CHAPTER 47……………..
“What do you mean, Lady Adamas?”
Adamas stared at Hidenite’s face for a long moment before slowly closing her eyes.
The countless formulas filling her mind gradually aligned and flowed out.
And shortly after—
—You called?
With a pop, a human face sprang up from beneath Adamas’s feet.
“Oh ho! I heard it from the messenger, but you really can summon a spirit?”
Hidenite’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Adamas smiled awkwardly and made a request of him.
“Nom, if someone is eavesdropping on us, could you let me know right away?”
—A person?
“No. Rather than that, a spirit. More precisely, the presence of a sylph.”
—Okay. I’ll do that. It seems fine for now.
“Thank you, Nom.”
After greeting him, Adamas turned back to the marquis.
“Marquis, let me introduce him. This is Nom, a high-ranking earth spirit. I’m planning to ask him to help with mining the mine.”
—No!
Nom crossed his arms and sharply turned his head away.
—I’m not just helping for free. We had a deal, remember?
“Yes, that’s right. Marquis, may I give Nom the magic stones I was supposed to receive as compensation for developing the mine?”
“…That would be a bit difficult.”
Hidenite frowned slightly.
“What? Is it really not possible?”
Adamas bit her lip in embarrassment, never having imagined her proposal would be refused.
Hidenite met her eyes with his usual gentle smile.
“What Lady Adamas receives belongs to Lady Adamas. I will pay Nom’s compensation separately. Nom, what do you think?”
Hidenite bowed his head slightly as he asked.
—I don’t care who gives it to me. As long as I get jewels, it’s fine.
As Nom nodded, Hidenite smiled in great satisfaction.
“Nom, you’re amazing! Just like a high-ranking spirit!”
Adamas clapped enthusiastically as Nom lifted his chin proudly.
“Enough of that. Let’s get back to what we were discussing.”
Sapheiros grabbed Adamas’s hands and lowered them as he spoke.
“I mean it literally. First of all, Duke Creph and his wife both hold resentment toward His Majesty the Emperor. The Emperor always pushed his duties onto the First Prince and spent his time indulging himself with the duchess by his side.”
“So what?”
“It means that it wouldn’t be strange if the duchess became pregnant at any time—or if the Emperor’s health suddenly declined.”
Perhaps the duchess had even contributed to the Emperor’s failing health.
Adamas swallowed those words.
“Even if she became pregnant, Duke Creph seems to have been in quite a hurry. What if the child is a daughter? Aren’t there already two perfectly fine sons born to the late Empress?”
Hidenite asked with curiosity.
The Francis Imperial Family had never had a reigning empress in its history.
“They’re not exactly fine, are they? It doesn’t matter if it’s not a son. Once the Emperor is gone, all the men of the imperial family are already unfit.”
At Adamas’s firm words, Hidenite’s eyes widened before returning to normal. He pressed at his temples as if tired, then let out a hollow laugh.
“So that’s the state they were in?”
“Yes. The struggle for succession had already begun.”
There wasn’t much time left.
In the winter of 620, the young Duke Creph would be born.
And two years later, the current Emperor would pass away.
By the natural order of things, the First Prince should have become the next Emperor.
Yet strangely, the next Emperor was the young Duke Creph.
His father, Duke Creph, assumed the position of regent in place of his still-young son.
The imperial court announced that immediately after His Majesty’s death, the First and Second Princes had drawn swords against each other.
After a fierce duel, both died, and by a stroke of luck, a nephew—who might have been the Emperor’s son—ascended the throne.
But what if that two-year gap had been manipulated?
What if the succession struggle had not happened overnight but had been ongoing for a long time—and the announcement came only after everything had already been settled?
Duke Creph, though the Emperor’s only half-brother, had been excluded from all imperial affairs not because of incompetence or character flaws.
‘One with a defect cannot be the true heir of the lion.’
Liger Francis III had isolated Duke Creph from both the imperial family and high society, invoking legends and myths that existed in no law.
All because he had one extra finger on his right hand.
Perhaps Liger Francis III never realized—
That his narrow-mindedness would lead not only his sons, but himself, to their deaths.
“If he could have killed the princes, that would have been best. But for now, merely crippling them would have been enough. If six fingers are unacceptable, then so is a limp or a missing arm. Duke Creph already knows that.”
“I see.”
“Even if it hasn’t been publicly announced, the imperial family has probably already been seized. Otherwise, they wouldn’t suddenly attempt to reform the tax system. And the princes wouldn’t have come all the way to this distant marquisate in that condition while avoiding the imperial court’s eyes.”
“My head aches. What should the marquisate do now? I want to hear your thoughts.”
Adamas bit her lip and stared at the map of the marquisate hanging on the office wall for a long time.
Then, as if having made up her mind, she met Hidenite’s green eyes.
“I believe the answer is already decided, Marquis.”
Even if someone called her selfish, she couldn’t help it.
The marquisate had already fought two battles against the Kingdom of Robiana. There were still issues with the golems and the vassals.
Mano was no longer her past. It was her present.
“You must absolutely not get involved in the imperial succession struggle. You must prioritize the territory—Mano—above all else.”
“That means…”
“Yes. For now, we must do nothing.”
“Is that so? Is doing nothing truly the right answer?”
“Yes. The princes haven’t revealed their circumstances anyway. And we cannot fully grasp the imperial situation at this moment.”
A deep silence settled over the office.
“You’re right. Very well. We’ll end this matter here.”
“Actually, Marquis… there’s something even more important than this.”
Adamas hesitated before speaking with difficulty.
“More important?”
“Yes. It’s about the golems.”
Hidenite, who had been leaning back and pressing his brow, straightened abruptly.
“Don’t tell me—you’ve even identified the origin of the golems?”
With a delighted smile, he grabbed Sapheiros’s hand with his right hand and Adamas’s with his left.
His trembling hands clearly showed how much he had suffered over the golem issue.
“Well done! In such a short time…”
He looked like a five-year-old who had just received a gift.
And yet she had to deliver such news to him.
Feeling as though something were poking at her stomach, Adamas spoke with difficulty.
“Ah, well…”
She glanced awkwardly at Sapheiros, wondering how to explain her conjecture.
But he was looking elsewhere.
At a time like this, where is he looking? Come to think of it, it feels like only the Marquis and I have been talking this whole time.
Frowning, Adamas followed Sapheiros’s gaze.
At the end of it sat Spinel’s helmet on the office desk.
Spinel must have left quite an impression.
It was only natural. Although the Kingdom of Robiana had retreated, Sapheiros had lost his beloved horse. Spinel might have been the first wall he had ever faced.
Still. We’re having an important discussion and he’s not focusing?!
Adamas poked Sapheiros in the side. Startled, he turned toward her.
“Ross. I know that’s bothering you, but focus. We’re about to talk about the golems.”
“Ah, sorry. My apologies, Marquis. I’ll explain from here.”
Sapheiros quickly described the desert dungeon, Kanil’s chamber, and the contract between Adamas and Nom.
He even added—though it was only speculation—the possibility that the Glaive Desert might be Marinya.
“Marinya. If that’s true, then the Francis imperial family will now set their sights on Mano as well. Could it be that the princes already know the truth?”
Hidenite spoke with concern.
He seemed worried that the marquisate might be politically exploited by the princes.
“Even if not Marinya, I think it’s possible they came to the marquisate aiming for the desert salt. If they’re truly in the middle of a succession struggle, they’ll need money.”
Adamas replied.
“Even so, we can’t suddenly block the princes from exploring the desert without cause… Are we to remain on edge, not knowing when they might discover the salt?”
“Please don’t worry. I’ll find a way somehow.”
Adamas clenched her fist.
The two were very different.
Hidenite looked at Adamas and Sapheiros.
Unlike Sapheiros, who would sacrifice himself to protect what he cherished, Adamas showed the will to save everyone together, no matter the situation.
“It will be fine, Marquis. Even the genius Kanil scattered countless golems and still couldn’t easily find it. It will be nearly impossible for just two princes to discover it.”
“What about the desert dungeon where you found the salt? The princes entered that place as well. If they later discover Kanil’s chamber?”
At Hidenite’s question, Adamas quickly organized her thoughts.
“For now, the stone ants will no longer gather salt. Sapheiros destroyed Kanil’s magic core. His stone golems can no longer move. As for the desert dungeon we entered, I’ll ask Nom to seal the entrance.”
“Good. In that case, it won’t be easy for the princes to deduce the identity of the salt mine buried underground.”
Hidenite let out a sigh of relief.
“But if golems appear in the marquisate again after this, then we’ll have no choice but to suspect that person.”
“Yes. Most likely.”
Recalling a pair of cold eyes the color of rose petals, Adamas quietly nodded.
