The purple eyes of the Empire’s most powerful man shone brightly.
As if the memory of that day was intense.
“However, the anaconda was different.
The one with no venom tenaciously attacked and somehow managed to wrap itself around the crocodile’s body.”
The Great Elder, who had always compared the political arena to chess when devising strategies.
He looked down with interest at the overturned board.
“By the time I was leaving, that snake had grown immensely.
To the point of even threatening humans.” “Elder, do you see Warden Derek as that kind of being?”
At the question from the Head of the National Tax Service, Darc looked out the window.
At a promising prospect competing with the adjutant in a distant open space.
“Who knows.
So shouldn’t we throw him a prey as big as a crocodile first?”
The old man quietly held out his hand.
Understanding his will, the chief handed him a secret letter and a quill.
“Let’s raise the stakes while we’re at it.
Since he said with his own mouth that he’s confident.”
The Great Elder left a flamboyant signature at the end of the secret letter.
“Recommend this sparring match as an official event of the Empire.
So that all the nearby imperial royalty come.” “If you mean nearby imperial royalty…
are you including your niece, Her Highness, Princess Camellia?”
The Master of the White Magic Tower, Camellia Andalusia.
She is a powerful figure currently confronting the Holy See, which is asserting its power in the North.
If Derek proves to be a talented individual with both eloquence and martial prowess, he will be a great help in the competition.
“Yes.
Let’s just see if the fellow can endure it.”
The Great Elder, who had never felt much interest in any form of entertainment until now.
In his mind, the anaconda from his memory overlapped with a certain man.
“If he’s interesting enough for this old man, who knows if my niece will also take an interest?”
Due to the nature of the Imperial Court, rife with palace intrigue, Camellia also had a rough childhood.
She was only 23, but she didn’t trust others easily and had no romantic notions about youth.
That’s why she rarely gave her affection even to her inner circle, and often suffered from a sickness of the heart alone.
The Great Elder, who had watched her pitifully, wondered if the man who had amused him might also be of help to his niece.
“He may have seemed cute to you, Elder, but I don’t know if that man’s reckless eloquence will work on Her Highness, the Princess.”
The Head of the National Tax Service cautiously stated his opinion.
Even he, called the envoy of the Imperial Palace, seemed to yield before the Princess’s ruthlessness.
“I wonder.
When I saw him, the Warden didn’t seem reckless at all.
Rather, he had a happy expression, as if everything was going according to plan.”
The chief thought back on the sly man he had met today.
Come to think of it, all his actions were so relaxed, as if prepared in advance.
“You’ve heard, haven’t you?
That one of the head guards here was recently murdered on a wild hill.” “Yes.
I investigated separately as well, but in the end, I couldn’t find any evidence of homicide.”
The eyes of the Head of the National Tax Service became very serious.
Until now, everything he had put his hand to investigating had easily come to the surface.
But for this recent incident, he couldn’t find a single clue.
“Yes.
He handled it so perfectly that even your hunting dogs couldn’t notice.” “Befitting a family famous for contract work.”
Darc chuckled, teasing his subordinate who had failed a mission for the first time in a long while.
Then, he soon wore an envious expression.
“It’s not just thanks to his parents, you know.
I heard he’s a disowned child from his family.”
The Head of the National Tax Service, seeing the Great Elder laugh so magnanimously for the first time in years.
He gave a faint smile at the brightened appearance of the man who had always been grim after his son’s evil deed was revealed.
“I guess I should have raised my child harshly, too.”
The two men watched the new prison warden’s sparring match with grim focus.
It was the same for the white crow sitting on the windowsill.
The creature scratched its wing firmly with its beak, then leisurely flew towards its master.
Its elegant legs landed softly on a snow-white finger.
The white-haired woman gently scratched its chin.
“As expected from his previous life, his talent for swordsmanship is certain.”
Saintess Ange, lying on the bed with her beautiful, silk-like hair spread out.
She moved her bare feet lightly, happily listening to the news brought by the crow and the wolf.
“It was a good idea to leave a fitting sword for him.”
The sword of the fat, wicked lord she had killed after instigating the people.
That sword has finally found a good master.
“On top of that, he’s roped in the Great Elder to protect me.
How admirable.”
The sight of him trying so hard for me in this life, too.
The most painful memory for him was my death.
The Saintess, recalling the memory she had peeked at, found her red lips curling up unconsciously.
“No, I don’t fully trust him yet.”
Ange placed a finger on her red lips and bit it lightly.
Picturing the ecstatic scene that would soon arrive, she gently closed her eyes.
“If he’s truly the reincarnation of the one in the Holy Scripture, he’ll show the skills of a former Knight Commander.
I’ll start believing him then.”
The Saintess knew their cruelty and violence all too well.
The horrific memories she suffered in the underground made her beautiful and merciful face turn cold.
“Still… it’ll be tough for him to face three Holy Knights by himself.”
Droplets of blood trickled down from the finger she was lightly biting.
The fallen red mana began to spread far and wide.
Into the deep forest where no one ventures.
Soon, the eerie red eyes of arch-monsters gleamed in the darkness.
They were beings that ordinary knights wouldn’t even think of subjugating.
“In that case, I suppose one-on-one would be fair, right?”
Ange gave a decadent eye-smile and raised her finger.
Towards the Northern Holy See.
An unprecedented event that had never happened in a previous life.