Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Guardian of Balance (2)
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The day after lunch with the imperial princess.
A new group showed up at the allotment garden, replacing the Eastern Knights.
Orin, the head of the Torman clan.
He was a chieftain who commanded hundreds of men in the northern territories.
But after coming to the Empire...
"Brother, we're warriors at least— what the hell is this?"
"Yeah... this is killing us!"
They had been reduced to farmers tilling the fields.
"Shut your mouths, you idiots...!"
Orin bellowed at his subordinates as he hoed the field in a sleeveless tunic.
"You saw whose side that knight is on, right? The Third Imperial Princess herself!"
The leader glanced up at me watching from the second-floor office.
His eyes had turned obedient, unlike when we first met.
These were men who had nearly been executed for threatening imperial royalty.
After I saved them, they knelt and begged to serve me as their big brother.
"If you have any brains, think about it."
The leader roughly tapped his temple with his finger.
"He's a defense knight now, but what if she becomes a noble and he follows her?"
He looked at his men with a serious gaze.
"Then we who've served under him loyally become the Empire's middle class naturally!"
Orin, who had already latched onto Luper's family before.
He hummed, claiming he'd sniffed out the right opportunity this time.
"Ooh... as expected, seeing the big picture...!"
"You're a leech when it comes to talent, alright!"
I clicked my tongue watching them.
'Nobles, my ass. Soon as I scrape up the cash, I'm bolting for the border.'
Turning away from the clueless men yapping about their futures.
I faced an old man and his secretary sitting on the office sofa.
"The tenant farmers seem enthusiastic."
Mosian, the imperial chancellor in his uniform.
And his secretary, Susan.
"They're not tenants. They volunteered on their own."
I sat down slowly across from him.
And sipped the fine tea the chancellor had gifted me.
"Can you cover their daily wages on a defense knight's salary?"
"Nope. Told them to disband, but they said they don't need pay."
The old man chuckled at my nonchalant reply.
"Impressive, just like the rumors. Winning the loyalty of those rough northern barbarians..."
"Loyalty? They're just using me as a connection to get imperial citizenship."
I shook my head skeptically, and the chancellor smiled warmly.
"Humans bond through shared interests, after all."
"So you came to me for mutual gain?"
The old man nodded, pleased with my question.
"Most knights train only their swords and lack any street smarts... but you're different."
The chancellor dropped his smile.
And asked me with a grave expression.
"I saw your performance at the Third Imperial Princess's banquet."
"Just doing my job as a defense knight, preventing a bigger incident."
Thanks to Chancellor Mosian, my self-staged play had passed off easily.
I bowed my head in gratitude.
"Yes, your role is to prevent accidents in the capital ahead of time."
The chancellor added meaningfully.
"That's why I'm here too. For 'prevention'."
The old man pulled a drawing from his robes.
It depicted Batsch training diligently.
"Batsch, huh."
"Yes. Ever since you beat him, he's been training harder than ever."
The chancellor smiled with satisfaction.
"Thanks to that, the Eastern Knights are growing faster than ever before."
"Good to hear."
I nodded while sipping the fragrant tea.
The chancellor leaned in, urging focus.
"I've packaged it well, but the Second Imperial Princess's knights are growing diligently too, after meeting you."
I knew that.
Luper's father was even trying to slot him in there, prospects were that bright.
"Seeing these changes, I sensed one possibility."
The old man perched on the sofa's edge.
He clasped his hands and looked at me intently.
"That you have a positive influence on the princesses."
I furrowed my brow at his words.
"Me?"
I'd suspected as much, but for the chancellor to say it outright?
I'd just been flattering them enough to make money and planned to flee to the border.
Might need to speed up those plans.
"They already know you're on par with a Swordmaster."
The chancellor pointed at me.
"That's why they're raising their knight orders' levels to recruit someone picky like you."
Because I didn't pick any of the three at the appointment ceremony.
That must've bruised their pride.
"If you keep staying neutral and keep spurring their passion..."
The chancellor swallowed hard.
With the shrewd eyes honed over years in the palace, he said.
"After His Majesty the Emperor passes, we could prevent the Crown Prince's purge."
Imperial Chancellor Mosian.
A man versed in the upper echelons' political intrigues after decades with the imperial family.
It wasn't surprising he'd predict what happens after the Emperor's death.
But what surprised me...
Was that such a powerhouse came to me asking for help with the three princesses.
"What can I do to help the princesses?"
I shook my head at his burdensome proposal.
The chancellor pointed at the mana in my body, as if he already knew everything.
"Heard you're a commoner with no proper master, yet you wield Sword Aura freely?"
He rattled off facts, as if his investigation was spot-on.
"I'm not asking you to raise her knights to your level—just drop by occasionally to help with training!"
Reckless.
Help all three princesses.
Even with the Crown Prince as an enemy?
If caught, it'd give them leverage even after I flee to the border.
"Don't worry. We won't put you front and center. I'll protect your identity as best I can."
The imperial chancellor shielding me.
On the surface, not bad.
I'd gain a solid backer.
But...
'Why's a chancellor—not even royalty—going this far?'
Of course, I recalled how he'd cherished Irina like a granddaughter in the past.
But that alone didn't convince me.
"May I ask why you're going to such lengths for me?"
"..."
The chancellor took a deep breath at my question.
As if sorry for leaning in, he scooted back on the sofa.
"Yes... suddenly showing up like this would raise suspicions."
The chancellor picked up his teacup.
His face softened with fond, sad memories.
"I've watched all the princesses' lives up close."
He gazed at the Samiid leather decorating my room.
"The Third Imperial Princess... she acts tough, but she's always been mocked for her Eastern mother. Her mother used her ruthlessly just to gain His Majesty's favor."
Then he looked at the fine sword Irina gave me.
"The Second Imperial Princess lost her mother to poison. Other imperials belittled her commoner roots. After that, she grew up utterly alone and lonely."
I knew that.
That's why Irina never got close to any imperials and lived in anxiety.
"The First Imperial Princess is the same. She suffers a hereditary disease like her mother, who treats her not as a daughter but as a mere chess piece."
The chancellor set down his cup.
He pressed his hands to his thighs and looked at me pleadingly.
"After the appointment ceremony, those princesses started clinging to life. They think they can take on the Crown Prince if they snag a Swordmaster talent like you."
I shut my eyes tight at his desperate gaze.
Furrowing my brows, I mulled over his words.
"So please help them. Just until they can stand on their own."
His secretary pulled out a prepared document case, echoing the chancellor's plea.
When the bag opened...
Bundles of checks stamped with the chancellor's name and land deeds appeared.
"What... how do you see me?"
I waved off the sudden bribe.
But the chancellor pinpointed one of my biggest goals: a comfy retirement life.
"Heard you're into farming lately."
He shoved the territory permit and checks at me.
"Every time you help with training, I'll report to His Majesty and get you that territory."
A territory permit is a unique privilege only the Emperor can grant.
Plus, the checks held enough for land and even building a manor.
Ten thousand gold.
Enough for a hundred carriages.
"The allotment was just an excuse to avoid the princesses. I don't actually want to be a farmer."
But the chancellor didn't accept my refusal.
He slammed the permit on the table.
"Territories aren't just for vegetable patches."
The chancellor rose from the sofa.
As he headed for the door.
He glanced down at a flower basket that had arrived for me.
"Heard from someone you care deeply for the orphans."
The basket was from the orphanage that raised me.
So remote, it had only just arrived.
"With a territory, couldn't you relocate your old orphanage? To the safe capital."
The chancellor laughed heartily, playing the nosy benefactor.
"I'll think about it, but don't get your hopes up."
I nailed it down firmly for him.
As he left, I clutched the territory permit.
And carelessly shoved it into a drawer.
――――――.
On the way down the stairs.
The secretary whispered to the chancellor.
"Um, just one question?"
"What?"
"Granting territory to a commoner is almost like giving a title, isn't it? I'm curious if that defense knight is worth it."
The chancellor sighed deeply at the question.
Before boarding the carriage.
He gazed at the sprawling Nostun skyline and murmured softly.
"The man who took down representatives from two knight orders at once."
The chancellor gestured to his pristine suit.
"Without a speck of dust on him."
He drew a deep breath.
"If a talent like that catches the Crown Prince's eye, what happens? Two options: embrace him if possible, eliminate him if not."
Absorbing the peaceful city, he muttered to himself.
"So we need to make the first move."
The secretary cleared his throat after hearing that.
Unlike when he'd dismissed the defense knight, his voice was now serious.
"What if... he sides with the Crown Prince?"
The chancellor replied flatly.
"The day blood winds blow across the Empire comes even sooner."
Leaving those chilling words, the chancellor boarded the carriage.
He bowed his head and sighed.
"So let's pray the sleeping dragon stays in its cave."
Mosian set the carriage in motion.
Clasping his hands tight, he closed his eyes.
Hoping the treasure would bless only him and the princesses who'd found him first.