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“Haha, if they have the guts to take it from me fair and square…” The man in his forties chuckled.

“Well, is the crown princess doing well?” Emperor Deorte asked.

“Yes, she is doing well thanks to His Majesty’s generosity.”

“Tsk… A true man should be able to support his family before setting his sights on the world.”

“I will take that to heart.”

“But some idiots abandon those they should be protecting for honor and a mere title.” Deorte sighed as if he was sick of it and pulled his bowstring.

Shee… Boom!!! At the same time, a huge amount of mana became concentrated onto the arrow. It cut through the air and was lodged in the ground after destroying the sturdy target.

“Amazing as always, Your Majesty.”

“Tsk. Did you think I became a master from fooling around?”

“It is difficult even for regular masters to leave an [Aura Blade] on a projectile that easily.”

He was the crown prince, and the eldest son who had been by Deorte’s side for a long time. The man knew very well that Emperor Deorte El Lyndis, the commander of the Lyndis Empire, was one of the strongest among the Swordmasters.

“Alright. I don’t think you came to me for small talk. Is there something you want to say?” Deorte asked, never taking his eyes off the destroyed target.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The crown prince raised his bow. Then, he familiarly loaded his bow and said quietly, “A member of the Echo Guild came to me with information.”

“Was there any progress?”

“There is good news and mediocre news; which would you like to hear first?”

“Ha, you know how to tease your father.”

The crown prince giggled at Deorte. He replied, “At least it’s a relief that it’s not bad news.”

“Well, then tell me the mediocre news first.”

“Count Lington and Count Colio have died. Apparently, they were beheaded on the spot after their clear inhuman acts were revealed.”

“Tsk…”

Count Lington was part of the Coalition for Disease Control, and Count Colio was Deorte’s subordinate whom he had allowed into the coalition by using Colio’s physical disabilities as an excuse.

“After deliberately spreading a disease in the Ordem Territory, a territory on the outskirts of the Rowane Kingdom, they independently carried out unvalidated human experiments for treatment purposes.”

To be honest, the commoners’ lives weren\'t valued by the nobility and royalty in this world. It meant that no one could say anything even if an ill-tempered noble were to cut off a commoner’s head because they were in his way. However, this was different.

“It is the same for a man who left his desires to madness. Alright, who did they say killed them?”

“The First Prince of the Rowane Kingdom.”

“Ah, the newly emerging adept greenhorn.”

“Haha.”

Of course, Emperor Deorte was sharp enough to know that Count Lington was dangerous, but he had still supported him despite knowing that fact.

“I am just saying, but there is no need for His Majesty to feel any guilt about…”

“Ha, I wouldn’t have been able to become the emperor if I was scared so easily,” Deorte said. The crown prince understood this fact very well, so Deorte just went on to ask, “Well, then what is the good news?”

“According to the report sent by Baron Gorneo, who studied ‘Blood of the Demon’ with Count Lington, a cure…has been developed. And it was developed not by Baron Gorneo or Count Lington, but the First Prince of the Rowane Kingdom.”

“…” Emperor Deorte’s eyebrow twitched slightly. “That is not just any good news.”

“That’s right.”

Without much reaction, Deorte asked, “There is no false information about the treatment, yes?”

“They say that it has been confirmed, and some of the Ordem Territory’s residents are beginning to recover,” the crown prince replied.

“The prince of the Rowane Kingdom… How very interesting. There may be some people who will try and pick on the Rowane Kingdom’s greenhorn because of this.”

“What should we do?”

“We cannot disregard someone that has brought such great news. Do as you wish with the ones who try to do something.”

“Should we formally invite him to the royal palace sometime?”

“Hm… That’s not a terrible idea. If he has achieved such an accomplishment, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to set up a marriage with one of the members of the royal palace.”

When the crown prince silently lowered his head as he listened to Deorte, they could see a few knights and ladies-in-waiting moving through the quiet garden with a little girl. The girl’s glittering blue hair was down, but the rest of her was strangely covered up. With a full-face mask and a pair of gloves, she was covering every inch of her skin.

The girl, who was cautiously looking around as if being chased by something, carefully approached the two after seeing them. Then, she spoke in a quavering voice, “I… I meet the two-headed dragon of the empire…”

“That’s alright. Stop.” Deorte interrupted the girl, who flinched in response. A heavy silence surrounded the garden. If someone saw them, it would almost seem like Deorte absolutely despised her.

There were certainly such rumors. The Lyndis Empire still tended to ostracize beastfolks, but the youngest princess was part beastfolk. She still received glares and looks of despise, but her royal status shielded her from most. Of course, that was the public’s perception. The truth was actually a little different…

“Why are you not calling me Father again?” Deorte asked.

“Th… That is…”

In truth, the Emperor of Lyndis didn’t like having his youngest daughter leave the palace because he adored her too much. However, rumors about the emperor detesting Aeria had also spread in the royal palace; perhaps it was because Deorte’s love was over the top.

Aeria carefully backed away. “Others are looking, and if someone were to see that you are talking to a lowly beastfolk like me…”

“What? Lowly?” Deorte’s expression turned serious as he cut her off.

“Th… That is…” Aeria stuttered.

“Alberth.”

“Should I get rid of them?” Alberth spoke with a creepy smile, as if he had thrown his poise and solemnity out of the window.

“Make sure to find them,” Deorte commanded.

“Yes.”

“You may crush them into pieces so that they can never recover. How dare they say something like this to royalty? They are quite brave.”

“F—Father!” Aeria flailed in surprise. She grabbed Deorte’s clothes while blurting out ‘Father’ instead of ‘Your Majesty’. She cried out, “You cannot do that… Because of me…”

When Alberth and Deorte turned to her, Aeria desperately shook her head and rambled on. Even her ears kept twitching from the panic she felt. Looking at her response, Deorte only said firmly, “You are my beloved daughter. It’s unsurprising to destroy the entire family of someone who dares to speak about this empire’s daughter like that.”

“I... It’s fine. It will only damage your reputation if you act because of me…” Aeria let out a short sigh. She couldn’t hide her bewilderment. She then said to Deorte, “So, please pretend you didn’t hear anything. Will you…promise me?”

“Phew… Okay, I promise. Alberth.”

“I will take care of them quietly.”

“F—Father!”

Despite Aeria’s shocked response, Deorte’s expression was more determined than ever. “Aeria, you are my daughter; the daughter of Deorte El Lyndis, the emperor of the Lyndis Empire. No one can call you lowly!”

“B—But…”

“If you’re worried about me, you don’t have to. It seems like you became worrisome while you were at the Holy Empire. Now, I have no intention of forgiving anyone who looks down on you.”

Aeria glanced at Alberth, her much older brother, when she saw Deorte being unwilling to back down. However, she realized that Alberth had no intention of taking her side. “Sigh…” In the end, she was the one who had to give up, since she had something more important than that.

Deorte stared at Aeria in confusion, because she had backed down easier than expected. He quickly asked, “Do you have something you want to say?”

“Um… That is, actually…” Aeria had a hard time forming a sentence, since she was preoccupied with her thoughts.

Alberth and Deorte’s expressions softened slightly, since they figured that Aeria was going to ask for something. However, they froze like statues when they heard what she had to say next.

“The promise that you will help me be with the person I love… When my disease is healed… Is that still v—valid?”

Although they couldn’t see Aeria’s face, they knew exactly what she was talking about, since they had grown used to her appearance and dressing by now. The first to snap out of it was Alberth, who said, “A—Aeria? Are you saying…”

“He saved me on the way back to the empire. Although I don’t even know his name…”

Then, Deorte made a bold decision after observing Aeria’s demeanor. He said, “Alberth. What is the most important piece of knowledge of the royalty of the Lyndis Empire?”

“It is that…a person who cannot protect their own will not succeed in anything else.”

“I think a bug has latched onto our flower.”

“N—No!!” Aeria shouted loudly, almost as if she was screaming.

Of course, the two didn’t know that the man whom Aeria El Lyndis was talking about was the same person who had developed the disease’s cure.

* * *

About a week had passed. Most of the patients were able to beat the disease, since the Ordem Territory had accelerated the eradication of the ‘Melting Acceleration Virus’ in the meantime. Of course, there were some patients who had died, but it was a relief that the numbers were curbed. Although, it seemed like a lot of people were calling Davey by the cringey title of ‘saint’.

Known as a small mana gate, this was the continent’s secret treasure that could transport a small number of people for a fixed distance. Unlike a regular one, this was portable and had its own charging function. A problem was that it took about a week to recharge once it was used, but being able to instantly teleport to a place that would take days to travel by foot was a huge advantage.

“Haha… My apologies. It’s not done charging yet,” Yulis apologized.

“It’s not a problem; we can just travel slowly while we take in the surroundings. Especially since the view around the Ordem Territory is nice.”

The idea wasn’t too bad; Davey had hit it big in his huge business, but he didn’t want to live a busy life. He desired a leisurely life, so a life of being overloaded with work was not the kind of life he wanted.