Chapter 149: Domain of the Evil God (2)

“Hmm.”

The Duke of Colt lifted his wine glass and muttered in a dissatisfied voice.

His gaze was directed at Aicliffe, who was conversing with people far away.

The second prince, Aicliffe Rogasion.

He was notorious for being a troublemaker in the Empire.

He knew his place, so he always acted as if he didn’t want anyone to bother him.

He showed that he was completely different from the first or the third prince.

‘But things have changed a lot lately.’

But recently, Aicliffe had been more active than before.

He had a separate seat with the Duke of Nineglow, who had visited the Empire, and he participated in every major event in the Empire.

He even gathered promising young men from the Empire and held private meetings at his mansion.

The purpose of the meeting led by Aicliffe was clear to anyone.

He wanted to build his own power base and take over the whole Empire later.

‘Has he started to show interest in the throne?’

It was a behavior that could only be seen if he had an interest in the throne.

He had clearly chosen a dangerous path for himself.

It would have been better for him to side with the third prince if he wanted to beg for his life.

The Duke of Colt couldn’t understand why he was risking his life for a reckless challenge.

It was a hopeless fight to start now.

The big shots like the Duke of Colt had already made their bets.

“This is not good.”

That was the situation right now.

For the other princes as well.

And for the Duke of Colt, who supported the third prince, Renglos.

A troublesome variable had emerged, which meant that he had to recalculate the situation again.

Aicliffe himself would not win, but he could act as something that would disrupt the balance among the princes.

As he sipped his wine glass, the Earl of Eifeld, who was behind him, spoke to him.

“Lately, Prince Aicliffe seems to be very busy.”

“Is that so?”

“He meets with promising young people from the Empire and asks for their teachings. His Majesty must be very pleased.”

“There will be no more rumors of him being a troublemaker.”

The duke put down his wine glass and looked at the earl with a smile.

The earl liked to chatter about trivial things by himself.

Normally, the duke would have ignored him, but today he was interested in Prince Aicliffe.

The duke listened to the earl’s words and waited for his next story.

As if he understood the duke’s thoughts, the earl continued to talk about the prince.

“The past is just the past. It’s time for the prince’s reputation to change now.”

“Hmm.”

“Recently, he even said that he had a teacher who he followed around to learn from.”

“He has a teacher?”

The duke turned his gaze to the earl at the unexpected story.

Aicliffe was known for rejecting studies and causing trouble.

And now he had a teacher who he followed around and asked for guidance.

He didn’t know what prompted him, but he had definitely changed.

“Yes. These days, he goes everywhere with his teacher.”

“That’s quite interesting.”

“He must have attended this place today. Ah… there he is. The woman with the black hood.”

The earl pointed his finger at a woman in a corner of the hall.

A woman with a deep hood was quietly eating cake in a corner.

She didn’t seem to be a famous person in the Empire, judging by her hidden face.

Such a person was the prince’s teacher.

The duke smiled faintly at the earl’s story.

“I wonder what kind of person she is that the prince asks for her teachings.”

“Unfortunately, there is not much known about that teacher.”

“She wouldn’t be hiding in the corner like that if she was a reputable person…”

“But there must be something outstanding about her if the prince asks for her teachings…”

The duke stroked his beard with a relaxed hand at the earl’s words that implied there was something to learn from her.

The duke had a different opinion from the earl.

The position of someone’s teacher had a strong influence on the learner in some way.

That’s why the royal family had their own verification process when they brought a teacher for a prince who was not of age.

But the prince had chosen someone who looked inexperienced as his teacher.

It was as if he had something disguised as a teacher.

“Do you think so, earl?”

“For now, yes.”

“If the earl, who knows the Empire well, thinks so, then I should think so too.”

“Haha, thank you.”

The earl lifted his wine glass with a smile at the duke’s words that seemed to acknowledge him.

Of course, that was just what he said out loud.

In the duke’s mind, there was another calculation going on.

Aicliffe, who had no foundation, had a low chance of moving like that for no reason.

Someone had put a wind in the prince’s ear.

And the one who put the wind in his ear was, probably…

‘That writer who calls herself a teacher.’

There were forces that wanted to benefit from the prince’s movement.

And the one who connected those forces and the prince was that person who called herself a teacher.

Finding out the identity of the force hiding behind the teacher would be the biggest weapon to decide the next emperor.

The duke came to a conclusion in his mind and got up from his seat.

Clank.

The earl asked the duke as he put down his wine glass.

“Are you leaving already? Was my story boring…?”

“No, your story was helpful, earl. I’m just feeling a bit tired today. I think I should go ahead.”

“I see. I hope to see you again when you’re in a good mood.”

The duke exchanged a brief farewell with the earl and started to leave the banquet hall.

As he stepped out of the hall’s door, his eyes were still fixed on the woman with the hood.

***

The duke’s mansion in the Empire.

There, the duke was looking at a paper with a thoughtful face.

The paper in the duke’s hand was the trend of Prince Aicliffe that he had bought from the information guild.

Snicker.

The duke lifted his lips as he read the information on the paper.

The information provided by the information guild contained things that the duke had never expected.

“You seem to have some fun, sir.”

The knight, Scollaus, who was polishing his sword in front of the duke, spoke with a witty smile.

Scollaus was that kind of person.

He listened to the duke’s orders faithfully, but he was also very annoying.

But the duke still valued him.

It was enough for him to have a dog that listened to his words well.

“I did have some fun.”

“What was it?”

“It seems that Aicliffe wants to be the emperor.”

Scollaus stopped polishing his sword and showed curiosity when he heard the duke’s story.

The story of Aicliffe, the troublemaker, was quite famous in the Empire.

Scollaus was not ignorant of Aicliffe’s story.

“Are you talking about that troublemaker? That’s indeed interesting.”

“It’s amusing. I wonder how he changed so much when he knew his place.”

“Well, he’s still a troublemaker anyway. He won’t become the next emperor.”

The duke agreed with that story.

Aicliffe could never be the emperor.

But Aicliffe’s actions shouldn’t interfere with Renglos becoming the emperor.

He needed to get rid of anything that could cause trouble in advance.

“That’s obvious. But I have to clear away any obstacles first.”

“Are you going to do as Prince Renglos says?”

“Well. His plan is not a very good one either.”

The third prince, Renglos, was a person who insisted on killing Aicliffe whenever he had a chance.

But that was only possible when the time and situation were right.

It was not something he could do in the middle of the Empire.

It would be stupid to send an assassin to Aicliffe as Renglos suggested, but the situation was different for the writer who called herself Aicliffe’s teacher.

It wouldn’t matter much if something happened to her.

“Scollaus. Send someone suitable.”

“Someone…”

“Aicliffe has a writer who is his teacher. We have to find out who she is.”

Scollaus nodded when the duke gave him a hint.

Bring the woman who was Aicliffe’s teacher to him.

That was the duke’s order.

I was determined to find out who was behind the woman and what their motives were.

“I hope you can bring her quietly.”

“Then we can use the Shadow Knights.”

“The Shadow Knights, huh. They are a decent option, but isn’t there a more proper way according to the law?”

As the conversation continued, Scollaus started to move his hand that was polishing his sword.

The blood that had been stuck on it was long gone by now.

All he had to do was apply some oil to the blade.

Scollaus moved the cloth with a relaxed gesture and answered the duke.

“Is that so? Then I’ll look for some suitable bounty hunters from the law.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll handle it well.”

The duke gave a short reply and tapped his desk slowly with his finger.

Tap. Tap.

Every time the duke’s hand hit the desk, the flame on the candlestick flickered faintly.

Under the dim candlelight, a shadow was cast on the paper.

Who was trying to interfere with the great undertaking of the royal family?

The duke’s eyes, filled with worry, reflected Scollaus’s figure overlapped with the candlelight.

* * * * * *

“A letter has arrived for Your Majesty.”

In his mansion bathed in sunlight, Aicliffee took the letter from the maid.

He then gestured to her and dismissed her from his room.

The maid obeyed Aicliffee’s order and closed the door as she left.

Squeak.

After confirming that the maid was gone, Aicliffee opened the letter with a knife.

Inside the luxurious envelope, there was an invitation for him.

“The Earl of Eifeld has invited me. He wants to host me at a modest party.”

“The Earl of Eifeld?”

The emperor’s gaze naturally turned to the girl behind him after reading the letter.

She was the teacher that the church had assigned to help me.

She always wore a black hood over her head, hiding her face.

I wondered what someone who looked younger than me could teach me, but I had no choice but to keep her by my side since she was vouched by the archbishop.

She nodded briefly after hearing Aicliffee’s words and gave him an answer.

“That sounds fine to me.”

“Then I’ll send a reply accepting the invitation.”

Since she had made up her mind, Aicliffee had no reason to refuse.

Her decisions were mostly rational, regardless of her age.

With her approval, Aicliffee took out a letter and prepared to write a response.

He wanted to convey his willingness to attend the party of the Earl of Eifeld.

“I feel tired lately because I’m so busy.”

“Well, you need to prepare for the big event.”

“Can’t you at least adjust your schedule a bit?”

She smiled faintly at his joking remark.

She chuckled and watched him, then gave him a positive answer.

“I’ll decide on that after seeing what the emperor does.”

Aicliffee’s pen moved busily as he vented his small complaint.

His handwriting was elegant, unlike his nickname of troublemaker.

She continued to talk to Aicliffee as he wrote down his words.

“You write well, though.”

“I rarely have a chance to show it off… This was the only thing I could polish.”

“That’s quite different from the rumor of being a troublemaker.”

“I needed that kind of infamy to survive. But I’ve given it all up now.”

It was a ridiculous time to be called wandering.

I was just trying to stay alive by any means.

Maybe half of it was to vent out the stress that had piled up.

When Aicliffee finished the letter and put down his pen, the teacher lifted the teacup on the saucer and said.

“It’s good to keep that mindset.”

“……”

“Someday, you might stain your palm with your family’s blood.”

Gulp.

The teacher’s eyes, enjoying the hot tea, were not on the letter but on Aicliffee.

His ash-colored eyes, full of emotions, met with Aicliffee’s who had put down his pen.

The depth of her eyes was in stark contrast with her girlish appearance.

“This country called the empire is like that, right?”