The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 266
Calliper was experiencing a period of turbulence.
After King Gareth had become frail and bedridden, the princes were engaged in a power struggle, suffering both internal and external turmoil.
The war with Tunkai in the Beckavia region also had political significance.
By investing the full military force in that direction, they were preventing a potential coup by the military in advance.
Thus, the power struggles happening in Calliper were all dark and insidious.
It is said that the Saleon ducal family is currently holding the upper hand.
I arrived in Alphensard, the capital of Calliper, hiding my identity and headed towards the royal palace. My status as a general was still maintained, but it would be impossible to have an audience as I was.
‘To meet King Gareth, I must launch a surprise visit.’
This infiltration was for that purpose.
I walked towards the main gate of the royal palace.
‘The Duke of Saleon is likely at Grancel to meet Erina. That means he won’t be in the royal palace.’
As I approached the main gate, guards crossed their spears to block me.
“Who are you! Reveal your face!”
“What is your purpose for coming to the royal palace?”
I removed the hood covering my face and spoke to them.
“How dare you speak to a general like that?”
“What…?”
“Tell His Majesty that the Second General, Ars Elaine, has returned from his mission!”
“Wait a moment. What do you mean…”
“Deliver it quickly!”
As I shouted with an intimidating aura, one guard, sensing something unusual, quickly went inside.
I pushed aside the remaining guard trying to stop me and moved into the royal palace.
‘As expected… Can I not use magic?’
I tried to prepare to use a light magic in case I was surrounded, but for some reason, my magic was not functioning properly.
Magic through aura seemed barely possible, but casting magic through pure magic was challenging.
‘As expected, they’ve taken measures to prevent me from using magic.’
Omeron, who separated this Central Continent from external forces.
This was his doing.
Unless it was in a deep underground beyond his reach, magic would not function properly.
‘Still, it’s not completely blocked.’
I could cast magic if I used a lot of magic or used aura.
At least body enhancement magic was working smoothly, so I was now dramatically stronger compared to before.
Udadada!
“There he is!”
“Catch that guy!”
The royal guards were dispatched due to my actions, but they were actually on my side.
Because they recognized my face.
One of the royal guard officers, Baily, bowed and showed respect.
“General Elaine! I heard you’ve returned from a special mission.”
“That’s right. I must report to His Majesty immediately, so guide me.”
“…It would be proper to first inform His Majesty. He is currently in his bedchamber, and I believe directly seeking an audience would be improper.”
“This matter was already discussed in advance. It was such a special mission. His Majesty will understand. Lead the way immediately!”
“…I will follow your command.”
I was escorted by the royal guards towards King Gareth’ bedchamber.
Since I didn’t know the way to the bedchamber, I necessarily needed the guards’ help.
As we proceeded, obstacles began to appear.
“P-please stop!”
They seemed to be part of the Duke Saleon’s faction.
“How can you suddenly want to see His Majesty? Absurd!”
“Who are you?”
“I am…”
“It doesn’t matter who you are. I have an appointment to meet His Majesty. Do you have the authority to obstruct this?”
“Well, that…”
“Step aside. This is already the King’s will.”
“Such irresponsible…”
“I will take full responsibility. So, get out of the way!”
“Kuk…!”
They hurriedly went somewhere. Apparently to inform the Duke of Saleon about this.
Upon reaching the King’s bedchamber, the head of the royal guard blocked the way.
“Stop. His Majesty is currently sleeping.”
“It doesn’t matter. His Majesty requested that I report my mission under any circumstances. Step aside.”
“…”
“You’re well aware of the trust between His Majesty and me. Step aside immediately.”
With such a statement, the guard captain took a step to the side.
I carefully opened the door to the bedchamber.
Inside were two maids attending to his condition and one attendant waiting quietly.
They opened their eyes wide upon seeing me.
“How is His Majesty? Is he in a state where we can have a conversation?”
“Well, that…”
“Don’t hesitate. …How long has His Majesty been asleep?”
“It’s already been two days. He hasn’t been able to wake up.”
“I see.”
I sat next to King Gareth’ bed and spoke to him softly.
“Your Majesty, I have returned. I am Ars Elaine.”
“…”
But there was no response.
After a moment of contemplation, I spoke those words.
“Your Majesty, I am Ars Elaine. The son of Rizna Almein and the last bloodline of the Fensillon Empire has returned.”
Twitch! King Gareth’ body trembled.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
Gareth was dreaming of the past.
Of the time when the Fensillon Empire was thriving, and of the time when it was heading down the path to ruin.
At the end of his journey, there was that woman.
Rizna Almein. The wife of the prince and his disciple.
– I will definitely rebuild Fensillon. Master, when the time comes, I will be able to research magic again!
At the time, he had tried to dissuade her, saying it was not the right path.
There were not many forces that would look favorably on the movement to rebuild Fensillon.
In fact, the Fensillon revival faction was not welcomed.
Although their legitimacy was attractive, the problem was that they were talking about magic research.
Their insistence that magic alone could save this continent from chaos worked against them.
In the end, he tried to seek help from the Calliper Kingdom where he was located. Having just put the Calliper Kingdom on track, Gareth had intended to accept the Fensillon revival faction.
At that moment, Crossing, who had been watching the Fensillon revival faction with disdain while having connections in many places, attacked and massacred them.
‘Rizna… How could that brilliant child die so meaninglessly…’
Rizna was an extremely dignified woman as the daughter of the great general. She was a rare female warrior and, at the same time, a scholar wiser than anyone else.
When he heard that such a talented person had been attacked and killed by bandits (Crossing), he was shocked to the point of mental confusion.
After that, his life was about waiting for death while somehow maintaining the kingdom.
Knowing that the Calliper Kingdom had no promising future, knowing that there was no talent to inherit the future, he still had to maintain the kingdom no matter what.
Then Ars, who inherited Rizna’s blood, appeared, so it was natural for Gareth to be obsessed with him.
He was convinced that Ars, not his own sons, was the most suitable person to inherit the kingdom he had built.
So when Ars disappeared from Crossing for unknown reasons, Gareth’ anger was understandable.
At that point, he had already discovered that Crossing was the culprit behind the massacre of the Fensillon revival faction, and his rage was uncontrollable.
Such rage had been affecting his already fragile health.
He had been in a critical condition for several days.
To the extent that his personal physician said he would not wake up.
“It is me. Your Majesty, Ars Elaine.”
“…!”
Gareth felt his consciousness being lifted.
That voice had an equally mysterious power.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Rizna Almein overlaid on Ars’ face.
“Oh… Rizna…!”
“Yes, I am her son, Ars. Your Majesty, I have returned.”
Originally, Ars had been denying that part, but now he had no intention of denying it.
Gareth shed tears profusely.
“Where have you been, only coming now…! I was so worried…!”
“Your Majesty, be glad. I went to the Magic outside world and have returned.”
“What…?”
Ars explained about the outside world.
Gareth could only be skeptical.
“Is that really true? That there is a Magic world outside this world…?”
Ars drew up all of his magic.
In this central continent, it was difficult to use magic, but it was not impossible if forced.
Like Ars was doing now, by squeezing out all the magic.
What he created by squeezing out that magic was a very small sphere of arcane and light.
The sphere glowed brilliantly and then stuck to the ceiling of the room, shining magnificently.
“Look, this is part of that magic.”
“Oh, oh…!!”
The attendants were also looking at the scene with wide eyes.
“Magic really exists…! Magic was real…!”
“The outside world is exactly where you dreamed of. They solved food shortages through magic.”
Strictly speaking, the central continent was currently in a much more likable situation, but Ars deliberately did not mention that part.
King Gareth smiled satisfactorily.
“You are truly Rizna’s son. You have finally achieved our long-cherished wish…!”
“This is just the beginning. Your Majesty, I intend to destroy the barrier separating the central continent and the outside world and integrate everything.”
“Yes, that’s how it should be. That is the Royal Road given to you!”
“I will definitely achieve that Royal Road.”
“Hahaha…!”
At that moment, with a loud bang, those who entered the bedroom.
Gilbert Saleon, who had just rushed in, was glaring at Ars with a fierce expression.
“Ars Elaine…!”
“Isn’t this Gilbert? I thought you would be in Grancel meeting Erina.”
“Was she just a decoy?”
“A decoy? Surely not.”
Along with Gilbert, the kingdom’s ministers, princes, and the royal guard were also present.
Gareth, thinking this was timely, forcibly raised his body.
“Your, Your Majesty! You’ve awakened!”
Gilbert was flustered.
He had heard from the physician that King Gareth would not wake up from this sleep.
Supported by Ars, Gareth stood up with his thin legs.
Then, taking a deep breath, he declared.
“I am now about to depart to a distant place. Therefore, I want to designate the heir, the next king who will govern Calliper!”
The surroundings became noisy.
The issue of succession was that sensitive.
Two years ago, King Gareth had suddenly revoked the succession rights of the first prince. The reasons were that he was too old to inherit the throne, frequently ill, and had a dissolute lifestyle.
Because of this, the Saleon Ducal House had used the second prince to seize power.
In such a situation, King Gareth officially announcing the heir was a major event that could shake the power structure.
“Your, Your Majesty! Please rest for now…”
Gilbert, sensing an ominous feeling, tried to calm him, but Gareth did not stop.
“I will designate this Ars Elaine as the first in line for the throne! Ministers and royal guards, take note!”
A bombshell announcement.
Gareth had been thinking of handing over the kingdom to Ars, but that was originally meant to be a natural power transfer centered on Duke Hellian.
However, now that Duke Hellian has fallen and the Saleon Ducal House holds real power, that alone was not enough.
So he needed to make a big move.
And this was it.
“That… That is impossible!”
Although Gilbert protested, Gareth stared at him sharply.
“Are you saying you want to defy my command now? Gilbert──!”
The intensity, uncharacteristic of a dying old man, made Gilbert flinch.
The royal guards were the first to respond.
The royal guard officers knelt on one knee and shouted.
“We will dedicate our lives to carrying out Your Majesty’s command!”
As the royal guards pledged their loyalty, some of the kingdom’s ministers also nodded.
They were the founding officials who had continued to support Gareth.
“If this is your final will in founding Calliper…!”
“We will obey!”
Of course, this would not be resolved so easily.
The Saleon Ducal House, which holds real power, would not remain idle.
Therefore, Ars immediately issued an order.
“As the heir to the throne, I command! Immediately summon Duke Hellian and his talents to the royal palace!”
At this command, Gilbert’s complexion turned pale.
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