Chapter 49
49
Roman stroked his swallowtail beard as he gazed at the child sprawled on the circular platform.
"Well done."
At Roman's words, the black robe behind him bowed deeply.
Viscount Dubois' aide alternated between the child, his master, and the Wizard with a terrified expression.
"I-Is this alright? Kidnapping the Child of Destiny...!"
"We're merely returning her to where she belongs. It's not a kidnapping."
"But if His Excellency finds out..."
"That's why now, while he's distracted by Spinelle, is the perfect opportunity."
He chuckled, then nudged LeBlaine, who was lying face down, with his boot, turning her over.
"Hmph, what's so special about this little thing?"
Just as he grumbled,
Creak-
The sound of rusty hinges echoed, and someone entered.
"Chairman!"
Roman rushed toward him with a welcoming expression.
"What brings you all the way here..."
The Chairman couldn't finish his sentence as he stared at LeBlaine, collapsed on the platform. His face hardened.
"What is the meaning of this!"
"It's a demonstration of my loyalty to you, Chairman."
What better proof could there be?
Daring to kidnap the Child of Destiny from within Duke Dubled's territory.
"Now, all that's left is to hand the girl over to the slave traders, and it's done. Ah, rest assured. I foresaw this day and have already won over the Wizards of the castle. The Barrier will never be breached..."
"You're such an idiot."
Roman, who had been rambling on with a proud expression, paused.
Turning his head, he saw LeBlaine already standing up and sitting on the edge of the round table.
"Are you stupid? Do you think Gongzhanmi would only rely on the Barrier?"
"What did you say?"
Roman's face flushed red.
"How dare you speak to me like that...!"
He stomped his feet as he approached LeBlaine, raising his hand. But he couldn't bring himself to slap her cheek; his wrist was grabbed.
It was the Chairman.
"How dare you lay a hand on my Lord!!"
"...Huh?"
Lord?
Just as Roman asked back with a dumbfounded expression,
Bang! Bang! The sound of something exploding and the sound of knights' boots began to be heard from outside the door.
Roman's flustered aide shouted "Barrier!" to the Wizard. The Wizard tried to quickly create a Barrier, but before he could even make a Catalyst, he groaned, "Ugh...!"
It was the aftereffect of casting magic on LeBlaine.
After LeBlaine was nearly attacked, the Duke had personally cast multiple layers of magic on her.
Protection magic, tracking magic, and a curse.
Anyone who casts magic on LeBlaine will have their dantian, the mana outlet inside their body, destroyed.
Roman realized that the situation was turning strange.
"W-What... What's going on..."
LeBlaine, who had come down from the platform, looked at Roman and said to the Chairman.
"Lock the door."
"Yes?"
"So I can kill him before Gongzhanmi comes."
A Catalyst rose beneath LeBlaine's feet.
I dusted off my hands and looked at Viscount Roman, his aide, and the Wizard, who were lying on the floor.
The Chairman blankly looked around at them, who were as ruined as burnt firewood.
"Are you truly a fake Child of Destiny?"
"Yep."
As I answered nonchalantly and smoothed out my crumpled skirt with my hands, the Chairman swallowed hard.
"I can't believe it. To wield such power with a four-year-old's body..."
"Doesn't seem like much to me."
I muttered, clenching and unclenching my hands.
'It's still lacking.'
Before my regression, I often saw how powerful the Pope and Mina were.
And how powerful the two young masters I've seen in this life are.
'Above all, the power Bune used with my body wasn't this weak.'
That was truly tremendous power. To use that much power, it would probably take a very long time.
'The Duke, who deflected Bune's power, is truly a monster.'
Recalling the Duke who repeatedly broke through Bune's Barrier and approached me during the chaos in the audience chamber when Divine Power went wild, I got goosebumps.
At that moment, with a bang!! The door flew open.
The one who blew the door open and entered was that monster... no, the Duke. Henri and Isaac, as well as Wizards and soldiers, poured in after him.
"Which son of a bitch dared to-"
Isaac, who was shouting, widened his eyes.
"-is lying down?"
The expressions of the people were bewildered, as if they had already predicted the culprit.
Henri frowned and looked around the interior.
"What happened here?"
His gaze landed on the Chairman.
The Chairman glanced at me, and soon the gazes of the Dubled men and soldiers were directed at me.
"S-So, that's..."
I rolled my eyes and pointed at the Chairman.
"Grandfather saved me!"
"Saved you?"
Henri's eyes were full of suspicion. Isaac, the Duke, and the soldiers were the same.
The fallen Roman was an Elder. The fact that the Chairman of the Council of Elders had overthrown his subordinate and saved me was a face.
Since the relationship between the Chairman and the Duke was terribly bad, it must have been even more puzzling.
"Mean uncles were bothering Leubu, but Grandfather scolded them! Thank you, Grandfather."
I deliberately spoke like a child and tapped the Chairman's shoes.
The Chairman glanced at me and opened his mouth.
"Your words of gratitude are undeserved. It is my fault for not foreseeing the machinations of my subordinate, putting the little lady in danger even for a moment, for which I deserve to die. It is only a comfort to this old man that I arrived early and prevented the worst."
With the support of the Chairman, I ran to the Duke. And I clung to his leg, making a sobbing expression.
"I was scared."
Then Henri and Isaac quickly rushed to me.
"You were scared, LeBlaine. I'm sorry. For not coming sooner."
"I'll kill all those bastards!"
They were already dying, but I nodded my head greatly, saying, "Okay."
But the Duke was not as easily fooled as the young masters. He hugged me, but looked at the Chairman with a suspicious expression.
'If it comes to this, it's time for my ultimate move.'
I hung on his neck.
"Dad... I want to go home."
Only then did the Duke turn his gaze to me. I made the most pitiful expression I could.
"Alright. Let's go back."
The Duke comforted me, hugging me tightly and patting my back.
I buried my face in his neck.
'For some reason, I feel really relieved.'
He seemed a little surprised.
The Duke turned around without saying anything.
I secretly mouthed to the Chairman, "Deal with them. Don't let them talk. Make sure."
The Chairman nodded.
That night, he demonstrated his abilities.
The young masters, who had gone to the underground prison to behead Viscount Roman without my knowledge, returned empty-handed.
The three who had witnessed my power had passed away side by side.
A few days later, I met the Chairman in the greenhouse.
'Scary person.'
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the Chairman.
"I didn't say kill them."
"Viscount Roman is the kind of person you know without being told, and Roman's aide had enriched himself with all sorts of garbage under him. The Wizard was a guy who kidnapped the elderly and conducted human experiments."
"...They deserved to die."
I hummed, sipping orange juice through a straw, and asked.
"What about Spinelle?"
At my question, the Chairman placed a small box on the table.
"As you said, we were able to mine Spinelle in three days once it came into contact with Divine Power."
"In a few days, will we be able to meet the quantity needed for the Kruger War?"
"Two weeks will be enough."
I asked the Chairman for a few more things.
A new identity for Seria and clever workers suitable for the merchant group she would create.
"And immediately transfer the Spinelle mined this time to the place I told you. You have Wizards, right? It has to be moved today."
"You're using me quite thoroughly. What will the little lady do for me in return?"
"I'll give you 20% of the Spinelle that comes out of the Mutation Zone."
He let out a small chuckle.
"I am the Chairman of the Council of Elders of Dubled, the richest in the Empire. I am not in need of wealth."
"Hmm..."
"The little lady knows better what I want."
"..."
I pouted my lips.
"Do you know how many nobles want me? Even the previous generation was eager to receive my oath of allegiance. The Temple and the High nobles are also reaching out."
"So?"
"Who would have known that I would end up working as a errand boy under such a small child in my later years..."
Saying that, the Chairman made a dejected expression.
I patted him on the shoulder.
"Okay. Now the Chairman is mine. Okay?"
Saying that made the Chairman even more gloomy.
"I hate that I'm touched by those words."
Others find him very scary, and I was a little scared at first, but now I see that he's a very cute grandfather.
"Then let's go."
"Where to?"
I smiled and said.
"To screw over the Temple."
Saying that, I headed to the Duke's office.
Viscount Dubois and other vassals were gathered, discussing the Spinelle matter.
"Little lady, you've arrived."
Since some time ago, I had been easily entering and leaving the room even when the Duke was in a meeting.
After receiving greetings, I approached the desk, and the Duke familiarly sat me on his lap.
"If things come to this, we have no choice but to give up the battle."
"The Imperial Family will have no choice but to understand."
"It's a pity about the spoils we would have gained after recovering the Kruger Kingdom..."
Looking at the Spinelle the Duke was rolling in his hand, I shouted, "It's a rock!"
Despite the serious atmosphere, Noth smiled and said.
"It's called Spinelle. It's a precious mineral."
"No, it's not."
"Yes?"
"It's not precious at all. There's a lot of it."
Then the vassals all focused on me at once.
