Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Anyway, a Good-for-Nothing (2)
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Plump, plump.
The Marquis of Montpellier's eyes darted around busily.
The firmly shut door, the Royal Knights, and the 1st Prince.
The way he rolled his eyes this way and that made him look deep in thought.
"Seems like you've got a lot on your mind."
Watching the Empire's ambassador, the 1st Prince murmured softly.
"Let me help you clear them out."
Shing.
With a chilling sound, the 1st Prince drew his beloved sword into the world.
"Does that clear up your stray thoughts now?"
The marquis didn't answer. He simply shrank back in fear, stumbling backward step by step.
"Still not?"
The 1st Prince strode toward the marquis.
"Looks like you'll need a few cuts on your body to really shake them off."
This wasn't just talk.
Anyone could see he meant it. If left alone, he looked ready to slice off at least an arm.
"Y-Your Highness!"
The terrified Royal Knights stepped forward to shield their lord.
But before they could even take a step, the Marquis of Montpellier moved first.
Thud.
"It's a misunderstanding, Your Highness!"
The Empire's ambassador dropped to his knees and cried out.
"I was merely cautious because there are so many eyes watching, worried our connection might be exposed. I would never dream of defying Your Highness—please don't misunderstand!"
The Royal Knights' jaws dropped.
The Marquis of Montpellier, who had lorded over even the kingdom's monarch with the Empire's backing, now kneeling without hesitation, dirtying his fine silk robes to beg forgiveness.
No one in the kingdom could have imagined such a sight.
But the 1st Prince remained utterly cold.
"A misunderstanding."
He spoke without sheathing his sword.
"Is deceiving and manipulating me also a misunderstanding?"
At the 1st Prince's words, the ambassador broke out in a cold sweat.
"I'll explain that too."
He bowed repeatedly, looking every bit the servant.
"But there are too many listening ears here..."
The ambassador hinted subtly.
The 1st Prince finally lowered the sword he had pointed at him.
Swish.
But he didn't just sheathe it.
He swung it so fast it was a blur, leaving a faint red line on the marquis's neck.
"Wh-what."
The startled marquis clutched his neck. Seeing the thin trickle of blood, his face went pale as a ghost.
"Next time, I'll cut for real."
The marquis nodded frantically like a madman.
"Follow me."
With that, the 1st Prince turned and entered the palace interior. The marquis hurried after him.
"What in the world..."
The remaining Royal Knights exchanged glances before scattering in all directions.
Some headed toward the chambers where the 1st Prince and marquis had vanished, while others took positions at the cardinal points around the prince's palace, standing guard.
Gerwein and his comrades watched the scene in a daze.
"Was this what he wanted us to see?"
One of the men said.
The kingdom's monarch cowering before a mere ambassador, and the prince treating that ambassador like a dog on a leash.
It was as if the 1st Prince were asking which of them truly suited the role of a nation's ruler.
The men nodded.
But Gerwein disagreed.
This wasn't about flaunting his own prestige.
Quite the opposite.
The fallen dignity of the royal family, the kingdom's waning vitality—Gerwein believed that's what the 1st Prince wanted to show them, that cold reality.
As if to make them question themselves.
Even if you hadn't broken the chain, would the kingdom's grand plan have succeeded?
"Vicious bastard."
Gerwein bit his lip.
"Really don't like that guy."
Their thoughts differed, but they all nodded in agreement with Gerwein's words.
As soon as the sword touched his neck, the marquis spilled everything he knew without pause.
Whenever I sensed even a hint of trickery, I pressed the blade harder without mercy. Each time, he screamed as if his head were about to come off.
"Just tell the truth."
"I am! Everything is the truth!"
The Empire's homeland had long coveted the kingdom's treasured sword—my true body. But the royal family's resolve was ironclad; they yielded the knight orders and sealed the magic tower before handing it over.
They even tried smuggling it out in secret.
Ridiculous fools.
Thinking of sneaking into a nation's treasury like thieves, stealing the royal family's symbol no less.
All attempts failed, of course.
"Th-that... We somehow breached the double and triple magic barriers, but the problem was the Dragon Slayer Sword itself. Anyone who touched it died on the spot—no way to extract it. We lost valuable mages and knights in the process."
The marquis watched my expression carefully as he spoke.
But I didn't get angry. Those bold enough to touch my body had already paid the price.
At the time, I was in a provisional contract with the descendants of my friend's bloodline—no one else could touch me without becoming instant food for my belly.
That held true even while I slumbered.
That's why the Marquis of Montpellier egged on the wastrel.
Someone who could touch my true body and walk away unscathed, and if handled right, would hand over the royal treasure his ancestors guarded to the Empire like a fool.
No better candidate before or since.
Unlucky for the kingdom, lucky for the Empire, they'd think.
But they didn't know. The wastrel's idiocy was absolute, indiscriminate.
Who could have guessed that fool would shove the kingdom's hard-won treasured sword straight into his own gut?
Thanks to that, their scheme failed, and the king tightened security on the Dragon Slayer Sword even more.
He even barred his own bloodline from the treasury. Judging by how the old knight and Royal Knights handled me there, even if Maximilian had been present, they never would have yielded my true body.
Unbelievable.
The wastrel endangered my true body, but he also ensured it remained intact.
If he'd been just a bit less stupid, I'd have awakened in that damned Burgundy imperial palace instead of the kingdom.
"So what exactly did you plan to do with the Dragon Slayer Sword once you stole it?"
At my question, the marquis stammered.
"I don't know. I just inherited the mission from the previous ambassador after his failure. I was following orders— I truly don't know the exact reason... Eek! It's true! Please believe me!"
I tightened my grip on the sword slightly. Blood seeped from the marquis's neck at once.
"All I heard was that the Dragon Slayer Sword might hold power similar to the four divine artifacts His Imperial Majesty Burgundy possesses."
I froze.
"What?"
"The previous ambassador said the kingdom's treasured sword could be a divine weapon rivaling the Empire's four artifacts—we had to obtain it."
I asked again.
"The four divine artifacts?"
"Y-yes... Your Highness! Please, sheathe the sword!"
The marquis begged, but his pleas weren't important now.
"You mean the sword, shield, armor, and helmet used by Burgundy's emperor?"
The marquis nodded desperately, on the verge of tears.
"Y-yes. Your Highness! It hurts! Please, the sword..."
I sheathed the blade as he wished.
"Th-thank you, Your Highness."
The marquis rubbed his neck repeatedly, offering thanks.
But I hadn't done it for him.
If I'd kept it at his throat, I might have burst out laughing and decapitated him anyway.
I laughed like a maniac.
"Y-Your Highness?"
Seeing me, the marquis shrank back in fear. He must have thought I'd lost control in rage, terrified it might turn on him.
When really, I was just struggling to contain the laughter.
I doubled over, clutching my stomach, roaring with laughter.
How could I not? It was hilarious.
"I'm losing it."
It took a while to calm down. But the laughter bubbled up again soon enough.
Pfft.
Four divine artifacts? Those crude scraps?
"Y-Your Highness."
The marquis trembled, staring at me like I was insane.
"Sorry. Sorry. Too funny."
I forced back the laughter and gathered my thoughts.
Guessing what the four artifacts were wasn't hard.
A sword with half the blade missing, a shield with the top hacked off.
A suit of armor missing its matching gauntlets.
A helmet with a broken horn.
Ancient hero relics from 400 years ago and before, scarred deeply by someone—battle damage etched in.
"And those are similar to the Dragon Slayer Sword?"
I laughed again.
It was utterly absurd.
I knew those so-called four artifacts better than anyone.
I even knew who caused those hideous scars.
Calling those trash divine artifacts. Treating them as equals to my true body.
"Haven't laughed like this in ages."
At my words, the clueless marquis laughed along nervously.
"Continue."
The marquis proceeded hesitantly.
But there was nothing special. He clearly didn't know much.
"That's everything I know."
The Marquis of Montpellier glanced around nervously. He kept looking back at the door, dying to bolt.
I rose silently and swung my sword.
"Huh?"
The marquis didn't even realize what happened.
Thud.
He looked at the floor. His eyes bulged.
There lay his pinky finger, perfectly intact until moments ago.
"A-aaagh!"
The marquis screamed.
But the scream didn't last.
I released my presence, and he stared at me with eyes full of agony and terror.
"That's the price for trying to use me."
Normally, I'd have beheaded him without a backward glance. No matter the Empire's involvement, deceiving me and scheming over my true body was unforgivable.
But thanks to his schemes, I possessed the wastrel's body.
He did wrong, but also right—so this was my mercy.
The marquis wouldn't agree, of course.
"Next time, it's your head."
He nodded frantically.
I couldn't tell if he truly got the warning.
Didn't care, either.
If not, he'd pay then.
I'd already planted a dagger under his chin. He just didn't know.
He'd never dream of it.
That the elf woman he'd kill to meet was shadowing him 24/7. Or that she was a ruthless sort without a shred of mercy.
No sooner had I sent the Marquis of Montpellier away than Kals entered.
"The ambassador's hand was covered in blood."
"Oh? Must've slammed it somewhere."
Kals sighed at my feigned ignorance.
"His pinky finger was severed."
"Dear me. That's serious."
"Your Highness."
Kals called to me.
"I won't speak of repercussions. From the ambassador's attitude, I can tell there's something between you two I don't know."
His expression was utterly serious.
"I just want to know what happened out there."
I watched quietly to see what he'd say.
"And what you plan to do next."
"What for?"
"I can't pledge myself to a lord without knowing his ambitions."
I burst into honest laughter at Kals's words.
He'd kept a distance before as a royal knight, but now he was ready to follow me.
Today was full of reasons to laugh.
But I wiped the smile away quickly.
"For now, I plan to become king."
Kals grinned.
"Won't take long to reinstate me, then."
Though my prospects had improved, I was still out of the king's favor. Yet Kals believed without doubt I'd be king.
Such steadfast loyalty must be why he guarded the masterless prince's palace in my absence.
"The north is cold."
"I'll prepare winter furs."
I'd hinted I wouldn't stay in the capital long, but he didn't waver.
Not just him.
The other Royal Knights who'd stayed to guard the empty palace all pledged loyalty to me.
Thus, I gained the royal knights other princes had long possessed—but I hadn't.
Even if their uniforms lacked the Dragon Slayer Sword emblem of the royals.
The king, who seemed ready to summon and assign the trial immediately, left me waiting for quite some time.
Many nobles visited during that period.
I met none. Those who'd once complained it was too much even for a prince now waited politely for another chance.
The magic tower bait must look quite appetizing.
"Dragging this out too long."
Two weeks had passed since arriving in the capital.
I'd achieved my goals. No point waiting endlessly for the king's trial.
So I went to him directly.
And asked what the trial was.
"Tch."
The king clicked his tongue, displeased by my boldness. But he didn't delay the appointed task.
"What you must accomplish is..."
He stated the assignment with a blank face.
Beneath that mask-like expression, a flicker of smug triumph appeared.
But it didn't last.
"Not difficult."
My smiling response hardened his face.
"If you didn't understand what I just—"
"I did."
Interrupting made him look ready to explode.
"Is that all?"
I ignored it and simply asked if that was everything.
"That's everything."
Perhaps expecting dismay, he replied stiffly.
"It'll be done soon."
Unfortunately, the king's trial was neither hard nor troublesome for me.
Quite welcome, even.
It tied to my very nature.
After meeting the king, I left the capital at once.
And stopped somewhere along the border between the capital region and the north.
"I have business elsewhere, so head back on your own."
The northern lords didn't cling or question. They simply obeyed.
My remaining companions were the same.
Arwen was taciturn by nature, Adelia not one to step forward. The secret royal knights, recently revived from reclusion, weren't close enough for deep talk.
Only the new Royal Knights trailed me.
"Your Highness, why not head north?"
To Kals Yulihi's question, I replied indifferently.
"Because I need to go west."
"West?"
Kals asked.
What business west?
"Someone to meet."
Ones I must meet to pass the king's trial.
"Who?"
"Dwarves."
My destination wasn't Winter Castle, but the dwarves' kingdom.