Chapter 344: A Land That Lost Its Romance (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 344: A Land That Lost Its Romance (2)
Thirty minutes ago.
Billy had gone to see Roman Dmitry.
He'd gone to schedule a meeting under Count Bragan's orders, but he hit a brick wall right from the start.
"I apologize, but you cannot see him right now."
It was Hans.
With the meeting outright denied from the beginning, Billy pleaded as politely and earnestly as he could manage.
"I know Lord Roman Dmitry is busy. However, Count Bragan is here representing the Valhalla Empire, and he cannot wait indefinitely. I am not demanding his time this very second. Whether it takes a day, two days, or even longer, just give me a date for when he will meet us. I will return without another word and deliver the message to Count Bragan."
"That is impossible. The young master has forbidden anyone from entering until his personal matters are concluded."
"But..."
Repeated rejections.
Billy's face contorted.
He was trying his best to remain polite to fulfill his orders, but the servant's attitude was grating on his nerves.
"Stop repeating your apologies. Surely you can at least convey Count Bragan's intentions to him."
There was a sharp edge to his words.
The person before him was a mere servant. Setting Count Bragan aside, a servant was in no position to look a knight like himself straight in the eye and speak so boldly. Billy began to exude a threatening aura. Count Bragan had ordered him to achieve his goal by any means necessary; he couldn't back down so easily.
Hans spoke calmly.
"Sir Knight. No matter how many times you ask, the situation will not change. This meeting was never scheduled in the first place. I understand your impatience, but forcing a one-sided appointment upon us is highly inappropriate."
"Why, you little..."
Whoosh.
Before he knew it, Billy's hand flew up.
This servant was far too insolent. If a mere servant in Valhalla had treated him like this, he would have taken their head off with a single stroke of his sword without a second thought.
It was then.
"Put that hand down."
A chilling voice rang out from right beside him.
When Billy reflexively turned his head, a man with an unfamiliar face was glaring at him.
* * *
At first, Billy didn't recognize Kevin.
The Evil Ghost of Dmitry.
His reputation was formidable even in Valhalla, but that didn't mean his physical appearance was widely known.
Hans turned his gaze toward him.
"Lord Kevin. I am fine."
Kevin?
Billy's eyes widened.
Looking back and forth between Hans and Kevin, he realized this mysterious man was the rumored Evil Ghost of Dmitry.
He let out an awkward laugh, realizing his attempt to strike Hans might escalate the situation.
"Hahaha, please do not misunderstand. I only came to see Lord Roman Dmitry—"
"Cut the bullshit. Who do you think you are, trying to strike Mr. Hans in Dmitry's territory?"
His voice was bloodcurdling.
The problem was that Kevin's words pricked Billy's pride. While Billy knew his actions weren't entirely justified, the person he had tried to hit was just a servant, not some grand figure.
"Bullshit? Aren't you taking things a bit too far?"
"I believe I told you to explain your actions."
"Do not speak to me as if you are giving orders. I am a knight of the Valhalla Empire, not Dmitry. I have no reason to be treated like this by you. And even if I did lay a hand on a servant, what of it?"
Count Bragan had ordered him to demonstrate Valhalla's standing.
When Billy took a hardline stance, Kevin stepped right up to him, looking up at the taller knight from below.
"Say that again. What did you say?"
"Fuck, you've got to be kidding me. So what if you're the Evil Ghost of Dmitry? It's not like I even struck him; I just raised my hand against a servant. Why are you making such a big deal out of this? If you bastards hadn't ignored us in the first place—Argh!"
Slap!
His head whipped to the side.
Realizing he had been struck with immense force, Billy lost his temper and drew his blade.
"How dare you slap me?!"
Rumble.
Ruuuumble.
He flared his Aura.
Drawing his sword like lightning, he tried to subdue Kevin first, completely disregarding the consequences.
However, swoosh. Kevin casually dodged the attack.
Instead of drawing his own sword, Kevin slipped past the strike with a light, fluid movement and slapped Billy's cheek once more. Blood splattered from Billy's mouth. Flustered, Billy frantically tried to counterattack, but every time he swung his sword, his head was invariably whipped around by another brutal slap. The impacts rained down in rapid succession. His raging fury evaporated in an instant. By the time he came to his senses, he was on his knees, his hair gripped tightly in Kevin's hand.
Slap.
Slap, slap.
The strikes kept coming.
Billy tried to block the blows with pitiful, flailing gestures, but the brutal grip on his hair refused to let go.
Billy's actions—merely attempting to use violence within Dmitry—were more than enough to provoke Kevin.
Moreover, the target was Hans.
Who was Hans?
Aside from the fact that Roman Dmitry truly cherished him, Hans was an incredibly special figure to Kevin. Back when Kevin was just a boy wandering the slums, he had entered the estate following Roman Dmitry and had been warmly cared for by Hans. He could never forget the kindness he received back then. Although his social standing had risen to the point where he could now command servants himself, he never lost his deep gratitude toward the steward.
Because of that, no one in Dmitry dared to disrespect Hans.
Since he was someone both Roman Dmitry and Kevin held dear, his status as a servant didn't matter in the slightest.
And this outsider had almost struck him.
As Kevin dragged him by the hair and slapped him repeatedly, Billy managed to squeeze out a few words through his blood-soaked face.
"...You... can you... handle the consequences? ...I-I am a knight of Valhalla."
Just as he said, Billy was no ordinary knight.
He was a knight of Valhalla serving Count Bragan.
With the empire's prestige backing him, he had dared to vent his anger even when facing the Evil Ghost of Dmitry.
Billy smirked.
Thinking his threat had worked, he spoke again.
"...You're in deep trouble."
Freeze.
Kevin stopped.
Still holding Billy by the hair, Kevin looked down at him with a peculiar expression.
"Shall I tell you an interesting story?"
"...You crazy bastard."
"Back when I still didn't know how the world worked, I attended a party hosted by the Barco family with my Lord. At the time, I didn't react at all even after hearing those bastards insult Dmitry. That day, my Lord beat them into bloody pulps on my behalf. And then he told me: from now on, develop the eye to judge your opponents."
Squeeze.
He tightened his grip on Billy's hair.
As Billy groaned in pain, Kevin smiled cruelly.
His demeanor was a striking reflection of Roman Dmitry himself.
"By my current standards, you are someone I can mess with."
At those words, Billy's face turned deathly pale.
Only then did he realize he had made a terrible mistake.
* * *
"...And that is what happened."
Billy painfully finished his explanation.
Hearing the sequence of events, Count Bragan couldn't help but be furious.
While attempting to use violence in someone else's territory was wrong, Billy was still a knight of Valhalla.
"Dmitry, those goddamn bastards."
They had crossed the line.
Whether it was Hans or Kevin, they showed absolutely no respect for Valhalla.
Hans had talked back boldly just because Billy wanted to set a meeting date, and Kevin had used indiscriminate violence despite knowing Billy belonged to Valhalla. His blood boiled. He wanted nothing more than to storm over to Roman Dmitry right away, point out their wrongdoings, and turn the place upside down.
However, he couldn't do that.
As the saying goes, the thirsty man must dig the well.
Completely ruining their relationship with Roman Dmitry was not an option; the Valhalla Imperial Court desired too much from him.
Thud.
"Roman Dmitry. He has a childish side to him."
He sat down heavily on the sofa.
The actions of Hans and Kevin were undoubtedly ordered by Roman Dmitry.
Given his bad blood with the Valhalla Imperial Court, Roman Dmitry had likely ordered them to act this way out of petty revenge. It was just as the rumors said. Roman Dmitry was known to be a highly aggressive individual, but Bragan hadn't expected him to provoke the Valhalla Empire like this while already hostile toward the Kronos Empire.
"...I will let it slide just this once."
He suppressed his anger.
Just this once, he had to meet him, no matter what.
Once they met, he would show Roman exactly what would happen if he continued to handle relations with the Valhalla Empire in this manner.
"Let's see if you maintain that same attitude then."
He gritted his teeth.
Revenge begins with patience.
Count Bragan's eyes turned cold.
Leaning back on the sofa, he began to picture his eventual meeting with Roman Dmitry.
* * *
At that very moment, Roman Dmitry was conducting a video conference with the kings of the Southern Three Kingdoms via a magic communicator.
From across the screen, the King of Umberto spoke.
[Accepting refugees from Odelia is no longer an option. Because of them, incidents big and small are constantly occurring in the border regions. The problem is that even if we punish them, it doesn't solve the root issue. Refugees who commit serious crimes immediately flee back to Odelia's lawless zone. Since there is no government to take responsibility and enforce the law, the lawless zone has practically become a sanctuary for criminals.]
[Indeed. There is also an increasing number of cases where criminals from Frank cross the border into Odelia the moment a warrant is issued for their arrest.]
The fall of Odelia had brought about unexpected problems.
Having lost their royal family, the lords of Odelia cared only for their own safety. A massive lawless zone had formed outside the dozens of fragmented territories. It was an absolute mess. Although the people who settled in the ruined capital resorted to crime just to survive, the lords of Odelia had no intention of punishing them.
It was extreme selfishness.
No one in Odelia sought to rectify the chaotic situation; they merely waited for someone else to step in and solve it.
Until now, the Southern Three Kingdoms had turned a blind eye to Odelia.
To be precise, they couldn't afford to disperse their forces, fearing that war with Kronos might break out again at any moment. Kronos had sent a clear warning by obliterating Odelia's capital. It was a brutal message: even if they had accepted the ceasefire negotiations, ignoring the might of the Kronos Empire would lead to the exact same fate.
Roman Dmitry finally spoke.
"I share your thoughts. We can no longer turn a blind eye to Odelia. While we have put their situation on the back burner due to more pressing issues, now is the time to clean things up. To prepare for war with Kronos, we must stabilize Odelia, which lies at our southwestern tip. If their existence remains a source of discord, it will undoubtedly have an adverse effect on the Southern Three Kingdoms."
The Southern Three Kingdoms.
Odelia lay at their absolute rear.
It was only a matter of time; this was an issue they had to resolve one way or another.
The King of Redford asked, [Will it be alright? The process of cleaning up Odelia will not be easy. Clearing out the lawless zone is one thing, but establishing a system that the existing authorities can accept will be the biggest hurdle.]
"Now is the perfect time," Roman replied. "If we do not resolve this now—while Kronos has stepped back with the ceasefire and Valhalla is embroiled in civil war—we never will. Furthermore, we have no reason to show any consideration to Odelia's authorities. Even if the royal family they served has fallen, it doesn't change the fact that Odelia sided with Kronos."
This was a war of a different kind.
It wasn't about creating a favorable environment for Odelia, but rather the stark necessity of fully annexing them.
"I will dispatch a portion of Dmitry's forces to assist you. In this matter, removing the source of instability in our rear is the absolute priority. If the people of the lawless zone and the existing authorities resist, you may classify them as enemies."
[Understood.]
[We will handle it accordingly.]
The video conference ended.
The issue of Odelia was a task the Southern Three Kingdoms would take the lead in handling.
Roman Dmitry would merely dispatch troops and provide guidance, stepping back to focus entirely on the matter of Valhalla.
A week passed.
Only after executing a certain portion of the plans he had formulated in his mind did Roman Dmitry call Hans and issue his order.
"Hans. Call Count Bragan."
"Yes, My Lord."
Count Bragan.
Finally, the moment he had been waiting for had arrived.