Emperor Deus died of natural causes.
It is so known.
After Archduke Carlos succeeded in the Northern Expedition and suffered a great famine, Deus, whose power was rapidly weakening, laid down his throne.
After that, he suffered from a chronic illness and died peacefully.
‘It’s a murder.’
However, this is incorrect information.
At least I was certain of the murder.
The most suspicious was Archduke Carlos.
If it was Carval, the mercenary king he hired, he could have attempted to assassinate the emperor while avoiding the eyes of Croft and the shadows.
Even more so, the timing of Deus’s death was also unfortunate.
It’s a division that happened when Croft wasn’t around.
‘Everyone wanted the death of Emperor Deus.’
Archduke Carlos and Carval are prime suspects.
However, it was not possible to determine who was the culprit.
Deus knew that he would die soon.
However, there were too many people who wanted to kill him.
symbolism. The value of the name of the guardian of peace becomes an obstacle to everyone’s progress.
It was like that with me too. Even if I ascend the throne, as long as Deus is alive, I will always be in conflict with those who support him.
There was no need to mention Archduke Carlos, and Archduke Persephone also had to kill Deus for independence.
The deterrent of Archduke Persephone was also due to Deus.
I don’t know the details, but looking at the fact that he collected all the debts of the imperial family after Deus’ death, it seems like he made some kind of contract.
‘It’s not just the two grand dukes.’
I am not. I didn’t even have the brains to do that.
However, there are many suspects besides the two grand dukes.
One of them was the Shinto Church.
Deus did not recognize the Sacred Religion as a state religion.
It was because he was aware that the power of the Holy Church could wield even the Empire if it grew too large. To prevent them from flourishing in the Empire, Deus also restrained them.
Anyway… there are many suspects.
Everyone wants to kill Emperor Deus out of necessity.
However, Deus was indispensable to the current continent.
When he dies, an uncontrollable rift forms.
A balance of power that has collapsed like a domino will bring the end of a long peace.
Therefore, Deus must not die until I have the proper qualifications and gain the strength to unite everyone.
And Karbal was highly likely to have directly killed the emperor.
“It’s unusual for a non-noble person to be invited to the princess’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
Karbal’s eyes trembled.
It was as if he hadn’t even imagined that I would come.
Did he think that I would not be able to read the murderous intent that flashed in the blink of an eye?
“······ I was just representing the mercenaries, Your Highness. If you don’t want to see it, I’ll avoid the seat.”
“no. Mercenary King Karbal deserves to be treated like a noble.”
His skills were stronger than before Croft’s awakening.
It was similar to Lord 1 and was comparable to the current Croft to some extent.
If it’s a face-to-face confrontation.
Besides, a strong man like this is not bound by class. In particular, Karbal, the mercenary king, was driven by money rather than rank.
Karbal asked if he was puzzled that he recognized him even though he wore a mask to cover his face.
“Do you know me?”
“Is there anyone other than the Mercenary King who can represent the mercenaries?”
That too.
It wasn’t unusual to guess because he revealed his identity with his own mouth.
But when it comes to representatives of mercenaries, isn’t it normal to think of the president of the ‘Mercenary Association’?
‘Your eyesight is amazing.’
Karbal thought.
Even though he wore similar clothes and behaved similarly to nobles, the crown prince recognized at once that he was not a noble.
Through the conversation, he even inferred that he was the mercenary king.
Perhaps, even the ‘intention to kill’ he had sent was read…
However, his acting as the mercenary king and assassin king is perfect. Detecting the life you are sending is something that even the average sword master struggles with.
Unless it was Croft, who was considered the strongest in his prime.
But there is no Croft here.
It was successful in infiltrating without anyone noticing.
‘Should I kill him?’
know one’s identity
In the first place, the princess had never sent an invitation to the mercenary industry.
I’ve glossed over it, but it shouldn’t take very long if you want to check it out.
However, if he put his mind to it, he could kill even the crown prince in front of his eyes.
You’ll have to run away for the rest of your life, but it’s better than dying surrounded here.
‘The mission is a failure.’
The other person recognized himself. At that point, the mission is a failure.
I was thinking about how to get out.
“I’ll give you twice as much.”
“I don’t know what you mean by double it.”
“My surveillance is probably the purpose now.”
Whether the subject was Archduke Carlos or the nobles around him, the mercenary king Carval boldly infiltrated the banquet for my surveillance.
It’s not just Carbal.
There were many other eyes watching me.
“It is a misunderstanding, Your Highness.”
“is it? Even the intent to kill me was then a misunderstanding? The last survivor of the extinct Andantino family.”
“…!”
Andantino family.
The family, where the blood relatives of the assassins gathered, was the first place to be purged when the era of peace began.
The existence of the Andantino family was like the shame of the imperial family.
The reason why Carval hated Deus was obvious.
It was used diligently when needed, but was abandoned in an instant and the family was annihilated.
It was erased from the world as if it never existed in the first place.
To him, the emperor was an existence that would not be lacking even if he chewed on it.
So Karbal was angry with the emperor and the entire imperial family.
It must have been because of that that he revealed his intent to kill even for a moment.
Karbal asked.
“Are you saying you would hire me knowing that?”
“People betray, but money does not.”
This is Karbal’s Creed.
If he was just blinded by revenge, he wouldn’t have become the Mercenary King.
I am aware of reality. It is because I have followed this creed that I am still alive.
“So I will ask. If twice is not enough, what about three times?”
made a deal
If the current Carbal was connected to Archduke Carlos, the financial situation would not be so good, so he would not have spent 100 million for ‘surveillance’.
On the contrary, if it was connected to the Holy Church or other huge groups, it was something that could be inferred from the reaction as it is.
Of course, I could have rejected all of them because I hated myself as the crown prince of Karbali. But I was sure he wouldn’t.
“I am not saying that you should betray your employer. Anyway, the mission of ‘surveillance’ has failed. So, take the next job from me and charge a higher fee.”
Mercenaries do not belong.
It was the mercenary that moved to give a lot of money.
Yesterday’s enemies can become today’s allies.
“I will contact you separately, Your Highness.”
half agree
Carbal’s reaction was very encouraging.
I smiled and nodded, and he slowly backed away, then disappeared.
‘The faster my movement is, the faster their movement is.’
A change was taking place.
Because at this time in the past, I didn’t have anything to be watched.
The fact that Karbal appeared in person means that it is not strange that more things appear at any time.
Still, should I say that I’m glad I got out of the variable of death a little bit?
He shrugged and tilted his glass.
*
Isabella came back after fixing her makeup.
At once, the men’s eyes were focused on her.
Chu Geun-deok-dae threw them away, and Isabella looked around.
‘Let’s be brave. It’s a natural conversation. Are you friends?’
It wasn’t she who asked to be friends, it was Reinhardt.
It wouldn’t be strange to come up and talk to him.
If not today, I don’t know when I’ll see you again.
‘······ It matched well.’
The image of Arell came to mind again.
A Dark Elf woman could hardly be the adopted daughter of Archduke Persephone.
Seeing the two of them enter together and even dance, it seems like nothing is wrong.
Is it the fiancé that promised the future?
I wonder if he was pursuing a union with the Archduke Persephone while asking to be friends with himself, who had been discussing marriage.
‘What does that matter?’
It’s just a natural conversation.
It is true that I received his help.
Expressing gratitude and asking about the current situation isn’t possible only when you’re in a special relationship.
‘Where did you go?’
But no matter how much I searched, Reinhardt was nowhere to be found.
Seeing that it doesn’t appear even after waiting for a long time, it seems that it has already left.
Seeing that Dark Elf Arell wasn’t there…
‘I just wanted to say hello.’
I never thought that Reinhardt would leave the hall so quickly.
I thought it would be there at least during Princess Carnell’s coming-of-age ceremony.
“hahahaha! It’s more of a hobby than you think. I also think the third movement of Charmorten’s ‘Spring’ is the most impressive.”
“Ho Ho. You are much more educated than I thought.”
Izar was actively flirting with the young ladies.
If I let it go, I think I’ll buy it properly today.
“ha······.”
Isabella let out a small sigh.
*
Karbal was a dangerous death variable.
Because of that, I or Emperor Deus could have died.
That’s never going to happen.
It was natural for me to live, and Deus had to live too.
No matter how incompetent a bystander is, his symbolism extends throughout the continent.
Even more so, I am on a completely different route from the past.
If Deus dies, I die too.
‘In the past, I was an existence that didn’t need to be killed.’
It’s different now.
I became a ‘person of interest’ to the extent that I sent the mercenary king Karbal to watch.
If it was a mission of ‘killing’ rather than monitoring, it would not have been guaranteed that he would be safe.
On the contrary, it was a good thing that I recognized him and approached him.
However, it is impossible to hope for a good luck forever.
You should be safe with Croft, but he is one.
Besides, it was ridiculous to think that he would protect me around the clock.
Arel?
If the strongest man like Karbal wants to kill, all he can do is take time.
Arel was still growing up.
The potential for growth is world-class, but it was still an ambiguous relationship to say that Arell is ‘completely mine’.
‘I have to be strong.’
So I had to become strong enough to escape all crises myself.
You will be safe only when you are in the palace, but you do not know what will happen the moment you leave the palace.
If the ‘truce group’ is formed and I go as a representative right away, will Archduke Carlos wait patiently for my arrival?
As my awareness rises, the movement to kill me will grow.
Not only that, but the outside will also start moving in earnest.
[Connected to Augmented Reality ‘Deep Dream’.]
[The ‘defragmentation’ of the decomposed data has been completed.]
[Develop AI ‘Dragon’.]
When I logged into Deep Dream, there was a dragon in front of me.
Dragon of the Holy Land. The guy that Zero deleted.
It removed the AI and restored the fragmented dragon data.
In a word, the dragon in front of me right now was not artificial intelligence, but an information set containing the dragon’s data.
“…”
The dragon was looking at me with an expressionless face.
＜ Defragmentation ＞ End