Chapter – 35
“What on earth are the two princes doing at this late hour?”
“Good grief… what happens to the land when you do this.”
They looked like ordinary middle-aged nobles, sweating from training and having barely had a chance to wipe it off.
But in reality, each of them was the equivalent of a general with at least two stars in their previous life.
“The Duke is arriving!”
…And there, Duke Anais Volibert himself appeared.
The knights in purple uniforms following Kyle were taken aback.
“Sir, General!”
In other words, he was far above the royal knights the Second Prince had brought here as his allies.
The Second Prince’s expression was quite something to see as well.
Of course, a prince ranked above a general or a duke in hierarchy.
But the problem was that no one had officially been designated Crown Prince yet.
“So, as the Second Prince, he wouldn’t want to make the Volibert family uncomfortable either.”
General Anais, with a streak of reddish-brown hair perfectly slicked back, knelt on one knee.
“May the blessings of the Primordial God be upon you, Your Highness Ebren, Your Highness Kyle.”
“Long time no see, General.”
“It is an honor, yet… at this late hour—!”
After greeting the “villain,” the general turned his dark eyes toward the male lead.
“Your Highness Kyle, why were you burying such mines in the ground? Aren’t these prohibited in the palace due to their danger?”
“…!”
“Were these for hunting monsters in this area? If His Highness the First Prince hadn’t contacted us…!”
It was lucky they were summoned in the dead of night.
Otherwise, the Volibert family, who were at the secret training ground, would have been trapped without a chance to react.
“And Gedric!”
The general’s shout was directed at the commander of the knights following Kyle.
“If you were going to deploy with the Second Prince, why wasn’t I informed?”
“I-I was ordered to handle it as quickly as possible.”
“Only His Majesty and I have the authority to give orders to you!”
“…!”
Sweat was dripping down his face.
Ah, by the way, Lilian felt no guilt toward that knight.
‘He’s the one who took bribes from my grandfather to accept Lamio.’
His talent as a merchant far surpassed any knightly virtue.
The original story’s male lead maintained his usual expressionless composure.
“General, it’s a misunderstanding. It’s true I used explosives, but they were by no means dangerous—”
At that moment, Lilian silently pressed the video stone.
Recording and surveillance—a strategy to survive in this world.
[Sniff, sniff…]
Amidst the standoff between the two factions, an oval-shaped image floated, attached to an invisible thread.
Inside the footage was an adult sobbing…
Holding a bluish glowing orb…
[I-I just need to do as His Highness ordered… right…?]
Muttering frantically,
[N-Now I just…]
He buried the mine in the ground.
The Volibert family looked at this in bewilderment.
“Isn’t that… the Second Prince’s aide?”
“Sir Cedric Bain, I believe…”
“Good grief…!”
“Isn’t that orb leaking some kind of ability?”
Cedric in the footage groaned under mental contamination.
‘In the end, I have to appear at the end too.’
He had to hold Cedric’s hand to correct him.
Even the “veil of faults” affected the video, and even watching himself, he could hardly recognize that it was ‘Lilian.’
General Anais Volibert could not hide his admiration.
“…Truly an incredible skill.”
Those around him agreed.
“Indeed, Your Grace.”
“Even an A-class controller couldn’t handle such contamination immediately…”
“To control it without damaging the mind.”
“However—”
The senior elders of the Volibert family were very displeased with the original male lead.
“What exactly is going on here?”
“….”
Lilian coldly stared at the original male lead, who couldn’t answer.
‘He must be rotting inside.’
She had never personally clashed with him.
To Kyle Tarandia, Lilian was insignificant—both in this life and in the “original story”—so he had no reason to pay attention.
In truth, many others had been bystanders in Lilian’s life.
Still, seeing him suffer like this was satisfying, probably because he abandoned his own subordinates…
Then the “villain” spoke first.
“Well, it’s exactly as you see. Kyle, how could you ask your subordinates to do such things?”
He had a reputation for being a prince more noble than a villain… but this incident would create cracks.
Just looking at the expressions of the knights behind him was enough to tell…
“…Yes, I regret that things turned out this way.”
“And I will personally interrogate this one.”
“…!”
“You have no complaints, right? You used fire, law, and explosives.”
The original male lead’s expression stiffened at the talk of handling the aide.
The real battle hadn’t even started.
‘This isn’t even a preliminary round.’
Still, winning was the best option.
After leaving the chaotic area, shadows flocked around her like sheep.
“Miss! Eat more!”
“You idiot, what time is it?”
“Here, take more cushions!”
Lilian, receiving a shoulder massage from Margaret, drank the juice handed to her without refusal.
After a day of hard work, she deserved such a little luxury.
‘The Volibert family’s gaze was fine too.’
They had been a neutral family for generations.
‘In the original story, they eventually sided with the Second Prince because of Iris…’
They would later need help decisively…
‘Still, if I do well next time, it could lead to a good result.’
…Who should she tell that to now?
Lilian looked around.
“By the way, where did His Highness go?”
Now that she thought of it, Sir Elias wasn’t there, and some of the familiar shadows were missing too.
Janne replied casually.
“He’s stepped away briefly. He has matters to attend to in the rear.”
“Is that so?”
All the shadows nodded and smiled.
“Rest now, Miss. This time, you should reach the castle just as you wake up.”
Snow had lightly accumulated in the darkness.
Ebren sat on a rock, one leg crossed over the other.
“I got quite scolded for doing things I usually don’t.”
“Ugh… hhh…”
“There are so many things lately that I’m trying for the first time.”
Across the snow, Kyle knelt, panting heavily.
“By my standards, it was a completely inefficient strategy.”
“You, ugh, Ebren…!”
“But it was a strategy worth enduring.”
A few of the dawn soldiers lay with their eyes closed.
It was impossible to tell which areas had been erased in this situation.
The remaining areas would soon be buried under the snow as well.
“Phew.”
In truth, Ebren had been mildly bored while this was happening.
He knew Kyle would try to trap him and that Paville would bring along miscellaneous things.
‘I could have erased everything cleanly.’
Then the Second Princess would mobilize Paville, Tillard, parts of the royal family, and other influential houses.
A war would already have broken out.
In the past, Grar would have hesitated because of the burden of rampage and couldn’t have easily chosen war.
‘But now I have Lilian…’
The goddess of victory had come to him.
Moreover, humans only understand when ruled by fear.
If he wiped out about 40% of the empire’s population, the rest would be easy.
And yet…
Ebren faintly smiled as he looked at his groaning younger brother.
‘Interesting indeed.’
Not his brother, but Lilian.
To think she had even involved the Volibert family to shake Kyle’s position…
How did she even know their secret training ground was nearby?
In any case, it was extremely fascinating.
‘Since Lilian found out, I should let her handle the method until the very end.’
He had also witnessed far more interesting moments than expected, so he was satisfied.
Rising, he gently trampled on Kyle’s head.
