Chapter 84

Chapter 84

During the approximately two weeks Ivan was hospitalized, Elizaveta never visited his room even once.

She simply stayed quietly in her study, as if trying to emulate her father who rarely emerged from the palace.

Instead, she dispatched Dmitri.

“Darn it, look at this peel’s thickness, Miss Isabelle. At this rate, you won’t find a husband. You’ve practically butchered the fruit, not thinly sliced!” remarked Dmitri.(Dmitri)

“Isn’t there a way to carve it even thinner?” (Isabelle)

“Oh? Want me to show you?” (Dmitri)

Dmitri snatched away the apples and began deftly running his knife over them. Literally, it looked more like stroking than peeling.

Suddenly, apples thinly sliced (even in a single line) appeared on the plate, so thin that the opposite side could be seen shining through.

“Ta-da!” (Dmitri)

“Wow...” (Isabelle)

Isabelle dumbfoundedly lifted the apple peel. It was so thinly sliced that it crinkled like paper when picked up with tweezers.

“Do Counterintelligence Command receive some kind of bridal training? How did you do this?” (Isabelle)

“Hehe, there’s a terrifying secret there.” (Dmitri)

“It’s part of the torture techniques.” (Ivan)

Ivan casually uttered his words with a relaxed expression.

“It’s just basic torture technique. It may not be useful in today’s world, but Dmitri, you haven’t lost your touch, preparing for something that might happen soon, huh?” (Ivan)

“Well, I prepare in advance for everything. Perhaps there will be a need for it soon?” (Dmitri)

“...Soon?” (Ivan)

“Yeah. It’s top-secret, but...” (Dmitri)

Dmitri glanced at Isabelle and nodded his head.

“Isabelle, may I borrow our captain today? This is somewhat related to official duties.”

“Oh, are you going to torture him?!” (Isabelle)

“What? Even if I were fully armed while doing that, I’d be the one tortured by that ‘uncle,'” (Dmitri)

“Isabelle, go back.” (Ivan)

Ivan sternly spoke to Isabelle, who was puckering her lips in a lively manner.

“There are things to prepare, aren’t there?” (Ivan)

“Uncle, I’m genuinely serious.” (Isabelle)

“I’m always serious.” (Ivan)

“Oh, I get it. I need to deal with those strangely pickled vegetables. Yes, yes, civilians can’t hear that; I understand!”

Grumbling, Isabelle exited the hospital room. Dmitri, who had momentarily closed his eyes to gauge the sound of her footsteps, suddenly tightened his expression and pushed the apples aside.

The apples he moved were then enjoyed by Pavel.

“Have you felt the strange atmosphere in Frechenkaya lately?” (Dmitri)

“Atmosphere?” (Ivan)

“Well... um, the Counterintelligence Command is currently outside the city for training.” (Dmitri)

Dmitri looked at Pavel with resentful eyes. Pavel shrugged and finished eating the apple.

“How many direct assaults has the city faced this year? Two train bombings, a terrorist attack targeting students near the city, an attack by demons within the city, and that gentleman...” (Dmitri)

“Oh, please call me senior, not ‘that gentleman’. How old are you? Ah, Ivan. Isn’t he from the Guard too?” (Pavel)

“...One amazing attack by the senior. Now the king of Drovian himself has attacked once. Wow. Even throughout the war, Frechenkaya has never been raided like this.” (Dmitri)

Dmitri cautiously pulled out an envelope from his pocket. A royal seal... to be precise, it was an order with Elizaveta’s seal stamped on the wax seal.

As Ivan began to open the envelope and read the order, Dmitri interjected by his side.

“Especially, there was a commotion at Jan’s University directly managed by Her Majesty. The nobles in the palace began to find the connection between the Counterintelligence Command and Her Majesty somewhat... uncomfortable. In fact, Her Majesty, using training as an excuse, recently drove all the members of the Counterintelligence Command out of the city. Seems like a kind of reprimand.” (Dmitri)

“A reprimand?” (Ivan)

“Yes, to make it look that way. Even recently, you got beaten up by Einar....” (Dmitri)

As Ivan’s pupils began to precisely stare at Dmitri’s brow, Dmitri hastily continued his words.

“...After the intense skirmish, you even ended up hospitalized. We spread rumors like ‘The enraged warrior king, angered by the excessive external intelligence operations of the Counterintelligence Command, physically expressed his protest.’ You know, to cover that up a bit.” (Dmitri)

The Counterintelligence Command is fundamentally specialized in domestic intelligence rather than external intelligence. The foreign affairs were Alexander’s domain, and Krasilov was dealing with the situation just before the civil war.

“Starting in five days.” (Dmitri)

“That’s hasty.” (Ivan)

“Because if the news spreads beyond Frechenkaya, it will be troublesome. Once even local nobles start poking their noses, it’ll be uncontrollable. First, clean up the interior of Frechenkaya, and then deal with them one by one afterward.” (Dmitri)

“So, that’s why the Counterintelligence Command was moved outside the city.” (Ivan)

Trained agents never set just one goal for a single action.

Elizaveta, the command tower of these trained agents, had already set multiple objectives from a macro perspective.

First, to thoroughly train the Counterintelligence Command to make up for the failures in espionage. And induce the training itself to appear as a kind of reprimand, making it seem like the loyalty of the command was lost.

In addition, smoothly deploying the agents of the command post outside the city. This strengthens the intelligence network regarding local nobles.

It’s remarkably sophisticated and neat handling. Ivan nodded approvingly.

“Becoming an excellent ruler.”

Indeed, an excellent ruler isn’t someone who receives the loyalty of their subjects. A truly excellent ruler is someone who orchestrates a situation where loyalty is the only option for their subjects.

From that perspective, Elizaveta was truly perfect. Machiavelli would shed tears if he saw her. Ivan felt a sense of pride within.

***

“Did Vanka have any particular comments on my proposal?” (Elizaveta)

“Yes, Your Highness.” (Dmitri)

“Hehehe.” (Elizaveta)

Elizaveta faintly laughed in the darkness.

Well-trained agents never perform just one task at a time.

Everything Ivan anticipated turned out to be true.

However, there was one more thing Ivan didn’t anticipate... and what if that turned out to be more important than anything else!

“Vanka. With this, you can only become my own companion. I’ll congratulate you in advance... Hehehe... Hehehehe!” (Elizaveta)

Originally, this operation was established with the assumption of winning the ‘marriage duel.’ In other words, if they win that duel... there’s no choice but to marry the princess!

Dmitri couldn’t bear to look at the wryly smiling Elizaveta and bowed his head.

To think that such a cunning and scheming person is our king. Ah, the future of the country is indeed bright, he thought.

***

In this world, the race most proficient in foreign espionage is the elves. As mentioned before, elves were the adepts of the Mind Sorcery.

With their active use of befriending (brainwashing) and joking (memory manipulation) to create a friendly rapport, elves had established a meticulous information network throughout almost the entire Unified Kingdom.

Therefore, upon encountering the massive issue of ‘the princess seeking a husband!’ and the astonishing cultural phenomenon of ‘in the world, humans find husbands through duels...’, the elves, having a keen sense of how to turn this into a ‘benefit for intellectuals,’ immediately began figuring out how to use it.

By the way, intellectuals refer to elves. Because the word ‘intellect’ would undoubtedly be too difficult for humans. (This is how kind elves are to the lower races.)

And once again, a prominent noblewoman from the Elven Society in Prychenkaya, who came across this information, trembled with confusion.

“Petrovich was actually a noble...?”

What a big deal being a human noble is. It’s just a matter of purebred or crossbreed. Since Elfiera was a very open-minded and bold young elf, she didn’t fuss about the lineage of lower races.

However, this issue posed a bit of a problem.

“Petrovich participated in the marriage duel...!!”

To defeat that gentleman, we might have to bring our dad... But if we win, doesn’t that mean we have to get married!?

Elfiera eagerly grasped the ‘List of Participants in the Crasillop Royal Marriage Duel,’ muttering in amazement.

*

Author’s Note:

The academy is always in the middle of the city, and it keeps exploding.

It’s inevitable that there will be political repercussions, right...?

But after writing that, I wonder if this is really a school setting.

Actually, it seems fine since politics and intrigue have been part of school settings since the Harry Potter days...?

The Minister of Magic, who fiercely campaigns against the headmaster of the combined elementary, middle, and high school facility, is a common sense of school settings in magical novels...?

Oh, luckily, my novel is still a school setting today! Look forward to the next chapter.

(TN: By making Ivan one of the candidates for the princess’s husband, the princess can kill two birds with one stone. Eliminating the nobility and legally marrying Ivan without the barrier of their social status, what an outstanding move!)

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