Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Royal Capital #4
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The carriage traveled on.
A massive carriage pulled by six horses held only two passengers, aside from the coachman.
Elaine Moonlight, Queen of the Lycanthropes and the Demon King's fourth wife. And her cousin, Ludwig Moonlight, Captain of the Blood Wolf Brigade.
Elaine's expression was serene as she gazed out the window. So much so that Ludwig found himself asking a question without thinking.
“Are you certain you don't wish to see them awake?”
It was clear who he meant. Elaine turned to look at Ludwig's face, a mixture of impatience and resentment, then closed her eyes as if basking in the sunlight and replied.
“I've already checked on their condition several times. I waited as long as I could, but Caitlin was a little late this time. It's a shame.”
*I wonder if they've woken up by now? It would have been wonderful to see them awake.*
Despite the rigid words, Elaine's voice was tinged with deep regret. It only made Ludwig more confused about his liege and cousin. If only she had waited just a few more hours.
Elaine opened her eyes again. A mischievous smile, just like Chris's, played on her lips as she spoke.
“Since we're already talking, shall we discuss business? I was originally planning to wait until we returned to the palace.”
As Captain of the Blood Wolf Brigade, Ludwig's duties extended beyond being Elaine's guard. He was also her advisor, confidant, and secretary. Though it always seemed he was only ever performing the last of those three roles.
“We've found the body of the fake Gerard who appeared in the east. He was clearly a Lycanthrope, but everything else is unknown. As you predicted, he had taken his own life.”
Taking one's own life when there's no escape.
It was the most extreme and effective method of preventing information from leaking.
Elaine touched her temple and said.
“Whether it was the fake's own ability or the power of some magical device provided by his supporters, the false Gerard was strong enough to draw our attention. And when he was about to be caught, he killed himself. It goes without saying, but this must be a fairly large organization.”
This wasn't an internal affair of the Lycanthrope kingdom. An outside organization was clearly involved.
Elaine, who had been biting her lip lightly as she mulled things over, suddenly opened her eyes and turned her head. It was because her trusted captain, her cousin, a handsome middle-aged man admired by all the handmaidens of the Lycanthrope palace, was making a face like a puppy that desperately needed to go.
“What is it? Is there something you want to say?”
“How did they know?”
Ludwig was more curious about that than the identity of the outside force.
How could they have known? By what means could they possibly have discovered that Gerard was imprisoned in the lowest level of the Gray Tower?
“The fact that Gerard was imprisoned in the lowest level of the Gray Tower was a top secret. A secret that has been kept for over twenty years.”
Even the guards of the Gray Tower didn't know that the prisoner on the lowest level was Gerard.
The secret was perfect. There was no way it could have leaked.
But Elaine didn't think so. Leaning against the window, she gently shook her head.
“Hundreds died because of Gerard. It all happened in a single night, and within the palace walls, but... I suppose it was too much to ask. It seems there are no perfect secrets in this world. Everything comes to light eventually.”
The last part seemed to be directed not at Ludwig, but at herself.
Elaine's expression was calm, but Ludwig, facing her, was not. He thought of Caitlin without meaning to and clenched his jaw to stop the words from escaping his lips.
Elaine smiled. For her cousin's sake, she steered the conversation back to where it should be.
“They wouldn't have freed Gerard for no reason. It must be the work of those who profit from harming us Lycanthropes. But what happened after they freed him also bothers me. Why would they let Gerard wander around freely?”
The most obvious use for Gerard was the fact that he was a direct descendant of the previous Lycanthrope king and Elaine's older brother.
There were few better tools than Gerard for causing chaos within the Lycanthrope ranks by raising questions about the legitimacy of the royal succession.
But from what had happened so far, that didn't seem likely. Moreover, they hadn't controlled Gerard after going to the trouble of breaking him out. Perhaps Gerard had escaped their grasp and started acting on his own, but—call it a woman's intuition—she somehow felt that wasn't the case.
Ludwig's thoughts were much simpler.
“The fact that Gerard is alive is what bothers me.”
Setting aside his connection to the outside force, the mere fact that Gerard had escaped alive was unsettling.
Elaine nodded.
“He really is tenacious. That's how he survived twenty years ago. Should I have killed him back then? Indulging in needless sentimentality seems to be a bad habit of mine.”
Ludwig felt he had made another mistake. So this time, he changed the subject himself.
“What do you think of the 9th Prince?”
It was such an abrupt change that his intentions were obvious, but Elaine just smiled. She played along with the new topic for her faithful captain.
“I like him. He's completely different from when I saw him before, which was quite a surprise. Back then, how should I put it... he seemed almost soulless. Well, that was a long time ago.”
It had been over seven years, after all. It must have been a difficult time for the 9th Prince. Or perhaps Elaine herself had misjudged him.
Elaine tilted her chin at him, turning the question back to him.
“You saw him this time too, Ludwig. What do you think?”
While Elaine was meeting with Ingong, Ludwig had been watching them from beyond the wall. No matter how much Chris trusted the 9th Prince, leaving him in a room with a defenseless Caitlin without any surveillance was simply unthinkable.
“I can't tell much just from seeing him. But...”
“But?”
Instead of answering right away, Ludwig hesitated for a long moment before replying with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“He does seem to genuinely care for Chris and Caitlin.”
The way he looked at Caitlin proved it.
At her cousin's answer, Elaine burst out laughing. It was a laugh just like Chris's.
“You know, wouldn't most people first consider whether he truly has what it takes to become the Demon King?”
“He's not a Lycanthrope. I'd rather not be stabbed in the back.”
After all was said and done, the 9th Prince was still an outsider. What if, like a cuckoo chick raised in another's nest, he developed other intentions after he was fully grown?
Ludwig, who had answered somewhat sullenly, adjusted his posture. He looked directly at Elaine, who was still smiling with a languid expression, and asked.
“Your Majesty, do you truly believe the 9th Prince has what it takes to become the Demon King?”
“Chris seems to think so. So I'm choosing to think so as well.”
“Your Majesty.”
Instead of replying, Elaine extended a long, slender hand toward Ludwig. With a sigh, Ludwig reached into his coat and produced a metal case of cigarettes. Elaine took one with a satisfied look and lit it with magic. She took a drag before speaking.
“I know the Demon King. I can't claim to know everything about him, but there is one thing I'm certain of.”
The Demon King, Mitra.
King of the Sura. The strongest being in the Demon World.
“There is always a reason for his actions. And that reason has little to do with emotion.”
Elaine took another drag of smoke. She thought of her spouse, a union forced upon her, whom she hadn't shared a bed with in years.
“He is not the kind of man to do something so unconventional at an audience—not once, but twice—for no reason. He must have seen something in the 9th Prince that we did not.”
No, he must have seen it. She didn't know what it was, but he had definitely seen something.
Ludwig shook his head in disbelief.
“But they're still father and son, aren't they? To be honest, I don't see what's so unconventional about it. Perhaps his attitude toward his children has changed as he's gotten older.”
What's so special about a father calling his own son's name? Isn't it natural for a parent to want to cheer on a son who suddenly shows potential after seeming hopeless?
Elaine stared at Ludwig with a blank expression before clutching her stomach and bursting into laughter.
“You've always been fond of children. You used to play with Chris and Caitlin often when they were young.”
“The two of them are still young.”
Ludwig replied stiffly, his face sullen. Elaine pinched her cousin's cheek and said.
“The Demon King isn't you. He's... well, sometimes he's like a monster of pure reason. He clearly has emotions, but it's as if his internal wiring is different from ours.”
Elaine stubbed out the cigarette. Her gaze fixed on a point slightly above Ludwig's head, who reflexively thought it was a waste, as she continued.
“Among the Demon King's children... yes, let's say the 2nd Prince, Zephyr, became incredibly strong, killed the Demon King, and inherited the throne. What do you think the Demon King would say before he died?”
“‘You son of a bitch?’ ‘You patricidal monster?’ ‘I curse you?’”
At Ludwig's blunt response, Elaine burst into laughter again. Ludwig muttered, his face flushing.
“Isn't that what's normal?”
“Yes, that's normal. But the Demon King isn't normal. He would probably be pleased. Because a Demon King stronger than himself has been born. That's the kind of person he is.”
The one who ascends to the throne of the Demon King is the strongest in the Demon World.
If someone is strong enough to defeat him, the Demon King, then they are worthy of the throne.
Ludwig scrunched up his face as if to say, 'What kind of weirdo is that?' and Elaine nodded.
“Exactly. Perhaps I've decided to support the 9th Prince because I trust the Demon King even more than I trust Chris.”
What was this special quality the Demon King discovered? What was it that made him act in such a way?
“But as you know, the Demon King has several other wives besides me. And they probably know the Demon King as well as I do. I'm most curious about the 3rd Queen... Silvia's reaction. I wonder if she'll truly join us on this path.”
Silvia Doomblade, the princess of the Dark Elves, didn't belong to any faction. Like her children, Silvan and Felicia, she seemed to avoid getting involved in anything related to the Demon King's throne.
But that wasn't because the Dark Elves were weak. She was like Elaine herself had been before. She disliked taking risks for a long-shot gamble.
And Ludwig felt the same way.
“I don't think it would be so bad to just stay out of it, as we are now.”
“Perhaps. Maybe we are taking an unnecessary risk. But it's also true that a future where the 9th Prince becomes the Demon King is the best outcome for us.”
After all, it would be impossible to build the same kind of friendly relationship with any of the other candidates for the throne.
Elaine turned to the window again. She gazed into the distance, thinking of Caitlin. She spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper.
“The Demon World is a world where the strong survive... In the end, everything flows according to the will of the strongest. I find that fact both infuriating and wonderful.”
The carriage rolled on. The Lycanthrope palace was not far.
&
On the afternoon of the day Ingong and Caitlin awoke, Chris did indeed leave the Lycanthrope royal villa and head for the palace.
And the next morning, Ingong and his party also left the villa. Though their destination was in the opposite direction of Chris's.
Lycanthrope soldiers assigned by Chris accompanied them until they left the Lycanthrope territory. From the moment they crossed the border, a Lycanthrope ranger joined the party as their guide.
His name was Roben. He was a boar Lycanthrope and a competent ranger who had nearly the entire western region's geography memorized. He was also a welcome male companion, finally bringing some balance to the party's desperately skewed gender ratio after the addition of Caitlin and Seira.
*‘Something is wrong here.’*
He'd seen plenty of main character parties with extreme gender ratios in countless subcultures like novels, comics, movies, games, and anime, but it was extremely rare for the most popular member to be sidekick A instead of the protagonist.
After this brief lamentation upon witnessing Karak chatting with Karma and Daphne on the coachman's seat, while Delia and Seira occasionally shot wary glances at the back of Karak's head, Ingong turned his gaze toward Caitlin and Felicia for the sake of his mental and physical well-being.
The two were fast asleep, leaning on each other's shoulders like the very picture of loving sisters.
Watching them with an unconscious, warm smile, Ingong absently touched the seat of the carriage. The four-horse carriage provided by Chris was incredibly large, sturdy, and comfortable.
*‘I wonder how Draco is doing.’*
He thought of Draco, whom he had left at his mansion in the Demon King's castle. If he had known he would still be traveling so much after the Thunder Doom Fortress campaign, he would have brought him along. What a shame.
Finally, Ingong's gaze fell on Roben, who was sitting next to Seira. The ranger, who seemed quite uncomfortable with having to sit inside the carriage instead of on the coachman's seat, flinched at Ingong's stare and spoke up a bit awkwardly.
“We'll have to get out of the carriage and travel on foot from the Twin Bridges. You should get some rest too, Your Highness.”
“I've slept too much these past few days. What's this Spider Forest like? Have you been there?”
It wasn't just an excuse; he really couldn't sleep.
Roben nodded in response to Ingong's question.
“I was there about half a year ago. My overall impression? Quiet, I'd say. There are no notable beasts or monsters in the area, so it's a very peaceful place. It might be different deep in the Spider Forest, but... at least the path from here to the entrance should be smooth.”
That was good to hear. In Ingong's memory, the Spider Forest was also a peaceful land with no notable events—in other words, no particular monsters or incidents.
*‘Peace and quiet for a change.’*
Three days later, the party arrived at the entrance of the Spider Forest, only to be met with the howls of beasts and roars of monsters echoing from all directions, and a terrible, malevolent aura that covered the entire forest.
Roben looked completely bewildered, at a loss for what to do, but the rest of the party was different. Led by Karak, they all turned to look at Ingong with the exact same expression.
“What? Why?”
Ingong flinched and said. Karak let out a long sigh. Felicia gave a wry smile as if to say, 'I knew it.'
And Caitlin took Ingong's hand. She spoke in a warm voice, as if to soothe the sorrow of being unfairly blamed.
“Shutora really is amazing.”
Was that supposed to be comforting, or was she just twisting the knife?
Ingong looked back at the Spider Forest.