NOTICE: Many of the novels have been removed because they might cause violations, which we were not aware of earlier.
(190)
Marcus Devotio Instrumentum has been called the most dangerous nobleman in the West since he was 14.
He lost his parents at a young age and was surrounded by lynx-like retainers, greedy vassals, and wolf-like lords, all of whom expected him to be assassinated before he reached adulthood.
That was until he melted down silverware in a corner of the room and recreated a magic circuit drawn on a curtain rod pipe, a weapon long lost to history: a magic gun.
“Your Majesty, I am ready.”
“Okay, let’s go. I plan on staying in the airfield for a while.”
Marcus left the hotel room, smiling cheerfully.
Neatly tied black hair, soft dark brown eyes, single-lens glasses that add an intellectual air to his neat impression, and a vertical striped suit that fits his tall body perfectly.
If he had not been wearing an estoque at his waist, everyone would have thought he was a mere bourgeois and not a provincial nobleman.
Chiiik, chiiik, chiiik.
Huge knights followed, steaming through their cloaks.
Their armor was, at first glance, much thicker and more complex in its mechanical construction than that of the imperial knights.
Marcus used his brilliant talents to develop technologies that would bridge the gap created by individual talent or effort.
The essence of magic engineering, Magap, allowed sword users to stand up to sword experts, and the sniping technique created by reverse-calculating the ivory tower's sniper glasses gave even newly conscripted peasants shooting skills comparable to those of crossbowmen trained for decades.
Chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck, chuck.
Now, besides the large mechanical knight, there were also soldiers in sleek brown armor.
Inside the armor they wear are muscle-enhancing parts made by mechanical devices that mimic muscle structure, doubling the wearer's strength with only the magical circuitry of an everyday gadget.
“Your Majesty. Where are you going? If you don’t like our hotel, please let me know… … .”
“No, it’s fine. It was very comfortable. But my body refuses to be in a place without steam, magic circuits, or electricity.”
Marcus rode out of the city gates in a carriage powered by mana and steam rather than horses.
In front of his airship, his soldiers, magicians, and assistants were already waiting.
He brought the carriage into the airship and climbed into the cockpit to sit down.
The adjutants, attendants, and assistants came and reported.
* * *
“… The ivory tower is silent… … .”
“… … Severic is waiting at the hotel instead of having dinner… … .”
“… … !”
'You can't always rely on individual talent. Humans have low innate mana sensitivity, and the blood of other races tends to thin over time. The only ones who think of becoming stronger through knowledge are those in the ivory tower, but they are so arrogant that they don't think about coming out of it.'
He listened to most reports with one ear and let them go out the other.
He killed anyone who couldn't do that on their own, and there was no need for him to interfere with things that were being done well on their own.
But he listened with sparkling eyes to one report.
“The finished gun is outside the ivory tower?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is an item used by Valencianus’ maid, Rudi.”
Marcus' lips twisted and curled upward.
“A maid? Are you saying that a maid has that treasure?”
“She is no ordinary maid. She is a first-class assassin and musketeer who has reached the realm of a sword user, and she has served Valencianus for a long time and is also the caretaker of his palace.”
“Hmm.”
Marcus smiled brightly.
'He has value both as a hostage and as a messenger.'
“Persuasion would be difficult… … Would kidnapping or just stealing the gun be possible?”
The adjutant shook his head.
“He rarely leaves Valencianus’ side. He can be easily subdued by force alone, but it is impossible to kidnap him secretly.”
“Just stealing the magic gun?”
“It’s impossible. I have a revolver-type magic gun, ‘Agate’, and a dual-barreled shotgun-type magic gun, ‘Kaspar’, and I always carry both of them.”
Marcus blinked for a moment, then poured artificial tears mixed with saline solution and a few drops of healing potion into his right eye and asked again.
“It seems like you only used one ‘Agate’ when fighting Cariosa… …? Do you know where the other one is?”
The answer came back immediately.
“The Grand Duke of Sereraji is conducting research in his personal laboratory.”
The answer that came back right away was not one that Marcus liked.
He frowned and thought of the huge tree.
“The Imperial Magic Workshop… … We can’t get in there. Okay. Then just attach a person to it for now. When necessary, we can kidnap them and get our hands on both the magic gun and the hostage.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Oh. And that guy asked me to stay for a bit.”
One of the attendants flinched, and Marcus's artificial eye did not miss the momentary twitch.
The assistants and deputies surrounded the servant, and the servant stepped forward, trembling.
* * *
“Why… … are you doing this, Your Majesty?”
“Don’t you know better?”
Marcus read each and every warning that came to mind.
[Hostile]
[embarrassment]
[feeling of defeat]
His eyes were enchanted with various magics, one of which was the ability to read the emotions and thoughts of others by measuring their facial muscle movements and hormone secretions.
'No way? Did I get caught? If I do something wrong, I'll die? I'll be dissected in a lab? … … Who knows that?'
“How much did the royal family give you?”
Marcus sneered and pulled out Estok.
——————
faqwiki.xyz
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
The servant tried to run away, but before he could take a step, he felt something hot digging into his stomach.
Marcus was not a great lord renowned for his swordsmanship, but he was skilled enough to protect himself.
“Ahh!”
“I don’t think you were asking me to extract information. I think you were wondering if I would use the recent explosions for political purposes… Is that right?”
“Go, Your Majesty! Please.”
The servant pleaded with tears in his eyes, and Marcus smiled and turned around to face Esterk.
“You know? If you stab me a little more here, my internal organs will be punctured and my insides will be a mess of dregs?”
Meanwhile, some calculations were going through his head.
'I guess you're feeling a little better. Of course, you'd like to end your oath of loyalty on a good note. There's no fool among the nobles who doesn't know that this is the work of an encroacher. You're just worried about whether or not to use it to tear down the royal family.'
Instead of stabbing Estok, Marcus turned his head and asked one of his adjutants.
“Does the Marquis Cariosa have no answer?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. No answer was given.”
“You’ve already eaten everything you wanted to eat. … … But I don’t understand. Why won’t you bite this? It’s a piece of meat that you could eat even if you were full. Is everyone just watching to see who’s going to raise the flag?”
then.
“Anyone among the members of the National Assembly who wants to meet me, make an appointment.”
The man she was talking about was Marcus.
“And send a letter to the cathedral. Link it with something like, ‘The brave Valencian is hiding the presence of the Encroachers.’ They may be allies now, but… … Allies are mutually sucking each other up. Hehe.”
Marcus gave the order, then looked back at the attendant who had plunged his sword into his stomach.
He was holding the Estoque blade with both hands and was exerting force to pull it away from his body.
“Okay. Now you know what I’m going to do with this information, right?”
“Ugh, ugh! I’m sorry! Please save me!”
“But I can’t go back and report this? I won’t get paid either.”
Marcus tightened his wrist and stabbed her in the gut.
The attendant screamed and fell to his knees on the floor.
“Kwaaak!”
“Take him. You said you needed a casualty to research healing potions.”
The assistants bowed their heads and tied the servant to a gurney and took him to the lab.
“No! No!”
Marcus hummed as he heard the scream, then turned his head to the link between the magic circle and piston structure he was studying.
“Now everyone go and do your own thing. Do you all have work to do? Should I give you some work?”
"no!"
As the adjutants hurried out, Marcus chuckled and began engraving magical circuits onto the copper plate.
* * *
“Greetings to Her Majesty Jaerilis, the unyielding sun of the Empire and the Lady of the Four Knights, the master of the unmelting and unfrozen seas, the youngest sword master and the archmage closest to the truth, the one who made ruthless decisions for the Empire, the 47th Soletaras.”
A long greeting that even Valencian rarely uttered came out without hesitation from a woman in her early twenties.
“I am Signe Elzenus Freuchite, Margrave of the 'High' Freuchite. I would like to express my sincere gratitude for inviting me to your beautiful garden today.”
She was a noblewoman with neatly tied, luxurious light brown hair like a dogwood, cool, sky-blue eyes that radiated a chill, and her cleverly upturned lips covered by a fancy hair ornament, earrings, and fan.
Although she resembled her father with a stubborn, hawk-like appearance, most of it was hidden by the flashy dresses, makeup, and smiles of the high society women who trained hard.
Not many people knew that she, the epitome of a 'lady', had gone to Valencian's room in the middle of the night earlier this year, carrying a dagger.
Jaylilith, one of the few who knew, chuckled as she listened to her lengthy greeting.
“I guess you liked the gift the Archduke left behind.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I really, really like it. It’s something that neither money nor power can buy.”
Valencianus left the corpse of the dragon that Jaerilis had killed in the cave, and its bones, blood, scales, and skin became the property of the Signain.
“Because you are young, do you think your vassals and vassals are plotting evil? Speak to me at any time. It is the Emperor’s duty to protect the legitimate rights of his vassals.”
“Your Majesty’s words put my mind at ease. Fortunately, I am still at peace, with my servants inside and my brother and sister outside protecting me.”
As soon as Signine ascended to the throne, she sent her older brother to be the governor of a trading city and her older sister to be the commander of a great fortress.
On the surface, it was more than just a demotion; it was an exile, but to her war-mad sister and money-haunted brother, it was a gift.
Jaylilith asked with a lazy smile.
“Is there anything you wish for from me? Your father… … must have died on my orders.”
The Minister of the Palace and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who were present, glared at the direct question and coughed in vain.
It was a devastating speech that would have made Valencian burst into tears on the spot.
But Signine shook her head.
“Your Majesty, I still praise Your Majesty’s kindness in not destroying my family.”
“Is that emotionally… … possible?”
She smiled like a great noble who rules over millions of people, and answered the cruel question of the demigod Jaylilith head on.
“Yes, Your Majesty. It is a basic quality of a nobleman to be able to control his precious emotions and bring joy to his land and family.”
Jaylilith smiled with satisfaction at that answer.
“Control your emotions, La. That’s an interesting story. Can you elaborate?”
She leaned forward slightly and her eyes sparkled, giving her the appearance of a pure and curious girl.
Signine continued speaking without letting his guard down.
“Emotions are a valuable resource for prioritizing actions. We drink and dance for the pleasure of pleasure, because we enjoy drinking and dancing. However, this is against the interests of the estate and the family, and therefore a nobleman must be able to recall long-term sorrow and suffering from drinking and dancing.”
The opponent was not an 18-year-old girl, but the emperor who killed the dragon in the dragon vein.
However, Signine was also a talented person who had established himself as a proper lord in his 20s.
“So, you should feel joy in things that benefit your land and your family, and feel sorrow in things that are the opposite… … .”
The dinner that day continued not just as dinner but as a late-night snack.
The servants reheated the food several times, and the emperor himself poured wine into the new marquis's cup.
The Minister of the Palace and the Minister of Foreign Affairs looked at the scene and conversed quietly.
“Is it okay?”
“I guess so.”
“Who was it for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Grace… … is the new Marquis of Gremorius.”