Chapter 211
Chapter: 211
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 211
>Chapter Title: Lycanslope Lord (5)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Can I meet the margrave right now?”
Sungjin asked with conviction. As he expected, the margrave must have given prior notice about this meeting.
Sure enough, Knight Ilma, who had stiffened for a moment, soon nodded and replied.
“Yes, Your Highness. The family head is preparing to receive you. We’ll escort you to his tent right away.”
When you got right down to it, royalty was nothing more than a burden they couldn’t fully utilize as a fighting force.
Even so, the fact that the commander of the Wolf Knights had come out to greet them and willingly show them around the fortress meant the margrave’s special orders were surely at play.
He must have heard something about the friction with old man Vincent. This was to buy a little time until Sungjin could properly assess the situation.
And perhaps to distract the young prince, entranced by the majesty of the ice walls, softening his mood a bit. Maybe even hoping he’d conveniently forget old man Vincent’s rudeness.
[...Hey.]
As he followed behind Knight Ilma, lost in such thoughts, the Demon King cautiously spoke up to Sungjin.
[You still haven’t cooled off? Why do you keep grinning like that?]
As the guy said, Sungjin had been smiling broadly since earlier.
‘Oh, it’s nothing. The margrave seems more airtight than I thought. I’m just happy about that.’
[Huh? Happy?]
Yeah. How could he not be?
At the very least, he wasn’t a flashy dud like Orden. This was a guy who could hold his own even if Sungjin went all out.
‘Which means I can strip him bare without a shred of guilt.’
[...Sigh, how did I end up tangled with a guy like this...]
The Demon King sighed.
No, but seriously, whose side is this guy on?
The group arrived at an area where tents clustered tightly together.
To protect from the biting winds, perhaps? Ice walls filled every gap between the tents, creating a bizarre sight. It looked just like little igloos made of ice.
“Ice tents? Just looking at them makes me cold.”
Lady Claudia, her nose red, shivered as she muttered. Knight Ilma turned back with a smile.
“You’ll be surprised how well-insulated they are once you’re inside, Lady Claudia. Much warmer than a single isolated tent—several times over.”
As he said, for insulation, the tents were blanketed top to bottom in a thin layer of snow. Seeing that, Lady Claudia despaired once more.
“No chimney on the tents at all...”
In a place short on supplies, even lighting a fire was a luxury. They’d have to endure the cold with their personal auras.
And so, Sungjin’s group was led to the heart of the ice tents—the largest one, serving as both the war council room and the family head’s quarters.
“We meet the Third Prince of the Holy Empire.”
As if waiting ahead of time, the margrave greeted them in front of the tent.
Hendrick Sigismund.
The man known for not making much of a mark between his father, a Decaron Knight, and his son, called a genius swordsman.
“For a scion of the Holy Imperial Family to grace us by inspecting the ice walls himself—it’s the greatest honor for Sigismund territory. It’s cold out; please, come inside.”
He was a dignified, unpretentious middle-aged man. His well-defined, handsome features even resembled Orden’s quite a bit.
Only his jaw, roughly shaved with stubble remaining, and his tousled protruding hair made his impression endlessly ordinary.
Of course, Sungjin’s sharp eyes caught other details.
‘His clothes are neat and tidy, and he’s deliberately letting the stubble grow.’
Just like the impression from the study, he couldn’t shake the feeling it was an intentional dishevelment.
Having judged that, Sungjin decided not to waste time probing him further.
“I’ll get straight to the point, Margrave. I have business to discuss with you alone.”
“......”
The margrave seemed slightly taken aback by the prince’s directness but soon instructed Knight Ilma to escort the others to their quarters.
Now finally alone, he offered Sungjin a seat with a friendly smile.
“Please, sit here, Your Highness. Fortunately, this tent is large enough to accommodate a small brazier without extra ventilation. A rare luxury in the ice wall base.”
As Sungjin removed his cloak and sat, the margrave personally took it and gave a light nod of acknowledgment.
“By the way, you’ve changed so much since I saw you at last year’s birthday banquet. A stranger might mistake you for a completely different person.”
Sungjin’s eyebrow twitched upward.
So, he wanted to downplay old man Vincent’s impudence as mere mistake?
“I see. For someone slow on the uptake, it’s understandable they might fail to recognize and err.”
“Yes? That is...”
“But if, given ample time to realize the mistake, they still act arrogant and presumptuous, then that person is either out of their mind or harbors disloyal thoughts toward the Empire.”
“Your Highness...”
“What do you say? Have they come to their senses now? Will they kneel in apology?”
“......”
Sungjin’s icy gaze met the margrave’s dry one for a moment.
Perhaps realizing he couldn’t sweet-talk his way around this opponent, the margrave straightened his posture and sat across from Sungjin.
“My father has overexerted himself recently scouting the demon realm. Once called one of the Empire’s great generals, age has now clouded his judgment at times. As his son, it’s deeply regrettable.”
His voice was profoundly somber, like that of a son truly mourning his aging father’s decline.
Yet he subtly emphasized how much the father had contributed to Delcros.
“How should I apologize for this rudeness? May I beg Your Highness’s forgiveness in my father’s stead? Command me to kneel, and I shall. In consideration of this veteran’s service to the Empire, I beseech your magnanimous judgment.”
Sungjin eyed the margrave’s eyes, still parched dry despite the mournful expression.
If words could whitewash even a little, what wouldn’t he say?
It seemed like he’d cast aside all a lord’s pride at first glance, but in truth, the margrave knew Sungjin wouldn’t demand such an apology. There was no gain in it.
‘He’s probably received full reports on my movements these past few days.’
He knew the prince had deliberately refused meals at the count’s estate. And that he hadn’t immediately reprimanded old man Vincent’s rudeness on the spot.
So by now, he’d surely concluded the prince wanted something from the count’s family.
“Very well. I understand your position fully.”
Sungjin nodded readily.
“But that senile old general happens to be a Decaron Knight.”
“......”
“I’ve never heard of a Decaron Knight—who’s perfected mind and body in aura balance—going senile.”
The margrave gave an awkward smile of embarrassment, but his eyes sharpened intensely. Staring straight at him, Sungjin enunciated firmly.
“That means he’s either not senile but truly disloyal, or not a Decaron Knight at all.”
“What you mean is...”
“If disloyal, we can’t leave a Decaron Knight be. If not a Decaron Knight, there are plenty to replace him anyway, so no issue. As you say, if his judgment’s that impaired, isn’t it time to take the sword from his hands?”
Realizing the implication, blood drained from the margrave’s face. At this point, even he couldn’t maintain the affable habitual smile.
What this prince was saying now...
“Your Highness, you mean to cripple a Decaron Knight’s aura...”
The margrave’s voice trembled with shock, but Sungjin’s expression remained cold.
“It’s not unprecedented. You know that, don’t you?”
“......”
“What a coincidence. His offense was also lèse-majesté. To atone for his disciple’s sin, he crippled his own aura.”
The margrave knew the anecdote well.
Bruno Green.
The commoner-born figure who’d reached Decaron Knight through sheer tenacity.
“Understand? Lèse-majesté against the Holy Imperial Family is that grave. Because he was once called an Imperial great general, the final bridgehead of the demon realm front, I spared him humiliation before everyone. But if you grasp that consideration, doesn’t it make clear what attitude you should show me now?”
“......”
Toward the margrave, whose expression had vanished entirely, Sungjin conversely offered a light smile.
“That’s what I wanted to say, Margrave Sigismund.”
Sungjin habitually tapped the armrest of his chair.
“I’ve gone out of my way to accommodate you thus far. For the sake of the rapport I built with your son in the capital. Do you know? I could’ve requested a large force from the capital, using my safety as pretext.”
He could have.
But even by Sungjin’s standards, without common sense of this world, dragging an army from another territory into this one didn’t paint a good picture.
So he’d pondered the least disruptive, most efficient way. That was the Lilium detachment.
“The Lilium detachment is one of Delcros’s most apolitical groups, one step removed from church influence. And they’re the Empire’s finest elite against beasts. Thanks to me, you got fitting aid, and it paints a picture of resolving the beast crisis independently without outside help from the territory, doesn’t it?”
“......”
The margrave, silent for a moment, finally let out a low sigh and rubbed his forehead.
Spotting the faint dismay crossing his face, Sungjin relaxed his rigid posture, leaning back with a sly smile.
“Well then. Shall we first discuss the goods recovered by the Milo Company?”
[...Sigh, how did I end up tangled with a guy like this...]
The Demon King sighed.
No, but seriously, why does this guy keep empathizing with the wrong side?
The rest of the talk proceeded smoothly.
“These are items contaminated by demon energy. You mean to pay full price for all of them?”
“As if. Shouldn’t we pay extra?”
“...Pardon?”
“They’ve been purified by divine miracle and blessed to boot—sacred items now. You expect to just take them for free?”
“No...”
He’d originally planned to settle for cost, but after earlier events, he’d changed his mind a bit. Time to squeeze out fat profits and buy sister a gift.
“Giacomo Milo of the Milo Company will be arrested on demon contractor charges. The Milo Company is done. Cancel the exclusive contract with him and halt amacha distribution immediately.”
No way there’d be objections to that.
The margrave looked like he had much to say but soon shut his mouth in resignation.
“From now on, trade with other companies. My terms: no exclusive contracts with any one merchant group—maintain ongoing ties with at least two. And one of them introduced by the Schmidt branch chief of the Merchants’ Guild.”
Schmidt branch chief? Why him all of a sudden?
The margrave frowned slightly.
Of course, the Schmidt branch chief was practically Sungjin’s limb by now, but the margrave had no inkling. He could only guess it involved influence from Archduke Asen, the real power in the Merchants’ Guild.
“What benefit does Your Highness gain from this?”
“Benefit? Such harsh words. I’m Delcros’s prince, Margrave. My sole concern, waking or sleeping, is my subjects’ welfare.”
“......”
The margrave’s eyes narrowed.
Both speaker and listener knew it was empty rhetoric.
[You’re just going to let that demon off easy? Be honest. What’s your angle?]
What angle? Just thought I’d skim some profit in the middle.
Plus, he owed Schmidt a bit.
He’d ordered a stable supply route for cured salmon direct from Ortona, bypassing Kypress, and the guy looked half-dead.
Said the initial investment wasn’t trivial.
[But why cured salmon of all things? There are more efficient goods to start trading.]
Because it’s the item I’m most interested in.
I told you, open a cured salmon specialty shop in the capital.
‘...And what else can I gouge out?’
As he scanned the tent interior idly with such thoughts, something suddenly caught Sungjin’s eye.
“...Huh?”
* * *
“Sir Masain. Look at this!”
That night, after wrapping up with the margrave and returning to quarters, Sungjin shouted at Masain.
“I got something amazing from the margrave!”
Masain blinked, glancing at Sungjin cautiously.
Just earlier, he’d been radiating chill that dropped the temperature around him—whatever happened in the interim to put him in such high spirits, bouncing over like this?
Oblivious, the thrilled Sungjin unwrapped the long object he’d brought in front of him.
“...Henesis longsword?”
What emerged from the package was a fearsome long sword, intimidating at a glance.
The last weapon forged by a famed Ortonan master smith, infused with rage and regret on the eve of his nation’s fracture.
Similar in size to Logan’s sword at first glance, but its appearance was utterly unlike Arjuna’s.
Unlike Arjuna’s graceful wavy curves, jagged sharp protrusions jutted from the blade like saw teeth or thorns—brutal and vicious.
And the material—what of it?
A special metal, black as none Masain had heard of, gleamed sinisterly along the honed serrated edge.
“What do you think? A gift for sister Amelia?”
...What?
Masain quietly broke into cold sweat.
“Forgive my impertinence, Your Highness. But this looks exactly like a sword possessed by a demon.”
Didn’t it seem like something a Demon King from tales would carry? So savage in appearance.
Gifting such a blade to Princess Amelia, delicate as a rose?
Yet upon hearing Masain’s frank assessment, Sungjin beamed happily at him!
“Right? Right? It’s just like a demon sword, isn’t it? That’s why it’s perfect! This is totally sister’s taste!”