Eun-woo replied with a sip of the sweet fruit wine he gave to her earlier.
"Thank you, Tashian. It's okay now. Shall we go over there this time?"
"…"
He led her without saying a word.
'Oh, it's Ikshid.'
Eun-woo found Ikshid frowning in the distance surrounded by a group of old consuls. He was having a heated discussion with his ministers about the imperial situation.
"It is clear that the assignment transfer from this war is greater than the profit."
"If you do that now, do you mean we should go back to before, when the war has already ended? No matter how high our talent is, there is no such thing."
"The pawn in Genova has been caught as a hostage. Are you satisfied that an aristocratic collateral woman was caught? Even if you take your time, you must find her, protect her, and put them before His Majesty's eyes, to ensure their safety."
"Then do you want me to ignore the personal affairs of Marquis Miller, where the Warawi pirates are holding his lifeline now?"
"After all, Marquis Miller is a man of great spirit and boldness. Since I am not the one who will easily abandon his life whenever I want to end it, it is the thought that it is appropriate to attribute my concern to a noble woman who is said to have been caught as a hostage."
Ikshid became very uncomfortable.
Is it always this easy for the old people in the back room to talk about human life even though they don't go out and fight?
At that time, his sparkling golden eyes discovered a black and large duke and a slender woman next to him, like dandelion hole seeds next to him. Thinking this was the time, he swung his hand toward them without losing his emotion.
"Hey, Duke! Sister! This way!"
Eun-woo forced Tashian to change direction, pretending not to hear the Crown prince's call.
"What are you doing? The Crown prince is calling you."
He replied with an expression of disapproval.
"... I thought the Crown Prince was calling the servant."
Eun-woo was amazed and pushed Tashian's back. Eun-woo, who sent him to the side of Ikshid, prepared courtesy for the prince and the other noble people who seemed to be in a high position even if she pretended to be with him. However, other characters except the prince bowed their heads toward her and the Duke.
Eun-woo thought to herself when she saw Tashian receiving the courtesy they offered as if it were natural.
'The duke's position is high.'
As she guessed, they were busy squabbling with the origin of Tashian behind them and sticking their heads up to him in front of them.
"Hi, sister. Duke. I'm very fortunate to have discovered you two. I needed someone to explain the situation to these sick and tired ministers here. Lord. Since you were the general commander, don't you know the situation better than anyone else? Let me open your mouth. No matter how much I say, they don't listen to me."
"Your, Your Highness!"
Eun-woo shouted in anticipation of the Crown prince's speech, but the ministers next to him were looking only at the Duke's lips without blinking to see if they were already familiar.
Eun-woo was worried that he would send a pathetic look toward Ikshid as usual. However, she was surprised in a different sense to see his eyes subside violently with a light she had never seen.
"….. Your Highness. What else are you eager to discuss?"
The Duke seemed to blame Ikshid, but his eyes were directed to the old ministers next to the prince.
He opened his mouth with a sad voice that seemed to condemn the sinner, throwing a cool glance at the consuls standing with a tense look.
"Even if you explain a hundred times to noble people who have never buried mud on the hem of their garment, didn't you say that one blood-stained blade that God will return to you speaks a thousand times greater?"
With the spirit of the Duke, who seemed to be dripping thin ice at every word, the ministers were all speechless and quiet.
Ikshid helped with a meaningful smile next to him.
"… That's what the Duke says. If you're upset, go to the battlefield yourself. I'll give you my own knife."
Eun-woo was surprised and admired.
Older ministers were overwhelmed by the momentum of the Young crown prince and the duke and were unable to speak. She trembled, realizing that the two men, who were always beating and harshly joking around each other, could become so scary if they colluded together.
At that time, instead of the white-haired one, who had been closing his mouth like a toad, courageously brought up to the Duke.
"Duke. I have something to say to the Lord. How great is the key to diplomacy held by the Marquis of Miller, a prince like you who has never been on the front lines for a long time would not have dared to guess."
"Does that mean that I, who risked my life and death, went to the battlefield and raised my sword, was an idiot who could not even understand the context before and after this war?"
Other ministers jumped and sweated at his cold response.
"What are you talking about? However, there may be loopholes in diplomacy that the Duke, who focused on the battlefield as the commander-in-chief, missed. It is just a request."
"So to explain, there is a loophole in diplomacy, isn't it?"
As if Ikshid was annoyed, he crumpled and rebuked the ministers.
Eun-woo stood next to him like a bag of barley. She was raising her ears just in case she could hear the name of an acquaintance.
"It was only the nobles of Genoa who worked so hard to catch them! This is unfair treatment. It will be disappointing news for our young soldiers and their families who have shed blood so far."
"Mopasan Baek is right. Even if we wait for the establishment of a new kingdom in Genova, we should bring one of our immediate descendants."
Each of the ministers shouted out loud, raising their voices, saying that they were not enough to be hostage in the system, not in their direct lineage. Eun-woo opened her eyes wide open, pointing to the core of the problem, even in the midst of a fuss in which old ministers rambled on with their voices.
Wait… What does that mean?
Then, the minister Han insisted in a loud voice.
"I strongly insist that as soon as Miller Hu is released to the Warawi pirates, he should be sent back to Austuralch!"
Eun-woo opened her mouth to the captain's argument. And she shouted without time to think.
"No way!"
Shortly after that, Eun-woo felt that all the eyes gathered at the chairman were on her at once. The nobles, who were chatting with joy and entertainment next to them, were all looking at her with a surprised look, including Ikshid and Tashian, who were standing while frowning.
But at the moment, she was so frustrated that she had a fever to the top of her head that she was unaware of the situation.
"No, you're saying something that doesn't make sense. What do you mean 're-dispatched to Austuralch'?"
Eun-woo raised her voice by chattering against ministers three times older than her without knowing that the prince and Tashian looked at her with wide eyes.
"Do the royal family say that they lack royal descendants? Where is the ignorant treatment of killing them all and establishing a new regime? Why do you want to see more blood when the war is over? Now that I see it, you're only saying purely false things! You don't care how many more people die in the process of finding a hostage, do you?"
She exclaimed so enthusiastically that the veins in her neck came up.
"My brother, Marquis Miller! To see the end of this three-year war, risking his own life, he is out to perform the precious mission entrusted to him by the Crown Prince! One day soon he will return! Without hurting a single hair! Isn't it the most important thing to come back?!"
That way, Eleanor's brother, who'd arrived quickly, will organize the traffic for her suitors.…!
However, Eun-woo saved her last words. When she came to her senses, almost all the people in the Venue were looking at her.
When she realized what she had done, she froze for a while, and soon coughed awkwardly.
"Hmm. Well, I never said this because Marquis Miller was my brother."
Even after such absurd words, the ministers were unable to refute the claims of Marquis' Sister, who just said the right words.
Everyone except Tashian was surprised.
The young lady in the house did not die once against the ministers of the political world, and besides, she was able to keep the mouths of the imperial politicians who called him to shut up by figuring out every single word she had to say.
Everyone was speechless and watched the scene, and Ikshid, who came to his senses first, coughed and disbanded the meeting.
"Now, now. You sat down at this brilliant party talking about work to make it taste bad. You're trying to get rid of fatigue. Everyone, stop dispersing, dispersing."
Each of the ministers followed the prince's order with a puzzled look. Eun-woo also tried to return to the corner holding Tashian's arm, avoiding the eyes of those who still looked at her with interesting eyes.
It was then. Her familiar red hair was caught in her sight.
'It's Selena..!'
Eun-woo gasped and looked at the red-haired lady passing right in front of her.
It was real this time. The red hair, which can never be mistaken, was passing by the place where she staged a sit-in earlier.
She hurriedly peeped at the side of the Ikshid. He was immersed in a conversation again with Tashian, who was chatting earlier, with a serious look.
The distance between Ikshid and Selena remained with only a few steps.
Eun-woo quickly escaped from Tashian's arms and grabbed the hem of Ikshid's clothes. As if Tashian couldn't believe it, he opened his eyes wide and quickly watched her knowing she was in the arms of the prince, but she couldn't afford to care about him.
"Crown prince! I have something to say…!"
"Ah. Okay, okay. Elli, it's you again."
Ikshid welcomed her, who suddenly intervened during the conversation.
He was looking at her from a completely different perspective due to the incident earlier.
In other words, he felt the possibility of Miller's sister. He didn't know that his sister, who was considered just a cute and pretty younger sister, was such a bold and friendly woman.
Ikshid predicted that this little lady in front of him would grow into a big woman who could greatly help him in the future. Thus, he listened to her with a more cooperative attitude than usual.
"What did you want to say this time?"
Eun-woo glanced at the elderly aristocrat who was talking to Ikshid, pulled the prince's arm and crossed her arm.
"Come over here for a moment."
Then, without knowing the English, she led the accompanying Ikshid beside her, in the opposite direction of Selena. Ikshid, who was a little embarrassed, soon grabbed her arm as if familiar and led the way smoothly.
The Duke, who was watching it from behind, was left alone. Around him, only innocent ministers gathered again.
"... Duke, I'd like to apologize for what I said earlier."
"I have a question for you."
But at that moment, there was not a word which came into his ear.