Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Princess's Sickbed Visit (1)
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Was it because of Hammus's attack that shook the underground city?
The knights of Lidia, who had been waiting on the surface, began to move.
The cold clatter of iron boots echoed from the exit.
Emboldened by the sound, I climbed up to the pavilion.
"..."
The prince stared blankly at the blade now right in front of his nose.
Then, in a calm voice, he said,
"I surrender."
It was more nonchalant than expected.
Looking down at the fallen captain and knights, he continued,
"What can I possibly do alone at this point?"
The prince shrugged dramatically, as if he had no regrets whatsoever.
*It's a shame. I need him to resist so I can beat him to death properly.*
I turned my head with a displeased expression.
Then, I gazed intently at Lidia's knights entering the city.
A group making their way toward the pavilion, pushing through the collapsed buildings.
Among them was the girl I had once disguised as my lover.
"Ha, you've decorated this dreary place quite nicely."
Lidia, standing alone with arms crossed, waved her hand to clear the dust.
She scoffed at the massive trove of treasures visible amid the ruins.
"So this is where all the treasures you've plundered have been hidden."
The princess clicked her tongue in disgust.
Her heels clicked sharply as she approached us.
"..."
Her red eyes coldly looked down at her own brother.
At that gaze, Hakim lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile.
"Long time no see, Lidia."
The princess gave no reply.
She merely held her head high.
"You've become quite the lady in the time since we last met."
Hakim looked his sister up and down.
A black dress exposing her shoulders, with a bodice that accentuated her figure.
He chuckled as if surprised.
"But you're more debutante than ruler. Perfect for a fresh marriage."
Even in defeat, the prince remained utterly relaxed.
Lidia strode toward him.
And...
*Slap!!*
She struck her kin's cheek with vicious force.
Hakim's face whipped to the side from the blow.
The skin beneath his eyes trembled faintly.
"Shut your mouth, Hakim."
Following my lead, Lidia too.
Calling his name like one would a bug made his brow furrow involuntarily.
"..."
As the prince fell silent, Lidia approached me.
She looked up at me with a frosty expression.
*What? Did I do something wrong?*
I swallowed hard and waited for her words.
"Why aren't you wearing the necklace I gave you?"
"The necklace, Your Highness?"
The princess pointed to the wound on my cheek.
"You got that on your face struggling alone, didn't you?"
"I'm sorry. However, for efficient combat..."
Lidia cut me off and thrust her face close to mine.
Her pale skin revealed the fine downy hairs up close.
"You're already covered in wounds everywhere."
The princess extended a soft finger.
She wiped away the blood trickling from my chin.
"If you keep treating your body so roughly, you'll never get married."
The Eastern knights all turned to stare at us.
Their eyes widened at the sight of their princess fussing over a mere knight.
"One more scar here won't make much difference."
Feeling their stares, I forced a smile and pulled my face away.
Only then did Lidia seem to notice her subordinates' gazes and cleared her throat awkwardly.
"In any case, good work. Veil Mikhail."
She spoke again in her ruler's tone.
"I'll handle the rest of his forces."
"No need. They've all surrendered already."
I shook my head, insisting it was fine.
Lidia blinked in surprise.
"Surrendered?"
"Yes, since Captain Hammus is dead."
I pointed with my scabbard to the massive corpse sprawled in the center of the underground city.
The ground had cratered around his body as if struck by a meteor.
"You don't mean to say you killed the Eastern captain?"
Lidia, who had heard of Hammus's fame since childhood.
Her twin tails practically perked up in shock.
"It just sort of happened that way."
As I handed the prince over to Tau and Batsch, I replied.
Yet even having lost everything, he remained unfazed.
He muttered dismissively at them, ignoring their presence.
"The air down here is so stale."
He even tried to head toward the passage with bold confidence.
"Let's get out of here already. I want some fresh air too, for once."
The princess and I stared at Hakim's audacity.
"Why is that bastard so brazen?"
"Because once he returns to his homeland, all this will be forgotten."
When the Empire forged a political marriage with the Eastern kingdom of Samad, they made one promise.
Unless it involved crimes between imperial royals themselves, all offenses would be tried in the East.
That was why they could never punish him for the wealth he extorted or the crimes against the people.
It explained his arrogance during his reign of terror as the East's lord.
"The ropes are too tight. Loosen them a bit."
Hakim complained to Tau and Batsch.
"We need a way to detain him until evidence comes to light..."
Lidia's red eyes flashed.
She fixed him with a chilling, expressionless stare.
"Should I just make it look like an accident?"
Hearing that, the prince spun around dramatically.
"That's too much, even for family, Lidia."
He mocked his sister with a pitiful expression, prattling on.
"You think my homeland's vassals will buy an 'accident'?"
The Eastern prince knew his position all too well.
With utmost arrogance, he addressed us.
"Insolent fool."
Even Lidia, who commanded countless territories and knights.
Family was another matter entirely.
I glanced back and forth between the two royals.
Lidia looked ready to kill Hakim the moment they stepped out with him.
A fine idea, but as the prince said, it could lead to repercussions.
"..."
I pondered a quiet way to dispose of him alone.
Then, one idea involving the princess came to mind.
*Crimes between royals can be handled by the Empire.*
What if, among all his crimes, there was even one instance where he harmed another royal?
We could rot him in a dungeon for life.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment."
I called out to Lidia as she plotted his death.
And stated firmly,
"What is it?"
"There might still be a way to deal with him."
Leaving those words, I headed to his collapsed warehouse.
Golden treasures gleamed through the debris.
Most were untraceable gold and locked chests—plundered from the common folk, no doubt.
But.
*Would they have targeted only commoners?*
Pushing past ordinary treasures, I ventured deeper into the building.
And...
I found a lavish box that made my lips curl into a grin.
Small in size but adorned with the 'Golden Lion' seal.
Items belonging to someone I knew very well.
"Boring. How much longer do I have to wait?"
Hakim yawned and blinked lazily.
He glanced indifferently at me returning with a platinum box.
"What's that?"
The others did the same.
Everyone scrutinized the item I carried.
"What else?"
I smiled broadly at them all.
Then, with flair, I set down the Empire's First Imperial Princess's symbol.
The platinum box emblazoned with the golden lion.
"This is the First Imperial Princess's property that you stole."
Any other royal would have scoured the East for lost items.
But Lea had so much wealth and was so busy, she'd apparently forgotten.
"You should've known better than to steal from another royal."
The First Imperial Princess's box sat plainly in Hakim's underground lair.
Everyone present witnessed it with their own eyes.
*Clear evidence, numerous witnesses.*
Only then did Hakim's eyes twitch.
He knew Lea's formidable power and terror all too well.
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
Hakim denied it vehemently.
"I never ordered them to steal from royals."
The prince looked to his subdued troops.
They kept their heads down, stealing glances at him.
"It was their independent action!"
Hakim pointed at them indignantly.
Some knights, abandoned by him to the end, pushed back.
"We didn't steal that item."
Then they turned against him outright.
Since all his loyalists had fallen like the captain.
"It's loot handed over by border bandits as payment for allowing their raids!"
The truth of why the prince possessed Lea's items was revealed.
"Ha, now even your subordinates abandon you."
Lidia, watching the farce from the side, scoffed.
"Perfect. Secretary, contact Lea."
The princess settled into a leather chair prepared by her knights.
She crossed her sensual legs leisurely.
"Tell her the thief who stole your goods is here."
Lidia propped her chin on one arm.
She smiled with relaxed amusement.
"He let bandits run wild, letting them raid a royal carriage, and kept the spoils."
Her Eastern lord's red eyes blazed like a predator's.
"And a string of other outrages against the Empire will come pouring out."
Eyes vowing never to release her prey.
Hakim, her own blood, couldn't miss that look.
"Add it all up, and he'll spend at least thirty years in an underground cell."
"L-Lidia..."
Unlike moments ago, the prince's face was deeply unsettled.
He slowly approached the princess, arrogantly seated.
"You're going to leave a blood relative's trial to outsiders?"
Hakim cautiously bent a knee.
With trembling pupils, he pleaded desperately.
"I swear it. I'll return home and humbly accept punishment!"
Her brother, three years her senior.
The East's former ruler groveling before his sister.
"We're family! We grew up together our whole lives!"
But she paid no heed.
Instead, she replied in that icy tone she used only when serious.
"Family?"
The princess pinched the dress draped over her shoulder.
She adjusted it delicately.
"What family stabs another in the back, even dragging outsiders into it?"
To her, Hakim was already worth less than the hem of her gown.
"The moment you thought that, our blood ties ended."
The princess turned her head away.
Then, gazing at me intently, she smiled.
"And I can make a new family without you."
Lidia tilted her head coyly, her eyes gleaming like a little devil's.
Her twin tails swayed gently with the motion.
"Ahem..."
I averted my gaze from hers.
While the knights watched Hakim, I stepped back under pretense of inspecting the box.
"I'll just verify the stolen goods for a moment."
It bore powerful security magic.
Something on the level of a top-tier artifact like a wand, perhaps.
No wonder they hadn't opened it despite having it.
As the Eastern knights bound and guarded Hakim tightly, I reached for the box.
I forcibly dismantled the spell with golden mana.
*Click.*
The box opened.
While everyone focused on Hakim, I secretly lifted the lid.
"Books...?"
The box was filled with tactical tomes that looked dull just to behold.
But.
Digging deeper, one particularly luxuriously packaged volume caught my eye.
As if the rest were mere camouflage.
"Slave Knight of the Northern Grand Duchess..."
I cocked my head at the familiar, ordinary cover.
I'd definitely seen it in Lea's bedroom.
*Why buy the same book twice?*
As I pondered,
I realized the special meaning this book held.
A seal etched discreetly in the corner.
It read as follows:
"Uncensored Adult Edition...?"