Chapter 36: Chapter 36
Chapter 36 - Demon Followers
The man who had brought the carriage to a stop walked toward where Ferda was.
He pulled out something he had been hiding.
Ferda was about to fire the sphere of Mana wrapped around his hand.
But he didn’t.
Just as the Mana Sphere was about to fly, Ferda stopped.
What the man held was not a weapon, but a piece of cloth.
"The Emperor has betrayed the trust of his subjects!"
The carriage had been ambushed for the sake of a protest.
"He ignores the suffering of his subjects while stuffing his own belly and continuing his incompetent rule! Those who suck the lifeblood from us are not children of the light!"
The man’s actions drew everyone’s attention exactly as he had intended.
Captain of the Knights Marco shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.
"What are you all doing?! Suppress him at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers carrying weapons climbed onto the carriage, dragged the protester down, and immediately began beating him with clubs.
"Agh! Agh! People of the Empire, rise up! We are not slaves!"
"You bastard! Shut your mouth!"
The man was beaten mercilessly before being taken away.
Blood streamed down his body as he was dragged away from the main street.
The people standing in the Imperial Capital turned away as though nothing had happened and simply continued on their way.
"Ha ha... My apologies. You had to witness such an unpleasant sight."
Captain Marco apologized.
He smiled, trying to brush the entire incident aside.
Rather than returning the smile, Ferda kept his eyes on the man being taken away.
"Who was that man? He looked wronged."
"He looked wronged? You mustn’t be deceived by appearances. They’re Demon Followers."
"Demon Followers?"
"Yes."
Marco answered with a serious expression.
"Now that we’ve entered a golden age, demons have begun making their move. They constantly slander His Majesty the Emperor with baseless agitation."
That was Marco’s explanation.
But Ferda knew.
And Marco himself knew as well.
’That man wasn’t a Demon Follower.’
At the very least, he looked like someone who hadn’t eaten properly for three days.
He had been starving.
With nothing left he could do, he had desperately come out and shouted those accusations with his life on the line.
Ferda decided to react no differently than any other noble.
"I see."
He neither acted surprised as though he hadn’t known nor gave any sign that he understood.
Ferda merely gestured as though he had no interest whatsoever.
That was the only way to put them at ease.
The surprise protest was crushed, and the carriage began moving again.
Looking out at the prosperous scenery of the capital, Ferda fell into thought.
’Is this really the kind of Empire that should exist?’
In truth, Ferda didn’t particularly care.
Whether it collapsed, continued to rot away, or was consumed by revolution.
He was content to let events take their natural course.
But Valdrova was different.
Who was that woman?
She possessed a body that had endured countless brutal battlefields while protecting the Cerdes Continent, yet her heart was as delicate as a flower raised in a greenhouse.
She was a pure woman who wished for everyone to be happy.
From her perspective, the Empire’s actions were evil and utterly unacceptable.
’Yet she doesn’t act.’
Because she devoted herself solely to her duty of stopping monsters.
And forcing someone like her to deal with such complicated political affairs would be nothing short of cruelty.
’What happens inside the Empire is my responsibility.’
Ferda had to make the decision for Valdrova’s sake.
That was why he had written three letters.
Every one of them was trash.
Trying to determine which one was merely the lesser evil was a fool’s errand.
’I’d rather roll a die.’
Those three letters became Ferda’s substitute for a die.
He would simply go with whoever reached out first.
That was all.
The carriage entered the Imperial Palace, and Ferda stepped out.
Massive granite pillars.
A magnificent palace.
Everything was so impossibly enormous that it truly looked like the dwelling place of gods.
The Imperial Royal Guards stood in formation to welcome their guest.
At the end of the line stood one who had inherited truly extraordinary blood, waiting to greet Ferda.
The instant Ferda saw that person, his expression stiffened.
No way.
That can’t be possible.
Those words of denial desperately tried to block the reality unfolding before him.
’The one I deliberately didn’t choose... is the one who appears...’
After all, the person who had come to receive Ferda was not the Emperor.
Nor was it the First Prince.
Nor the Second Prince.
"Greetings, Regent Valdrova."
It was the Imperial Princess of the Arken Empire—
The one to whom he had deliberately never sent a letter.
"I am Olivia Arken."
It was Olivia Arken.
"It is an honor to meet Your Imperial Highness."
Ferda instinctively bowed in courtesy.
Even with his head lowered, he still felt as though he remained trapped within an enormous hand.
’Fate.’
According to Mana Fatalism, all Mana is determined by fate.
Lately, Ferda had found himself thinking a great deal about fate.
And so, at this very moment, he wondered—
Could fate truly be predetermined?
The fact that the Imperial Princess, to whom he had not even sent a single letter, was the one responding...
’As I thought...’
His suspicion gradually became conviction.
’It seems the Empire is fated to fall.’
Olivia Arken.
***
The woman known as the Golden Rose of the Empire was breathtakingly beautiful.
Golden hair.
Blue eyes.
Her ample chest and slender waist, inherited from her mother, captivated the hearts of men.
Her innocent gaze and gentle manner awakened the instinct to protect her.
She radiated such irresistible charm that even stripped of her royal status, she would still be a woman any man would desire.
Any man would surely dream of being personally attended to by Olivia Arken.
"I wasn’t sure what to prepare for you, so I’ve brought my favorite tea. I hope it suits your taste."
Olivia offered him a teacup with an apologetic smile.
"His Majesty the Emperor and my elder brothers are occupied with official duties, so I came personally instead. I hope you weren’t offended by that."
She lowered her head slightly before looking up at him with her blue eyes.
She wore the expression of a pitiful young girl.
In reality, they weren’t busy with official duties at all.
They had simply discarded Ferda’s letter as something beneath their notice.
The Imperial Princess had merely seized the opportunity.
"Not at all. It is an honor to meet Olivia Arken, the woman renowned as the greatest beauty on the Cerdes Continent."
They were words he didn’t mean in the slightest.
"Thank you for saying so. I’m still lacking, but I’ll do my best to guide our conversation."
Olivia smiled warmly and lightly clenched her fist, as if encouraging them both to do their best.
"I heard that you wish to attend the Grand Ducal Council. Do you happen to know where it’s held?"
"Yes. The absolute domain of the White Dragon, Blancaros—better known as the White House, is it not?"
"That’s correct."
It was the absolute neutral territory created by the White Dragon Blancaros, Lord of Order and Creation.
A place where wars were mediated and matters concerning the entire continent were discussed.
’Once, my own name was discussed there as well.’
The Grand Ducal Council almost never discussed individuals.
Its attention was focused on nations and organizations.
Yet Ferda himself had once become the subject of discussion there.
Had the Grand Ducal Council branded him as an enemy, Ferda would undoubtedly have been declared a Public Enemy and subjected to relentless condemnation.
Even someone like Ferda, who grew stronger through hardship, would never have survived that.
Yet somehow, he had escaped.
’The Arken Emperor.’
The Emperor had proven useful in many ways.
Though he appeared incompetent, whenever his own power was involved, he became frighteningly shrewd.
The Emperor had sided with Ferda.
In return, Ferda had firmly reinforced the Emperor’s hold on the throne.
"Only officials of ducal rank or above may attend the Grand Ducal Council. Since your spouse, Lady Valdrova, is the Grand Duchess and, moreover, the Red Dragon, you may participate as her representative, Mr. Ferda!"
"People won’t look favorably upon someone attending as a representative. Is that really acceptable?"
"Hmm... Well, it’s hard to say. Things are always changing. As you know, dragons are impossible to predict."
The moment she finished speaking, Olivia suddenly covered her mouth in surprise.
"Oh dear, I just spoke ill of them. I didn’t mean to!"
"It’s fine. Please continue."
"U-Um... Well... The regular attendees are Lord Silverwind, Lord Orosagrado, Lord Iorga, and Lord Storeus."
The Silver Dragon, Lord of Steel and Wind.
The Gold Dragon, Lord of Faith and Light.
The Blue Dragon, Lord of Magic and Water.
The Thunder Dragon, Lord of Storms and Lightning.
’The one who appoints a human instead of a Dragon Spawn must be the Gold Dragon, Orosagrado.’
Orosagrado was the dragon who had established his Holy Kingdom in the central-western region.
He himself was the object of worship.
Since anyone could believe in him directly, he had never created Dragon Spawn.
"Thank you for your answer."
"No, I should be the one thanking you."
Olivia’s eyebrows curved gracefully.
"It is a tremendous source of strength for our Empire that the husband of the Grand Duchess will be attending."
"I’m only serving as Regent for now. I don’t possess such status."
"But once you marry Her Highness the Grand Duchess, won’t that position naturally become yours as well?"
"Even after the marriage, I’ll remain only the Regent."
"Oh? Why is that?"
Olivia covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"I did not come here in pursuit of power. I stand in this position solely to look after the Grand Duchy."
"Ah, I see. Um... yes..."
In that fleeting instant, Olivia’s eyes became sharp.
But it was gone just as quickly, and she returned to her soft, cheerful demeanor as though it had all been an illusion.
"You’re truly devoted to your wife. I wish I could meet a husband like you someday."
Olivia let out a long sigh.
"You see, His Majesty the Emperor—my father—doesn’t seem to want me to get married. Everyone else has already had their marriages arranged, but I’m still all alone... It’s so depressing."
She pouted her lips, pretending to cry as she gazed at him with affectionate eyes.
Every gesture implied that perhaps someone like him could become her partner.
Of course, none of it had the slightest effect on Ferda.
"I’m sure you will. A good relationship often arrives when you least expect it."
"Hehe, thank you. Even just hearing you say that makes me happy."
Having learned what he needed about the Grand Ducal Council, Ferda decided to move on to his real purpose.
"On my way here today, I saw people the Empire calls Demon Followers attack my carriage."
"Oh my, really? How frightening..."
Olivia trembled slightly.
"I’ve heard things have become quite dangerous lately. I used to sneak out with the maids to buy snacks, but they said demons have been growing more active, so security has become much stricter."
"The situation has certainly deteriorated."
"But we are under the protection of the great light of Alte! As long as that light watches over the Emperor, nothing can threaten the Empire."
She sounded like a woman with flowers blooming inside her head.
"But such dissidents are like monsters. If they aren’t dealt with in time, they contaminate the land and leave it beyond saving."
"Hmm... I do agree with that. For the sake of protecting our subjects, the Demon Followers must be eradicated."
Olivia nodded with a tense expression.
At that moment, Ferda made her a proposal.
It was time to lay the foundation of his plan.
"Then why not use this opportunity to eliminate those Demon Followers?"
"I wish we could... but we’ve searched every corner of the Empire trying to find their hideout, and we’ve found nothing."
It wasn’t so much that the Empire’s soldiers were incompetent.
Rather, the Empire itself was simply far too vast.
Unless they launched coordinated raids across multiple locations at once, suppressing such an organization would be extremely difficult.
That was precisely why Ferda had come prepared.
"Recently, we also found a Demon Follower in our territory. This was discovered among his belongings."
Ferda took out a sheet of paper wrapped in cloth and placed it on the table.
Unknown characters were written across it.
Without hesitation, Olivia picked it up and examined it.
"What... exactly is this?"
"It’s the Demon Language."
"Eek!"
Olivia cried out in surprise and dropped the paper.
As though it were something filthy, she hurriedly wiped her hands with a perfume-scented handkerchief.
"Why would something written in the Demon Language... Only Demon Followers should be able to use something like this, right?"
"Yes. I showed it to the scribe at our castle, and he identified it as the Demon Language. As for deciphering it, that should be left to a Magic Investigator."
Olivia stared down at the sheet covered in Demon Language, her face sinking into deep thought.
The innocent, carefree girl she had appeared to be just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
She understood that this was no time to play the fool or hide behind a sweet façade.
After a moment’s consideration, Olivia quietly raised her hand.
The Butler, who had been standing behind her like a folding screen, bowed his head.
"Your orders, Your Highness."
"Summon a Magic Investigator immediately. This is an urgent matter."
***
Demons were a forbidden existence throughout the Cerdes Continent, with no exceptions.
For that reason, very few people could remain composed when confronted with the Demon Language.
Within the Empire, only the Magic Investigators—who specialized in heresy and demonic arts—and the senior Scholars who preserved and researched all such knowledge possessed that capability.
The man who introduced himself as the Magic Investigator Yuren looked at the paper Ferda had handed him and spoke with a grave expression.
"This is... unquestionably the Demon Language."
"Oh my..."
Olivia let out a quiet gasp.
Although her body trembled slightly, her eyes did not waver in the slightest.
"Do you also know what it means?"
"Yes. It indicates a location. And that place is..."
Yuren pulled a map from his Spatial Storage Magic and spread it open before pointing to a specific spot.
"It refers precisely to the inner section of the underground sewer beneath the Imperial Capital."
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