Chapter 152

The young servant’s sudden action caused the others to begin murmuring all at once.

Lucian had already guessed the young man’s identity, but even so, he frowned with an angry expression and rebuked him.

“And who are you to dare step forward in this place?”

“I…!”

The young servant hesitated for a long moment before dropping to one knee and speaking.

“Allow me to introduce myself once again before you, Duke. My name is Denis. I have served as one of the eyes of the previous emperor.”

“W-what?!”

Exclamations of astonishment erupted everywhere. In noble society, the word “eyes” was an elegant way of referring to spies.

Denis’s words not only revealed his identity, but were equivalent to a confession that the emperor had placed a spy at Lucian’s side.

Lucian raised his voice, feigning overflowing anger as he pointed at Denis.

“Nonsense! There’s no way the previous emperor would have sent a spy to me! He always showed me absolute trust! Do you dare insult the late emperor?”

“That’s not it!”

“Throw this man in confinement at once! We must find out who is trying to drive a wedge between me and the imperial family by using this bastard!”

“Your Excellency!”

Just before the soldiers could pounce on him—

Thud!

Denis slammed his head against the ground and shouted with all his strength.

The impact was so strong that red blood visibly began to stain the floor of the White Castle.

“How could the previous emperor have distrusted Your Excellency? The only thing he feared was that, being in a land as remote as the north, his gaze might not reach you!”

“This insolent wretch still—!”

“If you wish, I will show you proof! There is an item the previous emperor entrusted to me! You yourself have seen it before!”

Denis immediately pulled a red stone from his clothing and held it out in front of him.

It had exactly the same shape as the stone Glenn had once used to connect Lucian with the emperor.

Seeing Denis present such decisive proof with his own hands, Lucian celebrated inwardly.

‘If things had gone wrong, I was planning to let it pass while pretending there was nothing more I could do—but this is a stroke of luck!’

Now it was impossible to deny that the emperor had not fully trusted Lucian and had sent a spy.

This incident would be etched as a permanent stain on the imperial family and as a perfect justification for Lucian to distrust them in the future.

Taking advantage of that unexpected gain, Lucian suppressed the smile trying to surface and sighed with regret.

“This can’t be… How could the previous emperor…?”

“Y-Your Excellency! It’s a misunderstanding! As I said before, the previous emperor never doubted you!”

Denis desperately defended the late emperor, but it was already too late.

No matter how convincing the excuses offered, the essence of the matter could not be concealed.

From the moment Denis revealed himself as a spy, Lucian had already obtained a legitimate pretext.

‘But that’s not what’s important right now. Let’s leave it at that.’

Although he had obtained an interesting benefit, it was still just one of many pretexts he could use in the future.

At this moment, he needed something else testimony that would clearly expose Casval’s lies.

Lucian spoke in a weak voice, as if he had yet to recover from the shock.

“Very well… the previous emperor should not have doubted me. It must have been an excessive measure motivated by the concern of those around him.”

“Y-yes, exactly!”

“That’s enough. Explain yourself. Why did you suddenly reveal your identity? And what do you mean by saying that this enthronement ceremony is a trap?”

At the question, Denis bowed his head once more and replied.

“Not long ago, His Highness the First Prince contacted me. He said he needed an army to punish the traitors.”

“…W-what?!”

Lucian’s eyes widened at such an unexpected revelation.

***

‘Damn it, I never imagined the previous emperor would have told him even something like that.’

Casval wiped the cold sweat running down his forehead as he cursed inwardly.

That the first prince could activate the magical artifact at any time?

‘Of course he can. The problem is that we can’t hand it over to him under any circumstances.’

The second prince had taken complete control of the imperial palace, and the first prince did not have a single ally on his side, yet he continued to protest and resist.

He had even recently tried to contact the outside using a hidden magical artifact, only to be discovered.

If the magical artifact were handed over to him, he would not be satisfied with merely opening the dimensional gate. And above all, Lucian, as a duke, was the greatest support the first prince had within the empire.

If Lucian were to learn of the current situation of the imperial palace directly from the first prince, he certainly would not remain idle.

Whether out of genuine loyalty or ambition disguised as loyalty.

‘In the worst case, he could use the situation of the palace as a pretext to rise up in true rebellion.’

Seeing no way out, Casval let out a deep sigh.

Judging by how things were going, he would have to abandon the plan of luring Lucian to the imperial palace.

If the dimensional gate did not open, Lucian would continue pressing that point relentlessly.

“There’s no other choice. I’ll have to at least fulfill the second mission.”

Muttering wearily, Casval decided to stop there.

If he kept turning the matter over in his mind, he might even start questioning useless ideas such as only direct members of the imperial family being able to use the magical artifact.

***

The next day, Casval was standing in the central square of Asagrim, looking around him.

Everywhere, the foreigners who had come from beyond the frozen desert were spread out, gathered there by Lucian’s order.

Seeing those giants filling the place to the brim, Casval swallowed.

“It’s impressive.”

Were all of them really barbarians who followed that young duke?

They had physiques capable of treating an average soldier like a child, muscles that could only be forged by wielding weapons again and again.

Added to that was the smell of blood that only someone with real combat experience could give off, as well as the countless minor scars they wore as if they were decorations.

‘They wouldn’t even need training. If weapons were put in their hands right now, they’d all become an army.’

Imagining them all armed, Casval felt a chill run through his entire body.

A territory capable of turning most of its inhabitants into soldiers in an instant. At least defensively, that was practically equivalent to invincibility.

If they failed to disperse them properly right here, Lucian would become a permanent headache for the imperial family.

Soon after, once he confirmed that the immigrants had gathered to their limit, Casval raised his voice.

“Listen, you who have come from the frozen desert! Today I have come to explain to you the laws and customs of the Empire!”

“The laws of the Empire? And what’s that?”

“Looks like he’s going to teach us the customs of this place.”

“Isn’t a knight a warrior? Since when does a warrior act as a guide?”

“It must be something important if they left it in the hands of a warrior.”

Seeing that the foreigners were not paying attention at all, Casval frowned.

In the Empire, even a simple commoner had to remain silent when a knight spoke.

“Silence! If you wish to live in the Empire, this is something you must know. Open your ears wide and listen carefully! I won’t explain it twice!”

At Casval’s authoritarian tone, the foreigners clicked their tongues in displeasure, though they said nothing.

They themselves knew better than anyone that in this land they were nothing more than outsiders.

Even if they didn’t like the other’s attitude, if he was going to teach them something they didn’t know, they had to listen.

“First, I will explain how the duke you serve came to rule this land. Several years ago, the great previous emperor…”

In the square, which had barely managed to calm down, Casval explained the laws of the Empire in a measured voice.

That Lucian’s position was not something he had been born with, but a title granted by the emperor.

That the emperor was an existence above Lucian and therefore deserved respect and loyalty.

That the Empire was far more vast than they imagined, and that the north was, even within it, a particularly barren region.

“…Therefore, do not forget your loyalty to the imperial family, and take pride in having also become citizens of the Empire.”

After finishing his speech, Casval looked around once more to check their reaction.

However, contrary to what he expected, there were no murmurs or surprise.

Only a cold, listless silence that stretched on endlessly.

As Casval felt bewildered by that strange reaction, a voice rose.

“We listened carefully to what you said. But we have a question.”

“W-what?”

“Are the people of the imperial family you’re talking about stronger than our lord?”

“……”

Annoyed by the insolent tone, Casval was left speechless as he grasped the meaning of the question.

It had been enough for Lucian to release just a little of his mana for Casval to feel pain comparable to being struck brutally by a blunt weapon.

He was practically an unparalleled monster in the human world.

And now they were asking whether there existed someone of imperial blood stronger than Lucian?

“…Strength and nobility are different things. Do not try to impose your customs on the Empire.”

“So it’s not that they’re a bit weaker than our lord, but that they aren’t even warriors at all. And yet we have to serve them?”

“Watch your words! Insulting a member of the imperial family is a major crime punishable by immediate execution!”

“That’s exactly what we want to say to you.”

Hearing another voice from behind, Casval shuddered. When he came to his senses, he felt the killing intent of the barbarians surrounding him from all directions.

“You have belittled our king, forced us to serve someone weaker, and mocked the land he granted us. Is there any reason we shouldn’t kill you right now?”

“…!”

It was not a threat, but a notification. At those words, Casval’s face turned pale.

If he said something wrong, they would tear him apart right there.

At the same time, he realized that he had started from a completely mistaken assumption.

‘Damn it, these people never intended to leave. They’ve already put down roots long ago.’

For those who had lived in the frozen desert, the north or any other place was still foreign land.

That was why he had planned to entice them with the prosperity of other territories and scatter them far away from Asagrim.

But those foreigners already regarded the land promised by Lucian as their second home.

‘If you love your home, telling you another territory is better will only stoke your anger. It would have been better to say nothing.’

Surrounded by countless gazes, Casval desperately turned his mind.

His life or death depended on the next word he spoke.

Finally, a brief phrase left his lips.

“…I am a guest of the duke.”

In that instant, the killing intent dissipated as if it had never existed.

In any culture, a guest was under the protection of the land’s owner. In other words, killing a guest was equivalent to directly insulting the host.

Those who served Lucian could not kill a guest of Lucian.

The foreigners who had been staring at Casval until just moments before took a step back.

“Get lost.”

At someone’s brief command, Casval ran out of the central square without even catching his breath.

If he hesitated for even a second longer, he didn’t know how the mood of the crowd might change.

However, upon entering the fortress and reaching the entrance of the White Castle, renewed fury welled up inside him.

‘Just mere commoners daring to threaten a knight, and on top of that me, who serves His Highness the prince…!’

No matter how barbaric they were, once incorporated into the Empire their status was that of commoners.

And yet, unable to abandon their old customs, they had dared to threaten Casval, a knight of an imperial prince.

‘When I return, I’ll have to say something to the duke. This can’t be left like this.’

While Lucian would likely side with the barbarians, he was still a noble.

If Casval protested on the grounds that the order of status was being violated, the other side would not have much to say.

Just as Casval reached the entrance of the White Castle—

“Seize the traitor!”

“…?!”

Surrounded by the Knights of the Blue Rose who lunged at him from all directions, and hearing the word traitor, Casval froze on the spot.