Chapter 35
The story continues off the page
The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
Nothing exists that humans cannot conquer.
The Arken Empire, which adopted that slogan, had enjoyed an era of prosperity since Godwin’s death.
Its first emperor, Jeffrey Arken, was a great hero, tactician, and statesman.
He declared that he would lay the foundation for an empire that would not crumble even over hundreds of years.
That declaration had, in fact, continued to be proven to this day.
The current emperor of the Arken Empire, Godfrey Arken, was the most incompetent and greedy ruler.
In another kingdom, such deep greed and capricious rule would have ruined it completely within three years, yet he had continued it for forty years.
He still held power, and the Empire remained strong.
It could even be said that the emperor’s authority descended from the heavens.
‘But the emperor’s authority comes from the warehouses.’
The treasures and sacred relics amassed by previous emperors were sustaining the Empire.
Being able to lay hands on those warehouses meant being able to share in that authority.
And there was not a single noble who did not know it.
‘They are blinded by gold and bow to gold.’
They fawned on the emperor in proportion to his incompetence and praised him in proportion to how far he strayed down the wrong path.
The rot would only accelerate, the foundation of the First Emperor’s thousand-year Empire would crumble, and its downfall would quicken.
“So where are you planning to rob?”
Jed asked incredulously.
“The Sealed Vault.”
“The Sealed Vault…”
The Sealed Vault.
If there was a treasure vault for storing precious treasures and relics containing sacred power, the Sealed Vault was its opposite: a place where evil things that could not be made public were sealed away.
There, magical tomes left behind by demons, along with books and magical items developed by demon followers, had been sealed away.
Jed’s expression grew even more sour.
Robbing the treasure vault was already like walking into certain death, and the Sealed Vault was like adding another layer of danger.
“I’m asking just in case, but could you tell me what you plan to steal?”
There was no reason he could not answer.
“Barbatos’s Shadowcraft, one of the grimoires of the Archdemons.”
Barbatos, who was called the demon of shadows and schemes among the seven Archdemons of Hell.
“Barbatos…”
Jed muttered with a serious expression, then raised his head.
“…Who is that?”
“You don’t know?”
“Even those damned Amon followers mention him from time to time, but Barbatos… I’ve never even heard of that demon.”
Though called one of the seven Archdemons of Hell, Barbatos was actually the least influential and a demon few people had ever heard of.
“It’s only natural that you don’t know. He isn’t a demon who keeps followers like the others in the first place.”
It was less that he was too pathetic even to be mentioned and more that his obscurity was intentional.
Barbatos preferred to move covertly.
He knew that a low profile was advantageous for using his abilities, so he demanded neither initiation rituals nor some tremendous price.
‘Instead, his conditions are extraordinary.’
The conditions for manipulating shadows were the most demanding among all the magic left behind by the Archdemons.
Even Shadow Hand, the lowest-tier spell Ferda had used, was beyond the proper control of most ordinary mages.
Thus, Barbatos had almost no followers, and few people sought his grimoire.
‘Which means it can be used as a trump card.’
Since it was an obscure form of magic, people would not know how to counter it.
For mages, winning the battle of wits by catching an opponent off guard was the most important thing.
“Supposing we steal this Shadowcraft…”
Jed voiced the unease that had been circling in his mind.
“How are we supposed to get there?”
Ferda crossed his legs and spoke.
“You tell me. If you were me, how would you get there?”
“Are you leaving it to me?”
“It’s your field.”
“I’m not a petty thief. The only thing I’ve stolen is women’s hearts.”
“Enough nonsense. Tell me.”
“Hmm…”
Jed rested his chin in his hand and let out a breath.
After remaining silent for about five minutes, he opened his mouth.
“There have been plenty of people who tried to rob the Empire’s warehouses. Among them, ten groups managed what could be called half-successes.”
“And?”
“As far as I can tell, we need at least twenty people and a year of work. Are you planning to hire twenty thieves?”
“No.”
Twenty people for a year.
He had no time for that.
“Then how long will it take?”
“Immediately.”
Jed briefly forgot what to say.
It seemed too exhausting to ask whether Ferda had forgotten what he had just said, so he let it pass.
“To carry it out immediately and avoid any repercussions… you mean I have to rob it alone?”
“That’s how it will be.”
“How am I supposed to do a job that ten people failed at?”
Ferda answered while looking at him with solemn eyes.
“You can do it.”
Jed felt as though he might die from sheer absurdity.
But Ferda found the situation just as absurd.
‘What a whiner.’
Jed Swallow.
At present, he was merely a skirt-chasing swallow, but he possessed the talent to become a master thief.
One of his achievements was having entered the Empire’s treasure vault, which no one else had been able to breach.
‘And that was without a plan.’
Officially, he had done so three times, but according to Jed’s own claim, he had already visited it twelve times.
That meant he already knew the weaknesses in the surveillance system and was capable of exploiting them.
‘Of course, that was a story from the future.’
It was difficult to expect the reputation of a master thief from him right now.
For the moment, he was a woman-chasing lecher, far removed from being a thief.
Ferda was proceeding with the plan while taking all of that into account.
“There’s no need to worry. I’ll set the stage, anyway.”
“You will, Regent?”
Ferda nodded and pointed at his eyes with his index and middle fingers.
“You only need two eyes. Everything else is secondary. Do you understand?”
“…That somehow makes me even more uneasy.”
Hearing that only made Jed more uneasy.
In his experience, no task demanded greater ability than one whose preparations were described as simple.
‘Can I really follow this man?’
He had come because he was lured by the promise of help with his debut in high society, but the required standards seemed to grow higher the farther he went.
“You have a face full of worry.”
“Do I look like I wouldn’t? Someone’s life is on the line here.”
Jed answered gruffly.
Thinking so deeply was probably giving him a headache.
‘After thinking too long, one always makes a bad move.’
If he refused, he would have to abandon Barbatos’s Shadowcraft.
Otherwise, matters would only become even more complicated.
‘I’ll have to play that card.’
Ferda decided to make the choice easier for him.
“The Sealed Vault contains the shame the Empire wants to hide.”
“…Is that so?”
His expression, unlike his words, asked why Ferda was telling him that.
“There ought to be accounts concerning the Red-Eyed among them.”
“!”
The Jed who had been groaning was nowhere to be seen.
Strength entered both his eyes.
“Are you certain?”
“I have no intention whatsoever of breaking my contract with you.”
Jed had stipulated that he would leave if Ferda tried to abandon him or merely use him.
So he did not hesitate for long.
His answer was concise.
“What the hell. I’ll do it.”
Everything moved according to Ferda’s plan.
* * *
Before making any serious moves, Ferda went to see Count Consilius.
“I hear you’re going to the Empire, Regent.”
“That’s right.”
“May I ask what takes you there?”
“Actually, I was about to ask you that. There’s no particular business requiring me to go, but there is something I must do.”
“Ah, so it’s that sort of situation.”
Consilius stroked his beard before answering.
“Would it not be best to mention the vacancy left by Thesalos Waltzer? Say that a new suitable candidate is needed…”
“Ah, I have an idea about that. There is a suitable candidate, but he has yet to appear.”
“If you give me the order, I’ll make inquiries.”
Ferda could have described the man’s features, but he did not want him searched for that desperately.
If the man hid himself upon hearing that he was being sought, it would only make matters more troublesome.
Thus, Ferda said briefly,
“There is someone whose breath will catch the moment you see him.”
“His breath will catch… What exactly does that mean?”
“No specifics are necessary. You’ll feel your breath catch the instant you see him. Give that knight the position.”
“Understood. I’ll do as you wish, Regent.”
Although he had failed to gather wandering knights, he was still looking for guardians of the territory.
He decided to believe that one day, the man would come because he was interested.
Consilius began thinking of another plan.
“Would it not be wise to inquire about the Grand Council?”
“The Grand Council?”
“Yes. All the kings and nobles of ducal rank or higher in Cerdes are qualified to attend and go there, so you will need someone to verify your identity. It would be best to say that His Majesty the Emperor or one of his imperial relatives wishes to attend, and pay a visit.”
The Emperor or the princes?
They were a distasteful clan, but Ferda would be encountering them often in the future.
“Good. We’ll use that as our reason to go. What is the Empire’s current situation?”
“It’s a complete mess.”
Consilius shook his head.
“So far, they’ve been building their power in a three-way struggle.”
“Who are the central figures in that struggle?”
“The Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Second Prince.”
“The Emperor is fighting his own son?”
Consilius nodded.
“As absurd as it sounds, yes. At one point, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince pursued their own political agendas to bring down the Emperor.”
“But they failed.”
“Yes. The Emperor may be incompetent, but he is ruthless when it comes to his own power. He set the Crown Prince and Second Prince against each other over the question of succession and smoothed the matter over.”
He presented a new future in place of the existing enemy and created a new one.
If he merely fomented conflict among them, their power would gradually weaken and they would lose sight of its true nature.
‘Even rotten, it’s still worth something…’
There was a reason he had been exploiting it for so long.
“On the surface, then, it’s a three-way struggle.”
“On the surface… Yes, on the surface, it is.”
Consilius wondered why Ferda had used the phrase “on the surface,” but did not probe further.
Ferda thought about the three men before asking Consilius,
“If you were me, which of the three would you say is best to side with?”
“If I may say so, perhaps the Second Prince.”
“Why?”
“The Second Prince always prioritizes national defense, and he is actually traveling to many places, defeating monsters and securing imperial territory. He is interested in monster extermination as well, so he is outstanding enough to rival the First Emperor.”
It was as Consilius said.
In reality, the Second Prince’s main supporters were the warlords the Crown Prince had been unable to recruit.
He intended to make up for his lack of power with military exploits.
“Of course, he cannot be called the right answer, either. If he had truly cared about proper national defense, he would have extended a hand to the Far East.”
“Quite.”
After hearing Consilius’s opinion, Ferda nodded as though he had made a decision.
“Then I’ll write three letters, one to the Emperor, one to the Crown Prince, and one to the Second Prince.”
“Shall I assist you?”
The Empire still believed that Count Consilius had more influence than the Regent.
But Ferda shook his head.
“There’s no need. Send them in Regent Valdrowa’s name.”
“If that is your wish…”
Ferda was sending the three letters because he wanted to know their intentions.
The thirsty dig wells, and the desperate reach out.
Ferda wondered which of them would reach out to him.
Count Consilius had withdrawn for the same reason.
“There is one more thing I’d like to ask of you, Count Consilius.”
“Just say the word.”
“Do you happen to have any unclaimed corpses?”
A corpse with no name and no known origin.
“An unclaimed corpse… Yes, I believe we do. I hear that a corpse was recently found near the territory.”
The timing was good.
“Excellent. Have him burned at the stake.”
“Burned at the stake…?”
Consilius blinked.
It was not cremation, but burning at the stake.
Unable to keep the thought to himself, Consilius asked him,
“I ask only in case, but… this is for the sake of the Far East, is it not?”
“Of course. It is not being done out of personal interest, at least.”
“Then I understand.”
“Burn him as thoroughly as possible, as though he were the vilest bastard alive. That will be enough.”
“Heh heh, God will be angered.”
Consilius toyed with the necklace around his neck.
It was an amulet worn by the followers of Alte, the Empire’s state religion.
“Who in this world has never committed a sin?”
“Indeed.”
Defiling an innocent corpse made him uneasy, but Consilius did not complain.
Whatever the case, if he wanted the Far Eastern territory to prosper, he needed to trust Ferda.
* * *
After sending three letters to the Empire, Ferda boarded the carriage.
It was naturally impossible to receive a reply immediately, and Ferda had no intention of waiting for one, either.
That was the point of sending the letters.
‘What matters is how they respond to one-sided communication.’
His companions were Jed, the knight Arwen under Count Consilius, and the soldiers under Arwen’s command.
After traveling for a full week, they finally spotted a massive wall standing across the plain.
‘The Arken Empire.’
The sight of the Empire, with greenery mingling with well-tended fields, stirred his heart.
Jed looked out the window and said with an excited smile,
“The Empire is magnificent every time I see it. The journey is worth it.”
“I see.”
Every noble and commoner dreamed of the imperial capital.
House Rosnova had also been a family that wanted to become part of the central nobility.
Ferda himself had never felt any need for it.
That place was a den of monsters wearing human skins, the true beginning of Hell. What business did anyone have entering it?
They soon reached the front of the magnificent gate.
Ferda informed the gate guard of his identity.
“Please wait a moment.”
The gate guard entered the guardhouse to verify it.
Yet even after several minutes, no order came to let them pass.
“I think our start is a little ominous.”
Jed tossed out the ominous remark, but Ferda did not see it that way.
“This is a green light.”
“A green light?”
“Making a noble wait means there’s a reason for it.”
A short while later, a luxurious white carriage stopped inside the gate.
The fact that they had to change carriages meant that he would be entering the imperial palace.
In other words, they had responded to his letter.
The knight at the front placed a hand over his chest and bowed formally.
“Welcome to the Empire, Regent! I am Marco, commander of the Imperial Fifth Knights.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“This way…!”
Ferda changed carriages under Marco’s guidance.
When Jed, who had been riding with him, tried to change carriages as well, Marco stopped him.
“My apologies, but who are you, sir?”
“I’m an employee.”
Marco’s face twisted coldly.
“Employees cannot ride in the carriage. Only invited guests may enter the imperial palace.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Step aside. This carriage is bound for the imperial palace.”
Jed withdrew from the carriage with an awkward expression.
Thus, Ferda alone entered the imperial palace by carriage.
‘It’s extravagance beyond measure.’
They say there is no point showing off before an expert.
Ferda’s carriage was also lavishly decorated, but the imperial carriage offered a level of comfort entirely beyond it.
Ferda subtly turned his gaze toward the scenery visible beyond the window.
As befitted the Empire’s main avenue, it was clean, and the streets were filled with laughing people.
It looked full of hope, as befitted a place every noble dreamed of.
There was a reason nobles who entered the capital fell ill with a fever the moment they left it.
If there was happiness, there was bound to be an equal amount of misfortune.
And that misfortune was targeting Ferda now.
Ferda’s sharp insight caught an unusually intent gaze.
A man hiding in an alley was repeatedly glancing at the carriage.
‘He’s after this carriage.’
The soldiers keeping watch over the surroundings had not noticed the man.
There would clearly be no chance to subdue him before the attack.
‘But subduing him before he attacks… should be possible.’
He alone could protect himself.
Ferda reflexively created a sphere of mana.
Not knowing what the man might do or when, he discreetly prepared to counterattack.
As the distance closed, the man sprang out and blocked the carriage.
Neigh!
The horses reared in fright and came to a sudden stop.