Chapter 198
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“Why have you not yet become my son-in-law?”
“…Pardon?”
The Sultan’s question rumbled from beneath the throne like thunder.
Startled, Lloyd almost raised his head without thinking.
He nearly dared to look straight at the Sultan’s face—an act of outright disrespect.
He swallowed hard.
‘What is this?’
That old man.
He’s even more headstrong than I thought.
The thought came naturally.
And it was only natural.
He had come to deliver joyous news: the Qanat was complete.
That the drought in the Kandahar Region would be resolved.
Yet the Sultan, the moment he saw him, immediately said something like that.
‘What should I say?’
He was at a loss.
How was he supposed to answer such a blunt, headstrong question?
What reaction would let him slip out of this awkward situation cleanly?
Just as Lloyd was sinking into a dilemma deeper than a tree’s roots—
“Why are you so surprised?”
The Sultan’s chuckle reached him.
“Lloyd Frontera, son of Arcos Frontera. When a Monarch sees talent like yours, and knows a gifted man like you is unattached, where in the world would they not covet you?”
“Ah, that’s…”
“I was simply voicing my wish for a moment. So you didn’t particularly like my daughter, I see.”
“Were you aware that I had noticed?”
“I heard the detailed story from the girl.”
“……”
Lloyd shut his mouth.
Scheherazade must have already met the Sultan.
She would have reported everything about this as soon as she returned to Ahinsa.
‘She didn’t twist it into something weird, did she?’
With a faint edge of anxiety, Lloyd kept silent.
The Sultan continued.
“Originally, matters between a man and a woman… no matter how much I desire it, if the parties involved feel differently, there’s nothing I can do. So don’t take it to heart. It was only a regretful remark.”
“Your grace is boundless.”
“Find grace from your Monarch.”
“……”
That sounded like scolding.
Fortunately, the Sultan didn’t linger on the topic.
“Well then, shall we speak of the more important matter? The Qanat is completed?”
“That is so, Your Great and Almighty Sultan.”
Lloyd was desperate for the subject to change.
He answered quickly.
“After four months of construction, we were able to draw water from the foothills of the mountains. This was thanks to my efforts to keep the contract with the Great and Almighty Sultan. Also, thanks to this, we have successfully supplied water to most of the villages in the Kandahar Region, including those around Kandara City. This, too, was thanks to my efforts to keep the contract with the Great and Almighty Sultan.”
“…So it was thanks to your efforts?”
“It was merely an effort to keep the promise with the Great and Almighty Sultan.”
“That sounds like you’re urging me to keep my promise as well.”
“How dare I utter such nonsense.”
“It sounds like you are.”
“Absolutely not. The Great and Almighty Sultan is a Great and Almighty being, so I have no doubt he will easily keep his promise with a humble person like me. Why would I need to utter such nonsense?”
“…So you’re telling me to sit at the negotiating table with the Magentano envoy?”
“Your grace is boundless.”
“Don’t find that grace here, I said.”
The Sultan clicked his tongue.
Truly capable and shameless.
And that was exactly why he couldn’t hate him.
No—why he coveted him even more.
‘If only he would become my son-in-law.’
If he would just become his son-in-law…
He would gladly make him his right-hand man.
He wanted to draw out every drop of that man’s talent without wasting any of it.
He wanted to change the future of this Sultanate that way.
‘Alicia Termino Magentano. Why doesn’t that foolish woman use such talent more aggressively?’
If she wasn’t going to, then he should be given to me.
He couldn’t help thinking that.
That was how regretful he felt—and why he coveted him.
It was the same with resolving the drought in the Kandahar Region.
He had already received detailed reports from his daughter Scheherazade and the attendants who had worked with Lloyd.
‘He gained the cooperation of the rebels. And after completing the task, he even sent the rebels somewhere beyond my reach.’
He had nearly clapped his hands while listening.
It was that perfect a job.
Lloyd Frontera.
The rebels who cooperated with him.
The residents of the Kandahar Region freed from drought.
And himself, the ruler.
A method that let everyone involved gain the maximum benefit.
The Sultan liked that about Lloyd.
‘He’s not just competent. He’s not just smart. He’s different from those who sit at desks all day and pretend they understand the world.’
A bookworm who only studied couldn’t have pulled it off.
It was the way of someone who had been rolled through the storms of the real world.
A deep longing rose in the Sultan’s eyes as he looked at Lloyd.
But only for a moment.
He regained his dignified expression, the ruler of the desert once more.
“I understand. What lies between you and me is a clear promise and contract. You upheld it first, so now it is my turn. I declare here that I will face the Magentano envoy across the negotiating table tomorrow.”
“Your grace is boundless.”
“Don’t find grace here, I said.”
The Sultan smiled and dismissed Lloyd.
After Lloyd left, the Sultan’s gaze lingered on the empty space where he had stood.
“……”
He was still regretful.
Too precious to let go so easily.
So just once more.
‘Should I try?’
The Sultan nodded slowly.
Determination lit the desert ruler’s eyes.
♣
The next day, the Sultan’s promise was realized.
The negotiation table was truly opened.
Envoy Count Ventura entered the palace with a tense expression.
The Sultan’s palace was unusually quiet that day.
It was always solemn, but today’s atmosphere carried a different weight.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the outcome.
The Sultan and the envoy.
Only the two of them entered the negotiation room.
All eyes stayed fixed on the door, waiting for it to open and reveal the result.
The envoy’s attendants, the Sultanate’s officials, the citizens of Ahinsa…
Everyone felt the same.
No—there was one exception.
“Lord Lloyd, are you not concerned at all?”
“Nope.”
As if it were obvious, Lloyd nodded.
Then he sucked hard on the straw in his mouth.
Sluuurp!
The juice of a special palm tree that only grew near Ahinsa flowed coolly into his mouth through a silver straw.
Sweet and sour.
Salty, yet savory.
Cool and invigorating.
“Kyah.”
A taste that made him exclaim without meaning to.
As expected of a fruit that cost one gold ring apiece.
The finest fruit in the region—so expensive even noble lords rationed it.
‘If I had to compare it… it’s like the taste of a freshly opened bottle of cola.’
To think he’d find something close to cola in this world.
Lloyd looked down at the palm fruit, visibly moved.
Then he smacked his lips, regretful.
“Why would I care about that negotiation? I should drink as much of this as I can before going back home. Don’t you think?”
“I do not.”
Javier frowned, as if disgusted.
“This negotiation will determine the fate of the nation. If it fails, war may break out. Shouldn’t you naturally be concerned?”
“What’s the point of being concerned?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s not like I can interfere in the negotiation anyway. Besides, the result’s already decided.”
“The result is decided?”
Javier tilted his head.
Lloyd smiled brightly.
“The negotiation will go well. It has no choice but to.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The Sultan’s reason to wage war has disappeared.”
That was the truth.
From the start, the Sultan had been worried about the drought centered around the Kandahar Region.
He was the desert ruler who had intentionally chosen to provoke conflict with the Magentano royal family in order to divert public opinion for a time.
But now?
Everything had changed.
“I solved the drought, didn’t I? Of course, some of it depends on what the Sultan does afterward, but for now, there’s almost no need to worry about a massive shift in public sentiment. From the Sultan’s perspective, the reason to force a diplomatic conflict and war is gone.”
“Then…”
“He’ll probably acknowledge responsibility for the Monster Domino Effect.”
Lloyd said it plainly.
Javier raised an eyebrow.
“Then may I ask one more question?”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“If the conclusion is that clear, there should be no reason for the negotiation to drag on. Why has it been going on for more than half a day?”
“That’s simple, too.”
Lloyd’s smile deepened.
“They’re negotiating the details. How far they’ll acknowledge responsibility, how much compensation they’ll pay, that kind of thing. And it’ll look better than ending it too early.”
“Look better?”
“The Sultan’s image. If it ends too quickly, it’ll look like the Sultan got completely pushed back and said GG… no, declared surrender early on. So they’ve probably already settled everything inside and are just sipping tea. The longer it seems to take from the outside, the more the Sultan saves face.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. So we should just drink this diligently.”
Lloyd raised the special palm fruit.
“This is insanely expensive. The Great and Almighty Sultan is paying for it all. Besides, once we’re back in the Frontera Territory, we won’t be able to eat this even if we want to. Even if we ship it by boat and import it, it’ll never taste the same as it does here.”
“……”
“What are you doing? Hurry up. Let’s have more.”
“……”
Lloyd held out the palm fruit.
Javier took it and couldn’t help letting out a deep sigh.
Watching Lloyd suck down palm sap like a glutton only made that sigh deepen.
His young master was smart, that was true.
But sometimes, honestly, he was vulgar and embarrassing.
Javier asked, irritated.
“Can’t we just have a normal meal instead of this?”
“Huh?”
“Isn’t it mealtime?”
“That’s why I ordered this.”
“……”
“No food is coming out today. I canceled everything and told them to bring only this in bulk.”
“Why would you do that?”
“I told you. We can only drink this here. And it’s insanely expensive.”
“……Hoo, really.”
He really couldn’t stop sighing.
In the end, Javier said with resignation.
“Then I’ll just have one. I can’t skip a meal.”
He was hungry.
It was mealtime.
He didn’t particularly want to, but he’d fill his stomach with this.
Only to taste it out of courtesy.
He picked up the palm fruit.
Brought the straw to his lips.
Sucked.
One sip.
Two.
Three.
He kept going, and the fruit was empty in no time.
“You one-shotted it?”
“……”
Lloyd was staring at him, chuckling.
Only then did Javier realize he’d messed up.
But it was already too late.
“Want another one?”
“……”
“You don’t want it? Then I’ll…”
“Give it to me.”
Thud.
Javier Asrahan—the true protagonist and peerless hero who illuminated the novel Iron-Blooded Knight.
Even he was just an ordinary young man in his twenties in front of cola-flavored palm sap for the first time in his life.
♣
The negotiation between the Sultan and the envoy ended around evening.
“Alright. We finally did it.”
Envoy Count Ventura entered the guesthouse with an excited face.
The waiting envoy members sprang to their feet.
“How did it go?”
“That smile—don’t tell me…”
“That’s right.”
Count Ventura looked around at everyone, beaming.
“The Sultan accepted our demands. All of them.”
“All of them?”
“Is that really true?”
“Hahaha, have you all lived your lives being fooled? It’s exactly as I said. Everything succeeded. The Sultan fully acknowledged responsibility for the Monster Domino Effect. And he accepted all the compensation we demanded, exactly as written. He even agreed to conditions we didn’t even ask for.”
“Conditions we didn’t even ask for?”
All the envoy members leaned in.
Lloyd, who had been patting his palm-sap-filled stomach off to one side, did the same.
‘Additional conditions? The Sultan?’
That was strange.
It should have ended with acknowledging responsibility and paying compensation.
Why was he offering something extra they hadn’t demanded?
‘Why?’
Lloyd’s ears pricked up.
Count Ventura’s delighted words continued.
“Hehehe. From now on, don’t doubt your ears. The Sultan even signed an agreement promising the same Monster Domino Effect will never happen again. Do you know what that means? That Sultan personally lowered his authority on the international diplomatic stage and offered us a heartfelt apology.”
“Oh, oh!”
“Is that really true!”
Count Ventura’s triumphant announcement sent the envoy members into a frenzy.
The results exceeded expectations.
And maybe because of that—
Lloyd, watching from the side, suddenly felt like he’d choked on the palm sap he’d been enjoying.
‘A non-recurrence agreement? That Sultan? He gave something like that? Wait. Could it be…?’
A bad feeling swept over him.
It climbed up his spine.
In the next instant, Lloyd jumped to his feet.
Before anyone could stop him, he bolted to his room.
He began packing for a midnight escape at the speed of light.
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