Chapter 185

I checked to see if Lady Sorelazie and Lady Trentia were safe right after the explosion.

“Are you okay, Lady?”

Both were talented individuals of the future whom I had risked my life to save, and beyond that, they were like family to me.

Ah, Lady Sorelazie really is family.

“Yes, Your Highness. No problems here.”

Lady Trentia adjusted her red flame-resistant cloak and raised her mask, smiling gallantly.

“What on earth were you thinking, risking getting hurt like that—?”

“It would be an honor to get hurt while protecting Your Highness.”

I felt my words catch in my throat and sighed in relief as I helped Lady Sorelazie to her feet.

“Sister, are you alright? Did you hurt your leg or get pinned anywhere?”

Lady Sorelazie nodded as the golden and blue gleam of her armor trembled.

“Of course not. I couldn’t have messed up… This magic tool was indeed a success.”

Seeing her talk like that, it seemed she hadn’t even injured a finger.

No, considering it was Lady Sorelazie, she might have said such a thing even if she was hurt, so I made her drink a recovery potion and regain her composure.

I immediately sent someone to check if there were any problems on Jeilliris’s side, and comforted Rudi, who rushed in with a white face, carrying “Vitality” and “Agate.”

“Lord Valenccius! Who is it? I will smash that scoundrel’s head like a rotten melon!”

“It’s alright. It’s alright.”

I patted Hadrian’s shoulder as he stared blankly at the burnt papers, and thankfully I received reports that there were no issues on Jeilliris’s side.

“Gather all the guards to protect the Emperor, and let the black iron knights and the constables patrol outside the palace! What kind of nonsense is this?”

Afterwards, I received bizarre reports from the platinum knights saying they had failed to catch the assailants, and when I heard that he hadn’t used any mental waves or mutations, an intuition struck me.

That afternoon, seeing the high-ranking constables, the chief constable, and Sir Barbatos approaching with somber expressions, I realized my intuition was correct.

“So this is happening in more than one place?”

“Your Highness, there were seven explosions in the city today accompanied by green flames.”

What a world.

* * *

Upon hearing this devastating news, I felt my mind racing madly.

What first came to mind wasn’t the number of casualties or property damage, but rather the impact this incident would have on the oath of loyalty.

“We should purify the deceased first due to contamination risks…”

“Prioritize the injured. We should burn the bodies of the deceased.”

“Is that really the issue right now? Infiltrators have appeared in the capital. We clearly heard that Lady Sorelazie’s magic tool was sounding the alarm. We need to promptly collaborate with the church and the great lords to commence a large-scale search operation.”

It was the words of a guard.

I shook my head with blurry eyes.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“What do you mean?”

“What are you saying?”

The chief constable and high-ranking priest looked at me in surprise.

Lady Trentia and Lady Sorelazie also wore puzzled expressions, while only Hadrian seemed to have understood my intent, murmuring softly.

“Valenciaunos.”

I glanced at the administrative officials receiving treatment from the rushing priests.

The sound that came from the magic tool wasn’t that loud, so if I could just silence the people here, nobody would know that he was an infiltrator.

I made eye contact with everyone around and spoke.

“He didn’t use mental waves. That was merely a plot to disrupt the oath of loyalty.”

The chief constable asked, “What do you mean?”

“If this were simply the rebellion of a slightly insane mage, despite its scale, it wouldn’t be such a rare occurrence.”

“Hmm.”

“There are always crazy individuals trying to draw attention by killing high nobles, royals, or imperial family members. Alternatively, we could blame this on a republican or the revolutionary Caesar. They could claim to have snuck in as part of the great lords’ guards. But if this is revealed to be the work of infiltrators, what happens then?”

The chief constable and Sir Barbatos frowned.

“We would be in a situation where an incompetent emperor who couldn’t handle infiltrators rampaging in broad daylight… would be a disgrace. Right?”

I nodded firmly.

“Furthermore, it might lead to discussions of collusion and secret agreements. There could be great lords who would insist they can’t stay in a capital where the infiltrators could attack at any moment. Originally, the great lords who didn’t want to swear their oaths may have sent someone just to say that.”

Lady Sorelazie blinked, seeming completely not to understand, and I realized I was explaining things clearly.

* * *

“Don’t we all know? How many battles of nerves and political struggles occurred to create this place? If it turns out he is an infiltrator here, it could lead to total chaos! The Duke Seberik of the North is coming tomorrow; can we really allow him into a city where infiltrators are roaming? The emperor, who has not gained the oath of loyalty from the Duke of the North, will never be recognized as an emperor!”

Sir Barbatos bit his lip.

“Let’s cover it up for now. I don’t care how; we can say he has been caught, or that we are searching the magic street for a mad mage. Of course, we will need to ensure the newspapers are silenced and grease the wheels with the heads of major factions in the assembly.”

Lady Trentia looked horrified.

I glanced at Rudi.

“Rudi. Go get three gold coins.”

“Three coins?”

“That’s what I saved them for.”

The chief constable coughed lightly, cautiously opening his mouth.

“So, Your Highness Valenciaunos, you intend to conceal the incident and hide the existence of infiltrators from the citizens and great lords?”

“You’ve understood it correctly. By buying time like this, we can quietly capture him and kill him before anyone knows.”

“I see. Then I can’t do that.”

Sir Barbatos glared.

“You!”

The chief constable looked at me.

His calm brown eyes burned with righteous indignation.

“Your Highness, we need to evacuate the citizens immediately and inform the great lords of what’s happening. He could unleash mental waves at any moment.”

I raised my chin and glared at him.

“Did you hear what I said? If that happens, the oath of loyalty is out the window.”

“Do you truly think you can cover this up? An infiltrator could spring up a hundred times, and the entire city could become an inferno. Tens of thousands will die!”

I looked at the stubborn and loyal chief constable.

His tightly clenched fists were trembling.

I let out a deep sigh.

“Chief Constable.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Didn’t you receive some pocket money from the dark-mask?”

Sir Barbatos grabbed his nape.

The chief constable looked as if he understood what I was implying and smiled sadly.

“Yes, Your Highness. I did. I haven’t lived purely. But… this crosses a line. What could be covered up for ten gold coins can be done for a hundred. However… some matters are beyond a thousand or ten thousand gold coins. Matters of treason or treachery. What Your Highness is asking of me is such a matter.”

I clenched my eyes shut.

The chief constable was right.

To hide the emergence of infiltrators, especially those who had clearly begun to operate, was, quite literally, a madman’s act.

Countless lives could be lost.

However, I had already sacrificed many lives for the sake of the oath of loyalty.

Though I didn’t know for certain, because I had delivered 30% more grain support to the Duke of the North than the previous year, there must be tens of thousands of poor and farmers who would starve to death or fall into massive debt.

Despite having infiltrators among them, and even if they were thugs, there were times when I instructed Lady Trentia to cut down hundreds in the slums.

There was no need to speak of the time before my return.

Then, as I had deliberately not sent reinforcements to a certain kingdom or countship, I was able to establish a defensive line while they perished.

I gripped the chief constable by the collar.

“How dare you defy the command of the imperial family?”

“Your Highness!”

Sir Barbatos and Lady Trentia tried to stop me, but they couldn’t touch me.

I glared into the chief constable’s brown eyes.

“You do not have the right to disobey my orders. You have no right to ruin what I have done up till now. I prepared for this incident with the assumption that you would act like a cog in the wheel at your position. You have followed obediently until now; continue to do so!”

“…”

“You do not deserve to disappoint me. You have instilled hope in me, so crush your conscience and listen to me.”

The chief constable gritted his teeth.

I could see a whirlwind of countless emotions swirling in his eyes.

The weight of that conscience seemed far too heavy, so I decided to make his decision a bit easier.

“You said your eldest is in the third year of the academy’s swordsmanship department. He is close with the student council president Jin, and recently, he’s been looking for a new place to stay, is that right?”

He knew that Jin was the local collaborator I had planted.

He surely also knew that Jin’s job was to eliminate students who had meddled in infiltrator matters at the academy and burn the bodies, discarding them into the underground waterways.

The chief constable nodded wearily.

“Yes, Your Highness. I will do… as you say.”

I released his collar, and he sank down onto the grass.

I directed my orders like a wax figure.

“Sir Barbatos. Work with the constables to stabilize the citizens’ unrest.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hadrian. Comfort the administrative officials and keep their mouths shut.”

“Understood, Valenciaunos.”

“I will personally handle the newspapers and the assembly. Lady Sorelazie.”

Lady Sorelazie looked at me with a charming smile.

“Has the heavy discussion come to an end?”

I feared how my actions would be perceived, but she seemed completely unconcerned.

I was reminded once again that she was a genius magician from the Ivory Tower, entirely detached from all the ethics and common sense of the world.

“It was hardly a grave discussion. Make that magic tool as quickly as possible.”

“Sure. Leave it to me.”

“Thank you. If you need anything, just say so.”

“Really? Then…”

“About that magic tool.”

Lady Sorelazie blinked and stepped back, and I accepted the bag of gold coins that Rudi had brought back.

“I’ll go to the newspapers and the assembly. Now then, let’s get everyone moving for the sake of His Excellency.”

I clapped my hands and dispersed the crowd.

The chief constable looked at me until the very end with a lingering gaze.

It felt like he was saying not to do this.

No, no matter how I thought, I was in the right.

Even after the eight explosions today, if mental waves hadn’t been unleashed, it meant we were trembling at the prospect of mental waves, waiting for the citizens to evacuate and the great lords to move.

This was clearly part of a plan by established old adherents.

They wanted us to eliminate our goal, which had come right to our grasp.

There was no way he would truly unleash mental waves.

All threats were only effective before crossing that line.

Having thought that far, I looked at Lady Trentia.

With her helmet at her side, she wore a solemn expression on her handsome face.

Her vacant red eyes resembled hardened blood.

“Have… I disappointed you?”

Lady Trentia slowly shook her head.

Her red hair swayed near her eyebrows.

“You once told me, long ago, that becoming stronger makes it easier to be just and fair.”

I thought so, too.

While drinking and walking the streets together, I had commented, “Watching Your Highness solve issues in such ways makes me wonder if the paths believed to be just in the past might actually be wrong.”

At that time, that was how I had replied.

As a still weak individual, I had no choice but to employ any means necessary.

“Indeed.”

“You… still have to grow stronger, don’t you?”

I fell silent for a moment and slowly spoke.

“I feel I have become strong enough to face those who would come at me fairly now.”

“Then.”

“However, the enemy is growing stronger, too. Do you know whom I faced recently? I faced Sir Jerphas, the captain of the Gremoryus family’s golden knight order. One hit broke my scaly-armored arm.”

“I remember.”

“There’s no need to mention Cariosa.”

Lady Trentia nodded.

I said quietly, “You fought fairly. But what if you lost and I was in danger of dying?”

She lifted her gaze as if she understood somewhat.

“I would use every method I know. If it comes to it, I’d kick their groin or throw dirt in their face. Haha. I see now.”

I began to walk slowly and spoke.

“There’s a saying that the lack of time is the best spell. Desperation and fear… turn a person into a monster.”

Lady Trentia followed me, asking, “What is it that makes you so desperate, Your Highness?”

At that question, I recalled events from a seemingly distant past.

The emperor Jeilliris, notorious throughout the continent, the rebellious prince Justianus and the great lords supporting him, the magical realms exploding day by day, the death of Matheos…

“Everything, Lady Trentia. I fear everything.”

After a brief hesitation, she spoke.

“Then it seems Your Highness will always be a bandit.”