Chapter 253 - The Death of Family

"I already know your intelligence network is your livelihood, and knowing that, I realize how terribly rude it is to ask this..."

Ferda was a mage. By nature, he could never be satisfied until he had made sense of whatever unknown realm he encountered.

"But could you tell me how you resolved it?"

"It was simple."

Garnet explained her solution.

"Mountainbreaker said she would never marry a man weaker than herself, correct?"

"Yes."

"As a result, she's never had a proper romance in all thirty-two years of her life. Her defenses were impregnable, but inside, she's no different from a young girl, just as someone said."

"Hmm..."

A swordmaster with a young girl's mind. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

"So I told her about a young nobleman I've had my eye on lately."

"What sort of young nobleman?"

"There's one idiot who's a promising swordsman, but despite being of marriageable age, he's gone off on a knightly training journey instead of marrying. And..."

"And?"

"He's handsome."

She said it as though that were the most important point.

"Not as handsome as that womanizer, of course, but he's a good-looking lad. I told her he was young and innocent, and above all, that he admired her."

"... And?"

"As you know, Black Bandana was an information-based business, which meant we handled all sorts of things when you got down to the details. Those included matchmaking and engineering romantic encounters."

"Oh...?"

"When I told her I would help make that idiot fall so madly in love with her that he'd propose, she hugged me with tears in her eyes."

Humanity's greatest enemy was loneliness, after all. Even someone who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship would rot from within if lonely. Garnet had exploited that vulnerability to change the swordmaster's mind.

"Just what I'd expect of a merchants' guildmaster..."

"Meeting the customer's needs is a basic requirement."

He could only admire her coolheaded negotiating.

"The situation has been resolved, so you may head back inside. Once again, I apologize for the trouble 'that idiot' has caused you."

"Keep up the good work."

Ferda returned to the castle.

After bidding him a respectful farewell, Garnet turned toward Zed. He was leaning against the battlements, gazing down at the spot Mountainbreaker had left.

"Hah."

A hollow sigh escaped his lips. Garnet questioned him incredulously.

"What's that look for? I save you from drowning, and now you're upset that your belongings are missing?"

"No. I'm just feeling a little offended."

"What?"

"I worked so hard to give her the best night of her life, and now some young fellow turns her head and she throws me away like an old shoe. I can hardly accept..."

"..."

"Actually, I can. I must have lost my mind. What a thing to say to the person who saved my life! Ha ha ha!"

"..."

"How could this humble fellow ever repay your kindness...?"

"Drop dead, you piece of trash."

Garnet shoved his chest and walked away. Her eyes were sharper than usual, her expression full of disgust. Zed admitted that his usual behavior made him hard to like, but he couldn't understand her actions.

"Huh?"

Then he noticed something lying at his feet. It was an earring. Wondering where he had seen it before, he realized it was identical to the one Garnet had been wearing.

"Hmm..."

A securely fastened earring wouldn't suddenly fall off. And Garnet wasn't the sort to go around dropping things. Zed immediately understood its meaning and chuckled.

"You really can't be honest, can you?"

He carefully tucked the earring into his pocket. He would visit Garnet's bedchamber tonight to return it.

* * *

The Order of Altes's grand cathedral in the Arken Empire.

Late that night, Olivia sat before the dais where the body lay. Rather than her usual figure-hugging dress, she wore the garb of a member of the Order of Altes.

"Greetings to Olivia Arken, princess of the great Empire and believer in the light."

An elderly abbess approached with those words.

"I have come to inform you that the funeral arrangements have been settled."

"..."

"They intend to hold the service here in the grand cathedral immediately after the Second Prince's funeral at the palace chapel."

"..."

Olivia gave no reply. The abbess, who had kept her head bowed, had no choice but to raise it. The sight of Olivia's face took her breath away.

'Truly, hers is a beauty bestowed by God...'

Olivia wore a nun's habit exactly as prescribed. A veil covered her hair, and the slightly oversized habit concealed her figure, shutting away everything that might incite desire.

Yet whether her body or her hair could be seen was immaterial. The sight of her finely defined features alone was enough to stir instincts buried deep within. If even an elderly abbess thought so, what of the other clergy?

Olivia was all the more devastating in her present mood. She always maintained her smile in public, and the abbess had never seen her swayed by her emotions. Now she was not smiling.

With tear tracks clearly marking her face, she looked like a forlorn maiden who would stir men's hearts and captivate them. The soft candlelight seemed to form a halo around her, lending her an even greater nobility.

The abbess knew instinctively that Olivia would surely become a Saintess.

"I know how difficult this must be for you."

"... Pardon?"

"Your face was so full of worry that I overstepped my place."

"Ah."

"Even when relatives are at one another's throats, death can leave us utterly dazed. Isn't that what it means to lose family?"

"... Thank you."

It was a brief reply. Clearly, she was in no state for company. The abbess bowed her head carefully in farewell and left.

Olivia considered what the abbess had said.

'They seemed to be arguing both sides, but was it meaningless after all?'

Ureas and Count Ruster. The question of whose life was worth more had been settled in Count Ruster's favor. Even those who had fought for the Second Prince had probably only been putting on a show.

There had been two legitimate heirs, and one was dead. Rumors also claimed that Ureas had worn a devil's form when he died. The people who started those groundless rumors had been punished at once, but word had already spread far and wide.

No one stood on the Second Prince's side. The living had to align themselves with either Alexander or Waldemar, even now.

'So I'm not an option, in the end.'

Olivia quietly gazed into the coffin. The face undeniably resembled Ureas, but it was not him. Undertakers had gathered to carve an unclaimed corpse into a counterfeit of his body. The likeness was so close that she could invest it with emotion despite knowing it was a stranger.

"Useless..."

Just then, voices from outside carried easily through the silent cathedral to Olivia's ears.

"Her Highness is inside at present."

"What is wrong with wanting to see my sister?"

"She needs time alone to grieve. Please respect that, Your Highness."

Hearing the voices, Olivia quietly rang the bell. The maid outside opened the door, and Olivia gave her order.

"Tell him to come in."

Alexander entered. Olivia turned her eyes toward him, and he gave a small shudder. Her bewitching face offered him a fresh thrill.

"What brings you here?"

"A-ahem... I came to tell you what lies ahead."

Striving to seem unaffected, Alexander approached her side. He looked down at Ureas's face as he spoke.

"I plan to deliver a speech at Ureas's funeral."

"..."

"Grand Duke Gold's faction apparently intends to capitalize on the anger toward Demons in the wake of this disaster. The Arken bloodline could be swallowed up in this crisis."

"And?"

"I would like you to stand beside me there."

"What could I do there?"

"There's no need to hide it any longer. You have a natural gift, don't you? The ability to draw people to you."

"What do I gain from that?"

"You would be able to remain part of Father's bloodline, wouldn't you?"

True enough. Waldemar was desperate to have Olivia. Alexander had agreed to cooperate, but in truth, he could hardly be pleased. Waldemar's position already surpassed his. If the grand duke obtained Olivia as well, there would no longer be any reason the crown prince had to inherit the throne.

In imperial politics, anyone who failed to calculate gains and losses precisely was discarded. Even an oath Waldemar swore on his own name could not be trusted.

"Olivia, I know you and I have never been on good terms."

Alexander sat beside her. The sound of his breathing sullied her ears.

"But shouldn't family come together at a time of grief like this? We must put our heads together and find a way out of this predicament."

Olivia glanced toward him. Suddenly, she smiled brightly. Alexander instinctively sensed killing intent. Her hand darted toward him.

"Aaargh!"

Pain shot through his ear. When he raised his hand to it, warm liquid was running down from it. Olivia held a dagger. She had been hiding it beneath her chair.

"Oh my."

Olivia laughed scornfully.

"I meant to gouge out that eye of yours. What a shame."

"Olivia!"

Alexander shouted, adrenaline surging through him.

"H-how dare you...!"

"How dare I what? Can't get the words out, you fucking pig?"

Olivia's expression was coldly mocking. Grinning, she took a step forward, idly swinging the bloodied dagger. Alexander instinctively backed away. She truly intended to kill him.

"Put our heads together as family?"

Her blue eyes flicked toward Ureas.

"Are you sure it isn't something else you want to press together?"

Even now, with blood streaming from his ear, lust lingered on his face.

"Disgusting bastard."

Scathing words spilled from her cruelly smiling lips. She pointed the dagger at Alexander.

"Get the hell out. Do you want another stab?"

"Do you think you'll get away with this?!"

"Why? Going to tell on me? To whom? That old man?"

She had acted in anger, but not without thought.

"Go on, tell someone. Say your sister's possessed by an evil spirit, or that she's a Demon. Say whatever you like. That old man who lusts after my body will be absolutely delighted, won't he?"

"You scheming bitch...!"

"Get out while I'm giving you the chance. If you're that horny, run straight to the crown princess and fuck her. We want this crown princess to live a long life, don't we?"

Unable to say another word, Alexander withdrew, clutching his ear.

BANG!

The door slammed shut, and the space outside erupted into commotion. Alexander's shouts for a priest faded as he moved away.

Amid the turmoil, the abbess cautiously approached.

"Your Highness? Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"Could you tell me what happened?"

"..."

Olivia did not answer. A bloodstained dagger lay at her feet.

"I will remove this."

"It's all right. Leave it."

"Understood. Then, if you'll excuse me..."

The abbess withdrew worriedly, leaving Olivia alone once more.

'I've gone and done it.'

Yet she felt nothing. It was no more than the feeling of swatting a mosquito that had happened to fly in. There might be a fuss, but once she washed her hands, it would be over.

She had often felt the urge to kill Alexander, but this was only the second time she had personally harmed him. The first had been when she was young and inexperienced, when he came to her bedchamber to force himself on her. This was the second. She should have killed him back then.

"I shouldn't be like this..."

Her restraint was slipping away, and impulses kept overwhelming her. It would only grow worse. The more she gave in, the greater the god she held in her heart would become.

If she became a Saintess, she would wield the immense power of the Order of Altes. Olivia considered what would follow. Once it was all over, the Empire would collapse, and Arken would cease to exist, its name preserved only in history.

What would she do when she reached that end? Would she admit everything and accept her destruction? Or would she seek salvation while uglily justifying her actions?

It hurt. The knowledge that she stood at the edge of a precipice, doomed to destruction, drove her into a corner.

Suddenly, a man's voice came to her.

["If you're prepared to abandon everything once this is over, I will gladly help you."]

Ferda's words echoed in her ears. Her heart, so terribly burdened, grew astonishingly peaceful. Olivia quietly clasped her hands in prayer.

"Lord Ferda."

The lips that should have spoken a god's name repeated only the name of one man.