Chapter 185
Chapter 185
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.43 – The Knight Begins Anew (1)
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It was a morning like any other, but the palace was unusually bustling today.
"Is this for real…?!"
"Those bastards deserve divine punishment!"
"Heavens, I can't even begin to guess what will happen to the Empire."
"War is coming…."
The chatter echoing through the palace was certainly cause for caution, but she decided to overlook it for the time being.
She was magnanimous, after all.
Besides, it wasn't as if only her palace was noisy. Her heart wasn't so narrow that she couldn't understand that much.
"The entire kingdom—no, the whole south must be in an uproar."
And it wasn't just the south?
The west, east, and even the north were undoubtedly in chaos.
The event shaking the continent was that shocking.
The newspapers had focused on the [incident] in the central continent for three straight days, and it wasn't an exaggeration to say the entire continent was in turmoil because of it.
And rightly so.
[Mage Tower Collapses!]
[Ten Years of Winter End—Spring Returns to the Central Continent?]
[Winter's Curse Wasn't from the Fairies, but from the Mage Tower?!]
……With the mage tower's collapse and the end of the ten-year winter that had blanketed the central continent, how could there not be an uproar?
Isis Irene de Pendragon, her jade-like hands pure and flawless as if made of white porcelain, folded the newspaper and took a sip of her tea.
Lately, she had been reaching for herbal tea more often than black tea. It refreshed her mouth and eased her fatigue from lack of sleep, if only a little.
However.
Clink….
"…Sigh, I'm still so lacking."
Isis pressed her brow, feeling her fingertips tremble.
To onlookers, it might seem like she was burdened by some great worry, or perhaps trembling in fear. But the reason her fingertips shook and she pressed her brow so firmly was none other than…
"Ha! How could they do something so brilliant!"
To hide her excitement and thrill.
She simply couldn't contain herself upon seeing the feat accomplished by just two knights.
* * *
The people had learned the truth.
About everything that had happened over the past ten years—no, the past four hundred….
One might argue that not everything could be revealed in just three days, but…
[It wasn't us. We never cursed you.]
……When the fairy's voice rang out so clearly, how could they not believe it?
The Spring Fairy.
The people had heard the sacred woman's beautiful voice loud and clear. In that moment, they felt a divine blessing, and mysteriously, everyone learned the truth.
Was it the fairy's mystery?
For ten years—no, for four hundred years since the Turan monster had masqueraded as the mage tower lord—the mages' evil deeds flashed through the minds of the people, and the Empire's citizens burned with rage.
- Have you ever seen such monstrous scum!
Some realized that those they had considered a necessary evil for the Empire were no such thing—just revolting plagues.
- Th-this can't be! That plague forty years ago was the work of mages—no, these horrific monsters!!
Those who learned the truth of the catastrophes over the past four hundred years were enraged.
- Draw your swords, brothers! We must eradicate these beasts in human guise…!
Incapable of containing their fury, people drew blades against the mages.
Even as the cold winter faded and the warm season of life—spring—arrived….
─A brutal hunt to tear out the mages' throats and spill their blood alive was about to begin across the Empire.
And that was not all.
The imperial family, which had turned a blind eye to the mage tower's atrocities and somehow maintained a symbiotic relationship.
With no proper justification until now, the warlords and feudal kings scattered across the Empire now declared war on the imperial family using this as their cause.
War drums were beating, as countless powers prepared to wage war for a new emperor.
However…
"Thanks to the fairy, it will be a truly peaceful war."
…Fortunately, it wouldn't involve forced conscription of civilians or plundering.
The central continent was currently where the Spring Fairy was stretching languidly.
Meaning she would linger for a while. Provoking her by exploiting or shedding the blood of her people would be unwise.
Thus, this war would have to be peaceful by force, unlike the惨烈 of others.
So the war would probably…
'Unfold like a war game. Heh heh, no different from a comedy.'
Not quite on the level of the continent's most peaceful war in history, the <3650 Days of Debate>, but battles would likely minimize bloodshed.
With the fairy's watchful eye, it might even come down to duels between champion warriors representing each faction.
And the current imperial family would probably…
'Be assassinated.'
Normally, assassinations were tacitly forbidden in wars against the imperial family, justification or not. But this time, their sins were too grave.
Having committed the same atrocities as the mage tower, which citizens would respect and serve them?
By now, all the imperial bureaucrats and retainers had likely abandoned the royals to save themselves. Exterminating the entire imperial clan wouldn't take long.
No matter that they had ruled the central continent for a thousand years, betraying the people and losing their trust completely meant they would be treated worse than monsters.
…The vanity of power, indeed.
Of course.
Thud.
"This is all just speculation, though. Heh."
Isis set down her teacup with a smirk.
In a way, it was all just her predictions, and things might not unfold as expected.
No matter how brilliant she was, human desires were unpredictable.
What would happen in the Empire next was known only to gods and fairies.
…But one thing was clear.
'It's a gain for Pendragon.'
The more chaotic the center became, the more citizens would grow disillusioned with the Empire and leave.
If the south could absorb those people, it would solve the south's chronic population shortage in one fell swoop.
Even after unifying the south by defeating Britannia, manpower shortages had been a persistent headache…!
'If we could just take a portion of the Empire's overflowing population….'
Of course, accepting mass immigrants could cause issues.
But for royalty living as statesmen, the gains must outweigh the problems.
Besides, a crisis was conversely a [stage] to test a ruler's vessel.
If she could resolve any issues and satisfy the people, that would be…
'An achievement to solidify my position.'
The path to the throne.
Her first accomplishment independent of her father's shadow, even if only slightly.
If even the veteran nobles who still yearned for her father acknowledged it, it would be perfect.
"Sigh… I'm still so far from ready. Nothing's certain, yet here I am savoring the sweet fruits…."
Isis admitted her excitement.
But she couldn't help how the fact that she was drawing closer to the throne set her body aflame.
At the same time, the knights—no, her sworn brother—who had created this situation were utterly adorable.
"-What an amusing turn. 'He' doesn't care about politics at all, yet he brings about the perfect outcome."
How could she let him go?
Isis thought of her irreverent sworn brother, who still hadn't visited the palace since returning from the Empire, and smiled.
Irreverent or not, everything looked lovely right now.
"Heh heh, if he were here, I might have hugged him fiercely."
It wasn't an exaggeration to say she had never laughed heartily or shown affection openly in her life. Yet today, she wanted to pour out her love for her sworn brother freely.
To such a her….
"-You must be most vigilant when things are going well, Princess."
"……."
"I can't help your good mood, heh heh."
"…Albert."
A butler offered cold advice like a splash of water.
…Since when had he been standing there?
"If you're here, make some noise, Albert."
"Heh heh, force of habit."
"Sigh, what an irreverent butler you are."
One of the few who was hers yet refused to bend to her will.
Her uplifted mood sank at the sight of him.
"When you've lived as long as I have, you worry first about everything. So please understand, Princess."
"Worried about something, are you?"
"Of course. I'm just a frail human, after all."
"…The worst joke. Don't try joking elsewhere. You have no talent for it."
"Heh heh."
His smiling face only soured her mood further.
It felt somehow mocking.
Being with him made her feel endlessly childish, so Isis shot him a sullen glare.
Anyway.
'Mischievous old man.'
Isis furrowed her brow.
"Heh heh, don't glare so fiercely. It's not comparable to Sir Lee Han, but I do bring good news."
"…Good news?"
"See for yourself."
"……."
Slide.
Isis took the document from Albert and slowly read the first page.
"…Ho."
Soon intrigued, her pace quickened.
Before long, pages turned every second. It might seem like skimming, but Isis had been able to memorize entire thick books just by glancing since age three.
The same now.
She memorized each page at a glance, and in under three minutes, she had committed the over 300-page document to memory.
"……."
Chewing over the contents, she organized what she read.
"…You've brought a real headache of a gift, Albert."
She fixed him with a cold stare that could freeze a person solid.
"Heh heh, so, does it please you?"
"Please me."
Just moments ago, she had been spinning happy fantasies, but reading Albert's document now gave her a headache.
The four apostles from the tunnels—heretics—the Sultan Salah, and the recently captured mages.
Albert had extracted information from them through interrogation, and reading it drained the color from Isis's already pale face, making her look like a sick patient.
It wasn't fear.
Most of it was just so exhausting to process.
…To reiterate, she was exceptionally intelligent.
A genius from childhood, and truly one.
Thus, she could extrapolate vast amounts from fragments.
And now, with a flood of information, Isis had pinpointed where the fanatics plotting against Pendragon had nested.
…Hence her headache.
And rightly so—the cuckoos had laid their eggs in one place, among others….
"……Damn 'temple,' hiding so well when they shouldn't be touched…."
It was a powder keg not to be disturbed.
Isis felt she would suffer sleep deprivation again today, and suddenly yearned to see her sworn brother.
Her adorable sworn brother.
* * *
Thud!
Rumble!
"…Instructor, Kunta begs you. Please don't stray from the human path."
"What nonsense? I'm just doing ordinary construction."
"……This isn't ordinary."
"?"
"…Hopeless. This is."
Kunta shook his head, saying even barbarians wouldn't do this, while Lee Han shrugged.
He was merely…
"Just digging a tunnel, right?"
Doing tunnel construction, yet he couldn't understand why he was hearing this.
"……."
Kunta found that reaction even more absurd.
And rightly so—which human…
"Digs a tunnel barehanded…?"
Without tools? Who wouldn't be shocked?
Yet despite Kunta's words, Lee Han was nonchalant.
"Using a shovel or pickaxe is slower than my hands, isn't it?"
"……."
"See? Already 500 meters in."
"……."
…Wasn't that beside the point?