Chapter 191. The Great Hero’s Warning
BOOM!
Count Conte slammed his fist down on the table in fury.
The fist, hardened through countless years on the battlefield, shattered the table.
Yet even that failed to calm him.
His hand trembled as he pointed angrily at the old man before him.
“How can you say something like that?!”
“I apologize, but all I can tell you is that the Empire is currently in no position to wage a war.”
The Great Hero of Insight.
A man with eyes capable of seeing through the world.
And yet...
There was nothing he could do for Count Conte, whose son had been kidnapped.
If it were up to him, he would have gone to rescue the boy immediately.
But he couldn’t.
Ingwang had traveled across the world while invoking the Empire’s name so many times that the Empire had somehow gained a reputation across the continent as a righteous, honorable, and benevolent knight.
On top of that, the Great Hero himself had actively intervened in both the eradication of the Fanatics and battles against Demon Kings.
That made his position even more difficult.
Haa.... I knew there had to be some reason....
The Great Hero always felt as though he was one step behind Ingwang.
Perhaps because of Madness, Ingwang was especially difficult for his eyes to see through.
Even so...
He was certain that stopping Count Conte this time was the right decision.
But could he actually stop the man standing in front of him?
Count Conte was known as Duke Soundia’s strongest sword.
“This happened only because we allowed ourselves to be caught by surprise!”
Count Conte shouted.
“Do you truly believe my army, once fully prepared, would lose to the crude forces of some mere Demon King?!”
The Great Hero quietly replied—
“And yet, Count, did you not come here because even you felt uneasy?”
“....”
Count Conte remembered the countless forces that had assaulted his estate.
His soldiers had been unable to do anything.
They had simply been toyed with.
Of course, things would be different if he properly gathered troops and prepared for an attack.
But unease remained.
That was precisely why, despite being an important figure of the noble faction, he had come to ask the Great Hero for help.
Count Conte clenched his teeth.
“And isn’t the reason that man became like this because you, Great Hero, failed to properly see through him with those eyes of yours?!”
Those words weighed heavily on the Great Hero.
He had always acted for the safety of the Empire.
Yet now it seemed he had been the one who released someone who would later threaten it.
Still...
Sometimes he wondered whether that very decision was the reason the Empire could still maintain a relationship with Ingwang.
If he had judged Ingwang dangerous from the start...
Driven him away.
Branded him a criminal.
Treated him harshly.
Perhaps the Empire would already be at war with Ingwang.
If that had happened...
Could they have confidently spoken of victory then, as they did now?
Back when Ingwang had never even been called a Hero?
When he had simply been pure Madness?
The Great Hero looked at Count Conte.
“Why not ask Duke Soundia for assistance?”
“The Duke should be able to provide reinforcements easily enough.”
He added—
“I also heard that he recently hired a Hero.”
Count Conte frowned.
“I know perfectly well that the Duke hired a Hero.”
“But do you truly think he would deploy that person in this conflict?”
His voice hardened.
“What I need is one overwhelmingly powerful individual!”
Count Conte continued asking the Great Hero for help several more times.
But in the end...
He failed to obtain it.
As he left the Great Hero’s office, Shadow’s words kept echoing in Count Conte’s mind.
You cannot even unite....
The Empire is too busy fighting among its own factions to join forces....
Shadow had openly thrown those words at them before leaving.
Count Conte didn’t know what intention lay behind them.
But if all the nobles of the Empire sincerely swore loyalty to the Emperor and the Imperial Family...
Then the Empire would undoubtedly grow stronger.
Count Conte knew that the Empire’s growth had stalled because of recurring civil conflicts and political struggles.
Now that Madness, the one who opens the beginning of destruction, has appeared....
Shouldn’t we at least join hands for a while?
But perhaps that was exactly what Madness wanted.
Still...
Wasn’t that what they needed to do in order to save Derd?
He wanted to speak with someone.
Anyone.
Then—
“Oh my, Conte. What brings you to a place like this?”
Count Conte froze.
“...Lady Negligence...”
He corrected himself.
“Empress Dowager....”
The woman smiled softly.
“Hehe. Conte, I imagine you are the only person left who still tries to call me ‘young lady.’”
Count Conte smiled bitterly.
“Is that so?”
He bowed his head slightly.
“Then perhaps the Empress Dowager is the only person who still calls me by my given name.”
“Hoho. This simply feels more natural to me.”
The Empress Dowager.
A woman who remained as pure and elegant as a flower that never withered, no matter how many winters passed.
It was a famous story throughout the Empire that Count Conte had once been the knight who protected that flower.
And now...
He was also the knight who had turned away from that flower and opposed the Imperial Family.
The Empress Dowager smiled.
“You’ve become quite bold with age.”
Her eyes curved gently.
“In the past, you couldn’t even look me properly in the face.”
Count Conte answered—
“No one remains the same forever.”
Then he looked at her.
“And you have changed as well.”
His smile grew faint.
“In the past, you were someone who faced everything with confidence.”
Count Conte nodded bitterly.
He had once been nothing more than a knight.
Somehow...
He had become what he was now.
Many things had changed.
The Empress Dowager’s expression softened.
“I heard your youngest son was kidnapped.”
“...Yes.”
Count Conte sighed.
“He may be a worthless fool, but he is still my son.”
His fist tightened.
“I have to save him somehow.”
“I heard he is being held by the Demon King of Madness.”
She looked concerned.
“That is no small matter.”
“I will do whatever is necessary!”
Count Conte snapped.
“If we simply let this pass, the Empire’s reputation itself will be damaged!”
The Empress Dowager shook her head.
“The current atmosphere is not like that.”
Count Conte looked at her.
“Many otherworlders want Ingwang Kingdom to be formally recognized as a nation.”
She continued.
“There are even rumors that Karantlia has already sent envoys to Ingwang Kingdom in hopes of establishing friendly relations.”
Count Conte’s expression darkened.
“...I know.”
To make matters worse...
Everything Derd had done had already become public.
And word had spread that the Demon King of Madness had caused Count Conte himself no harm.
If the Empire now moved to wage war against Ingwang Kingdom...
It would almost certainly appear as though the strong were unjustly and one-sidedly attacking the weak.
Count Conte shook his head.
“The opinions of otherworlders are not important.”
He sneered.
“Many of them simply crave bloodshed.”
“If war broke out with Ingwang Kingdom, plenty would rush in happily.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What matters to them is the reward.”
“Not justification.”
“Not honor.”
Count Conte had already begun recruiting forces to attack Ingwang Kingdom.
Many otherworlders had joined.
Even those who had complained in front of him that there was no way they could win had still come running once they saw the rewards.
That had given him hope.
But he had already watched a Hero-class player get knocked unconscious in a single strike by Shadow.
The unease never disappeared.
There was also a limit to the rewards he could personally offer.
Now...
He desperately needed someone’s help.
If my sons joined me, they would certainly help.
But their futures are still so bright.
I cannot drag them into this because of Derd.
Duke Soundia was refusing to oppose Ingwang whenever possible after receiving the arena from him.
The Great Hero was also holding himself back.
He feared what consequences Ingwang’s Madness might create and whether it might bring great harm to the Empire.
So...
Was the best option simply to prepare as thoroughly as possible with what Count Conte currently possessed?
The Empress Dowager quietly spoke.
“Instead...”
“Why not ask the Demon King?”
Count Conte stared at her.
“...Are you being serious?”
“I do not know what kind of person he has become now.”
She smiled faintly.
“But when I met him while he was still a Hero...”
“He was not someone who refused all conversation.”
Count Conte frowned.
“I trust your judgment of people.”
He shook his head.
“But that man is a Demon King.”
His eyes hardened.
“There is no room for negotiation.”
Then he corrected himself.
“No.”
“He is an existence we must not negotiate with at all.”
The Empress Dowager tilted her head.
“Is that so?”
“If we establish the precedent of negotiating with a Demon King even once...”
Count Conte continued.
“Then it will happen again.”
“And again.”
“Over and over.”
He clenched his fist.
“Then the Empire will be seen by evil men as a nation that can be struck without possessing the strength to strike back.”
His voice grew solemn.
“I am still a knight who serves the Empire.”
“I cannot do anything that would bring harm to it.”
The Empress Dowager’s expression turned sad.
“...I’m afraid Conte will be badly hurt.”
