Ch.184The Day Before the Funeral

Life is like gambling.

Since time never looks back, the moment of choice always arrives one step ahead of the consequences.

Whether the cards you play will bring regret or joy.

No one can know until they’re revealed.

If that’s the case, it’s better to decide for yourself.

If a choice made under pressure ends in failure, the regret would be unspeakable.

…Was my decision truly a path I chose of my own will?

Looking back now, I can say only one thing.

Leopold chose the safe option, and I agreed with him.

That alone was the undeniable truth.

—-

On the day before Ferdinand II’s funeral, Isabella ended her seclusion of several days and stepped into the court meeting.

Her exposed limbs appeared somewhat thinner, as if she hadn’t eaten properly, and dark circles shadowed her bloodshot eyes.

With downcast eyebrows, slightly trembling fingertips, and a slightly bowed head.

She resembled a bedridden patient.

The seductive charm she used to wear like a dress was nowhere to be seen, and Isabella’s pitiful, gaunt appearance caused those unaware of the truth to worry and sympathize with her.

They said she had been holding up bravely and maintaining composure despite losing her husband and child… but the successive shocks must have finally taken their toll on both her mind and body.

To me, who knew the truth, such talk was laughable nonsense.

Mental shock? Please.

That woman is simply exhausted from staying up several nights in a row.

No doubt she’d been busy day and night remodeling Ernst and rolling around with him.

I turned my gaze away from Isabella to look at Ernst standing beside her.

“-Yes. Thank you for your concern. Mother is merely a bit tired, but there’s no problem now. The assassin’s identity…? That’s still under investigation, so it would be difficult to discuss here.”

Ernst was calmly responding to the nobles inquiring after their well-being.

Covering his entire body with a uniform thicker than usual, revealing only above his neck.

His appearance and demeanor hadn’t changed at all from before… but below the neck was completely different.

I could sense it without seeing.

My hearing, smell, and intuition revealed the nature of the things writhing inside his uniform.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of insects were squirming and moving their bodies.

He only appeared normal because Isabella was controlling the insects around his face, but that was no longer a person—just a colony of insects.

Even his speech and the smile meant to reassure were merely imitations forced by insects functioning as muscles.

If I were to cut him down now, I imagine a fountain of burst insects would spray out instead of blood and organs.

Wait a minute.

…Should I try it?

Cutting down Ernst right here. It was an impulsive idea, but it had some basis.

Evidence? What could be more conclusive than a swarm of insects bursting from a prince’s body?

The nobles and knights would try to stop me… but once they saw that sight, they’d be too busy screaming.

Like a child who discovers a chopped cockroach in their stew.

After the shock subsided, they would look with suspicion at Ernst, who had evolved from mammal to arthropod, and Isabella, who had been in seclusion with him.

At that point, no one would deny accusations of Isabella being a witch.

Like the Gordian knot, all problems could be solved with a single strike.

I placed my hand on Durandal’s hilt.

The distance to Ernst from here is seventeen meters.

The estimated number of people who would block me is seven.

Since I need to break through without injuring them, the time required would be approximately…

“Princess, what are you trying to do…?”

Perhaps noticing my fingertips touching the sword hilt, Leopold urgently whispered.

“Your Highness. That Ernst over there is no longer human. If I just cut him down, his true nature will immediately…”

“…I cannot allow it. What if your sword is intercepted before it reaches Ernst?”

“Ernst’s guards may be master-level, but… if I’m willing to risk some injury, I should be able to break through.”

“Can you guarantee that even after seeing that man?”

Leopold gestured toward a corner.

About ten meters away from Ernst, against the wall.

An older knight in the imperial knight uniform was watching me with sharp eyes, his hand resting on his sword hilt.

“…!”

A chill ran down my spine.

He wasn’t even that far away and was clearly showing hostility toward me, yet I hadn’t noticed him at all.

The man stood quietly, naturally blending into the background like a statue or still life painting.

If Leopold hadn’t pointed him out, I wouldn’t have even paid attention to him.

“…Who is that knight?”

“Viscount Valenstein. He normally never appears at gatherings like this. I don’t know what wind brought him here today… I wouldn’t have noticed him either if our eyes hadn’t accidentally met.”

The Empire’s First Sword. This was my first time seeing him in person.

Unlike his reputation, he didn’t have an imposing physique.

He was about the same height as other knights, and his build was actually somewhat lean.

So much so that I could have believed he was a civil official rather than a knight.

His appearance was completely different from what I had imagined.

Not just his build, but his face as well.

“I thought the Empire’s First Sword was nearly seventy years old…?”

I had expected an elderly man with white hair.

Even in the original work, there was a setting that he died of old age within a few years.

However, the Valenstein I faced appeared to be only in his late fifties at most.

“You’re right. The Viscount is sixty-nine this year. He certainly doesn’t look his age.”

With that face at 69? Did he somehow avoid aging altogether?

Wait, then what about the original content that said he died of old age?

Far from old age, he looked like he could remain robust for another twenty years.

“So, what’s your impression after seeing him in person? Do you still think you can cut down Ernst?”

“…That would be difficult.”

They say you don’t know until you try, but even I couldn’t choose such an adventure.

An enemy whose presence I couldn’t sense was extremely unsettling.

If he moved out of my sight, he might as well have vanished from my perspective.

Even if I could win, he was an opponent I shouldn’t fight.

If the battle dragged on even slightly, Ernst and Isabella would retreat, and the Royal Guards would swarm in.

I would be captured as an assassin with nothing to show for it.

Reluctantly, I removed my hand from the sword hilt.

“You’ve thought well. Heaven helps me. If you had noticed just a little later…”

Leopold let out a sigh of relief.

“If heaven truly helped Your Highness, wouldn’t it have prevented that man from appearing today of all days?”

I was seething inside.

It was the perfect opportunity.

That man is never seen normally… why, why did he have to appear at this exact timing to interfere?

—-

Thanks to Viscount Valenstein, the court meeting that nearly turned into an insect exhibition concluded without incident.

After the meeting, Ernst immediately returned to his quarters.

Valenstein also disappeared without a trace.

In the end, I too had to wait for another opportunity and let the day pass.

Around evening, as the sunset began to cast its glow, I returned to the prince’s palace and discussed with Leopold.

About what happened today, and the plan to execute tomorrow.

After hearing the details about Ernst’s condition, Leopold made the sign of the cross and murmured Elpinel’s name softly.

Though Ernst was the child of his political enemy, perhaps he felt pity seeing him in such a state.

“Only one day remains. Since Lord Landenburg and Duke Faelrun’s arrival has been delayed beyond our expectations, we’ll have to rely on the Holy State’s agents for now.”

As Leopold said, Ludwig and the Duke of Faelrun had still not arrived.

If they had come a couple of days ago, we might have been able to attack Isabella during her seclusion. It was unfortunate.

“Given that tomorrow is Father’s funeral, I expected them to arrive at least by today…”

“As I mentioned before, don’t you think Isabella might have done something? You said assassinating the electors would be difficult… but delaying their journey seems entirely possible.”

“Buying time? Hmm… if your prediction is correct, she must be planning something in the meantime… But it’s only a day or two at most. What could be accomplished in such a short time…?”

Leopold remained skeptical.

I found his attitude—assuming there must be some circumstance rather than Isabella’s plot—quite unreliable.

I wasn’t sure whether to call it optimistic or rational.

“Anyway, in this situation, perhaps we should offer prayers to Elpinel for success.”

“If it’s prayers, I’m sure Lacy is already doing plenty of that.”

Elpinel would probably prefer the prayers of the agent she personally selected over those of a prince who normally didn’t seek her.

Whether this succeeded or failed ultimately depended on the abilities of the spies dispatched by the church.

“More importantly, don’t you find Viscount Valenstein suspicious? If I had split Ernst in half right there, everything would have been over, but he just happened to appear and interfere.”

It was too coincidental, but Leopold simply shook his head.

“Well… I don’t think so. Viscount Valenstein has lived his life caring only about swordsmanship and nothing else. Even his loyalty to the Emperor is merely nominal; he has shown no interest in power or women. I doubt Isabella could have drawn in someone like that. Since tomorrow is Father’s funeral, I think he simply came to fulfill his minimum duty as an imperial knight.”

He was saying that a man obsessed with the sword would have no connection to Isabella, who was obsessed with sex.

Knowing little about Valenstein, I had no grounds to argue.

—-

Looking back, Leopold always chose orthodox strategies.

Since orthodox strategies always sound plausible when put into words, I accepted them too.

Not diving in recklessly when the enemy’s strength is unknown.

Not attacking until sufficient forces are gathered, and defending against enemy attacks with improvisation.

Creating a situation where victory is possible without fighting, waiting for the enemy to collapse.

Waiting for the opponent to reveal a weakness, then exploiting that gap.

It was flawless conventional wisdom.

The only miscalculation… was perhaps overlooking the fact that the opponent would know these same principles that even I was familiar with.

—-

That night.

A thunderous noise that seemed to shake heaven and earth woke the dawn of the imperial capital.

People who jumped up in surprise all looked in the same direction and collectively held their breath.

Following the great fire half a year ago, once again, a sight that no one had imagined in 800 years unfolded before their eyes.

The heart of the Empire, the main palace of Magnus Caelum, was collapsing like a lie.