Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 264

“I’m curious to know what brings the Chief Magician of the Carter Empire’s Imperial Family here. As you can see, these are rather turbulent times.”

The voice was gentle but held a clear edge. Danimel grew even more tense.

“I… I apologize. My visit here is unknown to the Carter Empire’s Imperial Family. I have a favor to ask of an old acquaintance, and I’ve come despite my misgivings.”

“That favor… would you mind if I listened in?”

“…It might involve something that would greatly disrespect His Majesty. However, I assure you that I have no ulterior motives. I have no intentions beyond what I’ve stated.”

“Saying that only makes me more curious. Tell me.”

Even as Isana settled into a listening posture, Danimel couldn’t speak easily. The thought of turning back pressed on him. If his matter were even slightly less important, he would have. But now, there was no turning back. He repeatedly recalled what had driven him to this place, suppressing the urge to flee. After a long hesitation, he cautiously opened his mouth.

“Actually, I am looking for someone. I would like to ask for your help in finding him.”

“Someone? Who are you talking about?”

“…is.”

“I can’t hear you well.”

“…It’s… Crown Prince Raon Hwizen… is.”

“……”

“……”
A chilling silence filled the tent. Not only Isana and Duke Kawell, but even the royal knights standing behind them wore blank expressions. Danimel couldn’t even bring himself to open his tightly shut eyes. Just as his breath was half gone from the long silence, Isana spoke.

“…I hardly need to explain that this is the Swalt Empire. Isn’t Crown Prince Raon Hwizen your crown prince? Why are you looking for him here?”

“T-the truth is, he ran away from home…”

“……”

“To be precise, he submitted a leave of absence to the academy and then disappeared. I’m following his trail, but he’s the type who doesn’t leave any traces… I’ve barely managed to find out that he recently headed to the Swalt Empire.”

The more she heard, the more absurd it became. Isana pressed hard on her throbbing head. She had considered various situations, but she hadn’t anticipated such a ridiculous errand.

“…I can’t understand. Is this how the Carter Empire handles the disappearance of its crown prince?”

“N-no, it’s not. As I said, the Imperial Family is completely unaware of my visit here. Only the academy president and I currently know that His Highness has disappeared. If this becomes known, the Imperial Family will be completely overturned. We are trying to quietly resolve it as much as possible within our means.”

“Your attitude seems quite complacent for such a serious matter. Don’t you think there’s a risk to the crown prince’s safety?”

“That’s alright. That won’t happen.”

For the first time, strength infused the voice that had been hesitant. Isana looked at Danimel with a strange expression. His face was full of confidence—an attitude close to conviction, beyond mere belief, that nothing would endanger the crown prince.

‘They said he was a genius who mastered magic from the time he learned to read.’

Isana, guessing the source of his confidence, nodded lightly. She had never actually seen Crown Prince Raon Hwizen. But because they were the same age and in similar positions, people had always mentioned them together since they were young. The former her might have felt a little intimidated. But now, she didn’t feel anything at all. Just as El had once told her, the power she possessed was not something that could be pushed aside by anyone. Above all, she was already immune to magicians called geniuses. No matter how great that crown prince was, he didn’t seem like he could surpass Lapis.

“What’s the reason the crown prince disappeared? Is it a simple excursion?”

As Isana readily took charge of the situation, Danimel became more subdued. A strange sense of defeat tormented him, realizing that the opponent he thought was a good match wasn’t even treating him as such. But as far as the world knew, Empress Isana wasn’t particularly talented in anything. She was said to be good at swordsmanship, but she wasn’t a prodigy either. Thinking it was just a matter of mood, he answered the question.

“Actually, Crown Prince Raon Hwizen was born under a special star.”

“A special star?”

“I don’t know how you’ll take these words, but I heard he was born under the star of a monarch. In fact, everything given to him, including his bloodline and abilities, is extraordinary, as if proving it. Watching from the side, I can feel that fate is guiding him on the path of a king.”

“Interesting. Continue.”

“Ahem, so, I know that this star of a monarch appears about once every few generations. And in the era when this star appears, there is another star that is born with an extremely rare probability.”

“What is it?”

“It’s called the companion star.”

“……!”

The warmth vanished from Isana’s face for the first time as she had been listening leisurely. But the change was so small that no one noticed the difference in temperature.

“…Companion star?”

“Yes, that’s right. It is literally a star that is destined to be the monarch’s companion. It appears with the blue moon, and it is said that only girls are born under that star. It’s a very rare star, but I heard that this time, the companion star has appeared.”

“……”

“Crown Prince has always been curious about what kind of woman the companion star would be. But no matter how hard the diviners searched, they couldn’t find her location. But, recently, they say she has finally started to appear.”

“So……”

“Yes, so he left to find the companion star.”

Power involuntarily gathered in her fist. Isana forced a twisted smile to avoid letting out a groan. She didn’t know about the star of a monarch, but she knew about the companion star. Hadn’t she created a crest with a blue moon based on that legend?

‘Alisa.’

The deep crimson eyes of the lovely girl came to mind. Her face, smiling brightly as she turned around, and her chattering voice too.

“Are you sure the crown prince is here?”

“Yes, there’s no mistake. I heard they were heading to the Alponf Empire when they departed, but it seems they suddenly changed direction to the Swalt Empire. It looks like the companion star is on the move.”

“……I see.”

I really hate things like destiny. Isana sighed. That word becomes infinitely cruel when wearing a cold mask. It comes along without a care, simply snatches away what’s precious, and then makes it seem natural, leaving you powerless. It was a devil that only opened the door opposite to the direction you wanted, tricking people.

But even so. She didn’t regret the answer she gave Alisa back then. She believed that a bond as strong as destiny had been formed. She wanted to believe that there was meaning in his and her meeting. At least, she wouldn’t just let the suddenly appearing star of destiny drag her away as it pleased. Even if it was just for her own satisfaction.

“Alright. I will help you find him.”

“Is that really true? Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you so much!”

The echoing words of gratitude didn’t sound pleasant. Ignoring the moved Danimel, Isana quietly fueled her fighting spirit. No one had told her, but she instinctively realized it. A strand of unwanted fate had entered his life and began to weave itself tightly from within. It felt like it would become a very tenacious and hard-to-cut strand.

* * *

“So, he’s already arrived in Avalon?”

The low mutter was closer to a beast’s growl. A fierce, almost ominous gaze fell upon the black orb in front of him. The armored man reflected within swallowed hard. Even just looking at the magically projected image, he felt like he was suffocating from the murderous aura emanating from the other party.

“Didn’t you boast that you could stop them, Lord Setnio? So why has the Emperor’s army already occupied Avalon?”

『I, I am sorry, Duke Yukarte. I have no excuse.』

At the groveling apology, Duke Yukarte chuckled briefly. However, his demeanor didn’t change at all, even with a smile on his face. Rather, it became even more eerie.

“Anyone can apologize after failing. What I want isn’t sweet talk, but results. I thought you would know that well. Was I mistaken?”

『I know that no excuse will satisfy you. It’s only natural that you are greatly disappointed with this outcome. But the plan was truly perfect. We actually succeeded in luring them into the swamp. But to think they would escape from there…』

“You’re just saying it was a poor trap in a very roundabout way.”

『N, no, that’s not it. The Hesur Swamp is a notorious quagmire that no one can escape once they fall in. No one has ever entered it and come out alive. Please believe me!』

“Believe? How can I believe that? The Emperor’s army passed through that supposedly infamous swamp without any trouble. It ended up guiding them on a shortcut instead.”

『That is…….』

The fervent excuses stopped. After all, all excuses were meaningless. In a battle where only the result mattered, the original probability of success wasn’t very important. In any case, the enemies had passed through the trap, and the plan had failed. It was only natural that he had nothing to say, even with ten mouths.

“You have disappointed me. The next report better not be as pathetic as today’s news. This is your last chance.”

『……I will keep that in mind.』

With that gloomy reply, the light of the crystal ball went out. Yukarte didn’t take his gaze away until the surface of the flickering orb turned completely black.

“You moron.”

Karibdis, who was standing next to him, frowned at the merciless assessment. Watching Yukarte unable to contain his anger, he sighed lightly.

“Count Setnio is ambitious, but he is not a bad commander. Please be a little more lenient.”

“He’s a man who makes boasts he can’t keep. How much more lenient should I be? Even calling him a moron is not enough.”

“The opponent was just unexpected.”

The look in his eyes, which seemed like it would never change, softened slightly at those words.

“You said a geomancer [one who practices geomancy, a type of divination] was active.”

“Yes.”

“Said to have lifted them out of the swamp in an instant.”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

So, it’s that girl again.

Yukarte’s face twisted. He had already gathered information that the girl who led the battle of Lasen Castle to victory was at the forefront. Until then, she wasn’t the type to bother him much. The fact that she had broken down the castle walls was surprising, but he didn’t see it as entirely her own skill. When one side collapses, the force that causes it to fall makes it easy for the other side to collapse in succession. In other words, with skill and luck, one could achieve great results with little effort.

Perhaps Count Setnio had come to the same conclusion. It was a natural judgment. It was true that geomancers were very rare, but the Imperial Palace already had Peris. He knew the abilities of an intermediate geomancer very well. No matter how skilled a geomancer was, they couldn’t save hundreds of soldiers from a swamp like that. He probably never imagined that they would get through without any sacrifices.

‘Did the Water Spirit King help? But Isana is too far away with the main force for that to be the case.’

Everyone knew the basic common sense that spirits couldn’t stray far from their contractors. Even if they were beings with power comparable to gods, they were still bound by contract. Yukarte didn’t think the Water Spirit King could act independently. Information about the Spirit Kings was mostly unknown, even to geomancers. There was no way Yukarte, who wasn’t a geomancer, could know that the Spirit King was free from such restrictions.

Therefore, his thinking led to one conclusion. That the Emperor in the main force was a fake, and the real Isana was at the forefront. It might be a strategy to boost the morale of their allies while catching us off guard. Of course, it was only a hypothesis, so he couldn’t rashly be certain.

‘But it’s worth checking.’

If the Emperor was at the forefront, we would have to change our strategy. To do that, we needed to know the situation more accurately. It was no longer acceptable to let that geomancer girl run rampant. It seemed the Emperor’s army was already calling that girl the Daughter of the Spear and worshiping her. She was still their goddess, but if this atmosphere continued, it would soon affect us. In war, the psychology of engaging in battle is as important as military force. Isn’t that why they try to create even flimsy justifications? It would be good to pour cold water on it at this point.

‘Let’s see, how should I shake things up…….’

He was quietly stroking his chin, lost in thought, when it happened. The door opened silently, and the chamberlain carefully entered. Yukarte frowned slightly, reacting to the uninvited appearance. The chamberlain hurriedly bowed his head.

“I apologize, Duke Yukarte. I thought it was something I needed to tell you urgently, so I spoke up.”

“What is it?”

“A distinguished guest has come to the palace.”

The following answer was unexpected. A puzzled expression appeared on Yukarte’s face.

“……A distinguished guest?”