"Sir Jaekiel?"
"Sir Jaekiel!"
It wasn't until his name was called more than three times that Jaekiel
snapped back to reality. He had been lost in thought.
When he came to his senses, the First Princess's messenger was standing
beside him.
"…Sir Jaekiel, are you alright?"
The messenger assumed Jaekiel was stunned because of his unreasonable
request, but Jaekiel was preoccupied by something else.
The checks.
Yes, the problem was the five checks that had multiplied in his possession.
Not just one, but five. Five checks.
'How did I not think of this?'
The issue had begun when a simple thought crossed his mind toward the
end of his deal with the Emperor: wouldn't everyone be happy if the check
was multiplied to five?
It didn't take long for him to realize how naive that thought was.
─Five checks? That means five times the time together.
─Auditor, you'll use them all on me, right?
─I'm so happy to spend five times the time together.
He could already hear the voices of the three princesses whispering in his
ears. It wasn't hard to imagine—their personalities made it clear that they
would each expect all five checks to be used on them.
They say that when a shock is too great, your mind goes blank.
They weren't wrong. Jaekiel's mind was completely blank.
"This is…?"
Meanwhile, the messenger finally noticed the pile of elixirs Jaekiel had
accumulated and was stunned.
"You said you visited the Audience Room. Did you receive all this from His
Majesty?"
His mouth hung open.
"I expected your value to rise soon, Auditor, but this is happening much
faster than I thought. If it's already like this, then in the future…"
The messenger continued to marvel, but none of his words registered with
Jaekiel.
He was still struggling with the problem of the checks.
"Five checks… five checks…"
The messenger quickly picked up on Jaekiel's muttering.
"Five checks…? Ah, I haven't rewarded you properly!"
The messenger nodded with a determined expression.
"I don't know what five checks you're talking about, but I'll make sure to
prepare a reward worthy of them. So please, just this once, help us!"
The messenger fell flat on the ground in supplication.
"The North has had many issues for some time now, but the matters were so
sensitive that even the First Princess found it difficult to intervene directly."
His voice was filled with desperation.
"The only one who can break through this situation is you, Auditor Jaekiel!
Please!"
One second.
Thirty seconds.
One minute.
And five minutes passed.
"…"
The messenger, still lying face down, trembled as he thought.
Yes, his request had been too much. He hadn't prepared a proper reward, so
of course, there was no way Jaekiel would accept.
Just as the messenger was on the verge of tears, still lying prostrate…
"Let's go."
Jaekiel murmured quietly.
"…What?"
The messenger lifted his head in disbelief.
But…
Jaekiel nodded silently toward him.
"I have to do what needs to be done."
Jaekiel took the lead, and the messenger followed behind him.
"Auditor, truly… truly…! Thank you…!"
As they walked, Jaekiel thought quietly.
'Let's first focus on taking the Sun Water. I'll figure out the rest afterward.'
Yes, that should be dealt with first. He had already made a promise to the
Emperor regarding the First Princess, so the checks could wait.
"Auditor! Sniff! How can I ever repay this kindness…?!"
Of course, the messenger had no idea what Jaekiel was really thinking.
The First Princess's domain.
Tension filled the air from all directions.
The warriors were divided, standing in two lines as if a line had been drawn
between them.
On one side were those who fully supported the will of the First Princess,
centered around the warrior Broolka. On the other were those following the
warrior Brogar, who wanted to test the Auditor.
"I never thought we would be this divided."
"I didn't know you thought that way."
"Traitors!"
"You're the traitors!"
The scene carried immense meaning.
Even though the North had many warriors to protect it, if they couldn't
unite, their numbers would never be an advantage.
In simple terms, it meant they had never been truly united—everything had
been held together solely by the strength of the First Princess.
The absence of the First Princess revealed the deep-rooted issues.
At that moment…
Step, step.
The First Princess, Ether, appeared.
The First Princess silently observed the warriors standing divided for a
moment, and then… nothing. The silence stretched on.
All the warriors waited for the Princess to react. It wasn't until they were
growing desperate that she finally spoke.
"To be honest with you…"
Ether spoke in a cold, emotionless voice.
"I have always been proud of the warriors of the North…"
She shook her head slowly.
"But today, I see you could not be more pathetic."
The warriors' expressions shifted, full of mixed emotions.
No one held their pride higher than the warriors of the North, and her
blatant disdain struck them hard.
"There is no need to look so shocked. You know it yourselves, don't you?"
Ether gestured at them with her chin.
"Look at yourselves, standing divided like this."
"…"
Everyone remained silent.
They had overcome the biting cold and the monsters because they had stood
united. But now, they were pathetically at odds with each other.
"Before entering battle, securing trustworthy comrades is the most basic
rule. Yet today, it seems the warriors can't even accomplish that."
Ether smiled, a look of disappointment on her face.
Brogar's side naturally felt a surge of anger at her mocking smile, but they
couldn't express it.
And for good reason.
It was Brogar's faction that had caused the divide. They had deliberately
created a rift, taking advantage of the chaos caused by Ether's interest in a
man.
"I thought I had given the North enough trust. I always took the lead in
battle and faced the strongest enemies… so I thought."
Ether's expression grew serious.
"I have one question for you, the warriors of the North."
The Princess slowly looked around at the warriors.
"Who among you still does not trust me and has caused this ridiculous rift?
I am curious."
Naturally, the warriors' gazes shifted.
No one spoke, but all eyes pointed to one warrior.
Brogar. He was the one receiving all the attention.
"Hmm."
Brogar scowled.
But he didn't say anything. For an obvious reason.
'I can't exactly say it out loud.'
Was he supposed to say out loud that he wanted the First Princess for
himself, and he was angry that some scoundrel was taking her?
No, of course not.
Ether quietly stared at Brogar.
"Ah, Brogar. So it was you."
The Princess let out a small, mocking smile.
"Did you already forget the pain of losing your eye after asking me to marry
you? You know how strong I am, yet you dare lecture me. It's laughable."
"First Princess, stop spouting nonsense!"
Having hit a nerve, Brogar's voice rose in volume.
"To begin with, it's the First Princess herself who caused this division!"
He contorted his face and continued.
"You abandoned your responsibility to the North just to chase after your
comfortable marriage, and that's why this is happening! You're an
irresponsible leader!"
"Brogar. Let me ask you one thing."
Ether spoke softly.
"Do you plan to forever rely on me?"
"That…"
"If I'm not here, you can't do anything, nor even attempt anything. What
kind of warrior is that? You all act brave, but in reality, you're just
dependent."
"…"
Brogar's face twisted in frustration.
Ether had hit the nail on the head.
Warriors like Brogar, who desired the First Princess herself, had stopped
thinking for themselves long ago. The First Princess had become their sole
objective.
Her body, her mind, her strength… That's all they wanted.
Ether let out a small laugh and continued.
"Saying you care about the North sounds nice. But Brogar, if you truly
cared, you wouldn't be blaming me. You should have carved your own path
for the North."
"Stop spouting nonsense! You chose a weak man, and now you're trying to
cover up that mistake by talking and talking!"
Brogar wasn't backing down easily.
He had no more room to retreat anyway.
"A weak man…"
Ether crossed her arms.
"I've finally found the rot that's eating away at the North. Just looking at
this proves how poor your judgment is."
"…What?"
"Why do you think this happened? Why did I let this happen even though I
knew it was coming? Do you know the reason?"
Ether asked, looking around at all the warriors.
Of course, no one answered. Those who had an idea didn't dare to speak,
and those who didn't know, couldn't say a word.
"It's a very simple reason."
Ether locked her gaze on Brogar.
"I had to weed out the weak warriors. Warriors like you, Brogar—weak,
worthless trash."
"…!"
Brogar's eyes widened in shock.
"You built up your muscles, but inside, you're still a weak child. You don't
know how strong your opponent is, you don't know your place, and you
have no idea how to act."
Ether clicked her tongue.
"If people like you disappear, the North will have a future."
"First Princess!"
Brogar shouted, but…
Instead, the First Princess asked.
"Warrior Brogar, can you prove it, then? Whether your challenge and
evaluation are valid?"
"Prove it…"
Brogar had originally planned to confidently shout, "Proving it is easy. I
just need to win."
But then he realized something important and fell silent.
…Isn't the one on the lower side usually the one who has to prove
something?
In other words, Ether believed with all her heart that the Auditor would
defeat Brogar.
And that enraged Brogar.
"First Princess!!!"
Brogar shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
"Because of your attitude, if I kill the Auditor during the duel, you'll have
to understand!"
Ether let out a small, incredulous laugh.
"The North respects the will of all warriors."
"…"
"If you insist on killing yourself, I can't stop you."
"What?"
Then Brogar burst into laughter.
"H-Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
It was sheer disbelief.
"Hahahahahaha! How much of a fool do you take me for?!"
Then Brogar's face twisted into a demonic snarl.
"I've fought the monsters of the North! Do you think I fear a lowly
Auditor? If the Imperial Tower loses its Auditor today, it will be because of
the First Princess's provocation!"
But then…
At that very moment…
Thwack!
A blue flame erupted from Brogar's forehead. No, it wasn't a flame—it was
ice, shining so brightly it was easy to mistake for fire.
"Ugh?"
Brogar tumbled hard to the ground.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
He rolled and rolled, his large body eventually crashing into the wall,
leaving him plastered against it like a mounted display.
"Ugh…!"
Before Brogar could even regain his senses…
A man was perched on the wall, unnoticed until now. His glowing blue eyes
gave away his identity.
It was Jaekiel.
"The Auditor! It's the Auditor!"
As someone shouted, Jaekiel gracefully leaped down from the high wall,
landing on the ground as silently as a shadow.
"You dared to question my worth."
Jaekiel spoke coldly.
"I will allow it. Today, the warriors of the North need not fear for their
pride. Use any means necessary—just focus on victory."
Then, he drove the final nail.
"If any of you have an issue with me, you can all come at me at once. I'll
take you all on."
"…!"
It was the confidence of someone unafraid to face multiple opponents at
once.
Shock began to spread across the faces of the warriors who followed
Brogar.
"I will prove that the First Princess's choice was not wrong."
Jaekiel summoned a long ice spear, letting it hover in the air.
"Today, I will explain it with the lives of the foolish."