Chapter 232
Chapter 232
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 232
Chapter Title: Trust Forged in the Skies
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The meeting with Duke Imperba dragged on late into the night.
In the end, Leyzon confirmed that his judgment had been correct.
The eastern noble faction was in a more desperate situation than ever.
They needed to borrow even a cat's paw at this point.
And into that game came the massive player known as the Abyss, so they treated him with utmost courtesy.
"To be honest, we don't really want war with the nobles or the imperial family either."
Power was, after all, just a means to check each other.
Nuclear weapons in the real world were a prime example.
They weren't fired, but merely possessing them served as a deterrent against other nations.
So Leyzon could understand that much.
But this world wasn't so straightforward.
'If there had been no intervention at all, it would have ended with just power struggles among the factions.'
However, the one orchestrating this from the shadows didn't want that.
'That puppet troupe leader bastard—he's definitely planning to wipe out the imperial family.'
The prophets all shared the goal of obtaining the corpse of the Transcendent of Ruin.
The puppet troupe had infiltrated the imperial family.
They were surely after the plans the imperial family had been pursuing all this time.
To claim those plans for themselves, they first had to smash the imperial family.
'He's not moving rashly.'
There was already the precedent of the ossuary falling to Leyzon's hands.
He would be even more cautious with his movements now.
So he planned to slowly dismantle the imperial family.
Leyzon intended to douse that plan with cold water.
'I need to keep creating situations where he can't help but squirm.'
To do that, the eastern noble faction's power needed to grow stronger.
Enough to make that guy sense the danger and reach out toward them.
"Here's the list of our eastern noble faction."
Duke Imperba showed Leyzon the list without hiding anything.
The faction's roster had already spread far and wide anyway.
But since they were in the same boat, sharing detailed information was basic protocol.
Leyzon took the list and scanned it slowly.
"Could I borrow a pen?"
"Hm? Here."
As Duke Imperba handed it over, Leyzon promptly marked a few names.
The duke wore an inexplicable expression.
Soon, Leyzon returned the list to him.
"These individuals defected to the northern noble faction a few days ago."
"What?"
The duke reacted with bewilderment.
It was only natural.
All the people on the list he'd shown were supposed to be eastern noble faction members.
But even within the same faction, people had differing thoughts.
In the end, some had grown weary on their own and taken the northern faction's hand.
"If you'd like, you can contact them right now. If they deny it, there's a high chance they're spying, so it'd be good to verify."
"N-No way..."
The duke hurriedly rose from his seat.
He then sent a message via the telegraph nobles used among themselves.
A moment later, apologies came back from three out of the five nobles Leyzon had marked.
Those three had indeed joined hands with the northern noble faction.
The other two reacted with confusion, denying it outright.
But with the precedent of those three, the duke's face remained tense.
"I shared this information to build trust between Your Grace and myself."
With those words, the duke realized Leyzon had deliberately revealed it.
He had conveyed only the truth.
The truth to forge trust.
The duke once again sensed that Leyzon was no ordinary man.
Building trust.
It wasn't easy to establish in an instant.
"Of course, I'm not asking for your complete trust. As the saying goes, suspect people but don't refuse their help.
We're just business partners, nothing more."
"...I've heard the name Abyss before, but this surprises me. I'll make good use of this information."
"I'm glad it helped."
Leyzon smiled faintly.
That stern face of his was still hard to get used to.
"May I ask one thing?"
"Yes, of course."
"Abyss, what do you gain by helping us?"
The eastern noble faction was the weakest among them.
The other factions could offer massive wealth upon victory in the regime change.
But the eastern faction's future was extremely uncertain.
So he couldn't fathom what Leyzon wanted.
"Good question. Naturally, I have my own desires."
His ultimate goal was too distant to specify.
But he could share a short-term one.
"The eastern region has long been home to countless transportation businesses and merchants, hasn't it?"
The east was rich in resources to begin with.
Merchants naturally flourished there.
The world's largest market was even located in the east.
"I hope for the support and utilization of Sahā Village from the eastern nobles and merchant forces."
The vast resources produced in the east.
They spread to the capital and northern regions.
And Leyzon wanted Sahā Village to firmly control that distribution.
"Planning to grow the city?"
"It's my personal venture, so to speak. Safety is guaranteed. Why not visit personally, Your Grace?"
"Ah, haha, I appreciate the thought, but I'm swamped. No time to step away. And Sahā Village is too far."
As he gave a wry smile, Leyzon chuckled along.
"It's about an hour away."
"Uh, hmm?"
"What do you say? Surely you can spare time for a breath of fresh air."
Duke Imperba blinked in surprise.
Was the Abyss trying to lure him into a trap?
The doubt crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
He trusted his own eyes.
And Leyzon had already demonstrated trustworthiness.
"I don't know what you're planning, but... yes, I suppose I can make that much time."
"Then, please clear the garden for a moment. I'll head out first and wait."
Leyzon bowed politely and departed.
Solar Guild Master Valkabaras was dragged along by Leyzon.
He clearly didn't want to go, but had no choice.
The duke roughly prepared and soon emerged into the garden.
His trusted guard knight, Parkran, was with him.
The duke's final safeguard.
There stood Leyzon with Valkabaras in the garden.
What were they planning in the empty garden?
"Allow me to introduce."
As the duke pondered, Leyzon continued.
"One of my undead, the Death Dragon Estelle."
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the garden.
"D-Duke!"
Parkran shouted in alarm, shielding the duke.
The duke barely withstood the wind that felt like it would sweep him away.
What appeared before his eyes was a single dragon.
A colossal dragon made of ash-gray.
Upon seeing it, the duke's mouth fell open.
"Th-That's an undead?"
The ash-gray dragon exuded overwhelming presence.
The duke couldn't close his mouth at the claim it was undead.
"Estelle, say hello."
Estelle then lowered its head.
〔Pleased to meet you, Duke. I am Estelle Aragon, Leyzon's undead.〕
Estelle greeted him politely.
The duke straightened his disheveled hair and collected himself.
"Pl-Pleased to meet you. I am Roharen Imperba."
"Then, please board."
As soon as the greeting ended, Leyzon urged them to mount.
Mount that thing? The thought crossed his mind, but the duke held back.
His knight Parkran's face remained stiff.
Soon, they boarded Estelle, who slowly lifted into the air.
At the same time, Estelle turned invisible and soared into the sky.
"Gasp!"
The duke, flying through the sky for the first time, couldn't contain his shock.
Imperba Manor was in the mountains.
He'd always looked down from there, but not like this.
Before he knew it, Imperba territory had shrunk small below.
He never imagined he'd see his own duchy from above like this.
And that wasn't all.
Though moving at tremendous speed, the ride was incredibly smooth.
A barrier of transparent shadow protected them.
"If you'd like, you can handle some work."
Before them appeared chairs and a table made of shadow.
Leyzon sat leisurely in a chair.
At his side appeared a girl of beauty that even startled the duke.
The girl set down a plate of cookies on the table.
Then casually sat on Leyzon's lap.
Valkabaras was already staring entranced.
Duke Imperba could hardly gather his wits.
He couldn't tell if this was reality or a dream.
The Abyss far transcended common sense.
"Of course, it might be better to discuss future directions rather than work."
Then, as if recalling something, Leyzon let out an "Ah."
"Come to think of it, it's rude to keep meeting with a mask on forever."
Leyzon placed a hand on his face.
With a clunk, the mask fell away.
The duke swallowed hard at the revealed appearance once more.
Beneath the mask was an elven visage of striking beauty.
But separately, the intimidation had grown far stronger.
Though handsome, it was hard to meet his eyes directly.
This felt like facing His Imperial Majesty long ago.
"I don't show my face often, but hiding it from Your Grace wouldn't be right."
"I-I see. Thank you."
Duke Imperba couldn't meet his eyes, but offered thanks.
He gulped audibly.
What path would the eastern noble faction take from here?
Had he made a deal not with a man, but a devil?
Various thoughts swirled, but he was already on the path.
Turning back now—he didn't know how the Abyss would react.
Moreover, if the Abyss went to the northern faction, that would be disastrous.
'Devil or whatever, fine.'
The eastern faction faced only being devoured ahead.
Sometimes, you had to throw everything into the fray.
With power like this, they could even challenge the crown prince's faction.
"Abyss, as leader of the eastern noble faction, I want to protect the east no matter what."
Duke Imperba clenched both fists, showing firm resolve.
"For that, I'll stop at nothing. You want that too, right?"
Even under pressure from Leyzon and the situation, the duke stood firm.
Seeing that, Leyzon knew his choice was right.
"Yes, of course. I'll do anything for the eastern noble faction's victory."
"That's the answer I hoped for."
Duke Imperba rose and offered a handshake.
Leyzon stood and accepted it.
"Let's get along well."
"We're in the same boat now—let's give it our all."
A new storm brewed in the empire's power structure.
It had just begun.