Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Artifact I Gave?
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"The artifact I gave you?"
Duke Valiere the Magic Duke.
The man known as the "Lightning Sorcerer," the Empire's greatest mage.
But the three Swordmasters ignored him.
At the same realm, a mage could never defeat a knight.
Besides, Duke Valiere hadn't even reached the Swordmaster level among mages—what they called "Archmage."
For a knight, it was above peak Sword Imperial but below Swordmaster?
Because of that, Duke Valiere could never hold his own among the three Swordmasters and struggled to assert himself.
'This bastard's face lit up now that all three Empire Masters are gone.'
Even Count Bueno, hailed as the next Swordmaster, was dead. How thrilled must he be.
'A guy who gets one-shotted in giant robot state in one second.'
In the past, it took considerable time to catch him if he seriously tried to flee.
But the moment gigantification activated, even that hassle vanished.
In Windeler's eyes, Duke Valiere the Magic Duke was now just mana trash.
"Cheok Jun-kyung?"
Windeler pondered.
'Do I have to keep playing the fool knight even in front of this mana trash?'
He just needed to say nothing.
That wouldn't defy the prince's orders either.
But...
"I am the Sword of Arcana, Mr. Cheok Jun-kyung."
"Hm, as expected, there's an intelligence issue. Truly unfortunate."
Duke Valiere the Magic Duke clicked his tongue as he scanned Windeler up and down.
Windeler impassively took the gaze.
Surprisingly, it didn't bother him.
'I'm squeezing out everything I can for the prince's grand plan right now!'
A profound sense of fulfillment he'd never felt chasing power and success under the Emperor.
Was this the "joy of loyalty" that Prime Minister Ruindra always emphasized?
"Will you follow me?"
"I am the Sword of Arcana, Mr. Cheok Jun-kyung."
"Fine, just follow. I'll show you something good."
"I am the Sword of Arcana, Mr. Cheok Jun-kyung."
Windeler rose.
Duke Valiere the Magic Duke turned with a satisfied smile and led the way.
'Here's a mage showing his back to a Swordmaster.'
Windeler inwardly sneered at him and silently followed.
The place he was led to was a luxurious villa in Kalligos.
A location Duke Valiere had temporarily commandeered for his use.
Clank. Clank.
Upon entering the first-floor hall, beautiful women in revealing outfits stood in a line, flaunting their charms.
"Cheok Jun-kyung, feel free to indulge. Consider it a reward for rescuing King Steno."
"I am the Sword of Arcana, Mr. Cheok Jun-kyung."
Windeler simply stood there mutely.
He wasn't as obsessed as Baron Caron, but he did like women.
Yet, strangely, no desire stirred at all.
His eyes were clear, his mind serenely empty.
'This crystal-clear mind must be another blessing from this mystical armor bestowed by His Highness.'
"Hmm, impotent? Or perhaps his mental age is too low to be interested in the female form."
Duke Valiere clapped, and the women all left.
This time, maids wheeled in meal carts one after another.
Lifting the dish lids revealed all sorts of delicious foods wafting fragrant aromas.
"Hm, they say no one's ever seen him eat... Just as the rumors said."
Clap clap.
With the applause, the food was swiftly cleared away in perfect order.
Crash. Clank. Thud thud.
Soldiers paraded in with all sorts of flashy, ornate armaments on display, but...
"You already have gear you like best, so no need for more?"
Clap clap.
Finally, large chests overflowing with gold coins, silver coins, and gems by type were brought in...
"I am the Sword of Arcana, Mr. Cheok Jun-kyung!"
Windeler rushed to the gold coin chest and hugged it fiercely.
He ignored the lower-value silver chest.
The far more valuable gem chest.
He didn't even glance at them, doting only on the gold-filled one.
Duke Valiere burst into hearty laughter, clapping.
"Hahaha! Not just the gold—all of it is yours. Take as much as you want."
"I am the Sword of Arcana, Mr. Cheok Jun-kyung!"
Windeler slung the gold chest over one shoulder and pounded his chest with the other fist.
"Can't recognize the far greater value of those gems and loves only gold? Haha, this is too transparent and simple."
'Stupid fool. Let's see you say that after I squeeze out all the gold and leave only gems.'
In terms of exchange value, gold overwhelmingly beat gems of equal price.
Windeler was laying groundwork for the future.
Plus, to stay true to the fool knight persona, pretending to love gold was best.
Duke Valiere the Magic Duke gazed fondly at the fool knight hugging the gold chest and grinning (face hidden), then asked.
"So, Cheok Jun-kyung. To confirm again—you're the giant knight who appeared in the Hesin Duchy?"
Then Windeler knelt and clasped his hands devoutly.
Duke Valiere the Magic Duke urgently bellowed through an amplification spell.
"Everyone! Evacuate the mansion immediately!"
The moment all fled the mansion in panic.
Rumble! Boom! Roooar!
The luxurious mansion collapsed.
Like a mythic hero tearing from its mother's womb.
Shattering the mansion to pieces, an 80-meter-tall giant knight emerged.
"Wha...!"
Duke Valiere the Magic Duke, knights, and soldiers gaped up in awe.
A mad laugh erupted from Duke Valiere's twitching lips.
"Kuhahaha! To think Arcana hid such a secret weapon!"
Duke Valiere didn't miss the giant Windeler clutching the gold chest preciously in one hand.
"Cheok Jun-kyung! Come to the Empire! I'll give you all the gold you desire!"
"The Empire has finally taken the bait."
"Pardon?"
Silvret, perched on my lap diligently drawing starter magic circles in the air, blinked her eyes wide.
"Duke Valiere the Magic Duke approached Cheok Jun-kyung. He's trying hard to recruit him."
"I see."
"Things are going smoothly—feels great. Alright, Silvret, shall we check the mana flow once more?"
"Yes, please."
"This part here is clumped up, blocking smooth flow..."
I pointed out the mana flows visible through Discernment Eye, item by item.
Where it flowed well, where it was blocked, where it stagnated, and so on.
As I detailed precise values, Silvret quickly finished correcting the magic circle and linked it to normal operation.
"Your Highness, success!"
"My eyes are sharp, right?"
"Yes! Those special eyes blessed by the Dragon are truly the best!"
Silvret cheered in my arms—so cute I hugged her waist tight.
Canelian spoke up beside us in a sulky tone.
"Did you have to teach her in that position?"
"To observe up close right in front of me, we need to be in close contact."
"Still, you've been doting on Professor way too much for hours now."
"It wasn't doting; we were debugging the magic circle."
"You said you'd help raise my realm, but you've been neglecting me too much."
"But I don't see any more issues with your mana control."
Canelian had grown adept enough to freely fine-tune her aura.
Thanks to my consistent Discernment Eye checkups and guidance, building her experience.
Compared to that, Silvret's magic still needed tons of tweaks.
Not because Silvret lacked talent—magic's growth potential was just boundless.
Silvret glanced at us and quietly slipped off my lap.
"I've monopolized Your Highness's lap too long... I'll yield to the Duchess."
"No, that's not it. Then I'd look like the jealous one throwing a fit."
"Wasn't it jealousy? It was cute."
"N-No, it wasn't!"
I chuckled and spread my arms toward Canelian.
"Come here. Time to hold the First Crown Princess too."
"..."
Canelian fidgeted, then rose reluctantly.
Shedding her cumbersome metal armor revealed bikini armor (rash guard).
"I'll go check the newly arrived mana herbs. Time to restock magic reagents."
Silvret grabbed her staff sans mana crystal and left, leaving us alone.
"..."
"..."
I stared at Canelian on my lap, then kissed her.
After a long while, our lips parted.
I could hear her slightly quickened breaths.
"...Your Highness."
"Yes?"
"In the coming Great Chaos, Swordmasters are key forces, right?"
"...Yes."
"Then shouldn't I delay pregnancy?"
"Purely as combat power, yes—but we must consider royal succession too."
"But if I can't fight and the kingdom suffers heavy losses..."
"Let's think it through slowly. No rush."
"I-I'm not trying to stall on purpose."
"I know."
No more doubts or worries.
Canelian's heart was fully open to me.
"We'll decide together what's best for the kingdom and royals."
"...Yes."
As I leaned in for another kiss, Canelian gently pushed me away.
"Enough now..."
"Why?"
"I feel like I can't hold back. Let's cool down; I'll make it up later."
"Got it."
So we talked, still embracing.
National grand strategy amid the Great Chaos.
Empire's moves, Steno's future, Prince Velheim's fate, and more.
"Father's so grateful you buy monster corpses as mana herbs. Most are practically yours anyway..."
"With the Duchy solidly backing us, Arcana can wisely overcome the Great Chaos.
Monsters aren't the only threat—we must watch the Empire and its puppet kingdoms too."
After quality time bonding emotionally with my attachment Crown Princess heroine.
We headed out.
"See you at dinner then."
"Sure."
Canelian went to knight duties in her armor.
I went to inspect the kingdom's mana herb transport team that arrived today.
Workers were busily unloading from the massive flying transport ship.
'Where's Silvret?'
Looking for my attachment elf, my eyes suddenly caught a female worker.
'Huh? Was there a woman like that in the palace?'
Golden lavender hair, subtly blending purple and gold, tied tightly at her nape.
Leopard-like sleek muscles stood out over her tight work clothes.
A healthy, vigorous female warrior vibe?
Her outfit screamed laborer, not knight.
Yet her conditioning surpassed most female knights.
With hair like that, she'd stand out anywhere.
'Never seen that hair color before?'
Curious, I approached her.
Sensing me, she turned—her eyes went wide.
"Whoa, Your Highness?"
She knew my face, so palace staff for sure.
'Who is she? No way I'd forget a woman like this.'
Her irises matched her hair.
Up close, a beauty radiating robust health from her femininely sculpted full-body muscles.
Then I spotted the ring on her left ring finger.
Familiar design.
Suspecting, I activated Discernment Eye.
"Du...Duchess Ceres?"
"Yes! It's me!"
"No way—how is the Duchess here?"
"I came personally since we were shipping mana herbs from the Duchy!"
Her shy eye smile confirmed it—Ceres.
What the hell happened?
The frail frail beauty turned into this healthy bombshell in months?
'No mention of buffs stacking before? And that was definitely relic-grade.'
"What on earth happened?"
"Ehehe, I changed so much you didn't recognize me?"
Her girlish innocence was gone; she'd even grown a bit taller.
Tall as Silvret now.
"It's all thanks to this artifact Your Highness gave me!"
No, the artifact I gave was definitely relic-grade, right?