Side Story Chapter 193
“Hu-Hubalt crossed the border?” Valmont, who was following the two princes, was surprised. Up until now, he had been exchanging silly banter with Duke Tremblin. He’d suggested they bet on who would kill more of the death knights, Kireua or Selim.
“O-Old man,” Valmont stammered, “did you hear that?”
“It’s ‘Your Grace’ to you when other people are around.”
“What do you mean? No one is here except us—”
“Look up.”
Valmont raised his head and his eyes immediately widened.
It wasn’t just the Emperor of Avalon on the battlefield right now. Cain, the Combat Emperor; Icarus, the Heaven’s Mind; Iceline, the Cold-Blooded Murderer; Ulabis, the Flame Emperor... Every one of them, worried about the emperor, had dropped what they were doing and hastened to the battlefield.
“It won’t be easy to buy an artifact of levitation even with ten years of my salary, but...” Valmont trailed off.
“Why are you worried about that? The greatest artifact crafter in the continent is right over there.”
“...That was what I was going to say. I was thinking that this is my chance to get on Her Majesty’s good side and ask her to make one for me.”
“Hahaha! You’re one of the famous lazybones in the Palace, so I’m not sure if Her Majesty Iceline would give you a discount.”
“Come on, I’m part of the Palace’s secret knights. Of course she would give me a discount.”
“You still don’t know that Her Majesty Iceline is the most frugal person in the Palace—maybe even in the entirety of Avalon, do you.”
“Huuuh? Why would she?” Valmont questioned.
“She watched her family collapse due to a lack of power when she was very young. Ever since then, Her Majesty has saved up every coin. And when His Majesty had no nobles on his side, she was instrumental in recruiting them. That is who the Queen Consort is.”
No matter how much money she earned, she didn’t use it wantonly. She always knew the right moment to use it, especially when it was for the sake of her beloved family.
“Ahhh.... I should marry a woman like her too...”
“Isn’t it a bit too late for you to get married?”
“I want to make it clear that, unlike someone, I chose not to get married, I wasn’t unable to get married. Look at my handsome face. If I go out into Arcadia, women will line up for a date with me.”
“By ‘someone’, do you mean Sir Cain?” Tremblin asked mischievously.
“Ahem.” Valmont quietly cleared his throat, neither confirming nor denying.
“I’m going to tattle on you.”
“Your Grace, you should protect your dignity as the almighty duke. The last thing you should do at your age is tattle, you know,” Valmont grumbled.
Valmont and Tremblin had definitely heard the messenger say that Hubalt was invading, but they had already regained their composure and were cheerfully exchanging jokes. It was no surprise, really, knowing who stood in the sky above them.
“It would be perfect if His Majesty recovered his real body,” Valmont murmured.
“It’ll happen.”
“Oh!” Valmont jumped as the pieces of a death knight came hurtling toward him. “Oh, sheesh. He’s already taken out four of them?”
The dismembered bits came from Selim. The First Prince’s spear had eliminated four of the death knights. Even Valmont, Avalon’s laziest genius, could only take out two death knights at once.
“I give up now. With that kind of talent...” Valmont shook his head.
“What...?”
“The man down there is the child of my lord and lady—and he is your student.”
Ulabis bit his lip.
Cain was one of the people most familiar with Kireua’s current condition. As soon as Kireua had awakened, he had gone to find Cain. After seeing that Cain had completely recovered, Kireua had shed tears and confessed that he felt guilty for everything that had happened. Afterward, Kireua had immediately told Cain a story that would no doubt cause an uproar if it became known to the public.
‘The former duke tried to take over his body and use him to harm His Majesty... That was what His Highness Kireua told me.’
Of course, the Dark God’s soul had been erased, but Kireua had told Cain one more surprising and miraculous fact: the memories and knowledge of the Dark God were still left in Kireua.
‘The world may have declared him a monster, but Aden von Agnus was undeniably a genius swordsman whose prowess will be remembered. Once His Highness makes those memories his own...’ Cain stared at Kireua as he cut down yet another death knight, and a smile crept onto his lips. ‘...he could catch up to Prince Selim. The competition for the throne will be very interesting.’
* * *
Numerous horses’ hooves churned the ground.
“We’ve just passed the border of Avalon, Your Excellency!”
“This is so easy. It’s so easy it makes me want to yawn.” Bel then yawned.
Not a single border guard could be seen because Bel had already beaten every one of them on the way over here.
“Maybe I should have spared some so this would feel like an actual war,” Bel mumbled to himself.
“In addition, Cardinal—no, Emperor Kurz has sent emissaries to every single country,” the knight reported to Bel. The fact that the emperor of Hubalt was subordinate to Bel did not seem to give the knight pause.
Bel nodded. “How do you think they’re going to reply?”
“Umm... I’ve received reports that bad rumors about us are spreading in other countries.”
“Bad rumors?”
“The paladins came to the Palace of Avalon as delegates and then used the invitation to launch a surprise attack—”
Bel chuckled before the knight could finish speaking. “Well, that isn’t wrong.”
“But wouldn’t it be problematic for our plan if people believed that rumor? Our reason for starting a war is Babel von Agnus and Carmen von Agnus’s attempt on your life...”
“Forget it. It’s just a nuisance at this point. Whatever the winner says will become history anyway, so why are you so worried about it?” Bel grumbled.
The knight knew he couldn’t say out loud that he was nervous about entering Avalon’s land. They were, after all, going up against Joshua Sanders, the Martial God.
“Anyhow, I hope the Emperor of Avalon likes our gift. Hehehe.”
“Ah!” The knight glanced back at the boxy metal cage. Its interior was so dark that not a trace of color could be seen within.
“You’ve heard what the guy inside said, yes? They think we’ll head straight to Arcadia, but we’re heading for northern Avalon,” Bel reminded the knight.
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“Tell everyone that we’ll exterminate every human and monster we encounter on our way. Leave no witnesses. No one can know about where we’re going. Got it?”
“I understand, Your Excellency!” The knight spurred his horse to deliver the order to everyone.
Bel smiled wickedly at the knight’s back. “The snowy mountain in north Avalon. Hehehehe. If it’s true, then this will be very interesting.”
