Published: January 4, 2026
A study room in the early afternoon.
Together with Don, we processed one political matter after another.
Lately, I had become quite accustomed to it. When the prime ministers brought me summaries, I could roughly understand the contents from those summaries, which improved efficiency.
That said, I made sure to stay focused to avoid any careless mistakes from turning the work into a mere assembly line.
At that moment, Lawrence came to visit.
He entered the room and elegantly knelt on one knee before me.
“You've come. There are a few things I'd like to hear your opinion on, Don.”
“Yes, sir.”
Don nodded and went to retrieve the documents I had placed in the corner of the study.
I had carefully selected a wide range of political matters to test how capable Lawrence really was.
I planned to ask how he intended to handle them, but Lawrence lowered his head further and said,
“Before that, Your Highness, I have one favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“There is someone I would very much like to win over and introduce to Your Highness.”
“Understood. Go ahead.”
“……”
Lawrence looked up, still kneeling, with a blank expression.
“What’s the matter? You look strange.”
“N-no. It's just that you agreed to this so easily without me even explaining or telling you what kind of person they are. I’m surprised.”
“Is that all?”
I chuckled softly.
“I trust you. Besides—”
“Besides?”
“People are treasures. If someone of your caliber wants to introduce someone, there’s no mistake in that.”
“……”
Lawrence looked even more stunned and speechless.
He froze for about a minute, then came back to himself, took a deep breath, and regained his composure.
“Truly, Your Highness, you are incredible. I feel ashamed of my past self who once refused to serve you even once.”
“That’s a thing of the past.”
“Yes, sir. I’m not sure if I can persuade them, but they are certain to be valuable to your governance.”
“Oh?”
I was about to leave it to Lawrence, but his way of saying that piqued my interest.
I stopped completely and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes. They are two people more talented than I am.”
“I see.”
I nodded and stood up.
Turning to Don,
“I’ll be away for a bit. Leave the rest to me.”
“As you command.”
“Your Highness?”
Don nodded, but Lawrence looked even more bewildered.
“Show me the way.”
“Huh?”
“You say this person is that remarkable. In that case, it is proper that I meet them myself.”
“……You really are amazing…”
Lawrence gave a wry smile and looked down a little.
☆
We rode horses out of the Provincial Capital Nishil, heading south.
The road was properly paved, but soon the town disappeared behind us, and the area became an uninhabited suburb.
Lawrence rode alongside me.
“So, who exactly are these people you want to introduce?”
“Yes, their names are Lion and Cres.”
“Lion…”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I shook my head, thinking I was just mistaken about recognizing the name.
“What kind of people are they?”
“I used to attend a private academy run by a man named Water Miller. It taught practical knowledge useful to the world.”
“Hmm,”
“Lion and Cres enrolled there and both graduated after just three months. They were so gifted that towards the end there was nothing left for them to learn, and they ended up teaching other students.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
If they were that outstanding, I wanted even more to meet and recruit them.
People are treasures. Gaining those two would definitely boost my abilities.
Lawrence went on to tell me more about them.
Cres was relatively calm and often returned to the Miller academy to teach, but Lion was quick to pick fights, and the last we heard, he left the academy after fighting other students, essentially kicking up dust behind him.
Their personalities were very much opposites.
“They get along well, though. They always act together and currently live together in the same remote mountain.”