Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4
I scribbled words onto the parchment the maidservant had brought me.
[Plan A]
[Prevent Belgot’s invasion of Lebovni.]
I rolled my pen thoughtfully. To prevent an event, I first needed to understand the circumstances that would trigger it.
In other words, I needed to know why Belgot invaded Lebovni in the original story—but the novel hadn’t spelled out those details with any precision.
‘…Perhaps.’
I laughed hollowly. The author might have explained it kindly enough. I simply forgot it entirely.
All I remembered was that the agreement between Lebovni and Belgot had somehow fallen apart, and as a result, Belgot invaded Lebovni and took the royal family hostage.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, only a single sentence came back to me.
[Since Lebovni first refused to honor the agreement, the Emperor of Belgot’s fury was entirely justified.]
“So what exactly was that agreement…!”
My burning resolve crumbled in half. I slumped back into my chair. I was a reader, not an author.
And a rather careless one at that….
My escort knight, Fernandis, watched me draped across the chair like laundry and asked with concern.
“Is something troubling you, Princess? You look unwell.”
“Yes.”
I gazed up at him with melancholy.
“I’m worried about your right leg and your left eye.”
“Pardon?”
Fernandis made a bewildered face. I paused in thought.
What would happen if I told him right now that he’d be married within months and would see a toad-like son born this coming winter?
‘…Should I say it?’
No. Perhaps it would be better to warn him of the dangers that lay ahead instead….
“Princess? What you just said—”
“It’s nothing.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it. How could I tell him that within years, he would follow Duke Lebanon into battle and become crippled by fate?
Even if I begged Fernandis to ignore whatever happened between Tezebia and Duke Lebanon and simply stay home, to never even consider going on any campaign—he would likely dismiss it all. At best, he’d pretend not to hear.
Instead of warning Fernandis about the coming calamities, I posed a far more practical question.
“Ferdi.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“Has Lebovni made any sort of agreement or treaty with Belgot?”
“If you mean an agreement with the Empire… are you referring to the Glucaman Tripartite Agreement?”
“The Glucaman Tripartite Agreement…?”
Glucaman—where had I heard that place name before? My eyes brightened and I straightened in my seat.
“Yes. It is the treaty by which Belgot agreed to provide Azekien’s mithril ore in exchange for opening the Glucaman Road, which leads to western Azekien.”
“Oh!”
The Glucaman Agreement. It was certainly mentioned briefly in the original work when the protagonists discussed international affairs.
I immediately sat upright. That’s it! Of course—what other agreement could a small kingdom like Lebovni possibly make with the vast Empire of Belgot? Lebovni’s only real advantage was its geographical position as a crucial crossroads linking the eastern and western continents.
So Lebovni had broken the Glucaman Agreement first? I furrowed my brow deeply.
How dare this fingernail-sized kingdom break its covenant with the Empire. Did the King of Lebovni—my father—perhaps possess ten times the audacity of ordinary men?
In any case, now that I’d remembered, there was only one thing left to do: mend that shattered covenant. I clenched my fists and shot to my feet.
“Your Highness? Where are you going… Your Highness!”
The moment I spun around, Fernandis called out to me urgently. I ignored his pitiful voice, snorted derisively, and dashed forward with renewed determination.
And I made a beeline straight for the King of Lebovni’s office.
“Father!”
“Oh, Yerenika.”
Yerenika’s father—the King of Lebovni, now as much my father as anyone could be—greeted me with a broad, beaming smile.
“My dear daughter, why are you rushing in so urgently…?”
“Father, the Glucaman Tripartite Agreement!”
The words tumbled out in my haste. Father’s eyes widened. His face was far too small and round for a king, and his expression of surprise only made him look more endearing—not that I was thinking such things about His Majesty, of course.
But I had eyes for nothing else. I clung to Father’s arm. I knew from past experience just how weak the King of Lebovni was to his youngest daughter’s affections.
“Father, Father.”
“Yes, my dear.”
“The Glucaman Tripartite Agreement with Belgot…”
“Mm-hmm…”
And Father averted his eyes from mine. What?
“You don’t need to know about such things, my dear.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“My youngest needn’t concern herself with such complicated matters of international relations. Knowledge only brings headaches.”
What kind of nonsense was that? I barely suppressed my indignation. Brizni would be born in just three months—and according to the original story, she’d arrive several weeks early. In reality, I had less than two months left.
And I had no idea when the Empire’s forces might attack Lebovni! In my urgency, I grabbed Father’s arm. “Surely you’re not harboring any strange thoughts, are you, Father?”
“Strange thoughts? What do you mean, Yerenika?”
I saw it. I saw the cold sweat trickling down Father’s forehead. I drew a sharp breath and let out a cry.
“Faaather!”
After three grueling hours of back-and-forth, Father finally confessed everything. The content was so shocking I could only gape. I repeated his words back to him in a daze.
“So you’re saying… you’ve blockaded the Glucaman Road?”
It was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. So this was the truth of it.
The Glucaman Road was the shortest direct path connecting western Azekien and eastern Belgot. And the nation that owned the Glucaman Road was Lebovni, wedged between those two empires. In exchange for opening the road, Lebovni had made a covenant to receive a portion of mana ore—their primary trade commodity—from both Belgot and Azekien.
Belgot, in the eastern continent, was originally a nation that produced no mana ore. Since mana ore—a stone infused with concentrated magical power—was essential for protecting imperial capitals and borders, Belgot had made considerable sacrifices to obtain passage rights through the Glucaman Road.
For Lebovni, it was more profitable to receive mana ore as toll than to expend vast resources mining it themselves, so the covenant had been established. That was fifty years ago.
But recently, large quantities of mana ore had been discovered in Azekien. Naturally, the volume of mana ore trade between Belgot and Azekien skyrocketed. As things developed, my father, the King of Lebovni, grew greedy.
So about two years ago, he demanded that Belgot change from a fixed amount of mana ore to a percentage-based system. He wanted ten percent of the total volume that Belgot traded with Azekien. It was a condition Belgot simply couldn’t accept. Ten percent. Even to someone ignorant like me, it seemed like a thug’s demand. They’d been peacefully receiving one hundred units for fifty years, and suddenly he wanted a thousand without any prior negotiation.
“So you’ve been blockading the Glucaman Road for two years now?”
I raised my voice in disbelief. This man truly didn’t fear the wolf!
Father began stammering out excuses.
“What’s so special about an empire? They have no choice but to go through the Glucaman to reach Azekien, so the advantage is ours.”
Father’s words were deeply flawed. As someone who knew the original story, I couldn’t help but see it. Two years of blockade! Two years! Even I would be furious! My voice grew louder.
“Aren’t you afraid of the Empire’s retaliation?”
“Aren’t you afraid of the Empire’s retaliation?”
“Yerenika. Yerenika. No matter how dominant Belgot may be in the east of Laigar, it is still a nation bound by the Laigar Peace Alliance. There is no reason for them to harm us first.”
Father seemed to be making every effort to console me. And unfortunately, none of it reached my ears. Because Belgot—that very Belgot—would soon invade Lebovni and abduct my sister Tezebia!
“You have no intention of reopening Glucaman, do you?”
“There is no reason to. If we endure just a little longer, our kingdom will obtain quantities of mana stones we could never have hoped for. Every month, no less.”
Father answered with remarkable gentleness. Yes, had I not known the original story, I might have even assessed Lebovni’s chances favorably in this invisible tug of war. But I know. I know that Belgot’s patience—that guardian of continental peace—will shatter very soon.
“Ugh… truly…”
Yet standing before my stubborn father, there was nothing more I could do. In the end, I left his office having accomplished nothing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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