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Numerous newspapers continuously reported on Cárcel Escalante's victories.

"The Thieves of the Kingdom of La Bocia Have Been Sunk."

"Captain Escalante Delivers Revenge Against La Bocia after Unexpectedly Sailing South."

"Valerossa's Pack of Wolves Sent to the Bottom of the Sea 'Thanks Once Again to Captain Escalante."

"Valerossa Now Part of Ortega's Seas!"

"The Return of Calderon Escalante, the Man Most Feared by the Pirates."

"The Ghosts of the Corsair Ships."

"Captain Cárcel Escalante Finally Goes North, Away From the Marlantha Archipelago. What is Next?"

"Las Sandiago & La Bocia, a Secret Alliance Between the Thieves Ruined by Admiral Calderon's Grandson."

"The Kingdom of La Bocia Digs its Own Grave by Declaring War."

"Cárcel Escalante de Esposa: the Youngest Protector of the Empire in Imperial History."

Cárcel Escalante brought in one victory after another. He won every single battle, from small to larger skirmishes at sea against the pirates of La Mancha, the main enemy to be eradicated who appeared out of nowhere and targeted the rear of the fleet with their fast ships. He also defeated the Kingdom of La Bocia, which was secretly allied with the pirates and launched a preemptive attack with the pretext of territorial trespassing at the Battle of Valerossa.

The Mendoza Times, Mendoza's most authoritative source of news, reported that most of Cárcel

Escalante's victories suffered no losses, pointing out that "While we may be hearing endless reports of his triumphs, we must also note that he has not yet lost a single one of our imperial ships."They repeatedly emphasized that the battles were by no means easy, explaining how hard it had been for the imperial navy to take down even just a few corsair ships after Admiral Calderon's death, and how the pirates had become less fearful of the empire ever since the admiral died.

"It is clear what the issue has been. We have failed to strike fear and terror into the hearts of our enemies. The reputation of the imperial navy of Ortega sunk so low in their eyes that they tore up the surrender documents!

The agreement made between Ortega and the Kingdom of La Bocia thirty years ago clearly states that we are their official allies, regardless of how much they may have tried to protect their territorial waters. However, the lowly thieves of the kingdom allied themselves with the people of La Mancha as though they were a fornicating couple and attempted to divide up the sea as they pleased, always helping each other. And when the imperial navy-their official ally-briefly entered their waters in order to exterminate a few pesky pirates, they suddenly declared war on us, ignoring the existence of the pirates who frequent their waters..."

Just like the emperor's attendants, the crown prince's attendants also neatly folded up all of Mendoza's newspaper issues in the evening and lined them up for easy perusal. But it had been a while since Oscar even touched them.

"His successes are simply exaggerated thanks to his resourceful wife. It is only temporary, so there is no need to worry, Your Highness," Dante Ijar told him. He clicked his tongue to himself inwardly as he watched the crown prince, whose back was turned to him, fail to respond to his consoling words. It seemed he had completely lost his mind.

Perhaps it was because God was raining down every blessing in the world upon Cárcel Escalante's head, or because Inés Escalante had become the wife of a hero no one could dare to touch lest they be criticized by all of Ortega. Or-maybe it was because the crown prince had fallen into his own trap.

It could also simply be the effects of the drugs. For several years, the crown prince had been strangely resistant to it, but the amount of vergo Alicia had recently slipped into his drink was more than enough to make a man lose his sanity. It was, in fact, enough to render a man unable to act like a regular human being altogether. And since she had increased the dosage so suddenly and by so much, the effect had to be intense. Vergo was not even the only thing she was slipping him now.

Dante shot a suspicious look at Alicia, who was sitting by the window with an embroidery frame like a picture-perfect wife. She had most definitely been feeding her husband drugs other than vergo-something very dangerous she had gotten through a different route after Dante had stopped supplying her.

His previous assumption that she would never do anything to harm the crown prince since she loved him so much was now moot. Though the affection she had harbored for Oscar in her youth had seemed pure and beautiful, it had now turned into a pool of water so deep that one could only imagine what monstrosities lay hidden in its dark depths.

The crown prince did seek out drugs himself at times, but he was not dependent on them. Whenever Alicia or his attendants added even the smallest amount of extra to "help him feel more at ease," he would immediately notice and fly into a rage. Of course, his inclination to not be dependent on drugs mattered very little when his body was already growing reliant on them due to repeated overconsumption without his knowledge. And yet, he did not display the typical cravings off an addict.

Though Dante knew the crown prince well enough to realize just how vacant his mind was at this moment, his condition was strangely dignified compared to Dante's cousin, who had died from a vergo addiction. The man had thrown a tantrum, insisting he would rather die than quit vergo; he ended up wasting away before he could end his own life. A friend of his, who had first introduced him to vergo as a mild stimulant, died in his sleep after taking more and more of the drug himself.

Perhaps this meant the crown prince would also pass away in his sleep one day.

Oscar had been so paranoid as to never eat any food unless someone else had tried before him. But he no longer paid any attention to what he consumed-he had lost enough of his mind to forget all about his suspicions. Whenever Alicia touched his body, he did nothing but look disgusted as though he were too weak to shake her off.

At this rate, she will be able to do anything she wants, Dante thought to himself, unable to stop the exasperated scoff that escaped his lips.

The crown prince eventually shouted for the attendants to burn all the newspapers. 

Alicia gave him an enamored look, as though she found his unseemly behavior endearing. "What has angered you now? The newspapers report nothing but good tidings once again." She put down her embroidery frame nearby and approached Oscar, gently rubbing his back as if he were a ferocious beast only she could appease. "Your loyal subject Dante Ijar just told you, didn't he? All of this is only exaggeration."

None of it was exaggerated, in truth. The stories were simply in circulation for longer due to someone in particular... such as Cárcel Escalante's ambitious wife.

Now, even the commoners who baked bread and hammered iron used what little money they had to buy war bonds. Everyone, regardless of social status, was inspired by Ortega's war efforts and cheered for the hero of House Escalante who had succeeded Admiral Calderon. The perfectly handsome appearance of the young man who seemed much more noble than even the imperial family, as well as stories of his wife who everyone in Mendoza looked up to sold incredibly well. Their parting kiss, which had become the most famous picture in the most popular newspaper in Mendoza, had moved the hearts of even the sailors on the estuary bank and the factory workers.

Perhaps it was because Ortegans were emotional people, but high society prided itself in never expressing their true emotions. The fact that such a high-ranking noble had failed to hide her sorrow in the presence of so many people upon parting with her beloved husband had humanized the couple. Whenever anyone thought of the beginning of the war, they thought of their parting and the sight of the woman kissing her husband in tears, which had decorated various newspapers for so long.

The emperor had no reason to quell the nearly fanatic popularity of these two so soon. He seemed to have forgotten all about his plans to place all of the blame on his young nephew and was too busy counting the money that was piling up, quite satisfied with the newspaper occasionally mentioning how insightful he had been to assign Cárcel Escalante to lead the charge and how decisive he had been in starting this war. The emperor pretended to know nothing about whatever Inés Escalante whispered in his ear and how she was controlling the newspapers from behind the scenes-even going so far as to make it look like he had intended for all of this to happen himself.

Things would surely be different if Cárcel Escalante were to one day return alive and become a walking idol in Mendoza, but for now, the name of this young man who was not even present was very useful. As much as the emperor might later envy his nephew and seek to test him once again, he knew better than to do anything to a war hero if he wished to live a long life and prolong his reign. He knew better than anyone just how unstable the situation had become at sea without Admiral Calderon, and now most likely felt as though things had gone back to those glory days. And while the emperor reveled in reliving his younger days when he had enjoyed the admiral's glory as though it were his own, the crown prince was living a long nightmare in the pit he had dug himself.

"Really, these achievements are practically yours, Your Highness," Alicia cooed with her arms around Oscar. "Who was it that allowed him to live when he should have died as soon as he went to war? What if you had killed him long before then? If he had died a pathetic death at the hands of a rebellious subordinate before he could hope to achieve anything at all, what do you think would have happened? All of Ortega's glory would have sunk to the bottom of the sea, and you would have gotten your hands on Escalante's wife already." Her consoling words were a strange mix of mockery, resentment, and perhaps even a firm belief that he was to thank for everything.

Oscar simply stood there, listening.

"You can still give Dante the order you took back. It isn't too late. He still knows their weaknesses. So-"

"No," he said.

"I really don't understand what made you decide against this."

"Cárcel Escalante must not be killed... yet," he muttered through gritted teeth, shoving her away from him and glaring at Dante as he walked closer.

It seems that it is time for him to take it out on me when he was the one who failed. Dante sighed inwardly.

Before the war had begun, the crown prince had focused his entire attention on ordering his underlings to kill Cárcel in secret. But one day, he had suddenly changed his mind and said that the war simply needed to end in failure, acting as though that was easier to engineer than killing one man. Oscar claimed that it was enough for Cárcel to return home in disgrace.

Alicia gave Dante a warm, commiserating look, as if to show that she understood and sympathized with him. He met her gaze as he let Oscar strike him. It occurred to Dante that the two made a perfect couple. It was in that moment he decided that he needed to retreat and get away from these lunatics.