117 – 52. Conclusion (2)
How long had it been since they felt each other’s warmth?
After embracing, she slowly released her hand from around Ian’s neck.
In her heart, she wanted to do it all day long. But it couldn’t be done. Moreover, now that all the disasters had been resolved, they would have more time together.
Time was overflowing anyway. There was no need to act hastily as long as they were aware of that fact.
It was regrettable, but now it was time to return to the Eri that Ian remembered.
The meaning behind those words was simple.
“What did you say? Ari confessed in front of everyone? What on earth are you talking about, Eri?”
“Just as it sounds, as soon as she defeated Lucifer and returned to the empire, the first thing she did was confess all the wrongs she had done so far.”
As always, summarizing what happened while Ian was unconscious.
It was an unavoidable task for her, as her role was to fill in the gaps for Ian.
Ian couldn’t understand what she was talking about with her calm delivery of the news.
“If it’s wrong… Could it be?”
“You’re thinking correctly. When you were active in the Hero Party, she confessed that all the damages inflicted on people and all the wrongs you turned a blind eye to were things she did unilaterally.”
Ariel, who had a golden future ahead of her beyond the gloomy darkness.
Not only did she pierce Lucifer’s heart as a hero, but she also went so far as to return her body. It was only natural that a solid path would be laid out before her.
All that remained was to walk that path without deviating.
But our mischievous hero, though we don’t know what she’s thinking, managed to cause a commotion from the beginning of the journey.
“Why did you come here now, stirring up what’s already buried? Is this the end, Eri? Is that it?”
“Could it be? I told you everything, didn’t I? What I just shared was the damage caused to ordinary people. I even revealed things that made life difficult for my fellow party members. Furthermore, the reason I stood in front of the Demon King’s castle and came back alone was purely due to my own inadequacy. Ian sacrificed himself to buy time, and I made sure to spill that fact too.”
Eri maintained a stern expression as she spoke.
No wonder she couldn’t view what she had done to Ian in a positive light.
She endured it for now, but if the reins were to be loosened, Eri could immediately return to her princess demeanor and pressurize Ariel so intensely that she wouldn’t be able to breathe.
Just acknowledging that she was not actively causing harm was enough to understand that she was deliberately suppressing her anger.
Of course, Ian couldn’t fathom why his sister was acting this way.
‘Why reveal truths that don’t need to be disclosed now?’
While listening to her words, he continued to ponder.
If she spews out truths that could completely block her path forward, similar to embarrassing moments or past mistakes, is it because she wants to apologize?
If that’s truly the reason, why not just come secretly at night and apologize? Why go through the formality of confessing in front of the royal family and officials?
‘Even if she claims her mind is like a flower garden, does she think the officials will warmly accept her? Doesn’t she realize that Arielle isn’t that foolish?’
Those officials who spare no means or methods to maintain their positions are precisely the bureaucrats.
To survive, they can turn a savior of the world into a notorious scoundrel.
Despite Bedon and Eri collaborating to clean up the palace, it’s impossible to handle all the officials who are currently out of sight.
Among them, there may be those dissatisfied with the current royal family.
‘Why tarnish her own reputation for such actions…’
Certainly, what she did might not be entirely a loss.
If she presents something, there’s a way to gain. It’s the rule by which the world operates.
If Ariel didn’t do such a thing without any thoughts, then there must have been something she gained from it.
“Why did she want to throw away her bright future… What did she want to gain?”
What reason did she have to commit such an act? It was a moment of constant contemplation as she tirelessly turned her head.
“No way. Is she planning to give me all the credit? No, that can’t be. Unless she’s crazy, she wouldn’t give up her own things for my sake.”
The clue to her sister’s sudden acceleration.
If she had the intention to repay the pain her brother had endured, it would be natural for her to do so.
If Ariel actually went through the confession ceremony as Eri mentioned, then most of her credit would naturally return to herself, who had kept her mouth shut and endured all the pain.
Of course, it was a plan that could hardly be imagined unless one was insane.
“No. Ariel is crazy right now. She wouldn’t do such a thing without a reason.”
Considering the state of my younger sister, it wasn’t necessarily an unreasonable thing.
“Yes. Ariel went crazy because she felt so sorry for me, and she wanted to express her gratitude for all the effort I’ve put in for her and the false charges I’ve taken on. It’s enough to know why she did it.”
All of her credit as a hero would return to Ian as Ariel wished.
Furthermore, the ripple effect of what she did didn’t end there.
It could also stimulate the officials who didn’t see the existence of a hero as insignificant.
Even if they took away Ariel’s credit, they wouldn’t be pleased to see Ian, who was born on the same boat, monopolizing everything.
Especially when Volkanov was already struggling. If on top of that, the royal family offered a huge reward to Ian, the gap would become insurmountable.
They would probably make it flow as if Ariel’s credit had never existed.
But if you carefully think about what Ariel said, would it not be reasonable to think that Ian and her relationship was not that of ordinary siblings?
“In the first place, they were like enemies, but because of the position of hero, I had to unavoidably take Ariel with me.”
If you think about it, Ian may not necessarily have a good opinion of Ariel, who is a hero.
The officials who envied Ariel for that fact might have to reconsider their feelings.
‘They thought I was scheming with Volkanov to take advantage of Ariel’s fear of my power… but my relationship with Ariel is not good, almost like Volkanov’s master. Even worse, I’ve swallowed up all the warrior’s merits.’
It might be a moment to put away the sword aimed at Volkanov and align with him.
‘If the situation really goes that way, I’ll have to deal with vulture-like officials instead of enjoying the merits.’
That wouldn’t be a big problem.
After all, Ian knows exactly what stance the royal family has taken.
‘Prince Bedon, who has no interest in the throne, is only disputing with Erzhebert over the throne to deal with troublesome clans when she ascends to the empress’s position.’
He deliberately stands on the opposite side of incompetent and envious officials, filtering them out.
That’s probably the picture Bedon is drawing. If Ian had hinted about officials approaching him, he would take care of them.
‘I wouldn’t have done such a thing, thinking this far. If things continue like this, Ariel will suffer significant losses, but both me and the royal family will be in an excellent situation.’
The royal family will strengthen their power by swiftly subduing the thorn-like cats.
Ian, who has formed a deep relationship with Eri, will enjoy the aftermath.
Of course, it’s not at a stage where he can be sure.
To draw the picture Ian envisions, a brush is needed.
That is, to be recognized for achievements as a warrior party and receive corresponding rewards.
If he doesn’t get that, it’s an obvious story that things will not go well.
Therefore, Ian cautiously looked at Eri.
“Well… still, a warrior doesn’t just play around. Congratulations. In the royal family, it has been decided to promote Captain Volkanov to Duke. So, if you wake up, please come to the royal capital as soon as possible.”
“Duke….”
The moment the brush he had longed for was in his hand, Ian raised the corners of his mouth in great satisfaction.
In addition, Eri continued to summarize what had happened to Ian.
Starting with the news of the succession, she talked about the scale of the damage caused by the war and stories about the wounded.
However, Ian didn’t pay much attention to the news.
He didn’t need to worry about the losses suffered by indifferent people.
It wasn’t the kind of thought that someone who would become a pillar beyond the empire’s shield would have.
Dealing with such problems was the job of the bureaucrats who sat comfortably in the rear, discussing them on their desks. It wasn’t something Ian would get involved in.
Furthermore, the current Ian was busy making plans for a happy future, having secured the succession to the dukedom.
“You don’t need to worry about the party members. I heard that Ilian Siegurd and Saint Glendia weren’t seriously injured, and Lord Hexas Maducellan has finished treatment with the help of the priests sent from Edenria.”
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“Well, that’s a relief. I should visit them since I received help this time. I should also find some alcohol to give as a gift.”
He only paid attention when stories about people who had deep connections like party members came up.
“Oh, and there’s news about the Milerus family.”
“Milerus? Is it about Commander Hailey? By the way, did they treat her arm? The last time I saw her, she seemed to have lost her right arm.”
“That… hasn’t been resolved yet.”
“It hasn’t been resolved…?”
Does it mean that even with the priests from Edenria, they couldn’t treat her?
Of course, it’s not an easy story to revive a severed arm. But didn’t they say that Hexas, who had severe burns all over his body, had been treated?
There’s no way the priests from Edenria, who treated such serious injuries, couldn’t revive one arm, right?
“Moreover, Commander Hailey is a person who simultaneously holds the position of the head of the Milerus family and the commander. She is the Empress’s sword and the Countess’s head.”
Anyway, in the Empire, she wasn’t someone they could easily give up on.
But you haven’t been able to treat it until now?
“Is the condition that serious?”
“It’s not. It’s possible to restore the severed arm immediately. However, he refuses treatment.”
“He refuses treatment….”
“And that’s not all. Recently, he even handed over the position of the head of the Miles family to his younger brother and said he would spend time in seclusion.”
“I get the general idea. We can attach the severed arm immediately, but because of Commander Haley’s strong refusal, there has been no progress in treatment. And now, he even stepped down from his position as the head and started seclusion. I don’t know what to do.”
“Exactly. That’s why both Edenria and the Empire are at a loss. If it takes too long, treatment will become more difficult.”
“That’s true. And the severed arm is not in perfect condition.”
When you have an accident that involves cutting off a body part, the most important thing is to freeze the severed part and quickly rush to the hospital, isn’t it?
No matter how well the preservation magic preserves the condition, it’s frustrating if the body doesn’t want to be attached.
“Hmm…. I should visit her later and talk to her. After all, if I’m going to live in the Empire, I can’t avoid seeing her face.”
Since it’s confirmed that she will inherit the position of the head of the family, it’s inevitable to interact with other families.
Of course, the Miles family, which is one of the high-ranking families, would be on the list of families that Ian will have to meet.
As long as one side doesn’t die, it’s impossible to live without seeing each other for a lifetime. It would be better to somehow resolve the uneasiness in one’s heart.
“That’s all I have to report.”
“Okay…. Thank you, Eri. “
“Yes. Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
“Something I’m curious about….”
As Ian listened to her words with a blank expression, Eri looked at him, not understanding why he was smiling.
Curious, aren’t you? I don’t really have anything to hear, having heard all the news worth hearing.
But… there was something Ian wanted to ask Eri.
“Eri. It’s all over now, right? Lucifer has been defeated, and if the Duke is urging you to come to the imperial capital for a promotion, it means it’s urgent enough to put out the fire and take a breath, I suppose.”
“That’s right. If we recover from the damage inflicted by the demons, we can regain a normal daily life.”
“Yeah… so, what I wanted to say is, how about we stop now?”
“Uh, what do you mean?”
She began to stammer, a look of confusion on her face.
Ian, staring into her pupils, spoke.
“Acting as Evelhart’s sweetheart incognito. Isn’t it time to reveal it? It’s not easy to keep going, especially with 4-year-old siblings going to school.”
“How did you…?”
At Ian’s sarcastic tone, her body shook as if struck by a ghostly wind.