Chapter 42
Sitri Belstad (1)
Rudian expected that the probability of Sitri Belstad, that is, Asmodeus, taking direct action would be low.
However, probability is nothing more than probability.
Still, he never imagined she would reveal herself so openly.
“…Who might you be, my lady?”
“Ah, dear… It seems I’ve made a mistake.”
Sitri lightly covered her mouth and smiled warmly.
Her hair, like black waves not found on this continent, and her obsidian-like eyes added an air of mystery to her simple beauty.
“I am Sitri Belstad.”
The way she gently held her skirt and demurely smiled would make anyone let down their guard.
Of course, Rudian was not one of those ‘anyone.’
CLAP!
Rudian clapped his hands and exclaimed as if he had just remembered something.
“Ah! You’re the one rumored to be involved with the Third Prince!”
CRACK!
A crack appeared in Sitri’s warmly smiling expression.
“Th-That’s a baseless rumor! Hoho…!”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! Hohoho…!”
It wasn’t just Rudian and Sitri present.
Calline, along with her entourage of admirers swayed by her appearance, were also listening to their conversation.
For a moment, the words ‘This brat is crossing the line’ flashed through Sitri’s eyes.
Any noble of decent standing knew about the engagement between the Third Prince and Luciella, so such a question was nothing short of a blatant insult to Sitri’s honor.
‘So what? I’m a commoner with nothing to lose.’
As Sitri faltered under the unexpected blow, it was Rudian’s former master who came to her rescue.
“Rudian, you brat! Where did you pick up such nonsense?”
“Was it nonsense?”
In response to Rudian’s retort, Calline clenched his fist and shouted.
“Of course! How could such filthy rumors about our Lady Sitri be true?”
By now, the other admirers had also begun glaring at Rudian in agreement with Calline.
‘…Since when did she become “our Lady Sitri”?’
Rudian had anticipated that Calline would eventually cause trouble involving the opposite sex.
In fact, it was more surprising that he had remained quiet until being ensnared by Sitri.
Well, putting that aside for now…
‘Have the demons’ intelligence network already advanced enough to track me down?’
The Imperial Direct Intelligence Agency only follows the Emperor’s orders.
Thus, the demons tried to gain control of the information guild through Gude Belstad, but Gude had long been silenced after receiving a “knife wound” from Rudian.
There should be limits to their intelligence capabilities, so how did they find me?
“I’ve only been here since yesterday, so I don’t know much about this place. That’s why Sir Calline was kindly showing me around.”
“Ah, yes. But what business do you have with me?”
“Rudian, you brat! How dare you speak so rudely to the young lady!”
‘…Is she some kind of royalty?’
Her disguised status was merely that of a baron’s daughter, yet Calline, a viscount’s son, and other nobles were treating Sitri as if she were their liege.
Sitri quietly calmed them and spoke.
“Ah, Sir Calline mentioned some interesting things about you, Sir Rudian.”
‘Ah, I see.’
The moment Rudian saw Sitri’s peculiar gaze, he immediately understood the situation.
‘It wasn’t Calline who approached Sitri—it was the other way around.’
Given Calline’s tendency to never refuse approaching women, it was inevitable he’d fall for Sitri’s charms.
Then why did Sitri approach Calline?
“I heard you played a significant role in conquering the dungeon near the border.”
‘Of course. That’s why.’
The death of Caslay Lichmond.
The first disruption to the demons’ well-laid plans.
Sitri undoubtedly intended to dig into that first.
“I quite enjoy tales of knights’ valor.”
“Is that so?”
Though Rudian replied flatly, his mind had long turned cold.
The Delphione Ducal Family and the Iskar Family had thoroughly concealed the location of the dungeon where Caslay had been.
No matter how skilled demons were at sensing magical energy, tracing its remnants would take considerable time.
After a moment’s thought, Rudian grinned and waved his hand.
“Haha, what could I have done? It was all thanks to the ‘valiant efforts’ of Sir Calline.”
“…Is that so?”
“Back then, I was merely a squire. But that allowed me to witness Sir Calline’s valor up close.”
A sideways glance revealed Calline’s lips twitching upward.
In truth, all Calline had done was pester the knights fighting earnestly.
But with a beauty present, his former squire was saving his face—who would dislike a little historical distortion?
“Hmm…”
Sitri glanced at Rudian with a slightly troubled expression.
If Calline had any conscience, he would have mentioned Rudian’s contributions to Sitri.
But Calline, utterly smitten, was too busy boasting about his own exploits to mention others.
Sitri, aware of this, had approached Rudian to extract more information…
“Still, could you spare a moment? I truly wish to hear your tale of valor.”
A knight regaling a lady with his exploits—
It was an ideal scenario any knight academy student would dream of.
“I’d rather not.”
“Pardon…?”
“I’m quite busy.”
“…….”
Sitri’s expression twitched slightly, as if she hadn’t expected such blatant rejection.
-KHAHAHA! It’s been ages since I’ve seen someone humiliated like this!
Diablo, hanging at Rudian’s waist, burst into uproarious laughter.
“Now, now, my lady. Let’s leave this fool and allow me to guide you elsewhere.”
“W-Wait…”
“There’s no need to pay attention to someone who treats your honor so carelessly!”
“Let’s go!”
Rudian’s attitude toward Sitri provoked fierce hostility from the fools surrounding her.
“G-Gentlemen! Just a moment”
Before Sitri could finish, they forcibly separated her from Rudian.
As Sitri was pushed away by her entourage, Rudian coldly watched her retreating figure.
‘So, you’ve crawled this far, have you?’
-Master.
As Rudian pondered how to handle Sitri, Adi spoke to him.
‘What? Is something unusual happening?’
Adi’s voice sounded slightly different than usual.
Rudian tensed slightly and listened carefully.
-I sense fragments of my terminal within that woman.
“…….”
Adi’s words far exceeded Rudian’s expectations.
Adi’s terminals.
The six terminals of Adi were targets Rudian had to retrieve alongside the Seven-Colored World.
Of course, he had somewhat forgotten their existence until now, but discovering even a trace would immediately prioritize their retrieval.
“Are you certain?”
-Absolutely.
And that trace had now been detected.
“This complicates things…”
There was no chance Adi had misread it.
-It was merely a fragment. A residual trace that will fade in a few days, but I couldn’t possibly miss it.
“…….”
The fact that he sensed a terminal fragment meant Sitri hadn’t acquired the terminal itself.
“First, we need to identify which terminal it is. Which of the seven is it?”
-The first-generation collection-type artificial intelligence, Eldorado.
‘Eldorado…’
At least it wasn’t a combat type.
If a combat-type terminal from Adi’s tier, ranked among the <The. Chro. Seven.>, existed, its power would be apocalyptic.
-Master…
“Why?”
-Eldorado… Is no less dangerous.
“……?”
-As a collection-type, the subspace within the terminal holds countless relics gathered by the Creators.
“…….”
-Depending on how they’re used, they could easily destroy a planet or two…
“…….”
Oh, fuck!
Not a country or continent—a planet?
-Of course, most relics are locked. Only I, the core, can unlock them. But the terminal’s inherent power is formidable, so you must prepare countermeasures.
The terminals are merely terminals.
They require the core to unleash their full power.
But according to Adi, the terminal’s standalone power was dangerously immense.
“A terminal. A terminal…”
Suddenly, something flashed through Rudian’s mind.
The Demon Gate in the Morian Empire.
And the trace of Adi’s terminal sensed from Asmodeus.
Neither existed in the original work, so this couldn’t be dismissed as coincidence.
“I’ll have to dig deeper into Asmodeus.”
Shake hard enough, and the tail will eventually show.
***
After school, Rudian was summoned to the student council room by Luciella.
Elvin and Maria were already there.
“Sitri Belstad has enrolled in the academy.”
Though expected, her tone was grim.
“The Third Prince intervened directly.”
The official reason was that the Belstad Family, having lost its patriarch and on the verge of collapse, was being stabilized by the Third Prince. Sitri, the sole legal heir, would receive protection at the academy.
“Did the Imperial Family not oppose this? The Prince’s excessive interference in a noble family’s affairs seems questionable.”
“Why would they? The Belstad Family’s wealth is immense.”
Moreover, the Imperial Family secured justification through Sitri’s direct request to the Third Prince.
“What a transparent farce.”
Those aware of the truth found it infuriating.
“At least they didn’t say, ‘Please take good care of Lady Belstad,’ to the Princess.”
“If they had… We’d have a Delphione-led regicide incident on our hands.”
It was unclear whether Luciella’s remark was a joke or a genuine threat.
“Regardless, her goal is obvious.”
Sitri hadn’t come to the academy merely to gather information.
Given her skill in amassing followers within a day, she undoubtedly planned to incite something.
“She’ll surely target the Princess somehow.”
“Hmph! Let her try.”
Luciella’s status and reputation at the academy were anything but trivial.
Especially now, with her influence skyrocketing after the Catacomb incident.
Then, a chilling voice reached Luciella’s ears.
“Actually, this works in our favor.”
All eyes turned to Rudian.
“What do you mean?”
Maria questioned him.
Rudian smiled softly and replied.
“Sitri Belstad is nominally Gude’s adopted daughter.”
“Obviously?”
“Which means she’s the only one who can take over the Seoris Union Trading Company.”
Rudian knew the surface positions of the other Demon Kings within the Empire.
‘The other Demon Kings’ official statuses prevent them from meddling in the company’s affairs.’
Yet the one person capable of intervening abandoned her duties to crawl into the academy?
“Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to seize the Seoris Union Trading Company?”
Schedule: Pending
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