Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Bestowing Favors (5)
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Two figures, a man and a woman, boarded the Southern Grand Duke's lavish carriage.
The Southern Grand Duke, Rosetta, sat on the plush seat, wrapped in a blanket.
She kept staring at me from across the way.
"Get some rest."
Her blue eyes were round like a cat's.
Holding a warm mug with both hands, she observed me with those eyes.
As if trying to figure out who I really was.
"If you stay up staring like this, it'll mess with your schedule tomorrow."
"Are you even worried about my schedule?"
Rosetta chuckled lightly and took a sip of her tea.
"You're rushing back to your territory like this, so it must be something important."
"Hmm—do you have some inkling?"
The Southern Grand Duke kept probing, as if she'd taken an interest in me.
Normally, I'd brush it off vaguely.
No point in getting chummy with grand dukes—it wouldn't benefit me.
But Lydia was someone I needed to get close to.
If she allied with Rosetta and joined the coalition, the South would naturally fall in line too.
"If there were signs of war, you wouldn't have had time to come to the capital."
I phrased my past-life knowledge like a reasonable guess.
"Since you had time for the Third Imperial Princess's summit, it's more likely some sudden accident than war."
I fiddled with my tousled hair from pulling on the hood.
Rosetta stared at the scar on my forehead from the Northern front.
"I'd guess it's those war refugees stirring up trouble from the recent unrest in the southern city-states."
"Right you are."
I unclasped the gold necklaces I was wearing.
I transferred them to a basket to return them.
I added a modest handful of gold coins as thanks to the lenders.
Rosetta silently gazed at the jingling coins.
"Oh, of course, all this info came from Her Highness Lydia."
The blue bob-haired woman looked up.
She stared at me with a sullen expression.
"Ah—really?"
"Yes, she was quite interested in you, Your Grace."
I laid it on thick about Lydia to boost her favor.
But Rosetta didn't seem to buy it and just laughed it off.
"Fine, it's 'all' thanks to Her Highness Lydia."
The Southern commander, who had guarded the border alone until thirty.
She thanked me with a smile, saying it had been a while.
「Sowsten.」
The signpost announcing we'd reached the Southern territory.
The carriage passed it and emerged from the dense forest.
Fresh green dawn light began pouring into the carriage.
The carriage finally slowed and stopped at the territory entrance.
"We've arrived."
The door opened.
Cool dawn air flooded in, rousing Rosetta, who had dozed off.
I got out with her.
Vast wheat fields stretched flat, without a hill in sight.
And even at dawn, the weather was warm.
'Impressive....'
I'd never visited in my past life, so I hadn't realized.
But seeing it firsthand, the South's agricultural power was undeniably formidable.
Beyond the paddies loomed the massive city of Sowsten.
Encircling it were sturdy walls.
All the work of Rosetta and her father.
'At this level, it's not quite the imperial capital, but it could sustain countless troops and supplies.'
If the palace intrigue dragged on long-term.
It would be far better than the barren North or commerce-dependent West.
"Thanks for escorting me home."
The grand duke, in a white blouse over black slacks.
With a longsword at her waist, she extended a hand for a shake.
"Thanks to you, I made it back alive."
"No need—it's all Her Highness Lydia's will."
Even as I credited the Third Imperial Princess to the end, Rosetta narrowed her eyes.
"You're the one who faithfully carried out the order and rescued me."
She kept her hand out for the shake.
Reluctantly, I hooked fingers lightly and shook.
"Please tell Her Highness the Third Imperial Princess I'll formally visit soon."
"I'll pass that on."
Rosetta placed a hand on her chest.
She gripped the brooch pinned over her buttons.
"...!"
She boldly unfastened it.
She handed me the aquamarine gem dangling inside.
"This will stand for my position in the meantime."
I received the burdensome gem.
"It's a family heirloom passed down since my grandfather's time."
A family heirloom.
Entrusting such a treasure to Lydia....
I looked up at Rosetta steadily.
"Yes, the Southern front will support Her Highness Lydia from now on."
Dawn's blue light enveloped her hair.
The Southern Grand Duke met my eyes steadily, her blue ones sparkling.
"You trusted and protected me when I was weighing the imperial family—that moved me."
Rosetta turned her head, satisfied.
She gazed at her territory alone.
"To repay that, I have to show this much sincerity at least."
"Thank you for a decision that must not have been easy."
I bowed lightly to her back.
Then I pocketed the gem and turned.
"Then I'll go deliver this good news to the princess."
With that, I focused mana in my legs.
Running back to the East would take a full two hours of mana drain.
"Ah."
But her voice stopped me.
I turned, and Grand Duke Rosetta approached lightly.
"Come to think of it, I still don't know your name."
"My name?"
When I asked back, Rosetta smiled brightly.
"Yes, now that we're on the same side, you can tell me."
I looked at her steadily.
And answered honestly.
"Capital Defense Knight, Veil Mikhail."
Capital Defense Knight.
At that, Rosetta looked puzzled.
"Not Eastern Knights, but Capital Guard...? With skills like yours, why there...."
Rosetta tilted her head.
Then apologized for unintentionally dissing the Capital Guard.
"Sorry, I just think it's a waste of your talent."
"It's fine."
I shook my head calmly, and the Southern Grand Duke placed a hand on her chest.
She made a bold proposal.
"If you're willing, how about transferring to the South?"
"The Southern front?"
"Yes, with your skill and insight, you could inherit vice-commander soon enough."
Vice-commander.
Offering her successor position to a man whose family she didn't even know?
As expected of high nobility, she knew swordmasters were rare.
But.
I didn't want to guard the border my whole life, suffering.
'I just want to live comfortably in a nation protected by our grand duke, drawing a pension.'
If I could erase the Night of Purge from history.
I'd wipe out all these hassles.
"Thanks, but I'll have to decline."
I bowed lightly in refusal.
"I still have much to do in the capital."
"I see...."
Cut off sharply, Rosetta gave a bittersweet smile of regret.
For her sake, I added one more thing.
"Among those things I must do, some are for you, Lady Rosetta."
"For me...?"
The Southern Grand Duke cleared her throat at the words thinking of her.
She stared at me intently, waiting for what came next.
"Yes, when you return to the palace, I'll make sure you don't regret supporting the Third Imperial Princess."
I placed my fist over my left breast.
And promised the grand duke humbly.
"Yes... thank you."
Rosetta's lips curved up.
She placed her hand on her chest like me and promised.
"I'll do my utmost too, so that you... no, Her Highness Lydia will be satisfied."
We parted after that promise.
The carriage wheels' sound faded away.
Only after it vanished completely did I leave the Southern territory.
"Haa...."
And so, I'd pulled one of the three grand dukes to our side.
At this point, Lydia's faction should grow to match Leah's level.
I burned mana freely to deliver the good news.
Exhausted as I was, I reached the Eastern palace in two hours.
It was still around 5 a.m., sky dark.
Lights out in the palace except for guard posts.
'Bats and Tau must have handed over the captured foes and returned to quarters by now.'
I planned to hand the gem to Lydia's chief secretary and head back North.
The Third Imperial Princess was probably asleep now.
"Damn...."
Having come this far, the thought of going back North made me sigh.
I quietly headed to the mansion's living room where Lydia was.
The living room lights were all off.
Only one maid stood waiting at the entrance.
"Thanks for the late-night duty. I have something for the chief secretary— is she asleep?"
The maid shook her head firmly.
She politely indicated the leather sofa with her palm.
'The sofa?'
I stood on tiptoes to peer at the large sofa.
There was the familiar twin-tail crown of her head.
"Sir Veil has been waiting here straight until your return."
I quietly approached the sofa.
I gazed at the Third Imperial Princess, asleep with my uniform jacket draped over her thighs.
"Sorry, I took too long...."
She breathed softly like a girl.
Still in the black dress from the summit.
I debated retrieving my jacket from her thighs.
Meanwhile, the black long-haired maid approached from the side.
With a cold expression, she said quietly,
"Come with me. Her Highness prepared a room for you."
"A room for me...?"
I followed the maid dubiously.
Along the moonlit corridor.
Soon, she stopped before an ornate, spacious door.
A suite reserved for imperial family among palace VIP guests.
The maid opened the suite door.
A lavish bedroom unfolded.
A massive bed big enough for five, and a glass ceiling caught my eye.
"I'll just come back tomorrow."
I scowled at the overwhelming room.
The maid tapped my shoulder with her finger.
"Rest in this room until I wake."
Familiar tone.
The maid mimicked Lydia's voice and expression in a haughty tone.
"She commanded thus."
Then she reverted to her usual servant speech.
"A few hours from now, I have to report to Capital Guard duty too. Better to meet tomorrow...."
I scolded the maid like a child.
But she possessed by Lydia again.
"Grandpa, I'm borrowing Veil for today."
Grandpa?
She meant Grand General Valderian...?
Reading my face, the maid went cold again.
"Yes, she already got permission from General Valderian."
I scratched the back of my head and sighed deeply.
"No way the general approved that easily...."
"Her Highness Lydia isn't one to lose easily either."
The maid left the bedroom alone.
She said as she closed the door.
"Then, good night."
Thud.
Her heels clicked away fading.
I was left alone in the grand bedroom.
"Huh...."
With mixed feelings, I approached the bed.
Had I ever seen a bed this huge?
I'd seen Leah's bedroom, but hers fit just two.
"..."
I lay back on the oversized bed.
The glass ceiling revealed the night sky.
"Nice."
Do royals always sleep to this view?
With a life like this, they'd be content.
Why are they so desperate to kill each other?
Unimaginable things from my past life kept unfolding.
The more they piled up, the more my thoughts shifted.
'Maybe I really can change it.'
The Night of Purge too.
The future where the princesses die.
Maybe because I'd burned mana running all day.
I felt fatigue for the first time in ages.
That fatigue drew me into deep sleep.
* * * *
"..."
Thanks to the plush bed maybe.
My whole body felt refreshed, fatigue washed away.
My stiff eyelids opened crisply.
"Royals really do have it good."
I rose leisurely from the soft bed.
I savored the royal bedroom with a deep breath.
"That envious, huh?"
"Envious as hell—if I could, I'd switch in a heartbeat...."
I answered reflexively to the faint voice.
But soon my brows furrowed.
I should be alone in the room.
Whose voice was that...?
I rubbed my eyes and turned toward the sound.
And in that instant.
My half-open eyes snapped wide.
"Curious. I thought all men snored like my father when they sleep."
Beside the bed, leaning casually, sat the Third Imperial Princess, Lydia.
Her hand propped on the bed, chin in palm.
"Luckily, you slept very quietly?"
The newly adult princess smiled with her red eyes.
"So, how was it? Pleased with the grace I bestowed?"
She watched me from the side in the academy-style outfit I'd recommended before.