Chapter 208. Change (3)
The Doll Princess, Silis Riven di Estiria.
The only princess of the Royal Family of Estiria, said to have lost her reason in a childhood explosion accident.
What remained in her, people said, was nothing but an extreme self-defense mechanism triggered by sufficient external shock.
It was a rumor that most of the kingdom's people knew.
But the Silis of now was different from that.
Just facing her gave off a faint sense of pressure. A unique presence, incomparable to anyone else of the royal family.
Revealing her true self, she was by no means a doll.
"Stand, Marquis Esperanza."
A clear voice brushed past his ears.
The marquis rose to his feet immediately.
Silis then lightly moved her hand.
A beautifully crafted garden.
On the neatly trimmed lawn, a table and two chairs appeared. Once Silis took her seat, the marquis sat across from her.
Platinum-colored eyes leaned forward.
"I heard the undead incident in the south has finally ended. That the nobles of the Marquisate of Esperanza played a great part."
"We merely did what had to be done, Your Highness."
"Thanks to that, the position of the neutral nobles has risen. On the contrary, the royal heirs are busy trying to shove the blame downward. It was an unforeseen variable, but it turned out favorable for us."
The First Prince and Second Prince were moving busily.
The foundations they had piled up in the south of the kingdom collapsed at once. Worse, the nobles under them abandoned their duties and focused solely on fleeing with their hidden wealth.
To Marquis Esperanza, it was a delicious prey.
If dragged into politics, this could deal a huge blow to royal authority. Even if they could not pin all responsibility, the factions of the two princes would become significantly unstable.
For the sake of appearances, they had even cut down nobles who followed them.
Moreover, the situation of the Third Prince was even more dire.
His apparent support base, the Union, had collapsed, and the Glory of the Dead that helped him from the shadows vanished from the kingdom. An irrecoverable, devastating blow.
His power was scattering by the moment, to the point one could see it with the naked eye. Word had it the Third Prince was shut inside his residence, never stepping out.
The plan was proceeding smoothly.
It was the very chaos Silis desired.
"And regarding that, news has arrived. About the undead incident and the diocese massacre, the Church of Luas has sent word to the royal family that they will dispatch Archbishop Joseph, one of the seven Archbishops."
"An Archbishop…"
The marquis let his voice trail off.
He had wondered, but for them to actually send an archbishop… It meant the Church of Luas considered this matter extremely serious.
"When the time comes, the royal family will summon the marquis who achieved the highest merits. Along with Calia, who subjugated the dark mage who caused the massacre, and that mage named Asher as well."
"I will be prepared."
Silis nodded.
That concluded her business.
Now it was the marquis's turn.
Silis asked.
"But, Marquis Esperanza. Why did you not use the contact channel, and insist on meeting me in my dream?"
The marquis swallowed hard.
Lowering his head, he spoke in a low voice.
"…There is something I must report directly."
***
He had infiltrated the secret social hall hosted by the First Prince, and discovered the hidden secret laboratory.
And he learned that the royal family, the court mages, and Vintert were involved in some experiment, even securing a guardian elf.
Marquis Esperanza explained the matter in detail.
Silis, quietly listening, opened her mouth.
"Asher… It seems he is a far more capable mage than I had assumed. Not only in magic, but to so disregard the security of the old royal castle as well."
"He is certainly an extraordinary man."
From the Union until now,
The gray-haired mage had given large and small help to Silis's plan. It was an unforeseen, favorable variable for her.
But.
'There is no guarantee he won't become an obstacle later.'
The mage of Gray, who moved on commissions.
There was ample possibility he might one day stand on the other side. Silis had no reason to trust a mage she did not even know by face.
Of course, she had no intention of rashly eliminating him either.
If he continued moving as now, it was not bad. Best to leave him be under the Marquisate of Esperanza's watch.
Having made her judgment, Silis spoke further.
"So, did you find Leonil's laboratory?"
"Yes, we did."
Rescuing Oesu, freeing Linus Voltimoog.
Killing three court mages, including the Fourth Seat, Brick Medwor, and successfully weakening the royal family's strength.
The Ministry of Magic, where the court mages resided.
Even for Silis, it was no place easily spied upon, with so many high-ranking mages living there. But it was easy to guess their situation was dire by now.
Yet what mattered most was—
"Did you also learn the purpose of that experiment?"
"We could not confirm exactly, however…"
The marquis closed his mouth.
Drawing a deep breath and firming his resolve, he finally spoke of the 'blue crystal from which a heartbeat could be heard.'
And even his conjecture about its true nature.
"…."
Silis's face, listening intently, slowly stiffened.
Her eyes rippled, her fingertips trembled faintly. Her expressionless face twisted into shock and disbelief.
The marquis hastily said.
"B-but nothing is certain yet…"
"Enough."
The dream garden fell silent.
Without her permission, none could move freely in this place. In the noiseless space, only Silis's voice lingered.
"Marquis, your conjecture must be right. If it were utterly baseless, you would not have been able to make such a guess at all."
"…"
"I thought everything had disappeared when the new chancellor and the mages went missing or died… But to think it remained until now. My 'mother's'────"
For a moment, emotion surged up to her throat.
She clenched her teeth and barely suppressed it, but the anger and hatred toward the kingdom she had endured until now felt ready to burst forth at any moment.
The 'special bloodline' she had inherited boiled hot within her.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, Silis flared her magic power.
The dream space warped, and three figures appeared.
Those absolutely loyal to Silis, her closest aides.
Once, like her, they had lost everything at the hands of the kingdom.
"Lorian, Adel, Flona."
"Did you call, Your Highness."
"I will move the 'Coronation' forward."
...!
The marquis's eyes widened.
The moment his voice was freed, he shouted at once.
"Y-Your Highness! If that happens, countless innocent people will...!"
"So what?"
Silis stepped before the marquis.
"It was you who once said it. That there was still hope in this kingdom, and begged me to give it just one chance. Hearing those words, I sought a more peaceful way to change the kingdom. For that, I endured living as a doll for more than twenty years without complaint... but in the end, this is what has come back."
A snow-white hand gripped the marquis's throat.
The untrained strength of a woman. That was why it hurt endlessly.
"And who are you to say innocent? You? Or me? No, there is no one innocent here. Not as long as this kingdom exists."
"Your Highness..."
"If you intend to stop me with words like that, then stay ignorant, as before."
As before.
Her final words pierced into the marquis's heart.
Meeting Silis's gaze, the marquis at last lowered his head.
"…I shall obey your command."
Releasing her grip, Silis turned her body.
Then, she whispered to everyone within the dream.
"Before this year ends, I will finish the succession dispute."
Not an opinion, but an order.
No one raised objection. Slowly, Silis looked over the four faces, then withdrew her magic power.
Crack.
The garden split.
Then, as it shattered apart, darkness covered over, and soon the drifting mind returned to reality.
"..."
Silis, seated in her wheelchair.
She rose to her feet and walked toward the window. Through the iron bars sealing the window, the vast city came into view.
Bright sunshine.
The prosperous capital of the kingdom bustled with life. Watching people pass like ants, it felt as though their laughter could be heard.
Unaware that the peace they enjoyed was built from someone's flesh, blood, and 'heart'.
So, to take it back again would not matter.
It was something that should never have existed in the first place.
"Isn't that right, Mother?"
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of her mother's heartbeat, left in her memory, lingered by her ears.
***
The forge of the Marquisate of Esperanza.
Second only to the royal bloodline, fitting for the kingdom's foremost nobles, its facilities were beyond comparison to a common forge.
The piled-up materials alone were enough to dazzle a master's eyes.
Linus grasped a top-tier metal, a Dane's Steel ingot.
"Wow, all of this is real? Hah, I didn't expect you'd prepare all of this. How in the world did you persuade the marquis? Ah, come to think of it, I heard the marquis has a daughter, maybe a son-in-law by marriage?"
"..."
"No? Hm, then it makes no sense at all."
Marquis Esperanza had yielded to Verden's request.
In just a few days he persuaded his retainers, provided all the materials requested, and even lent the forge until the staff was completed.
It was as if he had turned over the marquisate's fortune.
Even as part of payment, it was excessive. Because of that, the gazes of the marquisate's people toward Verden were far from kind...
'Not my concern.'
It was rightful payment.
No reason to care about others' eyes.
The moment he had longed for since the magic tower.
By crafting a new staff, it was time to take a step forward.
"Ah, put the materials down here. Easier to use that way."
Linus pointed to the workbench, where the materials were laid out.
Breath of Element.
Mana crystal.
Root of the Soul Tree.
Even Oculus, the staff Verden had used.
"How long will the crafting take?"
"Three to four weeks, at most? If I'm in good condition, I could finish earlier. Rune-work combined with top-tier metal forging, it's no easy job, so don't rush me."
A month at the latest.
'It'll feel empty without Oculus... but it can't be helped.'
Until then, he would have to find a temporary staff.
Well, that much he could endure.
"Then, I'll leave it to you."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll earn my keep, so just wait comfortably."
Linus answered offhandedly, picking up the steel ingot.
He seemed intent on first making a special tool to replace his lost arm. From his back, one could sense the aura of a true craftsman.
'No need to worry, then.'
Verden left the forge at once.
His spatial bag felt uncomfortably empty. Soon, the sound of hammering from afar saw him off.
***
"…A summons from the royal family?"
"Yes, I hear no less than an archbishop is coming himself. You and Calia, who were deeply involved in resolving the case, will of course go, and so will I, to the capital."
And not only that.
There were also paladins of the diocese, like Gloss, who had suffered physical loss. They too would board the marquisate's airship bound for the capital.
"When will it be?"
"Undecided as of yet. Well, it won't be too rushed. When word arrives, I will have it passed to your informant as well."
An archbishop.
Wasn't he one of the highest clergy of the Church of Luas? He had never expected to meet one in such a way.
'Troublesome, but... not bad.'
Verden had aided the Church of Luas.
He executed the one who massacred the diocese, and helped reduce the sacrifices of the clergy. The archbishop surely was not coming merely to survey the situation.
There was a very high chance the Church of Luas would directly bestow reward.
'It would be good if I could get a private audience with him.'
The magical item seized from the dark magician Viola, the golden bone.
Sealed with necromantic energy, it could not be undone by anyone short of an archbishop's level of divine power. To be honest, it had seemed an impossible task.
Yet now, such an opportunity came.
The mage's curiosity flared, and Verden nodded.
"Yes, I understand."
"Good, then go on."
The marquis gestured lightly with his chin.
Unlike before, there was a certain complicated look on his face. It didn't seem to be about the staff's creation... but there was no way to know the reason.
"I will see you next time."
"Haha, you've worked very hard, Asher. Then until later."
Thus, bidding farewell, Verden left the mansion.
Following a knight of the Red Conviction, at the gate there stood an elf in a robe. Within his robe flickered Blue and a forest spirit.
"Brother, over here!"
Karans waved his arm vigorously.
He seemed elated, relieved that the stifling days locked indoors were over.
For Verden, moving alone was more comfortable, but...
'Well, it should be fine.'
Karans was obedient enough.
And when they returned to Asern, he would have his role to play. A guardian elf capable of standing against a Fifth-rank court mage could never be considered a burden.
Verden and Karans, and the two spirits, set off for Asern, the city where Perne was.