33-

Greetings sir, I am the finance officer for the Six Horse Carriages, you can just call me Thatch. I heard that you have something important to discuss with us, is that correct?"

I sat opposite the extravagant desk in the office of the trade company. I looked at the man wearing gla.s.ses and a long-robe sitting before me, smiling as he looked at me. I waited for a moment, then took out the two coins and placed them on the table. He looked at me surprised and then said with a smile: "If you wish to exchange your currency, you should visit a money changer instead."

"No, you should know what this implies."

I leaned my torso over, pointed at the two coins and softly said: "These are bronze coins, aren't they? Castor's new silver coins…"

He continued to look at me calmly. He waved his hand feigning ignorance, smiled and asked: "What may you be talking about?"

"Quit acting, Mr Thatch. Your trading company was sent here on orders of the ruler of Castor to seize the coins, am I right? You insist that you don't do business with Castor, yet I saw someone selling eels with your wooden barrels. Your company has also constantly been spreading the news that the value of Castor's currency was going to rise, yet the new Castor silver coins are made of bronze. What you're trying to pull here is very obvious."

Thatch looked at me through his gla.s.ses and was caught completely surprised. He then stood up, walked up to the window and drew the curtain. The room went dark. There was only the light coming from the fireplace. I noticed that Nier had already placed her hand on her sword handle. I gently shook my head and continued to watch Thatch.

Thatch stood by the bedside, and did some thinking while pinching his chin. A moment later, he turned around, smiled as he looked at me and said: "There's a price for everything in this world. How much do you want to keep the secret? Please offer me a price that we both can accept. One hundred empire gold coins or two hundred?"

I placed my hands on the table, looked at him, shook my head and said: "Thatch, I don't lack wealth. I'm not threatening you, but saving your country of Castor. The empress has already begun preparations to attack Castor. Your people are at risk."

"So will you save us?"

"No. I'm giving you a way out. To be frank, you people aren't related to me, but I saw the empress kill people before my eyes, I can't stand that. I can't stand helplessly watching people die before me. I know your country's financial situation is poor. If you could return to Castor to inform your king, and then get him to send someone here to negotiate with us, I believe we can reach a plausible conclusion."

Becoming a va.s.sal state is better than getting slaughtered! As a va.s.sal state they just need to pay half of their annual income, but getting conquered would mean their people would have nowhere to go. If we can talk it out then we can avoid a war. I don't want to let more people die before my eyes. I'm not Castor's hero. I just want to use a method that will allow both countries to get the best outcome with minimal repercussions.

Thatch looked at me confused. A second later, he revealed a smile, paused for a moment and said: "Sir, I don't know who you happen to be, but this matter is none of your business. Castor has the ability to protect itself. Our king has already prepared the war ships to sail out. We don't care about the lives of any others."

"Are you people insane?!"

I stared at him absolutely stunned. If they decide to fight to their very last man, then I'll reveal my ident.i.ty right now, salute them and give up persuading them. A country must hold heroic funerals for its heroes. If I try to persuade a group of men who'd rather die fighting than submit, then I'm essentially insulting them.

But they're ditching their own people and fleeing! The king may survive, but what about the peasants? What will become of his people? You're feeding yourself and letting the rest of your family starve. Your people will definitely be slaughtered! Her majesty was nearly killed by another ethnic group, and there's only one ethnic group in the empire now. There's no way she'll allow another ethnicity to exist in her territory.

"Please return. We, Castor will not submit."

"You people aren't heroes. You're cowards!"

"The people will always exist, but there is only one king. Men, see our guest out!"

The door got pulled open violently. Nier drew her sword half-way out and the two men dressed in military clothing watched us vigilantly. Nier stood between us coldly with her half-drawn sword in hand. I looked at Thatch, took in a deep breath and then said: "It looks like our negotiations have broken down. I won't be considerate of your king in my next moves. Please wait for your bad news."

"How dare you speak such words in enemy territory?"

Thatch looked at me with a cold smile. I fearlessly stood proud and said: "Would you believe me if I told you that your mercenaries are no match for my bodyguard?"

Nier completely drew her sword and so did the two mercenaries. The atmosphere was set for a fight. Many mercenaries from outside rushed over and blocked the door. Nier looked at them coldly and silently. She wasn't the least bit afraid. I looked at Thatch, folded my arms and asked: "Thatch, you better think this through. You're in the territory of the empire. You're the ones who are in enemy territory. Putting aside whether you can win or not, how will you deal with the troops that will come and surround this place if we fight?"

Thatch looked at us coldly. I looked back at him without backing down. Nier swept her eyes over the mercenaries surrounding us. The mercenaries were frozen in place by Nier's gaze and didn't dare to move.

"… Let them go."

A second later, Thatch waved his hands, while I pat Nier on her shoulder and she sheathed her sword. I bowed slightly and then turned around to leave.

The negotiation failed.

I thought Castor did what they did for their people. It never occurred to me that it was for a king. Their king ruined the financial situation of such a great city to this degree and now he's fleeing as a war is about to break out. For what reason would anyone serve such a king loyally? I didn't want to save a coward. I wanted to save the innocent citizens.

If a war breaks out, the king can run, but the people will die not knowing what they died for.

I still have a trump card. They wouldn't have ever seized all the Castor coins if their currency depreciated before this fiasco, but as soon as I leave, they will. However, I have the resources of the royal family. I just need to go back and order them to forbid Castor coins from leaving the city, get someone to prove that Castor's currency will depreciate and everything will work out.

This is now a race between Castor and I. If I collect enough Castor coins, I can get the king of Castor to come over here. I'll bet the king is a coward who'll do anything if you put money before him.

Nier and I quickly reached the markets. I looked at Nier and said: "Nier, I need you to immediately rush back to the palace and tell Castell what we know. Get him to use all his available resources to seize the Castor coins. Also, notify her majesty. Ask her to pa.s.s down an order that forbids anybody from taking large volumes of Castor coins out of the country. All Castor coins are to be exchanged for empire coins before they may leave. Oh, right, here."

I took my pendant off, placed it into her hand, and said: "Take this with you. Otherwise those two may not believe you."

"Your majesty, aren't you coming back?"

"I can't go back. They've definitely got eyes on me already. Moreover, they've definitely begun seizing Castor coins. I'll use my ident.i.ty as the prince to stop their deal at the crucial moment. I don't know what sort of shady tricks they'll use. If we get caught together, then there's no way for us to report this. Further, you're a bodyguard so they'll definitely prioritise capturing me. I trust that you can successfully return to the palace even if they do attempt to capture you."

I know I'll be in a real pinch like this. Those mercenaries would be a bit more fearful if it were Nier. Without Nier, I'm just a powerless guy with a handgun. I'm not worried though. If both Nier and I get captured, then we're both dead meat. But as long as one of us escapes, the other will become an a.s.set that won't be killed.

It's just getting captured. Big deal.

I pat Nier on her shoulder and then said with a smile: "I believe in you, Nier. Don't worry about me. I reckon I'll get caught by them though, so I'll be waiting for you to come and rescue me when the time comes."

Nier looked at me, sighed and said: "Your majesty, you're as weak as ever, huh? But I don't get it. You're clearly incapable of doing anything, yet you're putting yourself into a precarious situation. But don't you die. If you die, I'll have to kill myself to apologise."

"This is the conclusion I reached after weighing the odds of the situation. I won't die, I promise."

I pointed at the small empty pouch on her belt, and said: "That aside, I think your candy should be delivered by now. I'll give you some when you come back for me."

Nier lowered her head to look in the direction of my finger and smiled. She then turned and swiftly left.

I watched her disappear in the crowd and helplessly smiled. I don't know how many people are following behind me, but for your information, it's pointless to capture me now.When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by darkness and I felt a throbbing pain at the back of my head which agitated my nerves. I was in complete darkness but I still felt sick from the rocking which was the equivalent of being caught in an Earthquake. I stared at the darkness around me for a long time before realising I was still alive.

I should be in the trunk of a horse carriage. I could feel the carriage rocking as well as hear the rhythm of the horse hooves. Am I being taken out of the city? No, that's not possible. These people can't possibly take me out of the city. If Nier returned to the palace, then the entire city should be on lockdown right now.

I can't believe I got jumped by the guy selling candy. I thought it was somebody else. I was struck unconscious as soon as I turned around after buying the candy. I only managed to leave behind a clue for Nier during my last moment before completely pa.s.sing out. People normally wouldn't notice it, but if it's Nier, she'll definitely notice it.

Yes, I got caught like that… There wasn't even an omen beforehand.

The wooden piece of plank I was lying on was suddenly yanked away and I screamed as I fell down. What the h.e.l.l?! Are they dumping my body?! My hands and feet were still tied, and I still had a bag over my head. If I get dumped into a lake, I'll drown for sure! Wait, wait, wait. I've been taught how to escape when tied up with rope before in cla.s.s. First, I need to…

Bang!

I fell to the ground with a thud. The air around turned incomparably damp and stinky. There was a stench as well as rust. Have I been thrown into the water?

"Take the bag off his head."

I was aggressively pulled up from the ground and pinned up to the wall. Somebody aggressively ripped the bag off my head. A man dressed in a long black robe stood before me with his head down as he pinched my chin. His gla.s.ses reflected light. I'm sure you could see the reflection even in water. I could taste blood in my throat as he yanked my head upwards. I resisted and exclaimed: "Thatch!"

"Yes, it's me."

He aggressively let go and my head slammed against the wall behind me again. It hurt so bad I almost shed a tear. Two people stood by my sides with a long sword and hammer hanging from their belts which irritated my eyes. I looked at Thatch and said: "Since we're already acquainted, how about letting me go? I won't tell anyone what I know."

"What are you talking about? Do you think I'm a r.e.t.a.r.d?"

He aggressively charged over, reached his hand out and grabbed my hair. He then pressed my face against the ground and shouted: "Where's that woman?! Where's that woman that was with you?! Where has she taken the information to, huh?! Speak! Who have you told?! Staying silent won't do jack s.h.i.t since you're dead meat. Now where's that woman?!"

Every bone in my spinal column was crying and shrieking. You readers can try it out. Tie your hands behind you, kneel on the ground and press your face to ground. I don't know if other people can do it, but I'm not that flexible. My arms felt like they were getting ripped off behind my back. I grit my teeth tightly. I don't know where I got the courage from, but I cracked up laughing.

"Don't kid yourself, mister. You don't have the guts to kill me."

It looks like I've got myself a death wish. But our soldiers have never submitted and would rather die than sell out, a fact which has remained consistent throughout history. I'm Chinese after all. I'm usually weak, but I'm no pushover when I get interrogated by the enemy.

He let go of my head and followed up with a kick causing my forehead to smash into a grey brick. After the thud, I almost pa.s.sed out from the impact. He grabbed my hair and lifted my head. He moved his face closer to mine and viciously said: "I don't have the guts to kill you? What the f.u.c.k gives you that idea?!"

"Because… Because you don't know where Nier went. You don't know what the consequences of killing me are, and there's no point in killing me because the news is already going around. Oh, and now you're guilty of kidnap as well. Would you rather be accused of murder instead of kidnapping, and get decapitated instead of just a prison sentence for the king of Castor who's so far away? Further, if Nier hasn't arrived yet, shouldn't you be more concerned with finding out from me where we've taken the information to?"

He huffed and puffed as he looked at me furiously. It's pointless for him to kill me. My ident.i.ty is a mystery to him. If he killed me and I turned out to be the son of an important retainer, the consequences would be severe. What's more, the news has already been pa.s.sed on, so I hold no value. Killing me would only add to their troubles. Lastly, only I know where Nier went.

He aggressively let go. My gut was throbbing and I didn't have the energy to stop myself from chucking up. I gave a cold laugh and lifted my head up to look at him. I was feeling light-headed and my eyes were heavy, but they had no reason to kill me.

"I can't kill you? You should just fess up. Your funeral will be held after I meet my superior. n.o.body will know if you die here. Lock him up in the dungeon and then find out where my superior is!"

Present time inside the palace.

"Is it his majesty's order?"

Castell looked at the pendant in his hand and then nodded. He handed the pendant back to Nier and said: "I understand. I will go and make the preparations now."

"Understood."

Nier took back the pendant, turned around and headed towards the inner court. Castell watched her white cape disappear when she turned the corner. He then clapped his hands and a few people who looked like merchants appeared from the shadows. They looked at Castell. Castell scanned them, then laughed and said: "Did you people see his majesty get kidnapped?"

"We did, and we also know where he was taken to. Do you want to go save him? Her majesty will favour you even more if you save him."

"No."

Castell stretched his hand out to stop them. He then smiled and said: "Saving her son is something her majesty needs to do herself. We as servants shouldn't fight her for the credit."

"What of his majesty's safety then?"

"They won't dare to kill his majesty. I trust that they'll go and ask their superiors for their input. When their superiors find out that they kidnapped the prince, they will probably wet themselves out of fear. I think that those old farts will immediately kill their own men, erase all their traces and then vanish, while the others won't kill his majesty until they receive orders to do so. Instead of getting ourselves involved in such a meaningless matter, why not seize a few more trunks of coins instead? Take some men to go raid the Six Horse Carriages trade company. Fight them if you must to seize the coins. After that, spend some money at the money changers to collect their coins. We have the national treasury supporting us so don't worry about spending, understood?"

"Understood!!"

The merchants left and Castell sat back into his chair. He played with the gold coin in his hand and fell into a daze as he looked at the empress's face print on the coin.

Present time at some place.

"Hurry. Hurry you fatty. Get your stuff and let's go. Her majesty should've caught wind of it by now. We don't have heads to spare!!"

"I know! I know! It's just that I can't get my sword out…"

"I told you not to slash his chest and to slash his gut instead, but you wouldn't listen. Let me do it… Look, I got it!"

"My, my, you really are a soldier. But what are we going to do with this moron, Thatch's corpse?"

"Aren't they just a bunch of corpses? Shove some weapons in their hands and pa.s.s it off as an internal conflict, now let's go!"

"Okay, okay, okay."

Present time at the inner court.

The empress calmly looked at Nier and drew her sword. She then stepped outside her room and clapped her hands.

"What is it, your majesty?"

"Alice, gather the second Valkyrie squad under your command and begin a search in the city. Kill anybody who's interacted with Castor's people. Also, lock the city down and order the guards to search every property. Kill anyone who doesn't cooperate. Nier, take a team of Valkyries and find the prince's whereabouts. I will allow you to ride your horse in the city. It doesn't matter if you trample people to death. Pa.s.s my orders on. Order Kurt to prepare his platoon and notify the army at the border that we will attack Castor in a few days' time. Spare no one from Castor. Slaughter them all."

"Roger!"

Alice nodded, and then turned around and left.

"Roger!"

Nier who was kneeling on one knee, got up, unsheathed her sword and left.

The empress took in a deep breath and shouted: "Bring me my steed! I'll dig up the entire city if that's what it takes to see my son! If something happens to my son, I'll erase Castor from this world!!"Ugh…"

I was quivering all over as I crawled along the ground. That kick he gave me to my gut hurt so bad I couldn't even groan. I could taste the blood running down my mouth. I was feeling wheezy. If it weren't for my body being in pain all over, I probably would've pa.s.sed out already.

"Far out, it would've been much better if we captured that woman instead. We have things we need to do too. What are we going to do with a guy? What else can we do besides beating him up?"

The two mercenaries rubbed their fists and feet as they complained. I struggled to sit up from the ground and huffed and puffed as I leaned against the wall. I know what I did was the equivalent of digging my own grave. I let Nier go so that I could be captured because if I get captured, they'll never leave the imperial capital. And if they can't leave, then they can't take the coins out of the country. They don't have the guts to kill me either. Thatch has been for a long time and hasn't come back.

Either Nier or I had to be captured. The time that it'd take us both to return to the palace to report to Castell and the empress would give them ample time to pack up and leave. There had to be someone who'd stall them and it couldn't be Nier, since she's the only one who can get away unscathed while I'd end up captured half-way there.

"Alright, let's go again."

The two mercenaries came over towards me again. I forced a smile. While I wasn't going to get beaten to death, it wasn't like I was getting hit with cotton b.a.l.l.s or something. The two of them bashed me viciously. A single punch from them made my entire body jerk. Unfortunately for you two, you're facing a man from a race that gave birth to countless heroes since ancient times. Regardless of how painful it is, I won't…

What the h.e.l.l am I talking about?! I could just tell them that I'm the prince and this would be over!

Can this be considered as me having protected Nier…?

Probably not. It'd be more accurate to say I offered myself up. My relationship with Nier can't be considered good, can it? Nier ha.s.s pointed her sword at my throat so many times despite me being the prince of a nation. I've been treated sarcastically and even been encouraged to kill myself by her countless times. But why do I never get angry at Nier?

I spat out a liquid which came from my gut. I don't know what it b.l.o.o.d.y is. It carried with it the taste of blood and my anguish. My body was sent flying to another corner and then crashing into the wall.

Yeah… How come I don't get mad at Nier? Why do I stand up for Nier? Why do I apologise to Nier? Nier is always sarcastic with me, despises me and mocks me, but why is it that I can't get mad at her? I don't like her or love her, because I know I love Lucia.

But why? In that moment, I was recalling that time we were on the street where Nier knelt down on one knee with a thud.

"Welcome home, your majesty! I, Nier Gilliante, am here to welcome you into the city!"

That's right…

I have a home here too…

I was stunned by her emerald eyes in that moment, and I was touched by her background. I've never come across a girl like Nier before. Am I just curious about her, or have I considered her a family member?

"Mr Thatch still hasn't returned. How should we deal with him? I'm worried he'll die if we keep beating him up."

"So what? How about we just kill him and be done with it? He's probably going to end up dead anyway. I've had enough down in these sewers. Let's just kill him and get out of here." I heard the sound of a long sword being drawn.

Ah, I'm really sorry.

I thought wrong.

Thatch may not dare to kill me, but these barbarians don't care about that much. That's right. I really will die since Thatch has left.

Sorry, Lucia… I can't return to you. I couldn't even die with your pendant in hand. I sighed and shut my eyes. I've already died once, so I'm not scared of dying a second time. Who knows, maybe this is a world where I'll be resurrected in mom's arms.

I quietly muttered: "Mom…"

I felt the tears from my eyes run down my face which had turned numb.

What a mistake…

I shut my eyes and waited.

I suddenly heard a loud explosion sound in front of me. A few stones landed on my face and clean air blew towards me, bringing the smell of dust and moss with it. I opened my eyes and was surprised to see a white cape in-between myself and the mercenaries. The mercenary before me had a blade through his body.

His body pulsated a few times and fell to one side. Nier expressionlessly whipped her sword to get rid of the blood on it. Her stunning yet compa.s.sionless eyes were trained on me. A light from the hole she jumped down from shone through and illuminated the dust as well as her beautiful face. She was the only light down in these dark sewers, shining brightly like an angel.

Nier knelt down on one knee, looked at me and said: "I apologise for my tardiness."

"Nier…"

"Please don't call me in a sobbing tone like that. As a prince, you must maintain your dignity at all times."

"Behind you…"

Nier reversed her sword in her hand and slashed behind her. A spurt of blood was seen in the air once again and its scent started to fill the air. Nier slashed off the mercenary's entire torso. She kicked his corpse away, sheathed her sword into its scabbard and said: "I sincerely apologise, your majesty. I killed without you giving prior permission."

"No, it's fine…"

I used my last ounce of strength to sit up and looked at her with a smile. She paused before frowning and said: "Please don't look at me with such a disgusting smile!"

"I'm sorry…"

I lowered my head, not because I thought I was disgusting, but because I seriously had no energy left to raise my head. Nier walked up to my side and untied me. She then knelt behind me and didn't move. I didn't have the strength to say anything. But right now… I honestly feel really safe.

Really.

"I-It's good that you're alright."

Am I imagining things because I'm hurt too severely? Why do I hear Nier whispering?! Nier didn't give me a chance to be surprised. She piggy-backed me and shouted. Two people jumped down from the hole that was created by the explosion, and then somebody up top helped to pull me up and out of the sewers.

I see, they opened a hole from the street.

"Your majesty!! Your majesty!!"

I heard somebody's cries from my side. A pet.i.te figure came running over and hugged me. I struggled to open my heavy eyes and noticed Luna who was down by my chest. I laughed lifelessly, reached my hand out and pat her on the head.

"I'm alright…"

Nier from behind me uninterestedly said: "You're so lucky to still be alive after being beaten up like this. You really are weak, your majesty. If it were her majesty, forget two men, she'd kill her way out even if there were two-hundred men. Carry his majesty back carefully, and call a doctor to be on stand-by."

"Your majesty!!"

Hey, hey, hey, you people got an injured person on a stretcher here!! Could you please not toss me onto the ground so excitedly at the sound of horse hooves?! I got tossed onto the ground again and puked again.

But before I could complain, I was pulled tightly into an embrace. Her body was very warm. Warm to the point that it helped me relax, and so comfortable my eyelids didn't want to move. She was shivering. She was shivering with fear. She held me tightly in her embrace with her strong arms as though I'd vanish if she loosened up.

"Son… My son… I… I was so worried about you… I… I… I was so scared… Son… Son… I… I was so scared…"

Is this the empress?

I've never seen the empress cry before.

Her voice was cracking. Her tears were landing on my forehead and her body was shivering from fear. Everything was like when I just arrived in this world where I was up against the Earth Dragons.

Her reaction was the same as mom's reaction.

"Son… I beg you… Please be alright… Son… I beg you… I'm so scared… You're my only child… As long as you're alright… As long as you're alright…"

Ah…

Right…

Her majesty… Regardless of how tyrannical and bloodthirsty she may be, she's still my mother nonetheless.

This sort of compa.s.sion and love is something only a mom would possess. Only a mother would react like this when she sees that her child has been hurt. She wasn't the empress in that moment, but a mother who was concerned for her child.

"I'm okay… Mom…"

I mustered up all my strength to lift my arm up and lightly place it on mom's back. Mom jerked her body when I touched her, and then she burst out crying.

That's right…

She's also my mom…Kurt, how are the preparations for the army I asked for coming along?"

The conference chamber is rarely used at night. Back before the country became stable, the empress however, did often hold meetings with her retainers late at night. However, after attaining peace, conferences were only held during the day unless there was something that needed to be discussed with the utmost urgency. The empress was capable of handling anything else.

However, all the major retainers were gathered in the conference chamber this time. The empress dressed in her battle attire and equipped her Commander Sabre once again.

That meant that she was waging war, and that she was personally taking to the frontlines.

Kurt knew that his head would roll instantly if he said preparations weren't ready. The empress's tone was very calm, but the calmer she is, the scarier she is. When the empress gets mad, she throws things and beats people, but when she gets extremely angry, she becomes quiet instead.

"Your majesty, the preparations are complete."

"What about the troops by the border?"

"They've been ordered to move as fast as they can and should arrive in two days." Kurt raised his head, looked at the empress and continued: "Your majesty, I do not think you need to personally join the front lines. You are our great empress. It is not right for you to personally join the fray for such a small scale battle. We… We are not back at the time where we were establishing our empire. It is fine for you to stay in the rear."

"Castor's people kidnapped my son. I must personally raze Castor to the ground. I've changed my mind. I don't need a port or trade centre river delta. I want to conquer a scorched land. I want that place to be cursed by the G.o.ds! You've captured all the Castor people in the city, right? All those with the blood of Castor in them have been captured, correct? Good. Concoct wine from their blood for me before we set out!!! Oh, right, right, right. I want to use the skull of Castor's envoy as my cup of wine!"

The empress took out a dagger and violently stabbed it onto map lying on the table. Her domineering voice was like a bell roaring in everybody's ears. Her anger spread throughout the entire chamber and not one person dared to raise their head. Even the candles stopped swaying as though it was their version of bowing their heads out of fear.

A voice from outside broke the oppressive atmosphere in the conference chamber: "Your majesty! His majesty has arrived!"

"My son?!"

The empress got surprised, quickly sat down on her thrown and shouted: "Make way for his majesty!!"

The retainers kneeling on the ground moved aside. Nier helped me into the conference chamber. My chest was still in a bit of pain. I was told my internal organs got injured, but I honestly don't trust the medical skills of humanity's doctors. They made me have a venesection in my injured state! Were you people trying to kill me?! You can't just perform a venesection because of a blood clot!

Luckily Luna was there. Luna is an elf and was a priest of a temple in a small village so she could use healing magic. It was thanks to Luna's treatment that I healed a lot. If not for her, I wouldn't even be able to stand.

The empress ran over to me and supported me. Her domineering expression turned gentle like water. She carefully supported me and worriedly asked me: "Son, you're not well yet so don't move around excessively. Is there anything you would like to eat? I'll get someone to prepare it…. Is there something you want to say, son?"

I struggled to raise my head and smiled at mom. I then gently pushed Nier away and wobbled up to the table with the map on it. I reached my hand out, grabbed the dagger handle and tried to pull it out.

I couldn't pull it out. The empress is too strong. It's like the dagger had roots growing in the table. I couldn't even get it to budge. The empress walked up to me, looked at the retainers below and shouted: "Salute his majesty!"

"Your majesty!"

"Don't…"

I stretched my hand out… My head hurts and with you people shouting like that… Far out…

I took in a deep breath, tensed my body up so that I wouldn't end up on the floor, stood proud and looked at the retainers below. I shouted as loud as I could: "Castell!"

"Present."

Castell came forth from a direction I never expected. He looked at me and saluted me. He then smiled and said: "Your majesty, I have completed the task you asked of me. We collected a total of five chests of Castor's coins. There are no more Castor coins circulating in the imperial capital."

"Son, what's…"

"Sorry, mom… Your majesty…."

"No, just call me mom. It doesn't matter where we are, just call me mom."

The empress's eyes were shimmering. She tightly held my hands and stroked them. I looked at her and said: "Mom, if possible, please order the army to disband and pa.s.s down another order. Notify the army at the border that they don't have to be in combat status as well. You don't need to prepare to go to war either, mom. Just let those related to Castor go."

"But, I… You…"

"No, it's not like that. I don't intend on letting Castor off the hook. But the reason we've needed Castor is because of their territorial position as well as their wealth. If we raze their land, then we're essentially putting the cart before the horse… I have an idea that can turn Castor into a va.s.sal state of ours."

The empress looked at me and I could see from her eyes that she didn't believe me. But she's always let me had my way ever since I started calling her mom…. No…. I don't intend to overrule her! I don't intend to vie for power! It's just that mom has become the type of mother who'd give her child anything he asked for!

I looked at the retainers below and pointed at the table. Nier placed down two silver coins. I looked at the retainers below who still didn't dare to raise their heads, smiled and said: "As you can all see, these are Castor's silver coins. One is the version that was previously circulating while the other is a recently released version. There's no difference in terms of style between the two, regardless of whether its weight or the print on them, they're the exact same. Even their l.u.s.tre is the same. However, what you should all know is that the new silver coin isn't made from silver, but bronze."

"Bronze?!"

One of the men from the formal clothing party shouted out. Nier drew her sword. I extended my hand out to stop Nier and continued: "That's right. It's a bronze coin. What does this indicate? This indicates that Castor is struggling financially and that they've had to resort to replacing silver coins with bronze coins. That's why they needed to collect their silver coins. Now, how will they control the circulation of their silver coins? They spread rumours and said that Castor was going to increase the silver in their coins to be compet.i.tive with the empire's coins. Because of that, people started h.o.a.rding, and after that they would announce that the amount of silver was in actual fact reduced. As a result, those who h.o.a.rded the coins would've shot themselves in the foot and therefore rush to exchange their coins. They could then swap the bronze coins for silver coins at a low price. They might've then taken the silver coins and refined them using some rare metal. Using such a desperate measure to address a symptom indicates that Castor's finances are at rock-bottom, and they may possibly be deep in debt."

I almost pa.s.sed out from lack of oxygen saying so much in one breath. The empress was concerned and supported my back. I took in a few big breaths and continued: "As such, the success of their plan rides on whether or not they can re-collect all the silver coins. But now those coins are in our hands. They no longer have any money to use and will subsequently come here to beg us. When they do come, we can make them our va.s.sal state without shedding a drop of blood. The above… Cough, cough, cough!"

"Son!"

"Mom… Instead of killing the envoy, how about letting him return to report to them. The king of Castor will personally pay us a visit within three days. When he does arrive, it'll be up to you… Cough, cough…. Sorry… Mom… I'm a bit tired… I'm heading back to rest. Goodnight. Please do not ask the retainers to move."

I honestly couldn't hang in there any longer. I lowered my head and bid her goodnight. Nier then supported my shoulder as we slowly left the conference chamber.

The empress watched us from behind for a long time as we disappeared into the night before she let out a heavy sigh, and revealed a consoled smile. She then waved her hand and in her rare cheerful tone said: "You all heard what my son said. Leave now. Kurt, disband the army, and let those people go. Castell, you take over presiding over those matters."

"Understood!"

The retainers uniformly got up to prepare to depart. From behind the retainers, in a happy tone, the empress said: "Oh, right. You don't have to see me if something comes up in future. You all saw his performance. My son is now a qualified emperor."This chapter is entirely sponsored by Jonathan.

Chapter Start

"You don't know how to look after yourself. I told you to rest properly!"

Luna was slightly angry as she knelt before me. The green glowing light from her hand slowly disappeared. I let out a long sigh as my body warmed up. My sore and aching body felt like it was injected with an anaesthetic and felt very comfortable. Luna stood up and worriedly said: "I can't seem to detect… Your mana… But your blood clots and injuries are almost remedied. Please slowly heal your exterior injuries."

"Yeah… Thanks."

I'm much more relaxed around Luna now compared to before since we're both elves after all. Further, elves don't place a distinct hierarchy between themselves. However, we have to ensure that n.o.body is around when Luna heals me with her magic, otherwise Nier may forbid elves from using magic within humanity's territory.

"I'm curious as to why you insisted on staying behind. Would it not have been fine if you had both returned together? Would you not have been able to avoid getting hurt?"

I smiled weakly, looked at her and replied: "I would've if I could've. I was being considerate of two things. First, I didn't know what sort of methods they had to deal with us. If we both got caught in a death-trap, it'd be all over. If we were to split up, they'll act somewhat reserved. It's harder to capture two targets than it is to capture one. Second, there had to be someone who'd stall them. Had we both returned to the palace, they would've realised that something wasn't right, and packed up and left. Had that happened, all our efforts would've been for naught… They may look like that, but they did manage to collect three chests of silver coins. When I went there previously, all their horse carriages were ready so they could've left as soon as loaded the chests on. When I chose to stay behind, they captured me, which was the equivalent of bringing along a burden. It took time to capture me, time to drag me away and they couldn't leave with me in tow. The imperial capital has no sea routes for them to leave by, therefore they'll have to pa.s.s the patrol inspections. When they caught me, they basically trapped themselves in the imperial capital."

"But they could have left if they just killed you off, correct?"

I shook my head and replied: "I made a gamble that they wouldn't kill me. Firstly, there were two of us. If I sent Nier to report it, then their question would be, to whom did we report to, because they didn't even know our ident.i.ties. They could've learnt who they had to deal with from me. Secondly, there was no point in killing me. Nier already left. If she had reported it, it made no difference whether I was dead or alive. In fact, killing me would've only further complicated things. Thirdly, and also the most important factor was that they had no idea who I was. They had to seek the advice of their superiors before being able to do anything to me. However, he never returned in the end."

Luna nodded and looked at me sort of like she worshipped me to some degree and said: "Did you think of all that in a split moment? You are a really smart prince! But were you not worried that you would die in the sewers if Miss Gilliante could not find you?"

I smiled. That was something I was proud of.

Everything I previously mentioned was reliant on luck, especially the part about them not daring to kill me. My guess for that was almost wrong. Nier, however, was able to find me. That's something I must believe. It's not that we have interlinked hearts between lovers or something. And no, we don't have some sort of soul-calling system. It's quite simple.

I smiled at Nier who pushed the door open and said: "It's because I trust Nier."

Nier looked at me with a frown and then said: "Please don't talk about such a sick topic while you're hurt. Your trust in me isn't anything good. I saved you because, one, it's my responsibility to, and two, because I wanted you to make good on your promise…. So, where's my candy?"

Nier extended her hand out to me. I looked at her with a smile. Luna looked at us both stupefied. We didn't say anything, but the moment my eyes met Nier's, we understood what one another was thinking.

Nier looked at me and sternly said: "Your majesty, you need to thank that group of kids properly. Without them, I would've lost your traces. It was they who went down into every sewer and listened for your traces which allowed me to find you."

"Yes, I know."

"Umm… Umm… Your majesty, what… What exactly is going on? How exactly did you and Miss Gilliante…"

I turned around to look at Luna who was wearing a confused look and laughed out loud. I then pointed at the small bag hanging from Nier's belt and said: "It's simple. That should be considered my smartest move. I promised to buy Nier candy, so when I got knocked out, I tore open the bag and hung it from my belt before I lost conscious. So when they took me away, the candy b.a.l.l.s rolled out one by one. The kids, of course, wouldn't ignore the candy b.a.l.l.s on the ground. When I was thrown down into the sewers, the candy bag consequently got left on the ground. Nier followed the childrens' route and discovered I was down in the sewers."

"The kids go into the sewers in winter to avoid the cold and seek warmth, so they're familiar with every sewer. They listened in to the sounds in the sewers and found his majesty."

Nier folded her arms, looked at me and said: "I must say, you're very intelligent, your majesty. But the important fact is, the credits belong to the group of children."

"You're right. I'll go thank them once I've recovered, however… What should I gift them…?"

Nier looked at me resolutely and in a taken for granted tone asked: "How about dolls? Her majesty personally made a doll for every Valkyrie. It's our most treasured item. Don't all children like dolls?"

The image of the doll I picked out of the water last time appeared in my mind. Are you sure that's a doll? Give me a block of wood and few bits of cloth; I'll make you a doll. While a bozu bozu teru doll is considered a doll, it's completely different to the traditional concept of dolls that kids like have!!

"Mmm… Are you telling me to make dolls myself?"

"Yes."

"No, no, no, no. Only girls actually like dolls. I think it's better to just ask them what they want."

I don't think Nier can provide me with any appropriate suggestions given her life experiences… But to be honest, I don't know what to gift children either. I've given birthday gifts to boys and girls, but never to children. I think that food is the best gift for children living in the slums.

I'll bring them some empress bread next time.

Alice suddenly came in and knocked on the door. She then politely bowed at the door and shouted: "Her majesty has arrived."

The empress stood by the door with a ceramic bowl in hand and didn't dare to come in. Her face looked a bit tense. I tried to get up, but Nier extended her hand out and stopped me.

"Wha-?!"

Why?! Why?! Why did you press down on my arms and legs?! What are you people up to?! Your majesty, what are you people up to?!

"Son… You're hurt, yet… Mom hasn't done anything…. That's unbecoming of me as a mother…"

With the bowl in hand, the empress walked up to me. A weird smell came from the bowl. My warning lights were flashing red. The empress coyly sat by my side and placed the bowl to a side. I took the opportunity to check it out. There was some weird stuff I'd never seen before floating around in the bowl. The entire bowl was a dangerous tinge of purple… You tell me! Tell me why there's a bowl of purple soup! Even seaweed and egg soup doesn't turn purple!!

"I… I… Personally went to the kitchen… And made you a bowl of soup…. I recovered immediately after I had one bowl when I caught the cold last time… I'll feed you. You just have to eat."

Mom stroked my head and then lifted the bowl up with a smile I can't describe. Alice and Nier pressed down on me harder, and Nier's eyes said: "If you don't drink it, I'll hack you to pieces"

I don't have a cold, I'm injured!! I don't have a cold!! Are you sure that's edible?! Save me! No! Actually, just leave me alone! Don't! Don't!

"Open your mouth, son. Aah~"

"Ah…"

After that…

I pa.s.sed out…Alice sat in the water, comfortably stretched her back and said: "Fuah… Having a bath feels great after finishing a job…"

Nier, who was sitting across from her captain, combed her hair into a bun and dipped it into the bath.

The Valkyries' bathroom is for public use. While they were for public use, a few baths had written instructions on them. Alice is the squad captain while Nier is the sword instructor. Only the two of them were permitted to use the largest bath and didn't have to clean up. The two of them bathed in the water, listening to the water gently bubble as well as the laughs of the Valkyries behind them. The beautiful bodies of the girls were partially hidden and partially revealed by the water. The place was simply heaven for guys.

But that's if there weren't long swords placed by the edges of the baths.

Alice picked up a gla.s.s of beer by the side, and shouted loudly to all the Valkyries in the water: "It's been tough on you all."

The Valkyries paused for a moment and then shouted in unison: "Long live her majesty!"

"Long live her majesty!"

Nier's voice was slightly slower than the rest. Alice smiled and swam over to Nier's side, pat her on her shoulder and asked: "Nier, my dear child, is something bothering you?"

"No…" Nier shook her head and took in a deep breath before dipping her head into the water and blowing bubbles. Alice smiled, then looked at the Valkyries behind her entering the baths one by one and said: "How many did you all kill in the previous mission? How many sc.u.ms from Castor did you kill during that opportunity?"

"Fifteen!"

"Sixteen!"

"Seventeen… It's all because the places I got a.s.signed to weren't good!"

"Twenty one!"

"Don't bring up your twenty one. You just added in the random guys you killed!"

"I didn't count!"

The Valkyries happily played around in the baths. If that place were the bathroom of normal girls, they wouldn't be talking about such a b.l.o.o.d.y topic. To them, killing is something to be proud of, a form of glory. They don't have any topics to discuss. But as soon as it's about this sort of subject, they chat about it excitedly the same way normal girls talk about crushes and loves.

"Puah…"

Nier popped her head out the water, shook her hair and breathed out. Alice looked at her with a smile and hushed her. She then pat Nier on her shoulder and said: "Let's hear Instructor Nier's battle achievements. Nier is the most skilled with the sword, and this whole event was revolved around the prince. Nier, you must've killed a fair lot, huh?"

"Instructor!"

Nier rubbed her neck and said: "I… Two."

"Th-Then what about when you started being around the prince?"

"Two… Wait, no. Three…"

Nier shrugged and said: "His majesty ordered me not to kill casually, so I can't draw my sword whenever I'm in his presence. When people go after his majesty, he doesn't get angry either, so I can't kill anyone."

Everybody fell into a silence. Alice was silent for a moment too, but then asked: "Nier, is his majesty really that weak?"

"Yeah. Very. Weak."

Nier stood up, and the water on her body dripped into the pool. She looked startled as she looked at the drops of water run down her body. What it should've been, were drops of blood.

Nier got out of the bath, picked up her towel to cover herself, then turned round to look at Alice and said: "Captain, give me a few people. I want to sharpen my blade."

Alice nodded and replied: "Alright."

A while later, the two of them arrived at the Valkyries' training grounds. The Valkyries' training grounds are also located in the palace, hidden in the forests behind the lake. No one really knows how many corpses are buried under the grounds of the forest. All those decomposed corpses must be the reason the trees there were so lush.

Their leaves were as though they were soaked in red blood.

Alice handed a sword to Nier, pat her on her shoulder and said: "Seventeen men, just like before."

"Understood."

Nier drew her sword and entered the training area. Seventeen men dressed in leather armour bowed deeply when they saw Nier enter. Nier counted their numbers, whipped her sword and said: "Same old. If you can hurt me, I'll let you go. If you manage to kill me, you'll be conferred a rank. Come at me together."

"As you command!"

The seventeen men holding long swords charged at Nier who stood before them. Those men came from different walks of life and ranks. They came to challenge the empress's personal guards for a chance at a promotion. Countless farmers, peasants and children from slums train diligently for the sake of attaining fame by challenging Valkyries. But not one has been successful thus far.

As a matter of fact, not one lived to tell the tale.

Nier took in a deep breath and rushed the men before her. Her white cape spread out in the air like a flag. Only a faint after-image of her sword was seen and the man at the forefront had his sword knocked out of his hand. Before he could shout, his artery burst.

His blood sprayed all over Nier. The blood ran down into Nier's mouth.

"Why?"

Nier was surprised. Why? Why did the blood make her feel disgusted? Why did she hate that feeling? She was never like this before. She needed to elegantly soak herself with her enemies' blood to feel comfortable, so why? Why? Why does she now hate the smell of blood and gooey feel of it?

"Hng!"

Nier barely dodged a strike and countered by stabbing her sword through the gut of another man. She kicked the corpse away, and then turned around to b.u.mp away a man who tried to cut her. She elegantly turned her body around and slashed his throat open.

The taste of blood got richer, yet she was feeling sicker. The food in her gut wanted to escape as the blood ran down her face. What originally stimulated her urge to kill was now making her sick and made her want to run away.

Nier never felt that way before. Why? Why did she become like this? She was born to spill blood. She was born to kill. Why? Why was she sick of killing? Why did she hate blood? Why? Why was her body feeling weak…

With just a few men left, Nier's actions started losing their edge. She wobbled around as if she were going to kneel down. Seeing her condition, the men roared and charged towards her.

"Out of the way!"

Alice pushed the Valkyries watching by the door, charged in towards the front of one of the men, and punched him in his chest. The back of his torso exploded to bits and his organs flew out of his back. Alice didn't bother with Nier who was surprised, instead reducing all the remaining men to smithereens.

The sky was raining blood and bits of flesh.

*Gag!*

Nier dropped to her knees with a thud on the training grounds littered with blood, bits of flesh, and puked, spraying everything in her gut up into the air. She had no idea what she was chucking up, but her stomach was pulsating. She threw her sword away and focused on puking.

"Captain… Captain…"

Nier struggled to raise her head, and with a sobbing voice looked at Alice with a sobbing tone and confused look. She choked on her voice as she shouted: "Captain… Captain… What… What exactly… Is wrong with me… What exactly is…"

Alice crouched down, ignored the blood and filth on the ground, and tightly hugged Nier whom was suffering.

"It's okay… It's okay… You're just too tired. You're just too tired…"Alright, let us do this. Take a step this way. Go back. Go back two steps. Hands. Pay attention to your hands! You are too stiff, your majesty. Try again. One, two, three, four, good. Not bad…"

I let out a sigh and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Luna ran over to me and handed me a cup of honey-lemon ice water. Ice didn't exist yet in this era. This ice was taken from the snowy mountain in the East. The ice was transported here slowly in small amounts, which is why only royalty gets to enjoy iced water.

Luna picked up her silk handkerchief and wiped the sweat on the corner of my forehead, looked at the lady-in-waiting with concern and said: "His majesty has just recovered, so let's wrap up here today."

"I'm fine, it's just dance practice."

I smiled and placed the exquisite cup down. I then looked at my dance partner who looked like a girl who was carefully selected from a n.o.ble family. She was quite pretty, but she was relatively shy and didn't dare to touch me. The lady-in-waiting looked at me slightly concerned and said: "Your majesty, if you are not feeling well, please let me know."

I smiled weakly and said: "Ah, I'm fine. It's just that I lost my appet.i.te recently…"

I lost my appet.i.te partially because of that weird soup. I still have no idea what ingredients were used to make that soup. It smelt like burnt rubber and hara.s.sed my nose. Everything I ate the following day seemed to have the smell of rubber as well which was why I lost my appet.i.te…

Nier stood at the door with her back to us. Nier has been lifeless lately. When I tried to ask her about it, she just gave me glares and coldly replied, "Nothing".

"Since that's the case, let us wrap up for today. You have already learnt the basics. All you need to do now is practice diligently." The lady-in-waiting and my dance partner gave a deep bow and then said goodbye. Luna sent the two off while I threw myself onto the chair to the side, undid the b.u.t.ton right at the top of my shirt and let out a sigh of relief.

Castell has already sent the news out and Castor has already responded. Their king personally wrote a response letter saying he was willing to come over and negotiate with us. If the negotiation is successful, Castor will become our va.s.sal state.

In other words, this matter is basically over. And if they become our va.s.sal state, we can get them to lower the tariff fees, or even get rid of them all together and get them to ensure that their goods fulfil our requests. Since our country would be providing yours with protection, you can withdraw your navy. You'll only need our protection. You can keep a few sailing boats. Your army can disband too. Just keep a unit to perform routine monitoring and patrols. Other than maintaining your independence in name, you can leave everything else to us.

That's what it means to be a va.s.sal state.

Put another way, I've saved Castor from a crisis and satisfied the empress's wishes at the same time. Plus, I got to act competent in front of the retainers, so they sincerely bow and salute me when they encounter me in the palace now.

"Your majesty, Mr Castell seeks an audience with you."

Luna came back, looked at me, softly sighed and said: "Ever since you came back, lots of people have asked to see you. If you are not feeling well, you should turn them away."

"I can turn everybody but Castell down. He helped me a month ago, even though the weapon idea he gave me was out dated…"

I stood up and Luna ran over to support me. I chuckled and said: "I'm okay, I've recovered. Tell Castell to go to the dining hall. Luna, prepare some dishes."

"Understood."

Luna turned around and went downstairs. As my close servant, she does far too much. However, I don't intend to have anybody else look after me. Although I now accept this place as being my home and her majesty as my mom, I still miss the elf imperial capital. Luna reminds me of all the little things about Lucia.

I walked out the door and said to Nier who was standing there: "Let's go, Nier."

Nier nodded and then followed behind me.

Castell was already at the dining hall when I arrived. He sat in the guest seat and had the maid prepare his napkins. Luna pulled my chair out for me, and then prepared my napkin and the small silver bowl for me to wash my hands in. I used the fragranced water to wash my hands, then looked at Castell and said: "Castell, you completed your tasks excellently this time."

"Thank you for your compliments, your majesty." Castell bent forward at his hips to bow with a smile, then looked at me and said: "Your performance has also won my complete respect. I was amazed by your intellect when we were at the elf nation. I was also very surprised when you were able to see through such a convoluted ploy here in humanity's nation. I also suspected that the silver coins were frauds, but I never found any clues."

I chuckled. You can't believe everything Castell says. How could somebody as smart as Castell not have seen through Castor's ploy? I think he knew it, but didn't mention it to her majesty because he was unsure what she thought. And from the look of things, Castell is a close retainer of the empress, so he must know how to look after himself.

"A toast to her majesty."

The two of raised our gla.s.ses. The first gla.s.s is to pay our respects to her majesty. I drank a mouthful of the mellow wine, then placed my gla.s.s down and said: "You're in charge of negotiating with Castor, right?"

"Castell nodded and said: "That is correct. I have brought with me our initial demands which I have written down on a sheet of paper. Would you please take a look, your majesty."

"What about her majesty?"

"Her majesty has already provided her orders."

"Then do as she said. Why are you bringing it up with me?"

Castell smiled as he shook his head and then said: "Your joke is not funny, your majesty. You are already a major figure in everybody's eyes. You did not think that you could avoid political matters after that event now, did you? Your majesty, you have already gotten yourself involved, and are considered a dazzling new star. The two factions will try and curry favour with you from now on."

I smiled bitterly, picked up the empress bread before me and said: "Is that so? I was mentally prepared, but it still feels somewhat surreal."

"Your majesty, my advice to you is to not attend any private b.a.l.l.s. Do not attend any events prepared by the army, do not accept gifts and do not see guests at night. If you can do that, you will be fine. If you can maintain a political power balance, you will be fine."

I looked at Castell, laughed and said: "Well, you're my guest tonight."

"I belong to the empress faction. Showing me a special favour is the equivalent of showing her majesty a favour. n.o.body can say anything about a son being attached to his mother. To celebrate you taking a perfect step into the political arena, I would like to honour you with my second gla.s.s. Your majesty, I wish you the best of health. Long live her majesty."

Our gla.s.ses clinked together gently for a toast. The wine as red as blood swished around inside. We exchanged smiles, had our drink and then started eating dinner. This is Castell's second dinner at the outer court. I think people would definitely think that Castell was my favoured retainer if they saw us.

But I could tell that Castell didn't devote his loyalty to me. As he said previously, he won't protect me. He belongs to the empress faction, so he'll only protect the empress. To be honest, I want to have a squad like the Valkyries for myself and my own power. But would that cause a misunderstanding with the empress?

Well, whatever. I don't intend to contend for power. I'm fine with just Nier protecting me. Nier says she hates me. She frequently makes sarcastic remarks and mocks me, but she saved me when I was in a pinch. That is enough for me. Nier understands what my thoughts are and she'll protect me.Elves have no way to produce gunpowder?!"

"That's right. It's because it can easily damage the forests, so elves will never use gunpowder."

I looked at the red-haired lady completely stunned. She was smoking her pipe and threw me a half-completed gun. She ma.s.saged her shoulders and said: "Oh, I just found out you were making it for an elf. Elves can't use guns. You don't have to worry. Whichever elf uses a gun is a traitor to them and will be exiled. Elves won't produce gunpowder either, so even if you gave that gun to that female elf, she wouldn't be able to use it."

"Why didn't you mention that from the start then?!'

"Because I wanted to make the gun as well. Prince, this gun of yours is really fascinating. Its structure isn't complex, yet it can fire consecutively. If these were to be ma.s.s produced, what do you think…"

"Don't, don't, don't! Don't ever do that!"

"I know, I know. I don't have any interest in making money from it. I'm just interested in these machines."

She hit me on my head with her pipe, then got up, walked to the other side and had two puffs. I pushed the gunpowder by the side far away, looked at her tobacco pipe, frowned and said: "How do you have the guts to smoke in here where there's gunpowder? Normally, you shouldn't even have candles in here."

"What's with all the complaints, kid? I've been like this for many days already. There were never any explosions. Don't worry, don't worry. I started working with gunpowder long before you did. But, the gunpowder you made really doesn't release smoke. That's incredible."

"This gunpowder explodes much easier than the black gunpowder, so be careful." I angrily pushed away her pipe, then frowned and continued: "What should I make next…? Elves can't use gunpowder… Oh yeah! An airgun!!"

Yeah!

Wouldn't an airgun be the best weapon of choice for Lucia since she can control wind? Airguns rely on the principles of air compression. Her skill is basically a live air pump. And airguns don't require bullets. You can just use projectiles. I can create a rifle that can fire consecutively now. It's going to be very close to the modern day rifle!

I stood up, pulled a sheet of paper over and scribbled on it. The red-haired lady excitedly walked over to me and excitedly said: "Have you come up with something good again? Wow, this looks like it'll be even more interesting!!"

After about ten minutes, I blew out a breath of air, and cheerfully picked up the sheet of paper, handed it to the red-haired lady and said: "Just make it like this. You can make as many of these as you like, because only one person can use it."

"Okay, let's have a look. This gun of yours is really fascinating."

She felt satisfied and took it from me. I'll leave the manufacturing process to her. She really enjoys creating these never-before-seen types of things. She won't ma.s.s produce them, but will keep one for her own collection. She's very proud of the fact that her workshop is the first to stock never-before-seen items. I suppose it's a collector's habit.

But that's fine. I can turn this place into my own personal workshop like this. If I need to form my own guard unit in the future, I'll make the guns for them here.

I walked out of the workshop. When Nier saw me, she extended her hand out. I looked at her and asked: "What's wrong?"

Nier simply replied: "Candy."

Behind her, several eyes were blinking as they looked at me. Their gazes hurt me deeply, because… I'm really sorry, but the candy I prepared for you all got scattered on the roads… I've been trying to recover these last few days and haven't left the palace, so I forgot about it… I forgot…

"Sorry… Nier…"

"Your majesty, don't tell me you forgot. These children were the main contributors in your rescue. Can you consider yourself a qualified prince if you fail these children?"

Nier's expression didn't change as she spoke. She just coldly spoke a truth I had no comeback for.

"It's my mistake…"

I lowered my head and sincerely apologised. She spoke with a just a cold tone, but I could tell that she was slightly mad as her face was faintly red. I smiled helplessly, took out a bag I prepared just for today, bent over and gave it to the disappointed children. When they curiously opened it, the aroma of honey and spices burst forth, which froze even Nier in place. The empress bread, a bread that only royalty has the privilege of eating. Even the Valkyries only got a glimpse of it when the empress rewarded them with it. I specially asked for the cooks to prepare some more so I could share it with the children.

"Woooow!"

The children cried in a sharp tone and fought over the bread. White bread must be rare to them, let alone the addition of honey and spices. The contrast between their small dirty hands and the white bread saddened me, but unfortunately, there's no way to eliminate all poverty from the world. Sometimes it's due to the politics, but in a peaceful time like this, it's sometimes because of people gambling and going bankrupt. That's a mistake we brought on ourselves.

Nier looked at them and counted. She then hesitated for a moment before turning around to look at the eldest of the group and said: "There are two missing. Are the Ali sisters not here today?"

The kids froze for a brief moment when Nier brought them up. A kid then shook his head and quietly said: "A group of large men rocked up at Ali's family's home… Those men are really scary…"

The kids starting chattering amongst themselves. I looked at Nier. Nier's eyes had turned ice-cold. Her right hand gripped her sword handle. She took a deep breath, looked at me and said: "Your majesty."

I, who once lived in a modern era knew what was going on. I nodded without hesitation. Nier got up when she received my approval. I looked at the children and said: "Take us to Ali's house. Selling children is going overboard. I'll help out if there are any problems."

"Okay!"

Nier and I followed behind the children and squeezed through a dark alley. I looked at the children dressed in haggard clothing in front of me and felt upset. These children were pitiful. Not only do they face survival issues, they have to face safety issues too. n.o.body can say for certain when these kids might die here. I know well how chaotic the slums are since I experienced it in the red-light district.

"I beg you! I beg you! I'll pay! I'll pay you! Don't touch my daughter! I beg you!"

When we turned a corner, we saw a street that wasn't very broad. A few men grabbed a woman and smashed her head onto the floor. She tightly gripped the man's leg and didn't let go even though her head was bleeding. The few other men by the side pushed a man who'd lost conscious over. The man that was pushed aside had a dagger stuck in his stomach and his head smashed straight onto the ground. He was killed.

The man who the woman was clinging two had two crying kids under his arm. He struggled to get the woman off his leg. He eventually got angry and threw the two kids onto the ground, pulled out a short flint pistol from his belt, pointed it at the woman's head and loudly shouted: "LET GO! I'LL PUT A BULLET IN YOUR HEAD IF YOU DON'T LET GO! IT'S ONLY FAIR TO REPAY A DEBT! YOU OWE A DEBT, AND WE'RE TAKING THE TWO KIDS AS PAYMENT, WHAT ARE YOU UNHAPPY ABOUT?! KEEP SCREAMING AND I'LL MURDER YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY RIGHT HERE!"

"ALI!!"

The kids standing by our side watching, immediately shouted and rushed over when they saw the two kids get thrown onto the ground. The girl lying on the ground stood up while still crying and extended her hand towards her mother. When the woman saw Nier and I, she seemed to come to some sort of decisive decision and pushed her daughters towards Nier and I. When one of the men on the other side saw her, he immediately prepared to catch the young girls.

But how could he possibly have succeeded?

Nier's sword got there first and she protected the girls.

"Who are you people?! Mind your own business! You got no f.u.c.king business here. How dare you interfere with our business?! Do you even understand what death is?!"

The leader kicked Ali's mom away, turned around to face Nier and I shouted: "Nier! Put your sword away!"

Nier turned around and gave me a violent glare. I walked up to her, pulled Ali behind me and pressed her sword down. I looked at the man and said: "Their mother has a gun to her head, don't be impulsive. Since they owe you a debt, they just need to pay the debt and all will be fine. I'll pay her debt, but you must let go of her first!"

"Ptoo!"

Nier was angry. She could kill. She could kill whenever she wanted, even if the target was an official. That's a privilege the Valkyries have, and also their habit. It wouldn't take her much effort to kill all the men before us. But my words were the equivalent of a royal decree. Nier won't dare to oppose my order, even if she didn't want to.

"You people should mind your own business. Judging from your clothing, you aren't ordinary people, are you? The slums have their own set of rules, and we happen to be the rule here!"

He completely ignored me, and pointed his gun at Ali's mother's head again.

s.h.i.t!

I looked at the eyes of the man with the gun. His eyes were filled with insanity, which told me he was serious. I wanted to calm him down and sort out the debt, but he was eager to kill!

"Ni-!!"

BANG!

A loud bang was heard before I could give my order. The scent of blood was mixed with the scent of smoke. I looked at Ali's mom lying in a pool of blood, as blood poured forth from her forehead.

"MOM!!"

Ali shrieked from behind me. Their shriek was like a knife stabbing at my temples. I took in a deep breath, looked at Nier, turned around and said: "Nier."

"Your majesty."

"Kill them all…"

That was the first time I realised I could sound so cold. Those men lost their lives before me just like that. I couldn't do anything. The only thing I could do now was take their lives to offer them as a sacrifice to Ali's mother…

Benevolence and morality are my bottom lines when doing things. But if the other party chooses not to respect my bottom line, then know that I too can be crazy and break my own rules.

I pushed Ali over to the group of children. Even naive children would be scared of my cold demeanour and run away. I had my back to the group of men and listened to Nier's sword hack and slash them, as well as their shrieks in the moment before their deaths. The air was covered in the scent of blood. Breathing felt like I was drinking blood like when I battled the Earth Dragons.

A moment later, it was silent. It was the first time I was glad Nier was a killing machine.

I turned around. Nier didn't kill the leader of the group. She only cut off his right arm. I walked up to his side and whispered to him: "If these are the rules of the slums, I'm happy to abide by them for once…"

I pulled out my handgun from my belt. Yes, I don't kill people and I also hate killing people, but I know that the sentence that follows "an owed debt is a debt that must be paid" is "a life for a life".

Nier's cape was stuck to her body since it was soaked in blood. She wiped her face and then looked at me with the excitement that came from wielding her sword.

"Are you alright, Nier?"

"I'm so glad. It looks like I really was just too tired."

Nier wiped her long sword clean and sheathed it. She stepped over the pools of blood, turned around and said: "Thank you, your majesty. It looks like you cured my illness."

"Huh?"

I was completely bewildered.

She looked at me, bent forward and said: "It's nothing. Please return to the palace with me to clean ourselves."

That was the first time I followed Nier's suggestion, and we quickly left for the palace.

Nier quietly watched my back.

Please don't hold any hope for me, your majesty. I am but a mere killing machine.

I can protect the children.

But will someone come to my rescue when I'm in trouble?

Being rescued is but a pipe-dream…What happened after was relatively Mary-sue-like…

I had Andre send guards there to patrol the place. While that area belongs to the fatso, I criticised him in the conference chamber before everyone, saying that he managed the area poorly, disgracing the empire. As such, he had no choice but to let the guards patrol the area.

I used reserved and aggressive means to get the Ali sisters into the palace as maids. The empress is very fussy of who enters the palace. I had to bath with her and sell my body to the empress for a night, plus say "mom, I beg you~" countless times to give them permission to enter. I also had to convince her not to send them to Alice to become Valkyries.

It wasn't so cliché that they'd become my wives, but at least now they don't have to worry about food and shelter.

Nier looked better than the last few days. It's as if she needs to kill people on a set schedule… That's not a good habit. I don't kill every thug I run into. I wouldn't have ordered Nier to kill either had that man not killed Ali's mother.

I have my principles.

Luna placed my clothing to one side, then politely bowed and said: "Your majesty, your clothes have been prepared. You have to rise early tomorrow, so it is better that you do not stay up late."

"Alright."

I nodded and finished the gla.s.s of fresh milk Luna gave me. Luna walked up to the candle, blew it out and said: "Goodnight, your majesty."

"Oh right, Luna."

"Do you have orders?"

"Umm, does Nier say anything to you when you're together?"

Luna smiled meekly and said: "Miss Gilliante does not speak to me. We live together, but she has not once spoken to me. It seems that Miss Gilliante hates elves."

Luna's ears twitched. I laughed and said: "True. I think that part of the reason why she doesn't like me is because I'm the elf prince."

"You jest, your majesty. The elf prince must be a pure-bred."

Luna still doesn't want to believe me…. She bowed deeply, and then returned to her room.

Nier came in from outside, looked at me and said: "Goodnight, your majesty."

I closed my eyes and replied: "Goodnight."

Nier walked pa.s.s my bed and into the room as well. There were two people in the room, but it was dead silent as if there was no one in there. Do they really not feel awkward around each other?

I opened my eyes and looked at the moon outside. It's been half a month since I came here. What have I done in that time? I investigated the currency case, got captured, made guns with the red-haired lady, bought an elf, saw the two factions, accepted the reality that her majesty was my mom, teased Nier… Sigh, did I just throw something strange into the list…?

It's only been half a month, and yet I've done more here than the entire month I was with the elves. No wonder why I'm so exhausted here.

I have to go and see the king of Castor with her majesty tomorrow as well where we'll prepare to sign the agreement. What surprised me was the fact that the king of Castor was a child who probably wasn't even ten yet, and so his mother was coming along. It looks like it was his mother who caused Castor to collapse due to her lack of political experience. The empress and her both women, and yet the difference between them is ma.s.sive.

The empress aside, even my elf mom was able to handle national affairs all the same. I wonder what mom and Lucia are doing right now.

Current time at the elf imperial capital.

"My son still hasn't returned… He still hasn't returned… I can't smell his scent on his clothes anymore… This won't do… This won't do… I'm going to die if I don't see my son… I can't handle this… Sniff… Sniff… His scent is fading… Should I just go s.n.a.t.c.h him back…? I shouldn't have signed that garbage agreement back then… Sniff…"

Lucia silently watched the queen sprawled out on the prince's bed. The queen had pulled all of the prince's clothes out and sniffed it while drooling. Lucia sighed.

She wanted to have a sniff too…

"Your majesty. Your Majesty. Good morning."

The happiest part of my days is when Luna wakes me up with her gentle voice in the morning. She's a maid, she's got a nice body, she's pretty, and she gently wakes me up. That's got to be the happiest moment in a day for everybody, right? I lazily opened my eyes. The eye-irritating sunrays shone in. The windows were already open. The cool and clear air came in along with the birds' chirping. Luna stood by the side of the bed with a smile, bowed and said: "Good morning, your majesty. Please rise and change. And please go and see the king of Castor after breakfast."

"Alright."

I sat up. I don't need to move my hands to wipe myself. Luna doesn't have to either. The two ladies-in-waiting were responsible for it. After getting dressed, I got up and went to the dining wall for breakfast. Nier waited at the door for me throughout the entire process, and followed me to the foreign affairs hall.

"His majesty has arrived."

"Her majesty has arrived."

I was surprised to find that mom and I arrived at pretty much the same time. Mom wore a happy look on her face… Yeah, no, not serious. I couldn't even see her face… Mom always wears her veil no matter where she goes. She walked up to me, hugged me and said with a smile: "You look very handsome in that robe, son. I might have fallen for you if I were younger… You truly are my son. Let's go, son… Castell!"

"Present."

"Go welcome the king of Castor."

"As you command."

Castell smiled at me and then turned around to leave. The empress hugged me as we entered the foreign affairs hall. The foreign affairs hall as the name suggests is a place for signing doc.u.ments with foreign countries. The large hall is extremely wide. In the middle is a marble table inlaid with diamonds and pearls. At the top of it was a huge candlestick carved from crystal.

The empress's seat was of course her throne, while the seat beside it was just as extravagant. The hall was like a greenhouse in appearance. Both sides were windows made from coloured gla.s.s where the sunrays could shine through, illuminating the interior.

My footsteps echoed in the hall. The empress walked up to her throne, let go of me and checked to see that n.o.body was on either side. She then lifted her face veil up, gently kissed me on my forehead and said with a smile: "The glory is yours today, son. I won't say anything today. I'll let you and Castell handle all of it."

"Mom! That's a bit…"

"You personally brought Castor under control. How hard can it be to give a signature?"

The empress smiled, rubbed my head and then sat down on her throne. The sound of footsteps from the door could be heard, and the king of Castor and Castell appeared at the door. Behind the king of Castor was a worried looking woman dressed in extravagant clothing. She must be the mother of the blonde kid with freckles. Try as she may to appear domineering and majestic, before the empress's natural dominance and majestic presence, she was as laughable as a clown.

"King of Castor, Fionn Galarett III, and Regent Ms Gallari."

"Empress of the Rosvenor Empire, Empress Elizabeth Rosvenor. Prince Troy Rosvenor."

The two of them greet us, and I bowed to pay my respects. The empress however, remained seated on her throne with one leg over the other. She pointed at the desk in front of her and said: "Sit. Castell. Map."

The two rulers of Castor awkwardly sat down. The small king struggled to keep his head above the table and curiously scanned the empress. You know what they say, kids who're wet behind the ears aren't scared of tigers. If it were me, I wouldn't have the guts to scan the empress in his situation. Castell opened the map and said: "As per the conditions we sent you, Castor will officially become our va.s.sal state. Do you accept our conditions?"

The woman looked at Castell and said: "I believe that your country's conditions are too harsh. We cannot accept you asking us to disband our navy and army. Our country's greatest debt is not owed to your country. We can pay our debt by collecting gold and selling land."