Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Prelude to the Counterattack
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“That’s bullshit!”
Abyss was agitated.
His pupils trembled, and from his reaction, Rachel realized that Viscount Noema’s words were true.
What mother in the world would wish for the death of her firstborn son?
Regardless of what the First Queen’s wish had been, the crown prince had died due to the schemes of the Black Sorcerer and Viscount Noema. Even if it hadn’t been her intention, it couldn’t have been her wish.
“The identity of the Black Sorcerer, no matter what!”
“Heh heh, heh heh heh.”
In response to Abyss’s shout, Viscount Noema let out an unsettling laugh instead of answering.
The effects of the drug had worn off. Abyss hurriedly rummaged through his pockets, but Viscount Noema rose to his feet and headbutted him.
The soldiers rushed to subdue him, but Viscount Noema laughed like a madman.
“You will never reach the truth. Hell, take my soul!”
No one had anticipated this. After shouting those words, Viscount Noema collapsed like a marionette with its strings cut.
[Danger Level: 55%]
‘Hm?’
While Rachel was distracted by the message window that appeared before her, Abyss hurriedly flipped over the body to check.
“He’s dead!”
Abyss spat out the words as if chewing on them, slamming his fist into the ground.
Rachel dismissed the message window and looked down at Abyss.
‘The chance to uncover the Black Sorcerer was right in front of us, only to vanish...’
“There was a restriction like Baron Emporus had. He broke it himself and fell into the demon’s hands.”
The three fell silent amid the pouring rain. Abyss glared at the corpse before standing and heading to the carriage.
‘I thought Viscount Noema was deeply involved, but the Danger Level is lower than expected.’
The Danger Level, which had been 57%, dropped to 55%. Rachel fell into thought, realizing that Viscount Noema accounted for only 2% of the danger.
Enoch watched Rachel before removing his cloak and draping it over her.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
But Rachel remained lost in thought.
‘When I told Father to come home, it dropped by 2%. Is that it?’
Considering the causal relationship, Viscount Noema was the one who had drawn Henri into Daimon, and now that the issue was resolved, the 2% had decreased.
“Thank you. Enoch, Your Highness. You said the viscount broke the restriction?”
Rachel, who had nearly spoken casually to Enoch, raised her tone due to the onlookers. Enoch slowly nodded.
“Yes. The fleeting energy that appeared and vanished was the same as with Baron Emporus.”
“He mentioned the late First Queen. What could that mean?”
“I’m not sure either.”
Until now, Rachel had thought he used his position as the crown prince’s teacher to poison him.
Perhaps that assumption was wrong.
“We need to look into the First Queen.”
She felt that understanding why Viscount Noema mentioned the First Queen would reveal why he had cooperated with the Black Sorcerer.
***
“It’s hard to eat lunch comfortably.”
With the sun high in the sky, lunchtime had arrived at the palace.
As usual, Carion slipped out through the window of his office and headed to the administrative department.
“Y-Your Highness!”
Opening the door to the department, a bureaucrat who had been eating his lunch box jumped to his feet. Being lunchtime, most seats were empty.
“Don’t mind me, keep eating.”
“B-But.”
“It’s fine.”
Who could eat comfortably with the prince—who was designated as the next king—standing there?
The administrators eating inside due to remaining paperwork were so tense they couldn’t tell if food was going in through their noses or mouths.
Carion ignored them and went straight to Rachel’s desk. He examined the documents she had approved.
“You’re working hard.”
A smile spread across his face.
“There’s been a lot piling up lately. Must be tough, right?”
“I-It’s fine. The paperwork has decreased a lot since yesterday.”
The bureaucrat said it was fine, but that implied it had been relentlessly busy until then.
How many bureaucrats would eat lunch boxes because they didn’t have time to go to the cafeteria? Carion knew that just a couple of days ago, the administrators hadn’t even stepped into the corridors during meals.
“The urgent matters are almost done, so hang in there a bit longer.”
“It’s an honor.”
Carion chuckled at the bureaucrat who called even enduring hardship an honor.
That was when someone kicked open the door and stormed into the administrative department.
“Peristera! How dare you!”
It was Demian, entering with menacing momentum. His bristling appearance suggested he wasn’t here with good intentions.
“Long time no see?”
“What brings big brother here?”
“Because it’s a department I care about. What about you? You don’t even associate with pen-pushers like these.”
“None of your business.”
Demian shot back at Carion while glaring. But Carion didn’t back down easily.
“No, no. I think it is my business. Lady Peristera, whom you’re looking for, is a bureaucrat I hold in very high regard.”
At Carion’s words, Demian ground his teeth audibly.
“She does her job so well. Two months ago, she took half a day off and sniffed out a case with Enoch.”
Carion recalled the incident from two months ago.
It was the case where many intellectuals—whom he had thought were talents supporting the nation—were revealed to be colluding with the Black Sorcerer.
They belonged to an organization called Daimon, at the center of which was Viscount Noema.
Viscount Noema had taken his own life there, but the others hadn’t and were captured by the Silver Knight Order and thrown into prison.
That was what had surfaced, but Carion knew the background as well.
Paris Emporus, who had been caught earlier, also belonged to Daimon, as did the merchants and nobles supporting Demian.
With that organization half-dismantled now, Demian’s power was essentially broken.
“You know, right? Viscount Noema, your brother’s mentor. Lady Peristera uncovered that he was in league with the Black Sorcerers.”
“What an incredible feat!”
An oblivious bureaucrat chimed in agreement with Carion. Demian whipped his head around and glared at him.
Only then did the bureaucrat bow his head and bury his face in the stack of documents.
“Of course I know. Because of that wench...!”
“Why? Did something happen? Surely a royal like you didn’t associate with them? Collude with the Black Sorcerer, perhaps?”
“Why would you say something so frightening, brother?”
“If not, that’s a relief. I was suspicious because you seemed displeased with her for establishing such merit.”
Carion paused and let out a sneer.
“Father seems to hold Lady Peristera in very high regard.”
Upon learning about the Daimon organization, the king flew into a rage and ordered all those connected to the Black Sorcerer seized.
Thanks to that, the Silver Knight Order—newly formed—received unbelievable support. It also became an opportunity for increased exchanges between the royal family and the temple.
The place that underwent the biggest change afterward was the underworld.
“You know, right? The illegal district Baron Emporus was involved in.”
Demian flinched at Carion’s words.
There was a brothel he frequented. He had first learned of it through Paris Emporus’s introduction, and after his death, Demian had backed it, even lending money to the thugs.
“After the baron died, various back-alley factions fought to take it over?”
It was a place rife with disappearances, violence, and murders, where even the security forces had practically washed their hands of it.
But the royals, wary of the Black Sorcerer, launched a back-alley cleanup operation.
“The Silver Knight Order led the way and cleaned it all up.”
Carion taunted him, and Demian bit his lip.
“In fact, Lady Peristera proposed the back-alley cleanup operation, but that’s not important, right?”
The cleanup took a full two months, multiplying the administrative department’s paperwork several times over and grinding the bureaucrats down.
But the results were excellent. In exchange for the bureaucrats’ tears, sweat, and sleep, the illegal district was transformed into a special zone managed by the state.
It became a clean area no longer touchable by underworld forces or Black Sorcerers.
The king was extremely pleased with the outcome.
Especially since the proposer, Rachel’s name, was buried, and it became Enoch’s achievement as the Silver Knight Order’s captain.
Carion was thrilled too. Parasites devouring the nation had been swept away in droves, hadn’t they?
Those guilty of serious crimes were sent to labor camps based on their offenses.
There were also former commoners who had been kidnapped and forced into long-term slavery. Their records had been erased under pretexts like disappearances, but their statuses were restored, they were housed in the special zone, and jobs were arranged for them. They would become tax-paying citizens in the future.
So, wasn’t Rachel, who brought about this result, just lovely?
Plus, as a royal, he had given his half-brother—who sought only personal gain over devotion to the nation—a solid blow.
“If you touch her, you’ll be in quite a bind. Not just Father, but me and the other brothers like her too.”
“Got it! Got it, so stop talking!”
After tediously warning Demian at length not to harm Rachel, Carion grinned.
Demian kicked a desk and stormed out of the department.
“Phew.”
Sighs of relief escaped from the bureaucrats’ mouths. Those who knew Demian’s brutal temperament feared he might even swing a sword.
“Whew, whoever’s brother he is, what a foul temper. He leaves before big brother even finishes speaking.”
“We almost had a disaster, Your Highness.”
“If he attacks here, even he wouldn’t get away unscathed. But you all are different. If you get hurt, I could claim you insulted royalty and...”
At Carion’s words, the remaining ones paled.
“So if that guy shows up here, come find me right away. I’ll come stop him.”
“Thank you.”
Carion smiled as if he were a good person.
In truth, it wasn’t for the bureaucrats. From the looks of it, Demian had come to harm Rachel.
He was warning them in case Demian came looking for her when he wasn’t around.
“By the way, everyone else has returned from lunch, but Lady Peristera still isn’t back?”
“Ah, she had a visitor today, so we told her to take her time eating.”
“I see. Thanks for answering.”
Carion walked toward the window, then turned around. With an awkward smile, he headed out the door.
***
“What if Viscount Noema was in love with the First Queen? His dying words were like entrusting the princes to her!”
Rachel munched on a large sandwich as she listened to Lecaya’s words.
The past two months had been relentlessly busy. There were practically no days off, so the ‘Demian and Black Sorcerer Eradication Club’ had been on hold.
But there had been great gains. With the illegal district cleaned up and the rainy season fully over, the Danger Level had dropped to 46%.
Capturing the other intellectuals excluding Viscount Noema had reduced it by 5%, and the back-alley cleanup by 4%, for a total decrease of 9%.
The mountain of documents had only just shrunk after towering for so long. Just as things quieted down today, Lecaya arrived at the department with a large picnic basket.
Upon hearing of the marquis’s daughter’s visit, the entire department told Rachel to eat lunch slowly, allowing her this break in the flower garden.
“But the Black Sorcerer took Prince Herion hostage, so he obeyed, and that’s how His Highness died!”