Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Their True Intentions Ria spoke to them in a resolute tone.

Not in Korean, but in the Ancient Language.

"Turn back. This is not a place where the likes of you may set foot."

The Crown Prince's entourage scowled at her words.

Then one man stepped forward.

He had a long scar beside his right eye and was a bald, middle-aged man.

He shouted up at Ria.

"Lady Emeria! How dare you utter such insolence in the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince! Open the gates at once, come down, and kneel before His Highness to show proper respect!"

Ria seemed to recognize him.

"Lord Almor, I am no longer a citizen of the Empire, nor a knight of the Empire! I have not the slightest reason to show respect to the Crown Prince!"

"What......?! With your father dead, have you truly gone mad as the rumors say?!"

That son of a......

There were things you said and things you did not.

"You dare speak of my father with that mouth of yours. Do you truly wish to have your bones buried here?"

A powerful wave of Murderous Intent emanated from Ria.

This was going to escalate.

The rift between Ria and the Imperial Family ran deeper than I had thought.

The Imperial Family had not been directly involved in the murder of Ria's father, the former Grand Duke, or in the attempt on Ria's life, she had told me.

But seeing Ria's reaction, there seemed to be something I did not know about.

"......"

The man Ria had called Lord Almor broke into a cold sweat under the force of Ria's Murderous Intent and took a step backward.

Despite the considerable distance, Ria's Murderous Intent was powerful enough to reach him.

The Crown Prince then stepped forward.

"Lord Almor, stand down."

"......As you wish, Your Highness."

After sending Lord Almor to the rear, the Crown Prince addressed Ria.

"Lady Aveline, I apologize on Lord Almor's behalf for his imprudence."

"I am no longer a noble of the Empire. Spare me the titles like 'Lady.'"

"......Understood. Then, Miss Emeria, are you by any chance the lord of this fortress?"

Ria shook her head.

"I am not the lord."

"Then who......?"

I answered in her place.

"I am the administrator of this Outpost."

The Crown Prince turned his gaze toward me.

Our eyes met.

'That man furrowed his brow the moment he saw me.'

His face practically read "Someone like you is the lord?"

He then masked his expression as if putting on a pleasant face and spoke.

"So you are the lord of this place. I am glad to find someone I can communicate with."

The communication was only possible thanks to the Sigil of Wisdom bracelet.

He continued.

"Impressive, building fortress walls in a place like this. You must be a remarkable person. If it is not too much trouble, would you allow our party to enter the fortress?"

"What is your business?"

"As you can see, our party is exhausted. We need a place to rest and recover."

"I do not know who any of you are. I cannot carelessly allow people of unverified identity into the Outpost."

Hearing that, the entourage behind him bristled again.

But the Crown Prince raised a hand to restrain them.

"I am Pargon de Aslan, Crown Prince of the Amorus Empire on the Continent of Bellinta. Those behind me are the Imperial Knights and Imperial Chief Mages who serve as my escort."

Counting them, the total was twenty-three, and each one looked formidably strong.

By Awakened standards, they ranged from at least A-Rank to possibly S-Rank.

'Of course, there are plenty of Hunters inside the Outpost township who are just as strong.'

However, none of them possessed a presence as powerful as Ria's.

The Crown Prince continued.

"Miss Emeria, standing beside the lord, can attest that my identity is genuine."

I had heard their conversation with Ria, so I already knew.

That they were the Crown Prince and retinue of the Empire, Ria's former homeland.

In any case, they were starving and exhausted.

They had likely run out of supplies, or perhaps lost their provisions to a monster attack.

Turning them away would mean a low survival rate.

'But what if they survive and make it back? Would they not hold a grudge and return with an army?'

Having reached this point, they would have mapped the route to the Fourth Floor.

That said, I could not simply slaughter them on the spot.

I was no knight by birth; until recently, I had been an ordinary person.

I had never killed anyone, and I had no desire to witness anyone's death.

'I am a chef, when it comes down to it. I cannot turn away starving people.'

I looked at Ria beside me.

Ria looked back at me and let out a small sigh.

Ria knew me better than anyone.

She surely knew what decision I would make.

"Do what you want, Seon-u. I am fine."

"I am sorry."

I told them I would let them in, but warned them not to cause any trouble.

I also laid out the rules they would need to follow within the Outpost.

Crown Prince Aslan responded.

"We shall abide by them."

I signaled the guild members to lower the gate.

The gate descended and connected with the moat bridge.

Watching the gate lower, Ria spoke.

"Seon-u, I am going to head home and look after the kids. If I stay here, I might lose control of my temper and cut them down."

"All right. Go ahead."

Ria descended from the wall and headed for the guild branch.

She was going to return to the Rift house through the portal there.

'It has been a while since I have seen Ria look that displeased.'

Understandable. Ria could not possibly have fond feelings toward the Imperial Family.

The Empire had stood by in silence and looked the other way while her father, the Empire's hero, was murdered.

Even if Ria had set aside her desire for revenge, the anger must still have lingered deep inside.

She was simply burying it for the sake of me and our family.

'As Ria's husband, I have no fondness for the Empire either.'

I pulled out a sack of wood-oven bread from Acresia.

I handed it to Eriksson.

"Please escort them to the campsite. Give them this bread to eat."

"Got it. What about tents for camping?"

"They will have to figure that out themselves. They can go to the general store and buy tarps with Magic Stones, or they can sleep rough. The bread is a one-time handout too. Starting tomorrow, they can buy food with Magic Stones or fend for themselves. We cannot give them special treatment."

Occasionally, people arrived at the Fourth Floor Outpost in as battered a state as they were.

In such cases, unless their lives were in immediate danger, we only provided basic rations and left them to be self-sufficient.

The people from the Continent of Bellinta would be treated no differently.

"That is fair. Got it."

"If they try to enter the Hunting Dungeon, deny them access. Only Hunters with valid Hunter IDs may use that facility."

"I will make sure of that."

I entrusted the matter to Eriksson and simply watched from a distance.

The next morning.

I was outside the restaurant, cooking stew in a large cauldron in preparation for the lunch service, when the Crown Prince came looking for me with Lord Almor in tow.

"Good morning."

The man who had looked like a beggar yesterday now appeared considerably more presentable.

'He is handsome, I will give him that.'

He had the face of a man who knew he was good-looking, just as Ria had said.

His deep gold hair, apparently washed at the lake, gleamed in the sunlight.

I greeted them politely as well.

"Good morning. Did you rest well last night?"

"Thanks to your hospitality, we filled our bellies and had the sweetest sleep in a long time."

That was what the Crown Prince said.

Lord Almor beside him, on the other hand.

"Not even a single tent for His Highness the Crown Prince, and a measly sack of bread. How are we supposed to take this kind of treatment? Tsk!"

He clicked his tongue in complaint.

I smiled at Lord Almor with a thin veneer of politeness.

"I hear you purchased several tents with Magic Stones at the general store."

"That may be true, but......"

"Furthermore, this Outpost township is not Imperial territory, and it is a place where social rank does not apply. I ask for your understanding that we cannot provide your group with special treatment."

"......"

Lord Almor glared at me, then turned his head away.

The Crown Prince then reprimanded him.

"Lord Almor, did I not tell you to stay out of it?"

"......My apologies, Your Highness."

I then asked the Crown Prince.

"So, what brings you to me?"

"Ah, about that. I would like to see Miss Emeria, but I do not know where she is, so I came to ask. I spoke with the man who guided us yesterday, but he said he could not answer personal questions and would not tell me."

Eriksson had not answered personal questions.

The guy was more sensible than I gave him credit for.

But why was this man looking for another man's wife first thing in the morning?

"Why do you wish to see Ria?"

At my question, Crown Prince Aslan's brow creased for an instant before smoothing out.

He put the pleasant mask back on and answered.

"The reason I wandered through the Rifts until I was in this sorry state was to find Miss Emeria."

Hmm......?

He risked his life to find another man's wife?

Had he been harboring feelings for Ria to that degree?

And how had he known Ria was here?

"How did you know Ria was in the Rift?"

"When Miss Emeria initially went missing, I obtained intelligence that she had been driven deep into the Rift by her political enemies."

That was how she had been chased all the way to the Fourth Floor and ended up meeting me.

That much made sense. But Ria had returned to the Continent of Bellinta once after recovering.

To reunite with her Knight Order members.

In the process, she had freed her subordinates who had been captured by her political enemies.

"Ria went back to the Empire once, though."

"Yes, so I went to one of the Knight Order members she had commanded and heard the news. That she had rescued her subordinates and returned to the Rift."

So one of Ria's subordinate knights had disclosed Ria's whereabouts to the Crown Prince.

"Did you perhaps obtain that information through threats or torture?"

He shook his head.

"Of course not. I explained my reason for seeking Miss Emeria and obtained the information. I promised to restore her ducal title and territory, and to rehabilitate her honor. I also promised to re-establish the Northern Knights."

"Is that really true......?"

"Absolutely. I fully intend to follow through. I even secured a pledge from His Majesty the Emperor."

"I see......"

There was no way to know if his words were true or not.

But if they were true......

'Would Ria's heart waver?'

No, it would not.

I believed in my wife.

Crown Prince Aslan then asked me.

"By the way...... you seemed very familiar with Miss Emeria. What is your relationship? Are you close friends?"

"We were friends in the past."

"In the past, meaning currently......?"

"Currently, she is my wife."

"......"

His eyes went wide, his jaw dropped, and he looked dumbfounded.

Then his face contorted into a grin.

"Ha ha! What an absurd joke......! Lord Almor, this man has quite the sense of humor."

"I-indeed he does......"

It was not a joke.

I said with a straight face.

"It is not a joke. It is the truth. Ria is my wife."

The amusement drained from his face.

The mask came off, and his true self emerged.

"That proud Emeria, who rejected me time and again, took a lowborn black-haired wretch like you as her husband......? Enough with the horseshit-!"

Crown Prince Aslan flew into a rage, hurling a racist slur without hesitation.

'Well then. His character is thoroughly rotten.'

I decided to deliver a few more factual blows.

"Ria and I also have two children together."

"Horseshit-!"

SHING!

Crown Prince Aslan drew his sword from the scabbard at his hip.

He radiated Murderous Intent as if he would cut me down at any moment.

At that instant, someone emerged from the restaurant door, radiating a powerful Murderous Intent of her own.

It was none other than my wife, Ria.

"Crown Prince Aslan, you dare draw a sword against my husband. Do you truly wish to die?"

"Emeria......"

Crown Prince Aslan looked shaken.

Then, in a trembling voice, he pointed at me with his left hand.

"Is this man truly your husband, Emeria......?"

"He is."

"Ha, ha ha......!"

He wore the expression of a man who had lost the world.

Ria then spoke to him coldly.

"What? Restoration of the family name......? Rehabilitation of honor......? Re-establishment of the Knight Order......? Your intentions are far too transparent. Do you take me for a fool?"

She must have heard the entire conversation from inside the restaurant.

I asked Ria.

"What do you mean by that, Ria? Are you saying Crown Prince Aslan is lying?"

"No, he is probably not lying."

"Then?"

"The Northern Knights, the Empire's finest elite who had been patrolling the Empire's frontiers and exterminating remnants of the Seven Demon Kings and monsters, vanished. What do you think happened to the frontiers?"

"They probably fell into severe chaos."

"Exactly. From the Imperial Family's perspective, when the Northern Knights were still around, we were a frightening force that could threaten the throne. That was why they stood by and watched when we were attacked by our political enemies."

So that was how it was.

Ria continued.

"But once we were actually gone, the remnants of the Seven Demon Kings and the monsters became too much to handle. The other Knight Orders they deployed would have lacked both combat experience and skill. And they could not very well send the Imperial Knights, who were needed to guard the Imperial Family."

The Crown Prince said nothing.

He simply hung his head in silence.

He was partly stunned from having Ria hit the mark, but more than anything, he seemed in greater shock from learning that Ria was not only married but also a mother of two.

Regardless, Ria pressed on with the facts.

"And the Crown Prince I know is absolutely not the kind of person who would risk his life traveling all this way just to find me. If he truly harbored that level of romantic feelings for me, he would have stepped up when my family was under attack."

"That is true. Then why......?"

"Most likely his position as Crown Prince has become precarious. He is probably being threatened by the other princes. So his plan was to bring me back, re-establish the Northern Knights, and solidify his own standing. Am I wrong, Crown Prince Aslan?"

"......"

Crown Prince Aslan remained silent.

Lord Almor, enraged, reached for the greatsword on his back.

"Silence-! How dare you disparage the grace His Highness the Crown Prince was bestowing upon you!"

In that instant.

THWACK!

Ria vanished from her spot and appeared in front of Lord Almor, driving her fist into his solar plexus.

Unable to fully draw his sword, Lord Almor crumpled.

"GRRK! KKGH!"

On his knees, clutching his solar plexus, he gasped for air in visible agony.

Ria looked down at him and spoke in a frigid tone.

"I told you not to draw your sword so recklessly."

Then Ria delivered a kick to Lord Almor's jaw.

CRACK!

He flew through the air, slammed into a stone wall, and was knocked unconscious.