The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 12: Unfinished Problems (4)

“This makes no sense. How could this happen…….”

“What is it?”

I asked as Swann continued to look at the three cards with a bewildered expression. She delivered her shocking words.

“Originally, there is only one demon card in this card deck.”

“Yes? Then… ….”

After thinking for a while, Swann unfolded the rest of her deck of cards. She and she checked each card. Her expression hardened severely.

“The fortune-telling that has just been released can never come out under normal circumstances. But I dare to guess, it must be something ominous.”

“…Yes?”

“… For a moment. Give me time to think too. I don’t know how the hell to interpret this…….”

Perhaps because it was an unexpected revelation, Swann sorted out her deck of cards again and then unfolded her cards one by one.

This time, to my surprise, there was only one devil card. I glanced at the missing card and checked it.

“… Edmund.”

“Yes?”

“You saw the same thing as me, right? 3 Devil cards came out.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“… Could it be that you didn’t use magic just now?”

“Can I?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. This is the first time I’ve experienced this since I was born…….”

Swann also apologized right away, probably knowing that she was outrageous. But I immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation.

That must be such an ominous situation.

“… Could you tell me exactly what you meant?”

When I asked, Swann let out a long sigh.

“Well… …. It’s a fortune telling that couldn’t come out in the first place. I will give you two interpretations. One is an interpretation that only sees the meaning of the card itself. The other is an interpretation based on my intuition.”

“… All right.”

I have heard both interpretations of Swann.

Either way, it was very ominous.

“So Edmund. I will ask you.”

“… Yes.”

“Do you really have to go back to the Empire? I honestly don’t see the odds against this guy.”

“… ….”

“A fight like this. Better to avoid it altogether.”

Swan’s words made sense. And in fact, Pesima was also the one who had the least desire for revenge among the four warriors in the party.

She’s also the benefactor who taught me magic, and I feel like she was forced to kill me, and most of all, what her Marion has done for me has tempered her resentment towards her. Did.

Therefore, her revenge on her, is not necessary. No, in this case she just won’t.

But….

“Then, Mr. Swann. Do you think we should leave these monsters alone?”

“That… ….”

“In the worst case, even Speth could be hit. To prevent that, I must go.”

It was a fight that should not be avoided. Knowing this, I had to prepare for it.

“… Then let me give you one piece of advice. Until we know more about this person, don’t act recklessly.”

“Okay.”

“I will allow you to stay here for a few days and plan your strategy. If there are still people you can contact, gather as much information as possible from them.”

“… Thank you.”

I got up from her seat to thank her.

Suddenly, I had that thought. Could you please look at the divination one more time to see what will happen to me? But Swann didn’t seem to be in the mood to look at fortune-telling right now.

I was too scared to check it for nothing.

As I came out and headed to the cabin where I was staying, I thought of the cards that had appeared and disappeared a while ago.

I also thought about Swann’s interpretation.

***

“Forgive us for our mistakes!”

Meanwhile, the Duke of Valois went to the imperial palace with the nobles who followed him and knelt down to apologize to the princess.

Saint Lucy committed suicide, and Archduke Charles returned to Frostville.

‘I guess I wasn’t destined to become an emperor.’

With words mixed with sighs.

His bet fell through. In the end, the princess would become the next emperor, and there was no longer any force to stop it.

Thus, the Duke of Valois’ choice was to pray for the princess right now.

It doesn’t feel good, but I had to try to block the princess’s mace as much as possible.

The Duke of Valois slightly raised her head and looked up at her princess.

She used to exude an unapproachable aura, but today, her princess felt more and more like a mountain.

She was looking down at him, tapping her fingers with her expressionless face.

Please. As for the deprivation of the title of duke….

“Wake up.”

At the words of the princess, the Duke of Valois and the nobles rose from their seats. He waited for the cold words to fall from her lips.

“… Why are you begging me?”

At the princess’s question, the Duke of Valois’ mouth dried up.

It seemed to him that he was testing his honesty. If so, he has no choice but to tell the truth.

“… Instead of Her Highness, I joined hands with former Saint Lucy! She swore that if he gave her her title of Duke of Roswell, she would side with her and Archduke Charles! I am truly sorry!”

“And now that they have fallen, they are trying to stick to me like bats. If they were still alive, they wouldn’t have come to me and begged me like they are now. Isn’t it?”

“That, that… ….”

“… That’s Okay. I accept your apologies. There will be no punishment.”

At the unexpected words, the Duke of Valois saw hope for a while. But he soon became uneasy. If it were the princess, she would never forgive them without any conditions.

“Instead, swear here that you will never betray me again. No matter what happens, I will be loyal to that princess, Marceline.”

As expected, the princess decided to tie them up with a contract.

This oath of allegiance was scary. From now on, even if the princess pursues a policy she doesn’t like, even if she does something that puts them at a disadvantage, she can’t recklessly protest.

“… The penalty. Is it so. Do it with your life. I think that would be fine.”

The nobles were shaken by the strong penalty. But if you refuse to do this now, the princess will punish you without mercy.

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“Of course, now you have made up your mind, right? So, in practice, this penalty is meaningless. Isn’t it?”

Unlike the princess who smiled, the faces of the nobles hardened. However, since she was in front of the princess, she forced a smile.

“Oh, you know what?”

As the nobles’ expressions still didn’t open, the princess opened her mouth.

“The next lord of Roswell has decided to take over for the time being Count Raoul Perry, no, Duke Perry.”

“… ….”

In effect, Roswell is managed by the princess herself. Because Duke Raoul Perry is the princess’s best friend.

“And I decided to give him instructions. Accept any trades with other nobles. Even if it feels unfair.”

“Then….”

“This is something I want to tell you especially first.”

“… ….”

“However, I set one condition. Only allow such deals to nobles who have signed an oath of allegiance to me.”

The Duke of Valois shuddered at his humiliation. Right now, the princess was using Roswell as her excuse to appease them.

But… I couldn’t deny it. It was a chance to eat some of Roswell if done well.

“… Is it possible, by any chance, to ‘purchase’ part of Roswell’s territory?”

“Of course.”

“Then… I will give my allegiance to Her Highness, the Princess. I will also sign a contract.”

In the end, the Duke of Valois was the first to respond. The rest of the nobles then declared that they would sign a contract.

The princess smiled and called her imperial mage. She and she signed a contract with them one by one.

“Now, you must not betray me no matter what. You know?”

“Of course! I will give my allegiance to Her Highness the Princess forever!”

The nobles shouted in unison. So they went back with a lighter step.

The princess clicked her tongue as she saw them.

‘Pitiful things.’

It was too trivial. When I threw a Roswell, they pretended to run like wolves like that.

And the princess knew well. That their leader, the Duke of Valois, would get most of the profits from this deal.

Because he has the highest title and is the first to step forward, there are many things to say. In that case, the remaining nobles will have the leftovers.

Then the lower ranks among them may not see any benefit. Still, how funny it is to fall in love.

After the Duke of Valois and all other nobles had retreated, Duke Perry came to visit the princess.

“… A little while ago, I saw the Duke of Valois and his party step forward. It seems you have succeeded in obtaining their oath.”

“Yes, now the majority of nobles in the Empire officially support me. Of course there are those who don’t… They don’t want to pressure you.”

“By the way, can we really let them tear Roswell apart?”

“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t too long ago that they came together anyway, right? You can tear it up right away.”

Anyway, the reason why Roswell grew in size and population as it is today was largely due to Duke Rosier, a former warrior.

And the princess kept in check Roswell, which had grown so large, and the Duke of Rosie, who ruled over Roswell. Still, she remembered that Iris was forced into the warrior’s party because of the duke’s influence on Rossi.

Of course, it was because the Duke of Rossier was so great, but even taking that into account, Roswell itself was a dangerous city if left alone.

“… The resistance of the citizens of Roswell will not be easy.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Didn’t the citizens of Roswell resent you for killing Edmund anyway?”

After the trial, it was revealed that Edmund was the person who brought down Iris Rossier. As other truths became known, the citizens of Roswell almost deified Edmund.

So, it was in Roswell that the anti-Etoile movement was the most intense and the place that had the biggest opposition to Edmund’s death penalty.

That’s why I had to disperse Roswell’s power even more.

“Sooner or later, Edmund’s sins will be pardoned and a monument will be erected in his memory. Let’s build one in Roswell.”

“I will.”

The dissatisfaction of the citizens of Roswell was to be put to rest.

Of course, that is not the only reason why Edmund is admired as a hero. Because the princess was also acknowledging his contributions.

‘Edmund…. After all, you were a scary person.’

However, after Duke Raoul Perry stepped down, the princess secretly trembled and thought.

Even in death, his influence could never be ignored.

Still, she tried to view the princess as positively as possible.

Anyway, I didn’t have to worry about Edmund anymore.

***

“Grand Duke, I’m in trouble!”

That night. Returning to Frostville, Archduke Charles was again honing his martial arts in his mansion.

In the midst of training, his adjutant came running.

He was angry for a moment, but Archduke Charles calmed him down.

His escort driver knew what would happen if he interrupted his training session.

If he intervened, it must be urgent.

“What is the matter, is the princess forcing me to sign an oath of allegiance as well?”

“No! A pack of snow wolves are trying to climb the walls!”

“… What?”

Archduke Charles tilted his head.

There are times when demons attack Frostville even when the demon king is not active.

However, snow wolves do not belong to the demons. As the name suggests, it was a type of wolf.

They also roam around the city in search of food, but they seldom climbed the walls.

Except for one thing.

“… Let’s go for now.”

Archduke Charles put on his clothes and headed for the city walls.

“Grrr!!”

“Kong! Keong!!”

When I actually went to the castle wall, I heard a lot of wolves howling. As he tried to sneak a peek under the wall, a snowwolf that had already climbed almost to the top of the wall aimed at his head.

Archduke Charles calmly put his head back and grabbed the wolf’s neck with his hand.

After subduing the struggling wolf by throwing it to the bottom of the castle wall, I checked his eyes.

‘… It doesn’t look like it went berserk with magic.’

Archduke Charles looked him in the eyes and said. After he stunned the wolf, he looked down the rampart again.

Dozens, no, hundreds of wolves were struggling to climb the walls. Some of them were scratching at the gates, trying to open them.

“What the hell drove them crazy?”

“… I am not crazy.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“They are terrified.”

Duke Charles said. He had seen this before.

Just three years ago.

“… But how long after the demon lord was defeated did another demon lord appear?”

“I hope it’s not the demon king. But anyway, something terrible is about to happen.”

As he stared at the wolves struggling to climb the castle wall, Archduke Charles murmured. He said to his lieutenant.

“Double the boundaries going forward. And report it to the princess.”

“Dear Princess… Are you talking?”

“Yes. Something extraordinary is about to happen.”