Chapter 285
Chapter 285
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Beneath the Radiant Full Moon
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Beneath a brilliant full moon.
Amid the festive clamor, one main street had been cordoned off.
The Eastern Knights Order's finest men had barred entry to the area.
And in the dark alleys, Black Knights in their ebony uniforms lurked, watching the situation unfold.
All eyes turned to the culprit behind this chaos—the leader of the Black Sun, former Knights Order Captain Harun.
But.
Some among them weren't looking at him, the center of the incident, but at one woman.
"..."
Bats and Tau stared down at Lydia.
They narrowed their eyes, gazing intently at the princess.
"What, what are you staring at like that!!"
Lydia snapped at her subordinates like an angry cub leopard.
She stood on tiptoe, trying to make herself taller as she huffed indignantly.
"I'm pretty sure you called the other princesses whores just a moment ago..."
It was the tone of someone who had clearly witnessed the earlier scene.
The princess hurriedly waved both hands to smooth things over.
"Quiet...!! It took hours to fish out even a single shard, and now you're talking back!"
"And that's exactly why you liked it even more..."
Normally, such a scene would paint her as a tyrannical ruler venting at her underlings.
But which subordinates would dare banter like this with Her Highness the Princess?
It meant Lydia was that kind to her own men.
"Your Highness, please calm your anger."
Knowing her heart well, I approached slowly from behind.
I brushed off her twin tails, which even her subordinates hadn't dared touch, and spoke.
"We all escaped in one piece, didn't we?"
"Hmph..."
No one else was permitted to touch her hair.
Yet at the sight of me casually tending to her twin tails, Bats and Tau sidled up to me amiably.
They whispered cautiously.
"We entrust our princess to you. Don't make her cry."
"She's fierce in temperament usually, but incredibly rational when it comes to work."
*'Kids, I'm the one who got done in...*
I nodded with an awkward smile.
But soon, spotting the two key suspects before us, I let go of Lydia's hair.
"Lydia―――!!"
With each step the giant twins took, the ground trembled.
Yet despite their overwhelming bulk, their eyes brimmed with tears.
"Are you alright?!"
"Trapped in those shards...!! Who the hell did this?! I'll kill them right now...!!"
The two had been scanning for the perpetrator when.
Their eyes met mine, both of us covered in the same grime.
Instantly, they glared murderously, eyes screaming that I was the villain who endangered their precious little sister.
But Lydia, sensing it, intervened at once.
"Veil protected me. We were buried together, but he shielded me from all the debris with his back."
The twins fell silent at her earnest gaze.
"Th-thank you, Sir Veil..."
"To bear all that debris alone..."
Was it because a five-story clock tower had collapsed?
Debris had poured onto the boulevard, forming a massive rubble heap.
Hearing we'd been rescued from within it, the twins looked sheepish and apologized to me.
"No, no. Of course you'd be worried. I completely understand."
I waved it off with a bright smile.
Only then did the twin siblings relax, their expressions softening in relief.
Having safely reached the surface, we surveyed the surroundings to grasp the situation.
In the meantime, Captain Harun knelt on the ground, seemingly shocked that he'd nearly assassinated the royal he'd served so loyally.
Knights with spears surrounded him, but the captain offered no resistance.
He merely hung his head.
"Captain Harun..."
The belatedly arrived Second Prince Liam gazed pityingly at the captain's wretched form.
With eyes full of incomprehension, he questioned his former closest aide.
"Why on earth would you plot such a thing...?"
The black-haired man, slicked back, let out a deep sigh.
"You stepped down from Captain of the Royal Knights Order just to do something like this?"
Harun lifted his head only upon seeing his lord.
With a bitter expression, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Lately, voices within Samard have grown louder, saying we must bring Your Highness Lydia to be the next king."
At his words, all eyes turned to the petite Lydia.
The twin-tailed girl blinked her red eyes and asked Harun.
"What does that mean? I've heard nothing of the sort."
"Your Highness wouldn't know, but currently, many including the Grand Duke support you."
Her grandfather, visible in the distance, nodded with a kindly smile.
That was one reason he'd come all this way to see the princess.
"Moreover, you punished Prince Hakim, the instigator, and successfully concluded diplomacy with Bakal in the Empire."
"That wasn't me—it was all thanks to Veil's help."
Lydia credited her achievements to me.
I shook my head awkwardly, burdened, but the princess hooked her arm firmly through mine and stood tall before everyone.
"Plus, you've eased discrimination between Imperials and Samardians."
"One of a king's duties is to treat all subjects without prejudice or favoritism."
As the Grand Duke added, all eyes naturally turned to Lydia.
But soon, they refocused on Harun's words.
"With your betrothal to the Empire's Greatest Swordsman, many ministers believe relations between our nations will strengthen further if you ascend the throne."
Marriage to the Empire's Greatest Swordsman.
Hearing that, I cleared my throat and averted my gaze.
Lydia clung tighter to my arm, shooting me a sharp, sulky glare.
"But I believe Samard's 24th king should be Prince Liam."
Only then did the captain reveal his true heart.
He wanted to preserve his precarious lord's position, even at the cost of his own sacrifice.
"You've always gone to the front lines yourself to command, not from the throne. I, your close aide, know it all!!"
Harun pointed at Lydia and shouted.
"Your Highness Lydia could achieve those feats because you stayed in the Empire, but Prince Liam merely lacked opportunities while tending internal affairs in Samard!!"
The knights' captain muttered in a voice that had forsaken all.
"I wanted to devote this life to the prince who's cherished me all my days. I thought if the Empire grew chaotic over Dilma, the throne would naturally return to Liam..."
But Lydia had no interest in such storytelling.
With her signature sharp gaze, she grilled the royal knights' captain.
"Don't you realize your actions only made things harder for Liam!"
At her shout, Harun finally snapped to his senses, his face paling in horror.
"No matter how much I suffered from Dilma patients, if things escalated, Liam—who permitted the exports—would face scrutiny too."
Lydia jabbed a finger fiercely at the middle-aged man.
Her twin tails shook rapidly, as if angry themselves.
"If that worsens diplomacy between Samard and the Empire, Liam's position will shake badly!"
"Th-the situation won't deteriorate... The Dilma suppliers were all listed and managed... We had a substantial stock of the antidote Marina..."
Harun replied swiftly, face contorted.
At the ruined captain's sight, the other Eastern knights' expressions soured.
"We adjusted quantities just enough to keep Lydia focused solely on Empire affairs."
Unable to watch any longer, Liam stepped forward.
The kingdom's Second Prince approached calmly and slapped him across the cheek.
*Slap―――!!*
The sharp sound drew all attention.
"Did you think drugs were something an individual could handle, Captain?"
A faint bloodstain marred his leather glove.
His strike had wounded a Swordmaster in one blow—his strength was formidable.
"When did I ever order you to seize the throne for me?"
"..."
Liam squeezed his eyes shut at the tragic situation.
He sighed deeply at the twisted loyalty of his cherished kingdom's greatest sword.
"The throne belongs to the rightful person—not seized by threatening or dragging others down."
The Second Prince glanced between the collapsed building and his nearly injured sister.
"If forced upon it like that, countless citizens will suffer. And besides..."
He removed his glove.
Then knelt to meet Harun's eyes.
"It would set a precedent of taking the throne by force, inviting bloodshed to the royal house you love so dearly."
"Your Highness..."
Liam placed a hand slowly on Harun's shoulder.
He shook his head with sincere eyes.
"I don't want the throne that badly, Harun."
Samard's Grand Duke and relatives watched Liam silently.
They held their silence at this tender side of their grandson they'd rarely seen.
"Lydia."
At last, Liam rose.
He placed a hand over his heart and faced his sister.
"This happened because I mismanaged my people. Don't take responsibility yourself."
He would take responsibility.
For spreading Dilma to an allied nation, for the massive crime threatening the city—he would bear it personally.
At those words, Captain Harun cried out desperately.
"No, Your Highness...!!"
Only then did he feel the bone-deep weight of his mistake, slamming his forehead into the dirt.
"It was all my failing—how could Your Highness take the blame!!"
"Indeed—what of the royal succession!!"
Some ministers shouted too.
Evidently, he had quite a few loyal supporters back home.
"No, it's mine to bear. As royalty, one must take responsibility even for subordinates' faults."
Liam looked to the Grand Duke, former king of Samard.
Slowly kneeling, he said.
"Grandfather. I, Liam Andalusia..."
"Your Highness!!"
No matter how Harun yelled, the prince ignored him.
Just as he'd told Lydia earlier that day—he prioritized Samard's national interests above all...
Before the Empire's wrath could spread to Samard, he chose to shoulder it himself.
"I take responsibility for all this and abdicate my crown prince title."
His words silenced the once-bustling Rubintsk streets.
Even the murmurs of citizens watching the cordoned street from afar could be heard.
"..."
The Grand Duke watched his grandson silently.
Beside the kneeling boy wept the royal captain, grief-stricken.
He shook his head at the man's misguided loyalty.
Then, he slowly turned to me and Lydia.
Once Samard's king, he asked his granddaughter gravely.
"Lydia, what do you think?"
"..."
As the princess said nothing, the old man added.
"If Liam abdicates the crown prince seat, it naturally falls to you."
The Second Prince had stepped down voluntarily, and Third Prince Hakim was detained.
Lydia was now the only suitable royal for the throne.
"In truth, public sentiment in Samard strongly favors you, as Harun said. They see you as the next king."
Arms folded behind his back, he stepped to the center.
Before all, he sternly asked his granddaughter's stance.
"If you say you'll take it, so it shall be. We'll return to Samard tomorrow and begin the succession rite."
The former king extended his hand.
He asked the Empire's Third Princess once more.
"The choice is yours, Lydia."
"......."
The gathered Eastern knights, the Black Knights in shadow.
Liam and the twins, and finally me.
Lydia, under all our gazes, blinked her sharp, little-devil eyes.
"..."
The princess glanced up at me, arm still linked, as if asking my opinion.
"..."
But I offered none.
I merely smiled faintly, as if to say do as you wish.
"I see—that's your will, then."
Seeing my smile, Lydia smirked in kind.
She whispered to me in a coquettish voice.
"You told me to act as I please, so take responsibility. Veil Mikhail."
Leaving those meaningful words, the princess unlinked her arm.
She approached Samard's former king calmly.
The twins and Eastern knights watched tensely.
King of Samard.
Ruler of the East's mightiest nation—becoming the "Sun" itself.
Who would refuse such a seat?
If she truly became queen, Bats and Tau would automatically become royal knights captain and vice-captain.
I would become the Eastern nation's son-in-law.
"Grandfather, I..."
Lydia exhaled deeply.
With serious eyes, she declared boldly before all.
"I refuse the throne of Samard."
"......!!"
She rejected the highest seat all desired.
At that unbelievable statement, the watching knights were left dumbfounded.
Especially Harun, who'd opposed her till now.
Seeing her yield the throne willingly, his mouth gaped open.
But her grandfather, former king of Samard, was different.
At his wise granddaughter's choice, his stern face softened unwittingly into a chuckle.
"Ruling the Empire's territories alone overwhelms me. Moreover..."
Lydia shook her twin tails jauntily and ran to me.
Her red eyes, in that moment, belonged not to an Eastern sovereign but to a lovely woman.
"I have a fox to look after."