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Chapter 159
The Imperial Princess's Value
Ferda answered.
"She is a beautiful person."
A fact he could state calmly.
"She is beautiful. It's not for nothing that she's called the Empire's Flower."
Valdemar let out a displeased breath.
Enú m а
"But if she were only beautiful, that would have been truly nice...... the problem is that's not the case."
"Is that so?"
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"Don't play dumb. Someone like you, who isn't swayed by appearances and isn't emotional, would have noticed her true nature."
"What is it you want to say, Grand Duke Valdemar?"
"I want to say that woman is my destined partner."
Ferda thought.
Е̊ n̂ûm̈a. і d́
Has this old man gone senile?
"You're thinking the same thing. That this old man is coveting a young girl. That he should just die gracefully since he's all old."
He seems to know what others think of him, at least.
"But no matter what anyone says, I'm certain. Olivia will become my destined companion."
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Madness mixed into his calm tone.
The Emperor's promise was precisely to bind Olivia as Valdemar's mate.
Еn̂û mа
"My destined partner is still wandering. And......"
His gaze coldly glared at Ferda.
"That wandering's stopover is trying to become you."
"....."
Disgust rose on Ferda's face.
Garnet had once spoken of the person who died entangled with Valdemar.
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"As far as I know, isn't Stella Arken your destiny?"
Princess Olivia's older sister, Stella.
It was known that the older sister died in an accident when the balcony collapsed.
But in reality it was suicide, and Valdemar was behind it all.
Because of his obsession that he had to have her.
"Ah. Stella...... yes...... Stella existed too."
E ñũm̀а
Tears fell from Valdemar's eyes.
Valdemar mourns as he calls that name.
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"Poor thing. If that poor thing hadn't tried to defy her own fate, this wouldn't have happened......"
That heterogeneous appearance signified his sincerity, and even made Ferda's hair stand on end.
"Since Stella became like that...... I'll never let her go again. My destined woman cannot be lost a second time."
Wiping his tears, his dry eyes showed again.
Е̇n̄üṁ а
He was already a human broken beyond repair.
Ferda stared into those eyes and answered him.
"Let me say this once more. I have no interest in the Princess. Even if the Princess holds favor toward me, it is not as a man, and even if it were, it is unnecessary to me."
"Is that so?"
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The pressuring energy eased a little at Ferda's firm attitude.
But soon it made one wonder if he'd made a slip of the tongue.
W е̇b n̈ o v̊e l̃ Е̇ n u m̆ӑ
Valdemar's gaze sank even deeper.
"Then you might be able to help me."
"With what?"
He proposed.
"Make that child, Olivia, acknowledge that she is my destiny."
* * *
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Ferda boarded the carriage and left the Imperial Palace.
From the moment he left the reception room, Valdemar's words circled in his head.
-As I said, this Empire is already overflowing with people who lack patriotism. Even if you don't love this Empire, it just means one more unpatriotic person.
Ferda was but a single drop of rain falling into a great river.
He presented the compensation for the proposal like this.
-If you cooperate, I can establish the Far East's standing. I can grant autonomy strong enough to be practically no different from secession and independence.
Е̌ṅũmӑ . ĭ d́
Valdemar's proposal was unprecedented enough to be called treasonous conspiracy.
Under the name of a single Empire, even such a proposal would normally be impermissible.
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'Is Olivia worth that much?'
An obsession to a terrifying degree.
How did Ferda react there?
Ferda couldn't answer immediately.
Еň ū m̌ а̇ ._і̃d̄
Precisely, while he was weighing the answer, Valdemar postponed hearing the response.
So instead of answering, the proposal circles in his head.
'Olivia Arken.'
She failed to become a Saintess, and tilted the country with her color.
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Even that ended in failure.
'It's different now, though.'
Ẽ ǹum̄ а̄.і d
She who stayed at 3rd Circle has now reached 4th Circle, and is genuinely stepping onto the path to Saintess.
Possibility was born for her, and she had ability befitting that possibility.
Olivia is a skilled strategist and politician.
But even so, there were many variables.
To the surrounding nobles, Olivia's value as a Princess was enormously great.
To the young ladies, she became a splendid stepping stone; to the young masters, a fairy-tale dream and motif;
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Even powerful old men like Valdemar watch for her color with hawk-like vigilance.
If she spreads her wings to fly higher, they'll grab those wings and try to tear them off.
She looks solid in every way, but far more dangers than imagined lie in wait.
On the other hand, Valdemar was solid in everything.
He had support from both commoners and nobility, a de facto powerholder.
If he supports Ferda, all future dangers in the Far East might as well be eliminated.
W ebnо̄ v̇е̊ l Ё ň u m а́
'All this just requires selling one woman.'
A disgustingly simple matter.
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Selling unstable possibility to gain a stable ally.
An awkward yet simultaneously alluring, clever situation.
'Not hearing the answer and sending me off was for this too, huh.'
High-level skill.
Ēn u m̌ а
Thinking deeper makes one more cautious, but simultaneously makes one afraid.
Makes one afraid, then leads one to choose the stable option over adventure.
"Regent-nim, we have arrived."
The carriage stopped in front of the luxury inn where Ferda was staying.
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The knights guarding the entrance recognized Ferda, saluted, and opened the door.
But instead of stepping through the door, Ferda turned to the side.
W̆е̇b̆ ṅ о̂ v е̄ l Ёn̊ um̌ а
"I'll take a short walk."
"Then we will accompany—."
"I'll go alone."
Ferda answered shortly, as if his head was complicated, and tried to ignore their escort.
Knights can't really not follow just because a noble says they're not needed.
They secretly tailed Ferda.
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But when Ferda slipped into an alleyway, their mission went up in smoke.
He had vanished without a trace.
"Huh?"
"Did you see where he went?"
"No, I didn't. He literally disappeared without a trace......"
Thinking he must have run off somewhere incredibly fast, the knights sped up, but Ferda's trail couldn't be found even washing their eyes.
Ẃ е̃ b̆n̊ о v̄ е̂ l̊ Е̇n̄ũ.m а
"Split up and search! If we lose him, our heads are on the line!"
Contrary to the escort knights' thoughts that he'd already fled far away, Ferda had just turned into the alleyway and hadn't moved a single step.
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He had learned the Shadow Arts of the Archdemon, Barbatos.
Shadow Inside.
A stealth magic that hides one's form, presence, and even sound within shadows, even evading detection magic.
It was superior to same-circle stealth magic in that it didn't even trigger detection magic, but it had a fatal weakness.
Е̇ n̆ ũm̃а̃ . іd̈
'If light enters, I'm caught immediately.'
If they'd held even a small lantern, Ferda would definitely have been caught.
But this was the Imperial Capital.
Excluding the main roads, a labyrinth-like place where locations without light were more numerous.
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Escaping the surveillance eyes like that, Ferda moved somewhere.
The place he headed for was a back alley reeking of sewer stench, away from the fragrant food and flower scents.
Е n̊ ūmа̄_
Entering inside, a slum district unfolded where sewage treatment and all trash gathered in one place.
Beggars lay on floors soaked in filth, begging for alms.
Ferda passed them by and moved on.
His feet headed for a clear destination.
"My Lord...... please, just one penny......"
Waiting there was an old beggar woman pleading in a hoarse voice.
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Kneeling, prostrated flat, she held up a wooden bowl.
At the same time, a tattoo was discovered on that beggar's wrist.
Ferda took out a coin and put it in for that beggar.
Then the old woman pressed her forehead to the floor again and expressed gratitude.
"I greet the Regent-nim."
Where did the hoarse voice go, a young woman's voice is heard.
Eṅú_mа̃ . і̇ d̂
It was Garnet's voice.
"Shall we change locations?"
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"It's fine. This whole area is under my control. There's no hole for leaks."
Ferda lightly extended his shadow to search the surroundings.
As she said, people watching and guarding this place were hidden here and there.
Ferda relaxed and started the conversation.
Е́nūm̀ а̄
"How were the audit results?"
"Honestly speaking, it exceeded expectations again."
"Was there a mistake in my actions?"
"No. The reaction itself was very good."
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She had listened to all of Ferda's speech and even checked the surroundings' reactions.
It was a level exceeding the expected figures.
Е núm̆а
"Because the reaction was so good, the room for the opponent to play a strong move has increased even more."
A variable arising because the effect was good......
Ferda knew what that strong move was.
"Grand Duke Golt already played the Urey card, it seems."
Garnet, who had only been bowing her head, raised it.
"Directly?"
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"Yeah."
"For that guy to speak openly...... it means he's prepared to make it so there's no escape."
Around the time the Spring Festival ended, Ferda had kidnapped Duke Urey's son.
Because he openly insulted a dragon at the banquet hall.
He tortured him, tried to make him suffer more than death.
But he couldn't actually do it.
Е̇nu m̈ а̀
Because the son killed himself before that.
Ferda, as the party involved and suspect, knows what happened.
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But what about a third party?
Valdrova is the Gongwang, and as Gongwang she had an obligation to follow the Empire's laws.
As that atmosphere escalates, the story will naturally veer in a different direction.
'Black Magic.'
W̌ е b nо̇ v́ ѐl̆ Ӗn ũ m а̄
That Urey's son was killed not by physical force but by black magic.
Where that black magic came from and how it manifested must be examined in detail.
The person to handle this problem was obvious without watching.
'Erdes.'
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She must have been waiting for this moment.
The highest magical authority on the Serdes Continent, and simultaneously one who loathes black magic.
W̌ e b̆ ǹ о_v е̊l̃ Enum̃ä
Even if she knows the magic Ferda manifested wasn't his, there's a possibility she won't reveal it deliberately.
"What do you think will happen?"
"First, Duke Urey's side plans to expose you in front of the inn where the Regent-nim is staying. In sync with that, instigators spread throughout the whole territory will spread rumors, and by the time we head to the Golden Congress, all subjects will know."
"I see. Any other variables besides that?"
"There's one more besides that."
"What is it?"
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"Prince Alexander's aide attempted contact in Hestia Village."
"With whom?"
"With William, the Security Captain."
He was a knight cadet under Duke Urey.
"So?"
"They say he left his Security Captain duties and teleported together. The purpose is clearly to use him as a witness."
Е ñ ǔ m̈ а̇
"....."
William drew his sword for the common people.
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But if he learns Ferda is actually a black mage and killed Urey's son?
On top of that, Ferda stabbed a dagger into his own hand just because he was angry.
He tried to take away the hand that was life to a knight.
It wouldn't be strange for him to make the big decision to expose everything.
Е n̈ u̇ må
"We've grasped his current residence."
"Right."
"If it's an anxiety factor, it's worth considering removing it."
Assassination, huh......
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Erdes hates Ferda, and the Alte Church has zero tolerance for black magic as principle.
Even if not today, tomorrow two more enemies increase.
W̆ ē b n̆ о v́ еl̂ Ẽn ũmā.
In this situation, not making one more enemy is best, and if an ally can be made, that's close to a miracle.
"It's time to consider Valdemar's demand......"
"What did the Grand Duke demand?"
"He said help him make Olivia Arken his. Then he'd leave the Far East alone."
"......The Princess, you mean."
She let out a breath at the subtlety.
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Currently Garnet knows the fact that the Princess is an ally within the Empire.
"What will you do?"
"Don't know. He might get what he wants and change his word later, no?"
"That won't happen."
Garnet answered Ferda's suspicion.
"You believe he'll keep the promise?"
Èn ũṁ ӑ.. i d
"His obsession with Olivia Arken is that great. Actually, right before obtaining Stella Arken, he even designated a successor and sought complete retirement. Once he gets that woman, the Empire's situation becomes the back burner for him too."
Human greed knows no end.
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Normally Ferda wouldn't believe those words, but there was already a similar precedent.
'Henri Dandolo.'
He drove his only father to death and handed over the merchant company to Ferda.
Only to have the eldest daughter of Pascal Company.
Ёn̆ úm̌ а
"What would be good?"
"The believable side is the Princess, but the plan's progress can't be certain. But in terms of influence, Valdemar is immediate and stable. If only he can be trusted."
Pros and cons are clear.
And most people would lean toward Valdemar, and Ferda's heart also tilted toward Valdemar.
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"For now......"
Ferda ordered Garnet.
Eñ u m а
"Proceed as planned."
"......Does the Regent-nim really think he's in between them?"
"Certainly."
Ferda spat out a disgusting name.
"Those damn bastards."
Urey's son said this before dying.
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Welcome to the cruel world.
It might just be a trigger word set up, but Ferda thought differently.
'That was a message.'
Demons hoped for exactly this situation.
That they chose the Imperial Capital instead of the Far East in that siege battle too.
It was pressure to cut off the Far East's breath.
Ẅ еb̃ń о́ v̇ ě l E ńu̇ m̂ а̃.
Each other's positions meshed, flowing in an extremely vicious yet simple way.
Like standing on a cliff's edge, just a slight push on the back makes the situation uncontrollable.
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"I'll do my best to investigate, but investigating an unidentified opponent may be meaningless."
"What do you mean meaningless?"
"By the time we find them, it might already be too late."
This post-war conference has the Far East's survival at stake.
Е ń ũm̆ а̀
For him carrying a heavy burden, he can't get a sense of what to do.
What should he do......
"Perhaps, asking the person himself might be a good option too."
"The person himself......?"
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Garnet gestured with her chin at the alleyway.
Footsteps of someone walking could be heard from there.
Е́n̆ù m а̀.і d̆
Garnet's voice gradually changed to a chalkboard-scraping sound, then turned back to the old woman's.
"This humble one will take her leave now."
Limping away, and the beggars who had been watching her all disappeared too.
At the same time, a group appeared from the alleyway.
They were all wearing robes inside out.
Those wearing dark gray robes had prominent broad shoulders.
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Among them, the one in the center wearing white with gold thread was small and short.
Should I say as expected?
Even wearing a thick robe, the beauty hidden inside couldn't be concealed.
It was known at a glance that what was hidden inside was the Empire's Flower.
"Oh my?"
Olivia Arken.
Е n̈ ú m̈ ȧ
She let out an exclamation in a beautiful voice, brazenly feigning surprise.
"Aren't you the Regent-nim?"
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