Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Vulrang King's Assassination
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The two armies had been locked in a standoff for a full fortnight by now.
Truce negotiations between both sides were progressing smoothly as well. They would probably wrap up within five days.
I had left the details to Duke Helian and was simply living my life as Als.
"To think I have a predetermined partner."
The aftershocks from Mother's bombshell remark were far from minor. The whole room had frozen solid right then and there.
"Just who could it be?"
Mother had refused to say, claiming the time wasn't right yet. She'd tell me when the moment came.
"It's weird that she specifically called it my 'first' partner."
She had phrased it as if I could accept second or third ones just as easily.
Even if polygamy was commonplace among nobles, it still felt off.
Maybe Mother just didn't want to send me off to another house and was making excuses.
Estelle aside, getting engaged to Erina would likely turn me into a live-in son-in-law.
"Unless Mother tells me, there's no point worrying about it now."
My head was starting to ache, so I called for Ymir.
"You called, young master?"
"Yeah. I want to step out for some fresh air. No real work anyway, so maybe head a bit farther out."
"I'll prepare right away."
I figured I'd head to the outer village and grab something tasty, but before I could gear up and leave—
"Huff! Huff! Als!"
Gaspar flung open the flap of my tent, panting for breath.
Even after the battle ended, he had stayed behind the lines gathering intel, but now his face was etched with the urgency of imminent combat.
"What's got you in such a rush?"
"It has to be. Total chaos."
"Did the truce talks fall apart or something?"
"Not exactly... but it'll amount to the same thing."
"Tell me the details."
"It's not complicated. Just..."
His follow-up answer hit me like a thunderbolt.
"The king of Vulrang has been assassinated."
The regicide in Vulrang. This single event would send the war careening in a direction utterly unlike what I knew.
The Vulrang United Kingdom.
Formed initially by four vassal states, they had seized the chaos following the fall of the Pensilon Empire to rapidly expand their power.
Their vassal forces had grown to ten, and recently they had even absorbed puppet forces that broke away from Madon, bringing the total to eleven.
Each of these vassal powers rivaled a small nation in strength—which was exactly why Vulrang was called a superpower.
Their standing army was slightly outmatched by Svenner or Crossing, but their overwhelming agricultural output gave them the latent power to mobilize up to 500,000 troops if push came to shove.
Even this United Kingdom had a king, and despite the alliance structure, the monarch's authority was extraordinarily strong.
It stemmed from the iron grip of Vulrang's founding king, Wilfried Schwarzer, who had subdued the other vassals through sheer force of rule.
There was one instability factor, though. The current king's power was absolute for now, but who knew what the next one would be like.
The vassals were already covertly jockeying their favored princes as succession candidates, locked in shadowy power struggles for the throne.
Wilfried was still hale and hearty, so these issues hadn't surfaced yet—but this assassination changed everything overnight.
As I entered the command tent, Duke Helian greeted me with a grave expression.
"You're here. You've heard the news, I take it."
"Yes. The king has been assassinated."
"I don't have all the details either, but it seems certain that King Schwarzer is dead. Those Svenner bastards. To resort to such a barbaric move."
"...Do you really think it was Svenner?"
"What else could it be? Of course it was them."
Something about pinning it on Svenner felt off.
"The truce talks were already in the final stages, weren't they? Besides, from Svenner's perspective, ending the war now is the smart play."
We were at the tail end of spring—in other words, planting season.
Unlike other nations that had only sent standing troops, Svenner and Vulrang had mobilized conscripts too. If the war dragged on unnecessarily, it would devastate their harvests for the year.
Vulrang might hold out as an agricultural giant, but not Svenner.
"Even if the war continued, Svenner wouldn't gain much from it."
"What if civil strife erupts within Vulrang? As you know, they're vulnerable to this sort of thing. We've already confirmed infiltrators in their alliance forces, and now the king is dead. The vassals will move to seize the throne next. It'll balloon into full-blown rebellion."
"You're right, it probably will. But the intent is too obvious. The vassals won't fall for such a blatant ploy."
"You're saying that if Svenner invades, they'll band together no matter what?"
"Exactly. Unless the infighting spirals completely out of control, Svenner won't touch Vulrang for the time being. Plus, this incident has tanked Svenner's reputation among the Vulrang people. Even if they conquered it, rebellions would erupt everywhere, making it impossible to pacify the territory."
"That... makes sense. On second thought, this just benefits everyone else from Svenner's standpoint. In that case..."
"Yes, one of those 'everyone elses' is the most likely culprit."
"I'll say it upfront: it definitely wasn't us in Caliper."
"I know."
I had my suspicions about who that 'someone else' might be.
'That madman. To think he'd pull something like this.'
He had brushed it off as a mildly intriguing incident, but this was way beyond that.
It was an earth-shattering event that would rock the entire continent.
*
*
*
Needless to say, the truce talks ground to a halt after the regicide.
Vulrang even began additional conscription, fuming vows to conquer Svenner.
Uncovering the truth of who killed the king hardly mattered anymore. Vulrang's politicians needed to stabilize the shaky nation, and redirecting the people's rage toward Svenner was the surest way.
The other nations reacted according to their interests.
Toonkai and the Europia Kingdom hurriedly withdrew from the Chimera Alliance, wary of getting dragged in.
Vulrang's allies also started pulling out, claiming they had come to aid the defense, not to help launch an offensive.
With things like this, Svenner withdrew its main forces en masse to wash their hands of it. Fighting Vulrang's full army here would almost certainly turn into a protracted war, gutting their national strength.
Once Svenner pulled back, Vulrang regained some composure.
Or rather, with foreign powers gone, they could finally turn to open infighting.
Their first move: Vulrang's First Prince, Oscar Schwarzer, spun the war as a victory and threw a massive celebration banquet.
As if he were already king.
"Wade, this came for you."
Duke Helian handed me the banquet invitation.
"A victory party? Unbelievable."
"Svenner did retreat first, technically. What do you plan to do?"
"...I'll go."
"Unexpected. I figured you'd refuse."
There was a risk of my identity getting exposed, so I didn't want to attend—but I had no choice if I wanted to meet Juras.
He had relayed back that we should talk at the party when I requested a meetup.
'It's all connected.'
Caliper and Crossing's Madon conquest.
The emergence of the western migrants.
The infiltrator who flipped the Chimera War.
And now the Vulrang king's assassination.
None of this happened in the actual game, yet I was convinced they all tied closely to the main storyline.
Three days later.
The alliance forces disbanded, leaving only minimal troops at the front.
Our Caliper forces did the same, save for units handling battlefield cleanup.
Normally you'd hold a feast to boost morale before disbanding, but Vulrang's supply depots had been looted bare, leaving no room for that.
While regular soldiers and officers returned to Caliper Kingdom, Anton and I headed to the city of Elphid, site of the victory banquet.
'Juras, that guy. Why insist on the party of all places? We could've just met casually.'
From my perspective, parties were the last place I wanted to be.
Forget the identity risk—the helmet meant I couldn't eat a damn thing.
A party where you can't eat? Was there even a point?
Upon arrival, I sent Anton in ahead as Juras's aide, then entered the banquet hall alone, partnerless.
Eona had begged to come as my partner, but with her history of causing a scene at a past party, I left her behind. She was probably sulking and getting comforted by Ymir right now.
Given the circumstances, the party wasn't lavish. Vulrang attendees wore somber attire resembling mourning clothes, making the mood even gloomier.
"Lord Wade enters!"
The door warden's announcement drew piercing stares as I stepped in.
"That's the mercenary Wade...?"
"He flipped Kraus Faulkner like a pancake. Makes you wonder who he really is."
"Is he from Caliper? Or Crossing maybe...?"
Whispers rose from all around.
Beyond military officers, Vulrang nobles and high nobles from allied nations who contributed to the alliance were out in force.
They eyed me appraisingly, speculating on my identity.
"It's definitely Bayolaf Dresden, who vanished into seclusion."
"That prodigy dubbed Europia's Kirin Child? Yeah, factoring in Wade's skills, Bayolaf fits best. But then why fight for the alliance?"
"Maybe he didn't like his homeland Europia allying with their arch-rival Toonkai. Wade smashed the Toonkai forces this war, after all. Plus, he brought Prince Romello back from Crossing."
"Really! So he was protecting Prince Romello from Crossing!"
"Exactly!"
They were spinning wild theories on their own.
Rumors that Bayolaf was Wade had circulated for a while, so it wasn't surprising.
Ignoring them, I first approached Vulrang's First Prince Oscar at the head table to pay respects.
He greeted me with a weary face.
"Good to meet you. You're the mercenary Wade, the one who appeared like a divine savior and rampaged across the battlefield. I heard about your feats in this battle. Truly impressive."
"You're too kind."
"Too kind? You captured Kraus Faulkner and that western migrant's lackey. Word is you even clashed with Jemuto? You survived a duel with one of the Ten Heroes. That makes you a hero who can stand toe-to-toe with them."
"..."
Why was his tongue so loose with useless chatter?
The reason became clear soon enough.
"Which naturally piques my curiosity about your true identity. How about it? Care to remove that helmet?"
"My apologies, but I can't take off the helmet."
"I see. Then we'll have to do this another way."
"..."
"Mercenary Wade. Remove your helmet at once. This is a royal command."
The banquet hall buzzed.
His intent was obvious.
They didn't expect me to meekly comply. Pressing with a 'royal command' anyway had one purpose.
To confirm who was backing me.
And sure enough, one man took the bait.
"Your Highness, that's a rather cruel jest."
Duke Helian stepped up to shield me.
Prince Oscar narrowed his eyes and pressed on.
"What's cruel about it? This is Vulrang United territory. My royal command is absolute. Besides, showing up to a party with a face-concealing helmet is rude from the start, no? This isn't a masked ball."
He had a point.
Prince Oscar seemed eager to flaunt his influence, likely to gain an edge in the coming throne race.
That's why he emphasized 'my royal command.'
"What else could it be? Are you planning to challenge Vulrang's royal authority right here? Even a foreigner can't just get a pass."
With Prince Oscar pushing hard, Helian faltered.
Sparking conflict with Vulrang served no purpose, and he didn't have the unilateral power to decide anyway.
He seemed about to steel himself and push back, but before that, I signaled the guy first.
'You idiot, get out here already?'
At my cue, Juras smirked, nodded, and stepped forward.
"Enough with the jokes, Your Highness Oscar."
"Prime Minister Pamillion. Jokes? I'm dead serious."
"Then seriously drop it. Or you'll get hurt."
"Us? What do you mean?"
"Wade is under my personal protection. I won't allow harm to come to him."
"Hmph. As I said, this is a royal command. Your words amount to challenging Vulrang's royal authority, no?"
"Are you saying that for real? Do you truly want Juras Pamillion to challenge Vulrang's throne?"
"...!"
"You'll regret it."
Juras subtly raised his aura. The surrounding nobles flinched back, while Vulrang military officers went on alert.
Vulrang's Grand General, Jin Isaac, positioned himself protectively beside Prince Oscar.
Juras continued.
"My will is Crossing's will. Me challenging Vulrang's throne means Crossing challenging Vulrang. Got it?"
"Ha! A mere non-king spouting such arrogance."
"The king would understand too."
"Would he? I doubt King Parain would greenlight a major incident over one mercenary."
"Who knows? Want to test it?"
Unlike Duke Helian, Juras held that kind of position. It wasn't for nothing he had been Crossing's top succession candidate until three years ago.
The banquet hall crackled with imminent tension.
Then Prince Oscar suddenly—
"Hahaha! I yield, I yield."
—burst into laughter.
"Sorry about that. My joke went too far. Of course. Can't nitpick a helmet on the man who clinched our victory."
Juras smiled back.
"Heh, my jest went overboard too. Don't take my quip to heart."
"Naturally."
Prince Oscar looked pleased, having achieved his goal.
Now it was confirmed: Crossing backed mercenary Wade.
And their bond was tight enough for Juras to react so fiercely.
"Forget my silly prank and enjoy the party. Wade. And Prime Minister Pamillion."
Whatever. What sin did I commit to get dragged into this?