Chapter 63
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: The Only One Who Understands (2)
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Meanwhile, the vibration of power unleashed by the princess spread all the way to the deepest recesses of the royal palace.
To a certain vast chamber where an old man sat.
- Rrrrrumble...
Amid the ominous sound, the pen and candle on his desk danced wildly.
It was a tremor strong enough to be mistaken for an earthquake, yet he showed no sign of panic, simply continuing to read the documents in his hand without a word.
Only after countless files from the Intelligence Bureau had come spilling out from the bookshelves and cabinets did the man's gaze finally shift.
"..."
This wasn't an earthquake.
For a natural disaster, the vibrations weren't coming from beneath the earth.
Rather... it felt as if the entire castle was being crushed under some immense pressure.
A sensation all too familiar, one he could never forget.
King Rio slowly opened his mouth.
"...Elaine."
After a long, long time, he called his daughter's name once more.
Silence hung between us as my eyes met the queen's.
"Central Officer. I won't beat around the bush."
The queen was the first to speak.
She pointed her fan at Elaine behind me.
"Bring the princess here. Calm her down as much as possible first."
- Gasp.
I heard Elaine suck in a sharp breath from behind me.
My own expression soured as well.
"That..."
I couldn't say no.
That would be outright defiance.
Instead, I spoke in a tense voice.
"May I ask the reason?"
"You call that a question? Look around you. See what Elaine has done!"
Her fan swept toward the chaotic corridor.
"The princess is unstable. And that power of hers is easily swept up by her emotions. We must prevent that at all costs. The Blessing of Serenity seems to have broken, so we'll recast the spell."
At the queen's words, I quietly clenched my fist.
'Good.'
She wasn't just demanding I hand over the princess blindly—she had given an answer.
That meant conversation with the queen was still possible.
Now I just needed a reason why the princess couldn't go back to her.
"I judge this situation to be a backlash from that very suppression. Isn't this the result of her living her life with her emotions controlled?"
"Ha. A man who wasn't even there speaks so glibly."
Helena snapped her fan open to cover the area under her eyes and glared at me.
Her voice mixed irritation, anxiety, and worry.
"The princess must be isolated. You're seeing it clearly now—that tragedy nearly repeated itself!"
That tragedy.
Cruelly, the queen was dragging in painful memories to justify herself.
"..."
Elaine bowed her head at her words.
"I-it's okay, Your Highness. It didn't happen, right?"
Hanna tried to comfort Elaine with the brightest voice she could muster.
'What a vicious woman.'
Did she even see Elaine as her own daughter?
"We can't let it repeat. This is the only way. There's nothing else."
The queen muttered as if convincing herself.
"Nothing else... My daughter..."
Suddenly, she pointed her fan at us and shouted.
"No, actually, you lot are the cause of this incident. Hanna Meyer!"
The maid's name rang out sharply.
"Eek!"
Hanna froze behind me, startled nearly to fainting.
"If you hadn't delivered those letters, this catastrophe never would have happened. Do you understand!?"
"I-I... That..."
She had bravely defied the queen's orders before, but now she could only tremble under the direct reprimand.
I stepped in front of Hanna this time and answered.
"If exchanging letters was the root cause, then why was it fine when the princess first received them?"
"What?"
"The princess's power didn't start raging because of the letters. It was because Your Majesty took them away."
She had inflicted harsh punishment on her only friend, Hanna, and stripped away the one means of communication she had—letters.
How could she not see that was the true culprit?
Or did she just not want to?
"Just because her emotions make her power unstable, you suppress them artificially? And then deny her any joy or hope, locking her in darkness—is that Your Majesty's way?"
"Central Officer, don't spout nonsense when you don't know everything!"
"How is this a solution?!"
Elaine had killed her own brother. She couldn't control her power.
That was fact.
But that didn't mean she had to be caged like a bird in a gilded prison for fifteen years.
A life stripped of all joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, slowly withering away.
"This is..."
What difference did it have from death?
I barely swallowed my final words.
Elaine's breathing had been unsteady since the moment she saw the queen.
I couldn't risk using sensitive words while claiming to protect her.
So I shifted the target.
"Who even suggested this idiotic method? Suppressing emotions because they make her lose control—it's the kind of thing a dark cult would come up with!"
"You insolent fool! How dare you disparage the Church's aid like that!"
The priests shouted, struck at the core.
It was you bastards again.
These tiresome pricks.
"At the trial, I thought you were a fairly sharp man, but you're unreasonable. Central Officer."
The queen narrowed her eyes and spat the words.
"This is an order. Bring the princess here. I won't ask twice."
The ultimatum had been issued.
- Crunch.
I clenched my fist until it turned white.
'Damn it...'
An order.
As a vassal, it was something I had to obey.
And since it came from royalty, I had no choice.
'The queen knows my weakness well.'
Pressure using my status.
No matter what justification or righteousness I had, once it became an order, I couldn't defy it.
Otherwise, I'd be punished for a far greater crime than even a mere maid like Hanna.
As a public official of the nation, all my actions represented the state.
'And if I defy here, it'll become a massive issue.'
It wouldn't just trouble me alone.
They could use it as an excuse to weed out everyone connected to me.
And the queen had plenty more thorns in her side, like the Foreign Affairs Minister.
"Don't put yourself in further peril, Central Officer."
The queen's warning to give up.
Resisting further would make my fate obvious.
Defiance was one of the gravest crimes.
But...
I slowly turned to look at the princess behind me.
Her green eyes trembled with anxiety.
On her arm, scratched too harshly by her nails, the blessing's inscription still lingered, smeared but not gone.
[Central Officer...]
The face filled with sorrow and emptiness I'd seen in the royal mausoleum.
I recalled the frail, gloomy woman's first smile.
The phrase always at the end of her letters floated in my mind.
- From your friend.
Hanna and I were likely her only friends in the world.
'The world must never become a cage for her.'
I steeled my resolve.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
The worst decision of my life, yet the greatest act of courage—a mad defiance.
"I can't do that."
I defied the royal command.
"...!!!"
Elaine startled and grabbed my clothes.
[I-it's fine. I'll just go back. I don't want to put you in this position...]
"No. You can't."
My voice came out firmer than even I expected.
I looked straight into her eyes.
"I won't leave you alone anymore."
I won't let sorrow touch my people again.
I won't let that line be crossed.
'Remember the Visual Officer. Remember Rene's final words.'
Recall the bond I could have protected but failed to.
I gritted my teeth and vowed.
"I won't let the tragedy repeat."
I'll stop my tragedy, your tragedy.
"Never again."
That's why I'd come this far.
To never compromise.
[Ah, aaah...]
A trembling voice. Twisting brows.
Tears flowed from Elaine's eyes.
But they weren't from sadness.
[You really are...]
Tears of overwhelming realization—that no matter what, there was someone who would stay by her side.
[My only... one who understands...]
Behind her, sunlight began to slowly shine.
"..."
Like Hanna, silently embracing her.
"Are you defying the command!?"
The queen, finally grasping her leverage, snapped her fan shut.
"A man of high office committing defiance."
A faint smile crossed her face for a moment.
Then she pointed at Elaine.
"Elaine. I'll give you one last chance. Come here of your own will. If you do, I'll consider the Central Officer's punishment. You know how grave defiance is."
Unable to sway me, the queen targeted Elaine directly.
"Come back, dear. This is the only way you can save him."
She pleaded with her daughter, her expression conflicted.
That was when it happened.
"Withhold your anger, Your Majesty."
A deep voice cut across the corridor.
The enraged queen whipped her head around at the sudden intruder.
"Who dares interrupt the queen—"
And then she froze.
"That's enough from you too, Central Officer."
- Thud, thud.
With heavy footsteps, the voice's owner finally appeared.
'Who the hell... Oh my god.'
I froze as well.
Incansus Bermotem.
The king's proxy stood between me and the queen, clad in his black veil.
"No further chaos will be tolerated in the royal palace."
"I-Incansus. Why are you here...?"
The queen barely regained her composure and spoke.
The king's proxy.
His appearance after so long was unchanged.
A noble dragonkin veiled in black.
When the king was absent, his presence meant one thing.
His will was the king's will.
Incansus answered curtly.
"His Majesty sent me."
"...King Rio did?"
"His Majesty sensed Princess Elaine's power rampaging again and dispatched me."
"H-how did he...?"
"And ordered me to resolve the current situation most rationally and objectively."
That meant the proxy held full authority to settle this matter.
The queen's face paled as she grasped the implication.
"B-but His Majesty is currently..."
"Reviewing Intelligence Bureau files in his private chambers. He's looking back over the past fifteen years."
The proxy murmured as he slowly surveyed the ruined corridor.
"Hm. So it finally burst."
His gaze lingered on Elaine through the veil, then shifted to the queen.
"Your Majesty. It would be wise to refrain from further provoking Princess Elaine."
Then, raising his voice as if addressing the Holy Church priests behind her.
"As the Central Officer said, Your Majesty's method has failed. Trying to rechain a beast that has broken its shackles—only fools attempt that."
A gentle way of conveying: 'Shut up or face consequences, you failures.'
"But...!"
The queen tried to retort indignantly.
No, as she opened her mouth, the proxy brushed past her.
"...Incansus!"
Ignoring Helena's cry of humiliation as she gripped her crumpled fan, he strode toward me.
And my gaze rose to meet him.
"Central Officer Nathan Kell."
"Y-yes. I'm listening."
I bowed my head quickly.
Even after our previous audience, his presence was overwhelming.
He was silent for a long moment before speaking in a low voice.
"I fully understand your intentions, but your actions are clear defiance against the royal family."
"..."
"Regardless of reason, this is a grave crime and must be severely punished."
The proxy leaned closer, peering down at my bowed head.
Through the veil, the glowing eyes unique to dragonkin faintly gleamed.
"Remember your station. You are not merely a citizen—you hold a position devoted to serving the nation."
I swallowed hard.
"I-I will keep that in mind."
"Then the responsibility weighs even heavier. Guardian of the borders."
He deliberately invoked my title, implying he wouldn't let this slide easily.
'Too late to turn back.'
Finally, the proxy turned to look at the two women behind me.
"Princess Elaine."
Hanna was practically flattened on the floor.
Only Elaine pursed her lips and met the dragonkin's gaze.
Ignoring Hanna trembling like a leaf, he politely bowed to Elaine.
"First, I thank you for ensuring no casualties in this incident. You had the power but chose restraint."
"..."
"However, as a member of the royal family, threatening the kingdom's subjects and nearly toppling a castle of long history cannot be overlooked."
The princess slowly nodded.
[I... understand.]
"Good. Keep that in mind."
Confirming her acknowledgment, the proxy raised his voice.
"From this moment, I speak not as Dragonkin Incansus, but as the voice of His Majesty King Rio Castor of the Crossroad Kingdom."
Everyone dropped to one knee.
Now, his words were truly the king's command.
"The incident in the royal palace shall be buried in silence. Let those who saw close their eyes, those who heard seal their ears, and those who felt erase it from memory."
His stern proclamation echoed through the corridor.
"The princess's power rampage caused significant damage to the palace, necessitating her isolation from the royal castle for the safety of the royal family and retainers."
The queen smiled triumphantly.
But the proxy's words continued.
"However, since the queen's method yielded the worst results, isolation will take another form."
"What do you—!"
"Silence, Helena Castor. These are the king's words."
"...Kuh!!"
The queen trembled, head bowed.
Ignoring her, Incansus addressed the princess.
"Princess Elaine Castor, for threatening the royal palace, you are hereby banished from it for two months."
Elaine and Hanna gasped.
My god.
Two months?
'She just barely saw the light, and now back to isolation for sixty days?'
Too harsh.
But something was off.
A banishment order missing the 'where.'
"And Central Officer Nathan Kell."
Leaving the question hanging, he continued.
"For directly defying the royal command, tarnishing the honor of a public official, and presumptuously claiming friendship with the princess despite your station—this is a clear grave crime."
"..."
"Thus, in the king's name, I pronounce your punishment."
Summary judgment.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
He declared.
"For two months, the princess's custody is entrusted to you."
"...Yes?"
I inadvertently interrupted the royal command.
What did he just say?
Did I hear wrong?
"...Huh?"
[What?]
The princess and Hanna lifted their heads to stare at the proxy.
His large hand pointed at Elaine.
"Princess Elaine Castor is ordered to a two-month isolation at the southern border, with full responsibility assigned to the Central Officer."
The punishment, beyond all expectations, was announced.