183. Night of Chains (1)
183. Night of Chains (1)
- 1 -
Sonia's excellent memory conveyed every major event that had occurred at the conference hall to me without omission.
My first impression upon hearing the story was exceedingly concise.
"I see. So he coveted what is mine..."
My voice still flowed out gently.
But the emotions contained within were far colder than usual, and my tone carried an edge.
Slowly, anger began to boil up.
'How dare he...'
To lay a hand on a work of art I had painstakingly sculpted from the very beginning.
The anger could not burn me, but my heart blazed ever more fiercely while my mind grew increasingly cold.
My hostility sharpened to an even finer edge.
"Master..."
Sonia clasped my hand with worried eyes.
"It's alright. Lady Elena handled it well."
The pure concern lingering in my disciple's clear eyes, and her soft voice, gradually soothed my anger.
Beside me, Ran placed a hand on my shoulder with a captivating smile.
"Husband. Elena is your masterpiece. Surely no one can take her away."
Their words were correct.
Elena was mine. Completely, eternally.
"Yes..."
This situation was different from Amelia's case.
Amelia was not a child I had sculpted, and though the Duke of Durangard's son who proposed to her lacked the qualifications, he at least knew how to approach her with persistence.
That was why I let him live. At the very least, he had no intention of harming Amelia.
But that duke was a man who sought to exploit Elena's abilities and cast her aside the moment she proved useless to him. On top of that, even his method of approach was utterly filthy.
An approach filled with the assumption that 'naturally, she is mine.'
'How dare he. Toward what is mine.'
I exhaled deeply and recovered my outward smile.
But the anger within me still waited for fuel to burn itself out completely.
"Elena did well. She didn't miss the opportunity."
Sonia and Ran exchanged glances.
It seemed they had noticed my anger had not fully subsided.
Ran approached with a hint of jealousy in her eyes and smiled.
"It is a shame Elena doesn't know how dearly you cherish her like this, Husband."
"That's right, Master."
Sonia added those words with a sincere heart, unaware of Ran's inner feelings.
Listening to their consolation, I thought for a moment.
'In any case, the petty king's downfall is already decided.'
The petty king of Driaz was already walking the path of ruin.
Having been defeated by Elena and lost half his territory, he had also committed a diplomatic blunder at the negotiation table, incurring even greater losses.
The United Kingdom was a nation governed by a single central king and the petty kings of various small states serving as consuls.
But now, wasn't the duke merely a noble holding land equivalent to one or two counties at most?
His standing was completely different from before.
So it wouldn't be strange for the United Kingdom to now move to strip him of his consulship.
'And the peace talks aren't over yet.'
Also, after handing over this Cheoks Fortress, there was still one more round of essential talks to come.
The talks to completely hand over the 'Border County.'
And conveniently enough, the materials to completely bring down the Duke of Driaz had been gathered there.
"Talhan. Set the stage."
"Yes, Master."
"Ran. I'll need to make use of your strength."
"Yes, Husband."
I smiled again.
What is mine is eternally mine. No one could change that.
And I was always ready, anywhere and anytime, to exact due compensation from anyone who dared infringe upon my property rights.
- 2 -
The Duke of Driaz, the young petty king, was lost in a dreamlike reverie.
'Seems I've drunk far too much.'
He was aware that he was dreaming.
That was only natural, since he had just heard Haisen's notification and Zenota's approval stating, 'The only part of the Cheoks Border Margraviate being returned by Ironfield is the area around the capital fortress.'
「Administrative Order regarding the Cheoks Border Margraviate: The administration of this Border Margraviate is altered as follows.
Existing: Cheoks Direct Dominion and Anutelunus County.
New: (Added) Viscruz County」
「The Ironfield family of the Haisen Kingdom shall immediately return the Cheoks Direct Dominion to the Petty King of Driaz, after which all counties shall be absorbed.」
「The Petty King of Driaz shall, after settling the Direct Dominion, attend the Consul Council and return the office of Consul.」
These official letters, delivered from the central governments of Haisen and Zenota as if the two had made a pact with one another.
The moment the duke saw their contents, he became certain.
[Damn bastards...! How dare they do this to me, the Duke of Driaz! Are they abandoning the House of Driaz?!]
That his home country had abandoned him.
The office of Consul in the United Kingdom was a position granted to the representative of each petty royal house that constituted the Zenota United Kingdom.
In other words, he too was one of Zenota's supreme rulers.
Naturally, he possessed the self-respect befitting that station.
Although his power and influence paled in comparison to families holding two or three consulships, the fact that he was a supreme ruler remained unchanged.
'To think I am no longer a king...!'
The revocation of his consulship meant he would soon lose even that position as a supreme ruler.
There was a reason the duke had guzzled alcohol the moment he heard that outcome.
Of course, that didn't justify his incompetence.
- Anyway...
Thinking he was merely seeing things due to intoxication, he was gradually seized by a strange sensation. It felt as if his soul had left his body and was wandering.
- Is this phenomenon that 'Dreamlike Awakening'?
A phenomenon occasionally experienced by sorcerers deeply immersed in their techniques. He was convinced he was experiencing it.
Dreamlike Awakening referred to a brief journey where the soul, having escaped as a spiritual body rather than a material one, departs for a world where self-manifested power becomes the mainstream.
- Then shall I test my power too?
In this special dream, it was said that even ordinary mages or shamans could draw out their power to its utmost limit.
Some sorcerers desperately longed for this dream.
For not only could one test their limits without any risk, but many had also experienced an elevation of their realm at the end of it.
However, after a moment of deliberation, he changed his mind.
- No, shall I take a look around first?
He was an elemental mage.
This world he was currently in must surely be the Elemental Plane, overflowing with elements he could handle.
Moreover, there were stories that those who dreamed the dream of 'Dreamlike Awakening' would soon experience the same phenomenon again.
So his curiosity about this world grew even greater.
- It's full of beautiful beings. Is this truly the Elemental Plane...?
Wandering the world, the Duke of Driaz discovered numerous fairy-like beings.
These beautiful beings, human-like in size and appearance, would initially smile at him when they saw him, but whenever he drew closer, they would evade him, their smiling faces unchanged.
At first, he paid it no mind, but as time passed, his mood soured.
- Why do they keep avoiding me?
If this world was a world of enlightenment, it felt unpleasant, as if the enlightenment he sought was rejecting him.
- 「Wind's Blessing」.
In the end, he used magic to approach the next being he encountered and grabbed its wrist.
- It really can be touched!
Amazingly, that fairy-like being, which seemed outwardly composed only of wind, possessed a physical form.
The being's face was exceedingly beautiful, and the mysterious aura emanating from its body was enough to captivate any onlooker.
'I feel like I've seen it somewhere before...'
At the sudden sense of déjà vu that flickered past, he tilted his head briefly. But soon he forgot such trivial thoughts.
For satisfying his own desires was more important.
- Move together with me.
- Huhuhut.
The being smiled at him. He pulled the arm he had grabbed and began their journey together.
For a while, his body received the power of the wind and flew freely in all directions. The other beings around them pointed at them, but their faces were filled only with smiles, so it did not feel like mockery.
He was able to behold all kinds of mysterious scenery.
A wind composed of red flames roared, a mountain made of water droplets soared as if to pierce the sky, and rocks and boulders poured down like a waterfall.
- Indeed. Such an application...
The world of elements where boundaries had collapsed gave him new inspiration. He became increasingly convinced that this world was the true Elemental Plane.
If so, wasn't this being currently by his side the very crystallization of enlightenment?
'To obtain this enlightenment...'
In all manner of myths and legends, communion with beings was always depicted through physical contact.
From a light kiss to even deeper relations.
And in that respect, he had a certain confidence.
He had experience holding numerous women, and considerable experience making them swoon.
In reality, the women had merely pretended to faint due to exhaustion from the relationship, but there was no way he could know that truth.
- Become one with me.
He pulled the waist of the feminine being and embraced it.
And just as he was about to press his lips to hers...
Peo-eok!!
Suddenly, a dull impact struck his head, and he collapsed on the spot.
- What is...
"What?"
Reality began to reveal itself.
The transcendent illusion of the Elemental Plane lifted, and the drab colors of reality emerged.
The world that had been full of celestial colors had suddenly transformed into a shabby space with only a dark barracks and torchlight remaining.
"No. My enlightenment...!"
He frantically clawed at the ground, trying to prevent the world from vanishing, but for some reason, his mana would not budge at all.
He was merely a powerless being before that terrible reality.
Rage surged up.
"Who is it! Who dares to ruin my enlightenment... Huh...?"
Only then did the duke perceive the cold gazes surrounding him.
Both the Haisen and Zenota personnel, without distinction, were all looking at him with eyes full of contempt.
No one thought it strange that he was even more drunk than usual.
The duke's hobby was always drinking drugged liquor.
"What. Why am I here...?"
"It seems you truly don't remember. After all, you were out of your mind from intoxication."
He turned his head toward that voice, which had become all too familiar recently.
There stood Elena, holding a club in her hand.
Only upon seeing the bloodstains on the tip of the club did he realize that it was she who had interrupted his 'enlightenment.'
"It was you! You ruined my enlightenment!"
"Restrain him!"
"Let go! What is the meaning of this! I am the Duke of Driaz...!"
The soldiers on either side firmly seized him as he tried to jump up and rush forward from his spot.
Elena, walking out between the soldiers of Zenota and Haisen, looked down at him with a gaze full of disgust and spoke.
"It wasn't your enlightenment I prevented, but a crime."
"What nonsense are you... Huh?"
Suddenly raising his head, his eyes widened greatly upon discovering Adelaide's figure, collapsed on the ground at the center of everyone's attention.
For the face of the being he had tried to kiss overlapped with hers.
"No way..."
"Do you realize it now? What you were about to do to my sister."
He shook his head desperately.
This could not be happening. Even if he was a duke, to have done such a thing to the daughter of a hostile nation's border margrave...
"I, I..."
But then, his instinctive arrogance surged up once more.
By sheer reflex, he blurted out his inner thoughts.
"I am a duke! The heir of a great bloodline! A relationship with me would only benefit that woman! And!"
These were words that could only be accepted by a very select few—and even then, words that should absolutely never be spoken before the child of a border margrave.
"... And."
Spouting nonsense fueled by his sense of self-importance, he suddenly realized that not a single person sympathized with his words.
And finally, he uttered the most childish words of all.
"Why am I the only one...?"
A tantrum so pitifully infantile.
Elena answered with her face full of disgust.
"There is no one who would stand beside trash like you."
She threw the club at his feet, then turned and approached Adelaide.
Had she been able, she would have inflicted even more severe violence, but doing so might kindle the embers of war on this land once again.
That would help neither her ambitions nor Adelaide herself.
"Sister. Are you alright?"
"Ah... Yes. I'm fine."
Although Adelaide's clothes were disheveled, she was fortunately in a state without any particular injuries.
It was both fortunate and only natural.
For Elena came running the very moment she heard the news that the duke had dragged her away.
"Get up. Let's go inside."
"Alright."
Gazing up at her younger sister's face as she carefully took her hand and helped her up, Adelaide sensed something in her sister's firm and solid strength.
Though she wore a relatively composed expression now, Elena's face had been extremely urgent when she struck the duke's head just moments ago.
Like someone who had nearly lost her everything.
And now, at this moment...
"I'm relieved. Truly..."
Elena's eyes as she looked at her were filled with a sense of relief, as if she had saved the entire world.
The being she had once tried to protect had, before she knew it, grown so splendid and was now in the position of protecting her instead.
And she was smiling brightly at her.
Thump.
'No way...'
The subtle resonance stirring in a corner of her chest was perhaps inevitable.
- 3 -
"I shall have to apologize to your sister."
At Libertas's words, Elena bowed her head.
"How can you say such a thing... This matter began with me."
She sincerely thought her master had no need to say such things.
The duke rampaging and grabbing Adelaide to molest her was, ultimately, because she had done something to him.
"If an apology is to be made, I should be the one to do it."
The fact that her sister had been placed in danger in this process weighed heavily on a corner of her heart.
But she intended to bear even that weight alone.
For this was, in the end, a scheme she had used to corner her 'enemy' into a dead end.