Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 163

163―――――

I’m back, but what is this?

“Your arrogance knows no bounds!

How dare you speak such words to anyone!”

The woman who roared those words while glaring at Special Envoy Lehmann as if she would devour him was Princess Vanessa.

Sion was genuinely startled by Vanessa’s sudden outburst.

‘Seriously, what’s with this woman again?’

Frankly, he thought Count Lichten would step forward.

As a father, who could stand by and watch their child be subjected to such absurd suspicion?

However, before Count Lichten could even voice his displeasure, Vanessa stepped in.

‘This is a bit unexpected, and more than anything, not a good situation, is it?’

Even if he came on strong, or Count Lichten expressed his discomfort, the chances of it becoming a major diplomatic issue were slim.

After all, it would just be seen as a personal opinion, expressed by a noble.

But Vanessa is different.

Very different.

As a princess of Hispania, a direct descendant of the current king, her words and actions could easily be interpreted by other countries as the will of Hispania as a whole.

For such a woman to use the word ‘arrogant’ and show such extreme anger was not welcome news for either the Hispanic royal family or Sion.

“Princess Vanessa?

Why, why are you doing this?”

“Say it again.

What?

Sion Claussen is a follower of the Demon King?”

“I never said such a thing.”

“Just because you didn’t say those exact words doesn’t mean your intention was any different!

Do you take everyone gathered here in Hispania for fools?”

At Princess Vanessa’s rebuke, Special Envoy Lehmann let out a silent groan, unable to hide his embarrassment at the unexpected turn of events.

When he pressured Sion Claussen, he thought that Sion would either back down on his own or, if he resisted, Sion himself or his father, Count Lichten, would step in.

He had provoked them with the intention of responding appropriately if they did.

‘I never expected Princess Vanessa to step in.’

He roughly knew that Sion Claussen’s reputation had been soaring in the kingdom lately.

However, he had no idea that he already had such influence in the royal family that Princess Vanessa would get so worked up and jump to his defense.

He was certain that the royal family was watching him closely, but it was a completely different matter for someone in a position of power to react so vehemently.

“Apologize immediately.”

“Pardon?”

“I said apologize immediately.

For daring to utter such nonsense to the hero called the kingdom’s sacred figure!”

For her to show such a fierce reaction despite being here as a representative of a nation, it was safe to say that she was truly furious.

‘Should I back down?

Or…’

Special Envoy Lehmann glanced around, then suddenly noticed Prince Erader looking at him.

He was watching with a clearly displeased expression and seemed to harbor some ill feelings towards Princess Vanessa.

In that instant, Special Envoy Lehmann recalled a report he had read before coming to Hispania, which summarized the current state of the Hispanic royal family to some extent.

‘Their relationship isn’t very good, is it.’

If he backed down here, all the work he had put in would be for naught.

He had to get Hispania involved in the Holy War, or at least get them to provide support from behind.

“Princess Vanessa.

Please calm down and listen to me.

All sorts of ominous events are happening not only in Hispania but also in Nudia and the Holy Prussen.

Don’t you think it’s too strange to be a coincidence?”

“So what if it is?”

“Considering the circumstances, it’s safe to say that a force is involved that is trying to throw the entire continent into chaos.

And as a result of our investigation, we found Demon King followers behind it.”

“Didn’t Sion Claussen say it?! Show me solid evidence!”

“I am a special envoy who rushed here as quickly as possible.

I only heard the conclusion of the investigation and came straight to Hispania via Nudia, so I couldn’t possibly know the detailed report of the investigation team, could I?”

A conversation that went around in circles and eventually returned to square one.

Vanessa couldn’t tell if this special envoy in front of her was giving such an answer because he really didn’t know anything, or if he was just trying to beat around the bush.

“Why don’t you stop there, Princess Vanessa.”

And, timing it perfectly, Prince Erader subtly rose to his feet.

Aside from being the eldest son of the king in the current situation, Prince Erader had no particular achievements to his name.

In comparison, his younger sister, Princess Vanessa, had received the recognition of the king by preemptively identifying the turbulent movements of the northern barbarian tribes and gathering information.

What’s more?

She was showing a fairly close relationship with Sion Claussen, who was called the kingdom’s sacred figure.

Isn’t it obvious how being close to a noble who will have the loudest voice in the kingdom in the future will affect the political strife over the right to inherit the throne?

‘Defending Sion Claussen right now means a definite alliance between the two.

In order to bring the nobles who are still watching to my side, I need achievements!’

As Edgar IV’s health had been gradually deteriorating recently, Prince Erader had become even more sensitive about the position of the next king.

In the midst of all this, if a Holy War were to break out and he were to achieve a feat that would attract the attention of the world, he could become the perfect next king that no one could doubt, with the merit of being the eldest son plus achievements.

“The Holy Prussen [a kingdom known for its devout knights] is always fighting the followers of evil in unseen places.

It is a well-known fact that the Demon King’s claws do not reach the continent because the Holy Knights stand firm and endure.”

“That is the duty of Prussen, which bears the name of holiness, and its knights.

And the Holy War is a completely different concept.

We have to push our country’s soldiers into a distant foreign land, a perfect enemy territory.”

“I consider it a worthwhile sacrifice if we can prevent the unfortunate events that will occur as a result.”

“Brother!”

The ones being sacrificed are not you, but the soldiers!

They are the innocent people of the kingdom!

Those words were welling up in Princess Vanessa’s throat.

Furthermore, the Mortal Realm, where the Demon Kings live, is the region farthest from Hispania.

It is located in the north of Nudia and the Holy Prussen, a very distant and remote place.

It was a cursed land that was always covered in sticky, blood-smelling red mist, and nine out of ten people who entered it had their bodies and minds rot away.

It was no wonder that it was called ‘forbidden’ to everyone on the continent.

“I don’t know why you’re showing so much resistance.

The special envoy of the Holy Prussen never said that there would be any disadvantages if we didn’t participate in the Holy War.

Don’t you think your reaction is too sharp?”

“I can’t drive people into that death trap without getting a definite answer.

Isn’t that obvious?”

“If the Demon Kings are really involved in this current situation, wouldn’t even more terrible things happen?”

“If the Demon Kings have nothing to do with it at all, we could exhaust all our strength and be exposed to other new threats as they are, couldn’t we?”

The situation in the hall was turning into a sibling fight.

It wasn’t just a simple emotional fight, and it wasn’t just a normal sibling fight.

This was part of the political strife between two successors who had to compete for the position of the next king.

Because of this, no one, not even Sion, could recklessly step in.

‘The fact is that they are both saying the right thing, which makes it even more difficult to take sides.’

Of course, Vanessa’s opinion against driving the people into a death trap is something to nod your head to.

However, Prince Erader’s argument that we should cleanly eliminate the Demon Kings, who are the root cause of this situation, and be freed from threatening forces is not entirely wrong either.

It was not possible to blame Prince Erader, as preemptive strikes to break the vanguard in order to escape the threat of the enemy had frequently occurred in history.

Sion subtly surveyed the surrounding atmosphere.

He would have known if Prince Erader was forcing an unreasonable argument with strange logic, but currently, the two siblings were establishing and arguing for appropriate opinions that made others nod their heads.

In a situation where it was impossible to accept either side’s opinion, most people tended to side with someone who had a slightly higher social standing.

‘That way, there’s definitely someone to take responsibility, and if things go successfully, you can pick up something to eat.

It’s the wisest decision.’

Considering that, in this situation, the nobles who were watching were more likely to nod their heads to Prince Erader’s opinion.

The final decision-maker was King Edgar IV, but at this time, he would often show his support for the next king by following the opinion of his child who had the support of the nobles in order to give him strength.

‘Damn it, I’m going to have to take the lead again this time.’

Princess Vanessa must become king.

To do so, she must never show a losing figure to Prince Erader here.

Sion sighed and waited for the moment when the two siblings, who were in the middle of an argument, paused for a moment before opening his mouth.

“You two, let me tell you clearly, as someone who has experienced all those things firsthand.”

“Hmm?”

“Young Lord Sion?”

“Regardless of what the Holy Prussen Kingdom has decided, or whether Demon King followers really did something in Nudia, the things that have happened in Hispania so far have nothing to do with the Demon Kings.

It was all caused by a lack of something, nothing more and nothing less.”

Prince Erader frowned at Sion’s words and turned his head.

“What do you mean, Young Lord Sion?”

“The war with Nudia is because we failed to instill the perception that we are much stronger than them, the attack on the royal castle is due to carelessness because it has never happened before and they thought it would never happen again, and the fact that a slave market was openly operating not far from the royal castle is because everyone has become lax.

The barbarians were rioting, and the northern nobles were doing ridiculous things because we were subtly ignoring them.”

That’s right, they’re all true.

But if he said this, Sion would be discussing the shortcomings of the kingdom in front of the king, prince, princess, numerous nobles of his country, and envoys from other countries.

“That’s quite an interesting opinion.”

Edgar IV, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.

He seemed to have noticed that Sion was criticizing the current kingdom.

Sion took a deep breath and composed himself for what he was about to say.

If he made even a slight mistake here, he could be immediately charged with insulting the royal family.

“It would be right to get rid of the Demon King followers if they really exist.

However, we should refrain from trying to cover up the things that happened due to our shortcomings with something that is not certain.

I have seen, heard, and experienced many things firsthand.

What I felt there was that we are still lacking and need to work harder.

Instead of turning our eyes elsewhere, we need to find the cause and learn and respond so that such things do not happen again.”

“Young Lord Sion.

That sounds like I’m trying to blame the Demon King followers for the things that happened inside the kingdom, doesn’t it?”

In the end, perhaps because he was upset that Sion was not taking his side and was agreeing with Vanessa’s opinion, Prince Erader opened his mouth with a slightly sarcastic voice.

At that, Sion slowly shook his head and performed his facial expressions and acting so well that it was clear that he was thinking, ‘How could I commit such rudeness!’

“Prince Erader.

When you are close, you can see everything clearly, so you can trust your eyes and see the truth even if someone next to you says something.

But those who are far away are different.

Because they can’t see, they have no choice but to listen, and because they have no choice but to listen, it is difficult to distinguish what is true and what is false.

To the nobles gathered here, Your Highness may seem like a true person trying to save the country from the hands of the Demon Kings, but the nobles and people who will be looking at Your Highness from afar may be different.”

Good, damn it!

Even I think it was a really cool thing to say!

Sion patted his back in his mind and slyly surveyed the surrounding reactions.

First of all, Princess Vanessa and Count Lichten, who had been showing friendly eyes to him from the beginning, and quite a few nobles were nodding their heads and expressing their agreement.

He had gained at least half of the ‘public sentiment,’ which is the most important thing in planning and carrying out a task.

‘For now, my side has definitely crossed over.’

Next, Sion checked those who were watching and wondering which side to take.

There were still many nobles who were watching Prince Erader’s every move, but conversely, it was proof that they were worried enough to watch his every move.

“Hmm…”

Even Prince Erader was letting out a silent groan as if he thought Sion’s words made sense.

Furthermore, his facial expressions were so perfect that he felt that if he said anything more here, he would look like a ‘petty, incompetent, and suspicious prince who cannot accept the loyal advice of a loyal subject of the kingdom.’

Thanks to this, it was Special Envoy Lehmann of the Holy Prussen Kingdom who became anxious.

‘Why is the atmosphere suddenly like this…?’

As he was thinking that, he looked at Sion and, in an instant, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

He was making such desperate expressions and voices while speaking, that the moment he said anything there, he would be immediately arrested for disloyalty.

‘Ah, no!

I can’t be persuaded.

Hispania must participate in the Holy War!’

The moment Special Envoy Lehmann was trying to somehow reverse the atmosphere.

Suddenly, the chamberlain hurriedly came inside and approached Edgar IV and began to whisper something.

“Hmm.”

And Edgar IV, who had heard all the chamberlain’s words, had a completely different face than before.

His face was coldly hardened, and he was making an expression that seemed like he would shout out a frosty scream at any moment.

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

3!