Debuff Master

Chapter 614

“Hmm... Challenging my crown’s authority...” Siegfried muttered, mulling over Michele's words.

“I advise that you summon your subjects and convene a meeting in the throne room.”

“I guess I should,” Siegfried replied with a shrug.

“Shall we?”

“Sure.”

Siegfried and Michele opened the office door and left for the throne room.

Creak... Thud...!

The office door closed with a dull thud.

“Traitor,” Siegfried muttered at the door before walking away.

“Haha... Hahaha...”

It turned out that Cheon Woo-Jin had decided to hide behind the door, afraid that Michele’s wrath would fall upon him, too.

“He chose to save his own skin.”

Cheon Woo-Jin hurriedly followed and said, “Someone has to survive, right? Hahaha...”

“Let’s talk about the soul fragment later. I have a meeting to convene.”

“S-Sure, let’s do that.”

“Let me know immediately if something happens.”

“I will.”

“I’m not sure if I can trust someone without a shred of loyalty, though,” Siegfried grumbled before walking away, leaving Cheon Woo-Jin standing all alone.

The subjects were all gathered in the throne room, and Michele proceeded to start the briefing.

“The Espadrille Province used to be a frontier region of the Marchioni Empire. They are being ruled by nobles who can't join the politics of the central region. We can say that this incident happened after His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart, transferred the ownership of the Espadrille Province to His Majesty.”

“Continue,” Siegfried said.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Michele replied with a bow. Then, he continued, “Our kingdom is experiencing the biggest economic growth in history. Our coffers are overflowing with gold, so we are looking to invest elsewhere in addition to investing in our kingdom.

"And that was when that His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Stuttgart, bestowed the Espadrille Province upon His Majesty, resulting in us being able to invest and develop our own lands rather than in other nations.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“The ruling nobles of the Espadrille Province are refusing to cooperate with our kingdom. That is the problem.”

“Hmm...”

“To make matters worse, the nobles gave our envoy a beatdown and sent him back to us injured. This is a blatant declaration of their refusal to cooperate with our kingdom.”

“Are they protesting?”

“If we put it in a good way, then yes, but...” Michele replied. Then, he smiled icily and added, “It could be something more, depending on how we look at it, Your Majesty.”

“I see.”

“We can consider that the nobles of the Espadrille Province will not listen to our commands going forward now that they have explicitly expressed how they feel about being under our rule.”

“This is quite the mess...”

“If we leave things as it is, there is a high possibility they will declare autonomy from our kingdom and eventually go as far as request for taxes to be reduced.”

“So they’re telling us to mind our own business since they can rule themselves?”

“Precisely.”

“Hmm...”

“That is... If they de-escalate the situation and seek a peaceful resolution.”

“Are you saying there's a chance they might revolt?”

“I am afraid so...” Michele said in response with his head lowered as if Siegfried mentioned something that he should not have. Then, he continued, “Your Majesty.”

“Yeah?”

“Please enlighten us with your thoughts on the matter as the ruler of the Proatine Kingdom.”

The other subjects lowered their heads and said in unison.

“Please enlighten us, Your Majesty.”

Siegfried was pleased by their actions.

‘Look at these punks. They’re asking for my opinion first because I’m their king,’ he thought with a smirk.

None of the subjects dared to look down on him just because he acted like a fool at times or because he looked young. The reason was that every single one of them knew that Siegfried might be lazy at times, but he was in no way an incapable ruler.

He looked at his subjects and said, “First of all, I will attempt a dialogue with them.”

It was then...

“Huh?”

“H-Hey, what did I hear just now?”

“I think His Majesty said a dialogue...?”

“Ahem... It seems His Majesty is weary these days. I should go find some nutritious food to offer him.”

“How can this be...? Is there something wrong with His Majesty?”

The subjects became rowdy all of a sudden.

“W-What? What’s wrong with you guys?” Siegfried asked, flustered by their reaction. Then, he looked at Michele and asked, “...Why are they reacting like this?”

However, Michele had the exact same look just like the other subjects and he was looking at Siegfried with eyes full of distrust.

“What? What’s wrong with you all? Did I say something wrong?” Siegfried asked.

“Your Majesty, are you unwell by any chance?” Michele asked in response.

“No? I’m in top condition these days.”

“Then are you depressed perhaps?”

“Nope. I feel great.”

“Then what is wrong with you? Is this a hidden camera prank by any chance?”

“Huh? Why do you think so? And where did you learn that?”

“Your Majesty would normally talk about bashing their heads open first before anything else... Is it not?”

It was then.

Kwachik!

A cross-shaped vein bulged on Siegfried’s forehead.

“All of you...” Siegfried muttered under his breath with obvious rage. Then, he roared, unleashing his rage, “Head to the ground. Now!”

“Huh?” Michele tilted his head in confusion.

“I said, head down, ass up! Now!” Siegfried repeated.

Then, Siegfried got up from his throne and roared at the top of his lungs like a lion.

“All of you in the throne room! Head on the ground, now! HEADS DOWN ASS UP!”

Siegfried's voice reverberated throughout the entire castle.

***

Thirty minutes later.

“You guys had it good these days, right? Are you here to have fun?! Is that it?!” Siegfried exclaimed while swinging his +13 Vanquisher’s Grasp that was now transformed into a baseball bat.

Michele and the others trembled in fear with their heads on the ground.

“Am I paying you too well? Or are you too free these days? Do you want me to teach you a lesson? Ha?!”

Siegfried wanted nothing more than to line them up and haze them one by one.

‘Just what do these bastards think of me?’ Siegfried growled inwardly. Well, he was hurt after realizing that his own trusted subjects thought of him as some lowlife who'd go around destroying things whenever he was bored.

‘Should I haze Michele at least to serve as an example?’ Siegfried seriously contemplated making an example out of his Minister of State to preserve the prestige of the royal household.

And that was when the chamberlain announced...

“Her Majesty, Queen Brunhilde is entering!”

Brunhilde appeared just in time to witness Siegfried about to haze Michele.

“Oh? What is happening here?” she asked.

“Honey!” Siegfried cried out.

“Why are they—”

“T-They! These guys thought I was...” Siegfried proceeded to tell on his subjects.

“I see, so something like that happened...”

“Sniff...!”

“It’s alright. Not everyone can understand how you think, right?”

“S-Still...”

“But I believe in you, darling.”

“Honey...”

“My one and beloved...”

Siegfried and Brunhilde gazed at each other’s eyes with passion, and their eyes slowly turned into hearts.

“Kyuuu! Get a grip or get a room! This isn’t your bedroom!” Hamchi cried out and drop-kicked Siegfried.

“Ack!” Siegfried screamed after getting kicked to the ground, but he finally came to his senses. “Ahem... I seem to have lost it just now.”

“M-Me, too...” Brunhilde muttered. Her face was flushed, but she quickly regained her composure and calmed down. Then, she spoke sternly and addressed the subjects, “All of you were in the wrong today, but His Majesty has decided to be graceful and overlook it just this once.

"Thus, I hope that all of you will not do anything that would incur his wrath in the future.”

There was a saying that couples usually played good cop and bad cop. Brunhilde had spoken sternly to the subjects, but she was actually freeing them from Siegfried’s wrath by doing so.

“We thank you for your grace.”

“We thank you for your grace.”

“We thank you for your grace.”

The subjects bowed toward Siegfried and Brunhilde.

‘Ah! As expected of my wife! She’s the best!’ Siegfried thought, smiling triumphantly. Then, he cleared his throat and said, “Ahem... You guys better be grateful to the queen. I’ll overlook this just this once because of her, but you better be on your toes from now on.”

“We thank you for your grace, Your Majesty.”

“Let’s go back to what we were talking about,” Siegfried said. Then, he put on a serious look and shared his thoughts regarding the matter, “The reason I wanted to resolve things diplomatically with them isn't that special.

"I’m sure they have their reasons for doing this, so how can I be barbaric and just use brute force from the start? I mean, if there’s a victim here, then they’re the victim, as they were forced to change nations overnight, right?”

The subjects reacted in awe at his words.

“Oh!”

“You are truly a wise and just ruler, Your Majesty!”

“Ah! How deep is your love? How vast is your understanding?”

They were not simply saying these due to having their heads on the ground earlier. What Siegfried said truly resonated with them, and they found it to be a logical reason.

“I’m sure they can’t help but be disgruntled by everything that’s happening right now. Therefore, I plan to discuss with them as their king and try to convince them to reconsider. Bloodshed should be our last resort.”

Michele bowed his head and said, “A wise decision indeed, Your Majesty.”

The subjects repeated his words in unison, “A wise decision!”

However, that was not the end of Siegfried’s wisdom.

“But instruct our men to be ready for war at any given time, as we have to prepare for the worst-case scenario, too.”

“That is an even wiser decision, Your Majesty,” Michele replied with his head bowed even lower.

The subjects repeated his words in unison, “An even wiser decision!”

“Alright, I will now adjourn this meeting,” Siegfried said and ended the meeting.

Right after the meeting was over...

“Darling... You were so cool earlier,” Brunhilde said while gazing with eyes full of love.

Siegfried scratched the back of his head and replied, “That was nothing. Haha... Hahaha...!”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Darling...”

“Honey...”

Pink sparks started flying around them as their gazes met, and exactly three seconds later...

Tak!

Siegfried grabbed her hand and ran as fast as he could somewhere.

A few seconds later.

Bam! Crash!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Boom! Boom! Pow!

Boom! Boom! Pow!

Awoooooooo!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A certain series of noises thundered throughout the castle.

***

Siegfried walked into his office.

“Eh? What took you so long? Did the meeting drag on longer than expected?” Cheon Woo-Jin grimaced and asked.

“No, it only lasted for an hour,” Siegfried replied.

“What? An hour? But it's been three hours, though?”

“Ah, that?” Siegfried muttered with a smirk. Then, he continued, “It’s none of your business.”

“...?”

“Kids shouldn’t meddle in the business of adults.”

“What the hell are you talking about...?”

“Just mind your own business,” Siegfried sneered. Then, he asked, “So, you said the soul fragment is here? In the Proatine Kingdom?”

“Yeah.”

“But where? Don’t tell me it’s in the castle?”

“No, it’s not,” Cheon Woo-Jin replied, shaking his head. Then, he continued, “We have no idea where it is exactly, but we picked up the soul fragment’s unique wavelength from here.”

“So you have no idea where it is? And all you know is that it’s somewhere in the kingdom?”

“Of course not! We know more than that, you know?”

“...?”

“If you look at the map...” Cheon Woo-Jin said, unfurling the map. Then, he traced his finger over it before pointing at a spot, saying, “Here.”

“Eh?”

“It’s somewhere here. I’m not sure exactly where, but it’s here...”

Cheon Woo-Jin was pointing at none other than...

Espadrille—the region where the upper streams of the Piaro River and the Cronasia Plains were located; the territory that Siegfried had recently acquired as a gift from Emperor Stuttgart—the Espadrille Province.