This Bastard is Too Competent

Chapter 62: Here I Come

“Wait a minute!” 

Ian tried to catch the departing dragon, but Kanhel had already left. In the end, he had no choice but to watch the dragon gliding away bewilderedly. 

But that wasn’t the point now. 

‘Did he say Kaistein just now? Kanhelna Kaistein?’

There was only one person in this world who could use the name Kaistein.

‘Royalty.’

Then, was it his ancestor?

But that’s why it was even stranger. Ian had studied the history of the royal family like crazy.  

Even for him, the name Kanhel was unfamiliar. 

‘What the hell happened?’

Kaistein was a kingdom with a history of thousands of years, although it had given up the empire’s place in a despicable invasion about 200 years ago. 

However, from the time of the kingdom to the present, only the First King was involved with the dragons.  

There was even a legend that he made trouble with a dragon.

‘Then, does he have any connection with the First King or the First Queen?’

Then Kanhel could have been Ian’s distant ancestor. He didn’t even know he had spoken informally to his ancestor. 

‘Is that why he gave it to me like that? Honestly, he could’ve just left.’ 

But there was one strange thing. 

‘If I am truly his descendant, why did he pretend he didn’t know me?’

Even if dragons said that they forgot everything after the game was over, it was Kanhel who came to rescue even a lower-ranking dragon.

‘From what he said about my eyes, he must have something to do with the First King.’

And even though he revealed himself to be a Kaistein, he just walked away pretending not to know him.

There must have been some sort of circumstances. 

‘Anyway, I need to find out more about this.’ 

As Ian kept staring at the spot where the dragon disappeared. 

“Prince, did you like that dragon that much?” 

“!” 

Nathan said with a chuckle.  

“If you’re not in a hurry, the envoy will arrive first.” 

“Oh, right.” 

Ian called Albert, who was in the midst of maintaining the territory.

“Sir Albert, I think I have to go back to the capital.” 

“Oh, my God! I haven’t even been able to serve the new lord properly, and you’re already leaving? Just stay a little longer…” 

“No. As for the reception of the envoy, I think the first thing to do is to inform His Majesty about these guys here.”

Ian looked at the wizards tied tightly together.  

Giovanni, in particular, had been tied with Walter’s special chain. Just in case, Ian deployed Fiosen to overlook him. 

Ian was going to let the king know that the Kingdom of Magicians was doing something behind their backs. 

Of course, it wasn’t just for the Kingdom of Swordsmen or Kaistein.

“If he knows that these guys are the reason for the problem in Helgaia, we may get additional support.” 

Not only wizards but also the story of the dragon. 

Rather, they would get to receive more as an information value.

No matter how conservative King Eloin was, once he heard of the Kingdom of Magicians’ ploy, he would lift off his heavy bum. 

Besides, there was also the story of the bustling Beast Woods.

It might have been possible to receive national support as well as tax exemption as the king’s goodwill. 

It was natural for Ian or Albert to look hopeful. 

‘And from what I’ve seen over the past few days, Albert is more capable than I thought.’

There was no need to appoint another deputy lord. 

So. 

“Please take good care of the territory until my return, Sir Albert.”

“Leave it to me, Your Highness.” 

Ian got on the horse, leaving Albert behind, who looked very sad. 

“Let’s go back.” 

The time for the envoy’s arrival was drawing close. 

Time was tight, but they still could make it in time. Ian and his party began to speed up. 

***

Marquis Adelas was receiving reports from the tracer who had followed the Seventh Prince.

But he tilted his head in confusion. 

It was no wonder. It was because only short phrases could be delivered through the telegram, which was not legal communication.

[Wizard test subject, dragon escape, prince attacked, captured]

He couldn’t understand the telegram sent by the tracer.

But one thing seemed certain. That was the possibility of the Seventh Prince having secured the dragon meat increased.

He had to stop it somehow. 

Then Orlando, Marquis Adelas’ son, laughed. 

“Don’t worry, Father. By the time the prince returns, the banquet will be over. Then, even His Highness will not leave the Seventh Prince be.”

He had already cooked up a plan to prevent the Seventh Prince from coming. 

Anyway, the king would have little influence on this talk and only be observing the situation unless the envoy was greatly offended. That was the king’s way of choosing a successor. This meant that other successors would be given a chance. 

But Marquis Adelas remained vigilant. 

“I’ll leave the work to you, but just in case, deploy the troops. One way or another, we must stop the Seventh Prince from coming back.” 

“Don’t worry, Father. I am not a loafer like Nathan.”

The father-son duo burst into laughter.

*** 

“Giddy up!” 

Ian’s party was galloping through the Bandellas territory for a long time. 

Born on the nearby territory, the Adelas marquisate, Nathan stretched out his hand and pointed.

“Once you cross the bridge over there, you’ll see the Kaistein’s royal road.” 

“Have you contacted the Crystal Palace?”

“We’ve already sent a message. They are getting ready to cook.” 

The communication tool obtained from the Second Prince’s subordinate was very useful. Although he only had one, he spent money to find the other. It was only at half price anyway.

Now, they just needed to go straight to the royal castle and cook the meat, and the envoy reception would be over. 

When they arrived at the bridge. 

“No way, this!”

Everyone’s face stiffened when they saw the bridge. 

They had no choice but to do so. 

“I can’t believe the bridge collapsed…” 

“This. We can’t just cross it.” 

The bridge, said to have been especially made of ironwood from the north, had collapsed.

It was only natural that Nathan’s expression hardened at the sight. 

“Tsk, I came this way on purpose.” 

There were only a few roads that connected Helgaia to the capital aside from the rugged mountains. And the fastest roads were mostly close to the Adelas territory.  

Therefore, the other passageway was the safest route since his father seemed to have pulled a few strings somehow. 

This was an important commercial hub linking the royal capital, Adelas, and Lavaltor, so even Marquis Adelas would never dare touch it.

But even though there was no flood, the bridge ended up in this state.

Fiosen clicked his tongue.

“Let’s go through our territory.” 

“Are you kidding? It will be too late if we go through the Lavaltor territory.”

“Well, it seems like it’s still late, but…”

Fiosen sighed and sent a telegram.  

“But it’s worth a try because we’re here. Fortunately, there’s my family’s stable around here.” 

“!” 

Lavaltor’s blue-blooded horse was the fastest breed with the most remarkable stamina famous on the continent. It was very coveted by the empire and other countries.

Even now, he came here riding a horse of Lavaltor that was present in the royal palace, but…

“There is a special breed that has been successfully improved this time. I’ve put it on standby just in case, so we can cut the time more than half even if we make a detour a little.” 

“Is that the horse I’ve only heard of?” 

“Yes, that’s right, Sir Galon.” 

Galon’s eyes unusually gleamed, and Nathan pouted his mouth.

It was a widely-known story that Lavaltor had been improving their blue-blooded horse.

What Fiosen was talking about was the only breed with the best specifications among those blue-blooded horses raised by Lavaltor: The Blue King.

However, Ian’s face darkened. 

It was inevitable. 

‘We’ll never be able to use those horses.’ 

The horses undoubtedly had the best specifications, but as soon as they left the Lavaltor territory, they contracted an unknown disease and continued to die. 

In the end, without finding the cause, a similar variety was developed with a slightly lower specification.

That breed was successful only after Ian became an adult. 

‘In other words, those horses that Fiosen will bring are those that will die the moment they come out of the territory.’

Thus, Ian stopped Fiosen. He knew the horses would die the moment they left the territory, but he couldn’t just say it.

So, he turned his words around.

“Do not bring them. It is also uncertain.”

“Pardon? You can count on me, Your Highness. I mean…” 

“No, it might not make it in time.” 

However they perceived his words, both Fiosen and the soldiers cast a pitiful look on Ian.

‘That young man is under pressure.’ 

They were sure he would. This happened to Ian, who would entertain the envoy from another country. 

It was a national disrespect that the prince to entertain the envoy did not arrive on time. 

And so, the soldiers quickly spoke up. 

“S-still, if you dedicate these wizards to His Majesty, you might even be rewarded!”

“That’s right! Dealing with them is a bigger deal than entertaining the imperial envoy. Besides, it’s a matter of disaster, so surely His Majesty…!” 

“No, that’s not the reason I let it go.” 

Ian spoke calmly, but the knights and others looked at him more pitifully. 

How much pressure did he bear that this young man couldn’t even smile? 

However, Ian gritted his teeth for another reason. 

There was a reason why this reception was so important. 

On the surface, it might seem like an ordinary visit, but there was a hidden story behind it. 

‘The empire and Kaistein will join hands and promise to invade the neighboring Balhara Kingdom.’

It was the First Princess who received the envoy in his previous life. 

And leaving a good impression on the envoy, she took the vanguard on the invasion of Balhara herself. It was the moment that she was able to gain the support and powerful force of the neighboring countries.

This time Ian tried to get it. 

‘We can’t cross this place like this. In that case, the relationship with the empire would be impossible.’

He didn’t intend to attract foreign powers, but on the plus side, he was envious of their trade routes.  

But at this rate, he might lose it to his brothers. It was only natural to incur the king’s wrath who had put his faith in him and entrusted him with this job even after listening to the opposition of the nobles.  

As Ian hurriedly drove his horse to the shore with a grim expression, the knights approached him urgently.

“Your Highness! You can’t jump! It’s a torrent!” 

“No matter how pressed on time you are…”  

Then Ian blinked.  

“Why would I jump into the water?” 

“What? But…” 

“There’s a better way.” 

Soon the knights were frozen pale at Ian’s words.  

*** 

Meanwhile, at the same time.

The banquet hall of Opal Palace was crowded with nobles. 

It was inevitable. 

“I can’t believe the envoy is here already. What’s going on?” 

“The schedule has been moved up. In addition, the First Princess sent a special person to guide them in the shortest time.” 

The First Princess’s faction was blatantly planning to intercept Ian’s envoy reception by any means. That’s why they also moved up the banquet that Ian prepared.

The envoy arrived early, but the host had yet to arrive. 

“Please go ahead and try it. I heard the empire is fond of wyvern meat, so I specially got it.” 

“Oh, my. You are the greatest princess I have ever seen, after all. I will never forget your consideration, First Princess.”

As the envoy touched the food, the First Princess was triumphant inside. 

How could she not? 

‘Although we didn’t get a lot, this is enough to entertain the envoy.’

If she succeeded in entertaining the envoy, she would not only kick Ian out of the Crystal Palace but also change the tide. 

Of course, if there was one thing missing, it was dragon meat.

‘As expected, we could not get dragon meat.’

That would surely have satisfied the envoy more. 

Since it was such a precious ingredient, most of it was meat faked to be dragon meat. 

‘Still, the wyvern meat I brought this time is good enough.’

She left it to the best and most reliable chefs from the west. They had thoroughly prepared, inspected, and checked again.

But it was then.  

The face of the envoy with the meat in his mouth stiffened for a moment. 

“Hmm.” 

The First Princess, who noticed it right away, asked nervously. 

“Maybe it doesn’t suit your taste?”

“No, I’m very satisfied. It’s almost perfect. It tastes exactly the same as the one cooked by the best chef in the empire.”

The envoy replied with a smile. 

However, the First Princess could not smile after seeing it. It was because she had read it was lacking on the envoy’s face.

It seemed the curing time was not long enough for that gourmet to taste.

‘There should have been dragon meat, too. If only I had it…’

It would have been better to cook and serve it in a Kaistein way. In fact, in the previous timeline, she had prepared the finest calf. Not only did she satisfy the gourmet envoy with it, she even gained their support on her back.

But this time, she was too conscious of the Seventh Prince who was off to get dragon meat.

She made a mistake, which was unlike her usual self. 

As the First Princess was biting her lips. 

“You’re so careless in entertaining the envoy. The envoy of the empire must be treated with dragon meat.” 

The Second Princess approached with a smile. 

She was bringing food with her servants, apparently trying to help her sister, the First Princess. 

“Here comes the dragon meat we have specially airlifted. You should try it.”

The envoy couldn’t hide his surprise. 

“Dragon meat? I heard the rumors, but did you really get that hard-to-find meat?”

“Yes, because you’re our precious guest.” 

“As expected of Kaistein.” 

The envoy finally looked at the meal with satisfaction. And as she smiled watching him eating the stew. 

“This… isn’t a dragon?” 

“!” 

“It’s a drake. It’s a similar kind of meat, but…” 

“…!!” 

The Second Princess was flustered, but the First Princess only sighed. 

In the first place, she bought dragon meat sold on the market, but there was a lot of fraud like that, hence she offered wyvern.

Well, there was a lot of such craftiness, so she could understand.

However, the envoy stood up as if he didn’t care.  

“It’s alright. It’s a dragon that is hard to catch in the empire. I guess I was expecting too much from Kaistein. Thank you for your kindness, but I think it’s time to see His Majesty.”

The sullen envoy proceeded to leave the banquet hall.

The First Princess and the Second Princess were frustrated.

‘I couldn’t satisfy the envoy properly. At this rate, I have no face to see His Majesty.’

But there was still time to make up.  

“Before His Majesty comes, how about…”

It was then. 

Wee-ing! 

A loud alarm rang throughout the Opal Palace. 

It was definitely a sound only heard during the war.  

“All knights draw your swords! Protect Her Highnesses and the guest!”

“Everyone in position! The enemy is approaching. Everyone, raise your swords!” 

The royal knights and guards moved urgently. 

Everyone came out of the castle in panic at the alarm.  

As the nobles, including the princesses, rushed out of the Opal Palace to check on the enemy.

Right at that moment.

“T… that?”

The envoy was also stunned with his mouth agape.  

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

“D, dragon?” 

It was because the culprit who attacked Opal Palace was none other than a giant dragon. 

It wasn’t only that. 

“There’s someone on the dragon!” 

Everyone was frozen stiff.