Chapter Seventeen: Filthiness

It would be great if Zelin could provide him with a mage corps. Philip’s expression shifted constantly. Perhaps he should go to Gutenberg in person to see what Zelin was up to. He might even need to visit Ferdinand as well to once and for all deal with this threat in the south. Once this idea entered Philip’s mind, it wouldn’t leave him anymore. Even if it meant paying a price that seemed excessive now, it was worth it. If he allowed this guy to continue unchecked, he might one day truly become his prisoner.

At this thought, Philip couldn’t help but shudder. To become someone who could be humiliated at will was simply unbearable. He would rather make concessions to Zelin and Ferdinand than accept such a possibility. But just thinking of that insatiable man from the Ferdinand family made him feel discouraged again. Did he really have to go that far?

After much hesitation, Philip still couldn’t make up his mind until faint footsteps approached behind him, pulling him back to reality.

“Father, did you call for me?” Her usual coquettish voice annoyed Philip today. He didn’t turn around but replied in a deep voice, “What did Hoffman say?”

“He agreed to help us, but he also mentioned his difficulties. The Light Church hasn’t given a clear stance yet, and the remaining strength of the court mage corps is rather weak. Meanwhile, the southwest has been restless, so…” Tracy spoke timidly. She could tell her father was in a bad mood. Ever since that sneaky pirate came here, he had been extremely irritable, often losing his temper for no reason. Several attendants had been whipped, and the officials tried their best to avoid reporting matters to him. This wasn’t a good sign.

“Hmph. What trouble can they cause in the southwest? The Romanovs are all a bunch of ambitious yet incompetent cowards. Hoffman is even a short-sighted fool. Can’t he see that without our support, he’s nothing?!”, Philip said rashly, his face showing undisguised contempt. “Go to Gothenburg right away and tell Hoffman that he must send me the court mage corps. I need those mages! Make it clear to him that if he can’t do this, he can forget getting Homer’s support. I’ll choose Kakiya instead!”

Tracy was somewhat panicked. Her father seemed to have lost his composure, using such language to provoke Hoffman, completely devoid of his usual outward restraint and arrogance. This would lead to trouble—Hoffman was unlikely to agree to such a threatening demand. With Kakiya causing chaos in the southwest and the Church of Light preoccupied, how could Hoffman dare to let go of the power of the mage corps so easily?

“Father, I’m afraid I can’t do it. Hoffman won’t listen to me,” Tracy said, shaking her head. It was better to let her father face reality sooner than make such pointless attempts.

“Can’t do it? Hmph, then what can you do? Tell me!” Philip, furious, had a twisted, grotesque face. His already age-spotted face appeared even more haggard due to his recent bad mood, and the anger in his eyes grew stronger. “I warned you back then when you went around messing with Hoffman that it wasn’t something you could control. Didn’t you tell me you could control him? So what now? If it weren’t for your actions that provoked problems with Komer, how could such a huge disaster have arisen? And now you say you can’t do it?!”

“Father, I warned you before—that Komer was a problem and that you needed to deal with him decisively. But did you listen to me?” At this moment, Tracy became calm, her face showing a hint of sadness. “As for Hoffman, I was just acting rashly. But it was my own problem, and you never really had high hopes anyway. So now you haven’t lost anything, right?”

Philip was speechless. Hadn’t he also held out a slim hope that Tracy could become the ruler of the Romanov dynasty, which was why he had ultimately allowed her to date Hoffman? Blaming everything on Tracy alone was indeed excessive. But he needed external support urgently and couldn’t afford to give up any chance of getting help, no matter how small—just one percent chance was worth trying.

“Tracy, it’s not that I’m asking too much. The situation is critical right now. The Caucasus is assembling a large barbarian army, seemingly to deal with us, the Homers. And my mage corps was nearly wiped out in the last campaign. I urgently need the help of mages to defeat those barbarians. You have to understand how I feel,” Philip said, trying to control his rising emotions and lowering his voice.

“But Father, you know it’s impossible. The Romanovs are all utterly selfish. Do you really think Hoffman would risk Gothenburg to help you in such a situation?” Tricia shook her head in despair. “That possibility is even smaller than my chances of going to the Caucasus and begging Komer for mercy.”

Philip’s expression changed several times, with a vicious glint in his eyes. “Tricia, I don’t expect you to make Komer change his mind. But if you could go to the Caucasus and buy us some time to stop the Caucasian army from advancing north, I’d be satisfied. But are you sure? That guy is ruthless now—would he still hesitate to harm you?”

Tricia, filled with panic, could hardly believe her ears. She had merely spoken casually, yet her father took it seriously. Could this really be words from her own father?

Seeing Tricia’s disbelief, Philip grew angry. “Tricia, you have to help me. I need to go to Gutenberg and Ferdinand right away. I have a feeling that if we don’t act seriously this time, we’ll really be in trouble. Komer holds too much grudge against us. Once he gets his chance, he’ll never let us go. Instead of begging for mercy later, it’s better to endure humiliation now. Go to the Caucasus. No matter what you do, convincing him to stop might be difficult, but hasn’t he always had ill intentions toward you? Well, use that to trap him and weaken his fighting spirit. As long as we can buy some time, I’m confident I can deal with him completely. Then we can retaliate a hundredfold for what he’s done to you.”

Tricia fell silent. She could no longer express the sorrow in her heart with words. A father who would treat his daughter’s dignity and personality as mere possessions to be trampled by her enemies—could such a man even be called a father?