VIP Early Access
Eksklusif untuk member VIP
Password Protected
Chapter ini dikunci dengan kode khusus
Chapter 145
The Stable Keeper and the Princess
Ferda asked William again.
"You mean it's 3%, not that you shaved off 3%?"
-That is correct. It is a figure that is hard to believe even when I explain it myself.
Olivia, who was objectively at a whopping 45%.
No matter how much they forcibly tried to reduce it, it was a feat worthy of at least 30%.
Ӗ n̆ üm̊а̃
He asked William how such a miraculous figure could have come about.
To summarize the reason in one sentence, everything concluded with the fact that it was all just good luck.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The problem was that Olivia had only learned the accomplishments befitting a princess, but had not properly learned dragon-handling arts and tactics.
Therefore, even if it was a grounded judgment, for someone who hadn't learned tactics to execute tactics was an act that could endanger the army, and the imperial side's opinion was that it was fortunate they didn't even hold her accountable for that sin.
On top of that, they even added the reason that she had endangered the army by ordering the formation of a pursuit battalion with bold tactics in the middle of it all.
So while she had performed meritoriously as chief of staff, she insisted that most of that merit should go to the actual contributors.
Е́n u̇m̀ а̌. і̀ d̄
The fact that Alexander welcomed each and every one of them, and lifted them up, was all because of Olivia.
"I gave you some data, didn't I? Didn't you see how it was used?"
-I saw it. I asserted justification through the data the Regent gave me, but it seems the force behind it wasn't strong enough.
"Why?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
-Decisively, the young master of Duke Lutetia kept his mouth shut.
Lutetia was the chief of staff, the second-in-command of this provisional alliance.
Ě n̄ úm а̀ . і́.d
In this merit assessment, he was at 15%, the second highest after Olivia.
"What percentage was that bastard?"
-30%.
No wonder he kept his mouth shut.
He had boldly taken a third of Olivia's merit for himself.
So naturally, the highest medal that should have gone to Olivia became his.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Ferda could picture in his mind exactly how the proceedings had gone.
They had turned it into a zero-sum game.
They seduced many young masters and knights with the logic that if their own slice of the pie grew, someone else's would shrink.
To increase their own slices, to seize greater merit, someone had to be sacrificed.
That someone was Olivia, who alone held half the merit.
For those whose merit was too small to even get their names on the list, even a 1% slice was a good opportunity they had no reason to refuse.
W е̌.b̆ n о́ v̇ e l Е́ n̊ ù m̃а
Sacrifice one, make the many happy.
It was truly simple for these people to abandon the duty of nobility and the way of the knight.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
The imperial princess is too beautiful.
She is prettier than their station deserves.
So they know they can never have her.
Rather than curry favor with a gilded spectacle, choosing practical benefit is the long-term and rational choice.
Е̂ nu m а̂ . і ď
'Despicable bastards.'
Even so, the disgust was unbearable.
Calling her the empire's flower, following her around like puppies, then selling her out just like that for a rice cake right in front of them.
-But among them, there were some who gave up, saying they would display the spirit of a knight.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"I hope you were among them."
-Of course. Even if I receive merit, my own merit is enough, and I cannot receive inflated merit......
Е n̂ŭ m̌а. і̇ d́
"So what percentage did they acknowledge your merit at?"
"They said 10%."
Ferda casually flipped through the copy Mori had organized.
William was at 5%, exactly double.
Since he had tried to snatch Vernel right before his eyes, Ferda asked William what kind of offer he had received.
-I was offered the position of Guardian Knight of the Imperial Guard.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Guardian Knight.
It was a title belonging to the top tier among knights, and at the same time, only those directly under the imperial household could bear it.
The intent to abandon the Valdrova Grand Duchy and come here was strong.
"So did you accept?"
-I accepted only as an honorary title.
Meaning it was a title in name only, without an actual inauguration ceremony.
E̊ń ù m а.ї d_
For a knight to say that meant he already had a lord he served, and he had politely declined.
A Guardian Knight would be a position not far below a count.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Seeing him brush that aside made Ferda feel strangely pleased.
"When will you return?"
-I was planning to depart tomorrow morning, but now I plan to leave immediately. They said they'd support teleportation magic......
"You can take your time."
Ē n ŭ m̈ а
-As the security captain, shouldn't I fulfill my duty?
Diligent.
"Understood. Then come to the castle as soon as you arrive. The moment you get here, we'll hold the bonus award ceremony and the banquet."
-Yes! I'll go as fast as I can!
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
* * *
After William returned via teleportation magic, Ferda awarded bonuses to the tactical infantry who had participated in the battle, and supported a festival.
Ŵ е ḃn̄ оv̊е.l̆. Ĕn u m а̃
There were banquet supplies that would have taken two days to prepare, so it wasn't difficult.
Ferda was able to consume the leftover supplies that had been floating around, and the infantry experienced the food of nobles that they could never have tasted before, so they were properly treated as war veterans.
Thinking it would pass without incident, right then, Ferda's communication crystal blinked blue.
Ferda placed his hand on it to connect the telepathic communication.
-Greetings, Regent! I am the imperial liaison, Joseph!
The imperial liaison contacting him at this late hour meant something unusual had happened.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
-If I may, I am calling to ask if the princess has visited Valdrova Castle.
Ferda reflexively frowned.
"Why are you asking me that?"
-I am terribly sorry to ask such an unpleasant question. But since this is a matter that must be concluded quietly and swiftly within the empire, I am shamelessly contacting you like this.
Ferda understood from those words.
Olivia had run away.
W е b́ n о v̇e l _Еn ú m̂ а̀
"My answer is that I don't know. What happened to the princess?"
-I cannot speak on that matter.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Look at these bastards?
"You think it ends with you saying everything then claiming you don't know? I have a few deductions. What do you think would happen if I spread those deductions everywhere? Then it might not be a secret anymore?"
At the blatant threat, he let out troubled breaths repeatedly before answering.
-As you surmise, the Arken princess is currently missing. The imperial palace, and even the entire empire, are being searched thoroughly to find her whereabouts.
Е́.n̊ŭm а̌
"So now you're investigating even people who've crossed the Wall?"
-That is correct. We are cross-referencing entry and exit records to determine her location. The security captain went there this evening, so he was a subject of investigation.
"I understand. If there's news on this end, I'll let you know immediately."
-Yes, thank you!
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Asking him to keep it secret, he repeatedly pleaded and cut the telepathic communication.
"Runaway, huh......"
Е̌n ǔ m ã . і d̄
Honestly speaking, it was a plausible enough thing to do.
Her 45% merit had been reduced to 3%, and her entry into political circles had been thwarted.
For Ferda, it was similar to when he wasn't acknowledged as a mage and became a public enemy.
'Back then, I didn't even wish for that hatred.'
But the world wanted Ferda to hate.
Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for such malice to befall him.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Even thinking about it now makes my blood boil.
Erdes, that fucking bitch.
Briefly chewing on that name, he returned to the original topic.
'Princess Olivia has disappeared.'
How did she escape?
She, too, was an owner of the Red Circle and could wield light magic, but escaping with magic like teleportation was impossible.
Wе̊b̈ ň ô vе̌ l Е n̊ ŭ ma
To get out of that heavily guarded place, she would need an accomplice, and that accomplice would have to bear a risk large enough to cost them their head.
Being a noble was no exception.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
'What does she gain from that?'
Ordinary people would have dismissed it as the emotional deviation of the weak.
But Ferda's first thought was that Olivia was scheming something.
The image of her rebelling like a child throwing a tantrum didn't match Ferda's perception of her.
Е̌ ṅ ŭ mа .ìd̃
Through this disappearance, she would obtain what she wanted.
On the other hand, another image rose in his mind.
That was not the present, but a story from the distant future when she was seized by hatred.
She had become a vixen who tilted the country, standing on the balcony railing.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
For some reason, Ferda thought she resembled him.
The fact that she suffered because of family, hated her family, and tried to kill her entire family was exactly the same.
W ӗ b̌ n̈о̄ v̂êĺ Еn̈ũm̆ӓ
The difference was that Ferda embraced hatred for revenge, while Olivia wore a mask.
And Ferda succeeded, while Olivia failed.
Olivia gave up everything and deliberately staged a coup.
Princes and princesses died, but the emperor still stood firm.
She, too, was ultimately human.
No matter how armed with solid reason and philosophy, before emotion she was nothing but a salt wall beaten by rain.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
A human who might hold strong but could collapse at any moment.
That was why Ferda decided not to stay still.
He had to find her before anyone else did.
* * *
Ferda left the castle and headed for the forest.
As always, an unkempt, disordered forest.
Е n ŭ m̂а̀..i̊ḋ
To be precise, it was the location exactly outside the boundary range of Iorga's Spawns.
The time was deep night, with the crescent moon waning.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Under the shade of leaves, in the dark forest, he closed his eyes.
The consciousness of having given up one sense, and the remaining ones amplify terrifyingly.
When even the cries of night insects disappeared, and a strange sulfur scent faintly spread,
Ferda quietly called a name.
Ẇèb̀n̊_ôvе̃ l Еn̂ūm̈ á
"Sitri."
Then he felt a sticky sensation clinging to him from behind.
-You called, oppa?
She appeared from behind, ran her snake-like legs over Ferda's entire body, and came around to the front.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
It was a trick meant to induce disgust, but Ferda showed no emotion and spoke briefly.
"Where is she?"
W̊еb́ṅ о̇.v ê l̂ Еň u m̈ a
-What do you mean?
"Olivia. You would know where that woman is."
-Hmm? You're too hasty, oppa. Do you think I spend my life spying on the princess who lives in the imperial palace?
"You, who loves beauty, couldn't possibly not know?"
Ferda knows.
When the archdemon Sitri seduces humans, she transforms into the most alluring form, and one of those is Olivia.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Eight out of ten times, she transforms into Olivia Arken to seduce.
It worked the best in reality.
Even if it was a replica made by a demon, hundreds of people have died just for the chance to embrace the princess.
Useful Olivia is a pet Sitri desperately wants to have.
No, she would be more than that.
To have such a pet, she would watch for an opportunity, and one of her eyes is undoubtedly fixed on Olivia.
W̊ebn о́ vеl Е̂ n̆ ũ_mа̀
So if he asked about the whereabouts of this disappearance, she would know best.
-Assuming I know...... why do you need that woman, oppa? Weren't you the single-hearted Grand Duke?
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
"I just need that woman."
-Hmm? After all this, you're still just a man...... is that it?
"A dog keeps barking human words."
Ferda made a disgusted expression, but Sitri's gaze didn't change.
Еnum̂ ӓ . id
-Then let's do this, oppa. I'll try to seduce you in this form for 3 minutes.
Sitri's form, distinct even in the darkness.
The demon Sitri's appearance gradually changed, turning directly into Olivia's form.
Eyelashes, lips, fingers—everything was similar to Olivia.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Sitri spoke in Olivia's voice.
-If you endure for 3 minutes, I'll tell you. How about it?
Ẁеbn̆о̊ v еl È n_ŭṁа
She floated an hourglass in the air.
A dirty trick, just like her.
"Do as you please."
Ferda answered with a nonchalant face.
Then, as if she'd caught him, Sitri smiled a smile of certainty.
-How foolish. No matter how single-hearted you are, you're still a man, right?
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
And she boldly pressed her body close.
Her curves, which he had only seen with his eyes, seemed to vividly lick his body.
She breathed on Ferda's nape, constantly tickling him.
Ferda didn't resist and just let her do as she pleased.
The sticky, erotic sounds informed him of each passing second.
He roughly counted 3 minutes in his head, but the hourglass still had a long way to go before it ran out.
Еn̄ ǔm а. і̂d̃
'She used a dirty trick.'
It wasn't a formal duel, and she never said that hourglass was 3 minutes, so naturally.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
Her purpose from the start was just to shake Ferda and humiliate him.
"It's over."
-What? Really?
Ferda glanced at the hourglass she had summoned.
Е́ nu m̄ à
As he said, it had run out a long time ago.
Olivia, rather, muttered as if her pride was hurt.
-Just in case, I swapped it for a 4-minute one, and I couldn't seduce one man in 4 minutes?
Then she glared fiercely with Olivia's face.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
-Oppa, are you impotent?
"No."
Ẃ е b n̂ov е̊l Еn u m̈ ȧ
-Then why is there no reaction at all seeing a body like this? This doesn't make sense?
Ferda could answer confidently because he had verified that he wasn't impotent.
And above all, Ferda knows the princess's true nature.
If she did something this vulgar, disgust would come before arousal.
"Anyway, I won."
-Hmm, you never lose once. Annoying.
Baca cerita ini hanya di situs resmi Enuma.id!
She pouted her lips in regret, then laughed.
As if that wasn't so bad.
-There's an old story.
"Word games—."
-Listen to the end, jagi. Have you heard the story of the princess and the stable keeper escaping the castle together?
"......Yes."
Ŵ ӗ b n о vе l̂ Еň ù m а̊
That story was a tale of rising in status, one Ferda could still reflexively recite the lines of.
-The answer is in that story.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
At the mention of an answer, he closed his eyes and followed the flow of the content.
Ferda realized what she was trying to say.
'......No way.'
No, that can't be.
Ě_n ūm а .і̌d
Ferda desperately denied it internally, but the more he did, the deeper Sitri's smile grew.
"Sweet dreams, oppa."
When Ferda opened his eyes again, Sitri was already gone.
Ferda stood in that spot, turning it over in his mind.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'Did she lie?'
It wasn't a formal bet, so she had no obligation to tell the truth.
Е̂ṅ u mӓ . i d̄
But what would she gain by doing that?
Sitri's leash is in Ferda's hands.
If what she said is exactly what Ferda thinks,
Then there's only one person the stable keeper could refer to.
'William.'
The security captain, and the sword for the people.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
It points clearly, but Ferda kept wanting to deny it.
William was one of the few exemplars of a knight that Ferda believed in.
There was no way he would have arbitrarily taken the princess out.
'But there's no such thing as absolute.'
In the first place, the reason William came to this village was to save commoners.
There's no guarantee that those who crossed one line won't cross another.
Enù m̂ă
Besides, it explained why he returned this evening when he could have come tomorrow.
Ferda couldn't get a handle on what to do.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'If I don't know......'
I have to see and know with my own two eyes.
Even if it's an uncomfortable truth.
Konten Bab Belum Tersedia
Bab ini belum memiliki konten teks atau sedang dalam proses penyuntingan.
