Chapter 166 Roeni’s Struggle Part Seven: Unsettling Political Tides
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
King Valentio’s rule commanded considerable popular support. The chief reason for this approval was his unstinting investment in his people, reaching even down to the commoners. Due to this policy, education had spread widely, the economy flowed smoothly, and the vast majority of citizens held hope for the future. The backbone of this policy, it went without saying, was the inexhaustible wealth of resources spawned by the Labyrinth. Since anyone could procure valuable materials by risking their life, producers swiftly adapted to market demand, ensuring a steady supply that sustained the lives of the people.
—However, this prosperity was strictly limited to the regions around the Royal Capital that benefited directly from the Labyrinth’s bounty.
Even with an abundance of goods, transporting them over long distances naturally inflated the cost. Nobles whose domains lay outside the Labyrinth’s sphere of economic influence struggled to compete with the Labyrinth’s cost-effectiveness and rarity, forcing them to rely on small-scale, struggling industries.
If, on top of that, their tenants abandoned that life and migrated to the capital for work, the development of their domain slowed further.
To make matters worse, the lords themselves often found a more reliable source of income by sending their people to the capital, making it difficult to restrict the flow of their own populace. This created a strange national body: while the number of hungry or oppressed citizens dwindled nationwide, an unnatural disparity arose between the thriving central power and the abandoned provinces, a division fundamentally unlike systems built solely by human effort.
—Naturally, as this economic gulf visibly widened, a faction rose up to challenge it.
This group was mainly composed of the regional nobles. For those whose lands bordered foreign nations, in particular, the centralization of prosperity was cause enough for deep dissatisfaction.
Although the central government used the nation’s ample treasury to fund military expansion and support local finances, this situation was equivalent to having a leash held by the central power, and it was certainly not fully supported. Consequently, the division into two major political factions—the central nobles who profited maximally from the Labyrinth and the regional nobles who felt unfairly treated—was somewhat inevitable.
—It was at this juncture that a Central Noble, backed by the immense wealth he’d amassed from the Labyrinth, managed to unite the regional faction.
While the Royal Family, as the nation’s administrators, bore the financial burden of numerous public works, this individual, being merely a Marquis, possessed incomparably greater discretionary funds.
Of course, he was subject to substantial taxes, but he deftly proclaimed even those as contributions to the Kingdom. He was thus able to offer even more generous aid to the very provinces the Royal Family could not reach.
”—Well now, I have gathered you all, as previously communicated. A petition has been submitted by Marquis Aprenon regarding the plight of my daughter, Marina.”
With this growing power base, the Marquis’s influence was further cemented by supporting the First Prince, Marisio. Should the royal relative backed by the rival faction fall out of the running, his position would become unshakeable.
—Thus, no one present truly believed that Aprenon, a man insatiable in his lust for power, would submit a petition on the distress of a political rival’s daughter at face value.
King Valentio, the distressed father of the Princess caught in this storm, felt the same way. Although he tried to remain impartial in managing the assembly, as was his duty, his frustration and anger were clearly visible in his face and posture.
”As many of you know, Marina was attempting to conquer the Labyrinth’s shallow levels to qualify for succession to the throne. But we’ve heard she went missing after an assassin, who was part of her entourage, struck. …This is correct, is it not?” Valentio growled, plainly unwilling to speak another word on the matter, and deferred the floor back to Marquis Aprenon.
Ordinarily, it would be a violation of parliamentary rules for an official of his standing not to read the petition to the very end.
This, along with his earlier disregard for seating protocol, made it clear that the King was deliberately breaking the rules. The reason was simple: to offer the Princess’s faction and neutral parties the very sense of relief he felt in that very moment, while simultaneously issuing a warning to the Prince’s faction and their aligned neutrals.
A King must never be driven by immediate emotion.
The converse of this meant that he had received reliable information and doubted the petition. Even if that were not the case, he was showing the nation’s senior nobles that he was no leader who would easily fall for the sweet talk of the most suspicious man in the room.
—Yet, despite having the monarch’s fury aimed squarely at him, the Marquis merely nodded with a chillingly composed expression. He adopted the demeanor of a loyal vassal offering grave counsel on an unbelievable truth, unflinching under the angry glare of a King clearly suffering from losing his composure.
”Indeed. Ten-plus days ago, when Your Highness, the Princess, set forth into the Labyrinth, I prayed most sincerely for her success. Despite our political differences, we are both individuals who bear the future of the Kingdom. I believe that receiving her guidance, even from a different perspective, would have contributed greatly to the nation’s growth.” Aprenon articulated, his tone dripping with false reverence.
Just as the King vented his justified anger on the Marquis, the Marquis deliberately chose words that suggested the Princess was already gone, inciting the monarch to further fury.
If Valentio were to lose control and lunge at the Marquis, he would lose the trust of the court, being seen as a foolish King who cast aside reason. Thus, as everyone present was compelled to silence while biting back their true thoughts, the Marquis, satisfied by their tightly sealed lips, concluded his cautionary statement, which he artfully framed as an expression of heartfelt concern.
”However, a knight who escaped and returned reported that a vicious traitor was hidden within the party, intent on obstructing that noble endeavor. Initially, I, too, doubted the report, but when I was shown the armor pierced by stone stake magic, I had no choice but to believe it. Thus, I made haste to submit this petition.”
”…I hear the reporter is Fried, a knight. Why would he, a man from an opposing faction to yours, turn to you first? Even if he couldn’t report directly to me, the logical step would have been to knock on the door of a Princess-aligned noble, wouldn’t it?” Valentio challenged, scrutinizing the Marquis’s statement.
One had to chew on the Marquis’s deposition while listening to Valentio’s cross-examination.
The soldiers who came to deliver the summon to Baron Roeni had claimed the Labyrinth Guide was the culprit. It begged the question of how Yuuri, who was Skill-less, could have eliminated battle-hardened knights.
However, if stone stake magic had been preemptively embedded into the guards’ armor, it would bypass a Hardening skill, allowing one witness, the Fried knight, to survive. That explanation, at least for the moment, had a semblance of logic.
But such a setup could not possibly be the work of Yuuri alone, nor could a mere Labyrinth Guide amass that many expensive magic stones. It was, at the very least, an implausible claim for a single perpetrator.
Curious how the Marquis would attempt to defend this flimsy explanation, the onlookers were startled when Aprenon once again elevated the tension with a provocative remark.
”Well, shouldn’t we ask the man himself later? Perhaps, as a native of a region near the border, he felt it was a bit difficult to consult with those who only look toward the Capital.” Aprenon sneered, a faint, cold smile touching his lips.
”—What nonsense!”
”A mere commoner could not possibly acquire stone stake magic without a mastermind!”
”Then the one to be suspected is—”
”Silence! Silence!”
The Princess’s faction nobles immediately launched into vociferous arguments against the Marquis’s utterly unreasonable statement. But despite the obvious suspiciousness of the situation, there was no decisive proof, and they couldn’t make a definitive accusation based on mere speculation.
Aprenon remained perfectly unflustered.
All the while, the King’s retainer desperately shouted to calm the increasingly heated Princess faction. The clamor of angry shouts continued for a time, but when the King raised his hand, saying they must first gather the testimony, they were forced, albeit reluctantly, to fall silent.
”—Many points remain unclear, but since this petition was formally submitted by the Marquis’s house, it is an official procedure directed to the King. Pursuant to its request, a search of the supposed culprit’s Labyrinth Guide’s residence was conducted before dawn. A large quantity of magic stones was discovered beneath the floorboards, including several containing the stake magic said to have been used in the crime,” King Valentio announced, his voice regaining a measure of control.
”—What?!”
”Then, that means—”
”No, this is—”
—Is Yuuri safe?
They had only focused on the possibility of Yuuri escaping the Fried knight’s machinations, overlooking the possibility that the Marquis’s faction would tamper with Yuuri’s home. The observer was shocked enough to exclaim aloud, but the greater problem was that amidst the hubbub, some nobles didn’t even recognize the evidence found in a commoner’s home as the Marquis’s framing.
The plan to pin the crime on the accompanying Labyrinth Guide must have been decided the moment the assassination plot was conceived. Someone must have looked up his address from the Guild’s registry and broken into Yuuri’s home before the commotion caused by the Fried knight’s return even spread below the surface.
Any thinking person should realize this, but some nobles still look down on commoners, harboring the bad habit of instantly considering a commoner more likely to be a criminal. Merely appealing to the biases of such individuals was enough to justify the Marquis’s entire scheme.
As long as he could parry direct accusations, those elitist nobles would gladly spread venomous rumors about the innocent commoner. The result: the mystery and the Marquis’s infamy would linger, but the commoner would bear the stain of guilt.
Naturally, the Princess’s faction voiced their outrage to prevent this, but the King’s retainer’s shouted commands again forced a halt. As the chamber quieted, King Valentio turned his face directly toward the observer.
The moment felt like a spotlight; the observer shifted their body to meet the King’s gaze. Valentio gave a firm nod, then turned his attention back to the surrounding assembly.
”Yes, magic stones were indeed discovered at the Labyrinth Guide’s dwelling. But you should all understand that we have not yet determined when they were placed there. Furthermore, I have summoned the Guild Official who managed the various arrangements for my daughter’s Labyrinth exploration. Her testimony will also be beneficial in pursuing the truth of this matter.”
As the King paused, the retainer called the observer’s name, and they stood up. Under the expectant gazes of the Princess faction and the piercing stares of the Prince faction, the observer was permitted to speak only after swearing to tell the truth.
”Now, Lady Confianza. Did you assign this Labyrinth Guide to my daughter knowing his character? …What are your thoughts now that such an incident has transpired?”
”…First, I must refrain from commenting on the situation of Your Highness, the Princess, as no information has been disclosed to me. With that said, the Guide I assigned to Your Highness is a self-made professional whom I personally trained in our methods alongside our most trusted seniors. I introduced him to accompany Your Highness with absolute confidence in his skills. Moreover, he is actively involved in Labyrinth exploration, not just this once, and he understands that his livelihood is made possible by the rule of the Restea Royal House. I remain absolutely certain, even now, that he harbors no intention of harming Your Highness or earning money by aiding in an assassination.” Confianza declared, her voice ringing with professional earnestness.
”—But the evidence was found in his home!”
”That was done to frame him—”
Nobles shoulder an inescapable responsibility along with their power.
That responsibility is not to meekly accept all accusations, but to firmly reject them when a clear fault cannot be proven, even if the King himself makes an implied accusation out of distress. When Confianza stated this fact—though she’d been hastily summoned and was still poorly informed—King Valentio gave a deep nod and did not rebuke her.
The observer, impressed by her thoughtfulness, decided in turn not to reveal the records of the planted magic stones just yet. The Fried knight had still not appeared in court, and most of the opposition’s hand remained hidden.
To effectively use the limited cards they held, it was necessary to first gauge the extent of the opponent’s strategy. As the observer was prompted to sit down, fierce shouting erupted once more from both factions.
Most of the Princess faction probably didn’t care much for the commoner’s innocence. Yet, to let this stand would be to sanction the outrageous, extralegal maneuvering of a select few nobles, which would ultimately undermine their own legitimacy.
Thus, this very exchange was a welcome relief, as it meant all the blame would not be foisted onto Yuuri. The nobles continued their noisy clash of opinions for some time until the King raised his hand once more to stop them.
—
Summary:
Political tensions reach a boiling point in the royal court after the disappearance of Princess Marina. The powerful Marquis Aprenon, leader of the regional noble faction, formally accuses the Princess’s commoner Labyrinth Guide, Yuuri, of assassination, using flimsy evidence of planted magic stones found in the guide’s home.
King Valentio, furious but shrewd, tries to manage the crisis and subtly warns the plotters. The Guild Official, Confianza, bravely defends her trainee, appealing to the noble’s sense of justice and challenging the planted evidence, setting the stage for a dramatic political confrontation that threatens to destabilize the kingdom’s reliance on the Labyrinth’s wealth.
—
Character Insight:
King Valentio’s internal struggle reveals a powerful leader whose political acumen is momentarily shadowed by a father’s pain and fury. His deliberate rule-breaking is a calculated political maneuver, not a loss of control, showing he suspects the plot is much deeper than a lone commoner.
Confianza, the Guild Official, demonstrates immense professional loyalty and courage by directly challenging the narrative of a powerful noble in front of the King. Her defense of the Labyrinth Guide Yuuri highlights the chasm between the noble elite and the working class whose labor sustains the Kingdom.
—
Behind the Scene:
The political conflict is driven by the economic disparity created by the Labyrinth—the Central Nobles are wealthy beyond measure, while the Regional Nobles struggle.
Marquis Aprenon is exploiting this deep-seated issue, using the Princess’s disappearance as a means to solidify his power by eliminating a rival to his sponsored First Prince and leveraging the regional nobles’ resentment for a power grab. The commoner Labyrinth Guide, Yuuri, is nothing more than a convenient, disposable scapegoat in this high-stakes game.
Notes:
• Valentio – The current King of Restea. A large, imposing man with sun-gold hair and a crown, he commands authority, though his current actions reveal a deep-seated agitation, likely due to the political crisis and the uncertainty surrounding his daughter, Marina’s, fate. Looks like King Bradley from certain series.
• Ai – The recently-formed sub-divinity/ego who manages the world’s Skills. Her sudden, intense burst of divine will (‘ki’) almost bleached Yuuri’s wicked thoughts. Called Yuuri ‘Elder Brother’ and declared genuine affection and trust based on his efficiency with her Skills.
• Marina – First Princess of Restea—needs labyrinth escort.
• Marisio – Princess Marina’s older brother who already holds the right to the throne.
• Roeni – Guild receptionist, former adventurer, now a baroness—mentor to Yuuri. The wife of Baron Silcro Confianza, and effectively manages the labyrinth exploration business which is the foundation of their house’s power. She is a former adventurer, which gives her a practical, no-nonsense approach to problems. Look like Lisa from certain game, brown hair but neat hair.
• Restea – Yuuri’s homeland.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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