Chapter: 144

Chapter: 144

Despite it being spring, snow was still falling in the territory of Hardenhartz.

A bizarre commotion was unfolding there.

First, the World Erosion had invaded the territory.

Then there were the absurd demands from the Empire that led to a war of words.

For the past few weeks, they had been pulling their hair out over this.

“Damn it, how did it come to this?”

Meliochan Hardenhartz, the acting lord of the Hardenhartz family, groaned as he covered his face.

For now, the tussle with the Empire had subsided.

This was mostly thanks to the royal family stepping in to mediate.

But a tiff with the Empire was nothing new.

The real problem lay in what came next.

The World Erosion was a critical issue being dealt with globally.

Naturally, the royal family dispatched search teams, and the manpower was jaw-droppingly extravagant.

This was because the Sword King, Rai Balheim, the vice lord of the Holy Royal Family, had personally come to visit.

After all, another of the Ten Great Lords, the Poison King, had been injured, prompting a significant response from Starlon as well.

“If it were just that, I’d feel relieved.”

But that wasn’t the only issue.

Out of the blue, they received a mission request from Kraush.

Initially, it was framed as a noble request to help his fiancée’s family, which softened their hearts a bit.

However, nobody in the direct line of Hardenhartz, including Rachel, was aware of the structure of Rahelan Academy.

Thus, they were inclined to swiftly approve the mission request.

But before Hardenhartz could even assign the mission, the royal family intervened first.

The problem was that the Lion’s Order, led by Charlotte, was involved.

The genius of the century, Charlotte Balheim, frequently mentioned when discussing the future head of the Balheim family, was coming to Hardenhartz.

Naturally, this only gave Hardenhartz headaches.

It was all fine and dandy that the Sword King from Balheim, with proven abilities as one of the Ten Great Lords, was around.

However, the reality was that Charlotte was still just a child, genius or not.

If anything were to go wrong involving the World Erosion, it could fall squarely on their shoulders.

Yet the issues didn’t stop there.

“Why is a princess from the Empire affiliated with a faction created by Balheim?”

The member of the Lion’s Order was none other than the Empire’s fourth princess, Sigrid Ephania.

Naturally, she, as a member of the order, was also set to visit Hardenhartz.

With the unexpected entrance of such heavyweight figures, Meliochan felt like he was going to throw up.

This scenario posed yet another problem.

Although she lacked the rights of succession, the fourth princess visiting Starlon was a big deal.

Naturally, Starlon had to roll out the red carpet to accommodate her.

And who should show up but none other than Starlon’s first prince, Hilnider Starlon.

He had come to personally welcome the fourth princess.

As a result, the family head, Duglakan Hardenhartz, rushed off to greet him.

“Is Hardenhartz trying to disappear from this world?”

Meliochan sat there, dazed and confused.

For some reason, he had a stomach ache.

This was a feeling he had never experienced before in his life.

At that moment, a knock sounded from outside.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s Jenica.”

With his sister’s appearance, Meliochan sighed and invited her in.

Once Jenica entered, she held out a letter for some reason.

“A letter from Bianca. She says she won’t be coming to Hardenhartz.”

“What?!”

Hearing Jenica’s response, a look of disbelief spread across Meliochan’s face.

He had immediately summoned Bianca upon hearing that Kraush was coming.

Given the circumstances, this was meant to cement the engagement between Bianca and Kraush in the eyes of Balheim and Starlon.

If the two of them could show they were getting along well, it would surely strengthen the engagement.

Plus, Meliochan thought if any issues arose with Balheim, they might compromise on the grounds of their engagement.

However, Bianca, who had been called, did not show up.

She had appeared so close to Kraush.

He thought she would come rushing to Hardenhartz as soon as she heard he was visiting.

Why on earth not?

“Could it be that their engagement has fallen apart?”

“I doubt that.”

At this moment, what was most urgent was tracking down Ebelasque, who had been pointed out as the culprit.

So, she was likely also chasing the real culprit.

Since she was someone genuinely invested in protecting her territory.

Surely, she must have asked something.

“What in the world are you pondering so deeply?”

At that moment, an arm suddenly coiled around Kraush’s neck and pulled him slightly downwards.

He hadn’t sensed a thing.

As he turned his head, he found someone wearing glasses that obscured her face.

Her flowing blond hair was quite distracting, and her fitted clothing left little to the imagination.

Kraush recognized her well.

One of the professors specially dispatched from the Academy considering the difficulty of the mission.

The Demon Master.

Sena Meyer.

She was someone who was rather unpredictable.

It was quite normal for her to change her outfit style every time he saw her.

Since her special skill was hiding her presence, Kraush’s sixth sense failed to detect her.

Consequently, Kraush jumped a little, surprised by the sudden appearance of another person.

“Just pondering various things, you know? It is a serious matter after all.”

“Serious, huh? Is that what a boy who barged in to negotiate with Durandal has to say?”

She flicked her black-framed glasses with her finger.

Then her red eyes and sharp fangs showed as she smiled.

“I’m just here because something happened in Starlon.”

“Hmph.”

She chuckled, finding the situation amusing, and let go of Kraush’s arm.

“I heard a bit from Durandal. He said if it looks like you’re overdoing it, you should go and stop him.”

“I’m not the type to overdo things, so you don’t need to worry.”

[ Sounds like a dog barking from somewhere. ]

While he heard Crimson Garden’s voice, Kraush didn’t let it bother him.

“Right, then boy, since this is a serious matter, try not to cause too much of a ruckus. I’d prefer not to clash with your brother if possible.”

When she talked about Kraush’s brother, she was referring to the Sword King.

Kraush knew she was aware of the friction between her and his brother.

‘Seeing as they’re about the same age...’

Kraush’s brother, Rai Balheim, had always been regarded as a genius.

Had Charlotte not been born, he would have stood out as the most extraordinary genius of his generation.

That being said, it was no wonder Sena, who belonged to the same generation, often found herself being compared in stories.

The so-called generation of Gold—the one that included Rai and Sena.

Suddenly, Sena took out a cigarette, lit it, and looked at Kraush with a smile.

“And before anything else, the World Erosion is dangerous, so don’t act impulsively. I’ll be marking you.”

“Yes, I will make sure to remember that.”

[ Why are you getting more brazen as time goes on? ]

What could he do about that?

It was just his nature.

At that moment, the signpost leading to Hardenhartz came into sight, along with the territory emerging on the horizon.

The northern territory of Starlon.

Hardenhartz.

It had been years since he’d last visited this place.

“Click!”

Suddenly, a sound came from below.

Kraush looked down to find a mouse scampering through the snow-covered grass.

Tightly stitched up at its waist, the critter was none other than a mouse that Ebelasque had been handling.

He had planned to seek it out.

Who would have thought it would come to him this quickly?

‘Well, news travels fast. Ebelasque must have heard too.’

Kraush stepped forward discreetly, making sure no one else noticed.

The mouse quickly climbed up his pants and slipped under his clothes.

Then it stashed a piece of paper into Kraush’s pocket.

Just as Kraush unfolded the paper, he paused midway.

[ Don’t look for me. ]

As he read the message, Kraush stood frozen in shock.

Before long, he slowly raised his head.

“What the hell?”

Something had clearly happened to Ebelasque.