030
3rd Knight Commander, Gerth Lion.
Today, he visited the training grounds later than usual to deal with matters related to the recent western expedition.
‘Reyna?’
Gerth’s steps halted when he spotted Reyna.
– Commander, I ask for another guidance duel.
– Commander, one duel.
– Commander……
.
.
.
Instead of greeting him, her voice requesting a duel whenever they met echoed in his ears.
‘I should turn back.’
As the Knight Commander, he admired Reyna’s desire to cross blades with skilled fighters, but frankly, it was a hassle.
But who was she talking to?
He realized for the first time that Reyna could have a conversation with someone else besides requesting duels, her eyes sparkling like that.
Gerth shifted his gaze to the person Reyna was conversing with.
He saw the same black hair.
‘Who is that…… Prince Fith?!’
He almost didn’t recognize him.
His last memory of the 5th Prince was of a hunched figure with dead fish-like eyes, akin to a living zombie.
– The 5th Prince had changed.
That was the phrase Gert heard most upon returning from the expedition. He wondered just how much the prince had changed for such words to circulate.
‘His outward appearance has certainly changed a great deal.’
He observed Evan closely for a moment.
He had grown nearly as tall as Reina, who was large for a woman. His once hunched back and slumped shoulders were now straight and upright.
The muscles visible on the exposed portions of his upper body were not yet fully developed, but they evoked those of squires being fervently tempered into knights.
‘He watched the Sacred Sword Technique and mimicked it? That he surpasses even Reina, becoming a monster?’
Tales he had not heard before rejoining the knight order, from prospective members of the 3rd Knight Corps.
Gert was most curious about that.
‘What brings him here?’
But as curious as he was, Gert did not welcome Evan’s visit.
Five years ago, three knights entrusted with Evan’s escort had lost their lives senselessly, caught up in the attempted poisoning of the 3rd Princess.
Of course, he knew that incident was not Evan’s fault. Still, the human heart is not so simple.
‘That must be why.’
As commander of the 3rd Knights and with his father Bert serving on the Royal Council, it was only natural he would hear of the upcoming hearing on Evan’s invocation of immunity from prosecution.
‘Is he trying to ask a favor through me to my father?’
The unpleasant premonition that an unwelcome person would make an unwelcome request. Gert carefully wondered if he could have avoided the training grounds for the day.
At that moment.
Evan, conversing with Reina, abruptly turned his head. Their eyes met, taking a moment to study each other.
Evan offered a greeting first.
“It has been a long time, Commander of the 3rd Knights.”
“Ah, yes, it has. You have grown much. I almost did not recognize you.”
“Might we have a brief conversation?”
“I am rather busier than I appear.”
“It will only take a moment.”
“…….”
Gert’s mouth tightened as he pondered.
Sensing the tense atmosphere between Gert and Evan, Reina politely excused herself, feeling it was not her place.
As Reina withdrew, Gert’s lips parted.
“······ Just a moment. Please go ahead.”
“Please help me meet with Councilor Bert.”
“Can’t you just go and see him directly?”
“You must have heard that a hearing will be held regarding me. It wouldn’t look good for the person in question to visit a member of the Royal Council.”
“Are you the one making such a request?”
Evan smiled wryly.
“Councilor Bert. Don’t you want to meet me?”
For a moment, Gert was speechless.
‘How did he know?’
It wasn’t wrong. Last night, during the dinner he had with his father, this topic came up.
– While you were on the Western Campaign, the 5th Prince has changed a lot. No, has he revealed what he was hiding? I want to meet him once and see the true face of the guy who has shed the shell of the Ghost Prince.
– Can’t you just meet him directly?
– The timing isn’t right. The Miloa faction doesn’t look favorably upon the 5th Prince. If I meet the 5th Prince in this situation, they might get scared and try to eliminate him.
***
When their eyes met, Gert felt like he was facing a solid shield. It might really be like that. If this were a conversation with real swords.
“Councilor Bert. Don’t you want to meet me?”
His pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck when I casually threw that question. And he gave me a look as if asking how I knew.
‘That’s right.’
The 3rd Knight Commander.
No matter how you look at it, he’s a born knight.
Well, that’s how knights should be. If they only learn vile things and start political fights, that’s a shortcut to ruining the nation.
It might be because knights like Gert still exist that the Kingdom of Lionel is still running.
‘I thought Councilor Bert would want to meet me too.’
To be honest, I couldn’t be completely sure.
The two factions of nobles tightly united around the 1st Prince and the 2nd Prince. Councilor Bert and the six former Royal Party members cannot inherently belong to either side.
······ I can’t guarantee it 100%.
Originally, there were eight former Royal Party members. Two of them had defected amicably to the 1st Prince and 2nd Prince’s camps in the past.
Anyway.
In the midst of all this, the 5th Prince, who was thought to have been trampled to the roots long ago, suddenly resurfaces, so it’s only natural to be curious.
At the very least, it’s understandable to want to have a conversation and see what kind of person he is.
“…I do not know my father’s thoughts on this.”
Gert averted his gaze from mine, though his words suggested otherwise. His tightly sealed lips conveyed an intense determination to never grant my request.
‘It won’t work.’
While prodding him further might elicit amusing reactions, his sturdy defenses seemed fundamentally impenetrable.
‘I should abandon the idea of meeting Councilor Bert directly.’
I made the decision swiftly.
Clinging to a hopeless cause and pestering someone is unbecoming.
“Then, please convey my regards. Tell him I’ll visit with a grand gift soon.”
“A grand gift, you say?”
“Yes, one he’ll undoubtedly appreciate.”
“You’re really leaving just like that?”
Gert’s expression was slightly perplexed.
I nodded to him, then departed with Alfonso toward the Emerald Palace.
Once we were some distance from the training grounds, Alfonso spoke up.
“Prince, are you sure it’s okay not to meet Councilor Bert?”
“I’m confident he’ll at least remain neutral during the hearing. His abstention alone will suffice.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“When I probed the 3rd Knight Commander earlier, I sensed Councilor Bert wanted to meet me. Didn’t you notice?”
“…I did. He was terrible at concealing his expressions. I almost wanted to offer lessons. Not that I’m one to talk.”
“That’s because you’re an open book. If the rumors about Councilor Bert are true, his desire to meet me likely means he wants to assess whether I’ll be an asset or liability to the kingdom. At the very least, he’s observing me closely.”
“I…suppose so?”
“Once he receives the gift I mentioned, he may not support me, but he’ll certainly cast an abstaining vote. I’m certain of it.”
“What is this gift you speak of? I was curious earlier but kept my mouth shut to avoid trouble.”
“You’ll naturally learn about it if the Northern Liberation Army cooperates with us. The gift requires their involvement.”
“Ah! Then if the Northern Liberation Army doesn’t participate in your plan…”
Hah, this guy.
I’m sure I explained with my eyes last time that ‘then X happens.’
“Which is why you need to establish contact with the Northern Liberation Army promptly.”
“It’s not as simple as willing it.”
“The longer you delay, the less time your head has left attached to your body.”
“………”
Was it because of my urging?
As midnight approached that night, Alfonso came rushing to find me while I was pressing my throbbing head in the study, planning for the future.
“Your Highness! A message has arrived. We’re meeting them for now.”
As soon as I heard that news, my throbbing head instantly cleared up.
‘If the Northern Liberation Army joins, will we at least have all the preparations ready?’
***
Even the lower ranks in the Royal Intelligence Agency are so-called elites. It’s uncommon for them to go out into the field themselves.
Not to mention when an urgent report arrives about a new enemy force emerging in the south.
They had no energy to waste tailing the 5th Prince, whom they already thought was finished.
Still, someone had to do it.
“The 5th Prince has appeared.”
“Follow him closely. Don’t let him slip away like last time.”
“Yes!”
That task trickled down from the Royal Intelligence Agency to the law enforcement organization supporting them.
“But why are we tailing the 5th Prince?”
“Not tailing, escorting.”
“Really?”
“To be honest, I don’t know either. When have we ever known the reasons behind our orders? We just do as we’re told.”
The carriage driver didn’t seem too pleased with the guard’s attitude.
“What’s with that look?”
“It’s nothing.”
The two followed the 5th Prince’s carriage from a distance.
“By the way, did you report that we briefly lost him last time?”
“When did we lose him?”
“Remember, at the Queen’s Crossroads?”
“We frantically searched the area and confirmed his carriage was parked near the entertainment district, right?”
“But we didn’t see him go in.”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The 5th Prince, at that ripe age, going through the trouble of switching the royal carriage for a regular one just to visit where women are undressed – it’s clear what he was up to, isn’t it? You didn’t need to actually see that!”
The driver shook his head vigorously at the guard’s blunt words. He felt he needed to stay alert himself, lest he get an earful later.
He drove the carriage, looking at the 5th Prince’s carriage through the eyes of a hawk.
“Oh, he suddenly turned and went into an alley!”
“Hurry up and follow him!”
“Ah! I see him again.”
“Phew, stay focused, men!”
From noble mtl dot com
They didn’t know.
That the 5th Prince’s carriage was passing by them, going in the opposite direction.
***
“Your Highness. We have arrived.”
The place Alfonso guided me to was a shabby tavern. It was just the kind of place where the commoners of Baronath would have a drink after finishing their day’s work.
“Please go in first. Just in case, I’ll stand guard around the entrance.”
“Good work.”
I opened the door and stepped inside.
There was no one around.
Just as Alfonso had told me, I went downstairs and moved aside a large beer barrel, revealing a secret space.
After walking for about 5 minutes through a dark, narrow passage, light began to appear, and I reached a space with a small round table and chairs.
There, a fox mask was waiting for me.
“You’re here. I’m Austin, representing the leaders of the Northern Liberation Army.”
Just as Alfonso had said, a genderless voice and a name commonly used by both men and women.
Even checking their status, their gender was ?
Normally if they want to hide it, the probability is higher that they’re female, but.
‘Well, whatever.’
Their gender wasn’t important at all.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Very well.”
At Austin’s prompting, I sat down in a chair and immediately spoke.
“First of all, the fact that you wanted to meet with me suggests that what I said to Fran piqued your interest quite a bit, wouldn’t you agree?”
“That’s right. But I, and the other leaders, want to confirm something first.”
“What is it?”
“You said that if we promise to join you, you’ll help make the people of the kingdom realize that the Northern Liberation Army isn’t just a group of bandits. Can you elaborate on that beforehand?”
Ah, you mean that.
“Well, since you’ve come this far, I can tell you that much. Wouldn’t it be enough to prove that the Northern Liberation Army rose up for the sake of the Leonel Kingdom?”
“Are you perhaps referring to ousting the royals who support the First Prince? The citizens of the kingdom will perceive it as nothing more than a messy power struggle within the royal family.”
I grinned.
“It will depend on who those ousted royals are and why they are being ousted.”
“Could you elaborate?”
“Wouldn’t it suffice to expose the individual who nearly ruined the kingdom?”
“Nearly ruined the kingdom?”
“The one who joined hands with the demonic tribe and tried to spread a plague in the north, creating a foothold for the Hamul Empire’s invasion. If we expose and oust such a figure from the palace, how could the citizens of the kingdom view the Northern Liberation Army as a mere group of bandits?”
Chill.
“And who might that be?”
The surrounding air grew chilly with Austin’s icy voice.
‘Who indeed, we’ll have to create that together.’
The atmosphere was a bit too tense to speak further at the moment.