32 – Bon Appétit.
Looking at the sky dyed red.
Gulp-
Empress Herpina was now drinking tea.
Intoxicated by the strong tea aroma, she was reflecting on yesterday’s events.
Prince Eos, who came to rescue Elaine.
I never expected her to come to the Empress’s Palace….
How on earth did she find out?
Even if I were lucky enough to find out, how could I harbor the desire to save someone while being poisoned by that terrible poison…?
Before I knew it, the Empress had closed her eyes.
Of course, it wasn’t impossible.
If love is a poison more severe than any other, then if you truly love someone, there is nothing you cannot do.
Yet, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy for some reason.
“Could it be that she hasn’t escaped from the poison…?”
But if that’s the case, there would be no reason for her to brutally attack the maids in the Empress’s Palace.
Even a child could easily understand the extent of the consequences.
If the Crown Prince had a sound mind, he would have to know.
In fact, yesterday’s events were already circulating endlessly from mouth to mouth among the palace staff.
It would have already spread far and wide throughout the empire.
The more notorious the Crown Prince becomes, the more love his own son, the Crown Princess, will receive.
Anyway, there was nothing to worry about.
I had already confirmed the usefulness of Elaine, so I could even consider this situation welcoming.
As long as Elaine is used appropriately.
I would be able to freely draw out the Crown Prince’s wickedness regardless of time or place.
Gurgle-
The Empress took a sip of tea.
Even though it had been boiling for quite some time, it still retained its warmth.
The brewed tea was infused with the refreshing scent of precious tea leaves.
The Empress gazed at the sunset once again.
Gradually, darkness began to suppress the red energy.
The fading rays of the sun, struggling below, somehow resembled the figure of the Emperor whom she had once loved passionately.
“You are still a foolish man, whether now or then.”
Come to think of it.
The Emperor’s health seemed noticeably better recently.
Though she hadn’t seen it firsthand, she heard that he even ran around the palace with the court ladies.
Why on earth?
“The poison must still be spreading through the medicine…”
The maidservant who carried the medicine would never betray her.
She surely knew that betrayal would lead to the death of her family, and the rewards obtained from loyalty were far from insignificant.
Above all else.
The poison that consumed the Emperor’s body had no antidote.
It had been a poisoning that lasted for so many years, making it difficult for him to even walk, let alone run.
If it weren’t for the Emperor’s unwavering determination, he would have collapsed and wandered in despair long ago.
And yet he ran…?
Perhaps it was one of those phenomena where humans experience a burst of energy right before death, even if only for a moment.
I wasn’t entirely certain, but at this point, I had no choice but to come to a conclusion.
In fact, it was strange enough that I had been practicing archery, but what was even stranger was the recent actions of the emperor.
Now that he had crossed the line, I could understand his desire to bestow the title of Duke upon the Crown Prince.
Still, it seemed a bit excessive compared to what I had anticipated.
Strangely enough, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was trying to seize control.
It wasn’t simply about giving the son who had lost everything and become a cripple a chance to prove himself.
Somehow, it felt like he was trying to regain the power that he had ignored since the death of the former empress.
Just looking at how he sent the Crown Prince to the border was enough to suggest that.
And to think that he had tried to deceive us about the confrontation with the elves until this morning.
If I hadn’t already planted a spy within the Tenafel Changeling, we wouldn’t have been able to respond at all.
In any case, it was a strange situation.
To go to such lengths to give a Crown Prince with no ability the opportunity to prevent war.
From Noble mtl dot com
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was forced and excessive.
“Could it be that he intends to pass the throne to the Crown Prince…?”
…No way.
At that absurd and nonsensical thought that came to mind without my realizing it, a dry, hollow laughter escaped my lips and my head instinctively shook.
To reinstate the Crown Prince, who was so notorious?
That was absolutely impossible.
It was too far gone to simply erase all of his sins.
Moreover, how could they possibly bring down the Crown Prince, who is currently building his reputation throughout the empire?
Sniff-
Yes, it’s truly absurd to think of restoring the exiled Prince.
So, in the end, the reason for this game is to provide the minimum justification to strip the Duke of his title…
That in itself was strange.
How can that inept and emotionally unstable Prince possibly stop a war?
Because his blood is a mix of human and elf.
Even when Wiblia was alive.
The Prince was a being who could not be loved by either humans or elves.
From the moment he was born, he was destined to be hated by both.
And now, this being is supposed to mediate the confrontation between humans and elves?
It would only lead to a tragic outcome, fueling the anger on both sides.
But even so, the Emperor…
Insisted as if the Prince could definitely prevent a war just by crossing the border.
And if not, he even made the extreme statement that he would hand over the throne to the Crown Prince, persistently trying to sway his subordinates to fulfill his own will.
In that case, there was only one answer.
Because he loved his daughter so deeply, he must have prepared in advance for the Elf King, who could not help but love his own grandson.
If that extraordinary affection for his bloodline saw the silver hair and green eyes resembling Wiblia, tears would surely flow uncontrollably.
And ironically…
That was the only reason why they had no choice but to keep the Prince alive.
“The war with the elves, who hold him hostage, will never happen.”
Therefore, it was absolutely forbidden to give the prince the authority of the Grand Duke and send him out of the palace.
Prince Eos had to be confined to the palace until his death.
And it would be his son, Service, who would soon become the emperor and establish his rule.
But Service was far away now.
It would take quite some time for him to reach the southern border.
No matter how fast he hurried, he could not be faster than the prince.
That’s why he had prepared his guards in advance.
With ten knights, there was no shortage of people to hold back the crippled prince.
Of course, Astia, known as a skilled warrior, bothered him a little, but overcoming an absolute numerical advantage was not easy for anyone.
No matter how great Astia was, she couldn’t win against ten people.
Still, just in case, he had prepared a way to provoke a battle with the elves in the worst case scenario.
In any case, the prince should not establish his rule.
Of course, it was unlikely that such a thing would happen, but even if a battle occurred, he believed that the Elf King would intervene.
Whatever happens.
In the end, the credit for preventing the war would be solely claimed by his son, Service.
Horrk-
A deep smile finally appeared on the Empress’s lips, who had just finished emptying her teacup.
Her eyes, which were wide open with a pleasant feeling, turned towards the dim sun that was now only slightly visible above the building.
“I will make sure to eat the meal that Your Majesty has prepared. But please don’t resent me too much, as I will spare your son’s life.
Night had fallen upon the world before we knew it.
Those of us who had been running without rest all lay down, spreading out our cloaks. Except for one lone figure.
That figure was the rotating guard of ten knights.
Thwack!
A thick branch placed on the bonfire finally broke with a scream-like sound, unable to withstand the heat.
Astia, Glentino, and I lay huddled around the bonfire in the center.
And outside of us, the knights took their positions, surrounding us without a gap.
They were so close together that it was difficult to even move.
It seemed like they intended to wake up immediately and hold us down if anyone tried to escape.
I had known from the start that these guys had some ulterior motive.
But even so, sleeping like this was beyond discomfort, it was unsettling.
Nevertheless, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.
I couldn’t help but feel that they were waiting for me to do just that.
And then, without realizing it, I fell asleep.
I slowly opened my eyes at the urgent cries of the spirits echoing in my head.
The bonfire had gone out completely.
Under the cool moonlight, Astia drew her sword, exuding an intimidating aura.
“If you stop here, I’ll let you live.”
Approaching her with a smile was Rufus, drawing his sword.
“Astia, I will arrest you for the crime of attempting to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince. So, drop your sword.”
Was this their plan from the beginning?
To frame Astia, bind her, and use the excuse that I was in danger of dying to return to the palace.
Perhaps that was what the Empress and Duke Shlein wanted.
It was much less vile than I had anticipated, but I had no intention of simply accepting it.
Well, it didn’t seem like I needed to get up anyway.
I had prepared myself enough for this to happen.
This week, when the Empress was hell-bent on killing Duke Phelios.
I, too, had not been idle.
I secretly killed a few of Shlein’s useless lackeys, and I had plenty of items that would be useful for my future covert activities.
Among them was a herb that hindered the circulation of mana. I didn’t know when I would use it, so I had already squeezed out the juice and soaked it in water well before setting off.
And using spirits, I consistently brought tiny amounts of the juice right up to the knights’ noses and mouths throughout our journey.
Without even realizing it, those fools had slowly become addicted, unable to even notice the opportunity for change just by breathing.
Unaware of all that, the knights who used to torment Astia were now even mocking her.
“How pitiful.”
“When did you ever dare to try to kill His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“That’s right. If it weren’t for His Highness, you wouldn’t have even become a knight.”
“You pretended to be so upright, but you were just trash.”
Tsk tsk. It won’t be easy to handle this situation.
In the end, Astia’s eyes turned cold.
They charged fiercely, as if rushing towards an eagle, with ten knights in front of them.
Thwack! Thwock!
“Argh!”
Lupus, who was closest, lost one arm along with his sword.
Unlike usual, he couldn’t summon any mana.
The other knights hurriedly drew their swords and tried to summon mana, but they couldn’t do it either.
“W-Why… Why is this happening…?”
“What the hell is going on…!”
Swoosh.
Astia, realizing the situation, swung her unarmed fist at the knights.
Thud! Thud!
It was a one-sided outburst, like a human trampling on an ant colony.
Crack!
Snap snap snap –
Seeing a knight who flew away, spinning around his spine after being hit by Astia’s fist, the other knights groaned in fear.
“I-I was just following Lupus’s orders-“
Wham!
When a small fist hit the stomach of a much larger male knight, his metal armor crumpled like a piece of paper, and his body was lifted up, bent like a shrimp, and flew far away before falling with a thud.
Clank –
“Argh…”
Those who can use mana and those who cannot.
It was a sight that clearly showed the gap between the two.
Regardless of whether they were men or women, regardless of age, Astia distributed punches fairly.
“D-Don’t do this! We’re, we’re comrades!”
“Shut up.”
Thud!
“Eek!”
“Alright, it was a joke, just teasing for fun! Stop right now!”
“No~ I have no intention of doing that.”
She dealt a blow to those who couldn’t even think of running away, then lifted up the fallen ones and vented her anger to her heart’s content.
And before I knew it, I fell asleep again.