The Extra Wants To Live

Nero knew very well that he would never be able to escape this gorgeous and beautiful prison. His dream of traveling the world would never come true.

Now that Azgoth could enjoy his own freedom by simply watching, the small, strictly maintained garden was all that was allowed to him.

As long as his mother Bella was in the imperial palace, Nero could not even escape. And after Atic became emperor, he would become a dog on a leash, following the orders of the great emperor.

"So, do you still need anything?"

"…"

Carl asked the frustrated Nero once again. Nero remained silent with his mouth closed, but then spoke with a grin.

"In Tumaria, they wear bandanas over their faces to block the sandstorm, right? Anything is fine, just get one."

"That's about it."

"And…"

Nero rummaged through his jacket pockets, took something out, and threw it at Carl.

When Carl received it, he saw that it was a golden bracelet with an elaborate pattern engraved on it.

"I hope you can use it to buy a present for Lilly."

"… I don't know if there's anything worth buying with such an expensive item."

"Buy the best you can, and you can keep the rest of the money. Don't be too greedy."

Even if Carl bought something valuable with the golden bracelet, he would still have a lot of money left over.

This was Nero's way of giving his younger brother some pocket money. It was likely Nero's intention to apologize to Carl, who had taken on the task in his place.

"It's not something I should say as I am receiving this and that, but I am worried that you are too soft-hearted."

"Yeah, that's not really what you're saying."

Nero laughed, jumped up, patted Carl on the shoulder, and walked out with a leisurely pace.

Carl looked at Nero's golden bracelet.

It looked elaborate as if it was painted.

"Well, I don't really need pocket money," Carl thought to himself.

All the silver from Hillpin belonged to Carl. However, even though there was an abundance of silver, there were problems when it came to actually using it.

Since it was slush funds that must be hidden, he couldn't use it confidently.

Additionally, since there was no currency or other tangible goods other than silver, all calculations had to be made in silver. If too much silver was released into the market, the value of silver would plummet, causing inflation.

While there was enough currency available to exchange large amounts of silver for money, trustworthy merchants and banks were needed.

Contacting such big names was too dangerous for Carl.

"Then this time, there is only one way," Carl let out a deep sigh.

He didn't want to keep saying sorry to Azgoth, but he couldn't help it.

"Well, wouldn't it be okay to call it a reward for this incident?" Carl mused.

Harman's original mission was to secretly convey Carl's information to Chamberlain Orten. Orten would then relay the information he received from Harman to Azgoth.

So, if Carl told Harman, it meant he could secretly convey a message to Azgoth.

For Carl, who had to be more mindful of his surroundings than ever before, there was no better way. It was almost like a direct line to secretly convey a message to the emperor through just two people.

"I guess I can just say I pay taxes," Carl thought.

The task was to launder Hillpin's silver, which did not have to pay taxes because it was a slush fund. If Carl asked for it for free, Azgoth wouldn't do it, so Carl decided he would pay taxes in the form of a fee during the laundering process.

If Azgoth could collect taxes from the vast wealth pouring out of the silver mines, it wouldn't be bad for him either.

The money earned from the imperial territories, trade between countries, and the shield tax paid by nobles in lieu of military service was by no means small.

But the more money in the treasury, the better. Too much or too little is nonsense; more is always better.

So, as a result, Carl was able to secure a promise from Azgoth using Harman, the emperor's direct contact network. It was clear that all of this had already been part of Azgoth's plan.

The Monte Bank would wash Carl's silver for him. Normally, one would have to deposit silver and receive money or a bill, but since Carl didn't want to leave any traces, the bank would cleanly complete the payment in cash after removing all fees and taxes.

Not only were the taxes going to Azgoth high, but the fees paid to the Monte Bank were also considerable. Naturally, as Carl laundered Hillpin's silver and converted it to cash, Monte Bank incurred unrecorded cash expenses. Since the bank also took risks, it was right for Carl to pay more fees.

Unfortunately, Carl had no one to ask for advice on this matter and tried his best to make the most of the knowledge he had studied alone in the imperial library.

But in the end, everything went the way Azgoth wanted.

It's the rule of the world that if you don't know something, you have to learn the hard way.

Carl felt like he had been hit so painfully that he was truly left behind. Thanks to this, Carl was able to keenly feel the importance of talent.

He would get that talent in this job. Since it was a character that Aingir had personally spent time recruiting in the original work, it must have certain abilities.

***

The day of Carl's second expedition dawned.

"Master Carl, the most important thing is not to get hurt," Lilly spoke in a worried voice and personally wrapped a scarf around Carl's neck.

With winter fast approaching and the weather becoming chilly, Lilly wanted to dress Carl in warmer clothes.

But since he had nothing, Lilly could do nothing but wrap the scarf she had given Carl before around his neck.

Was there anything more painful to a mother than not being able to do anything for her child?

"Don't worry. I'm just going to say hello and come back," Carl smiled softly and hugged Lilly.

Lilly's trembling hand caressed Carl's back.

Before they knew it, Carl had grown so much that she couldn't even hold him in her arms. Contrary to before, Carl ended up hugging Lilly.

"It's getting cold, so dress warmly."

"You too, Carl."

"They say Tumaria is warm even in winter, so don't worry."

"They say it gets cold at night even in summer."

"I don't feel cold."

Carl held Lilly in his arms and spoke softly to her, reassuring her.

Until the trembling in her worried hands subsided, Carl spent his time trying to reassure his beloved mother, Lilly, who did not share a drop of his blood.

It was a good thing he woke up early in the morning to get ready. Otherwise, he would have been late for the ceremony.

Since he could not wear the armor he had embezzled from the Imperial Knights to the ceremony, he went out wearing a red cloak to hide his shrunken clothes.

Catherine, Bilford, Milton, and Harman, who were waiting, followed Carl.

Carl, who walked confidently with his body covered in a red cloak, showed no sign of the weakness he had shown during his first expedition.

He was still skinny and had a sunken face.

However, Carl, who had been through life-or-death situations several times, had a calm face and his eyes sparkled, and his deeply shadowed face seemed to exude an intense power.

Rather than being a foolish and weak 4th prince, he must show that he had the potential to become a powerful warlord. But he still had to be cautious.

If he stood out too much, Eingir would take action. Carl walked out with confident steps and revealed himself to those waiting for him.

Unlike the first departure ceremony where no one showed up, quite a lot of people were waiting for him.

Of course, the 30 imperial soldiers were waiting for Carl in a prepared manner, and there were also royal envoys waiting to hand over the flag symbolizing the emperor and nobles watching with interest.

Carl strode over to the count of the palace, who was trying to hand him a red flag, and, ignoring all formalities, snatched the flag from him as if he were trying to steal it.

"What… !"

"Didn't His Majesty give it to me?" Carl spoke in a leisurely voice and mounted lightly on a nameless, pure white war horse, waving the large flag proudly.

The sight of Carl, who appeared to be sickly, mounting a large war horse with one hand on the saddle and holding a large, heavy flag was indeed unusual.

"Welcome to see you."

Carl smiled and spoke to the imperial soldiers whom he hadn't seen for a while due to being busy. The imperial soldiers were in high spirits and did not move a single inch.

"I'm heading out."

"Understood!"

The imperial soldiers responded vigorously to Carl's light voice.

Carl rode at the head, waving a big red flag. Just like back then, when he was leading everyone, galloping like a comet. Moderately ignorant, moderately rude, moderately arrogant…

And with the majestic presence that many had hoped for from Nero, Carl leisurely left the palace.