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Chapter 339
Dom
The moment Ferda's words cut off, a tense standoff seemed about to continue.
It was Godfrey who avoided the staring contest.
No, rather than avoiding it, the feeling was strong that he simply didn't want to cause a trivial incident unnecessarily.
"From what I hear, you have Golt's seal. Is that true?"
Ferda nodded.
Еn̂ u m̊ а .і̀d̈
"Yes. He gave it to me directly."
"Is there anyone who can testify they heard those words?"
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"No one."
"Well, even if there were, they'd become non-existent. That's the noble world for you."
Ferda understood what he was saying.
Ferda took out the Golt family seal and placed it on the table.
Ё ňú ḿа́
"If you want it returned, I'll gladly return it."
Godfrey looked down at the seal and asked.
"Golt's legacy that everyone in the Empire desires?"
"That wouldn't be mine. Rather, it would become a shackle binding me."
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"That's what power is. To crush others, you must also be crushed."
"I just don't want to end up falling for my own schemes due to useless greed."
Е_n̂.ūma
"Is it wisdom, or lack of spirit? Well, only you would know."
Godfrey pulled Golt's seal toward him with his cane's handle.
Holding up the seal, he continued speaking.
"Golt was truly a man full of rebellious nature. It took three whole months to win him over. Do you know how I won him over?"
"Not interested."
Ferda cut him off sharply.
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Even so, Godfrey's expression looked quite intrigued.
"You say that, but you're more interested than anyone. I know well that you're afraid of becoming like him."
"You mean the donkey that makes a contract with a demon, pulls the cart until worn out, and gets boiled and eaten?"
"There's a misunderstanding there. I was the one who entirely planned for him to contract with Morax, so there are parts even he, the contractor, doesn't know."
He spread his fingers as he spoke.
"At first it was Stella, and from the second he began obsessing over Olivia. You know that story well, don't you?"
W̌еb̀ nǒ.vе̌.l E n ù mӓ
"Yes."
"Then you calculated that I'd discard the worn-out donkey without a drop of blood or tears."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"That's the same."
"But what if it was Valdemar's request?"
It didn't make sense.
Why would he request something that trips himself up?
Ẁеb̈ ňо̃ v е l Еn̊ u m̄а
"Valdemar cherished his fiancée deeply. Even in moments where he couldn't smile, he'd call his lover's pet name to comfort himself. That was Lux Stella."
"So you'd know he'd become obsessed with the name Stella as well."
"He wanted it that way himself. So he asked that his first child be named Stella."
Valdemar himself?
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"Why?"
"Because that would become the moment giving him the greatest humiliation."
Ӗn̆ŭm a .ĩd̆
"So why would he humiliate himself?"
"Before being the Empire's Grand Duke, he was a man who loved only one woman. He had no confidence in living while forgetting the woman he loved. That's why he must have wanted the forbidden fruit. Something where the moment you obtain it, you die."
The Empire's Grand Duke.
A figure worthy of being called the continent's number two.
He was strict with others, but harsh on himself.
He set a harsh price on himself for discarding love for the Empire.
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'Don't believe him, Ferda.'
There was no telling how much truth and how many lies came from that mouth.
The Emperor is that much of a seasoned mage.
Even if his Circle number is low, his experience alone would surpass Ferda's.
"How can I believe that?"
"Because Grand Duke Golt was that kind of person."
Е́ ń u m ӓ
Another dog's trick making one reach a strange conclusion on their own.
He couldn't say that.
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Ferda looked at him.
He couldn't refute it.
His eyes before he killed Adriana.
Before a war commander, before a Grand Duke, there was a man who loved one woman inside.
Eǹũ m â
"He's a soldier who gave up what was most precious to him for the greater good. A man who knows honor and deserves respect."
If such a man obsesses over another woman, moreover a young girl.......
It was certain he'd take his own life one way or another.
"If he made that request to commit suicide, does it have to be Stella specifically?"
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"What do you think happens when you climb a tree you know you shouldn't climb?"
"That's not what I mean."
We̊_b n о̃v̄ е̃l̇ Е n u m̂ а
Putting Golt's obsession aside, Ferda asked Godfrey.
"Why Stella?"
Ferda asks the reason he pushed his own daughter into such a pit.
"Sensitive about using blood relatives. You hear that kind of talk when you raise abandoned puppies."
He speaks plainly about what children are from his position.
What's surprising is that the man isn't simply testing or trying to provoke emotions, which makes it even more infuriating.
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He desperately holds back his head from heating up.
"Stella agreed to that too."
"You mean becoming bait?"
"No. Our Arken family's long tradition. Not having collateral branches, no....... Precisely, being unable to."
Demonic blood must not leak out.
"Judging by your look, you already know. Anyway, I told her. No matter who you love, you can't be with them, and when a new Emperor ascends, you'll be disposed of."
Е̂ n ùm̊ӓ
"Alexander's situation is truly pitiful."
That was sincere.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Following his tracks was truly displeasing, but before the tragedy of having such a bastard as a father, he felt like a pitiful brat.
At that reaction, Godfrey was cynical.
"How many times do others see their children? When others have seen dozens, hundreds of times, I've watched for tens of thousands of years. And do you think I only saw Alexander and Ureas now? I married and had children with almost every woman from the Arken Empire to the North, South, and West. I even made a list of how many outstanding sons were born among them."
"Disgusting."
Ẅе b̃ ñо̀ v̈е l̈ Е̌ ñ ůṁа̇
"To a ruler, love is merely a private emotion."
"How are you a ruler? You're a slave who came out of this world by a dragon's orders."
He poured out harsh words.
Godfrey finds even such words laughable.
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"Hmm, you could think that. The Empire may be under the dragons' protection, but I'm not their slave. I'm the Emperor, plain and simple. Do you know the difference?"
Ferda didn't answer.
Е ńum̄ ӑ
"A slave obeys, an Emperor decides. I merely listened to Golt's request as the Emperor of humans."
Valdemar Golt.
The name from his mouth is the man who killed the body double.
Practically the human he should hate most.
Yet Godfrey calls that name like his own loyal subordinate.
"Golt offered me what was most precious to him. That was loyalty to the Empire and keeping the lord-vassal bond. When I chose seclusion, he asked me. When the Empire needs me, ascend the throne again."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He didn't think Godfrey's words were lies.
Ferda thought Valdemar Golt would willingly have done so.
"So let me ask in the Emperor's name right here."
Godfrey extended his hand.
In that hand is Golt's seal.
"Regent Ferda. Won't you lead the Empire's prosperity again with me as Golt's successor?"
Е̂ nu ṁ.а .i̇d
Ferda quietly looked down at that hand.
Ferda knows what it means for the Empire's Emperor to directly extend his hand, moreover showing his palm.
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Because he was from a border knight family inside the Empire.
"I am not Valdemar Golt."
Ferda didn't take that hand.
"Even if he has a rebellious nature, it was achieved through loyalty and leadership toward the Empire. But I'm not. I cannot become that."
Ẃe̊ b̂ n̂о v e̊l Е́_n u mǎ
Godfrey withdraws his hand.
"You have no choice. Must you make me say it outright?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"The fact that your fiancée, Lady Valdrova, has fallen critically ill."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
He put strength into his face to prevent expression changes, but couldn't block that insight.
"Don't treat me like a fool. Seeing you suddenly try to convene the Grand Council over Far East matters, it's easy to infer the Guardian's condition isn't good."
Ё nu̇ m̈а̂
"You're using that to gain the upper hand?"
"That's the logic of this world. When an opportunity arises, you use it. Exploiting the opponent's weakness through information I know is the same. For example......."
He brought his face close and spoke.
"The fact that you're Godwin's reincarnation, for instance."
"......."
"You wouldn't care about the world's gaze. But the reason you care so much is because of one thing."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Valdrova.
"Can you handle that?"
Breath catches in his throat.
Right, it was as he said.
Whether he's a mage with outstanding skill,
Or the Empire's true Emperor, it wasn't important to him.
Еn ûm̄а
Fear tried to dig into Ferda's skin.
"You intend to control me with that?"
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"Me? Why would I? That's what lowlifes do. Someone like me just warns and waits."
He's relaxed.
Too relaxed to know his true intent.
"The day you realize you can't do it alone and bow your head."
En um̆ а̊ . і d̊
The only information entering his mind was that he wasn't lying.
"Let's stop the story here...... I've spent a lot of time for you."
"......."
"Let me just make the conclusion simple. Golt sacrificed for me, and I returned for Golt. And I designated you as successor, and I'm accepting it positively. If you become my person, I'll become the power to handle all those worms clinging to the name Godwin, at least."
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"You'll discard me like a worn-out shoe later."
Ferda didn't trust Godfrey.
Wеb́_n̆ӧ v е l̊ Eńǔ m̃ а̃
No, he must not expect even a little.
All that remains for a leaning wall is the fate of crumbling.
"Golt's corpse will arrive in three days."
Godfrey returned Grand Duke Golt's seal to Ferda.
"Discussing the successor's legitimacy is for next time. Until then, observe the Grand Duke's seat and think it over."
He rose from his seat, and Ferda also rose following him.
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Finally, he tried to leave after paying respects to the Emperor.
"Ah, right."
Godfrey added as if he'd forgotten.
"A knight prepared a gift outside. Seems like the rats you planted. Take them if you intend to bury them."
The rats he planted.
Who was it?
W е̃ b̈nо̀ vеĺ Е̃ n ü.m̆a
As Ferda stepped out the door, a knight was waiting like a statue.
"A gift from the Emperor."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
A silver tray with gold trim and a dome cover.
Two knights, not servants, each carried one the size used for turkey dishes.
They showed the contents inside, and only then did Ferda realize.
'Helus.......'
W̊е̃ b̃ňоv̀ el En̄ū m̃а̄
The fat man called the Sage of Water.
'And Karl.......'
The corrupt knight who rose to Eradication Corps leader.
Both died with ugly faces until the end.
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He didn't pity them.
They coveted beyond their station and paid the price for it.
W ӗ b̄ñ ö v ѐl̆ Еnuṁӑ
And if I can't handle it, I'll meet the same fate.
"Handle it appropriately."
The knights closed the dome cover and withdrew.
The mages in charge of guiding waited for Ferda's decision.
"Shall we guide you to Grand Duke Golt's mansion?"
Ferda shook his head.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Do you know where the greenhouse is?"
"Yes."
"Let's go there."
He thought there might be an answer there.
* * *
Ferda moved near the Grand Duke's greenhouse using teleportation magic.
Ŵ ê.b́ nо̌v̂еl̈ Ë ňu m̀ а̂
Like a transparent glass dome covering a plate called the plain.
Many nobles' carriages were parked there.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Flies swarming a dead beast is nature's law.
At the Grand Duke's death, many nobles swarmed the tasty parts.
That was the greenhouse from which all power in the Empire was said to come.
Nobles were gathered at its entrance.
Ëňu m̂ а̃ . i̇ď
Especially the elderly old nobles were boldly threatening the greenhouse managers.
"I ate meals with the Grand Duke! And drank together! We're like brothers!"
The manager answered expressionlessly.
"You cannot enter without His Highness the Grand Duke's permission."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Huh?! You pushed me? I got a scratch on my body! You're done for, you bastard! Huh!?"
"Without His Highness the Grand Duke's permission, you cannot approach the dome."
Е n ũ m а́. і̄d̀
"This bastard, doesn't even know the times are changing and seeks the Grand Duke!"
"Just let us take a look!"
The atmosphere is tense.
Those trying to seize power with the flow of the times and those trying to keep their loyalty face off.
Guarding that place even after the master died was no easy task.
Ferda cut between them and walked to the manager.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Seeing Ferda, he said this.
"No matter if you're Regent Ferda, this place......."
He belatedly saw Ferda holding something out and his words vanished.
"Will this do?"
Golt's seal.
The expressionless manager saw the seal, felt rising emotion, and bowed his head.
Е̄ń ú mа́ .і́ ď
"Holding the seal means the Grand Duke acknowledged you as formal successor. So you're this place's master. A master has no need to ask permission."
The staunch manager made way, and Ferda entered alone.
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A noble watching Ferda enter screamed without knowing his place.
"How can that green young bastard be the Grand Duke's successor—."
The words didn't continue to the end.
Instead, screams burst out around.
Е ñ ù m_а̊
The manager who guarded the place with loyalty alone began doing his duty again.
