Chapter 249 — 제라이츠
Chapter 249
Zeraits
The Crown Prince Zeraits looked as if his eyes might skewer Elric any second.
Show even the slightest opening, and he fully intended to brand him a traitor and have him arrested.
Most of those attending the council, however, were watching with keen interest.
That the Crown Prince considered Elric a thorn in his eye was common knowledge to everyone present.
Especially since the meteoric rise of Mervinger had recently become a burden for the other nobles, they were quietly siding with the Crown Prince.
If Elric slipped, they would all rush in to tear him apart.
This place was, in essence, the maw of a tiger.
Meanwhile, the one person expected to step up for Elric—the Fourth Prince Cromhel—merely sat back with a smile, clearly enjoying himself.
“Your Highness, the Prince.”
An aide at his side cautiously broached the subject.
“Leave him be.”
Prince Cromhel’s lips curved into a crescent as he watched Elric.
“But if we let things continue like this, we could see another Red Lion incident.”
The rebellion of the Red Lion Corps, thought to be easy to crush, had dealt the Empire far greater damage than expected.
If Mervinger were driven into a similar corner?
If Mervinger chose to resist, the damage would be on a scale incomparable to last time.
By current assessment, Elric Mervinger’s skill alone was exceptional.
And at his side sat the Blue Lion and the Gray Lion.
Factor in the fact that he was on close terms with House Neresta—widely believed to have virtually seized the Mage Tower—and this was truly dangerous.
But—
“Ah, have I never said this before?”
Prince Cromhel seemed wholly unbothered.
“Pardon?”
“Elric Mervinger. The very first moment I saw him, I knew.”
“…?”
“He’s my kind.”
“…!”
“He’s a lunatic. Worse than me, even. Do not, under any circumstances, try to weigh him by our standards.”
“….”
The aide’s expression twisted in a peculiar way.
Only one thought filled his head.
“Worse than you? Really? Is that even possible?”
Who was Prince Cromhel!
Despite his exalted station as a prince, he spent his days getting into trouble, forever giving the Royal Guard headaches.
Sneaking out of the palace without armor to clink glasses with commoners in the marketplace and calling them brothers—basic.
At times, claiming he was nicely drunk, he brawled with mercenaries, and if some noble on “his side” still irked him, he would cleanly lop off the man’s right arm—Count Caliger’s son comes to mind—as part of his record.
Not long ago, he claimed to be courting the daughter of some country baron nearby, and they barely managed to stop him from secretly vaulting the fence.
A true loose cannon—you never knew where he’d jump—yet Elric was the same breed? Worse, even?
“Hm. That face of yours doesn’t look good. Like you’re thinking, ‘At this rate, isn’t the end times guaranteed?’ Something like that.”
“H-ha. Ha. Ha. H-how could I e-ever harbor such i-impious, i-ill-begotten t-thoughts…?”
“I caught a whiff of those impious, ill-begotten thoughts. I’ll just pretend I didn’t.”
“….”
The aide still wanted to scream.
“Say it’s a lie! I don’t want to clean up another mess like that!”
Of course, he knew Elric had once been nicknamed “the Mervinger misfit.”
No, that nickname was very well-known.
But no one had ever taken it all that seriously.
The image of the Star’s Archmage, Usdan Mervinger, was saturated with noble “nobility”—righteous, broad-minded, exemplary.
So, subconsciously, they all assumed that even if Elric Mervinger, his grandson, went too far, how far could it really be?
But if that wasn’t the case…?
Unwittingly, the aide swallowed dryly and found himself staring at Elric.
In truth—
Elric only smiled, showing not the slightest hint of fluster.
“So sit back and watch. From here on, we’re in for quite a show.”
Just as the aide’s face twisted again—
Thwack!
Out of nowhere, Elric set a red scroll down on the table with a sharp smack.
Every gaze turned to him, naturally.
What is that? their looks said.
Even Crown Prince Zeraits didn’t seem to grasp what it was yet. But he felt the weight of it; one eyebrow twitched.
He opened his mouth to speak—
“This is a Cheolgwon—an Iron Writ.”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
One sentence was enough.
To make the faces of Crown Prince Zeraits and the assembled ministers harden at once.
“That is…!”
“Yes. When Holy Emperor Zeraits I founded the Empire, he bestowed it upon my family’s ancestor, Brahman Mervinger, who rendered distinguished service at his side. It is a first-rank patent of merit.”
Crown Prince Zeraits ground his teeth.
Holy Emperor Zeraits.
Founder of the Empire and progenitor who established the Imperial House as the greatest family in this land. He had even taken his own name from that great forebear, to carry on his glory.
“Inside is the Emperor’s commendation to our house, and with it, recognition of our service—along with a promise that, whatever crime we might commit in the future, we are to be pardoned once. So I will—”
Elric’s lips curled high.
As if to mock Crown Prince Zeraits.
“—return it now.”
“…!”
“It’s true the Red Lion dealt the Empire a grave blow. I also know that the one called Ghost, who followed him, harmed an Auditor and was involved in bringing down two of the Hexagrams.”
Elric’s voice was calm.
“But most of that was perpetrated by the mountain tribes, and it’s equally true the Red Lion Corps strove to prevent further damage in the territories they occupied. Therefore, now that I’ve taken them in, I will shoulder all their sins and all responsibility.”
“….”
Crown Prince Zeraits had to grit his teeth.
He acknowledged every charge, and claimed every last bit of blame for himself—what rebuttal was there?
If he had brought just some random scrap of paper to be stubborn with, he could have ignored it.
The problem was that the issuer of that document was the Holy Emperor.
The great founder whose name he himself shared.
“If necessary, I will also return every bit of merit earned by me and the Star Legion.”
Elric drove the nail all the way in.
The ministers flicked glances among themselves. Their looks said they had no idea how to refute him.
A few even began preparing to step back, deciding this wasn’t a bad bargain at all. No one could deny the Star Legion had done the most in this war. For him to renounce his claim to the largest share after the war—other nobles had no reason to object.
No!
By contrast, Crown Prince Zeraits could only think of stopping the situation from turning exactly as Elric wanted.
If Elric took the Eastern Marches into his arms, he would become too large for the Imperial House to control. He would carry the weight of a Duke in all but name.
Mervinger already possessed greater public esteem across the continent than the Imperial House. Now hand him power too?
It would become the greatest stumbling block of his reign—without a doubt.
And on top of that—
There might be documents tying me to this within the Red Lion’s camp! I can’t let those surface!
It had been Crown Prince Zeraits’ attempt to woo Andre Wynz to his side—then his failure and purge—that lay behind this rebellion.
If Elric got his hands on that proof, and handed it over to Prince Cromhel?
For now, he had real power as Crown Prince and no one would bring it up. But if Prince Cromhel’s faction sank their teeth in, it would be disastrous.
Elric, however, didn’t grant Crown Prince Zeraits the time to stew.
“If even this isn’t enough, then until every sin is wiped away, the Star Legion and I will take the vanguard in every battle.”
“The Duke’s mettle is truly impressive. Good. Then let me lend a hand as well.”
Prince Cromhel burst into hearty laughter and in an instant attached himself to Elric.
“This is a white-clad campaign of atonement, sought so that I and the retainers I took in may be pardoned. There’s no need for the Fourth Prince to step in.”
“I simply like the Duke’s mettle and choose to stand with him. This is the battlefield. For now, I am not a prince, but a Lion.”
Almost as if rehearsed, Elric and Prince Cromhel traded clipped lines back and forth, blatantly projecting an image of “together.”
And it didn’t end there.
“House Vail will stand with Mervinger.”
“Heh heh heh! Talk of suppressing traitors—this old man can hardly sit still.”
As Herman and Saylor tossed their spoons onto the table, one by one, the Crown Prince’s ministers went pale as they realized the gravity of the situation.
This was blatant—too blatant—an alignment.
If the Blue Lion and the Gray Lion, who had remained neutral in Imperial factional strife until now, joined the Fourth Prince’s side?
And over there, he now had the Red Lion beneath him as well.
At this rate, three of the Eight Lions would be standing with the Fourth Prince!
Nor was there any pretext to force them apart.
What they were presenting was “atonement,” after all.
And it didn’t even stop there.
“We will help as well.”
When Gai Neresta raised his hand lightly, the entire atmosphere of the grand command tent flipped over.
His joining meant not only House Neresta but the Mage Tower would be coming with him.
In the end, the other nobles could do no better than glance around and quietly retreat without so much as a proper word.
This gathering had been meant to pin Elric down.
Now the Grand Command’s real authority seemed to be shifting to Elric instead.
In the end—
Elric’s declaration that he would take in the Red Lion was not a “request” or a “petition.”
It was a notice. A fait accompli.
“Y-you…!”
Crown Prince Zeraits ground his teeth.
His gaze at Elric no longer even pretended—it was nakedly hostile.
But Elric looked right back at him, as if to ask, Even now, will you refuse?
Crown Prince Zeraits could not utter a word in response.
One wrong word, and Elric might seize the Grand Command’s entire authority.
By then—
Everything was effectively decided.
* * *
[Ugh. Thanks to one cringey loser, we had to take the long way around.]
Once the council ended, Elric stretched lazily and yawned.
The way Crown Prince Zeraits glared at him at the end, like he meant to devour him… that didn’t scare him at all.
The guy had already lost the test of strength and tucked his tail—nothing more, nothing less.
『You’re just going to leave him be? He’s definitely going to stab you in the back.』
[Meph, do you still not know me?]
『Know you how?』
[He goes for the backstab, sure. But I’m not as cowardly as he is. I’m different.]
Elric grinned.
[I hit you in the face.]