Chapter 118

Valenciaunos dismounted from the carriage at the fork leading to the villa.

“Rudi, go in first and take a rest. It seems it will take me a few hours to finish reporting,” he instructed.

“Yes, Lord Valen.”

“Lady Trentia, you should head inside now too. I’ll take care of the gifts from the North.”

Trentia hesitated for a moment before replying.

“No, I cannot afford such leisure as to be your escort.”

“I will take care of the gifts. If you grow stronger, I grow stronger; surely, I wouldn’t divert them?”

“If it were you, Lord Valen…”

“Please reprimand this foolish knight who cannot deny such a thing.”

Valenciaunos laughed heartily and waved his hand.

“Trust me and go in.”

A servant from the main palace came leading some attendants who carried the bags of tribute.

Valenciaunos adjusted his attire and swept his platinum hair back with both hands.

Confirming once more the appearances of the servants reflecting in the carriage window, the servant guided him up the path that did not pass through the audience chamber.

As he walked down the hallway, he asked the servant,

“Has there been no unusual occurrence concerning the emperor?”

After a moment’s thought, the servant replied,

“In the last 40 days, there have been eight assassination attempts.”

“Eight? That’s quite reduced. That’s good to hear.”

“Yes. However, six of those attempts involved direct assassins sent.”

“They must be realizing that poison doesn’t work slowly. But is the defense of the Silver Knight Order so lax?”

“Recently, the emperor has been attending worship every Sabbath. Every time he leaves the road, he inevitably faces some danger. The Seonghun Knight Order monitors from on high with wyverns, but now they are hiding under the eaves and shooting with ballistae before running out.”

Valenciaunos clicked his tongue.

“Is ballista maintenance not being done? It should be illegal for a commoner to possess a weapon beyond a dagger within the capital.”

“Assassins are not legal either, Your Majesty.”

“That is true. I understand. But I thought the servants knew that commoners could not carry daggers within the Imperial Palace. Has the regulation changed in the last 40 days?”

That place was among the less frequented areas of the main palace.

Despite being spring, a chilling atmosphere and pale dust covered the ground.

“Attack!”

The servant shouted sharply.

The attendants who had set down the bags of tribute drew daggers from their waists and lunged.

Valenciaunos narrowed his eyes at the sight of the dagger and its movements.

‘They made daggers from good steel. They are not mere attendants. They’ve infiltrated, rather than bribed or threatened. I can’t imagine the main palace servants would be unaware of this; are they in cahoots? Or have they kidnapped and disguised themselves as servants?’

In a moment of confusion after being grabbed from both sides, even those with decent skills would likely fall if they were stabbed a few times.

Four of the six attendants rushed at him, while two held onto Valenciaunos’s body.

Thud!

The four attendants thrust the daggers with all their might.

Targeting the lower abdomen, ribs, and solar plexus, those were all critical points.

However, the daggers could not pierce through the white uniform and ricocheted off.

“What!”

All the servants and attendants were taken aback.

It was the power of the liquid metal armor, ‘Aquatech.’

“Let go.”

Valenciaunos ordered coldly.

The attendants continued to attack, but their nervous fingers didn’t move as they had been trained.

“If you won’t let go, then I will make you.”

Flames that burned like a furnace.

‘Aquatech’ heated up in an instant, glowing like red-hot iron.

The two attendants gripping him let out muffled groans as they clenched their palms.

With a graceful gesture, Valenciaunos drew his sword and swung it.

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you right now.”

Noticing that clothing was the problem, one of the attendants thrust the dagger towards his neck.

Whack!

Valenciaunos powerfully kicked between the servant’s legs in retaliation.

“You will all be taken to Wyvernfit and thoroughly devoured!”

He then delivered a sharp blow to the face of the fleeing servant with his elbow.

The face shattered like thin ice, dropping hardened wax and pieces of makeup all around.

‘It was a disguise.’

In the distance, the Platinum Knight and the Royal Guard rushed over.

* * *

In the emperor’s office, the entire capital could be seen.

The main palace was built on the slope of a mountain, and the office was directly above the audience chamber, with pillars 25 meters high.

I entered the room, which wasn’t so much splendid as it was empty and not so simple for the chandelier to shine brightly.

“Your Majesty, I have returned.”

“I heard you encountered assassins on your way here. Are you alright?”

The emperor, Jeilliris, looked at me and smiled sweetly.

The platinum hair frame around her head glowed white, and her finely detailed face was shrouded in deep shadows.

Sitting against the backdrop of the entire capital, she emanated an authority even more than when seated on her throne; once again, my emperor was beautiful today.

I responded politely and lightly asked,

“I sent them all to Wyvernfit. They didn’t seem like folks from the capital based on their accents. Do you have any guesses?”

“There are too many for that to be a problem. I too, have faced several assaults and am quite fatigued. I hope you bring me some good news to ease that fatigue.”

I nodded confidently.

I brought good news.

Jeilliris smiled like a snake and gestured for me to sit before her.

“Then sit before me and tell me. I am truly curious about what ruckus you stirred up.”

“I have secured an oath of loyalty.”

I first reported the most important fact and unfolded the story focusing on Duke Seberik of the North’s abilities and character.

Jeilliris seemed quite pleased with how I reported the most essential news first.

Throughout my tale, a smile never left the corner of her mouth.

“He was a typical lord of the frontier.”

“I think so too. He appears cold because he carries too many burdens, unable to tend to each person, but all those burdens are ultimately for the people.”

“Precisely.”

“Also, did you say that you hung hundreds of corpses from each mast as you crossed the lake?”

Jeilliris laughed incredulously.

“That is true.”

I nodded without a flutter.

“Quite bold.”

She said that and for a moment, wore an expression as if lost in thought.

I watched as the corners of her mouth raised gently, predicting she would throw a challenging question.

The issue was that the silence began to last longer than I anticipated.

As I was inwardly troubled, the emperor opened her mouth.

“I was surprised it ended more quietly than I expected.”

“Excuse me?”

“I had a moment of foreboding when you said you were responsible for the rising grain prices. Moreover, when you spoke with Seberik in the cabin, didn’t you say it had deviated from the deepest places?”

“That is correct. However…”

“I expected that you would wait for Seberik to be all tattered from the corpses exploding before securing an oath of loyalty.”

Upon reflection, that might have been a decent strategy as well.

Had it been the same situation before my return, I might have done just that.

The emperor tilted her head with stiff movements and asked.

“I am not pressing you; feel free to answer. I feel that you weren’t risking your life for friendship, but rather trying to forge friendship at the risk of your life.”

That was a perfect answer.

I was relieved that I hadn’t choked.

“It means that goodwill preceded friendship. However, I can’t quite see why you would have goodwill towards a stranger like Duke Seberik.”

The goodwill I felt stemmed from regret.

If I could protect Jeilliris and the empire alongside this noble and powerful man, I would do anything.

Jeilliris continued.

“The outcome is good. You secured the oath of loyalty as I ordered. I am merely curious. At what point did you begin to harbor a sense of goodwill towards Duke Seberik?”

Shadows draped over her face turned from the sun, with only her golden eyes shining with an unearthly light.

I took a shallow breath and replied.

“It is rare to find someone competent enough to manage the entire North.”

Even a mere leader of a merchant guild would refer to the term ‘human resources.’

In lower ranks, positions create people, but as ranks and titles rise, it is people who create positions.

With his father passed and still no offspring, as far as I could see, Seberik was the only one capable of taking on the role of Duke of the North.

“He is an irreplaceable talent. It seems having built something more than a mere transaction would be a great help to Your Majesty.”

Jeilliris wore a strangely impressed expression.

“Continue.”

“Creating emotions and imposing burdens on the heart is inefficient. You must make them think, ‘Up to this point?’ to truly sway emotions.”

Additionally, I began to elaborate.

“As you mentioned, I too held goodwill towards him.”

“At which point?”

“He is a Sword Master and a powerful swordsman. Being someone who wields a sword myself, it was impossible not to admire him vaguely. Being treated politely by such a strong man made a lasting impression on me.”

Jeilliris smiled softly.

The admiration for the Sword Master applied equally to her.

I bowed my head and confessed.

“In conveying your grace, I felt a sense of pride as if I were giving away my own wealth. However, instead of asserting the pride of the Duke of the North, he bowed his head to me in front of many people.”

“Hmm.”

“It is the heart of weak people that become infinitely weak in front of a strong person’s goodwill. I am no different.”

Hearing the mention of goodwill from a strong person, Jeilliris laughed lightly.

The spring sunlight pouring down behind her was so strong that for a moment, her expression was obscured.

Yet, the voice that reached me was filled with ease and interest.

“Conversing with you feels like learning about human nature. You are always audacious yet compelling.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you know why I do not resort to plots and schemes in my governance?”

I answered immediately.

“Because you can govern without them.”

“If a time comes when I have to use them, it would be due to the lessons I learned from you.”

“That’s too much praise.”

Jeilliris laughed brilliantly.

“I understand your intention well. I need a minister, not a friend; however, my minister may need a friend. Now, open the bag of tribute. I am curious how your friend has looked out for your dignity.”

* * *

When delivering tributes, one should consider not only the recipient’s dignity but also that of the bearer.

It was a logical structure of, ‘Since you have come, I prepared this much for you.’

In that regard, Duke Seberik of the North had set my dignity appropriately.

If the diplomats in the audience chamber had seen this, they would all have their mouths gaping in astonishment.

“Truly dazzling in my eyes as well.”

Fur from the finest gray wolves and white bears.

A whistle crafted with silver etched with magical patterns for summoning spirits.

Various types of potions made from a mysterious gem commonly referred to as ‘Frozen Corpse,’ mined from glaciers.

Large and small swords claimed to have been made by dwarves.

“Duke Valen, look. This sword is a magical sword.”

Jeilliris drew one of the swords and lightly infused it with Mana, causing frost to coat the blade and greatly lowering the temperature in the room.

“Is it necessary?”

“My specialty is fire magic, Your Majesty.”

“I do not particularly enjoy the cold either. I don’t need the spirit’s blessing. I will distribute the magical swords to the knights who have achieved merit.”

In that moment, I picked up two swords and asked,

“Can I take just a pair of daggers and these two swords?”

The daggers were magical, and the swords were dwarven-made.

“Take as you wish. These potions are sufficient for me. Just leave the long magical swords and the whistle; take the rest as you please.”

What Jeilliris selected were not spirit weapons or magical swords, nor furs or jewels, but surprisingly the Frozen Corpse and the potions made from it.

She muttered in self-deprecation.

“He understands me better than humans; I am truly grateful.”