Chapter 56: Never Imagined That

“What? Adelas, you’re going to help the prince?”

Duke Garcia burst into a laugh as if it was absurd.

It was inevitable.

“Are you serious? Aren’t you the one who has been trying so hard to get him to fall out of the test?”

But Marquis Adelas only smiled.

Unlike Garcia, who was like a frosty flame, and Lavaltor, who radiated the aura of a chivalrous man, Marquis Adelas gave off the impression of a cunning merchant.

Sure enough.

“It’s not good to see the world in black and white only, Your Grace. Yesterday’s enemy can be today’s friend.”

“Friends?”

Duke Garcia stared at the marquis with disgust.

Because he knew what Adelas usually did.

Marquis Adelas practically smiled like a serpent with a face resembling Nathan.

“My friend. The land the prince received is close to mine. Aren’t neighbors supposed to help each other?”

“Do you mean it?”

“Yes. My son also serves His Highness, so there is no reason why I can’t be of service to him.”

“!”

In fact, Marquis Adelas was confident.

Although it wasn’t as good as the two dukes, Adelas’ power was considerably greater than others.

It was not easy for the Seventh Prince to shake off their hands. No, it was better to reject them.

Adelas would be able to use that reason to bring together the minds of the nobles below.

The Seventh Prince had no intention of accepting them, after all.

He would be better off not worrying about the prince anymore and focusing on serving the First Princess instead.

But if Ian took their hand…

Seeing Adelas’ smile, Garcia raised a corner of his lips in displeasure.

However, Ian smiled really brightly.

“Nice words. Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend. Do you have anything you want from me?”

“It’s nothing big, but if you don’t mind my help, I’d like to get the right to develop one of Your Highness’ properties.”

“Which area? It has been less than a day since I received the land.”

“It’s a small coal mine called Balaran in the north. I want the right to develop it, Your Highness.”

Right then, Ian’s eyes changed.

‘You seem to know what’s there.’

It was no wonder.

It was because some historical ruins that would become famous in the future were discovered there. Adding to that, herbs and special minerals that could become war supplies.

In other words, having it would be the same as gobbling up the most important part of the territory.

“We will support the workers needed in the mine. In addition to that, we will support all mine facilities and transportation. You can make money while sitting down, Your Highness.”

Ian looked at him in incredulity.

‘Now that I look at it, it looks like he is going to pretend to help me and snag it all effortlessly.’

Ian was sure the marquis was going to hog everything in there without his knowledge.

If there were no historical ruins, minerals, and herbs in the first place, it would be nothing more than a vast yet useless land.

But Ian thought it was good.

“Great. It was hard for me to do it alone.”

“Your Highness!”

Duke Garcia looked at Ian as if he was out of his mind.

‘Lavaltor is already bad enough, but Adelas… He is worse in another sense.’

Lavaltor volunteered to be the guardian of the Second Prince, but he was a warrior by nature. Practically an indifferent knight who didn’t even care about politics.

But Adelas was different.

He had ambitions to bring down the two dukes by any means.

As Duke Garcia was about to say something.

“Well, then the marquis can just buy the rights.”

“The rights?”

“To put it simply, it is a friendship fee.”

“Friendship fee??”

Ian smiled broadly.

“My knowledge is still lacking, so I don’t know what some of you have. So, I’m going to sell that right to the one who gives me the biggest support. That is, the right to help with the territory and the envoy reception.”

In other words, they had to buy the rights by holding an auction on their own.

Marquis Adelas and the nobles around him alike gave him ridiculous expressions on their faces.

But Ian only smiled.

‘I feel a little sorry for the Third Prince.’

In fact, this was the method the Third Prince used. He sold his rights to cover his lack of financial resources and test his opponent’s abilities.

And the nobles were not stupid either. It was true that Ian cut them off at the knees due to Crystal Palace’s incident, but they couldn’t help casting a guarded look, wary of falling into an ulterior motive.

Then Ian added.

“I heard that ancient ruins and special minerals were found in my territory. I’ve heard it from a reliable source, so it’s probably true.”

“!!”

It was Marquis Adelas who was the most flabbergasted by those words.

How could he not?

‘You can hide it, but you can’t say it out loud!’

Sure enough, Crystal Palace fell into a big uproar.

“Ah, maybe that’s why Marquis Adelas…”

“I thought there was something…”

Eventually, some nobles who knew Marquis Adelas’ ability well quickly took action.

“One thousand gold! I will give you a thousand gold, Your Highness!”

“Only one thousand gold for ancient ruins and special minerals? What a joke! Five thousand gold! I’ll give you five thousand gold and stand by your side, Your Highness!”

“Ha! What are you all saying? I will give you 7,000 gold and my family’s heirloom…”

Crystal Palace became a marketplace in an instant.

Ian smiled warmly and turned his head to Marquis Adelas.

“The same goes for you too, Marquis Adelas. If you want to help me, invest in it, and of course, I’m only going to accept two.”

“Hoo…”

“Well, in this regard, Duke Garcia will already get a slot, don’t you agree? You are my precious benefactor, so, of course, I should give it to you.”

“!”

Then Duke Garcia glanced at Ian.

Still, the Duke was awfully upset either due to the issue with Lavaltor or Countess Aria.

That’s why he thought about abandoning Ian just in time for the envoy to come. However, Ian, who succeeded in fending off Marquis Adelas, also regarded him highly, so his heart wavered to abandon him.

But at that moment.

“Prince, we have a problem.”

Unlike his usual appearance, Karan approached Ian with a pale face.

Then he whispered so that the nobles could not overhear them.

“We have found the dragon you mentioned. But…”

“What’s wrong?”

“It is said that the dragon is now attacking Your Highness’ territory.”

“What?”

Something big was about to happen.

***

While Ian was making a deal with the nobles.

In a deserted garden of the royal palace.

The First Princess was glaring sharply at someone.

The one before her was none other than Countess Aria.

She was the heiress to the former dukedom of Adria and the older sister of Royne. And above all, she was Reese Aria, who supported Ian this time.

And she, who was the mainstay of the power of the First Princess, had no choice but to be on the receiving end of the First Princess’s glare.

Sure enough.

“To hinder my plan and help the Seventh Prince. May I take this as you being my enemy now, Countess Aria?”

Yet, Countess Aria calmly bowed her head and replied.

“It’s a misunderstanding, Princess. I only did it for your sake.”

“Are you going to insult me ​​now?”

“I assure you, Your Highness. I thought it was an opportunity for you because he came to see me looking for a wealthy nobleman. And…”

Countess Aria held out an object. It appeared to belong to a spy.

“The Second Prince planted a spy on the First Princess.”

“What? My brother did?”

“Yes. The Seventh Prince caught it, and now I have received it as a deal since I am interested. I’ve gained a lot of information.”

She added that the Second Prince seemed to have planted a spy on the queen as well.

The First Princess raised her eyebrows at the news.

Of course, she wasn’t going to completely believe it, but she recalled the recent words from Nathan, whom she trusted the most.

“I don’t think the Second Prince trusts you, First Princess.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It seems that the Second Prince is stealing the information about you.”

“What do you mean by my information?”

“He is probably thinking about striking you from behind, First Princess. Therefore, the Seventh Prince wishes to join hands with the First Princess. He is afraid of the Second Prince.”

“Because he cut his arm off?”

“Yes. I think he is afraid of revenge. You’re the only one who can deal with the Second Prince. If you steal the Sword of Domination that the Second Prince has, he will make it a token of his promise.”

“The condition is too high. That rotten brother of mine never lets it off his hands, so it’s hard even for me to get it out.”

And now, the First Princess entered the annex of the Second Prince.

And.

“You’re here, my sister.”

The Second Prince, with a bright smile, greeted her.

She also smiled brightly.

“I was really worried, Brother.”

At that moment, the First Princess was able to make up her mind.

If what the spy said was true, she would betray him first before she was betrayed.

In other words, there was nothing harmful in taking action if she found even the slightest suspicion.

Also.

‘I will take the Sword of Domination and manipulate the envoy to make the reception fail.’

No, it would not be just a failure.

She was going to plunge the Seventh Prince into the abyss by angering the envoy.

Of course, not only the Seventh Prince.

‘You as well, Brother.’

The First Princess smiled.

***

After the Crystal Palace test.

King Eloin’s routines had changed a lot.

One of them in particular.

“Then I’ll proceed with the reports, Your Majesty.”

Every morning and evening, he spared some time to hear the situation of each successor. Of course, he had only occasionally listened to interim reports before, but it was different now.

“The Second Prince seems to be trying to make contact with nobles other than Lavaltor while he is currently locked in the annex.”

“Oh, he didn’t give up, huh?”

Due to Lavaltor’s change of heart, the Second Prince’s faction changed significantly.

They were divided into those who wanted to snatch Ian from Garcia according to Lavaltor’s will and those who tried to comfort the Second Prince and gain unexpected profit.

As such, he was the Second Prince who had lost half of his power. It was clear that the first thing he would do was to take revenge on Ian by fighting in the Battle of Ranking.

He wasn’t that easy a guy.

“However, the alliance between the Second Prince and the First Princess is likely to fall through. They may completely become enemies in the future.”

King Eloin chuckled.

“Foolish children. There is only one throne to begin with.”

The royal chamberlain also reported on the other successors.

“The First Princess appears to be buying all the wyvern and dragon meat in the market. This seems to be an attempt to disturb the Seventh Prince.”

“Right. To fail the envoy reception.”

But it wasn’t a very wise move either.

Wyvern and dragon meat were exotic ingredients sought after by people with eccentric tastes the most. The quantity was small, but the quality of what was circulated on the market was too terrible.

It was because the meat was procured from wyverns’ and dragons’ natural deaths rather than hunting them down themselves.

Still, it would be necessary to entertain the envoy of the empire in the west.

“What shall we do? Shall we help the Seventh Prince?”

“No, it’s fine. He passed the test, so he should be able to manage that on his own.”

After the king’s remarks, the royal chamberlain continued.

“Then, moving on to the next successors. The Third Prince is taking in all the knights, and the Fourth Prince is recruiting the scholars of Gratunias.”

Upon saying that, the royal chamberlain glanced at the king.

Even if the king did not express it, the Third Prince was the closest to the throne, and the Fourth Prince was also the most capable prince in terms of academics and civil affairs.

As the royal chamberlain tried to talk about the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince in succession.

“Enough about those two now.”

“Yes. And it seems that the Second Princess is currently roping in royal servants and workers. Among the employees of the main palace, I can see one who has been won over.”

“Is that so? Leave it alone.”

“However, Your Majesty, even if she is a princess, getting her hands on the servants of the main palace is…”

“It is alright. That’s her way of survival.”

The Second Princess, like Ian, had no support base. However, she was loved by the populace and members of the royal family as well as the queen for her unique skill as a social butterfly.

And that was the Second Princess’s biggest weapon.

The Second Princess was also quick-witted and never did anything to offend the king.

“Anyway, all the princes and princesses seem to care about the reception of this envoy.”

Well, although it was the Seventh Prince who would be in the spotlight, it was each individual’s freedom to show their ability and captivate the outsiders.

And at the same time, they knew.

The moment the envoy arrived, what kind of task the king would give, and how beneficial it would be to them and the national interest.

So, it was not difficult for them to make Ian their sidekick.

In other words, the competition had already begun. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

And.

“Then, I will report about the Seventh Prince.”

King Eloin’s expression immediately changed. It was Ian’s news that the king was always looking forward to.

“I think he is planning a swordsmanship competition to entertain the envoy.”

“Oh, has he already figured out their taste? Well, to the west is the Golden Road that connects with Garcia’s territory. Did Garcia tell him? Either way, that’s a good idea.”

The news didn’t end there.

“I think he is preparing to hunt for the banquet himself.”

“Hunting? That’s fun. What’s the target?”

“According to the rumors from the nobles, he aimed for a wyvern, but it seemed that he was actually trying to catch a dragon.”

The royal chamberlain glanced at him subtly.

“He is not going to catch it himself, is he?”

“It will not be difficult. Doesn’t he have three knights?”

“Still… it’s a dragon. He could die. Seeing that he doesn’t laze away in training, I think he will take part in it…”

“Yes, it must be a Lesser Dragon class. That will surely surprise the envoy.”

There were a total of five classes of ferocious wild dragons that threatened countries and the continent.

Lesser Dragon, Earth Dragon, Celestial Dragon, Savage Dragon, Ancient Dragon.

The classes beyond Earth Dragon class were monstrously ferocious, powerful, and terrifying monsters. Therefore, it was hard for people to deal with them, and it was widely believed that there was no strategy to attack those dragons, so people practically steered clear of them.

No one had actually ever seen Celestial Dragon class or higher, but people had to avoid them starting from Earth Dragon class.

However, for a dragon, the Lesser Dragon class was at the level of a dangerous beast, so it was worth a try if one had the power equal to a knight.

Of course, even if the Lesser Dragon’s level was said to be similar to a beast’s, a dragon was a dragon.

They would be quite a formidable fellow.

“Well, it is something to look forward to.”

As King Eloin smiled in a pleasant mood.

“Your Majesty, I have an urgent report.”

“What is it?”

It was the escort knights of King Eloin who spoke urgently.

“Reporting, Your Majesty. The Seventh Prince crossed the castle just now.”

“He rushed out to the Helgaia territory…”

King Eloin furrowed his forehead as if to not make a big deal out of nothing.

“I heard he is trying to catch a Lesser Dragon.”

“No, I think he is actually aiming for an Earth Dragon class…!!”

The king was truly taken by surprise.

What? Earth Dragon?

He never imagined that.