Chapter 389

The Kingdom of Passion, Panam, is known as a land of abundance where the warm sun shines all year round.

In truth, only the people of Panam call it the Kingdom of Passion. Outsiders refer to it as a land of luxury, indulgence, and decadence.

But it was a country rich enough to earn such a nickname.

The fertile lands of the inland regions yielded harvests so abundant that even after feeding all of Panam, there was still plenty to spare. Thanks to its advantage of being surrounded by the sea on three sides, maritime trade was also thriving.

Especially the profits gained from mediating trade between Himmell and the Empire through the seas were enough to build towers of gold.

This wealth was one of the reasons why Danon, the King of Panam, began to show hostility toward Leopold’s Empire.

From Panam’s perspective, the Empire’s move to start direct trade with the Red Copper Bloodline, bypassing Panam, was nothing short of a national emergency.

It was time to either sever the trade route between the Empire and Himmell or find a new profit structure beyond mediation.

It seemed the King of Panam believed the answer was to pressure the Empire with force or even seize its territory through war.

—

“…So, because their income is decreasing, they’re trying to beat up the people who used to give them money and take their wallets?”

“That’s a blunt way to put it, but according to our Intelligence Department’s speculation, yes.”

“…Are they idiots?”

It was absurd. If Panam were the world’s strongest nation, maybe it would make sense, but what on earth were they thinking?

Right now, the Empire is in chaos and lacks the troops to respond, but once things stabilize, they could turn Panam into a wasteland.

“The throne is inherited by bloodline, not ability, so even such incompetents can become kings. Of course, our Emperor is different.”

The dispatched agent who had been explaining Panam nodded.

Our group, disguised as merchants, crossed the border and immediately headed for Panam’s capital. After driving the carriage all night, we arrived in the capital by the next evening.

The person waiting for us there was this agent.

He guided only me to their hideout.

The other agents planned to act like ordinary merchants in the capital to avoid suspicion.

The hideout we arrived at was a building disguised as an inn.

An inn, huh? A pretty convincing disguise.

Since it’s a lodging place for outsiders, unfamiliar faces coming and going wouldn’t raise much suspicion.

The upper floors were ordinary lodging, but the basement was filled with agents from the Intelligence Department.

Non-combat agents were busily moving around, organizing gathered information to refine the plan for the king’s assassination and the princess’s rescue. Combat agents were checking their equipment.

I handed over my cloak of invisibility to them for recharging its magical energy.

Then, the agent who guided me spread out a large blueprint on the central table and laid out information about Panam.

Things like Panam’s national military strength and the justifiable reasons for assassinating King Danon.

In short, King Danon of Panam was an incompetent idiot and a human trash.

—

After finishing the explanation of the assassination operation’s reasons and justification, the agent immediately detailed the operation plan.

“This is the floor plan of Panam’s royal palace. The king’s bedroom is located on the third floor, the innermost part of the palace. Given its position against the coastal cliff, it’s difficult to approach from the rear.”

“If the bedroom is right against the cliff, you could just open the window and jump to your death. Well, the view must be nice.”

“Actually, there’s a record from over a hundred years ago when Panam’s royal palace was occupied by rebels. The king at the time escaped by descending the cliff through the window.”

Seems like a determined king.

Though, given that a rebellion occurred, he probably wasn’t a saintly ruler.

“So, I just need to climb this cliff and infiltrate?”

“Exactly. Our agents will attack the palace from these three directions to create a diversion. Simultaneously, you’ll climb up to King Danon’s bedroom, assassinate him, and cause chaos. Then, after causing enough disturbance, you’ll jump off the cliff and leave the capital.”

Simple enough.

Climb the cliff, slit the king’s throat, cause some chaos, and then jump off.

“There are guards monitoring the cliff, but as you can see, the cliff is carved inward, so they won’t see you until you reach the ground. Honestly, they don’t even monitor it that diligently. They probably never imagined someone could climb up such a cliff.”

Well, a master-level knight might struggle but could manage it.

Seems the Panam folks didn’t consider that.

“Once King Danon’s death is known, the palace troops will rush inward to chase the assassin. That’s when our agents inside will rescue Her Highness Eleonora, and others will set fires around the palace to create more chaos. You just need to buy time without revealing your identity, and when the fire reaches the annex, jump off the cliff and leave the capital. If your identity is at risk, you can retreat earlier.”

Setting the palace on fire too?

This is a more serious assault operation than I thought.

“Won’t it be obvious we did it if things get too big?”

“Our disguises are thoroughly prepared. As long as your identity isn’t revealed, it’s fine. They might suspect, but without proof, they can’t condemn the Empire. In fact, the shrewd ones might try to cling to the Empire to seize power in the chaos.”

The agent smiled confidently, as if to reassure me.

In short, my identity must not be revealed.

I’ve got my hood pulled deep, and my hair is dyed gold, so it should be fine… but I’ll have to avoid using Life Force or showing too much strength.

—

After the agent finished explaining and left, another agent approached and handed me the prepared equipment.

“Two black iron longswords and ten daggers. We’ve also prepared a bow and arrows, just in case. Will this be enough?”

“It’s a shame it’s not Jin’s Sword, but… this should do.”

The black iron longsword might break if I swing it too hard, but I probably won’t have many enemies worth going all out against.

There are only three master-level knights stationed in the palace, after all.

The other five are deployed across the kingdom.

“What about this outfit?”

“It’s a chainmail armor in Dane style, covered with a black surcoat. We’ve kept it as light as possible since you’ll need to climb cliffs and swim, but it’s better than nothing.”

I guess they prepared it in Dane style to sow discord between the two nations.

Indeed, the infiltration agents were also wearing Dane-style chainmail.

It might not be very effective, but it’s not like we’ll lose anything if it doesn’t work.

“And these are climbing tools…”

“Ah, no need for those. I can do it like this.”

I summoned the power of Life Force into my left hand, shaping it into beast-like claws, and showed it to the puzzled agent.

“Wow! This is the rumored Radiance of the Red Empress! Truly amazing!”

The agent, who had just witnessed the power of Life Force, leaned in with eyes shining like a child who’d just seen Santa Claus.

The other agents were also sneaking glances. Is it really that fascinating?

Even Hersela couldn’t help but chuckle at the agents’ enthusiastic reactions.

[Radiance of the Red Empress? That’s quite the grandiose title.]

Yeah, they really know how to hype it up.

It’s more like a sinister glow than a radiant one, though.

—

The assassination operation was set for midnight the next day.

I spent the day resting at the Intelligence Department’s hideout, reviewing the plan, and then, under the cover of night, headed toward the coastal cliff of Panam’s royal palace.

True to its nickname as the Kingdom of Passion, even close to midnight, the streets were filled with prostitutes and thugs.

There were so many people that if I didn’t have the cloak of invisibility to drastically reduce attention, the operation might have failed.

Every woman walking around had five or six men clinging to her, trying to make a move.

Many drunk women were being led into alleys.

Seeing no one stopping them, it seemed this was normal in Panam… not a pleasant sight.

If I saw this in the Empire, I’d have beaten them up on the spot, but unfortunately, I couldn’t cause a scene here.

[Why are you so troubled? If the entire city is this lewd, a woman walking alone at night must have wanted this, no?]

‘Is that so…?’

Honestly, I’m not sure.

Maybe, maybe not.

I pulled my hood deeper and left the disgusting city center, heading toward the coast.

—

The coast was even worse.

The beaches I knew were either landing sites for operations or meeting spots for lovers… but here, it was just a breeding ground.

Every slightly secluded spot was filled with couples entangled.

If you listened closely, you could hear moans overflowing.

What the hell are these crazy people doing outside?

And not just couples, but groups of four or five tangled together.

This isn’t the Kingdom of Passion, it’s the Kingdom of Lust.

Maybe Isabella would’ve been happier here than in the Empire.

The sea wasn’t any different.

It was teeming with people pretending to swim while engaging in naked intercourse.

They say the sea is the mother of life, and sure enough, new life would be born here.

I needed to swim secretly toward the palace cliff, but every spot where I could enter without being noticed was filled with lustful couples, so it took a while to find a suitable place to dive in.