Published at 18th of December 2024 9:31 am

Chapter 632

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

While they were conversing, Duke Icaldoren barely managed to spit out the gag in his mouth.

The duke, even while being captured and dragged along, tried to maintain his usual dignity and prestige as he spat out his words.

"What... what is the meaning of this!"

The three stopped their chatter and hesitantly looked at the duke.

Duke Icaldoren, thinking it was much more likely to persuade the other two rather than the skull principal, turned his gaze.

Between the skull principal's ambitious top disciple and Alcicle of the Pengerin family, who would be more reasonable?

"Alcicle of the Pengerin family!"

Yi-Han felt slightly hurt when Duke Icaldoren called for Alcicle instead of him.

Wasn't he more trustworthy than Alcicle in this situation?

'He should have talked to me before too.'

"You've got the wrong person."

Alcicle pretended not to know, not wanting to get involved in this matter.

However, there weren't that many penguin mixed-bloods in the empire. Especially penguin mixed-bloods with blood as pure as Alcicle's were even rarer.

"Aren't you Alcicle of the Pengerin family! Are you going to stay silent after witnessing this illegal scene?"

"No, Lord Gonadaltes. If you're going to gag someone, you should do it properly."

Alcicle grumbled.

Wasn't it because the gag wasn't tightened properly that they had to hear such words?

Now that he had directly heard the words, it would be difficult to distance himself if it became a problem later.

Despite Alcicle's cold response, the duke didn't give up. Rather, he shouted even more sternly and strongly.

"Think of the Pengerin family's reputation. Do you think it's okay to stay silent now? Are you planning to just watch these two's evil deeds?"

"...Uh, wait. Why two, Your Highness?"

Yi-Han protested as if it was ridiculous.

The skull principal had kidnapped him, Yi-Han had nothing to do with it!

Of course, the duke ignored Yi-Han's words as if he hadn't heard them.

In the duke's mind, Yi-Han had already been firmly branded as the skull principal's top disciple and an accomplice in this kidnapping.

"No matter how great a mage he is, there's imperial law, and he absolutely doesn't have the authority to commit such acts arbitrarily..."

"Ah. Stop whining, you brat."

The skull principal spat out as if annoyed.

"Do you think I kidnapped you without any thought? Of course, I kidnapped you because I could."

"What... nonsense..."

Even as he spoke, the duke felt fear rising.

In a situation like this, there was only one reason why the skull principal could act arbitrarily.

"Your subordinate who entered Einroguard. Did you think you would be okay after that? We captured him as soon as he entered."

'Wow. How brazen.'

Yi-Han inwardly clicked his tongue.

After not being able to find him for nearly a year (in fact, it was hard to find him when he was transformed into a statue) and finding him just before the vacation, he was now bluffing as if he had known all along.

However, the bluff was very effective. The duke felt a shock as if he had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

'He knew from the beginning...?!'

He had thought his subordinate might have gone missing or died because contact was lost, but to think he had been captured.

Then what were the actions of the skull principal or the Wardanaz family's boy when they came to visit afterwards?

"Th-then why did you just..."

"I waited to see how you would act. It was fun to watch."

"!!!!"

The duke froze stiffly as if struck by lightning. It was a shock as if the sky was falling.

To think that he, who had exerted strong influence in the empire's political and social circles through lifelong conspiracies and schemes, had been played without noticing anything.

It was hard to believe.

"It can't... it can't be...! Was it all an act? Even when that boy probed me?"

"Uh, that act was..."

"That's right. We were just playing with you."

"..."

Yi-Han had nothing particular to say, so he just nodded. He couldn't ruin the skull principal's plan here, could he?

The duke, as if he had no strength left to shout, was dejected.

The person who had been so majestic when wearing dozens of artifacts now looked as shabby as a sick old man.

Seeing this, the skull principal patted the duke's shoulder.

"Cheer up. It's not that you're lacking. It's just that I'm extraordinary."

"The secret of... does it make sense for you alone to have the secret of immortality!"

The duke shouted, unlike before, as if struggling.

"You, the most cunning and vicious among the empire's mages, must surely have it. The secret of immortality! To think you're keeping it to yourself. That should rightfully be given to the empire's nobles!"

"Not to the empire's nobles, but to you."

The skull principal was indifferent.

Old nobles who acted as if they had entrusted the secret of immortality to the skull principal always appeared when the time came.

He had seen it so many times that he no longer felt much emotion.

"Don't speak as if representing the nobles when you'd have a fit if I said I'd spread the secret to lower nobles."

"The most noble nobles should manage that secret first!"

"Your definition of noble seems a bit different from mine."

The skull principal answered indifferently.

"You brat. You probably think you're some great pillar of the empire, don't you? With your many titles and responsibilities, you must have worried about how chaotic the empire would be if you disappeared."

The duke didn't answer, but a faint emotion of agreement could be felt on his face.

"But in reality, most of what you do is like children's play. What you do doesn't matter much to the empire even if you don't do it. It doesn't matter much to the empire even if no one does it. Do you know what a truly great pillar of the empire is? Someone like the head of the Wardanaz family here is a truly great pillar. Exploring other realms and protecting the empire from monsters and demons flowing out of there, that's what's really important."

The skull principal didn't get angry, nor did he show contempt beyond what was necessary.

He was just speaking with annoyance as if explaining to someone who knew nothing.

That boredom made the duke even more terrified.

"The reason you could play comfortably with the nobles is because people like me, the family head, or the emperor were protecting you. Noble? Do you know what your ancestor was doing during the old Great Chaos? He locked all the gates and stuck his head in the fireplace alone. Praying for the demons to just pass by. How can someone who has achieved nothing in life except being born to a good father claim nobility?"

The skull principal took a step forward. The duke momentarily wriggled his body to escape, but there was nowhere to run.

"Do you want to know the secret of immortality? I'll tell you. I've never hidden anything like the secret of immortality. You brat. You might think my warehouse is full of ancient immortal treasures, but what's sleeping in my warehouse are only vicious and cursed artifacts. Things that would bring disaster to the continent the moment a brat like you takes them out. Even if such treasures existed, could someone like you handle them? Someone like you who doesn't even know the basics of magic?"

The skull principal tapped the duke's head with the end of his staff.

"There's only one secret that can reach immortality. It's magic. Give up the idea of finding the secret of immortality through treasures. Immortality isn't what you think it is."

Even though the principal had finished speaking, the duke was too overwhelmed to give any answer.

The skull principal, as if he didn't care much, tossed the duke aside and said,

"I'll have to lock him up in Einroguard for a few years. If you happen to meet him in the punishment room, don't release him."

"Why would I do that?"

"Seeing as you released Beavle too, I thought you had a hobby of releasing detestable people."

"..."

Realizing it would be disadvantageous to talk more, Yi-Han changed the subject.

"But why are you locking up His Highness the Duke? It seems like you've already taken everything..."

Duke Icaldoren used to wear artifacts that could buy a fortress even when just walking around.

Seeing that the skull principal had brought him, he must have removed all those artifacts.

And if he removed them, they surely went into the principal's pocket.

While removing the artifacts, he wouldn't have not taken other things, so he must have scraped quite a bit of the mansion's wealth too...

"What are you talking about? This is just the beginning."

The skull principal criticized as if dumbfounded by Yi-Han's naive thoughts.

Young people these days didn't know the old traditions well.

In the old days, when you caught a noble, it didn't end with just taking what they had on them.

They expanded to the noble's family, and the families on the noble's paternal and maternal sides, extracting ransoms.

Of course, since the other side wasn't a pushover either, they wouldn't give in easily, but in the end, such negotiations were bound to be advantageous for the person holding the party involved.

Even Duke Icaldoren, while wanting to pay as little compensation as possible now, the longer he stays in the punishment room, the more non-existent assets will suddenly appear, and he'll be able to pay appropriate compensation.

"..."

"..."

Yi-Han and Alcicle exchanged glances.

'Shall we go now?'

'Sounds like a good idea.'

"Then we'll be going now."

"We'll see you next time, Lord Gonadaltes."

"Alright. Be careful. You both worked hard. See you at school."

The skull principal waved goodbye along with the Death Knights.

Yi-Han woke up his junior sleeping in the next compartment and quickly left the carriage with Alcicle.

***

Alcicle checked his appearance. An unusual tension for Alcicle filled his entire body.

Eandurde asked, not understanding,

"Are you going to a duel?"

"You're lucky to be stupid. You don't even know what kind of family the Wardanaz family is, so your mind is at ease... Ack! This guy!?"

Eandurde immediately kicked Alcicle's shin. Alcicle, caught off guard, screamed.

-Oh, are you taking that kid to the family?-

-Yes. She'll return to Einroguard when the vacation ends anyway, so I thought I'd have her study together until then. I'm worried she might learn strange things if she stays with the principal.-

-It's too much for that kid. To be able to visit the Wardanaz family.-

-It's not that big a deal? If you want to visit too, Mr. Alcicle, you're welcome to.-

-What? Really?-

-Yes. Our family doesn't invite people just because there's no one in the family, not because of some strict rule.-

-W-wait a moment. Let me get some new clothes made.-

-There's no need for that…-

After finishing their preparations, the three looked for a carriage to ride near the town.

The coachman, who was yawning, asked while looking at the three,

"Where are you going?"

"Please take us to the Wardanaz family mansion."

"..."

The coachman, who had been sitting comfortably until just now, suddenly straightened his posture. His expression was full of fear.

"The... Wardanaz family?"

"No?"

"??"

"????"

Alcicle and Eandurde looked at Yi-Han. However, Yi-Han answered brazenly.

"We're visiting as guests."

"Ah... Phew. I see."

The coachman's tension decreased by about 5%.

It was natural, as even guests visiting the Wardanaz family weren't ordinary people.

"Why did you lie?"

"People around here get too scared when they hear the family name."

'Even so, do people usually scam with their own family name?'

Alcicle thought inwardly.

The carriage quickly drove along the path through the forest. The chirping of birds and the sound of leaves rustling in the wind. The thick greenery made the mages feel good.

Clop clop clop-

"Oh. Are those the Wardanaz family's knights?"

Hearing the sound of hooves in the distance, Alcicle thought they might be knights.

Great noble families with large territories had knights patrolling their lands.

These not only caught intruders but also played the role of welcoming and letting in guests.

Hearing the sound of hooves, it surely seemed like knights...

A giant, amorphous demon with dozens of hooves arrived in front of the carriage.

-Are you guests?-

"Hic, hiccup!"

Seeing the coachman hiccuping in fear, Alcicle suddenly felt sorry for no reason.

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