Chapter 34
Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Trial of the Dragon (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The village house perched on high ground, offering a clear view of the entire settlement, was unusually spacious and sturdy compared to the others.
It had clearly been the residence of the village chief, the man with the strongest influence around here.
Though it was now little more than ruins, echoes of that former power still lingered.
All the nobles, myself included, had gathered there, but no one spoke a word. They merely exchanged uneasy glances.
Even those who had resisted the Empire to the bitter end were at a loss, hesitating and watching each other. It was only natural...
They had risked their lives to show their loyalty, only to be branded as traitors in return.
Of course, at least in this room, there was no one unaware that the crown prince himself had drawn his sword and given chase.
But... it was also true that no one could easily believe it. Us? Traitors?
However, the doubts didn't last long. They were dispelled by the letter brought by the royal messenger that very morning.
"You've all read the letter from the king. I trust no one here fails to grasp its meaning."
"Treason merits execution, yet they spare us out of consideration for our deeds... It's a blatant order of exile!!"
"Even great merits can't excuse treason. They must have struck some deal with the Empire."
Viscount Harban's cold assessment unleashed a chorus of pent-up sighs.
Any other crime might be overlooked, but treason was the gravest of offenses, one that wiped out three generations.
Even founding heroes were executed without exception for treason. To spare them with mere exile for their merits?
"It seems the kingdom has handed our lives over to the Empire."
In the storm of anxiety, Princess Anna finally parted her lips, which had been sealed tight.
The reason they weren't executing the eastern nobles despite branding them traitors. It defied all logic given the weight of the charge...
If the kingdom had negotiated with the Empire, though, it made a certain sense. The Empire had fully occupied the kingdom's eastern territories.
"They won't just hand over lands conquered with rivers of blood without compensation. Naturally, the kingdom has to pay a steep price."
"Don't tell me that price is..."
"Exactly. The Empire wants Lord Blackguard."
Trading a single person for vast territory—even if it wasn't prime farmland—was absurd on its face.
But if that one person was a Master, the equation changed entirely.
Master.
A superhuman who could face an army alone, said to cleave the skies and shatter mountains— a being straight out of legend.
And in the kingdom, the person closest to becoming a Master could only be me.
'No way they mistook me for a Master and went through with a deal like that? It can't be...'
My mind was a whirlwind. It was unlikely, but what if—just what if—they had?
And what if my true level was exposed? What then?
Princess Anna, who had been watching me brood in silence, soon opened her mouth with a resolute expression, as if she'd made up her mind.
"Lord Blackguard, the loyalty you showed the kingdom was truly noble. But there's no need to throw your life away for it."
"...Pardon?"
"I mean there's no need to die for a king who casts out the very loyal subjects who risked their lives to defend the realm and its people."
She must have mistaken my quiet contemplation for some noble resolve.
My top priority had always been my own safety. Even at our first clash with the Empire, I'd been fully prepared to surrender without hesitation.
It was only that damned Defeat Regression that had forced me to fight tooth and nail instead.
"Then what does Your Highness intend to do?"
"I will follow you."
"You're not staying with the kingdom?"
"I have no desire to return voluntarily to a cage on the verge of collapse. And... staying by your side to delay the moment you draw your sword against the kingdom—that may be the only thing I can do."
Evidently, even Princess Anna hadn't anticipated the kingdom going this far; she shook her head with a gloomy look.
I hadn't intended it, but with the princess's blessing now secured, the only thing left was to choose.
Soldiers must be swifter than ghosts. It was one of the hard lessons I'd learned through endless deaths.
Simply marching an army consumed vast resources and time.
Failing to adapt to a rapidly shifting battlefield, dithering when every second counted?
Nine times out of ten, it meant annihilation. I knew that better than anyone, having lived it countless times.
"Tomorrow, I'll make contact with the imperial princess and negotiate a path that saves us all."
"That seems the best course for now. On behalf of the royals, I apologize. I'm sorry."
'The one wildcard is Defeat Regression... but given how things are unfolding, it doesn't look like something to worry about.'
Even the princess—who was as close to a prince character as they came, fighting for the kingdom to the end—was shaking her head. And the kingdom itself had cut a deal with the Empire.
No matter what, that was worlds apart from the doomed prince scenario where you had to hold out for 60 days...
In other words, the scenario had changed. I had no idea why.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ It was a crude throne carved from stone, but the emperor seated upon it exuded a majesty no one dared challenge.
Beneath hair turned white by the ravages of time lay the sturdy ancient oak that upheld this vast empire.
He was the emperor of the Garon Empire, the man known by the epithet Bright Dragon: Leonis von Draconica Ragna.
Sixty years ago, he had crushed a massive noble rebellion after the previous emperor's death and even repelled an invasion by the Alliance.
He had seized the territories of all nobles complicit in the Seven Dukes' Uprising, launching a powerful centralized system.
The Iron Emperor. Though problems great and small still cropped up even now, sixty years later, he had undeniably established absolute imperial authority.
"Your Majesty! This negotiation is an outrage that undermines the Empire's dignity! Please reconsider!!"
But did that absolute authority mean overwhelming power crushed all dissent? Not quite.
Stagnant water breeds rot, and unchecked power inevitably corrupts.
Thus, Emperor Leonis had enshrined the nobles' minimal rights to participate in state affairs through law.
Emperor Leonis let out a deep sigh. He had anticipated fierce opposition... but not to this degree.
Yet he couldn't simply crush his ministers by force. Their opposition was voiced through proper channels.
Do that, and who would offer honest counsel next time?
'Even I harbor doubts... so how could the ministers not? Convincing them is squarely the crown prince's responsibility.'
At least the crown prince's absence—due to that incident in his domain—was a small mercy for the second prince.
Emperor Leonis turned his gaze to the second prince, seated closest to him.
The stage was set; from here, it was up to him to seize the momentum—a signal from the emperor.
"I fully understand your concerns for the Empire's welfare and Your Majesty's dignity. But how long do you intend to rest on our current laurels?"
His voice brimmed with power, every subtle gesture and step radiating precision. That was the difference between theater and true dignity.
Exaggerated motions and shouts versus commanding attention with sheer poise alone—it was night and day.
Even the ministers who had vehemently opposed fell silent, hanging on the second prince's every word.
"Sixty years ago... His late Majesty suffered a grievous humiliation at the Alliance's hands, weakening the nation and paving the way for the Seven Dukes' Uprising."
"We haven't forgotten that humiliation. But the Empire is stable now. Why stir up trouble unprovoked?"
"Even if our national power surpasses the Alliance today, we lag critically in Masters—that's the reality. What if they build their strength and strike?"
"......"
"The Alliance has already infiltrated Arpen Kingdom, openly baring their fangs. Shouldn't we close that gap by any means necessary?"
The Alliance: a colossal foe that had scarred the Empire's pride irreparably. And because of that, all the more terrifying.
Second Prince Oren seized on it. Fragments of truth—the shortage of Masters, the Alliance using the kingdom to antagonize the Empire.
Those shards converged, instilling a sense of threat in the nobles. He pressed the advantage relentlessly!
Judging the mood had shifted, Oren turned to the emperor, dropped to his knees, and pressed his forehead to the floor.
"Your Majesty! I stake my life to implore you. Test Blackguard personally before all and prove his worth."
"And if he fails to prove it?"
"I shall gladly accept punishment for clouding Your Majesty's eyes and ears with empty words and tarnishing the Empire's dignity."
This was no mere show of force. It was a remonstrance offered with his life on the line.
And from the second prince, who had already proven his own abilities... it was downright intriguing now.
In the end, with no further opposition from the ministers, the emperor at last approved the second prince's proposal.