15 – The Inevitable Meeting
I entered Lord Gerund’s office through the window.
Unlike the outside, the security inside the mansion was not very strict.
Taking out a small magic lamp that illuminated the room, I calmly began to search for evidence of Lord Gerund’s corruption.
Verdio Gerund.
Perhaps at this moment.
The person who knows the most about him,
Apart from his loyal followers and Count Schlein,
Would be none other than me.
Gelunde Jajak’s way of making money was incredibly wicked.
He used wars in other countries and territories to earn money.
He also took advantage of wars that had already happened.
And when there was peace, he manipulated things to start wars.
He made a fortune in the midst of the chaotic storm of war,
Dealing in goods such as food, weapons, weapon materials, and magic stones.
He would sweep up everything from the area around the war and the goods that came flowing in, carrying the scent of money.
Then he would sell them off to those who would pay a higher price, making sure that no one could be the winner regardless of the outcome.
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Sometimes for monetary gain,
Sometimes for political purposes,
He didn’t hesitate to supply weapons and food to enemies of the Empire, causing havoc at the borders.
He didn’t hesitate to brutally kill nobles who followed Count Schlein to incite war.
There were many nobles who were victims, following Count Schlein.
So if I could find evidence that Gelunde Jajak started the war,
Not only would it sever the financial lifeline of Empress Pa,
But it could also cause internal strife within Count Schlein’s faction.
It could be of significant help to the stability of the Empire,
And could be seen as a threefold effect with minimal effort.
However, no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find any relevant evidence.
Even after thoroughly searching through the piles of documents on the desk, the bookshelves, the drawers, and the nearby bookcases.
As expected.
It seemed like I had been living a life that was even more meticulous than my enemies’, as befitting my nature.
The boundaries outside the mansion were so strict that I thought there would be information in the study.
But it seemed like I was mistaken.
I hid myself in the darkness of the study and sent the disembodied spirits to various parts of the mansion.
Somewhere in this vast mansion.
There must be a hidden place without a doubt.
And there.
There would surely be information about the countless misdeeds we had committed.
The disembodied spirits.
Passed through the walls and seeped into the floor.
And before long.
The water spirit Aqua showed me exactly what she was seeing.
Although mana was rapidly draining, it played vividly in my mind as if I was seeing it firsthand.
There was a secret library in the basement of the mansion.
With at least dozens of bookshelves.
Filled with information about all the misdeeds we had committed.
I sent all three spirits there and carefully gathered as much detailed information as possible about the location of the entrance and the strength of the guards.
There was only one entrance, guarded by two soldiers.
If we approached stealthily, it didn’t seem too difficult.
So I quickly headed underground.
Whenever there were people nearby, the spirits would inform me in advance.
Every time, I would cast invisibility and reach my destination in no time.
Aside from the fact that mana drained rapidly whenever the spirits did something, there were no other issues.
Knocking out the guards who were dozing off with their backs against the wall was as easy as yawning.
Thunk! Flop. Thud.
I cautiously entered inside.
The study was pitch black.
It was as quiet as a dead mouse, with no hint of any presence.
So I took off my hood and began searching for evidence of the most recent war.
Everything was neatly organized by year, so finding what I was looking for was not difficult at all.
The problem was.
It happened while I was gathering the discovered materials.
Whoosh!
A sharp and cold blade pierced through my abdomen.
Blood trickled down from the pointed end.
“Guh-“
I never expected it.
It was an incredibly sudden attack.
For a moment, an intense pain surged through my head, making me dizzy, but I managed to cover my mouth with one hand.
“Why is there a rat bastard here? I can’t believe it.”
His languid voice carried a wicked aura.
He seemed like someone hired to guard this place.
And.
He had such a superb ability to conceal himself that not even the spirits could detect him.
I could feel a considerable amount of mana emanating from his back.
No doubt about it.
He must be a skilled practitioner.
If I make a wrong move, I might actually die.
The only hope I have is that at the moment this unidentified man stabbed me with a knife on my ship, I must have let my guard down.
The fact that he didn’t kill me right away was proof of that.
And now, this man.
He seemed to have no knowledge of the existence of spirits.
If that’s the case, I have a chance.
If I ambush him with a spirit at a moment when he’s not prepared, I can easily kill him.
However, this man was a mana user.
Just like what I did to Glentino and the maid, it would be impossible to infuse a spirit into his body.
“But it’s interesting. This silver hair.”
The man lifted a few strands of my hair with two fingers.
Even though I was in excruciating pain from being pierced through the abdomen, I forced myself to tremble and shake.
With a voice that seemed drowsy, as if playing a prank on a lover, she teasingly toyed with his hand.
“It’s rare to find someone with such soft hair in the imperial capital. And a man of this height with silver hair…”
The comfortably spoken words suddenly grew faint.
And the silence that settled at the end clearly suggested the absurd character that came to mind.
“Hey… who are you?”
My guess was correct.
He had conjured an image of me, the abandoned prince, in his mind.
Even without seeing his face, I could tell.
He would be making a truly incredulous expression.
And in a few seconds.
He would surely turn away from me.
Of course, before that, he would draw his sword.
This moment of confusion was undoubtedly a golden opportunity that I couldn’t afford to miss.
In the moment the sword, which had been stuck, trembled ever so slightly.
I commanded all three spirits at once.
Swish!
Molding the blade with the wind, I severed his wrist and covered his face with water, cutting off his vision and breath. At the same time, I made the ground beneath him collapse.
“Ssshhhhh!”
The desperate scream that he shouted with a panicked face only released bubbles in the water.
Blood spurted from the cleanly severed wrist, and the fallen body struggled desperately in the face of certain death.
And I drew the sword that was stuck.
It wasn’t easy to pull it out myself, so ultimately, Wint helped me.
Shwook!
After that, I returned the sword to the trembling man.
Fortunately, I only killed a few enemies.
But my wounds were far from shallow.
The bleeding caused by pulling out the sword was a serious situation.
For now, I only received emergency treatment from Aqu’s healing magic.
I had already used up all my mana and a considerable amount of life force, so there was no way I could do anything more.
My head was spinning.
As expected, commanding three spirits at the same time was not an ordinary task.
It consumed an amount of mana that was incomparable to one spirit casting three spells.
I felt like I would faint right away, but if I did, I would really die.
I bit my lip and licked the bitter blood to regain my composure.
Luckily.
Constantly depleting mana seemed to have increased my resistance to mana exhaustion.
I don’t know how much more life force I can consume in the future.
But right now, there was no other choice.
First of all.
I had to escape from this place.
And before it’s too late.
I must go to Elaine.
***
Elaine, the illegitimate child of Count Bart.
She is now.
Under the faint moonlight streaming through the window.
Lying on the bed, she has been tossing and turning for hours.
Just like last night.
She couldn’t sleep at all.
Because the words of His Majesty the Emperor.
Still lingered in her mind.
– It’s a marriage proposal. If it’s you, I think you would be a perfect match for my son. What do you think?
He definitely said that.
Marriage.
To think that someone like herself, a mere illegitimate child of a count, would be a suitable match for the crown prince.
It was an unbelievable statement.
But it wasn’t a mere joke that the servants often murmured.
Indeed.
It was the Emperor of the Mersen Empire who said it himself.
I was truly astonished beyond measure.
By my own hands.
It was even more astonishing than the moment when that tremendous light burst forth.
Even more, more, more astounding.
Then, suddenly, on her face.
A deep darkness, unilluminable by the faint moonlight, cast a shadow.
It was because the words of the empress, who possessed extraordinary beauty that did not match her age, came to mind.
“Oh my, so you’re a bastard, huh? And yet you’re sitting here dressed like that? You’re quite an interesting child, aren’t you?”
“Sigh….”
A deep sigh escaped Elaine’s lips.
She knew her own situation better than anyone else.
It was herself.
However, having others remind her of such a fact was never a good experience.
She felt so ashamed and humiliated.
So whenever she thought of the empress’s face and voice, her mood became profoundly melancholic.
She didn’t choose to be born like this.
Of course, meeting her mother was a happy event.
But if she could turn back time.
She didn’t want to live as a pitiful bastard, constantly being pointed at and living in the shadows of others.
So on one hand.
Even though I knew it, I felt grateful to His Majesty the Emperor for seeing me in a positive light.
And as for the Crown Prince…
To be honest, I’m not sure.
Ever since the day I first met him at the Viscount’s residence, his face has been appearing in my mind more and more frequently.
And every time, my body heats up.
My heart beats faster and my breath becomes a little short.
I wonder if something is hurting.
As time goes on, it seems like the symptoms are getting worse.
Even this morning, while walking absentmindedly thinking about the Crown Prince’s face, I bumped into the Viscountess.
Fortunately, Katia unexpectedly appeared from somewhere and took the slap for me, so I was able to avoid a disaster.
Then suddenly, I remembered what the Crown Prince said in the carriage.
“You don’t have to worry about His Majesty’s words.”
I never wished for marriage with the Crown Prince.
In the first place, it was too sudden and didn’t match my station, so I knew that.
But when he denied the marriage himself, I felt a sinking feeling in my heart for some reason.
I felt a mysterious sadness and my chest became tight and heavy.
With those thoughts, I covered my face, which was burning with fever, with the blanket that covered me from head to toe.
Gulp!
Suddenly, I heard the sound of a window opening.
“Could it be a thief?”
A chill ran down her spine.
In a situation she had never experienced before in her life.
She was so scared that she couldn’t even pull the blanket down.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
After what felt like an eternity, she cautiously lowered the blanket, her heart trembling.
Thud-
Something heavy fell onto the bed.
“Ah!”
Eline was extremely startled.
In her panic, she covered her mouth with both hands and let out a scream.