Why Did You Mess With Him? He’s the Evil God’s Lackey! Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Oh No, I've Beco the Imperial Tutor!

"What happened?"

Viktor was mildly curious.

Leah had been looking forward to this Banquet.

If it were sothing trivial, she would never have put it like that.

Leah bit her lip and said with a displeased look:

"There's been a problem with the business back in the Territory. See for yourself."

As she spoke, she pulled out this month's Financial Report from the Territory and handed it to Viktor.

Viktor took the docunt and listened as Leah continued:

"I was originally going to find you in the Study and have you sign off on it, but you weren't there."

"I had to ask around before I found out you'd co to the Training Ground to practice swordsmanship."

Although the managent of the Territory had always been handled by Leah, Viktor, as the Family Head, was still nominally required to sign off on things.

Viktor skimd through the docunt and was just about to sign when he noticed sothing odd in the grain revenue section.

The figures there were pitifully low.

It might as well have had the word "embezzlent" written on it in plain sight.

His eyes landed on the na in the right-hand column—Chuer.

"Now do you understand why I need to go back?"

Not a trace of Leah's worried expression had eased.

Viktor turned the na over in his mind and asked:

"Who is this person? The na doesn't look like soone from within the Empire."

"That's right—he's a grain rchant from a neighboring kingdom. The previous one retired and went ho to raise his children a few years back, and this Chuer was introduced by that rchant."

"There were no problems for the first few months. No idea why things went sideways this month."

Viktor settled his thoughts sowhat.

Chuer. The na rang a distant bell for Viktor.

But he was not confident it was the sa person—nas did repeat often enough.

Though NPCs in the ga never shared nas with each other, he could hardly apply that logic to the real world anymore.

After all, Heni had never appeared in the main Storyline either.

He had no way of guaranteeing that this particular Chuer was the sa Chuer from the ga.

From mory, Chuer had been a soldier belonging to the Kant Kingdom rcenary Corps—a Warrior class, ranking at the level of a minor Lord-tier Boss.

As for why Viktor knew of him at all—

Because in certain side quests, players would run into him by chance.

At first, Chuer would play the part of a down-and-out soldier, appealing to the player to help recover his weapons and armor.

Chuer ca across as a naive and honorable man of justice.

But once the player helped him reclaim his armor and Silver Blade and traveled to the designated island, his true nature would be revealed.

There, he would kill the player and take their heart to fuel his Black Magic cultivation.

Viktor tapped the ledger, his finger pressing pointedly on the na.

"Can we track this person down directly?"

"I've already set my subordinates in the Territory to capture him—I'm hoping he hasn't fled yet."

Viktor nodded at Leah's reply.

As a minor Lord-tier Boss, plenty of players had gotten stuck on him at one point or another.

Viktor, as a Power Leveler, had taken on more than a few Jobs involving him.

He had no idea how many tis he had run this Boss—but the run that stood out most in his mory was the guaranteed drop upon death: the equipnt called the 'Evil Knight.'

It was a pitch-black shield, its surface patterns warped and twisted by Magic, looking profoundly ominous—yet within the player community, it had made a na for itself as extraordinarily useful.

Because of the Parry.

That maneuver allowed the user to deflect an enemy's attack and exploit the mont when the opponent was off-balance to drive a blade into their kidney.

Not only did it deal massive damage—it also severely weakened the enemy's poise and locked them into a staggered state.

Many people had challenged this Boss for that equipnt alone.

Its effect was so overpowered that in PVP Ranked Match mode especially, when 2 players both equipped the round shield at the sa ti, an odd scenario could arise—

Both players would stand there, shields raised and motionless, each waiting for the other to strike so they could Parry.

In response, the official team nerfed the equipnt, ultimately stripping it of its legendary status.

In any case—if this truly was that fellow, why had he co to the Empire at this particular ti, infiltrated their Territory, and taken up the role of a grain rchant?

And why was he so blatantly embezzling massive sums right there on the ledger—practically spelling it out on the Financial Report as a deliberate invitation to co and catch him?

"There's an obvious motive here."

Viktor shook his head—he couldn't work out Chuer's intent.

But if he couldn't work it out by thinking, then capturing him and questioning him properly would do just fine.

On top of that, Viktor had so interest in the equipnt on him—so he signed off on the docunts, returned the ledger to Leah, and said offhandedly:

"Get your dress on. The Carriage has been ready for a while. We're heading to the Palace first."

Leah took back the ledger, and hearing Viktor's words, looked sowhat puzzled.

"Did you even listen to what I just said? I need to hurry back to the Territory."

Viktor patted her on the shoulder and said:

"After we return from the Palace, I'll go with you."

Leah: "Huh?"

Watching Viktor walk away ahead of her, she stared at his retreating figure and muttered under her breath:

"What's gotten into him this ti?"

It wasn't that she felt Viktor was looking out for her safety—Leah had never for a mont considered that she might be walking into any danger.

She wasn't foolish. Anything Viktor had seen, she had naturally spotted as well.

"Soone is targeting the Clavena Family."

Leah shrugged and thought back to the incident where the item shop had been vandalized.

Leon had returned to the Territory early to start making preparations.

Though looking at things now, she would need to get word to Leon—plans had changed.

Before long, Leah had changed into her dress, and the 2 of them boarded the Carriage together and set off for the Palace.

Since Viktor and Leah were arriving early for a Private Audience with the Emperor, soone had been arranged to receive them at the Palace gates.

The secret envoy led the 2 of them to a side chamber within the Palace, where they found Emperor Aubrey.

The old man had been sitting there for quite so ti—he seed to have been waiting for Viktor long enough that he had very nearly dozed off.

Viktor noticed a girl standing beside the Emperor—she looked even younger than Erika, perhaps only 15 or 16.

"Your Majesty, Viktor and his sister have arrived."

Aubrey opened his eyes. Catching sight of Viktor, the cloudiness in his gaze cleared considerably.

He extended a hand and beckoned, gesturing for the 2 of them to co forward.

"Your Majesty."

Viktor and Leah bowed together—the required etiquette when before the Emperor.

The old Emperor waved a hand. At his age, he had long since stopped paying attention to such tedious formalities.

He drew the girl at his side forward. She was quite lovely—a delicate face with refined features.

"This is my youngest daughter, Auréliane Sorel."

The Emperor had few children—only 3 in total. 2 were princes, and the last was the girl now standing before them.

Viktor and Leah each placed a hand over their chest and bowed:

"Greetings, Your Highness the Princess."

The Princess looked timid, and shyly retreated behind her father again.

The Emperor smiled at the sight of her: "This child has lived in the Palace since she was small—she rarely sees people."

"As a result, despite having considerable talent, she has never attended school because she is simply too afraid of strangers."

"We've had Mages co to teach her Magic before, but the results were poor—after just a few days, those instructors would invariably claim they had nothing left to teach her."

Leah gave the little Princess a closer look, a thought forming in her mind.

Was it truly that her talent was exceptional—or was it that those Mages simply couldn't keep going?

The Emperor's child naturally had very "high" talent. Even if nothing of substance was being taught, Aubrey would only ever bla the instructors.

"I asked Duke Livi to take on the role of Auréliane's teacher, but he always says he is no good at teaching and kept finding excuses to avoid it."

Aubrey chuckled and shook his head as he said this.

He certainly did not believe a word of Duke Livi's excuses.

But at this point, Viktor had also caught the deeper aning behind the Emperor's words.

Even Leah glanced over at Viktor with a look of faint surprise.

The Emperor really has spared no expense in trying to win Viktor over.

All those words about being unable to find a suitable instructor were likely nothing more than flattery. The sharp-minded Leah saw through the old Emperor's intent in an instant.

And as expected, the Emperor's next words were:

"Viktor—may I ask you to serve as this child's private magic instructor?"

The mont those words landed, Leah began shooting frantic looks at Viktor, practically wishing she could wrench his mouth off and transplant it onto herself to say yes on his behalf.

She had no idea what exactly the Emperor saw in Viktor, but if they could forge ties with the Royal Family, the Clavena Family would rise to heights beyond imagination overnight.

Other nobles turning hostile? Let them.

But then Viktor said sothing so startling it made Leah's teeth ache with exasperation.

"Your Majesty, forgive my impudence—I will need so ti to consider."

Emperor Aubrey fell silent. He had no idea what grounds Viktor had for declining.

The Royal Family reaching out proactively to show goodwill toward a noble was an opportunity most people wouldn't dare dream of.

Even for a 4th-Tier Mage like Viktor.

Of course, Viktor had never thought of it that way.

If anyone believed that having stepped into the 4th Tier made one powerful enough to look down upon the entire Empire, they were badly mistaken.

Aligning with the Empire naturally ca with countless advantages—even for Viktor.

But the issue was—

Viktor's gaze swept across the little Princess.

Auréliane Sorel.

No. What she should be called was Sol IX.

The Eternal Witch.

That was the title that awaited her.

If reaching the 4th Tier was enough to earn the title of Calamity Mage, then her power would be sothing absolute—above all Calamity.

No one knew why she was so powerful, but 2 years from now, after the Emperor passed and with her still only 17 years old, Auréliane would sweep aside every last obstacle and ascend as the Empire's new ruler.

She was the 1st Empress of the Kingdom of Carencia to hold foreign blood—and the only one to have done so.

Auréliane's mother had been the daughter of the Grand Duke of Kant Kingdom, and Auréliane herself was the product of a political Arranged Marriage.

But for now, Viktor had no desire to wade into that many political considerations.

Right now, the 15-year-old Auréliane looked every bit like a harmless little girl.

She seed sowhat hurt by Viktor's reluctance, and faint crystalline tears glistened at the corners of her eyes.

Yet who could have known—it was all a performance.

The deeper Viktor's understanding of the Storyline went, the greater his wariness of this future Empress beca.

Her possessiveness was overwhelming. Once she had decided sothing was hers, she would sooner destroy it than yield it to another.

It was precisely for that reason that he had boundless respect for the future Viktor—that he had managed to hold his own against a creature like her, and had even co close to dismantling the Empire's entire regi.

But all that said, refusing outright was not Viktor's way of doing things.

The pride of a Power Leveler, and his deep mastery of this ga's world, ant he would never permit himself to fear anyone in this world.

Besides—he still had 2 years.

So he said to the Emperor:

"2 and a half years."

Emperor Aubrey did not quite follow. He furrowed his brow.

"I will serve as Her Highness the Princess's private magic instructor—but only for 2 and a half years."

"After 2 and a half years, I will step down from the position of my own accord."