Coaxing
While Berze was preparing to use the entire Tower as a weapon, and while two Demon Kings were locked in a grave conversation, the Empire sent envoys to the three kingdoms.
"They want our cooperation to search for the Flame Tower?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This is a personal letter from His Imperial Majesty."
The attendant accepted the letter and presented it to the King of Korzenn. After scanning its contents, the king asked the envoy:
"Do you know what is written here?"
"I am merely a royal messenger delivering His Majesty's words."
"Katarina Jespine."
The envoy flinched.
"Do you know how I recognized your name?"
"It seems Your Majesty takes great interest in the Empire."
"Who does not? But recognizing the Eleventh Princess—who has almost never appeared in public—at a glance? I am not that well-informed."
"The letter, then?"
"When I first heard the Empire's proposal from your own lips, I felt both relief and hesitation."
No one welcomed the existence of the Demon King's Tower lurking at their very doorstep, its location uncertain.
If the Empire wished to take up the sword and handle it themselves, that was fine. But they could not accept with pure sincerity—because the Empire had used the excuse of the Heroic March to devour foreign nations in the past.
Even if that was centuries ago, the Empire remained a hyena never to be trusted lightly.
"The letter bears many promises, sealed with the imperial crest. And they say you were sent as a token of good faith."
"..."
"What answer do you think I should give?"
"You should keep me here, Your Majesty."
"You heard that?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Knights approached. The members of the envoy's retinue instinctively tried to resist, but stopped at Katarina Jespine's gesture.
"Then may I consider Your Majesty's answer to be favorable?"
"I thought I already gave it."
Katarina bowed her head.
"Thank you for your wise decision."
Then she walked willingly toward the knights.
"Let us go."
Korzenn was not the only one. The same scene unfolded in the other two kingdoms as well.
Three imperial princes and princesses were detained.
***
There is no such thing as a perfect secret.
Especially when more people know it, when more nations are involved.
The Jespine Empire did their utmost to maintain secrecy, but they could not hide the fact that a search party was being assembled.
"So the Jespine Empire seeks the Flame Tower."
An attendant filled an empty glass with a 1311 bottle of Anturua Fornine. The fragrant aroma of grapes filled the room.
Even Hilderan heard of the Empire's restless movements.
The king calmly read through the report.
"The Flame Tower."
And the Flame Demon King—
The vermin who had kidnapped the heir of the kingdom.
Unlike other Demon Kings, his Tower was hidden; even after more than a year since his descent, no one had located it.
The same Demon King who, mere days after Princess Elena was rescued from the Golden Tower, kidnapped her again—thoroughly disgracing the kingdom.
Between Hilderan and the Flame Demon King, the bridge had been burned.
To rescue the two princesses, Hilderan would have to destroy the Tower. If he wished to avoid that, the Demon King would have to destroy Hilderan first.
They had become mortal enemies—unable to stop until the other died.
And the one who started all of it… was the Flame Demon King.
"What do you think?"
"If the Empire is willing to take the lead, there is no reason to refuse. Offering one hand in support seems wise."
The head attendant offered counsel.
"But there is something questionable."
"Questionable?"
"They claim the black mage confessed. But I have never heard of a black mage betraying a Demon King."
"You think the Empire doesn't know that?"
The king snorted.
"They know."
"Indeed. Whatever their scheme, let us return to the issue at hand—will the Empire accept our cooperation so readily?"
Relations between Hilderan and Jespine were not bad, but not good either.
They were neither hostile nor friendly—just two nations that never liked to see the other prosper.
They didn't go out of their way to interfere, but neither did they offer help lightly.
"They have no reason to refuse."
The Heroic March had not officially begun yet. The Empire's current aim, together with the northern three kingdoms, was simply to find the Tower. No one knew how long that would take in the vast, perilous mountains of Ergest.
If Hilderan volunteered to lighten the burden, the Empire was unlikely to reject it.
"And besides, the Heroic March cannot deploy the Empire's regular army. They may send individuals in disguise, but that's only a portion. Ultimately, the core of the Heroic March is the hero."
"Exactly. And we happen to have a very suitable hero, don't we?"
"Indeed."
A hero from Hilderan, one who had aligned himself with the Empire and become deeply involved, yet was still under Hilderan's patronage.
The hero who had once declared before all people that he would surely rescue the two princesses.
"Send an envoy to the Empire and establish contact with Hillen Cargill."
"I obey."
The king clenched his fist. The wineglass shattered under his grip.
He did not care.
"At last."
At last—
"The day is near when I will tear that damned Demon King limb from limb."
The day the kingdom would reclaim its heirs.
***
Berze pondered the memories from before his regression.
The Empire pressed forward relentlessly. He tried to block everything—but in the end, he could not.
And he died.
'I cannot make the same mistake again.'
He had decided to block them, but he knew better than anyone that blocking alone would not win.
Blocking alone was not enough. He needed something fundamental—something that would prevent the Empire from continuing the Heroic March altogether.
'But how?'
The Empire had already taken action. As the conflict escalated, momentum would build until it became an unstoppable carriage barreling forward.
'I cannot stop the beginning. I must make them abandon it at the right moment.'
To do that, he needed to create a justification—or distract them with something far more pressing.
'Cause trouble within the Empire?'
But how?
Then Hillen Cargill's words surfaced in his mind.
'Martin Jespine.'
He would come to Ergest with Hillen. His ambition was not small.
What if Martin's craving for the throne was no weaker than the First Prince's? What if he had merely hidden it behind a mask of gentleness due to unfavorable circumstances—and died too early to act on it?
And what if Berze helped him…
'If I follow the original plan…'
Support Martin and fracture the Empire from within.
'Capture him and make him my subordinate.'
Not kidnapping—because he would send him back afterward.
And once Martin returned, if he somehow found the means to halt the Heroic March…
'Wouldn't that be perfect?'
Of course, the chances were extremely low. There was absolutely no logical reason for the Third Imperial Prince to become a servant of a Demon King—
"…Unless he doesn't lose anything."
If his hunger for the throne outweighed everything else—if he understood his position better than anyone—then perhaps it wasn't impossible.
And if a certain beloved blood relative added a pinch of persuasion as seasoning…
Berze called Kaede.
"…You mean my brother is joining the search and coming here? Not for the Heroic March?"
"The Empire and the northern three kingdoms are cooperating to search for the Tower. And from the Empire's side, the Third Prince is leading."
"…I see."
"There is something you must do."
"I do not understand."
"You are going to persuade the Third Prince."
"…I must have misheard?"
Kaede's eyes widened more than when she first heard about the Dark Knight.
"You heard correctly."
"…My brother is an Imperial Prince."
"And you are a princess."
"..."
Kaede pressed her lips together, swallowing her words.
She clearly had plenty she wanted to say, but as a vassal of the Demon King she forced herself to endure it.
"I am not asking you. I am not ordering you. I am simply informing you."
"…What do you mean?"
If he ordered her, Kaede would follow. She was enamored with chivalry, and, for now, she was his subordinate.
But she would never give her whole heart to it—never persuade Martin with her full strength.
Berze needed her to do it with everything she had.
"Do you know? When facing an enemy, killing the commander of the legion is the most basic strategy."
That was why it was not a request, not a command, not persuasion—
but notification.
"If the Third Prince climbs this mountain with the Imperial forces, then he will be the first one I seek. I will order Kruutu to take his head."
"I will unleash every monster in his direction."
"I will command Logar to make him the primary target of the mana cannons."
"Him."
"I will."
"Kill him."
Berze spoke each syllable with heavy emphasis.
Kaede's complexion turning pale was no illusion.
"…My lord Demon King."
"There are many possible futures for him. Perhaps Kruutu will behead him. Perhaps monsters will devour him. Perhaps he will be crushed in an avalanche. Perhaps his body will burst from a mana-cannon blast."
"My lord…"
"But all those paths end with one conclusion. He will never leave Ergest alive. I will make certain of it."
"My lord Demon King!"
Kaede shouted, her face burning red with panic and rage.
"…I will persuade my brother."
"There is no need to push yourself."
"No. I will do it. I will definitely do it."
"As expected of my loyal knight."
Berze smiled, satisfied.
"I will offer him two promises."
"Two?"
"One is his life."
"Yes."
"And the other… is the Empire."
"…Pardon?"
"By the Great First Demon King and the Doctrine itself, I swear: if the Third Prince chooses to cooperate with me, I am willing to make him Emperor."
"…Ernan once told me something."
"What is it?"
"When the Demon King swears upon the First Demon King and the Doctrine… that is when one must be most cautious…"
"..."
…Damn it.
Had he used that oath too often?
"…In exchange, he becomes your servant?"
"Well…"
He was not a hero, so Berze could make him into a black mage or a dark knight.
But the moment he used demonic power, the truth of being a black mage or black knight would be exposed. That was not ideal.
'I'll have to use Armani's Sphere.'
Unlike the black-mage or black-knight contracts, which exchanged mana openly, Armani's Sphere merely placed a restriction on the soul.
It did not reveal demonic energy, nor did it allow him to use it.
The drawback: Berze could not grant strength through it, it cost many demonic points, and it dissolved instantly if the target resisted even a little.
But if Kaede persuaded him well enough…
"…However, does my lord Demon King even possess the power to make my brother Emperor?"
She was not belittling him. Kaede had seen firsthand how cunning and vicious Berze Deias could be.
She simply knew the Empire's strength.
Regardless of the Demon King, no one had ever influenced the Imperial succession.
"Of course not."
Berze acknowledged it readily. No matter what he said, he could not directly place someone on the throne.
However—
"I am a Demon King. As long as humans and demons are official enemies, I can create opportunities for him to earn great merit. And the Third Prince is more than capable of exploiting those chances."
"…I will obey your will."
"As expected of my dark knight."
"…Please don't call me that."
"Ernan already sees you that way."
"…If you tell him to stop—"
"I cannot guarantee that."
"..."
Kaede truly hesitated.
Was this really the same meticulous, ruthless Demon King she had come to know?
***
'Convincing my brother… to become the Demon King's hound?'
'My brother is not like me.'
Though they shared the same father and mother, she had no desire for the throne, whereas Martin possessed a fierce yearning for it.
He was a good brother to her—
but that did not mean he was pure, selfless, or free of ambition.
She knew better than anyone how deeply he desired the throne.
Because she had watched him from close by.
She had wanted to support him—
as a knight, as his sword.
And if that was impossible, she intended to strengthen him through a political marriage.
But the chosen partner for the political marriage had been the dying king of Ormus.
She could not accept that.
She had not meant to throw away her knighthood or her status as a hero just to become an ornament in Ormus.
So she fled, seeking to become a great hero who could truly support Martin.
She failed, was kidnapped by the Demon King, and became his servant—but her feelings for Martin had not changed.
Thus she was conflicted.
Berze Deias always did what he said.
He never lied.
'To save my brother's life, I must persuade him.'
But would her brother ever want that?
Was his desire for the throne—and his will to live—stronger
than the humiliation of becoming a Demon King's hound?
That she did not know.
'Still…'
Just as she told the Demon King,
she would do her best.
Because to her, Martin Jespine was the only warmth she had ever felt
in the frostbitten Imperial Palace.
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