Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Diva
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: They Don't Even Check Compatibility for a 300-Year Age Gap
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘Foolish beyond belief.’
I indifferently looked down at the servant trembling on the floor.
‘Are we so short on talent that we have to entrust tasks to someone like that?’
Or maybe the people at the top had no eye for talent.
‘The head steward was just as dim-witted, so it’s easy to guess what kind of attitude pervades this place.’
There are those who prioritize their own safety and peace above all else, deciding everything else on a whim.
Only after trouble erupts do they put on a show of strictness to dodge responsibility.
And sure enough.
The head steward, who had been looking down at Osman with contempt, beckoned the soldiers waiting outside the door.
“You must realize that attempting to harm a hostage is a grave offense, Osman.”
He emphasized that it wouldn’t end with just stuffing that garbage gruel laced with poison down his throat.
“We’ll investigate strictly whether this was your own doing or if there’s someone behind it.”
He was saying that with me in mind—the Bardia native who’d become Elhart’s servant.
It was his way of drawing a line to prove his own innocence.
‘There don’t seem to be any others involved, so maybe this is enough.’
I’d used even the demon’s Authority to investigate thoroughly, so there was no chance I’d missed any puppet masters.
“Take him away.”
“Yes, Head Steward!”
Osman, trembling like a madman, was seized by the soldiers and dragged out.
“Kkh... mercy... please have mer...”
“What a pathetic wretch.”
The head steward clicked his tongue as he watched the scene.
“Regardless of the punishment, that man needs to kneel before my master and beg forgiveness.”
“Of course he will.”
As if it were the most obvious thing.
The head steward’s brazen attitude, acting like he was fulfilling his duty, was absurd.
But whatever. People like him were easy to handle.
Having secured his firm agreement, I nodded in satisfaction.
There was one thing that servant Osman had gotten wrong.
He believed he had the authority to make decisions.
The knight Hamel, who’d lost his life last night after laying violent hands on Elhart, had made the same mistake.
They exercised unpermitted power at will, thinking they were lightening the load for their superiors.
Authority comes from above, not something underlings can pick up off the ground.
It was an utterly ridiculous mindset.
Why else would the Cradion Empire demand Elhart as a hostage?
Even after he’d lost real power in Bardia and been deposed as crown prince.
‘They plan to use him in the conquest wars to come.’
He possessed such tremendous martial prowess that he’d practically single-handedly defended a corrupt kingdom all by himself, that soft-hearted man.
‘They call him the Guardian Deity among Bardia’s people.’
They’d isolated him by locking him away like this for now, but once Bardia was fully subjugated by Cradion with no turning back, they’d try to win him over.
‘Even by marrying him into the imperial family.’
It was a common tactic from the chaotic days of continental politics in the past.
For them, it’d be ideal if Elhart harbored vengeance against the homeland that abandoned him, but even if not, it didn’t matter.
They could hold Bardia’s people hostage and exploit him to their heart’s content.
Even I, who’d been here just a day, could grasp that much of the situation.
Yet Osman hadn’t comprehended his superiors’ intentions at all and crossed the line.
If it had stopped at mere insult, maybe, but he’d tried to kill Elhart on his own whim. No way they’d let that slide.
They’d punish him harshly to set an example, for sure.
‘Nothing’s more troublesome than underlings who can’t be controlled.’
Following Hamel’s summary execution last night, with Osman locked up today, the palace servants would get the message too.
‘Don’t treat Elhart carelessly.’
‘Any idiots too dense to get it, I’ll weed out myself.’
From now on, what I really needed to focus on was the higher-ups.
“From now on, I’ll fetch Master’s meals myself, so please go to the kitchen personally and let them know.”
If you don’t handle this properly, you’ll end up like that servant.
The head steward, whose mental defenses had already crumbled once, accepted the thought I’d planted as his own and nodded hastily.
‘Demon Authorities sure are convenient.’
Nothing worked better on near-villains like these.
‘But I can’t overuse it, or they’ll start clinging.’
They’d been such a pain, demanding I take responsibility after I’d conquered their territory.
To avoid dealing with them again, I needed to check the current magical defenses here first.
Set a power ceiling that wouldn’t cause issues and use it efficiently.
‘I’ll scout the surroundings and head back once the meal’s ready again.’
According to the head steward, this place—the Central Palace—was the nerve center of Cradion’s internal affairs, where high-ranking officials had their offices.
Naturally, security was tight, but as I wasn’t an outsider, I could wander freely.
‘Though only a few with permission can access the third floor and above.’
I had no intention of snooping there in broad daylight and drawing suspicion.
‘First things first: learn the building’s layout and patrol routes.’
Back when Bardia was founded, Mikhail had agonized over how to secure the palace inside and out.
Even with experts pooling their knowledge, they’d gone through trial and error, refining the system each time.
Over three hundred years later, it should have evolved into something far more perfect.
‘What’s with this? Why is the imperial palace so sloppy...?’
It looked like it’d collapse under a couple of mid-level attack spells.
‘Just basic alarm magic? What kind of guts...?’
As I inspected the walls, continuing my thoughts, a sudden hypothesis struck me.
‘Does Cradion lack high-ranking mages?’
Come to think of it, I couldn’t sense the presence of any master-level mages who should be in the palace.
No matter how large the city, it shouldn’t be beyond my detection.
‘I’ll have to ask Elhart about this.’
He’d been on the front lines until recently, so he’d know Cradion’s forces better than anyone.
‘The soldiers and knights around the Central Palace aren’t that high-level.’
The ones guarding the detached palace seemed similar.
‘I could gauge better by seeing the emperor’s or crown prince’s guard knights.’
Even as I thought that, I didn’t expect to encounter them easily.
They’d have offices in their own palaces—how often would they come to the Central Palace in person?
‘I’ve got a rough sense of the layout up to the second floor, so time to head back.’
The meal should be ready by now.
‘Our prince must be hungry.’
I’d skipped meals too, but long habituated to consuming only the minimum for survival, I barely felt hunger.
‘Elhart probably burns an insane amount of energy just breathing.’
Considering his build and muscle mass, he’d need ten times my intake.
It was then, as I descended the stairs, gauging the direction to the dining hall the head steward had described.
‘Hm...?’
A mana presence far surpassing any knight I’d encountered so far emanated from below.
‘Advanced level at least. Just shy of supreme.’
I quickly descended and blended in among the other servants pressed against the corridor walls.
Naturally lowering my head, I tuned into their hushed whispers and soon learned the visitor’s identity.
‘The crown prince. Lucky break.’
To get a chance to observe the top echelon’s power player just one day after sneaking into the enemy palace.
Glancing sideways, I spotted a blond man walking at the center of the group.
‘That must be him.’
I’d been sizing up his guard knights when I jolted in surprise.
The crown prince’s features, glimpsed through them... bore an uncanny resemblance to Mikhail.
‘What...?’
I had zero intention of drawing attention with something stupid like staring, so I dropped my gaze in time, but my mind swirled with questions.
‘No way he’s Mikhail’s descendant, is he?’
Maybe just an astonishing coincidence...
I suppressed the urge to look closer and waited for the group to pass.
But why?
“......”
“Your Highness...?”
At first, it felt like a mere brush-by.
Yet the crown prince halted mid-step, his gaze locking onto me without budging, fixated intently.
As if confirming something.