The Extra Wants To Live

After training so harshly that he was completely exhausted and unable to move, he would recover his stamina while studying in the library, go hunting with military personnel, and th attd a social party or tea time with the imperial knights introduced to him by Gilbert.

And in his spare time, he reviewed the letters from the Mold family and the report on Hilfin that Catherine gave him, and planned his next move.

He had be living this inhuman life for more than five days now, and he had never once missed a deadline or failed to finish what he had to do.

But, ev though more than an hour had passed since the promised time, there had be no contact from Carl.

Catherine was teaching Billford by interpreting the martial arts book writt by Gilbert, and she thought that since it had come to this, it would be a good idea for Carl to rest for a day or so.

"Sorry I'm late. I had some work to do."

Carl, with his hair tied back in a ponytail and cut off, looked so unfamiliar as he played with his hair like a shy child, that for a momt Catherine thought he was a differt person.

"… Is it strange?"

"Oh, no. It suits you very well."

"Lilly cut it for me. So, it took some time…"

Carl made excuses for being late.

No, it sounded more like bragging than an excuse.

Carl's impression had changed completely just by cutting his hair, which had be tied up in a rough and tacky way.

His hair, cut to an appropriate lgth, flowed down, diverting the gaze from his slder cheeks and eyelids, revealing an appearance as beautiful as an angel and as noble as gold.

Lilly's two hours of hard work had paid off.

'… Looking at him this way, he looks more like Adrian, whom he's wary of, than like his close frid like brother Nero.'

Catherine thought so as she looked at Carl, who was smiling shyly.

The two looked quite similar, but unlike the healthy and mature Adrian, the young and short Carl truly looked like a pure and beautiful boy st down from the gods.

Who would dare to think that behind Carl's angelic face lay a devilish power capable of captivating ev the greatest nobles?

"Oh, by the way, I got a call from the Felt family," Catherine said, watching Carl's face shift from a blushing, angelic smile to a composed and gtle expression as if drawn by a painter.

Catherine and Billford were tak aback by the drastic change.

"I promised to help. Lady Catherine, please contact Mold in advance."

"Yes, I understand."

Catherine felt a little creeped out by Carl's calm speech.

It was Lilly who made Carl laugh like a child just by cutting his hair.

Catherine could not help but know that Carl regarded Lilly as his mother.

Ev though he treated the Felt family like disposable rags, he seemed completely indiffert to them.

Perhaps, it was because he thought of Lilly in reverse.

Felt had turned away from Carl and abandoned Lilly.

Th, wh Carl contacted him after gaining fame by succeeding in the subjugation of Nol and the Salgarez mercary group, Felt quickly took the bait.

Are they disillusioned? Do they think it's revge? Is it right for him to act with such a humane mind?

"For now, we'll just have to wait and hope Howell can convince them," Carl said, taking a slow breath.

Wh Felt approached Carl after he had gained fame, he immediately grabbed his hand without looking back.

The Felts were of such low status that they had no political ties to ev the slightest thing.

Thanks to this, it was easy to avoid being noticed and act freely, at least for now.

After Carl grew more, eyes would follow him, and there would be no way to use it.

So what Carl wanted from Felt now was for Howell to deliver Howell's letter to the young, capable, but ill-tempered administrators whom Howell had pointed out as having their careers blocked.

Howell would meet them, avoiding people's gaze, and persuade them.

And they would be st to Hilpin, where they couldn't get the job done because they didn't have the talt.

Hillfin was an irresistible charm for young administrators with big dreams and stubborn convictions.

First of all, the existing nobles were all wiped out, and Carl had installed a series of safety measures, so the wave of corruption had not yet spread.

And since there were no nobles, commoners could hold important positions depding on their abilities. With the huge amount of money pouring in from the mines, they could do all kinds of things without worrying about money.

If they were truly capable and determined, could they just let this pass?

A few days later, Howell's letters to Felt, Felt's to Lilly, and Lilly's to Carl were answered in a short note.

Howell had succeeded.

He had persuaded eight administrators, either commoners or from fall families, full of violt passions and blocked from advancemt, to sd them to Hillfin.

He added that he was in the process of contacting those who had scattered while he was away and that more people would join.

Carl couldn't figure out how Howell had convinced them.

But if he had known, it would have be a little uncomfortable.

First of all, the process by which everyone who received Howell's letter wt to see him without exception was a bit strange.

Howell, the most cocky, arrogant, and self-absorbed son of a bitch of them all, but actually the one with the brightest mind of all of them.

At the time, Howell st a very humble and polite letter, and everyone was curious and came looking for him, thinking,

'What's wrong with this guy? Has he lost his mind?'

And Howell, who had changed completely,

shocked them all by muttering some truly shocking and unbearable words about Carl.

'This shameless guy says something like that?'

If he had originally be like that, they would have just let it go, but since Howell was like that, they couldn't help but feel a sse of excitemt and wonder,

'Is it real?'

Howell was very persistt in persuading his old colleagues and evtually repaid Carl's trust in a wonderful way.

By Carl's arrangemt, three forces came to be established in Hilfin.

Baron Pardin, the original owner of Hilfin, the Mold family, whom Carl st to manage the silver mines, and the administrators who worked in betwe and kept the balance.

It was important for the three of them to cooperate, check, and balance each other.

Right now, no one was strong ough, so they were simply holding the cter, but if it became trched over time, problems might arise.

'If we bring in Marquis Balturan and Gasto, they will try to achieve balance and grow for their own befit.'

What was needed there was external pressure.

If Carl succeeded in his political marriage with Marquis Gasto's sick daughter, the Balturan and Marquis Gasto's territory would threat them with great power.

But it might collapse under pressure, so Carl would have to adjust it well. Anyway, now all the foundations for Hillfin to run smoothly were ready.

Hillfin, which had be struggling with a mountain of work to do but no one to do it, had finally started to function properly.

And as word spread that Prince Aric, who had be traveling a the empire to spread the imperial influce, would return to Himmeln in a few days, Carl finally received the news he had be waiting for.

Milione Hansval, the captain of the Imperial Ctral Army cavalry, who had remained silt ev after receiving a letter from Marquis Govan of Davron, contacted them.

Of course, he didn't contact him directly.

It was a contact that was naturally delivered like flowing water through Nero, who had originally be receiving love calls from military personnel.

Expericed, skilled, and political. It would be a problem if you thought that military personnel did not know politics.

Once three people gathered together, politics happed.

And there was another reason.

The commander-in-chief of the ctral army was traditionally the Emperor, according to imperial law, and in times of war he usually appointed a deputy.

In other words, it was safe to say that it was virtually a blank space during normal times.

So, how much power did the cavalry captain Milione, who held the position just below the commander of the ctral army, wield as a military and politician?

If Carl couldn't act politically, he couldn't keep his position.

Of course, he had to be political. By bringing in Marquis Govan of Dabron, Carl had laid the foundation for supporting the military.

Now all that remained was to have the military on his back and negotiate with Gasto. Before that, he had to face Prince Aric.

The man closest to the Crown Prince at this point would soon return to the palace.

It was a the time wh the first snow fell in the heart of the empire, which had suddly become very cold as winter was in full swing.