Chapter 92

Because of Bastien, I made a solemn vow: we must have the covenant ceremony as soon as possible! That is the only way to make him give up!

 

“Evan, I’m sorry I made you wait so long!”

 

“It’s alright. Just watching you work was a joy. You were wonderful, Lep.”

 

“Ahem.”

 

I puffed out my chest and placed my hands confidently on my hips.

 

“Now, let’s go back.”

 

Evan and I boarded the carriage and headed toward the capital. Since we were finally on our way home, a hum naturally escaped my lips. The cheerful melody echoed inside the carriage.

 

“It’s so nice to finally be alone with you, Lep. Isn’t it? By the way, why did Prince Fedeshar leave all by himself?”

 

“W-well? I’m not really sure.”

 

Evan’s gaze turned sharp, but I stubbornly looked away, feigning ignorance. However, having caught the momentary flicker in my eyes, he refused to let it go.

 

“You’re not going to tell me?”

 

I couldn’t help but look back at him when I heard his dejected tone. He was pouting his lips, making it very obvious that he was sulking.

 

“I can tell you something, though.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You were curious about what I discussed with Bastien, right? He told me that ‘there’s no tree that won’t fall after ten axe strokes.’”

 

“Whaaat?!”

 

I flared up in anger. How dare he treat me like a tree! Did he think I’d just fall for him if he kept pestering me? He’s got it all wrong!

 

“Evan, let’s have our covenant ceremony quickly!”

 

At those words, Evan’s eyes sparkled brilliantly.

 

“At the temple, officially inviting our parents and everyone else! Will you say the same things you said at the banquet then, too?”

 

“……Of course.”

 

Evan squeezed my hand tightly. His cheeks flushed crimson with joy. If anyone saw him now, they’d mistake him for a blushing bride.

 

A covenant ceremony meant swearing a vow before the gods at a temple. I understood why Evan was so happy. While it was a step below marriage, it was a far stronger bond than a typical engagement; if a couple separated after a temple ceremony, they would face severe social condemnation.

 

‘Wait, thinking about it like that, it’s quite inefficient, isn’t it?’

 

“In that case, we might as well just get married.”

 

As I was giggling to myself, the bright expression on Evan’s face suddenly shifted. His features stiffened, and he looked upward.

 

“Stop the carriage immediately!”

 

At that exact moment, the ground began to shake.

 

 

***

 

 

“The Lady gives me not even the slightest opening.”

 

Bastien thought of Lepina, who had been as guarded as a bristling cat, taking two steps back for every one step he took forward. The image of her shimmering pink hair was vivid even when he closed his eyes.

 

“I shouldn’t be like this……”

 

He told himself it was wrong, but he couldn’t help the thoughts that surfaced.

 

“I have become a mass of contradictions. Thanks to Mother, I’ve realized exactly what kind of person I am.”

 

Inside the jolting carriage, Bastien closed his eyes. When Evan had taken Lepina’s hand and left, he had wanted to take the other hand. But he knew both Evan and Lepina would despise that action. So he stayed still.

 

However, Rishana had said: Take what you want. The seat you sit upon was originally meant for such things.

 

Evan, too, had said they were not friends, but competitors vying for dominance. He had whispered that in the future, Evan would be his greatest obstacle.

 

Bastien hadn’t been able to refute those words.

 

And today, he realized it. Even while watching them whisper sweet nothings to each other, he still coveted her. His eyes naturally followed her.

 

As Rishana said, if the Weiss Duchy must eventually disappear, Evan’s future cannot be guaranteed, and she will be left alone. Then, the person she would naturally choose would be him. There was no need to rush.

 

“There is no one else fit to sit on the Empress’s throne besides Lady Lepina, and Mother likes her too, so it’s a perfect match. She will understand everything later. The Duchy has enjoyed far more power than their station warrants, anyway.”

 

But the throne had to come first.

 

Arriving at the Imperial Castle, Bastien walked toward the Empress’s Palace to pay his respects to Rishana.

 

Suddenly, someone blocked his path.

 

“I heard you departed early. Did you have business with me?”

 

“May I have a word with you for a moment, Brother?”

 

Bastien didn’t know what he wanted to talk about, but seeing Fedeshar’s serious expression, he invited him into the drawing-room.

 

 

***

 

 

“Ha, seriously……. Hic! You bastards, just you wait……. I won’t let this go……”

 

A man was stumbling along, grinding his teeth in resentment. He walked clutching his dizzy head.

 

He had no one to complain to, and his chest felt stifled. Having been kicked out of the banquet, he had drunk in a nearby tavern until his pockets were empty, and now he was floundering down the street.

 

The man was Hedeis.

 

Hedeis had become someone who was no longer invited to banquets. Previously, as a relative of the Weiss Duchy, he had received a decent amount of respect. Though he was a son-in-law brought into the family, he was the son-in-law of a Count, making him a high-ranking noble in his own right.

 

However, he had ruined his current life with vain dreams he couldn’t let go of.

 

It was good at first. After joining hands with the Empress, he could say he enjoyed the peak of his life. Everyone sought him out. But after being discarded, he was ruthlessly slammed into the dirt.

 

Because he hadn’t climbed up on his own strength but borrowed another’s, his fall was instantaneous. At the news that the Empress and the Duke had cut him off, those who once invited him to visit suddenly stopped calling.

 

“Ha! I’m not a Count! I’m a Duke!”

 

Even the wife he married looked down on him, telling him not to disgrace the family. Was that all? Fearing the wrath of the Empress or the Duke would fall on them, nobles would kick him out whenever he showed up at a banquet. Having suffered such treatment even from a mere Baron, his heart was scorched with bitterness.

 

Being called a Count was humiliating enough, but to be ignored by a Baron was the final straw.

 

This was why Hedeis was currently staggering through the back alleys of the capital, drunk. In his blurred vision and flushed face, hateful faces appeared and vanished.

 

Step—

 

The intoxicated Hedeis stared straight ahead with a hazy gaze. With a slurred tongue, he picked a fight with the person in front of him.

 

“Y-you, are you blocking my path too? Move!”

 

Hedeis shoved the person roughly and tried to walk on. The person stepped aside submissively but spoke from behind.

 

“Are you giving up?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You’ve fallen to a rock bottom that has nowhere lower to go.”

 

“You bastard!”

 

Hedeis swung a wild fist at the man who spoke with a chuckle. The man took the hit without flinching or swaying.

 

“What does falling to the bottom matter? Look at it the other way: it means there’s only upward to go. Since you’ve come all the way down, shouldn’t you make one last desperate struggle?”

 

Hedeis felt his drunkenness vanish instantly. He wondered who this person was and what his motive was for saying such things.

 

The suspicious figure, wearing a deep black robe that hid his face, felt strangely familiar yet alien.

 

“Who…… are you?”

 

“Someone who will help you. Let me tell you one thing. Someone will come to you soon, Count. They will tempt you to kill ‘them,’ saying they have a good proposal.”

 

“Kill who?”

 

The cloaked man laughed playfully.

 

“Don’t play innocent. Who else could it be? It would be those who are the greatest obstacles to you. They intend to make good use of you, a discarded pawn.”

 

“What? I’m a discarded pawn?! You think so too?!”

 

Infuriated, Hedeis stomped his foot. It was a word that already made him neurotic. He heard it from everywhere—that he was abandoned.

 

“No. I do not use you as a pawn to be discarded. As a token, I give you this.”

 

Hedeis took what the man offered. The alcohol had completely worn off by now.

 

In his hand was an awkward-looking flute that resembled a small trumpet. Hedeis, having never seen such an object, shouted, asking what it was.

 

“You’d better not use it recklessly. It’s an item that summons monsters. Consider it a bribe. I need your help. After receiving this, I hope you won’t reject their proposal.”

 

The person intending to use the “discarded pawn” Hedeis was likely the Empress. He knew well that the Empress saw the Duchy as a thorn in her side, and though he didn’t know the specifics of the proposal, he instinctively knew it wouldn’t be anything honest. Yet this man was telling him not to reject it.

 

“I don’t know why I should trust you and accept this!”

 

“Whether you trust me and accept it is your choice. I won’t tell you to trust me. You just need to think of the joy when the plan succeeds. The moment all obstacles are dead and you stand at the pinnacle of the nobility. I am praying for the success of your plan.”

 

The man handed Hedeis a small marble as a bonus and turned to walk away calmly.

 

“You can contact me with this. The choice is yours, Count.”

 

Hedeis tried to chase him, but by the time he reached the main street, the man had vanished. Watching him go, Fedeshar, who had been hiding in the alley, quietly slipped away.

 

 

***

 

 

“What?”

 

“I said stop!”

 

At Evan’s urgent shout, the coachman hurriedly pulled the horses to a halt. Before I could even scream in surprise, Evan pulled me into his arms.

 

Sensing danger from all sides, the horses panicked and neighed. The sound echoed wildly. Soon, a massive roar thundered in my ears.

 

‘What is it? What’s happening?’

 

As I trembled in fear, Evan took my hand and whispered softly.

 

“Shh……. It’s okay. You trust me, right?”

 

Even in a moment like this, Evan’s playful smile was strangely reassuring.