Debuff Master-Chapter 928

Siegfried couldn’t understand what Irene was talking about.

“What... What do you mean by day one?”

“You and me... it’s our first day—” Irene replied before abruptly clamping her mouth shut. Then, she exclaimed, “W-Wait! That’s not what I meant!”

“Huh...?”

“From today! This is the first day of my mission! That’s what I meant!” Irene raised her voice, looking completely flustered. Then, she continued, “His Imperial Majesty the Emperor! He ordered me to begin my mission today! That’s why this is our first day!”

“Ah, I see. Getting deployed right after returning to the empire must be exhausting for Your Highness,” Siegfried replied with a nod.

“I-It’s not a big deal!”

“Are you sure you are all right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought it might be better if you took a short vacation just to wind down—”

“I-It’s all right. I’m fine,” Irene replied, trying to sound nonchalant. Then, she added, “I’ll just rest in the Proatine Kingdom.”

“...”

“To be honest, anywhere is more comfortable than the empire. The atmosphere there can be suffocating sometimes.”

“Haha... Hahaha...”

“Anyway, let’s go,” Irene said as she walked away. Then, she turned and asked, “I assume you won’t have any problems with me staying in your kingdom, right? After all, I am the commander of the forces deployed by His Imperial Majesty.”

“T-That is...” Siegfried hesitated to answer.

Irene was going to stay at the Proatine Kingdom’s royal palace?

‘H-Hiiiik!’

This was a huge problem that would put Siegfried in a difficult position. Considering Irene’s reputation, there was no doubt this was a troubling matter for him. It was highly likely that Irene might raze the royal palace to the ground and enslave the kingdom’s people, too.

Siegfried’s head was starting to hurt.

‘U-Ughhh...!’

He could already see what would unfold the moment Irene entered the royal palace.

“What are you waiting for? Lead the way.”

“A-Are we going right away?”

Irene nodded and replied, “Mmhmm. I already told you, haven’t I? Today’s day one.”

“Haha...”

Siegfried had a feeling that her words were hiding another meaning.

However, did he really have a choice?

Irene was the Commander of the 8th Corps that Emperor Stuttgart had personally dispatched to the Proatine Kingdom. In other words, it was only natural for her to be accommodated at the royal palace.

Moreover, she wasn't a commander. She was the symbol of diplomatic relations between the Proatine Kingdom and the Marchioni Empire. Thus, she had to be treated with the utmost courtesy.

“Let’s go.”

“...Yes.”

In the end, Siegfried had no other choice but to escort Irene to the royal palace.

***

As soon as Siegfried arrived at the Proatine Kingdom’s royal palace, he headed straight for the chambers where Brunhilde and Verdandi were. He wanted to personally take care of Brunhilde and comfort Verdandi.

However, there was something he needed to take care of first.

“Where’s my room?” Irene asked.

“The chamberlain will attend to Your Highness,” Siegfried said, hurriedly calling for the chamberlain and introducing him to her.

“Your Majesty,” the chamberlain bowed to Siegfried.

“This is Her Highness, Irene von Posteriore.”

“Eh...?”

“Make sure that she doesn't experience even a bit of discomfort. Serve her with utmost devotion.”

It was then.

‘Should I... resign?’

The chamberlain nearly threw the resignation he had been hiding inside his robes at Siegfried’s face the moment he realized that he was assigned to take care of Irene's needs.

The chamberlain of the Proatine Kingdom was a prestigious and highly successful career. If compared to the real world, the pay was equivalent to the salary of a CEO at a major corporation.

Just like the CEO of a major corporation, the position of royal chamberlain came with significant authority. Not to mention, serving the royal family directly gave immense influence within the royal palace too.

However, Irene von Posteriore’s name was enough for the chamberlain to consider giving up all those privileges without a second thought.

‘Sigh...’ Siegfried let out a sigh inwardly after seeing the look on the chamberlain’s face.

He could only imagine just how notorious Irene’s reputation was for even the chamberlain to act like that.

“Your Highness,” Siegfried said, turning to Irene.

He decided to speak not only for the chamberlain’s sake, but also for the sake of everyone in the royal palace.

“There is something I wish to discuss with Your Highness.”

“What is it...?”

“Please, this way.”

“Huh?”

“Well, the thing is...” Siegfried hesitated.

Then, he leaned in and whispered something into her ear.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

Irene’s heart instantly raced, pounding wildly as his breath tickled her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Your Highness.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Are you aware that I have a personal relation with the dragons?”

“Y-Yeah, I do. But what about it?”

Irene was also present in the Eternal Forest when Siegfried was talking to the dragons after the battle.

“I heard you were an honorary dragon.”

“Yes, I am, Your Highness.

“So what?”

Siegfried paused for a moment before saying in a serious voice, “Actually... we have a few dragons living in our palace.”

“What?!” Irene exclaimed, her eyes wide open.

The idea that a dragon would reside in the royal palace of this tiny kingdom, small by her standards, was hard to believe.

However, she couldn’t simply dismiss it either. After all, Siegfried was an honorary dragon and had deep ties with the Dragon Lord himself. Based on that, it would not be an exaggeration to say that dragons could possibly dwell here.

“A-Are you serious?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Oh my...”

“So it would be best to be cautious. If you happen to offend them... it could be problematic.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

No matter how wild of a troublemaker she was, even she knew that provoking dragons was a terrible idea. Even the mighty Marchioni Empire meant nothing in the face of the mightiest creatures in the world.

“Oh, and Elder Daode Tianzun is also here.”

“What?! M-Master is here?!” Irene shrieked. He was even more shocked to know that than when she found out that there were dragons in the palace.

Irene’s master was a disciple of Daode Tianzun. Who would have known that the great Archmage and the master of her master would be staying in the Proatine Kingdom?

“But that is not all,” Siegfried continued. He proceeded to list other figures she had to be wary of such as Deus, Vulcanus, Sword Emperor Betelgeuse, and many more.

‘Unbelievable...!’ Irene realized that the Proatine Kingdom was way more amazing than she initially thought after listening to Siegfried.

While the kingdom might be weak in terms of national power, it was teeming with powerful individuals that could be considered monsters.

“...So, for your own safety, Your Highness, I ask that you exercise caution while in the palace,” Siegfried warned courteously, making sure to phrase it in a way that would not hurt her pride. Then, he added, “I do not wish to see Your Highness hurt. I will be very uneasy if you do get hurt.”

“R-Really...?”

Ironically, Irene completely misunderstood what he meant.

What he was saying was that he would get in trouble if she got hurt. However, what Irene understood was that he was claiming her as his woman, so he did not want to see her get hurt.

“O-Okay, I will behave...”

“I would greatly appreciate it if you do.”

“N-No need to be so grateful. I-It’s not a big request or anything so...” Irene mumbled, looking away with her face flushed.

“Then, I will leave you to rest now. It is a humble place for someone of your status, but we will do our best to accommodate you.”

“T-Thanks...”

“Chamberlain?” Siegfried turned to the chamberlain.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Please attend to Her Highness.”

While giving the command, Siegfried shot the chamberlain a subtle glance.

‘I hope this is enough.’

‘Y-Your grace is immeasurable...’

The chamberlain quietly put away the resignation he was about to throw at Siegfried's face upon deducing Siegfried’s surreptitious message.

Since Siegfried had gone as far as to warn Princess Irene, the chamberlain figured that he could certainly do well.

“Then, please rest well.”

“Thank you.”

Just like that, contrary to her infamous reputation as the worst troublemaker in the world, Irene quietly followed the chamberlain.

‘I really hope she won’t cause any problems... She won’t, right?’

Siegfried couldn’t help but feel extremely uneasy for some reason.

***

Meanwhile, Metatron was traveling somewhere on the continent with Michael, the former Chief Archangel, his loyal retainer, Chaos, and the Weapon Master, Shakiro.

Their journey was a comfortable one.

If there was an inn, they would stay at it. If there was a hotel, they would stay at it.

Today, however, there were no villages or cities nearby. Thus, they decided to set up a tent in the forest, light a campfire, and spend the night there.

Metatron sat before the flickering flames, roasting marshmallows on a stick. He would often roast marshmallows to pass time whenever it was his turn to stand watch.

“My lord.”

Chaos woke up and called out to him.

“Ah, Chaos. Why are you up already? You should sleep a bit more,” Metatron said.

“I have to take over in an hour anyway, so I decided to get up early, my lord,” Chaos replied with a bow.

“I see.”

“By the way, my lord. Your face looks unusually downcast tonight.”

“Hmm? My face?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Haha... I guess I can’t hide anything from you,” Metatron said with a chuckle.

“Pardon me?”

“I’ve been thinking about Father all of a sudden today.”

“My lord...”

“I wonder how he is doing these days... I wonder how his health is...” Metatron said in a voice filled with complex emotions difficult to put into words.

It was no surprise, as his father, Vernas, had always been strict and merciless toward him when he was still young. As the eldest son, Vernas placed huge expectations on him, and not once did Vernas go easy on him.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Metatron tried, he always seemed to fumble and make mistakes. And every time he did so, his father’s fury would come down on him without an ounce of mercy.

In the end...

“A fool like you can never inherit the throne! From this day forward, you are stripped of your title as the heir!”

His younger brother, Baroque, took his place as the heir of the 7th Domain.

Metatron was cast aside; his fall from grace was quick and merciless.

“Please do not worry, my lord. His Majesty is still strong and well,” Chaos said. Then, he carefully added, “In fact, he may even want to... see my lord.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You know better than anyone that my father has never liked me,” Metatron replied, shaking his head.

“That is not true, my lord. His Majesty indeed had great expectations from my lord, and that was why he was acting so harsh. I am certain that His Majesty cares about my lord more than anyone else.”

“I hope that is the case,” Metatron said with a bitter smile. Then, he continued, “I heard Baroque got himself into trouble again. Father must be infuriated. And with his health already in decline... I can’t help but worry that he might have collapsed from stress.”

A royal messenger from the Proatine Kingdom had informed him of Baroque’s recent reckless actions. Since then, Metatron had been restless, worried sick about his father, Vernas.

“I hope Baroque is looking after father properly...”

Despite being a demon, Metatron was a filial son. Unfortunately, his filial piety was seen often as a weakness in the society of the demons.

“In that case, why not visit the Demon Realm for a while, my lord?” Chaos suggested.

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