NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 29
Wyvernfit was a massive structure, and it housed several spaces where secret dialogues could be held.
When provincial high nobles needed to travel to and from the capital rapidly, it was to allow them to conduct their affairs right at the destination.
Originally, there were no plans to create such spaces.
However, as high nobles, fearing imprisonment or assassination in the distant capital, began to increasingly refuse to come to the capital at all, the Imperial Court eventually took a step back.
They suggested gathering for conversation in the capital instead of requiring their presence in the Imperial Palace.
We sat in a spacious room with a high ceiling, having tea and snacks before us.
I, the Court Official, Aquinas, and the Duchess had coffee, while Lady Trentia, the Duke, and the two guard knights opted for tea.
The Duke seemed to wear a content expression after seeing Lady Trentia drink her tea.
It appeared he expected the capital’s knights to be arrogant louts bragging about refinement, but that was not the case.
The awkward silence was broken by Duke Marthe.
“I wish to express my gratitude to the Court Official for creating such an occasion.”
His voice was low and powerful; his brown eyes shone with sharpness.
“As I requested since last year, I have come to adopt my wife’s nephew as my own.”
“You’re talking about an adopted son?”
The Court Official replied in a tone that suggested he had not even considered that possibility.
But I knew very well that she had dedicated her life to the political sphere in the capital.
It was unclear whether she was genuinely surprised or merely pretending to be.
“The formal adoption papers are prepared on this end, and I intend to get approval from the High Priest staying at my territory’s church, so we don’t need Imperial assistance for this. I want to make it clear that I have no intention of irresponsibly siphoning off Imperial blood.”
“None of us thought that. In fact… such discussions have been coming up from our Court Official as well. Wouldn’t it be better to send all the current royals back to their maternal family’s side?”
The Duke raised his eyebrows.
“How surprising. I thought the Court Official wanted to keep the royals close.”
The Court Official let out a small sigh.
“You would only be constrained by being here. With your rank being so low in the line of succession, you can never become Emperor. It’s not enjoyable for us to see you imprisoned in the palace just because you are of royal blood.”
“Then how about advising the Emperor against that?”
The Duke retorted sarcastically, but the Court Official didn’t even flinch.
“Yes. Alas, the Emperor treats my suggestions with the indifference of a summer mosquito, which is truly disappointing.”
The Duchess lightly nudged the Duke’s arm, suggesting he stop.
She spoke calmly.
“I would like to see the resignation letter for succession rights. Who is keeping it?”
I glanced at the Court Official.
The elder official nodded silently, and I handed over the documents bearing four signatures.
“It takes effect from midnight today. The Emperor, the Court Official, and Duke Aquinas have all signed, and I served as the notary.”
“Valenciaunos.”
The Duke read my name aloud.
“He resembles someone I know. His hair, his eyes.”
“I believe I also know that person. You’re likely correct.”
The Duke shook his head.
“I thought he was avoiding me, but it seems he is here. What is the Emperor’s intention?”
“Excuse me?”
I genuinely expressed my doubt.
It seemed the Duke viewed me as a far more influential person.
“There’s no need to pretend. I’m only happy that the Emperor has decided to let this child go. Please convey to him that I understand the situation where I cannot pledge loyalty immediately. The House of Planiaties owes a debt to the Imperial Court.”
The Court Official had a curious expression that suggested he had not anticipated this.
I cleared my throat and composed myself.
The atmosphere was not bad.
Perhaps everything could be resolved here.
In this private space, assassins wouldn’t be able to penetrate.
“Aquinas.”
I called out my cousin’s name.
“Speak now.”
The young man, still looking dazed, suddenly bore a male gaze filled with determination.
It was the look of someone with something to protect.
He carefully placed the large leather bag he had been holding on the desk.
Amid the questioning gazes of the Court Official and the Duke and Duchess, he opened his mouth.
“…Duke.”
* * *
It felt like ten years had passed in just ten minutes.
Aquinas gasped for breath, his face pale as if he might collapse.
The Court Official muttered phrases like “I didn’t know this, it’s time for me to resign, but at least it’s fortunate I wasn’t caught,” repeatedly.
The Duchess’s eyes were red, while the Duke frowned.
Yet Valenciaunos felt as if the Duke was suppressing a smile for some reason.
Finally, he spoke.
“I’m about to become a grandfather again.”
“Ah!”
Both Lady Trentia and Aquinas let out relieved sighs at the same time.
Only Valenciaunos couldn’t feel at ease in that moment.
“You must have gone through a lot of mental anguish. It’s all right now. That child will grow up as my grandson in my territory. My eldest daughter also had a child last year; it would be nice for them to become close friends.”
“Thank you.”
Valenciaunos felt a rush of relief and tension, causing his vision to blur.
The child bore no guilt, but the blood of the child carried a heavy burden of responsibility.
Everything seemed to unfold perfectly.
On the surface, the Court Official was left speechless before the infinite mercy of a high noble, and the noble accepted a child with no blood ties.
Thus, a conclusion needed to be firmly established.
He took a breath and continued.
To prevent a war or a Duke instigating one, an answer had to be provided now.
It was not pleasurable for him to pour cold water on a gathering of unity and mercy.
He only knew that if he did not douse it with cold water now, it might lead to bloody waters later.
‘The war for succession rights must be stopped.’
If someone had to pour cold water, it would be his responsibility.
Lady Trentia recognized what he was about to ask and stiffened for a moment, pressing closely to his back.
“Your Excellency. I have something to say.”
“What is it?”
“That child was born this morning.”
It took about five seconds for the Duke and Duchess to comprehend the meaning of that strange sentence.
Inside, Valenciaunos cried out.
Please nod in agreement.
He sincerely wished that the child would grow up not as the Duke’s grandson but as the son of Aquinas, an adopted heir.
He remembered that before his return, Duke Marthe had been beheaded by Jeilliris’s sword in a grotesque execution.
If all of this had been a grave dug by the Duke himself, if he had been toying with an illegitimate child holding a right of succession, and if that had put his own wife in danger.
This needed to end here.
“I understand. Valenciaunos, I know what you mean. I’ll make sure to register the child’s birth tomorrow as soon as I return to my territory and visit the church.”
The Duke spoke with a low laugh.
To Valenciaunos, that regal smile sounded like the mocking laughter of a former evil deity.
‘Damn it.’
“It cannot be! The child must be registered at the church in the capital, tomorrow morning, as the son of the adopted Aquinas of the Planiaties family!”
He blurted out as if he was having a seizure.
His eyes had already grown cold.
As he felt the ground beneath him crumble, he trembled with cold sweat, his limbs shaking, listening to hallucinations and reverberations as he gritted his teeth.
Doing reckless things among the commoners and the poor before his return was entirely different from doing so within noble society.
Moreover, he still had no substantial backing.
However, he remembered clearly the wheels of destruction that had been set in motion before his return.
With the empire weakened by civil war, heterogeneous races and foreign countries were rebelling, while ancient evil deities sank deeply into human society, ultimately engulfing the capital in a black fog.
He was no hero; he was a man who naturally used violence to resolve issues.
He hadn’t killed children or teenagers, but before his return, the number of soldiers who died in the first civil war totaled seven hundred thousand.
And even those who tallied that number did not believe the statistics.
Bloody slaughter.
‘What wouldn’t I do to prevent that?’
He acted like a fool to help Jeilliris.
He threatened Rudi, like family, that he would jump from a height if he didn’t bring him alcohol, and kicked Sir Bonnel in front of dozens of knights.
For him, who had witnessed destruction, every attempt to avert it was justified.
Thus, he drew a dagger from his cloak.
‘Duke. You started this.’
But his right arm wouldn’t move, as if pinned down by something.
“!”
Lady Trentia standing to his right stealthily reached out her left hand to pressure his upper arm.
It was an irresistible force.
‘Whatever you’re worried about, there’s still a chance.’
Lady Trentia spoke calmly to the Duke, who was as daunting as a king.
“Your Excellency. I apologize for being rude, but that child must be registered here tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I cannot let you leave.”
“I know that the Silver Knights are of high renown, but since when were you allowed to speak in front of the Duke?”
Yet the Duke interrupted her with a chilling gaze, starkly opposed to moments before.
In just a few seconds, Valenciaunos could catch his breath and accept the lost opportunity to kill the baby or the Duke here.
Calmly, he began to select his words and prepare for action.
“Then let’s discuss this again tomorrow morning.”
“Wait a moment.”
Without hesitation, he reached for the leather bag.
Brushing off Aquinas’s reflexive hand that tried to stop him, he handed the bag to Lady Trentia.
“What are you doing?”
“Shut up!”
Valenciaunos barked at Aquinas as he stood up.
“You bastard!”
The Duke rose with eyes wide and ready to roar, but Valenciaunos calmly interrupted him with an even tone.
“It’s raining outside. There’s no way you can depart tonight. Duke Aquinas is under the Imperial jurisdiction until midnight, and we in the Court Official may take care of him. Are there any problems?”
The first to respond was the Court Official.
“The Duke’s words are reasonable.”
“Official!”
The Duchess shouted sharply.
White sparks flew around her hair.
Lady Trentia and Valenciaunos tensed simultaneously, the sort of tension that made every hair on their body stand on end.
Lady Trentia instinctively tried to draw her sword, while Valenciaunos deliberately held up the leather bag containing the baby to shield himself.
‘Surely he wouldn’t kill the heir to the succession rights he intends to use himself. I’m sorry. I must make him feel like I’m capable of anything. It’s better for the child to hear that I started a war than to realize it later.’
It was inhuman.
The Duke glared at Valenciaunos with contempt.
The woman, either an Administrative Officer or a Mage, hurried to comfort the Duchess by wrapping her arm around her shoulder.
“Stay calm, my lady.”
The Duchess bit her lip as she glared at Valenciaunos.
“Fine. We’ll stay by your side as well. We have the right to verify the identity of the child being handed over in the morning, don’t we?”
* * *
The Duke did not want to stray too far from Wyvernfit, and neither did we wish to enter the Imperial Palace.
We naturally returned to the inn where we had stayed for a few days.
It was fortunate we had rented the place for a couple of days.
“Then it is required. Please prepare five servings of bread and beef stew. The bread doesn’t need to be exceedingly soft, but be careful to avoid strange odors in the stew.”
The staff member responsible for room service nearly fainted upon realizing that one knight and two dukes were staying on the fifth floor of his inn.
Fortunately, the beef stew was well-seasoned with bay leaves and pepper, completely masking any unpleasant odors.
Steady, steady.
After finishing our meal, the five of us stood in a circle in the inn room, simply looking at each other.
“Why did you leave the guards behind?”
“To depart first thing tomorrow morning, we need to check our physical conditions.”
This suggested we were on guard against any schemes the Imperial Court might have concerning the wyverns.
“The security of the capital is worse than you might think.”
“Do you think a thousand of those fellows would faze me in the slightest?”
The Duke laughed as if he found it amusing.
Thinking back, he was indeed of the highest caliber, Sword Expert.
With abilities equal to my former self, it was clear he could easily crush most of them.
So, I maintained a certain distance from Lady Trentia, ensuring that she faced the window whenever possible.
This was to prevent the Duke from cutting both of us down in a single blow and escaping to Wyvernfit with the child.
Furthermore, even if I were to die, she could leap from the window and rush to the Imperial Palace to inform Jeilliris of the truth.
“A meticulous one you are.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
It became apparent that the Duke had peculiar thoughts concerning succession rights.
Perhaps he had even contacted an operative to learn about Aquinas’s illegitimate child without his knowledge.
Would it be too far-fetched to think that the Duke had sent the woman who bore Aquinas’s illegitimate child?
I cast an uneasy glance at Aquinas.
He was cradling the child protectively, facing away from all of us.
Knock, knock, knock, tap, tap.
That was a signal I had informed the staff to use.
If they were looking for us, they were to knock like that.
I locked eyes with the Duke and slowly opened the door.
“P-please help me!”
A staff member collapsed on the floor, bleeding from the neck.
“Sssssssst!”
A giant black centipede reared up like a cobra.
The monstrous creature was massive enough to block the door and had long, sickle-like legs as thick as my arm, with grotesque fangs.
Several eyes glinted menacingly in a strange hue.
I felt an overwhelming fatigue and lamented.
“Oh, this wasn’t summoned by the Duke.”
This was bad.
– Only four hours left until the rights of succession are revoked.