ITAYA 46

~Chapter 46~

The Empress was always weak, so as her due date approached, the Imperial Palace went into emergency mode. Twenty palace staff took turns keeping watch day and night, waiting for her baby.

Because of this, the Emperor tried to avoid meeting anyone unless it was truly important—he was afraid of any bad luck or germs entering the palace.

But Lakecia’s request was too important to delay. So, as soon as morning came, Baldwin entered the palace with Earl Nigel, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Emperor greeted them happily.

“The proud, annoying Lakecia finally asked us for help. Hahaha!”

The Emperor laughed loudly.

“You don’t know how arrogant that guy was as a child, Baldwin. The Lakecia Emperor promised tens of millions of Karls for this deal. Plus, he really wants advice about currency reform.”

The Emperor’s tone turned serious, and Baldwin listened carefully.

The Lakecia Emperor was the one who ended the war and brought peace to the continent of Denpark.

Unlike the continent of Baikus, which stopped land wars long ago and focused on culture, Lakecia still had a long way to go.

Now, the Lakecia Emperor wanted Estus’s help to catch up.

“How much did he promise? I mean, the payment!” the Emperor asked, rubbing his hands together.

“Ten million Karls. In Estus’s money, that’s three hundred fifty million Karls,” the Minister answered.

The Emperor smiled widely.

Some of that money would surely be bribes for the Emperor—payment for providing technology. Some would go to Baldwin.

But Baldwin was sure the Emperor wouldn’t give up that money easily.

He already seemed to think all 350 million Karls were his own.

“My royal descendant is a lucky charm. Right, Baldwin?”

Baldwin nodded slightly.

“Serdan has always been generous! He was like that as a kid, too! That’s enough money to lay railroads all across Lakecia, isn’t it?”

The Emperor was right—offering that much money for technology alone showed Lakecia’s Emperor was bold.

Baldwin moved his long, white fingers.

[It seems so.]

The Emperor’s joy made the Minister of Foreign Affairs happy, too.

“That’s not all. If the railroad project is successful, Lakecia will pay another three hundred million Karls,” the Minister said.

“Hahahaha! Lakecia has plenty of money! Baldwin! Of course, you’ll take the job, right?”

The Emperor’s eyes sparkled.

“Altogether, 650 million Karls. With that, we could even reform the army! We can move our plans up sooner than we thought!”

The Emperor’s laughter grew louder.

Baldwin watched his friend in silence.

The Emperor was a decent friend. When everyone else enjoyed his misfortune and showed their true colors, the Emperor had never changed.

‘Will your rank change, just because of this? You were always beneath me. You’re a duke’s son, I’m the crown prince. Or will you lose all your wealth? No—you’re still one of the richest men in Estus, still a duke’s son. Of course, you’re beneath me.’

And the Emperor grew up with that attitude.

[So, if all the money goes to Your Majesty, what do I get for going so far and working so hard?]

“You’ll serve Estus! Think of the army reform! We can buy new weapons, hire more soldiers, make our defenses stronger! Doesn’t that excite you? Wasn’t that always our dream?”

[That was Your Majesty’s dream.]

Baldwin calmly corrected him.

[It looks like Constantine gets nothing from this deal.]

“What do you mean? It’s a perfect chance to expand into Lakecia! How can you say you get nothing, Baldwin? Don’t tell me you’re just after the money?”

If anyone cared about money, it was the Emperor.

Baldwin held back his blunt reply. He had expected this from the start.

He also planned to use the trip to check out the new cruise route—and to show Anais the wider sea.

Someone as rich as a Constantine didn’t worry about money. He wasn’t like the Emperor, always anxious over every coin.

But there were other things Baldwin could gain from the Emperor besides money.

“No, you’re not the type to care about money. There’s something else you want, isn’t there?” the Emperor said.

“Tell me. I’ll do anything reasonable. If you’re going all the way to Lakecia, I can’t say no.”

Baldwin smiled.

“Go ahead.”

Earl Nigel peeked at Baldwin’s notepad as Baldwin wrote.

[I heard a new royal bank will be chosen soon.]

There were rumors that, to celebrate the new heir, the royal family would reorganize their private wealth.

It wasn’t public news yet.

“That? Organizing my private fortune isn’t a big deal. I’m not switching the national bank or anything.”

In Estus, there were two types of royal banks: one for managing the royal family’s private property, and one for national projects.

Baldwin was talking about the first—the royal family’s private bank. The Emperor could change it whenever he wanted.

[No problem. Just make Graham Bank your first choice.]

The Emperor’s eyes grew wide.

Graham Bank?

He knew all about the Graham Bank, the talk of the capital.

And he knew that the mistress of Graham Bank was now the Duchess of Constantine.

The Emperor’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Oh right, your wife brought Graham Bank with her, didn’t she? You held out on marriage just to get such a match. Sneaky! You swallowed up a whole big bank….”

[I am not Your Majesty.]

“Tsk.”

The Emperor rubbed his chin.

He knew Baldwin didn’t really care about Graham Bank. He was only teasing him.

“But I never thought you’d go this far for your wife.”

The Emperor narrowed his eyes.

Now he could see the difference.

Baldwin had changed since getting married. For the first time, he showed real emotion.

The corners of his eyes turned up gently, as if a spring breeze was blowing.

Baldwin was smiling, almost like he was touched by spring.

“Huh?”

The Emperor gave a small laugh.

“You—”

[Should I take that as a yes?]

Baldwin wouldn’t really get any benefit from Graham Bank.

“Are you actually in love?”

The Emperor asked, half-laughing.

Baldwin raised an eyebrow.

“Honestly!”

The Emperor burst out laughing.

Baldwin and love? What a strange combination.

“I should have gone to the wedding myself! What was her name—Annis? Anes?”

“Anais, Your Majesty,” Earl Nigel whispered.

“Ah, that’s right. What was her family? Barna?”

“Barnaby, Your Majesty.”

“Oh! Anais Barnaby. Anais… Barnaby?”

The Emperor’s eyes grew round. The name sounded familiar.

He stared at Baldwin in surprise.

“You…!”

It all finally made sense.

It was around the time Baldwin graduated from the academy, when the Emperor was still Crown Prince.

[There’s a girl I keep running into, Castro.]

‘A girl? Is she pretty? Is she rich?’

[She makes me curious.]

‘How rich is she?’

[The Barnaby family.]

‘So not about money! What’s her name?’

[Anais. Anais Barnaby.]

‘She must be really pretty.’

“Now I get it. That’s why you got married so suddenly.”

The Emperor grinned, just like in the past.

“They say she’s very pretty.”

Baldwin frowned.

“And now, she’s also very, very rich.”

Baldwin looked at Emperor Castro with a look of contempt. That look hadn’t changed at all since the old days.

Nothing had changed between Baldwin and Castro. But the way Baldwin looked at Anais had never changed, either.

Some things never change, no matter how much time passes.

Anais was one of them.