CH 219

Two days later, the cardinal was decapitated in the presence of the nobles. The charges were treason and regicide. To be honest, it was rather ridiculous. Regardless of the circumstances, it hadn’t been an easy matter to simply off a great noble and the supreme religious leader of a kingdom. Rather, it was a serious matter. Not only for the religious people of the kingdom but for foreign countries as well. In particular, the Holy Empire was responsible for anointing the cardinal, and it could well send investigators to demand a thorough investigation of the truth.

In other words, under normal circumstances, it would have been near impossible to put the cardinal to death so quickly.[1] However, the near impossible had happened. It was because the royal castle’s nobles were more fearful of what awaited them immediately rather than the things that would happen in the distant past.

They would need to face the noble union, Count Winslon, as well as Count Hatres, who had set off to face them. Those people would obviously storm the capital immediately upon hearing the news that the king had been killed by a monster created by the court wizard.

And there was no chance in hell that the nobles from the noble union would laugh and…

- Hahaha, is that so? How unfortunate! All of you must have had a hard time.

…say such a thing.

The one holding the sword was the king. They would definitely rush the capital and exterminate all families with even a sliver of connection to the cardinal, as well as the nobles they were on bad terms with. The royal castle’s nobles desired to live a long, fruitful life, even if it meant consuming buckets of refined mana stones every day. As such, they desperately wanted the cardinal to die as soon as possible.

Naturally, it would paint a strange picture if they only killed the cardinal. As such, they also executed some of the high priests and the holy knights who had shared a deep relationship with the cardinal. After eight heads fell, an announcement was made to the capital describing the events.

Great confusion descended upon the capital almost immediately. The two most powerful men of the Caylor Kingdom, the king, and the cardinal, had died. Unsurprisingly, the chaos quickly spread to the areas near the capital like wildfire, and the Caylor Kingdom entered an unprecedented time of turmoil.

However, the royal castle, which could be called the starting point of all the chaos, remained peaceful and placid.

***

“I feel full just looking at it. I think I’ll be fine to starve for a while,” Mirian commented while rolling around in a box filled with gold coins. She held three skewers in her hands.

Who in the world would ever think that she was a spirit of water? Eugene could only see an aquamarine pig.

“Don’t you feel embarrassed to say such a thing even though you’ve been eating nonstop since morning?” Eugene asked.

“Not ashamed at all. I have a separate stomach for admiring gold and silver,” Mirian answered.

“Isn’t that for desserts?” Eugene asked.

“Mmhm! There’s one for that too!” Mirian exclaimed.

“…”

She had been strange from the beginning, but she had become even more incomprehensible after evolving.

The door opened, and Prince Localope entered the room with his group along with Princess Lilisain.

“The contractor and the spirit look so relaxed while someone is literally dying, suffering day and night from the nobles,” Vizak muttered. As he said, Vizak had become noticeably ragged in the past few days. After the death of the king and the cardinal, the imperial prince was the only one the nobles could rely on. As such, all kinds of figures stormed him nonstop to try and establish a relationship with him.

“Well, there’s nothing more for me to do. And you know what? How long are you going to keep up the ridiculous pretense?” Eugene asked.

“W-what do you mean? A-a pretense?” Vizak flinched. However, Eugene’s gaze remained on Localope, who stood a couple of steps behind Vizak.

“The imperial prince should be the main character right now. You have to step up to the front and continue your influence over the Caylor Kingdom and the new king. If you keep putting forward a fake, you might end up in trouble later,” Eugene continued.

“…!!!”

“How could you…! Y-you truly are a daywalker. How could you have seen through His Highness’ perfect disguise?” Vizak exclaimed.

“…” The prince looked to be in disbelief as well.

However, Eugene felt even more dumbfounded.

How could it be impossible for him not to see through their clumsy trickery?

“S-since when did you know…?” Prince Localope stuttered after finally coming to his senses.

Eugene shrugged and responded, “From the first time I saw you?”

“…!”

“What are you so surprised about? In the first place, you revealed everything when you chatted away in the empire’s language. Besides, the prince asked for his servant’s advice at every waking moment. Only a fool would not have known,” Eugene added.

“I-I thought it was perfect. But I’m glad to hear that most people aren’t aware of this yet…” the prince muttered incredulously.

Princess Lilisain interrupted him, “That is also your delusion. I already knew two months ago.”

“What?!”

It was truly unknown where the prince’s baseless confidence stemmed from. How could he have possibly imagined his clumsy acting would actually work?

“It’s not just Princess Lilisain either. Most of our knights; no, even most of the nobles here must have already noticed. They are just pretending to be ignorant, as they know that the real prince is probably making all the decisions,” Eugene explained.

“I-I see…”

“So stop the childish play and step forward as the prince,” Eugene suggested.

“Step forward... Are you saying you want me to use my influence in picking the new king?” Prince Localope asked.

“There’s no need to go that far. Whatever matter the nobles will discuss, and whatever conclusion they will come to, you just need to be present. In the first place, isn’t that what the nobles want?” Eugene said.

“Hmm.”

Indeed, what the nobles of the royal castle wanted was a representative with the golden blood of the Roman Empire. If they discussed various matters in front of the prince and made a decision, they were certain that Count Winslon and Count Hatres could not simply kill them when they arrived later.

“And I think that’s the way for you to extend your life a little longer, prince,” Eugene remarked.

“Your Excellency Batla! How could you say such a disrespectful…!” Vizak started to shout angrily. However, he stopped as soon as Eugene turned his eyes toward him.

Vizak flinched when he saw those emotionless, crimson eyes.

“It seems to me that it’s even more disrespectful as a servant for their master to die in obscurity,” Eugene said.

“T-that’s…” Vizak muttered.

“In the first place, he came to me because he wanted to hold onto his life for even longer, right? And now, I am showing him the way. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”

“…” Prince Localope remained silent. He could not deny Eugene’s words.

“Even if you return to the empire right now, isn’t there a limit to what you can do, Your Highness? I don’t know who it is, but whoever is after you will definitely attempt to assassinate you. And I’m sure most of the empire’s nobles have already chosen their faction, so you probably couldn’t expect much help from them,” Eugene continued.

“T-that’s not true. His Highness is…” Vizak muttered.

Eugene interrupted him, “This bastard is truly stupid.”

“B-bastard…?”

“That’s right, you punk. Is there anything wrong with what I said just now? Why else did your master leave the empire? He came all the way to a place like Brantia because he had no one to lean on, isn’t that right? However, his servant keeps on spouting nonsense. Won’t that mean he’s stupid? Isn’t that right?”

“Ugh…” Vizak looked as if he had eaten a pile of shit after taking Eugene’s verbal abuse. However, he could not retort because it was true.

“Stop it…” Prince Localope finally said.

“B-but Your Highness,” Vizak responded.

Prince Localope continued, “Duke Batla’s words are true. Speaking any more will only tarnish my name.”

“…Yes,” Vizak finally conceded, and he retreated with reddened cheeks.

Prince Localope spoke with a light sigh, “So you’re telling me that I have to inflate my presence in the Kingdom of Caylor?”

“That’s right. That will guarantee your safety. An imperial prince with influence over a country in chaos. Don’t you think it will be better than simply taking me and nothing else back into the empire?” Eugene asked.

“…I will do my best,” Prince Localope said while standing up. He no longer had to be cautious and calculating.

***

Since that day, Prince Localope began to observe the matters of the royal castle in earnest. Although he was observing rather than participating, it brought along an intense reaction. The royal nobles openly leaned on the prince’s name, and the holy knights also interfered in all matters in the name of god. The presence of the priests had been greatly reduced due to the absence of their pillar, the cardinal, and many of them were torn between the two groups, which further fueled the confusion.

Eugene and Maren’s knights didn’t have much else to do, but no one took them lightly, as everyone continued to be wary of them. The mere presence of Eugene and his knights had a suppressive effect on the nearby lords, preventing them from acting rashly.

A few days later, news had finally arrived from the battlefront. It was said that the noble union and the expedition had declared a ceasefire after clashing a few times, and they were now heading together toward the capital.

It was expected, but the royal castle’s nobles were still shaken by the news. The two current, most powerful forces of the Caylor Kingdom were on their way here. Eventually, the nobles began to visit Eugene’s residence every minute of their waking day to guarantee their safety from the two powerful counts.

Naturally, no one came empty-handed. All kinds of gifts started to pile up, and there were also many gifts for the spirit and the princess. If Eugene had continued to stay in the castle, he could have bought several territories with the gifts he had been receiving from the nobles.

However…

“Buweeeeeeeghhhhh!” A strange cry was heard from the residence of the country’s hero knight.

“Non! Non! I want to stay here all the time! King God General Emperor Neo Revolution Mirian likes the royal castle! I’m! I’m! I’m still hungry for more! Kieeeekkk!” The spirit was completely consumed by material goods. However, a flick of a finger quickly subdued her.

The prince gazed sideways at the greedy spirit with disturbed eyes. It appeared he was still not used to the spirit’s attitude.

He then asked, “Sir. Will I be returning to Maren with you?”

“That’s right. If you stay, it will only influence Your Highness in a negative way,” Eugene answered.

“Negative way?” Prince Localope asked.

“Count Winslon is no ordinary man. The nobles of the royal castle are incompetent, but that man is different. He will quickly realize what kind of position you hold in the empire,” Eugene responded.

“Hmm.” Prince Localope’s expression darkened when he understood Eugene’s words.

“You’re saying he’s going to ally himself with a different faction of the empire,” Prince Localope commented.

Eugene answered, “That’s right. There will definitely be people coming from the empire, and they will just drag you away, right?”

“I see… I understand.” The prince nodded without hesitation. Vizak took on a proud expression as he watched the prince from the side.

‘This is the first time, right? His Highness standing at the center of the stage…’

Prince Localope was cheerful and energetic in nature, but he had always been forced to stay as quiet as a shadow in the imperial castle. However, he had shown off his glorious presence amidst the nobles during the last few days.

The prince’s natural abilities were complemented by his status as an imperial prince of the Roman Empire. He had truly become like a fish in the water as he became involved in all sorts of matters with confidence. Naturally, the nobles’ evaluation of the prince rose accordingly, and Vizak was overjoyed to see his master finally in the spotlight after so many years.

Both the prince and Vizak knew exactly who they had to thank for that…

‘I was only planning to rely on his power…’

The plan to return home with the help of a Marecasio—a daywalker—had already been completely revised. And now, their positions had become somewhat reversed as well. Prince Localope wasn’t choosing Eugene Batla; rather, he had to work hard, so he could continue to receive Eugene’s help.

It was no use trying to coerce someone with character, influence, and status if such things had no value for that person.

‘No, that’s not right. There will be severe retaliation if you try something like that against a Marecasio.’

Vizak could not forget the gaze Eugene had when he had ignored all proper procedures and had the cardinal and Jung Dircht executed in only two days. At the same time, Vizak had made up his mind—he would never make an enemy out of Eugene.

“Anyway, if we leave, the noble union and the expedition’s commander will be delighted. The civil war has already ended, and they’ll be able to choose the new king as they wish,” Vizak commented.

Eugene smirked. “Well, I wonder if it’ll proceed as they want.”

“What?” Vizak asked.

“There’s something like that,” Eugene answered. He gave a mysterious smile as he recalled the conversation he had the day prior with some of the highest-ranking members of the holy knights.

- Naturally, the new king should be religious. In addition, he should also have the capabilities to actively represent the will of the holy knights, right? To make sure something as lamentable and evil as this will never happen again.

Those words had been enough.

The fanatics would once again run wild, and they would definitely not care about anyone’s opinion, including Count Winslon’s and Count Hartes’. The real civil war of the Caylor Kingdom was yet to come.

“Sir Eugene! Everything is ready!”

“Good work. Let’s go.”

On the surface, Eugene was a benefactor of the kingdom, but in reality, he had just tossed a spark of division that would change things forever. He returned to Maren with a spring in his steps.

He brought with him ten carts filled with gold, silver, and various treasures he had received as gifts. After Eugene proudly entered the City of Maren, the mayor and the guild leaders came to him and pleaded with him on their knees.

“Please, we implore you. Become our king, Sir Eugene!”