Chapter 186: Chapter 186

Spark (3)

It was difficult to eavesdrop on the conversation between Duke Jonau and the Second Prince inside the imperial palace.

This was because the security in the palace was stricter than ever since I detonated the glowstone and destroyed the Karantang Forest.

It was hard even to approach. They were monitoring almost every direction. Even nobles couldn’t avoid inspection.@@novelbin@@

Even for me, infiltration would be difficult if it wasn’t nighttime.

Moving winds from the outside was also risky. This was because a Sword Master was periodically patrolling the imperial city.

After the incident, the emperor had recalled Faorn, who had been a gravedigger in Tenorio.

‘One stays by the emperor’s side, and one guards the imperial city.’

The three of them took turns, and the Sword Master’s patrol had no pattern. He would suddenly move to the opposite side of the palace on a whim.

It wasn’t this strict even when the empress died and there was an attempt on Erendil’s life.

It seemed that the glowstone completely destroying the forest had quite shocked the emperor.

Rather than valuing his own life more than his children’s, it was probably due to the scale of the explosion.

‘I had to guess what kind of conversation took place based on Duke Jonau’s reaction.’

The first day was just caution. It wasn’t exact, but I could somewhat guess from the orders Duke Jonau gave to his subordinates.

The Second Prince seemed to think that the First Prince might be trying to check if he was plotting something because of his provocation.

And I repeated the same actions until the day our group was set to leave. I infiltrated Duke Jonau’s mansion once more and created a sense of unease at two other nobles’ mansions.

Unlike Duke Jonau, they didn’t rush straight to the emperor. They seemed to have judged that someone might read their movements. (+)[1]TLN: Emperor? Shouldn’t this be the prince? Might be the author made a mistake, or I’m the one that misinterpreted it

‘Duke Jonau worked in the imperial city anyway so it didn’t matter for him, but it was different for them.’

Still, they immediately sent a letter to Duke Jonau. Perhaps because of this, this morning, the duke headed to the imperial city with quite a serious face.

Just as fatigue was starting to set in, in the evening, the duke summoned Count Habri.

After midnight, I visited the duke’s mansion again. The approaching count’s movements were cautious.

He moved stealthily in the shadows with only one of his knights.

The Imperial Intelligence Agency would have noticed, but it didn’t matter for nobles like them.

I listened as carefully as I could. This was a chance to read the Second Prince’s thoughts and reactions.

-Be prepared.

-Is the First Prince really going to attack first?

-I don’t think so. I think this is a warning.

-A warning?

-Yes. His Highness expected it first, remember? I think the First Prince is saying, “Go ahead and try.”

I was worried they might suspect a third party’s involvement, but fortunately, things were going according to my intentions.

-As you know, even the First Prince can’t move first in the current situation.

-Yes. I think that guess is correct. It’s like saying, “I have the ability to watch you even in this situation,” isn’t it?

-Right. It means, “Try if you want to try, I’m watching you.”

The preparation to fan the spark into a big flame was complete.

Now it seemed I just needed to make the First Prince’s side’s actions look suspicious.

-But what do you mean by being prepared…

-His Highness the Second Prince is properly angry. When we investigated the Third Prince, nothing much came up.

-Well. It’s understandable he’d be furious when he thinks they played a trick and now this happens.

-He’s growing up fiery like His Majesty the Emperor.

I doubt it. It’s not that he’s fiery like the emperor. He’s not even the emperor’s child to begin with. But those people don’t know that.

I understand. They can’t say the person they serve has a bad personality, so they phrase it differently.

-He told me to think of something too. There’s no good method right now, but the chances of something happening soon are high.

-Surely he’s not going to move now? Isn’t it just something he said out of anger like usual?

-No. It feels different. Haven’t I served His Highness for a long time? Whether it’s because he recently felt a threat to his life or not, he seemed to lack composure. 𝐫ÅŊȪ𝔟Ę𝙎

-Did it seem like he couldn’t be stopped?

-Would that be possible? Only His Majesty the Emperor can calm down His Highness when he’s properly fired up.

For the cunning Second Prince, the reaction was better than expected. Is he really so shaken from nearly dying that he can’t see straight?

If so, that would be perfect.

-Hmm… Moving now, right before the war, isn’t a good choice.

-What can we do? We have to think about it anyway. Breakthroughs often come in difficult times. If it’s really not feasible, His Highness isn’t someone who would move recklessly. It’s just that the memory of that time is still fresh now.

-Well, I suppose so.

-But if His Highness really sets his mind to it… be prepared.

-Understood.

That was the end of the conversation. However, there was one noteworthy point. It was the count’s muttering as he left the mansion.

-Has this bastard really gone mad? Nearly dying has made him reckless…

-My brother-in-law is under Duchess Lyurik, should we try to open a path to the princess’s side?

-I’m not sure. We should watch for now. If we were going to switch, we should have done it earlier.

-Still, isn’t it better than a sinking ship?

The conversation with his knight was quite intimate. I thought I could see a new possibility.

When the opportunity arises to send off the Second Prince later, I might be able to use Count Habri as an internal informant.

It was just one of the possibilities. Objectively speaking, Count Habri wasn’t that good of a person anyway.

In any case, it seemed the preparation to plant a spark on the Second Prince’s side was complete.

***

It was only three days, but it had been quite a tiring schedule. Since I had to monitor the confidants, I couldn’t let my guard down even during the day and could only rest briefly at dawn.

After taking a day’s rest, I immediately started observing the First Prince’s people.

I could create similar movements on the First Prince’s side as I did with Duke Jonau.

However, I didn’t want to use the same method if possible.

If there was any exchange between the two, all the preparations I had made so far might become useless.

I wanted to think in a completely different direction.

To make the Second Prince notice that there were strange movements on the First Prince’s side.

It was a bit of a perfectionist thought, but given the importance of the matter, I was putting in the effort.

‘If I don’t see an opportunity, I’ll have no choice but to use the same method.’

But after two days of searching the First Prince’s side, I couldn’t find any opening to wedge into.

This was because the First Prince was completely withdrawn. Both his activities in the palace and his orders to his subordinate nobles were minimal.

It was a clear change, considering he had secretly gone to Albaco, where the empire’s weapons were being made, not long ago.

Through the conversations of the most trusted nobles, I could hear that the First Prince was being extremely cautious.

He might really think that the incident in the Karantang Forest was aimed at him.

Or maybe he thinks the Second Prince teamed up with the devil worshippers to try to kill him.

If not that, then…

There was also a clear possibility that he had actually met with devil worshippers in Albaco.

‘It seems like it would have been difficult timing-wise, though.’

That’s unknown. If the devil worshippers were waiting in Albaco in advance, it would be possible.

It was a hypothesis that couldn’t be ruled out. It was surprisingly convincing.

He met with Tilivan then, and there was an explosion big enough to make the forest disappear, so it’s understandable to be cautious.

Also, he might be holding back in case the Imperial Intelligence Agency noticed his actions.

***

‘There’s only one way to confirm that now.’

There was someone left in the capital who had a certain position among the devil worshippers and whom I knew for sure.

I headed to Mateo’s tavern, hoping to possibly gain some information. It was still operating as usual.

Of course, coming here doesn’t mean I can immediately know about the collusion between the First Prince and the devil worshippers.

I came just in case.

“Long time no see!”

“I was working in the south for a while.”

“Was it okay?”

“Well, same as always.”

“Have a drink. Is it beer again today?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t a profitable job.”

I had a light conversation with Mateo. I lied about the mission, but it wasn’t a problem.

In the first place, we were just acquaintances who had this level of conversation, not a relationship where Mateo would pay special attention to me.

Many people came and went in this fake tavern, and it was a lie I judged I could tell based on investigating them.

Well, if I really wanted to get close, I’d have to disguise myself with a new identity and appear again.

Meaningless time passed. Many people chatted with Mateo, who was playing the role of a friendly tavern owner, but there was no substance.

In the midst of this, a conversation unrelated to my original purpose was caught.

“You look tired again today.”

Mateo approached first. It was a mercenary drinking with a gloomy face in the corner of the bar. He was already quite drunk.

It was a face I knew. I had seen him here often.

He’s from the west and is quite well-regarded for his skills these days. Rumor has it he was a former knight commander.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

“That I, in this damn…!”

The mercenary who was about to raise his voice slightly looked around and then continued in a whisper.

“The feeling of making money in this empire.”

“…”

“You might find it unpleasant to hear, but understand. I’ve had a bit to drink.”

“No. I understand your feelings to some extent. My father was from Rohalak.”

Mateo also speaks quietly so others can’t hear.

“Rohalak? Really?”

“Yes. I lived there when I was young too. The memories are hazy, though.”

“But you’re an imperial person now, aren’t you?”

“Why say such a disappointing thing?”

The flow of the conversation is ominous. Mateo was definitely not from Rohalak. I eavesdropped on their conversation with interest.

“Do you know how my father died? Because he was from the west, he was worked like a slave and one day was hit by a noble’s carriage and died.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I hate the empire. The reason I do business here is all to squeeze money from these imperial bastards.”

It was sophistry. But the man, who was already close to being completely drunk, just nodded silently.

Mateo glanced around and then opened his mouth.

“But you seemed surprised when I mentioned Rohalak? Were you from there?”

“That’s right. I was a knight of Rohalak. Ah, don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Of course not.”

Mateo brought out a bottle of alcohol from the back and filled the man’s glass while looking around.

“This is a gift for a fellow countryman.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way…”

“Go on.”

“I know a mercenary group composed of people from the west. Would you be interested in joining? There are people from Rohalak too.”

I was watching how their careful recruitment of talent was carried out.

If he’s a former knight, it’s not bad. If the rumors are true and he was a knight commander, his skills should be decent.

They probably disguise it as a mercenary group like that, test them while keeping them around, and brainwash them before bringing them in.

‘They’re being quite careful for this time of year.’

I had seen part of the difficulties they were experiencing because of the many things I had done.

I felt a bit proud while also wanting to stop them.

That doesn’t mean I had any intention of saving that mercenary. He had hostility towards the empire from the start because he was from Rohalak.

Intervening would only expose my existence.

I should withdraw for today. It was disappointing that there wasn’t much gain. I’ll have to watch for one more day and then try to touch the First Prince’s side.

It was the moment I left the tavern and was returning to my lodgings. My heart sank with a thud.

At the same time, the blood flowing in my body began to boil.

I had experienced this before. It was a signal transmitted by the Devil’s Blood. I could clearly understand.

That another devil had appeared on this continent.

‘How?’

That was the first thought that came to mind. Hadn’t I cornered them quite a bit?

They would have had difficulty recruiting talent while under the empire’s surveillance and it wouldn’t have been easy to move around.

Of course, they could have obtained Devil’s Blood somewhere. After all, I had met Pelia too.

But to make a devil appear, they needed sacrifices in addition to Devil’s Blood. Was that possible while avoiding the empire’s eyes?

This question was resolved the next afternoon. Around lunchtime, they were distributing printed materials on the streets.

The paper that a boy was handing out while shouting “Extra!” contained bad news.

It was news that Vasto in the northwest of the continent had fallen. The castle had barely resisted for a few hours in the evening raid.

And according to the testimony of survivors, it was written that a devilish dragon had risen from the fallen castle.

A devilish dragon… I knew about it, but it was an appearance several years earlier than the timeline I knew.

I was certain that a devil had moved directly.

1. TLN: Emperor? Shouldn’t this be the prince? Might be the author made a mistake, or I’m the one that misinterpreted it

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