Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: 35. How Can Spring Come Without Winter Passing? (2)
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"His Majesty has commanded me to set an example as a member of the royal family. How could I not lead by example?"
My model response drew a sigh of relief from the old marquis. The king didn't show it outright, but he seemed somewhat pleased with my compliant reply.
"Remember that with rights come responsibilities. From now on, conduct yourself as an exemplar to the other royals and lead by example."
I smirked at the king's words and shot back.
"Why wait for the future? How about starting right now?"
The king furrowed his brow at my response.
"A spy."
I continued, gazing at him.
"Wouldn't catching a spy make me a royal who truly leads by example?"
The king's expression had already hardened into stone.
"When I traveled north with my uncle in the past, there was a spy mixed in among the royal infantry escorting me. I assumed Your Majesty had planted him to monitor my uncle and me."
"I've never heard of this."
His rigid expression matched his stiff tone. I turned my head.
The palace chamberlain stood there.
"Your Majesty, it was I who did so."
The palace chamberlain stepped forward upon catching my gaze and knelt.
"You?"
"Forgive my impertinence, but at the time Your Highness departed for the north, Your Majesty's mood was poor. I feared the young prince's hot blood might lead to rash decisions, so I overstepped my bounds."
"You had Count Ballerhard at his side to guide him. Unnecessary meddling."
"If punishment is due, I accept it gladly."
The king tapped the armrest of his throne.
Punish him outright, and it was an act of loyalty—hard to justify. Overlook it, and spying on royalty was no small crime.
"If apologies are in order, they should go to the person involved."
After some deliberation, the king left the decision to me: punish the chamberlain for daring to spy on a royal or grant forgiveness. It was up to me.
"Your Highness, mete out punishment."
"Of course. Wrongdoing demands penalty."
I didn't hold back.
"I accept any punishment gladly."
"It won't be to your liking."
My choice was not mercy, but punishment.
"I've never seen anyone call beheading 'glad.'"
Execution, no less.
"It was done out of loyalty. The punishment is excessive."
I shook my head at the king's words.
"If it was out of loyalty, then as Your Majesty says."
I turned around.
The palace chamberlain still bowed his head to me with a guilty face. But it wasn't the look of someone who truly believed he'd committed a capital offense. Brazen, even now.
"The spy's name was Joseph, embedded among the royal infantry. His purpose wasn't just to watch me—it was to scout Winter Castle and the north's overall movements."
The chamberlain stepped forward again before the king, defending himself.
He claimed it was merely precaution against unrest, given the previous count's volatile temperament. No ulterior motives.
The king seemed to buy the excuse.
"Not precaution against unrest, but to gauge the north's activities beyond the empire's reach."
"Your Highness! I cannot bear such an accusation! This humble servant has lived solely for the royal family's safety until this day! Command my death, and I obey! But I cannot die branded as a double agent!"
The king defended the chamberlain, who wailed as if vomiting blood.
"The chamberlain's house has served the crown for generations. We'll disregard the prince's words."
"A father's loyalty doesn't bind his son."
The king replied in a hard voice to my retort.
"That's speculation and exaggeration."
"Your Highness, the palace chamberlain is not the man you imagine."
Even Marquis Billefeldt stepped in to defend him.
"I see. My mistake, then."
I took a step back.
The king and marquis looked baffled at my ready retreat. They'd expected me to dig in my heels and demand punishment to the end.
Why would I?
I shrugged at the king and marquis staring at me.
The king ordered me confined to my quarters for three days as penalty for insulting a loyal house that had served the kingdom for generations.
I agreed readily.
Of course, I had no intention of holing up for three full days.
Two days later, deep into the night, Kunef arrived. I watched her gesture quietly before rising.
"Handle the rest as planned."
She gave a slight bow and vanished like the wind.
I led only Arwen and Kals out of the prince's palace in secret.
Even in disguise, uncharacteristically.
Scarcely had we left the palace when Kunef appeared before me.
"Did you handle it?"
Instead of answering, she held up her cloak. A long strip of green fabric was torn from it. Now that I noticed, her pale face beneath the hood looked especially ashen tonight.
"Good work."
I patted her shoulder lightly, and she took the lead.
Following her, we wove through the capital's alleys until a grand mansion came into view. As vast as the prince's palace, guarded just as heavily.
"This way."
Kunef guided us along the mansion's wall.
"Wait here."
We stopped suddenly and hid in the deep shadows under the wall.
After a long wait, a presence stirred inside the wall.
Whoosh.
Soon after, a figure in a deep black cloak leaped from within the mansion.
The intruder vaulted the tall wall like a low fence, scanned the surroundings briefly, then moved.
At that moment, a powerful aura erupted from afar. Not quite swordmaster level, but close.
"Don't move."
A low voice rang out, followed by the clank of armor from all directions.
Clank, clank.
Palace knights in golden armor and guards appeared.
A tight encirclement, sealing the area completely.
A middle-aged knight emerged from the palace knights. I recognized him from memory.
Vice commander of the palace knight order. I'd seen him beside the old knight a few times.
"Intruding the king's chambers warrants death, but if you surrender your backers, mercy may be shown."
The intruder panicked at the sudden palace knights and guards, looking around wildly.
"Do you know where you are, causing this ruckus?!"
Another group rushed in from the distance.
"This is the residence of the imperial envoy!"
Knights and guards protecting Marquis Montpellier's mansion.
"Who dares make such a commotion in the dead of night..."
The lead imperial knight bellowed, then trailed off upon spotting the palace knight order.
"Why are palace knights here...?"
"An intruder breached the king's chambers last night."
The middle-aged knight's words made the imperial knight scowl.
"You suspect us?"
"Of course not. We've caught the culprit right here."
The knight pointed our way.
"Come out."
I stepped from the shadows into the knights' view and flipped back my cloak's hood.
"Y-Your Highness? Why are you here?"
The middle-aged knight recognized me and widened his eyes. I spoke innocently to the murmuring palace knights.
"No moon, stale air—not the best night for a stroll, eh?"
My last words were for the intruder.
Trapped between palace and imperial knights, he stood frozen like a statue.
"Seize him. Make him kneel."
I commanded the palace knights regarding the intruder.
They obeyed without hesitation.
I could feel how my standing had changed since before.
The intruder drew his sword and resisted desperately, but these were the kingdom's elite. Half a dozen overwhelmed him in seconds, disarming him and forcing him to his knees.
"Hold."
I stopped a palace knight from removing the intruder's cloak.
"I'll check."
"His identity is unconfirmed. Why risk the danger?"
Classic rigid palace knight response.
"Me? I'm a swordmaster."
Words that fell flat on me.
I approached the silent knights, flipped the intruder's cloak.
"Gasp!"
"Why is he here?!"
The palace knights who recognized him inhaled sharply.
"I told you."
Ignoring the reactions, I addressed the intruder.
"My punishment wouldn't be to your liking."
At my words, the intruder—the palace chamberlain—went deathly pale.
"Explain exactly what happened."
Deep into the night, I met the king alone.
"I baited the hook, and the fish bit."
"The fish being the palace chamberlain?"
I nodded.
The king had rebuked me for recklessly accusing a loyal servant based on conjecture. But I wasn't reckless. I merely acted that way.
To make the imperial spy feel the pressure without shrinking back too far.
"How did you know?"
"I'd had people watching for a while."
"How did you know the chamberlain was the spy?"
I shook my head at the king's question.
"I didn't have watchers on the chamberlain."
My surveillance targeted the imperial envoy, not him. I'd set sword maidens to ensure Marquis Montpellier didn't scheme, but an unexpected gain emerged.
Discovering visitors sneaking in and out of the marquis's mansion.
The clever sword maidens tracked these secret guests and uncovered their identities.
Among them, shockingly, the palace chamberlain who oversaw court affairs.
The king's eyes gleamed as he heard my explanation.
"Do you have a list?"
Without a word, I pulled a sealed envelope from my bosom and handed it to the king.
He tore it open immediately and scanned the contents.
His eyes squeezed shut after glancing at the list. He fell silent for a long while.
A face struck with profound shock.
It was unavoidable.
Numerous nobles' names filled the list I gave him—nearly half the kingdom's nobility.
Not all spies, perhaps, but at least half were surely selling kingdom secrets to Marquis Montpellier.
Meaning at minimum a quarter of the kingdom's nobles were imperial collaborators.
And that was just the exposed ones. For a king who'd opposed the empire his whole life, words couldn't capture his devastation.
"Why didn't you mention this list from the start?"
I shrugged at the king's words.
Did I want to stage this childish play and endure the hassle?
"Would you have believed me?"
I'd called the chamberlain a spy, and it fell on deaf ears.
In that situation, waving a scrap of paper claiming a list of nobles colluding with Montpellier? Hardly credible.
The king seemed convinced, saying no more on it.
"Regrettable. The chamberlain emerging from the imperial envoy's mansion late at night was suspicious enough, but one incident isn't grounds to dismiss him. Since you'd cast the bait, waiting a bit longer for the hook to set properly would have been wiser."
I smirked at the king's lament.
"What did he say?"
"He claims innocence but admits actions that invite suspicion. He takes full responsibility and will step down. Plans to retire to his estate after handover."
"Let him go."
The king frowned. He'd expected me to push for harsh punishment, so this surprised him.
"A noble who's enjoyed power in the capital for ages retires. Loses influence, but keeps his wealth."
Understanding dawned; the king's eyes sharpened.
"Perfect bait for bandits."
"Or perhaps old enemies. How many foes did he make wielding power?"
For instance, the royal family's firstborn—or the first prince, or even the kingdom itself.
I'd already resolved to deal with the chamberlain. Whether he retired or fled to the empire, I'd pursue and exact payment.
And a traitor's price was death alone.
I smiled chillingly, and the king mirrored it.
Then abruptly dropped the smile, looking awkward. Unfamiliar with such talks with me, it seemed.
I felt the same. Growing awkward, I stiffened my expression and looked away.
As I subtly rose to leave, the king asked.
"I'll weed out the nobles on the list gradually."
"No need to rush. The time will come soon enough."
"Time?"
I sat back down halfway.
And stared straight at the king.
"Don't we have something to discuss first?"
Seeing another side of the king softened my heart somewhat, but I still vividly recalled Winter Castle's soldiers dying while awaiting aid.
My uncle's final moments remained etched in my mind.
So I asked.
"Why did you abandon the north?"
The reason he discarded a north that could have been saved.