Vol 2 Chapter 67 – An Old Man’s Malice【Vol 2 – The Condemned Knight Edition】

“I see. You’ve done well.”

Upon receiving the report, Natan said that and acknowledged the reporter’s efforts.

Sensing that those words tacitly meant to leave the room, the reporter quietly departed.

Left alone, Natan began muttering to himself.

“Hmm… Eleonora couldn’t kill the Hero. That justice fanatic, to think she’d overlook someone she once deemed evil… the world is full of surprises.”

Natan deepened his already wrinkled face further.

Eleonora overlooking Erik was something he hadn’t anticipated at all.

He’d considered that Eleonora would kill him, or that Erik would kill her, but…

“Now then, what to do…”

If Erik had been killed here, he could have greatly削ぐ the royal faction’s forces…

Also, it might have created an opening to exploit Debora, who kept him as a knight of fealty at her side.

She was the only one among the royals who seemed possible to win over.

King Rei went without saying. The existence standing at the pinnacle of the Kingdom of Vilemse could be called tyrannical, and his reputation among the people was far from good.

However, his skill in managing the nation without allowing any people-led rebellions was genuine.

Even after the rebellion of Biriel, who’d been like Natan’s subordinate, his masterful aftermath prevented chaos or subsequent revolts.

As for Prince Orace, that too would be impossible.

Unlike King Rei, he genuinely cared for the people and actively worked to do something for them.

Well, this also meant that unlike his father, he couldn’t embrace both good and evil.

Therefore, his evaluation among the people was the highest among the royals.

Winning over someone like him seemed unlikely.

On the other hand, what about Princess Debora?

She had King Rei’s inherited overbearing personality, and with her skill “Explosion” having caused multiple deaths, she heard no good reputation from the people either.

You could say she was isolated from everyone except her family.

Until now, Natan had been trying to somehow ingratiate himself with her and infiltrate the nation’s inner circle, but…

“Then some nobody called the Hero appeared. And what’s more, Princess Debora took a liking to him. Really, a troublesome pest…”

Within their group, Natan was from the moderate faction.

Unlike the extremists who would massacre all the royals and steal the nation.

Honestly, as long as he was comfortable, that was fine.

Therefore, there was absolutely no need to massacre the royals and overturn the system—he just needed to infiltrate the inner circle and suck up the sweet rewards.

“However, for that I lack the blood…”

Nobility was a privilege obtained through bloodline.

Those who could be close to the royals or near them were from considerably noble bloodlines.

Natan’s family bloodline wasn’t sufficient to infiltrate there.

That’s precisely why he had no choice but to be liked by the royals and worm his way in.

Moderate as he was, he didn’t think he could slip through tight security and massacre the royals, nor did he think he could stage a large-scale rebellion.

Actions like Biriel’s were absolutely the wrong move.

Even if the rebellion succeeded, what would he do with the devastated nation afterward? Neighboring countries wouldn’t stay quiet either.

To suck up the sweet rewards, the nation mustn’t be worn down to tatters.

“However, I can’t just sit idle…”

Just because he avoided violence didn’t mean he never used it at all.

In fact, even without getting his own hands dirty, he’d wielded violence through Eleonora until now.

“Not only is the Hero alive, but if Eleonora goes to their side too, I’ll truly lose any opportunity.”

Erik was popular with the citizens, especially the Royal Capital’s people.

If someone like him served Debora, eventually the way people viewed Debora with Erik at her side would change.

If that happened, she might no longer become his puppet.

That’s why Erik couldn’t be allowed to live, and he’d sicced Eleonora on him to dispose of him, but…

He absolutely had to prevent her from being won over instead and going from Natan’s side to Debora’s faction… to Erik’s side.

She was an easy-to-handle woman obsessed with justice, but the power she possessed was tremendously strong and useful.

Furthermore, since Eleonora was ultimately saving the people too, her reputation was good.

If someone like her went to Debora’s side, Debora’s prestige would rise even more.

Also, with Eleonora’s own high combat ability, he could no longer dispose of people inconvenient to Natan.

What Natan was doing would undoubtedly be seen as evil from the outside.

If Eleonora discovered that, that tremendous power would surely turn on him.

“That would be bad. If I’m going to act, it must be now while she still trusts me. If she becomes even slightly suspicious, I might be the one taken down.”

Natan resolved to cut Eleonora loose.

Losing her would hurt, but… for his future and his life, he could cut her loose without hesitation.

If Eleonora resisted, killing her would be difficult, but…

“Well, there’s no need to kill her. With those looks, she’ll be useful to me one last time.”

Natan recalled Eleonora’s beautiful appearance.

Beautiful black hair, dignified features, a well-proportioned voluptuous figure. Any of these would fetch a high price.

Natan smirked, believing unfailingly in his convenient future.