Chapter 419: Betrayal (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 419: Betrayal (2)
“Ugh, dammit. This isn’t right. Hit me, Dante.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean it. Just punch me in the jaw until you feel better.”
He looked serious. As Veradin thrust his chin forward, Jin and Dante exchanged a look.
“My damn family and the Imperial Family are conspiring to screw over Hairan. If I can at least take a beating until your anger subsides…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Veradin,” Jin cut in. “If Dante put even a fraction of his strength into a punch, you wouldn’t just get injured. Do you think that puny body of yours could handle it?”
“Dammit, I know.”
“If you know, then why are you spouting such nonsense?”
“Because I’m dying of guilt! My chest is so tight I feel like I’m going crazy. I had to say something… though I suppose even saying this is just for my own peace of mind.”
“Listening to you talk, maybe getting hit isn’t such a bad idea after all.”
“You are not at fault, Veradin,” Dante said, his voice firm.
At his and Jin’s words, Veradin let out a long sigh.
“I knew you’d say that. Dante, if there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word! I’ll make amends for my family in any way I can.”
Seeing Veradin so lost and walking on eggshells, Jin and Dante felt a pang of discomfort themselves. If Veradin had any sin, it was simply being born a Zipple and being used by his father.
“You don’t need to use such a heavy word as ‘amends.’ I called you here not to hold you accountable, but to ask a favor as a friend. Things must be chaotic on the Zipple side as well; I should be the one thanking you for coming.”
“Ugh… Dante, you paragon of virtue!”
As Veradin dramatically teared up and threw his arms around Dante, Jin clicked his tongue.
Regardless, as Dante said, Veradin visiting the Sword Emperor Castle in secret at a time like this was a significant risk. Zipple was currently maintaining a strong public stance that they bore no responsibility for the recent incident. Should Veradin’s visit be discovered, that claim would instantly lose all credibility.
Only after Veradin had thoroughly rubbed his face—wet with either real or fake tears—all over Dante’s shirt did a faint smile finally touch Dante’s lips.
It was the first time Jin had seen Dante smile since the attack. That alone spoke volumes about how dire the situation within Hairan had become.
Not only had the Imperial Family made a foul backroom deal with the terrorists, but traitors were also emerging from within their own ranks. Even worse, the core of the betrayal consisted of Dante’s own siblings and relatives—those whom Ron Hairan had always treated as non-entities.
Originally, they would have never dreamed of betrayal. They preferred to pin their meager hopes on the generation after Dante rather than risk a dog’s death at Ron’s hands for daring to touch his chosen heir. Ron had long held absolute control over Hairan, and Dante was in the process of a smooth succession of that power.
But then, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had arrived. If they had merely suffered massive damage from the terror attack, they wouldn’t have dared to dream of betrayal. However, the Imperial Family had stepped up to be their backers.
Even that would have been manageable. Ron and his Hairan were more than capable of purging the traitors and getting back on their feet without anyone’s help.
The problem was that the terror attack had created too many ‘non-Hairan victims.’ There were countless issues regarding compensation for the Imperial Family, numerous nobles, and major military factions.
‘Lord Ron expected things to go this way to some extent. That’s why he prioritized commending me, just in case.’
Jin had also anticipated this much.
However, there was one more piece of the story that Jin had never imagined.
‘The reason the Imperial Family is pushing Hairan so hard, even while making deals with Kinzelo and Zipple.’
It was for the purpose of obtaining a certain ‘object’ that Hairan had protected for generations. To be precise, it was an object protected by the ‘Patriarch of Hairan,’ rather than the family itself. In fact, only the Patriarch was even supposed to know the object existed.
However, from the moment Ron chose Dante as the next Patriarch, he had revealed the object’s existence to him. And recently, Dante had broken the taboo that the secret must only be passed down to the Patriarch of Hairan.
He had told Jin about the object.
—…The White Stone. The Ominous Pebble. The Wedge that Points to the End. The past Patriarchs have called that stone by many names.
—The fact that it has so many names makes it sound like no one knows its true one.
—That’s one way to look at it. You’re right. When my grandfather first told me of its existence, he described it as the greatest nemesis of the Hairan Patriarch.
—The greatest nemesis of the Hairan Patriarch?
—The significance of that stone, passed only from Patriarch to Patriarch, lies in the act of cutting it. Only a Patriarch who finally cuts the stone can carve their name at the highest peak of Hairan’s history.
—I don’t see why the Imperial Family would covet it so much if that’s all it is.
—You are correct.
—I think I get it. That stone must be something so dangerous that it should never be known to the world. That’s why the first Patriarch of Hairan who acquired it tried to destroy it by cutting it and failed. Since then, they’ve left orders for future Patriarchs to destroy it without revealing its true nature, so they wouldn’t grow greedy for its power.
—You deduced all that just from my brief explanation? That’s shocking.
—The fact that every Patriarch of Hairan until now, including Lord Ron, has failed to cut that stone is far more shocking. Just what kind of stone is it?
—I have never seen it myself. My grandfather is keeping it.
—In any case, the Imperial Family covets the stone because they want to seize the very danger that the past Patriarchs of Hairan tried to keep in check.
That was the conversation he’d had with Dante a few days ago.
The Imperial Family was acting as if they had been waiting for this chance, raising a fuss to seize the ‘stone’ from Hairan. It wouldn’t even be strange if the Imperial Family had instigated the terror attack just to get their hands on it.
Dante had told Jin about the stone because he concluded that having Jin’s help in protecting it would be a good idea. That was Dante’s judgment, but Ron had agreed more readily than expected.
He himself had suffered severe internal injuries, the family’s prestige had plummeted, traitors had appeared, the Sword Emperor Castle hadn’t even begun reconstruction, and they had no allies. Even the Dragon Knights had returned to the Imperial Family.
In a situation where his precious grandson could be isolated at any moment, Ron was a man who prioritized his grandson’s safety over some family secret. Above all, he was certain that Jin was not the type to stab them in the back out of greed for the stone.
Thud.
Jin pulled Veradin off Dante. The way Veradin flailed his limbs made it feel like he was handling a child.
“Lord Veradin.”
Dante wiped the smile from his face and met Veradin’s eyes.
Jin and Dante had decided not to share the details regarding the ‘stone’ with Veradin yet. It was only natural, as they couldn’t be certain if Veradin’s mind was entirely sound.
Even without that information, however, there was nothing stopping him from helping them.
“Yeah, go ahead, Dante. What do you want me to do?”
“Induce Zipple to pressure Hairan directly.”
“Uh… what?”
“Currently, Zipple is only applying indirect pressure on Hairan through the Imperial Family. I want you to make it so that Zipple steps to the forefront and attacks Hairan themselves.”
“W-Why on earth? Hey, Jin. What is he talking about?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“There’s no way Dante came up with a plan like this! Explain it to me! Why do we have to do that?”
“So that Hairan can distinguish friend from foe more clearly,” Jin said.
“What?”
“We need to find out which one the Imperial Family values more: Zipple or Hairan. If the Imperial Family doesn’t change their attitude even when your clan pushes Hairan to the brink, then Hairan has no reason to remain a member of the Empire anymore.”
To be precise, it was a move to confirm what the Imperial Family valued most among Zipple, Hairan, and the ‘stone.’
“I get what you’re saying. But what if the Imperial Family chooses Zipple and decides to finish off Hairan along with us?”
“You take care of stopping that.”
“I’m the Next Patriarch, not the Patriarch of Zipple. Do you think I have that kind of authority?”
“I’m joking. If that happens, Runcandel will join forces with Hairan.”
“Similarly, you’re the Next Patriarch, not the Patriarch of Runcandel.”
“I have at least that much authority. To be precise, I have the confidence to make my family follow suit after I’ve already committed to an alliance with Hairan.”
Veradin’s eyes sparkled, as if he found Jin’s words and attitude incredibly cool, but he quickly cleared his throat. Now was not the time to be playing around and praising Jin.
“I understand, but aren’t there too many variables? And surely the Imperial Family wouldn’t abandon Hairan and choose Zipple. The whole world is watching.”
“You never know.”
“…If my clan steps in, Hairan might get hurt beyond recovery.”
“Aren’t you underestimating Hairan too much? Especially with Dante right here in front of you.”
“Ahem, hem. I am fine,” Dante muttered.
“Sorry. But it’s such a critical matter… Besides, since I’m not in my right mind, what if I end up guiding this plan so it benefits my family the most?”
“That would indeed be the worst-case scenario, but don’t worry. We have our own safeguards.”
“Oh? Safeguards! What are they?”
“Do you think I’d tell you that?”
At Jin’s words, Veradin gave a bitter smile.
“Fair enough.”
“Veradin, just be careful until you get your head on straight. We’ll be careful around you, too.”
Veradin nodded.
“Let’s identify the enemies and figure out the goals and priorities of the Imperial Family and Zipple. If possible, let’s also find out what the Imperial Family used to make backroom deals with Kinzelo and Zipple.”
The ones carrying out this work from the shadows were Jin, Dante, and Veradin. It was the role of Ron and his knights to maintain balance both internally and externally while supporting Hairan.
“Even if our families become complete enemies on the outside, as long as the three of us are a solid alliance, that’s enough. Then, when we each seize power in our respective families, we can restore our public relations as well.”
“You are right.”
“Ooh.”
The moment the three of them agreed, a knight entered the basement. It was one of the knights who had initially escorted Veradin.
“Young Lord.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
The knight glanced at Veradin before continuing.
“His Majesty the Emperor is looking for Sir Jin.”
“Jin? Why?”
“I cannot say for certain, but according to rumors among the eunuchs… it seems he intends to bestow a reward upon you for your actions in this incident.”