117. Towards Essenmunt (2)

I turned my head to identify the owner of the voice.

‘It’s Lucia.’

I subtly checked her expression. Unlike the other prospective wives, Lucia hadn’t played a significant role in the underground 6th Shrine.

No, actually, as Yunir’s star, the incarnation of Yunir, she had played a very important role.

Now, she had passed all of her Mana to me, and Yunir’s will was dormant within Lucia. But once I ended the contracts with all the Demon Dukes, Yunir would regain her divinity.

‘To face Knoia, both main gods must be resurrected.’

So, Lucia, who had once been the incarnation of a goddess, had a subtly different aura than before.

Her quiet nature remained the same, though.

Lucia now resembled Yunir’s subtle aura to some extent.

At 22 years old, she felt strangely more mature. I inadvertently recalled the intense intimacy I had shared with Yunir.

Lucia had subtly left the carriage and was sitting close by.

Lucia, after briefly meeting my gaze, turned her head away, seemingly embarrassed.

But the awkward atmosphere quickly dissipated. Another member of the party inside the carriage spoke up.

“Lucia-unni, is this your first time to Essenmund? It’s my first time too, so I’m really looking forward to it!”

A gentle voice was heard. Lucia responded to Cecilia’s words.

“Yes, it is my first time, Cecil.”

“To think it’s Oraboni’s hometown… that alone makes my heart flutter…! Ah, of course, we’re not just going for fun…”

At Cecilia’s words, Tricia, sitting next to her, smiled.

“Even if we’re not going for fun, it’s going to be our home from now on, so it’s okay to look forward to it, right?”

I nodded at her words.

“I can’t immediately say that the two of you are Mazoku, but I’ll tell Gaju-nim, so you won’t have any inconveniences living in Essenmund.”

Cecilia smiled brightly at those words.

They were two sisters with a deep connection to me.

.

Cecilia was a highly skilled artisan.

And her older sister, Tricia, was an important figure who could communicate in real-time with Remiella, a High Knight and noble of the Demon King’s kingdom.

Therefore, both of them decided to leave the Imperial Capital and go to Essenmund with me.

Cecilia was my partner, bound by my blood. I had already spent the night with Tricia as well.

As a dragon, I had a strong desire for conquest as well as possession. So, there was no way I would leave those two in the Imperial Capital.

‘They’re all my women, after all.’

So, I was planning to help not only the sisters but also Lucia settle down in Essenmund.

‘Especially since Lucia wants to join the White Night Knights.’

Therefore, the people riding in the carriage with me were essentially going to live as Essenmund citizens from now on.

Aylin, sitting across from me, smiled as she watched the group chatting.

‘Aylin gets along well with the people here.’

To others, she might have a blank expression, but I, who knew Aylin well, noticed the corners of her lips were slightly raised.

‘That’s a relief.’

If Lilia or Chloe had been in the carriage,

I might have had to work hard at night for the past few days to maintain peace among my prospective wives.

Fortunately, the group got along well, so there was no need to strain myself every night to produce semen.

Aylin continued.

“Essenmund isn’t as glamorous as the Imperial Capital, but it has a different charm. And it’s an even better place to live when the season is summer like now.”

As she said, Essenmund, being in the north, wasn’t too hot even in summer.

But there was one thing Aylin omitted.

‘But it’s deathly cold in winter.’

A barren place due to extreme cold. It had developed rapidly during my maternal grandfather’s generation, but

Before that, Essenmund was known as a harsh land even within the Empire.

‘Well, I lived comfortably in the Frontier Count’s residence since I was a child, though.’

Anyway, everyone seemed to be quite excited about Essenmund, especially Reinhart, the capital of Essenmund, where the Frontier Count’s residence was located.

Above all, Aylin’s expression, who had been with me for a long time, was relaxed.

Although Aylin was from the Western Kingdom Union, not Essenmund, Essenmund was like a hometown to her.

She was not one for extravagance, so she probably preferred the simple Essenmund to the luxurious Imperial Capital.

‘No, it’s probably because Lilia has distanced herself from me.’

Aylin considered Lilia a rival.

Moreover, Lilia had played a significant role in the 6th Shrine. Aylin, who hadn’t played as big a role, must have been more conscious of Lilia.

But Lilia was now the Empress of the Empire.

Lilia didn’t want to be separated from me even for a moment, but as a real Empress, not a puppet, she had a lot of work to do.

And as an Empress, she could lead war-level tasks that I couldn’t do right now.

So, me returning to Essenmund and working closely with her was also important for the future of Isrand.

‘Either way, I’ll have a wedding with Lilia once everything is over.’

And the remaining two, Chloe and Rosette, remained in the Imperial Capital due to my instructions.

Due to the Demon Dukes and the Red Dragon Ustina, I had to head to the Demon King’s kingdom soon.

But heading to the Demon King’s kingdom without using a portal had significant geographical constraints as well as time constraints.

‘There’s also the option of flying as a dragon…’

Still, considering future events, it was better to restore the portals, a legacy of the ancient empire, somehow.

Those two, being excellent magicians and alchemists, could find a way to restore and activate the various portals remaining in the Empire.

I had entrusted them with that task. Since they were skilled, it wouldn’t take long.

While I was lost in thought, the carriage came to a stop.

“Doryeon-nim! We’ve arrived at the castle!”

---

The carriage was waiting for inspection.

The group had arrived in Yutra, a not-so-famous city. It was now part of Essenmund, but it bordered the Western Kingdom Union, so it didn’t have as much of a northern atmosphere.

To get to Reinhart, our destination, going through a western city like this was a significant detour.

But there was a territory we had to visit along the way, so it couldn’t be helped.

‘Harsen. I had to visit my territory.’

The County of Harsen. The reason I was called Count Yulian was because I had received that County of Harsen, which belonged to Essenmund, as my territory.

My maternal grandfather was a Grand Duke, a great noble. So, I, the only heir of the Grand Duke, inherited that territory in advance before ascending to the Frontier Count.

But since I was going to inherit all of Essenmund’s territory anyway, Harsen was just a nominal territory for me.

As the heir of the most honorable great noble in the Empire, I received the title of Count in advance, setting me apart from other noble heirs.

‘That’s why I was always called Count even in Pantheon.’

Anyway, due to such circumstances, the only thing I did as the Lord of Harsen was to stamp a few documents.

Currently, a Viscount, a subordinate of my maternal great-grandfather, was acting as the Lord’s representative there.

Still, since I was the Lord of that place, I had a duty to visit and check on the public sentiment at least once.

‘Of course, that’s not the only reason I’m going.’

There was a more important reason.

Demon King Slayer. That is, advance information about the future that I had mistaken for a game. In the future prediction my mother had left me, there was an important battle related to Harsen.

‘If Harsen falls, Essenmund will be in danger.’

Harsen, like this Yutra, was relatively close to the Kingdom Union.

The Western Kingdom Union. They were granted autonomy but nominally belonged to the Empire.

But now, the Kingdom Union had actually been absorbed into Duke Pedro’s sphere of influence.

From the beginning, the Kingdom Union had hired numerous mercenaries to fight in their wars. The mercenary group most involved in those numerous civil wars was the Bairea Mercenary Group.

Duke Pedro was actually the owner of the Bairea Mercenary Group.

Duke Pedro, having declared southern independence, or rather, rebellion, had seized control of the Kingdom Union through the Bairea Mercenary Group.

‘So it became a direct threat to Essenmund.’

The southern Caceres and the northern Essenmund were geographically completely separated.

But the Western Kingdom Union bordered Essenmund.

In Demon King Slayer, Duke Pedro used the Kingdom Union to cause great chaos in Essenmund. The battle that started it all was the Battle of Harsen.

I was planning to join Harsen as soon as possible before that battle took place and minimize the damage from the battle.

In Demon King Slayer, it was a very difficult episode. So, even in my mother’s prediction, Harsen was a city destined to fall.

‘But I’ll never let that happen.’

Harsen was a city I ruled as a Lord. As a dragon, I had no intention of letting anyone defile my territory.

I was much stronger now than in the future my mother had foreseen. I had plenty of confidence.

‘There’s nothing like the practical experience in that battle to bring back my swordsmanship skills.’

And through recent contact, I had heard that Uriel, who had been my escort knight, had been assigned as the commander of Harsen.

In many ways, there were plenty of reasons to visit Harsen.

It was then.

Hans, the coachman, carefully knocked on the window of the carriage seat.

“Doryeon-nim. Things have gotten complicated.”

---

I lowered the window after hearing Hans’s words.

The current carriage was not the exclusive carriage I always rode in the Imperial Capital.

The entire Empire was practically at war now.

I might have done things differently during my reckless days. But now that I was traveling with a large group, there was no reason to attract attention openly.

So, the carriage was much more rugged than before, and there was no separate window connecting the inside to the coachman’s seat. That’s why Hans had come down from the coachman’s seat and approached me directly.

I said to him.

“What’s wrong, Hans?”

“Recently, there have been frequent attacks by Mahon disguised as people in this Yutra. So, the inspection has become very strict.”

According to Hans, they were not allowing outsiders with unclear identities into the city.

Coincidentally, there were two Mazoku among the group who were not human.

‘Well, that’s not really a problem.’

When I enrolled Cecilia in Pantheon, I used my authority to create identities for the sisters as Essenmund citizens.

Of course, I, Aylin, and Hans had Essenmund identification cards. The problem was Lucia.

‘Lucia is from the south.’

From the beginning, Lucia was from a southern noble family. There was no need to create a new identity for her like the sisters.

According to Hans, they were absolutely not allowing southerners in right now.

From the beginning, the Essenmund citizens and the southern Caceres people had a bad relationship. And with Duke Pedro having started a rebellion,

A southerner entering the territory like this was practically saying, “I’m a spy.”

Hans explained the situation.

‘I knew they would be inspecting like this.’

Of course, such circumstances were not a problem for me at all.

If they saw the name written on my identification card and the Reinhart family seal, the Lord of this place would come to greet me in person.

But such a noisy welcome was meaningless to me.

I was planning to stay quietly at an inn in this city instead of the Lord’s residence. That would be better for understanding the realistic situation in Essenmund.

‘I also don’t want to introduce my group unnecessarily.’

So, I wanted to pass through this inspection quietly if possible. Hans knew the situation, so he probably asked me what to do.

“As Doryeon-nim knows, small bribes don’t work on the guards in Essenmund these days. It’s a bit of a headache…”

“I know that. It was Gaju-nim’s iron rule.”

Although it was close to the west, it was still Essenmund. My maternal grandfather had always been strict with the law. The atmosphere was the same even in these remote cities.

But I already had a method in mind.

“Well, it’s not a problem. Hans. Let’s just wait here and get inspected.”

“But Doryeon-nim. Lucia-nim’s identification card might be a problem.”

“You don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“Understood! Doryeon-nim.”

With that, Hans quickly returned to the coachman’s seat without adding any more. He was always loyal, like Hans.

As he stepped back, guards with very fierce eyes opened the door of the carriage.

“I’m going to check inside the carriage. And your identities too! Everyone, submit your identification cards!”

The guards’ eyes were very sharp.

‘They’re just guards from a local area, but they’re all well-trained.’

I thought that the Essenmund citizens were different after all.

With eyes like that, they would probably inspect me according to the rules even if I were the heir of the Grand Duke. But I wasn’t worried.

“Just a moment. Guard-nim. Is that really necessary?”

And I said to them, looking at them.

The guards immediately shouted at me as if they were looking at a crazy person.