Chapter 78: Shadows at Dawn

When the dawn mist shrouded Malta Castle, Rohan and his companions had finished preparing for departure in front of the stables.

Retina tightened her horse’s saddle, muttering under her breath.

“To think he prepared the horses ahead of time. He’s more perceptive than he looks.”

Rohan found her words amusing and let out a small laugh.

“He’s more delicate than you’d expect, despite appearances.”

“That’s true. He looks just like a brown bear, though. Huh, he even put food in the saddlebag?”

At that moment, a group approached them.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

In the center stood Duke Malta, flanked by two familiar figures.

“Count Susan Vertun. And isn’t that Baron Enon Ibel?”

“We greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The two bowed respectfully.

“I’m truly glad to meet the northern benefactors who lent such great support during the last vote again.”

“Oh my, Your Highness. Your way of speaking is rather…”

Susan glanced around awkwardly, a strained smile on her lips.

When they’d briefly met at the Boronia Palace before, there hadn’t been a chance to converse, so she hadn’t realized.

That the Crown Prince had such a precocious way of speaking.

At this, Duke Malta laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! It’s probably because His Highness matured early. I felt just as awkward at first.”

“Yes, it’s quite odd. With such a youthful face, his manner of speaking could rival even His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Is that so?”

Rohan scratched his cheek.

After becoming emperor in his previous life and receiving harsh training, this manner of speech had stuck with him.

Most people refrained from voicing their thoughts, considering Rohan’s position, but the northern great nobles were different.

They alone among the nobles possessed the power to speak their minds before the central imperial authority.

And Rohan also found this sort of interaction more comfortable and pleasant.

“We heard Your Highness had arrived, so we came to pay our respects. I’m glad we made it before you departed.”

Baron Ibel also spoke with a friendly expression.

“I too am glad to meet you. When I return, let’s share a meal together.”

“Yes, of course.”

The two young lords shook hands with Rohan in farewell.

Just then, Duke Malta gestured.

“Your Highness, take these before you go.”

Workers brought something forward.

A thick envelope and a small box.

“What is this?”

“Inside this envelope is a map detailing the border between Silvaren and the North. I also included a northern travel permit, just in case.”

“Oh?”

Opening the envelope, Rohan found a meticulously drawn map and a document stamped with the Malta family’s seal.

A map was more precious than one might think.

Especially a detailed map of the northern border—such things were never made public, even in the Imperial Capital.

“With this travel permit, you should be able to pass quickly through the northern gates. The Raolasis savages often cause trouble near the border, so it’s best to use the permit to exit through a safe gate.”

“Thank you. It’s something I truly needed.”

Rohan expressed his gratitude and tucked the envelope inside his coat.

“And…”

When the Duke opened the small box, silver-hued fruits appeared within.

“These are called ‘Frost Berries.’ They’re a rare medicinal herb found only in the North, and are effective at loosening limbs frozen by the cold. The chill will fade once you cross into Silvaren, but I prepared these so you can travel comfortably on your way.”

Outwardly, he was the fearsome King of the North, but inside, he was indeed warmhearted.

‘If needed, I can give them to Martin or Elpyrion.’

Rohan fiddled with the necklace hanging around his neck.

The artifact ‘Flame of Pellion’—a gift from Alcon, who’d been grateful for receiving mithril.

Thanks to this necklace, Rohan barely felt the cold, even in the North.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to prepare this much for us.”

“Haha! I only regret not being able to do more. After all, what Your Highness has done for us is no small thing.”

The reason the North was so favorably disposed toward Rohan.

It was likely because he had removed Marquis Fabian, a constant thorn in their side.

Fabian’s domain bordered the western edge of Malta’s lands, and his constant meddling was a persistent headache.

Using his status as a central noble, he repeatedly hampered the North’s military and financial operations.

For Count Susan Vertun, lord of the western territories, and especially Duke Malta, who ruled the entire North, it was an act for which they were deeply grateful.

Moreover—

“The fertile region Your Highness promised will surely become a great asset for the North.”

When Collin had called the northern great nobles, they’d come running to aid Rohan without hesitation.

The reason was a single promise for the food-short North.

“Every winter, we used to worry about food, but now it seems we no longer have to.”

Once Marquis Fabian was stripped of his lordship, Rohan had promised to grant a portion of his fertile lands to the North.

“Wasn’t that region originally the North’s anyway? It’s only natural.”

“Honestly, I was surprised you pinpointed that location exactly. It seems you even know the events of ages past.”

The Duke and the two nobles looked slightly startled.

Rohan only smiled in response.

He soon addressed the three of them.

“Let’s continue the rest of our conversation when I return.”

“Oh dear, we’ve kept Your Highness for too long.”

The Duke smiled good-naturedly and bowed.

“Please, return safely and in good health, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

And so—

Rohan’s journey to Silvaren was about to resume.



---



A great commotion erupted in the Imperial Capital over a prison guard’s inexplicable assault.

The investigation of this incident was entrusted to none other than the Emperor’s personal knights.

It was Drake, captain of the Bertion Knights.

“What on earth…”

When he climbed the stairs to the top floor, the body of the guard, Berthold, was lying on the ground.

Something like a massive spear wound had pierced his neck, and a puddle of blood mixed with water spread across the floor.

Marks that looked like they’d been gouged out by an animal’s claws marred the walls here and there.

The stench of rotten blood filled the air, and extinguished lanterns and scattered food littered the floor.

But the strangest thing was…

“No traces?”

“Yes, Captain. If the weapon was that large, someone would definitely have noticed it coming or going. Some prisoners on the lower floor even confirmed seeing Berthold go up to the tower’s top floor.”

A corpse not long dead.

Only a single staircase for entry and exit.

Yet no witnesses?

“Did he fly away through the sky?”

Drake muttered, looking out the open window at the end of the corridor.

“The greatest witness, Her Highness Empress Emilia, still remains silent.”

At the knight’s report, Drake raised an eyebrow.

Step, step, step.

He approached Emilia, who was trembling in a corner.

“Your Highness the Empress.”

Even if she was a convict sentenced to life imprisonment, she was still the Empress.

Drake addressed her respectfully.

“Did you happen to see anything at dawn?”

“……”

“Is that why you’re shaking like this?”

“I, I…”

Her face was pale, her lips tinted purple.

As Drake studied Emilia’s terror-filled eyes, he could sense there was more to her fear.

‘This isn’t just the reaction of someone who witnessed a murder scene.’

At that moment, light footsteps came running up the stairs.

“Mother!”

It was none other than Elliot.

“Your Highness the Prince. This is a murder scene. It’s dangerous, please do not enter.”

Drake blocked the boy’s path.

Doing his best to prevent Elliot from seeing the corpse.

“C-Captain, what happened here?”

Elliot looked utterly shocked.

He must have run all the way up, his little forehead beaded with sweat.

Drake let out a small sigh and opened his mouth.

“There’s no danger to Her Highness the Empress. You needn’t worry.”

“I heard the guard who brought food to my mother was killed. Then, could it be…”

“You want to ask if it was your maternal grandfather, Cajin Fabian, who did this?”

“……!”

Elliot was more wary of his grandfather Cajin than anyone.

He feared Cajin might harm his mother Emilia or his younger brother Noah.

Rohan had reassured the anxious Elliot that such a thing would not happen, but he still couldn’t shake his unease.

William, who had followed Elliot up the stairs, caught his breath as he spoke.

“Y-Your Highness, you shouldn’t just come up here like this, haah, you know?”

With Rohan absent, William was both tending to Boronia Palace and taking responsibility for Elliot’s care.

“Let’s go down quickly! You’ll only interfere with the investigation.”

While pretending to restrain Elliot, William slyly glanced inside.

“Ugh, what’s that smell?”

He wrinkled his nose at the stabbing stench.

“Steward, escort His Highness back.”

Drake’s face darkened as he gave a heavy warning.

“Right now, at once.”

At Drake’s chilling expression, William hunched his shoulders and nodded.

“Y-yes, of course! Haha! Your Highness, let’s hurry back together!”

“……”

Elliot had no choice but to leave the tower.

Even as he went, he kept looking back at Emilia.

“Mother…”

She was no longer the mother Elliot once knew.

Her body had visibly withered, and she looked as if her soul had left her.

“Your Highness. You mustn’t act so recklessly. The eyes watching you are still unfriendly. If you show any weakness…”

“I know. If anything even remotely connected to treason happens, they’ll do everything they can to bring me down.”

Elliot bowed his head deeply.

His grandfather and mother had committed treason.

The only reason Elliot, their very center, was still safe was because of his brother Rohan’s help above all else.

“But… she’s still my mother.”

Elliot hiccuped, holding back tears.

“Ha.”

What to do with him.

William looked at the young prince and rubbed his forehead.

“For now, I’ll look into what happened, how things turned out like this, in detail. So, please, Your Highness, do your best not to act rashly. Understood?”

“…I understand.”

Elliot nodded, and William left the prince’s room.

“What on earth happened all of a sudden?”

William hurried away, a troubled look on his face.

As he went, he scribbled something in a small notebook.

“Claw marks on the wall, the terrible stench, a penetrating wound on the neck, the Empress trembling in fear…”

It was only for a moment, but he remembered everything clearly.

“As expected, something’s strange. I need to inform His Highness.”

Entering his office, he deftly took out a sheet of paper and picked up a pen.

“Hm. The carrier pigeon that arrived from the North a while ago should still have His Highness there, right?”

With that, his pen quickly danced across the paper, soaking up the ink as it moved.