The Place We Must Go (4)
The Grand Duchy of Vitagarte’s ridiculously enormous audience chamber. It was called the Tiger’s Corridor. True to its name, behind the throne stood a plaster statue of the progenitor Goyal I, back turned to someone as a tiger knelt at his feet, adorned with silver ornaments.
The provincial lords who had rushed here upon hearing the news and been granted temporary residence in the royal palace, along with the bureaucrats who had managed the royal family’s affairs since ancient times, were all gathered in one place. They paid their respects to the imposing figure of Goyal I before taking their seats.
However.
The Grand Duke they served as king was absent from his seat.
The throne where his massive frame should have sat with solemn dignity was empty. The only person standing before it was the immature crown prince acting as regent—Abel.
Everyone already knew and accepted that the Grand Duke’s poor health prevented him from handling state affairs. But even with a treasonous plot to assassinate the princess now exposed, his continued absence was simply unacceptable.
Thus, the Minister of Finance, who appeared to be the eldest among them, spoke on everyone’s behalf.
“…Your Highness the Crown Prince, nearly everyone has taken their seats. Once His Majesty arrives, we may begin the cabinet meeting.”
Yet it was not the hesitant Abel who answered. Instead, the reply came from a woman in the prime of her life, seated inside the silk curtain draped beside him—Shagalor.
“His Highness Rexas will not be attending! Due to his poor health, he has asked me, his wife, to oversee this matter in his stead.”
“B-but! This could easily be interpreted as treason! Your Grace!”
“……….”
When Shagalor silently pressured the Minister of Finance with her gaze, he shrank back slightly. Abel, clearly not wanting things to go this way, squeezed out a semblance of composure in his immature voice and opened the meeting. It was probably his clumsy attempt to rescue the minister.
“…Now, everyone, please settle down. We will begin the cabinet meeting.”
However, the high-ranking officials with sharp eyes and long experience sensed something strange in the air. They exchanged subtle glances, sending silent signals to one another. But no one dared voice an opinion against Shagalor, who had seized firm control of the royal family by borrowing the crown prince’s—no, the king’s—authority.
Those who had once been called the Karalin faction had long since been swept away or defected after she lost power. Until recently, there had been the steadfast leader known as the Lord of Steel. If anything seemed off, it was that he should have stormed in immediately given the current situation.
…What could have happened?
The man everyone had expected to attend was nowhere to be seen.
“Then, let us begin by summarizing the recent Skull attack that occurred during relief efforts.”
In any case, Abel quietly read from the prepared report. The moment he did, the Tiger’s Corridor itself seemed to tremble.
“Skull… attack?”
“There was an assassin?”
“………It’s painfully obvious who wrote that report.”
“The investigation has confirmed that the Skulls numbered one hundred and sixty-eight in total. They were undoubtedly remnants wandering near Fralbert.”
And that was all he said.
“…Is that it?”
Someone asked, but the report truly ended there.
“Th-the report written here says… that’s all…”
Even Abel seemed to realize how ridiculous it sounded. His face crumpled as he mumbled, but then Shagalor shouted.
“That’s the end of it, you incompetent fools! This is the result compiled from the royal investigators and on-site personnel. Do you really intend to argue with their conclusions when all you can do is stare at numbers on paper?”
She was lecturing them as if teaching children. However, presenting such absurdly inadequate material was reckless, even with only Shagalor faction officials present.
“Your Grace, the knight who single-handedly rescued Her Highness the Princess gave a different account. The Lord of Steel stated that the sorcerer controlling the Skulls was also an assassin who altered their appearance to prevent identification. That crucial detail has been omitted—!”
The hot-tempered Minister of Defense rose with dignity and roared at the nonsense. But Shagalor, as the mother of the acting king, was in a position to gather and judge all the information these men could not easily access in such a short time.
Shagalor was no fool. Her actions were not merely a childish attempt to cover her own mistakes.
She smiled faintly and said, “Oh? Is that so? That’s what the Lord of Steel claims, is it?”
“………Yes, it is.”
“But when the Lord of Steel returned to the palace, anyone could see he was visibly agitated and unable to control his emotions. To place such faith in the words of a man in that state… You’ve all been swayed by his outburst and are making poor judgments.”
With that, Shagalor smiled in a way that seemed to crush everyone beneath her.
“The Lord of Steel used a technique that scattered iron fragments across the entire area in order to handle so many Skulls single-handedly.”
“…Iron fragments.”
“According to the investigators, the surrounding trees, stones, and natural objects were violently shredded by those iron fragments. It looked as though they had been struck by something inhuman.”
“……….”
“Therefore, the fact that the dead Skull sorcerer’s face was mutilated is far more reasonably explained as the result of being torn apart by those iron fragments until unrecognizable… rather than him desperately carving his own face with a knife to take responsibility for an ‘assassination failure.’”
Once again, the assembly stirred. When they heard Shagalor’s explanation, it didn’t seem entirely wrong. The Lord of Steel, who was never supposed to waver, had appeared visibly shaken upon returning to the palace. Everyone had naturally drawn their own conclusions from that sight.
But who in their right mind would carve up their own face so horrifically?
If the Grand Duchess was correct, their judgment might have been an overreach.
“However, I believe the Lord of Steel only said such things because… he was so desperate to protect Karalin, whose life he values above his own. Therefore, he bears no fault.”
With those words, Shagalor performed a political sleight of hand—defending the Lord of Steel while simultaneously erasing any hostility toward him. The suspicions of everyone who had secretly guessed that she was the true culprit behind the incident began to blur.
That was why Yohan’s decision not to appear here had been absolutely correct. Had he been present, it would have become an exhausting, stubborn battle of constant rebuttals against Shagalor, who could freely manipulate the source of information. It would have been like playing baduk while giving her every advantage.
Just as Yohan had predicted beforehand, this was indeed a meticulously crafted trap from beginning to end. The truth was finally rising to the surface.
But at that very moment…
Creeeeak—
The heavy latch on the solemn doors of the Tiger’s Corridor was undone, and someone stepped inside.
“P-Princess Karalin—?!”
“She should be injured! How is she here?!”
“No. That is Her Highness Gorgo.”
“Her Highness Gorgo…!”
It was the woman standing imposingly before them—the younger sister of Goyal I, whose statue loomed behind the throne, and a being who had descended back into the present world after hundreds of years. It was Gorgo.
She entered the chamber deliberately late, as if planned, and slowly swept her gaze across the room.
“………”
The moment her eyes fell upon them, the people born in the North and resolved to die in the North could not help but shudder. To Northerners, she was that kind of existence.
Of course, she had been frequenting the palace lately, so many could immediately recognize her by her short hair, which was far shorter than a princess’s. But the reason everyone mistook her at first glance was likely the wolf-pelt coat she wore.
It was the very coat that only Karalin currently favored in the royal family. Karalin preferred to wear that coat wherever she went.
“…Tsk.”
The moment she saw her, Shagalor clicked her tongue so quietly no one could hear—whether from sensing the coming headache or remembering the unintended humiliation from days ago. But Gorgo, who would not have heard it anyway, broke the long silence and raised her voice.
“I heard everything. You claim it wasn’t an assassination attempt?”
“……….”
“But what I heard was rather different.”
She deliberately slowed her steps, moving one measured pace at a time toward the seat prepared for her at the front.
“Grespara. The being who attacked the poor village of Mihelrn not long ago.”
The instant Shagalor heard that name, she raised her voice in visible panic, as if something had struck a nerve.
“……Your Highness Gorgo, the crown princess. This is currently a cabinet meeting. That matter has not been placed on the agenda—!”
“No. It is related. I interrogated her to gather information about Grespara’s identity and her master. Strangely enough, the information she provided fits quite well with this incident.”
“…………If that is the case, please speak.”
“She said that you, Shagalor, personally sought her out, promised her convenience, and inquired about the remnants’ information and how to control them.”
Rustle rustle— Rustle rustle——!
The Tiger’s Corridor erupted in murmurs as if it might collapse. Of course, the Lord of Steel, Yohan, with his disgustingly sharp instincts, had predicted that Grespara would be interrogated. Shagalor had already prepared counterarguments to suppress any such claims. She was not at a loss for words… but the weight and influence of a statement changed completely depending on who delivered it.
Certainly, many would have been swayed even if the young and respected Lord of Steel had said it. But when Gorgo—revered throughout the North, the hero whose small carving stood unseen yet undeniably present behind Goyal I—spoke these words directly, the atmosphere grew even more ominous.
Gorgo crossed her legs and threw herself into the chair, twirling one hand lazily as she continued in a relaxed tone.
“So when I hear that the same person who slapped my cheek went to obtain such information and did all sorts of things… it’s only natural that I become suspicious, isn’t it? To be blunt, you are the one in this room who wants Karalin dead the most.”
And then came the bombshell.
Everyone doubted their own ears and trembled in fear. Though the silk curtain obscured the view, it was obvious that Shagalor beyond it was shaking with uncontrollable rage.
“Y-Your Highness Gorgo…! Please retract those words immediately! That is not something we can simply overlook! How much I cherish Karalin—”
“Cherish her? Hmm. If you cherish her so much, why did you replace the crown prince’s nameplate with Abel’s before the position had even been properly transferred? That doesn’t sound like something done out of affection. So conversely, your words must carry a great deal of credibility.”
“………Th-that. That was not my doing.”
“My cheek as well. That was something you did while trying to slap Karalin.”
At that, Shagalor thought to herself, ‘This fucking bitch. Just how much did that boar Yohan and that bitch Karalin tell her?’
Her mind went blank in an instant. An overwhelming pressure. For Shagalor, who had been leading the situation and seeing it unfold exactly as she wished, this was an entirely unwelcome development.
With her mind dazed, she spat out the lines she had prepared in her mental script—If Yohan says this, I must respond like that.
“……This. This is slander.”
“Slander?”
“……I have never spoken to Grespara! How many years have I spent as the wife of the North? Why would I suddenly conspire with the demon army to harm Karalin now? That would benefit no one!”
“………Do you truly believe that?”
“Yes, I do! This is too much, Great Ancestor. Why… why are you letting the words of a strange demon like Grespara cloud your judgment…? At a time like this, reason is more important than anything— I have no concrete evidence—!”
“Indeed. There is no evidence. After all, this is all information I obtained while crushing and ripping out Grespara’s fingernails one by one to make her talk.”
And at that moment, Gorgo kicked her chair back and stood up with an expression of utter disgust. She spoke clearly to Shagalor, who was surely listening, but in truth addressed everyone.
“Then, let us leave the final judgment to the one who should rightfully make it.”
“…The one who should… make it?”
“Yes. Since there is no king present, everything said here is nothing but empty theory.”
She extended her finger, pointing beyond the large windows of the Tiger’s Corridor toward the king’s bedchamber, which sat on a slightly lower level.
“His Majesty the Grand Duke…”
Then she lowered her finger even further, pointing to a man kneeling quietly in the garden below the king’s bedchamber.
Because of the lower position, no one had noticed him at first. But now, everyone could clearly see the man with his unmistakable, imposing presence.
“I already sent a letter to His Majesty, who is unwell, detailing everything. He will now render his judgment.”
But for Shagalor, something else was far more urgent.
“Y-Your Highness Gorgo? Why is the Lord of Steel, who did not attend the meeting, down there…?”
“How should I know? It seems he has something to say.”
At that, everyone spoke in one voice.
“Open the windows! Open them—!!”
Clack—
Whooooosh———
The cold summer wind of the North poured into the chamber. To everyone standing there with their mouths shut tight, the only sound that reached them was the man’s thunderous shout as he bowed, enunciating each word clearly enough to pierce every ear in the room.
“Your Majesty, you once promised you would never see me again. I have come prepared to have my head severed for daring this meeting. This Lord of Steel has come to speak words that may offend you. Please, hear me out!”
At that roar, like a beast of the sky bellowing, everyone was truly overwhelmed. Cold sweat ran down their backs. And in that moment, the Lord of Steel declared:
“───The young lady Karalin, whom I have protected and watched over, is not someone who deserves this kind of treatment. Your Majesty—!!”