Chapter 36 - Demon Follower

The man who had stopped the carriage approached the side where Ferda was.

He took out something he had hidden.

Ferda was about to fire the mana sphere wrapped around his hand.

But he did not.

Just as the mana sphere was about to fly, Ferda stopped.

What the man held was not a weapon, but a piece of cloth.

“The emperor has betrayed the faith of his subjects!”

He had ambushed the carriage for a protest.

“He ignores the suffering of his subjects, fills his own belly, and continues his incompetent rule! Those who suck our lifeblood dry are not sons of light!”

The man’s actions drew everyone’s attention exactly as he intended.

Knight Captain Marco shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.

“What are you doing? Subdue him at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers holding weapons dragged the protester off the carriage and began beating him with clubs.

“Argh! Argh! Subjects! Rise up! We are not slaves!”

“You bastard! Shut your mouth!”

The man was beaten and hauled away.

Bleeding heavily, he was taken off the main road.

The people standing in the imperial capital turned away as if nothing had happened and began going about their business.

“Oh dear, haha! I’ve shown you something unsightly.”

Knight Captain Marco apologized.

The knight was trying to smooth over the situation with a laugh.

Rather than matching that laugh, Ferda kept his eyes on the man being dragged away.

“What is that man? He looked wronged.”

“Wronged, you say? You must not be fooled by appearances like that. They are Demon Followers.”

“Demon Followers?”

“Yes.”

Marco spoke seriously.

“Now that we have entered a golden age, demons are trying to gain power. They do not hesitate to slander His Majesty the Emperor with absurd agitation.”

That was how Marco explained it.

But Ferda knew, and Marco himself knew very well.

'That man is not a Demon Follower.'

He looked as though he had not eaten properly for at least three days.

He was starving, and there was nothing he could do right away, so he must have come out ready to risk his life and cried out against their atrocities.

Ferda decided to react no differently from any other noble.

“I see.”

He did not act surprised as though he had not known, nor did he show any sign of understanding.

Ferda simply made a gesture as though he had no interest.

Only then would they feel at ease.

The surprise protest was thwarted, and the carriage rolled on again.

Ferda looked at the scenery of the thriving capital and thought.

'Is an empire like this necessary?'

Ferda did not actually care what happened.

Whether it collapsed, continued rotting away, or sparked a revolution.

He simply thought it could flow as it would.

But Valdrova was different.

What kind of woman was she?

She possessed a body that had guarded the Serdes Continent after passing through harsher ground than anyone, but her mind was like a flower raised in a greenhouse.

She was a pure woman who wished for everyone to be happy.

From her perspective, the Empire’s actions were evil, and they were things that could not be tolerated.

'But she does not move.'

Because she only focused on her mission of stopping monsters.

And making her handle something this complicated was no different from abuse.

'The affairs inside are mine to handle.'

Ferda had to decide for Valdrova’s sake.

That was why he had written three letters.

They were all bastards who were trash without exception, and weighing their merits to choose the lesser evil among them was foolish.

'It would be better to roll dice.'

Ferda had replaced those dice with three letters.

He would go to the one who reached out first.

That was all.

The carriage entered the imperial palace, and Ferda stepped down from it.

The scenery of a magnificent palace with great pillars made of granite spread before him.

Everything was so unrealistically massive that it would not be lacking as a place where a god lived.

The imperial guards were lined up to welcome their guest.

And at the end stood one who had inherited great blood, come to welcome Ferda.

The moment Ferda saw that person, his expression hardened.

No way.

That could not be.

Those words of denial tried desperately to block out the reality forcing its way in.

'Someone I deliberately did not even choose... has come out...'

That was because the person who came out to greet Ferda was not the emperor.

It was not the 1st Prince either.

And it was not the 2nd Prince either.

“Greetings, Regent of Valdrova.”

The princess of the Arken Empire, to whom he had deliberately not sent a single letter.

“I am Olivia Arken.”

It was Olivia Arken.

“I greet the princess of the Empire.”

Ferda reflexively offered courtesy.

As he bowed his head, Ferda still felt as though he were being shaken in a giant hand.

'Fate.'

The theory of mana fate, which held that all mana was determined according to fate.

Ferda had recently been thinking a great deal about that fate.

That was why he thought this now.

Perhaps fate truly was set.

A princess to whom he had not sent a single letter was the one to answer him.

'As expected...'

His suspicion tilted into conviction.

'It seems the Empire is fated to fall.'

* * *

Olivia Arken.

This woman, called the golden rose of the Empire, was truly beautiful.

Blond hair and blue eyes.

Taking after her mother, her large breasts and narrow waist captured men’s hearts,

and her innocent gaze and behavior stirred the desire to protect her.

This woman, whose looks radiated an uncontrollable charm, was someone men would covet even if she laid down her status.

Surely any man would wish to be served by Olivia Arken.

“I did not know what I should prepare for you, so I will serve the black tea I like. I am not sure if it will suit your taste.”

Olivia offered him a teacup with an apologetic face.

“His Majesty the Emperor and my brothers are busy with public duties, so I came personally. I hope you have not been offended?”

She lowered her head slightly and looked up at him with blue eyes.

She wore the face of a pitiable girl.

To begin with, they were not busy with public duties.

They had merely discarded Ferda’s letter as though it were worthless, and the princess had simply taken the bait.

“Not at all. It is an honor to have an audience with Olivia Arken, who is called the greatest beauty on the Serdes Continent.”

It was not something he meant.

“I can only thank you for saying so. I am lacking, but I will try my best to lead our conversation.”

Olivia smiled brightly and clenched her fist as if to say they should both do their best.

“You said that you wished to attend the Grand Council, did you not? Do you happen to know where it is?”

“Yes. Is it not the absolute zone of Blancaros, the White Dragon, commonly known as the White House?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

An absolute neutral zone created by Blancaros, the White Dragon who was the master of order and creation.

It was a place where wars were mediated or issues encompassing the continent were discussed.

'There was a time when my name was gossiped about there as well.'

In a place focused on matters concerning nations or organizations, it was rare for a single person to be discussed.

And yet Ferda had been gossiped about there.

If he had been marked by the Grand Council, Ferda would certainly have been designated a public enemy and come under concentrated fire.

Even Ferda, whom trials made stronger, would not have survived there.

But Ferda had been able to escape from that.

'The Arken emperor.'

The emperor had been useful in many ways.

He seemed incompetent, but when something was connected to his own power, he was a man who used his head with uncanny sharpness.

The emperor had sided with Ferda, and in return, Ferda had strengthened the foundation of the emperor’s rule.

“The Grand Council can be attended by officials of duke rank or higher. Ferda, your spouse, Lady Valdrova, is a Grand Duchess, and a Red Dragon at that, so you may participate as her representative!”

“If I attend as a representative, people will not look kindly on it. Will that be all right?”

Ferda subtly tested her, pretending to lack confidence.

Olivia nodded vigorously.

“It will be fine! She is none other than the guardian of the far east, is she not? You are fully qualified to express an opinion there.”

As expected of Olivia.

She truly knew how to say things that made people feel good in the moment.

Even though it was something that would offend Ferda with just a little thought, he could not bring himself to be angry.

Olivia was a woman with that kind of devilish charm.

“And in any case, it is standard for dragons to send representatives.”

“Representatives... would be spawn, then.”

“There are spawn, and there are also people who are simply human.”

Ferda knew, but not in detail, so he asked her.

“Which dragons send representatives?”

“Hmm... let me think. It is quite fluid, you see. As you know, dragons are beings who cannot see an inch ahead, aren’t they?”

As she said that, she suddenly covered her mouth with her hand in surprise.

“Oh my, I just spoke ill of them. I did not mean to!”

“It is all right. Please continue.”

“Ah, um, well... the ones who attend regularly are Lord Silverwind, Lord Orosagrado, Lord Iorga, and Lord Storeus.”

The Silver Dragon, master of steel and wind.

The Gold Dragon, master of faith and light.

The Blue Dragon, master of magic and water.

The Gray Dragon, master of storms and lightning.

'The one who appoints a human instead of a spawn must be the Gold Dragon, Orosagrado.'

Orosagrado was a dragon who had built his own sacred kingdom in the midwest, and he himself was faith.

Because anyone could believe in him, he did not create spawn.

“Thank you for your answer.”

“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you.”

Olivia’s brows curved seductively.

“The Consort of the Grand Duchess attending will be a great source of strength to our Empire.”

“For now, I am merely the Regent. I do not have that much status.”

“When you marry Her Highness the Grand Duchess, will you not obtain that status as well, Lord Ferda?”

“Even after marriage, I will likely remain the Regent.”

“Oh my, why?”

Olivia covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes sparkled.

“I did not come for power. I stood in this position purely to look after our Grand Duchy’s territory.”

“Ah, I see. Mm, mm...”

For a fleeting instant, Olivia’s gaze sharpened.

But it soon returned to its buoyant atmosphere, as though that had been an illusion.

“You are an incredibly devoted husband. I wish I could meet a partner like you, Lord Ferda.”

Olivia let out a deep sigh.

“His Majesty the Emperor, my father, you see. I do not think he wants me to marry. Everyone else is reaching the age where their marriages are being arranged, but I am still alone... It is so sad.”

Olivia pouted her lips, pretended to cry, and gazed at him with deep eyes.

Her gestures carried the nuance that she might even go to a man like him.

Of course, it did not work on Ferda at all.

“I am sure you will meet someone. A good connection is something that comes at an unexpected moment.”

“Hehe, thank you for saying so, at least.”

Now that he had heard about the Grand Council as well, Ferda decided to move on to his true purpose.

“On my way here today, people called Demon Followers in the Empire attacked us.”

“Oh my, is that so? How frightening...”

Olivia trembled.

“I had already heard that things have become very dangerous lately. In the past, I would sneak out with my maids to buy snacks, but they started increasing security, saying demons were gaining power.”

“The state of affairs has certainly worsened a great deal.”

“But we are under the protection of the great light, Alte! So long as that light watches over the emperor, nothing can threaten the Empire.”

She sounded like a woman with flowers blooming in her head.

“But impure elements are like monsters. If they are not dealt with in time, they often contaminate the land and render it unusable.”

“Mm... I acknowledge that. In order to protect our subjects, the Demon Followers need to be eradicated.”

Olivia nodded with a tense look.

Ferda made his proposal to her here.

It was time to lay the foundation of the plan.

“In that case, how about dealing with those Demon Followers while you are at it?”

“Of course, it would be good if we could... but we searched everywhere trying to find their hideout, and found nothing.”

Rather than the Empire’s soldiers being incompetent, the bigger reason was that the Empire was needlessly vast.

Unless they launched surprise attacks locally all at once, it was difficult to suppress a force there.

So Ferda had made preparations for that.

“Recently, there was a Demon Follower in our territory as well. This was found among his belongings.”

Ferda took out paper wrapped in cloth and placed it on the table.

An unknown script was written on that paper.

Olivia picked it up without hesitation and examined it.

“What... in the world is this?”

“It is the demon tongue.”

“Eek!”

Olivia jumped in shock and dropped the paper.

She wiped her hand with a perfumed handkerchief, as though it were filthy.

“Why would the demon tongue... This is something only Demon Followers could really use, isn’t it?”

“Yes. When I showed it to the scribe at our castle, he said it was the demon tongue. A detailed deciphering should be left to a magical investigator.”

Olivia looked down at the paper written in the demon tongue and wore an expression of deep thought.

The innocence she had shown until a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

She knew this was not the time to play the fool and act coy.

After thinking that through, Olivia quietly raised her hand.

The butler who had been standing behind her like a folding screen bowed his head.

“Please give your order.”

“Summon a magical investigator immediately. This is urgent.”

* * *

Demons were forbidden beings on the Serdes Continent, with no exceptions.

That was why there were few people who could hold their heads high when faced with the demon tongue.

Within the Empire, they were limited to magical investigators who investigated heresy and demon arts, and senior scholars who recorded, archived, and studied all information.

The magical investigator, a man who introduced himself as Yuren, looked at the paper Ferda handed him and spoke with a grave face.

“This... is certainly the demon tongue.”

“Oh my...”

Olivia let out a groan.

In contrast to her trembling body, there was not the slightest wavering in her eyes.

“Do you know what this means as well?”

“Yes. This indicates a location. And that place is...”

Yuren took out a map from a subspace storage cabinet, spread it open, and pointed to one place.

“It refers precisely to the inside of the underground aqueduct beneath the imperial capital.”