“Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince. If you hadn’t believed in our opinion, we would’ve been totally lost.”
Yustaf was genuinely grateful. Frankly, he thought their views would likely be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Thanks to the Crown Prince of the Empire risking his position to support them, they managed to secure the cooperation of the Imperial Family.
“Your Majesty, the claims of Yustaf and Harun may seem hard to believe at first. However, considering their esteemed reputations, they wouldn’t just spout nonsense.”
In that moment of the Emperor’s contemplation, the Crown Prince unexpectedly voiced his support.
“This isn’t your place to step in. This could jeopardize the Empire’s safety, so we must proceed with caution.”
“If we delay our decision, it could threaten the Empire’s security!”
The Emperor showed a look he had never seen before at the Crown Prince’s resolute statement.
Flustered, admiration, concern—
Amidst all these mixed emotions, the Crown Prince stood firm and strongly asserted, “I will investigate this matter personally. Please permit me.”
“Alex, do you even understand what you’re implying with that statement?”
Indeed, the Crown Prince’s words carried an immense weight that made one question if he truly understood their implications.
“Personally…”
Naturally, the involvement of the Empire’s Crown Prince would amplify the significance and weight of the situation.
Yet, it also implied that if they failed, the burden would fall heavily upon him.
In other words, if they succeeded, it would be a feather in his cap, but if they failed, it would become his responsibility.
Considering the Crown Prince’s increasingly precarious position, if things went south, he could end up as the Fallen Crown Prince.
“How can you be so reckless? Do you not know the meaning of your own words?”
It was no surprise the Emperor was getting angry.
For remarks that were supposed to come from the future heir to the Empire, they seemed awfully light-hearted. There was a reason the Imperial Family often put others forward when planning something.
After all, the Imperial Family comprises humans too; they could fail, so the usual approach is to have someone designated as a scapegoat.
Of course, if it’s a reliable course of action, it’s a good thing for the Emperor and the Imperial Family to step forward; it could enhance their prestige.
However, this time, it seemed evident that the evidence was flimsy, making the likelihood of failure high.
That being the case, it wasn’t strange for the Emperor to be enraged when the Crown Prince assumed such a risky position.
“I believe it would be shameful to ignore this matter just because I’m unsure, and it ends up causing real harm to the Empire.”
With that response, not only the Emperor but also the courtiers could hardly hide their astonishment.
Yustaf was just as taken aback because the Crown Prince he knew was more of a reckless hooligan than someone who controlled his temperament.
Hearing such a statement from him was hard to believe.
“Yustaf, I know the creator of that comic book you brought as evidence.”
“You’re aware of the Count Somerset’s second son?”
Nodding at Yustaf’s words, the Crown Prince responded, “I doubt anyone understands him as deeply as I do.”
It was astonishing information. That Rupert had a connection with the Crown Prince?
According to the Crown Prince, their relationship seemed quite close as well.
“Other people may not know, but I’m aware he infuses autobiographical elements into his books.”
This was news even Yustaf hadn’t known, which piqued his interest.
“It was the same with this work. So, please, Yustaf, tell me what you’ve discovered.”
“Your Highness, I believe he somehow figured out the schemes of the Dark Wizards before anyone else did, for reasons I’m not aware of.”
While still conjecture, Yustaf’s instincts were telling him it was true.
“I suspect he wrote alarming messages in a highly visible book in hopes that someone would catch on.”
“But why not just inform directly? If it involved Dark Wizards, notifying the Imperial Family for help would’ve been better.”
Yustaf recalled Rupert’s condition when they met.
Pale complexion, deep shadows under his eyes, brittle frame that nearly dropped his cup.
It was clear as day he was suffering from something.
“This is just a guess, but perhaps he was under a curse.”
“A curse? You mean from those Dark Wizards or Witches?!”
“Yes. Those wicked beings tainted by magic often threaten people with curses and enjoy holding families hostage.”
Indeed, Yustaf concluded that the Somerset family was cursed by Dark Wizards, making it impossible for them to signal outside danger.
Therefore, they might have hidden messages within the book, seeking help from those who noticed.
“Taking families hostage? Then…”
The Crown Prince suddenly darkened at Yustaf’s words.
“What’s wrong, Your Highness? Is there a problem?”
“Don’t tell me this entire work is somehow about saving his younger sister…?”
The Crown Prince’s reaction was perplexing.
Yet, his expression was dead serious.
“I must visit the Somerset family right now to help them escape from danger and discover the truth!”
“Calm down, Your Highness! If we rashly approach Somerset now, the Dark Wizards might catch on and harm the hostages while fleeing.”
Indeed, the reason Yustaf had hesitated despite his suspicions when he met Rupert was because a hasty response could lead to major problems.
“Then what should we do?”
“For now, thanks to your intervention, Your Highness, we can receive help from the Imperial Intelligence Department and the Guard, so we should start our investigation.”
The Imperial Intelligence Department was an utterly formidable organization. It was said they even had their fingers in the breakfast menus of remote noble families.
We ought to inquire if there were any suspicious rumors recently and also conduct a search around the nearby areas of the capital, Caldea, where recent disappearances occurred.
“Of course, since it’s the capital of the Empire, the likelihood of Caldea being targeted is high, but isn’t it a bit early to conclude that?”
“Whatever the means, the location is definitely Caldea. It requires the lives of at least tens of thousands for a ritual, and it would be too expansive in other regions.”
“In other words, the only place with a population exceeding hundreds of thousands clustered within a relatively confined area is indeed Caldea.”
As Yustaf regarded the Crown Prince nodding in agreement, he wondered if perhaps the Crown Prince had the qualifications to be an Emperor.
A savvy princess or a third prince probably would’ve suggested they investigate Caldea without needing to mention it.
However, those folks wouldn’t have readily accepted the suggestion.
Naturally, the bright ones tend to remain motionless if there’s no evidence.
However, the Crown Prince didn’t come across as someone who could be easily hoodwinked.
Thus, while he was often indecisive due to the opinions of others, right now, he felt more like he was genuinely absorbing advice rather than wavering.
After all, governing an empire cannot be done alone. It’s key to trust and support one’s subordinates and accept the wisdom of others—traits vital for leadership.
What Yustaf saw in the Crown Prince at that moment seemed like a considerable embodiment of those qualities.
*
“What… what kind of tragedy is this…?” (Rupert)
I couldn’t even string words together.
No, this couldn’t be real; this had to be a dream, definitely a dream.
“There are surprisingly quite useful items among human goods.”
Kroon said while inspecting items in front of the workshop he was building with the remaining space of the mansion.
“Surprisingly?”
“Yeah! Dwarves are clearly distant from magic, so I wasn’t aware such nifty and convenient things existed.”
Kroon shouted while pointing at a furnace. It was a magical furnace powered by magic stones, and he was obviously excited.
“It can adjust temperatures freely without the need for a bellows; I absolutely love this thing!”
“Do you happen to know the price of that furnace?”
“Huh? That’s beyond me.”
You’ve got to be kidding me; not knowing the price? This shopping-obsessed lunatic.
Realizing something was off, Kroon’s voice gradually got quieter.
“You said I could just buy the necessary tools under Somerset’s name…”
I had accidentally let my guard down. I had carelessly jokingly told him he could buy whatever he wanted, considering how much money we were raking in lately.
I couldn’t comprehend how on earth had the magical furnace crossed 100 gold pieces, let alone the absurd pricing of various tools.
And the materials—like ores and wood—
When an invoice with an amount that could easily uproot my family’s financial stability arrived,
I almost found myself throttling Kroon out of sheer frustration.
Ah… let’s calm down. It’s already spilled milk.
If I think positively, considering the inventions and technologies Kroon will create in the future, it could be viewed as an investment.
Kroon had already demonstrated significant skill in subpar conditions, and although I paid a premium, I’d given him a satisfactory environment.
It might be reasonable to have some expectations.
“Still, couldn’t I hold off on his salary for about a year?”
Now that was purely wishful thinking.
Thanks to that money-devouring Dwarf, it seemed I needed to speed up production.
The response to Volume 2 of ‘Iron-Blooded Alchemist’ was explosive, and if I could release Volume 3 as fast as possible, I might continue the hype.
The Guild Leader’s ecstatic reaction as he touted the goods had been phenomenal.
People who once only bought a single book for the lottery ticket began purchasing multiple copies, meaning even a 24-hour magic printer running at full capacity couldn’t keep up with the demand.
So many people were even buying lottery tickets separately.
Moreover, I was excited about the content of Volume 3, which was filled with dopamine-inducing scenes that I, the creator, couldn’t help but look forward to how the audience would respond.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
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