Imperial Princess Beatrice was a demon.
The news that would send shockwaves throughout the Empire spread like wildfire.
Darius and the Imperial Family mobilized every resource at their disposal to contain the fallout. But there was no stopping the news from spreading.
“This is a complete disaster. Hell itself couldn't be much worse.”
Darius, his face haggard from one worry after another, asked,
“Was this really the only way?”
There was no longer any reason to remain in the courtroom, so Darius, Milia, and Ex had moved to the Imperial Prince's office.
They needed somewhere private to discuss what came next.
“Was there truly no better way? Something quieter, something that wouldn't have caused this much damage?”
“There wasn't. This was the best option we had.”
Ex didn't have much of an excuse either.
Exposing Beatrice's true identity to the citizens had never been part of the plan.
They could have waited until after preventing the Empire's destruction, then captured her by force. The timing had simply been terrible.
More than anything, Andras had put her plan into motion far faster than expected. That had been the biggest problem.
“You could have consulted me beforehand.”
“I couldn't risk giving information to the demon occupying Her Highness's body. There are too many unseen eyes and ears among the citizens.”
Darius grimaced, but accepted the explanation.
“Fine. Then what do you intend to do now? You may not realize it, but the moment the Imperial Princess was revealed to be a demon and escaped, we lost a great deal.”
Darius sighed as he read through the documents spread across his desk.
“The unrest and fear among the citizens are worse than they've ever been. Enough to make a mockery of the Grand Festival itself. And that damned Revolutionary Front is showing signs of making its move in earnest. But fine. None of that matters right now. There's a more serious problem.”
Darius ground his teeth, forcing down the rage that came with having let Beatrice escape.
“We tried to take that cursed necklace you told us about, but she was carrying a fake. Without the real one, we can't remove His Majesty's curse. You're the one who told me that! But now that the Imperial Princess has gone into hiding…!”
“It should be all right. The curse is going to weaken.”
Darius's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
Ex searched his memory and continued explaining.
“A curse like that can only maintain its full effect if the caster stays within a certain distance of the target. Now that she's a fugitive, she won't be able to keep the curse functioning as before.”
“Is that really true?”
“The reason His Majesty's curse has remained so strong until now is because the Imperial Princess stayed close to him. Ever since His Majesty collapsed, Her Highness has been visiting him regularly, hasn't she?”
Using her position as Imperial Princess, Andras had pretended to nurse the bedridden Emperor while continuously reinforcing the curse.
That was how she had been slowly killing him for the past five years.
But that ended today.
“His condition won't improve immediately, but as long as you keep the sacred relic I gave you nearby, he should stabilize within a few days. Until then, you must make absolutely certain that no one is allowed near His Majesty.”
“…You.”
Thud!
Without warning, Darius's fist slammed straight into Ex's solar plexus.
“Guh!”
“You bastard!! Why didn't you tell me that first?!”
‘Because if I'd told you beforehand, you would've lost your mind and gone straight after the Imperial Princess!’
Darius was normally a calm and rational man, but when his blood relatives were involved, all reason went out the window.
That was exactly why Ex hadn't been able to tell him.
“B-Because it isn't a permanent solution…”
“Why is it that every time I peel back one layer, there's another damned thing underneath?! Is there anything else I need to know?! Tell me right now!!”
“Uh, no… Well, maybe if I really thought about it, there might be…”
“You absolute lunatic…!”
Darius let out a long, dark sigh, but there was unmistakable relief on his face.
“At the very least, His Majesty is no longer in immediate danger of dying.”
“That's right. Capturing the Imperial Princess would have been ideal, but there's nothing we can do about what's already happened. Besides, she'll come back eventually. I'm certain of it.”
“Haa… Very well.”
He quickly buried that moment of vulnerability and looked at Ex again with his usual dignified expression.
“The Empire is now in an extremely dangerous position. The revelation that a member of the Imperial Family was a demon will give the Theocracy endless justification to interfere in our affairs. On top of that, public unrest has already reached the breaking point. You understand that, don't you?”
“Of course.”
“You told us to prepare a trap. It's nearly complete. As luck would have it, we've recently acquired an excellent piece to use as bait. But there's still something I need to know.”
“What would that be?”
“Can my sister be saved?”
It was the question Ex had expected.
“The Imperial Princess has been exposed as a demon. Even if we capture her while she's in hiding, we'll have no choice but to execute her. This isn't the same situation as His Majesty. If the Empire refuses to execute an Imperial Princess who became a demon, it will lead directly to internal conflict.”
Darius's concern was justified.
Even in the Empire, the people would never simply accept that a member of the Imperial Family was a demon.
The political attacks from the high-ranking nobles in particular would be more vicious than ever.
“I know I'm asking for too much. They are still my family, and they mean more to me than anything. I know how shameless it is to ask you to save my sister after already asking you to save His Majesty's life. But there's no one else I can turn to.”
With those words, Darius bowed his head.
“If there is any way to save my sister, please tell me.”
Ex and Milia stared at him in shock.
Imperial Prince Darius himself had bowed his head.
And he had done it to Ex, a commoner.
Milia practically had a fit as she tried to stop him.
“Your Highness, this is too much! How could you bow to a commoner…!”
“Milia, if bowing my head is what it takes to save a member of the Imperial Family, then I will bow. Besides, Ex can hardly be called an ordinary commoner anymore. You saw it yourself. He can even wield divine power.”
Ex understood exactly how Darius was looking at him now.
He had wielded all three kinds of power, so Darius had naturally assumed he was another Hero.
Ex decided to clear up the misunderstanding before it got any worse.
“First, I'd like to correct a few misunderstandings.”
“Misunderstandings?”
“First of all, I haven't become a Hero. It's true that I can use all three powers, internal energy, magic power, and divine power. However, ‘there can only ever be one Hero.’”
Darius frowned, unable to make sense of that.
“Wasn't the ability to wield all three powers exclusive to the Hero?”
“To be precise, the Hero happened to be capable of wielding all three. What I showed you is more of a workaround. It's possible to use all three powers without actually being the Hero.”
“What? A workaround?”
“Yes. You can think of it as a matter of constitution.”
There was no point telling him that Ex had purchased the skills from his status window. He wouldn't understand anyway.
So Ex smoothly glossed over the details.
Darius stared suspiciously at Ex for a moment before muttering,
“Just how many secrets are you hiding? If I had my way, I'd throw you in a dungeon and torture them out of you.”
“Please don't…”
“I'm joking. Don't take it seriously.”
“…”
His face did not look remotely like he was joking.
A chill crawled down Ex's spine.
He quickly changed the subject.
“I understand that we need some way to stop public sentiment from boiling over completely. Right now, the circumstances couldn't be better for the Revolutionary Front to start stirring up trouble.”
“From the way you're talking, I take it you already have something in mind.”
“We announce the birth of a new Hero.”
Darius narrowed his eyes.
He immediately understood what Ex was suggesting.
“You want us to announce to the world that you've become a new Hero?”
“That's right. The timing is perfect for a Hero's grand debut, too. The Tournament is about to begin, isn't it? Two Heroes chosen by the Goddess facing one another should be more than enough to draw the public's attention away from their anger.”
“Didn't you just tell me there can only be one Hero?”
“The common people aren't going to concern themselves with details like that. What matters is whether the show works.”
“You really do sound like a con artist…”
Darius snorted once, then answered in a much more relaxed tone.
“Fine. Bring me a written proposal and I'll review it. Just remember that we don't have much time.”
“Of course.”
Ex was relieved that Darius was willing to cooperate without putting up a fight.
In truth, what Ex had done was outrageous enough that being charged with insulting the Imperial Family and having his entire clan wiped out wouldn't have been surprising.
Some of the nobles were almost certainly screaming that Ex needed to be executed as an example.
The only reason all those voices were being silenced was because Darius trusted Ex completely.
Now it was Ex's turn to repay that trust.
“Second, I successfully rescued Her Highness Beatrice's soul. All that's left is her body.”
“Her soul? What in the world are you talking about now?”
Darius couldn't possibly let that statement pass.
This was Beatrice they were talking about, after all.
Ex turned to Milia beside him.
“Lady Milia, do you still have that ring?”
“…Yes. After you had the nerve to order me around like that.”
“Sorry about that…”
With a displeased look, Milia handed Ex the Soul Trap Ring she had taken from Beatrice.
Ex accepted the ring and continued his explanation.
“This ring is an artifact created by demons. It's called a Soul Trap Ring. Demons use these rings to hide within human society while avoiding the effects of divine power.”
“A Soul Trap Ring?”
“Yes. The artifact seals the soul of the body being possessed inside the ring, causing divine power to be drawn toward it instead. In other words, the original owner's soul is inside this ring.”
Ex immediately slipped the Soul Trap Ring onto his finger.
Then he spoke as though introducing himself to someone face-to-face.
“This is an unusual way to meet for the first time, Your Highness, Imperial Princess Beatrice. My name is Ex. If you're conscious, please answer me.”
「Ah, ahh…」
A voice immediately came from the ring.
It was trembling with relief and joy, almost on the verge of tears.
「You… You saved me…」
It was Beatrice.
A lonely yet resilient soul that had endured five long years of torment and suffering without ever losing consciousness.
“Ex, what are you doing?”
“Her Highness Beatrice's soul is inside this ring.”
“…!”
Darius shot to his feet so violently it was almost a reflex.
Ex carefully removed the ring and handed it to him.
“You can only speak with her while you're wearing it.”
Darius stared at the ring in disbelief before carefully sliding it onto his finger.
“…Beatrice, is that really you?”
It took only a few brief exchanges for him to realize that the soul inside the ring truly was Beatrice.
As soon as he did, all the strength seemed to leave his legs, and he collapsed back into his chair.
The shock was so overwhelming that he sat there blankly for a while, mouth still hanging open.
Milia quickly read the room, shot Ex a pointed look, and ordered,
“You should leave for today.”
Ex had already conveyed everything important, so he saw no reason to stay either.
As he quietly made his way out of the office, Darius's voice came from behind him.
“Thank you. Truly. I will never forget what you've done for us.”
Ex slipped quietly out of the room.
He had no intention of cluelessly intruding on the reunion between Darius and Beatrice after five long years apart.
Besides, even without that, he was going to be insanely busy for a while.
“Ex.”
As he was making his way back toward the dormitory, a familiar voice called out to him.
“Lady Lola. What happened to enjoying the Grand Festival?”
Lola stood there looking strangely restless.
“I heard what happened at the trial. They cleared you of all charges, right? First they accused you of being a demon worshiper, and then you went and used divine power in front of everyone. At this point, I don't even know how I'm supposed to be surprised anymore.”
“The news already spread? People work fast. But…”
Ex cautiously pointed toward the man standing beside Lola.
It was the noble mage in the fedora he'd seen at the courtroom.
“Who exactly is this gentleman…?”
“Um, well… It's kind of complicated…”
“What's complicated about it? You can simply explain it as it is.”
When Lola hesitated, the middle-aged gentleman in the fedora removed his hat and introduced himself.
He had the exact same blond hair and blue eyes as Lola.
“So you're Ex. I've heard quite a lot about you from my daughter. This is our first proper meeting since I saw you in the courtroom.”
“Your daughter… I'm sorry, what? Daughter?”
The middle-aged gentleman smiled at him.
There was something distinctly frightening about that smile.
“I am Count Lemercier. Lola's father.”
The look hidden behind that smile was unmistakably hostile, the look of a father sizing up some suspicious young man hanging around his daughter.
“I hope we'll get along.”
Absolutely nothing about his expression suggested that they were going to get along.
–TL Notes–
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