NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 73
Chapter 73: The Bureaucrats’ Melancholy
“Man, I’m so exhausted…”
“You too? I didn’t even say much, but I’m completely drained.”
“So it’s not just me… good to know.”
The bureaucrats of Galvate collapsed as soon as they returned to their lodgings. The reason? They had attended a diplomatic meeting between Galvate and the Zabeil Kingdom to establish formal relations, and the whole thing left them with an inexplicable sense of fatigue.
“But seriously, why are we so tired? This meeting was supposed to be a surefire success, right?”
“Yeah, for Zabeil, which just gained independence from Gildoruk, establishing relations with us means we recognize their existence as a kingdom. There’s no way they’d refuse.”
“True, but… hey…”
One bureaucrat looked around, and everyone seemed to have the same realization, exchanging glances.
“You know… maybe this meeting was way closer to falling apart than we thought?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Figures.”
“Remember how King Jilvol delayed the start of the meeting a bit?”
“Yeah.”
“When he did that, he said it wouldn’t take long.”
“Right… he did say that.”
“How did he know… that a report of victory was coming?”
The quiet remark only highlighted the strangeness of the situation.
“And then… he said, ‘This will take five minutes.'”
“Yeah, he definitely said that.”
“Thinking about it now… was our country up to something?”
“What do you mean, ‘something’?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking!”
The resigned tone made everyone chuckle bitterly.
“Hey, there’s something bothering me.”
“What is it?”
“You know how Prince Demitul said, ‘I didn’t write that letter’?”
“Yeah.”
“And then Duke Zarfing produced a letter supposedly written by Prince Demitul?”
“Yeah.”
“Doesn’t that seem… off?”
The bureaucrat frowned as he looked around.
“If Prince Demitul didn’t write it, does that mean Duke Zarfing’s letter was forged?”
“Whoa, don’t say something so reckless. That would mean the letter was fake.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m frowning.”
He frowned even deeper as he glanced around again.
“Nah, I don’t think it was forged.”
Another bureaucrat chimed in, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Think about it. Why would someone bring a forged letter to such an important meeting? And King Jilvol, who should know Prince Demitul’s handwriting, didn’t accuse anyone of forgery. It’s more likely that the content of the letter was just too convenient for King Jilvol. If Duke Zarfing had forged it, why would he make it so favorable to Zabeil?”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
The room filled with an air of agreement, though deep down, they weren’t entirely convinced. If Lord Giorg had indeed forged the letter, they could be implicated as accomplices. Saying “I didn’t know” wouldn’t cut it, and any black rumors could ruin their careers. Above all, they didn’t want to incur Lord Giorg’s displeasure. The oppressive aura from both Giorg and Jilvol had left them mentally drained, though they wouldn’t admit it outright.
“Let’s just assume there was no forgery, okay?”
“Y-yeah, let’s go with that.”
“Yeah, let’s stick to that story.”
It was a form of self-preservation, really.
“Still, that thing with the letter was shocking.”
One bureaucrat tried to change the subject, masking his fear.
“What thing?”
“When King Jilvol burned the letter where Prince Demitul offered to abdicate the throne of Gildoruk.”
“Oh, that!! Yeah, that was shocking.”
“I was floored too.”
King Jilvol burning the letter made the Galvate bureaucrats realize just how bold he could be.
“Maybe King Jilvol was showing his pride as a king, saying he didn’t need Prince Demitul’s permission!”
“Probably. Otherwise, why would he burn the letter?”
“It just goes to show, people destined to be kings are on a whole different level from small fries like us.”
“Don’t say that, it’s depressing.”
“Sorry.”
Every time they praised Jilvol, they couldn’t help but think of Giorg, who had negotiated with him without backing down an inch.
“Hey…”
“What is it?”
“This was my first time working with Duke Zarfing, but… isn’t he actually kind of terrifying?”
‘I thought the same thing!!’
Everyone’s voices overlapped perfectly. These bureaucrats had participated in numerous international negotiations and had faced their own share of battles, albeit different from those of military officers. Yet, until this meeting, they had never paid much attention to Giorg.
Sure, they knew he had executed his biological father and stepmother, but in person, Giorg seemed like nothing more than a polite young man. They had assumed his appointment as a special envoy was just a formality, given that establishing relations with Zabeil was already a done deal.
But during this meeting, King Jilvol’s comments like “This will take five minutes” and “Someone’s manipulating information” made them realize how wrong their assessment of Giorg had been. And Giorg himself had admitted to manipulating information.
“Hey, remember when King Jilvol said someone was manipulating information?”
Everyone nodded in unison.
“Ever since Lord Giorg became Duke Zarfing a year ago… haven’t you noticed how the accuracy of our intel has improved?”
“Ah…”
“Now that you mention it…”
Everyone’s faces showed a dawning realization about the sudden ease with which they had been obtaining information for their work.
“Is Duke Zarfing… actually a spy master?”
“Could be.”
“And now… we know about it, right?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Isn’t that bad? If it was a secret before… now that we know, are we… gonna get eliminated?”
The word “eliminated” cast a heavy silence over the room.
“Hahaha!! No way!! That’s ridiculous!”
“Y-yeah!! That’s crazy!!”
“Hahaha!”
“Besides, if Duke Zarfing were a spy master, why would he show up on the front lines like this?”
“Y-yeah, right!! That makes no sense!”
“Exactly! You should become a novelist!”
But after a five-second pause, dry laughter filled the room. The bureaucrats glanced around nervously, their laughter a mix of fear and an attempt to pass it off as a joke in case someone was watching.
“Anyway, we have to write a report about this meeting, right?”
“Yeah, and we’ll need to submit the minutes. But if we tweak things too much, it’ll look suspicious.”
“But we can’t just leave it as is… sorry.”
The bureaucrat apologized mid-sentence, sensing the collective glare of his colleagues telling him to shut up.
“Hey, we need to make sure the report doesn’t hint that we’ve figured out Duke Zarfing’s true identity, while also making sure it matches the minutes.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Looks like we’re pulling an all-nighter…”
“No choice…”
With that, the bureaucrats got to work on their report.
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