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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Arrogant Duke
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Hiding one's true identity should be a virtue for a dragon at play.
Waraticas showed no sign of trying to conceal it whatsoever.
Whether she's only like this in front of me or not is none of my concern.
She just seems insane.
I wonder if she even realized that midway through, the shape of her own eyes had changed.
"...Ugh."
Probably because I forcibly exerted myself to hold out, every muscle in my body is now cramping and twisting.
More baffling than the pain is the fact that she tried to crush me to the point where I had to strain myself this much just to endure.
It's common enough between people to feel intimidated or fearful from sheer presence when facing off, but making it hard to even move your body is an entirely different matter—extremely difficult.
Especially for someone like Waraticas, whose appearance doesn't inherently provoke fear.
It requires the target's mental fortitude, the atmosphere, the situation—a whole host of factors. Yet she tried to throttle me simply by staring, in a situation utterly devoid of any such elements.
She even made the maid standing off to the side collapse to her knees.
"I managed to get through it for now, but..."
She said she'd come back, so in the end, my response wasn't bad.
The treatment was decent, and since she even apologized at the end, it's fair to assume Waraticas was reasonably satisfied.
But it's only the beginning.
I closed my eyes again, pondering how to handle the next encounter.
"...What the hell."
The border of my minimap flashed red.
Upon checking, two gray dots and one red dot were heading straight toward my location.
The red dot led slightly ahead, with the gray dots trailing behind.
"..."
I focused my thoughts.
When I saw it brush past what looked like palace servants—gray dots—without slowing down at all, and instead, those gray dots seemed to freeze or veer aside as if avoiding it...
Someone who doesn't travel alone, whom wandering the palace wouldn't seem odd for.
Someone with enough gravitas that palace servants yield first.
Someone powerful enough to casually visit a prisoner.
I could roughly guess who it was.
Considering Waraticas had brought only one maid with her, I could take it a step further.
"A high noble?"
My hunch was a high-ranking noble harboring some grudge against me.
It could be one of the generals I fought, but they wouldn't have had time to reach the palace.
Even rushing at top speed by carriage, with a Phlegethon teleport on top, it took my group four days.
Even counting from the day Andrei stormed my camp, that's seven days—too tight to arrive via normal means.
Which left a noble.
Bringing two servants along suggested he viewed his own power as rivaling the emperor's.
Unless those trailing figures weren't his servants, in which case he might be a suspicious character under watch.
-Clank.
Right on arrival, grabbing the doorknob without a second's hesitation.
That alone convinced me it was a high noble. That's when a small, slender man who looked about my age pushed open the guest room door and strode in.
He had his hair neatly slicked back with pomade and was decked out head to toe in accessories embedded with red gems.
His pants were even red, and his face was flushed beet-red, as if he were absolutely livid.
"...You're Viktor, are you?"
"...?"
"Mind your manners. I am the head of the Emperor Faction, Duke Theodore Offenshtat."
The pretentious tone, the forced bass in his voice, the way he lifted his chin to look down his nose...
He was the familiar type of noble I'd encountered plenty of times back in the kingdom.
"Ah, you wouldn't know, would you? The empire's nobles are divided into the Emperor Faction and the Noble Faction. Right now, my Emperor Faction holds the reins."
Theodore Offenshtat, huh.
Not a name I was completely unfamiliar with.
One of the Noble Faction dukes, I thought. He popped up in some weird events now and then, as I recalled.
Did he confess to the emperor or something?
I glanced at the maids who'd followed him in—they wore badges matching the one on the maid who'd come with Waraticas.
"Meaning I'm the one who speaks closest to Her Majesty."
The emperor's maids didn't so much as twitch at his words, so it didn't sound like a lie.
Claiming to lead the Emperor Faction—and its head, no less—suggested my actions had ruffled his feathers somehow.
To think this guy was actually the Emperor Faction's leader.
It really drove home how little interest Waraticas had in state affairs.
"...Well, Her Majesty mentioned you often enough that I came to see for myself, but you don't look like much."
Unclear if he was talking to me or just muttering to himself, I stayed lounged in my chair, observing him leisurely.
There was no reason for 'Viktor' to show respect to someone just flashing their title and status.
Especially not some noble who couldn't even wield a sword himself—no need to fear him outside formal settings.
"They say you came quietly. So, was coming to the empire your goal all along?"
...Did he figure it out?
"Well, succumbing to Her Majesty's charms isn't so strange."
Just nonsense.
No way he could've known.
I nearly panicked over a throwaway line.
"Even with Her Majesty visiting in person, you're still here, so it doesn't seem like you've won her favor either."
"..."
"...Hey. Are you ignoring me right now?"
He'd been yapping from the doorway when suddenly he stomped toward me with wide steps ill-suited to his short legs.
"To you, who'll be rotting away forgotten in some corner—to you, I am graciously offering a chance that won't come again!"
Setting aside how annoyingly perceptive he was on irrelevant points, there was something about the thrilled way Theodore prattled on that reeked of Andrei.
"No doubt you've realized the reality now? You could play king among incompetents back in the kingdom and have your fun. Unfortunately, the empire is teeming with men tougher and meaner than the likes of you."
The way he mistook his delusions for truth, brimming with pointless self-confidence.
"Her Majesty seems disappointed in you, but swear to heed my words from here on, and I could arrange a position for you."
Even crossing the line in the end.
...I silently apologized for calling Waraticas crazy earlier.
This guy qualified.
No matter that I was a prisoner—he was utterly disparaging someone who'd risen to commander-in-chief of an enemy state.
"I can be generous with pay. Or name any other desire."
Conveniently, the maids with him were the emperor's own.
Meaning this conversation had a good chance of reaching her ears.
I had no clue why he was acting this way toward me, but no reason not to exploit it.
As he leaned in close, I rose from my chair.
"Theodore, was it?"
"...What."
Bullying with sheer upright posture wasn't the wisest move, but I'd just treated the emperor the same way moments ago.
I needed to hold the same stance now.
Being overly polite even to enemies wasn't a virtue for an ally.
I advanced on Theodore step by deliberate step as he recoiled in shock.
The maids showed no intent to interfere, having already stepped aside.
"How dare a prisoner—"
He retreated bit by bit; I pressed forward bit by bit.
"What are you doing! Stop him, now!"
He frantically called to the maids, but they stood motionless, watching as if deaf.
-Thud.
The room wasn't that big, so soon his back hit the wall.
I closed to arm's reach,
"Wh-what..."
"Because I'm a prisoner..."
I placed a hand on his left shoulder, leaning in slightly to meet his eyes.
He was a potential rival down the line; best to etch a strong impression now.
"Eek!"
"...is why you're still breathing after preaching to me about betrayal."
Before I could tighten my grip, Theodore darted sideways.
"To defy me, of all people! You'd better brace yourself!"
He grabbed the doorknob in a panic, spouting the obvious,
"You'd best not cross my path again."
"Urk...!"
I added that one line.
He flung the door open and fled.
The maids, having watched the whole thing, gave me a quick bow before following him.
-Click.
Once the door shut, I sank back into my chair, waiting for the next visitor.
With the Emperor Faction's head having made his move, it was only natural for the Noble Faction to send someone too.
***
A problem arose.
The sun dipped low, but no one else came.
Theodore didn't strike me as some formidable figure, but a wildcard was still a wildcard.
Even after Waraticas and Theodore's visits, zero movement from the Noble Faction...
"The Noble Faction's weaker than I thought."
Way weaker than I'd anticipated.
I'd known they'd be on the back foot after the Northern War's failure.
My expectation was that the Emperor Faction, with the emperor staying hands-off, couldn't aggressively expand.
Yet Theodore's clumsy recruitment attempt suggested otherwise.
A motley crew, sure, but he'd managed to rally under the Emperor Faction banner.
This raised the difficulty.
Easier than the Ruth Kingdom, where nobles clung tightly to power, but I'd still have to work for it.
I'd be competing against Theodore, who currently gripped what power there was.
As I mulled my next moves.
-Knock. Knock. Knock.
A knock sounded.
Three times, rhythmic.
No way?
-Click.
"I said I'd come back, didn't I?"
I wondered just how far she'd push my threshold for 'crazy.'
Less than a day later, Waraticas reappeared, maid in tow.