Chapter 179: Formal Meeting? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 179: Formal Meeting? (2)
Nea Elleras
It was the secret dungeon beneath the Academy library, the place she had searched for so long.
She had found everything she wanted there. No, she had gained far more.
There were the relics of Emperor Luke the Great—one of only four emperors in the Empire’s long... well, perhaps not that long, but at least average compared to other nations—history to be hailed as "the Great."
Along with those, she had obtained the legacies of the great houses that had stood by his side, families that still held at least the rank of Count to this day.
“Please, get a grip!”
“Princess, what on earth happened...!”
However, the truth hidden beneath it all...
The legendary achievement of slaying the Evil Dragon and seizing the current capital!
It turned out the "dragon" was actually a being that had been sealing away a Great Demon.
And what’s more...
“I mean, it was strange,” a voice had said.
“What was?”
“He had such a nasty temper that people called him an Evil Dragon, but he hadn't really done anything wrong.”
“Then why the 'Evil Dragon' title?”
“Because he never forgave anyone who stepped into his territory. I thought he was just a cranky dragon, but maybe he was just sensitive because he was busy sealing that thing away.”
The voice of Altear, the Empire’s legendary hero, still seemed to ring in her ears—chatting and laughing with a man named Adam Smith as if it were nothing.
And that wasn't all. The fact that he had voluntarily become a Lich for the sake of future generations could be seen as a heroic act of taking responsibility for a mistake.
But then...
“Dammit! If only I’d accepted Luke’s offer for a best-of-three match at the very end!”
Seeing him lament like that made her question everything.
The only saving grace was that Altear had lost.
Considering the opponent he had faced in that final struggle was Emperor Luke the Great...
Perhaps the one standing there could have been Emperor Luke instead of Altear.
‘If that had been the case...’
She felt like she was losing her mind just seeing Altear, who was treated like a legendary hero, acting like that.
If her direct ancestor, Emperor Luke the Great, had been behaving similarly to Altear... would she have been able to endure it?
...By the time she snapped out of these thoughts...
“Father?”
She found herself standing before the Emperor of the Empire.
The Emperor had dismissed everyone, even his personal guards.
He looked down at his daughter and, for the first time in a long while, spoke not as an Emperor to a Princess, but with the sincere heart of a father to his daughter.
“...Did you?”
“...Pardon?”
It seemed the Princess wasn't the only one who had lost her mind.
Nea Elleras
There was a brief commotion, but Princess Nea managed to regain her senses...
“Father, have you lost your mind?!”
Actually, it seemed she hadn't.
“Put yourself in my shoes. My daughter suddenly says she’s going to the Academy under a fake identity, disappears without a word, and then reappears three days later with some man, looking like she’s left her soul somewhere...”
Seeing the Emperor—no, her father—being unusually talkative helped Nea clear her head.
She calmly organized her thoughts: her own mistake, her father’s worry, and the explanation needed to resolve this.
And so...
She pulled a sword out of her subspace pouch.
“My daughter! Even if it’s true, trying to take us both out like this is...!”
“What do you mean 'true'?! We didn't! I told you we didn't!”
She was at an age where it wouldn't be strange for her to marry.
To be honest, she had no intention of joining the imperial succession conflict since she was already lagging behind before it even started. Catching a man early on was a way to utilize her value to the fullest.
She knew that the eldest son, Erild, was already halfway confirmed as the next Emperor.
To those who didn't know the truth, Erild was so many steps ahead of the other royals that it was hard to understand why he hadn't been officially named Crown Prince yet.
However, as one of the few siblings who knew the truth, Nea simply thought the useless bickering was dragging on.
Unless something drastic happened, Erild would become the next Emperor.
When that time came, she was destined to become a fine piece of war booty or a trophy.
Since she had no intention of letting that happen, she needed a suitable achievement to guarantee her freedom.
And that achievement was the sword before her.
“It is the sword of Emperor Luke the Great, Father.”
“...What?”
“Sigh...”
Nea let out a small sigh.
Should she tell him the whole story or not?
She had been debating this since before she arrived—ever since she started packing things into the dungeon.
But if the misunderstanding had piled up to the point where the Emperor—her father—was asking if she "did it"...
‘Fight shock with shock.’
She just had to tell him why she had been out of it.
She steeled her resolve.
“The thing is...”
The Emperor listened in silence as she began her tale.
“And that’s how it happened.”
After the story ended, the Emperor took a moment to process it.
“...And you expect me to believe that?”
He tried to deny reality.
“I have other items as well.”
But as he watched his daughter dump all sorts of artifacts out of her subspace pouch...
“...Alright, that’s enough! Stop pulling things out!”
He eventually had no choice but to accept the truth.
Alexei Elleras - ???
Having accepted reality, Alexei, the Emperor of the Empire, felt his headache worsening.
“Why did you have to go there with that guy...”
If it were just a matter of his child... it would be a big problem, but ultimately a family matter.
But a matter concerning the ancient ancestors... that was also a family matter, but simultaneously a national one.
“I was told I could only get in if I went with him...”
Adam Smith.
Even Alexei, the Emperor, knew the name of that international student from Leon.
“At least it’s a relief that he seems like the type who can be handled with money.”
Nea nodded in agreement.
“He certainly made sure to take his share.”
“...?”
When did they get so close?
He wanted to ask, but he ignored it for now as there were more important matters at hand.
“On the other hand, reports say he’s quite petty. But what can we do? We’re the ones in a bind.”
“He is very petty. I asked him for the bed, but he absolutely refused to give it to me.”
“...?”
There were so many things he wanted to say, but right now, the most important...
“What on earth has to happen for a woman to say she asked a man for a bed...?”
What could be more important than his daughter fighting over a bed with a man she just met?
“Ah, that was...”
After hearing the additional explanation and understanding the context, Alexei made a swift judgment.
“He’s a man who already has too much strange business surrounding him. Getting you involved further would only be exhausting for both him and us.”
With the cold, rational judgment befitting an Emperor, Alexei spoke.
“Then what do you plan to do?”
“We just need to send someone who is already connected to him.”
True to his status as Emperor, he expertly passed the buck to someone else.
Drain Jeyka - ???
And so, a member of the most prestigious of the Empire’s prestigious families...
“So, you’re saying our ancient ancestors... the heroes... after some incident or another, Lord Altear lost a game of rock-paper-scissors and became a Lich dwelling beneath the Academy?”
“That is correct.”
Drain Jeyka, the current head of House Jeyka, had been summoned by the Emperor only to be fed information he really didn't want to hear.
And for good reason.
“This is the sword of Drake Jeyka, which my daughter brought back.”
“......”
Because one of those embarrassing ancient ancestors bore the name Jeyka.
“So, what would you have me do?”
After inspecting the sword granted by the Emperor in silence for a long time, Drain Jeyka asked in a voice full of lamentation.
To his eyes, the sword in his hand was undeniably authentic.
“Can I be honest with you?”
“Please do. Is there anything that cannot be said between us?”
“That’s an unexpected answer. I didn't think we were that close.”
House Jeyka was the elite among elites, a family even the Imperial Family couldn't touch lightly.
While they cooperated when necessary, House Jeyka generally stood as the leader of the nobles, one of the few families capable of checking the powerful authority of the Imperial Family. Thus, they frequently clashed over policy.
Furthermore, the engagement between the Imperial Prince and the Duke’s daughter—their only real link—had been broken off almost entirely at the Prince’s request.
Of course, following that, Loreliya’s immediate acquisition of a new lover led to rumors among the nobles about whether there was some hidden drama...
But for the Imperial Family, who knew the full story, they couldn't help but feel self-conscious around House Jeyka.
However, Drain Jeyka was surprisingly magnanimous.
If his daughter had truly loved Prince Esid, and if she had been hurt by the broken engagement, he wouldn't have let it slide.
But since Loreliya herself had no lingering feelings, Drain felt no resentment toward the Imperial Family over the matter.
So, rather than that...
“Aren't we comrades sharing a shameful past now?”
“......”
“Therefore, I must cooperate as much as possible.”
Drain was just as eager to cover up the embarrassing past of their ancestors as the Emperor was.
As for the Emperor’s request...
“To be frank, Adam Smith... that man is too deeply involved with the Empire.”
“That is true.”
He had been at the center of, or at least observed, most of the incidents that had occurred at the Academy.
Consequently, he knew many things the Empire would prefer other nations not to know.
“And this time, he’s reached the pinnacle of that involvement.”
If he were from a hostile nation, it wouldn't have been strange to order his assassination immediately, given how much he knew.
But the Empire had long since entered a period of stability. They had no desire to start unnecessary conflicts.
In this situation, he wasn't from just any country, but from one of the nations with power rivaling the Empire’s.
Leon. And he was an agent belonging to the Leon Royal Family.
Moreover...
Even if they were willing to risk the international fallout, his contributions to the Empire were no small matter.
If he were a commoner of the Empire, his deeds at the Academy alone would have earned him at least the rank of Baron.
Even if a Baron was the lowest tier of nobility in the Empire, gaining recognition for an entire house—not just a lifetime title—was something nearly impossible to achieve in just a year or two.
And Adam Smith had performed feats that made that impossibility possible.
So, international issues aside, his conscience wouldn't allow him to eliminate the man.
Therefore...
“So, can you just make him a citizen of the Empire?”
“And how would I do that?”
“Since he’s said to be in a relationship with your daughter, why not make it a fait accompli and bring him in as a live-in son-in-law...”
“...Your Majesty?”
“...Is that not possible? I checked, and it seems your house’s succession is already mostly settled on the heir.”
“...Your Majesty?”
At this very moment, countless incidents were happening across the Empire.
There were madmen plotting to depose the Emperor and establish a new Empire.
There were those who denied imperial authority altogether and advocated for a republic.
The Emperor, who had seen, heard, and resolved countless such reports, could tell.
The look of a traitor was forming right before his eyes.
“It was a joke.”
The Emperor immediately backed down and made his request to Drain Jeyka.
“Just... go and persuade him yourself.”
“......Understood.”
Accepting the Emperor’s request, Drain headed to the Academy.
In the interrogation room, he approached and greeted Adam Smith, who was being interrogated—no, comforted—by a familiar face.
“......It is a pleasure to meet you, Father-in-law.”
At the greeting that came after a long hesitation...
“...Who is your father-in-law?”
Drain couldn't help but scowl.