Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Wagner, The Gods Enter Valhalla 2
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“What do you plan to do?”
“We’ll throw out some bait.”
The method was simple.
“We’ll create a situation where it seems the merchant might leak the buyer’s identity.”
“Go on.”
The Crown Prince, seated on the sofa, crossed his legs as he spoke.
Had he disliked my plan, he would have cut me off from the very beginning.
The fact that he hadn’t meant my idea had passed the test.
“Since I’ve already made contact with the Chamberlain, I’ll bring this poison to him.”
What comes next is simple.
First, pretend to accept the relocation proposal and offer cooperation.
Second, leak false information that a merchant from the black market came and delivered the poison.
We would plant the illusion that the merchant knows the buyer’s identity and might reveal it at any moment.
If we do that, they will have only one course of action.
“They’ll deny it to my face, but behind the scenes, they’ll search for the merchant who supposedly holds the information.”
“Meaning they’ll silence him permanently. It would be troublesome if he revealed the whole truth and became a witness.”
“...That is correct.”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead, but the outcome was similar.
“Even if my plan fails, there won’t be any major problems.”
“We can just deny everything, like they do.”
The Crown Prince’s permission was granted immediately.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
There were still a few hours before the banquet began.
I headed to the market with Erdi.
It was to set the stage.
To make the incident seem real, I had to move with calculated precision.
“The atmosphere is great, seeing as the port is so bustling.”
“Take a good look around for now.”
After strolling around for about ten minutes, we returned.
Then, I went to find Chris.
“May I speak with you for a moment in your room?”
We entered the room together.
We sat facing each other at the table.
“I’ve decided to remain in the kingdom after the banquet. It seems accepting the offer is the better choice.”
“That’s wonderful! I knew you would.”
Chris said this and continued his sermon about the kingdom’s greatness, but I stopped listening halfway through.
A little later.
“Before that, there is something Your Excellency should know.”
I presented the poison in the glass vial.
“...What is this?”
His voice trembled for an instant.
Just moments ago, he had been speaking like a machine, but now I could finally feel some emotion.
I recited the lines I had prepared.
“I went to the market with my assistant, and someone gave this to me when they heard I was from the Marquis’s territory. Do you know what this is?”
“...I’m not sure. But it doesn’t seem to be a good thing.”
“It would be better for Your Excellency to keep it, rather than me.”
“Understood.”
He took the vial and put it in his pocket.
His lips twitched.
It was for a split second, but I saw it clearly.
“I shall prepare for the performance.”
“...Yes.”
He stood up with a troubled expression and left the room without another word.
His attitude confirmed it.
‘He asked.’
Now, all that remains is the part for the Crown Prince and Eins.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The banquet began.
The King gave a short speech, followed by the Crown Prince stepping forward to deliver his toast.
I was behind the stage.
I parted the curtains and surveyed the banquet hall.
Eins was nowhere to be seen.
The Chamberlain was standing by the King’s side, but an unmistakable look of anxiety was etched on his face.
“Young Master.”
As I was looking out, Erdi called my name.
“Are you really planning to perform this piece?”
He was fidgeting so much he looked like a criminal.
I understood how he felt.
The music I had chosen for today was completely unsuited for a royal banquet.
Richard Wagner, Die Entry of the Gods into Valhalla.
An orchestra piece from Wagner’s opera, The Ring of the Nibelung, which also has a version arranged for piano.
I had put in the effort to replicate it, but it could never compare to the original.
The tubas and trumpets that support the entire epic with grandeur and solidity, the soft and elegant violins and flutes.
It is impossible to express the majesty of this piece with just a single piano.
No matter how forcefully or cheerfully I press the keys, how could I reproduce the magnificence of an orchestra?
However.
The reason for Erdi’s surprise was not just that.
Die Entry of the Gods into Valhalla.
Just hearing the name, one might think it’s a piece blessing the transcendental gods as they enter their noble and sacred dwelling, but the reality is different.
This piece heads toward tragedy.
In The Ring of the Nibelung, the gods are seen as symbols of power, desire, arrogance, and corruption.
They covet treasure and are obsessed with power.
Eventually, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, despairing from the gods’ betrayal, sets their dwelling, Valhalla, ablaze.
The child born of the gods destroys the world of the gods with her own hands.
Liberation from domination.
The collapse of an old order.
So perhaps...
There is no piece more fitting for Ivelon than this.
“Erdi.”
“Yes.”
Before stepping onto the stage, I told him.
“Music does not always contain only beautiful and happy moments.”
The melody I would play today holds nothing but despair and tragedy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I bowed to the King and the Crown Prince.
I immediately sat down at the piano.
It began with a softly flowing melody.
The heavens opened, and a divine light poured down.
Thunderous chords enveloped it.
Heavy and intense, like the gates of Valhalla slowly opening.
“Hmm.”
A smile appeared on the King’s face.
He must be satisfied.
Just by listening, it sounds like a grand and splendid piece.
The melody continued.
To prevent anyone from noticing the impending tragedy, it grew even more passionate.
The atmosphere heightened.
Perhaps it evokes images of glorious warriors.
But I know.
This is not glory, but ruin.
Not a blessing, but a curse.
At last, the finale.
A calm melody springs forth, suppressing the heightened emotions.
Silence falls.
All that remains is an empty stillness and the fleeting destiny embedded within it.
My eyes met the Crown Prince’s.
His face was expressionless.
He was frowning, as if displeased with something.
He might have realized it.
The Crown Prince possesses the eyes and ears to see through the truth.
He appears simple but is, in fact, a complex and clever figure.
He must have seen through that what I just played was not merely a hymn to glory.
In contrast.
The King and the nobles stood up and applauded enthusiastically.
“Truly magnificent!”
“Wooow!”
To think there is a world where you can be praised even after hurling what amounts to verbal abuse.
It’s truly astonishing.
With that thought, I rose from my seat.
I stood straight in the center of the stage and bowed.
At that moment.
The doors to the banquet hall burst open, and knights clad in armor stormed in.
“Hey!”
“What are you doing!”
The knights roared in furious voices.
But their shouts were not directed at me.
They surrounded a man.
Eins.
And in Eins’s grasp, he held someone by the nape of the neck.
“This man has confessed to the crime.”
‘It’s over.’
I let out a quiet sigh and turned my gaze toward the King and the Chamberlain.
Their faces, filled with bewilderment, were a masterpiece.
“Eins.”
A low, fierce voice rang out. It was the Crown Prince, Ruhan Flovitz.
“Send a letter to His Imperial Majesty. From this moment on, the Empire will consider the Kingdom of Ivelon an enemy and will use all means and methods to make them pay the price for daring to insult the Empire. I order this in the name of the Regent, Crown Prince Ruhan Flovitz.”
I thought I heard a groan from the King, but I deliberately ignored it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Right after I leaked the information that the Chamberlain had received the poison from a black market merchant, it seemed he sent a man to that location.
Presumably, he moved quietly to eliminate the witness, just as we expected.
However.
Eins was already there.
No matter who the kingdom sent, they were no match for Eins’s power.
He was a knight directly serving the Crown Prince of the Empire.
What happened after that was the same as we knew.
Eins restrained the culprit and stormed the palace, and the Crown Prince officially declared hostility toward the kingdom.
They would likely pour on immense pressure, both diplomatically and militarily.
The Kingdom of Ivelon, unable to overcome its greed, met its ruin in the end.
Just like the gods of Valhalla in The Ring of the Nibelung.
There was nothing more for me to do there, so the next day, I boarded a trade ship and returned to the Marquis’s territory with Erdi.
“I’m glad it was resolved well.”
Erdi said.
“Indeed.”
Regardless, it was an experience I never wanted to have again.
My head hurt, and I felt terrible.
When we arrived at the port, Edward was waiting.
“I’m glad you returned safely.”
We headed to the Marquis’s mansion together.
I had a duty to report the situation to him.
I told him everything.
“So that’s what happened! That’s how it was!”
The Marquis, finally at ease, laughed kindly and banged the table enthusiastically.
“I don’t know how to express my gratitude!”
The Crown Prince was to provide the reward, so there was nothing for me to take from him.
‘There is one thing, though.’
Now that the incident is settled, the city will soon regain its former liveliness.
We have our original purpose.
My eyes met Edward’s.
“Let’s hold a concert!”