I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 47

“What a pitiful sight.”

The princess clicked her tongue as she looked at Adrian in the cage. When they brought him here, they had simply put him in the cage, but now his arms were bound and his mouth was gagged. He was under Beatrice’s mind control.

As the gag was removed and his arms were freed, Adrian asked in a hoarse, stuttering voice, “Wh-why did you lock me up here?”

“Answer that damned question, and be quick about it! Before I burn your mouth with a hot iron because I’m so sick of it!” Beatrice screamed in a shrill voice.

There was a seal on Beatrice that made her unable to defy the royal blood. Once the princess had her in her hands, many things became easier. Beatrice was a powerful witch who could shake the continent.

The Emperor, who disliked dark, damp places, never ventured into the underground. He would have no idea what terrible things his precious daughter had been doing with the help of the fearsome witch. This controlled area, where no one could come and which Beatrice guarded, was the safest storeroom for Eileen alone.

“Are you feeling a little better?” the princess asked with concern.

Adrian seemed to catch a glimpse of hope. He stumbled over his words but spoke with all his might. “I’m fine, but it’s hard to bear, Your Highness. Please, let me go.”

“I can’t do that. If you leave, Adrian, you’ll die.”

“If I’ve committed a crime, I’ll stand trial and face execution.”

“You shouldn’t say that. If you do, the blame will fall on me for hiding you and keeping you alive all this time.”

Deep despair was etched on Adrian’s pale face.

“I… I have no intention of harming Your Highness. If something has gone wrong, it must be a misunderstanding.”

Adrian, who had maintained a semblance of dignity at first, now seemed to be at the end of his mental rope. It was only natural since he had been cooped up without sunlight for so long.

Except for the unyielding Beatrice, who had either become enlightened or was originally crazy and thus unaffected, everyone else who had been trapped underground didn’t last long.

“Please. If you let me go, I’ll do anything.”

Finally, the words the princess had been waiting for came from Adrian’s mouth. However, instead of showing immediate delight, the princess put on a thoughtful expression.

“People are animals that betray easily. That’s why you are here.”

At the princess’s words, Adrian shook his head frantically. “I would never do that. I will not defy Your Highness’s words.”

The princess shrugged as if she had no choice and approached Adrian. “Normally, you could never be set free, but since you’ve said so much, I’ll believe you. And it just so happens that I need you, Adrian.”

More accurately, she needed a part of him, and the princess’s kind smile and blue eyes gleamed eerily.

Otajur Eunice, the mayor of Basel, was a man with a white face, red hair, freckles, and a sturdy physique that didn’t match his innocent face at all. He was currently receiving an unfamiliar guest in his office.

“What on earth does this mean?” Otajur asked, holding up the parchment he had just received from the man a head shorter than him. “Aren’t you part of the subjugation force from the capital? I heard that the Empire’s greatest knight is accompanying the force this time.”

“That’s right.”

“But to prepare a sacrifice for Hakmersia? And on our own in this territory!” Otajur’s voice rose. “This is a small, remote city that can’t even conduct proper trade for fear of provoking Hakmersia. We don’t have the means to raise such a large sum.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” The man, who introduced himself as Count Idelche, didn’t even bat an eye at Otajur’s plea.

‘Damn it. He’s an expert at squeezing money out of people.’ He seemed very used to this kind of situation.

“Is this really an order from higher up?”

“It is.”

Otajur began to feel rage not at the shrewd man in front of him, but at the man who was the leader of the subjugation force and the world’s greatest knight. The future Grand Duke, the prince from a fairy tale, had left to save face but seemed to have gotten scared upon arrival. So now he was trying to squeeze the local lord to offer a sacrifice and get out of the predicament.

“Of course, there are many famous scholars in the capital, but there’s no one who knows as much about Hakmersia as someone from our city. I was just seven years old when I first saw the shadow of Hakmersia, moving through the forest as if it were flat ground among trees as big as houses.”

Otajur tried to save their face first. “So I know that subjugation is impossible. I know it’s hard to succeed. I’ve already told the residents not to be disappointed if it falls through.”

There was no lie in his words. For him, Hakmersia was like an unstoppable natural disaster. Even after hearing that the subjugation force had been dispatched from the capital, he hadn’t really expected them to catch it.

“But we always offer a much larger sacrifice because we are closer to its habitat. The reason is that we are the ones who benefit from the offerings. However, this place truly has no financial due to the excessive tribute.”

“For a remote city, the city walls are quite high and the streets are very clean.”

“That’s thanks to the support from the House of Bormia.”

Even with continuous persuasion, Count Idelche would not budge. Otajur, a former warrior with little patience, finally lost his temper.

“No, why should we take the blame for the failed subjugation? Should the future successor of the world’s wealthiest family squeeze our struggling city?”

The moment the words fell, with a shiiing sound, Count Idelche drew his sword. The Count aimed it at Otajur and growled menacingly. “Are you insulting Count Calabria and refusing to obey the order?”

It seemed like a decent sword with a sharp edge, but the tip of the blade lacked strength, suggesting he was not proficient in swordsmanship. Otajur, hardened by various battles, could have overpowered him without a sword. However, he couldn’t afford to get on the wrong side of a central noble from the capital. Especially if the man who gave him the order was the future Grand Duke, Count Calabria.

“I didn’t prepare at all, believing in the news of the subjugation. It will take time no matter how hard I try.”

“Have it ready by dawn tomorrow. There is no room for compromise.”

After unilaterally delivering the notice, Count Idelche left the mayor’s office.

“You cowardly son of a bitch!”

Lian Floyd Calabria. Was this how he built his reputation? Shuddering with a sense of betrayal, Otajur slammed his desk.

In the early morning.

After finishing the knightly order’s maintenance and patrol, Michel returned to the command post. Although Basel was a small city, it had a decent, albeit old, encampment, perhaps because subjugation forces had come here a few times before.

He was lighting a lamp and writing a report to hand over to Lian when the office door opened without a knock.

“What is it?”

“I’ve come to inform you that Count Calabria’s message was delivered to the mayor.”

“That’s good.” Michel’s tone was a bit curt. It was an order from Lian to him, and he wanted to deliver it himself, but Count Idelche was stubborn and took the letter.

“Now then, you should go to Count Calabria and tell him he can return.”

“Pardon?”

“I handled it well so that his honor wouldn’t be damaged.”

Count Idelche seemed to think that explained everything, but Michel was not convinced at all. “The commander ordered me to wait here until he returns.”

“There’s no need to risk danger for a monster we can’t catch and don’t need to. I already compromised with the mayor and prepared a sacrifice for Hakmersia.”

Michel was stunned by the unexpected words.

“We camped at the foot of the mountain and pretended to hunt enough. Just tell him that a sacrifice has already been prepared and you were forced to return reluctantly.”

“The commander will actually subjugate it, not just pretend to.”

“With most of the knightly force stuck in a rural town like this?” Count Idelche scoffed. He patted the seated Michel on the shoulder and said, “You don’t know much about politics between nobles. It’s the deputy’s job to read between the lines of the order to bring most of the knightly force and handle it well.”

“Are you saying the commander’s true intention is to extort a sacrifice from his fellow imperial citizens by threatening them with the imperial knight force and then finish the job half-heartedly?”

“Now you’re starting to make sense.”

Michel stood up from his seat. He looked down intimidatingly at Count Idelche, who was about a head shorter than him.

“I don’t think so. Therefore, I will not go to deliver the message.”

“Are you defying my words now?”

“I am following the orders of my superior, the Imperial Knight Commander.”

Count Idelche’s expression twisted. “You don’t seem to know…”

“I know very well what I’m saying.”

“Although I am a Count urgently dispatched from the capital, I am not your opponent.”

Michel lightly furrowed his brow at the illogical statement.

“I am a man who reads the flow well. Count Calabria will stand at the pinnacle of the world with just a little push.”

“The commander won’t need any more power.”

“He needs someone like me who can quickly read his true intentions.”

“I think that’s a matter for the commander to decide himself.”

As he was continuously contradicted, Count Idelche’s face turned beet red. A shout seemed imminent.

However, the tense situation was soon broken.

“Deputy Commander!” A subordinate called Michel through the open door. “A messenger has brought news from the city walls!”

“What is it?”

“It seems there’s been a battle in the direction of Hakmersia’s forest.”

Michel immediately left the command post and ran towards the watchtower. Count Idelche grumbled behind him but seemed just as curious and started following.

“Which direction!”

“That way!”

Although the distance was quite far, a faint roar and the powerful aura of a sword could be felt. Michel immediately took out the alchemist’s special scope he carried. It was an extremely expensive item with a lens that could confirm what was happening far away, but it was not uncommon in the Imperial Knightly Order, which was sponsored by the House of Floyd.

Soon, the area of the battle unfolded before his eyes as if it were right in front of him. However, the movement was so fast that it was difficult to even capture it with his eyes.

“Oh my God.”

After he finally managed to focus. A dazed voice escaped Michel’s lips.

“Is that a person?”

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