The king stared in amazement at him. Richard responded with a light laugh, his eyes narrowed. “Were you aware of this, Your Majesty?”
Panicked, the high priest cut in before the king could respond. “I ask that you refrain from making such wild accusations toward His Majesty.”
Richard sliced through a piece of meat leisurely then lifted it to his mouth, chewing slowly. His attitude indicated he paid no attention to the high priest’s words. He lowered his eyes even more, licked his lips, then pierced the vegetables on his plate with his fork.
“According to the chef’s explanation earlier, these Hohelp greens can only be harvested near the estuary’s fountainhead in Hohelp. But the monsters decimated the fields and the people who could work them fled. The only ones left there now are starving elders. The few girls became food for the monsters.”
As if offering his condolences to each ingredient, Richard discussed at length each locale the food came from as he continued eating.
“This potato dish is a traditional one from the Healikani mountain district. A deranged priest awakened to a pagan religion and sacrificed young children to monsters. Of course, his actions were meaningless since the whole Church ended up destroyed anyway by the monsters.”
He paused to take another bite then continued.
“Incidentally, the appetizer earlier was made with pot-herbs from the Zanon grasslands, wasn’t it? By the time we arrived there, nothing remained but a barren wasteland. Oh, please, do continue eating. After all, this is food offered in exchange for life and famine. Wouldn’t want to disappoint the chef who made all this, hm? So we must enjoy this feast.”
The members of the imperial entourage resumed eating per Richard’s words. As for Kophe’s side, the royal family, politicians, and religious authorities had no response to his commentary even though they all sat together in supposed solidarity.
His Majesty’s sunken eyes were wide and his lips trembled. Sitting next to him, Her Majesty was eerily quiet and still in such a situation. The indifferent look on her face said none of this had anything to do with her. Prince Medaikonar was busy opening and closing his mouth fruitlessly as the color on his face went from pale to red and back again while he experienced a gamut of emotions, from anger to shock to confusion. He squeezed the tablecloth so hard between his hands that I could see the wrinkles from here.
Richard surveyed everyone in the room with a cool expression then stood up slightly from his chair. He grasped the knife he’d thrust into the table and exerted himself a bit to pull it out. He smiled brightly as he tossed it aside.
“I apologize for my rudeness. I simply could not believe that none of you present were unaware of the places destroyed within the country.” He sat back down and resumed eating the meat on his plate very neatly.
No one on the royal side touched their plates. My features schooled placidly, I dug into the delicious-looking meal to satisfy my stomach. I still couldn’t taste anything because of my nerves, but I went through the motions of chewing and swallowing. And I contemplated.
Obviously, politics was another reason Richard had us traveling all over the nation until he finally received the summons to the capital. Of course, humanitarian aid was the major reason since it was vital to see the state of things with our own eyes.
The servers’ shaking hands arranged the last course on the table. Dessert. An assortment of tiny cakes and fruits. When I took a sip of the digestif, I found it surprisingly sweet. The alcohol and confections did nothing wrong. If anything, I was grateful for all this food especially in light of the circumstances afflicting Kophe, so I dedicated myself to properly savoring the flavors of this final course. Sweet. Sadly, I still couldn’t taste anything.
The Kophe side of this luncheon couldn’t touch their dessert plates either.
“…Your Imperial Highness.” A hoarse voice. Immediately, everyone’s attention turned to His Majesty. He looked like he was trying to choose his words carefully. After a few short beats of silence, he continued, his eyes on Richard. “As the king of the Kingdom of Kophe, I’m grateful to you for the aid you’ve provided.”
Prince Medaikonar, the grand chancellor, and the priests looked horrified. Richard responded to His Majesty’s words of thanks with a sunny smile. His aura was the complete opposite of the ferocity he’d demonstrated just a short time ago.
“I only did what I thought was natural, Your Royal Majesty,” he said. “Were the Kingdom to fall to ruin, major powers around the world would use your country as a foothold to turn their blades against our empire. And I certainly couldn’t have that, hm? From a humanitarian standpoint and in terms of our own interests, the Empire takes the position that it is committed to the defeat of your monsters and the rescue of your people. However.”
The smile on Richard’s face remained unchanging. Only his gaze sharpened now.
“My order of knights, the Flame Corps, were ambushed in the former Nowasilo district by a contingent of your royal guards and holy knights. Not only did a few of my own people suffer injuries, but so too did the citizens of Kophe, civilians who approved of our relief efforts and assisted us with them. As a result, the distrust amongst my supporters toward your country has skyrocketed and that is the current way of things.”
“B-But that’s because you—” Agitated, Medaikonar jerked up from his seat.
Richard didn’t spare him a single glance as his gaze stayed on the king’s face. “Your Royal Majesty, shall I accept this affront as your country’s consensus on the Empire’s aid?”
The smile on Richard’s face had vanished at some point.
The king said nothing. Lord Kantas, his uncle and the grand chancellor, spoke instead. “I believe the Empire has a biased opinion of this matter, Your Imperial Highness. Have you not been making the lords of this nation your vassals one after another under the banner of your cause? Therefore, the only way to interpret your actions is as aggression.”
Spit flew from his mouth as he argued vehemently. Richard didn’t look once at him either. He continued staring at the king as he spoke.