Chapter 09
“Why me?”
Thinking I must have misheard, I turned to Elhardt with disbelief—only to see his hardened expression.
It seemed unbelievable, but it was true: even I was being ordered to attend the imperial palace banquet.
“Don’t worry about formal attire. There are preparations already made.”
So the Cradion Imperial Palace even has spare dresses? Well, if that’s the case.
“But why the banquet all of a sudden?”
“Isn’t it to promote friendly relations between our two nations?”
“Then wouldn’t it be more fitting to remove these chains first?”
“That is…”
“Why don’t you at least suggest it? It’s not like your master has ever caused a disturbance at the palace, right?”
“…I will raise the matter.”
Surely they wouldn’t make me attend the banquet in shackles. If that’s the case, then when I’m imprisoned alone like this, it would only be logical to set me free.
“Then I will send someone tomorrow morning.”
The attendant, looking slightly weary of me speaking my mind while Elhardt remained silent, quickly left the room.
Just as the head chamberlain’s presence faded from the hallway, Elhardt spoke resolutely.
“Let’s say you’re sick.”
“Huh?”
“If you say your fever is raging and you can’t attend the banquet, they won’t be able to force you.”
I stared at him blankly.
“Why wouldn’t I go?”
It was an opportunity to directly observe high-ranking figures of the enemy nation—no reason to turn it down.
Besides…
“I’ll get to eat plenty of delicious banquet food.”
Elhardt looked at me with a flustered expression.
“It could be dangerous. It’s clearly a trap.”
“It’s fine. I just need to handle it well.”
Making excuses has its limits. And we don’t have much time, so it’s better to confront things head-on.
“It’s fortunate they gave us one day.”
“One day is far too short. Can’t you just listen to me this once? If something happens to you, I…!”
The man who remained unmoved even through brutal violence was now restless with anxiety. I felt a bit sorry, but…
“I’ll be careful. Elhardt, don’t you trust me?”
Still, I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
I leaned in close to persuade him. After groaning in frustration, he finally nodded.
“…But you must never leave my side.”
“I’ll try.”
I’ll stay by Elhardt’s side as much as circumstances allow—but who knows how things will turn out.
“So I need a crash course from you.”
Tonight, I planned to sneak into the central palace to gather internal information on Cradion.
To do that, I’d need to prepare.
What basics should I know? Who are the key figures driving the relationship between Cradion and Bardia?
“Before that, can you tell me one thing?”
Elhardt asked with a serious face.
“What—and for whom—are you doing all this for?”
That wasn’t an easy question to answer.
Behind me lay the days when I had founded Bardia with grand dreams.
Eventually, heroes die, cities and nations decline, and disappear without a trace. Nothing lasts forever.
Yet, I want to restore that bygone brilliance—though I may be nothing more than a ghost of the past.
“…For the dead.”
Because I cannot go empty-handed to the graves of those who must have waited for the expedition to return.
Because I need something to say to them. Only then can I proudly tell them, “I’m back.”
“And also, for myself.”
I’ll give it my all, and then retire with a clear conscience.
“Does that answer your question?”
“…….”
Elhardt, who had been staring intently at me, suddenly softened around his lips.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
I asked, raising my eyes. He blinked slowly.
“Hmm?”
“You just smiled—pretty like that.”
I poked the corner of his mouth with my finger.
He didn’t blink. Even as I touched his cheek, he just kept looking at me.
Then, suddenly, he threw out a question that caught me off guard.
“Do you find me pretty?”
“What? You say that like it’s the first time you’ve heard it.”
I was a little flustered but answered as if it were nothing. No reaction came back.
“…….”
“So it really was your first time hearing it…”
With a face like that—why? Wait, why am I even worrying about this?
I quietly pulled my hand away from his face.
Now I was the one worried he might see me as some kind of flirt…
“Um, well, let’s get back to the main topic. We don’t have much time…”
As I awkwardly changed the subject, he nodded.
“Let’s.”
And then he smiled again—just as prettily as before.
“I’m not the best with words, but I’ll explain as best I can.”
He could ask so many questions, be suspicious—but he accepts it with just one question? I hope he’s not so cornered that the only option is to trust a suspicious being who appeared out of nowhere.
“I’m not sure where to begin.”
Elhardt lowered his eyes, choosing his words. After a moment, he spoke.
“Let’s start with the massacre caused by Archmage Calep, who ascended the throne after the founding king.”
“…Huh?”
“That’s when the kingdom nearly split in half.”
Who did what?
What Elhardt told me after that made my mind incredibly complicated.
‘I never thought Calep would do something like that.’
Calep, the second king of Bardia, apparently purged the founding noble families, as well as some nobles and knights who had served the previous king, on charges of treason.
The kingdom, having lost its pillars, was greatly shaken. In the chaos, Calep himself disappeared seven years later.
When Archmage Calep—also the head of the Magic Tower—vanished, the mages who followed him scattered across the continent, leading to a decline in magic.
‘I thought he was a decent guy.’
The face of Calep, passionately explaining magical theories whether I was paying attention or not, came to mind. My heart grew even more troubled.
Bardia, which I had hoped would stand strong forever, faced a great crisis within just a few decades and was pushed around by younger nations.
Even so, it had endured for 300 long years—but now, it was truly at a dead end.
Because Cradion, founded during Bardia’s period of turmoil, had suddenly declared itself an empire under the current emperor and launched wars of conquest.
‘And the occupation of Bardia was actively pushed by the crown prince, right?’
The portrait of Founding King Mikhail still remains in Bardia’s royal palace.
For that reason, the people of Bardia who saw the crown prince whispered that he might be Mikhail reincarnated.
Because in terms of appearance alone, they looked very alike.
‘How coincidental.’
It seems a bit too strange to dismiss as mere chance.
‘And for me to return to this world precisely when such a person exists.’
I can’t explain it clearly, but it doesn’t feel entirely unrelated.
‘In times like this, I need to investigate around the key figures.’
That’s why, as soon as the moon set, I sneaked into the third floor of the central palace.
Because there, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—the crown prince’s right and left arms—was located.
‘If isolating Bardia was the first step, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could be considered the vanguard.’
Using the layout and security system I’d figured out during the day, infiltrating wasn’t too difficult.
But if there was a variable…
“This is Viscount Bellow’s office.”
…it was that Elhardt, who had tried to dissuade me from going out at night, ended up following me.
After spending so long with people who followed without question once a decision was made, I must have lost the ability to persuade anyone.
No matter how I thought about it, moving alone was more efficient. How did I end up bringing along a prince as big as a mountain?
‘Not that he wasn’t helpful…’
But moving together made me realize: Elhardt’s physical abilities truly surpassed human limits.
Things I had thought only possible through magic were easily solved with him.
From bypassing the central palace’s security network to reaching the third floor, I never needed to use magic or abilities once.
If there was one area where he seemed unrefined, it might be fine-tuned strength control.
‘I wonder how he ended up with a body like that.’
I stepped forward quickly before he could smash the doorknob.
“I’ll open this.”
Elhardt glanced between my face and his own hand, then nodded.
His eyes seemed a little… sulky.
‘Probably my imagination.’
