The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 273 Mercenary Owen - The Runaway Girl of Hydrain The Eizern Empire is evaluated as having the strongest military power on the continent, but it's not very active in actual military movements. It's certainly not because the Empire is such a gentle, rational, and peace-loving nation, but simply because it has reached a point where starting wars wouldn't gain them much. Invading other nations? The most obvious reward from victory would be territory, but the Empire is already a nation so full that it burps just from breathing. When internal development and progress aren't even complete, what use would there be in increasing unexplored territories further? Conversely, this means that before the territory grew as large as it is now, the Empire freely waged wars with other nations and devoured their lands. The Hydrain Family was one of the houses absorbed during such an expansion period of the Empire. Known as Rain Hydrain. A prestigious family among prestigious families that contracted with powerful Ancient Spirits, and whose power and influence were evaluated as rivaling the royal family. But that was a story from their golden age. The contracts passed down through generations were severed at some point, and the power that was once evaluated as not needing to bow even before the king shrank beyond recognition. At least they weren't pressed for money thanks to successive heads having decent business sense, but compared to the past when they held power, military strength, and wealth all at once, it was a pathetic decline. And the characteristic of those who were once successful - obsession with past glory - applied to the Hydrain Family as well. "What kind of family are we! Those who once couldn't even make eye contact are now acting like masters!" "This is all because of the Empire!! If only the kingdom had remained intact, our family wouldn't have become so miserable!" "Those ungrateful commoners. How can they wag their tails so eagerly to their new masters?" The Hydrain clan longed for their family's past prosperity and believed that their current situation was others' fault. Ophelia Hydrain terribly hated such an atmosphere in her family. The behavior of constantly bringing up past honor and glory while forcing Ophelia to act in ways befitting the family's dignity. The hypocritical attitude of always cursing and resenting the Empire when they were among themselves, yet eagerly rubbing their hands and bowing when actually dealing with high-ranking Imperial officials. Above all, hundreds of years had already passed. The fact that they were still obsessed with old times that they themselves had only heard about from older generations and never experienced directly was utterly tiresome. 'Frankly speaking, if our family was truly capable and amazing, what the hell have we been doing for hundreds of years?' The family elders claimed that the reason they couldn't succeed politically was due to the Imperial family's interference, but to Ophelia's ears, it was complete nonsense. If the Imperial family really wanted to keep them in check, would they just leave the Hydrain and other old kingdom-era families alone to hold drinking parties or plot conspiracies at every opportunity? It was like a lion sunbathing on a rock, leisurely ignoring its surroundings, while a mouse hiding in nearby shade makes a fuss about the lion's yawn, calling it a threat or preparation for attack. Most pathetic of all was herself, unable to offer any counterargument against such adults and just pretending to be a good model student. But it couldn't be helped. Her parents, relatives, and other families connected as neighbors. When they were all united and pushing their claims, what use would it be for her alone to say something different? She was still young, just a girl with no power whatsoever. "Hello. I am Count Libeschpigel and Count Ospin. My name is Kuella Ospin." Such excuses of Ophelia's were mercilessly shattered one day. The catalyst was a contract related to the trading of certain goods handled by the Hydrain Family. Hearing that their trading partner was the owner of two earldoms, Ophelia had imagined a seasoned statesman, but surprisingly, the one who appeared at the meeting was a woman around Ophelia's own age. When she first saw her under the pretext of observation, Ophelia thought the flow of this deal would be obvious. Because she knew very well how persistent and snake-like her great uncle, who represented the Hydrain Family, was. Even experienced merchants frequently left with bitter tastes after dealing with her great uncle, so how skillfully could a noble who wasn't even a professional negotiator, especially a young woman, conduct negotiations? Indeed, the Hydrain side people who came to the meeting were outwardly praising Kuella while inwardly thinking they had caught a sucker. However, once the negotiations actually began, the situation was reversed. The woman named Kuella Ospin had knowledge far beyond what one could imagine from her appearance, and wasn't shaken at all by her great uncle's cunning pressure and subtle rhetoric. Seeing her great uncle, who had always been a difficult and frightening opponent to Ophelia, being led around by a young woman not even half his age, Ophelia felt an indescribable thrill. After the negotiations ended, her great uncle poured out complaints saying that the opponent had thrown tantrums relying only on her position, or that he had settled appropriately because he didn't want to deal with a milk-smelling girl, but it was all too obvious that these were just excuses. It was from that day. That Ophelia began investigating the woman named Kuella. And the more information she gathered, the greater Ophelia's admiration and interest in Kuella grew. A girl not much different in age from Ophelia had instantly blown away the parents who had unjustly tormented and abused her and seized the count's position. Her bold and radical actions, accurately grasping and utilizing the Empire's laws, systems, and the Imperial family's position. Ophelia was instantly captivated by Kuella's figure - someone who, despite being oppressed by her parents and having nothing, proudly astonished the world with her abilities alone. "I'm going to become a retainer of Count Ospin's Territory!" Hearing the bombshell statement from their daughter who had been living quietly like a model student, Ophelia's parents were horrified. What do you mean suddenly becoming another family's retainer, that's tarnishing the dignity of the historically deep Hydrain Family, we've already arranged a marriage match so what will you do about that, and big brother would never allow it in the first place. In the face of all kinds of opposition, intimidation, persuasion, threats, and sweet talk, Ophelia did not waver. "The family head is my great uncle anyway, and I'm not going to inherit the Hydrain Family, am I? Isn't it common for collateral branches of noble families to become retainers of other families?" "What really tarnishes dignity is babbling with your mouth while having no proper power or achievements!" "Marriage arrangements or whatever, I'm devoted to Lady Kuella, so I don't need any of that!!" Since it seemed Ophelia would not be persuaded no matter what, her parents said this: "Then complete a contract with a spirit that can rival the Ancient Spirit that Hydrain lost! If you have that kind of achievement, the family head won't say anything about whatever you do in the future!" To add an interpretation, this was essentially a roundabout way of saying 'don't even dream of it.' The Ancient Spirit that was said to have hidden during the old wars was a powerful being capable of freely controlling the climate of an entire vast territory. Finding a high-ranking spirit comparable to that would be like treasure hunting to begin with, and even if one was lucky enough to find one, it wouldn't obediently make a contract. Her parents thought so and went to sleep stretching out their legs in bed. "Ah, the young lady is nowhere to be seen in her room!! And the jewelry box and everything valuable in the room has disappeared!!" Exactly the next day, they heard news of their daughter's running away and grabbed the back of their necks. *** "Did you think I couldn't do it if I tried?" Ophelia snorted with a "hmph." Her parents' thoughts were obvious. They would have presented her with an unreasonable challenge, and after Ophelia failed, tried to tame her by saying the world outside the family wasn't so easy. Perhaps they would have tried to hold her back with various excuses even during the departure process. So she ran away. It was already a difficult problem, so how could she succeed if those guardian knights and others kept interfering from the side? "The stronger the natural energy and the fewer people there are, the better for spirits to be active... To find a powerful spirit, I'll have to go to remote places accordingly." She had brought all the magic tools that would help with hygiene management and daily life, so she could handle most of the inconveniences that would arise during travel. As for funds, she had scraped together everything she could, so she was wealthy enough to make ordinary commoners' eyes widen. The problem was indeed safety. "I have magic tools for self-defense, but while they might work against petty criminals, they'd be hard to use against large monsters." The Empire was evaluated as relatively safe from monsters thanks to high-level regular soldiers and consistent subjugation training, but that only applied to urban areas or major roads where people frequently traveled. As long as she deliberately crawled into places without people and undeveloped, encountering monsters could be considered inevitable. "I'll have no choice but to hire mercenaries." One might ask why there are mercenaries in an Empire without wars, but surprisingly there's decent demand for mercenaries within the Empire. Armies inherently consume tremendous amounts of money to properly train and maintain. Direct territories have no problem since the country bears the financial burden anyway, but for individual lords, maintaining a large scale of private soldiers is burdensome in itself. Therefore, many preferred to maintain only minimal forces for maintaining dignity and security during normal times, then hire mercenaries externally for short terms when situations requiring military force arose. Of course, these mercenaries weren't necessarily of high quality. To begin with, considering what kind of people become mercenaries instead of officially becoming knights or soldiers, it was natural. Types who wanted to make it big rather than receive steady monthly pay, types who didn't suit the rigid discipline of Imperial soldier life, types who had some criminal history making regular employment difficult, etc. Those operating at the boundary between light and shadow often became mercenaries. Hiring such people and taking them to places without human eyes wasn't very wise, but Ophelia had a plan. "Instead of hiring from just one place, I can hire different mercenaries from multiple places and have them keep each other in check, right?" Using barbarians to control barbarians. Recalling that proverb used in the East, Ophelia executed her plan with a proud face. And it failed miserably. "Let's divide the money cleanly according to the number of heads." "Hehehe, don't resent us too much. Honestly, it was the young lady who tempted us first." "Going to dangerous places where people never step foot, rolling around for who knows how long? Why should I?" Truly, skilled mercenaries communicate not with words and logic, but with reading the mood and momentum. The ten mercenaries Ophelia hired from different places had various backgrounds, but it took less than an hour for the majority of them to reach a silent agreement. A secluded road outside the city, good for avoiding human eyes. Seven mercenaries who had finished their consultation first using bathroom time and such raised their weapons first, and two of the remaining three also quickly grasped the atmosphere and gripped their swords in reverse. The only one left was one person standing behind Ophelia, who was breaking out in cold sweat, with arms crossed watching the situation. Toward that mercenary, another mercenary spoke. "Hey, brother there. What are you dawdling for? You're not planning to play knight by yourself or something, are you?" "Of course not. Would a mercenary imitate something like chivalry?" When the mercenaries laughed at the affirmative response that came back. The lone remaining mercenary asked Ophelia. "But employer sir. If I save you here, do those guys' contract fees all become mine?" Ophelia answered immediately. "Y-yes! I'll give you everything!! I'll give you everything including those traitors' shares!" "Hmm. But it seems a bit lacking..." "Then double!!" "Deal. I like how refreshing you are. Even if your planning is a bit sloppy, I like how quick your decisions are." The mercenary said so, then took out two rods from behind his back and combined them into one. Seeing him step forward holding the completed spear, the other mercenaries frowned as if they couldn't understand. "He's not in his right mind." At those words, the lone mercenary - Owen - curled up the corners of his mouth with a grin. "If I was going to live virtuously and diligently, why would I do something like mercenary work?"