Chapter 128

The Unfinished Battle

Out of nowhere, Leon had offered to give me Veneron viscounty.

The north was broadly divided into three regions: tundra, snowfields, and snowy mountains. The tundra lay at the tree line. Bryophytes grew in the snowfields. And the snowy mountains stood at the very limits of survival.

Whitewolf county lay on the boundary between the snowfields and the snowy mountains. Veneron viscounty, its closest neighboring fief, was situated in the tundra.

In other words, it had an environment that could support vegetation. Animals such as reindeer could be raised there, and hunting and fishing were also possible.

Most notably, the trees that grew there braved the tundra's cold. Their timber was worthy of being called the finest not merely in the kingdom, but on the entire continent. There was hardly a soul in the kingdom who hadn't heard of Veneron timber.

"As it happens, the nobles have been complaining bitterly since the supply of Veneron timber stopped."

Naturally. Veneron timber was used everywhere, from noble mansions and military fortresses to major buildings within the palace itself. The profits it generated were, of course, staggering.

"I'll give you Veneron viscounty. Rake in the money and make your county prosper."

"Can you really hand out territory so casually?"

"Why not? It has no lord anyway."

"The other nobles will object—"

"What are they going to do about it? If they don't like it, they can become princes themselves."

... Seriously, this was driving me insane. What was I supposed to do with Leon?

Obviously, he couldn't simply hand out territory at random like this. The struggle over the succession wasn't over yet. He was still a prince, not the crown prince. Regent or not, he couldn't give away land on a whim—

"Once things at the palace are settled, I'll transfer Veneron viscounty to you immediately."

"You're already acting as though you're crown prince."

"All thanks to you."

How was I supposed to take that?

"Regardless, I believe I made it quite clear that I won't give my permission."

"What must I do for you to approve the marriage?"

"Nothing you do will change my mind."

"I'll give you as much money as you ask for."

"Give me aleph-null gold, and I'll consider it."

"I'll make you a duke."

"I just refused to become a count."

"I promise you the royal court's full support."

"Become crown prince first. Then we'll talk."

"What if I order you as a prince?"

"If you want to make a traitor of me, by all means."

"What if I get down on my knees and beg?"

"No."

"What if I pluck a star from the sky for you?"

"No."

Leon’s golden eyes flashed. Present Vision[L]. Apparently, he was trying to analyze and identify the reason for my adamant refusal.

But my objections were based on memories and information from my previous life. Was even his absurdly powerful Present Vision[L] unable to figure that out?

"... Why in the world are you refusing?" Leon asked in bewilderment.

He looked oddly forlorn. He really seemed to like Seraphia...

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. Why? Why Seraphia, all of a sudden—"

"I fell in love."

"Fell in—what?"

"I fell in love. At first sight. Completely and utterly."

"Huh?!"

Seraphia, who had been listening quietly, froze in shock. Her face grew redder and redder, and she began to fluster, not knowing what to do. I was just as taken aback.

"Please don't joke about this."

"Do I sound as though I'm joking?"

Using Find Weakness[U] told me all I needed to know. ... He was serious.

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to," Leon replied calmly. "You need only give your permission."

Seraphia's flushed face was now scarlet all the way to the tips of her ears. I sighed inwardly.

Apparently, he had fallen for her during the fight with Luseria, when the two of them were alone together. Though I had no idea what, exactly, had made him fall for her.

"No."

"That's quite all right. I'll keep proposing until you approve, so I'm practically married to Seraphia already."

"... Are you in your right mind?"

"Perfectly."

"What in the world do you love about Seraphia?"

"Are you asking because you genuinely don't know?"

"Yes."

Leon took a deep breath.

"She's beautiful. Capable. Spirited. Intelligent. Resolute. Diligent. Cheerful and optimistic."

"..."

"She has the dignity of a noble and a warm heart. The way she treats you shows how devoted she is. She always puts others before herself. Admittedly, that means she tries to shoulder too much alone, but even that is utterly adorable."

"..."

"She's anything but weak, yet sometimes she wants someone to lean on. That makes me fall for her all over again. Above all, she's insanely lovely when she cries."

"Love—no, cries—what?"

"While you were unconscious, she cried her heart out, asking whether her brother was going to die."

My eyes went straight to Seraphia. Her face had gone beyond scarlet; she had practically turned into a wild strawberry. She looked so hot that steam might start rising from her at any moment.

"Th-that was...! I-I was just—!"

She bit her lip hard, trying desperately to come up with an excuse, but—

"Aaaah!! Please forget about it!!"

Unable to bear the embarrassment, she covered her face with both hands and curled up, squirming.

Leon added, "As you can plainly see, she's insanely lovely. Well? Do you need more reasons?"

"There are more?"

"She's utterly adorable, yet resolute. She can be a little scatterbrained, but that has its own peculiar charm. The fact that she doesn't realize what a lovely woman she is is charming too. She's careful about everything, yet—"

"... That's enough. Please stop."

He was infatuated beyond all reason. Which made this all the more absurd.

—Had it not been for the Hero Ian, Leon would have become the allied army's Supreme Commander.

This was Leon, the man who might have become the allied army's Supreme Commander. Even allowing for the fact that he had no memories of our previous lives, I had never imagined he would fall this hard for Seraphia.

But thinking it over... Ian had been the same. Not to this extent, but he too had thought Seraphia was "prettier than the Saintess."

No matter how I looked at her, though, that simply wasn't true. Seraphia wasn't unattractive, but she wasn't prettier than Isolde, whose beauty, shaped by divine power, transcended subjective standards.

Did men with the makings of a Supreme Commander have some inherent tendency to fall for Seraphia? There was no way to know when even Predatory Instincts[S] couldn't tell me that.

In any case, Leon had never shown this much interest in a woman before. Had it been someone else, things might have been different. But Seraphia—the Sovereign of Bitter Cold—was absolutely out of the question.

Just as all this was giving me a splitting headache—

"Your Highness!! Prince Leon!!! Something terrible has happened!!"

A shout came from outside the door.

"They say Her Highness the Queen has died in the dungeon!!"

Leon's eyes and mine widened at the same time.

* * *

At the sudden news of Queen Marceline's death, Leon and I headed straight to the scene.

Seraphia offered to come along, but Leon firmly refused. I agreed with him. There was no need for her to see a murder scene.

"I'll tell you about it later. Wait here for now."

At my words, Seraphia stopped insisting.

Knights were stationed at the scene, but they weren't the Royal Knights. Their uniforms and their bearing were different.

As Leon and I approached, someone came forward and paid his respects.

"Your Highness."

Sharp eyes and a steadfast demeanor. His crisp, economical movements conveyed both a knight's vigor and a noble's dignity. I recognized his face.

"Commander Lucas. What happened?"

Lucas, a field officer of the allied army. Currently, he commanded the Royal Guard. Wasn't he also the head of House Arsente? I was fairly sure he was.

When I used Predatory Instincts[S], information about Lucas appeared before my eyes.

==<Character Information>==

Name: Lucas Arsente

Classification: Animalia, Mammalia, Hominidae, Human

Sex: Male

Age: 41

Traits: Indomitability[E]

◆Indomitability[E]

: The user's indomitable will grants resistance to status effects such as [Confusion, Fear, Charm]. By cloaking their body in this indomitable will, the user also reduces all damage by [-60%] and has a [set chance] to withstand fatal attacks.

One look was enough to tell me he hadn't won command of the Royal Guard in a game of chance. After all, an Epic-rank ability was powerful enough to harm a Sovereign—or, conversely, resist a Sovereign's attacks. Lucas's Indomitability[E] would work even against a Sovereign.

Still, reading the description made me wonder what kind of ridiculous ability this was. Cloaking his body in indomitable will? What did wrapping your body in willpower even mean?

Naturally, no such power existed in reality. Yet there it was, existing all the same. An ability created through personal imagination and aura. In other words, Lucas was a Master knight.

"Commander Lucas. What do you mean, Queen Marceline died in custody? Did she take her own life?"

"We need to investigate further, but at present, murder appears more likely."

"Explain."

"The body is not intact."

"May I examine it myself?"

Lucas turned his gaze toward me and answered without a moment's hesitation.

"No one may enter. We must prevent contamination of the scene."

"I'll take responsibility."

Leon stepped forward in my defense.

But Lucas remained adamant.

"My apologies, Your Highness, but that applies even to you."

The Royal Guard, the kingdom's last shield. Leon had yet to be formally invested as crown prince. In other words, he couldn't give them orders.

Lucas was exactly the same as in my previous life. Still, he wasn't wholly inflexible. Had he insisted on following every rule to the letter, he would never have followed Leon after his fall from power or become a field officer of the allied army.

But a situation like this called for adherence to procedure. Leon and I turned away as though we had no other choice.

The moment we rounded a corner of the palace, I whispered to him.

"Your Highness, could you distract Commander Lucas?"

"I don't know what you're planning... but very well."

Leon gave a slight nod, then turned and walked back. I watched him go for a moment before—

◆Activating skill, Assimilation[C+].

My form slowly vanished as I blended into my surroundings. This ability had fooled even the Royal Knights. Completely deceiving a Master's senses, however, was another matter.

"By the way, Commander Lucas. Have you identified a suspect?"

Once I confirmed that Leon had Lucas's attention, I carefully slipped into the dungeon.

* * *

The dungeon where Queen Marceline had been confined was the same one I had been held in. The difference was that the Royal Guard now kept it under airtight surveillance.

"..."

"..."

There wasn't a single lapse in their vigilance. Every entrance into the dungeon was under complete control. But no one other than Lucas could detect me through Assimilation[C+].

A little farther in, pitch-black darkness greeted me, without a single ray of light. Naturally, I couldn't use a torch or a glowstone. But that was fine.

◆Activating skill, Low-Light Vision[D+].

The message appeared before my eyes. Soon, I could make out the dungeon that the darkness had concealed.

And then.

'Hmm.'

Leaving Seraphia behind had definitely been the right decision. I had seen countless sights like this during the war against the empire, but she hadn't. In more ways than one, this was no sight for a sixteen-year-old girl. Though, of course, she wouldn't have been able to see it even if she had come along.

I carefully examined Queen Marceline's corpse.

'It's certainly hard to believe she killed herself.'

The body was far too badly mutilated. She couldn't have done such terrible damage by taking her own life. Above all, her arms were securely bound in chains.

I turned my attention to the cell. Thick stone walls and a heavy iron door. Everything was intact.

'There's no sign of forced entry.'

That could suggest help from someone on the inside. But the Royal Guard was solely responsible for the dungeon's security. In other words, Lucas oversaw it personally. That would mean Lucas had been in on it...

'Impossible.'

I ruled that out. It wasn't even worth considering. The Lucas I knew wasn't someone who would betray the royal court and collude with an enemy.

Therefore, someone else had slipped past his watch and broken in. But...

'They got past a Master's surveillance.'

Even Assimilation[C+] would struggle to accomplish that. Not only had I failed to obtain the full genetic material, but I couldn't completely evade a Master's senses.

Still, suppose someone had somehow slipped in unnoticed. Killing Queen Marceline and sneaking back out would be impossible. Lucas would notice the instant she was killed. Frankly, not even Ian could pull that off.

So, as far as I knew, only one being was capable of this. One who could act in plain sight—even murder Queen Marceline right in front of Lucas—and have every memory and piece of information about it forgotten.

'The Sovereign of Darkness.'

He had taken action himself.