Chapter 78: Elemia, the Witch

“He went into the inner castle?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Outside of our expectations, he apparently landed at the Imperial Family’s exclusive hangar in the inner castle. He was then greeted by Princess Igis and is now staying at Isabel Palace.”

“Kuku… That means the bastard has a fairly good head on his shoulders.”

Due to the approach of the Emperor’s birthday, Duke Ormere was very busy.

He was a man who wielded authority second only to the emperor in the Bajran Empire. As the leader of the nobility, there was much he had to prepare. The only two occasions that could gather nobles in the capital from all over the expansive empire were the emperor’s birthday and the Day of National Foundation, so this was overall a very important time.

Despite all the bustle, Ormere paid very close attention to the provisional Lord of Nerman, Kyre.

The current expression on his thin face was one of caution.

‘He continues to get on my nerves. He’s a dangerous bastard.’

Just because you were born within a ducal house of the empire did not mean that you were automatically guaranteed success and influence. It was possible to be like Duke Garvit, buried in his countryside territory fighting a gruesome battle against monsters day after day. If you were unable to gain the emperor’s favor and were restrained by the nobles, it was simply the way of politics that you would naturally be eliminated.

However, Duke Ormere had risen to the top of the nobles in such a ruthless world.

He paid close attention to the uneasy cry sprouting in his heart.

‘He must be killed. The roots must be severed before the bud can grow.’

The fearless rookie had broken their expectations and had blatantly landed his wyvern right in the Imperial Palace’s hangar instead of going to Kirphone Covert.

“Things have become a little troublesome.”

“He is extraordinarily intelligent. We planned on dealing with him right as he left the Imperial Palace after the banquet, before he could return to the covert, but…” The crafty Viscount Parquess trailed off, looking troubled.

“It’s alright. It’s no fun if one catches the fish with the first bait. In any case, he is a rat inside a vase. All we have to do is to create a new way…”

In his lifetime, Ormere had led dozens of noble houses to their unwitting demise. His wicked eyes gleamed.

“That aside, the Laviter Empire is in an uproar right now correct?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. According to the information that came in just now, the Laviter Empire’s Second Prince, Alskane, has disappeared. Accompanied by Imperial Skyknights and Skyknights of his maternal grandfather Yanovis’ duchy, he disappeared after saying he was going to clear out black mages. Therefore, the Laviter’s side of the Kovilan Mountains are currently in a state of emergency.”

“Hooh, isn’t Alskane the second prince receiving Hadveria’s favor?”

“Yes, Your Excellency. I heard there are quite a few nobles supporting him as well.”

“Black mage cleanup, you say. Puhahaha. That’s indeed something you’d do at that age.”

If anything big happened on the continent, Ormere would hear about it right away. Handling information was a given when managing the empire.

“I will give another report after finding out more.”

The longer the emperor laid in bed, the brighter Duke Ormere’s expression became.

‘Soon… the empire will come into my hands! Soon!’

No matter how sick he was, the emperor was the emperor. And the current emperor, Havitron, was an outstanding emperor who bothered Ormere quite a lot.

If Havitron died, then Poltviran would become the next emperor. His personality was violent and crude, but he listened oh so obediently to the words of his mother, Queen Elmiane, and Duke Ormere.

If that came to pass, then the empire would safely fall into Duke Ormere’s hands.

And he would gain power no one would dare to protest….

* * *

“Halt!”

Neeeigh!

On the official road about one day away from the central city of Nerman, Denfors, a merchant caravan around twenty carriages large was stopped by around twenty soldiers on horseback.

“What is the matter, sir?”

The merchant leading the group put both hands together, bobbing his head in front of the knight.

“An important person of Nerman has been kidnapped. Permit us to conduct a search.”

The faces of the knight and soldiers were hard with built-up fatigue.

“Of course. How may we assist?”

“What kinds of goods are you carrying?”

“They are the orc hides obtained in the recent monster hunts. They have undergone the first round of processing and will be made into leather armor in the Havis Kingdom.”

The merchant group only had around 20 mercenaries who looked to have third-rate skills and some coachmen who looked like typical, regular merchants commonplace in Nerman.

“Remove the canvas. I must check each carriage.”

“Understood, sir.”

The merchant bowed deeply to accept the command of the prickly knight.

“Remove all the canvas.”

Under the hard expressions of the knight and soldiers, the coachmen and mercenaries quickly drew back the canvases covering the carriages, knowing that the situation was strange.

“Eurgh…”

“Geh…”

The knights and soldiers grimaced at the sight that greeted them when the canvases were removed. The hides had apparently been processed once, but the sight of the hides with holes in them and blue flesh was still nauseating. During the large-scale monster hunts, over a hundred thousand orcs had been caught, an amount Nerman could not handle on its own. Therefore, merchants were busily going to and fro, busily washing the hides and leaving the territory. These orc hides worth less than 1 Gold here in Nerman today could become goods and leather armor that could fetch several Gold after processing them well.

“Do a thorough search!”

Though they were disgusted, the knight and soldiers had a duty to fulfill the command given to them.

The soldiers moved at the leading knight’s words, frowning as they approached the carriages. Then, they flipped through the piled up orc hides with their spears.

Drip drip drip.

“…..”

They were fully dried hides, so the rotten blood gathered between the skins dripped to the ground.

The soldiers’ faces paled in an instant. The blood on their spears and the orc corpses with holes for their eyes and noses exuding a bleak aura were so frightening in appearance that the soldiers feared they would show up in their nightmares.

“N-Nothing here, sir!”

“All clear!”

After a short while of pretending to look through the hides, the soldiers repeated that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Smelling the orc corpses rotting in the sweltering heat was no ordinary torture.

“Send word right away if you encounter any suspicious people on the road.”

“I understand, sir.”

He wasn’t in as much of a hurry as the soldiers, but the knight wanted to leave quickly as well, so he left a few words before turning his head. The search radius assigned to them today was so wide they would have to gallop half a day nonstop on their horses.

“Depart!”

Neeeiighh!

Thud thud thud thud thud.

Leaving as quickly as they came, the Nerman cavalry disappeared far into the distance.

“Huhu…”

After they all disappeared, the merchant’s obedient appearance vanished, replaced by a cold laugh.

“What are you all doing! Move!”

The merchant shouted at the mercenaries, who were standing there like dazed fools.

The mercenaries were unaware.

That inside one of the carriages, under all the orc hides, was a specially manufactured box holding precious cargo.

* * *

“Salute!”

‘Kuku. Today, I’m getting treated properly for once.’

Didn’t someone say that even the dog of the prime minister gets treated like a general?

On my walk through the Imperial Palace with Igis and Razcion, the knights and soldiers standing guard threw out vigorous salutes. And as the person by their sides, I also received salutes from the haughty imperial troops.

“This is the Tramoria Imperial Garden.”

We arrived at an imperial garden around 10 minutes away from Isabel Palace by foot.

‘Ohh!’

An exclamation nearly burst out of me. I didn’t vocalize my admiration like a bumpkin, but the Bajran Imperial Garden was decorated more beautifully than any royal garden in Europe. From the marble arch at the entrance to various stones of fantastic shapes, the garden was decorated in a beautiful fashion.

Splaaaaaaaash.

Refreshing streams of water spewed from a fountain, cooling the heat of peak summer. Towering several meters high, the enormous fountain was a sculpture of countless angels, flowers, wild animals, and demi-humans, including elves.

‘I should put something twice as cool in my castle.’

It was absolutely necessary to have references for my future paradise. I looked around, storing everything into my head.

“Tch, I wanted to spar with Kyre hyung, no, Sir Kyre… Why are we going on a walk…”

With Igis in the lead, Razcion had followed us on a tour of the imperial palace. He pouted his lips as he complained about not being able to spar with me.

“Your Highness, there is much time. I will spar with you after the evening meal.”

“Really?”

‘Kiddo, you’ll be getting some more education today.’

Razcion was interfering with my sweet walk with the beauty of the Bajran Empire, Igis. He was due for some mental education in the guise of a spar.

“Please prepare tea over there.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Around ten maids were following faithfully behind us. At the Princess’ smooth command, they curtseyed and began to prepare refreshments at a bench and table under a large tree.

‘Members of the imperial family should live like this, at the very least.’

A life of luxury—that was the life of imperial family members.

I was jealous.

And I dreamed.

That one day, I too would have such luxury.

“Please sit.”

The maids laid out a silk-like white cloth on the stone bench and placed the warm tea and cookies atop the table made of white stone.

“Thank you very much.”

It was still sweltering hot, but under the tree next to the refreshing fountain, it was incredibly cool.

“Tell me about Nerman. Are there really so many monsters? Is it true that the Laviter, the Temir, and the pirates are constantly pestering the territory?”

After we sat down, the kiddo asked with sparkling eyes to hear about Nerman.

“It isn’t quite pestering, but bloody battles are occurring every day. Hundreds of thousands of monsters met their deaths to the soldiers of Nerman in the recent monster subjugation.”

“Wooow! H-Hundreds of thousands? Were there also large monsters like ogres or trolls?”

“We didn’t just leave them alone—we also caught thousands of them every day. We also caught several demon beasts each day as well.”

“Uwaaaah! I wanna go see! I wanna ride my wyvern and hunt some monsters, too!” exclaimed Razcion with great excitement.

I suddenly recalled the play fighting I’d experienced at that age with the neighborhood kids. Until Kyung Mok from the house across mine put a giant bump on my head with his wooden sword, that is.

‘It feels like a real bed of hot nails here.’

The surroundings were quiet. However, I could feel the energy of the kiddo and Igis, as well as their Imperial Knights. And I could also feel a few strands of bladed intent specially directed at me. It allowed me to truly confirm that I was inside the heart of the Bajran Empire.

A cool breeze came blowing over, dissipating the heat.

At that moment, it slightly lifted up Igis’ long, golden hair. The fragrance unique to Igis came burrowing into my soul.

‘How nice…’

I could feel the gazes of people watching, but right now, I felt at ease.

It was truly a lovely break time, the first break I had in a while.

* * *

“There are traces of magic here!”

“This is a dirt wall made by an earth spirit!”

After the disappearance of the Second Prince, the Laviter Empire was swept up in an uproar. Including the Imperial Family, every noble and even the Gauss Magic Tower were going crazy.

In the middle of it all, the information concerning the location of the black mages was discovered.

The Gauss Magic Tower received the lumikar birds from court mage Dorvit, who had disappeared along with the prince, and the Imperial Family, nearly at the same time. As a result,

* * *

Tower Master Orbiton, who usually did not leave the tower, broke his seclusion and personally flew into the Kovilan Mountains atop a wyvern. The map with the exact location couldn’t be explained with words, so despite being a busy man, he was forced to come out in person. A messenger lumikar could possibly disappear en route, so Orbiton exercised utter caution, allowing nothing to go wrong.

“It is definitely this place.”

“Are you truly certain?”

Speaking politely to one another, the 7th Circle mage and Tower Master, Orbiton, and Duke Yanovis worked together to confirm the location.

“I will personally confirm.”

Though Orbiton did not know how deep the cave was, it was firmly blocked up by the work of an earth spirit. 7th Circle mage Orbiton stood before the cave, holding aloft a mithril mana staff.

‘Just what kind of bastard did something like this?!’

Tower Master Orbiton didn’t show it in front of the duke, but he was 100% irritated. If the missing person wasn’t the Prince, he wouldn’t have to personally go forward and cast magic like this.

“Everyone, keep your guards up!”!”

In order to find the Prince, a shocking 300 wyverns had been deployed. Even now, they were covering the sky as if to blot out the sun, and the surroundings were perfectly sealed off. On top of that, around ten mages from the Gauss Magic Tower alone had been dispatched. The core mages of the Gauss Magic Tower got onto wyverns and all gathered here.

“Dig!”

Dig, one of the basic 2nd Circle magic spells.

Tower Master Orbiton carefully cast the magic with utmost caution.

Ruuuuuumble.

Energy from the golden mana pouring from his mana staff easily swept away the dirt blocking the cave.

‘Damn, is he not here?’

Orbiton’s spell dug around 10 meters into the cave, but there was no reaction.

After clearing away all of the dirt with his spell, Orbiton stopped the magic and turned, looking at the hushed Duke Yanovis.

“I-Is it clear?”

“The dirt wall blocking the cave has been fully cleared. But…”

The Tower Master stopped himself from continuing.

“…..”

If anyone was alive in there, there would have certainly been some kind of response, but there was nothing. Everyone watching with hushed breaths turned pale.

“Sa… Save… me…..”

“…..!!”

Just then, a faint cry came from within.

“Save… me….”

“W-What are you all doing! Quickly go inside and check!!!!!!” shouted Duke Yanovis as he ran towards the cave.

‘Oh Gods above!’

As Yanovis ran, he prayed to the gods for the first time in a while. His influence in the empire could only be maintained if Second Prince Alskane was alive.

“H-His Highness the Prince is alive!” came the cry of the first Imperial Knight that had run in.

“WAAAAAAAAAA!”

And then, the hushed breaths turned into a cheer that rang out along the Kovilan Mountains.

* * *

“Hohoho. Igis, long time no see.”

“U-Unni….”

[TN: Unni is the Korean familiar term for older sister.]

“Hmph!”

“Razcion, I see you haven’t fixed that nasty habit of yours yet. To snort at your noona, how very rude. Tsk tsk.”

‘What?’

I was drinking tea and enjoying a lovely time talking about things that had happened in Nerman when a woman showed up out of the blue with peals of laughter.

‘Wait a sec, if she’s the older sister, she must be the First Princess, Elemia?’

My limited knowledge of the Bajran Empire still included the First Princess, Elemia. She was the first daughter born to Havitron and Queen Elmiane along with Crown Prince Poltviran. Her hair, which was more red than gold, flowed over her dress in elegant waves, her eyes were slightly slanted upwards, and on her thin, red lips was an inscrutable smile.

‘Oh, yes!’

She was pretty.

If Igis had a pure and refined beauty, then this woman was radiating the beauty of a haughty young miss. She boasted the arrogance and rudeness that only a brat from a rich household could exude.

‘She’s like a thorny rose.’

At the sleeves of her cool blue dress that suited her strawberry golden hair jangled a few bejeweled accessories.

Zing.

She turned her gaze to me.

“Baronet Kyre de Nerman humbly greets Princess Elemia.”

She wasn’t the only one who turned to look at me. Two Imperial Knights were guarding Elemia close by her side.

“Baronet Kyre de Nerman…? Ah!” After chewing on my name for a bit, Elemia exclaimed, “Hoho, aren’t you that fearless rookie trainee who made my elder brother so mad?”

‘Ara, she knows me.’

I’d come into personal contact with Igis and Razcion, but I didn’t expect Princess Elemia to know about me, too.

“I do not know about being a rookie trainee, but it is true that I gave His Highness the Crown Prince an unpleasant memory.”

“…..”

At my counterattack, Elemia’s smile fell from her face and she stared at me with big, mono-lidded eyes.

“Hooh… I see now why you were so fearless in front of my elder brother.”

The First Princess pierced me with curiosity-laden eyes.

I sent an energetic smile her way without getting suppressed.

“Looking closer, you are quite handsome. That uncommon black hair and lion-like eyes… The look in those eyes is a good look that nobles these days lack. If only it wasn’t so impudent…”

As she uttered her last word, Elemia’s mouth filled with a charming smile. Her well-developed body that suited her slim figure was clearly visible under her dress.

“I will take that as a compliment.”

“Naturally, it is a compliment… If your life is involved.”

“Unni!” shouted Igis, paling when she heard the barbs in Elemia’s words.

“Hohoho. Igis, can it be that you like this Sir Kyre here?”

“…..”

Igis reddened, unable to answer Elemia’s blunt question.

“Big sister is a demon!”

Razcion shouted angrily at Elemia with the worst curse in his dictionary.

“Hoho. Thanks. For comparing this sister of yours to a noble demon,” said Elemia cooly, showing no anger or an unpleasant expression.

‘She’s a fire fox spirit.’

A fire fox spirit, one of the legendary creatures next to the nine-tailed gumiho, had appeared. She was an opponent even harder to deal with than the bad-tempered Poltviran.

“Razcion! Watch what you say to Elemia noona! You can’t say careless things like that!”

‘Their relationship is pretty bad.’

I’d heard rumors. The children of Empress Nermis, Igis and Razcion, didn’t have much influence. The only maternal relative they could claim was their maternal grandfather, a mere count of a countryside territory. That was practically nothing compared to the Crown Prince and Elemia, whose uncle was Duke Ormere, the core of the important nobles. They were all seeds from the same emperor, but the field was different, and they received different treatment like this.

‘It’s like seeing a vicious queen in real life.’

Nermis was the Empress, but because she couldn’t birth a son quickly enough, she was pushed out of power. Queen Elmiane tyrannized her, resenting the “empress” title. There was no one in the Bajran Empire who didn’t know about it.

“…..”

Razcion lowered his head at Igis’ admonishment. The sight of him clenching his fists was a hint of how much Elemia had tormented him up until now.

“It is alright. You don’t have to bother so much. I know very well that you guys don’t like me very much. I don’t like you two siblings either, anyway. Actually, I hate you. Hohohohoho.”

‘Is she crazy?’

I was shocked that someone could spout such bald-faced nonsense with a perfectly fine appearance.

“You said your name is Kyre, did you not?”

The fire fox spirit called my name warmly. Instead of answering, I looked squarely into her brown eyes.

“I hope to see them next time, too. Those impudent eyes of yours looking straight into mine like today, I mean.”

Elemia tossed out a few words holding an implication for my future.

“Haha. Thank you for your concern. To show my thanks, I would like to give you one piece of advice.”

“A-Advice?”

Elemia had probably never been told such a thing in her life. She looked somewhat perplexed.

“There is a certain flower, a flower filled with dirty bugs inside its petals, but on the outside, it looks beautiful and has a charming smell. It even has sharp thorns like it is all that and makes conceited threats… A fool might think it is a beautiful and lovely flower, but a wise man will be well aware. They will know that it is always a rude jerk that doesn’t know its place.”

Tremble.

Elemia stared at me, the person looking straight at her while flapping their lips in insult. Her entire body was trembling in place.

She wasn’t stupid, so she knew that my words were referring to her.

“And this is what I do to such useless weeds.”

I pressed my heel into a leaf on the ground, slowly crushing it until green fluid began to leach out of it like blood.

“Y-YOUUUU!!!!”

Glaring at my foot crushing the leaf that was supposed to be her, First Princess Elemia’s face flushed red-hot.

Cl-cl-clang.

Seeing her unusual expression from afar, Imperial Knights came clanking over with their swords drawn.

“Then, until next time…”

I bowed my head as I courteously bid a farewell.

“Hmph!”

Elemia harrumphed in response. Then, the sleeve of her dress fluttered wildly as she whirled around to leave.

“You bastard… I’ll kill you…”

And then, I heard Elemia mutter something to herself under her breath.

‘Kill? Me? Puhahaha!’

If I was weak enough to be killed by a treacherous weed like her, I might as well not have been born with two balls in my sack.

‘I wonder if you know…. That a bad man… is a cool man.’

How could their personalities be this different even though they had the same father? The pure Igis and Razcion stood next to me, watching Elemia disappear in a huff of vicious energy. It was impossible to not compare them.

“Hahahaha…. Oh my goodness, my stomach hurts.”

“Razcion, behave yourself.”

After Elemia disappeared far away, Razcion clutched his belly while letting out a joyful laughter with unsuppressed happiness. Even as Igis admonished him, her mouth harbored a smile. It was a refreshing afternoon scene to witness in the Imperial Palace Garden.

‘But is it okay for me to be so brash?’

I did worry a little.

It was fortunate that the Imperial Knights had distanced themselves from the conversation between the members of the imperial family. If they had heard my words and actions, they would have probably taken out their swords and requested a duel. And if Elemia had shouted, I might have been killed for offending imperial royalty.

‘She’s like a little anklebiter. Huhu.’

Even as she walked, Elemia was probably racking her brains on how best to kill me.

Today, the number of my enemies increased yet again.

* * *

“Haah…. This is nice….”

It was finally the advent of the legendary imperial feast.

The noble feasts I’d attended on the way here with Countess Irene could not even begin to compare. All sorts of dishes came out one after the other for over three hours. They weren’t as exotic as monkey brains or anything like that, but there were many, many dishes I had never tasted before, at least 50. There was every ingredient imaginable from all over the continent; they had been procured from Bajran or as tributes from other places in the continent. I didn’t even see the veal steak dish that was touted as the top dish in Nerman. These dishes made by chefs far more skilled than chefs from the top hotels on Earth were so delicious that I drooled just thinking about them even though I had stuffed myself to the point of almost bursting.

‘My back is warm and my belly is full—this place is like heaven.’

Using my arm as a pillow, I reclined on the soft bed.

‘Everyone must be doing fine, right?’

I had tried my best not to think about Nerman too much today. I could only hope that Derval would figure things out on his own. And up until now, I had never seen Derval make a mistake before.

‘Aramis must be doing fine, too….’

My thoughts drifted to Aramis, the priestess with a heart so pure that one might think an angel had descended from heaven because she pitied humans. If not for her, it wouldn’t have been possible to stabilize Nerman in such a short amount of time. To the people who were wandering after losing their center, there was no better pillar than an honest and reliable servant of the gods. On top of that, Aramis offered an incredible holy water production ability that no temple could match. She could make water turn into top-grade potions with a single prayer—how crazy was that?

‘I should go back soon.’

I suddenly felt anxiety when thinking about Aramis. After the birthday banquet of the emperor ended tomorrow, I intended to bounce right away.

‘Anyway, I hope things end quietly.’

When landing in the imperial palace, I thought about throwing the imperial family or whatever to the wind, but now I was the guest of the honorable Princess Igis. If something happened because of me, then Igis might be negatively impacted.

‘These guys, they’re frickin’ everywhere.’

I might be lying down, but I wasn’t letting my guard down like an idiot.

I could feel the energy of mana from all sides, the aura exuded by the Imperial Knights and Soldiers guarding the Isabel Palace. No, even if I weren’t here, it would be about this much. It would make no sense if there weren’t this many guards in the inner castle of the imperial palace where the emperor of the Bajran Empire resided.

‘Then, do your best, sir guards.’

Putting my faith in the guards protecting me, I closed my eyes in comfort.

As I did so, I thought with satisfaction about all the pretty ladies who would show up at the emperor’s banquet tomorrow.