NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 168
Rudrick was walking through the halls of the imperial palace.
The reason he had crawled to the capital and shown himself to the Emperor was simple.
It was all because of that bloody rumor.
‘Darn it…’
Ever since he heard the rumor that Dahlia was engaged to Goldman. He’d been lost in thought for a long time, having received the report in his office during the day.
For the first time, he felt a great sense of despair that he couldn’t do anything about it.
He couldn’t think of anything to do, and he was almost in utter helplessness.
But a little more time passed, and his hot head cooled, and in the darkness of his office, he looked up at the moon through the window and calmly collected his thoughts.
It wasn’t until dawn broke, and the room was illuminated, that he finally came to a conclusion.
‘I won’t believe it until I see it.’
Some might call it an escape from reality, but for now, it was the best option he could make.
Let’s meet Dahlia first.
Jealousy ploy or not, let’s just go find her and ask her what happened.
Then he could make a decision. Kill Goldman, or… accept it.
He couldn’t believe any rumor until he saw it for himself, and right now, he needed to get the facts.
With his mind made up, he turned to Kassar.
“What’s the progress of the extermination?”First, Rudrick summarized the situation in the north.
Fortunately, the immediate vicinity of the town and the dangerously close to it had been cleared, and the rest was either on the outskirts or deep in the core.
‘Now might be the time.’
Before going deeper into the center, the Knights needed to be refurbished. The division commanders would be able to organize the smaller areas without him.
And since the Emperor himself had ordered the extermination, he said, I ought to go and give him an interim report.
‘An excellent excuse.’
After giving Kassar a few instructions and handing him a temporary command, he headed straight for the room where the transportation was.
Fortunately, the woman had taught him how to use it without her.
He stood over the intricately inscribed transportation platform and breathed auror into it. After a moment’s hesitation, the scene before him changed in an instant.
He didn’t even bother to greet the butler before heading straight for the palace.
‘I’ll be in the capital for a while,’
he thought.
The Emperor was a little surprised by his sudden appearance, but was quickly convinced that he was here for an interim report.
He filled the Emperor in on the details of the crusade.
The progress has been faster than expected, and now that we’re down to the nitty-gritty, we’re going to need to reorganize the Knights once more.
But the Emperor’s reaction was strange.
— ‘Hmm, that’s a problem…’Rudrick frowned. He hadn’t heard about the extermination, but when he said,
— ‘I will stay in the capital for the time being,’the Emperor seemed to react.
That wasn’t the only thing. The Emperor, while pretending to care, secretly revealed what he wanted.
— ‘Of course, reorganizing would be good, but I want you to finish the extermination and stabilize the north.’ — ‘…’ — ‘And I don’t want the master of the North to be away for too long, in case something happens in the meantime.’In short, they wanted him to return to the North as soon as possible.
In the end, Rudrick came back out without a response, but his face was subtly set as he left the room.
‘What is he up to?’
Aside from his plans to remain in the capital for some time, the Emperor’s demeanor was unmistakably odd.
He hadn’t asked for an update, as if he wasn’t interested in the crusade, but now that he was in the capital, he wanted him to devote himself to it.
There’s definitely something up his sleeve, but it’s hard to tell right now.
After all, he hadn’t been in the capital and didn’t know what was going on.
Rudrick quickened his pace.
There was more to do than he’d realized. He needed to see Dahlia now, to hear her story, to gather information, to find out what the Emperor was up to…
“Good for you, my son!”But he could go no further.
A sudden noise made him turn his head, and he was frozen in place. There, just beyond the corner, were people he recognized.
‘The Duke of Goldman and…’
River Goldman.
As soon as he realized who they were, Rudrick ducked behind the wall.
They were engrossed in conversation. Or rather, the Duke of Goldman was busy praising his son.
“You’ve been a bit of a wimp all these years, but you’ve finally grown up. You’re becoming more Goldman-like.” “You’re being flattering.” “I’m flattered. I’m really surprised. When did you start playing the game? When you went to the North, you didn’t even pretend to listen when I asked you to impregnate the Princess.”…What?
Rudrick was stunned.
Meanwhile, Duke Goldman’s excited voice continued,
“Still, you’ve made things easier for me. Rumor has it that the Princess of Averine is smitten with you, and at this rate, it won’t be long before you’re engaged to be married.” “…” “Of course, Princess Averine will not inherit the Dukedom, but as her only daughter, she will inherit a certain amount of wealth. You realize that your role will be important then, don’t you?” “…” “River?”After a long moment, River Goldman’s voice cracked.
“…I know.” “Yeah, well, if you’re not going to be as brilliant as your brother, you’re going to have to take advantage of your good looks. At least you have your mother’s good looks.” “…” “Hold on to it. Remember, all the Princess’s wealth will be used for our Goldman.” “…” “When did you grow up to be such a fool, chasing after some maid and acting like a fool…”Duke Goldman said a few more things after that.
The whole story was sordid.
As an only child who was raised as a prized possession, the Duke of Goldman says that he had to spoil her, that he had to be gentle but dominant, and that sometimes it’s good to raise the hawk.
The longer the Duke of Goldman spoke, the harder Rudrick’s hand became.
When he’d reached the end of his patience, Duke Goldman lowered his voice slightly.
“…But you’d better be sure, for you never know when those weakling merchants will change their minds again.” “Father, what…” “Take it.”Suddenly, Duke Goldman pulled something out of his bosom. He pressed it into my son’s hand and whispered in a low voice.
“Make sure she’s trained quickly, so she doesn’t run away.”The Duke left shortly afterward.
After the Duke left, River Goldman didn’t move from his seat for a while.
He stood there for a while as the Duke pressed something into his hand, and then slowly began to move his feet.
He was walking aimlessly. Like a man in a trance, he walked aimlessly, deeper and further into the palace.
When he finally entered a deserted area.
Bam—! “Ugh…!”Rudrick struck him from behind.
Grabbing River Goldman by the scruff of the neck, Rudrick slammed him straight into the wall.
Goldman gritted his teeth at the sudden shock, and before he could react, Rudrick snapped his hand back.
The hand that Duke Goldman had given him, to be precise.
Rudrick peered into Goldman’s open hand, which was weak and gaping, and gritted his teeth.
In his hand was a small vial.
“You’re crazy, and you’re mad as hell.” “…” “I should have recognized you when you threatened me with the Dahlia, but you’re even scarier than I thought.” “I didn’t…!”Goldman tried to turn his head to make some sort of defense, but Rudrick only tightened his grip on his throat.
As he let out a strangled groan, Rudrick spoke grimly,
“What were you going to do with that, were you going to do something dirty like your father said?” “That’s a misunderstanding…” “What’s the misunderstanding, that you were trying to drug her, that you were ordered to play tricks on her in the North, or that you were… engaged to be married?” “…!”Seeing his eyes widen, Rudrick spoke in a self-pitying voice.
“I was a fool to believe you, you told me the truth, so I thought I’d have time, but I didn’t realize you’d been playing tricks on me behind my back.” “…What?” “How about, did you have fun, watching me squirm under your lies?” “Wait, what…” “Well, it’s kind of amazing that you managed to get her to mention an engagement. What kind of confidence did you have that you’d never be found out, that you’d be his son, that you’d abandon the least bit of conscience…” “…!”Goldman, who had been staring at him in bewilderment, stiffened at the Duke’s story.
He stared at Rudrick for a moment, then asked in a low voice,
“Didn’t you hear, from the Princess?” “What?”Rudrick stared at him, frowning, and then, suddenly, he stiffened.
For a moment, there was a hint of mockery in Goldman’s eyes.
“…!”And then, catching him off guard, Goldman slipped out of his grasp.
Not only that, but he was clutching at his own reddened throat, mockingly and sarcastically.
“You didn’t hear, I suppose, which means you’re not worthy of the Princess.” “You bastard…” “And let’s face it, she didn’t tell you because she trusted you, did she? You’re late because you’ve been fretting and worrying about it.” “…What?”Rudrick frowned at the sudden change in his demeanor.
Out of nowhere, Goldman raised his hand. Rudrick instinctively grabbed the sword at his waist, but Goldman did something else.
He tossed the vial in his hand over the window.
“I don’t know how low you think I am, but I know this isn’t right. And I don’t intend to do it.” “…” “But no matter how many times I tell you, you’ll only hear what you want to hear. If anything, you’re a lot like my father, aren’t you? You don’t listen to anyone, and when things get out of hand, you take matters into your own hands.” “…” “I think I’m a disappointment. You don’t even bother to look at the situation before you lash out. Are you really that short-sighted?”Rudrick glared at Goldman wordlessly, and Goldman turned to face him, unmoved.
For a moment, a fierce battle of nerves raged between them.
But it was Goldman who looked away first, staggering as if dizzy, holding his head, and then muttering with a small sigh.
“I really do feel sorry for the Princess, she was so much more deserving, and yet I couldn’t even be honest with her before, and now she’s doing this…” “…” “Anyway, I’m not going to tell you the details of the situation. If you really want to know, you can ask the Princess herself.” “What the hell…” “And if you keep doing this…”Goldman paused for a moment. He opened his mouth as if hesitating, then blurted out in a passing tone.
“I can change my mind and snatch her away.” “What?”But he didn’t answer further, just turned away.
Rudrick’s mouth dropped open in disbelief as he watched Goldman disappear at a brisk pace.
Unable to comprehend what he’d just heard, he stood there for a moment longer before he spoke in exclamation.
“Have you lost your mind?”