Chapter 145

Chapter 145: The Stable Boy and the Princess

Ferda asked William again.
“Do you mean it’s 3%, not that 3% was taken away from her?”
“That is correct. It is a figure hard to believe even as I explain it myself.”
Olivia, who objectively held an astonishing 45%.
No matter how hard they tried to forcefully reduce it, it was a feat worthy of at least 30%.
He asked William how such a miraculous number could have come to be.
To sum up the reason in one sentence, it all came down to the fact that it was pure good luck.
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 well-founded judgment, for someone who had not learned tactics, executing them was an act that could endanger the army, and the imperial side’s opinion was that they were lucky not to hold her accountable for that sin.
On top of that, they even added the reasoning that she had put the army in danger by ordering the formation of a pursuit battalion with bold tactics in the middle of everything.
So, although she had acted meritoriously as chief of staff, they insisted that the bulk of that merit should go to the true contributors.
The fact that Alexander had received each and every one of them and elevated them was all thanks to Olivia.
“I gave you some data, didn’t I? Didn’t you see how it was used?”
“I saw it. I affirmed the justification through the data given by the Regent, but it seems the strength behind it was not potent enough.”
“Why?”
“Decisively, the young master of Duke Lutetia kept his mouth shut.”
Lutetia was the chief of staff, second-in-command of this provisional alliance.
In this evaluation of merits, he stood at 15%, the second highest after Olivia.
“What percentage did that bastard get?”
“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.
Ferda could picture exactly how the proceedings had played out.
They had turned it into a zero-sum game.
They seduced many young masters and knights with the logic that if their own piece of the pie grew, someone else’s would shrink.
To increase their own pieces, to seize greater merit, someone had to be sacrificed.
That someone was Olivia, who alone possessed half the merit.
For those whose merit was too small for their names to even appear on the list, even 1% was a great opportunity they had no reason to refuse.
Sacrifice one, make many happy.
It was truly easy for these people to abandon the duty of nobility and the way of the knight.
The imperial princess is too beautiful.
She is prettier than her position deserves.
So they know they will never be able to have her.
Instead of ingratiating themselves with a golden spectacle, choosing practical profit is the rational, long-term choice.
“Despicable bastards.”
Still, the disgust was unbearable.
Calling her the flower of the empire, following her like little dogs, only to sell her out like that for a piece of the pie right before their eyes.
“However, among them, there were some who stepped down, saying they would uphold the spirit of a knight.”
“I hope you were among them.”
“Of course. Even if I receive merit, my own merit is enough, and I cannot accept inflated merit…”
“Then, what percentage did they recognize your merit at?”
“They said 10%.”
Ferda casually flipped through the copy Mori had organized.
William was at 5%, exactly double.
Given that he had tried to snatch Vernel right before his eyes, Ferda asked William what kind of offer he had received.
“They offered me the position of Guardian Knight of the Imperial Guard.”
Guardian Knight.
It was a title belonging to the elite among knights, and at the same time, only those directly under the imperial house could hold it.
The intention for him to abandon the Grand Duchy of Valdrova and come over was strong.
“So, did you accept?”
“I only accepted it as an honorary title.”
Which meant it was a title in name only, without an actual inauguration ceremony.
For a knight to say that meant he already had a lord he served, and had politely declined.
A Guardian Knight would be a position not far below a count.
Seeing him turn that down made Ferda feel strangely pleased.
“When will you return?”
“I planned to leave tomorrow morning, but now I plan to leave immediately. They said they would provide teleportation magic support…”
“You can take your time.”
“As head of security, shouldn’t I fulfill my duty?”
Diligent.
“Understood. Then come to the castle as soon as you arrive. The moment you are here, we will hold the bonus presentation ceremony and the banquet.”
“Yes! I will go as fast as I can!”
After William returned via teleportation magic, Ferda granted bonuses to the tactical infantry that had participated in the battle and supported a festival.
There were banquet supplies that would have taken two days to prepare, so it was not difficult.
Ferda was able to consume the surplus supplies that had been sitting around, and the infantry experienced the noble food they would never have tasted before, so they were properly treated like war veterans.
Thinking it would pass without incident, right at that moment, Ferda’s communication crystal flashed blue.
Ferda placed his hand on it to connect the telepathic communication.
“Greetings, Regent! It is the imperial liaison, Joseph!”
For the imperial liaison to contact him at such a late hour meant something unusual had occurred.
“If I may, I am calling to inquire if the princess has visited Valdrova Castle.”
Ferda reflexively furrowed his brow.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“I am terribly sorry to ask such an unpleasant question. But as this is a matter that must be concluded quietly and swiftly within the empire, I am brazenly contacting you like this.”
Ferda understood from those words.
Olivia had fled.
“My answer is that I do not know. What happened to the princess?”
“I cannot speak on that matter.”
Look at these bastards?
“Do you think it ends with you saying everything and then claiming not to know? I have a few deductions. What do you think would happen if I spread those deductions far and wide? Could it cease to be a secret then?”
At the blatant threat, he exhaled heavily several times before answering.
“As you suspect, Princess Arken is currently missing. The imperial palace, and indeed the entire empire, are being thoroughly searched to locate her whereabouts.”
“So now you are investigating even the people who have crossed the Wall?”
“That is correct. We are cross-checking the entry and exit logs to determine her location. The head of security went there tonight, so he was subject to investigation.”
“Understood. If there is news around here, I will let you know immediately.”
“Yes, thank you!”
Pleading with him to keep it a secret, he begged repeatedly and cut off the telepathic communication.
“Runaway, huh…?”
Honestly speaking, it was quite a plausible thing to do.
Her 45% merit had been reduced to 3%, and her entry into political circles had been thwarted.
To Ferda, it was similar to when he was not recognized as a mage and became a public enemy.
“Back then, I didn’t even wish for that hatred.”
Yet the world wanted Ferda to hate.
Otherwise, it made no sense for so much malice to fall upon him.
Even thinking about it now makes my blood boil.
Erdes, that damn bitch.
Briefly muttering that name, he returned to the original topic.
“Princess Olivia has disappeared.”
How did she escape?
She was also a master of the Red Circle and could wield light magic, but escaping with magic like teleportation was impossible.
To get out of that heavily guarded place, she would need an accomplice, and that accomplice would have to take a risk big enough to cost them their head.
Being a noble was no exception.
“What does she gain from that?”
Commoners would have dismissed it as the emotional deviation of the weak.
But Ferda’s first thought was that Olivia was plotting something.
The image of her rebelling like a child throwing a tantrum did not match Ferda’s perception of her.
Through this disappearance, she would gain what she wanted.
On the other hand, another image rose in his mind.
That was not the present, but a story from a distant future when she fell prey to hatred.
She had turned into a kingdom-toppling vixen, standing on the balcony railing.
For some reason, Ferda thought she resembled him.
The fact that she suffered because of her family, hated her family, and tried to kill her entire family was exactly the same.
The difference was that Ferda embraced hatred to exact vengeance, while Olivia wore a mask.
And Ferda succeeded, while Olivia failed.
Olivia abandoned everything and deliberately orchestrated a coup d’état.
Princes and princesses died, yet the emperor stood firm.
In the end, she too was human.
No matter how armed she was with solid reason and philosophy, before raw emotion she was nothing more than a wall of salt beaten by the rain.
A human who could endure strongly, yet could collapse at any moment.
That was why Ferda decided not to sit still.
He had to find her before anyone else did.
Ferda stepped out of the castle and headed toward the forest.
As always, a neglected, messy forest.
To be precise, it was the exact location outside the boundary range of the Spawns of Iorga.
It was the dead of night, with the crescent moon waning.
Under the shade of the leaves, in the dark forest, he closed his eyes.
The awareness of giving up one sense, and the remaining ones amplified terrifyingly.
When even the cries of night insects vanished, and a faint, strange smell of sulfur spread,
Ferda uttered a name in a low voice.
“Sitri.”
Then he felt a sticky sensation clinging to him from behind.
“Did you call me, oppa?”
She appeared from behind, wrapped her snake-like legs all over Ferda’s body, and positioned herself in front.
It was a trick meant to induce disgust, but Ferda showed no emotion and spoke tersely.
“Where is she?”
“What do you mean?”
“Olivia. You would know where that woman is.”
“Mmm? You’re too impatient, oppa. Do you think I spend my life spying on the princess living in the imperial palace?”
“You, who love beauty, how could you not know?”
Ferda knows.
When the archdemon Sitri seduces humans, she transforms into the most alluring form, and one of them is Olivia.
Eight out of ten times, she transforms into Olivia Arken to seduce.
It worked best in reality.
Even if it were a replica made by a demon, hundreds of people have died just for the chance to embrace the princess.
The useful Olivia is a pet that Sitri desperately desires to have.
No, she would be more than that.
To obtain such a pet, she would be watching for an opportunity, and one of her eyes is undoubtedly fixed on Olivia.
So if he asked about the whereabouts of this disappearance, she would know better than anyone.
“Assuming I know… why do you need that woman, oppa? Weren’t you the single-minded Grand Duke?”
“I only need that woman.”
“Mmm? After all this, you’re still just a man… is that it?”
“A dog keeps barking human words.”
Ferda wore a disgusted expression, but Sitri’s gaze did not waver.
“Then let’s do this, oppa. II Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 145: The Stable Boy and the Princess

Ferda asked William again.
— Do you mean it’s 3%, not that they took 3% from her?
— That’s right. It is a figure hard to believe even when I explain it myself.
Olivia, who objectively had an astonishing 45%.
No matter how hard they tried to forcefully reduce it, it was a feat worthy of at least 30%.
He asked William how such a miraculous figure could have come about.
To summarize the reason in one sentence, it all came down to the fact that it was pure good luck.
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 well-founded judgment, for someone who had not learned tactics, executing them was an act that could endanger the army, and the imperial side’s opinion was that they were lucky she was not even held 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 everything.
So, although she had acted meritoriously as chief of staff, they insisted that most of that credit should go to the true contributors.
The fact that Alexander had received each of them and elevated them was all thanks to Olivia.
— I gave you some data, didn’t I? Didn’t you see how it was used?
— I saw it. I asserted the justification through the data the Regent gave me, but it seems the force behind it was not strong enough.
— Why?
— Decisively, Duke Lutetia’s young master kept his mouth shut.
Lutetia was the chief of staff, second-in-command of this provisional alliance.
In this evaluation of merits, he stood at 15%, the second highest after Olivia.
— What percentage did that bastard get?
— 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.
Ferda could imagine exactly how the proceedings had unfolded.
They had turned it into a zero-sum game.
They seduced many young masters and knights with the logic that if their own piece of the pie grew, someone else’s would shrink.
To increase their own shares, to seize greater merit, someone had to be sacrificed.
That someone was Olivia, who alone possessed half the merit.
For those whose merit was too small for their names to even appear on the list, even 1% was a good opportunity they had no reason to reject.
Sacrifice one, make many happy.
It was truly easy for these people to abandon the duty of nobility and the way of the knight.
The imperial princess is too beautiful.
She is prettier than her position deserves.
So they know they will never be able to have her.
Rather than fawning over a golden spectacle, choosing practical benefit is the rational, long-term option.
“Despicable bastards.”
Still, the disgust was unbearable.
Calling her the flower of the empire, following her like puppies, only to sell her out like this for a piece of pie right before their eyes.
— But among them, there were some who gave up, saying they would show the knightly spirit.
— I hope you were among them.
— Of course. Even if I receive merit, my own merit is enough, and I cannot accept inflated merit…
— So, what percentage did they recognize for your merit?
— 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.
— They offered me the position of Guardian Knight of the Imperial Guard.
Guardian Knight.
It was a title belonging to the elite among knights, and at the same time, only those directly under the imperial house could hold it.
The intention to abandon the Grand Duchy of Valdrova and come here was strong.
— So, did you accept?
— I only accepted it as an honorary title.
Which meant it was a title in name only, without an actual inauguration ceremony.
For a knight to say that meant he already had a lord he served, and had politely declined.
A Guardian Knight would be a position not far below a count.
Seeing him turn that down made Ferda feel strangely pleased.
— When will you return?
— I planned to leave tomorrow morning, but now I plan to leave immediately. They said they would support teleportation magic…
— You can take your time.
— As security captain, shouldn’t I fulfill my duty?
Diligent.
— Understood. Then come to the castle as soon as you arrive. The moment you are here, we will hold the bonus award ceremony and the banquet.
— Yes! I will go as fast as I can!
After William returned using teleportation magic, Ferda granted bonuses to the tactical infantry that had participated in the battle and sponsored a festival.
There were banquet supplies that would have taken two days to prepare, so it wasn’t difficult.
Ferda was able to consume the surplus supplies that had been circulating, and the infantry experienced noble food they never would have tasted before, so they were treated properly as war veterans.
Thinking it would pass without incident, right at that moment, Ferda’s communication crystal flashed blue.
Ferda placed his hand on it to connect the telepathic communication.
— Greetings, Regent! This is the imperial liaison, Joseph!
For the imperial liaison to contact him at such a late hour meant something unusual had occurred.
— 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 extremely 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 brazenly contacting you like this.
Ferda understood from those words.
Olivia had fled.
— My answer is that I do not know. What happened to the princess?
— I cannot speak on that matter.
Look at these bastards?
— Do you think it ends with you saying everything and then claiming you don’t know? I have some deductions. What do you think would happen if I spread those deductions everywhere? Would it cease to be a secret then?
At the blatant threat, he exhaled heavily several times before answering.
— As you surmise, Princess Arken is currently missing. The imperial palace, and even the entire empire, are being thoroughly searched to find her whereabouts.
— So now you’re even investigating people who have crossed the Wall?
— That’s right. We are cross-referencing entry and exit logs to determine her location. The security captain went there tonight, so he became a subject of investigation.
— Understood. If there is news around here, I will let you know immediately.
— Yes, thank you!
Pleading with him to keep it a secret, he begged repeatedly and cut off the telepathic communication.
— A runaway, huh…?
Honestly speaking, it was quite a plausible 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 was not recognized as a mage and became a public enemy.
“Back then, I didn’t even want that hatred.”
But the world wanted Ferda to hate.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for so much malice to befall him.
Even thinking about it now makes my blood boil.
Erdes, that damned bitch.
Briefly muttering that name, he returned to the original topic.
“Princess Olivia has disappeared.”
How did she escape?
She was also the owner of the Red Circle and could wield light magic, but escaping with magic like teleportation was impossible.
To get out of that heavily guarded place, she would need an accomplice, and that accomplice would have to take a risk big enough to cost them their head.
Being a noble was no exception.
“What does she gain from that?”
Ordinary people would have dismissed it as the emotional deviance of the weak.
But Ferda’s first thought was that Olivia was plotting something.
The image of her rebelling like a child throwing a tantrum did not match Ferda’s perception of her.
Through this disappearance, she would obtain what she wanted.
On the other hand, another image surfaced in his mind.
That was not the present, but a story from a distant future when she fell prey to hatred.
She had become a femme fatale capable of toppling a nation, standing on the balcony railing.
For some reason, Ferda thought she resembled him.
The fact that she suffered because of her family, hated her family, and tried to kill her entire family was exact.
The difference was that Ferda embraced hatred to take revenge, while Olivia wore a mask.
And Ferda succeeded, while Olivia failed.
Olivia abandoned everything and deliberately orchestrated a coup d’état.
Princes and princesses died, but the emperor remained steadfast.
She, in the end, was human too.
No matter how well-armed she was with sound reason and philosophy, in the face of emotion she was nothing more than a wall of salt battered by rain.
A human who could hold out strongly, but could crumble at any moment.
That was why Ferda decided not to stand still.
He had to find her before anyone else did.
Ferda left the castle and headed toward the forest.
As always, an untended and disorderly forest.
To be precise, it was the exact location outside the boundary range of the Spawns of Iorga.
It was the dead of night, with the waning crescent moon.
Under the shade of the leaves, in the dark forest, he closed his eyes.
The awareness of having surrendered one sense amplified the remaining ones terrifyingly.
When even the cries of night insects vanished, and a strange scent of sulfur spread faintly,
Ferda uttered a name in a low voice.
— Sitri.
Then he felt a sticky sensation clinging to him from behind.
— Did you call me, oppa?
She appeared from behind, slid her snake legs across Ferda’s entire body, and positioned herself in front.
It was a trick meant to induce disgust, but Ferda showed no emotion and spoke tersely.
— Where is she?
— What do you mean?
— Olivia. You would know where that woman is.
— Hmm? You’re too impatient, oppa. Do you think I spend my life spying on the princess living in the imperial palace?
— You, who love beauty, how could you not know?
Ferda knows.
When the archdemon Sitri seduces humans, she transforms into the most alluring shape, and one of them is Olivia.
Eight times out of ten, she transforms into Olivia Arken to seduce.
It worked 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.
The useful Olivia is a pet Sitri desperately wants to keep.
No, she would be more than that.
To have such a pet, she would be watching for an opportunity, and one of her eyes is undoubtedly fixed on Olivia.
So if he asked about the whereabouts of this disappearance, she would know better than anyone.
— Assuming I know…, why do you need that woman, oppa? Weren’t you the single-minded Grand Duke?
— 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 did not change.
— Then let’s do this, oppa. I will try to seduce you in this form for 3 minutes.
Sitri’s form, distinct even in the darkness.
The demon Sitri’s appearance gradually shifted, transforming directly into the likeness of Olivia.
Eyelashes, lips, fingers… everything was identical to Olivia.
Sitri spoke with Olivia’s voice.
— If you endure for 3 minutes, I’ll tell you. How about that?
She floated an hourglass in the air.
A dirty trick, just like her.
— Do whatever you want.
Ferda replied with a deadpan face.
Then, as if she had trapped him, Sitri flashed a confident smile.
— How foolish. No matter how single-minded you are, you’re still a man, right?
And boldly, she pressed her body against his.
Her curves, which he had only seen with his eyes, seemed to lick his body vividly.
She breathed onto the nape of Ferda’s neck, tickling him constantly.
Ferda did not resist and simply let her do as she pleased.
Sticky, erotic sounds informed him of every second ticking away.
He counted roughly 3 minutes in his head, but the hourglass still had plenty of time before running out.
“She pulled a dirty trick.”
It wasn’t a formal duel, and she never stated that the hourglass was set for 3 minutes, so naturally.
Her purpose from the beginning was merely to rattle Ferda and humiliate him.
— It’s over.
— What? Seriously?
Ferda glanced sideways at the hourglass she had summoned.
As he said, it had run out long ago.
Olivia, rather, muttered as if her pride were wounded.
— Just in case, I swapped it for a 4-minute one, and I couldn’t seduce a man in 4 minutes?
Then she glared at him fiercely with Olivia’s face.
— Oppa, are you impotent?
— No.
— Then why is there no reaction at all upon seeing a body like this? Does this make any sense?
Ferda could answer with confidence because he had verified he was not impotent.
And, above all, Ferda knows the princess’s true nature.
If she did something so vulgar, disgust would arrive before arousal.
— Regardless, I won.
— Mmm, you never lose, not even once. Annoying.
She pouted her lips with regret, then laughed.
As if it wasn’t all that bad.
— There’s an old story.
— Wordplay…
— Listen to the end, darling. Have you heard the story of the princess and the stable boy running away from the castle together?
— ……Yes.
— The answer lies in that story.
At the mention of an answer, he closed his eyes and followed the thread of the narrative.
Ferda realized what she was trying to say.
“……It can’t be.”
No, that can’t be.
Ferda desperately denied it inwardly, but the more he did, the deeper Sitri’s smile became.
— Sweet dreams, oppa.
When Ferda opened his eyes again, Sitri was already gone.
Ferda lingered in that spot, turning it over in his mind.
“Did she lie?”
It wasn’t a formal wager, so she had no obligation to tell the truth.
But what would she gain by doing that?
Sitri’s leash is held in Ferda’s hands.
If what she said is exactly what Ferda thinks,
Then there is only one person the stable boy could refer to.
“William.”
The security captain, and the sword of the people.
It pointed clearly, yet Ferda still wanted to deny it.
William was one of the few examples of a knight Ferda believed in.
There was no way he would have taken the princess out arbitrarily.
“Yet there is no such thing as an absolute.”
In the first place, the reason William came to this town was to save commoners.
There is no guarantee that those who crossed one line won’t cross another.
Furthermore, it explained why he returned tonight when he could have come tomorrow.
Ferda didn’t know what to do.
“If I don’t know…”
I have to see and learn it with my own eyes.
Even if it is an uncomfortable truth.