Chapter 83 - Golden Blood

A noble's tea party.

No tea party is ever held in a shabby manner.

Even if it requires overextending a bit, the day of the tea party is decorated as lavishly as possible,

and that in itself signifies the host's wealth, history, and capabilities.

Therefore, the tea parties held in the capital of the Empire boast a scale and magnitude on an entirely different level.

As it was a gathering place for the young blood who would become future lords, knights, and heads of households, the energy was also extraordinary.

Young masters and noble sons dressed in neat formal wear with their family crests pinned to their chests, and noble young ladies and princesses wearing colorful dresses that looked like overturned blooming flowers.

Everyone had dressed themselves up with the desire to be the main character of this gathering.

However, despite such desperate desires, there was an overwhelming presence in the Empire that made them look not like flowers, but like mere blades of grass sprouting on a side branch.

Olivia Arken.

A beauty capable of toppling a nation, with blonde hair and blue eyes, about whom rumors circulated that even waking up in the morning and groggily opening her eyes was beautiful.

As the Emperor's daughter, possessing both beauty and intelligence, she was a bride everyone wanted to claim across all ages.

"Look, it's Lady Olivia."

"I heard she was attending this tea party, and it was actually true."

"How can she be so beautiful...?"

A beauty that elicited admiration from men and women alike.

All the young masters hovered around her, glancing sideways while pretending to wander.

They knew very well that they didn't dare speak to her with their status.

However, there were occasionally those who firmly believed that a beauty could not be won without courage.

"I greet the Princess of the Empire. As the Guardian of the Golden Dawn and the Blade of the Frontier, I would like to introduce myself—"

"I apologize, but."

The one who cut him off was the woman sitting next to her.

She smiled brightly and said.

"We are currently in the middle of a gathering with the young ladies. Only Golden Rose members can join the conversation here."

"Ah, yes..."

"Then."

In the end, the man couldn't even state his name and returned, completely embarrassed.

The seated women giggled as they watched the loser's retreating figure.

"Pests who don't know their place are coming again."

"Tell me about it. Even the son of Duke Mussel was rejected, yet a mere margrave dares to arrogantly try to talk to Princess Arken."

They were talking behind his back with light laughs.

Olivia tilted her head with her teacup in hand.

"But if he is someone protecting the frontier, shouldn't we have at least exchanged greetings?"

"Oh my, there's no need for that at all!"

"That's right! If you aren't strict with those beneath you, they'll climb all over you!"

"Oh my, is that so?"

"Yes! Of course!"

"Ah, Princess Arken is just so pure..."

"I really want to protect her until the day I die!"

The young ladies practically swooning over her.

Olivia watched these sights while pretending to be pure.

She smiled and thought.

'Protect me, my ass.'

Olivia knew how pretty she was.

She knew how to use it, and at the same time, she knew how to protect herself.

These guards were actually people who both admired and envied Olivia at the same time.

'Because men only look at me.'

No matter if they wore jewels worth a fortune or clothes made by renowned designers, they wouldn't get a single glance compared to her overwhelming presence.

From the perspective of these luxury-adorned girls, her presence was bound to be irritating.

Shining all alone with haughty grace naturally buys envy and jealousy.

Olivia knew how to handle them.

She chose to fill her surroundings with the ones who envied her.

In the form of an elite social club named 'Golden Rose.'

It was a perfect form of symbiosis.

'I can protect myself without saying a word, and my escorts can approach the men they fancy.'

Olivia protected her flower, and the escorts could filter out and snatch up the prospective grooms flocking toward the flower.

Once a romantic relationship started, they had to quit the Golden Rose, but the empty spot would continually be filled, so there was no need to worry.

Because it was a social structure where loyalty grew higher the more it circulated.

"As expected of a bloodline with golden blood flowing through it, you are perfect in every way!"

Golden blood.

It was a term coined because the Arken bloodline was said to harbor the qualifications necessary for a ruler.

Olivia absolutely detested that term.

The same golden blood flowed in her, yet wasn't she rolling around in this flowerbed instead of reaching out to the political arena?

"Yes, well, I suppose."

Olivia answered in an unenthusiastic voice.

The atmosphere turned icy.

Because she had answered so unenthusiastically, the young ladies' eyes turned fierce.

"U-Um, I-I'm sorry, Princess! I didn't dare mean to offend you..."

"Oh my, even if the young lady of House Horns didn't mean it that way, it sounded bad to us."

"That's right. How could you bring up such a topic in a place like this?"

The young ladies chimed in and cornered her.

The young lady of House Horns started to sweat profusely.

It was their intention to bite down on a moment of weakness and make her fall behind.

'Such snake-like bitches.'

Olivia was disgusted by them but replied nonchalantly at the same time.

"Oh my, what is the matter with everyone?"

"I feel like I've committed a rudeness to Princess Arken..."

"How could that be? I was just lost in thought for a moment. I'm sorry, to think I couldn't even focus on everyone at a gathering like this..."

Olivia made her blue eyes turn moist.

Her royal guard was startled and desperately tried to do damage control.

"No. Not at all!"

"You looked wonderful deep in thought, Lady Olivia. You were like a painting."

The women moved past it, laughing hoho.

Inwardly, they were surely cursing her as a bitch just pretending to be nice.

Let them curse her if they wanted to.

A mask worn to the very end becomes one's true face.

Someone shifted the heavy atmosphere by bringing up a different topic.

"More importantly, did you all hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The news about Regent Ferda this time."

At those words, Olivia's hand briefly stopped.

"It seems he played a huge role in Halim recently."

"Oh my, Halim... you mean that unholy land?"

"I heard that over there, women wearing incredibly scandalous outfits bewitch men..."

"Hoho, what kind of things are you imagining! It's nothing like that! I heard Escolaia had an exhibition."

"Was it just the exhibition, though? I heard all the men who go to Halim end up completely entranced..."

True to a gathering of women, the conversation started drifting completely off-topic.

"Over there."

Olivia opened her mouth.

Even though she had attended many of these tea parties, it was extremely rare for her to speak up during talk about men.

"What happened over there?"

"Pardon? Ah, right, they said a monster rift appeared and demonic creatures poured out. Seven wolf monsters, apparently."

"Oh my, as many as seven?"

"And apparently he fought so well that there wasn't a single casualty."

"Is that so?"

"Ooh..."

Upon hearing that, the young ladies blinked and let out half-hearted exclamations.

It was a topic they had no interest in, and they had no idea how incredible of a feat it actually was.

But Olivia was different.

'To have zero casualties in the midst of a surprise attack... that's practically a miracle.'

She had always been very interested in tactics and strategy.

With the thought that she might command an army someday, she had honed her sense for troop employment by studying various historical records, and she consistently studied the enemies she might have to face.

She knew just how distinguished Ferda's accomplishments were.

'Did he use dark magic?'

The lost Barbatos's Shadow Art grimoire lingered in her mind.

During his visit to the Empire, it was reported that its seal had loosened following a fierce battle with a magical investigator, and it vanished in the confusion.

Even that was only reported that way because Olivia used her influence; the truth remained unknown.

'Doubts must be left as doubts.'

That was what Olivia did for the greater good.

"From what I hear, there are rumors going around that he uses dark magic."

As she was thinking that, someone brought up that exact topic.

When she looked to see who it was, it was the young lady of House Horns who had made the slip of the tongue earlier.

Once the gossip started, everyone pricked up their ears as if intrigued.

"Dark magic, you say?"

"Yes. Even though it was such a sudden moment, Regent Ferda reacted alone and pierced the head of the creature coming out of the rift, so they say."

"Isn't assuming he wields dark magic just because of his reaction speed a bit of a stretch?"

"Word from the higher-ups is that the one who caused this monster rift was Regent Ferda himself. That he played a trick to make himself look good in Halim."

The easily swayed young ladies nodded their heads, as if they found the reasoning plausible.

Watching their reactions, Olivia was inwardly sickened.

"What do you think, Princess?"

The young lady of House Horns passed the baton to her.

Olivia blinked her innocent eyes.

"My lady."

"Yes, Princess."

"Even so, I think it's not right to label someone who saved the people without major injuries a Dark Mage."

"Pardon? Uh, well..."

The young lady of House Horns started to panic again.

The mood, which had been eager to tear into gossip, instantly reversed.

"Indeed. You really have no tact."

"For a noble lady to speak ill of a hero... shouldn't she be held properly accountable for this?"

They revealed a far more blatant disgust than when they first cornered the young lady of House Horns.

She wouldn't be able to fix this.

She was effectively expelled from the Golden Rose and would spend the rest of her life as an outcast at tea parties.

'Nothing personal.'

She had dug this grave herself, so she had to accept it.

'Anyway, the Regent seems to be progressing everything smoothly.'

Following the declaration to conquer the Land of Demons, Iorga supported him, and he even proved himself in Halim.

There would be no one who could stand in the way of that hero's march right now.

He would definitely create the second capital.

'I should be doing something too...'

In comparison, Olivia had made no progress.

What she needed to build her power in the Empire was to become a saintess.

Yet all she did was maintain her figure, chat pointlessly with young ladies, and invest her knowledge in empty formalities she didn't even care about.

How the black tea tasted, how the pastries were kneaded and made.

The status of a Princess was just this stifling.

'It's way too far from becoming a saintess.'

Saints and saintesses were titles one couldn't achieve even by becoming a monk and dedicating one's entire life; how could it be possible while enjoying such a glorious life?

'Even so, I have to do it.'

Because if I just become a saintess, I too will be able to possess that damn golden blood.

* * *

Upon returning, Ferda went to check the progress of the town's construction first.

The scenery before him differed from the future he had pictured through Isabella's reports.

"It's progressed quite a bit."

He had been away for about three weeks, but the somewhat chaotic atmosphere had been sorted out to a degree, and a few buildings had gone up.

Enough space had been created that they could take down all the tents that had been used as temporary shelters.

"Indeed. It has exceeded our expected estimates."

"How far ahead of schedule is it?"

"Two months."

"That's far beyond simply exceeding estimates."

The blue-haired dragon spawn, administrator Isabella, pushed up her glasses.

It was a remark that completely bruised the pride of the Aspects of Knowledge, but Isabella explained calmly.

"The speed of the original workers was within our calculations. While we also had to account for worker attrition and supply, this was an unpredictable variable, like a bolt from the blue."

Isabella wasn't just saying this to save her pride.

Ferda knew that too, so he asked her.

"What was the variable?"

"They call him the armored knight."

"Armored knight?"

Isabella nodded.

"Yes. He appears to be a wandering knight. Perhaps he's taken a vow of silence, because the nearby workers just call him the armored knight."

"Hmm..."

Ferda looked at the recorded personal details and the payment logs.

The personal details were barely a summary of everything that could be observed on the surface.

Ferda figured it out after seeing that.

"It's not a vow of silence."

"Is that so?"

"Normally, someone who takes a vow of silence would carry a plaque with their name and affiliation. It means they at least reveal their name, even if they won't communicate."

Ferda belonged to a knightly family, so he knew this well.

Someone under a vow of silence might lead a wandering life like this, but doing manual labor at a construction site didn't fit.

Then were they padding his pockets with loads of money? Ferda looked at the payment logs.

"He is already receiving more than 20 times the amount of the other workers."

He was receiving 2 silver coins, which was worth a whopping 200 copper coins.

However, Ferda frowned.

"Too little."

Isabella nodded in agreement.

"Honestly, he is such a talent that even handing him 30 silver coins would fall short."

"The reason you didn't?"

"He didn't seem dissatisfied. As if he felt it was strange for him to be paid at all, he refused to accept anything more than 2 silver coins. So why would we go out of our way to pay him more?"

"Hmm..."

Considering the salaries and worth of knights, what value did a daily wage of 2 shillings hold?

It was an exploitation that would leave the employer with nothing to say even if a blade was immediately pointed at their neck.

Working at a construction site that bruised one's pride while receiving such a low salary proved he had a much better personality than most saints.

'Or he has a secret that justifies it.'

Whether he had a dark past or had killed someone.

But if he had that kind of secret, his refusal to accept more than 2 silver coins became puzzling.

"In what specific way is he helpful? Does he even know construction methods?"

"No. He is a complete beginner with no basic construction knowledge, but he single-handedly takes care of tasks that are easily solved with sheer strength, allowing us to build the structures far ahead of schedule."

Monstrous strength.

Hearing that, Ferda thought of one person.

"That armored knight."

"Yes."

"Does he look so thick and heavy that it makes it hard to breathe just looking at him?"

Hearing that, Isabella thought deeply before answering.

"No. He was dressed in half-plate armor like common wandering knights."

"I see."

Ferda thought he might be the walking fortress, Alberto.

Seeing as there were still no eyewitness accounts of him, he seemed quite adept at moving stealthily despite his heavy body.

'Monstrous strength...'

A person who pushed the timeline ahead by two whole months with strength alone.

"If it concerns you, should we launch an investigation?"

At Isabella's suggestion, Ferda shook his head.

"No, just leave him be for now. Showing signs of investigating him and driving him away would be unwise."

Slitting the belly of the goose that lays the golden eggs is something only an idiot would do.

"However, we can't overlook that man's value. Make sure you think of ways to keep making use of him."

"A wise decision."

If it was a talent that could help the Grand Duchy's territory, they would recruit him no matter what.

If they couldn't recruit him, they would force him into a position where he had no choice but to be recruited.

'And if even that doesn't work, we'll suck him dry.'

They would drain him down to the last drop and use him as nutrients for this city they were building.

That was the action to take for this town being built for Valdrova.

"Come to think of it."

Isabella asked Ferda.

"What will you name the city?"

"Isn't the name Valdrova enough?"

Isabella's tone of voice dropped.

"It is already the name of this castle, and the name that designates the Grand Duchy's territory. If it frequently goes up and down people's mouths, its majesty will naturally chip away."

"If it's for that purpose, won't it be fine?"

"It is something that even I, an Iorga spawn, cannot tolerate. I will staunchly reject that matter, so I ask for your understanding."

Hearing her words, Ferda decided to give up on it.

She, who usually respected the Regent's wishes for the most part, had used the word 'staunchly'.

This matter surely held great significance among dragons.

"Then we'll have to come up with a new name."

"That is why I held a contest."

As if she had been waiting for this, Isabella pulled out a piece of paper from her dossier and handed it to Ferda.

"Several good names were mentioned, but it was narrowed down to two in the end. Diarine, representing the frontlines against demons, or Alterios, representing a light illuminating the darkness. How are they?"

Diarine and Alterios.

"Diarine sounds gloomy, and Alterios sounds like it's connected to the Order of Altes."

"It's actually intended to target them as well. The Empire is 90 percent Altes believers, so it wouldn't be a bad choice."

Meaning it was a strategy to draw in an influx of people.

It would have strategic advantages, but Ferda really didn't want to do that.

He had felt terrible more than a few times from being entangled with the Order of Altes.

The Order of Altes had no mercy for heretics.

They had been itching to kill Ferda when he possessed a Red Circle and darkness showed up in his aptitude test.

Therefore, he hoped for something that didn't bring the Order of Altes to mind as much as possible.

Wasn't there a good name?

Suddenly, Ferda recalled the events of that time.

"What was the name of the project that was ongoing to save my fiancée in the past?"

"Do you mean Project Hestia?"

"Hestia..."

It was the name of the woman who guarded the flame passed down from ancient times.

She was a passing figure barely used nowadays and barely covered in history classes.

The woman who guarded the flame.

Not bad.

"How about Hestia?"

"I prefer a heavy and solemn atmosphere, but... a cheerful one isn't as bad as I thought. I will reflect this and proceed."

Ferda murmured the name to himself several times.

Hestia, Hestia...

The nuance rolled off the tongue nicely, and he liked the meaning.

Valdrova was the Master of Power and Fire.

This place would be a city and a bastion for those who guarded the flame.

'Therefore, I'll have to milk that armored knight guy for all he's worth.'

He would do as much as possible before the man changed his mind.

That was Ferda's will.