The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 189

148. Tatur

“What are you planning to do now? The Empire seems to be in chaos,” Dushala asked.

Kahlil simply stood there, gazing out the window for a while, even after Dushala spoke.

He was appreciating the scenery of Tatur, a place he was returning to after a long time.

He realized he hadn’t really had a home in his past life. Not just a place to take care of basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter, but a true home to return to.

A place with comrades.

Strictly speaking, his comrades in his past life would be the Ten of the Oracle, but the place where he had been with them until just before ascending to Pharell was just a battlefield filled with the stench of blood.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

Dushala looked at Kahlil with a puzzled expression as he didn’t answer her question.

“I’m just happy.”

At Kahlil’s answer, her face flushed for a moment.

“W-What is it?”

She took a step back without realizing it, and then yelped at the stinging pain when her instep hit the table.

“Kyaa!!”

“Puhaha, you’re such an idiot. Where is your mind even at?”

“…….”

Suhan smirked at the sight.

Then, Aidan lightly tapped him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, “You’re probably going to live alone forever.”

“Huh? Why me?”

“Never mind.”

At Aidan’s words, Suahn looked around as if he couldn’t understand, but no one in the room gave him a proper answer.

They just nodded.

“How’s the situation in the Istria Three Kingdoms?”

“Are you really not worried about the Empire anymore?”

Dushala handed the organized documents to Kahlil and said, “It’s not that I’m not interested, but the Empire will rot from the inside out if we just leave it alone.”

“You mean the beginning of the infighting.”

Kahlil gave a faint smile at her words.

‘I’ve set the stage. Now, moving the pieces is up to them, not me. Never… be swayed,’ he thought, recalling someone.

* * *

Kwaang……!!! Clang……!!!

In the main palace, which had always been quiet, only the sound of things breaking loudly had been heard for days.

The servants and maids who were restless outside the hallway could only look at each other with pale faces at the sound of furniture flying around.

“Get out of the way. I’ll go in.”

“Ch… Chief of Staff!”

The chief of staff, who was among the servants, hurriedly bowed at the voice heard from the end of the hallway.

“Get everyone out. It’s not your fault.”

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

The chief of staff hurriedly gestured to the servants and sent them out.

“Hoo…….”

As the hallway became quiet, Prime Minister Brin Inique let out a low sigh in front of the door, his face showing deeper wrinkles from staying up for several days.

Everything had gone wrong in an instant.

In particular, the First Prince, whom he had supported, was now in a powerless situation, like a kite with a severed string, as the nobles who had supported him were exiled.

‘Get a hold of yourself. I need to keep my center, especially at times like this.’

The prince’s affairs are just the prince’s affairs.

As long as the Emperor exists, the disputes between the princes are just matters for later.

Because the fight for the next generation could only exist if the Empire existed.

‘First, we must stabilize the Empire.’

Gwaak-

Brin Inique thought so many times in his mind, but he couldn’t easily turn the hand holding the doorknob.

‘I will not forgive you…….’

The more he thought about Kahlil, who had suddenly appeared and turned everything upside down, the more he felt like throwing everything he could get his hands on, just like the Emperor.

“Your Majesty.”

He gritted his teeth and entered the main palace.

“……!!”

As soon as he opened the door, Brin couldn’t help but flinch at the Emperor’s eyes, which were staring at him with a fierce gaze.

“Ah……. Prime Minister Brin, well, you’ve come at the right time.”

“……Yes?”

At the Emperor’s words, the determination he had made disappeared, and Brin felt rather eerie.

“Kwell McGovern. I heard that his mansion is located in the territory of the Essir family, right?”

The Emperor couldn’t control his anger and bit his lips so much that blood pooled between the cracks of the wounds.

“Ah, yes……. That is correct.”

Brin avoided his eyes and lowered his head, feeling like he was looking at a vampire with blood smeared messily around his mouth as if he had chewed on raw liver.

“How many adopted children does Kwell have?”

“I report that there are five in total, excluding the legitimate son, Mart. The second son, Tiren McGovern, is currently a trainee at the Academy, and the fourth son, Landol, is missing as a member of the Lyeo Knights.”

“Is that so? That’s a pity……. Even though they are adopted children, as a father, he doesn’t even know the whereabouts of his son.”

The Emperor wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

“Brin Inique, you know it too. The princes are aiming for my throne. It must be quite difficult for you too, since I did that to Ruon.”

“I am terrified…….”

“But the Emperor’s seat is like that. From the moment my child is born, they will become my enemy to covet my seat.”

“…….”

“My father must have been the same. I understand now that I’m sitting in this seat. I was the same too.”

Everyone knew that the Emperor, not the First Prince, had stepped on his brothers to ascend to this position.

Moreover, he himself had beheaded the former Emperor.

“But which of the ten fingers doesn’t hurt when bitten? [Meaning: all children are loved, even the troublesome ones.] The children who only look at the throne may not know it……. Keu keul…….”

A self-deprecating laugh.

Brin Inique looked at him with trembling eyes, wondering why he was saying such things in this situation.

“I don’t hate watching the two children compete in their own way.”

“I am deeply honored…….”

“By the way. Though no finger hurts more than another, if it festers and rots, you must cut it off entirely rather than just biting it.”

The history of the Empire was, without exaggeration, forged in blood. Though the Conqueror Tairan Stean was aging, he was not the kind of man to give up his position as easily as the previous Emperor.

“I can tolerate the children’s antics, but I cannot leave those who try to strangle me alone. Whether they are my children or someone else’s.”

The Emperor spoke coldly.

“Then the Third and Fifth Princes must be at Kwell’s mansion now.”

“Probably…….”

“The third and fifth fingers will hurt just as much.”

“Y-Your Majesty is absolutely right.”

Brin Inique replied in a trembling voice, as if he had anticipated what he was going to say.

“If you are a loyal knight of the Empire, shouldn’t you share the pain of the king you serve?”

“…….”

“I should give them a choice. The third and fifth……. And decide which of the last fingers will hurt more.”

The Emperor said in a low voice.

“Summon Kwell McGovern.”

* * *

“Is this report accurate?”

Karyl read the report from Dushala, chuckled in disbelief, and asked again.

“You wouldn’t believe it. They can now mine 6-sided stones from the Mana Mine. If Calipsone were here, he could easily cut the 6-sided stones, but sales have been banned for a while because of his absence.”

“That’s right.”

Karyl recalled the gnome artisan, Calipsone, who had left to find the last of the Gnome Kingdom’s bloodline.

It had already been more than two years since he left Tatur.

‘If nothing happened, I would have met him by now…….’

He wondered if he should have assigned guards to Calipsone, but sometimes there were things he had to do on his own.

Calipsone’s skills were excellent, but what he needed was not just just one gnome, but the power of the Gnome Kingdom.

He knew very well that a country built with the help of others would once again walk the path of destruction.

‘Calipsone, that old man is not one to die easily, so I’ll have to wait a little longer.’

Remembering him in his past life, Karyl steeled his heart.

“Since the supply was cut off, they realized that high-level attribute stones would not be available for the time being. Stupid humans are so quick to figure that out…….”

“They thought that now, with attribute stones of the same level, there would be the least difference in power.”

“That’s right.”

‘Oh, come on……. So the Mana Mine is the reason why the war broke out. Those stupid humans never change.’

Karyl smiled bitterly at Dushala’s words.

‘It’s the same in this life as it was in my previous life. In the end, they’re going to destroy themselves because of the Mana Mine.’

“Are all three kingdoms at war?”

“Not really. Istan and Tvanel have started a territorial war. It hasn’t grown into a full-blown war yet, but the nobles on the border are starting to have friction.”

“Hmm.”

“I don’t know if it’s because they want to use the increased power they got from the attribute stones, but it’s amazing that those countries haven’t fallen yet.”

“They’re doing useless things……. But Istan and Tvanel……. The old men must be furious.”

They struggled so hard in Twin Armor to prevent the Empire’s invasion, but what good would it do if they were causing such chaos internally?

“Well, it would be nice if Istan’s shield came over to our side.”

“That stubborn old man? It won’t be easy.”

As if he knew Marze well, Dushala tilted her head and said.

“Wouldn’t it be better to die on the battlefield than to die of frustration?”

“Keu heuk.”

Aidan chuckled at her words.

“Well, there’s some truth to that. After all, the only forces worth getting from Istan and Tvanel are those two. For now, we can leave the three kingdoms alone a little longer.”

“The Empire won’t be attacking anytime soon anyway.”

“That’s right.”

Dushala quickly replied as if she had read Karyl’s mind.

‘It’s definitely not going to be easy. In my previous life, those two ended up dying with the Istrian Three Kingdoms.’

They were loyal retainers who had served for many years, so they wouldn’t turn their backs easily, but if he could get them, it would definitely be a great help.

‘If it’s those two, they can not only make the rabble of Istria’s soldiers stronger, but also recruit enlightened young talents who have given up the political world to avoid following a foolish king.’

Karyl smacked his lips as he looked at the two kingdoms on the map he had spread out.

“What about Penria?”

“That side is quite a mess as well. As you know, the Kingdom of Penria has only three princesses without a prince.”

“That’s right.”

“It must have been a while ago. The Third Princess, Viola, declared independence. Based on the Panfinel family, she said she would take her own path.”

Karyl looked surprised at Dushala’s report.

“Does independence mean that Princess Viola has established a duchy with a base in Panfinel’s territory?”

By convention, all members of the royal family except the king have the same power as a duke.

Occasionally, princes or princesses who did not inherit the throne were given the title of duke to contribute to the rule of the kingdom.

Of course,

These cases were very rare, and after the struggle for the throne was over, most of them were killed in preparation for any possible danger.

“On the surface, that’s what it looks like. A duchy with less than 1,000 private soldiers, though.”

In such a situation, Viola’s declaration of a duchy also meant that she was breaking away from the Kingdom of Penria entirely.

“Hmm……. Do you think she has a chance?”

Fluttering……!!

It was then.

A carrier pigeon flew into the office window. A note tied with a blue string was attached to its ankle.

It was a report from the Port of Outlaws.

Dushala unfolded the note and wore a strange expression.

“Speak of the devil, I think it would be better to hear from the person in question whether she has a chance?”

“Hmm?”

She handed the note to Karyl and said.

“Princess Viola of the Duchy of Panfinel is asking to see her lord at the Port of Outlaws.”

“Now? It seems she was waiting for me to return.”

Karyl chuckled at her words.

“You’re not the only one waiting for her here. Just don’t get distracted and do your job right.”

“What do you mean distracted?”

At his words, Dushala simply snorted and pushed Karyl’s back.