Chapter 189: Loose Leash
“Carl, keep an eye on the crown prince.” Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Carl was puzzled by his cousin’s words. “Okay… but is there a problem?”
“Well, I think he might do something again, as he has started spouting some weird nonsense.”
“Weird nonsense?”
Sigren tapped his fingers on his desk in frustration. “He said that I was being used by Fiona. He also claimed that he knows the whole truth… All of this seems nonsensical to me, but we can never be sure.”
“….”
Carl pressed his lips together tightly. What Fiona had said to him some time ago came to mind: [“There may be many more people who want to avenge their mother’s death.”]. At that time, the young lady had caught him just as he was about to leave Heilon Manor. There had been bitterness in her whisper, but her relaxed demeanor when she spoke those words suggested she had accepted whatever would come. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Carl, what’s the matter?” Sigren asked, noticing Carl’s unusual silence.
“It’s nothing.” Carl felt that something was amiss. Was there a connection between what she said and the crown prince’s words? However, he suppressed such doubts and maintained his usual demeanor. He had no intention of confusing Sigren with uncertain thoughts.
Eventually, Carl changed the subject. “By the way, it seems that Princess Aria has been actively recruiting other nobles recently. I’d say she’s quite skilled at it for her age. What are your plans regarding this?”
“Just leave her alone.”
“If it’s not now, she may become an obstacle in the future.”
Sigren smiled bitterly. “Carl, I don’t want to kill all my relatives and wear the emperor’s crown.”
“….”
“It would be ridiculous for someone who has been covered in blood to take power.” Sigren muttered in a somewhat cynical and tired tone, “A person like that should go to hell.”
His half-sister, Princess Aria, had once asked him a sincere question: if he hated the aristocracy so much, how could he fairly do the emperor’s job? That position required a person to face thousands of differing opinions; could he be satisfied in a role where he had to swallow his hatred and embrace the very things he despised?
Sigren found himself pondering her harsh yet realistic questions from time to time. He didn’t want to accept it, but unfortunately, what she said was correct in many ways.
***
Lady Livya and Lady Eunice had come to visit. Both were friendly to me, which made it easy to interact with them. Eunice explained her powers with a slightly amused expression, mentioning that I had shown interest in her in the past. I had a rough idea of why; it was probably because of the darkness. I quickly realized upon seeing Eunice’s power that she was quite strong, and I thought her abilities would be helpful later. Read the translation on ladygrey.com.
Later in the day, an idea struck me while I was reading about Bill Curtis’s case, connecting it to Eunice’s power. What if I could put the darkness into Bill Curtis’s body instead of mine? Then, it might be possible to get rid of the darkness according to the original storyline. However, there was also the possibility that this idea would fail since Fiona’s soul had assimilated with the darkness.
I got a slight headache thinking about this, so I decided to clear my head by focusing on other matters that Abel had given me. The Crown Prince Enoch had recently made quite a name for himself by subjugating water monsters. It seemed he was revered by the villagers whom he saved from annihilation. It was also reported that Bill Curtis was like a shadow by Enoch’s side.
In a sense, he was doing something good. This made me feel like the crooked person trying to frame someone who was genuinely trying to improve. I marked on a map the villages that had recently received help from Enoch and researched additional sources. There were palace soldiers who participated in the fights, but there were also hired mercenaries. The palace soldiers under his command would be tight-lipped, but mercenaries would definitely be easier to approach.
I went outside to find out more about what had happened. The place where the mercenary guilds gathered was not particularly safe. I realized this too late, as I found myself surrounded by intimidating men in an alley. Did I carry an escort with me in the past? The answer was uncertain; I had amnesia, after all. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Of course, it wasn’t much of a problem to deal with mercenaries, no matter how burly and dirty they looked. I could resist them, so it wasn’t like I was risking my life by doing this. The big men closed in on me in an instant, their loud voices chatting among themselves echoing from all directions.
“It’s been so long…”
“What brings you here?”
I glared at them, ready to react if they attacked. Then the mercenaries started nudging each other, as if they were ordering one another to step forward first. Finally, a man with a determined look walked in front of me, as if he were walking into a fire.
“…” I activated my mana and assumed a defensive stance.
The mercenary slowly opened his mouth. “To come into this alley…”
Is he trying to tell me to get lost? Or is he trying to drag me somewhere?
But what came next was completely different from what I expected. The large mercenary quickly lowered his head and shouted,
“—What on earth has brought you here, Sister!?”
The surrounding mercenaries chimed in one after another.
“Let us guide you!”
“Are you here to see the Leader?! Sister?!”
Hearing those words while surrounded by men who looked ready to beat up a bear gave me a slight headache. I didn’t remember having younger siblings like them! But as always, the biggest problem these days was my memory loss. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
***
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