Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Kindred

Ferda dreamed.
Not a vague and disordered flow, but a dream of reminiscence based on memory.
For Ferda, it was something from who knows when.
However, it was so trivial that it had simply been abandoned in the corners of his memory.
The setting of that trivial memory began on the balcony.
Beyond the balcony, black smoke rose here and there within the imperial walls.
The bomb that the Empire had harbored had finally exploded, and marches of rebellion arose everywhere.
There was a woman watching it all.
The woman stood on the balcony railing, gazing upon it as if she were possessed.
Like a tragic heroine.
— The Empire burns. Fiercely, intensely…
Ferda watched that woman in silence.
— Are you happy now?
A question directed at Ferda.
As if all of this had happened because of Ferda, resentment was mixed into her words.
Ferda let out a mocking laugh at such shamelessness.
— They are dying because of you, Olivia Arken. If you had not stepped forward, they would not have needed to suffer like this.
Olivia Arken.
The greatest beauty of the Empire and a devout believer of Alte.
The one whom they called the Incarnation of Purity was precisely the one who had drawn a blade against the Empire.
If she had not led it, the screams would never have echoed within those great castle walls.
— I thought I would succeed.
She spoke with a melancholic voice.
— If I seduced the younger brother and raised the common folk… yes, it was a completely feasible task. Then the rebellion would have ended easily.
She turned her head.
Blue eyes, blonde hair, Olivia Arken was smiling radiantly.
— But… a ridiculous man named you shattered the balance.
However, unlike that bright smile, vivid red spots had settled on her face.
Blood.
It was not Olivia’s blood.
The blood of the owner of this room, the First Prince, who died awkwardly in bed with his pants down.
He met his death by the dagger in her hand.
The First Prince died at the hands of Olivia.
The Second Prince became a traitor, so if he fails in this rebellion, he will be publicly executed.
And Olivia…
She will not die.
— Instead, she will become the toy of His Majesty the Emperor. Displayed on a cheap auction block, using her own body as a hostage to buy loyalty.
— Just like my beloved older sister.
Olivia murmured inaudibly.
— So I will make a proposal.
Olivia extended her hand.
The tight silk gloves were stained red beyond measure, dripping bright red blood.
— Before I have to go up on that filthy auction block… would you like to embrace me?
Ferda did not answer.
It was not that he was conflicted; it simply was not worth answering.
Olivia, who had kept her hand outstretched for a long time, gave up.
— As expected, do you… hate me?
Her words were correct.
Ferda felt aversion toward Olivia.
From the first moment he saw her, and every time they crossed paths, he felt it clearly.
— What is the reason?
That emotion was not something Ferda forced out as hatred, nor was it based on something like jealousy.
— You are similar to me.
It was repulsion felt from a sense of kinship.
Ferda hated the Rosnova family who had expelled him.
And Olivia hated her own blood relatives.
Her life, so similar to his, inspired rejection in Ferda.
Perhaps from that moment, Ferda had been subconsciously aware that he himself was wrong.
— I see. Because we are alike, do we run in parallel worlds forever?
Olivia resigned herself.
Even so, the smile resting on her face did not disappear.
That smile was Olivia’s mask.
A thick mask made to hide the resentment and murderous intent forged through even more years than Ferda’s.
An object that would never break, not even at the moment of death.
— It is a pity. I thought you would be alright.
Her smile twisted sadly.
— Truly.
Olivia’s body leaned backward.
She threw her body toward the burning Empire stretching below.
When Ferda opened his eyes again, an unfamiliar and splendid ceiling greeted him.
Tilting his head, the interior of the Imperial Palace appeared before his eyes.
And the royal guards surrounding the walls, and even a knight with the rank of brigade commander.
— Oh, are you awake already?
A sweet voice welcomed Ferda.
A blonde woman closed the book she was reading and showed a smile.
Olivia Arken.
As befitting the greatest beauty of the Empire, her smile alone made it seem as if dozens of flower bouquets enveloped her.
Ferda sat up and asked her.
— How long was I unconscious?
— Mmm, about 3 hours have passed.
— 3 hours…
It is strange.
For someone who has been unconscious for 3 hours, his body feels far too refreshed.
When I received treatment from Ruri, I never felt this way even once.
— By any chance, is this your first time receiving treatment from our Order of Alte?
— Yes.
— Hehe, I imagined so. All the priests within the palace are bishop-grade figures. If one borrows the light of that person for treatment, one can move as if one had obtained a new body.
— I see.
The reason for such admiration was that, in his past life, Ferda had never entrusted his treatment to another.
He trusted no one, and would rather die before letting someone lay their hands on his body.
‘I guess I understand why priestly healing is considered the best.’
He thought that perhaps he should bring a resident priest like this to the castle as well.
— According to the reports from the rescue teams…
Olivia shifted the subject toward the sealed vault.
— It was learned that Magic Researcher Yuren died and the Regent was seriously injured.
— Yes.
— I do not know the detailed circumstances, but they say a grimoire of Ice Magic was clutched in Yuren’s corpse, and that the skin color change that occurs in Marbas’s contractor had taken place. Did he fall to the devil’s temptation?
Ferda nodded.
— That is correct.
— I see… for a researcher to fall to the temptation of a devil… fortunately you survived.
Olivia cast a deep, meaningful look and softly placed her hand over Ferda’s.
Ferda looked at her hand.
Ferda’s hand was also small, unbefitting the son of a family of knights, but hers was even more slender and small.
— As you said, Magic Researcher Yuren fell and attacked me.
Ferda looked at her.
— But the causality is incorrect.
— What do you mean?
— It is not that he attacked me because he fell. From the beginning, that bastard tried to kill me, and did not hesitate to fall even to kill me.
— Mmm… so from the beginning he intended to kill the Regent?
Eyes struggling as if finding it hard to accept.
But Ferda knew.
That she already understood this entire situation.
Because the only one who wanted this was Olivia.
— Yes. From the beginning, he took me to the sealed vault to attack me.
— Why?
— To kill me. To create the excuse that he had to kill me because he could not resist the temptation of the sealed vault.
At those words, Olivia’s eyes widened.
— To kill a person… how could they do something so cruel? What on earth is gained by killing the Regent?
— Who knows.
Ferda smiles softly and asks her.
— Would you be so kind as to tell me?
Olivia’s face tightened for a moment.
Blue eyes that both possessed stared at each other for a long time.
More than a simple exchange of glances, an inquisitive exchange of each other’s true intentions unfolded within those eyes.
As they looked at each other in silence like that for a while, Olivia raised her hand.
— Brigade Commander.
— Yes.
— Would it be alright if we had a private conversation for a moment? I would like us to be alone.
— Alone… you say?
— Yes. Just the two of us.
The brigade commander made a worried face.
Olivia looked at the brigade commander with moist eyes.
— Please?
The brigade commander, meeting those eyes, flushed as if possessed and nodded.
— Understood. I will follow the Princess’s wishes.
— Thank you, truly…
The royal guards stationed in the room hastily exited.
The blue eyes that had contained moisture toward the brigade commander blinked once.
In that instant, the flower of the Empire, the Incarnation of Purity, vanished.
— I…
Olivia’s voice, which had been ethereal, sank to a terrifying depth.
Even Ferda reflexively felt chills at how much the person had changed.
— You are thinking that I ordered Yuren to assassinate the Regent, right?
A perceptive woman.
Not just a prejudice from her reputation, but a truly exceptional woman.
Ferda had thought she would argue and vaguely cover it up.
In this state, like a lit fuse, she gave Ferda the optimal response.
For him, who had tried to hold her responsible and turn things around, it was a reverse counterattack.
— This is the first time I speak like this with someone. Especially with a man.
— Then, will you tell me, Princess?
Ferda placed heavy emphasis on his tone, sarcastically.
Olivia also stopped smiling foolishly.
— First, it is true that there is a connection with Yuren. He did many things for me.
The Magic Researcher can enter the sealed vault.
Forbidden magic, dark magic, and dangerous information are stored there.
Among that information were things that could become the Empire’s shame, and weaknesses.
— But if Yuren’s actions were a deviation due to excessive loyalty… would you believe my words?
— I was someone who almost died a moment ago.
“Would I believe that?”
Olivia nodded calmly.
— I already talked with him once before. What could strike a heavy blow to this Empire, precisely, what could shake the Emperor’s authority? How could we…
She smiled faintly like a girl harboring a long-cherished dream.
It was an expression stemming from her pure emotions.
— Could we kill the Emperor… that kind of thing?
An ordinary person would have felt a chill at her twisted emotional expression.
But Ferda empathized with her.
His mouth had a bitter taste.
— Trying to use the Archduke was, yes, one of the scenarios I was thinking about. Has that person already been very disappointed in the Arken Family once? If we disappoint her once more, even if the Emperor bows his head, survival would be difficult.
— Then, if I die, it would be perfect.
— No way.
She leaned her face forward slightly.
A faint perfume, not overpowering, drifted like body scent.
— And even in this moment of facing each other like this, I become convinced that that plan was wrong.
— How so?
— The Regent dislikes me, right?
The insight hidden in her eyes gleamed blue.
— I can feel it. That deep inside you, you loathe me. From the first moment we faced each other. Not that you dislike me childishly because you do not want to reveal your feelings, but that you truly loathe me…
She smiled cunningly.
— You do not seem to like pure women very much? The slightly clueless type, those who cannot do anything on their own. Although men used to fall head over heels for women like that.
Ferda did not answer.
As if she did not desire any particular answer either, Olivia pulled her face back.
— There are many people trying to give me their liver and bile. But no one truly looks at me.
Ferda detests her.
So he does not fall for her gestures and rhetoric, and stubbornly sees her as she is.
— I need someone like that. Not a slave, but a colleague.
— A slave would be more convenient, wouldn’t it?
— Yuren was a slave to me. The excessive loyalty of a slave always causes problems. They often rush to try to please me with things I didn’t even ask for.
Olivia sighed as if her head hurt.
— Some local noble sold all his assets to bring a million roses and prove himself.
A romantic of the century.
— Who was that?
— I don’t know. I executed him before I could even ask his name.
And the most pitiful bastard.
— I don’t want someone who sells his castle and sells the people of his territory as slaves just because he desires me. In any case, they are useless for my ultimate purpose.
On the surface, she spoke as if it were for the commoners.
But Ferda knew.
Olivia starts a rebellion and kills and injures many people.
— Even so, did you try to raise the dark mages of the Empire?
— Oh, heavens! Did you suspect that too?
Covering her mouth, she blinks.
“Of course.”
She is someone who wants the Empire to collapse.
— Mmm… hearing you say that is a bit disappointing. Then it cannot be helped. I just have to show you how sincere I am, right?
She lowered her head over her hand, which was placed atop Ferda’s.
Mana circles emanated from Olivia’s body.
Like mana circles, it gathered and condensed skillfully through her right arm.
In that moment, something surprising occurred.
Ferda could clearly see that evidence.
On the back of her hand, a pattern glowing white was engraved.
— Do you know what this is?
— …It is a Stigma.
Divine Stigma.
When a believer of the Order makes an absolute vow, it is a blessing bestowed by the god, and the bearer obtains powerful strength.
Because it grants such powerful strength, it is not bestowed lightly, and is formed based on intense desire and qualification.
— This is a pattern called the Vow of Vengeance. Following the doctrine of Alte, vengeance does not watch over those under the light, but is directed toward those who satisfy selfish desires and go against the will of the light.
Those she protects are the commoners.
And those upon whom she must take revenge are the Emperor and her older brothers.
Those words were also proof that she has no connection with the dark mages.
If she had brought dark mages, a Stigma could not glow so brightly.
— There are too many agitators framed as dark mages these days, so the essence has blurred, but dark mages are like worm seeds. I don’t even want to use them.
— I understand.
— And if I wanted the Imperial House to collapse, I would not have used the shallow trick of employing dark mages. Even if dark mages wreak havoc, only the citizens are harmed, and if the citizens are harmed, only the Emperor’s power is strengthened.
Olivia toyed with her lips and laid out conjectures.
— The person who benefits from the entry of dark mages… would be the younger brother, I suppose.
— You mean the Second Prince.
— Yes. He is the one who most desires the military to be strengthened. The reason for going on the expedition is also to gather more military forces. If he merely raises the need for external forces to enter, he will not be able to prevent his created connections from being introduced.
Listening to Olivia’s words, one is impressed again by how deep her way of thinking is.
Even knowing that she is not as foolish as she looks, it remains impressive.
He also gained the conviction that if Ferda had not lingered in the Empire, she truly would have killed the Emperor.
— In any case, as proof of it, I will use my influence so that responsibility for Yuren’s death is not questioned. I will also take care of the books lost in the dispute. So, from now on, I only have to keep proving myself, right?
As expected, this woman already knows.
That Ferda also approached the sealed vault with a purpose.
— Does someone who engraved a Stigma simply let go of a person who could become a dark mage?
— Oh, heavens? The God of Light, Alte, prefers conviction over doubt. Given that we do not know through what channel it leaked, arbitrarily suspecting the Regent who devotes himself to the people goes against doctrine.
In short, if you don’t dig, it’s fine.
— Then, would you want to cooperate with me from now on as well?
Olivia Arken proposed.
— I know the local lords do not like the Emperor’s actions. Among them, the Far East, which has been neglected, harbors a particularly deep grudge. I believe the Regent feels the same. If you cooperate, I, Olivia Arken, will put my weight behind supporting the Far East and speech rights.
Strength entered the overlapping hands.
Seduction was added to her face.
— We will certainly become good collaborators, or perhaps something more.
The light of temptation deepened.
One could understand a bit why men cannot act against women.
Even knowing it was calculated behavior, it naturally drew out a man’s instincts.
— Understood. Then I will exercise my influence this time.
— Thank you. But… exercise influence?
At the same time as Olivia’s question, the hallway began to grow noisy.
— Intruder detected! Level 1 Alert issued! Everyone assume war readiness posture!
They arrived quickly.
Ferda pulled his hand back from Olivia’s and got up from the bed.
Ferda suddenly remembered something and asked her.
— You said I don’t like pure people, right?
— Huh? Ah, yes.
— I do like them, pure people.
Leaving those words, Ferda stepped out.