Chapter 251 — 제라이츠
Chapter 251
Zeraitz
Right before stepping into the grand command tent.
Elric made Prince Cromhel an offer.
“How’s business these days?”
At that, Prince Cromhel let out a faint snort.
Business.
He’d never heard anyone describe the sacred—some would say holy—scramble for the imperial throne in those terms.
The prince’s guards bristled at once.
It was already sacrilege enough to their eyes that Elric spoke to the prince without honorifics.
Of course, Prince Cromhel raised a hand to stop them.
Strictly speaking, Elric wasn’t wrong.
Princes and princesses gunning for the next throne put their talents and allure on the market as wares, and the nobles placed their bets on whichever wares promised them the greatest profit.
No, it might even be fair to call it gambling.
If your bet hit, you took a fat cut; if it failed, the political damage would be severe.
“About the same as usual. Neither good nor bad.”
Prince Cromhel shook his head, matter-of-fact.
“Leaning bad, I’d say.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because the Crown Prince has the initiative.”
Prince Cromhel stared into Elric’s eyes for a long beat.
Elric met his gaze as if to ask what, exactly, he’d said wrong.
Soon, Cromhel could only give a crooked smile and let out a soft sigh.
“…You devil. Right again. The nobles are getting an indelible impression of Brother Zeraitz—be it favorable or otherwise.”
This war would end in the Empire’s victory; that much was baked in. Which meant the man steering the polity, Crown Prince Zeraitz, would soak up the spotlight.
No matter how brilliant the feats Prince Cromhel and the other royals racked up in the field, they would be seen as acting under Crown Prince Zeraitz’s orders.
Barring some disqualifying scandal, all of it would be stamped as the Crown Prince’s credit.
And after that… he’d lock down the throne as his own.
As ever, Cromhel had little interest in the succession.
He only wished that the one taking that seat would not be Crown Prince Zeraitz.
If the throne fell into those hands, he himself wouldn’t escape the future purges.
“We also lost some manpower not long ago.”
Cromhel added, half in jest.
He meant the death of Count Calliger, who’d held a large stake in the Fourth Prince’s faction.
In other words, care to fill the vacancy?
If Elric, who was riding high, would lend a hand, it would be a huge boon.
But Elric offered no clear answer, only a smile that could be read a dozen ways.
“I see. Rough going, then.”
“Hm?”
“…?”
“You came here for something. Out with it.”
“For what?”
“Pay.”
“Pay for what, exactly?”
“You’re wearing that smile again.”
“…?”
“That sly smile.”
Elric promptly pressed his fingertips into the corners of his mouth.
“Ah. That obvious?”
“How could I miss it? Whenever you smile like that, something entertaining happens. What are you selling me?”
Cromhel folded his arms and snorted.
Heh. Elric finally chuckled and handed over a document folio to Prince Cromhel. On top of it sat a crystal orb.
“What’s this?”
“A treasure.”
“…?”
“Left by that force you said got shaved off. It should be a very fun watch.”
“…!”
Meaning Count Calliger had left it.
Cromhel’s eyes flew wide as he reached for the folio—only for Elric to pull it back.
“Hey now, what’s this? Sir, is this your first day in the trade? If you want to inspect premium goods, you put money down first.”
“How do I pay without seeing the goods?”
“The higher the grade, the more you’re rolling the dice. So—what can you give me?”
“Mm… fine. If it’s as high-grade as I’m thinking.”
After a brief deliberation, Cromhel named his price.
“I’ve a sister squarely of marrying age. I’ll set up a formal meeting with her. How about it? You and I form a blood pact.”
* * *
I got called an idiot for making a pointless deal—
Yet watching Crown Prince Zeraitz’s face set like stone, Cromhel felt a rare rush of satisfaction.
At least I got something like this out of it. That’s a profit.
Cromhel mouthed an apology to his sister—whom Elric had spurned before he even realized—then fixed his gaze on Crown Prince Zeraitz.
The soldiers he’d brought had already ringed Zeraitz.
Shraang!
Naturally, the Crown Prince’s people turned grim.
Agents and knights of the Inspectorate 4th Bureau, nobles who happened to be near—they all drew steel.
A few even sheathed their blades in aura.
Cromhel’s men, in turn, leveled their spears, faces taut with tension.
“Your Highness the Fourth Prince! What is the meaning of this? Even if you call it horseplay between brothers, this goes far beyond the pale!”
Crown Prince Zeraitz winced, but did not bark back.
As if all of this should be handled at the level of subordinates.
Cromhel felt a stubborn urge to drag that insufferably arrogant brother down a notch.
So this is the high that makes men drunk on power.
Cromhel took out the folio and the crystal orb Elric had given him.
Even then, Zeraitz’s expression did not change.
“Do you know what this is, Brother?”
“…What are you trying to say.”
“A year ago. Do you remember the special instructions you gave when you planted a man inside the Star Expedition?”
For an instant, something flickered across Zeraitz’s face, but he shook his head.
“I’ve no idea what you’re talk—!”
“You might say you gave all those instructions verbally so nothing would remain on record, but. Here.”
Cromhel lifted the orb.
“He encoded the audio with magic and archived it—then kept a separate backup. You didn’t know that.”
“…!”
“And this folio is the packet of directives the Star Expedition received while it was stranded in the borderlands. Sorted by date, day, and hour, with detailed notes on contents and the flow of funds.”
Zeraitz was aghast.
Calliger! That damned wretch!
He’d only met Count Calliger in person once.
Even then, it lasted less than five minutes. He’d arranged it all per the 4th Bureau’s guidance so that no physical evidence would remain… and yet, it seemed a trap had been laid.
And if there were separate evidence and traces of correspondence, that was another problem all its own.
Count Calliger had apparently tucked away piece after piece as insurance for a rainy day.
Exactly the situation the Crown Prince had dreaded had landed in his lap.
“When High Command was reeling from overextended advances, the Star Expedition alone turned the tide and carved out the platform for a comeback. Rather than cheer them, you tried to drive them to their deaths… and still consider yourself fit to inherit the throne?”
Cromhel’s face hardened as he jerked his chin.
“What are you waiting for? Arrest the criminal! There may be accomplices—take everyone in the vicinity as well. If any resist, kill them.”
At some point, the aura Cromhel was exuding seized the hall.
L-Lion Qi…!
When did the Fourth Prince advance this far…?
The Crown Prince’s knights blanched under Cromhel’s pressure.
Lion Qi—an art only the Eight Lions, those acknowledged by the Golden Lion, could unfurl.
Cromhel had been classified as a Black Lion, yes, but only for his potential; he was known not to have reached the Five Chains.
And yet here he was, radiating a presence that yielded nothing to the other lions…!
Rumble, rumble…
The commotion drew soldiers, officers, and nobles from across the camp to converge on the spot.
Crown Prince Zeraitz shouted, face flushed crimson.
“I know nothing of this! Wasn’t Count Calliger one of yours to begin with? How can anyone be sure this isn’t a frame-up you concocted—!”
“How strange.”
“What!”
“I never said these materials were made by Count Calliger.”
“…!”
“Duke Chanseong told me. Count Calliger and Viscount Tworke joined hands to stab him in the back. He beat them and seized their files, but never figured out whose, precisely, they were.”
Cromhel’s lip curled.
“And yet you seem to know whose they are, Brother.”
Only then did Zeraitz realize his misstep.
In his fluster, he’d stumbled into a child-simple snare.
“Th-That—!”
“I said bring him!”
Cromhel blasted his voice with mana.
The ground shook as if thunder had cracked.
Zeraitz raged at them not to come closer, but the soldiers merely showed him formal courtesy as they seized his arms and led him away.
“Unhand me! I said let go! What are you doing! The Fourth Prince is staging a military rebellion! If you don’t stop him immediately—!”
A handful of nobles started to move at his cry—
Shraang!
“I told you, didn’t I?”
No one knew when the rest of the soldiers had moved, but most of the camp was already under control.
Similar scenes were unfolding everywhere.
The Star Expedition and House Vail’s knights secured the knights’ quarter; Black Skull took the mercenaries’ ward.
And even the mages of the Tower—the only ones who could have checked them—were all lying low under separate orders from Gai!
In this moment—
The only person who could stand at the center was Prince Cromhel.
The Black Lion’s killing intent, hidden all this time out of deference to Zeraitz’s eyes, flooded the camp.
A lion is the king of beasts.
In this moment, the one who had conquered the camp was none other than Prince Cromhel.
“These are wartime conditions. A full investigation will be conducted when the war is over.”
Zeraitz thrashed as he was dragged away.
This can’t be… It can’t end like this…!
Deferring the probe until after the war—
That meant he would be kept under restraint while his merits and reputation were ground to dust.
In that case… the world would remember only Elric Mervinger, who led them to victory, and Prince Cromhel, who put the period on it.
The name Crown Prince Zeraitz would be erased.
Truth be told, Cromhel didn’t need hard proof—just enough circumstantial grounds to bind Zeraitz.
Somehow, somehow I have to find a way…!
From here, everything would be handled to Cromhel’s taste, now that he held the reins.
And Crown Prince Zeraitz’s fate then… was clear as day.
He’d done too much to Cromhel already.
Then, belatedly, something surfaced in Zeraitz’s mind.
—I’m on Your Highness’s side. Think about the Empress’s seat I mentioned, won’t you? Hehe!
Lapis.
The Demon King of Gregory.
The scroll she’d given him… was on him now.
The Mage Who Devoured Talent