Chapter 54: Pride That Can Only Be Protected Through Strength (2)

“I’ve said it several times already, but there’s no need for formalities in a place like this. Please, rise.”

At Raion’s instruction, the knights all stood up straight in neat formation.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“I suppose my presence here isn’t exactly a welcome one, is it?”

“To be honest, no, it isn’t.”

Within the Canel Kingdom, it was widely known that the Third Prince, Raion Canel, had little standing or influence.

Naturally, Alkas had assumed that the report Glen had given was exaggerated.

However, the Raion standing before him radiated a heavy, undeniable pressure.

“Am I in a position where I must obey your orders?”

“Absolutely not. The only one who can issue me orders is Count Shtefan Palvin, my lord.”

The knight followed only the one he had sworn to serve—staking all his pride and honor on that allegiance.

“Well… who you follow is your choice. In any case, the subjugation is complete, so it would be best to return to the castle.”

Raion’s words sounded as though they carried no particular weight.

Just then, Alkas noticed the monster hide held by a rider in the rearguard of the Eastern Subjugation Unit.

“That… is that a Crimson Wolf?”

Among the massive wolf-type monsters with crimson fur, only the B-rank Crimson Wolf matched that description.

He recalled how, not long ago, one had appeared near a village by the Clamen Mountain Range—causing immense damage before it was finally defeated.

As the commander of the Southern Subjugation Unit, Alkas had not encountered a monster of that level even once on his way here.

So seeing the Eastern Subjugation Unit carrying only the hide of such a creature naturally shocked him.

“Who in the world…?”

At Alkas’s murmured words, Pavilion, the deputy commander of the knight order, stepped forward carefully.

“His Highness the Prince slew it.”

“With the knights’ help, I assume?”

It was a monster that even a full knight order could barely bring down. It was impossible for Alkas to imagine Raion defeating it alone.

“No, Your Excellency. His Highness defeated it by himself. We did not witness it directly, but… there was no one else present at the scene but him.”

Unable to believe such a report, Alkas’s expression grew solemn as he asked again.

“You swear that is the absolute truth?”

“It is, my lord.”

The Crimson Wolf hide had been deliberately ordered by Raion to be carried at the rear—

so that the Northern and Southern Subjugation Units would clearly perceive the difference in strength.

Noticing this intent, Alkas’s gaze toward Raion changed completely.

“If you’ve led multiple subjugation forces in the Kanas Territory, then you must understand well the power of a Crimson Wolf… don’t you?”

“You’re unharmed, Your Highness?”

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. If there’s nothing more to say, shall we discuss the current issues within the Kanas Knights on our way back?”

Raion gave a faint, meaningful smile and began moving his troops toward Kanas Fortress alongside Alkas.

Duke Alito Kright, the highest-ranking minister of the Canel Kingdom, received a message from the royal messenger hawk.

It reported that the Third Prince, Raion Canel, had safely arrived at the castle in the Kanas Territory.

The parchment crumpled in Alito’s clenched hand as it slammed down onto the desk.

Thud—!

Standing silently before him was Aspar Daker, the commander of the Black Lion Knights.

“He crossed the Clamen Mountain Range…? How could that possibly be?”

Even veteran mercenaries, adventurers, and royal knights risked their lives to traverse that range.

The very fact that Raion had made it safely across to Kanas was beyond belief.

Aspar could not raise his head under Alito’s sharp question.

In truth, he bore some responsibility as well—for having entrusted the assassination to the Red Sand Mercenary Corps without confirming the results himself.

“I have no excuse, my lord. If you command it, I will gather a discreet group immediately and cross into Kanas myself.”

This time, he was volunteering to assassinate Raion personally.

Of course, Duke Alito fully understood what that meant.

But the answer he gave was entirely unexpected.

“No. The prince will be powerless to accomplish anything there anyway.”

“But shouldn’t we at least investigate how he managed to cross?”

Aspar himself had been unable to understand the report’s contents. Moreover, he felt compelled to investigate if only to ease his lord’s concerns.

“There’s no need to waste lives—or time—for something so pointless. All we must do is wait quietly for two years to pass without incident.”

“However…”

“Do you find my order unsatisfactory?”

At Alito’s sharp tone, Aspar hesitated briefly before replying carefully.

“It’s only that… I believe Her Majesty the Queen has taken independent action. I wondered if perhaps you had already spoken with her regarding it.”

“What? The Queen?”

Alito’s expression hardened instantly.

Seeing that, Aspar feared the situation had gone wrong and hurriedly explained.

“It’s not certain, my lord. However… before I came here, I saw the commander of the ‘Black Dagger’ entering Her Majesty’s quarters.”

“The Captain of the Black Dagger, Feian?”

“Yes.”

The Black Dagger was a covert mobile unit of the Canel Kingdom, similar in nature to the Black Lion Knights.

Though its official commander was King Laskan, the unit had long been drawn under Queen Elina’s influence.

He would never have sought out Queen Elina without a serious reason.

“I suppose I’ll have to go myself.”

“I’ll prepare the carriage immediately.”

Alito stepped outside and climbed into the carriage.

His carriage went straight into the royal castle.

When Alito arrived at the Queen’s quarters, the door opened, and he found himself face-to-face with Elina.

“What brings you here so suddenly?”

The attendants had already been dismissed.

Perhaps because of that, Alito’s tone was sharp from the very beginning.

“Your Majesty, what orders did you give to the Black Dagger?”

Beyond their statuses as queen and duke, they were also father and daughter.

At his words, Queen Elina’s brow slightly furrowed.

“From whom did you hear that?”

“Does that matter? Tell me what orders you gave, at once.”

“What else could it be? It was to complete the task you failed to accomplish, Father.”

As he had guessed—it was indeed about the assassination of Raion.

Alito’s brow creased deeply.

“You may leave traces on a mission that has already failed once. Call them off immediately!”

“That’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because the Black Dagger has already left the capital. The reason Feian visited last time was to report that the agents had crossed the Clamen Mountain Range.”

“Don’t tell me you gave the order long before?”

At the same time Alito had set the Red Sand Mercenary Corps into motion, Queen Elina had moved as well.

Even if a messenger hawk were sent immediately, it would be nearly impossible to recall them while they were in transit.

“Haa…! How could you proceed with such a matter without even consulting me!”

Elina had just as much to say in response to Alito’s heavy sigh.

“Then why did you place an assassination order with the Red Sand Mercenary Corps without telling me, Father?”

“How did you find out about that! Ah—! It must have been the Black Dagger.”

Only Alito, his son William, and the Black Lion Knights knew of the Red Sand Mercenary Corps’ involvement.

He had made sure that information would never reach Queen Elina’s ears.

“Did you think I don’t have my own network for gathering information?”

She was referring to the Black Dagger.

Since the members of the ‘Black Dagger’ she had taken under her command worked as servants within the palace, they brought her plenty of useful intelligence.

Despite Alito’s efforts to conceal it, information had leaked through them.

“Hoo… You didn’t send the Black Dagger personally, did you?”

There must be no trace left behind in the assassination.

That was why Alito had gone through several intermediaries when commissioning the Red Sand Mercenary Corps, before finally having the Black Lion Knights handle the clean-up.

“Of course not. I formed a team from capable individuals in another region. There’s no need to worry about them being discovered.”

Even so, Alito couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Still, he concealed his concern before her.

“Feian should know what to do. But if they fail again this time, the other side won’t sit quietly.”

“Even if they don’t, what could they possibly do? They’ll be lucky just to survive the monsters in Kanas.”

Unlike Alito, Elina had never felt Raion’s true nature firsthand.

Though it had been only for an instant, Alito still couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling that lingered in him.

“I’ll take over from here. Tell Feian to report directly to me.”

If Queen Elina became entangled in this matter, even the standing of the First Prince Ashuran and Second Prince Valet could be jeopardized.

Alito was determined to shoulder the burden himself, ready to cover up anything that might happen.

“Understood. Do as you will.”

Once their conversation ended, Alito immediately left her quarters.

The subjugation squads of Kanas, which had dispersed in all directions, returned after about eight days.

At the front of their ranks hung the pelt of the strongest monster they had faced during the subjugation—the Crimson Wolf.

The people of the territory, upon seeing it, knew that this campaign had been a success.

However, there was one person who couldn’t bring himself to smile even in such a moment.

It was none other than the administrator, Conrad Vivalous, who had tried to embezzle a portion of the subjugation funds.

Inside the grand hall of the lord’s castle, Gedwin and his subordinates—those used as tools in the embezzlement—had been captured.

When the bound men were brought before them, Conrad’s face turned pale.

Sitting quietly in his seat, Count Shtefan, the lord of the territory, asked Raion,

“Is it true that these men mingled with the subjugation force, killed other mercenaries and adventurers, and stole the monster cores?”

“It’s true. Many witnessed it, just as I did. Moreover, they even revealed the name of the one behind it.”

“And who would that be?”

At Shtefan’s question, Raion met the eyes of Gedwin, who was kneeling before them.

During their march back, he had thoroughly interrogated the man—there would be no more lies.

Gedwin slowly turned his gaze and spoke.

“It was that man standing over there—Administrator Conrad Vivalous.”

At his answer, Conrad sprang forward in panic and shouted,

“My lord! That man lies! I would never do such a thing!”

His expression was one of utter indignation.

But Shtefan showed no sign of agitation and observed the situation calmly.

“Let’s wait and hear him out first.”

At that, Conrad gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and reluctantly stepped back.

Meanwhile, Gedwin continued with what details had been missing.

“Not only that—he inflated the costs of certain commissions and received repeated kickbacks several times afterward.”

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