I was thinking about different things in my own way.
“What is up with this……”
Of course, I was being accused of some scary charges – plotting treason, a terrorist attack on the Imperial family, and even instigating an attempted murder. They were completely baseless, but I had to quickly head back to the Imperial Palace to clear my name. But the human mind was one that would give you unexpected thoughts in unexpected environments. For example, why was the Corleone vassal state so different from the rest of the QNW world? The existence of this place, where even the water level went against the norm… How was a transmigrator like me supposed to take it?
“What a pity! It looks like the magic stone on the magic tool over there has been broken. We can no longer hear them or speak to them, your highness.” Marquis François, who had tested his prototype many times, shared the sad news. It was the red ribbon he developed for short-distance communication.
I anxiously pursed my lips. ‘What is going on? Is Sir Johann safe? He should be since he’s a Cardinal, right?’
“Sir Geens seems to be engaging in combat with the Admiral.”
“What should we do, second bro? Should we swim over?”
– Screeeech
A perplexed Captain Hervé commented before young lady Maria and Demy each added on.
We anxiously looked out the window. The Admiral’s bedroom, which should be dark, was releasing a bright light. It was too far to figure out what was going on, but I could see a curtain on fire flapping in the wind.
Different parts of ‘Casa di Corleone’ started getting bright once they noticed the commotion.
‘This makes no sense.’
“Sir Johann is not someone who would do something like this. Something is weird.”
“I agree, your highness. EIther way, this is not good for us.” The Marquis agreed with my mumbling.
Despite reading QNW for over a year, Eunseo had never even mentioned the first letter, v, for the vassal state. She had not said a single word about a fierce figure like Emma Corleone. Looking back at it, that seemed odd.
I should have been cautious about making assumptions as someone who never read QNW, but it was also bugging me that this was a land that did not believe in the Church of the Almighty God. That was the reason I had asked the staff at Villa Corleone while we were on Admah.
‘Excuse me, may I ask a potentially sensitive question?’
‘I’ll be happy to answer anything for you, king Signore!’
‘Thank you very much. In that case…… What are your thoughts about the Church of the Almighty God?’
‘Oh.’
I received a peculiar response. I would have apologized and brushed it aside if they showed discomfort, but they all tilted their heads in confusion. Their gesture was completely pure in showing their lack of knowledge. It did not seem like a simple case of no interest in religion. They all looked like they had no idea about it.
‘I don’t really know. I don’t think it has anything to do with us.’
‘It has nothing to do with you?’
‘Yes, Signore, well… I know that the blessing of the Almighty God does exist and that there are great figures on the continent who use such powers, but…… It does not exist in our home. We have never seen it here. It is just other people’s business.’
I felt like I was about to reach an epiphany. The Chief of Staff had said the following.
‘Admah and Zeboim are places the influence of the Almighty God does not reach. As a result, there are very few people who choose the Almighty God as their figure of worship. How could you believe when you can’t feel the miracles yourself?’
A land without miracles. A place away from the hand of the god. Maybe it meant that this was a land that the author’s hands could not reach. The way these islands talked about things that would be too risque for a novel made for all audiences…… My hypothesis was that this was an area the author had cast aside. Basically, the vassal state was a place, a filter, for the things that could not go into the QNW world.
I did not stop there and branched out as well. The vassal state did pay tribute to the Empire, but Empress Frédérique seemed to treat this place as an independent nation. In that case, wouldn’t the vassal state have participated in the ‘war’ in the original? Had they remained neutral? But the Admiral was officially a citizen of the Empire and one of the Empress’s people. Was it possible for her and her family to refuse to participate in the war?
If this place only served as a place for the author’s scrapped ideas, it was not impossible for them to stay out of such a major incident. It simply relied on how the story was written. Then, perhaps…… ‘Maybe the vassal state can act as a mediator to change the flow of the original?’
– Knock knock knock
“Signore Duhem! Please open the door!”
‘Of course a side character like me won’t have a chance to have thoughts like this!’
I flinched and quickly snapped out of my thoughts. The Admiral’s staff seemed to have rushed over to our room already. We patted Demy and Tithé while quickly exchanging glances. ‘What do we do now?’
– Bang bang!
“Marquis-nim! Young master-nim!”
The pounding slowly became louder.
“Is it okay to open the door for them?”
“They don’t seem to have very positive feelings toward us.” François lowered his eyebrows. He looked better than when we were in the Lord’s Castle back at the Duhem March, but he was still weak compared to his usually energetic self. The fact that he had not let go of his mace made it seem as if it was still difficult to freely use mana.
I clenched my eyes shut. I wanted to use this conversation with the Admiral to expand my knowledge of this world, figure out a bit of the vassal state’s state of affairs, and also look after the prince, but……
“Mm.”
It ended up in chaos again. ‘I shouldn’t have given in to Sir Johann’s stubbornness and gone myself.’ However, I was now used to things not going as planned. This world wasn’t even easy for Christelle, the main character.
“We didn’t discuss a meeting spot with Sir Johann nor do we have the means to go across the sea like the young lady mentioned. No, it is wrong to think that we could escape from Emma Corleone on the seas. We also need to consider the diplomatic relationship between the two nations. Because of that-”
I opened my eyes as I spoke. Three pairs of pink eyes all turned toward me.
‘Jung Yeseo, be calm and think. What is the most rational decision right now?’
“Let’s push through the front.”
I immediately answered. Sir Hervé tightly hugged his sister and nodded his head.
“I guess that is our only option, your highness.”
“Yes Sir Hervé. If it was Sir Johann’s wrongdoing, we will respectfully apologize. If it wasn’t, we just need to prove our innocence. The international portal is our only remaining card, so we cannot take a step back. However, it would be bad if we went in with our heads bowed. I’m sure you know it better than I do, Marquis, but…… The Admiral seems like someone who values a person more the greater their reactions. We will need to pretend to flail if we want to get a negotiation at the end of this hill.”
Bang bang bang!
“I think it will be better to hold them back here.”
– ……Bang! Baaaaang! Baaaaang!
I stopped talking. They looked ready to break the doors from the outside.
The Marquis fixed his grip on the mace. A pink magic stone elegantly sparkled. “The way the staff ran over like this makes me think that the madam has clear reasons to be angry with us, but…… It’s a struggle for innocence within a struggle for innocence.”
“Yes, It’s a framed struggle. A struggle-ception.” I responded. I cheerfully laughed.
“I like that phrase.”
– Ooooooong!
He then cast a wide defensive magic circle at the center.
‘Crack, crunch!’ Maria turned a table leg into a bat and stood next to her eldest brother.
Captain Hervé only had his fists but he walked his large body to the front.
I grabbed Demy and Tithé and moved to the rear.
– Aarf, aaaaarf!
“It’s okay, Tithé. Big bro will protect you. You’re a kid. You need to grow big and strong.”
I whispered as gently as possible. Good little Demy hugged our youngest around the belly. The harp seal smiled and looked happy.
Tang! It sounded like the door knob was broken. I could hear the chaotic crowd louder.
“Signore Duhem! What did you do to the Signora?!”
– Bang!
I cast my Holy Land as soon as the door was destroyed. Paaaaat!
“My goodness!”
“T, there is someone releasing a golden light here!”
“It’s a priest! Inform the Chief of Staff immediately, hurry!”
The people who had been approaching us with ropes, poles, and other weapons gasped and withdrew. They were dazed by the golden light under their feet as they had never seen a circle before. At that moment…
– Clang!
“Ahhhhh!”
All of the windows broke and an extremely large figure entered by breaking the wall.
“Intruder! Damn it!”
– Crack, bababang!
‘What the heck?!’
“Everybody duck and protect yourselves!”
I desperately hugged the divine beasts and shouted. Everybody curled up and covered their heads thanks to the power of my Divine Oracle. The cold winter air swept through the room while a large shadow covered the carpet. Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- Salty water bubbles rose up all around us.
‘Hmm? It’s salty?’
“Oh no, I’m so sorry! I’m still not very used to freezing the sea water. I got too excited and messed up my parallel parking!”
I heard an extremely clear and familiar voice. My eyes opened wide at this impossible development. I had chills down to my feet and I subconsciously turned my head. The last thing I heard from her echoed in my mind.
‘See you next time, your highness!’
‘Is this for real……?’
“Prince Jesse! Hope I didn’t make you wait too long!”
Her pink hair fluttered with the sea breeze and her unique glow could not be hidden by the old clothes she was wearing.
Her signature bright smile was on her face. Both hands on her hips…
The main character’s blue-gray eyes sparkled like the north star as she stood on the bow of the ship.
*
Crackle! The fire on the bedroom curtains spread uncontrollably.
The sea breeze rushing in through the broken window made the bed, ceiling, and the floor all get swept up in flames.
– Bang bang bang!
“Signora! Please open the door! Your room is on fire!”
“We brought water! Please wake up, please!”
The scared underlings banged on the door but Emma Corleone did not even budge. Instead, she had a chilling smile on her face as she scanned over the uninvited guest. She had plenty of experiences with flames and burns to the point that they no longer amused her. However, this man’s demonic beast fur coat and black masks were just as rumored. The man was tall and his wide shoulders and sturdy back made it clear that he was well-versed in physicality.
“Are you Scaramuccia?”
“……”
The raspy voice blended with the flames.
Scaramuccia silently observed the Admiral before glaring at Johann Geens with an even fiercer glare. His teacher was wearing a shirt that was as transparent as firefly wings. The scars covering his upper body were fully visible.
“Why are you here?”
“It’s bad if you were unable to sense my aura. That would mean that all of your lessons were for nothing.” Johann pointed this out without talking about how he was hiding his Divine Power as much as possible.
The Imperial Crown Prince’s voice became even lower. “I heard his voice.”
“It is also a problem that you will smash your way in because you heard your partner’s voice. You still have a long way to go with your temperament. But still, thank you for coming to save us.” His mint-colored eyes mischievously curled up.
Cédric instantly scowled. At the same time, his presence surged like a flame.
The Admiral tilted her head and rubbed her hook. Her half-opened eyes looked interested.
“You must know each other.”
“My apologies for the delayed introduction, Signora. This man is my student.” An explanation as gentle as a breeze continued.
The guard for the Marquis of the Empire and the thug of Zeboim were teacher and student.
‘Ah’ The middle-aged man let out a short gasp before smiling. Only the shouts of the staff and the crackling of the flames eating away at the room filled the area for a while. None of the three spoke or even moved.
– Crack……!
As one of the ceiling beams began to collapse…
– Baaaaang!
The Admiral kicked the beam with lightning speed. She quickly swung her hook as soon as Cédric moved to an open area.
– Chhhhhh!
Click! Chains that extended like a snake wrapped around his ankles. The woman supported her right arm with her left arm and quickly pulled him toward her.
Swoooosh, bang! The tall man instantly fell and started to be dragged. Her strength was so terrifying. Cédric’s cape caught on fire but he did not even groan.
Johann inspected the cliff outside with a calm look on his face.
– Sssss……
– Clang!
The crown prince pulled out his sword as he slid toward the woman’s feet.
– Shhh!
The divine item became scalding red as it charged toward her hook.
– Claaaaaang! The Sword of Wisdom tried to cut through the metal while the metal dug into the blade at its master’s orders. A terrible screech and smoke started rising from the confrontation.
Creeeeeeak, chhhhh……
The Admiral’s gaze turned sharp. Her arm was moving on its own.
“A magic swordsman. No……”
The fire-like eyes were clearly visible now. The blade had a jewel as red as blood as well.
The middle-aged woman hadn’t felt excitement like this in a while. Crack! She slammed down her right arm. The hook was already halfway cut through. Cédric’s gaze faintly shook.
“Would you look at this? The Ice Prince is here in my room?”
– Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!
The hook broke into two.
The moment the crown prince changed the direction of his sword, the middle-aged woman turned like a top and kicked him in the stomach.
– Pow!
The man instantly fell out the window. The Admiral cracked her neck as she stood up. The white-haired teacher had disappeared while she was dealing with the kid. She started to chuckle at the thought of the hunt starting. ‘Why are the crown prince and the Imperial Instructor here……’
“Hey, get on!”
She heard a clear voice among the sound of the waves. The Admiral looked out the window.
“……”
Her eyes opened wide for the first time in decades.
—
Translator’s Comments
Pfft even the Admiral calls him the Ice Prince????
