喵绅HCMOIC士网页版

Chapter 92

Chapter 92

The power of early education is truly amazing. Now I understand why all the parents in my past life were so obsessed with cram schools.

“My father may seem very intellectual, even rigid, on the outside, but he’s actually a very sociable person. If you have a good conversation with him on a good topic, he’ll open up quickly.”

“By Karl’s standards… Hmm, talking about the military wouldn’t be bad. My brother’s decision to become an officer was influenced by my father, who used to be a commander.”

“Or he likes stories about nobles. Not too serious topics, but… Oh! Tell him about those four, he’ll enjoy that.”

I faithfully followed Selena’s advice as we made our way to the Marquisate of Nafplion. And the result was my father-in-law, laughing heartily right next to me.

“Imperial officers all have a bit of a rigid side! It wasn’t like that in my day. Hahaha!”

“Hahaha! You must have had a hard time. Well, Marquis Adria has always been a bit eccentric. I just didn’t know his son would be exactly like him. Haha!”

I had been worried that he would grab me by the collar and yell, ‘You damn son-in-law! Are you happy now that you’ve sent my daughter to grad school?!’ as soon as he saw me.

Because, even I would have been tempted to do that. How could I look favorably upon the person who sent my only daughter to grad school?

But it seems my father-in-law is a bit more rational than I am.

“That’s why it’s all the more impressive. You persuaded the four heirs and even created a pension foundation.”

“So you were aware of it, Your Grace.”

“Of course. How could I not be? It’s a hot topic in social circles these days. Recently, the Duchy of Brenstfall has also joined the cause, so everyone is even more interested.”

Ah, the Duchy of Brenstfall. Remus Bavaria. The one who’s crazy about mint chocolate…

A sudden sense of foreboding washes over me. What if the Karl Adelheit Veterans Pension Foundation is just a front for a ‘Mint Chocolate Lovers Club’?

Come to think of it, the Four Musketeers and Heir Remus are all mint chocolate fans.

Later on, they won’t be saying, ‘Try spreading mint chocolate on bread, just like Medal of Honor recipient Karl Adelheit loved it!’ will they?

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. What if, just maybe, the Marquis… I mean, my father-in-law… he’s not a mint chocolate fan like them, is he? Please, no! It would be a disaster if my father-in-law was a mint chocolate fan!

What if he says ‘Hahaha! Try some mint chocolate, son-in-law. You don’t like it? You don’t want to marry my daughter?’

“However, with all due respect to everyone, I’m not too fond of mint chocolate.”

Oh. Oh my!

“Mint has its own flavor, and so does chocolate. Wouldn’t it be better to enjoy their original flavors rather than mixing them indiscriminately?”

For a moment, I almost grabbed the Marquis’s hand and shouted, ‘You’re right!’

Honestly, I’ve been worried that I might be the abnormal one, with the four of them sitting next to me every day, inhaling mint chocolate and whispering, ‘Why doesn’t Karl eat this delicious treat?’

“I’m simply in awe of Your Grace’s insight.”

“Hmm? Thank you, even if it’s just flattery.”

“It’s definitely not flattery. Absolutely not.”

There was still some time before dinner, so Selena, the Marquis, her grandfather, and I headed to the drawing room.

A little later, the Marquis’s wife joined us and exchanged greetings with me.

Hmm. This really does feel like I’m meeting my girlfriend’s parents.

“I heard the story. You recovered the lost sacred relic.”

“Well… Yes, that’s right.”

I wanted to say that I was just trying to teach the Four Musketeers a lesson and swung my greatsword, accidentally splitting a rock and revealing the relic, but I held back.

There was no need to put myself down in this kind of situation. Honestly, wouldn’t it be better to be seen as a great boyfriend for a great daughter, a great son-in-law?

“My father was very impressed when he heard the news. Isn’t that right?”

“Indeed, indeed. It’s clear that the Goddess of Light looks favorably upon our Empire. Otherwise, why would She have allowed a Medal of Honor recipient to perform such a miracle? Ah, no. I should say She has already allowed you to perform two miracles. My apologies, Karl.”

“Not at all. I also believe that the Goddess of Light has allowed me to perform these miracles because She looks favorably upon me. Surely, the Light has guided me.”

It’s easy for a not-so-devout follower of the Goddess of Light to do a 180.

“That’s why it’s such a joyous occasion. To have such a fine young man like you as my grandson-in-law.”

Kugh—!

I nearly choked on my tea, but managed to swallow it with superhuman patience. I couldn’t spit it out in front of both her parents and her grandfather.

“Kekh! Kholrok, kholrok!!”

Selena, who had been quietly sipping her tea next to me, started coughing as if she had choked.

“Why are you both so surprised? Wasn’t this already discussed?”

“Well, yes… We did talk about it, but…”

But we haven’t officially announced it yet, Grandfather.

Both the Ifrit and Adelheit families suspected they might become in-laws, but they hadn’t reached a definite conclusion, so they were keeping it quiet.

More importantly, we weren’t getting married right away, and both Selena and I still had three years left.

No one knows what the future holds, so we had to be cautious. If we discussed it too early and something went wrong, it would be too painful.

Of course, that was just the thinking of us youngsters. It seemed the adults had a different idea.

“Do you not find this young man your daughter has brought suitable as a son-in-law?”

“How could that be, father? He’s a two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor. The fact that Lenny is head over heels for him is enough to make him a worthy son-in-law. It’s absurd to say otherwise. What do you think, my dear?”

“He’s the benefactor who saved our son from that hell. Need I say more?”

Well, I did send Selena to the hell that is grad school, but fortunately, it seems like that part has been taken into consideration. Since she chose to go herself, my fault is lessened, I guess? That’s a relief.

“I’d like to tell them to have the wedding this spring, but…”

“You must restrain yourself, Father. We cannot show any disrespect.”

“That’s true. We must at least wait until next spring. Hmm.”

That’s right, everyone. You really must wait until next spring. If, by any chance, we were to announce, ‘We’re getting married in the spring!’, the Emperor would clear his throat and say, ‘Sorry, but we’d like our son and daughter-in-law to have all the spotlight at least until next spring.’

Besides, if we were in our right minds, we wouldn’t do it even if we were told to. No matter what we did, it would be overshadowed by the Crown Prince’s wedding, so why would we want to get married then?

“Well then… Father-in-law. Mother-in-law.”

Since things had turned out this way, I tried to score some more points by calling them that, but I’m not sure why Selena and her grandfather, who were sitting next to them, seemed to like it more than they did.

* * *

This is so annoying. Seriously, what a waste of time because of these guys. Don’t they know that this is why the Empire is so eager to call us “Kanfras” instead of Elves?

Eloise grumbled inwardly, but then told herself to be patient and focused on the conversation of the elves gathered in the room, their legs crossed.

“I knew you would come. You are the highest-ranking elves, after all.”

“Thank you. The truth is, our homeland has been quite noisy lately.”

“Ah, yes. We’ve heard about that. The lower-ranking warriors are demanding a major social change, aren’t they? Honestly.”

“It seems they’ve all gone mad from fighting for so long.”

Hyzens chose the right side. Luzernes was wrong, and the Empire was right. But don’t get me wrong.

It’s not because Hyzens is superior or wiser, but simply because the Empire is that powerful. It’s absolutely not because ‘Hyzens is great’ or anything like that.

The lower-ranking warriors, who had fought against their fellow elves on the front lines and witnessed the Empire’s power firsthand, clearly understood this.

They knew that this situation wasn’t due to the elves’ wisdom or superiority, but simply because they had chosen the right side. They knew that if they did anything foolish in this situation, they could face backlash.

The problem was that those who did nothing and knew nothing were obsessed with the results.

As if they had done something, with the nuance that they had played some great role.

Yes, they were just like those who had come to study in the Empire simply because they were nobles, mistakenly believing they were special.

‘Do I really have to listen to all this? It’s driving me insane.’

The Empire had secretly asked her for a favor. They wanted her to check if there were any Lugens spies among the exchange students and if they were instilling any unnecessary ideas.

Eloise coolly accepted. She didn’t have an overflowing affection for her people, but she didn’t have none either. That’s why she took on the task. If another problem arose at the academy because of the exchange students, who knows how the diplomatic relations would be twisted.

“Honestly, I’m not happy that they awarded the Legion of Honor medal to that human male.”

Huh? Ah, you’re not talking about Karl, are you? But why bring up that man all of a sudden—

“Honestly, they’re no better than us elves, so why give them such an honor?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It must have been the choice of the higher-ups who are too subservient to the Empire.”

“To align with the Empire’s order. Fine. I can understand that. But what I can’t understand is giving the highest honor, the Legion of Honor Medal to a mere human—”

Ahahaha. Ahahahahaha? What are these long-eared bastards saying right now?

This won’t do. If I neatly cut off their pretty ears, they’ll come to their senses. Yes, yes. They definitely will!