Chapter 72
Chapter 72
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Imperial Capital
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Yin-Yang Liquor! The Yin-Yang Liquor has arrived again!”
The reply to the letter he had sent to the emperor had come.
And with it, a bottle of liquor without a label.
Leopold was already sipping half a glass of Yin-Yang Liquor every day.
Just as his supply was about to run out, the fresh bottle arrived, lighting up the emperor's face like an excited child's.
He gazed at the bottle with cherishing eyes.
Soon, a white envelope caught his attention.
“What's this?”
Leopold carefully broke the seal.
As he read the letter, his eyes grew sharper and more focused.
'The Grand Duchess is coming to the capital?'
High nobles like kings, grand dukes, or dukes who served the emperor had the right to petition him directly.
But...
Luna's letter, stating she would come to the capital the moment she handed over the Yin-Yang Liquor, left Leopold feeling conflicted.
'She definitely said she'd pay the price.'
Though he had mentioned it first, this blunt declaration of visiting the capital went beyond a simple 'price.'
“Hmm... What does she want?”
Normally, such political maneuvers involved the other party expressing their intentions indirectly.
That was diplomatic rhetoric.
But this sudden visit, tantamount to demanding what she wanted outright without any such subtlety, furrowed his brow.
“She called herself an example for knights... How rude.”
Luna's liege was Emperor Leopold.
A renowned knight like Luna.
The emperor felt a twinge of offense at what he saw as her disrespectful behavior toward him.
He soon shook his head.
Having ruled as emperor for so long, he had encountered plenty of such people.
“There are more than one or two like her. But what could she be after?”
Leopold had requested the Yin-Yang Liquor and planned to offer appropriate monetary compensation.
Reflecting on the situation now, he realized the Grand Duchy had deliberately given it to him.
“Hmm...”
The emperor recalled the recent situation in the Grand Duchy.
It was on the empire's frontier, but no ordinary duchy.
He thought back to the events there in his memory.
“The reclamation... failed, didn't it?”
They had prepared ambitiously but gained not a single inch of land.
Now, they faced massive debts due soon, with no clear way to repay them.
“Does she want a loan?”
Stroking his chin in thought, the emperor pondered.
If that was the case, Luna's actions made sense.
As a grand duchess and a famed knight, asking the emperor for financial aid would be humiliating—she'd want to hide it.
“Lending it wouldn't be an issue.”
With that, he brushed off the thought lightly and downed the Yin-Yang Liquor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A month later, one day.
“Is everyone prepared?”
Luna, mounted on a white horse, asked her retinue and knights, who all nodded.
“Then let's go.”
As she exited the grand ducal palace's main gate,
her retinue followed her out.
Yes, we were now heading to the imperial capital, Vitrión.
Spring was still months away...
And here I was, leaving Vain twice this winter.
It couldn't be more of a hassle.
Still... the emperor was very interested in the Yin-Yang Liquor.
If I handled this well, I'd never have to leave Vain again.
Winter travels were that grueling.
Clop...
As the journey began with the sound of hooves, my mind grew cluttered.
I'd probably meet the crown prince in the capital...
The crown prince, one of Luna's suitors in the original story.
Arrogant and clever in the novel, but with a rather sinister personality—he might try to assassinate me if he learned I was close to Luna.
He had once proposed to Luna with these words:
-“If you join me... I will personally make the Grand Duchy prosper. I'll use the empire's finances and my future rights as emperor without restraint to favor it.”
Arrogant, yet cleverly exploiting her weaknesses with everything at his disposal.
She dreamed of making the Grand Duchy thrive.
-“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, my goal is not to achieve it with others' help. I will accomplish it with my own strength and my excellent retainers.”
Unwilling to take the highway paved by others, she rejected his offer, and he never appeared again in the novel.
I hoped this trip would pass without incident.
Contrary to my worries, our journey proceeded smoothly.
Ten days later,
Passing villages and cities along the way, we arrived near the imperial capital Vitrión when Luna summoned me.
We had barely seen each other's faces during the trip.
We hadn't exchanged a single word on the way to the capital.
What can I say? We were inseparable, but not officially yet.
Purposely maintaining a colder, businesslike facade?
To be honest, it was my suggestion to Luna.
I didn't want to provoke the crown prince in the capital by letting it slip that we were close.
As I entered Luna's tent, she glanced at me.
“Secretary Aiden, take a seat.”
Hearing her voice after so long, I sat down.
“The palace is near. We'll soon meet His Majesty, so we need to reconfirm our strategy one final time.”
Though only Luna and I were in the tent, the guarding soldiers outside made her speak with dignified authority, so I put on a mischievous expression but replied seriously.
“Yes, I suppose we should.”
Zing.
At my playfulness, Luna slightly furrowed her brow with a childish pout.
“Currently... we haven't informed His Majesty about changing the feudal contract. He might take offense to that. But I followed your advice. I believe your thinking is correct, but we must prepare for the possibility it might not work.”
Her face was girlish, but her tone was anything but.
As I kneaded Luna's breast, I spoke casually.
“Don't worry about that. We'll report to His Majesty and use the 'formal' order on that point to alter the feudal contract. Besides, don't we have a secret weapon?”
Catching her off guard, Luna blushed.
“Ugh... True, but...”
Her trembling voice was adorable.
Heh heh... Teasing her like this was bold because I knew she couldn't pounce right now.
Physical intimacy in the tent was impossible.
We had no skill in keeping quiet enough to hide the sounds.
As I fondled her breast with a villainous smirk, Luna shot me a look that said I'd pay later.
Oh, I'd pay, alright.
It wouldn't be easy for her to jump me in the palace.
Realizing my intent, Luna glared at me with a shy expression.
“Hng... If it doesn't work...”
I slipped my hand under her clothes.
“It won't fail. It will succeed for sure.”
As I teased her nipple, Luna bit her lip to stifle a moan.
“If... you say it that confidently...”
Subtly sliding my hand under her skirt...
She shook her head anxiously and pushed my hand away.
Seeing the usually bold Luna at night like this made it all the more fun.
A shy, embarrassed Luna—how could I resist?
I whispered softly into her ear.
“Forgot our promise?”
A voice barely audible, but as a Swordmaster, Luna surely heard.
Proof?
The strength slowly drained from her hand pushing mine away.
And so, Luna and I discussed our strategy until evening, my hand thoroughly soaked and sticky.
As it was time to leave the tent,
Luna glared at me with a 'just you wait' look.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Slightly curly long golden hair and striking blue eyes.
Red lips and a sharp nose.
He was undeniably a stunningly handsome man at first glance.
A man so glamorous and beautiful that, if he dressed as a woman, he'd pass for a girl of extraordinary beauty—not just among women.
He was Ferdinand de Savoy, crown prince of this nation.
Ferdinand was nervously biting his nails.
The reason...
“Kuhk... Luna is coming?”
His voice dripped with thrilled emotion.
To swiftly aid her if danger arose, he had planted spies in the Grand Duchy.
They weren't high-ranking, but positioned to know the general state of affairs.
Thus, Ferdinand trusted this information implicitly.
'But why is she coming?'
The pact with the heteroclites was currently top secret.
His spies weren't in military circles, so he knew nothing of that.
'The reclamation was a massive failure, right?'
On the surface, this reclamation was a resounding defeat.
Reclamation meant seizing heteroclite territory.
They gained not an inch, so he figured the Grand Duchy would struggle with its debts, sparking joy in his mind.
'If I help her this time?'
Of course, with a Swordmaster like Luna, failure was hard to fathom, but they did fail to gain land.
Anyway, the crown prince's blue eyes gleamed.
“Perfect. If I help forgive the Grand Duchy's debts, I'll surely outshine the other suitors.”
Thinking that far, Ferdinand glanced at the door.
“Is my secretary outside?”
Creeak.
A sheepish man entered as the door opened.
“You called, Your Highness?”
“Investigate the Grand Duchy's debt scale and creditors immediately.”
The secretary nodded.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
Watching him leave, the crown prince rubbed his hands gleefully, lost in happy fantasies.
His mind was already imagining Luna and even grandchildren.
But his reverie shattered soon after.
Knock knock.
Perhaps irritated at the interruption of his bliss,
“Who is it?”
His sharp voice prompted the secretary's reply.
-“Report on the Grand Duchy's debts, sir.”
“Enter.”
With permission, the secretary entered, holding a single sheet of paper.
“The Grand Duchy's debts include long- and short-term. The bonds coming due now, including interest, total 12,500 gold.”
A larger sum than expected.
Including war supplies and mercenary costs, but...
Far beyond what Crown Prince Ferdinand's personal wealth could cover.
“More than I thought.”
He closed his eyes briefly, deep in thought.
'I'll have to convince Father...'
An amount the emperor's vast lands or the empire's treasury could handle, so he pondered how to persuade him.
But he didn't know things wouldn't unfold as he hoped.