-Objectively, it kind of helped, but it also kind of didn’t. If you’re set on it, you could also just get rid of them all.

‘You like that?’

-Try to refrain from unnecessary killing.

‘Is that something the Demon Lord should be saying?’

-I don’t know who said that demons like blood…

It was nothing new, since Perserque was someone who was vehemently against the war in the first place.

“Well, this is good enough.”

“S… So…”

“I don’t really like recklessly killing.” After that calm response, Davey stood up. The puzzled Guild Leader looked at him before he said, “Forget everything that you saw today. And you better keep quiet about the things that will happen next, unless you want to become involved and die.”

Trembling, the Guild Leader silently nodded.

“Okay, then.”

Snap! With a snap of Davey’s finger, the Guild Leader instantly collapsed onto the ground.

-However, you should know that they could hold a vengeance against you.

‘Didn’t you say that I shouldn’t kill?’

-Well, isn’t your life still very important?

“Sometimes, there are more terrifying things than death.”

As Davey pulled out the documents, the words written with light appeared with a small shine onto the paper. This was secret information; it wasn’t strange if they used a magic artifact on this.

The information unlocked with the Guild Leader’s authority was vaster and more detailed than expected. The Dark Moon Guild wasn't the best guild in the kingdom for no reason. However, to stop here was worse than to not have started at all.

-Like you said, they probably didn’t make just one plan.

“There probably is false and missing information in here. They probably hid some information in other intelligence guilds.”

It was safe to say that the Dark Moon Guild was the largest intelligence guild in the Rowane Kingdom. But regardless of their enormity, there was always a possibility of risk. If all the information was put into one place, it could serve as a restraint that eventually threatened the guild. Since Duke Bariatta wasn’t stupid, he probably had a few more cards up his sleeve. What Davey wanted to do was corner them into making a decision that they could not reverse.

It all sounded pretty simple, but there was something about how Duke Bariatta was moving to obtain the position of king by using Carlus in the documents. In retrospect, this country—the Rowane Kingdom—hadn’t even picked their crown prince, who would be the next king.

-Are you going to fight it yourself?

“Why would I do it myself, when I have someone else who will do it for me?”

-Someone else who will fight for you…

“Even the most powerful of the nobility have their enemies.”

-But will they act as you want them to?

“A starving animal cannot just walk past a piece of meat. And among them, there is one person who will come at me even through fire and water.”

‘And they will cause the situation I want to happen.’

Davey calmly surrounded himself with non-visualization magic. “I guess today’s theme is a late-night guest. Let’s sneak in without getting caught.’

-And if you do get caught?

“Stealthing was made for a reason, you know. And besides, it becomes a perfectly successful sneak-in if everyone that sees you disappears.” Sneaking in or assassination could be the same. As Davey had already robbed the Dark Moon, which was the most difficult, he wasn’t too worried about the other guilds. “Six more guilds left to go. Let’s get a move on.”

-As you wish.

15. Territory? This Barren Land?

“Your Majesty, Prince Davey’s stigmata is the kingdom’s pride and celebration. How about rewarding his great contribution?”

“A reward…”

“I heard that an estate was already given to Prince Davey. It is in the Heins Territory, I believe?”

“That’s right.”

Each person of royalty had their own estate. It was given to them when they came of age, and Davey was no exception. The kingdom gave him the Heines Territory, which was east of the kingdom and facing the Sacred Land.

It was large and barren, lacking in resources or a specialty. In some ways, it was like a white elephant; it was a waste to abandon, but also not worth developing. It might have been Queen Lynesse’s plan to give this kind of land to Davey.

“Since it seems like Prince Davey is much better now, what if he goes to his estate and develops it? That way, he can be of help to the kingdom,” Queen Lynesse suggested with a pretty smile.

Queen Lynesse didn’t think that she would succeed at once. Davey was constantly ruining her plans. It would’ve been best if he died while he was in a coma, but he continued to live and even woke up, being a thorn in her eye ever since… Queen Lynesse didn’t like it one bit. Her assassination attempt failed not once, but twice, and Shari, who was her best secret weapon, had disappeared.

‘Someone is protecting him. Is it the king? Or is it someone else?’ Queen Lynesse suspected that it could be Marquis Peiltris, but this situation was unexplainable until Davey himself acted. She had a lot on her mind. She couldn’t assassinate Davey, and now that he had received a stigmata, it was difficult for her to make him out as a madman and lock him up in a tower.

All Queen Lynesse could do now was to get Davey out of the palace using legal means, such as through an arranged marriage or getting Davey to be independent. There were many ways to get rid of Davey, and Queen Lynesse wanted to do that because she could no longer really care about him.

Someone had robbed all the intelligence guilds where Queen Lynesse had hidden their secrets the day before. All seven guilds that existed in this kingdom were robbed by one person in one night. She could not identify the culprit, but her instincts screamed that it was one person.

The guilds all told Queen Lynesse that the culprit had a killing aura so horrifying that there was seemingly no way to win against him. Even when she threatened them with thunderous screams, they just responded that they did not want to fight a monster again.

If the information from the intelligence guild got in the hands of Marquis Peiltris, the notorious enemy of the nobility… The consequence would be serious enough to shake the foundation of the long-standing nobility that was led by the Bariatta Duke family. As such, the opponent had to be dealt with carefully, as the information was of great value. It meant that the situation was so serious that Queen Lynesse was considering a revolt, which was her last resort.

This explained Queen Lynesse’s suggestion. Since she couldn’t keep an eye on Davey right now, she could only set him aside for now. There was no way of knowing if King Krianes would allow it, but she had to try.

As Queen Lynesse put on a pretty smile, King Krianes stared at her like he was trying to figure something out. He then replied indifferently, “That’s true. It’s not good education for an adult prince, who is not even the crown prince, to stay in the palace.”

Queen Lynesse was quite surprised by the lack of disagreement. She widened her eyes at King Krianes’ unexpected decision. ‘What is this man thinking?’ Her plans to dry Davey out had all previously been denied by the king, but the king had agreed to this so easily. She struggled to understand, but this wasn’t bad. If she could get rid of Davey right now, she had one less thing to worry about.

Davey would gain a lot of power if the Heines Territory were to be developed, but Queen Lynesse was sure that would never happen. Although it was an estate, the Heines Territory was so barren that it may as well be called the ‘Cursed Land’.

“Speaking of which, let’s prepare. Royal attendant!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Call for Prince Davey.”

Watching King Krianes boldly make his decision, Queen Lynesse didn’t know whether she should be smiling or frowning.

* * *

“Your Highness, His Majesty the King is looking for you.”

“His Majesty?”

“Yes, change into your formal wear as soon as possible and enter his palace.”

“Hm… Okay.” Davey squinted at the royal attendant Bespard, who came with the order as soon as Davey woke up feeling refreshed.

‘What for?’ As Davey got up, he saw Perserque, who was lightly snoring on his bed. ‘Wake up.’

-Hm… I’m going to sleep a little more…

Perserque mumbled and pulled the sheets, which were much larger than her, over her head. Since she had a figure, although invisible to others, it seemed like the sheets were moving on their own. It was like poltergeist activity.

‘I’ll let you sleep in later, so wake up.’ Of course, Davey had no intention of allowing the grumbling of this cheeky Demon Lord.

-Keugh… You are ruthless. I barely had any sleep because of you. You better guarantee my sleep later on.

‘Do you know how much older you are compared to me? Let’s not say anything that could be taken the wrong way.’

-Groan… You’re not very good at flattery.

Yawning, Perserque slowly floated up into the air and landed on Davey’s head.

“I’ll help you get changed, Your Highness.”

“Thanks.”

Amy giggled. She seemed happy at Davey’s response.

* * *

Davey expected it. Now that Queen Lynesse knew that his presence was like a strange bomb, she decided that she could no longer keep him here.

“Go. Develop the Heines Territory given to you and shine brighter.” King Krianes spoke like a father trying to help his son grow by giving him hardship. But Davey already knew that he was hiding something from Perserque’s chatter.

-Hm… He’s moving you away because he’s frightened that you will go too far.

‘You don’t have to remind me.’

-You also noticed it, anyways.

Perserque shrugged, as if this situation interested her.

-It seems like your father doesn’t completely trust your powers yet.

‘I would’ve left on my own even if this didn’t happen. I have nothing more to do here. There’s no meaning for me to stay.’

No mines had been found in Heines Territory, and it was difficult to establish farmland because of the incredibly barren land. Also, the habitat of monsters wasn’t too far away. And because it didn’t have a specialty either, it was basically just a small town in the middle of an abandoned land. The only advantage Davey could think of was that the province could be a hub of transportation if the roads were built right.

There was one more thing. The estate of the Baron Alishad family, which was the kin of Davey’s mother, was located there. They were nothing but low-ranking nobles since nobody of the Baron Alishad family was left. Davey’s grandparents had already passed, and the only family he had was his mother and a younger brother. But no one knew where his brother was.

King Krianes looked a little puzzled as he looked at Davey. He was expecting a frown, but Davey was unexpectedly calm.

‘They’re all the same: Queen Lynesse or King Krianes.’