252. Garden Cleanup (1)
252. Garden Cleanup (1)
- 1 -
Silence pressed down upon the meeting chamber.
"This is something that cannot be permitted."
The Prime Minister's voice erupted.
The Emperor, seated upon the jade throne engraved with a golden three-legged crow, silently watched his fury.
The Prime Minister's wrinkled face was flushed with rage, his eyes blazing with unbearable fury.
The Crown Prince was seated on the left, one step below the throne.
In the conference seats directly ahead, those occupying the highest civil and military offices, divided left and right, were locked in fierce debate.
"A small eastern kingdom like Haisen, daring to do this to our Prince...!"
The old official's wrinkled face was full of wrath.
The Left Chancellor took up that fury and continued speaking.
"According to what we have heard, the Prince's body was used for a fate-binding rite by the Haisen royal court."
Kwang!
"We must dispatch troops at once!!"
The man occupying the post of Left General, concurrently General-in-Chief of the Guard, shouted, his voice thick with rage.
His face bore both loyalty to the nation and personal enmity.
"General-in-Chief of the Guard."
The Right General, General of the Grand Martial, quietly continued.
"This is a matter requiring caution. Considering Haisen's location, we would need consent from more than one nation."
"That is correct."
The Right Chancellor nodded.
"Now is not the time for rash action. Rather, we should use this as an opportunity to draw cooperation from the Eastern Allied Nations or the Empire..."
Tak.
A single short sound.
The moment the Emperor's finger tapped the armrest of the Dragon Throne, the meeting chamber instantly fell silent.
"The death of the Prince is a lamentable affair."
All eyes in the chamber turned to the Emperor.
His voice was calm.
"But now is not the time to be swayed by personal feelings. Shin still covets our borders, and the movements of Baek and Jin to the southwest are far from ordinary."
Tak. Tak.
His right hand continued tapping the throne.
"Above all, Haisen's king has already stepped down from the throne and been confined. It is a clumsy deception, but at any rate, they have taken responsibility for this political blunder."
The Emperor clicked his tongue and turned his gaze toward the Crown Prince.
"Speak of their proposal, Prince."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Crown Prince stepped forward and unfurled the missive that had arrived from Haisen.
Not the former Haisen, but the current Haisen. To be precise, it was the missive sent by Libertas, not Yurena.
Though they had no way of knowing that.
"Haisen has conveyed their intention to send one of the former king's legitimate children to study abroad in Han."
Upon hearing those words, the veins on the Left Chancellor's neck became starkly visible.
"Your Majesty. This is nothing more than a cheap trick. Is it not merely an act of foisting their political burdens onto us?"
"The problem is, we have no intention of refusing, Left Chancellor."
At the Emperor's glance, the Crown Prince unfurled the next missive.
"In exchange for sending the former king's second son... now the eldest prince, they say they will offer more favorable conditions on our trade routes than before."
"It is clearly a deception."
The Right Chancellor spoke up.
Though he viewed Haisen's current affair as an opportunity, he had no intention of letting their kingdom fall prey to their schemes.
"It would be better to accept the proposals of Zenota and Norn instead."
"Indeed."
The Emperor answered calmly.
"I have already dispatched sons and daughters to make contact with them."
A stir ran through the meeting hall. The Crown Prince nodded.
"If fulfilled as per their terms, Zenota will provide a northern sea route, and Norn will strike their ally Hilsa in order to check Haisen. Of course, there are conditions..."
Tok-tok.
The sound of a knock, cutting off the Crown Prince's words.
Guessing it was an urgent matter, the Emperor nodded, and the guards opened the door.
"Your Majesty. A messenger has arrived with an urgent report."
At the chamberlain's voice, the Emperor furrowed his brow. His intuition was unsettled.
"What news?"
To his question, the chamberlain stepped aside.
The messenger, covered in sweat and dust, hurried forward and tried to kneel.
"Skip the formalities. Deliver the news."
"Yes! Your Majesty! Word has arrived that the southern Grand Duke Agares has begun advancing north toward the Zenota Allied Kingdom!"
"No way..."
The Left Chancellor's face turned pale.
Though it had enjoyed a long period of stability, the name of a Grand Duke of the Demon Realm was a fearsome thing.
Han, too, had often suffered attacks from Gaph, who occupied the northern seas, and Agares, who lay to the southeast relative to their position.
"That is not all. There is also word that Eligos to the east is interfering with the borders of the Tailrand Alliance, an ally of the Norn Empire."
"Two Grand Dukes moved simultaneously..."
The Right General's murmur was heavy with significance.
The Emperor let out a deep sigh.
"This is hard to see as mere coincidence. They targeted the gap left by the disruption of trade routes due to Haisen's chaos."
A heavy silence settled over the meeting chamber.
The plan to pressure Haisen had turned to foam.
Faced with the Grand Dukes' expansion of their demonic territories, both Zenota and Norn would have no choice but to focus on defending their own nations.
'Is this truly just coincidence?'
The Emperor let out a deep sigh.
The simultaneous movement of two Grand Dukes was far too exquisitely timed to attribute it solely to exploiting the gap left by Haisen's chaos disrupting trade routes.
"Your Majesty."
At that moment, the Grand General, who had remained silent the entire time, gravely opened his mouth.
"Could it be that the changes occurring in Haisen are connected to the Demon Tribe?"
To speak frankly, it was a tremendous logical leap.
Because the Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm moving was a frequent occurrence, and it was only natural for them to exploit chaos on the continent.
"Hmm."
But the Emperor did not take his opinion lightly.
The Grand General, the Heavenly Dragon General, was the vassal he trusted most, and furthermore, he was the Undefeated General who never lost when he went to war.
Even if he did not always achieve victory, he was a general who, no matter the situation, ensured that Han would not be defeated.
In an already sufficiently prosperous nation, he was a more crucial general than any other talent.
That Heavenly Dragon General's intuition had never once disappointed the Emperor.
The fact that he had won the hand of the Emperor's eldest daughter despite coming from low-ranking nobility,
And the fact that he had never once been defeated on the battlefield,
Were all thanks to that sharp intuition of his.
It was only natural that the air in the meeting hall froze over at his single remark.
"It would be worth investigating."
The Emperor's gaze fixed upon the map on the table.
Haisen, torn into three pieces.
Among them, the southern Orbis Duchy caught his eye.
"What reason did that country give for its independence?"
"There were said to be questions and opposition regarding Haisen's bloodline, however..."
The Left Chancellor's voice faded.
There was no need to add more.
The north had already declared independence, and it was presumed the south would soon follow suit.
But the Emperor's sharp intuition was directed precisely there.
"Dig into this place."
The Prime Minister immediately bowed his head and answered.
"I will dispatch men."
"I entrust this to you, Prime Minister."
The council of Han ended with that.
But even after the people withdrew, leaving only the Grand General and the Crown Prince by his side, the Emperor continued to be lost in thought.
His heart had grown heavier.
Because if a demonic being, whose true nature had not yet been revealed, had truly divided that nation, it would be a greater threat than the six previous demon lords on the surface.
The schemes of the Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm, who had until now only clashed power against power, had been limited to the nations directly bordering them.
But if that unidentified demonic being truly existed, it meant that being had been concealing its existence while blocking off the center of the continent.
"I must hope for once that your intuition is mistaken, Grand General."
"..."
The Grand General and the Crown Prince bowed their heads without a word.
- 2 -
I had now returned to my dungeon, located in the Orbis Duchy—that is, my territory in the south of Haisen.
It was not because matters in Haisen had concluded.
""We behold Lady Libertas.""
It was because envoys from two Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm had arrived.
"I am pleased to meet you."
I gazed at the two demonic beings bowing their heads before me.
Their titles were Viscount—beings of high rank among dungeon lords.
If hiding in human lands, they would have caused mysterious disappearances or commanded bandits; if in the demon realm, they would have been nobles responsible for the front lines.
And now such beings were kneeling before me, not daring to raise their heads.
"First, please accept these."
They had stacked the gifts sent by their lords to one side.
"These are tokens of our lords' sincerity, in thanks for sharing this information."
Gifts sent under the names of Agares and Eligos.
They said it was an expression of goodwill, but in truth, it was a token requesting a stage for dialogue.
A dungeon lord who had survived the combined assault of nobles belonging to Dantalion and Astaroth, and who had now even informed them of an opportune moment—such a being could not fail to attract the Grand Dukes' interest.
It would have been more strange if they had shown no interest at all.
"Did the Grand Dukes obtain satisfactory results?"
A question I asked already knowing the answer.
At my query, both demonic beings trembled simultaneously.
I had sent the information just before the chaos erupted in Haisen.
Had they moved in time, the two great powers would have been plunged into a generation of chaos, and the nations of the southwestern Eastern Continent and Tailrand would have lost vast territories.
However, the chaos they had achieved did not exceed the level of an ordinary war being waged nearby.
"It seems things did not go as well as expected."
"We attempted to handle it with caution, and as a result..."
"We moved at once, but their defenses were formidable..."
The viscounts found themselves unwittingly offering excuses.
It was just as they said.
Agares had been too fast, and Eligos too slow.
They had failed to reap the maximum benefit.
"How regrettable. It seems things went less well than I had thought."
I answered while laughing inwardly.
The situation was most ideal for me.
They had gained little, the two great powers were no longer in a position to concern themselves with Haisen, and Han was now unable to exert significant influence here either.
Moreover, had not the two Grand Dukes now found reason to cooperate with me?
"Leave the gifts. The detailed discussions shall be held with my close aides."
""Yes. My Lady.""
"This way, please, both of you."
While watching Evangeline guide them away, I finally looked toward the one who had remained.
It was an old man dressed in the antique style of the Western Continent.
One of the subordinates Agares had sent among his demonic followers.
His abilities were unremarkable, but he was said to be one of the advisors who had counseled with wisdom.
"This lowly lesser celestial humbly beholds the noble Lady Libertas of the Demon Realm."
Attached to his back were ashen wings. Though he was of servant stock rather than direct lineage like Saya, he too was undoubtedly a celestial.
He was a gift sent by Agares in response to my statement that I was searching for celestials.
"Saya."
"Yes."
At my call, Saya revealed herself from within the shadows.
"Ah... Young Lady?!"
The celestial who looked upon her as she stepped forward instantly fell to his knees on the spot.
The old celestial's face was filled with long-held joy and deep emotion.
Though his loyalty had grown faint over the long years, it was a satisfactory reaction nonetheless.
"How... how is it that the Young Lady is in this place?"
"I have entrusted myself to Lady Libertas. I was saved by her grace."
At Saya's words, tears streamed from the old celestial's eyes.
"We all believed you had merely returned to the heavens..."
"Things are different now."
Saya continued gently.
"For I have found a new family and master."
"Ohhh..."
The old demon looked back and forth between Saya and me, took her hand, and murmured repeatedly how wonderful it was—destiny truly feeling like fate.
"I have something to ask you."
"Please, ask anything you wish."
At my question, the celestial prostrated himself flat on the ground in a full-body bow.
If his earlier attitude had been mere politeness, now it was submission.
"I have heard that there are more of our celestials in the domains of Andras and Gaph, on the Western Continent."
Of course, what I possessed was not certainty but conjecture, but the old celestial stiffened his face and bowed his head, confirming that my guess was correct.
"There are those who yet live. But they have already..."
"I know."
Saya helped him up as she continued.
"They must have already become loyal subordinates of the two Grand Dukes."
I smiled with satisfaction.
The search for Saya's clan had only just begun.
But that was a matter for later.
For now, on the massive chessboard that was Haisen, it was the moment when the moves I had made were beginning to take effect.
He had already served his purpose simply by confirming my conjecture.
"Rest comfortably. Feel free to relieve your longing."
The old celestial and Saya bowed deeply and withdrew.
A dungeon lord who had seized the center of the Eastern Continent.
Yet it was a situation where no one truly understood exactly what kind of existence I was.
Han was beginning to suspect, and the Grand Dukes of the Demon Realm were showing interest.
But that was not important.
Because by the time they realized the truth, I would have already achieved everything I wanted.
Having almost finished clearing up matters outside, it was now time to firmly secure the inside.
As the master of Haisen, and as a Lady of the Demon Realm.