Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Butterfly and Jewel

Following the conclusion of the Great Council, the afterparty was already underway.
A desolation even greater than the atmosphere before the talks could be felt.
Before the dialogues, everyone was relaxed and probing one another for information, but now they displayed firm solidarity within their respective factions.
“Like children.”
It was no different from drawing lines on the ground after a verbal fight.
The only difference was that they held swords capable of commanding countless people.
The Empire was no exception.
As befitting a massive empire, there were more than thirty nobles with the rank of duke or higher.
They did not mingle within the grand frame of the Empire, but within the factions that existed inside it.
Alexander, who had been showing endless interest, spotted Ferda and approached in an affable manner.
— Did something happen?
— We only spoke a bit regarding Valdrova’s matter.
— Ah, that’s right. I didn’t expect you to respond so ambitiously about conquering the Far East this time. If there is anything you need, say it anytime. I will roll up my sleeves and help!
— Thank you.
With that, the conversation ended, and Alexander returned to acting as the leader of his own faction.
Jed, perceptive in noble society, noticed Alexander’s attitude.
— Did you have a falling out with the first prince? He looked fine until we entered the Great Council…
— He is ignoring me because I don’t seem useful to him.
Ferda left that faction without hesitation.
He never wanted to mingle with those people in the first place.
Shortly after, another man approached Ferda, bowing from the waist.
— Chancellor of Escolleia, Bernard Wayne. It is an honor to meet the spouse of the Aspect of Great Power.
— Greetings to the president of Humanity’s Repository of Knowledge.
The man who had brought up the agenda of the emergence of demon worshippers.
Ferda frowned involuntarily.
— Is there something you dislike? Your expression…
— No…
Bernard’s smooth, bald head reflected the light of the chandelier.
— It’s because your head is too dazzling.
— Ahem… let us set that aside, and thank you for earlier today.
— Thank you?
— There was an incident where the agenda was almost derailed because an imperial prince stepped forward. Thanks to your direct intervention, I was able to finish speaking.
Ah, that matter.
— There’s no need to give it importance. I detest those who play politics with monsters. I like capable people.
— Treating people with conviction is not easy. That is why I believe I will get along well with Regent Valdrova.
Chancellor Bernard flashed an awkward smile.
It made one feel uncomfortable, like someone plotting schemes.
Yet Bernard was originally a person very far removed from schemes.
An unnecessarily sincere and responsible human.
— Speak.
— I originally planned to announce a technology to coincide with today’s presentation. But seeing today’s situation, I couldn’t fully read the room.
— Technology?
— It is what I have dedicated my life to researching. The mechanism of the Monster Spawning Prediction Device.
— Monster Spawning Prediction Device… sounds familiar.
— How could it be? We are preparing it in secret in Escolleia.
It was conducted in secret, but Ferda, who knew information from the future, had heard of it once.
Whom did I hear it from? Ferda finally remembered.
“Thesalos Walcher.”
He had said it.
That a Monster Spawning Prediction Device was nearly created, but disappeared in the end.
Had it existed, the duration of this endeavor could have been cut by more than half.
Ferda had considered Thesalos’s obsession pathetic.
Yet thinking about it now, the pathetic one was Ferda himself.
— Chancellor.
— Yes.
— By any chance, when do you plan to reveal that technology?
— Soon. Do you know Halim? We rented a venue there, gathered merchants from all over, and plan to hold an exhibition and an informational briefing. Of course…
The chancellor looked around quickly and muttered slyly:
— We will also relax and enjoy entertainment together.
— I will have to stay alive until then.
— Of course. Could one sleep if they died without enjoying what they could? If you are available, Regent…
— If you invite me, I will attend.
— Hoho, you truly are quite a man.
The chancellor gave him a sly look denoting camaraderie.
— Understood. I will prepare an invitation. I must greet the others, so I will take my leave.
— Have a safe trip.
The conversation with the Chancellor of Escolleia was a great harvest for Ferda.
Gathering merchants to hold an exhibition in Halim.
That the Monster Spawning Prediction Device was originally an existing technology.
“And that I can create an obligation with the chancellor.”
He hated politics, but if he needed something, he would obtain it by any means.
That was why Ferda attended the Great Council.
— Jed, Arwen.
— Yes?
— Yes!
The same answer, but with different punctuation marks for the two.
— From now on, secretly keep watch on the Chancellor of Escolleia.
— That bald guy? What did he do to deserve that?
— He is a man with no tomorrow, so watch whether he does anything foolish and hover around him to check for any suspicious signs. Top priority.
— Yes.
Unlike Arwen, Jed did not respond immediately.
— I’ll do it if you say so, but what’s the reason?
— A knight talks too much.
— Because I became a knight through connections. The person to whom I swore loyalty didn’t even throw an inauguration banquet.
— Cut the chatter and do it. I’ll make sure the pay is good.
— Tch, all right.
Jed’s complaints vanished before the word “pay.”
He had probably spat them out just to hear that word in the first place.
After dismissing the two, Ferda examined his surroundings again.
While grasping roughly how the powers were structured, Ferda spotted Olivia.
She was mingling with clerics wearing white priestly robes with gold borders.
“The side of the Holy Kingdom of Odograsado?”
It was a strange sight.
The Holy Kingdom of Odograsado and the Arken Empire should be mutually hostile under the pretext that two suns cannot coexist.
On top of that, a woman wearing a dress that brazenly exposed her neckline was mingling with priests.
At that moment, as if sensing a gaze, she made eye contact with Ferda.
She smiled with her eyes and gave him a careful beckon to come closer.
Annoying.
Yet if I had to mingle with someone, Olivia might be the least troublesome.
Ferda thought that and walked toward Olivia.
Olivia’s eyes maintained intense eye contact.
As always, she wore a bright, perfect smile.
She placed her hand on Ferda’s shoulder.
— Allow me to introduce you.
There were two men there.
An elderly man of small stature wearing a crown.
And a middle-aged man with a scar on his face, standing with his back straight like a soldier.
— This is Regent Ferda Valdrova, who will become the consort of the Great Dragon Valdrova-nim. You already know each other, right?
— Hoho, I know. I couldn’t help but see.
The elderly man stroked his pure white beard and laughed heartily.
His forearm was visible beyond his sleeve.
Skin and bones: the phrase fit perfectly, revealing a thin frame.
He wore high heels, but he was much smaller than Olivia, a woman; a truly frail old man.
Even his clothes seemed so heavy they might make him collapse, causing concern.
Yet such an appearance told a different story upon facing him.
A golden glow seemed to emanate from his wide-open eyes.
Even Ferda, who had consumed every last shred of faith in his heart, felt a god dwelling in those eyes.
Ferda willingly showed respect.
— Greetings to the Child of Miracle, Father of the Holy Kingdom, Holy Emperor Gregorio-nim.
— Pleased to meet you, Regent Ferda. I heard this is your first Great Council.
— That is correct.
— Quite bold remarks for a beginner.
— Yes. I thought they might not be to your liking.
Gregorio shook his head.
— Not in the slightest. The thoughts you expressed are questions this old man has asked himself from time to time. Whether the Evil Dragon Valdrova, despised by all, might not actually be the Guardian of the East.
— Is that so?
— I came here representing the will of Odograsado-nim. Therefore, I have a duty to be cautious in all matters. Thus, I cannot immediately support your opinion.
He let out a regretful sound and gave a light tap on Ferda’s forearm.
— However, if you show the will to clear that misunderstanding, I will not be able to refuse supporting you in the name of the Golden Scales.
The name of the Golden Scales.
An absolute oath made by those who follow Odograsado.
For a Holy Emperor to utter such an oath meant he truly intended to do so.
On the surface, that was true.
Yet Ferda did not believe those words at face value.
The Holy Emperor of this Holy Kingdom ultimately prioritized his own interests as well.
— I am simply dazzled that you think so.
— Extend your will. If you believe in the god of your heart and take a step, he will certainly answer.
When the greetings ended, Olivia, who had been watching the conversation, intervened.
— Then we will take our leave, Holy Emperor-nim. Please take care.
— May the Grace of the Golden Light follow the Flower of the Empire.
After finishing the ceremonial greetings, Olivia linked her arm with Ferda’s naturally.
Without saying a word, Ferda had no room to refuse.
— Let’s go.
She moved Ferda with clever gestures as if he were leading the way.
When they gained some distance, Olivia asked:
— I heard what happened at the talks.
Her eyes showed displeasure.
— Was that agenda something you thought of on your own, Ferda-nim?
— Yes.
— A truly foolish act.
Unlike her cold words, Olivia was smiling brightly.
Just looking at her face, one could not gauge what conversation they were having.
— It was a story that had to be told.
— It was not a story for a debut at a Great Council. It could only bring counterproductive effects. The unestablished image of the Far East could have been negatively fixed at that moment, you know?
A tone carrying a sharp blade unbefitting a greenhouse flower.
— Is a princess who conversed with a foreign Holy Emperor reprimanding me?
— Oh my? Please don’t compare you and me. I am originally this kind of person. Like a butterfly.
— Butterfly?
Ferda asked, and Olivia smiled brightly.
Olivia lightly released her hand and walked away.
No, she flew, fluttering her dress.
— Flapping here and there, circling around. Seemingly within reach yet unreachable, making them give chase. Giving weight without being frivolous, yet not an iron wall either: lightly.
She truly was like a butterfly.
Truly the movements of an acrobat walking a tightrope.
And just like that, she settled lightly once more toward the hand Ferda held out.
— Still, not everything was bad. That declaration to conquer the Demon Land didn’t only sow bad impressions.
— Is that so?
— Look. That old, fearful face. Proof that your face, a mere extra in the play, is clearly remembered?
Ferda had felt that as well.
— There are no allies now, but soon they will bow their heads before you as you show your abilities. If even a 1% possibility is shown, they definitely will.
— Why are you so certain?
— Because Her Highness the Grand Duchess Valdrova possesses an authority others do not have. Territorial expansion.
The only land that can expand. The Far East. Only the Demon Land.
Land that nobody covets.
Yet if told to others, they would dismiss it with laughter as a joke.
Because the reality is that the Grand Duchess’s territory is shrinking, not expanding.
— If that wasteland is purified and becomes our land again, it will become the Second Capital.
— Second Capital…
— The Empire is currently saturated. Many young people leave orchards and fields to head to the capital to get ahead. It is called the Imperial Dream.
— Having dreams isn’t bad.
— True. Nothing bad. But in the current Empire, they are no different from discarded shoes. Do you know how many people enter the Empire and die?
— Even if you say that, it is outside my interest.
— In any case, if the value of that land is proven, the Far East will be reborn not as a mere remote region, but as a new land of opportunity. As the territory expands, people increase, and the voice expands as well.
The East grows.
At those words, Ferda asked Olivia:
— Will the Empire sit idly by?
Olivia replied:
— No way. They will continue watching regardless of what happens to Valdrova-nim.
The Arken Empire will not give up the powerful force it holds in the capital.
Even if someone dies.
— So you must help me.
Weight settled into her tone.
As if the next words were important, Ferda focused on them as well.
— What do you mean?
— I am a butterfly, but simultaneously a jewel placed at auction. A jewel that will one day be sold to the central nobility.
The title of princess that elevated her was a stepping stone, but simultaneously chains.
It was not a surprising story.
Not a tragedy that only Princess Olivia possesses.
Most young ladies from prestigious families strict about child education were the same.
The better the education, the better the cultivated beauty, the higher the probability of entering a more prestigious family.
Men seek status advancement in the manner of men, women in the manner of women.
The princess was the color and the ultimate card held by the Emperor.
Hearing that, Ferda suddenly realized.
Why she was forging ties with the Holy Kingdom of Odograsado.
— I must become a Saintess.
Olivia smiled deeply.
— If I become a Saintess, I can free myself from the price of a princess.
— Because nobody would want to take a devout Saintess and incur the wrath of God and the people.
— Exactly.
Olivia was a person who possessed the Seal of Oath, devotion, and public reputation all together.
Yet her decisive flaw was precisely her status as a princess.
“If she escapes being a princess and becomes a Saintess…”
Olivia becomes not a mere tool of the Emperor but a daughter, and the power structure changes.
Not simply a pretty and beautiful flower, but a savior who can save the weak.
She will gain the support of the clerics and, therefore, escape the fate of a jewel at auction.
Forming a stable support base in an unstable power structure.
It sounded nice, but Ferda already knew.
“Olivia cannot become a Saintess.”
That was why she abandoned her oath and scattered her colors.
She seduced her own blood to bring him to bed, became a vixen who brought down a nation, and in the end, took her own life.
Ferda remembered it vividly.
— Can you do it?
A hidden, unspoken message came from her eyes.
For me.
Her fragile voice stimulated protective instincts.
Ferda looked straight into her eyes and spoke:
— Of course I will.
But not for you.
— If you cooperate enough.
For my fiancee.
This is nothing more than work according to a contract.
— Of course.
Olivia, having looked into Ferda’s eyes, became momentarily disoriented.
Her voice came out trembling ever so slightly.
Her face tried to flush at the awkwardness, but Ferda did not notice.
Ferda released her arm and spoke:
— Then I will be on my way.
— Where are you going?
— I feel like I need to find a lost brat.
— Lost brat?
Ferda let go of Olivia’s hand and walked away.
Men holding Olivia’s hand were always the same.
Meeting eyes meant facing the possessiveness inside them, and being unable to let go, she had to be the one to free them.
Yet not Ferda.
He walked away without looking back, without hesitation.
The greatest beauty of the Empire, praised by all, was nothing to Ferda.
Rather, Olivia couldn’t take her eyes off him until he disappeared.
“An ally not captured by emotion.”
A person who can exclude variables through rational judgment without obsessing over useless things.
That was what Olivia had said was the greatest ally for her.
“She said that, but…”
Not being looked at by him was not as pleasant as she thought.
Disappointment welled up, but there was no time to drown in sentimentality.
The nobles gather toward Olivia.
— Greetings to the princess of the Arken Empire, Olivia-nim.
— I am Ken. As the son of the Huss Dukedom…
Flowers gathering toward the butterfly the moment Ferda disappears.
No, beasts holding dirty money to buy their own bodies.
Olivia smiled at them.
Like a rare jewel.