Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure

Chapter 674 Award ceremony (4)

As soon as the other nobles heard this, all of them revealed serious looks and turned to look in my direction as well.

This was something that was very important since they had all seen the power of the wyverns.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was only because of the wyverns that the war had ended in the first place.

So they cared very much about who the control of the wyverns fell under.

Even if it was the fourth prince who had shown up with the wyverns near the end of the war, there was still plenty of information from before that gave them the identity of the one who really controlled the wyverns.

They were nobles, so their information network couldn't be looked down on.

Not to mention, they were nobles that had contributed enough in this war to be in this award ceremony.

So there was no way that there would be a single noble that would be simple in this ceremony hall.

After Duke Southland asked this, he looked at me with narrowed eyes that had a serious look in them, almost as if he was trying to put pressure on me.

But I didn't buckle at all when faced with this glare.

I just calmly looked back at Duke Southland and said, "The duke is concerned about where the wyverns are going?"

Duke Southland couldn't help being surprised by how calm I looked, but he said with a nod, "The wyverns are a matter of national security, so naturally I am concerned where they went for the safety of our country."

A faint smile appeared on my lips when I heard this.

I thought that this Duke Southland was a rash fellow because of how he had asked about the wyverns like this, but now it seemed that I had been mistaken.

The way that he had phrased this, it was as if he was putting himself on the side of righteousness by making this about the safety of the kingdom.

There were many nobles that nodded in agreement after hearing him say this, but I just calmly said, "Well, as you already know, there are many wyverns that have already fallen under the control of the fourth prince. Does the duke think that this is a risk to the kingdom?"

Duke Southland slightly knitted his brows when he heard this, but he quickly responded, "Of course not, we are all loyal to the royal family, so there's nothing to be worried about if the royal family is the one controlling them."

But he still added, "However, that doesn't tell us how many wyverns that you've kept for yourself."

All of the nobles looked right at me after hearing this.

I pretended like I didn't really mind as I calmly said, "I gave half to the fourth prince and I've kept half for myself. Is that what the duke wanted to hear?"

Duke Southland and all of the other nobles immediately knitted their brows when they heard this.

After all, this was a much bigger number than they thought it would be.

They thought that most of the wyverns would be turned over to the royal family and they wouldn't be able to touch them. But if half of the wyverns were still with Duke Zwein, then...they might be able to pressure him enough to get him to hand them over.

This was what it was all about.

Everyone wanted wyverns for themselves.

So Duke Southland was about to say something, but he didn't get a chance.

The king suddenly said, "Enough on this matter. The matter of the wyverns will not be discussed again, there is nothing for you."

All of the nobles were once again shocked when they heard the king say this.

After all, not a single one of them expected the king to suddenly come to the defense of Duke Zwein.

They were certain that the king would leave this matter alone since he wouldn't trust Duke Zwein with all of these wyverns either. But to their surprise, the king actually came to defend him…

Could it be that there was some kind of deal between them already?

After a long silence, it was Duke Yuletide who spoke up this time by saying, "Your majesty, I cannot stay silent any longer. This is a matter of national security, so we must discuss where these wyverns will go in the future. They are a valuable asset to our kingdom, not something that can be controlled by a single person."

The king narrowed his eyes to look at Duke Yuletide before saying, "You think that you have a say in this matter? I won't hear any more about this or else…"

All of the nobles were once again shocked to hear this.

After all, not a single one of them expected the king to act in such an overbearing manner.

They had thought that the king would fold under the pressure of two different dukes, but even then, he still protected Duke Zwein.

Duke Zwein might be marrying the princess, but that didn't mean that he should be this important to the king. After all, the king still needed to care about the opinions of the dukes since he needed their help to govern the kingdom.

There was a reason why there were four dukes in the first place.

It wasn't that they were just founders of the kingdom, but they were also powerful enough that the royal family wouldn't be able to take them on.

So there was nothing to gain for the king to protect a new duke like this…

Just what was his majesty thinking?

There were many nobles that thought that the king was crazy for doing something like this, but they didn't know the full story.

If Zwein had control of these wyverns, it meant that all of the wyverns would be under the control of the royal family.

After all, Zwein would be taking the throne soon.

With the wyverns that he and the fourth prince controlled, they really didn't need to fear the four dukes.

Let alone a duke that would be losing his title soon.