Surviving As The 5Th Prince Of Hellman Kingdom [EN]: Chapter 54

054

I stared intently at the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He was a prime example of the butterfly effect. I had heard that he rose to prominence rapidly by playing a significant role in the Fourth Princess’s engagement with the obese prince of the Empire.

In the ‘future,’ the Fourth Princess couldn’t marry into the Empire due to the First Prince’s interference. This should have pushed him out of central politics, but here he was, sitting in that position.

I glanced around.

Everyone was watching me and the Minister of Foreign Affairs with great interest. It felt like being surrounded by a pack of hyenas, ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness.

“Did you say that the atmosphere between the Empire and the Kingdom has eased somewhat?”

As soon as I opened my mouth, I entered [the Library – a mental space where I can access information].

┕ Show me the atrocities committed by the Hamel Empire against the Lionel Kingdom in the past week.

“Yes, that’s right! Thanks to the Fourth Princess’s engagement, the magic stone trade with the Hamel Empire has resumed. It’s the first time in six years. You know how much we’ve struggled with the magic stone supply problem during that time.”

I listened to his words absentmindedly, quickly glancing at the information Jinny was compiling. My face involuntarily contorted.

I picked out the sharpest fangs to tear into the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“The magic stone trade has resumed after six years… Of course, it’s something to celebrate. But Minister of Foreign Affairs, is that why you remained silent about the atrocities committed by the Imperial Army in the Stoke Barony, bordering the kingdom, three days ago, fearing that the trade might be disrupted?”

“…Pardon?”

“Are you saying you didn’t know? That women and children living in a small village in the Stoke Barony, which borders the country, were kidnapped by the Imperial Army! And that many of them have already turned into cold corpses!”

– Did that happen?

– I haven’t heard about it either?

– Shouldn’t news like that be in the newspapers?

The conference hall buzzed with chatter.

Bert, the council member next to me, also looked grim, as if he was hearing it for the first time.

It was a natural reaction. According to Jinny, this fresh information had just been updated in [the Library] this morning after the Northern Liberation Army rescued the survivors.

Bang!

I slammed the table hard and stood up.

I directed sharp daggers of words at the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Milroa.

“It was the Northern Liberation Army that rescued those survivors! Soon, newspapers with that incident will be circulating the streets of the royal capital, Barona. The Foreign Minister of our own kingdom! An incident that he wasn’t even aware of! And it was the Northern Liberation Army that resolved it! How can you compare them to mere bandits or train robbers!”

“Th, that’s… It’s unfortunate, but to protest over such a thing could harm the magic stone trade…”

Thump!

I slammed the table again.

“Such a thing? Did you just say ‘such a thing’! Is begging the Hamel Empire for magic stones more important than the people of our kingdom? Is that what the Foreign Minister of the kingdom should be saying!”

“……”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs was struck dumb.

I knew.

That he was probably thinking ‘yes’ inside. Not just him, but most of those attending the cabinet meeting probably felt the same way.

“So, from what point are you planning to take action, Minister of Foreign Affairs? When the Imperial Army harms a noble, not just a commoner? Ah, now that I think about it, the incident where an imperial family member harassed the daughter of the Merton barony was also glossed over. Do you only move when a noble with a title is harmed?”

I could have pushed harder, but I decided to stop.

It was my first cabinet meeting.

Stabbing someone in the heart should be done after clearly distinguishing who to kill and who to save.

“…I misspoke for a moment.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs lowered his head and quietly sat down.

I took my eyes off him and looked around at those who had been watching like hyenas. They all subtly avoided my gaze.

They seemed to have realized that there was no point in stepping forward after seeing what happened to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I looked at Count Milroa. The pawn had been dealt with, now it was time to face the general.

She spoke first.

“I understand to some extent how much the Fifth Prince loves the people of the kingdom. And as a member of the kingdom, I express my gratitude for the actions of the Northern Liberation Army in rescuing the kidnapped people of the Stoke Barony. But! That doesn’t erase the fact that the Northern Liberation Army has caused enormous damage to the kingdom’s merchants.”

“Enormous damage… Can you give me a specific example?”

My gaze crossed with Milroa’s.

The type of weapon I choose depends on which example she picks. Knowing that, she pondered carefully before opening her mouth.

“Two years ago, the Rothschild barony’s merchant group was attacked by the Northern Liberation Army while passing through the northern region. Apart from the property damage, six innocent people lost their lives on the spot. One of them was even a promising young man about to get married. Aren’t they also precious citizens of the kingdom, Fifth Prince?”

My mouth felt a little bitter.

There’s a saying that if you gather five people, one of them is trash. The same goes for the Northern Liberation Army. There were some who crossed the line.

Why, wasn’t there even a crazy bastard who tried to make a deal with the demons?

Austin and Alphonso had already punished those individuals on their own, but that doesn’t erase the fact that they belonged to the Northern Liberation Army.

I felt anger once again at the fact that the Northern Liberation Army, who risked their lives for the kingdom, were being treated the same as a criminal organization because of those bastards.

But that’s that.

First, I had to somehow block the attack that Milroa had launched.

┕ Tell me the secrets that the members of the Rothschild barony’s merchant group who died during the Northern Liberation Army’s attack were hiding, regardless of the price.

I pretended to think for a moment, tilting my head up and quickly scanning the information Jinny was providing.

After a long time with a serious expression, Milroa called out to me.

“Fifth Prince? Why are you silent?”

Earlier, I said that if you gather five people, one of them is trash, right?

There were six members of the merchant group who died.

I lowered my head and met Milroa’s eyes. She had a faint smile on her lips. I responded by slightly raising the corners of my mouth, and she flinched.

“Countess Milroa. Did you say that an innocent, promising young man about to get married lost his life? Did you perhaps know him only as a simple employee of the merchant group?”

“……Pardon?”

Count Milroa is competent.

Everyone who knows her knows that. I don’t particularly intend to deny it either.

But are all her subordinates competent? Are there only those who selflessly devote themselves to the country?

I can say with certainty.

‘There’s no way.’

It would be fortunate if they did their jobs with even a semblance of decency. If something troublesome seemed likely to happen, they wouldn’t report it at all, or even if they did, they would often omit anything unsavory.

A merchant group run by a barony in the south with little influence in central politics, an incident where they were attacked by the Northern Liberation Army in the desolate northwestern border region.

The people who investigated it were those who had been pushed into unimportant positions. Did they really conduct a proper investigation?

“That young man! Was a stooge [a person used as a front or decoy] of the imperial slave traders operating near the border! A slave trader who lured children who had lost their parents and were wandering the streets due to the Hamel Empire’s invasion with a piece of bread! And sold them to the Empire! The Northern Liberation Army simply delivered a just punishment!”

“Is there any evidence of that!”

“If you give me some time, I’ll bring you the ledger that the Northern Liberation Army obtained at the time, which he had in his possession. It’s cleverly disguised as an ordinary ledger, but Countess Milroa will quickly realize that it’s a record of the children who were sold into slavery.”

“How can you prove that the ledger is real?”

I frowned.

I was as annoyed as when I was told to prove that my car had suddenly accelerated and crashed into a wall in my previous life.

“Why should I do that? You requested evidence, and I said I would submit it. Are you saying that I have to verify its authenticity as well?”

“……”

Milroa moved her lips but eventually closed them. I guessed that she was about to ask what the other five had done wrong.

I secretly sighed in relief.

Aside from the stooge of the slave trader, the other five hadn’t committed any evil deeds that would warrant being called killable bastards.

Since no one can be completely free of wrongdoing, I could have attached various things and made them out to be deserving of death, but I didn’t want to dishonor the dead if possible.

“…I will apologize to the Northern Liberation Army later for disgracing them with an incident that I didn’t even properly understand.”

Having said that, Milroa closed her mouth.

I read the message in her eyes that she could fight more, but she would stop here.

I accepted her truce at a reasonable level.

“I’ll pass it on.”

“…Tch.”

The sound of her clicking her tongue was pleasantly audible.

Was the final boss the only one left?

I turned my gaze to the Second Prince and Clian. The two were still whispering and exchanging opinions.

And after a while.

Clian leaned forward. The Second Prince leaned back comfortably in his chair, taking a watching stance from behind.

“I don’t particularly view the Northern Liberation Army negatively. I am well aware that they contribute to the kingdom. That’s why they haven’t been ‘subjugated’ all this time.”

The reason why the Northern Liberation Army has continued to exist until now is that they are a nuisance but have some use, and if you step forward and argue for their subjugation, you’ll only get a lot of flak.

“However, it is problematic for the kingdom to officially recognize the Northern Liberation Army. The biggest problem is that it would be a direct violation of the agreement with the Empire.”

That’s true.

Whether a group that crosses the border and engages in guerrilla warfare is a militia recognized by the kingdom or not is a very important issue.

“Also, how do you appease those who have been harmed by them? Apart from the slave trader’s stooge that Count Milroa was mistaken about, there must be quite a few cases where innocent citizens of the kingdom have been harmed. Isn’t that so?”

It was hard to find anything wrong with each point. He didn’t openly oppose, but he calmly questioned, making it difficult to open one’s mouth rashly.

“I’m curious if you considered how to solve the problems I mentioned before raising the issue, Council Member Bert.”

Clian’s gaze at the end of his words was directed at me, not Council Member Bert.

A look as if to say, ‘Go ahead and spout your nonsense.’

I slowly opened my mouth.

“First of all, the fact that there will be a backlash from the Empire is not a problem at all.”

– What is he talking about?

– There’s no way the Empire will stand still.

The conference hall buzzed.

Clian, who had almost no change in expression and was even rumored to be a golem controlled by a wizard, twitched his eyes slightly.

“What do you mean by that?”

I gave a clear answer.

“Let’s disband them, the Northern Liberation Army.”