Chapter 88: No, It’s Fine
Ian’s lips curled up into a smile.
In fact, unless he was a fool, he would spot the strangeness from Heinley’s expression right away.
‘Garcia’s second son came to the border area, much less at this time?’
And in such a stealthy outfit?
He even came unnoticed. There were only two attendants accompanying him. It was a stark contrast from the Heinley of his previous life, who boasted his identity as a direct descendant of the great Garcia family and had numerous servants following him.
He was practically telling the whole world that he was on a secret mission.
Then, there must be only one reason.
“Your Highness, you must have had a very wide circle of acquaintance, huh? Do you keep in touch with the ducal family of Kaistein?”
“!?”
The crown prince flinched. But he soon broke into a smirk. There was no evidence in the first place. That was why Ian couldn’t even question him aggressively.
“It seems that Kaistein’s prince likes slanders. I have never been in contact with the Duke…”
Ian smiled as if it were gibberish.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter if he denies it. I think I can roughly understand why he contacted him.’
It was no wonder.
It must be important enough that the direct descendant of the Duke had to come in person. That was the only thing that mattered. Ian, who had memories of his past life, could roughly guess.
Lavaltor next to him also noticed.
Moreover, he was sending Ian a murderous glare.
‘How about suppressing him first?’
But Ian shook his head.
He had an idea.
‘In my previous life, Garcia eventually joined hands with a foreign power.’
To be precise, he had moved the powers of other countries to eliminate the successors who stood in his way. It seemed that Ian was the target in this life.
Of course, he didn’t even expect Heinley to move at this time.
When Ian’s eyes flashed, Heinley began to step back, sweating bullets.
“Why in the world are you doing this? There really is nothing! If you do this, you will catch an innocent person!”
Nathan, who had been watching the situation, grabbed him in response. Galon also blocked his way. The atmosphere was so tense that if Ian were to drop an order, they would immediately catch him and take him down.
If they searched inside the bosom, something like a letter would surely come out.
The sight made the crown prince frown.
It was because he could guess what Heinley was here for.
So, he couldn’t help gritting his teeth.
‘Duke Garcia. You tactless jerk.’
Usually, he sent such letters on the sly, so why did he send his son today only to get caught by Ian?
There was no way this sly bastard wouldn’t notice.
Thanks to that, it only made his position more embarrassing.
‘Don’t tell me… my prophecy was like this from the beginning?’
He would make a name for himself, but it would be as an emperor who was humiliated and used by Ian.
Even worse, he put a stake on the emperor’s knees.
‘This bastard won’t inform the emperor about this, will he? If he does, the problem will spiral out of control.’
The crown prince could only bite his lip.
At this point, Heinley was the one rather baffled.
‘No, why is a nobleman who is supposed to be a crown prince groveling to the Seventh Prince of our kingdom!’
It was as if Ian was his master.
Feeling anxious for a moment, Heinley slightly stepped back. He came under his complete trust in the crown prince. In this situation, the story was different.
But right then.
“Come to think of it, Young Master Heinley, I’ve always wanted to say something since before.”
“!”
Ian turned around as if he had just remembered something. Then, he drew the royal sword toward Heinley. Not stopping at that, he even swung it.
Shiik!
Drops of blood flew along with the royal sword’s trajectory. It was unmistakably an attack.
Everyone watching widened their eyes in surprise.
“Your Highness!”
“Young Master Heinley!”
To suddenly attack the second son of Duke Garcia without any warning and brandish a sword without justification or reason.
Even a royal could have been put in a difficult position.
But everyone was then taken aback.
Because Ian did not attack Heinley. What he attacked was something else.
“Ugh…”
It was Heinley’s shadow. On the spot where there should have been only black shadows, a man in a mask was rolling on the floor, grabbing his neck.
But he wasn’t the only one.
Ian noticed it and shouted.
“Sir Nathan! Catch the other one!”
Just when the startled Nathan was about to draw his sword, Heinley’s shadow twitched, and something black zipped out. Another masked man escaped in the blink of an eye.
Nathan invoked his Oath, his eyes full of killing intent.
“How dare you run away from me!”
As a knight of the prince, he couldn’t show an unsightly performance in front of no one else but Duke Lavaltor, who was watching.
In a flash, Nathan disappeared to catch the last one.
Duke Lavaltor asked Ian with curious eyes.
“How did you know?”
“Didn’t you notice that much, duke?”
“However, no one else realized.”
“…”
The black-masked men were using a strange art. It was a subtle difference that would have gone unnoticed unless one was on the level of Duke Lavaltor. Even the duke couldn’t sense it with his Oath.
So, the duke was ready to draw his sword.
‘I never thought the Seventh Prince would move first.’
But for Ian, it was not a big deal.
Because in his previous life, he had experienced the Secret Special Force more than anyone else.
He could tell they were there by looking at the slightly swaying shadows.
Ian gave a subtle smile.
‘There must be a difference between the Oath of the Kingdom of Swordsmen and the art of the Kingdom of Magicians.’
They couldn’t detect each other well.
That was the reason the Secret Special Force went unnoticed in their activities in the Kingdom of Swordsmen. They revealed themselves only after building an impregnable fortress that no one could touch.
Ian was determined to prevent that from happening in this life.
Anyway, that wasn’t the point.
Ian grabbed Heinley by the collar, who was frightened by the suddenly emerging masked men, then growled at him.
“Do you realize you’ve been taken advantage of?”
“What?”
“You don’t even know that your father is trying to kill you.”
Heinley looked puzzled for a moment. But soon he froze as if he had realized something.
Ian turned around, not minding him any longer.
“Now then, we’ll take care of the rest.”
The matter with the crown prince had been taken care of. All that was left now was to obtain information about Bahara from the Barbarian.
Oh, of course, the most important thing remained.
“Well then, how are we going to deal with these people?”
The noble and researchers who tried to spread the plague. Even if he reported it to the royal palace, he couldn’t leave them as it was.
‘Especially since it was related to the Fifth Prince. It must surely be dealt with here.’
It could have had nothing to do with the Fifth Prince. However, as long as he did not know what the nobles of the faction that worshiped him would do, he needed to round them all up.
Therefore, he should make good use of this opportunity.
As Ian was looking at them with a smile.
Heinley mumbled to himself with a completely ashen face.
“No way Father…? Me?”
He seemed to have finally figured it out.
The fact that Duke Garcia used him as bait. The reality that this mission put his life in danger.
Heinley mulled over something with a stiff face.
Soon, he started walking toward Ian, his face full of thought.
***
It had been a few days since Ian solved the problem in the Labadom Village.
In the meantime, rumors spread that Ian didn’t only succeed in his mission, but he had also defeated Bahara’s forces.
But the First Princess was not shaken.
However, for some reason, the crown prince was still in Labadom.
Reaching this point, the nobles of her faction shouted in frustration.
“Your Highness, how about going to Labadom right now?”
“I concur. What are we going to do if the crown prince and the Seventh Prince make a secret agreement?”
In the situation of pushing ahead the Northern Expedition with the empire, the crown prince’s influence could not be ignored.
But the First Princess shook her head.
“He has privately made a secret agreement with me. You will have nothing to worry about.”
Her confidence wasn’t without basis.
The First Princess and the crown prince agreed to share what each other needed.
‘The results will be for me, and the crown prince will take the actual profit.’
In the case of the success of the Northern Expedition, the greatest merit would fall to the First Princess. Most of the rights, including the land, were part of the agreement the crown prince decided to take.
Of course, it might seem unfavorable to the First Princess.
At first glance, the land of Bahara was undeveloped and packed with savages, but it was a strategic point blocking the eastern empire, plus a land rich in vital resources that would be needed later on.
But her track record was more important to her as she progressed in the competition to become the king.
She would surely take up the throne, even if that meant giving up the rights to Bahara.
Thus, she said in a cold voice.
“It will be rather difficult if I leave now.”
She had no other choice.
The flags of other successors to the throne, including the Third Prince, could be seen here.
All the successors had gathered for the Northern Expedition.
They began to gather here for their respective missions. The Fourth Prince, who was known to manage his own territory, was also present.
Even the country’s generals and key figures gathered.
It was truly a gathering of all the key personnel of the country.
‘It wouldn’t be good if I moved and lost my seat.’
The nobles of her faction also nodded.
“Well, what kind of mission is this mission? We should occupy the position of supreme commander.”
The supreme commander was the core of the Northern Expedition, the position that brought the most merit.
In fact, being the supreme commander was equal to being the winner of the competition.
Besides, in order to fulfill her promise to the crown prince, she had to take that position. Of course, it wasn’t just for the contract.
The supreme commander was the one to give orders.
It was a perfect opportunity for her to mow down the forces of the Third Prince, who posed the greatest threat to her.
‘What if I could eliminate not only him but the other successors’ forces as well?’
And if her own power was secured.
The throne could fully be hers.
‘It’s not just Kaistein’s supreme commander; I will also take the role of supreme commander of the alliance with Cantum.’
Being the supreme commander of the two countries was an incredibly honorable position. The beholder of that position would go down in history as the king of Kaistein.
For that, she needed the crown prince’s power.
That was why she made the contract.
But a problem arose.
A sudden letter came from the royal castle.
[The Fifth Prince’s name is also mentioned in this Northern Expedition.]
Although he didn’t actively raise his popularity, the Fifth Prince was highly supported by soldiers and people. She didn’t want to needlessly give him any excuse.
It was at that moment.
“His Excellency Duke Lavaltor has arrived!”
The voice of the attendant came from behind the First Princess. The man he had been waiting for had arrived.
“You have come, duke.”
“I apologize for being late. Something urgent came up.”
“No, it’s all right. I am glad you came.”
It had been a long time since the royal palace decided to entrust Duke Lavaltor with the role of adviser to the supreme commander of the Northern Expedition. It was very important for her to have the duke see her in a good light.
She couldn’t criticize him for being a little late.
Now, little by little, good things happened to her.
“The crown prince of Cantum has almost arrived. His flag is in sight.”
“Very well. Then go ahead and send messengers to the other heirs. We will proceed with the Northern Expedition meeting promptly.”
That was one of the authorities of Kaistein’s supreme commander.
With Duke Lavaltor and the crown prince here, the First Princess intended to seal everything firmly. She would let everyone know that she was the sole supreme commander of the Northern Expedition and that she was leading this.
While waiting for the crown prince, Cantum’s supreme commander, in the barrack of the First Princess.
The key figures were already in their seats, and only the Second Prince’s and the Seventh Prince’s seats were vacant.
Then the crown prince arrived.
“It’s not too late. We’ve only been waiting for a while…”
However, the First Princess couldn’t finish her words.
It was inevitable.
It was because of the person behind the crown prince.
“Why are you here…”
It was none other than Ian.
But her surprise didn’t end with that. It was because Ian, who had come in with the crown prince, sat at the head of the table. Not just that, the crown prince sat down next to him as if it was the most natural thing to do.
It was preposterous, but she told Ian with patience.
“Do you know what kind of position this seat holds? It’s the position to conduct important affairs between countries. Keep your manners. Do not commit any further discourtesy before the crown prince.”
No, she tried to reason with him cautiously.
However, the First Princess’s demeanor did not last long.
It was for no other reason.
“No, it’s fine. This brat… no, this is the person I serve as my older brother.”
“!?”
Everyone doubted their ears for a moment at the crown prince’s words.
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