episode_0306

“Eugene, you probably know the Grand Duke’s pendant well.”

Marianne, who said she already knew Antoine’s unusual signs,

mentioned the pendant that Antoine always wears around his neck.

“I know it. Isn’t it the Orléans pendant? I understand it’s one of the items passed down through the family. That’s what I know, Mother.”

Then Eugene nodded and replied.

Regardless of Eugene thinking of Antoine as a grateful adoptive father who took him in, there hadn’t been much in-depth conversation between the two for over ten years.

As a result, it was more common to call him Grand Duke, even to his face, rather than Father.

Therefore, Antoine’s personal information was mainly heard from the Orléans sisters,

and the same was true regarding the pendant that Antoine always wore around his neck.

“Yes, the Orléans pendant. I also knew it that way. The Grand Duke has had it since I first became connected with him.”

To Eugene Schneider’s mechanical answer, Marianne responded with a subtle feeling.

‘Huh? Does that mean the Grand Duke’s pendant isn’t the Orléans pendant?’

It was read as a nuance that the identity of the pendant was very different from what Eugene Schneider had previously known.

“The real name of the pendant the Grand Duke possesses is Guardian, an item passed down from the Thanatos clan, a mysterious race.”

Afterward, the content Marianne mentioned was truly surprising.

None other than the mysterious Thanatos clan, which refers to the Thanatos clan of Judah, who were corrupted and stripped of their warrior status by the goddess and then exiled.

“A warrior whose warrior status was stripped by the goddess… Did such a warrior really exist in history? But how did you find out about that, Mother?”

Naturally, Eugene Schneider was unaware of the story of Judah Thanatos.

Judah’s story is a fringe history dealt with only in outer books among outer books.

It can be said that Eugene’s view of history was mostly formed by looking at books with Charlotte since childhood.

In that way, Marianne told Eugene Schneider the story of the warrior Judah Thanatos, who was corrupted, stripped of his warrior status, and banished from the people.

After hearing the story, Eugene wondered how his beloved adoptive mother, Marianne, had learned that information.

“I naturally came to know it while studying various cultures and history for a long time. And it became even deeper since I started studying the Heart of the Sun in earnest. I established it by cross-checking with a considerable number of hermits.”

“Ah…!”

In fact, Marianne was no different from Eugene. However, from the moment she quit being a nun and became the Grand Duchess, she diligently accumulated things other than existing knowledge, and as a result, she almost inevitably reached Judah Thanatos.

“Then why does the Grand Duke have such an ominous item…”

The story naturally headed to the next chapter.

Eugene asked why his adoptive father, Antoine, not only possessed an item related to the fallen warrior clan but also cherished it so much.

“I was also curious about that after accidentally learning the identity of the pendant. First of all, I think the Grand Duke came to possess the Guardian during his warrior training. The timing wouldn’t be right unless it was that time.”

It was a coincidental opportunity. While looking for someone skilled at handling demonic energy, one of the groups suggested by hermits was Thanatos, and while exploring related outer books based on that opinion, she witnessed a drawing of her husband Antoine’s pendant in an outer book.

Afterward, in the process of cross-checking with the hermit, it was judged difficult to ask Antoine directly, and Marianne’s estimated time of Antoine’s acquisition of the Guardian, after collecting information separately, was during his warrior training in his younger days.

“Then, what I learned several years ago was that the Guardian pendant was created for an old secret project of the Thanatos clan.”

Marianne, not satisfied with that, continued to dig deeper, and eventually reached the long-cherished project of Thanatos.

“If it’s a secret project of the Thanatos clan…?”

At that moment, Eugene Schneider made an expression as if something felt familiar.

“Revenge on the main god, specifically, to corrupt the holy sword, which is a symbol of the warrior, I heard.”

What his adoptive mother Marianne conveyed to such Eugene Schneider with a serious expression was a content that would be outrageous in the Empire, which has the Church of the Radiant Goddess as its state religion.

“No, is that actually possible, Mother?? And why would the Grand Duke do that???”

Eugene Schneider was completely unconvinced not only of the truth of the content but also of the motivational aspect.

If Antoine has cherished it for a long time, he must also know its purpose clearly,

why would someone who has risen to the highest position in the Empire try to stab the main god?

“In theory, you need to possess the elixir inside the Guardian pendant and the mysterious sword called the Sword of Betrayal, I heard. In that state, various conditions must be accompanied, and one of those conditions is to kill someone who possesses the goddess’s mark.”

Marianne explained to Eugene the mechanism for corrupting the holy sword that she knew.

Antoine, who opened the pendant and drank the contents inside before summoning the Sword of Betrayal, Aea,

it was also an elixir created by the Thanatos clan.

Marianne, who found out that information, went on to mention the goddess’s mark.

‘To summon the Demon King who has received the grace of the Demon God by creating demonic energy so abundant that a dimensional rift occurs, is that also one of the various conditions you mentioned, Mother? According to Priscilla, the holy sword should be summoned to the ancient sanctuary of the Church of the Radiant Goddess!’

Listening to the story, Eugene Schneider felt as if it was connected to the information he had collected fragmentarily so far.

The structure in which the holy sword is summoned first before a warrior is created,

it is enough that the Thanatos clan side made the system aiming for that mechanism.

“Then what is the goddess’s mark, Mother? If you put it aside separately, it seems like it’s the most important element.”

However, the key element that Marianne directly mentioned is the goddess’s mark.

Also, a concept that Eugene is hearing for the first time,

therefore, Eugene immediately raised a question.

“Yes. Charlotte probably hasn’t heard about the goddess’s mark so far. The concept of the Demon King being descended by the influence of the Demon God is being rejected in the Church of the Radiant Goddess. You can think of the goddess’s mark as a device created by the main god to prevent that Demon King from descending, Eugene.”

Marianne slowly began to explain about the goddess’s mark.

“The goddess’s mark is placed by the main god on the eldest son of a specific family, and if that eldest son dies, it will lose its effect, could it be…”

Marianne told Eugene exactly what Raonjena had said to Victoria.

The goddess’s mark was given to a specific person in the form of energy, like the seed of the Dark Great Swordsman that Eugene is experiencing, and it is being passed down through the family line, she said.

Listening to that explanation, he felt it was connected to the current situation.

“That’s right. It is said that the main god engraved the goddess’s mark on the Elysium Imperial Family. And if that legend is true, the goddess’s mark would have existed on Emperor Louis XV, the eldest son. The Grand Duke launched a coup and directly assassinated Louis XV in order to eliminate the goddess’s mark. That’s why he left the imperial palace without regret.”

And Marianne confirmed that the connection Eugene felt was correct.

Because Marianne possessed such secret prior knowledge as much as Raonjena, she remained calm even after hearing the news of Antoine’s potential coup in the early stages, and even after the coup occurred, she chose Bahad instead of Hitenberg, where Antoine was.

‘It all fits together too perfectly! Honestly, I don’t want to believe this, but it’s at a level where I can’t help but believe it!’

Eugene Schneider couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

The fact that Antoine launched a coup at this point in time is undeniable.

He’s just thinking that there might be some reason for the motivation,

but to eliminate the goddess’s mark, summon the Demon King, and then summon the holy sword,

even if he wants to deny it, the timings are perfect.

“Then, in the end, does the Grand Duke want to become a warrior?”

At this point, Eugene wanted to know the final destination that Antoine’s actions were pointing to.

Antoine possesses power, wealth, family, everything at the peak.

What is he lacking?

Therefore, Eugene thought that Antoine, who pursues strength, might have dreamed of becoming a warrior above Sword Master.

“……”

At that moment, Marianne was silent for a moment.

“From here on, it’s just this mother’s guess, Eugene. It is said that if a warrior kills the Demon King who has been influenced by the Demon God, the goddess will descend and grant a wish. I think the Grand Duke wants to make a wish to the goddess.”

Marianne had even grasped the legend of the goddess’s descent.

And further,

“I think that wish is probably to revive someone buried in his heart.”

It seemed that she knew a considerable level of what he wanted to achieve through the goddess’s wish.

**********

“Brother! What are you thinking about so much?”

Thomas, who was carrying luggage, tilted his head toward Eugene.

After entering Bahad, the Red Fox Mercenary Corps is building a base to properly settle down.

“Ah! It’s nothing. I haven’t had a chance to sleep properly for a few days, that’s why.”

Eugene, who was commanding the site, was spacing out for a moment.

Eugene waved his hand, making light of it to Thomas, who was reacting worriedly to it.

‘Sword Master Warrior, huh…’

However, unlike the hand waving just now, Eugene has had concerns for the past few days.

‘Can I win?’

The opponent to defeat has been decided. Not just a warrior, but a Sword Master warrior who has risen to the extreme of the sword.

The existence of a warrior has a strong class character that is specialized in the Demon King rather than absolute strength.

So, I thought I could come up with an answer if I wracked my brains, but when I learned that Antoine had become a warrior, I was breathless.

‘It seems that the Seed of the Dark Great Swordsman will be the key after all, but surprisingly, even Priscilla doesn’t know much about it.’

The immediate clue to the solution that Eugene caught was the Seed of the Dark Great Swordsman that Drake had planted.

However, he has not heard anything from Drake about how to unlock it at all.

He confided in Priscilla, the encyclopedia of knowledge, but Priscilla’s answer was that it was a concept she was hearing for the first time.

‘By the way, what happened to Victoria? I heard that most of the imperial knights on the arena side sided with the Grand Duke.’

While looking for someone to ask for advice, Eugene’s thoughts also reached Victoria.

So, I recalled the circumstances at the time that I heard from David, but there was no information to infer her whereabouts.

“Eugene, Captain of the Assault Team, a message has arrived from Helios.”

“From Helios?”

David, who had returned to Helios that night, visited Bahad again.

“The Emperor has requested that you attend the coronation ceremony.”

Vivian, who recovered the imperial palace, is about to formally become the Emperor.