The Princess's Value
Ferda answered.
"She is a beautiful woman."
It was a fact he could state calmly.
"Beautiful indeed. She is not called the Flower of the Empire for nothing."
Yaldemar let out a dissatisfied breath.
"But it would have been wonderful if beauty were all she possessed. The problem is that it is not."
"Is that so?"
"Do not play innocent. A man like you, who is neither swayed by appearances nor ruled by sentiment, must have noticed her true nature."
"What exactly are you trying to say, Grand Duke Yaldemar?"
"I wish to say that she is my destined partner."
Ferda thought,
Has this old man gone senile?
"You must be thinking the same thing. That this old man is lusting after a young woman. That I should simply grow old and die with dignity."
At least he seemed aware of how others viewed him.
"But no matter what anyone says, I am certain of it. Olivia is destined to become my companion."
Madness seeped into his calm voice.
The promise he had received from the Emperor was that Olivia would be given to Yaldemar as his partner.
"My companion is still wandering. And…"
His eyes turned cold as they fixed upon Ferda.
"It seems you are about to become one of the stops along the way."
Disgust rose across Ferda's face.
Garnet had once told him about someone who had died after becoming entangled with Yaldemar.
"As I understand it, Stella Arken was supposed to be your destiny."
Stella, Princess Olivia's elder sister.
She was publicly believed to have died in an accident when a balcony collapsed.
In truth, however, she had taken her own life, and Yaldemar had been at the heart of it.
It had all begun with his obsession that she had to belong to him.
"Ah, Stella… Yes… There was Stella as well."
Tears fell from Yaldemar's eyes.
He spoke her name as though mourning her.
"Poor thing. If only that poor girl had not tried to defy her destiny, none of this would have happened…"
The unnatural sight revealed the sincerity of his feelings, and it sent a chill even through Ferda.
"Now that Stella is gone… I will never let this one escape. I cannot lose the woman destined for me twice."
He wiped away his tears, revealing his dry eyes once more.
He was already broken beyond repair.
Ferda stared into those eyes and answered.
"I will tell you again. I have no interest in the Princess. Even if she harbors affection for me, it is not romantic. And even if it were, I would have no need for it."
"Is that so?"
The pressure surrounding Yaldemar eased slightly at Ferda's firm response.
Yet Ferda soon wondered whether he had made a mistake.
Yaldemar's gaze seemed to sink even deeper into darkness.
"Then perhaps you can help me."
"What do you mean?"
He made his proposal.
"Make Olivia acknowledge that I am her destiny."
Ferda boarded the carriage and left the imperial palace.
From the moment he stepped out of the reception room, Yaldemar's words continued circling through his mind.
As I said, this Empire is already overflowing with people who possess no patriotism. Even if you do not love the Empire, it would merely mean one more unpatriotic citizen.
Ferda was nothing more than a single drop of rain falling into a vast river.
Yaldemar had then explained the reward for accepting his proposal.
If you cooperate with me, I can strengthen the Far East's position. I could grant it such extensive autonomy that it would be virtually indistinguishable from independence.
Yaldemar's offer was so extraordinary that it could easily be considered a conspiracy to commit treason.
Under the banner of a single Empire, even such an arrangement would normally have been unacceptable.
Is Olivia truly worth that much?
It was a terrifying level of obsession.
And how had Ferda responded?
He had not answered immediately.
More precisely, while Ferda had been weighing his response, Yaldemar had postponed hearing it.
That was why the proposal now continued to echo through his mind in place of an answer.
Olivia Arken.
She had failed to become a saint and had brought a nation to ruin with her beauty.
Even that had ultimately ended in failure.
Things are different now.
Once confined to the Third Circle, she had now reached the Fourth Circle and had begun taking her first true steps toward sainthood.
She now possessed potential, along with abilities worthy of that potential.
Olivia was a skilled strategist and politician.
Even so, there were too many variables.
To the nobles around her, Olivia's value as a princess was simply too great.
To noble ladies, she was an excellent stepping stone.
To noble sons, she was the embodiment of a fairy-tale dream and a source of inspiration.
Even powerful old men like Yaldemar constantly watched for a chance to claim her beauty.
The moment she spread her wings and attempted to soar higher, they would seize those wings and tear them away.
Olivia appeared to have everything firmly under control, yet she was surrounded by far more danger than anyone could imagine.
Yaldemar, by contrast, possessed an unshakable foundation.
He had the support of both commoners and nobles and was the Empire's true power behind the throne.
If he supported Ferda, it would be almost equivalent to eliminating every danger the Far East might face in the future.
All I have to do is sell one woman.
It was horrifyingly simple.
He would trade an uncertain possibility for a dependable ally.
It was an insidious situation—repulsive, yet alluring at the same time.
He must have sent me away without demanding an answer for this very reason.
It was a sophisticated tactic.
The deeper a person thought, the more cautious they became.
But thought also bred fear.
And once fear had taken root, people tended to choose stability over risk.
"Regent, we have arrived."
The carriage stopped in front of the luxury inn where Ferda was staying.
The knights guarding the entrance recognized him, saluted, and opened the doors.
Instead of stepping inside, however, Ferda turned away.
"I will take a short walk."
"Then we will accompany—"
"I will go alone."
Ferda answered curtly, as though his thoughts were tangled, and attempted to dismiss their escort.
But knights could not truly abandon a noble simply because he said they were unnecessary.
They secretly followed behind him.
Their efforts came to nothing when Ferda entered an alleyway.
He vanished without a trace.
"Huh?"
"Did you see where he went?"
"No. I didn't. He literally disappeared without leaving a trace."
Thinking he might have sprinted away at tremendous speed, the knights hurried forward.
Yet no matter how carefully they searched, they could find no sign of Ferda.
"Split up and search! If we lose him, our heads are finished!"
Contrary to the guards' assumption that he had already fled far away, Ferda had merely turned into the alley and remained standing there without taking another step.
It was a spell derived from the shadow arts of the Great Demon Barbatos.
Shadow Inside.
It was a concealment spell that hid the caster's form within shadows, suppressing both presence and sound.
It could even evade detection magic, making it superior to other concealment spells of the same level.
However, it possessed one fatal weakness.
The moment light reaches me, I am exposed.
Had the knights carried even a small lantern, Ferda would undoubtedly have been discovered.
But this was the imperial capital.
Beyond its major roads, it was a labyrinth where unlit places outnumbered those with light.
After escaping the eyes watching him, Ferda began moving toward his destination.
He left behind the fragrant food and floral scents and entered a back alley reeking of sewage.
Deeper inside lay the slums, where sewage and every form of refuse gathered in one place.
Beggars lay upon filth-soaked ground as though it were a bed, pleading for alms.
Ferda passed them without stopping.
His steps carried him toward a precise destination.
"My lord… Please, spare a single coin."
Waiting there was an old beggar woman pleading in a hoarse voice.
She knelt and bowed flat against the ground, holding out a wooden bowl.
At the same time, Ferda noticed a tattoo on the beggar's wrist.
He took out a coin and dropped it into her bowl.
The old woman once again lowered her head until it touched the ground in gratitude.
"I greet the Regent."
The hoarse voice had vanished, replaced by the voice of a young woman.
It was Garnet.
"Shall we move somewhere else?"
"There is no need. This entire area is under my control. There are no gaps through which anything could leak."
Ferda discreetly extended his shadows and searched the surrounding area.
Just as she had said, people were hidden throughout the vicinity, watching and guarding the area.
Reassured, Ferda began speaking.
"What was the reaction in the gallery?"
"To be honest, it exceeded our expectations again."
"Did I make a mistake?"
"No. The response was extremely favorable."
She had listened to Ferda's entire speech while also monitoring the reactions around her.
The response had surpassed their predicted figures by a considerable margin.
"Because the reaction was so favorable, the likelihood that the opposing side will resort to a drastic measure has increased."
A variable created by the speech being too effective.
Ferda already knew what that drastic measure would be.
"Grand Duke Golt has already brought out the Yurei card."
Garnet, who had kept her head bowed, raised it.
"He told you himself?"
"Yes."
"If he was willing to speak of it openly... then it means he has resolved to ensure that you cannot escape."
Near the end of the Beginning-of-Spring Festival, Ferda had abducted Duke Yurei's son.
The young man had openly insulted the dragon in the middle of the banquet hall.
Ferda had intended to torture him and make him suffer a fate worse than death.
But he had never actually done so.
The young man had taken his own life before Ferda could.
Ferda had been directly involved and was now a suspect, so he knew what had truly happened.
But what would an outsider think?
Valdrova was a Princeps, and as such, she was obligated to obey imperial law.
Once the atmosphere had been sufficiently inflamed, the discussion would naturally veer in another direction.
Deviant magic.
The fact that Duke Yurei's son had been killed not through physical force but through deviant magic.
They would have to examine in detail where that magic had come from and how it had been activated.
There was no need to guess who would handle that investigation.
Erdes.
She must have been waiting for this moment.
She was the foremost authority on magic in the continent of Cerdes and, at the same time, someone who despised deviant magic.
Even if she knew the spell had not been cast by Ferda, there was a possibility she would deliberately choose not to reveal that fact.
"What do you think will happen?"
"First, Duke Yurei's faction intends to make a public accusation in front of the inn where you are staying. At the same time, agitators spread throughout the Empire will circulate the story. By the time you leave for the Golden Council, every imperial subject will know of it."
"I see. Are there any other variables?"
"There is one more."
"What is it?"
"One of Prince Alexander's close associates attempted to make contact with someone in Hestia."
"With whom?"
"William, the captain of the constabulary."
He had once been a knight cadet under Duke Yurei.
"And?"
"He reportedly abandoned his duties as captain and teleported away with them. It is highly likely they intend to use him as a witness."
"..."
William had taken up his sword for the sake of the common people.
But what if he learned that Ferda was supposedly a deviant mage who had killed Duke Yurei's son?
On top of that, Ferda had once driven a dagger through William's hand simply because he had been angry.
He had nearly taken away the hand that was a knight's very life.
It would not be strange for William to make the grave decision to expose him.
"We have already identified his current location."
"I see."
"If he is a source of uncertainty, it may be worth considering removing him."
Assassination.
Erdes hated Ferda, and the Alte Church followed a policy of absolute intolerance toward deviant magic.
Even if not today, by tomorrow Ferda would have two more enemies.
In a situation like this, the best outcome would be to avoid creating yet another enemy.
If he could turn that person into an ally instead, it would be nothing short of a miracle.
"It may be time to consider Yaldemar's demand."
"What did the Grand Duke ask of you?"
"He asked me to help him make Olivia Arken his own. In exchange, he promised to leave the Far East alone."
"...The Princess."
Garnet released a faint, ambiguous breath.
She was already aware that the Princess was their ally within the Empire.
"What will you do?"
"I do not know. He may obtain what he wants and later change his word, may he not?"
"He likely will not."
Garnet answered Ferda's suspicion.
"You believe he will keep his promise?"
"His obsession with Olivia Arken is that great. Before he was about to obtain Stella Arken, he had even designated an heir and planned to retire completely. Once he possesses that woman, even the state of the Empire will become secondary to him."
Human desire knew no end.
Ordinarily, Ferda would not have believed such a claim.
But he had already seen a similar case.
Henri Dandolo.
He had driven his only father toward death and surrendered even the company to Ferda.
All so that he could have the eldest daughter of the Pascal Company.
"What do you think I should do?"
"The Princess is the more trustworthy choice, but we cannot be certain her plans will progress successfully. Yaldemar, however, would have an immediate and stable effect due to his influence—provided he can be trusted."
The advantages and disadvantages were clear.
Most people would have leaned toward Yaldemar.
Ferda, too, found himself gradually inclining in that direction.
"For now..."
Ferda gave Garnet an order.
"Proceed according to the plan."
"Do you truly believe they are among us, Regent?"
"They are undoubtedly here."
Ferda spat out the loathsome name.
"Those damned bastards."
Before his death, Duke Yurei's son had said:
Welcome to this wretched world.
It could merely have been a trigger phrase built into the spell.
But Ferda thought otherwise.
It was a message.
The demons had wanted nothing more than for matters to reach this point.
Even their decision to target the imperial capital rather than the Far East during the encirclement had been part of the same design.
They had intended to tighten the noose around the Far East.
With everyone's interests interlocking, events had begun unfolding in an appallingly simple manner.
It was as though they all stood at the edge of a cliff.
A slight push in the back would be enough to send everything spiraling beyond control.
"We will do everything possible to find them, but investigating an unidentified enemy may prove meaningless."
"What do you mean by meaningless?"
"By the time we find them, it may already be too late."
The fate of the Far East rested upon this postwar council.
Burdened by such an immense weight, Ferda could not tell what he should do.
What was the correct choice?
"Perhaps asking the person herself would be a good option."
"The person herself...?"
Garnet glanced toward the alley.
Footsteps could be heard approaching from within it.
Her voice gradually transformed into a sound like nails scraping across a blackboard before returning to that of an old woman.
"This humble one shall now withdraw."
She limped away, and the beggars who had been monitoring the area alongside her vanished as well.
At the same moment, a group emerged from the alley.
Every one of them wore a hooded robe.
Those dressed in dark gray robes had broad, sturdy shoulders.
At the center of the group was a small, slender figure wearing white trimmed with golden thread.
Perhaps it was only to be expected.
Even beneath the thick robe, the beauty hidden within could not be concealed.
Ferda recognized at once that the person beneath it was the Flower of the Empire.
"Oh my?"
Olivia Arken.
In her clear, graceful voice, she feigned surprise.
"Is that not the Regent?"
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://beastnovels.com/