Chapter 25: Fury and ploys

“How dare he..! How dare he..! A mere commoner dares…!”

Kardo, recalling the humiliation he had suffered at Logan’s hands in the meeting hall, trembled with rage in his carriage.

How dare that man, who had only gained fame by luckily tagging along with the hero’s party, insult him, who could be called the foremost noble of the empire!

According to his minions who had attended the banquet the previous day, the Crown Princess had shown great affection towards a commoner adventurer.

At this, he had thought that those of lowly birth were certainly playing well amongst themselves.

So he had deliberately provoked Logan to shake Anastasia, but instead, he had been counterattacked.

From Kardo’s perspective, it was shameful, humiliating, and enraging.

He conveniently forgot the fact that he himself had openly hurled insults at Anastasia and Logan.

“Hmph! It doesn’t matter since I expected I couldn’t block the proposal anyway!”

Kardo tried hard to act nonchalant, comforting himself.

It was only natural that the reconstruction project for the empire, devastated in various places by the Demon Lord’s army’s invasion, was inevitable.

Therefore, although Kardo had opposed Anastasia, he had no intention of resisting until the end.

He had merely tried to grate on the Crown Princess’s nerves in the process and reduce the amount of money nobles like himself would have to donate.

However.

‘Because of that d*mn b*stard, it actually increased!!’

At Logan’s scathing words, the nobles had nodded one after another and volunteered to donate.

Even some members of the noble faction who followed him had been swept up by the atmosphere and agreed.

‘This can’t go on!’

This wouldn’t end with just this one time.

Anastasia would continue to hold meetings like this and pass proposals to naturally weaken the nobles’ power and strengthen the imperial authority.

If that happened, Kardo would no longer be able to live a life of luxury, wielding all sorts of power and wealth as he pleased, like before.

Thinking about that.

‘What a foolish b*stard!’

Kardo couldn’t help but curse his nephew, the once Crown Prince, who was now confined in the detached palace.

‘He’s probably just rolling around with women and playing even now!’

Even when he was deposed from the Crown Prince position, he was a pathetic fool who just whined for help, so it was obvious what he would be doing in this situation without even looking.

Compared to Anastasia, he was foolish and incompetent.

That was why Kardo had anticipated this and had meticulously made arrangements to eliminate her when she was young.

Even when she had taken an escort knight to a remote village he had never even heard of, he thought his plan had completely succeeded.

‘I definitely thought she would end her life in some insignificant place, befitting her lowly bloodline…’

But somehow, the wench, whose condition had worsened to the point of near death, had revived and returned.

After that, she showed unstoppable progress, eventually pushing out the Crown Prince and rising to the position of Crown Princess.

Not only that, but now the Emperor had even entrusted her with state affairs.

‘This is so annoying, I could die! It feels like nothing has been going right for a while now!’

Thus, Kardo’s thoughts spiraled, one after another, and his insides boiled.

“Hoo… I need to calm down. I can’t lose my composure because of such insignificant things.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Kardo tried hard to suppress his boiling anger and calm himself.

Because in the end, he would be the one laughing and victorious.

Thus, Kardo, feeling the rattling vibrations in the carriage, calmly waited to arrive at his next destination, the church.

---

When Kardo, having arrived at the church, entered the courtyard, Grand Archbishop Bertrand greeted him with a sly smile.

“Oh! You’ve arrived! Duke Lindemarck.”

“Yes, Grand Archbishop. Where is the Saintess?”

“Ah, ah. She is waiting in her private prayer room.”

“Ah, I see. Then I shall head there.”

Kardo nodded to Bertrand, who was pointing towards the prayer room, and was about to move.

However, Bertrand blocked his path and gave him an explicit look.

“Duke, excuse me…”

“Ah, if it’s about the donation, my attendants following behind are bringing it.”

“Hahaha! I wasn’t trying to stop you for the donation, but I understand. Please, go ahead.”

‘Tsk… Not for the donation, my *ss. What a joke.’

Kardo inwardly clicked his tongue and cursed Bertrand, but he pretended to be nonchalant on the outside.

It was truly displeasing to have to offer a large sum of money every time he came, but he couldn’t show it.

The church’s immense power was indispensable for bringing down that detestable Crown Princess.

Carrying such unpleasant feelings, Kardo entered the prayer room, only to stop in his tracks for a moment as two unexpected faces, besides the Saintess, caught his eye.

“Ah, Saintess-nim, good day. Well… I didn’t expect you to have guests.”

“Ah! Not at all. Please, have a seat, Duke.”

Sera greeted Kardo with a benevolent smile, but inwardly, she despised him.

‘Tsk… What an ill-mannered old man…’

Daring to barge into the Saintess’s prayer room without even knocking.

If it weren’t for the hefty donation and the need to use him in the future, she would have prevented him from even setting foot inside the church entrance.

Kardo, unaware of Sera’s inner thoughts, sat down as she suggested and made small talk.

“Haha! Thank you. To have the honor of seeing not only the Saintess-nim but also the Hero-nim and the Magician-nim together, I am truly moved!”

Kardo smiled feignedly at Lian and Irene, who were seated with Sera.

And he blatantly looked Irene up and down.

‘The Saintess is out of reach from the start, but as for the magician… she’s said to be of common birth…’

At his unpleasant gaze, Irene pressed herself closer to Lian, who was sitting beside her, showing her discomfort.

“Sera… who is this person…?”

“Ah, this is Duke Lindemarck, who devotes himself body and soul to the empire and the church.”

“Hahaha! You praise me too much! Compared to the Saintess-nim, I am lowly and insignificant!”

“Huhu… Thank you, Duke.”

Irene frowned at the hypocritical and nauseating conversation between Sera and Kardo.

‘What are these two talking about?’

She knew Sera’s personality well.

Outwardly benevolent and holy, but behind the scenes, a sinister woman who concocted all sorts of schemes.

‘Hmph, a devoted Duke, my foot. He’s probably just an old man you’re planning to use.’

Irene sneered inwardly.

Sera might think she was on top of Irene, manipulating everything, but Irene was only pretending to be used to a certain extent.

All to teach that shameless and detestable Anastasia a lesson and to get Logan back.

As Irene thought about that and recalled him, her chest felt heavy.

‘You’re really too much, Logan…’

She resented Logan deeply.

While she was enduring being used, knowing full well, trying to save him from that cunning Crown Princess, he was probably laughing and flirting with that woman right about now.

Sera glanced at Irene, feeling annoyed inwardly.

‘Why is this wench’s expression rotting again, d*mn it.’

Was it because Kardo’s face was physiologically repulsive?

It was understandable to feel that way when he was leering at her with such an explicit gaze, but she shouldn’t show it openly.

He was a pawn to be used well in their future plans and then discarded.

So, Sera hurriedly brought up a new topic with Kardo.

“I received the unfortunate news from this morning. Duke… my heart truly aches for how upset you must have been.”

“Ah! Thank you, Saintess-nim, you truly understand!”

Kardo, who had been lecherously eyeing Irene, was startled by Sera’s words and put on a moved expression.

“I was so distraught that Her Highness dismissed my opinion about not burdening the commoners, but receiving such comfort from you, Saintess-nim, I feel somewhat consoled.”

“Of course, I have no choice but to comfort you. Because Her Highness doesn’t recognize the noble heart of the esteemed Duke…”

“Yes, Her Highness is truly heartless…”

Irene perked up her ears at their conversation, which naturally turned to slandering Anastasia.

‘The Crown Princess? Is that woman trying to stir up something strange again?’

Not only her, but Lian also wore an expression full of curiosity.

So he couldn’t hold back and asked immediately.

“What happened? Sera, do you know too?”

“Ah, of course. What happened was…”

Sera and Kardo began to explain the morning’s meeting in detail to the curious Lian.

Of course, heavily embellished to their advantage.

---

Bang!

“How could she do that!?”

Lian, upon hearing the details of the Imperial State Council meeting, slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted in fury.

“Telling people who are already impoverished due to the war with the Demon Lord’s army to pay more taxes!”

“Exactly. It could have been solved by releasing the budget that has been hoarded in the national treasury… To force it on the people because they are reluctant to use it…”

Kardo added fuel to Lian’s anger.

In truth, there was no such thing as a hoarded budget in the national treasury.

And now, having learned his lesson from the morning meeting’s humiliation, he had removed all the numerous rings from his fingers and the jewelry adorning his body.

He had also deliberately changed into simple and shabby clothes.

So he could continue speaking even more shamelessly.

“The imperial family doesn’t want to bear the burden, so they force nobles like me to pay more taxes. We nobles are also in a very difficult situation due to the ravages of war… but what can we do… if it’s for the people…”

Sera was inwardly impressed by Kardo’s acting.

She knew exactly who had humiliated him and with what during the morning meeting.

However, his shameless charade was helpful enough in manipulating the foolish hero, so she chimed in.

“Ah… what a sublime and noble heart. Truly an example of noblesse oblige, Duke.”

“Ah, thank you so much for saying so. Therefore, I humbly ask for a favor.”

As if following a pre-written script, the two naturally requested help from Lian and Irene.

“Please, Saintess-nim… and Hero-nim and Magician-nim, won’t you help us? If the hero’s party steps forward, I believe we can stop the Crown Princess’s reckless tyranny!”

“Of course! You’ll help us, right, Hero-nim? Lady Irene?”

“Naturally!!!”

Lian, burning with a sense of justice, agreed to Kardo and Sera’s proposal without a moment’s hesitation.

However, Irene wore an unconvinced expression.

“Um… I…”

No matter how she looked at it, it was as crude as a staged play.

‘Tyranny…? As much as I dislike the Crown Princess, that woman, do I have to believe this bullsh*t?’

Having witnessed various injustices during the journey to subjugate the Demon Lord, she couldn’t help but doubt Sera and Kardo’s words.

Since many places were destroyed to the point of being ruins, reconstruction was obviously necessary.

To do that, money would be needed, and wasn’t collecting taxes natural?

‘There’s no way nobles would struggle just because they pay a few more pennies in taxes, right?’

Furthermore, the Lindemarck ducal family being impoverished and poor?

When she attended the Magic Tower Academy, she had heard ad nauseam that they were an incredibly wealthy and extravagant noble family.

For the head of such a ducal family to be wearing such shabby and worn-out clothes.

Wasn’t this an open attempt to deceive?

She had decided to let Sera use her to some extent for her own purposes.

However, this…

‘Are they taking me for a fool…?’

Irene couldn’t help but feel displeased, so she was about to say she would think about it and refuse.

But Sera, reading Irene’s thoughts, pressured her with a soft voice but a firm gaze.

“You will help us, won’t you, Lady Irene?”

“Uh… I… um…”

Just as Irene was thinking it really wasn’t right and was about to refuse.

“I believe the Magician-nim will also help. Unlike Sir Logan, who is not present here!”

Kardo added with a meaningful smile.

At this, Irene’s expression turned chillingly cold as Logan’s name was mentioned.

“Logan…?”

“Yes, that’s right. He, too, is of commoner origin, so he knows better than anyone that the common people will suffer, yet it seems his only intention is to curry favor with Her Highness the Crown Princess to advance himself!”

Irene’s expression froze solid at Kardo’s malicious words.

“……”

Had he really decided to cling to that woman?

Without any contact or word to her, he was fawning over another woman.

Irene, trembling with a sense of betrayal, made her decision without hesitation.

“Yes, I’ll help too.”

To punish Logan for daring to betray her and change his mind, and to destroy the woman who seduced and ruined him.