Chapter 69

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 69

Chapter Title: The Five Knights and Roxiana Franche (3)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

‘Why?’

Even with or without him there, the grand ducal palace was safe, and the people were kind.

‘But why?’

She wanted to talk to him.

About what she had done over the past few months, the thoughts she had harbored, and the friendships she had formed. She longed to share those kinds of stories. They had never been the type to exchange such words before, so she couldn’t fathom why this urge gripped her now.

There was only one thing she knew for certain.

No matter what Roxiana had to say, he would listen with utmost seriousness.

Even though he wasn’t by her side, her heart fluttered wildly, and a tightness gripped her chest. It felt akin to sorrow, joy, or tension, yet distinctly different, leaving Roxiana utterly bewildered.

“If you come, a grand festival will be held.”

Hexston’s voice snapped Roxiana back to reality.

“Another festival.”

“Of course. Our lord loves festivals. Ah, if the princess wouldn’t mind, it might be nice to prepare this drink and share it with the returning knights. They’ll all be stunned. I’m especially curious about Arsen’s reaction.”

Roxiana pictured the silver-haired knight, always expressionless with his stern gaze.

“Does he even make expressions?”

“You’d be surprised. See him with the dogs sometime—you’d swear it’s a different person. He’s all goofy grins. Like a total... lunatic.”

Blood poured out.

Arsen felt the metallic tang seeping between his lips as he thrust his sword forward.

Puk-!

The blade tip plunged precisely into the beast’s chest. It drove through the tough hide, forcing it upward, and the creature unleashed a guttural roar.

“Kraaaaa!”

Any ordinary human would have lost their mind and rampaged at that alone, but Arsen—drenched in blood—kept his reddish-brown eyes fixed steady and unyielding.

Arsen glared at the magical beast he’d dubbed the Minotaur. Nearly three meters tall with a human body, a bull’s head, and massive horns, it showed no major damage even with its heart pierced.

Arsen deftly sidestepped the beast’s fist hurtling toward his head and shouted.

“Milord!”

At that instant, massive flames surged from the left. Arsen swiftly kicked the beast’s gut for recoil and leaped back. The Minotaur, however, couldn’t evade the blaze.

The creature, unscathed by the sword thrust, shrieked in agony the moment the flames touched it.

“Kwaaaaaak! Kwaaaaa!”

The fire writhed like a living thing, engulfing the Minotaur’s body entirely. Its skin bubbled and charred, releasing a nauseating stench worse than burning corpses. The hulking beast flailed wildly before finally going still.

Thud-!

Its massive frame crashed to the ground, shaking the earth. Only then did Arsen lower his sword and survey the area. Knights were stabbing the scattered beast corpses to ensure they were dead. Floyd gripped a human-sized beast’s neck in one hand.

Crack-

The beast’s neck bone snapped under his grip, and flames erupted from his hand, sweeping over it cleanly.

Killing magical beasts with ordinary human strength was no easy feat. Decapitation, chest split open, heart ripped out and shredded—that was the only sure way to stop them. Their hearts were resilient, surviving even detached from the body, and destroying one was another ordeal.

That’s where holy knights came in. A blade infused with holy power bypassed extraction—just a stab through the heart ended it.

And then there was Floyd’s fire.

Floyd’s flames were far simpler than any holy sword. Once wounded, a beast touched by his fire convulsed in torment as if poisoned, swiftly meeting its end.

Floyd hurled the carcass aside.

“Is that the last of them?”

“Seems so.”

Arsen smeared the blood from his face with his palm. Floyd caught his breath, scanning the surroundings. No more beast presences lingered.

“Took longer than expected.”

“Without the Black Bear Knight Order, it would’ve been rough.”

The knights and squires moved tirelessly, gathering beast byproducts even after the fight. Adrian wiped blood from his sword and muttered darkly.

“I ought to kill Jorge III.”

It was only natural for Adrian to seethe at Enilta’s king. Every knight present was barely containing their fury toward him.

Jorge III had minimized the damage report to Floyd. The beasts spilling from the rift numbered twice what he’d claimed, ravaging a far wider expanse.

Four cities and seventeen villages obliterated. The makeshift barriers had been on the verge of collapse when Floyd arrived.

“Chop him from fingertips to toes. Don’t try to stop me.”

Adrian crooned as he sheathed his sword. Kain collected byproducts with the others. Adrian snorted at his twin brother.

“So diligent, my little brother.”

“Why not learn from him?”

“Why should I? You learn it, Arsen.”

Adrian fired back and headed to Kirshan, who was treating the wounded. Floyd, spotless amid the bloodbath, brushed his hair back.

“Can’t kill Jorge, but he’ll answer for this. Nearly caused far worse damage.”

“Quite right, milord. If Enilta’s true losses got out, the Grand Temple wouldn’t have helped—Kanta or not.”

“So he lied for aid. Bold move. I’ll give him that.”

“What will you demand?”

“Hmm. Suggestions?”

“Land would be best, of course.”

“Land...”

Floyd gazed at the magic-tainted soil, barren for the foreseeable future, and thought of Roxiana’s power. She could purify this whole region. The blackened plants would spring back to life under her touch, miraculously fresher than before.

‘No.’

Floyd shook off the notion.

The memory from the forest hit sharp: her frozen blue, like death itself. The world had felt like it was caving in.

He never wanted that terror again. Never wanted to see her fading into mist.

Floyd figured Arsen would propose leveraging Roxiana’s power to claim this land from Enilta for Torkan. A shortcut to Kanta—prime territory.

But as he mulled how to sway this stubborn retainer, Arsen surprised him.

“Enilta’s lost such vast holdings already. Demand land, and they’ll tell us to gut them instead. We need to give them breathing room—step back here.”

“Then what compensation?”

“Three northern Enilta mines, road-building rights from Torkan to Enilta, tariff waivers on Torkan exports, and discounted tolls for our merchants heading there.”

Far from retreating, it was a bold advance. Floyd grinned.

“You’re a devil yourself.”

Byproduct collection was wrapping up. Floyd mounted his horse and called to the knights.

“If Jorge doesn’t fancy being diced by Adrian, he’ll cough up what we want. Move it, everyone. Tonight, we drink till Enilta’s royal coffers run dry!”

Gania Kingdom’s King Joseph V was already in a foul mood before meeting the Hovben envoy. The culprit: the woman Crown Prince Lucas had escorted into the audience chamber.

She stood among the retainers rather than at Lucas’s side—mindful of prying eyes—but her crimson hair clashed so glaringly with the setting that it grated on him every time it entered his view.

‘Knows nothing of her place. Who does she think she is, showing up here?’

Joseph V had long wrestled with the idea of passing the throne not to the weak-willed, easily swayed Lucas, but to his second son, Casar—for Gania’s sake.

Then Lucas orchestrated a scheme that handed them the long-coveted Kanta Kingdom on a platter, bloodless and brilliant.

Joseph V was thrilled. The boy had been hiding his claws all along—a clever one, after all.

But that satisfaction ended there.

‘Dragging in a wench like that.’

Elise Haylis.

Joseph V knew the Haylis ducal scandal well. Even Victien IV of Kanta—ever the soft touch—had cause to rue his mercy; the duke’s corruption and embezzlement were staggering.

‘Even if she helped this time... what worth could a creature like her possibly offer?’

And then the whispers among Lucas’s entourage reached the king’s ears, as such things inevitably did. When his chamberlain first murmured it discreetly, Joseph V thought he’d misheard.

‘Slaughtered the Franche family and dumped them in a well...? No. Couldn’t be.’