Chapter 102

The crown prince of the Eastern Empire.

He was in a very uncomfortable state right now.

It was only natural, given that all his plans to shake the Western Empire had failed spectacularly.

“These… these bungling idiots!”

The assassins he’d sent weren’t just bungling; their targets had been too perfect. But the crown prince had no way of knowing that.

“Fine, I didn’t expect all three to succeed anyway.”

But at least one of them should have pulled it off, right?

And yet they all failed?

[Successfully sealed the Magic Tower Master’s magic!]

The hopeful final report had slapped him right across the back of the head.

[But the seal was immediately broken. The sealing mage appears to have died.]

They said most of the defenses around the Magic Tower were the Master’s protective spells.

So if they succeeded in entering to seal his magic, shouldn’t escaping have been a success too?

The Western Empire had been foolish enough to let tensions fester between the Magic Tower, the imperial knights, and the temple.

There was no way knights would be stationed at the tower.

In other words, neutralizing the Tower Master should make the tower easier to handle, even if it went on high alert.

“Then why!”

Why did it fail!

—Crash!

The crown prince swept the vase and inkwell off his desk with a swipe of his hand.

Papers fluttered through the air, but he bellowed anyway.

“You incompetent fools!”

And the agent sent after the pope? Radio silence.

Dead?

He’d thought taking out just the Western Empire’s pope would be enough.

But then…

[The owner of the Raela Plains in the north of the Western Empire has been decided.

The pope himself went there to bestow a blessing.]

The pope went there personally to bless it??? Then what the hell was the dead guy doing? Huh?

“The pope didn’t even dispatch a massive pursuit force!”

So was the assassin just screwing around somewhere like an idiot?

If he’d been caught, there’d have been intel. If it failed, there’d be word of a retry. But nothing.

He must be dead, but this was the Eastern Empire’s top escape artist.

The guy had busted out of the imperial family’s maximum-security isolation prison—seven layers of defenses—not once, but twice.

That’s why the crown prince had scouted him outright.

Whatever his past, it didn’t matter. To protect the throne, you had to get your hands dirty.

In exchange for loyalty, he’d showered the man with honors and wealth too lavish to ignore for any assassination gig.

The guy was completely loyal to the imperial family.

“Where the hell did he go!?”

Did he bolt? Did the Western Empire offer something better?

…From that frugal, desireless Ariensa Sian de Mar, the Siansian pope?

But news of the assassin finally trickled in days later.

“He was found dead near a border village.”

“Assassinated?”

Dead for real! The crown prince scowled.

But the reporter shook his head awkwardly.

“No signs of attack. Probably… poisoned.”

“?”

What? The crown prince’s face twisted in disbelief.

A guy sent to poison someone gets poisoned? Did he eat his own? Mistake it for water? Die of thirst?

“He kept heading toward the border village to the end, so he must have been after an antidote.”

“The border standby team wouldn’t have had any anyway?”

The crown prince furrowed his brow.

The imperial family hadn’t given him an antidote when sending him off.

Nor the rear support team.

What if he got captured, tortured, and they extracted it? The mission would be pointless.

And yet he went looking for an antidote in a border village?

As he tilted his head, his adjutant cautiously added,

“That… the poison wasn’t the one we prepared. It was something we’d never seen.”

“What? So someone force-fed him poison?”

Not killing him for failing the poisoning, but poisoning him and sending him back?

This was…

Just as the crown prince’s face began to crumple,

“…Yes. There was a note left where he died.”

The adjutant nervously handed over the slip of paper.

His last words before death.

The crown prince unfolded the crumpled note.

Scrawled in a trembling hand:

[Please save me]

“Save you?”

Desperate shaky script or not, the crown prince clutched his neck and nearly toppled backward.

You should have succeeded in assassinating the pope!

“Y-You…!”

Crumple! He crushed the note.

“Assassination failed, and he came crawling back force-fed poison. Doesn’t that mean the Siansian pope just let the assassin go?”

And with poison in him, no less.

“…It seems like a warning.”

His advisor reported cautiously. The crown prince scowled.

I know who sent you.

But our levels are different, so I’ll let it slide once. Stop buzzing around.

Is that what the pope sent?

No, this was…

Ivan Elethia von Carman.

It reeked of him. Just the sort of thing he’d do.

“That…!”

—Bang!

The crown prince finally slammed his desk. His reputation at home had been tanking lately.

Especially after coming back humiliated by the Western Empire’s emperor, Ivan. The nobles were whispering more than ever.

‘Heard he got played by that Western emperor?’

‘Wasn’t he always the spineless type who couldn’t even speak up?’

Behind those rumors, the crown prince ground his teeth.

That guy’s gone completely off the rails! He’s not the man we knew!

And moreover.

‘His Majesty seems concerned about his condition. What should we do?’

The nobles feigned worry while needling him.

The old man was just lying there comatose; “concerned” my ass!

They were using it as an excuse to crown someone new of their choosing in his place.

That couldn’t happen.

He needed clear results to seize Eastern Empire public opinion again.

Show his strength!

—Bang!

As he gritted his teeth,

“Your Highness, someone requests an audience—”

“Can’t you see I’m in a foul mood?”

He snapped at the servant’s voice from outside.

But the servant didn’t back down.

What?

The crown prince nodded at his advisor, who went to the door to hear the servant out.

Unless it’s big, off with his head!

As he gnashed his teeth, the advisor’s eyes widened.

“Y-Your Highness.”

“What?”

The crown prince growled.

“The one requesting audience calls himself ‘Epe.'”

In an instant, the crown prince’s face lit up.

“What? Epe?”

Epe???

—Bang!

He slammed the desk again. But his expression was the total opposite of before.

“Bring him in! Right now!”

His face bloomed with joy.

The gods haven’t abandoned me yet! he cheered inwardly.

The crown prince practically slid into the audience chamber.

He sat, struggling to maintain a dignified posture, heart pounding as he awaited Epe.

“Epe… Epe’s really coming.”

He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

And then.

“Your Highness, Epe has arrived.”

“Let him in.”

He’s here!!! The crown prince forced a solemn tone, swallowing his excitement.

—Click.

Through the opening door, a piercing pair of eyes gleamed.

His clothes were ragged, like he’d rolled down a mountain for a decade, but the crown prince didn’t care.

“It’s been too long.”

Epe said. The black-haired man’s dark eyes seemed charged with power.

His voice carried the same weight.

The crown prince felt crushed by an invisible force just from the resonance.

That’s how strong he was.

The legendary swordsman of the Eastern Empire.

“Sir Epe, I heard you’d left the empire.”

Epe.

Though he’d risen to fame under the current emperor’s regime, his face showed no age.

That meant he was one hell of a knight.

“The anguished cries of the empire’s people reach even the mountains where I trained. As a knight, how could I turn away?”

The crown prince nearly burst out laughing. He was thrilled.

The swordsman who’d led the Eastern Empire’s resurgence.

The legendary knight who’d bested the previous Western emperor—where skill with the blade decided all—in single combat had returned.

“Indeed, our people suffer lately. I’ve been deeply troubled. My father… his health has worsened because of it.”

The emperor was just declining naturally, but whatever.

“What exactly is happening? On my way to the capital, I saw strange things.”

Epe spread his hands.

“Monsters pouring from strangely warped mists. What are they…?”

“That’s…”

The crown prince suppressed a smile and adopted a somber look.

“My failing.”

His advisor couldn’t believe his ears.

“???”

Did he really just say that?

Of course, catching the advisor’s eye, the crown prince glared daggers.

Speak one word, and you’re dead!

Then back to his grave expression.

“Those mists are vile creations of the Western Empire.”

“What?”

Epe’s eyes widened.

Epe’s strength was his lifelong devotion to the sword. His weakness? Same thing.

He’d trained only in swordsmanship and knew nothing of the world.

Yet his loyalty to the imperial family that saved him from death in the streets was blind.

And that made him a powerful asset for the crown prince.

The perfect card to play.

“The Western emperor first claimed the disasters appeared on their land. But they handled them too well for that.”

Shin Jae-heon had seen enough gates outside dungeons to recognize them instantly, but the crown prince didn’t know that.

No need to.

He just needed to cook Epe.

“But the disasters plaguing our Eastern Empire… they’re relentless. Meanwhile, the West, who claimed long suffering, is fine now.”

“You mean…!”

Epe’s eyes blazed with killing intent. Even knowing it wasn’t aimed at him, the crown prince shuddered.

Overwhelmed by a true knight’s aura.

“The Western Empire created this disaster.”

Evidence??? his advisor’s face screamed, but the crown prince ignored him.

Cook Epe, that’s all.

“Who? Who made this disaster?”

And sure enough, Epe’s blind loyalty to the Eastern royals shone.

He’d cut throats the moment he knew.

Exactly what the crown prince wanted.

“Hm.”

He pretended to ponder, eyeing Epe.

The Eastern Empire’s former top powerhouse.

This man could handle the Tower Master, emperor, or pope where assassinations had failed.

Could he?

He sized Epe up anew.

His assessment of Emperor Ivan Elethia von Carman had flipped recently.

From worst emperor ever to strongest.

Stronger than the previous one, even.

He wanted to test the rumors, but…

“Hmmm.”

Another failure would be fatal.

Uncharacteristically, the crown prince decided to play it safe.

Leave the tough ones—Tower Master, emperor, pope—for now. Someone prominent in the West…

Right, her.

“A new noble house has risen in the West lately. One the pope, who refused any for twenty years, finally approved. And the three pillars of Western power are taking interest. Most importantly…”

The crown prince swallowed a grin, turning grave.

“This ‘disaster’ started right before she appeared.”

“Who is she?”

“Countess Edelweiss.”

Yes, start with her.

He commanded Epe.

“Kill her first. Stop the disaster. Save our people. For the empire.”

“For the empire!”

Epe roared resolutely.

The crown prince thanked the gods for Epe’s perfect timing.

They haven’t abandoned me!

Of course, Epe’s arrival had nothing to do with the gods.

With the crown prince’s delusion, the L-rank dungeon’s hidden route began.

“The preliminaries are done!”

The Edelweiss Knights had grown larger than I’d expected.

Enough to rival a marquis house.

Mostly new recruits, but with training, they’d be a powerhouse.

Mana stone mining was ramping up, wealth accumulating, and exchanges with mages thriving.

Rumors from the territory folk said Edelweiss was topping lists as “the place everyone wants to live” among imperials.

Of course.

Safe, rich, top-notch medical… er, temple infrastructure.

Compared to territories where gates went unhandled and monsters roamed streets, Edelweiss was a dream.

But!

No moreeee!

Work like this and I’ll go insane!

I’d pulled all-nighters managing this prosperous territory.

No more!

—Bang!

As I shot up from my seat, the butler asked nervously from outside the office.

“Do you have somewhere to go, my lady?”

“Me? Vaca—”

…I froze mid-word.

Wait, this setup?

“You’re not thinking of sending ten knights with the carriage if I say I’m going out, are you?”

The butler peeked in at my words.

Then said matter-of-factly,

“Of course. Your safety is always our top priority.”

Is it? What about my mental health?

Where’s my freedom?

—Click.

I sat back down primly.

“Then I’ll just rest.”

I pointed emphatically at the office floor.

“Here.”

The butler smiled awkwardly and bowed.

“…Understood.”

He seemed to get that I needed alone time after work burnout, looking a bit sympathetic.

The sharp butler would probably clear everyone out.

So I could rest fully.

Thanks! Appreciate it!

BUT!

“Sorry!”

I waved preemptively at where he’d vanished.

Then opened the god’s shop.

Not what it’s for, but…

Items are what you make of them, right?