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Chapter 261

“H-Hey, Michele? What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Did something bad happen recently?” Siegfried asked after being startled by his sudden outburst.

“Please ignore me, Your Majesty… sigh…”?Michele let out a sigh and tried to suppress his anger before explaining, “I just have too much work but too little budget these days…”

“Oh, hahaha.?I-I see…” Siegfried awkwardly chuckled. He was the culprit behind why Michele was on the edge and extremely stressed these days.

‘I guess I slacked off a bit too much… Hahaha…’?He laughed inwardly.

Siegfried had been neglecting most of his work, and Michele had been the one catching all the slack for him. Michele. In other words, Michele’s workload was far higher than what he could handle.

The fact that Michele managed to finish all of it—despite the stress—was proof that he was indeed a genius and hardworking administrator.

“Anyway… It’s not good news at all that a messenger from the Marchioni Empire arrived at this time,” Michele said after finally managing to suppress his temper.

“Why?”

“First, it is quite tiresome, right?” Michele grumbled and explained, “This is a messenger from the Marchioni Empire, the greatest and most powerful nation on the continent. The messenger is a commoner, but we will have to treat him as if he were royalty…”

“Oh, I guess you’re right,” Siegfried said and grimaced.

“Dealing with the messenger is one thing, but having no clue what message the messenger brings is another headache altogether…”

“What’s there to talk about? The emperor is probably going to ask if we’re doing fine or not, right?”

“Hmm… I am not so sure…” Michele replied before he said, “I guess Your Majesty has to meet the messenger first, but please make sure not to do anything rash and offend the messenger.”

“Okay, I got it,” Siegfried replied and accepted the advice.

The messenger was basically coming as the emperor’s proxy, so it only made sense to treat them with full respect. After all, there was no way that the Proatine Kingdom could withstand going against the Marchioni Empire, no matter how much they developed in all aspects. The entire kingdom would burn down to ashes within a matter of hours if they incited the wrath of the emperor.

“Hold on… but how did they find us? Project Utopia is currently in effect right now, right?” Siegfried asked.

Project Utopia’s purpose was to prevent other nations from finding out the Proatine Kingdom’s true strength. The project was already ninety percent complete, so there was no way for outsiders to step foot into the real territory of the Proatine Kingdom without their approval.

“The Marchioni Empire is an exemption.”

“Really?”

“The information network of the most powerful empire on the continent should not be underestimated. They probably know everything about us right now.”

“Hmm… That makes sense.”

“Besides, they probably are not that interested in us, so there is no point in hiding from them. And we have a direct warp gate connected to the empire, so the messenger does not have to go through our barrier.”

“So that’s why it was easy for them to come to find us, is what you’re saying?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Got it.” Siegfried nodded and made his way to meet the empire’s messenger.

***

Five hours later, Siegfried finally received the empire’s messenger.

“Welcome, I am Siegfried van Proa,” he greeted the messenger while sitting on a plain throne.

The reason they hurriedly removed the throne crafted from the Chromatic Dragon’s skull was to hide the fact that the king of a small and weak kingdom was sitting on a throne that even the emperor couldn’t sit on.

The Proatine Kingdom had to spend five hours cleaning and redecorating the halls to make themselves look poor?before receiving the messenger.

“Hello, King Siegfried van Proa,” the messenger said with a slight—an extremely slight—nod before continuing. “It has been a while, Your Majesty.”

“Huh? Baron Neighdelberg?” Siegfried said as he tilted his head in confusion.

“I thank you for remembering me, Your Majesty,” Baron Neighdelberg replied.

It turned out that the messenger was none other than the one who stood as the emperor’s proxy after Siegfried won the World’s Greatest Survival Tournament—Baron Neighdelberg.

“Haha! I should remember you! How can I forget you, baron?”

“Is that so? Hahaha!”

“How was your journey? I hope it was comfortable. And I think we kept you waiting for too long, so I hope you were not bored or offended by it…” Siegfried asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

“I am fine, Your Majesty,” Baron Neighdelberg replied with a smile. His demeanor was completely compared to the time that he appointed Siegfried as king in the stead of the emperor.

Well, the situation was quite different back then compared to right now, so it wasn’t strange that his demeanor had changed.

“I am confident in my ability to wait. Besides, I came unannounced, so it is only proper for me to give your kingdom the time to prepare, right?”

“I thank you for your generosity, baron.”

It was customary on the continent to send at least a half day’s notice before a powerful nation visited a weaker nation. This custom was put in place to give time to the weaker nations to prepare and avoid getting anything held against them.

“But what business do you have with us that you came all the way here…?” Siegfried carefully asked.

“I have come to deliver a letter that His Majesty has written personally,” Baron Neighdelberg replied.

“A letter that His Majesty has personally written?!” Siegfried exclaimed out of shock.

Well, he pretended to be shocked, but he was thinking something entirely different. ‘Ah, I’m already so busy… Why does he have to send a letter now of all times? Damn it… Is he that free?’

He inwardly cursed the emperor, but there was nothing else he could do aside from that, as he was only the king of a weak and small kingdom.

“Please take a seat,” Siegfried said, offering the throne to the baron. Baron Neighdelberg sat on the throne as offered, and Siegfried knelt in front of him.

‘This damn etiquette… It’s not like His Majesty himself is here, so why do I have to fucking kneel down? Argh!’?he grumbled inwardly.

However, there was nothing he could do, as this was how things were done on the continent, and he was technically a feudal lord that the emperor had appointed. In other words, the Proatine Territory was the empire’s territory, and the kingdom was technically a part of the empire.

Therefore, it was only correct for him to pay respect to the emperor’s messenger.

“How are you, Siegfried van Proa?”

Baron Neighdelberg started reading the emperor’s letter.

“This should be the first letter I’m writing to you after you were appointed as king, and I’m curious if everything has been all right so far. I’m slightly worried that you’re upset with me for not checking up on you at least once.”

“Your grace is immeasurable, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“This is a huge oversight from me. It is a bit difficult for you to write to me first as a subordinate. I hope that you will find it in you to forgive me…”

There was nothing special in the emperor’s letter.

The emperor greeted him, and he asked if he was having any difficulties in running the kingdom, his relationship status and if he had any plans to get married anytime soon, and other mundane questions.

However, the next part revealed a hint of the true purpose behind the emperor’s letter.

“The Guild Master of the Genesis Guild has requested an audience with me and pleaded that you have mistreated him. I thought it would be unjust to judge the matter after only hearing his side of the story, so…”

“Chae Hyung-Seok, that bastard…!” Siegfried muttered under his breath.

“Hmm? Did you say something just now? Don’t tell me…” Baron Neighdelberg stopped reading the letter and tilted his head in confusion.

“Ah, n-nothing. I did not say anything. Why would I dare interrupt you while you’re reading His Majesty’s letter? Hahaha!”

“Hmm… Is that so? Then I shall continue reading it.”

“Please do! Hahaha…”

“Ahem!?Then… I thought it would be unjust to judge the matter after only hearing his side of the story, so I plan to listen to both you and the Guild Master of the Genesis Guild’s story. Therefore, I hereby command that King Siegfried van Proatine of the Proatine Kingdom to—”

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

Ding!

[Three-Way Meeting]

[Go to the Imperial Capital of the Marchioni Empire to meet the emperor and the Guild Master of the Genesis Guild, Desire.]

[Type: Special Quest]

[Progress: 0%]

[Reward: N/A]

[Warning: There is an extremely high chance that you will receive a penalty upon quest failure.]

Siegfried finally understood what was going on after reading the quest details.

‘So you decided to?tell on me?instead? Just chop your thing off, you despicable coward!’?he growled inside.

Well, the real despicable coward that had to chop his thing off was actually Siegfried… It was a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. However, the reason Siegfried had to chop his thing off was different, as his reason was more related to his issues with women…

[Alert: Do you wish to accept the Quest: ‘Three-Way Meeting’?]

[Alert: Yes / No]

A message popped up in front of his eyes once again.

[Alert: Yes!]

[Alert: You have accepted the Quest: ‘Three-Way Meeting’!]

Siegfried had no choice but to accept the quest.

There was no way he could refuse His Majesty the Emperor’s summon.

“Your grace is immeasurable, Your Imperial Majesty! I, your loyal servant, Siegfried van Proa, accept your summon!” Siegfried said as he bowed to the ground.

***

Right after Baron Neighdelberg left…

“He should’ve just shut up and waited for the protection period to end, but what did he do? He went to the emperor and told on me? That despicable bastard…” Siegfried grumbled while seated on his Chromatic Dragon throne.

It seemed that Siegfried‘s actions had really gotten on Chae Hyung-Seok’s nerves judging by how he went straight to the emperor despite being fully aware of the protection period. Well, it was understandable, as the financial damages he had suffered because of Siegfried were already more than ten billion won.

However, that was his problem.

Siegfried couldn’t care less about him…

Exactly three days later, Michele sent him off and begged. “Please, please, please! You have to do whatever it takes to resolve the matter. If the protection period gets revoked, then…”

They were currently standing in front of the warp gate just before Siegfried left for the imperial capital.

“Ah, I already told you that I know. Don’t worry, I’m not going to make any mistakes,” Siegfried grumbled in response, seemingly slightly annoyed.

“You must certainly not make any mistakes, Your Majesty. Having the protection period revoked is no different from a death sentence to our kingdom,” Michele said with a desperate look.

“C’mon, do you really think he will revoke it just because of this matter? He’s most likely going to honor his promise,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“We cannot be so certain, Your Majesty. The protection period could be revoked if it is proven that we were the aggressors, do you not agree?”

“I know, but I have my side of the story, too, so don’t worry so much. Anyway, I’ll get going now, so see you later.”

Siegfried left after reassuring Michele numerous times.

“Yes, I will place my trust in you, Your Majesty…” Michele muttered.

Flash!

A bright light flashed right after Siegfried stepped into the warp gate.

A message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Capital of the Marchioni Empire: Palace of Blood]

[Warp Room: 11,271]

The message notified him of his current location.

‘They have more than ten thousand warp rooms…? This is crazy…’?

Siegfried couldn’t help but be shocked after seeing the warp room number. The Proatine Kingdom had slightly over thirty warp rooms, but the empire’s capital alone had more than ten thousand warp rooms.

It was another reminder that the Proatine Kingdom was a small and weak nation.

‘Can I just step out of this room? This is my first time here, so…’?he thought before leaving the room.

Creak…

“Welcome, Your Majesty, King Siegfried van Proa.”

A servant greeted him as soon as he opened the door and…

‘Huh?’

Siegfried saw a certain someone emerge from the room directly across from him.

‘Chae Hyung-Seok?’

‘Han Tae-Sung!’

They immediately recognized each other, and a fierce exchange of glares soon ensued.

‘You fucking bastard!’

Chae Hyung-Seok failed to control his anger and threw a punch at Siegfried.

Whoosh!

His fist was about to hit Siegfried’s face.