ICTFF - Chapter 104





A girl with a kerchief wrapped around her neatly tied brown hair entered the Third Prince's palace.

"Hello, knights."

"Yes."

The knight who had been greeting her absentmindedly tilted his head.

Judging from her attire, she looked like a maid doing odd jobs, but her face was completely unfamiliar. He asked his colleague who was standing guard with him.

"Hey, was there a kid like that in the Third Prince's palace?"

"Who?"

"The kid who just passed by."

"You mean Sylvia?"

"Sylvia has black hair."

"What are you talking about? That kid just had black hair too."

"...Was it like that?"

Looking back at the maid's face, it seemed like that too. The knight nodded nonchalantly.

The maid who entered the 3rd Prince's palace headed straight to the study.

Even though the study was a place where maids were not allowed to enter, no maid stopped her. She just passed by as if no one was there.

The maid entered the study confidently and took off her headscarf.

A towel fell to the dust-free wooden floor. Oslo, who was sitting on the sofa reading a book, stared at it with a bewildered expression.

"What are you doing?"

"This is not my taste."

"Didn't I tell you to be polite? Even Baba was polite to me."

"Isn't Baba the kind of guy who even speaks politely to dogs when he's having fun?"

Vivi shrugged and looked around the bookshelf. Then as if she had found a book she wanted to read, she lifted her leg and stretched out her hand, groaning.

Although she looked cute enough to make him smile, Oslo's eyes were cold.

Vivi continued speaking, flipping through the book she had taken out without permission.

“Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you're an asshole.”

Tak, Oslo closed the book nervously.

Baba was an incredible man. His actions showed submission, but his eyes showed cruelty and arrogance.

Baba's obedience was just an act. He was ready to kill Oslo at any moment.

So when he learned of Baba's betrayal, he was not surprised and could order his elimination. Of course, it was a bit of a shame considering Baba's skills, but what Oslo needed was someone who would obey him completely. But Vivi added more.

Baba pretended to be submissive, but Bibi was wild and uncontrollable.

Oslo keeping an eye on her since her abilities seem decent, but he's thinking of getting rid of her once she's no longer useful.

Oslo crossed his legs elegantly and recalled the contents of the secret letter he had just received.

"You poisoned the little Duke instead of Millenia?"

"But he would have survived. There is a 'Savior' in Eldern Castle." 

"That's too bad."

Oslo knew that Kalit and Ian had a closer relationship than was publicly known.

When Kalit was nine years old, the first person his swordsmanship teacher gave him to spar with was Ian.

Oslo remembered that day clearly.

Ian and Kalit shake hands with their swordsmanship instructor in the outdoor training ground. How he laughed when he saw that sight in passing.

A member of the royal family would learn swordsmanship in such a vulgar way. Kalit thought he was not qualified to be a Prince.

From that day on, Kalit and Ian often hung out together. They even spent time together on days when they didn't have swordsmanship lessons.

I heard that Kalit is teaching Ian chess?

At that time, Oslo's mother, Countess Beatrix, had tight control over Kalit's surroundings.

She even beat and killed Kalit's favorite servant under the pretext of killing him, and filled Kalit's surroundings with the people she sent.

So that Kalit would be completely isolated and unable to rely on anyone.

So he thought that Kalit, who couldn't stand the loneliness, had lost his mind.

Even Countess Beatrix could not lay a hand on Eldern's eldest son, so he thought Kallit would choose Ian.

Until his mother told him so.

"Son, do you think Kalit keeps Ian Tennessee Eldern close just because he's lonely?"

"Ian is the successor to Eldern. Naturally, this is a ploy to get the Duke's family on his side."

"Kalit s trying to keep you in check."

Eldern has never intervened in a struggle for the throne before.

They just stood back and watched the mud fight.

But this time it will be different.

Kalit will definitely try to persuade Ian, and Ian won't be able to ignore it.

Just by bringing Ian in, Kalit could achieve the same effect as gaining all of Eldern.

It was natural that Oslo would be at a disadvantage.

If the highest noble family, the Duke of Eldern, sided with Kalit, then the nobles who had been neutral until then would follow Eldern and support Kalit.

Oslo can't leave it like that. What a chance he got.

Originally, the Emperor planned to appoint Kalit as his successor when he came of age.

The reason the plan ultimately went awry was because of the earnest will of Countess Beatrix, who died around the same time.

"This is the last wish of a woman who has longed for Your Majesty's love her entire life."

"Alter I die, please postpone the appointment of a successor for five years."

It gave Oslo five years to do so.

A year later, an incident occurred that turned the empire upside down.

The youngest daughter of the Astrod family was chosen as the 'first walker.'

It was truly great news for Oslo. If only he could make the first walker his, becoming Emperor would no longer be a dream and he was so happy when he finally got his hands on Millenia.

So Oslo used Sierra to approach her.

He felt like he owned the whole world. Now all he had to do was trample on Kalit and rise above...

Oslo gritted his teeth.

The time his mother had earned was only until this year. He had to somehow make a contribution to this great rift incident.

'So that Faher has no choice but to appoint me as his successor.'

It was early last year that Millenia mentioned the Great Rift.

From then on, he made plans centered around the Great Rift. He also planned to naturally reveal the private soldiers he had secretly raised using the Great Rift...

"The problem is that Eldern's plague was solved too easily..."

If Oslo was to shine in the Great Rift, it had to take away Eldern's power.

That's why he didn't tell the Duke about the plague, but it failed due to Millenia's sabotage.

Why on earth did her heart change? Oslo thought about it countless times but couldn't find an answer.

If the assassination had been successful, he wouldn't have been so worried. The first assassination attempt failed due to Baba's change of heart, and the second assassination requested through Sierra also failed.

Oslo spat out the curse as if chewing it.

"That stupid bitch can't do anything right."

At least the man's Holly skills are pretty good, so I guess that's a good thing?

He sneered, thinking of Sierra, who was dating the second Prince of the Grand Duchy of Romena.

"The summit is scheduled for early next month. To keep up with the schedule, Millenia and her party should have departed from Eldern by now."

Vivi answered differently, shaking her legs.

"However?"

"I hope they never reach the capital."

"Huh, kill that woman again? That'll be hard."

"Wouldn't it be possible to do a small feat? You've already put her in danger. If you try one more time, you'll definitely succeed."

Vivi snorted with a look of bewilderment.

"Don't even dream about it. You just got lucky this time."

"Luck?"

"I was trying to test that woman, but the little Duke suddenly got involved and did it for her. If it were normal, I wouldn't have been able to get close to the little Duke. It wasn't a poison that would kill you instantly anyway."

"...Why did you try to test Millenia?"

"To check if that woman is really the 'first walker'."

“Ha...”

Oslo sighed and touched his forehead. Seriously, Vivi was going a step further than Baba.

You don't even know who your guardian is.

He thought Vivi was rude because she had no manners, but now he sees that she was just ignorant and didn't learn manners.

"If you're going to talk nonsense, get out."

"If that woman can see ahead, then she is not a guardian."

"Millennia can see ahead. What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, but it felt like she was looking ahead. So I wanted to check, but I couldn't because of the small business." 

Oslo's gaze turned towards Vivi with contempt.

If Millenia had not been the 'first walker', how could she have predicted the plague of Eldern and known of the Great Rift?

A thick vein appeared on Oslo's forehead.

"Ugh... Stop your useless fantasies and think of a way to catch those guys by the ankles."

Oslo knew all about the Great Rift.

With this information, it would have been easy to run the summit as he wanted. Everyone at the summit would have relied on him.

If only there weren't Millennia.

So the longer her return is delayed, the better for Oslo.

Vivi rested her chin on her hand with a proud expression.

"Is it okay if we just stop them from coming to the capital?"

"Yes, we will use all our might to prevent their return."

"Yes, Your Highness."


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