My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 231

231. The Princess and the Saintess (2)

Ding! Didi-ring!

The notification sounds from Mobile Lord went off almost like it was having a seizure.

Didi-ri-ri-ri-ring!!!!

It wasn’t a joke; the notification sound made it seem like Mobile Lord was really glitching out.

But Cian didn’t pay much attention.

First of all, he couldn’t focus on Mobile Lord with Konrad in front of him.

And then, there were the two vouchers in front of him.

More precisely, one voucher and one promissory note.

[250,000,000 G]

[100,000,000 G]

‘Ah…!’

This was an amount that would make Cian have a seizure too!

A total of 350 million gold, an astronomical sum.

How could anyone stay sane in the face of this amount!

Cian’s body trembled without him even realizing it.

But only for a moment.

‘No, that’s not right.’

Cian was quickly able to regain his senses.

It was the intended use of this money that grounded him.

The trembling subsided the moment he thought of its use.

First of all… he had to reinforce his Transcendental-grade armor.

『 – Cannot be used

[Effect] – When activated, nullifies all damage inflicted on the wearer for 5 seconds.』

-When this effect is applied, all damage dealt by the wearer is also nullified.

-This effect can only be used once every 24 hours.

-This effect can only be activated with Transcendental(超越)-grade armor.

.

.

.

It was the Transcendental skill possessed by Transcendental-grade armor.

He could receive the effects of the Transcendental-grade set equipment along with that incredible skill.

He didn’t know what the set effect was yet.

But even just looking at the Transcendental skill, it was clear that it was extraordinary.

So now, when he might have to face Durak.

Also now, when Elandur might be related to the seven demon lords.

‘I have to reinforce it.’

He had to reinforce his armor no matter what.

And the cost of that reinforcement… wasn’t cheap.

Of course, it was all based on probability, so he couldn’t know for sure.

It would be great if he succeeded in reinforcing it in one go like the Transcendental-grade sword.

But just in case.

If he really did end up reaching 100% of Morcru’s energy….

“……”

It was a future he didn’t want to think about.

And then there were the things he had to buy with real money in preparation for the Elandur war.

And the cost of supplies consumed in that war.

‘Damn it.’

Frankly, it wasn’t that much money.

‘Not much…?’

Cian wondered for a moment if this was right.

350 million gold wasn’t much?

That was enough money for a family of four to live for roughly 970,000 years just breathing, right?

“……”

Cian didn’t know how to accept this.

As he sat there blankly.

“Anyway, you.”

Konrad quietly called out to Cian.

He regained his senses and looked over.

There, Konrad was looking at Cian with a strange expression.

He wondered what it was for a moment.

“What is your relationship with the Saintess of the Holy Empire?”

“Yes? Why are you suddenly asking that?”

Cian wondered what was going on.

What was his relationship with Aria?

“I heard… you have a close relationship with the Saintess, exchanging gifts.”

Konrad continued.

It seemed like what happened in the VIP room earlier had reached Konrad’s ears.

‘That wasn’t even a big deal?’

But that was earlier.

It hadn’t been long enough to even use the expression ‘earlier’.

At most, it hadn’t even been an hour.

‘Was a report filed in that time?’

Anyway, there was a reason why he was told to be careful with his words and actions in the Imperial Palace.

Well, it was a space where the imperial family resided, so it was understandable.

‘But it shouldn’t be this much?’

But it wasn’t to this extent.

This was something he couldn’t have known unless he was monitoring his every move.

So, with a rather puzzled feeling for a moment.

“I’ve never seen Elena so anxious in my life.”

Cian was quickly able to understand the situation.

It seemed like Elena had visited in the meantime.

“You don’t mean to tell me, you and the Saintess….”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Cian shook his head firmly.

“I only said ‘with the Saintess’.”

Konrad made a dumbfounded expression at Cian’s firm appearance.

But Cian still maintained a firm attitude.

“You were going to ask if I had *that* kind of relationship with Aria, weren’t you?”

He knew exactly what Konrad was going to say.

As expected, Konrad cleared his throat.

And then, he subtly looked at Cian.

“Isn’t that right…?”

He asked Cian cautiously.

Cian couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

What on earth did Elena say to make Konrad act like this?

Why was he misunderstanding like this?

“Absolutely not.”

Cian shook his head firmly.

Well, it was true that he was friendly with Aria, but that was it.

In the first place, Cian and Aria were polar opposites.

A swordsman who wields mana [magical energy].

A saintess who wields divine power.

There couldn’t be a more incompatible match.

Just looking at Aria made him dizzy and nauseous.

What kind of relationship was that?

“You don’t have a partner yet, and it’s true that the Saintess has outstanding beauty….”

“Outstanding beauty isn’t everything.”

No matter how transcendentally beautiful a woman was.

His compatibility with Aria was still too bad.

“Hmm… I knew that charm wouldn’t work, considering the Brahe heiress from last time….”

But Konrad seemed to think a little differently.

Or perhaps he thought that there was no such thing as incompatibility for Aria’s transcendental beauty.

“I heard you’re going to Ruben with the Saintess this time.”

“It just happened that way.”

“Then Elena is going with you….”

“No way.”

Cian shook his head firmly.

This wasn’t just Cian’s problem.

It was a situation where the imperial family’s position would be quite difficult.

“You know I declared war on Elandur, don’t you?”

It was the war with Elandur.

Currently, Ruben and Elandur were at war.

He didn’t know if that fact had been conveyed to Durak.

But it was only a matter of time, and that fact wouldn’t change.

In that situation, Elena was coming to Ruben?

So, a member of the imperial family was coming to Ruben?

Aria was an individual who had nothing to do with the Charlotte Empire, so there was nothing particularly problematic.

Of course, if you looked into it, it could become a diplomatic issue.

But that was only if you looked into it.

But Elena was different.

Her very existence conveyed a certain message.

“That’s true, but.”

Konrad lowered his gaze slightly and continued.

“Elena seems to be very worried.”

“The Princess? No, what is she worried about?”

“She said she doesn’t know what the Saintess will do to you.”

“Yes? What is that….”

“She said she would feel relieved if you had your engagement ceremony this time… what do you think?”

And Konrad continued.

“The knighting ceremony is over. It’s sudden, but what do you think?”

What was this all about?

And what did he mean, what did he think?

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Cian shook his head.

Then he got up from his seat.

He felt like he would only get a headache if he stayed any longer.

And as Konrad said, the knighting ceremony was over.

He had properly received Charlotte’s swordsmanship fee.

In addition, he had sold Elodie’s knowledge.

He had also grasped the whereabouts of the dragon to some extent.

Everything he had to do in the Imperial Palace was over.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

Cian took the voucher and left the office.

#

The capital of the Empire, Darkan.

A splendid carriage left Darkan.

A carriage with the emblem of a white wolf.

Inside the carriage, there was a man and a woman, excluding the coachman.

The two men and women had no words with each other.

As a result, the atmosphere inside the carriage was heavy.

How long had it been.

“How was the knighting ceremony?”

The woman’s voice broke the silence of the carriage.

A woman with lily-like hair and neatly braided hair.

Rachel, the leader of the Twilight Sect and the expelled cardinal.

Rachel waited for the man’s answer.

And a man with an atmosphere like a lone wolf standing alone in the snowy field.

“What do you want?”

Durak replied to Rachel’s question in an indifferent tone.

“Can I take that to mean you’re going to make a deal with me?”

Durak didn’t answer Rachel’s words right away.

Once again, a heavy silence flowed.

How long had it been again.

“…… Tell me what you want.”

Durak finally opened his mouth.

Rachel smiled and continued.

“We are currently looking for the whereabouts of the relic.”

“We? Are there others besides you?”

Then Rachel opened her eyes slightly in surprise.

As if she had made a mistake, she gently covered her mouth with one hand.

“I’ll tell you about that later. Anyway, we’re currently looking for the relic.”

Durak stared at Rachel silently.

But only for a moment.

Durak clicked his tongue and opened his mouth again.

“What do you mean by relic?”

“To put it simply… it’s an object that restricts our power.”

“Restricts power?”

Rachel nodded once.

But that was all.

She didn’t say anything more after that.

Durak looked at Rachel and opened his mouth again.

“You want me to find that?”

“Similar.”

“Similar?”

“Yes. We already know the location of the relic.”

Durak raised his eyes slightly.

Rachel paused for a moment and opened her mouth lightly.

“The kingdom of the beastmen.”

And Rachel continued.

“The relic we are looking for is in the kingdom of the beastmen.”

“The existence of the kingdom of the beastmen is unclear.”

Durak replied in a tone that he didn’t need to listen to.

That was because the kingdom of the beastmen was only passed down as a legend.

It was unclear whether the beastmen even existed in the first place.

In the past, they had active exchanges with humans….

It was a story from hundreds of years ago.

Since then, the appearance of the beastmen has not been seen.

Even the elves who had cut themselves off from the world occasionally showed their faces.

The beastmen did not show any such appearance at all.

That’s why the kingdom of the beastmen was being passed down like a legend.

“No. The kingdom of the beastmen definitely exists.”

Rachel was certain for some reason.

“However, we don’t know exactly where it is….”

And Rachel muttered.

Only then did Durak understand Rachel’s words, ‘similar’ from earlier.

“You want me to find the kingdom of the beastmen?”

Durak opened his mouth.

Rachel smiled slightly as if she had pointed it out correctly.

The traces of the beastmen who disappeared hundreds of years ago.

It was not easy to find those traces now.

But it wasn’t impossible to find them either.

“Isn’t it possible with Elandur’s intelligence?”

Elandur was still Elandur.

One of the two pillars supporting the Empire.

Elandur, who dominated the eastern part of the Empire, wasn’t just strong.

If the kingdom of the beastmen truly existed, it would be possible to find it with some effort.

However.

“What do we get in return?”

They wouldn’t do anything without a price.

There had to be something in return for what they gave.

Rachel seemed to know this as well.

“Cyan and Ruben.”

She opened her mouth, looking at Durak.

“I’ll help you crush them completely.”

“I can do that well enough without your help.”

Durak scoffed and replied.

Of course, after seeing Cyan in person.

He had changed his mind to some extent.

But the reality hadn’t changed.

He was still the greatest swordsman on the continent.

And Elandur was still one of the two pillars supporting the Empire.

So, Rachel’s words now.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, the current Elandur can’t do it.”

It was like a provocation that irritated Durak.

Durak’s energy flared up for a moment.

A terrible murderous intent that could kill with mere will filled the carriage.

And just then.

“And, I’ll fulfill Elandur’s long-cherished wish.”

Rachel’s words came again.

Durak’s energy subsided in an instant.

His gaze shifted.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Elandur’s incomplete secret technique. If we can complete it for you… wouldn’t that be a sufficient deal?”

“Nonsense.”

Durak flatly dismissed Rachel’s words.

Because it was truly absurd.

Elandur’s long-cherished wish that they hadn’t been able to achieve for hundreds of years.

Something that all the previous Elandurs, who were called geniuses of their time, had failed to do.

Even Durak couldn’t do it.

Perhaps Kai could do it.

Kai, the star of the Empire and a genius who would surpass him.

He had such expectations, but it was just an expectation.

He didn’t know how Rachel knew that Elandur’s secret technique was incomplete.

But it wasn’t a matter of knowing or not.

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, I’ll call it off.”

Durak firmly rejected Rachel’s words.

And perhaps Rachel had anticipated Durak’s reaction.

“It seems you don’t know very well, Marquis.”

Rachel spoke once more.

“That Elandur’s secret technique isn’t really Elandur’s secret technique.”

“What… what does that mean?”

Durak couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

Because Rachel’s words now.

It was something Rachel should never have known.

Durak didn’t know the exact details either.

But a certain story passed down only to the heads of the Elandur family.

Durak knew a vague secret about the Elandur secret technique.

And it was something that no one but the head of Elandur could know.

Not even Isabel, let alone Kai.

But now.

“It’s an old story. Back then, perhaps… the Emperor was assassinated, and something was lost, right?”

Rachel knew that fact.

“How do you know that…?”

“How was the Emperor assassinated back then? What crisis befell the Empire to the point where the Emperor was assassinated? And where did that something that was lost disappear to?”

Rachel continued.

“Especially if we’ve encountered that secret technique ourselves, can you believe it?”

“······”

“It was truly… a terrible memory. Well, strictly speaking, it’s not ‘my’ memory, though.”

Rachel smiled brightly.

“That’s all I can tell you for now.”

Durak couldn’t say anything.

Silence descended once more.

“…How do we do it?”

Durak finally spoke.

“First, focus on finding the kingdom of the beastmen. We’ll talk about the rest after that.”

“Cyan. What are you going to do with that guy? Are you just going to leave him alone?”

“We have no choice. Finding the relic is our priority right now. So, please avoid war with Ruben for the time being.”

They couldn’t search for the relic and wage war at the same time.

Moreover, as Rachel had observed.

Elandur’s situation wasn’t good in many ways.

So, they couldn’t start a war right now.

Therefore, they had to avoid war with Ruben for the time being.

Of course, if they started the war first…

It would be a little… no, quite troublesome.

Because that would mess up a significant part of their plan.

But there was no way that would happen.

“They wouldn’t start a war first, would they?”

There was no way they would do such a crazy thing.

And Durak also agreed with Rachel’s opinion.

It was true that he had been manipulated by Cyan’s tricks in many ways.

But that alone didn’t mean Elandur had fallen.

Elandur was Elandur.

On the other hand, Ruben was a small territory located in the Dark Forest.

No matter how much Cyan had grown remarkably.

No matter how strong Ruben’s forces were than expected.

Starting a war first was absurd.

Elandur was still holding the knife.

It was also Elandur who decided whether to wield it or not.

So, they could just leave him alone.

If they just left him alone, Cyan would be frightened and wouldn’t budge.

During that time, they could move freely.

While Cyan was hiding in his shell like a turtle, they could secure the relic.

And when that time came…

Everything would be over.

Rachel smiled brightly.

Just then.

“Stop! Stop!”

A strange voice was heard from outside the carriage.

At the same time, the sound of horses’ hooves clattering was also heard.

Before they could wonder what was going on.

The carriage that Durak and Rachel were riding in came to a stop.

The coachman had stopped the carriage without Durak’s command.

Durak was furious at that fact.

“It’s a letter from the Imperial Family!”

He softened his anger at the words from outside.

Durak slowly stepped out of the carriage.

A herald was standing outside, waving a flag with the dragon emblem.

And the Imperial herald was the one who delivered the Emperor’s message.

Just as Durak was about to pay his respects.

“It’s not His Majesty’s message. So, there’s no need to pay your respects.”

The herald hurriedly said to Durak.

Then, the herald took out a letter from his chest and handed it to Durak.

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

And as if he had done his job.

The herald turned his horse and went back the way he came.

The herald quickly disappeared.

Perhaps it was after confirming that the herald had disappeared.

“What’s going on?”

Rachel came out of the carriage.

Durak looked at Rachel once and then tore open the sealed letter.

And the contents written inside.

“Territory War?”

It was about the Territory War.

To be exact, someone had declared a Territory War on Elandur.

Who in the world would do such a crazy thing?

At the end of the letter, the name of that crazy person was clearly written.

“Count Cyan Ruben…?”

Rachel muttered the name.

And this name and this letter meant one thing.

“T, this means…!”

Rachel’s expression was filled with great embarrassment.

#

After Cyan’s investiture ceremony.

The entire Empire was turned upside down.

First of all, Cyan’s investiture ceremony.

The magnificent investiture ceremony with the blessing of the Saintess gave people a different kind of shock.

“Was Count Cyan’s investiture ceremony that great?”

“You have no idea! Especially the Saintess’s blessing filled the entire venue…”

“I really thought a goddess had descended!”

Unprecedented grandeur and magnificence.

Even the current Emperor, Balua’s, coronation ceremony wasn’t like this.

It was an event that could never be considered a mere noble’s investiture ceremony.

And that’s why it was possible to know how much influence Cyan had in the Empire.

But it was just an investiture ceremony.

It was a splendid investiture ceremony that had no precedent, but frankly, it wasn’t something that would cause such a stir.

Nevertheless, the reason why the entire Empire was turned upside down.

That wasn’t because of the investiture ceremony.

“Count Cyan declared a Territory War on Elandur?”

It was none other than Cyan’s declaration of war.

“W, what? Is that really true?”

“Hey, you! There’s a limit to jokes.”

“There’s no way Count Cyan would do such a thing unless he was crazy.”

“Oh, I thought it was real.”

Of course, people didn’t believe it.

They just dismissed it as a rumor and laughed it off.

What crazy person in the world would declare war on Elandur?

That was no different from a new type of suicide method.

But why was it?

“I heard that the Ruben family declared war on Elandur?”

“I heard that rumor too…”

Unlike other rumors, this rumor didn’t die down.

Instead of dying down, it grew bigger and bigger.

When the Imperial Palace finally made an official statement.

“I, it was real…?”

“Crazy…”

“Isn’t Count Cyan really crazy…?”

Only then could people realize the seriousness of the situation.

“A, no, more than that, why…? Wasn’t Count Cyan originally from Elandur?”

“There were rumors that they weren’t on good terms…”

The newly emerging Ruben family.

The Elandur family, one of the two pillars supporting the Empire.

The war between the two families.

It couldn’t be dismissed as simply a war between two families.

“G, get the Viscount here now!”

“Summon the vassals right now! Right now!”

“Have all administrative officials and above come to my room!”

The Empire’s political situation began to stir rapidly.

While the Empire’s political situation was stirring so much that it was being turned upside down.

The Dark Forest located in the vicinity of Ruben.

“S, Saintess… is this really the right place…?”

Laura asked cautiously.

Laura, the priestess who assisted Aria.

“W, well…?”

Aria couldn’t give a definite answer to Laura’s question.

Because the scenery that Aria was seeing now.

That is, the Dark Forest teeming with endless mana.

“I, I don’t know either…”

Because it didn’t seem like a place where a territory would be located!

The gloomy and even evil atmosphere.

The anxiety that monsters would pop out at any moment.

And even the scenery where people could die without anyone knowing.

It would be fortunate if there were even ruins, let alone a territory.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem like there would be houses where people lived.

So, this couldn’t be considered a housewarming.

Human trafficking or kidnapping and confinement.

A place where all kinds of criminal acts were taking place.

To be exact, it was a scene just before those crimes were committed.

“Could it be that Young Master Cyan…?”

“N, no way.”

Aria shook her head, saying it couldn’t be.

But why did she have a bad feeling?

Should she have said she wanted to go home?

Should she go back now?

Could it be that Cyan was targeting me…?”

All sorts of thoughts swirled in Aria’s head.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and come.”

Cyan’s voice was heard just then.

Cyan was looking at Aria from far away, ahead.

“Don’t get lost and come quickly. There’s no hope if you get lost here.”

Then, he turned around and started walking again.

Soon, he disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

Aria and Laura.

Only the two of them were left alone.

In an instant, the mana of the Dark Forest scenery began to surge.

In response, Aria’s divine power sent a strong warning.

Aria, who possessed the most powerful divine power in history.

But was the Dark Forest not a forbidden area that even the Empire had given up on for nothing?

“H, hey…! Wait for me!”

“Saintess! Don’t abandon me and go alone!”

Aria and Laura quickly moved to chase after the disappeared Cyan.