Chapter 1582 – The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
“Princess. I have a proposal. Give me your maid. I will place the crown upon your head.”
Princess Eileen did not waver. Her poker face was incredibly thorough.
“Count Prucus. I have toured the mansion. It is filled with only women. And beautiful women at that. I have heard rumors that you are fond of women, but I never imagined you would covet my maid.”
“I am glad you know now.”
“…Aridna is my dearest friend and most loyal subject. What is your reason for wanting Aridna?”
I looked at Aridna. The maid’s expression was also perfectly controlled.
“There is no grand reason. It is to play with her.”
“…In what way will you play with her?”
“The way a man plays with a woman is obvious. I will drag her to bed and touch her all over. And when I get tired of her… I will throw her to my subordinates. As you know, Princess, there are more than a few among my soldiers who have a taste for war plunder. They are the kind who will pounce on any woman with their third leg.”
It was all a lie.
There was no way I would hand over a beautiful woman to someone else. It was a lie to scare her. Judging by the chilling atmosphere, the lie seemed to have worked.
“Princess. What will you do? This opportunity will not come again.”
“……”
I grinned, watching Princess Eileen’s choice.
Princess Eileen rose from her seat. She looked down at me with eyes that had grown even colder.
“It seems I was mistaken about Count Prucus. I will forget what you said today, so please forget what I said as well.”
“Are you leaving just like that? Without gaining anything? Princess. Do you think Prince Aiden, who has taken the throne, will leave you alone?”
“Count, the owner of the throne has not yet been decided.”
She left the reception room with her maid.
*Bang!*
The door slammed shut loudly, indicating that the provocation had worked.
I was surprised. I still had the strength to be angry.
‘Is it a bluff?’
Princess Eileen was not foolish enough to bluff without a reason. There might be some power I was unaware of.
I asked Yuria, who was in my arms.
“Yuria. What do you think?”
“It looks like a last-ditch effort. If you command it… I will bring Princess Eileen back.”
“No. It will be more fun when Princess Eileen, who is putting up a fight, finally surrenders.”
The most Princess Eileen could do was gather my enemies and form an alliance. There were quite a few nobles who disliked me.
‘As I eliminate them one by one, she will realize how foolish her choice was.’
I lowered my head. Just then, Yuria raised her head. We naturally pressed our lips together. My hands slowly began to undress her.
• • •
Princess Eileen’s steps were heavy as she left the Prucus estate. Princess Eileen and her maid Aridna got into the carriage.
“Princess. You should have accepted Count Prucus’s offer.”
“To abandon you?”
“A mere maid and the throne. You know which is heavier and more important.”
“You are not a mere maid. You are the only person I can trust in this world. And there is no guarantee that Count Prucus will keep his promise. He is an unpredictable man. It wouldn’t be strange if he reversed his words like flipping his palm. Why does such a man have so much power…. Haa.”
Princess Eileen sighed. The situation was frustrating. Count Eugene Prucus had become the most powerful figure in the kingdom after his successful expedition. Money, power, everything was overwhelming.
‘Aiden. If that bastard takes the throne, he will try to get rid of me by any means necessary. Whether it’s sending me off to marry a foreign country or hiring someone to assassinate me…. I don’t have much time left.’
Princess Eileen looked at Aridna, who was sitting across from her. Princess Eileen knew how to use the weapons she had. Even if it was a dirty deed, she could do it if necessary. In fact, she had already done it several times.
“Aridna. Is it… possible to assassinate Count Prucus?”
“It is impossible. Count Prucus is an Aura Master. Even if there is a chance for assassination… Yuria Grace is by his side.”
Eileen already knew that assassination was impossible. It was just a word that came out of frustration.
“Yuria Grace. Is that duchess who abandoned the name of Helbrit that strong?”
Aridna trembled slightly at the thought of Yuria.
“I could not even begin to measure how strong she is. But what is certain is that someone like me could be killed by her at any time.”
“A monster, then. I must be careful.”
“…Princess. What will you do from now on? As a princess, you must have a plan. Will you gather nobles who oppose Count Prucus?”
Princess Eileen was silent for a moment before opening her mouth.
“That alone is not enough. There will be few nobles with the guts to oppose Count Prucus, and even if they all gather, they will not have enough power to stand against Count Prucus.”
“You mean you need a force other than nobles. Are you considering the power of foreign forces?”
“That is a bad move that sells the future.”
“Then….”
“The Magic Tower. As Count Prucus operates the Korea Trading Company and rakes in the money of the continent, the interests of the Magic Tower are gradually disappearing. If they are in their right minds… they will know that this is dangerous. I plan to promise them benefits and win them over. But no matter how I think about it, there is not enough time.”
Princess Eileen sighed.
The Magic Tower and wizards. At first glance, they seemed mysterious and noble, but in reality, they were just merchants with power. To join hands with the Magic Tower, she would have to give up considerable benefits. Even if things went well and she ascended to the throne, she wouldn’t feel good about it.
“Should I just give up everything and run away?”
“…I will respect your decision, Princess.”
“Pretend you didn’t hear that. It was just nonsense out of frustration.”
Princess Eileen steadied her weakening heart. It was already too far to give up everything.
• • •
The labyrinth city of Lapit was a special city located in the northeast of the Rapelli Kingdom.
This labyrinth city had no owner. It meant there was no lord. The nobles avoided the labyrinth city. A labyrinth in the center of the city? From the nobles’ point of view, it was unsettling just to imagine. Similarly, the Rapelli royal family also gave up ownership of the labyrinth city. In practice, the Adventurer’s Guild managed the labyrinth city. Instead, the Rapelli royal family had priority over the byproducts obtained from the labyrinth.
I arrived at this labyrinth city of Lapit with the AM unit maids.
The first thing that caught my eye was the labyrinth in the center of the city. A huge skull rock cave. It was oozing an ominous atmosphere.
‘A labyrinth city. I went to a labyrinth city before, though it wasn’t here.’
I had quite a hard time there.
And I had a feeling that I would have a hard time this time as well.
‘The labyrinth of Lapit has been explored up to the 72nd underground floor, and the floors below are unknown. The labyrinth city episode also appears in the original work….’
It wasn’t particularly helpful. It wasn’t an episode that dealt with the labyrinth in detail. One thing was certain: even Kyle in the original work had not completely cleared the labyrinth.
‘There are many adventurers.’
More than half of the people walking around the streets were armed adventurers. They murmured as they looked at me and the AM unit.
‘Well, it’s natural. They would rarely see a noble.’
Moreover, the AM unit was made up of maids, as their name suggested. It was only natural that they would attract attention, as beautiful maids surrounded and guarded me.
If you listened closely, you could hear them whispering.
“Is he a noble?”
“Why did a noble come to the labyrinth city?”
“His guards are maids. What a strange hobby for a noble.”
“Don’t underestimate the maids. They are much stronger than the average person.”
“Does anyone know which family he is from?”
I clicked my tongue.
I expected it, but they didn’t know who I was even after seeing my face.
‘Ignorant adventurers. How dare they not recognize me, the hero of this country?’
I barely held back the urge to wipe them all out. The reason I came here was not to punish the ignorant adventurers.
We headed to the Adventurer’s Guild, which managed the city. There were people gathered in front of the Adventurer’s Guild. Judging by their neat clothes, they seemed to be employees of the Adventurer’s Guild. As soon as they saw me, they bowed their heads and greeted me.
“Welcome, Count Prucus! The entire Adventurer’s Guild welcomes your visit!”
At the center of them was a large woman. She had tanned skin, rugged muscles, and sharp eyes. There were scars all over her body, and she had an axe at her waist. She was not my type of beauty.
“Who are you?”
“I am Tatari, the master of the Adventurer’s Guild in the labyrinth city of Lapit.”
“You responded quickly, even though I came without notice. I like it.”
“Thank you, Count. Please come inside.”
Unlike her rugged body, her attitude was very polite. I followed her into the Adventurer’s Guild.
We sat facing each other in Tatari’s office. Tatari brought out a drink. It was black tea. She brought out quite an expensive black tea, but when I smelled it, my eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.
“…Do you dislike black tea?”
“The scent of the black tea is like garbage. It seems like good tea leaves… How can you brew it so badly?”
“Ha, hahaha…. I, I’m sorry. Actually, I don’t usually enjoy black tea, so I don’t know much about it….”
“Yuria. Show her how to brew black tea.”
“Yes, Master.”
Yuria took the teapot. She used magic to brew the tea. The rich aroma of black tea filled the room. I took a sip of the black tea that Yuria made and nodded in satisfaction.
“That’s it.”
“…Amazing. I never knew black tea could be such a delicious drink.”
Tatari was impressed.
I slammed the teacup down on the table. Tatari focused on me with a stiff expression.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Hand over all information about the labyrinth and the city’s residents.”
“…Count Prucus, this is the labyrinth city of Lapit. It is a free city! We are not obligated to fulfill your request!”
“Tatari. Does my authority disappear just because this is a labyrinth city?”
“I respect your authority, Count. However, this is a labyrinth city. I will give you information about the labyrinth, but I cannot give you information about the citizens.”
“You’re out of your mind.”
I rose from my seat, scattering killing intent. Tatari was startled, but she couldn’t get up. Yuria, who had grabbed her from behind, was pointing a dagger at her neck.
“Do as I say if you don’t want to die.”
