0. That Support, I’ll Take Care Of It
The banquet hall was decorated like a beautiful painting. Crystal chandeliers scattered jewel-like light over the guests’ heads. The floral arrangements inside the hall gave off a sweet fragrance, and the tables were laden with all sorts of delicacies and expensive wines.
However, the topic of conversation among the guests clashed completely with the elegant scene.
“I heard that Sir Romanov sent another letter complaining about the lack of support?”
“I don’t understand. He should be grateful for the supply of purification elixirs. Complaining like that…”
Whispers mingled with the elegant melodies.
“I heard that the Order of the Azure Dawn uses an incredible amount of purification elixirs.”
“They say the cost of producing the elixirs is astronomical.”
“Really, with that kind of money, imagine what could be done.”
Lips hidden behind outstretched fans, soft voices whispered in ears. The gossip about “Sir Romanov” and the “Order of the Azure Dawn” continued to escalate behind the scenes.
Then, suddenly!
BANG!
A man roughly pushed open the entrance and stormed into the banquet hall. The nobles, who had been enjoying the banquet, were startled.
“What, what is it?!”
“That man… isn’t that Sir Romanov?!”
At the same time, I put down my champagne flute and my eyes lit up like a predator.
‘Oh, the protagonist has arrived.’
Giscard van Romanov.
This man was the very “Sir Romanov” that the nobles had been gossiping about incessantly. He was also the “male lead of this world” that I had been waiting for impatiently.
Giscard looked around the room and spoke in a cold voice.
“You all seem to be having a lot of fun.”
With raven hair cascading down his shoulders, he resembled a flawless sculpture created by the gods.
His piercing sapphire eyes, reminiscent of an icy lake, gleamed sharply.
Tall and broad-shouldered, his physique was the epitome of masculine perfection.
Truly, he possessed the looks worthy of the protagonist of this world.
However, the nobles had no time to appreciate his beauty.
“Oh my goodness, surely that’s not… blood?”
Firstly, Giscard’s knight commander’s uniform was splattered with dried crimson blood.
“What… what is that?”
Secondly, it was because of the massive ‘something’ Giscard was clutching in his hand.
He flung the object he held in his hand towards the nobles.
Thud!
A huge head rolled onto the floor.
A bizarre creature with a mix of a lion and a dog’s appearance. Crimson tongue slithered out from between its elongated fangs, reminiscent of bars.
An icy silence fell over the hall.
“…”
“…”
The nobles stared at the severed head, their faces pale with shock.
And then.
“Waaah!”
“What is that?!”
Belated screams erupted.
Startled, the orchestra had unknowingly stopped playing, causing the screams to echo through the silent banquet hall, creating an eerie atmosphere.
‘Ah, so today was that day?’
Amidst this chaos, only Giscard and I remained calm.
I silently observed his face, filled with a quiet fury.
‘The day Giscard snapped and decided to attack my beloved older brother.’
For the record, I understand Giscard’s feelings completely.
Right now, the Azure Dawn Knights were being treated like absolute trash by my dear older brother.
“What do you think, nobles?”
Giscard, pointing to the severed head of the demon with a chin gesture, curled the corners of his lips into a sly grin.
It was a scornful mockery aimed at the nobles.
“Your thoughts after witnessing the demon of rumors in the flesh.”
“…”
“…”
No one could answer.
Giscard strode through the banquet hall with heavy steps.
Thud, thud.
The sound of his rough military boots, completely out of place in the opulent banquet hall, was the only thing that echoed off the marble floor.
A moment later.
Giscard tilted his head sideways and looked down at the young man in front of him.
His gaze was as cold as ice.
“Prince Fernando.”
Fernando, the first prince of the Astrid Empire.
The human who was the half-brother of this body I had possessed, the one who had turned his back on the imperial family and cut off all support for Giscard.
Fernando was trembling uncontrollably as soon as his eyes met Giscard’s.
“Once again, our material support was inadequate.”
His voice, sharp as a blade, rang out.
“Especially the purification elixirs. How long do you intend to hem and haw before giving it to us?”
“…”
Though Giscard was obviously smiling warmly, the pressure emanating from him was immense.
Fernando began to sweat profusely.
Still, he didn’t want to show himself cowering in front of the nobles around him, so he could be seen trying to stand firm, putting force on his legs.
“Inc, incorporating the old Romanov territory into the empire and… taking in the refugees is something you should be grateful for…”
“Grateful? Ha, grateful.”
Giscard let out a soft laugh, as if that mosquito-like protest was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.
And then.
“Fine. Then let’s do this.”
Giscard had now even dropped the honorifics he had been maintaining out of courtesy.
His azure eyes gleamed ominously.
“We’re done here. Whether it’s dealing with the demons or anything else, figure it out yourselves.”
“T-then!”
Fernando screamed in a newly found voice of malice.
“Our imperial family… can no longer guarantee the well-being of the Romanov refugees!”
Ever heard how a frightened puppy barks even louder?
Fernando was exactly like that.
Snap!
At the same time, a chilling grinding sound escaped through Giscar’s crimson lips.
That was it.
The reason Giscar and his Blue Dawn Knights, despite all the neglect and harsh conditions, endured managing the demon-spawning portals.
It was because they couldn’t turn their backs on the people of their fallen homeland.
“Now.”
Giscard spat out each word.
“What are you babbling about?”
A murderous aura spread out as if he was about to grab him by the throat and break it.
Meanwhile, I watched the standoff with a faint smile.
This is just…
‘Shouldn’t I just help them out?’
* * *
<Giscard>
This trashy fantasy novel, shamelessly slapping the male protagonist’s name on the title, was my favorite novel in my past life.
The story goes something like this:
One day, portals opened in the capital of the protagonist’s country, the Romanov Kingdom, and monsters poured out like a flood.
The Romanov royal family and their knights fought valiantly to protect humanity. They managed to temporarily seal the portals, but at the cost of the kingdom’s destruction…
‘Wow, A complete trashy world setting, right?’
Anyway, back to the original story. At that time, there was only one surviving member of the royal family, and that person was none other than the last prince of Romanov and the male protagonist of this world, the greatest aura user, ‘Giscard Van Romanov’.
Oh, right, you might be wondering what an aura is.
Basically, it’s a transcendental ability like freezing, flame control, wind manipulation, and so on. It’s an essential ability for exterminating monsters.
But, these incredible transcendent beings have fatal flaws.
The more they use their aura, the shorter their lifespan becomes, and their control over the aura weakens. The only thing that can prevent aura users from going berserk is the ‘purification elixirs’.
The problem is that the Astrid imperial family, the only ones who know how to make the purification elixir, are using it as an excuse to oppress others.
So, what happens next?
Giscard and the Azure Dawn Knights, who receive no support from the imperial family, couldn’t prevent the portals from raging again. And the world ends up destroyed…
Isn’t it a nightmare?
‘No, isn’t this insane?!’
While screaming inwardly, I hurried as fast as I could.
The only one who could prevent the world from being destroyed was that grumpy male protagonist who stormed out of the banquet in anger.
“Sir Romanov!”
Summoning up my courage, I called out to Giscard. He turned to me with a stern gaze, not bothering to hide his annoyance, and gave me a once-over.
“What is it now?”
* * * *
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