Chapter 82

From a common sense perspective, it was a natural occurrence.

Demonic beasts and monsters were rampaging in the country, yet the person ruling that place was absent.

Moreover, he now had temporary command authority.

Of course, the Crown Prince would want to take it back.

But it was outside his expectations that the Crown Prince would come alone.

"I behold the small sun of the kingdom."

"It's been a while, Duke. As always, aren't you focusing too much on outward appearances?"

The Crown Prince came riding an ordinary chestnut horse, not the black horse he usually rode.

Perhaps to disguise himself as a regular traveler, he was wearing a dull-colored cloak and hat.

Nevertheless, the unmistakable aura of nobility flowed from him.

"I think I need to perform the proper formalities to avoid criticism. I'll escort you inside."

"You've grown thorns while I haven't seen you."

Back then, which regression iteration was it?

It seemed like the first time he had invited Yurik to the ducal residence since the time Arndt was wrongly accused of killing Amelia.

At that time, he had even attempted an assassination attempt with a candlestick in the shabby hall.

This time, to show respect, he moved to his office instead of the reception room.

Simple refreshments were prepared, and after dismissing all the servants, only the two of them remained in the office.

Yurik leaned back casually on the sofa as if he were in his own home.

"I don't have time, so I'll get straight to the point. Duke, congratulations on safely returning from the north. I didn't expect Sir Philip, whom I sent, to bring me such news."

"What news do you mean?"

"Don't pretend not to know. That the Margrave transferred authority over the north to you before he died. Anyone who hears that would laugh."

"How desperate must a dying person have been to entrust the north to me?"

"The Margrave surely wouldn't have been the sentimental type."

"The way you speak, one might think Your Highness the Crown Prince actually met the Margrave. The north has maintained its self-governing authority since before the late king, and there was hardly any exchange between the royal family and the north, was there not?"

At his pointed remark, Yurik let out a dry, dismissive laugh.

"That's why I overlooked your obvious lie. The game is over now. Now, just quietly confine yourself to the ducal residence."

"Is that why you came all the way here?"

"Do you think I came to see the Duke's face?"

"That's a bit..."

What a creepy thing to say.

But despite Yurik's ambiguous answer, he wasn't particularly curious about why he had come all the way here.

He could roughly guess what would happen next.

"Are you going to the north next?"

"Why do you think that?"

"That's what I would have done if I were Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"If you were me?"

The abrupt words carried a subtle displeasure, as if saying "how dare someone like you."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"If not, you wouldn't have come alone, would you? Since I know you're going to the north, shall I guess why?"

"You dare to play games in front of me."

"I'm good at that sort of thing. Let's see, are you going to check if I killed the Margrave of the north? If not, you might be going to inspect the north yourself. You might not trust Sir Russel's words. Ah, or perhaps."

"Duke."

"Are you going to see if I ruined what you had done in the north?"

Silence fell.

Yurik neither got angry nor denied it.

Instead, he looked at him with a face that faintly held a subtle displeasure.

"Fortunately for Your Highness the Crown Prince, I don't have much power."

"Did you see the Margrave?"

"I saw everything, including his transformation."

"And yet, you managed not to go mad."

"Should I have?"

"Normally, when people see such things, they go mad. They lose their minds, babble nonsense, and wander the northern snowfields until they die."

Long, pale fingers caressed the teacup handle.

Yurik, briefly searching through his memories, muttered.

"I would have preferred if you had gone mad."

"Unfortunately, I..."

"Why didn't you go mad?"

"Pardon?"

"Why didn't you go mad after seeing that sight? Aren't you an ordinary person? One who lost his parents and has nowhere to lean on, making your mind vulnerable. But for someone like that, you've improved your situation quite a bit."

The spacious office, the fragrant aroma of hot tea spreading.

A well-organized office with dust-free chairs and desk.

After surveying all of this, the red gaze finally settled on him.

"It's strange. I wonder why."

He had intended to threaten Yurik who had come to his territory.

But now he felt like he was the one being threatened.

Surely, he couldn't have realized that he wasn't Arenheit.

He hastily opened his mouth.

"That doesn't seem important. What's truly important is something else. That I found out Your Highness the Crown Prince is connected to those monsters."

"Oh? Did the Margrave leave some record?"

"Well, if I mentioned it here, I'd probably be dead the next day, and the evidence would disappear."

In reality, there was no such evidence.

The original work he had read was the evidence, you bastard.

Yurik's eyes narrowed at the ambiguous answer.

"It seems you want to use that as leverage for something."

"That's right."

"Tell me. Even if your tongue is cut off tomorrow, you should chirp freely today."

"I found a mithril mine. According to the principles, the north had exclusive rights, so now the royal family will manage the mine, won't they?"

"I suppose so."

"Then, give priority trading rights to Hartmann."

What he had been aiming for all along.

A mine he discovered by chance while roaming the north for two months.

What else could be famous in the north besides mithril?

He had already moved the mithril ore from the castle, but that wasn't enough.

Not knowing how much mithril ore was needed to create high-purity mithril.

No matter how much there was, it would be limited for sustaining the business.

So, he had to aim for the mine to procure mithril.

"By priority, you mean?"

"Hartmann wants to preempt a portion of the mithril trading volume. It's material needed for the current business."

"Is that all you want?"

"Yes. That's it."

He's giving it to me? It seems he is!

He had thought he'd have to coax and threaten him about eight more times before barely reaching an agreement!

He's just giving it to me! I've hit the jackpot!

As he beamed with a bright smile, Yurik spat out.

"I refuse."

This bastard?

* * *

Leandros, who had belatedly heard that Yurik had already entered the office, quickened his pace.

He would have preferred to entrust this to someone else if possible.

But the only people in the castle were Arndt and himself.

It seemed better for him to go than the one who had made remarks like "if I cut fruit with this protective dagger, would His Grace scold me?" behind the Duke's back.

When he approached the front of the office.

A loud voice was heard from inside the room.

"Who would agree to such a condition? Please think about it first!"

This young voice belonged to Arenheit.

Then the low voice heard together with it was probably.

"I have thought about it thoroughly."

"Demanding my knight in exchange for trading priority rights, I'll take that as a joke instead."

"What if I say I need nothing else?"

"Then I'll give up the mine. But please don't think you can just bury what happened in the north."

"That's a threat. Is the negotiation off?"

"Yes, it's a threat! Who would just hand over their person?"

The voice grew a bit louder.

"I'd rather die!"

Leandros's nape grew cold upon hearing those words.

Even though he tried not to remember the events in the north, they would sometimes surge up unexpectedly.

This was precisely one of those moments.

The voices continued to be heard.

"The mine won't become yours just because you die. I have only one desire, and if you can't give me that, then we can't talk."

"I know that the five beings Your Highness the Crown Prince summoned to the north are similar to the entity in the eastern pit."

A brief silence followed.

"So there was a reason you removed the Aisling Merchant Group. Is it Hartmann's revelation?"

"Revelation, future sight, call it what you will, nothing changes. Didn't I tell you earlier? The important thing is something else."

"And? Can you kill that entity, that 'ancient thing' that roams the north?"

"What would I not be able to do?"

Leandros had come to know Arenheit's methods all too well.

He, who had been lying down unable to move, unhesitatingly discarded his battered body once he became useless.

How weak is a human body?

And how much of it is made up of disgusting things?

Born, dead, born, dead, born, dead.

Leandros felt dizzy.

It felt as though blood that was not his had splattered, obstructing his vision.

Leandros took a step back from the door.

"Don't you think you're obstructing his path, Duke? It's not like the royal family is using him like a slave. Moreover, such a promising knight."

"You would give him trials befitting the time, rewards befitting the time, and appropriate glory. It will all be thanks to Your Highness's arrangements."

"You know well."

"And what remains at the very end? What remains at the very end of the path Your Highness has laid out? Do you truly think I don't know?"

Arenheit drove the point home.

"I won't send him. Please consider it as if it never happened."

"It's foolish to keep a hawk caged, Duke."

"If it's destined to have its wings pierced by an arrow the moment it flies in the sky, it's better to live in a cage forever!"

"Is that so? Would the person in question think the same?"

The door swung wide open.

The two were clearly sitting.

Leandros hadn't touched the door either.

But the Yurik he saw was smiling.

"My friend. My old friend, Leandros. What do you think? It seems you've been listening all along."

How long had he been aware?

Leandros silently stared at the grinning Yurik.

Arenheit, without proper greeting, jumped up from his seat and pulled Leandros completely out of the office.

Leandros merely allowed himself to be pulled along.

He didn't care if Arenheit grumbled and cursed Yurik.

It was just that, the words that had been echoing in his ears since earlier.

"Your Grace."

"There's not a single place that pleases... Huh?"

"Your Grace, are you trying to protect me?"

Footsteps halted.

In the quiet corridor where no servants passed, Leandros's low voice resonated.

Arenheit turned to look at him as if he didn't understand.

"You're my escort knight."

"Is it the same for Arndt, Sir Russel, and Amelia?"

"They're all people who came to Hartmann. So I think it's only right that I protect them all... Did you hear everything earlier?"

"Yes."

"Oh, damn."

Arenheit, scratching his head vigorously, firmly promised.

"Forget everything you heard. I won't exchange you for the mine. I have no idea what the Crown Prince is thinking. So,"

"Your Grace tries to protect everyone."

"Huh?"

"Not just me, but when you have others by your side, you try to ensure the well-being of all of them."

Leandros realized that his words were coming out vaguely.

But at this point, what did it matter whether his words were clear or blurry?

Arenheit, and the one he had seen in the north.

"I was entrusted with Your Grace by the Duchess, and yet."

He had killed himself so many times.

Acting as if the world would turn upside down if an escort knight changed allegiance, yet treating his own death as if it were nothing.

Waves of confusion spread across Arenheit's face.

"Sir Leandros."

"If I'm here, wouldn't Your Grace try to protect me again and again?"

"No, that's not what I meant."

"And the same would be true for others besides me, wouldn't it?"

"Sir."

Leandros looked at Arenheit, who had died seventeen times.

Was this the whole Arenheit standing here, or an Arenheit deteriorated with each death?

Could this Arenheit be considered identical to the original Arenheit?

Then where was the Arenheit he was supposed to protect?

"If there's no one by Your Grace's side, wouldn't Your Grace no longer need to die?"

Leandros truly missed the original Arenheit.