Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Burying the Truth
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Dealing with the drake, which had been struck head-on by Princess Seira's lightning magic and left completely blind, didn't take much time at all.
There were two of us injured, sure, but we had four prodigies from the kingdom on our side.
No matter how much of a top predator the drake was in the Dragon Mountains' food chain, that only held true when it could use its 'Dragon's Blessing.'
Without that, it was just a big lizard.
Of course, even a regular drake was a monster far more dangerous than an ogre or anything like it—but then again, we weren't exactly ordinary either.
Plus, it was already covered in wounds.
Prince Julius and the royal knights arrived shortly after the drake went down.
"What in the world happened here?!"
The site was a total mess. And Victor and I were bleeding all over.
From Prince Julius's perspective, it was shocking enough to warrant alarm.
"It's nothing, Your Highness. For some reason, the ogre that should have been at the center was nowhere to be found, and a drake had taken its place instead. We just had a bit of trouble dealing with it."
Prince Julius shouted at my half-baked excuse.
"Does that even make sense?! How the hell did a drake end up here...!"
"The Holy Empire."
"...?"
"Maybe someone from the Holy Empire orchestrated it. If they could massacre the kingdom's future leaders, it would create a massive power vacuum. That would make conquering our kingdom far easier for them."
Hmm, I knew it sounded ridiculous—like something slapped together on the spot. That's probably why Prince Julius was making that face.
"You can't seriously... Sigh. Fine. That's not the priority right now."
Prince Julius seemed to decide that treating Victor and me came first. He really knew his priorities.
"The tournament ends here! All knights, inform the participating nobles that the hunt has concluded!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
He caught my odd look but swallowed whatever he wanted to say and gave the order to his knights instead.
The royal knights scattered in perfect formation, firing off flares into the sky.
Phewww! Boom! Boom!
Red smoke bloomed across the forest canopy.
Seeing it, the nobles began trickling out of the woods one by one.
The hunting tournament was over.
"Let's just bury it."
Bam!
"Do you think that's acceptable?! This is huge! If the truth gets out, it could spark a war between the Sword Family and the Shield Family!"
Prince Julius slammed the table in fury during our private meeting.
'Looks like they both figured it out.'
The royal family represented Ikenia's brains and wisdom. They weren't the type to be dumb.
Neither Prince Julius nor Princess Seira could have missed what happened.
Even against a Dragon Mountains monster like the drake, Victor—the Sword Family's young master—and I together could have taken it down easily.
Yet here we were, with these serious injuries. There was only one explanation.
Infighting.
Nothing else fit.
That's what Prince Julius was getting at.
"That drake too! The royals would have to be insane to let a beast like that into the tournament. We're already investigating the suspicious carriages that came and went from the capital lately. The truth will come out soon enough."
Ah. He knew everything and kept pressing like this on purpose.
"Enough, Your Highness. You already know."
"...Know what?"
"Victor is a talent we need."
"......"
Julius offered no rebuttal.
He knew it all too.
How the drake got into the Beast Forest through the Sword Family's schemes.
How Victor had tried to take my life.
And why I wanted to bury this incident.
"If you punish Victor, the Sword Family's young master, you risk splitting the kingdom in two. That's not what you want, right?"
"...If we expose the truth—Victor's, the Sword Family's treachery—the western nobles' loyalties will shift."
"No. No, they won't."
I shook my head firmly at his words.
"The western nobles swear loyalty to Ikenia's Sword, Duke Braum—not the Sword Family's young master, Victor. Pointing out Victor's faults changes nothing."
I could see Prince Julius's clenched fist trembling.
Like he couldn't contain his rage.
"...A family that openly insults a royal event like this... You think we should drag them along anyway?"
He was asking if we shouldn't cut them out, even if it meant purging a great house like the Sword Family.
But.
'That would be a disaster.'
How could we waste the Sword Family's massive power on internal strife? It was insane.
We needed to use the Sword Family more wisely.
And Princess Seira held the key to that.
When Victor grew from a mere young master into a pillar of the Sword Family.
That's when we'd have a decisive way to control him.
We just had to endure until then.
'That day will come eventually.'
I soothed the furious prince as I sorted my thoughts.
"Calm down. Braum and Victor would've seen right through what I did when you arrived."
"You're saying we're putting them in our debt?"
Smart guy, Prince Julius. Talking to clever people made things so much easier.
"Exactly. We need to make the most of that debt."
His eyes lit up at my words.
"You have something in mind?"
I nodded, affirming it.
"Of course. Remember the offer you made me last time?"
"Granting you a fief? Naturally."
He perked up at my words.
He must really want to back me.
"I'll accept. With the Sword Family in our debt, they won't object easily. But two conditions."
"Ha! I was wondering why you hesitated so long... but there's a reason, right?"
I nodded at his question.
"First, make it the southernmost territory: Olivia."
"Olivia?"
Prince Julius frowned involuntarily.
"Hmm, Olivia... It's not hard to grant, but why there of all places?"
He looked reluctant.
"As you know, Olivia's practically abandoned—plagued by Punish Archipelago pirates. And it's completely surrounded by southern territories."
He wanted to give me a fief where I could build power easily, since he was investing in me.
To him, it must look like I was tying my own hands.
Olivia.
Also known as Ikenia's exile ground.
Crops wouldn't grow properly under the constant salty sea winds.
And pirates from the Punish Archipelago—practically a kingdom themselves—raided at will.
Sure, with the Shield Family's forces, we could hold it.
But why bother with that headache? Especially surrounded by Sword Family southern holdings.
No wonder Julius wasn't thrilled. But.
"Your Highness knows the southern territories—Sapan, Mano, and Jackson—are clashing with the other seven. No better spot to slowly build influence starting there."
He still seemed skeptical.
"Even if it's close to those three, what about the Punish Archipelago raids? Those pirates aren't small fry."
"That's the kind of penalty that makes the Sword Family accept handing over a southern territory, right? Besides, I have plans for the pirates. Trust me."
He scratched his head, utterly baffled.
Well, he would be.
My real reason for picking Olivia was something else entirely.
"Fine, if you're that insistent... What's the second condition?"
"Grant it when I turn twenty, at adulthood."
"Why? The sooner, the better."
He wanted to build power through me ASAP, but there was a reason.
"I need at least that much time to handle the pirates."
Regrettably, I wasn't confident beating the Punish Archipelago pirates yet.
More precisely, I lacked confidence against one man.
The monster who unified countless pirate lords and fleets across the continent into a massive kingdom-like force.
The Punish Archipelago had exactly that beast.
At minimum—absolute minimum—I needed to regain my past prowess.
'I can't beat that guy otherwise.'
And that was the lowball estimate.
"It's just a difference in perspective, Your Highness. Don't see it as me being boxed in by the south—see it as me becoming a thorn in the Sword Family's side. Especially now, with them in debt. They can't oppose it."
"Hmm..."
After some thought despite my persuasion, Julius nodded.
"Very well! If it's you, you must have a plan. It's done. In four years, Olivia will be yours."
"I won't disappoint you."
The night passed after the hunting tournament's abrupt end and the clash of many minds.
The Spring Festival took a brief hiatus due to the drake rampage.
It was a long event spanning over two weeks anyway.
With three days left in the hunt, there was plenty of time until the debate forum.
"Yawn. The tournament ending so anticlimactically is so boring."
"Haha, weren't you just hanging around the outskirts anyway?"
"Wh-what are you saying? I was about to head in and show my prowess when it unfortunately ended!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say. Let's grab some food."
"Hey!"
Despite the drake incident, the nobles didn't take it too seriously.
They hadn't seen it themselves, and the royals announced it as a preparation error to prevent panic.
So most nobles just drank and killed time bored until the debates.
Their retainers weren't much different.
Boredom makes people nitpick things they'd ignore otherwise.
Even lofty knights weren't immune.
Not even those from prestigious houses like the Sword or Shield Families.
"Grrr! Boring, humans!"
During the ongoing Spring Festival, Baukalrak was going mad with cabin fever.
Baukalrak was a warrior living day by day for the thirst to grow stronger.
That's why he had no complaints rolling around with the Blizzard Knights all day in Banten.
It meant he was getting stronger—who could complain?
So when the human called Jerome headed to the capital, he followed without hesitation.
Location didn't matter as long as he could train.
But nope.
Once here, the knights stopped the rough training.
Maybe to keep family techniques secret, but no knight would cause a ruckus in the royal palace anyway.
That was humans' business. Baukalrak, deprived of training, was itching unbearably.
Like an active dog suddenly denied walks, stress piling up.
The Blizzard Knights finally took pity and looked after him.
"Hey, Baukalrak. Instead of moping, wanna head out? Human food's pretty decent."
"Grr?"
Out on the capital streets with the knights, Baukalrak bit into a skewer and felt his tail stiffen.
Wow.
What a mysterious flavor!
Worlds apart from the tough grub back in Banten with the knights!
After that, Baukalrak often went out with the Blizzard Knights, and one day ran into Sword Family Silver Eagle knights.
"Hah, taking in Ain trash as squad members? The Shield Family's gone downhill."
A Sword Family knight muttered carelessly.
"What? Hey, what did you just say?"
Sure enough, a Blizzard Knight who'd overheard reacted.