King of the North - 4
Amid the burly, muscle-bound warriors proclaiming him their king, Hines wasn't exactly thrilled with the current situation.
Passing the trial had only been a stepping stone to gaining the barbarians' recognition and securing Lunaria.
He had no intention of becoming a king who ruled over all the warriors.
'Me, an imperial noble, declaring independence as king in the north? That's pretty much a full-blown rebellion...'
In fact, the knights who had accompanied the envoy for protection didn't look too happy about it either.
The emperor's trusted envoy suddenly ascending to kingship—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he'd stabbed His Majesty right in the back.
So, should he just give up the throne?
That was a headache too. The barbarians had decided to follow him; refusing now might earn him resentment as an irresponsible flake.
Either way, it was a pain. Hines let out a sigh.
'Alright, I've made up my mind.'
Hines had learned that the cult had made contact with Krag.
If he declared he was abdicating the throne, the cult might swoop in and snatch it up.
He hadn't given much thought to the barbarians as a force, but they were strong.
A battle-hardened race that even the Empire had given up trying to subdue.
If they fell into enemy hands, it'd be a force that kept you up at night for life.
"A cheer for the new king—face the front!"
Rooooaaar—!!
Rakshar led the roar, making everyone shout in unison. Hines felt like a president at a rally with all the soldiers gathered.
He waved half-heartedly, sneaking glances at the knights.
"King of the North, shall we hold the coronation here?"
"No way. Screw the coronation—first, we gotta clear up this misunderstanding."
Hines ordered the barbarians to bring the ice pillar trapping Krag.
As they moved it, he gathered everyone—including the imperial knights—inside the tent.
He had to prove somehow that he had no intention of rebelling against the emperor.
"Looks like all the important folks are here."
"Young Master Hines. You need to explain yourself so we can understand why you've become king of these savages."
"Are you threatening our king right now?!"
"Quiet. I'll handle this with talk, so you stay out of it."
Loyalty could make things worse, so Hines shut Rakshar up.
He took a deep breath.
After sorting his thoughts in the silence, he finally spoke.
"First off, let me declare right here: I, Hines Altesia, have no intention whatsoever of raising a banner against the Empire."
"Refusing to decline the throne undermines the credibility of that statement, as I'm sure you're aware."
"There's a reason I couldn't turn it down, and I'll explain now. His Majesty can judge for himself."
"Very well, we'll hear you out."
Hines began his tale from the past.
Starting from when he'd gone to the capital with an elixir to treat Princess Rosmel.
He revealed that her condition wasn't an illness but a curse—and even named those behind it.
Some already knew, but most didn't, so the reactions were more intense than usual.
"I-Is that really true? That Her Highness the Princess was nearly cursed to death by this Nidhog cult?!"
"It's true. His Majesty and Her Highness already know. If you don't believe me, ask them."
"...Understood for now. So, how does becoming king of the north tie into this cult?"
"There's a high chance Lunaria is their hideout and headquarters."
Warren went wide-eyed.
Attempting to kill Princess Rosmel, whom the emperor cherished—no sin was heavier.
Upon hearing the truth, Warren drew his sword, radiating a fierce aura.
"Young Master Hines, tell us their location right now. We'll round them all up and execute them on the spot!"
"Sadly, I don't know the exact spot. And if we go poking around blindly, they'll just bolt."
"Damn...!"
Realizing what Hines was worried about, Warren sheathed his sword.
The other knights had similar reactions.
Watching them, Hines smiled bitterly to himself.
If they could capture them with just the knights, he wouldn't be going through all this trouble.
There was even a chance cult spies had infiltrated the knight order itself.
'Probably some cult members hiding among the knights too.'
Even so, Hines didn't hesitate to reveal the truth.
Even if a spy reported back later, he laid it all out.
He was confident such a situation wouldn't arise.
Meanwhile, his own retainers—who'd been nonchalant about his actions—were starting to react differently.
He was revealing secrets he'd kept tightly hidden, which was basically a declaration of war.
Tension showed on their faces at the thought that war with the cult had begun.
"The reason I didn't refuse the throne was to block any escape routes for the cult from the start. If I, who was granted Lunaria, become king, it gives me the perfect excuse to bring the barbarians inside."
"I heard His Majesty granted you the territory on the condition of building a pleasure district in Lunaria."
"That was the surface reason. My real goal from the beginning was the Nidhog cult hiding in Lunaria."
Realizing the truth, Warren stepped forward.
In front of everyone, he knelt and bowed his head.
"Forgive me—I briefly doubted your intentions, Young Master! To overlook a loyal servant contributing to Her Highness, nay, the Empire itself! Punish me however you see fit!"
"It's fine. More importantly, I have a job for you, Sir Warren."
"Entrust it to me! I'll see it done!"
"Take your knights back to the capital right now and deliver this document to His Majesty."
Hines pulled a scroll from his bosom and handed it to Warren.
It was sealed multiple times with string—clearly something extremely important.
"Don't read it. His Majesty must see it first."
"Understood."
"And one more thing."
Hines leaned in and whispered something quietly into Warren's ear.
Warren's eyes widened for a moment, but he nodded as if he understood.
"I'll do that."
"I'm counting on you, Sir Warren."
Patting Warren's shoulder, Hines returned to his seat at the head.
His gaze turned to the ice pillar.
Krag, frozen in rapid deep-freeze, time stopped for him.
He wasn't sure if they could extract anything useful from him.
"Rena."
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"...Cut the joking. Talk normal."
"Ahaha! What do you need?"
"Got any truth serums among your potions?"
"Of course! Any assassin worth their salt handles interrogation as well as killing. Time to show you the power of elf-grown herbs!"
Rena reached into the pouches at her hips.
She wedged vials between her fingers and showed off to Hines.
Eight different kinds of truth serum.
Trusting her skills, Hines asked Cress to thaw him.
"Can you melt the ice so just his face sticks out?"
"Easy peasy!"
Crack—!
Cress reached out, and the top of the ice pillar neatly shattered off.
Krag, who'd been burning with vengeance to kill Cress, realized he couldn't move and was in some weird place. He looked panicked.
"I'll kill you! I swear...!! Wh-what is this? Where am I?!"
"Here comes the potion!"
"Mmph?!"
Seizing his moment of carelessness, Rena shoved all the truth serums into his mouth.
She pinched his nose, forcing him to swallow.
"Done!"
"Gah! What the hell was that...!"
"We've got a lot to ask you."
"You—you!!"
Seeing Hines's face, Krag's features twisted.
To him, Hines was as hated as Cress.
If he could move, he'd rip his throat out right then.
But with everything but his head frozen solid, he couldn't do a thing.
The truth serums took effect, leaving him no choice but to answer Hines's questions.
"Who approached you? Explain."
"Fool! You think I'll just tell you?!"
"Huh? Why isn't it working?"
Hines eyed Rena as Krag refused to answer.
His look screamed doubt: Did you really give him truth serum?
With no effect, Rena panicked and pulled out various potions from her pouch.
But as a dragonkin, nothing worked on him.
"Leave him to me! A good beating will loosen his tongue!"
"Young Master, if you want torture, let me handle it. I'm quite the expert."
With Rena's serums failing, Bruna and Kizen vied to torture him.
They were dead set on breaking Krag.
But Hines doubted it'd make him talk.
That's when he noticed Maribel, who'd been shooting jealous glares at Cress.
"Maribel."
"Yes?"
"Can you cook something right here?"
"O-Of course! Just wait—I've got a dish I learned from Lady Dere!"
Hines didn't watch Maribel's cooking process.
Once she started scooping snow from the footprint-marked ground and boiling it, he knew it wasn't for human consumption.
Still, she gave it her all with limited ingredients, producing a clear broth.
It looked appetizing with steam rising, but Hines shook his head.
One sip and you'd drop dead.
"You two, forget torture. Just pry Krag's mouth open."
"Tch, fine."
"Understood."
Kizen and Bruna, arguing over who got to torture him, forced Krag's mouth open on Hines's command.
Hines handed Rena the dish Maribel made.
"Feed this to him."
"Truth serums don't work on him—will Maribel's cooking?"
"That's what we're about to find out."
"Fair enough."
Rena poured Maribel's soup into Krag's mouth.
Not leaving a drop.
As his mouth closed, his lips curled up.
For a split second, it looked like he was smirking mockingly.
Then he started screaming.
"Gaaaaah!! What the hell did you do to me...! Guh! Hngh...! Hack! Grraaah!"
He wailed in agony, looking like he'd keel over any second.
Watching the scene, Rena murmured softly.
"Hit a wall, huh..."