233 . Aristocrat 3



 A few days later.
 I went with Erdena to King's Landing.
 Biblina arranged it. 

 Cornes of the Bird People
 Chias of the Leopard People
 Dodona of the Golem tribe.

 The three elite members of the Bureau of Guard served as my bodyguards this time as well.

 As I was heading to the King's Capital on the first morning's liner, Korok and Tiree saw me off on this day.
 They still looked quite sleepy from waking up so early, but with Unja holding me by the shoulders
Bye, Mum. Bye, Mum.
Shy.
 He waved his hands hard.

''........But really, what is it with the House of Lords calling me.......''
'If this is the Central Frontier Station, I know it's probably about Liberty Combe...'
 Inside the magician's ship, Erdena and I could do nothing but crane our necks.
 In the end, without coming to any conclusions, the magic ship with us on board arrived at the royal capital in about half a day.
 
 It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to expect when you arrive at the ship's tower.
''Thank you for your hard work, Master Safate, Master Erdena,''
 Quinn smiled and held out his right hand, and Erdena and I took turns shaking hands with him.
 Later, in the reception room of the Quinn Trading Company, Erdena and I treated Quinn to tea.
''........So, Quinn. About my being called to the House of Lords this time, have you found out anything about it?
 At me saying that, Quinn twisted his head.
The very story that I called you to the House of Lords has not leaked through.
 At those words, we twist our heads again.
"I don't know what you mean.......there's no other words in the letter that say we should keep it secret.......
'Maybe, but maybe it's such a mess that I forget to add it.
 We took a short break while exchanging such conversations with Quinn, and then we took the carriage Quinn had prepared for us to go to the Central Town Hall.

 After a short time, we arrived at the central office building and walked to the most imposing building at the back of the building.

 It is the House of Lords.

 I've visited it several times in the past when I was a member of the Greed family, but this is the first time I've seen Erdena.
''Well after all, I'm of the elven race,''
 That's what Eldena said.
Hey you. Would you like me to wait for you after all?
 I said.
 But then I gently hugged Eldena's shoulder.
'Don't worry about it, you're my wife.
 Saying that, we went straight into the House of Lords together.
 When I went out to the reception desk, the receptionist looked at Erdena with an expression of blatant disgust.
 This kind of place hasn't changed a bit since the past.
 This royal capital encourages Bobblebum's religion, which is based on racial supremacy, and naturally the nobles also believe in and worship Bobblebum's religion.
 This receptionist must be a Bobblebumite as well.
 That's why she's a sub-race and just seeing Erdena, I thought she was acting like this.
''Um ... what can I do for you?
Oh, I'm sorry to receive this letter.
 The receptionist rolled her eyes as she handed the letter from the House of Lords to the receptionist, who made no attempt to hide her disgust.
''Sh, excuse me, please wait a moment!
 The receptionist suddenly stood up and bowed deeply, then ran off towards the back of the building as if to escape.
 At the sight of that, even Erdena, who had had a hard expression until then, couldn't help but smile.

 Often, she waited.
 Along with the receptionist from earlier, a man who seemed to be her superior arrived.
''You must be the Gossage Frontier Count of the Frontier City Liberty Combe Lordship and his wife, we've been expecting you.
 As he said this, the man in charge led us to the back of the building.
 The receptionist kept bowing her head deeply to see us off.

 Quinn and the three guards were told to wait here, so we had to part ways with the four of us once here.

''Well I'm sorry that the receptionist was rude to you earlier and I'm truly sorry. I'll give her a hard time later, so please be gentle........
Well, now that you've apologized, I won't make things worse.
 As they walked down the corridor while exchanging such conversations, the man in charge stopped in front of a door that was located quite far back in the hallway.
''You are all waiting inside here, sir...''
 After saying this, we were led inside.
 There were a few old aristocrats waiting for us. 
 When I walked in, they all stood up and bowed deeply.
 I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more information on this topic.
Please have a seat.
 At that prompting, Erdena and I sat down in front of the old nobles.
''Now, let's get right to it, Mr. Gossage Frontier Count you are the second son of the former Greed family, Safate Greed-dono, isn't that right?
 I felt a little defensive when he said that to me all of a sudden.
 It seems that one of the old aristocrats noticed me and waved me off with a smile.
He said, "Oh, don't be alarmed. I'm not here to punish you for hiding your real name or anything like that. Besides, you were formally expelled from the Greed family.
 After being told that and thinking for a while, I
Yes, I am. I'm Safate, the man who was once the second son of the Greed family.
 As I said this, I looked around at the old nobles.
 Beside me, I saw that Erdena was preparing herself in case of an emergency.
 If the guards would rush in to capture me, I could sense that they would be willing to defend me, even if it meant taking their own lives.
You may not be so defensive, ma'am. I will not punish you in any way for this.
 The old aristocrats looked at me again as I said this.
The old aristocrats looked at me again and said, "Well, Sir Safate, since we, the House of Lords, have a hand in this, will you not return to the register of the House of Greedo?
And I want you to take over House Greedo.
 The old aristocrats called themselves the Senate and said so after calling themselves the Senate.

 The Senate........I've heard of it too.
 It's a group of people who have held important positions in the House of Lords, who, after handing over the position of head of the House to someone else, have come together as advisors to the House of Lords, and that is the Senate.

 The story of the people in the Senate was this.

 The Greed family, which had been in the position of the former four dukes, would be cut off if it continued like this.
"Since we, the Senate, have agreed to serve as the fourth Duke of Greedo, we cannot bear to sever our ties with the House of Greedo.
 I couldn't help but notice that the Senators were somewhat brusque in their remarks.

 My father, Gapori, has given away a great deal of money and goods in order to take the position of the Fourth Duke.
 Of course, the people in the Senate who are in front of me right now must have been part of the receipts.
 That's why they're not happy about it.

 The Greed family has been found to be corrupt so far, and there have even been arrests.
 From other nobles.
Why did you appoint such a nobleman to the Four Lords?
 It is not hard to imagine that many people are saying, "I don't think so.
 On top of that, if the Greed family is cut off, there will be a very serious investigation of those who pushed for the Greed family's inauguration.
 If that happens, these senators will not be allowed to get away with it.
 That's why they want to avoid the breakup of the Greed family and somehow vanish the responsibility for the appointment.

 I couldn't help but sigh as I let my thoughts wander.