WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Reluctant Imperialist

Chapter 130

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The Face of the Empire (3)

"Haa."

Hanna Usar let out a deep sigh. A clump of blood that had pooled in her mouth dropped to the cold cement floor with a soft plop.

"..."

The place was quiet. No, it was full of corpses.

It had begun as an infiltration hit, but real combat was nothing like training at Empire Point. She was exposed before long, a brutal melee broke out, and she cut down dozens on her own.

"Ah, damn..."

Hanna limped forward.

She reached the innermost office. She grabbed documents and machines, anything she could carry.

They were ledgers recording how the bastards had run their "trade."

...She could not make sense of the details, honestly. She had no way to decode evidence buried under complex numbers and ciphers.

Still, hoping this would be a smoking gun, she came back out.

Grrrrrrk.

As soon as the tension dropped, hunger hit her like a beast. Hanna pulled a small lump from inside her coat.

A high-calorie energy bar made by pressing together butter, sugar-cured meat, and finely chopped cabbage. It was the same recipe they had made in Zerpa.

With bloodstained hands, Hanna bit into it. Crunch, crunch, she chewed.

"...Ungh."

She forced the food down and groaned. Her whole body was covered in wounds. Her ribs felt shattered, and pain surged every time she breathed.

But she had no time to rest.

Their reinforcements would arrive soon. They would find this mess and come to kill her.

With the energy bar still clenched between her teeth, she forced her legs to move.

* * *

Lilac Vita, the finest restaurant in Capital Arcadia.

Tonight, I had rented the entire place.

"Ohhh~"

An exclamation came from the entrance. The voice was far too innocent and bright for his personality and behavior.

"You've arrived."

"What is this about, Max~"

Leutern II was already smacking his lips as he sat across from me.

"Even palace nobles have trouble booking this place~ what is this, huh~"

"It was difficult for me too."

I had bought shares outright. I meant to use it for entertaining, so not only I but also my subordinates could use it comfortably later.

"Let's eat first."

The waiters brought out the dishes.

"Ah, nice~ wow! Even the tableware is pretty~"

"If you want, you can take it."

"Really? I can do that~?"

"...Yes."

"Nice~ then let's eat first. Dig in, dig in!"

It was bizarre how he spoke as if he owned the place.

The course continued. A citrus-scented amuse-bouche, an appetizer of picked North Sea king crab, wild mushroom soup with truffle oil.

Leutern kept his fork moving without pause.

"No, so I said, what are you doing right now, and they freaked out~ ah~ those palace bastards are way too corrupt, that's what it is~"

He rattled off trivial palace gossip from recent days.

Some noble daughter had an affair, some bastard gambled away his land deed, then used the Imperial Guard to seize it back.

I listened just enough. Around the time the main dish was about to arrive:

"Duke Leutern. There is one thing I would like to ask."

"Hm? What?"

He licked the wine from the corner of his lips and asked.

"Duke Leutern, you are the best source of information and the most connected man in the palace."

I eased into it.

"Heh. Well~"

"Have Sentinel knights been visiting the palace more often lately, by any chance?"

"Uh..."

Leutern paused with his spoon and thought.

"Maybe? A few days ago too, I think I saw someone in uniform come and go. Who was it again... I'll ask later. But why?"

Leutern was loose-lipped and had connections all over the palace, but he never thought deeply.

"Ah, it's nothing major. I think I may be heading to Bolska soon."

"Why Bolska? That backwater?"

"A commoner is causing trouble."

"A commoner?"

"Yes."

While cutting into the seafood, I spoke quietly.

"No noble would stand by and watch a commoner run wild without knowing their place. I may go and tighten discipline a little."

I was sounding Leutern out. I wanted to confirm whether he was involved in this matter.

"Ah, true enough."

...He did not know.

One hundred percent, he knew nothing.

He did not even care.

His eyes had been on the food from the start. He had already devoured a huge fish and kept glancing sideways, waiting for the main dish.

Thinking about it, no one wasted bloodline like this bastard. If pearls on a pig's neck were a person, it would be Leutern II.

"Duke Leutern. How is the palace after the last Path of Dreams operation?"

I brought up that debt from that day, lightly.

If Leutern was not behind this, I might need his help.

"Ah~ things have settled down now. I really saved face too, thanks to you, Max! I am really grateful!"

"Glad to hear it."

"Yeah, yeah. If there is ever anything I can help with later, just say it! I am Leutern, descendant of royalty!"

I smiled.

"Yes. I know."

I definitely took him up on those words.

Before he knew it, he would be part of this political struggle.

...

"Then, if possible, may I ask for your signature on this document?"

"On what?"

"Nothing much. Since this operation is in a foreign country, and one in the East at that, I believe we need an official letter requesting cooperation regarding an incident that could harm Duke Leutern, a palace noble and descendant of royalty."

I deliberately drew the sentence out.

Palace nobles held authority, and Leutern II was indeed a member of the noble council.

"Ah, really~? But this document is only for that commoner case, right?"

His mind worked better than expected. Maybe he was not as stupid as I thought.

"Yes. It is limited to the 'Hanna Usar' case only. You can check it later."

That was not a lie. It truly would be limited to Hanna's case.

"If so, of course. I'll do it. After I finish all this~"

I laughed softly and raised my hand.

"Waiter?"

"Yes."

"Increase the main portions a bit. Make both generous, knight-level portions."

"Yes, understood."

Leutern's face lit up at once.

"As expected, Max! The portions were a bit small! We really get each other, you know?"

Leutern shook both fists in a cute little motion and grinned. I nodded silently.

Now it was time for him to repay what he had eaten from me.

...

"Max. I heard you're going to Bolska."

At Kairon's words, I swallowed a dry laugh.

That loudmouth Leutern had already spread my business around the palace, and it had even reached Kairon of the Sentinel Order.

What a strange bastard. He kept bearer bonds that benefited him secret, yet this kind of thing spread instantly.

Still, I had expected it, and that made it useful.

"Yes. I heard Hanna is doing bizarre things in Bolska."

"As it happens, my direct bureau sent this paperwork."

I took the documents.

Hanna's charges filled the pages, packed together with evidence. Weapons smuggling, collusion with the Revolutionary Faction, embezzlement of funds.

"...Well."

Utter nonsense. But if I used this girl as bait, I might identify the real mastermind.

"There is a lot of evidence. I agree."

At the same time, I would test Hanna's ideology.

Whether she could become someone who walked the same path as me.

Whether she could become a knight trusted by me, one who could hold onto Ebenholtz's line.

"Agree?"

Kairon asked, sounding puzzled.

"Yes. With suspicion this heavy, there is no need to hesitate."

"No matter what, would a commoner from the countryside really be tainted by revolution?"

I looked at Kairon for a long moment. He seemed to sense something in my gaze.

"Being a commoner makes her more suspicious. If Hanna received help from the Revolutionary Faction, it would explain her sudden selection into the Sentinel."

I had been the one who pushed Hanna into the Sentinel, but my name was not on that recommendation letter. I had hidden my name in every action.

That was both a condition of power and a privilege. Those who received orders through channels carried out what I wanted without even knowing whose command it was.

"Please report it that way to the upper ranks."

At that, Kairon asked no further questions. There was no need to drag out the conversation. We were both quick on the uptake.

"Will you go alone?"

"Yes. Just assign me the pursuit mission."

A noble knight going to eliminate a commoner knight found with evidence of betrayal.

It made a very good picture.

"Please assign the same mission to Leon Askar."

House Askar belonged to the elite. If even Leon had withdrawn, then the opponent was at least above Askar.

"...Leon?"

"Yes. I heard he originally took part in this operation too."

"So be it."

Yulian and Leon. Two outliers from House Askar. Brothers who were nothing alike, each touching a different kind of extreme.

"One thing, did you not include Hanna in Path of Dreams as well? How will you explain that to the upper ranks?"

"That is exactly why."

I stood and spoke.

"If she is a traitor to the Empire."

As heir to Ebenholtz, standing at the top of noble society and the Empire, an imperialist with the order of the Iron Men.

That was the face the world saw when it looked at me, and because of that, no one would find my intent strange.

I had no intention of throwing that image away.

"I will execute her with my own hands."

* * *

Hanna opened her eyes. She was in an abandoned house somewhere in Bolska.

"Ah..."

Pain stabbed through her whole body like knives, but that only proved she was getting better.

The black-market medicine she had paid extra for seemed to be kicking in.

"Ah, this hurts so bad..."

Yesterday she had coughed blood all day, but now it was not that severe. Hanna changed into fresh bandages and left the abandoned house.

"..."

She was walking, but damn.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no answer.

That was simply how it felt.

"...Fucking hell."

The words came out on their own. Her only crime was trying her hardest. Those goddamn bastards selling weapons to terror groups and killing imperial subjects were the ones who deserved to die.

"Ah... this is so fucked. Hah."

Hanna looked up at the night sky and let out a dry laugh.

Rustle.

At that sound, she grabbed her sword and drew up mana. She glared, ready to draw at any moment, and there

"...Sir Gale?"

It was Gale, the Sentinel neutral-faction knight, a fellow commoner knight.

"Shh."

Gale put a finger to his lips and scanned the surroundings.

"Good. I'm not too late."

"What... how did you get here? How did you know this place? Aagh."

Even while speaking, Hanna clutched her injured side.

"I came sec-"

"Aaaagh!"

"-retly. You ended up like this, and in the end I share blame for pushing you into danger."

Gale sighed and pointed to Hanna's wounds.

"You ran well. But you left traces."

"Traces?"

"Residual marks."

Gale's gaze sharpened.

"Even when blood stops, mana leaks out. Tiny mana waves leaking from your wounds remain like active traces."

Hanna flinched. She had only worried about physical bleeding, never mana leakage.

Tracking was Gale's specialty. If he had found her, other trackers would arrive soon too.

"Follow me. No time."

Gale took the lead. Hanna started to follow, then paused.

Suspicion.

In this situation, she could trust no one. This had happened because of an insider. A leak from someone unknown.

Gale gave a serious nod.

"Good instinct. But right now, you have no choice but to trust me. The upper ranks are trying to kill you."

"..."

"It is not an insider issue. The palace has been wiretapping the Order for ages. More importantly, did you find evidence?"

"...Yes. But it is not in my hands."

Hanna said it firmly.

If she died with the evidence on her, it would be erased. If she hid it, it became insurance backed by her life.

"Smart. First, this pursuit mission has been assigned to Leon and Maximilian."

"Pursuit mission?"

"Yes. To 'exclude' you, Hanna."

Hanna's expression shook. Gale brushed his hair back in frustration.

"I am sorry things turned this fucking bad, but even if Maximilian is uncertain, Leon can be trusted."

"Then..."

"We go to Leon. He is the one we can at least talk to. He can help you."

She chose to trust him. No, she had no other choice.

Checkpoints across Bolska had tightened hard. Alone, she could not get out now. And since she had hidden the evidence, at least she would not be killed on the spot.

"Can you run?"

"Yes."

Hanna stuffed a fistful of black-market painkillers into her mouth. Crunch. Crunch.

"Let's go."

"...Right."

The two ran through the darkness.

Tap tap tap tap!

The night streets of Bolska. They passed sewers reeking of rot and cut across entertainment districts where drunks were sprawled everywhere.

Each time they sprinted through foggy alleys, wet sand splashed under their boots.

"Stop. Checkpoint."

Police and security troops stood at every route. The two hid in shadows, dodged searchlights, and moved quietly.

"...Kh."

At one point, Hanna's wound reopened. Pus and blood soaked through the bandage, but she could not stop.

"Endure a little longer."

Following Gale's back, after hours of running like that, the view opened and a black sea appeared ahead.

"...There. A tugboat."

Gale pointed to a small vessel moored at the corner of the pier.

"I arranged it in advance. If we take that, we can break out into international waters."

Hanna looked at Gale. Gale met her eyes and smiled faintly.

A delayed wave of relief drew a sigh from her.

"Still, in the end, we can trust each other. Commoners like us."

At Hanna's words, Gale nodded quietly.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

The moment they stepped down onto the pier and up onto the deck.

...

A very small sound. A tiny friction noise buried under the waves, so faint an ordinary person would miss it. But to a knight's sharp hearing, it struck like thunder.

They both stopped at once.

Slowly, they turned toward the dock entrance swallowed by darkness.

Beyond the dark red fog, there was a unit.

"Ah, damn it..."

Gale ground his teeth.

Soldiers wrapped in pitch black that swallowed even moonlight. Mana-filled armor clanked over their bodies, and red glows seeped through their helmet slits.

Without a single word, they stood in eerie silence, human weapons that served only the Imperial Palace.

It was the Royal Guard.

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