My Lord Who Is Being Prudent! [EN]: Chapter 242

242. Distortion (1)

Clack.

The tent flap opened, and Diana entered.

A woman with silver hair like moonlight.

As the soldier had said, the beautiful woman was indeed Diana.

“Please, sit down.”

Sian offered her a seat.

Diana stared at Sian, silent.

Sian’s demeanor was subtly different from their previous encounters.

She accepted the seat he offered.

Then, Sian began, “You said you needed Ruben’s help.”

“That’s right.”

Diana nodded slowly.

“I’ve been considering it, but… to be honest, it’s not an easy decision. As you know, Ruben is in the middle of a war…”

Sian watched her intently.

“More than anything, Shadow Moon broke faith first.”

“……”

Diana remained silent. She couldn’t argue with that.

“But Elanood’s involvement makes it difficult for me to simply refuse.”

“Does that mean…”

“I’ve arranged this meeting to ask you a few questions.”

Diana straightened, her posture becoming more formal.

Sian would decide whether to help based on her answers.

“Ask away.”

She met his gaze, her expression serious.

Sian paused, lost in thought. Diana, the guild leader of Shadow Moon and a Dragonkin [a humanoid race with dragon-like features and abilities]. He knew little about the Beastmen [a race of humanoids with animalistic features], a race that had vanished centuries ago.

However, he did have some information about Dragonkin. According to records, Arnaise Noemi from a thousand years ago was one. Dragonkin were Beastmen who inherited the blood of dragons.

He didn’t know what connection Diana had to Noemi.

“Do you know anything about the whereabouts of the Last Dragon?”

“……!!”

Diana’s eyes widened, completely caught off guard.

She had expected questions about herself: why a Beastman was present, or why a Dragonkin led Shadow Moon, a criminal organization. Instead, he asked about the Last Dragon.

“How did you know…?”

It was a question about the Guardian’s existence.

The guardian of the Beastmen, the Dragon.

Its existence was a closely guarded secret. The Beastmen themselves had disappeared from the world to conceal it.

Centuries ago, a major incident occurred, including the assassination of the human emperor. Afterward, the Beastmen vanished with their Guardian, fading into the shadows of history.

Now, only the Beastmen knew of it.

“Do you know anything about the Last Dragon?”

“How do you know about the Guardian…?”

Diana’s eyes remained wide with shock. Sian watched her, judging that she knew something.

“Guardian?”

So that was what it was called… Sian tilted his head, and Diana immediately asked, “Weren’t you asking because you knew…?”

“Not at all. Wouldn’t I be asking because I don’t know?”

*Well, that’s true.*

Diana’s expression faltered. He had asked about the Dragon, not the Guardian. But that was even stranger. Sian didn’t know the Guardian was a Dragon?

*How could that be…?*

Her expression went blank.

“Do you know anything?”

Sian repeated his question. Diana hesitated. The Guardian’s existence was a secret, hidden for centuries. She shouldn’t reveal anything. But she had come to Sian for help, and had already broken faith once. What was there to hide?

“I… know,” she said slowly. “We Beastmen have a Guardian. A Guardian who has watched over us for a long time.”

“Does that mean…”

Diana nodded. “The Guardian of the Beastmen is the Dragon.”

She lowered her gaze. *And… why?*

“I see.”

Sian didn’t seem surprised, almost as if he had expected it. *Could he already know…? Was this all a test?*

He knew about the Dragon, and… his reaction now…

*How could he…?*

Diana couldn’t define Sian, and reaffirmed that she should never tell him a half-baked lie.

Just as she was making up her mind, Sian calmly summarized her words. He didn’t know the details, like the Guardian or anything else. He was only now learning that the Beastmen had a Guardian, and that it was a Dragon.

*The Last Dragon seems to be related to the Beastmen after all…*

Maybe the Dragon was in the Beastmen’s kingdom. There was no reason to be called the Guardian otherwise. Sian asked again, “Then do you know where the Beastmen’s kingdom is?”

“I know.”

Diana nodded. A Dragonkin and Beastman would know its location. But she was also worried. Sian had confirmed that the Beastmen’s kingdom had been moved once. Maybe she was talking about the place Sian had already been to.

“Do you know the location that was moved from the original Dark Forest?”

“……!!”

Diana’s eyes widened. Sian’s question could only be asked if he knew the kingdom had been moved, something unknown to the world for centuries.

“But how do you know that…?”

She could only stare at him in shock. Diana, head of the Empire’s best information guild, couldn’t figure him out at all. She looked at him with a horrified expression, and Sian watched her reaction.

*It doesn’t seem to be the place I went to.*

She wasn’t talking about the empty place he had found. Otherwise, she would have asked, *’What are you talking about…?’* Diana seemed to know the real Beastmen’s kingdom.

If he helped her, he could easily find not only the kingdom, but also the Last Dragon.

*The problem is that war is no longer possible…*

He would have to give up the current war. But now that Elanood’s elite forces were missing, focused on the Beastmen, he had to rethink continuing it.

“Hmm…”

Deepening worries. Only silence filled the tent.

Diana couldn’t shake off her unease. The disappearance of the tribal chief, Karis, and the unknown threat to the Beastmen… she was helpless against Elanood.

No one could use their power against them. History had proven that. But Sian was rewriting that history, doing the impossible, and overwhelmingly pushing back. Elanood was threatening the Beastmen, and she desperately needed his help.

“Umm…”

But Sian wasn’t answering. Her heart began to feel uneasy. Conner’s advice flashed through her mind: *’If you’re going to ask the Lord for something… be sure to prepare money,’* and to prepare hundreds of millions of gold.

*What kind of ridiculous amount of money was that?*

Even the best information guild in the Empire couldn’t afford that much. How many places on the continent could raise that much? She could probably count them on one hand, and knew one of them. But was this… right?

“Um…”

She heard Sian humming, his expression somehow troubled. He didn’t speak easily, and his help was essential. Conner’s advice flashed through her mind again: *’You don’t have to be the guild leader. If there’s even a possibility, try to tell the Lord.’*

*Whether she died this way or that way… it wasn’t hers anyway.*

“Um…”

Diana squeezed her eyes shut.

#

Inside the tent, Sian sat quietly, lost in thought.

“The Last Dragon is in the Beastmen’s kingdom…”

He tapped the desk. Objectively, he couldn’t help Diana. The war with Elanood was his priority, even with the Last Dragon involved. Otherwise, he would have continued searching for the kingdom.

“But Elanood is involved.”

If so… the story was different. Elanood had to take action right away, gathering his elite forces to stop Ruben’s advance. But they weren’t showing their faces.

*He was looking for the Beastmen’s kingdom.*

He was clearly doing something there, even at a cost.

“What should I do…”

He had two choices. First, continue the war as it was. Elanood’s missing elite forces were an opportunity to push forward and quickly capture the Elanood Marquisate [a territory ruled by a marquis], ending the war before Elanood could act in the Beastmen’s kingdom.

But time was running out. If Elanood made the first move, it would be difficult. The Singijeon [a type of Korean rocket artillery] had enough firepower, but…

“If he uses the people as shields… it will take longer than I thought.”

Elanood’s inhumane actions were delaying him. He couldn’t just ignore it and indiscriminately bomb it.

“Hmm…”

Those were the advantages and disadvantages of the first choice. The second was to help Diana instead.

Stop the current war and help the Beastmen. Elanood had pulled his elite forces back, even at the cost of his main base being devastated, proving its importance. What if he interfered with that work instead?

“I have to give up the current war…”

But he would run into Elanood in the Beastmen’s kingdom. A clash was inevitable, practically just changing the battlefield. It could be seen as the real war between Ruben and Elanood.

“The problem is whether this is the right decision.”

It was just a guess based on Diana’s words and the current situation, his own speculation. Maybe it was right to push ahead as it was, but it was also unsettling. Both sides carried risk, and he had to make a decision.

“Hmm…”

The worry continued. Then…

“Come to think of it…”

One story flashed through his mind, something Diana had blurted out with the feeling of *’I don’t care’* while squeezing her eyes shut. It wasn’t very related to the above choice.

“She said there were many treasures in the Guardian’s nest…”

About the Guardian’s nest, the Dragon Lair. Diana had told him about the many treasures there. *’If Your Excellency helps us, those treasures will be the reward…’*

Of course, it was just her personal opinion. And she was a Dragonkin, not a Dragon. There was no way the Dragon would willingly give up those treasures. She would persuade him even if she had to grab the Guardian’s tail and beg… It was uncertain whether that would work, but Sian thought there was some possibility.

“The average lifespan of a Dragon was 1,000 years, right?”

If the Guardian was a hatchling a thousand years ago… that meant it was almost time to die. Would a Dragon on the verge of death have any attachment to treasures?

Even a small part was fine. The enormous treasure that a thousand-year-old Dragon had accumulated, even a small part of it would be worth at least hundreds of millions, maybe even billions. Moreover, there was a story that among those treasures were the legacies of the six heroes who saved the world a thousand years ago.

Others would laugh at that story, but not Sian.

『[Story Main Quest] – ‘Unresolved Question’

▶Find the Last Dragon.』

.

.

.

He could see that it was true just by looking at the Mobile Lord Quest!

“Okay.”

Sian nodded quickly, making the long worry insignificant. And that decision was never because of the Dragon Lair. The Beastmen’s unfortunate situation, Elanood’s hidden scheme…

“I can’t just stand by and watch.”

It was never because he was greedy for the treasures of the Dragon Lair.

Ding!

《Don’t lie!》

Really.

#

Isabelle’s office in the Elanood mansion.

“Ruben’s troops have set up camp in the Estis Viscounty. As expected, after using the people as shields, the speed of the advance has also slowed down noticeably.”

Isabelle nodded lightly at the report from the chief manager, Lerit. The strategy of using the people of Elanood as shields was inhumane and reprehensible, not even worthy of being called a strategy. But what could she do? She was just giving the commoners a chance to die for Elanood. They were just disposable pawns.

“How is the Beastmen’s kingdom?”

“We have found the location. The White Wolf Knights have been deployed and are arresting the Beastmen.”

Isabelle nodded satisfactorily. They seemed to have found the kingdom and were about to start their plan. She vaguely knew what it was and what kind of ripple effect would come at the end. Everything was over, literally the end.

Of course, it would be a disaster if Elanood was captured before that, but that would never happen. She didn’t plan things without thinking about the worst-case scenario. Using the people of Elanood as shields was also one of the planned strategies.

Ruben’s power was too unexpected, and she was pushed back faster than she thought. But now that she had used the people as shields, his advance had slowed down noticeably. Above all, there were plenty of strategies to delay him. As time dragged on, Ruben would perish, losing in battle but winning in war.

Isabelle smiled satisfactorily.

Was that why?

“Marquis’s wife!! Marquis’s wiiiiife!!!!”

She wasn’t greatly embarrassed by the shout coming from outside the office. Which place had been captured this time? She was just slightly upset. It was a very urgent matter for them, although it wasn’t for her. The fact that the vassals’ troops had been annihilated was a very urgent and important matter for them.

Bang!

The door of the office burst open and a soldier appeared. As expected, there was no knock, but she didn’t blame him. It must be a very urgent matter for them. It wasn’t for her, but the fact that the vassals’ troops had been annihilated was a very urgent and important matter for them.

“What’s going on?”

Isabelle asked the soldier calmly.

“T, that is…!”

He opened his mouth with a very urgent expression, panting as if he was about to pass out. But he forcibly swallowed his breath and opened his mouth again.

“R, Ruben’s troops…! They are all retreating!”

That was completely different from what she had expected, another unexpected story that was not included in the plan.

“Wh, what…?”

Isabelle’s expression was dyed with embarrassment.