The Madman Who Couldn't Be Understood
Manuele was pleased with Ruang's thoughts.
To end a duel not as a mere play but to weave all of it—the blood, the rumors, the fervor—into politics.
A crazy guy, yet his mind worked astonishingly well.
Still, they had to negotiate.
A spectacular brawl only works if the opponent cooperates.
Who pushes first, who falls, at what exact moment the villain emerges—those things must be set beforehand for the drama to explode bigger.
Manuele looked at Ruang and spoke.
“But there’s a problem.”
“If brother says there’s a problem, it usually means some troublesome story.”
“Troublesome story it is.”
Manuele answered calmly.
“I wanted to entrust the Northeast Imperial Domain directly to you. Anyone watching would see it as me showing goodwill toward you. But if the rumor spreads that I secretly stimulated you to draw blood, people will think my actions are two-faced.”
He paused briefly before adding.
“How do you plan to resolve this contradiction?”
His words were right.
Within Manuele’s faction, the most gentle person toward Ruang was Manuele himself.
Most other nobles held no good feelings toward Ruang.
Ruang was the pitiful prince who had endured an assassination attempt.
Everyone acknowledged that much at least.
But pitying him and tossing him a coin were entirely different things.
A noble who felt sorry for a street beggar and gave away an entire mansion was unheard of.
Yet Manuele was trying to do exactly that.
Ruang gave a dry laugh.
“What’s this? Brother bragging that he cares this much about me?”
“Yeah, it’s bragging.”
Manuele answered immediately.
“So you should worry about it together.”
“Hmm…”
Ruang stroked his chin.
Because Manuele had negotiated this far, Ruang could receive the Northeast domain.
Of course, it might differ slightly from his original goal.
Receiving the direct domain and marrying Rachel would mean he would be busier than ever after that.
Still, there was no reason to refuse a gift.
Ruang opened his mouth.
“Then brother didn’t intervene directly. It was the Lascaci family that stepped in.”
“Lascaci?”
“Bianca was the mediator for this duel. The connection is already made. As long as we talk to the Lascaci family, it won’t be hard to persuade them.”
Manuele’s gaze deepened slightly.
The Lascaci family had been acting as the secret channel through which they sent messages to Manuele.
Thanks to that, nobles had already begun evaluating the Lascaci as closer to Manuele.
That was enough.
If they pretended that the Lascaci had acted as a proxy while secretly prodding the prince from behind,
few people would find anything odd.
Manuele spoke as if laying out a plan.
“Essentially, seeing that your sanity is intact, I presented the Rosefield marriage as a way to lure you outwardly.”
“Correct.”
“You accepted the proposal, but nobles within my faction kept hesitating.”
“Yes.”
“So my talent was revealed, and seeing it, I got impatient.”
“Nice, nice.”
“Ultimately, I used the Lascaci family to stimulate you and executed the scheme that made you appear as a blood-mad prince.”
“Yeah. Now the picture is clearer.”
Manuele thought it was fortunate.
Ruang’s mind worked much faster than expected.
If things stayed like this, even a major ducal marriage wouldn’t mean he would be dismissed as stupid.
Perhaps it was too well thought-out, and that was the problem.
Manuele tilted his head slightly.
“Then send a letter to the Rosefield maiden who will arrive soon.”
“To Rachel?”
“She must know the truth so she doesn’t misunderstand.”
Manuele’s words were realistic.
The story Rachel Rosefield would hear was predictable.
The imperial prince Ruang had fought a bloody duel for his mistress.
The nobles had been thrilled, and at the end he had publicly declared love.
If she arrived hearing only this rumor, the woman coming for a political marriage would surely feel miserable.
“Rumors are flying that the procession for the wedding is like the emperor’s procession.”
Manuele added.
“It will take some time to arrive. Before that, explain it properly.”
But Ruang immediately shook his head.
“A letter? If I send one directly, someone might open it.”
Ruang had been certain for days that his own rumor was spreading far too quickly outside the palace.
Someone was definitely watching.
Eyes and ears.
Whether it was Manuele’s side, the emperor’s, or a third party, he couldn’t be sure.
But sending a letter meant there was a good chance it would be censored.
Manuele thought for a moment and nodded.
“Fine. Then I’ll send it.”
“Oh.”
“It was me who arranged this marriage. And I’m also someone who doesn’t want this marriage to collapse.”
Ruang bowed with a cheerful smile.
“Thank you for handling the troublesome parts.”
Manuele nodded in agreement.
“Not at all.”
The two exchanged courtesies as if rehearsing a play.
But it wasn’t the nobles’ usual formality.
It looked more like playful brothers.
*****
After finishing his conversation with Ruang, Manuele immediately went to find Andres Lascaci.
Marquis Andres Lascaci was also watching the duel today.
It was natural for his aide to follow Manuele to the same place.
Moreover, such a duel was no simple amusement.
It was an event at the center of noble society.
Not being invited to it was proof that one was being treated quite poorly in noble circles.
There was no reason not to come.
After meeting Andres, Manuele left the still-chaotic duel arena behind and entered a room inside Baron Torna’s mansion.
The moment the door closed, the servants and maids who had followed quickly moved.
They shifted the table, placed the chairs, brought in tea, and transformed the room into a small drawing room in an instant.
Then everyone withdrew.
Only the two men remained, and the room fell suddenly quiet.
Andres spoke first.
“Your Highness, today’s duel was truly fascinating.”
It was a polite compliment.
No matter how troublesome Ruang might be, he was still an imperial prince.
There was no reason to belittle him in front of Manuele.
But Manuele tapped the teacup a few times with his fingers and said.
“Did the marquis see it that way?”
The tea rippled slightly.
Tiny waves spread across the calm surface.
It looked as if cracks were slowly spreading across the imperial surface that should have remained peaceful.
“I was a bit uneasy.”
Andres blinked.
“Uneasy, you say?”
Manuele looked down at the teacup and spoke slowly.
“Emperor Constantine achieved the great feat of eradicating the nomads.”
“Yes. A magnificent achievement.”
“At that time, the Rosefield family provided support.”
Andres spoke cautiously.
“Your Highness, the current empire is…”
“Much stronger than then.”
The one who cut it off sharply was Manuele.
Andres had originally wanted to say “stronger.”
But when Manuele interrupted, it became difficult to say the opposite without reason.
And above all, Manuele’s words were not wrong.
In the past, the emperor had personally commanded a vast standing army.
Discipline had been strict, morale high.
But now it was the era of feudalism.
The emperor’s authority existed only in name;
in reality, nobles divided it among themselves.
So when wild tribes raided sporadically,
regional nobles had to repel them separately.
“But.”
Manuele set the cup down.
“Ruang might be able to move like Emperor Constantine.”
Andres’s gaze changed.
“Your Highness, the Rosefield family is no easy target. Ruang would never obey your orders obediently.”
“But if there is a common enemy, it’s different.”
“A common enemy… do you mean?”
Manuele did not smile.
It could be nomads.
Or perhaps.
The nobles of the Human Empire who had continuously insulted the Rosefield family,
blocked their conquests,
squeezed resources from behind, and tripped them up.
Andres cleared his throat slightly.
“If Your Highness arranged this marriage, would they dare attack the imperial family?”
“Yeah, they won’t attack the imperial family.”
Manuele answered coldly.
“But other nobles wouldn’t mind, would they?”
Andres slowly understood the meaning of those words.
When the imperial family raised an army, nobles were obliged under feudal law to send knights and soldiers.
They had to handle supplies and coordinate with one another.
In such a situation, it was difficult for nobles to pursue their own gains.
Everyone was suffering, so if someone tried to get ahead, the others would trip them up.
But the Rosefield family was different.
What they held in their hands were the family’s own troops, collateral branches, and the feudal lords who had requested protection.
Especially problematic were the nobles near trade routes.
They had hoarded resources to sell them at high prices to the Rosefield family.
Even without drawing swords, they had indirectly prevented them from accessing what they needed.
The Rosefield family was far away.
Too far to handle those nobles one by one.
But if Ruang entered that hand…
The blood of the empire gave the excuse.
Even from afar,
they could challenge them by saying,
“Insulted the imperial honor”
“Offended the prince’s authority”
Ruang was the type who enjoyed using such excuses.
Andres asked cautiously.
“Do you worry they might come out into the Northeast and interfere?”
Manuele raised his head.
“Hmm? Why would I worry?”
“That’s… I thought Your Highness was worried that Ruang would gradually gain more power.”
It had sounded plausible given what was said earlier.
That Ruang would build achievements like Emperor Constantine,
expand his power,
and perhaps even desire the throne.
But Manuele spoke firmly.
“I won’t weaken.”
He lightly tapped the table with his finger.
“The domain I will give Ruang is already decided. I will only give what I promised; my own foundation won’t collapse.”
“Then… what are you worried about?”
Manuele answered with a completely calm face.
“I worry that the nobles who supported me will be wiped out.”
“…Excuse me?”
Andres asked without thinking.
Wiped out.
Too blunt, too brutal a word.
It did not sound like something an imperial prince of noble birth should say.
But Manuele continued without concern.
“Ruang will only get stronger in the future. The Imperial Guard Knights say his talent is enormous.”
“Yes, yes…”
“And people will begin to worship that power.”
Manuele spoke slowly, as if recalling today’s duel.
“Especially duels for love. They won’t stay off the lips of commoners, will they?”
Andres could not deny it.
Ruang was stronger than imagined.
And that duel had something that pulled at people’s attention.
More stimulating than past tournament fights,
more romantic,
more dangerous.
Above all, it was a love story.
Nobles arranged political marriages and sought love from their mistresses.
But commoners were different.
They found love within marriage.
Therefore, such stories hit commoners harder.
A prince who spilled blood to win a woman’s love.
Was there a better story to put on people’s tongues?
Manuele asked quietly.
“What do you think the Ruang who has gathered talent will do?”
Andres had no answer.
Manuele answered for him.
“The guy who challenged for the sake of Lady Angela. If such a guy has commoners following him who are clinging to him over a small excuse, will he stay put?”
Andres’s pupils trembled slightly.
It was imaginable.
Nobles were full of transgressions.
In their domains they squeezed peasants just enough not to kill them,
in the capital they drove coaches off the road, whipped people, and killed those who didn’t pay debts to merchants.
There were too many such incidents.
The only reason they escaped punishment was that they were nobles.
But suppose Ruang’s name spread widely and commoners began following him.
If those commoners suffered injustice and cried to Ruang for protection?
Ruang would—
truly—
perhaps immediately challenge them to a duel.
“Wouldn’t he move unless it was for love?”
Manuele stared fixedly at Andres.
“You saw how that guy fought today, right.”
The prince who laughed while crushing people, drunk on blood.
He didn’t kill them,
but showed everyone that he could.
Would such a guy receive an excuse?
It was like pouring oil on fire, not water.
He might not stop until he crushed every noble in the nation like Emperor Constantine.
At that moment, the image that flashed through Andres’s mind was his daughter’s face.
Bianca.
His own daughter sent to Ruang’s side.
Andres felt strength in the hand gripping the teacup.
*Could it be… that crazy prince hasn’t done anything to Bianca?*
*****
Inside the returning carriage.
Angela was hugging Ruang tightly and crying.
After Manuele had briefly interrupted and the conversation had paused,
emotions had burst all at once when she faced Ruang again.
“Uwaaaaah, Your Highness Ruang…!”
Angela really sobbed pitifully.
Trembling shoulders while clinging to him,
tears dripping as she wailed.
Ruang looked down at such Angela and spoke slowly.
“Even though I came back alive, it’s a little sad that you’re crying like this.”
“T-that’s… because you came back alive and I’m crying…!”
“Isn’t that even more pitiful?”
“I cry even if it’s too much…! I was so scared…!”
When Angela spoke almost angrily, Ruang chuckled.
From beside him, Bianca inserted with an incredulous expression.
“Lady Angela, please calm down. His Highness Ruang must rest now.”
Even with the God’s Blessing, after such a fierce battle, he needed to rest his body.
Yet Angela refused to let go of Ruang.
“I don’t want to… just a little more…”
“That’s been a long time already.”
“That’s a feeling Bianca doesn’t know…”
“Why are you making me into a villainous woman secretly?”
After hearing their exchange, Ruang’s lips curved up slightly.
“Bianca isn’t crying for me?”
Bianca looked straight at him.
“Your Highness, Lady Angela has already cried enough.”
“But there are still tear stains at the corners of your eyes?”
“Huh?!”
Bianca jumped in surprise and touched her own eye corners.
Honestly, it had made her tear up just a tiny bit.
There was undoubtedly emotion in duels fought for love.
And suddenly, she imagined what it would feel like if Ruang fought so fiercely for her sake.
In fact, the corners of her eyes had stung at that moment.
But as soon as the tears came, she hurriedly wiped them with a handkerchief in surprise.
Still, wondering if there was something missing, Bianca quickly rubbed her eye corners with the back of her hand.
“Where? Really?”
Ruang answered immediately.
“It’s fake.”
“…Ha.”
Bianca lost her words for a moment before bursting into a laugh.
“Your Highness, you really have a bad personality.”
“So now you know?”
It was true.
More than Andres Lascaci imagined,
Bianca was being harassed by Ruang quite frequently lately.
Of course, the harassment was strangely annoying while also strangely not completely disliked.
It was the kind that shook the heart, not the body.
That made it even more dangerous.