Chapter 249: House Jeyka (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 249: House Jeyka (1)
Erild—He Could Not Understand.
Erild, the First Prince of the Empire—no, now the Crown Prince—was a man of such competence that even the current Emperor acknowledged his abilities, setting aside his peculiar sexual preferences.
Aside from those unconventional tastes, he was the definition of normal, a man of profound common sense.
"So. The Old Church nobles tried to eliminate me and install Edra as Emperor. And you're saying Edra knew nothing about this?"
Having eliminated all the attackers at the banquet and stabilized the ensuing chaos, Erild let out a long sigh after hearing the details of how the kidnapped Esid had been rescued.
"Am I really supposed to believe this?"
This was treason.
Treason, a crime that traditionally began with the execution of at least three generations of the offender's family.
Of course, if successful, it would be called a revolution to crown a new Emperor, but…
A revolution the beneficiary didn't even want?
For that to be possible, the legitimate heirs of the Imperial family would have to die suddenly, the Empire would have to be torn into several factions, and a young royal with a weak claim would have to be set up as a puppet emperor.
And yet, they were claiming that was exactly what happened.
No matter how cornered the Old Church nobles were, it was unthinkable that they would commit the madness of treason without even consulting the Third Prince, Edra.
If the person reporting this hadn't been the victim, Esid, but the suspect, Edra, Erild would have thrown him into the dungeon immediately.
But even if this was the victim's testimony, it defied all common sense.
Could Esid have been Edra’s accomplice? He was caught far too easily for someone of his caliber. Or perhaps this was all Esid’s scheme, and Edra is actually the victim…
Countless scenarios flashed through his mind.
At one point, he even wondered if Esid, not Edra, was the true mastermind.
However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't reach a conclusion.
Thus, Erild chose the direct approach.
"Esid. To be honest, I find your testimony completely incomprehensible."
"I understand, Brother."
Summoned by Crown Prince Erild, Esid listened to his doubts and nodded calmly, as if he truly empathized.
"Right. There are many things that don't make sense, but…"
Looking at Esid, Erild asked the one question among many that he felt Esid could actually answer.
"I’ll ask the thing I find most baffling. How did you, the one who was kidnapped, know everything that was going on?"
"Because I pretended to be unconscious to infiltrate them."
"Right. If that’s the case… Wait, what?"
Erild, who had been nodding at Esid’s calm response, froze mid-motion.
"What did you just say?"
"I said I pretended to be unconscious for the sake of infiltration."
"……?"
Seeing Esid’s reaction—as if his answer was the most obvious thing in the world—Erild replayed the words in his mind over and over.
To infiltrate… he pretended to be unconscious? Why?
No matter how much he chewed on it, it made no sense.
Infiltrating to gather information on the enemy was common enough… but wasn't that a job for professional agents?
Why was an Imperial Prince doing that?
The Empire’s agents weren't so incompetent that a member of the Imperial family had to run on the front lines.
"Esid."
"Yes, Brother."
"Why did you do that?"
You’re… an Imperial Prince…
As a man of common sense, Erild could not fathom the reason no matter how hard he tried.
Thinking optimistically, if an Imperial Prince were taken hostage, the enemy wouldn't kill him easily…
But that was the "best-case scenario."
The "worst-case scenario" was being killed immediately.
Just as there were many terrorists targeting the Empire, there were many who held grudges against the Imperial family; thus, the worst-case scenario was far more likely.
Moreover, this was an act of treason. For the enemies, eliminating the royals was the logical move.
"I felt like I had to do it."
"I’m asking why…"
"My intuition told me so."
"……"
This bastard is the mastermind. He has to be!
Erild thought as he clutched his throbbing head.
It would be easier to accept if he were the mastermind, plotting to eliminate Edra.
The thought of an Imperial Prince actually running around doing things like this out of "intuition" was dizzying.
"Do you honestly think that makes any sense?"
"Brother…"
Esid looked at Erild and spoke with a serious expression.
"From a common-sense perspective, you think it’s nonsense, don't you?"
"…So you do know."
"But, Brother. Look at reality."
"…You’re the one telling me that?"
Ignoring Erild’s look of utter disbelief, Esid laid out the facts.
"We live in a world where dark mages pop up like radishes being pulled from a field."
"Which is exactly why such behavior makes even less sense…"
"We’ve sighted demons, which were considered ancient legends, multiple times."
"I am aware of those reports. But…"
"An ancient hero of the Empire appeared as a Lich in the Academy basement."
"……"
"And a Dragon suddenly decided to nest in that very spot…"
"And also…"
Esid calmly listed the incidents at the Academy one by one.
Erild could only listen in silence.
"…This is the kind of world we live in."
"……"
He had already received reports on all of these, but hearing them from Esid, who had experienced them directly or indirectly, made it feel different.
The world has truly gone mad.
The feeling was visceral.
And all of these incidents happened within the Empire—specifically, at the Academy!
And now… I have to deal with all of this?
Erild felt a twinge of dread.
At the same time, he felt a newfound respect for his father, the Emperor.
To maintain his center as the ruler of the Empire in such a crazed world… it wouldn't be strange if he had lost his mind.
In fact, the Esid standing before him…
"That is why I realized. That my own intuition is sometimes more accurate than anything else."
"……"
"That for the sake of the world, one must sometimes throw oneself into the fray!"
"……"
…was showing him exactly what it looked like to be perfectly crazed for a perfectly crazed world.
The treason incident that marked the beginning of the year in the Empire saw its damage minimized thanks to Esid’s "efforts" (?).
Normally, the fact that the Third Prince was the centerpiece of a rebellion would have caused a massive scandal, but Esid had revealed that he, too, was a victim.
Of course, the process involved him infiltrating as a hostage to uncover the truth…
Thanks to that insane act—no, that sacrificial devotion—the Third Prince was able to prove his innocence.
Well, the Third Prince had already purged most of the Old Church members present at the scene anyway.
The Third Prince, who was already known for his short temper, didn't leave the people who tried to frame him as a traitor alone.
He drew his sword and purged them on the spot!
That decisive and swift judgment was enough to make even the hidden Esid marvel.
In his later testimony, Esid reportedly said he stayed still because he felt like the Third Prince "would have killed any witnesses too" in his fury.
Of course, even so, not all suspicions surrounding the Third Prince were cleared.
He claimed he was framed, but what could be done?
Logically, a revolution without the leader's knowledge sounded absurd.
It might have been believable if the Third Prince’s influence was negligible, but he was one of the three most likely candidates for the throne after Crown Prince Erild.
Thus, not only Erild but even the Emperor seemed to be eyeing him with suspicion…
Honestly, it had nothing to do with me.
More importantly…
"Uncle Aeryun. The location tracking magic was discovered."
"…Wasn't that a bit too fast?"
I didn't expect to meet Uncle Aeryun at the Imperial Palace instead of the Academy, but for now, we were cleaning up the aftermath of this incident together.
"It hasn't even been that long since you handed them over."
Handing over artifacts imbued with tracking magic to the RoFan male leads was the result of all the involved nations' interests aligning.
The recent events were no small matter.
In Esid’s case, he had already been kidnapped once.
Furthermore, a dark mage (officially identified as such) had even kidnapped the parents of the Saintess, Daisy.
To prepare for any contingency, it was decided that at least the agents embedded in the Academy should be able to track the locations of the RoFan male leads.
Operation: Bell the Cat.
The operation had succeeded quite easily with the help of the RoFan heroine… but it was exposed because of this incident.
However.
"But I heard they’re going to keep wearing the tracking artifacts anyway?"
"Finally, Prince Esid understands our plight!"
"It’s not that. I told them to return them if they didn't like it, but they refused, saying it was a gift from Daisy."
"……"
I thought they might remove the tracking magic, but apparently, they’re leaving it as is because it makes them feel "connected" to Daisy.
"…Did you trick them?"
"It’s better for their mental health to think their crush is worried about them and cast a spell, rather than knowing a bunch of grimy bastards are tracking their every move."
"…What if you get caught later?"
I’m a Sword Master.
Unless they send someone like Prince Ellen as an assassin, I’m not going to die.
And besides.
"I’m fleeing back to Leon in two years anyway. What does it matter?"
Once I graduate from the Academy, I plan to bolt without looking back.
The problem is how to drag Prince Ellen along, since he’ll probably insist on following the RoFan heroine…
I can't do it alone.
If worst comes to worst, I’ll just call in every Sword Master the royal family can spare, including the Commander.
Normally, the Empire wouldn't allow that, but…
Given everything I’ve built up so far… and considering I’ll probably build up even more over the next two years!
If I negotiate by writing all that off, surely it’ll work out somehow!
"……Regarding that. There’s something I want to say."
As I was thinking that, Uncle Aeryun’s expression suddenly turned grave.
"What is it?"
"About you leaving the Empire in two years."
"What? Are you going to try and scout me? I was expensive before, but you won't be able to afford me now."
The moment I became a Sword Master, my market value must have jumped at least fivefold.
Actually, regardless of the amount, I have no intention of transferring from Leon to the Empire…
"…In a sense, it is a scout, but it’s not a proposal from the Imperial family."
"……?"
What’s with this guy? Is he planning to jump ship because the Empire’s situation is so bad lately?
"It’s a request from House Jeyka, not the Empire."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, this man was born into House Jeyka.
I often forget because of his unprecedented role as the "joint property" of House Jeyka and the Imperial family—a strange position for an agent who usually serves only one master.
"So, what’s the request?"
"They want to slightly modify the existing contract."
"……?"
The only contract I had involving House Jeyka was the "dating contract" with Senior Loreliya.
"That’s the one. They’re asking if we can take it a step further and proceed with an engagement… would that be possible?"
"Do you think that’s possible?"
Unless the Leon Kingdom has gone mad, there’s no way that would happen.
—There’s no reason it wouldn't be possible, is there?
"Pardon?"
As expected of the Empire, the place that dictates the trends of the continent.
Since the Empire had gone mad, it seemed Leon had followed suit.