Chapter 33 of Almadianos is here! This is the first chapter of the second volume which sort of introduces another side of the country, but we"ll see the main cast in the next few chapters, don"t worry!
Anyway, here is the chapter, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 33
A lone woman knelt in front of a man who was sitting on a throne.
Her attire looked like something a harlot would wear. It was a sensual dress that barely covered her glistening skin and b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The man was staring at her with interest.
【”Please allow me to express how delighted and grateful I am to his majesty, the wise and great emperor, for the exceptional benevolence he has showed to a lowly woman such as myself.”】
Her long, tied up, blond hair was a clear testimony to the n.o.ble lineage she descended from. And contrary to her words, the woman had a stiff expression on her face, distorted by humiliation.
【”I am indeed a magnanimous man. As a reward for what you just said, you have the right to lick my shoes.”】
The man showed a smile full of joy as he gazed upon the breathtaking woman, whose face stiffened even further.
He was called Heimdall Tilfin Asgard.
He had sophisticated blond hair, and green eyes full of arrogance, which gave off an overwhelming feeling of intimidation that made it seem like he could kill a person with a single gaze.
He was the emperor of the Asgard empire, which boasted of the greatest military power among the five powers of the continent.
And he was still at the prime of his life, in his mid-thirties.
Since his enthronement, he had already destroyed two small countries, and even now, he was pushing a kingdom to the brink of extinction.
People called him both the greedy sovereign and the supreme ruler of troubled times.
But his favorite hobby, by far, was to capture princesses and humiliate them.
【”What are you waiting for? It"s fine if you don"t want to do it.”】
【”There is no way that would be the case. It is my pleasure to do it.”】
The woman decisively crouched at Heimdall"s feet.
She was a princess of the Maclean dukedom, which had been recently destroyed.
Since it was a small country, it had been taken in three days only. And after the dukedom was decimated, the archduke, who was the woman"s father, was decapitated and publicly exposed.
The fact that she now had to serve her father"s enemy was a humiliation worse than death.
However, using death to escape was not an option for the princess.
【”Heh, you sure are pitiful. So close that you can touch me, and yet so far from being able to take your revenge.”】
Heimdall sneered at the woman like he could see right through her mind.
The woman"s every word and deed could decide the faith of her former nation"s citizens and soldiers.
Back when she had just become a captive, she let her emotions do the thinking and disobeyed Heimdall. In return, he destroyed a whole city of her nation and made her watch as he killed all the women and children.
Therefore, no matter how disgraced she felt, she gave up both her body and mind, for it was the only way to protect her nation.
The princess started licking Heimdall"s shoes in a clumsy manner.
The watery sounds her tongue made gave the room a lewd atmosphere.
(Not bad ――but this is becoming a little bit boring.)
What Heimdall liked was to make high cla.s.s women yield to him, and to trample them until they turned into his servants.
However, once the process of making them submit was over, although he did derive some excitement from them, the part he really enjoyed was the resistance that came before.
(I guess it"s time to break another flower.)
Heimdall started thinking of a new beauty that he would make submit to him.
【”I am very sorry to interrupt you in your leisure time.”】
Said a tall and slender man, while respectfully bowing at the waist.
He had long hair that stretched all the way to his hips, and seemed to be close to forty years old.
He was very handsome, so much so that he would likely make a hundred out of a hundred women look over their shoulders when he pa.s.sed by them. His good looks and pure appearance had earned him the alias of the Moon of Asgard.
His real t.i.tle, however, was Mathias of Elvasti, the prime minister of the Asgard empire.
Contrarily to how gentle he looked on the surface, Mathias was a schemer, and many frowned upon his merciless and crafty tactics.
He was also Heimdall"s confidant and was one of the only people who had the emperor"s complete trust.
【”What"s the matter? You want to join in?”】
【”I apologize, I already have my dear wife in my heart.”】
Apart from his scheming side, Mathias was also known for being a devoted husband.
The loving couple he formed with his wife was a source of envy even outside of the empire.
【”So, what"s so important that you had to personally come to inform me?”】
【”According to a report from a subordinate, the second princess of the Jormungand kingdom, Lunaria, has completely recovered and is back on her feet for the first time in half a year.”】
Despite hearing about the recovery of Lunaria, who was an enemy, Heimdall had a delighted smile on his face.
【”That"s too bad.”】
Knowing all too well that the emperor did not think for a second that this was a bad thing, Mathias continued his report.
【”Moreover, it seems like our a.s.sa.s.sins have been exposed to the king. I do not believe they realized our involvement, but a change of plan is necessary.”】
【”Don"t worry about it, I never cared much for that plan anyway.”】
The Asgard empire was naturally aware of the domestic strife that was taking a place in the Jormungand kingdom for the succession to the throne.
In order to take advantage of that, the emperor had gotten closer to Albert, the husband of the kingdom"s first princess.
Considering Albert"s concealed aspirations, Mathias felt that getting rid of Lunaria would also be beneficial for the Asgard empire.
【”I know your majesty favors princess Lunaria, but that should not take precedence over our national strategy.”】
【”I am well aware. That"s why I didn"t oppose the plan in the first place.”】
Lunaria was known to be an exceptional knight with first-cla.s.s skills. She did indeed suit Heimdall"s taste perfectly.
He had a great desire to turn her into a toy, just like the woman who was licking his shoes earlier.
【”Even so, did that Albert fellow turn out to be of no use? That"s unexpected.”】
Although Heimdall did not have a particularly high opinion of Albert, he did not think he was incompetent.
If the empire managed to conquer the kingdom of Jormungand, Heimdall was planning to let Albert call himself the king of the kingdom and to give him one third of the territory.
【”What"s worrying me is something else.”】
【”Oho… Worrying you?”】
Heimdall sneered like his interest was picked.
Whenever the scheming prime minister was worried about something, it often meant nothing good.
However, although those worries would usually precede the addition of a needless burden on the empire, Heimdall had the bad habit of enjoying that kind of trouble.
【”―― The person who cured the princess" illness is a nameless sage from a remote region of the kingdom.”】
【”Is he a mage?”】
【”No, or at least, he did not receive the standard training for mages. However, rumor has it that he uses another system than the Magus Arturius system.”】
【”Looks like yet another outrageous fellow appeared out of nowhere!”】
If the rumors were true, then this man was a talent that the Asgard empire would desperately want to get their hands on.
After all, the main reason why the Asgard empire had the mightiest military power of the whole continent was because of their powerful magician troupes.
【”His name is Kurats Hans Almadianos of Gaura. Considering that that Christopher granted him the rank of baron right away, I cannot deny the possibility of the rumors being true.”】
【”The rank of baron, you say…? I wouldn"t even mind giving him the rank of earl if that could draw him to the empire.”】
Although he said so, Heimdall still felt something close to admiration in regards to Christopher"s decision.
In countries with old histories like the Big Five of the continent, great decisiveness was needed in order to pull of something like turning a commoner into a n.o.ble.
Normally, he would have been made into a knight, at best.
【”Apparently, princess Lunaria took a liking to him, so it might be difficult to win him over.”】
【”That"s a shame.”】
Even if it was indeed impossible to draw Kurats to the empire, Heimdall only wanted him to teach him his magic system.
Based on his intuition only, Heimdall personally did not doubt the veracity of the rumors regarding that magic system which had yet to be known.
For that reason, he also felt that the man would be terribly difficult to deal with if he ever became an enemy.
【”However, there is more. That same man is also the one who found out about the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt and exposed it.”】
【”Since when did that country"s mages start acting like spies?”】
This was turning out to be more troublesome than expected.
At last, the playful, leisurely glint in Heimdall"s eyes disappeared.
No matter how powerful a mage was, there was a clear cut limit to what a single person could do.
However, if the man was able to combine his power with a knowledge of intelligence gathering and politics, the emperor could absolutely not make light of him.
【”―― Use everything in your power to investigate him. I want to know about every single trivial detail. His family, his friends, his hobbies, his likes; everything.”】
【”I shall see to it.”】
Mathias had already planned to investigate Kurats anyway, without Heimdall having to tell him first.
And if he could find a good opportunity, he was going to take Kurats" life.
Kurats was a wild card that could take any form in the future, and that made him into something akin to a natural enemy for a tactician like Mathias.
【”Putting that aside, your majesty…”】
Mathias changed the subject.
【”What? There is something else?”】
【”Please propose to the second princess Lunaria, now that she has recovered.”】
Heimdall grimaced like he was drinking the bitter sediment of an antique wine.
【”Do I have to go that far?”】
【”If this goes well, we could get Jormungand without having to put any work at all into it.”】
Although he knew Heimdall would not like this, Mathias spoke flatly, as if the emperor"s opinion was of no concern to him.
If Lunaria were to marry into the Asgard empire, the next inheritor of the throne would automatically be the first princess, Felbell.
After that, the only thing left to do would be to slowly dismantle the kingdom through Albert, and to then invade the kingdom in the name of Lunaria.
In short, the only thing Heimdall would have to do would be to get the Jormungand kingdom to arrange a marriage between himself and Lunaria, and everything would fall into place.
For the kingdom, the marriage would be a chance to influence the diplomatic relations within the sphere of the continent"s major powers; it would also be an irresistible opportunity from the perspective of the aristocrats who supported Felbell.
Although Heimdall wanted to complain and reject this unexciting way of obtaining Lunaria, he could not think of a single rational reason to go against Mathias" proposition.
【”―― Whatever.”】
Heimdall was not a foolish ruler who could neglect a matter of national importance for the sake of his hobbies.
Still, Heimdall could not wipe away his dissatisfaction since that this plan was going to hinder his hobby.
Seeing the childish reaction of his superior, Mathias continued to speak like he had just recalled something.
【”Come to think of it, I have yet to mention that the fourth corps, led by sir Cabernard, has achieved victory in the battle at the border of Lepland. However, I"m afraid to say he did not bring the『Snow White Valkyrie』whom you had your eyes on.”】
Lapland was a small country at the northwest of Asgard.
While their territory was small, they were famous for having a powerful military. That fame especially applied to the king"s little sister, Frigga Lapland, also referred to as the Snow White Valkyrie, whose name was known even in the neighboring countries due to her innate talent as a cavalry commander.
The mere mention of Frigga"s alias made Heimdall"s face break into a broad grin.
Frigga was a charming enough prey to subst.i.tute for Lunaria.
However, aware that he was reacting exactly like Mathias expected him to, Heimdall narrowed his eyes.
【”….. Just tell Cabernard to be careful not to kill her.”】
【”As you wish.”】
Anyway, have a great day everyone, and I"ll see you next week, same day, same hour!