#95
It felt strange to be gathered in this combination. In the original story, these people only came together on battlefields where life and death hung in the balance or during times of crisis.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine.”
A Duke who shows concern as soon as he sees my face—somehow I couldn’t get used to it. I answered awkwardly while looking at the sword. The sword looked no different from last night, held in the Duke’s hand.
If what I knew about the Duke and the sword was wrong, I needed to hear the inside story right here and now. Moreover, just last night I had heard that the sword was one of my parents. Was the Andelion from the original story also their child? If so, why did the Duke attack Andelion back then? It was a completely different behavior from the current Duke who was trying to protect me.
I glanced at Persis and Rikin. I wanted to hear the details, but I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to discuss in front of those two.
“How is the palace?”
“The imperial order not to let anyone into the temple has not been lifted. I heard the First Prince stayed at the temple all night. Also, we encountered someone as we were leaving the temple.”
“I already heard about that from him. Someone blocked your way as you were escaping.”
The story they brought up was about Ramtel. By now, Ramtel might have told Kuatrin about us. Knowing the full situation, Kuatrin might mobilize knights to capture us. Yet we hadn’t gone into hiding for several reasons.
First, though there was a witness in Ramtel, there was no evidence. Even if a commoner like Ramtel claimed that the son of the hero who saved the Empire and a prince had entered the temple and wreaked havoc, people would listen to the Duke and the prince. Even the First Prince couldn’t ignore the Duke’s power.
“How is His Majesty?”
“Other than sealing off the temple, he’s the same as usual. I heard he will attend today’s royal council meeting.”
Second, the Emperor, who had ordered the temple sealed, hadn’t made any further moves. If the Emperor were directly involved in this matter, even the Duke’s family wouldn’t be safe. He would have used Ramtel’s testimony as a stepping stone to arrest the Duke and Persis.
But the Emperor wasn’t taking any action. Though his intentions couldn’t be properly understood, his continued silence meant that the Emperor wasn’t completely backing Kuatrin.
“Then what would Your Highness like to do next?”
While Ramtel seeing us might not be an immediate major problem, the fact that he had given information that should be hidden from Kuatrin remained unchanged. If we didn’t prepare properly, we could not only lose the sword to Kuatrin but also have our personal safety threatened.
It was right for us to prepare before Kuatrin made his move.
“I think Ana and that sword should leave the capital for now.”
“…What?”
Without even glancing in my direction, Persis conveyed his opinion to the Duke.
“What they’re most concerned about right now is Ana and the sword. Before they make the first move, we should hide the sword and Ana.”
There was logic in those words. Though they hadn’t heard the exact details, Persis and Rikin had noticed that I was different from ordinary people. Ramtel, who had blocked our way and pointed at me, must have realized the same.
It was only a matter of time before my identity was revealed. If the sword was one of my parents, then I was a mixed-blood born between a demon and a human. In an empire where anyone who was a demon was considered an enemy, if my identity was discovered, not only the Duke but also Persis, who was involved in this matter, would be in danger.
So hiding myself and the sword from Kuatrin’s sight might indeed be the right thing to do. It wasn’t what I wanted, but if it was the path that kept everyone safe, it was correct.
“No. That won’t work.”
However, I strongly objected to Persis’s words.
“Moving now would only prove that we entered the temple.”
Every small action could become evidence in this situation. If we took more noticeable actions, we might fall into even greater danger.
“Ana!”
Persis called me in a low voice.
He probably wanted to hide me and the sword out of concern for me. Persis surely understood that it would be a conspicuous action. I understand his desire to protect me, even through such actions.
But how long would we hide? There was no guarantee that the situation would improve with time.
“If we just stay still, we’ll only be at their mercy. We’re at a disadvantage.”
To many people, demons were entities to be excluded. Even I couldn’t help feeling resistance when I heard the sword was a demon. Wasn’t it the Duke who used the power of demons to become the villain in the game I had played over and over?
At that moment, Rikin, who had been listening silently, raised his hand.
“In that sense, I’d like to ask the Duke something. Before asking our Prince what to do, what were you thinking, keeping that sword? Weren’t you the hero who protected this empire from demons?”
“Rikin.”
“Your Highness, I’ve committed to serve you and will follow your will unconditionally. But I am a child of the Parten family.”
The Parten family was the one that protected this country from demons and stood as a solid wall at the frontier.
“If the Duke’s intention is to overthrow this empire and if Your Highness intends to follow that will, I must abandon the Parten name. So please answer. What do you intend to do, Duke?”
Rikin’s question left me breathless. In the original story, the Duke held the sword and rebelled against the empire. That sword must have had him dwelling inside it, just like now. I thought they were completely different people, but perhaps the Duke I had seen while playing the game many times and the Duke standing before me were not so different after all.
The silent Duke soon smiled.
“Your Highness has a good subordinate. Rikin Parten, don’t worry. You won’t need to abandon the Parten name.”
I was the one most surprised by those words. The Duke couldn’t have been unaware of what the sword had gone through in the temple. That indirect pain I felt still lingered in my mind. Just thinking about the sword at that time made my insides boil with rage.
If the sword was one of my parents, then the sword and the Duke must have been closer than I had thought. They might have been lovers. I had heard that the Duke personally offered a demon’s corpse to the temple. He wasn’t someone who couldn’t imagine what ordeals the sword had gone through in there. Yet the Duke said he wouldn’t rebel against the empire.
“Since Andelion cares so much for your lord, what can I do?”
At those words, I couldn’t hold back the tears that welled up and lowered my head. I didn’t want my expression to be seen. The Duke’s change from the original story was all because of me. The Andelion in the original story must also have been the child of the sword and the Duke. But because I didn’t live like him, the Duke couldn’t turn this empire into ruins.
Even that moment in the original story when Andelion was stabbed by the sword might have been an act by the Duke. It was strange that the Duke hadn’t killed Andelion until then. Until now, I thought Andelion could live because he was a conquest character, but now I see that wasn’t it.
The Duke never intended to kill Andelion.
“That’s why I’m asking. Your Highness, what do you intend to do? Andelion has a point. If we do nothing, we’ll only be at their mercy. Even if we hide Andelion and the sword, it will only draw more attention. They already know we entered the temple. What will you do, Your Highness?”
The Duke calmly repeated what I had said and asked Persis. Persis silently listened to those words and then looked at me. Then, as if having made up his mind, he looked at the Duke.
“You’re asking if I want to become Emperor.”
“Your Highness needs to get used to the way nobles converse.”
To the direct-speaking Persis, the Duke indirectly confirmed that was his intention.
The Persis I knew wanted to become Emperor. He was always thirsty for knowledge and dissatisfied with the palace employees who raised him freely like the children in the marketplace. So Persis’s answer was as good as predetermined.
“I don’t want to become Emperor.”
I wasn’t the only one shocked by those words. Even Rikin stared at Persis with wide eyes. Persis had been making noticeable actions and learning various fields of study, but now he said he had no desire for the throne. This didn’t make sense. If he had no intention of becoming Emperor, there was no reason to put in so much effort.
“I just want to be someone who isn’t ashamed of my position.”
“Then you have no ambition.”
“No. I do.”
Persis answered the Duke’s words decisively. After pausing briefly as if lost in thought, Persis met the Duke’s gaze directly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
