Chapter 671

“Median… Marquis….”

Hrapun, uncharacteristically, trailed off his words and took half a step back.

Hrapun, who prided himself on his boldness, not batting an eye at most things, found it difficult to remain calm in the face of the Empire’s sudden appearance… a monster that might very well be the strongest in humanity.

‘Good grief. They infiltrated Edricksa with the Empire’s strategic weapon? Not just an assassination, but planning to bring down Edricksa itself?’

A cold sweat trickled down his cheek.

According to the information he had gathered, the woman smiling before him was a strategic weapon capable of annihilating a nation’s capital in a single day.

If she roamed the city, avoiding only the strongest who could stop her, no one would be able to respond.

“…Does the Empire intend to bring down Dane?”

“Hmm? No. Probably not. I can guess why you’d think that, but I came here purely for peaceful purposes.”

Ha-shar-leur removed the purification device covering his mouth and grinned. A smile like a beast baring its fangs. It was an impression far from peace.

“Attacking the royal palace and killing the royal family is not what I call peace.”

Ha-shar-leur chuckled. It was no wonder, given his tone, which was eerily similar to Frigg’s.

“Once we quietly bury the lunatics trying to sacrifice hundreds of thousands, peace will naturally follow. Enough chatter, sit down. This will take a while.”

“If I were to say there’s nothing to discuss with a traitor conspiring with the enemy….”

“You’d never stand again. You know that, right?”

A blatant threat. Hrapun instinctively glanced at the longsword hanging on the wall but soon let out a deep sigh and complied with Ha-shar-leur’s command.

He sensed that if he tried to fight, not only his legs but also his arms would be severed.

—-

“So, what do you want from me?”

As Hrapun walked behind the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down, Ha-shar-leur cleared some documents off the desk, sat on it, and lit a cigarette.

Seeing this, Hrapun desperately wished for a magical cigarette, but unfortunately, his were inside his coat hanging in the living room, out of reach.

“You can guess, right? You seemed pretty sharp earlier.”

“…You want me to silence the noise around the early succession ceremony.”

“Exactly. Frigg said there’s no one better at handling such noise than you.”

Hrapun shot a glance at Frigg. A look that accused her of selling out even her own mentor.

Of course, Frigg remained unfazed, her expression as confident as ever.

“The Director taught us that an intelligence agent must first sell their conscience. I guess I sold mine at a fair price.”

“To say such a thing… sigh…”

Hrapun wished he could punch her in the head. He had taught them to sell their conscience, not their country and mentor.

But with the Empire’s Greatest Sword glaring at him, that wish remained just that—a wish.

“So… you want me to betray Dane? Become a traitor like Frigg, selling my country to the Empire?”

“Isn’t that better than having lunatics who would sacrifice hundreds of thousands of their own people in power? Trust me, if left alone, they’ll repeat this madness. The first time is always the hardest.”

“……”

Hrapun couldn’t deny that.

He too believed that once it was proven that sacrificing hundreds of thousands of civilians could create a superhuman, the royal family would see the people not as citizens but as resources for creating superhumans.

“Whether it’s killing your own people or prisoners, repeating such massacres… the country will fall in no time. Right?”

“……That’s true.”

Such a country’s end would be anything but good.

Unless the fact of gaining power through human sacrifice was kept an absolute secret, the moment it was discovered, Dane would become an enemy of humanity.

“So, if you’re a loyal subject who loves Dane, shouldn’t you side with me? Even if Dane becomes semi-subordinate to the Empire, it’s better than the country falling into ruin or becoming a living hell.”

“But to betray His Majesty the King…”

“Betrayal? If anything, the King of Dane betrayed Dane first. For his own greed, he’s driving his people to their deaths. If that’s not betrayal, what is?”

“Everything in Dane, down to the last blade of grass, belongs to His Majesty…”

“Enough nonsense.”

Ha-shar-leur raised his left hand and gripped Hrapun’s shoulder.

The irritation in his blazing blue eyes turned toward Hrapun. Though it was just a silent glare, Hrapun felt as if he could hear the murderous intent, causing him to shiver slightly.

-This bastard, why is his tongue so long?

It felt like he might burst out with curses, crush his shoulder, and rip out his tongue at any moment.

“He’s just trying to raise his own value. By showing loyalty to King Hestein, he’s trying to increase his worth. You can ignore it and move on.”

Frigg, who had been listening to their conversation, pointed out Hrapun’s ploy. A precise jab at his true intentions. Hrapun muttered to himself about raising a tiger cub and broke into a cold sweat.

From the moment the Empire’s Greatest Sword appeared, Hrapun had long since abandoned any loyalty to the Dane royal family.

As the head of the Intelligence Department, he had a duty to be loyal to Dane, but that didn’t mean he had to sacrifice his life for King Hestein and Ragnar, who were ruining Dane.

Like most humans, Hrapun valued his own life over his superiors’. Especially when those superiors weren’t even worthy of respect.

“So… no need to waste time with pointless bluffs.”

Ha-shar-leur pulled up the corner of his mouth and pressed the nearly burnt-out cigarette against Hrapun’s eye. The heat searing his eyeball made Hrapun grit his teeth.

– Sizzle…!

The burnt leaf let out a trail of smoke and crumbled. There was no sound of pain.

Of course, the lack of a scream wasn’t because Hrapun’s endurance could withstand the pain of his eye being seared.

“……”

Hrapun swallowed dryly and glanced at his right shoulder. Ha-shar-leur had used his cigarette to burn it. Though his favorite shirt was ruined, it was nothing compared to the pain of his eye being seared.

After extinguishing the cigarette on Hrapun’s shoulder, Ha-shar-leur looked down at him with icy eyes and spoke.

“If your enthusiastic display of loyalty was just a bluff, then let’s skip the nonsense and get straight to the point… is that okay?”

Hrapun nodded. A decisive motion, without a hint of hesitation.

He had no room to hesitate. Ha-shar-leur was already lighting another cigarette.

======[ Ha-shar-leur ]======

I lit a Rune Flame to light a new cigarette and explained to him the assassination plan Ludwig had devised with Frigg’s cooperation.

The entire plan, his role, and the aftermath.

The plan itself was simple. It didn’t even take twenty minutes to explain. Hrapun pointed out that the hastily made plan had too many holes, but Frigg and I ignored his objections.

After all, we had subdued Hrapun to fill those very gaps.

“In the end, it looks like the Empire is being brought in to usurp the throne… I doubt the nobles will accept that.”

“That’s for you to persuade. Spread rumors that the prince, moved to tears by the evil of sacrificing hundreds of thousands, drew his sword.”

The nobles might not, but the common people, who almost became sacrificial offerings, might praise the prince.

No matter how much they hate traitors, they’d hate a murderer who tried to kill their entire family even more.

By mobilizing Intelligence Department agents to spread rumors across Dane, public sentiment would likely side with Prince Haral.

“What about the knights’ backlash?”

“If they want to follow a dead mass murderer, let them.”

That was my role. Loyalty is no absolution. Loyalty to a clear villain makes one a villain too.

“And the Engraved Holy Warriors…”

“Knut can handle them. Once Ragnar is gone, he said he can take full control.”

Though weaker than Ragnar’s, Knut also possesses the Rune of Domination, which can control those with engraved runes.

Using the Rune of Domination is a last resort, but he plans to try persuasion first.

So, once Ragnar is dead, the Engraved Holy Warriors will all fall under Knut’s command.

Whether they like it or not.

If they’d rather die than follow Knut, well, we’ll respect their wishes and send them off.

It’s a rather clean plan.