Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 300

300. The Great War

Despite his composed facade, his fingertips trembled with anxiety. The muscles in his neck were stiff from the strain of holding his head high. Watching him, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I see you didn’t hypnotize yourself to erase your own memories. You truly are remarkable in so many ways.”

I had wondered if the culprit’s memories were also erased, making it difficult to obtain a confession even if we apprehended them. But it seemed my worries were unfounded. The Count turned to me, his face rigid, taken aback by my muttered remark.

“Well, you must have wanted to see with your own eyes if the contract was truly successful. You probably needed the psychological reassurance of being in control. Criminals often return to the scene of the crime due to that very psychology.”

“What… are you saying…”

“Don’t you know better than anyone what I’m talking about?”

“You, you are an impudent fellow. Now that I look at you, aren’t you just a guard for Sir Aldref? I heard you’re not a noble. What right do you have to speak so freely in front of me?”

The Count, pale as a sheet, delved into irrelevant matters. In his position, it was an effective means of applying pressure. In this world, commoners cannot address nobles or interfere in their conversations without permission. Even among nobles, the opportunity to speak varies depending on rank, highlighting the subjugated position of the lower classes. In situations like this, having a noble on your side wasn’t particularly helpful, as nobles tend to prioritize the standing of other nobles. If I were truly a commoner, the proper course of action would be to shut my mouth and apologize. The Count’s desperate attempt to salvage his pride at this moment only made me frown.

“There’s no use trying to divert the issue. The evidence that you are the culprit is already clear. That liquid on your face is the blood of the witch you contracted with.”

“…! Your Majesty! This man is deceiving a noble! Are you just going to stand by and watch this behavior?”

Startled by my defiance, the Count turned his gaze to Emperor Isana in protest. Of course, needless to say, Isana didn’t even flinch.

“You are the one who is deceiving, Count. How long did you think you could cover up your sins?”

“Your, Your Majesty…”

“What wish did you make in your contract with the witch? What was it that you wanted so badly that you would kill your own daughter?”

“Ki, kill my daughter? What are you talking about?”

The Countess, who had been listening to the conversation with bated breath, dropped the handkerchief she was holding in surprise. As if only then reminded of his wife’s presence, the Count startled and waved his hands.

“My dear. It’s nothing. There seems to be some misunderstanding.”

“But just now, His Majesty said you killed your own daughter…”

“I said it’s a misunderstanding. Didn’t we just have dinner with the children? Our daughters are all safe.”

“All safe? Is Yulia not your daughter, then?”

Unable to bear the conversation any longer, I interjected, and the Count shot me a fierce look. This time, he couldn’t mask his expression and revealed his animosity.

“You…!”

“Why? Are you afraid to face the crime you committed? I’m asking if you killed Yulia because she wasn’t your real daughter.”

“Yulia…? Who is that?”

As emotions threatened to boil over, the Countess asked in a slow, confused tone. Her dazed appearance seemed familiar, mirroring the reactions people displayed when asked about Yulia. While Count Banon was displaying his dismay, I quickly answered.

“The third daughter, Yulia. Don’t you remember?”

“The third… Her name is Agnes…”

“No, Agnes is the youngest. Try to remember properly. How many daughters do you have?”

“I have… three daughters…”

“Really? Only three? Do you know all your daughters’ names?”

“Names… Melina, Amila, Yulia, and Agnes…”

“That’s right. That Yulia. Your third daughter.”

“Third daughter…”

The more she repeated the name, the emptier her eyes became. Count Banon comforted her with an anxious face.

“My dear! It’s all nonsense! Don’t listen to such words!”

“Yes? But dear, the third child is Yulia, isn’t she?”

The Countess blinked slowly, then looked up at her husband with puzzled eyes. The Count’s face stiffened.

“M, my dear?”

“Oh my, look at my mind. We have guests right now.”

The Countess, who had turned away hastily, discovered us and looked as if she had just realized something new.

“I’ve been very rude. It seems like you were in the middle of an important conversation, and I interrupted.”

“Ah, no. It’s alright.”

I looked at the Countess, who was quickly apologizing, with complicated feelings. Isana and the others were also giving me looks that conveyed their confusion.

“If it’s not impolite, may I excuse myself for a moment? I should go check on our third daughter, Yulia, to see if she’s feeling unwell.”

“I don’t mind, but do you remember Yulia now?”

“Remember? What do you mean? Of course, I remember. How could a mother not remember her own daughter?”

“…I see. Then you also know when you last saw Yulia.”

“The last time? Of course. That admirable child said she would dedicate herself to intensive prayers for the family. She wanted a younger brother to be the heir. Isn’t that right, Count? You went to pray with her then, too.”

“Ah, y-yes, that’s right.”

“You even said you would summon a witch to grant her wish. I’m sure it was just superstition, but you were both so serious. I couldn’t bring myself to stop you.”

Count Banon nodded with a troubled expression at her innocent words.

“Now that I think about it, it’s strange. Looking at the timing, it seems like we conceived a child soon after that. I guess the gods heard Yulia’s prayers.”

“Th, that’s right, my dear. Indeed.”

“…But it’s strange, Count. Why don’t I seem to have seen Yulia since then?”

Perhaps she realized something was amiss as she spoke. The Countess’s face, which had been smiling elegantly, slowly hardened. Gradually, the corners of her lips turned down, and the expression vanished from her face.

“Good heavens.”

She turned to her husband slowly with a stiff expression, as if she were realizing all the facts for the first time. She scanned the Count’s face with a fresh gaze.

“…Count. What does it mean that the red liquid on your face is the blood of a witch?”

“My dear.”

“What does it mean that you killed Yulia?”

“My dear…”

Count Banon tried to take the Countess’s hand with a pale face, but she recoiled faster than he could reach. Count Banon groaned, seemingly shocked by the sight of his wife staggering backward.

“Count… Could it be… you…?”

“M, my dear. It’s a misunderstanding.”

“What’s a misunderstanding? Then where is Yulia? I haven’t seen her since you went to pray with her. That was months ago. I haven’t seen Yulia for months! But I’ve never even thought it was strange until now!”

The Countess was trembling.

“What have you done to Yulia, to me?”

Her moist, dark eyes stared at her husband with fear. At her pitifully helpless appearance, the Count clenched his outstretched hand instead of approaching her further.

“…Please don’t look at me like that. It was all for the sake of everyone.”

“For the sake of… everyone?”

“Fulfilling a wish… required a price. It was an unavoidable sacrifice for the birth of a new life.”

“…!”

I gasped without realizing it. It was essentially the moment the Count admitted to his crime. I thought he would brazenly hold out longer, but I was taken aback by how easily he confessed. It seemed that his wife, who had been unaware of everything, had a greater impact on him than I had anticipated. The Countess opened her mouth as if she was about to scream. Although she had persistently questioned him, she clearly couldn’t believe the reality that was unfolding before her eyes. Tears instantly began to stream from her wide eyes.

“N-no way… How could you do such a thing… How could you, Yulia…”

“My dear, listen to me. I didn’t want to do it either. It was truly an unavoidable choice. You were more important to me than Yulia.”

“What does that mean? Why are you saying it like that?”

“Are you really asking because you don’t know? Don’t you know how unstable you’ve been all this time?”

“…!”

“You were always consumed by the guilt of not being able to bear a son. You treated yourself as if you were a cursed woman for only conceiving daughters! After giving birth to Agnes, you completely lost your mind and even tried to harm her with your own hands! You even attempted suicide several times because of the shock! I, I couldn’t bear to lose you!”

“For that reason… just for that reason, you killed Yulia…?”

“No! It wasn’t ‘just’! It was the most important reason to me! Everything turned out well in the end, didn’t it? I couldn’t say it until now, but the child in your womb is a son. Thanks to Yulia’s sacrifice, you have a son. You’ve conceived the son you’ve been longing for! Now you have no reason to commit suicide or blame yourself.”

Count Banon approached with a desperate face. But the Countess only moved further back as he approached. Seeing his wife shaking her head in tears, the Count looked incomprehensible.

“My dear…!”

“Everything turned out well? My daughter died, that innocent child died. You got a son, so everything turned out well? How can you say that everything turned out well?”

“…That child was going to leave anyway. We couldn’t even call her our true daughter. Because she received the insignia of a priest [a mark indicating dedication to a religious order].”

“So it was okay for her to die? Are you saying that from the bottom of your heart?”

“I’m not saying it was okay. But it’s true that the connection with the family is severed when one becomes a priest. That child could have become a being that would harm our family in the future.”

“Don’t talk such nonsense…!”

“That makes no sense! He’s a priest of the Evil God!”

Suddenly, the Count shouted, his face enraged. Seizing the opportunity of the Countess’s momentary silence, he immediately turned to us, his gaze fixed on Isana.

“Your Majesty, you understand me, right? What I did was also helpful to you!”

“…Helpful to me, you say?” Isana retorted, his face stiff. The Count nodded, a pleased expression spreading across his face.

“I know how long the priests of the Evil God have been tormenting Your Majesty. If even one of those guys disappears, wouldn’t it be beneficial to you? I was simply doing my duty as a loyal subject!”

“So, you’re claiming it was justified to kill your daughter? To call such a ridiculous claim an excuse… I can’t believe it, Count.”

“No! Your Majesty should be pleased! Even if no one else is, Your Majesty should praise me! What I killed wasn’t my daughter! It was just a puppet controlled by the Evil God!”

Even under Isana’s chilling gaze, the Count remained unyielding. His sophistry continued, seemingly oblivious to how absurd he sounded. Isana swept his hair back, his face pale.

“Aren’t you making a grave mistake, Count? You seem to be overlooking the fact that this emperor is also a follower of the Evil God. I haven’t made the entire Evil God’s cult my enemy.”

“Haha, don’t pretend to be a child of the Evil God now! Didn’t Your Majesty already abandon the Evil God and seek refuge with another god?”

“…What are you talking about…?”

“I know that Your Majesty sought help from the Order of Punishment [a religious order known for hunting down followers of dark gods]! Even if you deny it, Your Majesty can never return to the embrace of the Evil God! Which priest of the Evil God would support Your Majesty then?”

Isana fell silent, not out of submission, but sheer dumbfoundedness. However, the agitated Count seemed to interpret it as a victory, his eyes gleaming with manic intensity. It was the face of someone consumed by madness, a stark contrast to the calm and composed demeanor he had previously displayed. It was already a torment to listen to the ramblings of someone so clearly unhinged. I decided to speak before he could spew any more nonsense.

“You’re truly unbelievable. Does shifting the blame like that make you feel any better?”

“What did you say?”

A terrifying glint flashed in the Count’s wide eyes, and a palpable murderous aura emanated from his entire body. He seemed to think he was intimidating me, but it was a pathetic attempt. I easily brushed aside his murderous intent and, in turn, exerted my own pressure on him.

“Kuh, kkeuk!”

By simply intensifying the ambient moisture, the Count’s face paled instantly. He felt as if his entire body was sinking under an immense weight. He couldn’t withstand it for long, staggering before collapsing to his knees. I watched the Count, prostrate and struggling to breathe, with cold eyes.

“Your daughter was a priest of the Evil God, so she deserved to die? You need to make sense. Didn’t you start hating priests of the Evil God to hide the sin of killing your daughter? How could someone who hates the Evil God so much make a contract with a witch? Serphis would have appeared as a demon to anyone.”

“You, what do you know…!”

“Even if I don’t know anything else, I know you’re insane. And frankly, I don’t care to know anything more. However, I did overhear something I can’t simply ignore. You questioned which priest of the Evil God would support Isana?”

As I took a step closer, the Count flinched. I silently praised Kanos’s foresight.

“Too bad for you. It just so happens that I have something like this.” I removed my glove, revealing the back of my hand. The Count’s eyes widened in disbelief. I never imagined it would be used in a situation like this. A favor I had received on a whim was now proving its worth. He gaped in shock, trembling like an aspen.

“The Evil God’s… insignia…”

“Now you understand the foolishness of your delusions, right?”

Count Banon’s face was blank, like someone who had lost their mind. He had lost even the strength to support himself and collapsed completely to the floor. Stripped of his will to resist, all that remained for him was to face the consequences of his sins. I turned to Isana to gauge his opinion. After a brief exchange of glances, Isana turned his attention to the Countess. Contrary to expectations that she would have collapsed from the shock, she was somehow standing firm. Her face was as pale as a corpse, but she was no longer crying.

“Countess. Count Banon will not escape punishment. The price for abandoning the natural bond and killing his own daughter is not enough, even if he is executed.”

“…That’s right, Your Majesty.”

“Do you have anything left to say to him?”

The Countess silently turned to her husband. The Count desperately stared at her, clinging to her gaze as if it were his last hope. But she immediately averted her eyes.

“There’s nothing, Your Majesty. Please, get that person out of my sight. Please, never let me see him again. No, please execute me along with the child in my womb. I don’t have the strength to safely give birth to and raise this child.”

“Wife, my dear!”

“I… I turned myself, including that person, into monsters. It’s all my fault. I’m also a sinner. So please, kill me too. Please.”

The tears that had ceased flowing from the Countess’s eyes began to stream again. Isana stared at her for a long moment, his eyes heavy, before letting out a sigh.

“While calling yourself a sinner, you are contemplating another sin. Aren’t you thinking of your remaining children?”

“…Ha, but…”

“I don’t particularly favor guilt-by-association. The Count’s crime is grave enough to warrant death, but I will not punish the Countess and her children, who were ignorant of his actions. I hope the Countess will atone by living and raising her children safely. However, the son to be born will not inherit any title. I will have the eldest daughter, Lady Melina, inherit the title of Count Banon.”

“…!”

The Countess, who had been weeping, raised her head, her face filled with surprise. Count Banon mirrored her expression.

“Your, Your Majesty.”

“I have often spoken with Lady Melina. I found her to be more knowledgeable and intelligent than the young masters of her age. She will lead the County well.”

Tears welled up in her shaking eyes. The Countess sank to the floor, sobbing.

“That, that’s ridiculous! Melina inheriting the title when there is a son to be born! Such a thing is unheard of in the laws of the nobility…!”

Count Banon’s face was completely distorted, more hideous than when he was blaming and resenting the priest of the Evil God. Seeing his hardened face, I understood why the Countess was so fixated on having a son. His comforting words about the child’s gender being irrelevant were merely a public facade; in reality, Count Banon himself desperately wanted a son to succeed him.

“It can’t be! Your Majesty! According to the Imperial Law, only men are qualified to inherit titles and families! Such a thing is impossible!”

He raised his voice, protesting to Isana. Isana, who had been patting the Countess’s shoulder, fixed him with a chilling gaze.

“I can’t bear to listen to you any longer. Did you say Imperial Law, Count? There is no law that I, the Emperor, cannot change. And whatever happens in the future is of no concern to you, who will soon breathe your last. You will cease to exist in the world I will create in the future.”

The Count opened and closed his mouth, speechless. He seemed unable to comprehend that Isana, usually so gentle, was displaying such cold contempt.

“Kay.”

At Isana’s summons, the tightly closed door opened, and Kay, the commander of the Imperial Guard, entered. Through the open doorway, the remaining Imperial Knights waiting outside were visible. Behind them, the servants of the Count’s residence were gathered. Among them, Crown Prince Raonhuizen and his party could also be seen. As Kay, fully armed, stood before him, Count Banon flinched. The despair of someone facing their impending doom slowly surfaced on his face. Isana, looking down at him cynically, gave the order.

“Take the sinner away.”

* * *

Count Banon was charged with conspiring with Duke Yukarte to assassinate the Emperor. However, thanks to Countess Banon, who discovered her husband’s plan and prevented it in advance, the guilt-by-association system was not applied.

In the aftermath, Count Banon was imprisoned in the underground prison and committed suicide four days later. To be precise, he didn’t commit suicide in the traditional sense, but he was placed in a situation where he had no other choice. Sibelius used the ambient thoughts within the mansion to cast a hallucination spell on him, conjuring the image of the deceased Yulia repeatedly. He was tormented by nightmares day and night, forced to experience the pain and despair that child had suffered.

After his death, the title was returned to his eldest daughter, Melina, according to the Emperor’s decree. Usually, even if a woman received a title, she only held temporary authority, passing it on to her husband or son. This was the first time in the history of the Swalt Empire that a title and territory were fully and formally granted to a woman. It wasn’t even a lower title, but a Count’s title. A huge ripple that would shake the aristocratic world was expected, but Isana remained unconcerned. Later, I vaguely heard that it was something he had been contemplating for a long time, perhaps influenced by observing April, who was left to fend for herself when Duke Cael of Clmore faced his troubles. What was clear was that the winds of reform were blowing.

“Emperor Isana, you are more decisive than you appear.”

And since that day, Asel had been walking around with an excited expression. He couldn’t meet Isana’s gaze as easily as before, and his cheeks flushed shyly whenever their eyes met. It turned out that he had been studying drafting at the academy in addition to astrology and astronomy. His deceased parents were scholars, but it seemed that his mother had achieved more academically but had not been recognized for her contributions. As a result of feeling a sense of injustice, Asel harbored a strong interest in women’s social advancement. Of course, the Carters Empire was as male-dominated as the Swalt Empire, so there were many obstacles to overcome. Once, he published a paper arguing that women should have the same right to inherit titles as men, but he was ridiculed by his fellow students. Isana fearlessly carried out what he had to step back while swallowing his bitter feelings at that time. From his point of view, Isana was worthy of being an object of admiration.

“I think I know why Alisa is attracted to Emperor Isana.”

He was smiling brightly, seemingly oblivious to the wary glances Alisa was now directing at him. Furthermore, Crown Prince Raonhuizen’s gaze was becoming increasingly peculiar. It wasn’t just my imagination that this was escalating beyond a three-way rivalry, potentially even a four-way one. I began to dread the relationship chart they would inevitably create in the future.

Meanwhile, apart from that situation, Sibelius and Asel’s magic lessons were progressing smoothly. As a result of continuous training, Asel was able to manage the aftereffects to a tolerable extent, even if he couldn’t completely control the hallucinations.

“Now the basic form is roughly in place.”

Asel’s face lit up at the first positive evaluation he had received since the class began.

“Let’s stop here today. I’m tired.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your teachings today.”

Sibelius stared at Asel, who was bowing his head, for a moment before turning away. He clearly felt embarrassed, though he didn’t show it. I smiled and turned to Asel.

“Good job, Asel.”

“No, El. Um, but there’s one thing I wanted to ask.”

“What is it?”

“The newly joined black-haired boy and the man who is said to be his subordinate… They’re demons, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Come to think of it, I had never formally introduced the two of them to Asel. Deciding it wasn’t something to hide, I nodded, and Asel’s face paled.

“Is… is it okay?”

“Are you scared because they’re demons? They’re both good people. You don’t have to worry.”

“No, that’s not it… I’m talking about Sibelius. Isn’t the unicorn tribe hostile to demons?”

“You know that too?”

Sibelius, who had been maintaining an uninterested attitude, turned to him. Asel scratched his cheek hesitantly.

“I just thought I heard that.”

“Hmph, that wasn’t a widely known fact even when the unicorn tribe resided on this land. That’s unexpected.”

“So that was true? Actually, I’ve researched all the data recorded about unicorns. There was a line or so mentioned there, but I couldn’t forget it for some reason. I also heard that the founder died at the hands of a demon.”

“…What?”

That last word was unexpected, causing both Sibelius and I to look at Asel simultaneously. His eyes widened as if he was embarrassed by the sudden attention.

“Died? To a demon?”

“Um, it’s not accurate. I just heard an anecdote like that… There is no accurate record of what happened to the founder in the end. Only the fact that he died has been confirmed.”

“…I see.”

Sibelius nodded slowly. He had already regained his composure, returning to his usual indifferent expression. But I could sense that he was quite shaken. He seemed to be feeling bewildered by the death itself, rather than the circumstances surrounding it.

“I see. Brother is already dead.”

He muttered in a voice close to a monologue. I had assumed that he was naturally no longer in this world, being Asel’s ancestor, but then I remembered that the unicorn tribe had exceptionally long lifespans. Sibelius seemed to have believed that he would still be alive somewhere. Feeling sorry for his dejected posture, I placed my hand on his shoulder. The face that had been staring blankly turned to me and smiled faintly.

In the erased past of 4,000 years, one more thing he lost was added. It hurt my heart, so I bit my lip. On top of Sibelius’s pensive appearance, Deron’s appearance of sadly looking down at Serphis’s corpse overlapped. I wondered if my appearance would overlap on top of that someday. The more precious things I accumulate, the scarier it becomes. It feels like there is only loss awaiting me in the future. I’m not sure if I can handle it with composure.

So I hugged Sibelius tightly. He flinched in surprise, but then he started patting my back gently. It felt like the comforter and the comforted were reversed, but that soon became irrelevant. That’s because As, who was entering the room, spotted us and jumped in without hesitation.

“As too! Hug As too! As too!”

“Hey, you! What are you doing all of a sudden!”

Sibelius shouted at As, who was suddenly attacking. But it wasn’t just As who attacked. Isana and Alisa were also coming in, so they rushed in and piled their weight on him. Sibelius, burdened by the sudden increase in weight, groaned. In the midst of the chaos, I felt something being added behind me. When I looked up, Deron was already leaning against my back politely. He smiled when he met my eyes. I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“You guys are having fun.”

I heard Lapis grumbling while lying on the bed. I was completely immersed in the laughter that echoed throughout the room. I knew that this moment would be enjoyable no matter when I remembered it again. I thought that was enough for now.