Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Holy Kingdom's Knight #1
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The response came after a brief silence.
- ...Haah. Since you already seem to know, I won't bother hiding it. I don't really know either. Betrayal? I never told anyone.
Elisabeth added,
"You must be shocked—."
She did seem genuinely shocked; the corner of her mouth was twitching on the screen.
Well, it was understandable.
I had no ill feelings toward black mages myself, but that was because I'd played the game—I was the odd one out.
The Empire's mainstream view was to reject black mages outright.
Thinking about it, it was a bit ridiculous.
If they got caught, it was straight to ruin. Why bother touching black magic?
This nutjob.
"You're quite the piece of work yourself for dabbling in black magic despite knowing better."
- Well, isn't it weirder to have the ability and not use it? Besides, I was confident. About keeping it hidden, that is.
Elisabeth puffed out her chest over the communication link.
A heavy weight emanated from her confident posture.
Not that I understood why she was so confident.
Besides.
"You got caught in the end anyway."
- Haah. Yeah. Who the hell...?
Elisabeth let out a groan.
In the original story, she'd kept her black magic a tight secret right up until she was cornered and on the brink of downfall.
The narrative said she was never caught until she used it herself.
....
Was this my snowball effect too?
"Think about it carefully. You're the expert, aren't you?"
- ...What? It's bothering me anyway, and I can't just let it slide. I'll look into this matter. Thank you, Your Majesty.
"Alright. Time to cut the connection."
Just as I was about to end the call.
- Your Majesty.
Elisabeth cautiously spoke up.
- ...If you knew from the start, why pretend not to notice?
Well.
"It doesn't really matter to me."
I'd known from the beginning that she was a black mage.
I'd brought her on board precisely because I knew and still wanted her skills.
Results are what count. What else matters?
At my nonchalant response, Elisabeth fell silent.
- ....
"That it?"
- Yes. See you later.
Click. The connection ended.
Did I convince her well enough?
She wouldn't quit and run off now, right?
If Elisabeth bailed at this point, I'd be in real trouble.
All my plans would go up in smoke.
You're my Prime Minister for life, until I retire.
"Your Majesty, your expression looks sleazy."
"Does it?"
Lily returned, freshly bathed and smelling clean.
She was in pajamas.
"Where'd you get the pajamas?"
"From Your Majesty's shadow."
My shadow.
Could it double as inventory?
Curious, I reached out and felt the shadow.
"Doesn't work for me."
"Seems not. But if you do it like this..."
Lily placed her hand over mine.
My hand slipped right into the shadow.
"Nothing grabs."
"Because it's the shadow where I stored my things."
Lily answered as if it were the most obvious thing.
No.
It's my shadow.
"Your Majesty, what did you discuss with Lady Elisabeth? She must have been quite anxious knowing her black mage identity was exposed."
"Nothing much."
She didn't even seem that anxious.
This was Elisabeth, after all.
The woman with an unbreakable spirit, no matter what happened.
She might not feel anxiety, but her scary side was that if exposed, she'd blow everything up before she got screwed and bolt.
In that sense, being a black mage was just one component of Elisabeth von Valerian.
"It wasn't that big a deal to begin with. Whether she's a black mage or not doesn't change the woman I know."
"Did you tell her that?"
"I did."
Lily's expression was peculiar.
"Say it to me too."
"What?"
"That even if Lily's hidden secret is revealed, it wouldn't matter to Your Majesty."
"You don't have any hidden secrets."
"True, but still."
Lily let out a wistful sound.
But no means no.
Several days passed in the now-empty lord's castle.
A knight order dispatched from the capital arrived.
"Phew. How the hell did they run this distance...? It's astounding, all over again."
Elisabeth walked up to me, escorted by the knight order.
"The talks are happening here, right?"
The war was over.
I'd killed their Commander-in-Chief Eax and crushed hundreds of cavalry units.
Plus, I'd shown that I was still very much alive.
Varka Kingdom immediately signaled full surrender.
It felt almost anticlimactic.
Ultimately, my presence was the deciding factor.
The talks were set for this place—the former Philemon Margrave territory.
I'd initially considered making Varka come all the way to the capital.
"I'm already busy enough, and now managing a border territory? Don't you think that's too much work?"
But I figured I'd entrust the territory management to Elisabeth anyway.
So we settled on holding it here.
"If you can't handle it, say so. We'll think of another option."
"...No, that's not it. I don't need to stay here full-time, right?"
"Doesn't it make less sense for the plenipotentiary to hole up in one spot?"
"And you know that, yet you dump this on me. Haah."
She looked exhausted from the rushed trip.
"Fine. I'll assign some reliable underlings to work here, and it'll run smoothly enough. I can just give orders from the capital."
She'd complained every which way, but she'd already planned it all out.
See?
Give her a task, and she nails it.
"Stop looking at me like I'm some subordinate you can count on for anything. Seriously. You don't even glance at simple tasks and shove everything my way."
"I'm hopeless at anything that requires brainpower."
"Ha."
Elisabeth snorted.
It was true, though.
"Do you really need to hide it from me too? I owe you a debt, so I'll work obediently. Just be honest."
"About what?"
"I still can't figure out Your Majesty's true goal... but it's clearly something grand, right? That's why you pretended to be a fool on purpose."
"A fool? That's lese-majeste."
"Dodging again."
Elisabeth shot me a reproachful glance.
That was the reaction I wanted.
What grand goal?
I just wanted to retire and live peacefully.
"Elisabeth, actually."
"Yes. Finally going to tell me?"
"I."
Wait a second.
Could I really say my goal was retirement?
If I did.
'Retirement? Ah, yes. Retiring. Got it.'
Who was she?
The living incarnation of ambition.
If she learned the emperor wielding absolute power would soon step down?
Even if I'd secretly prepared to devour the Empire the moment I stepped aside, it wouldn't be surprising for her.
Even if I handed the throne properly to Theodor, she might end up holding the real power.
Personally, I had no grudge against Elisabeth, so her victory ending wasn't all bad.
But somehow, the picture felt off.
"Never mind."
"What? You were about to say something."
"Elise."
"Yes?"
"You're not plotting a rebellion behind my back or anything, right?"
No response.
I turned to see Elisabeth biting her lip.
Her eyes trembled faintly as she stared at me.
"...Seriously? Is this about last time? You said it wasn't important."
"Huh? Oh."
The black mage thing.
"Of course that's not important. Wasn't that settled?"
"Huh? Then why suddenly suspect me?"
"You've always been that kind of woman."
"...."
Elisabeth clamped her mouth shut.
And began glaring at me murderously.
From her reaction, she wasn't plotting anything behind my back yet.
"Sorry. It was a joke. Can't I even joke?"
"It wasn't a joke. Didn't we agree no lies?"
"Then it was serious."
"Are you messing with me?"
Elisabeth fumed.
"...Fine. I don't know why you brought it up, but I'll take it as you mentioning it because you trust me."
"Yeah, something like that. If I really suspected you, I wouldn't have said anything."
"Sure."
The conversation stalled.
In the awkward silence, the Varka Kingdom's delegation began entering.
They flinched upon seeing me and whispered among themselves.
"To think the Emperor really came all the way here..."
I could hear everything.
No matter how quietly they spoke, if I wanted to hear, I heard it all.
"I see the Sun of Aquitaine. I am Mahad, Varka's plenipotentiary envoy."
"Elisabeth von Valerian, Your Majesty's plenipotentiary representative."
Elisabeth greeted the plenipotentiary envoy Mahad with a smile.
Mahad looked up at me.
His face screamed, 'The plenipotentiary is right here—why is the Emperor really here?'
"Leave the negotiations to the plenipotentiary. Envoy, don't mind me."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
And so the tedious negotiations were about to begin.
"Your Majesty, forgive my impertinence, but may I say something?"
Varka's plenipotentiary envoy, Mahad, spoke.
"Speak."
"Our kingdom deeply regrets offending the exalted Empire. However, we have discovered traces of interference and trickery by some party in our kingdom during the incident."
"And?"
"Thus, we have summoned an expert on the matter to this place. Would you kindly permit their attendance as a witness?"
Honestly, I could refuse without issue.
Even if it was true that their kingdom had been manipulated into provoking the Empire.
That didn't make it a reason for me to forgive them.
But Varka Kingdom was whatever to me anyway.
The black mage angle piqued my interest more.
"Permission granted."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Mahad bowed deeply.
He probably thought he'd caught a break.
I had no intention of going easy.
"...."
Elisabeth, smiling silently, was the same.
If anything, she was likely pondering how to tear Mahad limb from limb for bypassing her and addressing me directly.
After a short wait, the door opened.
"Pardon the intrusion."
A disciplined voice.
An appearance that embodied uprightness so clearly anyone could see it.
A familiar face.
"I am Lucius, Captain of the Holy Kingdom's 1st Knight Order. I swear to serve here as the goddess's servant, worthy of the name Asterion bestowed by His Holiness."
The Holy Kingdom's knight captain.
The holy knight Lucius.
"I've heard a black mage was involved. Is that true?"
A sub-male lead from the original story.
And a black mage slayer to boot.
"............"
I glanced sideways, and Elisabeth's cheek twitched.