Chapter 113: Contact (2)

The crystal ball’s steady rhythm rang out, and my heart began to beat faster in sync with it.

Like a soldier returned from the battlefield flinching at explosions, my heart raced anxiously every time I heard that notification sound.

“Haa…”

Stopping the notification was simple. I just needed to press the crystal ball lightly, as if squashing a small bug.

But since the caller was none other than the woman who gave birth to me, I hesitated to reach for it.

If it had been anyone else, even a stranger, I would’ve reached for the crystal ball without hesitation.

To be honest, though it’s terribly disrespectful to the person who brought me into this world, facing my mother wasn’t particularly pleasant.

Just being in her presence made my chest tighten, as if a powerful warrior had grabbed my heart.

I’d come to dislike the crystal ball’s sound because my mother frequently contacted me through it.

Frankly, I wanted to throw the damn thing out the window and continue my conversation with Nana.

But while Ian might’ve had such courage, I didn’t.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I eventually reached for the persistently ringing crystal ball.

-Click.

With an oddly cute sound, the crystal ball displayed a woman with black hair like mine.

My mother, whose appearance was very similar to mine, exuded a seductive aura – as if staring at her for too long might corrupt you.

Father said that aspect was particularly attractive, which is why he took her as a royal concubine, but I couldn’t understand that sentiment at all.

“Euclid… you’ve undone the magic.”

Why did my heart tremble so much when there was no anger in her face or voice?

“Why did you undo the magic?”

“W-well… it’s the middle of the night so no one’s coming anyway… and it feels stuffy to keep using magic…”

“I see… But what if someone invaded the Academy like last time and the guards urgently came looking for you?”

“What?”

“I mean exactly what I said. If such a situation arose, how would you have dealt with it? Would you kill them to silence them? Or perhaps bribe them to send them far away?”

“T-that…!!”

This was strange. Nana and I had prepared several countermeasures for such an event, but oddly, not a single one came to mind in front of my mother.

As I fumbled for words, unable to do anything, Nana stepped forward and spoke.

“Since I locked the door, I’d be the first to greet the guards, so there’s no need to worry. Even if they break down the door, I can say that His Highness summoned a woman. They might be suspicious, but without concrete evidence, we can somehow get past it.”

“I asked Euclid, so why is Lady Nana answering?”

“…I apologize for overstepping my bounds.”

As Nana bowed her head, my mother cleared her throat as if that was enough and said:

“Euclid, when you become king in the future, will you have Lady Nana answer for you when you receive difficult questions? From now on, answer directly yourself.”

“Yes, I’m sorry… But Mother, what business did you have contacting me like this today…?”

“It’s about Ian Barthow, who you recommended the other day. I heard that His Majesty summoned him to the royal capital to commend him. I wanted you to accompany him and have a meeting with him then, so I contacted you like this.”

“Ah… That might be difficult…”

“Oh? Do you have plans that day?”

“No, it’s not that…”

The news probably hadn’t reached the capital yet since it was decided today, but Ian wasn’t going to the royal capital.

If I told the truth about why, I could see that Mother would disapprove, so I recited the excuse Ian had prepared.

Mother narrowed her eyes and said in a suspicious tone:

“He was injured, you say…?”

“Yes, his injuries were so severe that Ian’s mother will go to the capital as his proxy…”

“That’s strange. From what I heard, the injuries he sustained have already fully healed.”

“…Pardon?”

I knew there were royal informants in the Academy, but were they even tailing Ian?

As my inner turmoil showed on my face, Mother sighed deeply and asked again.

“…Euclid, I’ll ask again. Why isn’t he coming to the royal capital?”

“W-well…”

Unable to answer and feeling troubled, I unconsciously looked back at Nana standing behind me. Mother turned her gaze from me to Nana and asked her:

“Lady Nana, you tell me. Why isn’t he coming to the royal capital?”

“…He said he doesn’t want to kneel before those who don’t use Baldo, so he won’t go to the royal capital.”

“…What did you say?”

Did she not understand the meaning? Or did she understand but couldn’t possibly accept it?

It wouldn’t have been strange either way, so I waited for a moment. Mother furrowed her brow and said:

“Lady Nana, are you making some kind of joke right now?”

“…I wish my words were a joke too. But there’s no lie in what I said. That bastard refused to go to the royal capital solely because he doesn’t want to kneel before those who don’t use Baldo.”

“…”

At those words, Mother’s mouth opened slightly, and for a long while she just looked back and forth between Nana and me without saying anything.

Seeing Mother’s surprised face for the first time, I found it fascinating to realize that even she could show such emotional fluctuations on her face.

“If that’s true, why are you maintaining a relationship with such an unhinged individual? No matter how favorably I try to view it, he doesn’t seem normal.”

“I-Ian is just a bit unique!! He’s not, not abnormal!! Ah, aah…”

I raised my voice in anger but belatedly remembered who I was speaking to and quickly shut my mouth.

It was rare for me to raise my voice to Mother, so she looked surprised for a moment before quickly returning to a neutral expression.

“…You still haven’t abandoned a woman’s heart?”

“It’s not like that… I just felt a bit upset when you insulted my friend…”

I apologized with my head bowed as usual, but since the topic of Ian came up, I wondered what Ian would have done if he were here.

If Ian had been in my place, would something have been different?

At the very least, he wouldn’t have ended up fumbling in front of Mother like I did.

“Mother… I’m not sure if I should seize the throne using demonic power. Even if I become king, will the demon really…”

“The demon won’t just leave, of course. We’re working on countermeasures for that as well.”

“It’s not just that issue… Do we really need to deceive not only Father but all the people, acting like frauds to sit on the throne…”

“Then what do you propose we do?”

“Pardon?”

“Euclid… we’ve come too far to stop now. What do you think will happen if we stop here? Do you truly believe His Majesty will say, ‘Although you deceived us all using demonic power, since you’ve confessed honestly, I’ll forgive you mother and child’?”

“…”

Father was a kind person. But he definitely wasn’t someone who would simply forgive the crime of deceiving the royal family using demonic power.

Even if Father forgave us, the ministers and my brothers would never accept it.

Unless we abandoned everything and spent our lives hiding in a place where no one could find us, what awaited us was an inescapable death.

“What about the retainers who have entrusted their lives to you? What about Lady Nana there? Can you tell them all that they must die because of your guilty conscience?”

“…”

I couldn’t say that. I could never say such a thing to Nana, who had always protected me, even if I could to others.

“The guilt of deceiving everyone must be painful indeed. But… think carefully. Is that guilt truly more painful than losing everything you’ve built up until now, including Lady Nana beside you?”

“…”

“Everyone, including myself, has lived only for you, Euclid. For their sake as well, endure a little longer. Understand?

Euclid?”

“…Yes.”

There was no other possible response.

Hearing my answer, Mother smiled with satisfaction and was about to continue speaking when she suddenly clutched her forehead as if dizzy.

“…Mother?”

“Hmm… It seems I’ve overexerted myself lately with all the work. Something unsettling seems to be happening in the South as well…. Well, I’ve finished my business here, so I’ll be going now. Have a good night, Euclid.”

“…Yes.”

With those final words, Mother’s image disappeared from the crystal ball, and a cold silence fell over the room.

The silence, which seemed like it would continue until the end of the night, was shattered moments later when Nana placed her hand on my shoulder and spoke.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

“…Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry, Nana…. I shouldn’t whine, at least not in front of you.”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind. But…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“No, I’m just concerned about what that ‘unsettling’ thing happening in the South might be…”

“Ah, the South is definitely…”

Where the Grund family’s domain was located, right?