Ch.363EP.76 – The Knight Leaves the Stage (4)

…when was it?

“Instructor, don’t trust that woman too much.”

“Hm?”

“That woman you’re cooperating with, sir. Don’t trust her. No, you shouldn’t give her any affection at all. She’s a detestable woman who does nothing but deceive people.”

Around the time of the Brass Knights incident, this was the advice from the dark-skinned man who was cooperating with Ihan, and to that, Ihan had…

“Did you date her in the future?”

“What a horrible thing to say!”

“If not, then why are you getting so angry?”

“Aren’t you saying something creepy, Instructor?!”

“I’m just joking…”

“There are things you should and shouldn’t say!”

“Alright, I’m sorry.”

“…When you apologize so easily, what does that make me?”

It seems he hadn’t taken it seriously.

…Looking back, it’s regrettable.

‘I should have asked more details.’

Perhaps if he had listened more carefully then, he might have known something in advance.

However.

“There’s nothing more foolish than dwelling on the past.”

There’s nothing Ihan despises more than looking back with regret.

He shook off his lingering thoughts with a quiet murmur.

“What did you mean by that?”

“Just talking to myself, don’t mind it.”

“How irreverent.”

“Want me to show you something even more irreverent?”

“Hmm, I’m curious.”

“…You’re quite the talker.”

Sigh!

With a heavy sigh, Ihan plopped down on the ground, and Isis looked at him with a peculiar gaze.

“Hmm, this is different from what I expected.”

“What’s different?”

“Why aren’t you angry?”

“I’m angry enough, so please don’t provoke me.”

Ihan warned her with furrowed brows, but she was resolute.

“No, you’re not that angry. Rather, you’re impossibly calm.”

“I guess I’m so angry that I’ve become calm.”

“No, you’re not that type. If you were angry, you’d express it honestly, raise your voice, and show your anger regardless of status or gender. Yet I can’t understand why you’re not angry with me.”

“…Well, it’s good that you know what you did deserves scolding.”

“I didn’t go that far.”

It was a strange scene.

In a way, the current situation would certainly warrant Ihan being angry with Isis, but strangely, there was no anger or sorrow in his tone.

He wasn’t trembling with betrayal, nor was he emotionless.

He only showed his usual impertinence and comfort, just like when he normally conversed with her.

“I was definitely a bit shocked, but I’m not boiling with anger.”

…Strangely enough.

He acknowledged her statement.

It was certainly shocking news.

After all, the fact that Crown Prince Arthur wasn’t Isis’s son, and that the series of events at this banquet had moved according to the cult members’ schemes.

…Yet, despite knowing all this, Ihan was only surprised momentarily, and to his own bewilderment, he wasn’t angry.

If there was any emotion welling up, it was probably…

“I feel disappointed…”

Disappointment that she hadn’t told him beforehand.

Was it strange that this feeling was subtly forming in his heart?

…Ihan smiled bitterly.

* * *

“How much do you know about the Briton royal family?”

“I’m not interested in such things.”

“Then you should learn now. The Briton royal family, in a way, took root in the southern lands before the Pendragons, and they were the first royal family of the south. They also possess special mysteries just like the Pendragons.”

“I said I’m not interested…”

“Then how about this? They became unable to have children unless they mixed blood with their own kin because they wanted to preserve their special qualities.”

“!?”

“Yes, that seems to have caught your interest.”

The Briton royal family.

The royal family that had dwelled in this land longer than the Pendragons was said to be a bloodline blessed by mystery, similar to the Pendragons.

In some ways, they might be even more mysterious than the Pendragons.

But could this mysteriousness have become poison to themselves?

“Knowing the special qualities of their blood, they developed a twisted obsession to ensure this blood wouldn’t dilute through generations.”

It’s said that the royal family cast a “curse” upon themselves.

To prevent their blood from ever leaving their lineage, and to ensure its purity would never be diluted.

“They cannot mix with the blood of others. It’s foolish, no matter how you look at it, to leave such a curse to their descendants.”

“……”

Because of this, the members of the Briton royal family could never have children even if they found someone they loved, and thus the queens or concubines of the Briton royal family were all mere decorations.

Created to ensure their secret would never leak out…

“It’s remarkable, who would have thought a kingdom with a thousand years of history would harbor such a secret.”

“…How did you find out about this, Sister?”

“I heard it. From the crown prince who knows the secrets of Briton better than anyone.”

“The one who’s said to be confined…?”

“Confined? Not at all. He’s just a living corpse, so weak he can’t even walk properly. He just lies in bed. Well, since he can’t move and is trapped in the cage of his sickbed, I suppose the word ‘confined’ isn’t entirely wrong.”

“……”

“For the record, I didn’t do anything to him. It’s merely a side effect of continuing to inherit blood between relatives.”

To be honest, such a culture exists among nobles as well.

The culture of inheriting blood between relatives to maintain the purity of bloodlines.

…However, alchemists’ research has shown that continuously breeding between relatives causes serious side effects, and this culture has been discouraged for hundreds of years.

“But who would have known that there were those who still continued this discouraged culture, and that there was a royal family living with such side effects?”

It’s amusing.

Isis muttered mockingly, but soon furrowed her brows.

“However, because of those fools, my plans began to falter.”

Isis, the Pendragon royal family, needed the blood of Briton.

To resolve the conflicts arising from the sudden unification of the south, to persuade the people who still showed full support for the Briton royal family…

…But when she realized that persuasion was impossible…

“What could I do? I had to use a ‘workaround’.”

It must be ironic.

That she had deep knowledge of magic, alchemy, and sorcery, and especially had an exceptional depth in the study of [Life].

“I mixed my blood and his blood appropriately for [artificial cultivation].”

“Then, a homunculus?”

“Nonsense. Don’t compare it to those shoddy homunculi of alchemists. Though I didn’t borrow a human womb, it’s definitely a child born from my genes and the other’s genes.”

“…No matter how I hear it, it sounds a bit…?”

“Tsk! What’s the point of discussing with someone who knows nothing about life sciences?”

“……”

The liberal arts knight nodded in agreement to the science princess’s statement.

“Hmph, as long as you understand. Anyway, Arthur is indeed my child. Although he wasn’t born from my womb, he undoubtedly has the noble blood of both Pendragon and Briton. …However.”

He wasn’t a child who would be accepted by society.

“I acknowledge it. Arthur cannot be accepted with current norms. That’s why I kept it hidden. But…”

There are no eternal secrets in the world.

– [Princess of Pendragon. Evil woman who claims a false child as a child of Briton. Do you think you can keep your secret forever?]

“I didn’t directly face the captain of the Brass Knights. Only his note was left in my office.”

“……”

“Seeing this, I knew my plans would be disrupted. So I decided. To break the board, to make a more risky move.”

“……”

“That’s all.”

“…Hmm.”

At the end of the rather long story.

At the same time, a secret that shouldn’t be known to just anyone was engraved in Ihan’s mind.

The secret of the Briton royal family.

What Isis had done.

‘This would be the end if it came to light.’

Even in his past life’s era of advanced science, discussions about life ethics were incredibly complex.

Even if artificial cultivation were possible, it’s still a concept difficult to accept.

…But in this era where gods exist and mysteries and fairies roam freely, what would be the value of life?

‘If this comes to light, being ridiculed would be the least of her worries.’

Criticism against Isis would be endless.

The point that she artificially created life, life given by God, would draw countless condemnations and contempt.

Not only the Grand Temple, which believes the Light of Radiance bestows life, but the entire continent would sharply criticize her.

Truly a taboo.

It couldn’t be anything but her weakness.

A fatal and bitter…

“—Really, is that all?”

Ihan asked dejectedly.

“…What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if that’s your only secret, if something so ‘trivial’ is really your weakness.”

“Trivial, you say?”

“Extremely trivial. How is that even a weakness…”

After hearing all her story, Ihan snorted.

Yes, what she said is certainly a shocking secret.

If revealed, it would bring tremendous repercussions.

But—

“It’s subtle to call it your weakness or secret.”

Ihan knows.

How capable and intelligent she is.

Ihan has seen it many times.

Her extraordinary figure, always strengthening her authority with radical methods, turning even crises into opportunities like a veteran of reversals.

…So Ihan didn’t consider that to be her secret or weakness.

It’s trivial.

It’s just an obstacle she could easily overcome.

“Because someone like you would naturally solve such a trivial matter somehow.”

“…Your faith is overwhelmingly burdensome.”

“I’m just stating the obvious.”

Ihan found her exaggeration rather amusing.

“After revealing such a significant secret, you’re making me out to be a liar.”

“If you don’t want to reveal it, that’s fine. I didn’t expect you to willingly disclose it anyway. I’m not particularly interested in finding out the details.”

“…We’re at an impasse.”

“We’ll continue to be unless you open up sincerely.”

Tap tap!

Ihan stood up, brushing the dirt off his pants.

As if there was nothing more to gain from further conversation.

“I’m leaving.”

“Where to?”

“You said I’m banished, right? Then I should leave the country quickly.”

“…The official document hasn’t arrived yet.”

“What’s the point of receiving it when I’m leaving anyway?”

“…I truly have nothing to hide.”

“I’m sure you don’t.”

“……”

“…The two of us. We’ve known each other for quite a while, haven’t we?”

Ihan gazed at her intently.

At her, still beautiful, just a bit more mature than when they first met.

“Sister, I’ll let it slide that you used me. No, rather than letting it slide, I’m just not that angry.”

“……”

“Maybe it’s because I know you. I owe you a few things, and we have our history together… No, let me put it simply without all the grand reasons: you’re the first friend I made in this world. That’s probably why I forgive you.”

“…Friend.”

“Yes, friend. And as your friend, I know. You’re not foolish enough to join hands with those strange people.”

Yes, she was his ‘friend’.

She might not feel the same, but Ihan believed there was something akin to friendship between himself and Isis, and that’s why he considered all problems trivial.

Instead of getting angry, he simply faced her squarely.

Some might call Ihan foolish, or find him frustrating.

But as long as she didn’t ask him to vouch for her and then run away…

‘I should forgive her once.’

…Out of loyalty to his first friend.

“It’s a special service.”

“…Impertinent fellow. Who’s whose friend?”

“To think it was a one-sided friendship, that’s a bit disappointing.”

Trudge, trudge.

Ihan turned around, leaving only a gesture towards her.

Without looking back, with unwavering steps, he…

“If fate allows, we’ll meet again someday.”

—Leisurely disappeared from her sight.

*

*

*

“……”

She stared at where he had disappeared for a long time.

Even after he was gone.

It was strange.

For someone who hated wasting time more than anyone else, she was doing something so unproductive.

She…

“Who’s calling whom a friend?”

At some point, she quietly murmured.

Irritably, unpleasantly.

She showed her emotions more passionately than ever, and at some point, her hands were trembling.

As if truly aggrieved, as if genuinely indignant.

“How can he be so oblivious…”

She had felt it since their first meeting; he was truly oblivious.

When he saved her, and even now, after more than three years of knowing each other.

He’s always been oblivious.

No, it feels almost like being toyed with.

Because…

“How can there be friendship between a man and a woman, and yet you say…”

Grip!

—How can he grip her heart so tightly and not let go?

She could only clench her trembling hands.

Frustratingly…