"Why, Your Majesty?" asked knight Aiden. He wasn't the only one shocked when King Tristan suddenly said, "What?" in a high tone.
Tristan cleared his throat. He changed his shocked and confused face to a stern one, looking straight at the four men. He was trying to hide his embarrassment.
"There isn't anything. Forget it." Tristan waved his hand. He'd been like this twice, unable to control his surprise and forgetting that he wasn't alone. He was annoyed at the system that never failed to make his head spin.
"I'm not sure that I can understand the system." Tristan muttered.
However, because he had only been on this planet for two weeks and the system had not assigned him many tasks, it was understandable that he couldn't read the system's thoughts yet.
"Thank you for accepting my gift, Your Majesty." Mr. Baron bowed, smiling broadly. "I won't bother you anymore. I will resolve my issues with the farmers."
"Negotiate with them without violence, and don't force them," said Tristan. He remembered Leonardo, who said that the faces of the 20 farmers had bruises, as if they had just fought before they went to the palace.
Tristan wasn't curious about what happened to the farmers, but it was possible that Leonardo's assumption was right, even though he didn't want to slander the merchant.
Yeah, at least he asked the merchant not to be rude to the farmers. His two knights and the merchant's subordinates were witnesses to the fact that he had warned the merchant.
"You don't need to worry, Your Majesty." The merchant smiled so wide that his eyes narrowed. That smile made him look scary. "I have a good feeling. I will persuade them with gentleness and patience."
Tristan raised his eyebrows. The merchant was absolutely certain of his feelings. He wanted to threaten to punish the merchant if he heard that the farmers were being intimidated and fighting with goons ordered by him, but Tristan didn't.
If one day the farmers complained to him that they were experiencing violence, Tristan only needed to hand over the case to the kingdom's ministry of security and peace.
"I also won't tell anyone that I gave you a gift, and you accepted it." The merchant handed a small black box to the Knight Ajax. Then he and his subordinates left the king's palace.
Tristan glanced at the small black box without interest. He asked his two knights to check whether what the merchant said was true, especially about his signature.
"He only made my stay at his inn free for the rest of my life," Tristan grumbled. "He should also waive other fees." Tristan didn't feel grateful.
"This agreement and the signature are genuine, Your Majesty," said the two knights after they examined it carefully.
Tristan nodded, and then he kept the small black box in his pocket.
"I accepted his gift not because I hoped he would realize his dream to build an inn. I accept it because it is neither gold coins, gold bars, nor land certificates." Tristan hoped that his two knights did not misunderstand.
Tristan lied, but his two knights believed him and did not suspect him.
***
The powerful wind blew through Tristan's hair and golden robes. The wind carried away the scattered leaves on the ground. He had to hem his robe, so the leaves wouldn't catch.
The sky was clear blue, and the sun was shining brightly, there was no sign of rain. Tristan hasn't felt what rain feels like in this world. He wasn't going to look for the answer in Tristan Madigan's memory.
Tristan was on his way to Carlos Madigan's palace, which was quite far from his palace, but he didn't need to ride a horse. He was not alone, his two knights were behind him.
The path he was walking on was hard brown earth, and on the right side, there were some trees that were not too close together. There was no one, and it was quite silent. Naturally, there were no small children in this place running around.
Laureen and Leonardo didn't have the courage to stay at Carlos Madigan's palace for too long. Many nobles did not like their presence. Their mother had never even set foot in that palace.
Tristan tilted his head. He has not yet met Carlos Madigan's concubine. Tristan Madigan only met the mother of the twins twice, apart from the fact that the concubine's palace was quite far away, he was banned by the prime minister because the nobles didn't like seeing him with that woman.
"Why don't they forbid Carlos Madigan from having a concubine?" Tristan didn't understand the way the nobles thought.
His eyes widened, and he hurriedly stopped walking to look back as he realized his stupidity. His two knights were shocked and looked at him questioningly.
"What happened, Your Majesty?" asked Knight Aiden.
"Did you guys hear anything?" Tristan actually wanted to ask if they heard his mumbling.
The two knights stared at each other as if they could read minds. Then they shook their heads and answered in unison. "We didn't hear anything, Your Majesty." They looked around warily.
Tristan secretly sighed with relief. If they heard Tristan mention Carlos Madigan's name, they would assume he had been disrespectful to his father.
"Ouch." Tristan groaned in pain when a fairly large and heavy tree branch fell on his head.
"Damn tree." Tristan stared sharply at the shady tree while stroking his head.
Knight Ajax immediately placed the tree branch under the tree. Meanwhile, Knight Aiden looked at his king with pity.
Tristan continued his journey. He forgot that he was still serving a penalty from the system.
"It's okay. This is the last day," Tristan calmed himself down. He could survive 10 years in prison. He wouldn't be destroyed just because of bad luck.
The palace soldiers guarding Carlos Madigan bowed to their king. Tristan walked past them with a strange feeling in his chest, he wasn't used to everyone's respectful attitude towards him.
Carlos Madigan has been waiting for his son to arrive. He smiled broadly, and his face radiated happiness when his son entered his room and then stood in front of him. "My son."
Tristan sat on the edge of the bed, facing Carlos Madigan and holding the hand of the man who couldn't move his body. "How are you, Dad?"
Every time he tried to say "father," it seemed like a stone was trapped in his throat. Even though he was in Tristan Madigan's body, Tristan found it difficult to think of Carlos Madigan as his father.
"I'm fine, even though I can't leave this room." Carlos chuckled. The jokes that came out of his mouth could never make other people laugh along with him.
"Dad is great. Dad is the most patient person I have ever met," said Tristan. He patted the back of Carlos Madigan's hand.
Tristan didn't know if Carlos Madigan was tired of hearing people say that he would get better soon, so he decided to praise him.
Oh, of course, Tristan had other reasons. He couldn't pretend to wish Carlos Madigan a rapid recovery. After all, Carlos Madigan believes that all of his children wish he had recovered so that they may be together again.
"I heard you made a decision on the issue that farmers in the kingdom's western region are currently dealing with," stated Carlos Madigan, a dissatisfied face.
"Why do you advise them to sell their plantation lands to that merchant? Don't you know the impact that will result if the farmers follow your advice?" Carlos Madigan raised his voice slightly.
Tristan regretted taking the time to meet Carlos Madigan. If he knew the man who couldn't move his body was going to discuss that, he might as well go to the library to read books about horses and see what reward he got from the system.
"Why do you make decisions without thinking first?" Carlos Madigan asked another question after more than a minute of Tristan not answering him.