Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Reward (3)
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Good. This should be Zahav-like enough, right?
Savoring the sight of the finger marks etched into the two knights' frozen armor for a brief moment...
Elise, who had been watching quietly from the side with an ambiguous smile, spoke up.
"It's an honor to meet you for the first time, Your Highness the Third Princess. We're grateful for your visit, but this dull subject of yours can't quite fathom your intentions. Please, guide your lacking servant."
"Of course... Elise."
A strangely nuanced reaction. Cornelia was also imperial royalty who had participated in the imperial throne succession battle, so she might know about Elise.
But it didn't feel like that kind of familiarity.
Useful tool, loathsome commoner, brazen criminal, descendant of traitors, and so on.
It was a voice laced with wistfulness and pity, far from how one would view a back-alley ruler and the daughter of a criminal once exiled to Calypso Territory.
...Come to think of it, Elise had mentioned she was the sole survivor of a family wiped out in a rebellion, but she hadn't specified which house.
Maybe it was a far higher house than I imagined. One active not in the fringes, but in the capital.
That would explain how she and Cornelia knew each other from before.
Anyway, thanks to Elise chiming in, Cornelia, who had been trembling and forcing a smile, finally regained her composure.
"Ahem. I believe you've already guessed why I've come... Duke Zahav. It's to invite you."
"Invite?"
"Yes. We've prepared a banquet to celebrate your achievements, so won't you grace us with your presence?"
"Well... sure, but..."
Right as I said that, it hit me—agreeing so readily didn't feel very Zahav-like.
I'd just set the mood by scratching up their armor, so I should milk it for all it's worth.
Above all... I absolutely couldn't afford to arouse suspicion from the imperial family.
Against anyone else, there might be room to negotiate or cover up a massacre somehow.
But against the imperial family? No amount of scheming would work.
Of course, they wouldn't outright reject me just because I'm not the real Zahav.
The southerners follow me regardless, and I did crush the western Wild Hunt—that much is fact.
But getting caught with a weakness? Unacceptable.
So, I imagined the image of Zahav in my mind—less refined than Sharkan, but a notch rougher than Yuria—and mimicked it.
"Mind if I fool around with the imperial dancers?"
"...Pardon?"
"It's a banquet, right? There have to be women to liven things up. Or do they call them something else in the capital?"
"W-Well... it's not that kind of banquet..."
"What? You've got booze and food, but no women? Capital nobles sure know how to party boring."
"..."
Cornelia stared at me like I'd just landed from another planet.
Only natural. Dancers were, bluntly put, skilled whores who sang and danced well.
Given the gravity of the event, the Emperor might even attend, so asking about whores at such a banquet? No wonder she was horrified.
But it wasn't enough. This was maybe 1.2 Yuria at best.
I needed at least 0.5 Shalkan to ensure she wouldn't harbor needless doubts.
"No dancers? Then... is it okay to fool around with other nobles' daughters?"
"What?!"
"Come on, terraces and garden bushes—plenty of spots. No way a long banquet has zero breaks, right?"
"N-No, I mean... Yes? I've heard of banquets like that, but... I-I..."
Cornelia flushed beet red, floundering. She'd just graduated the academy not long ago—young enough for that reaction.
I curled my lips into a smirk, sidled up, and casually threw an arm around her shoulders.
"Eek?!"
Just an arm around the shoulders—no pressing against her, no hands wandering anywhere naughty—yet she trembled like an aspen leaf.
I leaned in and whispered softly into her ear.
"I heard something the other day... You're close with Yuria, right? You even helped my little sister out when she had trouble before."
"Y-Yes, that's true..."
"How about it? At this banquet, why don't the three of us—Yuria, me, and you—have some fun together? She's in the capital briefly for academy exams anyway."
"...!"
"Relax, relax. No matter how I am, would I do anything harsh to my little sister or an imperial? Just let loose. I'll take care of everything."
"T-Take care of... What exactly are you planning to do to me?!"
Her eyes darted wildly, searching for an escape, but too flustered to think straight, she just stammered incoherently.
I chuckled at her plight, released the arm around her shoulders, and shrugged lightly.
"Can't do this, can't do that. Imperial banquets sound downright dull."
"No matter how I think about it, it seems like you're the weird one... N-No, nothing."
Half out of it, her true thoughts slipped out, and she clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.
I tossed her a casual mercy.
"Fine, then let me bring someone else instead."
"Someone instead...?"
"She's right here."
Putting on my sleaziest grin, I pulled Elise—who was beside me—into an embrace by the waist.
"Oh my?"
She sounded surprised but not displeased, yielding smoothly and leaning into me.
Truly, having known each other so long, she must have caught my intent and played along naturally—one hand on my chest, head nestled against my collarbone.
"If there's no suitable woman at the banquet... bringing my own should be fine, right?"
"Uh? Well..."
Cornelia glanced between us, pondering deeply. Soon enough, she nodded with a firm expression.
"If it's someone you always keep by your side, it should be okay. Wandering alone would be... you know?"
"That's why I brought it up. No worries."
Exactly. Part of it was to avoid any doubt about me being Zahav...
But putting all your eggs in one basket gets you found out fast.
It was also buildup to bring Elise to the banquet.
The banquet itself wasn't suspicious, but Cornelia personally coming to the slums to invite me suggested it could turn into a massive political brawl.
Probably abandoned trying to pull Elise to her side and settled for no touching.
Everyone would want me—an outsider who achieved unprecedented feats in the empire's thousand-year history—on their team.
But I'm not interested. Attention would only make hiding my bloodline secret harder, especially from the imperial family.
That's why I need Elise's help.
I'd already succeeded once at tightrope-walking neutrality, if only temporarily.
She surely had ways to shield me from the imperial family's petty power struggles.
We hadn't coordinated ahead, which was a hitch... but luckily, she picked up on it and went along with my improv.
...Though she was awfully clingy, stroking my chest and sniffing my collarbone.
Anyway, it was just a show for Cornelia.
Cornelia let out a deep sigh and spoke in a deflated tone.
"I'll inform them that Duke Zahav will attend the banquet with Elise... er, your concubine—no, partner. But in return, I have one request."
"Let's hear it."
"It's nothing major. Even with your own partner, I'm the one who invited you, right? I believe Duke Zahav isn't the type to embarrass the lady who mustered her courage."
"Hm... So, when we take a break later, bring Your Highness along with Elise? Where to? I'm partial to a terrace behind a curtain..."
"N-No, not like that! Just dance with me first when the banquet starts! That'll be enough!"
Cornelia shook her head frantically, pleading desperately.
I smirked at her, lightly tapping her pink scalp—like treating a subordinate or little sister.
"Got it. I'll do that much. When is it?"
"...Everything's here, so no worries."
Cornelia handed me an invitation with an odd look.
Checking it over, it detailed the date, time, and more. Not threatening, but the complex flow of mana suggested it doubled as a ticket.
I tucked it away, and Cornelia spoke in a somewhat softened tone.
"That's all from me. See you at the banquet, then."
"Sure, sure. Even if we enter together, you'll be the first I seek out there—so dress to stand out, look pretty."
"I planned to anyway... Oh, and just in case."
"What?"
"When you come to the banquet, you don't have to wear your uniform, but please wear something."
"? What are you talking about? Who shows up naked to a banquet?"
"W-Well... There are records of the previous Duke Zahav attending an imperial banquet in his underwear in his youth..."
"???"
"He said the perfect flesh is more beautiful than any garment."
"What. That's... kinda understandable..."
"Three knights who tried to stop him were crippled, and two lower noble daughters who... caught his eye became new concubines and went south with him..."
"..."
"W-Well... Please, I beg you."
"Uh, yeah. I'll dress properly, so really, no worries there."
I said it half in disbelief, but it felt too compliant, so I added a dash of Zahav spice.
"I prefer stripping others over getting stripped myself anyway."
"Heeek!"
Cornelia turned pale and fled.
A short while later.
Back at the palace, Cornelia received heartfelt praise not just from the bureaucrats, but even from her ailing father.
"Huh?"
The reason was simple.
She'd talked the current Duke Zahav out of bringing whores to the banquet, gotten him to promise not to touch noble daughters, and even secured assurance he'd dress properly.
"Huh?!"
Compared to those feats(?), Enoch bringing his concubine—whose identity as the underworld queen was buzzing lately—was a trivial issue.
Cornelia unintentionally earned the Emperor's and officials' recognition, solidifying her shaky position.
"...Was he actually a good guy?"
Suddenly, Enoch started looking like a handsome friendly big bro.
But soon, the feel of his arm around her shoulder. His whisper in her ear.
And the vivid scars on the two knights' helmets before her eyes chilled her to the bone.
"I-It was just coincidence. Yeah, totally."
Cornelia still found Enoch intimidating.