our respective forces, also had the title of being the leader of the future of the kingdom, so it was a win-win situation that helped with external propaganda as well.

Therefore, it was perhaps inevitable that he would make such a suggestion.

"I don't have the energy to jump into politics yet. Above all, he has not even been given a title."

"It's even more meaningful because the title hasn't been given yet."

"yes?"

"If you take my hand, I will do my best to earn you the title of 'marquis' by adding to your value as an archmage and your contributions in the past war."

I had to open my eyes wide at Prince Luke's suggestion.

Perhaps the most famous title among the five ranks (Earl, Hu, White, Purple, Male) would be 'Earl'.

The reason is that they are high-ranking nobles who are called counts, great nobles, and great lords.

The number of viscounts and baronies easily exceeds 1,000, including single-ranking nobles, but there are only 22 nobles with the title of earldom.

Therefore, even if Arsia and I obtain the title of count, we will become powerful figures with enormous influence in the kingdom.

However, the two highest titles among the five titles, marquis and duke, have a completely different weight from that of count, even though they belong to the same great noble family.

In the Kingdom of Reinharts, there are only two duke families and five marquis families.

"Is that possible?"

"It's always hard. But I can make it happen. The territory… … . Yes, Marinkov would be good."

Marinkov is a large city located in the north-central part of the Kingdom of Reinharts and is one of the five largest cities in the kingdom, excluding the capital.

The location is also the icing on the cake as it is between the Lawrence Territory and the capital.

Thanks to this, my thoughts of putting it in neutral gear were shaken.

There is nothing good about being involved in a power war, but the bait he threw was too big.