35
Chapter 35
"Are you staring at me a bit too intensely?"
"And you thought I'd welcome you after you sold out my information?"
"Imperial Princess Helena pressed me, saying she already knew everything. What else could a powerless little Count do but tell the truth?"
Powerless little Count, my foot.
I know full well he avoids meeting even a Duke with every excuse in the book if he doesn't feel like it.
"Relax your gaze, kid."
I had my suspicions, but seeing him show up in person, it seems the Old Man leaked my information on purpose.
I wasn't exactly pleased, but I had no choice but to do as I was told and relax.
There was no need to pick a fight with him right now.
Besides, the energy I'm sensing from him is unusual.
Even though I've become a Sword Master—albeit a half-baked one—I still can't gauge his true skill.
I've always known him to be a 6th Class Archmage and a Highest-grade Sword Expert, but it feels like he's more than that now.
I've never seen him use Teleport, the hallmark of a 7th Class Wizard, so it's probably not magic. He's likely a Sword Master.
If he could hide it from me despite how close we are, he's definitely not a half-baked Sword Master like me.
"I don't see that rude female knight who was glued to the Princess's side. Did you two already have a run-in?"
By rude female knight, he must mean Shine.
Knowing that stiff knight, she probably treated the Old Man poorly, calling him an accomplice to an underwear thief.
"The escort knight is down there."
As I pointed toward the floor, the Old Man's expression darkened.
"Don't tell me you killed her? You brat, do you have any idea what family she's from?"
Seeing him react like this, her status must be quite impressive, just as I suspected.
Also, it seemed he had just arrived and wasn't yet aware of the current situation.
He's radiating this much pressure just because one escort knight disappeared; if he'd seen me point a sword at the Princess, he would have stepped in much faster.
Do I even need to know that?
"I didn't particularly like her either, but it would be problematic if she's dead."
"Are you going to tattle?"
"For now, I'm on your side, so I'll keep my mouth shut, but the Imperial Princess over here won't be so cooperative."
"I'm sure the Princess will cooperate too. Right?"
When I looked at her, she jumped in surprise.
"A... you said she wasn't dead earlier. Were you lying?"
She looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment; they must be quite close, more than just a knight and her charge.
That aside, the fact that she was defying me instead of cooperating put me in a bad mood.
She was so obedient earlier—did the Old Man's arrival give her some courage?
"The Old Man agrees, so if the Princess just cooperates, I'm thinking of just taking care of the escort knight..."
"No! Shine only acted that way because I couldn't stop her properly. It's my fault."
"If I let her live, I'll release the video I took earlier throughout the Capital. Do you still want her to live?"
"Sh... not Shine. Please save Shine."
"Video? Wait a second, why is the Princess's clothing... Bio, you little bastard!"
Suddenly, the Old Man looked at me as if I were scum.
He looked ready to pounce at any second; he's clearly thinking the same thing Ark was.
"It's not what you think, Old Man. Right, Princess?"
"Please... please save Shine."
"I'm not going to kill her."
I'm not a psychopath; I don't just go around killing people because they picked a fight.
"So, whose family does she belong to?"
"She's Duke Dylan's eldest daughter and the next Family Head Candidate."
Good grief.
It wasn't the fact that she's the next candidate that surprised me.
In the Beluga Empire, women can naturally inherit titles if they have the ability.
They can just take a husband into the family and pass down the mother's surname.
"You were trying to kill her earlier, but I see you're afraid of Duke Dylan too."
The First Sword of the Empire isn't some random dog's name; of course I'm afraid.
But what surprised me was that a future Duke would serve as a mere escort knight for the 8th Imperial Princess, rather than the Crown Prince.
Between the Old Man leaking my info to cooperate and this, is there something special about the 8th Princess?
Her mother was a 6th Class Wizard, but her maternal side is just a mediocre Count's family near the Great Forest in the East.
She's stunningly beautiful, but the idea of the Old Man being blinded by beauty is ridiculous, and her escort knight, Shine, is also a woman...
"Well, as long as Shine is alive, it's not a huge problem. Let's talk about that later; could you help the Princess a bit, Bio?"
He did it on purpose after all.
"Why should I? I've already explained everything to the Princess."
"Explained? You probably put on a show of force and threatened to defect to Quasar."
What, was he watching this whole time?
No, if he were, he would have appeared the moment the Princess nearly pissed herself.
He probably just guessed, but I'm glad he doesn't know I was even more than that.
"Well, close enough. But she tried to trap me from the start, so how was I supposed to react nicely?"
"Princess, I advised you that Bio is softer at heart than he looks, so it would be best to be honest about the situation and ask for his help."
He even gave her that kind of advice?
I'm so disappointed in the Old Man.
"...But she said she'd give me whatever I wanted..."
The Old Man gave me a look telling me to explain, so I answered immediately.
"I politely declined at first, but she kept insisting and eventually even brought up Article 17, Section 22 of the Imperial Law."
The Old Man's expression completely changed.
"Is that true?"
His voice became very stiff.
It makes sense, since the Director of Intelligence is, first and foremost, a Count and a noble.
No noble could be unaware of Article 17, Section 22.
"Because I kept refusing..."
"You clearly don't know what Article 17, Section 22 actually entails."
How could she know?
If she really knew, she would never have thought to use Section 22 like that.
Earlier, the Princess had pushed me so frantically that I couldn't remember it in time to respond, but Article 17, Section 22 isn't a law that lets the Imperial Family do whatever they want, as she claimed.
"Under Section 22, a noble who receives a request from the Imperial Family has the right to ask His Majesty the Emperor to review the validity of that request."
So the Old Man knows too.
"I know. But since the Emperor makes the ruling, wouldn't he usually side with the Imperial Family anyway?"
"The ruling of right and wrong is declared in His Majesty's name, but the final decision follows the result of a council vote. His Majesty's vote counts as two, but since at least two Dukes and three Chancellors participate, the Emperor's will alone does not decide everything."
No matter what anyone says, the Emperor is the most powerful figure and ruler of the empire, but the nobles are not mere puppets who obey every command.
Though it's unlikely, if even two or three of the eight Dukes supporting the empire were to lead their forces and defect to Quasar, the empire would be finished.
Consequently, nobles would never stand by and allow a law that essentially forces them to grant any request from the Imperial Family.
"I... I wasn't aware of those specific details."
"It's a relief that you are now."
"Bio, for the sake of my reputation, couldn't you help the Princess?"
It's truly strange that he's siding with the Princess despite knowing all this.
Could the Old Man be the Princess's biological father... surely not.
He's not that kind of person, and their hair and eye colors are different.
Moreover, since bloodline tests are conducted immediately after birth for the Imperial Family, the possibility is zero.
"...Old Man, I'm already retired. Don't force me to act against my beliefs."
"I once received great help from the Princess."
"You're the one who was helped, so why is it me? If you want to help her that badly, you should be the one teaching her."
"There was an imperial decree issued only to nobles of Count rank or higher. It stated that while Academy instructors were exempt, no one was to personally teach the 8th Imperial Princess."
Haha, making a ridiculous order like that after placing a bet; he's exactly the Emperor I remember.
I've only met him a few times, but having performed the most missions as the top Black Agent of the Intelligence Agency, I know him quite well.
He is a man of such cruelty and coldness that he killed not only the children of other empresses and concubines, but even his own full siblings before ascending the throne.
Publicly, he is also known to be quite fond of gambling.
However, no one has ever won a bet against the Emperor.
He is an incarnation of victory, obsessively focused on results, and a perfectionist who won't tolerate even the smallest pebble in his path.
Come to think of it, that perfectionist side of him is somewhat similar to me.
He did say I resembled him when we first met.
At the time, I thought he meant my appearance, but perhaps he was referring to this trait.
'Will I help her?'
'No. There's no chance of victory even if I do.'
Even if I'm generous and help the Princess reach 6th Class—no, if some dormant potential miraculously awakens and she reaches 7th Class—there's still no way to win.
Because the Emperor stated he would personally choose the opponent from within the Imperial Guard Knights.
A 6th Class Master has a fifty-fifty chance against a Highest-grade Sword Expert; you need to be 7th Class to guarantee a win.
But if the Princess becomes a 7th Class Wizard, the Emperor will pit her against the Knight Commander.
Dylan Andrea.
Some argue that Duke Carlos is a stronger swordsman, but there's no debating that Dylan Andrea is the strongest human being.
The strongest sword protecting the empire.
While Sword Masters and 7th Class Archmages are considered equal in level, the difference in experience cannot be ignored.
Though he is currently the Knight Commander, Duke Dylan beheaded a 7th Class Archmage during the war ten years ago.
The result wouldn't change even if I—or rather, the Old Man—fought instead.
The Old Man or I might try feeding Duke Dylan some laxatives before the duel, but even with such cowardly tricks, Dylan Andrea is an insurmountable wall.
To issue an order forbidding nobles of Count rank or higher from teaching her in such a situation... he's truly vicious.
"The Old Man can just go to the Academy then. Since I've left, there's an open spot..."
"If you won't do it for my sake, could you at least do it for Anna?"
Looking at this now, our Old Man is even more vicious than the Emperor.
This is totally foul play...
I thought I'd repaid the kindness of being brought from the Holy Kingdom's orphanage and raised with the empire's support, but the Old Man thinks otherwise.
To be more precise, I owe an unrepayable debt not only to him but also to the woman I just mentioned.
Countess Anna Nois.
Though I met the Old Man first, I love and respect Lady Anna a hundred, no, a thousand times more.
She was truly wonderful—no, "wonderful" isn't enough; she was a literal angel without wings.
Originally a low-ranking office worker at the Intelligence Agency, she quit after falling ill shortly after marriage, but she often accompanied the Old Man to the training camp when he served as an instructor.
She personally applied medicine to the trainees covered in wounds from harsh training and brought chicken and cool fruits during the summer.
The instructors tried to stop her, saying she'd spoil the kids, and the Old Man urged her to look after her own health first, but Lady Anna persisted, insisting that we needed to eat well to train well.
For the trainees who had no birthdays because they were orphans, she assigned them dates throughout the year and used that as an excuse to bring homemade cakes every month.
That was the first time I had ever tasted cake, and the first time I learned that people celebrated birthdays with them.
To me, Lady Anna was like a mother.
Thirteen years ago, during my second mission, my identity was exposed, and I nearly died.
At the time, I had become arrogant after the easy success of my first mission.
Fortunately, I survived thanks to the Old Man coming to rescue me.
I wasn't the only one he'd saved in his life, but that day was different.
It was the day Lady Anna, who had been battling a chronic illness, passed away.
Because he was saving me, the Old Man couldn't be there for her final moments.
Upon learning this, I abandoned my own treatment and rushed to beg for his forgiveness, but the Old Man simply told me in a calm voice that his wife would have wanted me to be saved.
I told myself that the angelic Lady Anna would have felt that way, but that was a lie—a cowardly piece of self-justification.
While I was still recovering from my injuries, my peers from the training camp—all of whom have since passed away—came to see me.
They asked if I knew how much Lady Anna had called out for the Old Man at the end.
They berated me mercilessly, asking how I could have the nerve to call for rescue after failing a mission due to arrogance, leaving her to die in loneliness.
Faced with their insults and even their fists, I didn't resist; I just took it in silence.
I knew that I wasn't the only one who had viewed Lady Anna as a mother; they had too.
Now that I think about it, those guys must have met her by now.
I'm a little envious.
'Hey, why are you just spacing out? If you're that tired, just tell her to get lost and go to sleep.'
"I'll help the Princess."
'What's with you all of a sudden? Then what about our ruin exploration?'
'It's not urgent, so we can just go later.'
That guy Ark has been trying to coax me since the Academy, and he seems quite disappointed that we can't go to the ruins.
But it can't be helped.
If I ever meet Lady Anna again, she might hate me even more if she finds out that I refused to help, even after her husband mentioned her name.
I truly want to rest, but that desire doesn't compare to the fear of being hated by Lady Anna—no, by my mother.
'You sang and danced just to get out of there, and now that you've finally escaped, you're going back? Just go back to the Academy and suffer.'
Since he doesn't know the situation, he's just spewing curses.
But he got one thing wrong.
'Who said anything about going back to the Academy?'
'Isn't that what you meant?'
Not at all.
I said I would help the Princess, not that I would return to the Academy.