Chapter 207
A Ridiculous Misunderstanding
The Arken Empire was the largest power on the Cerdes Continent.
Its vast territory had been built through ceaseless conquest and development.
But even expansion had its limits.
As a nation gradually widened its territory across the continent, it would inevitably reach lands belonging to others.
The Empire continued expanding, steadily annexing the territories of neighboring powers without ever stopping.
Its ambitions were curbed only shortly before the Dragon-Demon War broke out.
When demons began running rampant, the Empire actually became even more active, using protection as its justification.
Then, once the Dragon-Demon War began in earnest, everything came to a halt.
The Grand Council had been established.
From the moment every intelligent race on the continent began gathering to deliberate together, the enormous Arken Empire could no longer act freely.
Too many eyes were watching for it to move under a flimsy pretext, and the Empire itself had grown far too large.
Conversely, however, that meant it could move whenever it possessed a proper justification.
And the Arken Empire held an important key capable of providing exactly that.
“That key is Duke Yurei,” Olivia explained.
“They will soon accuse him of being a demon. They intend to exaggerate the matter and incite the citizens’ anger.”
“It seems they are planning quite a spectacle.”
“Of course. They intend to execute him in the imperial plaza, deliver a bloodstirring speech, and declare war on the Heinkel Kingdom.”
“Whose plan is this?”
“Neither Ureas nor Valdemar has any reason to oppose it, does he?”
Ureas, who thirsted for conquest, would simply be delighted by the opportunity to begin a war.
Meanwhile, Valdemar would gain fame while diverting dissatisfaction with domestic politics toward an external enemy.
It was only natural that the two would cooperate.
“Duke Yurei…”
It was a complicated name for Ferda.
The man who had once tried to ruin him was Marcus Yurei, Duke Yurei’s son.
And the man who had come seeking vengeance after his son’s death was Perry Yurei.
“I know it is not a name you remember fondly. He tried to drag you into ruin, Regent Ferda.”
“I bear him no particular resentment.”
Ferda did not care what Duke Yurei had done.
“……”
Ferda had already known that Duke Yurei would misunderstand him.
In fact, Ferda had deliberately encouraged that misunderstanding in order to uncover the demons.
More importantly, Duke Yurei’s grief and anger meant nothing to him.
“Where is Duke Yurei currently being held?”
“In the torture chamber beneath the imperial palace. They are treating him with the utmost hospitality.”
“The security must be severe.”
“Of course.”
They undoubtedly knew that Duke Yurei was a decisive key capable of determining whether war would break out.
They would therefore be guarding him carefully to prevent any unwanted variables.
“What could I possibly do about a place guarded so heavily?”
“You might not be able to do anything personally, Sir Ferda, but you have an exceptionally capable subordinate, don’t you?”
“You mean Zed.”
Zed Swallow.
The great thief who had once thrown the entire Empire into chaos.
These days, however, his former reputation sounded little different from an exaggerated tale spun by an overly enthusiastic bard.
The present Zed was regarded as nothing more than an unqualified hire who had obtained his position through connections and frequently flirted with women.
Olivia, however, had witnessed his infiltration skills firsthand.
When Dvelung had been handed over to Olivia, the person who had entered her bedchamber had been none other than Zed.
“With his abilities, I imagine extracting Duke Yurei would be simple. What do you think, Regent?”
“He will succeed.”
“He must be an extraordinarily competent operative. You did not hesitate for even a moment.”
Zed was already remarkably capable.
And one day, he would become a legendary thief whom even the Empire could not stop.
“If he succeeds in rescuing Duke Yurei, the duke will return home and give a speech. He will throw the entire continent into an uproar by revealing that the Arken Empire tortured him without granting him the treatment due to a noble. What do you think will happen then?”
“I do not know.”
“An emergency council will be convened at the White House.”
The White House was both the residence of Blancaros, the White Dragon, and the center of the Grand Council.
“You believe Blancaros will intervene?”
Ferda had assumed Blancaros would dismiss it as a human affair and tell humans to resolve it among themselves.
“More precisely, he will merely act according to the laws he established. If half the humans on the continent protest, and the word ‘demon’ is abused so recklessly that its meaning is undermined and confusion spreads, would that not constitute a threat to the peace of the continent?”
After hearing Olivia’s interpretation, Ferda found it reasonable.
“That makes the following question extremely important.”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain Duke Yurei’s name was not on the list of Dopplers?”
Was Duke Yurei truly a demon worshipper?
Neither the Arken Empire nor the Heinkel Kingdom knew whether he was a Doppler.
They were merely assigning him an identity for political purposes.
In that sense, the list of Dopplers recorded in the journal was decisive evidence.
And Ferda was one of the people who had read that list.
“The journal contained only one person with the name Yurei—his son, Marcus Yurei.”
“Then it would be best to rescue him before he loses the strength to speak.”
Olivia explained the scenario she had envisioned.
“If everything proceeds according to my calculations, the Arken Empire will be judged to have made a deliberately distorted interpretation. It will then be ordered to pay reparations to the Heinkel Kingdom and Duke Yurei. No—considering Lord Blancaros’s personality, he may impose an even harsher punishment to make an example of them. He might force the Empire to surrender territory.”
The Empire, which had been unable to expand, would instead lose territory.
To the Arken Empire, that would be nothing less than a profound humiliation.
Once the land was lost, those in power would begin blaming one another for it.
“……”
The discontent they had attempted to direct outward would once again simmer like a sealed pot over a flame.
“If the tensions within the Empire cannot be relieved through war, they will continue to rise.”
“And because they can no longer redirect that resentment toward an external enemy, internal division will follow…”
“The people will begin longing for a transcendent savior riding a white horse to lead them.”
Ferda understood who that supposed savior would be.
“The influence of the Alte faith will rise.”
“Exactly.”
Olivia smiled with delight.
“An apprentice saintess who also carries the blood of the Arken imperial family. They will place her at the forefront and use her to shake the existing ruling class to its foundations.”
“Can the archbishop be trusted?”
“These matters have already been discussed. If the current emperor loses the people’s support, the Church intends to seize control of the Empire by transforming it into a theocracy.”
A theocracy meant that the religious establishment intended to take control of politics as well.
The highest position in the Alte faith would no longer be the archbishop, but the pope.
And the person who would inherit that position was—
“You.”
Olivia was the ideal candidate.
She carried imperial blood and had been chosen by Alte.
No one was better suited to become pope.
“No. That will not happen,” Olivia said.
“My objective has always been to end the false golden bloodline. If I ascend to the throne myself, how would that be any different from allowing the Arken Kingdom to continue?”
“Unlike the Emperor, you might make wise decisions.”
“That cannot happen.”
She held out the back of her hand and answered firmly.
“Once I have achieved my revenge, I will destroy everything. The Emperor, the Empire…”
“If you intend to destroy yourself as well… do you mean that you will relinquish your position?”
“Of course. That is the oath of vengeance I swore to Alte.”
“I doubt the Alte faith would remain silent if they learned of this plan.”
“Until then, I will simply have to keep acting. I cannot allow anyone to preserve the Empire as it exists now. Those who call themselves Alte’s representatives are no exception.”
Ferda recalled the sight of the capital engulfed in flames.
“And neither am I.”
“……”
How many people had died back then?
How many had screamed?
She was capable of allowing that tragedy to continue.
Collapse was always accompanied by misery.
“Living as a commoner will not be easy.”
“Of course it will not. I will have to wear clothes made from coarse fabric and eat food whose preparation I can barely trust. But if I were going to complain over something so trivial, I would never have begun this in the first place. Or perhaps…”
Olivia smiled with her eyes and casually suggested,
“How about you take me in, Regent Ferda?”
Ferda answered,
“I will.”
“…Pardon?”
She dropped the teacup she had been holding.
The black tea inside spilled across her hand.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It was only about as hot as bathwater.”
“That is fortunate.”
Ferda found the sight of Olivia flustered rather novel.
She repeatedly opened her mouth as though about to say something, only to stop herself.
“Er, well… first I should wipe my hand. No, before that, we should discuss what you just said…”
Her incoherent rambling reminded him of Malcolm.
Ferda decided he had no choice but to tell her what she should do first.
He handed her his handkerchief.
“Here.”
“Yes.”
Olivia took Ferda’s handkerchief with stiff movements.
Without even the faint brushes of contact she normally attempted, she snatched it away and wiped her hand.
“When you said you would take me in…
“You meant that you would become my patron, correct?”
Ferda nodded as though it were obvious.
“Falling from the life of a princess to that of an ordinary commoner would be painful.”
Ferda had personally witnessed the fate of fallen nobles.
The change in their sense of money and the decline in their standard of living invariably brought misery to those who had once belonged to the nobility.
A princess would be no different.
“I cannot provide you with everything you once enjoyed, but I believe it is my duty to support you so that you do not spend the rest of your life in misery.”
Just as Olivia had shown her resolve, Ferda offered her a corresponding measure of trust.
“If you are prepared to abandon everything once your task is complete, then I will gladly help you.”
Olivia could not find the words to respond.
At that moment, Ferda clearly sensed it.
Her Circle was surging violently.
Olivia wondered whether some artifact in this castle turned people into fools.
Since entering it, she had lost count of how many absurd misunderstandings she had made.
She kept assigning meaning to things and misinterpreting them.
This time was no different.
How about you take me in?
I will.
Given Ferda’s personality, she should obviously have understood that he meant he would become her patron.
But her instinctive interpretation had been entirely different.
For a moment, his eyes had seemed to shine brilliantly, and his lips had appeared sweet and moist, as though dripping with honey.
Because of that, it had sounded as though Ferda had declared that he would claim her as his own.
I shouldn’t have thought that.
Ferda had Valdrova.
He was a man devoted to a profoundly noble love.
To interpret the words of such a man in so impure a manner…
The greatest irony was that Olivia had felt something strange while imagining such a situation.
Deep down, it was almost as though she had been waiting for it to happen.
If that had truly been his intention, he would have been no different from the men she despised.
And yet she had hoped for it.
She felt as though she were going mad.
It was as if a metronome had appeared inside Olivia’s mind.
It moved to a steady rhythm, but instead of ticking, it produced another sound.
That sound was Ferda.
His name swayed through her mind at a constant tempo.
Ferda.
Ferda.
It was such a beautiful name.
His given name was Ferda.
His surname was Valdrova.
Yet Olivia thought of him only as Ferda, never as Ferda Valdrova.
For some reason, that full name did not suit him.
Ferda was wonderful.
Ferda Valdrova was not.
The two words were like oil and water.
In truth, that was exactly how it felt.
Olivia had met both Ferda and Valdrova, so she understood it clearly.
Valdrova.
She was a truly innocent woman.
And not merely innocent—she possessed warmth as well.
Olivia could easily imagine what sort of existence she was to Ferda.
Valdrova was the irreplaceable cradle of his heart, his place of rest.
But that cannot last forever.
Olivia understood Ferda too.
Ferda was capable of doing anything for Valdrova.
And some of those things would wound her deeply if she ever learned of them.
He mercilessly crushed everything that stood in Valdrova’s path, yet at the same time, Ferda was afraid.
Afraid that the blood on his hands might stain her purity.
The deeds he committed for her, and the secrets he could never dare tell her, weighed heavily upon him.
Olivia understood just how crushing that burden was.
Can Valdrova truly bear a man like Ferda?
The human heart was impossible to fathom, and Valdrova was no easier to predict.
A foolish dragon who invited others over simply to become friends might recoil in horror upon learning that Ferda killed her own kind.
She might call him a monster and inflict an irreparable wound upon him.
In the end, Valdrova might fail to understand Ferda and part ways with him.
If I were in her place…
Whenever Ferda stood at a crossroads, Olivia would advise him and guide him toward the best decision.
When hardship drove him to despair, she would embrace him from behind and whisper that everything would be all right.
Olivia and Ferda understood one another.
That meant their bond could grow even deeper.
They could become a pair of wise and capable rulers.
The thought swelled beyond her control.
A foolish question kept circling inside her mouth.
Don’t the two of us look well suited to each other?
Ferda would probably answer,
I am already spoken for.
But if she allowed herself a little more hope, perhaps he might say,
There is no partner more suitable for me than you.
That would be the most hopeful answer of all.
And yet it would not make her happy.
Because if he said that, she knew exactly how she would respond.
I want more than that.