Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: The Forsaken
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Dreihart, liberated by Calix, was bustling with life even today.
The newly freed commoners received wages proportional to the work they chose to do.
They no longer bore the agonizing Purple Iron Chains and could walk freely, meeting with family and friends.
The new UFC dueling tournament that Calix had created had become Dreihart's signature attraction, drawing crowds from across the empire. Its champions reaped massive prize money and honor, becoming the goal of every Dreihart warrior.
Yet even in this transformed Dreihart, where there was light, there was also shadow.
During the Dreihart rebellion, countless slaves had died, but so too had numerous nobles.
Some of those nobles had fled underground, gnashing their teeth, vowing to repay the suppression forces a hundredfold, a thousandfold for their suffering once the uprising was crushed.
But what they witnessed after enduring was utterly unbelievable.
Calix Cron, who had seized Dreihart, had freed all the slaves. Using his governing authority, he confiscated the nobles' assets and redirected them for the benefit of the liberated slaves and Dreihart itself.
The surviving nobles were, of course, furious. They lodged complaints against Calix Cron with the Platinum Council and took every action they could.
However, they had already acknowledged Calix's governing rights, and the Platinum Council—lavish with the massive bribes he had sent—dismissed their words, now that their power base of slaves was gone.
Thus, Dreihart's nobles plummeted overnight from their status into something worse than slaves.
They pointed fingers at Dreihart's newly freed citizens and spat the name "The Forsaken."
Did they meekly accept their downfall and reflect on their lives?
Far from it.
Late at night, in the deep, hidden sewers of Dreihart, hooded figures began to gather.
They entered a secret chamber known only to nobles and sent a signal.
Knock-! Knock-!
At the sound of knuckles rapping the wall, a small hidden peephole opened, revealing a pair of eyes.
Seeing the secretive fallen nobles, it demanded the passphrase.
"Slaves?"
"Are ours."
Creeeak—
With the code confirmed, the door swung open.
Inside lay a hidden room.
There gathered Dreihart's fallen nobles, with their leader—a rat-faced man who had once been Dreihart's steward, Jeton—seated at the center.
"Everyone's here. Let's begin the meeting."
At Jeton's words, they all sat around the shabby table.
The fallen nobles had slunk into these shadows.
And they held regular meetings to prepare their revenge.
But in truth, ninety percent of their "preparations" were mere venting.
"Those wretched slaves started remodeling my house today! They said they'd fix it up so other filthy slaves could live there!!"
"Our mansion's the same!!"
The rich estates were being renovated to house the freed citizens.
They raged at the destruction of their homes for the sake of slaves.
"Are we just going to take this lying down!? Jeton!"
"Yeah! I can't stand it anymore!!"
All eyes turned to Jeton, the former Dreihart steward.
He curled his lips into a smirk.
"Of course not. I've come up with a plan."
"Ooh! As expected of the lord's right-hand man, Steward Jeton."
"Yes! What is it?"
The fallen nobles hung on his every word.
Jeton didn't hide his rat-like grin.
"We kill the Silver Dragon of Cron, Lord Calix."
"What!?"
"Is that even possible?"
His words left the other fallen nobles stunned.
Of course, they all wanted Lord Calix dead.
But it wouldn't be easy.
"You planning to hire assassins?"
"Rumor has it he caught three Bloodkin assassins—the ones who killed our mages—all by himself with a bar."
They could hire one or two assassins by pooling all their funds.
But the rumors said Calix had taken down three single-handedly.
To reliably assassinate him, they'd need more.
"Who said anything about assassins?"
"Then how do you plan to kill Lord Calix?"
Jeton revealed his ace in the hole.
The fallen nobles paled upon hearing it.
"You're really going to use that method!?"
"If we're caught using it, we're all dead!!"
"Then are we just going to live like this forever!!!!"
The extreme measure Jeton proposed horrified even these desperate nobles, who cared little for means or methods.
At their reactions, Jeton snapped back irritably.
"Then are we just going to live like this forever!!!!"
His shout silenced them all.
Of course, none of them wanted to keep living like this.
"I'll kill that loathsome 'King of Liberation' Calix Cron, no matter the method. And I'll reclaim everything that was mine!! If you don't want to join me, leave this meeting now—and wait to die in the gutters like you have been!!"
Jeton flung open the meeting room door and bellowed.
A tense silence followed as they eyed one another.
But they already knew.
This was their only path.
The eldest-looking noble closed the door Jeton had left open.
"What do we need to prepare... Jeton?"
That day, the Forsaken resolved to kill the King of Liberation.
...A conspiracy appears to be afoot.
Zarha and I are investigating, and we will deal with them swiftly.
Still, just in case, it seems we should pay extra attention to Your Lordship's personal security for the time being.
Please take care of yourself, my lord.
Your treasurer,
Noah of Dreihart
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The letter from Dreihart's Noah contained vivid details, as if she'd witnessed it herself.
Did she watch through surveillance cameras?
How is the description this lifelike?
As I pondered this, Azel, standing before me, thumped her chest confidently.
"No need to worry! I'll guard Your Lordship with ironclad protection."
"R... right. Thanks, Azel."
Azel spoke as if she alone could be trusted.
After the mental training through farming, her obsession with justice had improved greatly.
The problem was the rebound effect—she now followed me around like a madwoman.
That was her role as escort knight, sure, but tailing me even to the bathroom was too much.
My head throbbed at the thought that this would only make her stick closer, when Rana spoke up.
"If we need to heighten security for Your Lordship, then starting today, I won't leave your side either."
"What!?"
Rana dropped her bombshell with her usual stoic expression, as if it were nothing.
Come to think of it, lately, watching Azel trail me constantly seemed to stir some rivalry in Rana.
No, that look in her eyes! One hundred percent rivalry.
"No need to worry, Lady Rana. I'll guard Your Lordship with ironclad protection."
"Even so, just in case, you need a perfect maid like me."
"It's fine. The Knight of Moonlight, Azel, is more than enough!"
Sparks flew between Rana and Azel.
If I left them like this, it'd turn into a dogfight. That's when Hart intervened.
"Now, now, let's all calm down."
"Steward Hart."
"Yes! Lord Hart."
Hart smoothly inserted himself between them and defused the situation.
"As Lady Noah said, the situation may be dangerous, so for the time being, it might be best if both of you accompany His Lordship."
"If that's what you say, Lord Hart, I'll comply."
"That's fine with me too!"
Rana bowed to the will of her great-grandfather, Hart.
And Azel, ever mindful of rank, obeyed the steward without question.
As expected of Hart! Half a century as steward wasn't for show.
But... doesn't this just mean I'll be the one suffering?
My prediction was spot on.
After that, neither Rana nor Azel left my side for a moment.
It was a given that they followed me during office work or outings beyond the castle.
Even at meals, they stuck right beside me.
They even started sleeping in the room next to mine.
And they followed me to the bath.
In the bathroom, where I normally relaxed alone, Rana and Azel followed me inside and stood watch.
"...Rana, Azel, do you really both have to come in here?"
"They say a person's most vulnerable moments are sleeping, eating, and bathing, my lord. We must always be prepared for potential threats."
"Rana's right! You never know what might happen!"
At times like this, they were perfectly in sync.
As their stares made relaxing impossible, Rana spoke.
"If our being clothed while you're bathing is what's uncomfortable, I'll strip right now."
"Ah! So that's what was bothering you! I'll strip too!!"
"It's fine!! Just stay as you are and keep guarding!!"
I hurriedly stopped Rana, who was about to undress, and Azel, who had already started, finishing my awkward bath under their watchful eyes.
Wishing this situation would end soon,
It wasn't long before the incident erupted.