Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 644
Chapter 644: Coming Out (2)
Ragna Litaniel Peprok, the illegitimate child of the prime minister of Rafdonia, Marquess Tercerion.
Well, the name she was currently using didn’t have the name of her nanny, Litaniel, still in it, but that wasn’t important.
“You don’t look so good. From what I heard, she’s a beauty.”
Yeah, I knew that. But that wasn’t the problem right now. It wasn’t just the awkwardness that was bound to crop up since my marriage partner was a friend of mine either.
“Countess Peprok is the illegitimate child of the prime minister,” I said hollowly.
“I’ve already confirmed that. It seems the prime minister is going for an aggressive move. That is how much your growth potential is worth.”
“You know that, and you still say I should marry her? The moment I do that, an invisible noose will be hung around my neck for the rest of my life.”
“You don’t have a choice. Imagine what will happen if the prime minister chooses to openly oppose you.”
When he starts to oppose me…
It didn’t take long for me to come up with several scenarios the prime minister could create to mess with me.
My reconstruction efforts in District Seven would be interrupted, for one. With that, my servants from Bifron wouldn’t be able to pay their taxes and would be scheduled for execution as soon as the new year came.
The hearts of the barbarians might even turn into research materials again. The prejudice against our warriors would also hold more ground, and weird stereotypes would be put on us again.
I furrowed my brow. Noticing my serious expression, the village chief argued, “Don’t pay the marriage too much mind. You can lower your head and comply for now, then build up your strength afterward.”
Honestly, there was something pretty off about this guy too. I got a weird feeling from him the moment I heard him speak.
“But you…” I hesitated for a moment but I ended up just asking him directly as I always did. “Why are you trying so hard to convince me?”
“That’s because you—”
“So what if I end up making the right or wrong choice? Why does that matter to you?”
The village chief hesitated as I went straight to the point, demanding to know why he was interfering so much. Then finally, he revealed, “Because I worry about you.”
I shot him a look of confusion.
“To fulfill my dream, I need you.”
I could tell he was being genuine, but understanding why was a different story. “You need me for your dream?”
Seriously, why did so many people need me to fulfill their goals?
Still, I found myself pretty curious all the same. What exactly did this guy in particular want from me?
“Just tell me without hiding anything,” I advised. “I hate when people scheme behind my back.”
“I know that is a character trait of yours, but it is too early for me to say. However, I will tell you this one thing: There is a good chance our interests will align in the future.”
“Really? If that’s all you have to say, I can only ever take your words with a grain of salt,” I said in a threatening tone.
However, the village chief remained calm, seemingly unbothered. “Do as you wish. From my perspective, marrying the countess is your best option… But it is still your decision. No one can know what the future will bring.”
I just blinked at him, remaining quiet.
“More importantly, it is late. If we remain here, someone will most likely see us, so let us part ways for today. I will contact you again.”
True to his word, the village chief really did just turn around and leave the garden fountain.
The grass swayed in the cold night wind as I stood there staring at the fountain, dazed and lost in thought.
Marriage…
It didn’t take long for me to come to a decision. Really, I had made my decision back at the Dragon Temple.
Since the marquess made such an aggressive move…
To respond in kind, I needed to prepare an even more powerful move.
…Is that really the only way?
For the first time in a long time, I hoped tomorrow wouldn’t come.
***
The morning of the next day and an hour before the Palatial Meeting was set to begin, I got up early to get ready for the day. The meeting was pretty important, after all.
Knock, knock, knock.
However, I had an unexpected visitor arrive just as I was about to leave.
I figured it was another swindler trying to sell me something like yesterday and ignored them. However, the knocking only grew louder and louder.
Who is it?
When I pulled open the door to at least see who it was, a completely unexpected person was standing there.
“Gagh—!”
A blue-haired woman let out an odd gasp of surprise when the door suddenly swung open. Her entire get-up shouted, “I am a noble,” but her eyes looked so tired that I couldn’t find any power in them.
“Ragna…?”
She was my soon-to-be-announced marriage partner. As soon as our eyes met, Ragna’s shoulders flinched before she flicked her head to the side.
I could tell why she was doing that. I was feeling something similar. For some reason, it was difficult to look her in the eyes like I usually did.
Before the exchange dragged on into an awkward abyss, I rushed out, “It’s been a while, Ragna. I should’ve come to visit you sooner, but a lot of things have been happening recently.”
“Yes… It has been a while. And as for not visiting me… It’s fine. I’ve heard the news and from rumors that you’ve been quite busy.”
“Then that’s good… Do you want to come in for now?”
I said it because I didn’t want to keep her waiting outside, but Ragna stumbled back a few steps in surprise for some reason.
Clearly noticing that I found her reaction odd, she stuttered, “N-no! I didn’t mean it like that…”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I-it’s just! It’ll be troublesome if an odd rumor spreads because I entered your room…”
“Ahhh… I g-guess?”
In the end, the awkward silence I had desperately tried to avoid ended up settling between us. However, thankfully, it was Ragna who spoke up first this time.
“Well… In truth, I came to find you today because I have something I need to tell you.”
“Something to tell me?”
“It’s…” Ragna seemed to find it hard to get the words out, as her words trailed off, and the way she was acting allowed me to notice what she was trying to say. “During this meeting…an unexpected topic may pop up. I hope that you don’t get too surprised. Bjorn Yandel, aren’t we both nobles?”
“Yeah?”
“For people in our positions, there are situations where things progress outside of your own will or intentions… You understand, right?”
She was probably having a hard time by how long she was dragging this out. I wanted to wipe the slate clean and resolve the issue right here and now, but for my plan to work, I needed to act unaware for now.
“So what do you want to say?”
“I c-can’t tell you right now,” she admitted. “But my father has proceeded with a few things on his own, s-so no matter what is brought up during the meeting, p-please do not misunderstand…”
“Got it. I don’t know what might come out during the meeting, but I won’t get the wrong idea about anything.”
“Ah! Of course, that doesn’t mean I hate y-you or anything! You understand, right?”
“Sure.”
“Right… Then that’s a relief. I’ll be seeing you…” When I nodded, Ragna jumped to scurry off. She seemed to have come here by herself without telling anyone, given that I couldn’t see Hyeonbyeol, who was practically an extension of her, by her side.
I need to get going.
After checking the time, I went out into the hallway. Guided by one of the servants, I entered the interior of the palace where the meeting would be held.
…These guys aren’t using a round table.
Inside the room, I saw a long rectangular table, and most of the seats were empty. It was the tradition of the Palatial Meeting. All members attending the meeting would be given a number, and they would be silently ranked by that number.
“This is where you will attend the proceedings today, Baron Yandel.”
I was seated at the farthest spot from the head of the table.
After sitting down, I waited for around two minutes before the door opened again and another noble entered.
Tap.
He promptly sat opposite me. He was a noble of higher rank than me, and after another two minutes of waiting, someone else entered.
What bullshit is this…?
They could’ve just entered all at once. I felt like I was going to die from frustration, seeing a single person enter every two minutes. It was too inefficient.
Since there are a total of fifty people attending the Palatial Meeting…
We were in for around an hour and a half of just waiting in silence before the meeting could begin.
Well, even this humiliating last seat at the table would be a dream for someone else.
In any case, the meeting room began to fill seat by seat, yet no matter how many people came in, no one broke the heavy silence. I got so bored that I tried to start a conversation with the noble sitting to my left, but they jumped in their seat and only stared forward, so I gave up on small talk as well.
Let’s just sleep for a bit.
Dozing off made the time pass quickly, and soon enough the nobles ranked in the twenties began to enter.
Who’s this guy?
When I happened to regain consciousness, I could see a nobleman stopped in his tracks and looking directly at me.
One, two, three, four…
Counting the seats told me this guy was the one who was ranked around twenty-seventh.
He looked at me and then looked at the seat I was sitting in when suddenly—
“Pfft.”
He let out an odd sound before walking past me.
Of course, I wasn’t the one to just let that be. “You, wait.”
He paused. “You?”
“Ah, excuse me. I can’t remember what your name is.”
“That’s understandable for you. Greetings. I am Count Heutailer.”
“Good to see you, Count Heutailer. So why did you laugh just then?”
“…Is there a problem? I only laughed because it was great to see the most famous hero of the city.”
Noble-speak and mannerisms translation: He found it amusing to see me, the figure gaining a fair bit of fame and a positive reputation these days, sitting at the last seat in the meeting.
Wow, is he just a moron?
After getting my question answered, I just nodded. “Ah, really? Then you can go.” I would have pried if he was scheming something nefarious, but I didn’t care otherwise. Giving him attention was my loss.
“Baron Yandel, as your senior, if I am to give you a piece of advice—”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
“…It will be good for you to let go of behavior like that during the Palatial Meeting. Or your pride will suffer greatly.”
I nodded while picking my ear with my pinky, Count Heutailer shot me a quick glare before heading to his seat.
More time passed, and people I recognized started to appear one by one.
It started from the twenty-fifth seat, Viscount Maxiland, the prime minister’s left hand and the person I met during the last Races Summit.
Countess Ragna Peprok was twenty-first. We just shared a light nod when our eyes met.
Step, step.
On the other hand, the village chief silently went to his seat in the fourteenth position and sat down without even looking at me once.
“It’s great to see you again here.”
The older brother of Melend Kaislan and the leader of a pretty big noble alliance, Count Kaislan, was eleventh.
“Haha, it has been a while, Lord Baron. I’ve heard the news. You’ve made great contributions this time as well.”
Although we were still on somewhat rocky terms, we had taken pictures together. He had even bought the “old friend” title from me. Ranked sixth was Count Alminus.
“The birth of a new star is always welcomed. Always remember you have choices in life.”
Duke Kealunus said something ominous before heading to his third seat.
On the other hand, the prime minister, Marquess Tercerion, didn’t even acknowledge me and sat silently in the second seat.
Right. As a note, the first seat was left empty. That was because it was the seat of the king. Not even the marquess, who acted as his proxy in all sorts of events, could sit there.
Since that seat’s excluded, I guess there’s only a total of forty-nine people here.
With the head seat empty, Duke Kealunus and the prime minister ended up sitting opposite each other.
The marquess, sitting to the right of the head seat, stood.
“First of all, I speak for His Majesty Martanux when I say that I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to everyone present for making time in their busy schedules to attend.”
With that opener, the prime minister signaled all the nobles to stand up before everyone showed their respects toward the head seat. It was something similar to showing respect for a flag in the modern world. However, since this was a gathering of nobles, a heavy introductory speech followed after the formalities.
The invasion by Noark, the situation at Bifron, and so on.
The marquess talked about recent events in the kingdom, discussed the current state of the economy, and praised the nobles present by saying they were what gave the kingdom the confidence to survive. He also briefly acknowledged the successful expedition into the underground floor and said it was all a blessing to Rafdonia, and so on.
“Right, then let us proceed with the first topic at hand.”
After that flood of unnecessary things, my first Palatial Meeting finally began.