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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 30: The Prince’s Gift
『Beloved Ally』
Put it nicely, it means having peaceful relations with everyone; put it bluntly, it’s being neutral and called a bat—flipping sides so often no one fully trusts you.
In most stories, this kind of character is lame, sneaky, and gets looked down on.
But historically, those who lasted long shared one trait—they were ‘beloved allies’ who didn’t make enemies.
Not making enemies is a serious skill.
People and organizations have thorns that naturally create enemies.
Those who could hide those thorns and, even if conflicts happened, managed to smooth things over so they weren’t seen as enemies—while not necessarily heroes—lived long as beloved allies.
Of course, there were downsides.
They often got treated unfairly compared to their efforts and achievements and were called bats, hated for playing both sides to their advantage.
But that was fine.
Being called a bat beats having your head cut off—no contest.
So, I decided to become a bat and started focusing on diplomacy.
I bribed the Platinum Council and sent 15% of Dreihart’s profits to both the Silla family and the Raion family to save their pride.
Honestly, I wanted to ignore the Raion family, but I sent it to protect the Crown Prince’s reputation behind the scenes.
I was building a good relationship with the Crown Princess using Lana.
Since I had nothing to hide, I brought Lana along and opened up all my information.
I invested every penny I earned for the people, shared the profits from Dreihart generously, and made it clear I had no political greed.
I sent a clear message: I’m just a kind, simple lord with no ambitions—better to be an ally than an enemy.
Thanks to the info from Lana, the Crown Princess’s faction probably saw me as an ally—or at least a candidate—and would treat me accordingly.
The problem was the Crown Prince’s side.
My only connection to the Crown Prince was through the Raion family, and our families’ relationship was terrible.
While most of the fault lay with them, that was a different matter.
While I was mulling over how to improve my relationship with the Crown Prince, someone knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock!
“Come in.”
At my words, the door opened, and a messenger entered, looking very nervous.
“What’s the matter?”
“My lord! There’s a letter addressed to you from the Imperial family.”
“A letter from the Imperial family!?”
Surprised, I quickly took the letter from the messenger.
What could it be this time?
Honestly, so many things came to mind I had no clue who it was from.
It could be from the Crown Prince or the Crown Princess asking for a meeting.
Hoping it wasn’t another event invitation, I broke the imperial seal and read the letter.
It said—
——————————
Lord of Cron, Calyx Cron,
Your name rides the winds across the empire and reaches me.
Your decisive leadership and responsibility during the expansion of rewards for the people, tax reforms, and the suppression of the Dreihart rebellion are an example to all nobles.
However, that also means your actions have drawn attention.
The dark hands of bloodkin are spreading across the empire.
I have heard you too have faced threats of assassination.
Such talent must not fall victim to assassination or deceitful plots.
Therefore, I intend to send one of my royal knights to be at your side.
He is a highly skilled member of the Golden Knights and more than capable of protecting you.
I look forward to the day we meet safely.
—First Crown Prince / Kyros Sword Novarens
——————————
“......”
After reading the Crown Prince’s letter, I was genuinely surprised by how proper and formal it was.
Honestly, even in this other world, letter etiquette wasn’t all that different—sending a respectful, polished letter was just normal.
So it turns out, it was the Crown Princess who was the odd one with her informal way of writing!
When I checked the letter, Hart asked—
“Lord, who sent this letter from the Imperial family?”
“The Crown Prince. He says the assassination threat is serious and that he’s sending me a royal knight as a bodyguard.”
“No way! The Crown Prince sending a bodyguard? That’s a huge honor!”
“Exactly.”
After receiving Lana and investigating, I found the Crown Prince was very different from the Crown Princess—he rarely sent his people to other lords.
Also, the Crown Prince was the most powerful force in the empire, even with rivals.
For someone like him to worry about my safety and send a bodyguard was truly an honor.
This could fix my strained relationship with the Crown Prince, but honestly, it also felt like a heavy responsibility.
If the Crown Princess had quietly built a relationship with me, the Crown Prince had blatantly staked a claim.
If I mishandled this, I could end up despised by both sides—or forced to pick a side and be stuck on their ship.
To survive as a beloved ally who keeps both sides happy, I’d have to seriously master this diplomatic balancing act—aka ‘bat moves.’
As I sipped the tea Lana gave me, gathering my resolve, she spoke.
“This is strange. I’m here protecting you, so why would you need another bodyguard?”
Lana’s combat skills were well-known; she was both maid and bodyguard now.
Knowing this, I tested her skills by having her spar with Mark, one of the knights assigned to my protection in the Cron Knights.
As expected, Lana completely wrecked Mark.
Her movements were like a ninja or assassin’s, but she insisted it was just normal martial arts, and we decided to just trust her.
I summed it up for her.
“If Lana’s at school during the day, who protects me then?”
“I see now. Lord, you definitely need an additional bodyguard.”
Lana still went to school two or three times a week as a teacher.
She genuinely loved it there—had grown close to the kids and always asked me first before going.
Seeing her so fired up and committed made it easy to say yes every time.
If she quit going and just stayed by my side, I probably wouldn’t even need another bodyguard… but judging by how she reacts, teaching clearly means the world to her.
“Well, now we can improve my relationship with the Crown Prince.”
“Right, my lord. If you speak well with the Crown Prince, the troublemakers will quiet down.”
From what I played before, the Crown Prince was a pragmatist, not a villain.
He tolerated Hadem’s wild behavior because it stayed within certain rules.
If Hadem had broken those rules or if the Cron family was already aligned with the Crown Prince, he would have stepped in and sorted it out.
But I couldn’t just rush to his side either, because this world constantly throws unexpected assassination events that threaten your life.
Honestly, it’s tough to survive here.
For now, we agreed to discuss diplomacy with the Crown Prince again once the bodyguard arrives.
If Nova were here, we could settle things faster, but Nova was busy working hard in Dreihart as my deputy.
I wondered which bodyguard would come, thinking of the knights I remembered from my past life playing the Crown Prince faction.
A few days later, the bodyguard arrived.
Unlike Lana, the bodyguard rode in on horseback.
She had long, beautiful light green hair tied back, exuding the dignified beauty of a noblewoman as she arrived at my castle.
True to her Golden Knights background, she followed perfect knightly etiquette, dismounted gracefully, knelt before me, and spoke.
“By the order of His Highness the Crown Prince, I am Azelle Thys of the Golden Knights, sent to stand guard over you, my lord. It is my honor to protect Lord Calyx of Cron, renowned for his justice. From this day forward, I pledge my unwavering loyalty and protection.”
“Uh… Welcome, Azelle Thys.”
She introduced herself with admiring eyes, looking at me with genuine respect.
A beautiful young woman admiring me like that made cold sweat drip down my back.
Because I knew her well—just differently than Lana.
Her name was『Azelle Thys』.
An SSR-rank knight character known as the『Knight of the Moonlight』, one of the highest-level bodyguard knights.
She had a unique blessing that gave her absolute power against certain types of bosses.
The problem was her sense of justice.
When I had her as a retainer in play, if the lord committed many evils and the morality gauge dropped too low, she would stab the unjust lord in the back and commit suicide.
Her extreme behavior earned her many nicknames—
『Justice Sociopath』,『Backstabbing Knight』, and『Kingslayer』.
And now, the Crown Prince sent that『Kingslayer』to my territory.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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