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Chapter – 21
The Imperial Archives
“Are you in your right mind, Your Highness?”
Yessica blurted out in response to Salifer’s sudden proposal. As if he had anticipated her reaction, he added.
“An imperial family’s fiancée possesses rights equivalent to those of the imperial family.”
“Of course, I know that… but, ah.”
“Therefore, even if you were to excavate and use the Plenaton on your territory, no one could say a word.”
“Then, are you saying you would grant me that right? Without any cost?”
“How could that be. There’s one more condition besides becoming my fiancée.”
“What is it?”
Salifer, who couldn’t tear his gaze away from Yessica’s blue eyes, whispered.
“Tell me the location of the White Spinel.”
Salifer was not someone who frequented the Imperial Archives. The reason he sought out the Imperial Archives was because of Yessica Viterne.
Upon hearing the news that Lady Viterne had asked the Marquis for the wasteland within the territory, Salifer became certain. There was something in that wasteland.
She was not the type to make such a request to the Marquis without reason. Had it been the Yessica before the funeral, Salifer probably wouldn’t have paid attention to her actions.
But the situation had changed. Judging by her completely altered personality, there was definitely something in the Viterne territory’s wasteland.
‘I must find out.’
The news that the Marquis was rarely leaving the Viterne estate due to being preoccupied with his daughter also made Salifer uncomfortable.
The Marquis was tasked with finding the White Spinel while simultaneously rooting out the remnants of the Saffen Empire. For such a man to neglect his duties, staying at the estate without a word, all because his daughter was upset… For Salifer, this was a first and was nothing but bewildering.
“She is a child who lost her mother and is lonely. The orders Your Highness gave are important, but my daughter is far more important to me. I wish to stay by her side until I depart for the campaign.”
No superior could tell a man who lost his wife, who wished to pay attention to the daughter he had neglected while constantly being on battlefields, that he could not. Marquis Viterne was loyal to the Empire and fulfilled his noble duties better than any other noble. It was Salifer who had given him tasks even during his moment of rest.
“You are being too harsh, Your Highness.”
His aide, Vivace, muttered beside him.
“You know of Marquis Viterne’s loyalty. For him to act like this, there must be a reason. He must truly be concerned for his daughter.”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t say anything more.”
“Understanding a vassal’s difficulties beforehand and resolving them is also the emperor’s duty.”
“I do not desire the imperial crown.”
“Your Highness may not wish for it, but I will place you on that throne.”
At Vivace’s declaration, Salifer flinched his eyebrows and looked up from his book. Vivace was looking at him with serious eyes, flames burning within them. Though a different color from Yessica’s, they held the same passion. A heart he did not possess. Born as a prince and having grown up grasping everything he wanted, Salifer had nothing he particularly desired.
The imperial crown? That was naturally his. No fool would covet what was destined to fall into his hands.
He knew the Third Prince, Dartan, coveted the position, but it was meaningless. Because that seat is mine. No matter how much Dartan raged, he could not overreach Salifer’s position.
That was the scale of the military power he possessed. It was significant enough to seize and shake the Ert Empire, and the fact that Dartan didn’t realize this and still coveted his position meant Dartan was an idiot.
Salifer truly thought so.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something, Vivace. That seat was originally mine. No one desires their own place.”
At Salifer’s first revealed inner thoughts, Vivace looked at him with surprised eyes.
“There are those who covet my place, but I don’t pay them much mind. Just because a wyvern struts beside a sated dragon doesn’t mean the dragon eats the wyvern.”
“That means…”
“As long as it doesn’t become a nuisance, the wyvern survives. But if the dragon becomes hungry, the situation would change.”
His cold words fell. Feeling as if the temperature in the Imperial Archives had dropped, Vivace rubbed his arms. He already knew the master he served was a frightening person.
But he thought he was also a person without much ambition. He always had eyes that seemed transcendent of power. But for that to be the confidence of one who possessed everything…
“Even my father cannot treat me lightly now.”
“Then, your previous activities at the border were also─”
“A prince guarding the border gathering a few soldiers wouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Salifer pulled up the corner of his mouth in a smile and revealed that chilling smile directly to Vivace. Vivace, facing his expression head-on, hurriedly bowed his head.
“I do not forgive betrayal, Vivace.”
“I will keep that in mind, Your Highness.”
He wouldn’t even dare to betray. Was there anyone who could defeat this person, looking far ahead and preparing step by step? Vivace looked forward to the day Salifer would ascend the throne. He was the only one who could elevate the emperor’s authority in an empire shaken by two dukes. Salifer Ert. He was a person born from the start to rise above the emperor.
Passing by Vivace, who was lost in thought, as if it were nothing, Salifer searched the archives. The books detailing each territory numbered in the hundreds. The two of them were scanning through them alone.
‘The Viterne Marquisate.’
The Viterne Marquisate was a house founded by a Swordmaster who was a founding contributor and a close friend of the first emperor when the Ert Empire was established.
The reason that house did not rise to a ducal title was due to the refusal of the first Marquis. Respecting his wish not to lose his original intent, the first emperor bestowed territory and treasures upon him.
‘Right, that territory. The wasteland Yessica Viterne requested, that’s the place.’
Princes receive education about the empire’s nobles. To ascend the throne, one must efficiently rule those below, so memorizing information about the nobles was essential.
Now that the memory about the Viterne Marquisate surfaced, other books were meaningless. The records of the first Viterne Marquis and the first emperor were needed.
Salifer walked unhesitatingly towards the depths of the Imperial Archives. That place, accessible only to the imperial family, was where Vivace could not enter.
The place containing all records of the first emperor and the Ert imperial family. Salifer intended to look for information on the Viterne territory there.
“To forget it’s related to the first emperor.”
Muttering to himself, a bright light erupted as if welcoming Salifer into the secret place within the Imperial Archives. The secret place, accessible only to those with imperial blood, was permitted only to direct imperial descendants.
Salifer scanned the catalog of books in the secret archive.
“Here it is.”
Picking up the book containing stories about the Viterne Marquisate and the first emperor, he opened it. Finding an envelope tucked between the pages, Salifer quickly took out the document inside.
“Plenaton…”
Plenaton, treated as the most precious mineral in the Ert Empire. It was a mineral coveted by any family head possessing a knight order.
Weapons or armor forged from refined Plenaton were on a different level from those made of iron. It was a soft yet harder-than-iron mineral that arrows or swords made of iron or mithril could not penetrate.
Plenaton was a specialty unique to the Ert Empire, and its export outside the empire was strictly forbidden.
“I thought Plenaton in the Ert Empire only came from the mines held by Duke Salemir and Duke Arteus, but the Viterne Marquisate…”
It meant the empire’s power dynamics could change. However, according to the secret pact between the first emperor and the first Marquis, the land could not be excavated to mine Plenaton without imperial permission.
“Yessica of the Viterne house definitely knows this fact.”
That’s why she asked for that land. She was more cunning than he thought. Seeing that she tried to handle things on her own without even discussing Plenaton with Marquis Viterne, it seemed she needed help.
‘Since she’s the daughter the Marquis cherishes so much, it should be fine to help her.’
Salifer thought naturally. He was not originally a person who considered others’ circumstances. He made the decision without ever thinking that Yessica was different from others. To lend her strength. And then he planned to obtain information about the White Spinel.
Exiting the secret archive, Salifer gestured to Vivace. Vivace, who was loitering and flipping through books in the archives, noticed his gesture and followed him out.
“Did you call, Your Highness?”
“Where is the young lady of the Viterne house?”
“I heard she plans to visit the Moncherto Sundries Shop.”
“We’re going to the Viterne estate.”
“So suddenly?”
“I must make a proposal to Lady Yessica of the Marquisate.”
“A proposal?”
Vivace’s eyes, filled with doubt, turned towards Salifer, but he did not provide detailed explanations. He simply left the archives, boarded a carriage heading outside the imperial palace.
“Why do we need to take a carriage so suddenly?”
“Vivace.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“A noble lady’s means of transport would be a carriage, correct?”
“That’s right.”
“I must stop that carriage. Before it reaches the city center.”
There were many eyes in the capital’s bustling areas. Fortunately, the road from the Viterne estate to the Moncherto Sundries Shop was quiet, so there would be no one to recognize what he intended to do.
‘It would be even better if there were people.’
They could later testify about his relationship with the Viterne young lady. Having finished his calculations, Salifer Ert watched as Vivace rammed into the horse pulling the center of the carriage. And then he met Yessica Viterne.
