Chapter 91

Cornel had the ability to control the slums and felt both responsibility and joy.

There were reasons to do it and reasons to want to do it.

Cornel served not the God of Light but Amon, and he experienced a rise and then a downfall.

There were also reasons not to do it and reasons not to want to do it.

And we choose between those reasons with our will.

“Yes. Don’t forget. You want to be a councilor and you will be,” I said in as assertive a tone as possible.

It was to instill faith in Cornel and help him regain his focus.

“Let’s take it slowly and sort things out one by one. Tell me, what is the biggest problem that arose from this situation? To give you a hint, it’s not losing people’s trust. That is incalculable and can be both there and not there. Your achievements exist as they are; it’s just that you’re in a situation where you can’t bring them to light. So, what’s the problem?”

Cornel’s clever and sharp eyes glimmered.

Before long, he replied.

“It’s the Church.”

Lady Trentia flinched.

“You said the Church?”

I smiled with satisfaction and replied, “That’s correct. Why is that?”

“The greatest power I had was the authority to distribute the Church’s resources.”

If you joined the union and worked, you would receive rations.

Factories and jobs aren’t immediately profitable.

Moreover, food prices are only going to rise until the late spring barley harvest, given that it’s winter.

In this situation, holding the keys to a warehouse full of grains was her greatest strength.

“But that’s not my resource. It belongs to the Church. And the Church cannot leave that authority to someone who serves a heretic god.”

Being a good person, she could still continue with her belief in the heretical god.

But a church that relies on the donations of devotees cannot say that.

“Exactly. The words that the other councilor candidates frequently use to push you out also come from that direction. They’re labeling you as an infiltrator. In other words, if you can catch hold of that part somehow, you can rise again.”

Lady Trentia narrowed her eyes for a moment.

It seemed the word “somehow” touched her nerves.

I paused for a moment to heighten Cornel’s concentration and continued.

“I’ll handle that for you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ll catch all the candidate scumbags who are saying you’re an infiltrator within a week, and I’ll make it so the Church can support you again. You should just focus on gaining the public’s trust.”

Cornel lowered his gaze for a moment.

His grip on the cane tightened.

“Why would you go this far for me?”

“What?”

“Are you feeling guilty about killing my father?”

I let out a chuckle, “I am Crown Prince Valencius. I am innocent. I am only responsible to His Majesty the Emperor, the sun of the Empire.”

There were many reasons for my involvement.

“How much money I have invested in you so far, I can’t just let that go to waste, can I?”

There was also a strategic calculation.

“The fact that someone struck you, knowing that I am behind you, means they have underestimated me.”

Having lived for nearly fifty years, I still had a stubborn pride.

I was curious about how far Cornel, who gained power through knowledge rather than blood, could rise, and there was a sense of… responsibility as well.

A sense of duty to not lose a talent who had both responsibility and ability.

Earlier, they had been shouting about what Cornel had accomplished.

That was a truly vile statement.

Gathering people, creating organizations, effectively managing them, and producing results is not something just anyone can do.

It was unpleasant that those who could do nothing but belittle that kind of talent were taking shots at him.

Would it be correct to say that it felt like seeing a crazy person entering a flower garden and plucking the flowers one by one?

In a classist society, the worst crime was insulting the feelings of those in high places.

And I was the Emperor’s closest kin, the second highest-ranking person in the world.

I turned my body and walked out of the room.

Lady Trentia closely followed.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Nothing special. I need to go confront them.”

“That’s a knightly decision. However, it doesn’t seem like a councilor’s decision.”

There was a strange worry in her voice.

“That’s unexpected. Wasn’t it you who demanded such behavior from me?”

“That’s true. But this time, you’re trying to help a councilor rather than a knight, right? Solving a knight’s problem like a councilor, and solving a councilor’s problem like a knight, makes me curious about your intentions.”

I chuckled coldly and replied, “You once told me when we sparred that swordsmanship is about finding weaknesses.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“It’s the same. They are trying to label Cornel as an infiltrator so that I can’t help him.”

Lady Trentia said with a look of surprise, “Yes. If Your Highness helps that child, you will also arouse suspicion of being an infiltrator.”

“So they think I won’t be able to help Cornel directly, at least not with force, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I murmured softly, “Then what will they prepare for?”

“!”

Lady Trentia widened her eyes.

“Thinking they completely took the military card away from me, the complacent would likely be on guard, and the diligent would be prepared for a war of public opinion. The more diligent would be preparing to stab each other.”

“If Your Highness goes and overturns everything…”

“The only choice left for them will be to label me as an infiltrator as well. But a threat only functions as a threat when the opponent tries to avoid it.”

I paused, changing my golden eyes into slits, and continued.

“If they intend to slander me as an infiltrator, I will behead them for insulting the royal family. I know that in the end, what remains after biting and tearing each other will be nothing but wounds from a hollow victory.”

But.

“If I get hurt while winning or losing, it’s better to win and get hurt.”

Lady Trentia’s dignified face twisted, but the corners of her mouth were slightly twitching.

The knight, with a tragic wolf-like expression, grinned menacingly.

“If winning involves pain and losing also involves pain, it’s better to win and be in pain… Your Highness, you truly are a knight.”

* * *

There were fifteen councilors who directly ran in the former slum area, and seven of them had their districts overlapping with the slums.

And within a week, twelve of the candidate councilors who ran directly went missing.

Beneath the slums, the underground waterways still flowed, and the slimes there had devoured even bones and branches.

Rumors began to spread that the bandit crown prince Valencius was acting in the shadows.

But at the same time, there were also reports that the candidates were stabbing each other and blaming Valencius.

The fact that Cornel still did not show his face in front of the people was the first evidence.

The argument that if he were to protect the royals, he would have come back immediately had some persuasive power.

As a second piece of evidence, there were frequent sightings of actual thugs hired by candidates fighting.

Not just shouting or getting into fistfights, but genuinely engaging in bloody conflicts wielding daggers and steel clubs.

Ironically, the slum dwellers were not the ones actually fighting.

And among the twelve missing candidates, only three had been directly involved with Valencius.

“Isn’t it curious? Once someone paves the way, it’s like everyone waits for a cue to start fighting.”

Alsen sat on the third floor of a building adjacent to the square, whistling.

“You’re right, my lord.”

The thugs and swordsmen following him politely bowed their heads.

Though he hadn’t run in the slums, he had many districts that overlapped with it, making campaigning in that area much more beneficial due to the high population density.

“And it’s me who gets to pick up the scraps from that fight.”

“Ugh.”

One of the councilor candidates lay curled up on the ground, bleeding profusely.

“Get him out of here.”

The thugs dragged him away to a basement connected to the underground waterway.

Alsen looked down at the square from below the partially demolished wall of the building.

[The Human Hunt of Crown Prince Valencius and the Villainess Cornel!]

[Look at the ungrateful bastards!]

The square was filthy with all sorts of provocative posters.

The place with the largest crowd was in front of Alsen’s poster.

[Now is the time for us to unite again.]

“When people start cursing each other, it makes the populace uncomfortable. Both sides are equally bad! If they do that, then both will be ruined.”

Anyway, once the election was over, he would return to the gate area.

That area was much more profitable for businesses, making it easier to receive bribes from merchants.

“So now bringing Cornel back would accomplish nothing. No matter what she says, the moment the other candidates start flinging insults about the issue of infiltrators, they would continue to tear each other apart.”

Alsen said with a grin.

“Am I wrong, Duke Valencius?”

He had just climbed up the staircase to the third floor.

Alsen inhaled sharply, just as he had when he first saw him from a distance.

He believed he had prepared thoroughly and tied things up perfectly, but Valencius had a power that could make one doubt their confidence.

His brilliantly platinum hair, casually tossed back, gave off a cheerful yet confident impression, and his golden eyes exuded an alien-like atmosphere, making it difficult to predict his next move.

The white suit embroidered with red ribbons and golden threads made him appear even more complete, and the long black sword adorned with a cross guard at his waist combined with rumors of bloodshed created a strange sense of weight.

Additionally, what about the knight closely following behind him?

With short-cropped hair and blood-red eyes like fading blood, his dignified face was imbued with the fury of one who understands honor and glory.

He was encased in white plate armor that was watertight and clearly a magic tool, while the red cloak made him appear as a distinct entity from the surroundings.

“Alsen. It’s the first time I’ve seen you since that day on the street. Has it only been a week?”

“Yes, Your Highness. It has been a long time.”

“Indeed. Time is both short and long. I hadn’t expected to eliminate so many.”

“As long as I don’t disappear, that’s what matters, right?”

Alsen smiled faintly while glancing at the posters.

[The Human Hunt of Crown Prince Valencius and the Villainess Cornel!]

[Are we still prey?]

“You’ve eliminated twelve councilor candidates, haven’t you? What on earth are you planning to do? Aren’t the slum dwellers sensitive to human hunting?”

“Yes, I know that well.”

“There are limits to reckless strategies. If you had targeted me first, perhaps things would have been different. But now, the slum dwellers reject you and Cornel as murderers rather than infiltrators.”

It was Alsen who had led them to that conclusion.

“You seem meticulous, but you have a tendency to underestimate your opponents.”

With a smile, Alsen faced Valencius, who was gazing at the makeshift church.

There were only two seminarians, no priest, and four holy knights who had draped their cloaks over themselves, surveying the area.

Alsen stood up and faced Valencius.

His fiercely green eyes gleamed with victory.

“Return to the imperial palace, Your Highness. If you move any further from here, the Church will step in, and then it won’t be just a matter within the slums.”

“Right. As entangled as I am with the infiltrators, His Majesty the Emperor can’t just protect me unconditionally now.”

“I won’t kill Cornel.”

“That sounds rather tempting. Do elaborate.”

“My domain is not the slums, but the area bordering the slums near the city gate. As long as I can gather votes from people in my territory, I honestly don’t care what happens to the slums. Whether Cornel seeks bloody revenge or whether this place goes to ruin again.”

Valencius clicked his tongue.

“Is that something you should say, aspiring to be a councilor? I must have told you. You are not a noble. Watching the neighboring district fall to ruin is entirely different from watching the neighboring territory perish.”

“I see. I’m not aware of that.”

“Then you shouldn’t aspire to become a councilor, Lady Trentia.”

No sooner had his words fallen than the red-haired knight drew his sword.

Comparing the skills of the thugs and the knight was laughable.

“Argh, argh!”

“Please spare me!”

Those who resisted were struck in the chest and those who tried to flee were stabbed in the back and fell.

But Alsen didn’t even blink.

“What are you trying to accomplish? Do you truly wish to be excommunicated as a member of the infiltrators?”

He had kept the card to escape from being threatened through force from the very beginning.

“What about you? What are you trying to accomplish?”

“Excuse me?”

“To be infiltrated, killing off all your subordinates, and rampaging in the middle of the street.”

But it was Valencius who wore the smile of victory.

“What do you mean by that?”