Chapter 352
Chapter 352
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 352
Chapter Title: Immortals and Mortals (21)
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“Ppa!”
“Oh dear! Ana! My goodness! This little one’s grown so much!!”
Partak stood there blankly, clutching his teacup, staring at the scene. It was the first time he’d realized that his lord—who always smirked darkly or issued high-handed threats—could smile so warmly at someone.
It was an unwelcome revelation. Partak had no idea what to say as he watched Fernandez tickling the child.
“See that, Partak Blackpang? This one recognizes me.”
“Yeees……. My lord. What a truly precious little baby.”
“Haha, yes, yes. I have no idea what this clever little thing will grow up to be.”
“Yeees…….”
What’ll he become? The Great Chieftain, obviously. Partak kept a perfectly straight face while grumbling inwardly. As long as Fernandez remained hale and Kirhas Hearttaker’s prestige stayed sky-high, even if both were to die at once, this child would be elevated to Great Chieftain.
The pigeon factions, including Golden Tusk, had already sworn loyalty the moment the child was born. That meant at least half of all beastkin were willingly subservient to this child’s future.
This kid would probably become the symbol of a new era. Following in the footsteps of his mother, the regent consort of Bullang—a symbol of mingled human and beastkin blood. In another generation or two, beastkin might even be incorporated into the Empire or recognized as an equal nation.
Of course, Partak had no desire to know any of that. He needed to figure out why he was here. His lifeline was in Fernandez’s hands, after all.
“But my lord, I was…… on my way to the council of elders. So…….”
“Ah, the meeting can’t proceed without you. They must all be waiting.”
“Yees, probably. Haha, yes. The council is moving exactly as I intend.”
He had to emphasize his usefulness. Partak forced a smile as he spoke.
The recent fiasco had pushed the council’s unease to the brink. Kirhas was still alive, Partak hadn’t succeeded in his coup, and yet a whole day had passed without incident. For the elders who’d backed him and mobilized troops, it must’ve been agony—they probably hadn’t slept a wink.
They were cowards. Too spineless even to seek an audience with the Great Chieftain to gauge the situation. Partak despised them, but their cowardice suited him just fine. Cowardly beasts were easy to tame.
In any case, it was time to let them know he was still alive and firmly gripping the real power in the beastkin union. Unless he planned to purge the hawk factions, it was a necessary step for Kirhas’s ascension.
That man must know it too……. Partak swallowed dryly as he eyed the fellow shaking the baby right in front of him. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary, somewhat young father.
“Um…….”
“I’ve been thinking, Partak. About what might happen if I step away.”
Fernandez spoke without even glancing at Partak. He kept staring straight at the child, still wearing that foolish grin.
But in a voice so chillingly cold it was astonishing. The dissonance made Partak flinch.
“What would change, even if my lord were absent……?”
“After I was gone for half a year, think of what happened. It makes me worry that if I leave for another half year, others with different ideas might emerge.”
His tone betrayed not the slightest fear.
“Yeees……. Th-there’s no way that’d happen. If any bastard gets such wicked thoughts, I’ll personally chop off his head and send it to you, my lord. Haha…….”
“You say that even with Ana listening, Blackpang elder.”
“I’m sorry!!”
Partak slammed his forehead onto the table at the killing intent creeping up his neck. The teacup clattered loudly. The child burst into giggles at the sight.
“Always watch your words, Partak. Your life hangs by the three-inch thread of your tongue.”
“I will engrave my lord’s teachings into my very bones.”
“So, does that mean you shouldn’t keep the old beasts of the council waiting? Would it be rude of me to hold you here?”
“If any dare think such a thing, I’ll personally…….”
“Words.”
“Yees…… give them a stern scolding…… sir.”
Partak was engulfed in confusion. He couldn’t comprehend the situation at all. Fernandez threatening with a smile, himself listening to those threats. And in this seat where some crucial order seemed imminent, the most overwhelmingly present figure of all: a baby not even a year old.
What the hell is going on? Partak stared at Fernandez with trembling pupils.
“In any case, about after I leave. If even Kirhas steps away, problems might arise, no?”
“What problems could there be? The Great Chieftain hasn’t led a single real policy in the past half year—just secluded himself. Everything holding down this city and the beastkin until now is entirely my achievement.”
“……I know your worth well enough, so stick to what’s necessary, Partak. So you’re saying even if I leave Ana here alone, nothing unfortunate will happen?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hmm…….”
Fernandez gazed at the child, lost in thought for a moment. Only then did Partak grasp the meaning of this gathering.
Fernandez was deliberating right now. He’d spared Partak for his utility, but now, with departure looming, he feared repercussions for the child’s safety. Feared? No, that word didn’t quite fit.
It irked him. That was the apt term. Partak’s face drained of color. As he looked up at Fernandez with shaking eyes, Fernandez was already staring back.
“You’re quick on the uptake, as expected.”
“Spare…… me, my lord. Truly…… truly, I…….”
“I know you well, Partak. What you can do, and what you should do.”
“I…… I’m not…… my lord.”
“I don’t think you’re that stupid either. If anyone dares touch Ana…… not even the gods of the Holy Pantheon or the abyss of the pit could save your soul.”
It wasn’t mere bluff or exaggeration. Partak knew what this man was capable of—and to what extremes.
One day, if this man said in a casual tone—
‘In the end, even gods and demons die.’
—you’d have no choice but to believe him. Because he was someone who’d killed both. Fernandez wouldn’t vulgarly boast of his feats, but Partak truly believed it.
And when it involved his own child, even the coldest man could make utterly irrational decisions at times. Partak struggled to suppress his quivering hands.
“You want to live, I see.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I know you, Partak. I know you’re clever, that your ambitions burn fiercely, and that you cling to life. So I know that if another critical moment comes, you could betray me again.”
“No…….”
“Don’t deny it, Partak. It’s the truth. And I like that. As you said, I don’t need a puppet.”
To wield influence across the continent, you needed schemers, not puppets. Advisors who could interpret and usefully apply his orders.
Malédica’s mid-tier ranks each harbored their own plans and ideals while swearing loyalty to him. Fernandez was an exceedingly generous ruler. As long as they stayed true to his goals, he ignored their personal pursuits.
But not anymore. Partak’s goal had always been ambition, and the entity most at odds with it would be this child. Fernandez began slowly tapping the table.
Tap, tap. The sound echoed like footsteps toward the guillotine. Partak hunched his neck and clenched his fists tight.
“I’ll head to Guir, Partak. Kirhas is essential for this, so she’ll come along, but the path is perilous—I can’t bring the child. After Guir, the eastern union, then who knows…… It’ll take a long time to return from the wilderness, at least.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“But if something happens to Ana during that time. If even a speck of harm comes to this child, who should I blame? If that happens, I might entertain some very, very foolish thoughts.”
Fernandez’s finger struck the table with a sharp thwack.
“The child chokes on food? Partak. Trips while walking and scrapes a knee? Partak.”
Thwack. Each tap brought Partak’s name. Thwack. Thwack.
“Rolls out of bed and falls. Even bites their tongue just from laughing too hard. Partak. I’d probably just keep calling your name. Partak Blackpang.”
“I’ll guarantee the young master’s safety, no matter what happens.”
“Your words need more weight than that. By any means, no matter how long it takes. If trouble arises, I’ll find you and exact the price without fail.”
Fernandez’s gaze flicked over Partak, then back to Ana. Startled by the tense atmosphere, the child rolled her eyes wildly and smacked her lips.
Fernandez broke into a broad smile again and cooed at her. She immediately giggled and flailed her arms wildly.
“Go now. Let the council know you’re alive and proclaim that you still reign as the union’s second-in-command. Say the position under one and above all is yours forever, and do as you please. Just don’t forget who’s above you.”
-Thud!!
“I will!”
Partak slammed his head on the table and cautiously withdrew. With the child’s clear laughter at his back, he struggled to hide his still-trembling hands.
A monster. One who’d blocked the Great Chieftain’s heartfelt sword strike and shattered his magic with a mere gesture. Who’d slain a great demon single-handedly and now forged close ties with power players across the material world.
How could such a being exist in the same era as him? How……. Partak swallowed his misery and thought. Surviving is all that matters.
Once you’re riding a monster’s back, at least its fangs won’t turn on you. Those who fear the monster would view him with that same terror. And that…… wasn’t so bad.
* * *
“Your Majesty, Court Chamberlain Everys Lys de la Tremulle requests an audience!”
“Let him in.”
Rene swept aside the pile of petitions and reports on her desk to clear a space. A valet hurried over to place a teacup in the spot. Rene waved him off.
“Leave it. Do I have no hands?”
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“I said leave it. Go fetch some refreshments. We mustn’t shame the consort regent.”
Though House Tremulle had boarded the same ship as the Kabelier imperial family, there was no need to show weakness. At Rene’s words, the valet bowed and swiftly retreated.
The imperial treasury was in dire straits. Even the relief efforts near Paltennoia had to dip into the imperial private vaults. Three wars of conquest—two ravaging the Empire’s heartland—had dragged on for over fifty years. The Empire’s survival was a miracle in itself.
Rene set an example. She’d liquidated nearly every luxury item: teas, gourmet ingredients, precious metals and furniture, and countless other expenditures.
Strawberries, fetched occasionally, were just about her only indulgence. She sighed at the sight of the neatly prepared berries in a glass bowl.
‘Even as a ducal lady, I ate and rested better than this.’
These were days when she missed her father keenly. She sighed again, eyes on the opening door. Everys entered with a cheerful face. The sight ignited her anger.
“You seem pleased, Tremulle court chamberlain?”
“Wow, strawberries, Your Majesty?”
“They’re mine. Don’t touch.”
“Stingy. Rene, the taxes from Guir alone could buy out every strawberry farm in the Empire.”
“That money went to sate the people’s hunger. The creditors were hounding us. This is from my private funds, so strictly speaking, they’re my strawberries.”
Rene smacked Everys’s hand away. He chuckled and pulled up a chair opposite her.
“I’ve got real good news, some regrettable news……. Hmm. And news that’ll make you mad. Which first?”
“Keep annoying me, and I’ll make you submit written reports from now on.”
“You’re prickly today, huh? Fine. Good news first. Rene Philippa, don’t freak out—put down the cup first.”
“What is it? Spit it out. I’m busy.”
“Me too. Duke Cerned is alive.”
“…….”
Rene’s hand froze midway to the strawberry bowl. Everys had dropped it like casual chit-chat: ‘Nice weather today, huh?’
“Say that again.”
“Your Majesty, the duke has returned alive. Blessed by the Holy Pantheon, I, Tremulle, met the duke in person and have come back.”
“Fernandez Cerned…… is alive?”
“That’s what I said. Perfectly fine, too.”
“Then why’d you come alone?”
Rene’s eyes trembled sharply. She’d thought him dead—too much time had passed for mere words like that. She’d already overseen his funeral.
This wasn’t a joke. She’d grieved enough, mourned enough, overcome it with effort. Loved ones always left before her; she was well-acquainted with bereavement’s pain.
And now, alive? And only telling her now? After half a year?
“He said he’s going to see his daughter.”
-Crash!
At Everys’s words, Rene dropped the bowl. Her hand shook with rage.
“Not his son—a daughter! You said son, a son!”
“Uh……? It is a daughter. With Great Chieftain Hearttaker. Even Ironside didn’t know. Info’s been hard to get since she took Bullang, plus one of their elders is sharp—risky—and we’re short-staffed.”
“Tremulle court chamberlain.”
“Yeah?”
“Order the Burning Citadel Knights to prepare for campaign. This is my command. We strike Bullang!”
Rene shot to her feet, shouting. Everys burst into laughter, wheezing for a good while before waving it off.
“No need for that, Your Majesty. The duke said he’ll soon visit Guir.”
“Not Paltennoia—to Guir? Why?”
“Who knows? He ordered the ports opened and trade ships readied. Seems the duke’s taken an interest in maritime trade now? ……Huh? Rene? Where you going?”
Before she finished, Rene donned her cloak, stood, and strode out of the audience chamber. Valets scrambled after her, opening doors.
Without looking back, she bellowed.
“To Guir!”