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Chapter 101: The royal palace in turmoil

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by Zil

The news that Raidorl had fulfilled the royal order and defeated all the traitors of the eight eastern houses reached the royal court.

The King, Granard Zain, listened in silence to the news of Raidorl’s victory delivered by his soldiers, and then quietly nodded his head.

“……….I see, he’s won again, hasn’t he?”

“Ha!”

The soldier who had come to report to him bowed deeply as he fell to his knees. His face was etched with deep fear, and he turned his head to the floor, desperately trying to look away from Granard.

The soldier’s eyes are turned away from Granard’s face, the reason for this is obvious.

He is sitting on the throne, tapping his fingers on the armrest with annoyance, and his face is covered with bruises like burns. The bruise, which covered about a quarter of his face, ran from his nose and lips down his neck to his left breast.

The bluish-purple bruise that is eating away at the head of the nation suddenly appeared a few months ago. It was caused by the curse of the Oath, cast by Raidorl.

A few months earlier, a secret agent had been sent to the city of Ulfyn to frame Raidorl, and had gone rogue, attempting to kill his brother without the king’s permission.

The assassination was unsuccessful, but the threat to Raidorl’s life by the king’s men triggered a curse that caused the mark on Granard’s left breast to be activated, leaving a dark bruise on the king’s skin.

The bruise that ran from his left breast to his face caused Granard pain day and night, as if it had been seared by fire.

And with each bruise, Granard grew more and more hateful towards his brother.

The soldier finishes his report in a matter-of-fact tone, keeping his eyes down from the king, who has an overtly sullen expression of pain and hatred.

“Thank you. You can step back.”

“Ha!…….”

He relaxed his shoulders in relief and the soldier hurriedly left the audience chamber.

As the soldier disappeared behind the door, Granard 　 slammed his fist into the armrest of the throne.

“Damn you, Raidorl!”

The chair, on which all the kings of Zain had sat, made an ominous noise, but he did not care, and raised his voice.

“How dare you falsely accuse me!　You have disgraced me, the king and the older brother, and now you are drinking the wine of victory!　How dare you disgrace me, RAIDORL!!”

Ever since the bruises of the curse were carved, the fires of hatred had been raging in Granard’s heart.

In the first place, the secret agent who had caused the curse to take effect had intended to disgrace Raidorl by setting fire to the city of Ulfyn and blaming him for it, but in a self-indulgent and self-serving attempt to assassinate him, he failed and triggered the curse. It was a grave mistake.

It was as if the heavens, or fate, were trying to make Raidorl king, and this angered Granard to no end.

The king’s anger is bitterly watched by his aide, Lockwood Marcell, the prime minister.

“….. But, Your Majesty. If you only look at the result, he did a spectacular job. Thanks to the victory of His Highness Prince Raidorl, we will be able to regain the eastern border region and bring it under our control.”

Lockwood follows up softly, choosing his words carefully so as not to provoke the king.

Most of the territories of the eight eastern families that were taken by the Empire have been returned to the Kingdom of Zain. The Count of Arbeil and the Viscount of Ilkas, which were destroyed by the Imperial forces, are still in the hands of the enemy, but negotiations for their return are underway in parallel with the peace.

“Originally, the eastern border region was not under the watchful eye of the central government, so if we can use this opportunity to send someone who is convenient for us as a lord, shouldn’t we look upon it favorably?”

In the early days, the border regions of the Kingdom of Zain were ruled by lords who were loyal to the royal family and could be trusted.

However, over the course of the country’s long history, the local nobles have become obsessed with their own vested interests, and their loyalty to the royal family has waned.

During the invasion of the Empire, there were only two families that remained loyal to the royal family until the end and three quarters of the eight eastern families turned.

“His Majesty Granard’s power will be further increased if he sends people he trusts. I think it is fair to say that you have used His Royal Highness Raidorl to increase your influence.”

“…….I wouldn’t be complaining if he’d been killed in action!”

Although the Prime Minister’s follow-up has somewhat lowered his anger, Granard still swears and caresses the bruises on his face with his left hand.

He breathed a sigh of relief that the king seemed to be calming down, and Lockwood shook his head reluctantly.

“……If His Majesty can no longer serve as the main pillar of the country then he’s no longer fit to rule the kingdom.”

The Prime Minister, Lockwood Marcell, is a selfless and loyal servant.

However, his loyalty is not necessarily to King Granard, but to the Kingdom of Zain. For Lockwood, the king is the pillar of the kingdom, a cog in the wheel of state.

Lockwood’s only reason for staying with Granard was that he felt that the older brother, who had supported the kingdom since the time of the previous king, was more suitable to be king than his younger, inexperienced brother.

“But……the situation has changed. His Highness Raidorl, who was supposed to have lost everything when he was sent to the frontier, is now about to gain everything ……!”

Raidorl showed his power and honour as the holder of the Holy Sword in the war against the Empire.

Through his work as an adventurer, he scooped up the people and gained their support.

With this expedition to the East, he took his own army and the survivors of the Eight Eastern Houses as his entourage.

“And some of the nobles and officials of the royal court are already on the side of His Highness Raidorl. I don’t know how long they’ve been at our throats, but it’s only a matter of time before the balance is tipped.”

Lockwood is not entirely sure how many people are on Raidorl’s side.

But at least he knew that some of his chief advisors, including the Lord Justice, had turned to Raidorl’s side.

His younger brother, the prince, who had no other claim to fame than being chosen for the holy sword, has grown in influence to the point of overshadowing Granard’s position.

No matter what predicament they put him in, no matter what intrigues they put him through, he grows as if he were feeding off of it.

“…I see, this is why it’s called a hero of an era”

Lockwood, with a faraway look in his eyes, is convinced.

As the goddess of fate has loved him, Raidorl has risen to power in a short time, and the hero of his time.

Or, perhaps, it is they who will be regarded by future historians as the poison, the ones who unnecessarily disturb the country.

“If I think about it, it may have been a good idea to send her to His Highness. In any case, a member of our House of Marcell will serve the next king.”

As Lockwood had already suspected, the inner fighting amongst the court somehow involved Meltina Mercer, who was being held as a prisoner by Raidorl.

It would be satisfying for the loyal prime minister if Meltina were to support the next king, Raidorl, even if Granard were to fall and Lockwood were to sink with him.

If Granard wins, Lockwood will support him as a vassal; if Raidorl wins, Meltina will support him as a vassal. Whichever side won, the loyalty of the House of Marcell? would be undying.

“I have sacrificed my daughter for my country. Now I must be prepared to sacrifice mine.”

“What will you do next, Lockwood? I will not allow my brother to gain any more ground!”

“That’s right…….”

Granard called out vexingly to the Prime Minister, who was worried about the future of the kingdom.

Lockwood interrupted his thoughts and said the best thing he could think of at the moment.