Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 121
121. Childhood Friend - Hunting Ground**
Winter had ended, and spring had passed.
The capital city of Nevis in the Kingdom of Orun was meticulously prepared for the upcoming successor conferment ceremony known as "Akine," reaching the final stages of preparation.
The main avenue running through the center of Nevis was spotless, without even a pebble, in anticipation of the procession of Prince Athon de Lognum. The various colored banners hanging from the surrounding buildings fluttered spectacularly in the "Delnuk Wind," blowing in from the sea to the continent.
Additionally, a small support fund was distributed to each household, allowing poor boys and girls, who would have otherwise worn worn-out clothes, to dress simply yet neatly.
Even the beggars were thriving. During such national events, they were either the first to be treated or removed, receiving considerable food rations and enjoying a heaven-like existence in their hideouts, where they could eat and sleep repeatedly.
Moreover, the Cross Church sent 150 crusaders and high priests to bless the prince's Akine, filling Nevis with a palpable excitement for the upcoming event, with many citizens cheerfully raising their glasses late into the night.
And there was a young lady whose anticipation was different from theirs. No, there had been such a young lady filled with anticipation.
“What, Philas is dead?”
Winter had passed, and she urged the fulfillment of a previous promise. She heard from "that guest" that the Duke of Tertan had finally granted his approval.
The guest, named Rev, had adequately compensated her for "borrowing" a necklace from her on their first meeting.
- “Lend me that necklace. In return, I will personally contact the Duke and secure his permission for your marriage.”
At first, he asked for the necklace.
But she firmly refused, saying,
“This is absolutely not something I can give away.”
Perhaps a bit annoyed, he glared at her but eventually backed down.
Lending it should be fine.
She didn't question why he needed it or how he could obtain the Duke's permission.
The important thing was that he promised to return the necklace on the day she left to get married.
- “However, since it’s only a loan, I will add one condition. Swear loyalty to me...”
Swear loyalty to a young lady?
There could be no funnier joke in the world.
Finding his serious demeanor amusing, she laughed aloud on the spot, her face turning bright red.
But he didn't retract his request. Finding it entertaining, Harie lightly swore.
“Alright. I, Harie Guidan, swear to be loyal to you until I marry Philas Tertan. Is that sufficient?”
He looked satisfied. Thus, the necklace was loaned.
Before making the oath, she felt somewhat reluctant to lend it, but after swearing, she no longer felt that way.
She believed the necklace would definitely be returned to her, and the promise of marrying Philas would be kept.
That’s how she could wait for so long, dreaming of her marriage to Philas.
But now, they said Philas was dead? Last year? Unbelievable.
Harie Guidan sharply glared at the maids in front of her.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Philas Tertan is dead? That’s absurd. I’ve never heard such nonsense before.”
“It’s true. When we left Bospo...”
They were two maids who had accompanied her to Bospo.
Harie had hurriedly returned to Nevis, leaving them behind due to overwork.
“We really heard so. But marriage... Walter the overseer urged us to return quickly, saying you would be deeply saddened.”
“There’s no wa
3y.”
Harie Guidan abruptly stood up.
She intended to summon a knight immediately to punish these lying maids. But then,
“The household seems a bit strange too. I found it odd that some guest was using Lord Havny Guidan’s room, so I asked around, and everyone said a person of such status was a guest... How can that be? That room is...”
Her words brought Harie back to her senses. She felt her mind clearing.
‘...Right. He was using that room. Why didn’t I care? This isn’t a place for guests...’
The eastern part of the mansion was used by her, her father, her mother, and her deceased sibling. It was never a place for outsiders.
Anxiety gripped her. Once doubt set in, everything seemed suspicious.
‘Why did Father revere such a person? And why did I? Why did I trust the words of someone who isn’t even a noble?’
Something was wrong.
Upon reflection, even the maids seemed to prioritize his words for some time.
It was strange that she hadn't found this odd before, but what about the butler? The knights? Why were they, who obeyed only her father’s commands, acting this way?
“I need to go out and confirm. Prepare for my visit to the church.”
Everything seemed doubtful.
Feeling that confirming the maids' words was the first priority, she sat in front of her dressing table.
As she briefly tidied her attire and touched up her makeup to prepare for her visit to the church, Harie trembled under the maids' hands.
For the first time, her "peacefully decorated" green home felt terrifying.
If it turns out that the maids' words are true after contacting the Duke of Tertan... What should I do?
With a pale face, Harie took a deep breath and left her room. But then,
“Where are you going?”
Harie almost fainted.
The "guest" with a cold expression was at the door. Breathing heavily as if he had rushed back, he looked at her with eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Open this door! Right now! You dare to... You are being deceived. Wake up!”
There was a commotion. Outside the firmly locked door, a knight sighed.
“...It seems the young lady has finally figured it out. I should have warned the maids when they returned. It’s my fault.”
“What’s done is done.”
Rev lied shamelessly in a regretful tone.
“I thought it better to inform her once everything was over and kept it hidden... But if she finds out that what will happen next is to prevent her from marrying the prince, she will be even more heartbroken. We’ll keep her inside until tomorrow.”
Rev was finishing up at the plaza. However, he was shocked when he saw the "master-servant relationship" achievement suddenly decrease to 1, so he rushed back to the mansion.
Seeing that the shared vision with Marquis Harvey Guidan was still intact, Rev instantly realized that Harie’s enchantment and loyalty oath had been broken.
Luckily, Harie was still at the mansion. Rev locked her in a room when she demanded, “Who are you?”, “What did you do to my father?”, “What’s your goal?”
“Please, please open the door. I need to see my father. This can’t be his will. You are being deceived! By that man!”
Harie’s voice from inside alternated between pleading and fury.
But the knights beside Rev, although sympathetic, did not open the door.
The Marquis had left Nevis a long time ago, giving Rev full authority. He led the Eastern army under his command as the Eastern Marcher Lord of the Kingdom of Orun to attack Nevis.
And Rev knew that he was quite close, having moved covertly until now. Once out of the mountains, they would catch the king’s attention, and an army would be assembled immediately.
Or maybe the king already knew. He might be delaying raising the army because of the succession ceremony tomorrow...
But Rev was certain the Marquis would not be attacked as a rebel.
Everything would end by tomorrow.
He only regretted not being able to raid the Nevis Church and kill all the priests tonight.
A horde of holy knights had arrived from the central church.
Last month, they had come under the pretense of celebrating "Akine," patrolling the city and frequently visiting the Guidan mansion, as if they had noticed something.
This hindered Rev’s activities. It was no longer easy to escape after committing a murder since the guards, hearing the screams, would come rushing in.
If it had been any other "ordinary" apostle, they might have faced considerable trouble or been caught if they had been greedy.
However, Rev was no ordinary apostle, and fortunately, he no longer needed offerings.
He didn’t know if this had always happened in each cycle. In past scenarios, when he traveled after parting with Lena, Rev was not in Nevis at this time.
In any case, the situation had become difficult, so he ordered the Marquis to call all the knights and squires of the house to the mansion.
The mansion soon bustled with 23 knights and about 200 squires, all of whom Rev enthralled.
Enthralling them was not difficult.
The difficulty in enthralling knights lay in the tradition of blessing their swords during the knighting ceremony, but the knights of House Guidan had long abandoned their blessed swords in solidarity with the apostate Marquis.
Perhaps the only issue was wedding rings? Even those, Rev solved with his divine power.
He had enough divine power to do so, thanks to the countless offerings of gangsters and their families. Prince Eric, or any apostle in this world, couldn’t even dream of such immense divine power.
The efficiency of Rev’s offerings was incomparable to the few decimal places of others.
Enthralling the squires was the same.
The squires, who trained in swordsmanship and were involved in various tasks of the house in hopes of being knighted, never received blessed swords as they were not knights.
It was amusing to need even their small hands, but the more people to cause chaos at tomorrow’s succession ceremony, the better.
“It’s a heavy heart I bear. I’ll be going now. If possible... I’ll see you alive. Please take good care of the Marquis.”
The knight, having listened to Harie’s pleas for a moment, stepped back with a resolute look. Rev sent him off with a humble demeanor, saying, “May honor accompany your endeavor...”
Before, Rev had arrogantly given orders to the Marquis, but now he had to restrain himself.
Although enthralled, the knights still pledged loyalty to the Marquis.
Rev had not taken an oath of loyalty from them.
Or rather, he could not.
It was a waste of divine power to steal the loyalty of knights, and since he could move them through the Marquis, Rev saw no reason to.
The knights believed they were assigned to assassinate the prince and cause political chaos just before the Marquis’ rebellion.
The Marquis thought the same...
The Marquis had left, trusting Rev’s assurance that there would be internal support when he returned with the army.
When asked how he planned to provide support, Rev insisted, “Don’t worry, trust me.”
The Marquis handed over the knights and left.
Unaware of what would happen when he returned with the army.
Rev hesitated outside the door, contemplating whether to kill Harie, who was making a ruckus inside. Ultimately, he decided against it and turned towards the outside.
She would die tomorrow anyway, and killing her now might break the enthrallment spell on the knights.
Better to be thorough.
Rev made his way to the plaza where the prince’s procession was scheduled. He wandered around, pressing his palms against various spots on the ground and walls, continuing this ritual through the night.
This was something he had done every day since learning about the “Akine” ceremony through Marquis Guidan last year.
[Trap Hunting]
From the city walls and gates of Nevis to every nook and cranny of the alleys, there wasn’t a single place that hadn’t been touched by his hands. The plaza, like the gates, was a location he paid extra attention to.
Rev straightened his back as he wandered through the dark plaza.
It wasn’t because he was tired and needed a rest. He merely lifted his head, feeling the break of dawn.
In truth, Rev hadn’t rested recently. He neither ate nor slept, yet his body functioned perfectly well.
When had this started?
Was it after he slaughtered the arms merchant’s den, or after he took the necklace from Harie and wore it around his neck?
The blessing of Barbatos was indeed holy, and fortunately, he was the apostle of that deity.
People began to gather in the plaza.
As more eyes were watching, Rev moved to one side of the plaza.
Guards were stationed everywhere.
Their task was to watch for troublemakers on this auspicious day, but there were none brave enough to cause a scene. The citizens were busy dancing to cheerful music playing all around the plaza and tasting free food from the stalls.
All of this was provided by the royal family.
It was to alleviate the boredom of citizens waiting for the prince’s procession and to instill a favorable image of the kingdom’s successor.
“The prince is here!”
At that moment, the front gate of the royal palace opened, drawing the eyes of the citizens. Adorned in splendid attire, Athon de Lognum made his appearance. He was likely coming out after completing the succession conferment ceremony inside.
Magically amplified proclamations announcing the birth of the rightful successor to the great Kingdom of Orun echoed loudly for a while, and the cheers of the citizens grew louder.
The cheers reached a climax when the twin princes boarded the carriage drawn by sixteen white horses, and Rev watched this entire process with derision.
The princes, waving elegantly, were met with shouts from the citizens to "become the wise kings of the Kingdom of Orun!" It didn’t take long for those cheers to turn into screams of horror.
“It’s an ambush!”
Knights and squires of House Guidan cut down the guards and charged. Disguised in civilian clothes, they attacked the princes, soon clashing with the knights escorting the procession. The plaza buzzed louder than ever with shouting and cursing from all directions.
“You scoundrels!”
“How dare you attack the princes!”
Did the citizens not know those princes were trash? Or had the festive atmosphere and the splendor of the parade kindled a misplaced patriotism, bolstered by the recent free food and clothes?
Ignorant fools.
With a sneer, Rev slowly moved forward. As the guards, who were blocking the citizens to clear the path for the princes, stared in shock, he slipped into the middle of the main road.
It had been half a year.
A harvest day for the efforts poured in since last winter. As everyone’s attention was focused on the safety of the princes, Rev declared.
He stomped hard on the ground.
“This land shall henceforth and forever be the domain of Lord Barbatos!”
Immediately, the ground around him, the stalls, the buildings, and even the distant palace and walls—all turned a vivid red.
[Barbatos’s Hunting Ground]
A massive crimson horn symbol rose from the sky, tearing through the clouds, and a holy trumpet sound echoed long and loud.
It was the moment Barbatos’s name was etched into history.
As the evil deity who slaughtered all the hundreds of thousands of humans in Nevis.