Chapter 108. The Capital, Vatengart
The kingdom’s capital, Vatengart.
Situated in the central region of the continent and at the heart of the kingdom, Vatengart stood near the boundary between the Silva River and the mountain range.
Through the window, the outskirts came into view.
Near the Silva River were fertile farmlands that supplied the capital with water and food.
Livestock farming also flourished on the foundation provided by those lands.
Once we passed through the outskirts, we arrived at Vatengart’s gates.
The steel gates and sturdy stones of the walls cast powerful shadows beneath the sun, testifying to their history and dignity as the kingdom’s final line of defense.
As our carriages approached—
The capital guards standing atop the walls simultaneously readied their spears and shields.
Had they already been informed of our arrival?
“It is House White Wolf! Open the gates!”
After an extremely simple verification procedure, the gates opened and the guards saluted in unison.
Before long, our carriages entered the bustling streets—
We had entered the capital’s outer city.
The outer city, where merchants, artisans, and ordinary citizens primarily resided, was divided through its center by a branch of the Silva River.
Merchant vessels sailed along the water with colorful flags fluttering above them, creating a scene quite different from Freche.
It further emphasized the capital’s prosperity, which existed on an entirely different scale from the White Wolf County.
“Wow!”
Seraphia’s eyes widened as she gazed through the window.
Seraphia had rarely traveled beyond the County.
Recently, the Frost Curse had even prevented her from leaving the lord’s castle very often.
However, she had now awakened the Authority of Frost [P].
‘The effects of the Frost Curse have disappeared as well.’
....I did not know whether I should praise Iliana or say something else entirely.
While I was pondering that question, we eventually reached the capital’s inner city.
As expected of a district primarily inhabited by nobles, high-ranking officials, and wealthy merchants, elegant old mansions lined its streets.
The inner city also contained libraries, a grand plaza, and an academy.
Nobles regularly invited bards to hold various cultural events featuring music, paintings, plays, and other forms of art.
Countless intellectuals and artists also visited the city and spread their accumulated knowledge.
This was the center where the Kingdom of Vatenberg’s high culture was created and exchanged.
“Woooow!!”
Seraphia’s eyes grew even wider than before.
Like an excited child, she could not stop marveling at the scenery unfolding outside.
Meanwhile, the carriage turned north and finally entered the elevated district overlooking the royal palace.
It did not take long for us to arrive at the Palace—
“Wooooow!!!”
Seraphia’s eyes now looked as though they might split wide open.
“Wooooooooow!!!”
She almost resembled Berserk Overreaction [?].
The gates were decorated in gold. The marble floors sparkled beneath the light.
The royal gardens, filled with fragrant flowers, looked less like reality and more like a world from a fairy tale.
“Wooooooooow!!!”
Seraphia could not help exclaiming at the magnificent sight, but....
“Stop making such a fuss and get out.”
“....Yes.”
Seraphia hunched her shoulders and descended from the carriage.
However, the moment her feet touched the ground, her eyes widened once again at the majestic Palace standing before her.
“Wow, so this really is—”
Seraphia swallowed the rest of her words.
She rolled her eyes toward Adrian, carefully gauging his reaction as he climbed down from the carriage.
At that moment,
“Welcome. You must be exhausted after your long journey.”
The Palace doors opened, and a neatly dressed man emerged.
He was a middle-aged man whose every word and movement conveyed refinement and dignified authority.
“I am Edmund Harens, the Royal Palace Chamberlain.”
Because the Royal Palace Chamberlain served the royal family directly, his social standing was not low.
He was a court count, known as a Count Palatine.
In other words, he held the rank of count.
Similarly, the Chief Lady-in-Waiting of the royal court was a noblewoman holding the rank of countess.
In contrast, a count governing a border region was known as a Margrave.
House White Wolf belonged to the latter category.
“I’m Seraphia White Wolf.”
“I am Adrian White Wolf.”
Seraphia and Adrian greeted Edmund in turn.
“His Majesty has been informed of your arrival. However....”
Edmund lowered his head slightly.
“His Majesty is currently in poor health, so he has informed us that an immediate audience will be difficult.”
“Then....”
“You may stay in the guest chambers until His Majesty recovers his strength.”
“The guest chambers?!”
Seraphia cried out in surprise without realizing it.
The Palace guest chambers were not accommodations that just anyone could use. They were reserved for foreign royalty and high-ranking nobles.
Such treatment was far beyond what would ordinarily be extended to two people from a remote count’s house who had not even formally inherited the title yet.
“Her Majesty the Queen ordered us to escort every debuting lady and the accompanying members of her family to the guest chambers.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I shall personally guide you.”
At Edmund’s gesture, the Palace maids and attendants all bowed to welcome Seraphia and Adrian.
Seraphia felt as though she had become a princess from a fairy tale.
“This way, please.”
They followed Edmund into the magnificent interior of the Palace.
At that moment,
“Well, look who it is!”
The speaker wore a calculating smile filled with coldness.
He acted as though he knew me. Yet I did not remember his face.
When I activated Predatory Instinct [S], information regarding him appeared before my eyes.
==<Character Information>==
Name: Walter Vatenberg
Classification: Kingdom Animalia, Class Mammalia, Family Hominidae, Human
Sex: Male
Age: 15
Trait: None
I turned toward the sudden voice and saw a young man with a boyish appearance. He possessed an arrogant expression and a rounded jawline.
‘If his name is Walter....’
He was the Third Prince of the Kingdom of Vatenberg.
He was Queen Marceline’s second child.
Walter strode toward me.
He examined me from various angles, resembling a snake twisting its body while inspecting its prey.
“Well, if it isn’t Adrian, our kingdom’s infamous delinquent.”
His eyes were astonishingly cunning for a fifteen-year-old.
Walter believed that I was still a delinquent, and he appeared eager to exploit that reputation.
After all, my name had been thoroughly excluded from all accounts of the incident in Violess.
The public believed that Isolde and the Holy Kingdom had resolved everything.
The residents of the County knew that I was no longer a delinquent, but outsiders did not.
Perhaps that was why Walter wore such a faint smile. It contained traces of casual mockery and ridicule.
He had clearly come here to provoke me.
However, his behavior seemed far too deliberate to be a mere coincidence or impulsive action.
In other words, rather than acting solely upon his own will....
‘Did someone incite him?’
It seemed someone intended to provoke me and complicate the situation.
‘It probably wasn’t Queen Marceline.’
I was not her objective.
Seraphia was.
If only because of the approaching royal social season, Queen Marceline would be wary of me disturbing order within the Palace.
Then the only person within the Palace who would attempt something like this....
‘Marquis Segretus?’
Marquis Segretus, the kingdom’s Chancellor.
He was the only possibility.
It seemed the news that I was sponsoring Iliana had reached his ears.
‘Does Marquis Segretus possess enough influence to manipulate royalty?’
He was the kingdom’s foremost political leader after the king, so perhaps it was unsurprising.
Nevertheless, his authority and influence seemed even greater than I had anticipated.
“Your Highness, they are royal guests who have traveled a great distance.”
“I know, I know. That’s why I’m so pleased to see them.”
Edmund, the Royal Palace Chamberlain, attempted to intervene, but it was useless.
Walter continued tilting his head mockingly toward me.
The knights of the Royal Knights escorting Walter remained standing leisurely in place.
However, their expressions were filled with ridicule and scorn toward me.
I was known as the delinquent of a count’s house.
It appeared there was no one in the capital or the Palace who had not heard about me.
Then again, even Avarus, while Transmogged into Viscount Venenon, had immediately recognized me when he heard the word “delinquent”.
“I was simply delighted to hear that the delinquent buried away in the borderlands had personally come all the way to the Palace.”
Walter made no attempt to conceal his mockery. The Royal Knights made no attempt to hide their sneers either.
‘So this is how they intend to approach me.’
They were using an untouchable member of the royal family to irritate me.
Marquis Segretus was truly living up to his reputation as a sly old fox of the royal court.
However, even the cunning Marquis Segretus had overlooked one fact.
“You came such a long way, yet you brought an entire crowd of women with you. It seems your skills in that area are as exceptional as the rumors claim.”
Such provocations were nothing more than irritating noise to me.
He obviously knew that they were maids brought along to attend to Seraphia, making his words seem even more pathetic.
“Judging by the rumors, it seems your talents shine more brightly in bed than on the battlefield.”
Unfortunately for him, I had experienced far too many provocations in my previous life to fall for such pathetic insults.
The soldiers of the empire had practically ground their teeth whenever they saw me.
Consequently, their provocations had reached extraordinary heights.
They began with casual morning greetings such as, “Hey, you fucking animal!”—
—I can tell exactly how a monster that eats hearts like you was born.
—What kind of monster did your mother sleep with?
—We should apologize to your family for ever being happy to have you as their child!
—Hey, his family has already become powdered sugar in an ossuary.
—Puhahahahahahahaha!!
They had hurled every conceivable creative insult at me.
‘Those are memories in their own way.’
In any case,
“Your Highness, it is improper to keep the Palace’s honored guests waiting.”
“All right, all right. You’re always in such a hurry, Chamberlain.”
At Edmund’s firm intervention, Walter leisurely shrugged and stepped aside.
“....This way, please.”
As I walked past Walter—
“But you know, if you’re a noble....”
Walter’s mocking voice sounded from behind me once again.
“It’s unwise to fool around with every woman you see. If your family tree becomes too complicated, it could cause problems with the succession later.”
But a pathetic provocation like that was almost endearing compared to the insults of the imperial soldiers.
“For example, if your younger sister became pregnant, her child would be both your child and your nephew.”
My footsteps stopped involuntarily.
“Ah.”
....Even the imperial soldiers could learn something from that one.
* * *
“What?”
Adrian’s footsteps abruptly stopped.
A mocking smile briefly appeared upon Walter’s lips. However, Adrian suddenly let out an amused chuckle as he turned around.
“Your Highness, a blacksmith I know once said something.”
Adrian slowly turned to face him—
“Human nobles know that no matter how rudely they behave, they will never have a stone axe buried in their skulls. That makes them far more ill-mannered than primitive savages.”
“......”
Walter’s face went blank with bewilderment.
Adrian’s gaze then moved past Walter.
He examined the members of the Royal Knights escorting the prince one by one before stopping upon a particular man.
Ellen, the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights.
He was a genius knight considered certain to reach the Master realm within the next five years.
Adrian’s gaze settled upon Ellen.
His calm voice followed.
“The Royal Knights’ foremost duty is to protect the royal family. During an escort mission, controlling the situation so that the person under your protection is never exposed to danger is the most fundamental responsibility of all.”
“......”
“And yet, your master is spewing the stench of sewage from his mouth and rampaging like a rabid mammal.”
“Wh-What?”
“What is a knight who calls himself the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights doing without putting a leash on his master?”
“You bastard—!”
Walter erupted in fury.
At that very moment—
Boooooom!!!
An explosion suddenly erupted beside Walter.
The thunderous noise resembled the air splitting apart and the earth being torn asunder.
Walter slowly turned his head.
Adrian was standing where Ellen had been only moments earlier.
As for Ellen....
He was flying through the distant air.
Craaaaaash!
A tremendous tremor followed as Ellen slammed into the Palace wall.
Everyone’s breath caught in their throats.
Gulp....
Walter swallowed nervously.
After all, what kind of lunatic would attack a member of the Royal Knights inside the Palace—?
‘Ellen couldn’t even react?’
The Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights had been sent flying without even managing to respond.
He was a genius knight considered certain to reach the Master realm within five years.
Yet he had been defeated by a worthless delinquent....?
Walter’s eyes widened abruptly.
Adrian was not even looking at Walter.
His crimson eyes, which looked as though they had been soaked in blood, were fixed solely upon Ellen, who was embedded in the wall.
“Because of your dereliction of duty, your master just died once.”
Adrian’s footsteps echoed across the Palace floor as he steadily approached, as though Ellen still had dozens more deaths awaiting him.
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