SLSL 87

Chapter – 87

‘Did that brat know etiquette?’

Grand Duke Guntram was quite surprised that Carlisle accurately knew the proper etiquette towards the royal family.

Of course, noble children are educated from a young age on how to show respect to the royal house.

But it was questionable whether Carlisle would even remember the education he received, let alone perform it so flawlessly…

“Pleased to meet you, Sir Carlisle.”

“Sir? That’s not appropriate. I am not a knight.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“The second son of the Sigurd family, or a private second class, would be the correct terms, I believe.”

Carlisle inwardly forced himself to endure the feeling of thorns sprouting in his mouth and his insides boiling over.

Since Crown Prince Gordon was also one of the main characters in the game [Overlord], Carlisle knew him all too well.

The Crown Prince was outwardly polite, but that was merely the mask of a hypocrite.

His goal was to weaken the noble families of the United Kingdom, and furthermore, to kill them, seize their lands, and establish a unified dynasty.

As the most dangerous among the main characters of [Overlord], Carlisle couldn’t let his guard down in front of him.

If he made a single misstep, not only Carlisle but the entire Sigurd family could face trouble under the royal family’s clutches.

“The reason you are a private is to uphold the Sigurd family’s tradition, so it wouldn’t be right to call you that. You’ll be an officer soon anyway, so I’ll call you ‘Sir’.”

“As you wish.”

“Your Grace, could you excuse us for a moment?”

The Crown Prince looked back at Grand Duke Guntram.

“Well…”

“It’s fine. I would appreciate it if you could step aside for a moment. I won’t say one thing and mean another.”

“Please, have your conversation.”

Still seeming uneasy, Grand Duke Guntram subtly shot a glance at Carlisle.

– *Please, don’t cause any trouble. Please.*

– *We’ll see.*

Carlisle responded to the Grand Duke’s look with a blank expression.

‘If you piss me off, you’ll pay the price.’

Carlisle sharpened his blade inwardly.

There were countless ways to cause trouble for the Crown Prince.

After all, Carlisle possessed an immense amount of knowledge about the game [Overlord].

“I heard that you have corrected your past mistakes and turned over a new leaf.”

“No. I am still nothing but an immature fool.”

“You are modest.”

“Not at all.”

Carlisle gave a slight nod.

“I called you here because I wanted to ask you one thing.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Who is your loyalty directed towards?”

“To Dekaron and the Royal Family.”

“Which comes first?”

“Ultimately, the Royal Family, isn’t it? Dekaron is the Royal Family’s most loyal servant, after all.”

“A good answer.”

The Crown Prince smiled faintly.

“Then, you will do your best for the prosperity of the Royal Family.”

“If I am capable, then yes.”

“But then, why didn’t you send your maid to study at the Royal Capital?”

Realizing why the Crown Prince had summoned him, Carlisle sneered inwardly.

‘So that was it.’

He had already anticipated it.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Crown Prince to separately call out the Northern scoundrel.

“She is my maid, so I simply wanted to keep her by my side.”

“But for the Kingdom’s prosperity, wouldn’t it be right to send her for studies?”

“She’s so talented that I don’t think she needs studies abroad, and I judge she can sufficiently contribute to the Kingdom’s prosperity even by my side.”

“Of course, that may be so. But wouldn’t it be better for her to receive a proper education in the capital?”

“The person in question has a strong identity as a Northerner and doesn’t wish to leave the North. I also cherish her greatly as my maid and am very reluctant to send her away. I intend to guide her well so she can contribute to the Kingdom while staying by my side.”

“Hmph.”

The Crown Prince’s face cooled.

“It seems you don’t understand, no matter how nicely I put it, Sir Carlisle.”

“……”

“Does this look like a request to you?”

Carlisle did not answer.

“Considering the Sigurd family’s loyalty to the Royal Family and the Grand Duke’s position until now, I’ve been speaking indirectly. Are you so foolish that you can’t even understand that?”

“I believe matters concerning my maid are my right. I am merely exercising that right.”

“Then, raising Dekaron’s tax rate is also within my authority, so I shall do just that.”

A cold smile appeared on the Crown Prince’s lips.

“That is Your Highness’s right and a legitimate exercise of the Royal Family’s power.”

Carlisle’s tone changed.

“So, do as you please. I have no intention of giving up my maid.”

“Are you challenging me?”

“How could I? How could a mere private like me possibly oppose Your Highness the Crown Prince? If you tell me to die, I must die.”

“It seems raising the tax rate alone wasn’t enough.”

“Why are you telling me this? I’m not the one paying the taxes; Dekaron is.”

Carlisle retorted as if it had nothing to do with him, but inside, he was seething with rage.

‘Ah, so you raised the tax rate? Because I didn’t send Evangelin?’

A murderous impulse surged smoldering from within.

The fact that the Dekaron army had forced the mining operation so recklessly, and because of that, countless soldiers including Gwen had died… was all due to the Crown Prince’s petty revenge…

‘You… I won’t let this slide.’

Carlisle vowed revenge against the Crown Prince.

He had no intention of confronting the Crown Prince openly.

That would put the Sigurd family in danger.

‘How should I pay him back.’

Carlisle holed up in his room, pondering without moving an inch.

‘Assassination is impossible. Isn’t there some way to screw him over?’

Of course, Carlisle had several means to strike at the Crown Prince’s weaknesses.

However…

‘If I mess with him at this point, things will get complicated.’

The timing wasn’t right to reveal that the Royal Family had lost their foresight.

That needed to be saved as a trump card for the appropriate time.

Revenge needed to be clever and secret.

“Young Master, you don’t look pleased.”

“Yeah, I’m not.”

Carlisle answered Maranello’s question.

“With His Highness the Crown Prince…”

“We had a big blowup.”

“Eh?!”

“It was just that the atmosphere was bad. Not that we fought.”

“Even so, confronting His Highness the Crown Prince is…”

“He told me to hand over Evangelin. What was I supposed to do?”

“Young Master…”

A complex expression appeared on Maranello’s face.

“Perhaps that matter…”

“Absolutely not.”

Carlisle firmly shut it down.

“She is an indispensable existence for us.”

Carlisle wasn’t being stubborn for no reason.

Evangelin was one of the main characters in [Overlord] and would act as the right hand of Frey van Sigurd, who would become the family head.

If such a valuable human resource were taken by the Royal Family, it might seem good immediately, but it was obvious he would greatly regret it later.

“Steward, why are you so angry? Did something happen?”

“What’s it to you?”

Carlisle retorted curtly to the baby dragon’s question.

“Steward, why talk like that? I’m wiser than the steward, you know?”

“Oh, is that so.”

Carlisle was sarcastic, but the baby dragon paid no mind and spoke calmly.

“What is it? Tell me.”

“If I tell you, you won’t understand.”

“I might.”

“Just try not to understand.”

Carlisle briefly explained the situation to the baby dragon.

“So, the Crown Prince is threatening you to hand over that maid?”

“Yeah.”

“And your family, and the other families, are trembling because of the Royal Family’s foresight?”

“Yeah.”

“Tch, fools.”

The baby dragon shook its head side to side.

“Foresight? That disappeared ages ago, and they’re still afraid of it? Humans are so foolish, as expected.”

“……!”

Hearing the baby dragon’s words, Carlisle and Maranello were utterly shocked.

“How do you know that?”

“What… what do you mean?”

The baby dragon answered.

“Merely human, how could they use foresight that even we dragons don’t possess? Ridiculous, truly.”

“……?”

Carlisle and Maranello stared at each other.

“What is it talking about?”

“I must be getting hard of hearing in my old age, Young Master.”

This was news to Carlisle as well.

According to the [Overlord] game scenario, didn’t it say the Royal Family gained foresight through a contract with an ancient dragon?

“Ancient Dragon? A dragon’s lifespan is about a thousand years. It’s been that way since creation until now, and there is no dragon clan that possesses foresight. The notion that dragons can see the future is solely because they are wise and have excellent insight, not because they actually have the power of foresight.”

“But it’s said the Royal Family has passed down foresight through generations?”

“If you want to deceive others, you must first deceive yourself. Don’t you need to do at least that much to boast about having foresight? It’s a lie with soul in it.”

“……”

“If you don’t believe me, test it.”

“Test it? How?”

“By deliberately causing an accident. Something clever enough that they can’t prepare for it in advance.”

“Hmm.”

Carlisle thought the baby dragon might be right.

Certainly, the Royal Family has no foresight.

The main scenario of [Overlord] deals with the division and civil war within the United Kingdom following the loss of the Royal Family’s foresight.

“It’s surprising that foresight never existed from the start. The Royal Family, as expected. Amazing, truly.”

“No, Young Master.”

Maranello grabbed hold of Carlisle.

“You’re not actually believing what it said, are you?”