Chapter 65

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Just for Fun
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#65

At the unwelcome answer, Alex’s brow furrowed deeply as he asked again.

“Split fifty-fifty?”

“O-Of course, I did my best to persuade him, but the Grand Duke was adamant. He said he could raise our share if things proved too difficult, so we negotiated to secure as many rights as possible.”

“So the basic premise is that he won’t relinquish his rights to the mine.”

“Y-Yes, that’s right...!”

Sighing, Alex lowered his head. When he looked up again, his face was filled with disappointment.

Alex’s lips tightened as he slowly rolled up his sleeves. In the ensuing silence, he gently stroked his bare forearm before reaching for the tray lined with instruments of torture.

As he picked up a sharp awl, the man’s face went pale, and he shook his head frantically. Alex rubbed the tip of the awl with his index finger, his gaze returning to the man.

“Y-Y-Your Highness! It was beyond my control! But, but later I persuaded the Grand Duke to raise our share of the minerals to sixty percent! It’s far more profitable to just receive the minerals without having to manage the mine...!”

“Who said I wanted Refrigerant Stones?”

Clutching the awl, Alex’s expression soured.

The Refrigerant Stones weren’t a bad prize, but they weren’t the primary objective. Staring at the man’s ashen face, Alex continued in a forceful tone.

“I’m sure I made myself clear from the start. I told you the mine might hold the means to eliminate the Raphi. Those stone fragments aren’t a bad consolation, but what I wanted was a way to wipe those bastards off the continent.”

“Your Highness, please! Forgive me...!”

“Since you can’t seem to understand no matter how many times I tell you, I suppose I’ll have to clear out your ears for you.”

The hand holding the awl shot up. A piercing scream tore through the air as blood splattered across Alex’s elegant face.

The awl was replaced by a pair of sharp tongs, then a hammer and nails. The brutal acts that followed could hardly be called torture.

Looking down at his blood-soaked body, the man broke into childlike sobs. A seething groan escaped his tattered lips, followed by a suffocating silence.

“How tiresome.”

Panting, Alex steadied his breathing and slowly turned away. Then, he muttered in a vague tone, his words not directed at anyone in particular.

“Clean this up and select a new person to send as a spy. Preferably one with a long tongue.”

Clang. Alex tossed the instrument to the floor, wiped his blood-splattered lips with the back of his hand, and gestured with his other.

Tulda, who had been observing from behind, stepped forward and handed him a handkerchief, his voice heavy.

“It would have been better had you left this to me.”

“You would have stopped at a mere lecture. Sometimes, a show of force like this sets an example for the others. It’s not a bad thing.”

Despite his light tone, his black eyes, fixed on Tulda, held the sinister gleam that always appeared when he saw blood.

Alex wiped away the blood and carelessly tossed the damp handkerchief back to Tulda. He slowly caressed his lips, his expression smoothing over, before leaving the cell with a detached air.

“Your Highness...! I heard some strange noises... did you conduct the torture yourself?”

Seeing him covered in blood, the waiting attendant approached in alarm. As the attendant tried to wipe his face with a handkerchief, Alex waved him off, ordered the body to be removed, and left the dungeon.

Striding into the garden, Alex flopped onto a bench with an undignified air.

The sky had turned a shade of violet, and the curtain of night was drawing long across it. Alex fixed his gaze on the darkening horizon and clicked his tongue.

“Honestly, nothing is going right.”

Standing beside him, Tulda glanced around. After confirming they were alone, he stepped a little closer to Alex.

His face etched with concern, he moistened his lips, gauged Alex’s mood, and then carefully spoke.

“Your Highness. Forgive my presumption, but...”

“If it’s presumptuous, then don’t say it. I’m not in a particularly good mood.”

Every syllable of his sharp retort was laced with displeasure.

Knowing how irritable Alex became when he was on edge, Tulda reverted to his taciturn expression and stared straight ahead.

“I needed to get my hands on that mine for the plan to proceed smoothly. Now it’s all been for nothing.”

Leaning his head all the way back to gaze at the sky, Alex closed his eyes and muttered to himself.

That was the goal from the very beginning. How did things go so wrong?

“I wanted to confirm if what was written in that document was true.”

The catalyst for Alex orchestrating the war was a paper written by a historian.

A historian researching the ecology and origins of the Raphi had published his theory on the correlation between the curse laid upon the Raphi and the Refrigerant Stones, suggesting that each race was once protected by a special entity.

“The reason Refrigerant Stones can only be mined in one location is not due to a fortunate mineral deposit, but because of the unique properties of the region itself.”

The historian concluded that the site, much like the temple of a nameless god, was once an important Raphi ruin. The Refrigerant Stone was but one of the god’s relics, and another, more significant artifact—one that could decide the very survival of the Raphi—was also hidden there.

It was a fascinating hypothesis, but because the Antevasilan government strictly controlled the mine, the theory was never verified.

As time passed, his paper was eventually dismissed as just one of many hypotheses, relegated to the status of an old, forgotten document.

But Alex, who had always been fascinated by other races, was strongly drawn to the paper.

What if there really was another relic there, something more than just Refrigerant Stones?

What if, as the historian theorized, that relic was far more valuable than the stones?

The word ‘relic’ immediately brought one object to mind.

Walter Hyverge’s sword.

Dawn.

The mystical sword that could stop time and space, a blade that could not be touched by anyone but the one it accepted as its master.

He had heard that sword, too, was a relic of a nameless god. The thought that a similar artifact might lie in the mine—an artifact that could become a great source of power for the Empire—stoked his greed.

“True, the place is valuable for the Refrigerant Stones alone. Still, the mine itself was the original goal... It’s a shame.”

Hearing a slight improvement in his tone, Tulda spoke in a low voice.

“There is still ample room for negotiation, so our efforts have not been in vain. If you are truly concerned, I will handle it myself.”

“There’s no need for that. We just... need to adjust the order of things. It would be best to drag out negotiations with Dopein for as long as possible. We’ll wait to see how they clash with Parnas, then make our move.”

A fresh, verdant breeze gently swept through his long brown hair. Alex inhaled the scent of twilight on the wind and slowly rose to his feet.

“There’s no need to get worked up.”

It wasn’t as if I was desperate.

If it works, great. If not, so be it.

Yes... After all.

“This was just for fun from the start.”

Any losses would be but a fraction of what he possessed. Besides, it was never an urgent matter, so there was no harm in taking a more leisurely approach.

As if sweeping away old dregs, a bluish darkness filled the space where the sunset had faded. His gaze, which had been fixed on the sky, turned back toward the Imperial Palace. Alex lightly bit his lip and toyed with a stray lock of his disheveled hair.

High above the golden rooftops—which were as good as his already—a massive, unidentifiable bird soared toward the last vestiges of the sunset.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The moment Whees entered the corridor, a foul stench assaulted his nostrils, and he instinctively covered his nose.

It smelled of mugwort, dry pine needles, and a flower with a terribly strong fragrance, all burning together.

This fragrance, which rose from all corners for three days before and after the full moon, brought solace to the Lycans and discomfort to the Raphi.

“Honestly, this smell makes my stomach churn every time...”

It was a scent he could never get used to. Whees kept his nose covered, leaning against the railing with a disgruntled expression.

Unlike the stark, plastered walls of the command headquarters, the pure white walls of this corridor, embossed with a wave pattern, made it clear that he was standing in the most luxurious place in all of Parnas.

He was wondering why the Queen would abandon such a fine residence to stay at the headquarters, counting the waves on the wall to pass the time.

“Heeey. Been waiting long?”

A dog was trudging toward him from the end of the corridor, its tail hanging low.

Its fur was as black as ever, as if it had been dipped in ink, but its matted texture made it clear at a glance that he was not feeling well.

The cross-shaped patch of white fur on his forehead was especially matted and unsightly.

A flicker of pity sparked within him, but Whees scowled and pushed the thought away.

This dog was his nemesis.

No matter how pathetic he looked, Whees couldn’t forget he was fundamentally a Lycan.

“Here. The papers from the guys at the border outpost. I looked them over, but... my head was all foggy, so I’m not sure I did it right. You should check them again, you fluffball.”

His usual habit of practically throwing things was gone; seeing him hand over the documents so meekly stirred an unexpected feeling of pity.

Whees clicked his beak, hesitating for a long moment before finally speaking.

“Why so lethargic? Is the full moon really that draining?”

“Don’t even ask. I’m bursting with so much energy that I want to run through the mountains and fields all day, but I’m too drowsy to do anything.”

“Does the Mirage Herb make you sleepy?”

“...It’s not that I’m sleepy, exactly...”

His words trailed off as Zen opened his mouth wide for a huge yawn.