Chapter 186: The Changed Past (1)

The atmosphere of the banquet hall cooled in an instant. With the sound of a glass shattering that had just rung out, even the music stopped.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Deborah Mineta and Marquis Keigaden Digargo.

In the eyes of many, countless emotions crossed.

Naturally, it was a problem for a mere noble to show such an insolent attitude toward royalty, even if this was a foreign country.

However, that noble was from not just any kingdom but an empire—moreover, he was a noble who had come as the head of the delegation of the Dior Empire.

The weight of his position was different.

“Stop right there!”

“No matter that you are a king, you cannot speak so casually to the Empire’s delegation! Show proper courtesy!”

“My father never raised his tone no matter who came! He showed courtesy in his own way! And yet you continue to be insolent to the very end!”

The atmosphere began to grow heated.

Even so, Marquis Digargo did not back down and showed an even fiercer reaction.

“After treating the Empire in such a manner, you are not thinking of asking for peace, are you! It wouldn’t even take long to conquer such a paltry kingdom!”

“Are you saying you intend to declare war right now!”

“Was it not the Mineta Kingdom that declared war first! How dare you treat the Empire’s delegation like this! I will hold you, the king, responsible for this!”

Marquis Digargo even pointed his finger as he pressed Deborah.

Of course, Deborah also had plenty she wanted to say.

The atmosphere in the banquet hall continued to worsen.

It felt like war could break out at any moment. The hostile gazes of the nobles and the young lords and ladies attending the banquet were directed not at Marquis Digargo, but at Deborah.

That much showed how Deborah had yet to solidify her position.

“Isn’t a noble who cannot even show courtesy to the king of a nation unqualified to begin with!”

At the sudden voice, people’s gazes shifted.

It was Raion Dragonia, who had been quietly observing the situation from one side, stepping forward.

“How dare a prince of some small country step in!”

It seemed they intended to prevent him from even joining the conversation from the start.

However, Raion was not one to take it quietly.

“I don’t like pointless arguments. If there’s something I want to achieve, I prefer to move directly.”

“…What?”

“Like this!”

Raion raised only his index and middle fingers and swung them.

Shwaaaaaa!

At that moment, Heif Carlson, a bodyguard knight of Digargo who sensed something amiss, rushed in between.

Bang! Chwaaaaaaak!

Having collided with something, Heif Carlson was pushed far back while gripping his scabbard.

He did not even have time to draw his sword. The side of the scabbard was dented deeply, as if struck by a club.

“Keugh…!”

He could not see what had flown at him, nor what he had blocked.

Due to the impact, Heif Carlson dropped to one knee on the floor.

“So you hid a sword and entered the banquet hall. Is this also the Empire’s code of conduct? Do you enter banquets armed over there?”

That was etiquette that had to be observed across the entire continent, not just the Empire.

Of course, in situations where threats were expected, someone like the commander of a kingdom’s royal knights could be armed.

But there was no way Marquis Digargo held such a position.

“You were the one who attacked first!”

“I wasn’t holding a weapon.”

Raion shrugged his shoulders. He had merely brought two fingers together and swung them.

At the same time, Marquis Digargo could guess what it was that had flown out from Raion’s action.

“Aura…? But aura is…!”

Generally, aura could only be formed on the surface of a sword and could only be sent flying with a sword.

Moreover, the realm where one could project aura was higher than simply generating it.

Yet Raion had sent aura flying without even holding a sword.

“I’m thinking of sending it at your neck this time. How about it? Can you block it?”

Heif Carlson, who had reached the intermediate level of a Sword Master, still could not get up after barely blocking the previous attack.

That showed just how heavy that seemingly small attack had been.

“Block him! Stop that man immediately!”

The other knights standing nearby hurriedly moved to shield Digargo.

It seemed they had been hiding swords inside their cloaks, as they immediately drew them.

Cha-chaeng! Cha-cha-chaeng!

At the same time, the knights of the Mineta Kingdom who had been standing near the windows of the banquet hall approached in an unarmed state and surrounded them.

“Your Majesty! Is the Mineta Kingdom trying to oppress the Empire! This is something that will never be allowed to pass quietly!”

“If you are declaring war, we will accept it anytime! But you will not be able to leave this place unscathed either! Understood!”

Deborah, finally exploding, tried to step forward.

At that moment, Raion blocked her path and looked at Marquis Digargo.

“Delegates sneaking in hidden swords, picking fights out of nowhere……. Did you ever even say you’d take responsibility no matter what situation unfolds in the Empire?”

For a moment, Marquis Digargo flinched.

It could not help but seem extremely suspicious.

Just what kind of scheme was he harboring?

Of course, Raion had anticipated several possibilities from the moment Digargo arrived in the Mineta Kingdom.

‘Anyone can tell they were sent to stir trouble with the Empire. There’s no way they’d act like that without some sort of countermeasure.’

Even as Raion continued to stare at him, Marquis Digargo could not answer right away.

For one thing, the delegation drawing swords at a celebratory banquet was already a major incident.

But since they were the Empire’s delegation, dealing with it was not easy.

“The Mineta Kingdom will refuse all exchange with the Dior Empire!”

At Deborah’s decisive shout, the hall erupted in an uproar.

The Dior Empire stood at the center of the continent. Overland trade inevitably had to pass through such an empire.

Of course, the Mineta Kingdom itself had no problems securing food.

However, since other materials were only permitted from the Boluzan Kingdom and the Bachenan Holy Kingdom, limitations arose.

It would become completely isolated. Moreover, if war were to break out with the Dior Empire, it would be difficult to receive aid due to their location.

“Your Majesty! That cannot be allowed! Please reconsider!”

“A war with the Empire must be avoided at all costs!”

They were some of the nobles who had sworn loyalty to Deborah in the Great Hall.

It seemed their own lives were more important than their loyalty.

It was not entirely wrong, but from Deborah’s standpoint, it felt somewhat bitter.

“Are you saying that our Mineta Kingdom must endure such humiliation!”

“Even so, it is the Empire!”

“You must not act this way at a gathering meant to seek amity between kingdoms!”

The situation grew stifling. At the same time, the corners of Marquis Digargo’s lips twitched.

The sight of them fearing the Empire was practically a delight to him.

Naturally, he could not help but grow even more arrogant.

“Kuhahahaha! How can one called a king fail to command even the loyalty of their ministers? This is why a woman has no business ruling a nation. Tsk!”

Even at such openly disparaging words, the nobles of Mineta only blamed Deborah.

Deborah’s irritation surged all the way to the top of her head.

Even so, she could not go so far as to cut off the heads of the nobles under her command.

The banquet for the delegation was thrown into chaos in an instant.

Growing even more arrogant, Marquis Keigaden Digargo gave a signal with his eyes to the escort knights.

The knights holding swords strode forward. It was a clear sign that they intended to exert even greater pressure with their momentum.

“Putting aside how precious your lives are, this is just impossible to watch.”

Chwaaaaaak!

Along with my mutter, I flicked my finger.

Just like before, the flying trajectory gouged deeply into the floor, carving a line that split the space between the knights and the nobles.

The steps of the knights who had been creeping closer to the nobles came to a halt.

“Judging by the current situation alone, it feels like the Empire doesn’t even need a pretext.”

Even to me, it felt far too strange.

No matter how arrogant the nobles of the Empire were, could they really ignore a kingdom—ignore the king of an entire nation—in such a manner?

It was no different from outright tyranny.

If I thought about it in the extreme, there was only one possibility.

‘Either that noble, or these troops, are no longer needed…….’

Finding it suspicious, I checked the condition of Marquis Digargo.

I even wondered if he had lost his sanity.

[Target Information]

Name : Keigaden Digargo

Age : 62

Occupation : Marquis of the Dior Empire

Life : 120 / 590

Stamina : 810 / 930

Mana : 60 / 100

Status : MAGUS

Abilities :

Speech Level 8

Trade Level 7

There was something strange in what I saw through Specific Analysis.

The ‘MAGUS’ shown under status.

It was the first time I had seen it, so it piqued my curiosity.

‘What is that?’

[Tip : ‘MAGUS’ means a demonic parasite in the language of the Demon Realm.]

‘A demonic parasite?’

[Tip : A parasitic demonic lifeform that alters its host to be used as a sacrifice.]

Thinking there was no way, I checked not only Marquis Digargo but the status of everyone who had come from the Dior Empire.

After checking them one by one, I saw something deeply unsettling.

‘They’re all infected.’

My gaze and thoughts moved rapidly.

The condition of Marquis Digargo, who kept shouting, felt abnormal.

It was an unexpected situation.

Even so, the people of the Dior Empire were not undergoing any obvious physical transformation.

‘Just what in the world is going on?’

Marquis Digargo was so enraged that veins bulged from his forehead.

“How dare you deceive the Empire in such a wretched kingdom! Do you wish to live after pointing your swords at the Empire! Even dying this instant would be too good for you! Cut them down at once! Cut them down! I said cut them down!”

Following his raised voice, the knights of the Dior Empire moved.

Their atmosphere was clearly different from before.

Bloodshot veins rose in their eyes, and it felt as though their killing intent was intensifying.

‘Pretext or not, this is dangerous.’

The nobles felt nothing but oppression from the knights drawing ever closer.

But that was not the only problem.

Sensing something ominous, my hand moved.

Shwaaaak—!

The trajectory drawn along my finger flew straight toward Marquis Digargo’s neck.

Seogeok!

The upper part of his neck fell with a chilling sound.

“Raion!”

Deborah shouted in shock.

I had no time to pay attention to her.

The escort knights of Dior had their eyes turn red as they rushed forward, swinging their swords.

Cha-chang! Cha-cha-chang!

A dark crimson aura surged up from the knights’ entire bodies as they charged toward me at tremendous speed.

In that moment, I pulled a sword out from the warehouse(倉庫) and blocked them.

The banquet hall turned into pandemonium.

The startled nobles hurriedly fled outside.

“Do not let the delegation of the Dior Empire escape!”

I checked the condition of the others through Perception(感知). And from every single member of the Dior Empire delegation, the status ‘MAGUS’ appeared.

Judging by the current state of the knights, the others could change as well.

“What on earth is going on? Give me a weapon too!”

Deborah asked as she tore her dress short.

She was trying to fight alongside me.

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