Chapter 70 – Crossroads (2)

Ten days ago.

“Luelde. You truly are difficult to find.”

With her long silver hair draped around her like a blanket, Geornia appeared much younger than her actual age at first glance.

Yet, her composure and bearing subtly revealed her years of experience.

Half-reclining on a large sofa in the VIP room, she fixed her gaze on Luelde, who had entered with an air of casual confidence.

“…I have no excuse.”

“Why that funeral face? Afraid I’ll scold you? Or perhaps you’ve heard some troubling news from the children?”

“……”

Geornia and Hamerne, the golden-haired elf standing silently behind her, showed no particular reaction.

However,
their bright, verdant gazes tracked Luelde’s every movement with meticulous attention.

“I’ve deliberated for several days… but since running away solves nothing, I’ve made a decision.”

“…A decision, my lady?”

“Melineos. It seems the child experienced a prophetic dream.”

“Why tell me this? Don’t say it involves Cariel?”

“What’s with that reaction? Acting as if this is the first you’ve heard of it?”

Luelde considered this.

If she was bringing this to him specifically, there must be a good reason.

Moreover…

…Luelde himself was still profoundly disturbed by what Patina had recently shared with him.

The fact that she had reported to him first, rather than others, was likely a courtesy.

And now that the information would soon travel up the chain of command…

“Judging by your expression, you’ve figured something out?”

“……”

“Melineos cannot recall the dream. And the one who made it so was… the Golden Beast.”

“…Pardon me?”

What was this?

Why mention the Golden Beast—the Demon King of Wisdom—now?

“I don’t know the details. Probably just fragments. A being of that magnitude… even a mere speck of their essence could influence reality.”

“Is Melineos safe?”

“From what I’ve observed… yes. No abnormalities.”

Which only made it more concerning.

What twisted scheme had that deranged beast concocted?

Even in death, it continued to cause chaos.

“Whether today or tomorrow… I intend to uncover the truth behind this. It’s gone too far to ignore.”

“……”

The information Luelde had encountered was already shocking, and now something even worse was emerging.

No.

“…It may be connected to what I’ve learned.”

“What else? What more could there be?”

Why was she suddenly looking so anxious?

“…Let’s discuss it with everyone present. By now… they should all have been informed.”

“Oh for—! Why do things keep coming out of nowhere? What are you all hiding from me?!”

“…I have no excuse.”

***

“…Is this information reliable?”

“It comes directly from Lady Alessia, the Fourth-ranked Saint of Protection.”

Princess Elhermina felt the world darkening around her from the shock.

This wasn’t something to be dismissed as a joke.

Not that she was inclined toward humor in the first place.

Perhaps that’s why,

She lacked even the slightest emotional capacity to process this calmly.

“Is there any possibility it’s a lie or exaggeration?”

“…To my knowledge, reports about the birth of a holy relic in Cariela, Baronenes, have already reached both the Order and the Empire.”

“…Indeed. Though the name wasn’t included, we did receive additional information about a young man undergoing knight training—Luelde—who made a significant contribution.”

Elhermina swept back her red hair as she spoke.

“And we all know that was Cariel.”

“……”

“Patina. Tell me exactly what this Saint said to you, from beginning to end, in detail.”

Patina offered a respectful nod and calmly recounted what she had heard.

This was not information that could be documented, so no formal report existed.

Nevertheless, she showed no hesitation in her delivery; handling sensitive matters was hardly new to her.

Cariel had rescued a village in passing.

There, he joined forces with Saint Alessia, the second son of the Baron of Baronenes named Luke, and their small regiment.

Together, they traveled to Cariela, where during the celebration of Saint Cariel’s Day, they witnessed the memory excavation rite led by Philbar of the Edenrevan Regiment, designed to uncover traces of the saint’s past.

Through this, they glimpsed Saint Cariel’s memory.

“A holy relic.”

Even hearing it described, it sounded extraordinary—something that demanded deeper contemplation.

But that wasn’t all.

Originally, Saint Alessia had intended to accompany Cariel further, but he refused.

What he said then was most significant.

“Unconditional affection. Even simple kindness… to someone like him now… must have felt like too precious a blessing.”

A sigh escaped her lips.

It should have been obvious… yet why hadn’t she understood?

It felt like being trapped in a cruel nightmare while fully awake.

“So he believes that no one should become entangled with someone cursed like him.”

She didn’t know what the curse was.

But it had been described as a curse from the Demon King.

Above all, the phrase “collusion with the Demon King” carried a deeply disturbing implication.

“Could it truly be a curse…? Was there some external influence beyond our comprehension…?”

This was where the situation became critical.

When exactly had Cariel been exposed to this curse?

If he had been born with it… that would be gravely serious.

If he’d been marked during his time as a hostage… equally grave.

But if he only became aware of the curse after returning to the Empire—no, she had skipped a possibility.

What if he had been exposed to it immediately after returning to the capital? Or very recently?

“……”

Or worse,

What if it had happened during that incident with the treasure vault… an unavoidable entanglement?

In that case, it wouldn’t be strange if external or internal forces had orchestrated everything, ensuring there could be no other outcome.

So why target Cariel specifically?

Or was it precisely because it was Cariel?

Her thoughts spiraled.

Though she knew better, the air around her seemed to turn to ice.

No.

Maybe her heart was racing, but the warmth and color were draining from her face with alarming speed.

The pieces didn’t quite fit together, but if she was feeling dizzy, her blood pressure was likely dropping.

Or was it the opposite?

“…Could you repeat what you just said to His Majesty once more?”

“If commanded, I shall.”

“……”

Elhermina had heard directly from Geornia about the ominous signs in her mother Melineos’s prophetic dream.

That alone was enough to make her head throb, but now another unforeseen issue had emerged.

And it was far worse than anything she could have anticipated.

“Alessia, was it? The Fourth-ranked Saint? The one bearing Protection?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…She showed that much interest in Cariel… indeed. Could someone truly develop such deep affection from such a brief encounter? Ah… well. Cariel is exceptionally handsome, even compared to his peers, so I suppose it’s possible…”

Elhermina felt a wave of self-loathing she couldn’t quite explain.

Regret had come too late. And yearning, far too late.

The attachment remained constant, sometimes growing even heavier.

“If it helps him… I might even be willing to bless their union. If her presence brings him comfort.”

“…Your Highness.”

“That, too, remains to be seen.”

It might be a passing infatuation.

A passion born of impulse.

Or perhaps it was desire—raw and instinctive.

It didn’t matter.

Even if the beginning was improper, if in the end her feelings were genuine, if she could truly love and care for him—then it would be enough.

…Love, after all, could sometimes grow even from hatred or resentment.

She had no intention of denying the many forms love could take.

Pure and innocent love wasn’t the only form of beauty.

Even if it had to crawl through mud and endure countless hardships,

If it could still bloom despite everything, then she was prepared to accept it.

“Just watching from the sidelines… that ends here.”

But with matters so entangled and surfacing in the worst possible way,

She could already anticipate how her father would react, and how Luelde would respond.

“Let us hope this can be resolved amicably.”

She had a foreboding that it wouldn’t be so simple.

Even someone as perceptive as her couldn’t see a clear path forward in this situation.

***

“They’ve found traces of him near the Kingdom of Metlan.”

They had just missed him.

They had barely managed to learn he had boarded a ship bound for Dabass, but that was all.

After that, there was no way to track his movements.

Which meant Luelde had no choice but to infiltrate Dabass himself to investigate further.

As the early morning mist drifted silently through the forest,

Patina, having just fed and released a hawk, examined a small rolled message.

Simple signals and alerts could be conveyed through beacons, but those were vulnerable to weather conditions.

Moreover, they couldn’t transmit complex information, which meant messengers were often necessary.

However, human messengers had limits, no matter how swift.

That’s why using trained birds or special animals for communication was a time-honored tradition.

Even faster and more sophisticated methods involved special enchantments or magical messaging.

While approaches varied, the Empire’s official communication systems relied primarily on magical means.

Though these required accompanying mages, the Empire never hesitated to provide such support.

The ancient Empire of Vera, lacking such means, had relied on a state-run courier system, but even that had clear limitations.

In contrast,

The Berke Empire had found a compromise by combining courier stations with magical communications, establishing hybrid relay points throughout the realm.

Even so, these fixed locations were only practical if one was on a direct route or nearby.

Which was why,

Magically trained messenger birds remained essential, especially in covert operations like this in foreign territory.

“I see.”

Luelde rose to his feet, scattering small logs that had been quietly smoldering without smoke in the damp forest terrain, still wet from the previous night’s rain.

Beneath his brown travel cloak, he wore his knight order uniform.

The hooded cloak, though appearing like any common traveler’s garment, was actually a magical artifact.

From here, he would need to cross through foreign lands, and even that wouldn’t be the end—he would have to illegally enter yet another country.

Personal danger wasn’t his concern.

What couldn’t be ignored was the potential diplomatic incident his presence might cause. He had to proceed with utmost caution.

“They’ll report as soon as they have a more precise location.”

“Metlan, is it? Why there of all places?”

For Luelde, the entire continent held memories—many of them burdensome.

Everywhere he went, there had been battles and bloodshed.

And with those places came connections and grudges alike.

But right now, none of that mattered.

“……”

He kept revisiting the events from ten days ago.

His brother, the Emperor, had urged him to prioritize this mission above all else.

…Even Luelde himself now wondered if this was truly the right course of action.

Princess Elhermina had emphasized repeatedly that he was the only one who could accomplish this.

If she was desperate enough to say she wished she could go herself, the situation must be truly dire.

“We’re moving out.”

The entire operation consisted of just Luelde himself and Patina, who accompanied him under the guise of official duty.

Had any other nation discovered this, they would have been alarmed immediately.

Everyone on the continent knew Luelde would never act recklessly.

…And yet.

Even with just the blade at one’s throat, remaining calm was no simple feat.

If Luelde, even alone, had entered their borders,

That fact alone would be cause for alarm.

‘Ermina.’

How long could this remain hidden?

Geornia had shown restraint and avoided prying, but…

By the time she completed her postpartum recovery, she might begin to sense something was amiss.

No, she might have already started piecing together what had happened.

Even as he rode, Luelde kept replaying the conversation in his mind.

When Geornia had reconfirmed Melineos’s dream, she revealed a shocking truth.

Or perhaps it wasn’t the truth at all.

After organizing everything, Geornia had gathered everyone present and issued her directive to Luelde.

[You must summon Cariel and question him directly. Discover exactly what happened. And use every means at your disposal… to resolve this.]

If not,

[Then we will all be forced to watch, eyes wide open, as that child becomes the Demon King and reduces the Empire to ashes. And would it stop at the Empire? I think not.]

Therefore, Luelde,

[If you have no desire to kill that child with your own hands, this is your only chance.]

What was even more alarming,

[There’s a possibility that the Golden Beast is still alive, or may return.]

This was an unprecedented crisis that could not be overlooked.

[Apply every effort. And if even that proves insufficient,]

You would eventually face a choice that you would regret more than anything.

[Ensure such a tragedy never comes to pass. For the child’s sake, for your own, and for all of us.]

No matter what,

[Bring that child back to the Capital safely.]

Perhaps the situation had already deteriorated beyond recovery.

But…

“……”

That didn’t mean surrender was an option.

Why had things deteriorated so severely?

Until he heard the truth directly from the child’s own lips,

He would continue to ask himself the same haunting question, over and over again.