10. Achievements and lies
…That's why I was so desperate to know his exact whereabouts.
'Hmm, what do I do now?'
“Don't meet him”
“Don't ask about him”
It was a total ban.
'Since the villain was the one who issued the order in the end..'
I don't really want to experience the consequences of disobeying Him with my body.
'It's enough to make it seem like I don't need to meet him myself.'
Why does Lillian have to work alone?
There are other people around me who can clearly meet the Duke.
“But, Your Highness, what area are we in now?”
“In the Black Forest, outside the capital”
“If we're within the Black Forest then-”
“Do you know the Rusyn area?”
“Yes, it's-”
Lillian began to respond casually, then suddenly stopped.
This area belongs to the Second Prince, meaning it...
‘Isn’t it the place where the original protagonist committed an incident and pinned the blame on the shadows?’
* * *
Rusyn area, which is the largest forest in the capital.
Before the events of the original novel begin, a simple incident occurs here.
And if you ask why this incident broke out...
'It is an achievement'
Whether in my previous life or in Vernis, the place ultimately remains a place where humans live.
The achievement of a powerful person who owned a cavalry squad was measured by the number of monsters that were exterminated.
The higher the social status, the greater a great war of pride raged over that number.
'And the person who has exterminated the largest number of monsters so far is..'
The villain.
Well, maybe he did it because he was grabbing monster cores instead of control stones…
'The original protagonist tried to achieve that feat and committed an accident here.'
I mean Cale Tarania Viernes, the Second Prince.
> “…At that time, I still didn’t have much experience.”
Prince Cale admitted calmly.
> “Because I was busy leading the palace knights and my own squad ‘Al-Fajr’... I could not monitor the subordinates properly.”
That was the time when he was thinking of ways to annihilate the monsters with large-scale attacks.
So he planted power mines.
But those mines caused earthquake-like vibrations.
> “I didn’t know that the Bolivier Dynasty had a secret training field there...”
> “This is not your fault, Your Highness!”
Iris comforted Kyle.
Each of the five major families has its own secrets.
As long as they don't rebel against the imperial family, isn't it an unwritten law that they keep those secrets to themselves?
Kyle smiled bitterly.
> “If you had been around at that time, I would not have made such a mistake.”
When I read this, I thought he was right, but upon revisiting it, I can't help but snicker.
'If it was truly a mistake, he would have had to admit it at the court meeting.'
But the hero did not do that.
Ironically, the sparks of that incident flew into the shadows.
Because of the massive vibrations caused by mines.
'Didn't they say that the earthquake is the ability of the Earth Balthazar family?'
Of course, it was later proven that this was not the case.
But the gap between the two families had already been dug.
'This is normal, the elders of the Bolivier family were injured.'
So they exchanged harsh insults.
'The damned Bolivier family!'
'The Balthazar family's fools!'
In official forums, they maintained their politeness as nobles, but...
Was Bolivier's position truly neutral, and that's why they didn't side with the First Prince until the end?
'Human hearts have similar reactions'
From that moment the wrong knot began to form.
* * *
Problems must be resolved proactively in the future.
With this thought, Lillian requested a search of the area.
'It's not impossible'
The knight, Jan, can check through the veins of the earth.
“I've got the locations!”
Jean returned after checking the veins of the earth.
“What you said was true, miss. Power mines have been planted in this area.”
Are they really crazy?
That's what Lillian thought.
'No matter how much they want to live efficiently'
The use of mines is prohibited on the outskirts of the capital.
'Are they so obsessed with achievements that they don't care who's around them?'
Meanwhile, the Shadows began to cautiously mine mines using Earth's ability.
'They have to concentrate hard, so it will be exhausting.'
The moon protection bracelets they wore sparkled.
Maybe it helped them a little.
After a while, more than ten blue balls the size of an adult man's head appeared.
The shadows sighed as they still caught the balls in the air without lowering them to the ground.
“Huh...”
“Really, this is crazy...”
“What were they going to do with this area?”
Shadows felt disgusted.
They can imagine what would have happened; If someone stepped on it, there would be a huge explosion.
Even if one survived the explosion, the intense power within it was enough to eliminate even those with high abilities.
Lillian shouted: “Be careful! You, those with abilities, step back first!”
“Miss, this is dangerous…!”
“We must keep these as proof. The power must be nullified only by using control and leaving the husk.”
“Treat it like you're cutting the strings in a ball,” Lillian pointed out to Margaret and the other controllers.
“Yes!”
In fact, Lillian could have handled the matter alone thanks to her infinite control and knowledge of the novel.
But…
'There will come a day when I won't be there.'
So Lillian raised her hand and shared the work with everyone.
Specters of pink butterflies hovered in the air and then disappeared.
After completing the disassembly process completely through control..
“…If it weren’t for you, miss, a disaster would have happened.”
Elias gritted his teeth as he looked at the empty blue balls of ability.
The villain sneered with a slight laugh: “My brother uses such vile tricks then.”
“But, Your Highness, these mines were not made in the Imperial Palace.”
“Of course. Convincing the palace to use these mines to exterminate monsters will take ten years.”
So this was a special industry.
“He must have gotten it through an information syndicate called Arkiv,” Lillian added smartly.
“…! This is the first time I have heard of this place!”
“This is normal; the Pavel family is their main client, and they do not deal with anyone who has not traded with them for fifty years.”
Their line is completely different from the First Prince and the Balthazar family.
When Elias and the shadows looked at her admiringly, she felt a little embarrassed.
Lillian turned towards the villain: “So, Your Highness, shall we begin preparing for the next step?”
In any case, we will need the cooperation of the Bolivier family.
...It is disturbing that these people are accused of something they did not do.
* * *
Gargling...! Gargle…
When evening comes -
A slight shaking occurred in the Rusyn Forest area.
Cale Taranya, the Second Prince of the Empire, narrowed his eyes with a smile.
He turned to the knights who followed him tonight: “Ha, what do you think of the power of ability mines?”
“We are amazed by Your Highness’s wisdom.”
The Palace Knights Commander quickly replied.
'I have to be here to make a good impression on the prince!'
Cale nodded: “Future battles should be this efficient.”
What a large-scale and invisible attack, how effective!
'And even if something goes wrong-'
It would be a great excuse to blame the Balthazar family...
Earthquakes are very rare in Vernis anyway.
But Kyle, who was observing the situation, furrowed his eyebrows.
'Why don't you explode more?'
The Black Forest of Rusyn is teeming with monsters at a time like this.
However, no matter how much he waited, there was no sign of the remaining mines exploding.
“Cedric Ben!”
“N..yes!”
His assistant, who wore glasses and had messy brown hair, approached hurriedly.
“Go and check it out.”
“But, Your Highness, we better stop this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Isn't it.. very dangerous?”
Cedric looked confused: “The force of the explosion is too strong to kill monsters. It might even reach civilian homes-”
“Your job is to make sure of that.”
“……!”