Chapter 111: The Decisive Blow (1)

In a spacious room, Louis and the twins sat huddled on a long sofa while Pablo stood behind them. Louis smiled brightly at Page, who was seated across from him.

“It’s been twenty minutes, hasn’t it?”

”…”

Despite not having done anything yet, they had already earned forty gold—how could he not be elated? Meanwhile, Page looked utterly miserable.

Louis gazed blankly at her for a moment before shifting his gaze slightly to one side. There sat Greg, looking as if his soul might have wandered off at any moment. Seeing this, Louis’s expression creased ever so slightly.

“Do we really need that old man around?”

”…He’ll be essential for what I’m about to tell you.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Truthfully, they owed their initial forty-gold windfall partly to Greg. After all, it had taken twenty whole minutes just to wake him up and get him settled in this chair.

That’s why Louis was feeling quite disappointed inwardly.

I should’ve hit him a bit harder.

The only reason Greg had woken up after just twenty minutes was because his twin brother had been somewhat restrained while beating him. If they’d really gone all out, he would’ve been unconscious for days—or worse, dead.

Louis glanced at his watch.

“One minute more. Heh-heh.”

Had time ever felt so good? Money rolled in automatically as long as he sat still.

At this point, it was Page who seemed anxious.

“My lord, if I may…” she began hesitantly.

“How did you…?” another voice interrupted abruptly.

It was Greg, back from wherever his soul had wandered off to, slightly more lucid than before. Yet his eyes remained unfocused as he muttered almost trance-like:

“How…did you do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“What did you do to make me…?”

Louis responded indifferently to Greg’s confused tone. “What do you mean how? You’re just weak, old man.”

“Weak…?” Greg repeated incredulously. “Me? The great Greg Vant?”

It was a notion he had never entertained before—especially since reaching tier 2. As both the captain of the Mudan Guard in the Frenche Kingdom and later as a mercenary across the Fall Continent, he could count on one hand the number of opponents who’d managed to meet him sword-to-sword.

Yet now, this small child before him dared call him weak. Normally, he would have dismissed such talk as nonsense, but…

…I can’t deny it.

In truth, he’d lost to children who appeared to be around ten years old—the very same ones he’d wanted to take as his disciples. Whether due to his own complacency or holding back, the fact remained:

He had been defeated.

“Ohhhh…”

The immense psychological shock made Greg feel the futility of life once again, leaving him utterly stunned.

Meanwhile, Page, who had been anxiously hovering nearby, seized the opportunity to urgently interject. With every passing minute, she was losing a substantial two gold coins—a rate that couldn’t be sustained while wasting time on such trivial matters.

“I have something important I need to discuss with you,” Page said hastily. “There is also something else I should inform you about first.”

“Go ahead; it’s not like I’m doing anything else but spending your money right now,” Louis replied nonchalantly.

Page sighed deeply at his laid-back demeanor before continuing her story.

“My full name is Page Kwan Frenche, and I am the sole heir to the throne of the Frenche Kingdom.”

Louis’s eyes widened slightly in surprise upon hearing this revelation.

The only heir to the throne?

It was commonly believed that a princess venturing outside her kingdom had little chance of ascending the throne. Even when King Frenche expressed gratitude to Pablo for saving his “only daughter,” Louis assumed he meant she was his sole child…

But did he actually mean she has no siblings?

She was indeed the nation’s only heiress.

Louis concealed his astonishment as he attentively listened to Page’s story.

“I left the Frenche Kingdom twenty years ago. Or rather, I suppose I was banished…”

With those words, Page began recounting her tale in detail.

“Twenty-five years ago, amidst the declining power of the Frenche Kingdom, a person of extraordinary talent emerged.”

This prodigy among geniuses first displayed their remarkable abilities at just seventeen years old.

Numerous nobles, merchants, and wealthy individuals sought him out, trying to secure his services. Yet this young prodigy entrusted his future to King Frenche.

“His Majesty cherished him and kept him close,” explained Sin. “The king was certain that this man would be the key to reviving the Frenche Kingdom.”

As if repaying the king’s faith, the young genius used his abilities to support the monarch, once again proving his exceptional talent. Initially, those who had looked down upon the youth began to recognize his worth as time passed.

Gradually, the young prodigy expanded his influence, eventually rising to become prime minister with the king’s unwavering support.

That person was Levans himself.

“It truly was a bold decision on His Highness’s part.”

At the time of his promotion, Levans had been only twenty years old.

The nobles’ opposition was inevitable when a commoner—a mere twenty-year-old boy—was appointed as Prime Minister. However, the king persevered in this daring move, unwavering in his belief in Levans’ abilities.

“Your Majesty had faith in him,” the old advisor continued. “He knew Levans would surely strive for the impoverished Frenche… Such steadfast trust he showed.”

Indeed, once Levans took charge of the nation’s finances, the lives of the citizens who had long suffered in poverty began to improve steadily. As conditions changed, people started to sing praises of Levans.

“The clear results were visible to all. Your Majesty rejoiced, convinced that his choice was correct. From then on, he trusted Levans even more. But… that trust proved to be poison. The king remained unaware of Levans’ insatiable greed, equal in measure to his talent.”

Levans had grand ambitions and insatiable desires.

“As time passed…people began placing more trust in Levans than his Highness. The palace administration, nobles…even public opinion swayed behind him.”

With political acumen far beyond his years, Levans slowly but surely engulfed the entire kingdom.

Louis couldn’t help asking as he listened to this tale:

“And you just stood by and watched?”

“Levans exploited Your Highness’s trust, very subtly. He convinced Your Highness that everything he did was for the sake of saving the nation. And…he believed those words.”

Trust can be a formidable force, but it can also become a lethal poison—just as potent as its power.

The poison spreading slowly within, disguised as trust. By the time he realized its true nature, it would be too late.

Louis clicked his tongue. “Tsk, what an idiotic king.”

Seeing Louis openly insult his father, Page could only manage a bitter smile. His words were all too true.

“You’re right… Your Majesty was indeed… an idiotic king.”

Using the king’s trust as leverage, the prime minister swiftly centralized control over the nation’s economy, laws, and military in his own hands.

“It took merely two years,” Page reflected grimly. “That’s how long it took Levans to completely subjugate the Frenche Kingdom.”

In short order, Levans purged the king’s supporters among the nobility and reduced the monarch who had elevated him to a mere puppet.

“By then, Your Highness finally realized something was amiss, but…” Louis trailed off.

Though Levans’ official title was Prime Minister, his power far surpassed that of the king. He achieved all this at just twenty-two years old, rising from commoner status to become the de facto ruler of the realm.

However…

Despite having seized control over everything in Frenche, there remained one thing beyond his grasp.

Louis, who had been quietly listening up until now, spoke up: “Legitimacy.”

”…That’s right.” Page nodded in agreement.

Though he had swallowed the entire kingdom whole, there was one thing Levans could never possess—legitimacy. In this world, legitimacy meant bloodline.

If Levans, a commoner, were to depose the king and declare himself ruler of Frenche, even those nobles who had previously been his allies would turn against him. After all, if a commoner prime minister could become king, then they too might aspire to the throne.

“That’s why, despite having engulfed the entire kingdom, he allowed Your Highness… to remain as a figurehead king.”

The puppet monarch served as a shield for the prime minister, protecting him from other nobles’ ambitions.

“When I was nineteen,” Page continued, “Levans proposed marriage between him and me.”

“A transparent ploy indeed,” Sin remarked.

”…Indeed.” A hint of bitterness colored Page’s voice.

As the sole heir to the throne, she represented legitimacy itself. If Levans could secure her hand in marriage, his claim to power would be assured. And how could the king possibly miss such an obvious maneuver?

Moreover, he couldn’t bear to watch his daughter suffer from her misguided choices silently.

“Your Highness may have been a foolish king, but as a father… he was truly affectionate.”

Having ruined everything with his own mistakes, he refused to let his beloved daughter be destroyed too. Thus, he resolved to help Page escape from the royal palace.

“It was Greg, who served as my bodyguard at that time, who led us out of the palace safely,” she recalled.

After their successful escape, Greg and Page crossed into the Fall Continent, leaving behind the scorching heat of summer.

“In the years that followed, Greg raised funds through mercenary work while traveling between the Summer and Fall Continents. He rallied those within the Frenche Kingdom who opposed the prime minister, forming the nucleus of what would become the Leon Revolutionary Army.”

Louis gazed blankly at Greg, who was still sitting there in a daze.

That old man could do something like this?

Although it seemed utterly implausible based on his actions, Louis couldn’t deny Greg’s influence within the Leon Revolutionary Army.

“The premier has endured for twenty years with the help of the Leon Revolutionary Army, but here’s the problem… He’s hatched another plan during that time.”

“Another plan?”

“If being born commoners is preventing him from becoming king… he’s decided to change the world order.”

“How so?”

“He intends to establish a republic.”

A form of government where citizens govern themselves without a monarch.

Upon hearing this, Louis raised an eyebrow.

“But how does that benefit the premier?”

Share power now after working so hard to accumulate it all this time? It was preposterous.

Page understood what Louis meant and nodded. “Of course, he doesn’t envision a typical republic. He dreams of a republic where his family remains in absolute control. To achieve this, they’ve been laying groundwork for the past twenty years—and as we speak… his plan is entering its final stages.”

“If that comes true, what will happen to the current king… surely not?”

Finally, Louis grasped the implications of their earlier conversation on the airship.

These men are guards from the House of Frenche!

Their target is none other than the palace itself! They intend to drop an airship right onto it!

The greatest obstacle to establishing a new regime was invariably the old one—and its symbol, the king. And who stood to gain most from his death?

“This airship attack must have been orchestrated by the prime minister,” Page said with conviction.

She believed he had used Louis’s suicide squad disguised as Leon revolutionaries to kill the king while framing the rebels for the atrocity.

Page nodded gravely. “I’m certain… No, I’m positive.”

Louis mentally applauded the prime minister’s audacity.

To think he’d show up before the man he tried to kill personally without batting an eye.

The prime minister had appeared genuinely concerned about the king’s safety during their last encounter.

The thought that it had all been an act sent chills down his spine.

With that, Page’s tale came to an end.

Louis stroked one of the twins sleeping with her head pillowed on his knee and asked,

“So what do you want me to help you with? Well, I can guess roughly what your request is…”

“Please assist us.”

Just as he suspected—how predictable!

Louis sighed deeply.

“We wish…to reclaim this kingdom from the prime minister—no, Levans Ainfort.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re simply too busy right now—wait!” Louis paused mid-rejection.

Blinking rapidly, he questioned:

“What did you just say?”

“Pardon?”

“…What was that scoundrel’s surname again?”

“Ainfort…”

“…?!”

Louis’s eyes flashed sharply.