Chapter 123 - Different Dreams in the Same Bed (4)

The two men whispered in low voices.

A third language, neither the Empire's nor the Kingdom's.

They must have thought they were exercising caution so that I couldn't hear them.

If they had known that I possessed the authority of the [ Third Ear ] to eavesdrop on their secret conversation, along with hundreds of years of knowledge from my life as a sword to decipher it, they would have realized their petty caution was all for nothing.

But they did not know that fact.

"See, I told you not to be unnecessarily nosy. You just can't sit still for even a moment."

"Is that what's important right now?"

They shared a secret conversation—which wasn't really a secret—right in front of my face.

"It looks like he noticed something, but since he doesn't seem certain, let's just bail for now."

"You call that a plan?"

"Do you have a better one?"

"No."

"Then what else can we do? We have to bail."

After whispering for a long time, the two men finally reached a conclusion and turned to look at me.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, and let's talk again if there's an opportunity next time."

"We have truly committed a great discourtesy by holding up someone who hasn't even recovered from the fatigue of their journey."

Having hastily finished speaking, they turned around. It looked like they were going to leave the area just like that.

However, I had no intention of letting them slip away.

"Why? Are you leaving already? You said you wanted to meet our knights too."

"Come to think of it, taking up the time of people who just arrived doesn't seem proper, and you and your knights must need to rest."

"No. It's fine. If you want, I can make as much time as you need."

"Ah, even so... huh?"

Doris Dotrin, who had been rambling in response to my words, opened his eyes wide.

"Wait, you speak our language well?"

He seemed to have belatedly realized the fact that I was speaking the same language as them.

"It's not common for people to know our language."

Standing behind Doris, who was marveling as if it were fascinating, Jean Katrin pressed his hand against his forehead.

Stupid prince. Is that really what you should be saying right now.

His words, spoken with a tightly clenched jaw, were full of resentment.

* * *

Returning to the lodgings, I ordered the knights to strictly guard the perimeter and immediately locked the door.

Then, I sat directly across from the prince and his attendant.

The prince was distractedly twisting his body to look around my room, while the attendant was sending searching glances my way.

He was probably curious about how much I actually knew.

And since I did not have a personality that beat around the bush, I cut straight to the chase.

"What should I call you?"

Doris Dotrin, the identity of a prince from some obscure, weak kingdom, was nothing more than a disguise.

"Should I call you His Highness Dolosis Dortmund?"

The moment I spoke the prince's true name, which I had glimpsed through my authority.

FLASH!

The stealthy mana spread by Jean Katrin surrounded me.

At the same time, Gunne, who had been in hiding, revealed himself.

SHING.

Before anyone knew it, Gunne's sword was resting against Jean Katrin's Adam's apple.

"This is driving me crazy. Now there's even an elf."

Looking at Gunne, who had a sword pointed at his neck, Jean Katrin grumbled.

"What on earth is your identity?"

"Whatever my identity is, it won't be as surprising as the identity of your prince."

I gave him a brief glance and looked at the prince.

The prince was not the least bit surprised to see Gunne suddenly appear, and he did not show the slightest hint of agitation even with a sword pressed against his subordinate's neck.

It was as if he believed he could save his subordinate whenever he wanted to, as long as he made up his mind to do so.

And that was the truth.

That seemingly idiotic prince had the ability to do so.

Because he was an existence akin to a natural enemy for elves.

In the past, during the era when humans were worked like livestock by things that were not human,

when the Iron-blooded Sword Marquis, Agnes Bayern, slaughtered the King of Giants, 「Eda」, and liberated the Northern lands,

there were four other great heroes who achieved feats no less significant than hers.

The prince before my eyes was a descendant of one of them.

A hero who led the Azure Sky Knights, which consisted of a hundred Wyvern Riders, and...

the great knight who forced the arrogant elves to take up bows instead of swords, making them fear the sky, and ultimately driving them to hide away in thick-branched forests.

「Marquis of the Azure Sky, Umberto Dortmund」

He was one who inherited the blood of that great Prince-Elector.

And unlike Adelia Bayern, who had completely forgotten her family's roots and legacy, he was the real deal who had inherited his ancestor's great achievements and legacy relatively intact.

Of course, that didn't mean he had reached the [Myth] grade like his ancestor. But it was clear that he possessed enough status to at least use a few verses of his legacy.

And that alone would be enough to tear Gunne to pieces.

I did not want that pitiful half-breed, who was neither elf nor human, to die a dog's death like that, so I ordered him to sheathe his sword and fall back.

Gunne quickly sheathed his sword and disappeared, and Jean Katrin, having regained his freedom, asked me.

"Setting aside how you figured out our identities, what exactly do you want from us?"

I gave a straightforward answer to his direct question without beating around the bush.

"The enemy of my enemy is essentially a friend."

So let's join forces. Let's help each other out if there is a need in the future.

At my words, Jean Katrin deliberately feigned ignorance.

"I feel like it would be better for our side to inform the Empire of your intentions and reap a suitable profit."

I snorted.

That was the most ridiculous nonsense I had heard since I woke up, as well as the most unfunny joke.

I knew just how absurd that statement was.

Even if every family in the world were to grovel before the Empire,

and even if the Royal House of Leonberk were to lose its will to resist and submit to the Emperor,

there were four families that would never bow their heads to the Emperor.

The Prince-Elector families of the East, West, South, and North, including the Dortmund family, were exactly those.

To them, the Empire's Emperor was nothing more than someone who wouldn't be adequately punished even if he were torn to shreds and fed to the dogs.

This was because the founder of the Imperial House of Bourgogne was the continent's first Uprising Monarch and a hero revered as the 「Marquis of Foresight」,

a treacherous hero who betrayed the covenant among the Prince-Electors after the Great War, plunging an era of prosperity into ashes,

and the very first transgressor who waged war against his fellow humans.

For a descendant of the Dortmund family to side with such a betrayer...

It was truly absolute nonsense.

Just as Jean Katrin was about to open his mouth in response to my sneer,

"Jean. That is enough probing."

The descendant of the Marquis of the Azure Sky spoke up.

The naive and seemingly idiotic prince no longer existed.

A man who had wholly inherited the gale-like spirit of his ancestor who once soared through the azure sky stood there.

"Since we have learned that his goal is no different from ours, that is enough."

At his words, Jean Katrin bowed his head in a disciplined stance.

"In my attempt to be cautious, this subordinate's words and actions crossed the line.. Please forgive me."

"I also know that if it hadn't been for your thoughtfulness and caution, we wouldn't have even made it safely to the imperial capital. So there is no need to blame yourself."

The prince, who had sternly yet gently comforted his subordinate, turned to look at me.

"The enemy of my enemy is a friend, huh."

"Or you could call it being comrades."

He shook his head at my reply.

"I know a much better term than that."

The prince offered me his hand and grinned.

"Let's be friends."

Without an ounce of hesitation, I grasped his hand.

Setting aside the cheesy word 'friends', a descendant of the Marquis of the Azure Sky was an existence more than worthy of being a comrade-in-arms.

"We are friends now."

The prince squeezed my hand tightly.

"Secret friends, whom the Empire knows nothing about."

Why did those words, which he probably added thinking they sounded plausible, sound so sinister to hear?

I ended up pulling my hand away without even realizing it.

* * *

The descendant of the Marquis of the Azure Sky, who had shown a serious side for a brief moment, quickly returned to the carefree demeanor he had when I first saw him, and delegated everything regarding future matters to his attendant.

And through Jean Katrin, I learned that their reason for visiting the Empire was not so different from mine.

To overheat the succession battle among the imperial princes and bring chaos to the Empire.

And they too pinpointed the Third Imperial Prince as the right person to cause that chaos.

As expected, a guy destined to ruin a country stood out no matter who looked at him.

The problem was that we weren't the only ones who recognized that fact.

The Emperor and the nobles of the Empire must also know that the Third Imperial Prince's qualities were more than enough to ruin even a perfectly fine country.

Jean Katrin pointed out that fact as well.

He said it would be great if the Third Imperial Prince succeeded the throne since the Empire would ruin itself, but he was skeptical about the practical possibility of it happening. He even harshly criticized him as a fool who would quietly get purged by his brothers without even being able to cause a proper mess.

He was right. For that guy to become the Empire's disaster, there had to be someone backing him from behind; but unfortunately, the subordinates I saw around him were not the type of figures who could help their master's potential be fully unleashed.

If the situation turned unfavorable, they were the type who would be the first to betray him and offer up their master's head.

Old man Nicolo and Jean Katrin said they would do their best to arrange countermeasures for that.

While fighting on a battlefield was one thing, fighting through schemes and trickery like this was not really to my taste.

Fortunately, I had experts around me to pass the work onto, and I entrusted all the covert operations to them.

Swordsmen with swordsmen.

Pen-pushers with pen-pushers.

From our side, old man Nicolo and Siorin Kirgayen stepped up, and from their side, Jean Katrin stepped up.

Having delegated the behind-the-scenes operations to them, I focused on my own job.

"Bring me alcohol!"

I played the part of a scoundrel who had completely forgotten his status as a guest.

Day after day, I threw drinking parties and caused a ruckus.

The imperial nobles pointed fingers at me, but they did not step forward to pick fights.

Marquis Montpellier's name value played a part, but more than that, it was thanks to the new accomplice I met in the Empire.

"My little brother! Remember today! Even though it's the 15th Palace right now, later you will definitely be able to stay in the 10th Palace!"

The uninvited Third Imperial Prince came over and wreaked havoc alongside me.

If I were alone, it would have been limited to drinking moderately and raising my voice, but thanks to the Third Imperial Prince visiting every other day, I could cause a proper mess.

Loud singing, shouting, and a moderate amount of property damage were a bonus.

"Your Highness's infamy has spread widely throughout the imperial palace."

Karl informed me of the rumors about me that had started to spread through the imperial palace with a displeased look on his face.

A dog when drunk,

an idiot who doesn't even know his own lifeline is burning up,

and a degenerate who would hand his country over to Montpellier in its entirety.

The knights were incredibly displeased with that reputation of mine, and they felt sorry for me, thinking I was exerting myself to act like a scoundrel which didn't suit my nature. But in reality, I wasn't having a hard time at all.

The alcohol I used to drink without knowing the taste was starting to hit the spot lately, and repeatedly wreaking havoc was subtly relieving my stress.

It even felt like I was getting addicted to this strange sense of pleasure and liberation.

"Arwen, this must be what you were talking about."

When I excitedly said that while tipsy, Arwen put on a straight face.

"Absolutely not."

Feeling awkward at her stern reply, I pointlessly feigned ignorance.

Living like a human was too difficult a task for me.

Of course, that wasn't what was important right now.

Even while enjoying this pseudo-entertainment, I did not let my guard down. I constantly reminded myself that this was enemy territory and kept a sharp edge in my heart.

In the first place, I couldn't forget it even if I tried.

With so many hidden gazes monitoring my every move, how could I forget my situation?

After two weeks of acting like a scoundrel under invisible surveillance, the heavily intoxicated Third Imperial Prince told me something unusual.

The fact that our delegation was staying at the 15th Palace was due to an order handed down directly by the Emperor.

The moment I heard those words, I realized something.

Even after trampling on it like that.

Even after leaving it in such tatters that it couldn't resist.

Even after reducing the kingdom to that state.

The Emperor still had not dropped his guard.

He was a truly thorough bastard, and a truly petty breed.

And he was also a cunning individual.

Even these words the Third Imperial Prince relayed to me in a drunken stupor were clearly part of the Emperor's plan.

It was a transparent trick.

He intended to watch how I would react.

If I tucked my tail and trembled in fear like a terrified dog, he would just laugh,

and if I bared my teeth and stayed vigilant like a wolf, he would rush in to pull those teeth out.

He must be weighing me with all sorts of possibilities in mind.

It was the same for me as well.

I too had thought about all the tricks the Emperor could play on me,

and among them was a situation exactly like this one.

I submitted the answer I had prepared in advance.

Whether the answer was right or wrong would be known as time passed.

And that time was not very far off.

Because the New Year's banquet was already right around the corner.

And finally, the day arrived.

Lower-ranking individuals entering first based on protocol was the same in both the Kingdom and the Empire, and I, who had been staying with the riffraff of the 15th Palace, attended the banquet early with the delegation.

Among those looking at me as if I were a monkey in a cage, I waited for the Emperor to make his appearance.

"Hmph!"

Not long after Marquis Yves Saint, who was glaring as if he wanted to chew me up alive, made his entrance, a servant shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The rightful ruler of Bourgogne, and more noble, wise, and merciful than anyone else, His Majesty the Emperor Orteaga de Bourgogne and his family are entering!"

At that moment, the air in the banquet hall froze.

Amidst being forced to bow,

STEP, STEP.

the sound of footsteps could be heard.

The servant clearly said that the Imperial House of Bourgogne entered together,

but the only thing I could hear was a single set of footsteps.

HUFF, HUFF.

As the footsteps grew closer, my breathing began to quicken.

Heat surged from within me.

But before that heat could form even a small ember, a gentle energy scattered it entirely.

It snapped me back to my senses.

Only then did I realize that someone was firmly holding my hand.