“I came up with a way to follow His Imperial Majesty’s intentions without shedding blood.”

“His Imperial Majesty’s intentions…”

Lilburn, completely unaware of Adrian’s true thoughts, carefully pondered the excuse he had casually blurted out. Adrian, feeling a bit guilty about deceiving him, elaborated on his explanation.

“His Majesty desires the unification of the Damvernant continent. However, there are far too many dangers on our continent. There’s no need to wage war against small countries and stain the land with blood.”

The Damvernant continent is the largest of the four major continents, located in the southwestern part of the world. Blessed with great natural resources, it was abundant in food, and most countries were quite prosperous.

However, just as there is darkness where there is light, there was one fatal characteristic that set it apart from the other continents.

In lands suitable for human habitation, threatening animals and monsters also thrived.

In particular, the number of monsters living on the Damvernant continent was estimated to be more than ten times that of monsters living on other continents.

As a result, monster waves occurred from time to time in various parts of the continent.

For this reason, defensive capabilities naturally became synonymous with national power in the Damvernant continent, and a few countries with outstanding strength divided up large portions of the continent.

The countries that successfully defended themselves had one common characteristic: their ruling class possessed so-called special abilities, and at levels above the norm.

The Hankin Empire also had powerful psychokinesis abilities passed down through the imperial bloodline.

Adrian Pinter Raines.

As the 27th Crown Prince of the Raines Imperial Family, he too was a psychokinesis ability user, and from a young age, he had been on the front lines clearing countless monster waves with his unprecedentedly strong abilities.

Given the circumstances, it was clear that he was thoroughly sick of the battlefield, regardless of the intent he had just casually mentioned.

“Once a land is devastated, it’s difficult to restore.”

As he added this murmur, Lilburn stared at him intently. Feeling the penetrating gaze, Adrian met his eyes and raised an eyebrow. It was a signal to speak if he had something to say.

“Then how will you deal with the Wessex princess?”

It was a question that struck at the core, as if he had seen right through him. Adrian tried not to show any sign of wavering as he replied.

“Didn’t I say I’m not concerned about her at all?”

Perhaps his nerves were on edge, causing his words to come out sharper. But Lilburn, seemingly still unaware, lowered his voice and continued the serious conversation.

“Your Highness, the current situation in Wessex is not looking good. You must have heard that there’s a Fitzroy spy in the royal family.”

The Kingdom of Fitzroy was the second largest country on the Damvernant continent after Hankin. Although they had been giving Adrian headaches recently, their relationship of favors and grudges was not a matter of just a day or two.

“Yes, I heard. But that has nothing to do with Layla Wessex for now.”

“That may not be the case.”

“Is there something different from what I know?”

“It’s said that Isabella, the First Princess of Fitzroy, is planning to usurp the throne.”

Isabella of Fitzroy. As the familiar name was mentioned, Adrian raised an eyebrow.

She was the very reason he thought the Kingdom of Fitzroy was giving him a headache. He couldn’t understand why she kept following him around and bothering him, but she was obstructing everything he tried to do.

Even recently, when he went to clear a monster wave at the request of a neighboring kingdom, she had cleared it first and snatched away the reward.

The problem was that the reward was something Adrian desperately needed.

He still remembered what she had said with a smile when he arrived.

Just thinking about it made Adrian tired, and he narrowed his eyes and sighed.

“Isabella finally… I knew this would happen someday. She’s overestimating her abilities.”

“The problem is, they say she’s planning to kidnap Prince Cedric Wessex.”

Suddenly, kidnapping?

As this unexpected word flowed from Lilburn’s lips, Adrian furrowed his brow.

Cedric was the name of the youngest prince of Wessex. When Adrian last saw him before Wessex separated from the empire, he was a child of about 5 years old. He wouldn’t be much older now.

“Tell me more.”

“There’s a rumor that Prince Cedric’s attunement ability is the most exceptional, and currently, Princess Isabella is severely injured while clearing a monster wave in the north of Fitzroy.”

“I’m aware of that much. But how does that lead to a kidnapping plan?”

“The King of Wessex has reportedly offered his daughter to the First Prince of Fitzroy.”

“…Ha.”

Adrian let out a laugh of disbelief for a moment.

‘That hopeless man.’

The current King of Wessex was such a pathetic individual that Adrian didn’t even want to attach the title of king to him.

He was the man who betrayed the Hankin Empire about 10 years ago, deceived by sweet talk, and established a new kingdom, but he was hardly seen as a self-made man.

Rather, he had a womanizing tendency, having so many children that one might wonder if he was trying to sell his sons and daughters, and he even had several illegitimate children. However, he didn’t acknowledge the existence of his illegitimate children and would sometimes randomly adopt them as his own.

He had nearly twenty children born that way. Most of the Wessex princesses were currently married off to other countries.

While being so cavalier with other countries, he was never favorable towards Hankin – that was the King of Wessex.

The Emperor of Hankin was certainly aware of this fact. Of course, he had ranted several times about occupying Wessex and bringing it back under control. It was the Crown Prince Adrian who had been preventing this for years.

People were very curious as to why Adrian was defending Wessex so much. Of course, Adrian had his own reasons that he couldn’t make public…

But hearing that ‘that’ King of Wessex was trying to do business with his daughter again, it was absurd.

Moreover, the First Princess and First Prince of Fitzroy were rivals competing for the throne. In such a situation, offering a daughter to the First Prince was no different from interfering in internal affairs.

Whether that was his intention or not.

“So, Isabella’s stance is that since Wessex won’t provide an attuner voluntarily, she’ll take one by force?”

“It seems so.”

Isabella’s judgment might actually be unavoidable.

The so-called ‘ability users’ absolutely needed ‘attuners’. Their special abilities were powerful enough to be called divine blessings, but unfortunately, they weren’t powers that could be used indefinitely.

Without the help of an attuner, the point of ability exhaustion would inevitably come, and if used too rapidly, it could disappear in an instant.

Sometimes, along with the disappearance of the ability, it could also take one’s life, so everyone coveted the attuning ability that was passed down only through the Wessex family bloodline.

The problem was that while this ability of the Wessex family did manifest in women, it wasn’t inherited maternally.

That’s why everyone had to cling to the Wessex name, and it was also the most fundamental reason why the Duke of Wessex, who had been living off Hankin’s salary, became greedy enough to establish his own kingdom.

“However.”

Adrian, continuing his thoughts, cut in coldly.

“That too has nothing to do with Layla Wessex who is here.”

But once again, a story that exceeded his expectations was heard from the side.

“Your Highness, what if that plan also includes a plot to assassinate the King of Wessex?”

Only then did Adrian’s purple eyes waver as he realized the gravity of the situation.

He wondered if he was hearing nonsense.

“Don’t tell me the First Princess is planning to occupy Wessex?”

“It seems that scenario is included as well.”

“…”

At Lilburn’s words, Adrian tightly closed his mouth and fell into deep thought.

Wessex was not a country particularly friendly to Hankin. However, Wessex falling completely into Fitzroy’s hands was another story altogether.

However… he, currently in the Filmer Kingdom, couldn’t move right away. He hadn’t yet achieved his purpose here.

“If that happens, Princess Isabella’s position will become even more secure. Surely you don’t intend to just watch?”

Lilburn’s words meant that they should return to the empire as soon as possible.

For Hankin, Wessex was like a thorn in their side, but ironically, defending Wessex was also a very important task.

Adrian, his mind in turmoil, pressed his index finger to his temple. But suddenly, even though he was sitting, his head began to spin.

“Ugh…”

As he unconsciously let out a groan and squeezed his eyes shut, Lilburn quickly examined Adrian’s complexion with surprise.

“Your Highness, surely not another dizzy spell…”

Adrian hurriedly shook his head. After a short while, he shook off the oncoming headache and firmly denied it.

“It’s not that.”

But the hand pressing his temple was trembling slightly.

It was because his physical condition had rapidly deteriorated after exterminating a large number of monsters recently.