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Chapter 532.2: Strategic Boasting (2)

Noon quickly arrived after hours of intensive work. From the maids, Roel learned that both Alicia and Carter were still asleep. That eroded any motivation he had to head to the dining room, especially when he still had a huge pile of work to deal with. Thus, he simply ordered the servants to deliver some food over.

Lunch had never been essential to nobles, who typically enjoyed afternoon tea and a hearty dinner, and Roel wasn’t in a mood to enjoy lunch alone either. Thus, he figured that he would just have a couple of snacks while working.

“Young master, you have been working for hours now. You ought to take a short break for your own health. Besides, it is improper to dine in the study room,” Anna gently suggested Roel to have a proper lunch in the dining room.

Roel could only put down his quill and have a proper meal in the dining room. After lunch, he took a short break to look through the letters that were addressed to him.

By the rules of the Ascart House, no one but Roel was allowed to look through the letters that were addressed to him, which was why there was always a huge stack of letters waiting for him whenever he returned home.

With a quick glance, Roel’s attention was quickly drawn to letters bearing national insignias. They were formal letters sent by the dominant countries of the Sia Continent and the united army’s headquarters.

He had also received similar letters a year ago, when he won the Challenger Cup and earned noble titles from the five dominant countries.

Noble titles were traditionally conferred during an audience with the country’s ruler, but the winners of the Challenger Cup were exempted from the formality to spare them the hassle of travel. Instead, a handwritten letter from the country’s ruler, a noble insignia, and relevant documents were delivered to their houses.

It appeared to be a similar situation this time around, but the significance was very different.

Rosa had spared no effort propagating Roel’s valiant feat of vanquishing Flooding Death, such that it didn’t take long for the upper echelons of humankind and the frontline soldiers to learn about the matter. This prompted countries to send in letters offering their highest compliments to Roel for his momentous accomplishment.

These letters were carefully worded to convey the respective countries’ acknowledgment of Roel as a hero and their desire to form a personal bond with him. Their significance was at a different level from a simple congratulation letter to a champion of the Challenger Cup.

What particularly piqued Roel’s interest was the subtle tonal differences in the letters sent by each country.

The letter that went absolutely overboard with its compliments was none other than the one sent by his motherland, the Saint Mesit Theocracy. It had vomited an entire string of inflated titles ranging from ‘Hero of Humankind’, ‘Terminator of Calamities’, to ‘Protector of Sia’s Teachings’. Roel wouldn’t doubt it if someone told him that the Theocracy’s diplomatic officials had held a meeting to brainstorm ideas just for that.

Reading the letter itself was a cringefest for him. It made his fingers and toes curl from sheer embarrassment. Anyone else reading the letter would be convinced that he was the most devout believer of Goddess Sia in the recent century.

That being said, he understood where the Saint Mesit Theocracy was coming from.

It had only been a year since the disappearance of Tark Stronghold. The frontline soldiers were still struggling to come to terms with the irrationality of the Six Calamities. This was a precious opportunity to lift their soldiers’ morale, and the Theocracy would be a fool not to capitalize on it.

Trailing closely behind the Theocracy’s bragging was the close partner of the Ascart Fiefdom, the Rosa Merchant Confederacy, though Rosa chose to go at it from a different angle.

Rosa had focused on the fact that Roel had bravely fought against the Six Calamities to dispel Charlotte’s curse and save her life, drawing a parallel to the classic tale of a valiant hero saving a beautiful princess. The content of the letter insinuated that Roel and Charlotte were a perfect couple, with none other being as compatible as they were, before finally concluding with words of blessing for the consummation of their relationship.

After reading the letter, Roel shook his head with a bitter smile. He finally understood why Alicia had personally headed to Rosa to fetch him. How could she possibly remain still after hearing Rosa’s bragging?

In third place of this trumpet-blowing race was the country Roel was studying at, Brolne. The outstanding literary skills of their scholars were utilized to lavish praises on him at every step of his journey, from his remarkable performance in the entrance examination to his decisive actions against Flooding Death. He was depicted to be a great man with the qualities of a hero.

It was another cringefest for Roel, but he understood where they were coming from. After all, he had made his academy proud this time around. Even though Saint Freya Academy already had many outstanding graduates, there was no harm in cementing its distinguished reputation.

All in all, Roel wasn’t surprised by the responses from those three countries since he had alreayd expected it beforehand. What was more important were the remaining two letters from the Austine Empire and Knight Kingdom Pendor.

After a moment of thought, Roel’s gaze fell upon the Austine Empire’s solemn but graceful letter. He tore open its envelope, pulled out the letter within, and looked through it.

The flow of Austine Empire’s letter was the same as the previous three, heaping high praises on his accomplishments. Yet, its tone didn’t have the touch of intimacy, indicating a lack of interest in forging a connection with him. It was the textbook example of a formal letter—respectful, but without the slightest sincerity.

Such a perfunctory response was highly unnatural when directed toward a hero who had defeated one of the Six Calamities. While Roel was a noble of the Saint Mesit Theocracy, the Austine Empire had always viewed itself as the legitimate ruler of humankind. It should have heaped high praises on the hero who had defeated an enemy of humankind.

It was no coincidence that the letter turned out in such a manner. It might not have been handwritten by Emperor Lukas, but his will was behind it. This reminded Roel of how Emperor Lukas had sent Lilian to the eastern border because of her relationship with him.

It doesn’t seem like to beat the extent of animosity yet, more of just hostility. But why would Emperor Lukas harbor such an emotion toward me?

Roel stared at the letter with a tight frown. Noticing his expression, Anna worriedly walked over.

“What’s wrong, young master? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I’m fine. I simply encountered a problem… Anna, under what kind of circumstances do you think a ruler would view a foreign noble in hostility other than a conflict in interest?

“Ah?”

Faced with this abrupt question, Anna blinked her eyes and spent a moment in contemplation, but she eventually shook her head.

“My apologies, young master. I don’t have a concrete answer for your question, but based on what you have said, could the reason behind the hostility be rooted in their history instead? ”

“… Their history?” Roel repeated the phrase with an affirmative nod.

That was also the likeliest answer he had thought of.

The Ascart Fiefdom was located far away from the Austine Empire. It was unlikely for them to cross paths in their lifetimes, let alone have competing interests. Since there were close to no existing factors that would give rise to a hostile relationship between them, the reason was likely rooted in past events.

And Roel had some clues what the past events were.

The ancestors of the Ascart House, the Ardes, used to be the Shadow Eagle supporting the Ackermann from behind. They were the leaders of the Twilight Sages Assembly, who protected humankind from irrational threats.

Yet, the Ascarts turned around to serve the Xeclydes, whom the Austine Empire deemed to be their archnemeses. It was possible that the Ackermanns had seen it as an act of betrayal, and that would explain why Emperor Lukas harbored hostility toward him…

… but Roel thought that it was excessive.

What a waste of time it is to get caught up over such petty matters. Why don’t you spend more time dealing with your internal affairs instead? For one, you can put more effort into convincing Layton to join your side.

Besides, your Ackermanns were the ones who backstabbed us first. Don’t you think that it’s self-righteous of you to blame us for seeking refuge with the Xeclydes?

Thinking about the affairs that had happened in the Second Epoch left Roel feeling aggrieved. He tossed aside the Austine Empire’s letter and directed his attention to the one sent by Knight Kingdom Pendor.

As he took out the letter, a name appeared right before his eyes—Friedrich Cambonyte.