The Crown Prince of the Empire.
Kiers de Roiad.
The twenty-six-year-old Crown Prince.
Numerous titles were attached to his name.
<War Hero.> <The Returned Avenger and the Legitimate Heir.> <The Young Emperor in All but Name.>
<The Man Who Saved This Country from Corrupt Officials…>
Until just six months ago, shortly before the war to conquer the Nirn Duchy came to an end, the capital had been in complete disarray.
It was all because of the Chancellor from the Nirn Duchy, who had been acting as regent in place of the old and sickly Emperor.
The man who had brought down that Chancellor, successfully conquered the Nirn Duchy, and seized both the position of the next Emperor and the regency—
was now sitting on the throne with one arm propped against it, looking bored.
For quite some time, he had been quietly fiddling with something in his hand.
Wait. Now that I look closely, that’s…
Orun, the Crown Prince’s close aide and chief attendant, recognized the object and flinched.
Isn’t that the weapon of the leader of Chronicle Rim, the villainess Erquana?
A folding fan made of silk.
But hidden inside were poisonous butterflies, each one personally crafted by the villainess Erquana.
The sight of Erquana sweeping across the battlefield, wielding a sword in one hand and her fan in the other, was something no one could forget.
“Lately, during his free time, His Highness keeps reading records about the Nirn Duchy with such a frightening look.”
The young-looking man who had silently approached Orun was a youthful man.
“Ah! You scared me. Please make some noise when you walk around, Knight Rivil!”
“Hahaha, sorry. It’s a habit from when I was an assassin.”
“We’ve told you countless times to get rid of that assassin label. His Highness…”
Orun shook his head.
“It’s famous that the villainess Erquana and His Highness the Crown Prince were sworn enemies. He’s probably looking at her belongings while savoring his terrible hatred for her.”
“Right. Their three battles are famous, after all. And considering what that woman did to His Highness… Ah, she really was a persistent woman. But she certainly had an incredible presence. If she had been born in the Empire, she would have risen to a high position and probably become a Grand General.”
“You’re quite open-minded. That woman caused us so much trouble when she was alive.”
Despite saying that, Orun also acknowledged that she had been an extraordinary person.
At such a young age, he’s already the most powerful person in the Empire, with everything in the Empire beneath his feet. And now that he’s even succeeded in conquering the Nirn Duchy… What could he possibly be thinking?
Kiers, lost in thought, was beautiful even to another man.
His black hair had a subtle blue-black sheen, while his sapphire-like eyes resembled the color of the sea on a deep winter night.
He wore a military uniform fitted with specially modified straps designed for him, along with black boots.
The words that finally escaped those lips, cold enough to sting merely by touching them, were—
“I’m bored.”
“What?”
“Now that the nuisance is gone, I’m bored.”
“Ah. Yes, yes…”
Orun briefly wondered if he had heard correctly.
If he means the nuisance, he must be talking about Erquana, His Highness’s greatest enemy and sworn nemesis, right?
But why did he sound as though he had simply lost a sparring partner…?
“Now that the woman who was the greatest concern in my life is gone, I don’t know what I’m supposed to enjoy living for.”
Kiers murmured softly, holding the fan against his lips.
Orun and Rivil looked at each other.
“Bring me the blacklist. Let’s see who I should deal with tomorrow.”
Kiers had a blacklist.
Until recently, the Empire had been under the Chancellor’s control.
Before the change in power, countless nobles had fawned over the Chancellor, currying favor with him and offering bribes.
And the Chancellor’s greatest crime was—
Being a sponsor of the Nirn Duchy.
The Nirn Duchy was practically a gigantic trash can, where all kinds of entertainment, smuggling, and money laundering were rampant.
Massive hunting games where people died. Smuggling and all sorts of other illegal activities.
Numerous Imperial nobles were involved in those crimes…
And the list of those people was precisely this blacklist.
Those who had participated directly and those who had been involved indirectly were all listed.
The only difference is whether it’ll be a public execution or a secret execution. Most of the people on this list are going to die.
Orun thought this as he handed over the blacklist.
Kiers casually opened it.
“I don’t have anything better to do anyway, so I might as well deal with the people on this list.”
“……”
So, basically…
He’s going to kill people because he’s bored.
Orun wanted to clutch his head at the sight of his terrifying superior, as always.
Is it because he was born a natural predator? Was he simply born with a slightly defective sense of morality…?
“As expected, work really is the best thing when you’re feeling frustrated! Isn’t His Highness a little too much of a workaholic?”
“Where did you even learn a word like ‘workaholic’?!”
Orun couldn’t help scolding Rivil for his innocent remark.
It was at that moment.
There was an urgent knock on the door.
Orun opened it.
“I have urgent news. The people from the ‘Credit Bank’ have taken the bait.”
After hearing the messenger’s report, Orun nodded.
“Your Highness…”
“Let’s go.”
Kiers spoke.
“I was getting bored. This should make for a good hunt.”
At the same time.
Er had arrived at the Imperial Credit Bank.
Anyone who doesn’t know better would think this is an ordinary bank.
But the Imperial Credit Bank. This privately owned bank was…
Yeah. In reality, this is where the Imperial nobles launder the money they made in the Nirn Duchy.
The Nirn Duchy’s influence had been involved from the bank’s establishment.
If someone seriously investigated this place, they could probably tear it apart completely.
It was practically the financial lifeline of the corrupt aristocratic faction of the Empire.
But today, I’m here for the vault.
This bank offered one unique service.
It was none other than the <Secret Credit Vault> service.
The secret credit vault was famous for being impossible to open unless you were its owner—even if you were a member of the royal family of a nation.
Because…
The keeper of this bank’s secret vault is…
A spirit.
And not just any spirit—a Demonic Spirit.
<Welcome, valued customer. Thank you for using our credit vault. Please enter your account number.>
And I’m the one who placed this spirit here.
For reference, this Demonic Spirit had once been working diligently in one of the dungeons Er had conquered during her previous life…
I really went through hell running dungeons in my previous life, only to have to hand all sorts of things over to the Nirn Duchy.
And Er had secretly entered the bank at night and summoned the Demonic Spirit.
<Customer, please enter the secret vault password. If you enter it incorrectly even once, the vault will immediately close.>
The black-faced Demonic Spirit floating in midair spoke.
Er pressed the transparent shapes that appeared before her in the correct order.
It was an extremely complicated pattern, so she had to concentrate.
And then…
Beep.
<Customer, I will guide you to your vault.>
The wall moved, and with a soft sliding sound, a new passage appeared.
At last, Er reached the vault area and opened her own vault.
Inside, the things Er had stored were still safely in place.
My fan!
Er smiled.
A fan made of black silk, decorated with feathers.
“My butterflies… You’re still alive.”
There were a total of twenty butterflies engraved on the fan.
Er gently stroked the fan for a long while.
“Yes, good. That’s right. You still obey me. Of course you’d recognize your master even if my mana has changed.”
Mana had its own unique pattern for every person.
When Er entered Erne’s body, her mana changed, but the soul was both the vessel that held the mana and its fingerprint.
In her previous life, Er had carefully crafted these butterflies herself.
And fortunately, the butterflies recognized Er.
Haa… Is this really all the money I managed to stash away?
She had gone through so much hardship in her previous life. All the dungeon spoils had been taken from her, and she died without even being able to own a house, despite holding a prestigious title.
Those damned Nirn Duchy bastards called it private property, but they imposed such heavy taxes that I could barely move anything overseas.
Then it happened.
One of Er’s butterflies twitched.
“What? What did you hear?”
Er tilted her head.
“Hm?”
Along with the sound of the wind, a commotion began coming from inside the vault.
“Demonic Spirit. Where does this vault connect to?”
The Demonic Spirit appeared in midair.
<The area directly above this vault is the VIP private room.>
Er gestured toward the butterfly.
“Pick up the sound.”
Soon, the voice captured by the butterfly became clearer.
<Let’s go with the Medina family. The Medina family! In times like these, if that half-wit young lady from that family is acting up, it’s only natural that she gets treated that way. A fake funeral? Is she insane?>
<Then shall we pin all the blame on that family?>
Er pressed her ear tightly against the wall.
Who’s badmouthing me?
And besides, the Medina family was the family she currently belonged to.
At that moment, Er’s almost supernatural intuition was triggered.
This smells like a conspiracy.
When this building had originally been constructed, Er had helped numerous mages design the security barriers.
So I came here several times during its construction.
Which meant…
Yeah, I know the general layout of this place.
She also knew the locations of the numerous hidden rooms built throughout the building.
“Ah, this is really making me do spy work again after such a long time.”
Thus, Er headed toward the VIP private room through a secret passage.
This private room looks like a wall, but I think you can enter by pressing here.
Just in case, she sent a butterfly over to check.
Air was flowing through.
Er carefully opened the hidden door and peeked inside.
What? Are they having a party?
Inside the room, people were clinking wine glasses and celebrating.
“A toast to our group!”
Er immediately recognized the man raising his glass.
Ah, that guy! Marquis Jules!
Marquis Jules was an Imperial noble.
At the same time, he was the chairman of this credit bank.
And that bastard committed countless crimes in the Nirn Duchy.
There was a reason for that.
Marquis Jules was also the organizer of the Nirn Duchy’s carnival.
It was called a carnival, but in reality…
A spectacular battle between humans and wild beasts.
…was basically what it was.
Because countless monsters and beasts were released into a massive hunting ground, and people were thrown inside with nothing but their bare bodies.
The first through fourth people to survive until the end received great rewards, but everyone else…
It was a massive competition they couldn’t expect to survive.
Er herself had once been a mere mining slave before building a reputation as a gladiator.
Ah, seeing criminals living comfortably all of a sudden is making my blood pressure rise.
At the same time, Er had a question.
Prince Kiers should have taken control of the Empire after successfully conquering the Nirn Duchy… So he’s just leaving that bastard alone? Kiers, are you better at compromising with the nobles than I thought?
Just then, Marquis Jules began rubbing his hands together as he spoke.
“It really worked out wonderfully. The Crown Prince says he’ll forgive us.”
“That Crown Prince is still just a child. He’s barely thirty, just a young brat. Does he really have the guts to go against us?”
“Honestly…”
A noblewoman gave a sly smile before speaking.
“It’s not as though we committed such terrible crimes, is it?”
“Exactly. So what if we made some money in the Nirn Duchy and hurt a few people for fun? Is that really a crime? We merely did some trashy things in a trash can. If a few pieces of trash die, there’s simply less trash.”
“……”
Er remembered them.
They were the people who had laughed and applauded from the VIP seats in the very front row when the carnival had been held.
Crack.
Er clenched her teeth.
It’s true that the Nirn Duchy was a trash can, but you people certainly stink just as badly.
Should I teach them a lesson?
It was at that moment that Er began fiddling with her fan.
