Chapter 19
The Valeon Strait is a narrow sea route located in the north of the continent, connecting to the rivers that pierce the interior and passing sequentially through the Grand Duchy of Plene and the Kingdom of Cordi.
If pirates had been running rampant in the Valeon Strait, the Grand Duchy of Plene would surely have suffered damages as well.
"The Grand Duchy of Plene has not suffered a single trade loss to date."
"That would naturally be the case. Those pirate ships only targeted the merchant vessels of our Adorif Empire."
"So, it was a deliberate attack disguised as piracy?"
"Yes."
When they had cautiously sent out a ship flying the flag of the Grand Duchy of Plene, it was said to have returned safely.
Upon learning the truth, the Emperor of the Adorif Empire, Dravion II, was naturally furious.
'He must have had to deal with it somehow.'
The Adorif Empire was a nation that had accumulated wealth by exporting various resources produced from its vast inland territories.
Trade was the most decisive factor in their prosperity.
'But the Adorif Empire has few ports due to its inland geography.'
The Empire relied on the Valeon Strait for almost all of its trade.
And that strait flows past the Grand Duchy of Plene and the Kingdom of Cordi into the vast open sea.
When Cordi, which occupied the edge of the strait, made up its mind to block the sea route, the one to suffer the greatest damage was, naturally, the Adorif Empire.
If Joaquin Perez had truly been plundering the Adorif Empire's merchant ships under the guise of piracy, his intentions were obvious.
'He wants war.'
It was a ploy to provoke the resentful enemy nation into bringing their troops and attacking first.
And while he was at it, he must have seized plenty of iron ore, a trade commodity.
"These bloodthirsty mosquito-like bastards."
"……Pardon?"
Knowing the full context, the back of my neck suddenly grew stiff.
To think I was almost swept up in a war between Cordi and Adorif before I even had the chance to summon a demon.
I glared at Holdin as if he were the target of my revenge and threatened him to keep talking.
Perhaps sensing the shift in my mood, he opened his mouth without much resistance.
"I was given orders to find the mastermind behind the incidents and deal with them if possible."
"But when you checked, the cause was Joaquin Perez."
"It was all a trap."
Everything was a scheme orchestrated by the Third Prince, Joaquin.
The Third Prince of the Kingdom of Cordi, Joaquin Perez.
He was a man with an inherently belligerent nature, a thirst for power, and a cruel streak.
'It’s exactly the kind of thing that bastard would pull.'
A despicable man.
If he had succeeded in dealing with Deyan, the Adorif Empire would not have stood idly by.
Conversely, what if Deyan had dealt with Joaquin Perez?
Cordi would have risen up in the same manner.
Either way, it was enough to serve as a pretext for war.
"And you walked right into it, didn't you?"
"That is correct. Though I did manage to escape by the skin of my teeth……."
"……Should I just kill you?"
"Pardon?"
"I was thinking for a moment about killing you."
When I said it frankly with a sweet smile, Holdin began to hiccup.
It seems my sincerity was conveyed quite clearly.
"Exactly what did you see?"
* * *
The salty air, characteristic of the seaside, clung to his skin in a stifling way.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. I am certain."
The ship that had been plundered by pirates was docked at a port in Cordi.
Proudly flying the flag of the Kingdom of Cordi.
"……It wasn't plunder, it was seizure."
Even the stolen goods had merely been moved to different crates, with half being traded normally, while resources like iron ore were headed straight to the capital.
The reason was obvious.
'Are they planning to manufacture weapons?'
Deyan lined up all the circumstances he had witnessed so far and carefully pieced them together again.
The Third Prince of Cordi, Joaquin Perez, wants war.
Whether this was his own unilateral decision or a national one, he did not know.
Regardless, he was trying to create a pretext for war.
'He is testing our patience.'
The Emperor's patience had reached its limit due to the persistent plundering in the Valeon Strait.
For the past year, they had attempted to trade through other means, such as using long overland routes or paying expensive fees to the Agavni Alliance, but now they had no leeway.
It was because an inexplicable drought had struck the Adorif Empire.
It had already been over a season.
Once the sweltering summer arrived, the damage from the drought would become extreme.
They might have to suffer a massive famine, let alone export anything.
If trade was hindered on top of that, the Adorif Empire would undoubtedly suffer a heavy blow.
'It’s as if he deliberately set the entire board.'
But what kind of human could freely control even natural disasters?
Deyan suddenly wondered if all of this was because of him.
Because he, having contracted with a demon, had taken it upon himself to be the protector of the Adorif Empire.
Because he wore the hero's cloak and took the lives of countless people.
Perhaps God, finding his conduct deplorable, was trying to place the laurel wreath of victory upon Joaquin Perez…….
"My Lord!"
It was while Deyan was lost in such thoughts.
Holdin, noticing that he was digging a hole for himself in his own mind, shook his thick shoulders and made a fuss.
"What are you going to do now? Kill him? Joaquin Perez? He’s a prince of the kingdom! Won't it escalate into a diplomatic issue?"
"……."
Deyan brushed off his noisy subordinate as if flicking away an annoying insect and turned away.
His elite subordinates, whom he had brought in small numbers, were prostrated low, as if waiting for Deyan's command.
"We return."
"Yes."
"Understood."
The Emperor's order had been, 'Deal with it if you can.'
And Deyan had judged the current situation as 'cannot be dealt with.'
He felt it would be better to leave the decision of how to respond to the Emperor.
In truth, he had a gut feeling that war would happen regardless, but he had a stronger desire to delay it as much as possible.
With that, Deyan and his men quickly erased their tracks and left the area.
However, it seems that events destined to happen will occur inevitably, as a problem arose when they were leaving the city.
Their forged identification passes had been discovered.
Deyan and his men had been acting as mercenaries escorting a merchant group, but they were caught at the checkpoint.
Moreover, as if they had been waiting, Joaquin Perez's elite troops swarmed in.
"Arrest these men at once!"
"Scatter! Don't get caught, just survive!"
Only then did Deyan realize.
That this entire thing had been a trap.
He didn't know how he could have possibly known, but Joaquin Perez was aware of the drought that had swept through the Adorif Empire.
He had clearly been waiting, like a coiled snake, holding his breath for the moment to reveal his fangs.
"I’ve been waiting for the moment to cut your throat. I didn't like you to begin with, but I’ve hated you even more since two years ago."
"I'm flattered. I don't particularly have a taste for men, either."
"Wasn't arguing supposed to be the job of that chatterbox adjutant who sticks to your side?"
"I learned. I can't leave it to him forever."
"Is that so? It’s good to see you striving for self-improvement."
Deyan was nothing more than prey that had walked right into his trap.
"M-My Lord. That!"
"I know."
"That is a holy relic!"
"I know."
Joaquin Perez.
How on earth did he know, and how much does he know?
* * *
"Even if he hid his identity, there was no way we wouldn't recognize his elite troops."
Deyan had tried to retreat while minimizing damage to the end, but Joaquin Perez pursued him relentlessly and eventually inflicted a fatal wound upon him.
"Fortunately, we managed to cross the border, and he stopped the pursuit."
"He wouldn't have wanted to be caught by me."
On the border of the Grand Duchy of Plene, there are elite troops stationed by agreement between the two nations.
He must have backed off because causing an unnecessary commotion would have surely alerted the elite troops to Cordi's border violation.
'He will try to enter through other means.'
I had a premonition that troublesome things were about to happen.
"Everything after that is as you know, My Lady."
They had scattered for an effective escape, but Deyan, having lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss from his wounds, was stranded in the forest.
And his loyal subordinate Holdin couldn't bring himself to abandon him, so he just kept squawking and screaming.
"If you had at least kept your mouth shut, you wouldn't have been found."
"I am already regretting my own loose lips, so please refrain from pointing it out."
"Don't just regret it, reflect on it."
"One's nature is hard to change."
Holdin, who had nonchalantly brushed off my sarcasm, sipped his tea.
I understood the full story of the incident.
However, one question remained.
'Why did he back off?'
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