3. Dragon’s Eye, Human Mind (3)
The imperial family’s majesty was the same throughout the continent.
No matter how much the raw meat of the empire was a nobleman, he had to bow his head in front of the emperor. The lords were only those who had been entrusted with the authority to rule the territory from the emperor.
It meant that the emperor could confiscate all the territories if he wanted to.
Not nominally, but in reality.
The lords could only raise enough troops to maintain peace. Even among the soldiers who completed the training period, Samhal had to be included in the formation of the central army.
So, in some poor territories, there were barracks with only trainees.
Since he could not afford to send the soldiers he had trained to the Central Army, he chose not to complete the training.
Of course, the central army was deployed in places where self-policing was impossible, but there was no lord in the empire that welcomed it.
This was because the commander of the dispatched central army was placed in the same rank as the lord.
Of course, they only followed the orders of the emperor, and were not friendly enough to listen to each request of the lord.
In any era, the basis of power was authorized violence. Even the military couldn’t call a ruler who couldn’t move freely.
In other words, if the lord wanted to have even the minimum degree of independence, he had to mobilize troops somehow.
This was because some lords maintained their troops by mobilizing expedients.
The imperial family was not a very ruthless ruler either. Depending on Yeongji’s circumstances, there were many times when he would turn a blind eye to such an obvious trick.
But only if you don’t cross the line.
If it was judged that the authority of the imperial family could be damaged, the punishment was thorough.
He didn’t even have to get blood on his hands. Because the imperial family had the limbs of the 5 major families to act on their behalf.
Once even one of the five noble families started moving, there was no place in the Empire to stand against them.
Whether by force or money, Yeongji who went against the heart of the imperial family would soon end up suffocating.
Like this, the place where the absolute power of the empire was held was the imperial family.
And since the empire was unquestionably the strongest country on the continent, it was safe to say that the imperial family was the continent’s greatest authority.
Shien was from the imperial family.
Although she was the 5th princess, she was far from the succession to the throne. Even so, the fact that she was a princess did not change.
The blood flowing through her body was noble. Therefore, the envoys of all nations had to bow their heads in front of her and pay their respects.
Since this was such a natural fact since he was born, Shien never even questioned it.
The only exceptions were the bishops of the Holy Kingdom and the royalty of the Southern Ten Kingdoms. Even they were preoccupied with checking Shien’s eyes when they were in front of her.
It was no different at the academy, which nominally advocates equality and fairness. Shien deserved the respect of many students just for his lineage.
Besides, for some reason, Shien had mastered human psychology. It wasn’t difficult for her to play the ideal princess.
Less than a year after entering the academy, only voices praising the princess were raised in the academy.
It was also the bar Shien was aiming for.
A positive image helps in many ways. It was the same when I gathered my people. Based on this, Cien was gathering talent from the academy.
Of course, it did not mean that he was interested in the throne.
In the first place, the succession to the throne was also low, so she couldn’t even dream of the throne, and Shien hated her older sisters and brothers who were crazy about the throne.
Rather than become a person who is blinded by power and only seeks to kill his own blood, Shien decided to keep his distance from the seat of power. She just had enough strength to defend herself.
However, even for that humble goal, strength was needed.
Countless members of the royal family died just because they had the right to succeed to the throne. The political scene of the empire was heartless, and absolute power did not tolerate a second power.
Before joining the imperial family’s Killing Division, Shien needed to somehow build an excellent organization. Otherwise, it will be recorded as a scapegoat in the political history of the bloody empire.
Gathering talented people, forming a force, empowering the heir to the throne at a decisive moment, and then spending the rest of his life comfortably somewhere far from the center.
That was Cien’s goal and dream.
And for that, a lot of talented people were needed. It was also the reason she had no choice but to set foot in the academy where geniuses and talented people flocked from all over the continent.
Above all, Shien was also a gemstone with a magical talent that stood out in itself. The academy had ample potential to turn a talented wizard, who was still only a gemstone, into a brilliant jewel.
One day, he entered the academy for that reason and continued his academy life smoothly.
Interesting rumors came to Shien’s ears.
“‘Ian Percus’… … .”
On a leisurely afternoon, the princess sipped fragrant tea and scanned a document with her eyes.
It was a document containing someone’s personal information. Starting with the appearance of a handsome man with dark hair and golden eyes, information about him was listed in a row.
It was an interesting history. There was a strangeness in her pale gray eyes.
“… … Can the second son of a country viscount show such an activity in less than two months?”
As she muttered to herself, the mouth of a knight standing behind her opened.
It was a woman with blue hair tied back neatly. She smiled bitterly and shook her head slightly.
“This is most likely exaggerated information.”
“Huh, that’s right.”
The princess made a strange sound and put down the teacup.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I could trust the words of the woman who had just opened her mouth.
It was because the true identity of the knight was a member of the prestigious Royal Guard Knights and the daughter of the Rufemion family, one of the five most prestigious families in the empire.
Irene Luphemion, that was her name.
She was Cien’s closest aide, and was in a position to supervise Cien’s escort work at the academy.
But when you think about it, it was a little funny.
It was because Irene had already graduated from the academy a long time ago.
As befits a descendant of one of the 5 noble families of the empire, she was confirmed to have entered the academy early at the age of 17.
Even if he wasn’t ranked first or second, he had consistently achieved excellent grades, and it had already been three years since he graduated from the academy with a decent rank.
Afterwards, he worked as a royal guard and was selected as an aide to Shien. Then, as Cien decided to go to the academy, Irene returned to the academy again.
Irene still remembered the feelings she had that day.
She couldn’t understand the real world, she smiled bitterly.
Even when I graduated, it was a place where I said goodbye as if I would never come again.
Irene, who was immersed in reminiscence like that, secretly tried to understand the intentions of her lord.
“… … Do you like that man?”
“A little bit, there is no background. If you are the second son of a rural viscount, it will be difficult to inherit the title, so it is suitable for me to use as my person.”
It was an unbiased evaluation. A faint smile spread across Irene’s face as if she knew that.
After remaining silent for some time, she soon gave Shien the answer she wanted.
“Evaluations may be exaggerated, but the growth is noteworthy. Of course, the rumors that you defeated the heir of the Yurdina family or that you single-handedly subdued the demons are not true.”
“But do you have the testimony?”
“The more people you have a favorable relationship with, the more generous your evaluation will be. That’s impressive… It’s an inference, but I don’t know if he has good qualities as a leader leading an organization.”
The princess closed her eyes after hearing those words. It meant that he started bouncing abacus eggs in his head.
Then, she immediately looked at Irene with a smile.
“If the recruiting succeeds, Irene would be good, right? You look good, this man. Because you’re getting confused too… … .”
“Your Highness, the princess, I have decided to marry the sword.”
It was too cold a view of life for a woman who was only in her mid-twenties.
Sean let out a deep sigh. As if Kim had leaked out.
It was wrong to joke with Irene. She was a woman who had become an idiot who only knew swords while training so much.
It’s good that he didn’t have other thoughts, but that’s how the princess calmly organized her thoughts.
Anyway, I thought I should see the man’s face at least once.
then you will see what kind of person he is
Shien carelessly touched my eyes. Soon, a sad line came to her lips.
Irene’s eyes turned to Xian as if wondering. It was only natural that the lord of Jeju suddenly gave a pitiful smile.
She wasn’t a princess who couldn’t notice such a sign. She quickly decided to lighten the mood.
With a mischievous look, the princess threw a nonsensical joke.
“According to the paperwork, his nickname is ‘The Hatchet Killer’, is that okay? What if they attack me?”
At those words, Irene shook her head as if she couldn’t stop it.
She immediately responded with a faint smile and a steady voice.
“You don’t have to worry, Your Highness. The princess’s escort knight isn’t so ugly that even a kid can’t handle it.”
Indeed, it was as it was said.
Shien giggled as a sign that it was a joke.
In fact, it was something she wanted to say even after uttering it. Because it was a very unlikely story even if there was no possibility.
Shien was a princess. Looking at that background alone, he was not a person that the second son of a rural viscount could touch.
Even four royal guards, including Irene, were standing in her escort. As usual with the royal guards, they were all talented people recognized on the continent.
But, break through that iron wall and attack Shien?
It was nonsense. She soon erased the useless thoughts from her mind.
Instead, he pondered deeply. Come to think of it, it seems that there was a request from the imperial family.
There must have been an occasion to go see him, so there was no reason to hesitate any longer.
Shien got up without delay. Being able to act immediately after making a decision was one of her strengths.
It didn’t take long for the princess to find Ian.
Sitting on a wooden chair on Jungang-daero, a man was holding a canteen and examining it carefully.
Black hair, golden eyes, the same as the mythological information listed in the documents.
It was Ian Percus.
He was examining the canteen with a very serious expression, but no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t understand why he was paying so much attention to an ordinary canteen.
It didn’t even matter anyway. It was a fact that even a three-year-old in the Empire knew that meeting the princess was more important than drinking water.
Shien pretended to be familiar with a cute clearing of his cough. At the same time, the man’s insensitive golden eyes turned to her.
A look of surprise crossed the face of the man who had Xian in his sights.
And he, who was slightly frowning, slowly rose from his seat.
The man’s left hand was placed on his right chest. Then, his head bowed respectfully.
It was an impeccable greeting.
“… … Meet Her Highness, the princess.”
There was a look of satisfaction in Shien’s eyes.
I was worried because he was the second son of a lower aristocrat, but unexpectedly, the education on etiquette was thorough.
At the very least, it would be nice not to have to worry about getting caught in the social world for using her as an aide.
It was the moment when Ian’s evaluation was upgraded in her mind.
Up until this point, Shien knew that today’s meeting would not be bad.
Yes, until now.
It was only a few minutes before Shien regretted having looked down on the man.
“I do not fear smart people, I fear dumbasses who don’t care about consequences” – Cale Henituse