Chapter 30: Breaking the Pact (1)
Rattle!
The road leading to the Royal Capital.
Knights were moving while surrounding a single carriage, their eyes sunken as if they were routed soldiers.
When they had co to the Ragnar Territory, they had escorted the Envoy Delegation, but on the return journey, the ones they were ant to protect were gone.
Moreover, out of the three carriages the nobles had ridden in, two had to be left behind in the Ragnar Territory.
One carriage was enough to transport three corpses.
Among the knights heading toward the Royal Capital in silence, there was a man with strikingly white hair.
Riding his horse at the rear, he lifted his head and his eyes glead.
‘Looks like news has arrived.’
A small bird flying through the sky.
It was an El Bird, commonly seen across the continent.
As it rapidly descended vertically from the sky, Seros, who was riding beside Kyle, extended his arm.
The El Bird landed atop the back of his arm.
Seros removed the note tied to its leg and sent the El Bird back into the air.
“Shall I show you?”
“Hand it over.”
Kyle received the tightly rolled note and checked the contents written inside.
As he read, the corners of his lips gradually lifted, causing Seros to reveal a trace of unease.
“Interesting.”
“May I ask what it says?”
“Check it yourself.”
The mont Seros confird the note Kyle handed him, his expression stiffened.
“My lord, if this happens……”
“It’s fine. The Sinoah rchant Guild will most likely move after I et the king. After that, many things will change.”
In truth, there was little need for concern.
The forces of the Sinoah rchant Guild could be blocked by Kyle and Seros alone.
Although he had beco an unwelco presence in the Daon Royal Family for now, Kyle was confident that the situation would change after eting the King Clover.
At Kyle’s relaxed words, Seros let out a dry laugh.
‘That’s right. My lord was the greatest among the Masters on the continent.’
Even if all the forces of the Daon Kingdom were to swarm him, Kyle possessed the martial might to escape calmly on his own.
At tis, Seros forgot that fact.
It ant that, as he followed Kyle, his nerves were constantly on edge over his lord’s safety.
Looking at Seros like that, Kyle spoke indifferently.
“Seros, there’s no need to be tense. There are no Masters in the Daon Kingdom. There’s no one who can stop you and . All we need to do is tear up the pact docunt the Daon Family holds.”
“But my lord, couldn’t the Daon Royal Family invade Ragnar? I don’t know exactly what the pact entails, but the mont it is broken, I believe the Daon Family would also beco free.”
There was a two-sided risk.
However, in the current situation, the side that would suffer a trendous blow the mont the pact was broken was the Daon Family.
With the Daon Kingdom preparing for war, a Master was an extrely valuable asset.
Knowing this, Kyle shook his head.
“Seros, do you know the Daon Kingdom well?”
“……Not very well.”
“The Daon Kingdom has been invaded by the Tylers Empire multiple tis. Each ti, the Royal Capital was obliterated, and the kingdom suffered trendous damage. That is the history of the Daon Kingdom.”
The reason the two nations, which existed at quite a distance from each other, clashed was nothing special.
The Tylers Empire, the hegemon of the continent, coveted even lands no human should dare to covet, and the Daon Kingdom was one of their targets.
The reason the Tylers Empire invaded the Daon Kingdom whenever it was at the height of its power was because it was the entrance to the Monster Mountain Range.
Listening quietly to the story, Seros tilted his head.
“My lord, but why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“Aron said he obtained information related to the Daon Kingdom from the Tylers Empire.”
“……Don’t tell ?”
“Yes. The Daon Kingdom believes the Tylers Empire is currently at its peak.”
“That’s insane. To plan sothing this dangerous when they don’t have a single Master.”
“Of course, the Daon Kingdom couldn’t have devised this plan on its own.”
“Does that an they joined hands with other kingdoms?”
Kyle answered with a nod.
Naturally, the knights could not hear this conversation between the two.
The mont he saw the El Bird, Seros had spread an aura barrier to block out sound.
Maintaining the aura barrier, Seros asked Kyle again.
“If the Daon Kingdom starts a war with the Empire, what do you plan to do then?”
“As long as the Empire doesn’t invade Ragnar, there’s no need to be hostile. Moreover, as long as Adrian holds the Emperor’s throne, the Tylers Empire won’t set its sights on Ragnar.”
There was no need to concern himself with the survival of a country he held no affection for.
The only thing Kyle cared about was one thing.
The Ragnar Territory.
At the sight of Kyle wearing a faint smile, Seros also let out a small chuckle.
“Do you know how I feel whenever I see you in Ragnar, my lord?”
“It must feel unfamiliar.”
“That too, but I like how you no longer have to suppress your emotions in Ragnar, when you always did everywhere else.”
Just as Kyle had changed, the mbers of the Special Operations Unit also began to honestly reveal emotions they had been unable to voice before.
Kyle looked at the changed Seros and gave a small nod.
“You’ve beco quite sentintal. You, and the others as well.”
“If my lord is changing, wouldn’t it be wrong for the subordinates to cling to their old selves?”
Kyle, who had remained silent at Seros’s words, stared at him intently before opening his mouth.
“Have you looked into the whereabouts of the others?”
“Except for those who remained in the Empire, all of their whereabouts are completely unknown.”
The reason Seros had been away for so ti—ever since Kyle heard of the tragedy involving Eric Light, an instinctive sense of unease had taken hold of him.
He worried that the sa calamity might reach the others as well.
That was why he had ordered Seros to look into it, but there had been no notable results so far.
“We must find as much information as possible. Only then can we prevent cases like Eric’s from happening again.”
“The pigeons are currently traveling across the entire continent, so they should soon bring back news of one or two of them.”
However, Kyle shook his head as if dissatisfied even with Seros’s words.
“Seros.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“We need to strengthen our intelligence network. Back when we were in the Tylers Empire, there was the Imperial Intelligence Bureau, so I didn’t place much importance on it, but now it’s different.”
“I feel the sa. Only with a dense intelligence network can our future plans proceed without disruption.”
“Who would be suitable?”
At Kyle’s question, Seros showed confusion and tilted his head.
Soon, he scratched his head while staring into the air.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to ask Aron about that?”
“Seros.”
“……I am not one who walks the path of scholarship. I am one who walks the path of martial prowess.”
“You say interesting things. It should be about ti to break that stubbornness.”
“I will live my entire life holding only a sword.”
Seeing Kyle let out a dry laugh at the stubborn look in his eyes, Seros thought it was finally over.
However, stubbornness was not exclusive to him alone.
“So, who would be suitable?”
Only then did Seros fully realize who it was that he served, and he honestly laid bare his thoughts.
“……I don’t really know either.”
“That may be so, since you haven’t spent that much ti in Ragnar yet. Once we return to the Territory, observe carefully.”
Kyle nodded as if in understanding and turned his gaze straight ahead.
At so point, they had arrived at Rark Territory, the gateway into the northern lands.
Rark Territory was a place that housed a Teleportation Gate used for traveling long distances, and it was also an essential checkpoint for reaching the north.
“I didn’t expect the opportunity to et Viscount Rark to co this quickly.”
“Didn’t the Head of the Family also praise Viscount Rark quite a bit?”
“Well, there’s no need to see him right now.”
Just as Kyle said, as soon as the Envoy Delegation entered Rark Territory, they imdiately used the Teleportation Gate.
There was no need for regret.
In the end, they would have to pass through Rark Territory again when returning from the Royal Capital.
The Envoy Delegation that had departed for the Ragnar Territory returned to the Royal Capital using the Teleportation Gate.
Only a single carriage returned.
The man known as the Commander of the Royal Knight Order and the number one in the knight ranking of the Daon Kingdom imdiately checked the inside of the carriage.
Inside were the frozen corpses of the nobles whose throats had been cut by Kyle.
“You’ve done well.”
“……Commander.”
“It was as expected. There’s no need to feel guilty.”
Commander Deira Zaira nodded after looking at the knights’ expressions.
Then he noticed the two n who appeared behind the carriage and approached them.
“I pay my respects to Lord Kyle Ragnar of the Ragnar bloodline.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Deira Zaira, Commander of the Daon Royal Knight Order. Thank you for coming from such a distant place.”
At the greeting of the man with blond hair, golden eyes, and looks worthy of being called handso, Kyle nodded.
“Are you from the Zaira Ducal House?”
“That is correct. I am also the successor of the Zaira Family.”
At present, the Daon Kingdom was divided into the Royal Faction and the Noble Faction.
There was also a Neutral Faction, but its scale was insignificant.
Among the three forces, the Zaira Family belonged to the Royal Faction, and Deira, the eldest son of that house, bowed to Kyle once more.
“His Majesty the King is awaiting your reply to the letter.”
King Clover’s letter proposing to redefine the relationship between the Daon Family and the Ragnar Family.
Recalling the absurd order demanding that Ragnar remain as vassals of the Daon Kingdom, the corner of Kyle’s lips twisted strangely.
“I brought it.”
“I hope you have co to a favorable decision. His Majesty the King is not soone who would ever leave a family that opposes the Royal Family alone.”
At Commander Deira’s barbed words, Seros stepped forward with an incredulous expression.
Commander Deira, who had likewise been watching Seros who ca together with Kyle, frowned and issued a warning.
“Without His Majesty’s order, I cannot allow escorts to enter the Royal Palace.”
At the words of Commander Deira, who had rigid eyes and gaze, Seros brushed the hilt of his sword.
Kyle placed a hand on Seros’s shoulder as if telling him not to step in further, and fixed his gaze on Commander Deira.
“We will enter together. The Royal Family should be well aware that they cannot issue orders to the Ragnar Family, correct?”
Hearing Kyle’s words, Deira, knowing what kind of pact the Royal Family and the Ragnar Family had ford as the Commander of the Knight Order, had no choice but to step back.
“……I will obtain His Majesty’s permission.”
“That is for you, Commander, to handle. And we will enter the palace tomorrow. If he is a benevolent king, he will grant ti to recover from the fatigue of a long journey. Is that not so?”
“I will ask His Majesty about that as well and decide…….”
“If you lack even the guts to make a decision on your own, then how are you maintaining the position of Commander of the Royal Knight Order?”
“……I will report to His Majesty. And I will assign knights as escorts.”
“Escort? Don’t think of placing surveillance. We will enter the palace early tomorrow morning anyway.”
Kyle led Seros and walked out of the building.
Watching the backs of the two n, Commander Deira gestured with his chin toward a knight.
Soon, as the knight stealthily followed behind Kyle and Seros, Commander Deira cast a sidelong glance at the carriage and let out a long sigh.
“Hand the nobles over to their respective families and return to the Royal Palace.”
As Commander Deira and the Royal Knights prepared to return to the Royal Palace, Kyle clicked his tongue after glancing back.
“Seros.”
“I will only knock him out and return.”
“Do as you see fit.”
Realizing that they were being tailed, Seros vanished from the spot in an instant.
And in less than three minutes, he reappeared.
“I’ve taken care of it.”
“These Royal Knights are quite frail.”
“When the Commander himself is like that, there’s no way the knights beneath him would be any better.”
“Was it Deira? He seed to be under the delusion that he had reached the Exford Upper Level.”
“What good is consuming all sorts of elixirs and increasing aura? He’s soone who can’t even properly operate his aura.”
At Seros’s scathing criticism, Kyle nodded and looked toward the Royal Palace.
He could have entered imdiately, but the reason Kyle bought himself a day was simple.
“Is the forr headquarters of the Rapid rchant Guild still being maintained?”
“Yes, my lord. However, the rchant Guild Head contacted us saying it was changed from headquarters to a branch. It seems we can stay there and enter the palace tomorrow.”
“Let’s head there at once.”
They needed to move before any more tails attached themselves.
As Kyle headed toward the Rapid rchant Guild’s Royal Capital Branch with quick steps, Seros followed behind while keeping watch of the surroundings.
Before long, Kyle arrived at the Rapid rchant Guild Royal Capital Branch.
Upon entering, Lyman, who had beco the Royal Capital Branch Head, was waiting.
“I am Lyman, the Royal Capital Branch Head.”
“I am Kyle Ragnar.”
“Welco to the Rapid rchant Guild Branch, Grand General.”
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