The silence was very awkward and suffocating.
It wouldn't have been as suffocating if it was a different situation, but in this formal situation with no one talking, it was clear that everyone was suffering.
At the very least, I used this time to look at the people that were standing on the sides.
Based on the clothes that they wore, it was clear that they were ministers and generals that had been called for this royal audience as well. However, there wasn't a single one that I recognized, so it could be said that these ministers and generals weren't as important.
No, I suddenly remembered something.
The noble quest line was something that happened several years in the future, so by then, most of these ministers and generals had been replaced by their successors.
So the reason why I didn't recognize them was because this was the older generation.
The ones that I would recognize were still currently working as junior ministers and commanders in the army. They wouldn't make their way up to their positions until several years in the future.
So while I didn't recognize these people, that didn't mean that they weren't important.
I should at the very least try to remember these faces.
But before I could do that, the king suddenly said, "You did a good job."
It was just a simple sentence, but there was a heavy meaning behind it. Praise for the king wasn't lightly given, so receiving praise could be considered something very rare.
All three of us were caught off guard by this when we heard it.
Even the ministers and generals couldn't help feeling a bit caught off guard when they heard this.
It had been a long time since they had heard this kind of praise from his majesty.
Once again, there was silence that followed after the king gave this praise, but I quickly reacted and said, "Your majesty, your praise is too much. I and my comrades were just doing what was required of us. It was really Bright Water City's City Lord that handled the situation."
In my heart, I silently apologized to the duke, but…I really didn't want this credit.
The king narrowed his eyes before saying, "You're underestimating yourself too much. I've heard that it's not just this incident, but several other incidents that you've proven yourself to the kingdom."
I opened my mouth, but words failed to come out as I didn't know how to respond to this.
In the end, I could only give a nod and say, "Thank you, your majesty."
The king just gave a simple nod in response to this, almost seeming like he was closing this matter.
When I saw this, I let out a secret sigh of relief.
It seemed that this matter would end without much trouble. Now the only thing that I had to deal with was…
There was a silence that followed after the king's nod, but that wasn't because there wasn't anyone that had something to say. Rather, the ministers and generals looked like they all had something that they wanted to say.
The only reason they were hesitating was because they wanted to make sure that the king didn't have anything else that he wanted to say.
So there was a long silence that followed after this.
Then one of the ministers suddenly came forward with his mouth open, preparing to say something.
It was just too bad that the king suddenly said, "Since you have performed this kind of merit to the kingdom, naturally you should be rewarded. We have already prepared a reward for you, so step forward."
When they heard this, everyone in the room couldn't help revealing a shocked look.
The one that was most shocked was naturally me since I had never heard anything about this.
But since the king had already spoken, what could I do?
I had no choice but to take a few steps forward until I was in front of the throne and then I kneeled down in front of it, waiting to receive this reward that the king mentioned.
The king also stood up after saying this and walked forward until he was standing in front of me.
He nodded at one of his subordinates to the side and it didn't take long before two people came forward.
One of them was holding a sword that was clearly a ceremonial sword while the other had a pillow in his hand that had a scroll on it. Both of them came right up beside the king and then kneeled down before him.
The king took the ceremonial sword before nodding at the one carrying the scroll.
That person stood up and took the scroll off the pillow before putting the pillow under his arm. Then he unrolled the scroll and read, "For his merits to the kingdom, Baron Zwein will hereby receive the hereditary title of viscount. In addition, he will receive additional land near his current territory, as well as funding to support him in developing his new territory."
After he finished reading the scroll, the servant put it back on the pillow and presented it not to the king, but rather to me.
But I couldn't react to this at all since all I could feel was shock from what I had heard.
It wasn't just me who was shocked at hearing this, everyone else in the room was shocked by this sudden reward that his majesty gave.
After all, it was just too much!
This wasn't just a normal noble title, it was a hereditary noble title!
There was a large difference between a hereditary noble title and a normal noble title.
A normal noble title would be something that was only given to the person who had earned that title. That person's spouse and children wouldn't have the right to inherit it unless they performed merits of their own.
When that person died, that title would be revoked and returned to the crown.
This was a method of ensuring that there were no useless nobles that were draining the resources from the kingdom.
But it was different when it came to hereditary titles.
Hereditary titles were passed on regardless of merits, it would remain in the family forever. This was the kind of title that Baron Mordo had and he had only obtained it because of the merits of his ancestors back in the founding of this country.
Of course, back then, his ancestors had received the title of count and not just baron. He had been reduced to baron after generations of not contributing to the kingdom.
This kind of title was not something that was given that easily.
It was normally only given to those that had greatly contributed to the country, such as those that had helped found the country, or those that were greatly favoured by the king. That way, their family would remain in his service for many generations.
No matter how they looked at it, it didn't seem like Zwein was deserving of this title even if he had saved Bright Water City from disaster.
So that was why everyone was shocked to hear this.
But of course, no one was more shocked than me.