“Letting humans lick Ainz-sama’s boots has been considered, but should that not be a reward?”
“I see. As expected of Albedo. Ah, but if I had to lick Ainz-sama, I would choose his body~”
Ainz decided to ignore Shalltear and Albedo’s side conversation.
“Then, everyone. Begin the task of exalting the name of Nazarick!”
“Understood!”
The Guardians’ shouts of acknowledgement blended into one.
Translator: Nigel
Editors/Proofreaders: Skythewood, Ferro, M, Rockgollem, NoirX, SifaV6
The meeting was convened within the Valencia Palace of the Kingdom of Re-Estize. Gazef Stronoff
―who had been standing motionless by King Ranpossa III’s side all this while― widened his eyes as he took in the sight of all six leaders of the Kingdom’s great noble families.
The six of them gathered together was a rare occurrence indeed.
Between them, they controlled enough wealth, land and territory to rival, if not outright surpass, the King. Because of this, they frequently found reasons to excuse themselves from the King’s summons, especially the leader of the anti-royalty faction ― Marquis Bowlrob, who did not even bother to hide his disdain for the King. It was bad enough that for a while, people thought the Kingdom might fall apart from within.
Next, Gazef’s eyes went to the King’s three children.
The most eye-catching of them all was the King’s third daughter, the “Golden Princess”, Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself.
After that was the Second Prince, Zanack Valurean Igana Ryle Vaiself. During the demonic disturbance, he had earned much praise when he, as a descendant of the King, had moved out for the sake of the people.
Last was the eldest son, the Crown Prince Barbro Andorean Ield Ryle Vaiself. With his strong body and neatly trimmed haircut, he was the man who Marquis Bowlrob was trying to place on the throne. Presumably, Bowlrob was in attendance for this court session at Barbro’s own request.
Any meeting attended by Marquis Bowlrob of the Noble Faction was sure to be an intense one.
Gazef averted his eyes from the heavy atmosphere, which seemed to loom overhead like gathering stormclouds, and looked at the rest of the nobles.
Of the three men present, who belonged to the Royal faction, the first to catch Gazef’s eye was Marquis Volumlash, the most luxuriously dressed person in the court.
He was a man approaching forty, with symmetrical features. His domain encompassed gold and mithril mines, which made him the wealthiest man in the Kingdom. However, dark whispers circulated that he was exceedingly greedy, to the point where he would even betray his own family for a gold coin.
There were also rumors that he had betrayed the Kingdom and was selling information to the Empire. However, because of a lack of concrete evidence, nothing could be done about him. After all, beheading Marquis Volumlash ―a prominent supporter of the Royal faction― without any proof would only result in the other nobles throwing in their lot with the Noble faction. If he was aware of this and took advantage of it to keep selling off information, then he would truly be the most despicable person present.
Next, Gazef’s eyes turned to the youngest and most handsome of the nobles, Marquis Pespeya.
He was married to the King’s eldest daughter, and became the head of his household at the same time as his marriage. Although little was known about his abilities and personality, his father possessed an excellent personality and was a competent man, so Gazef felt that Pespeya might take after his sire.
In contrast, the eldest among the Six Nobles was Margrave Urovana. His hair was white, and so little of it remained that there might as well have not been any at all. Though his body and limbs looked like gnarled wood, he still retained the gravitas expected of an elder.
Urovana was the most persuasive of the Great Nobles.
Arrayed against them were the three members of the Noble Faction.
First was the core of the Noble Faction, Marquis Bowlrob, who controlled the most territory among the Great Nobles. His face was heavily scarred, like that of a warlord.
As he was already in his fifties, his once-stout body which had been honed through unrelenting training was little more than a memory of the past, but his voice and predator’s gaze made people think that there must have been more than a little bit of his warrior-self left in him.
Although he ―as a warrior― had lost much of his strength to age, as a commander, he was a better commander than even Gazef, which made him just as indispensable to the Kingdom as the Warrior-Captain.
Beside him was Count Ritton.
He was a man whose appearance called to mind the image of a fox, and also one of the lower-ranked members of the Six. As such, he was desperately trying to raise his status. However, his personality of not caring about others’ suffering if it meant he could expand his power was not well received by other nobles. Allying himself to Bowlrob must have been a strategic move to escape his enemies.
The final man of the Noble Faction had slicked-back blonde hair and narrow blue eyes.
His face was pale, with little sign that it had seen much sunlight. He was tall and skinny. Combined with his sallow complexion, he gave off the impression of a snake. He was not yet forty, but looked older because of his unhealthy pallor.
With mixed emotions churning in his heart, Gazef looked away from him ― from Marquis Raeven.
The increasingly complex power struggles would be the problem of the next monarch.
Marquis Bowlrob and Count Ritton of the Noble Faction, as well as Margrave Urovana of the Royal Faction, all backed Crown Prince Barbro, while most of the unaffiliated nobles supported Marquis Pespeya, who had married the First Princess. Raeven was on the side of Second Prince Zanack, while Marquis Volumlash did not seem to be concerned with matters of succession.
For all these reasons, the King sat on his throne without making a fuss. If he pointed a finger at anyone, there was a danger of civil war breaking out.
Until recently, Gazef had no opinion on who should become the next King. But now, his heart was leaning toward Zanack. Either that, or Princess Renner as a dark horse, but the Kingdom, in all its long history, was never been ruled by a queen, so that was probably out of the question.
“Now then, let us begin.”
The King’s tone seemed slightly different than usual. Those with sensitive ears might have guessed the reason for today’s gathering and showed it with curious suspicion.
“Read out the proclamation delivered by the Imperial emissary.”
In accordance with the King’s orders, the vassals flanking him on both sides began reading the contents of the parchment.