The Sword That Cuts Down the Throne
By the time afternoon arrived, dark storm clouds suddenly swept in. The sky darkened, and rain began to fall.>
The sight of raindrops crashing against the sea and bouncing off in glittering sprays was truly breathtaking.>
Yet for those aboard who had to venture out onto that very sea, it presented a formidable obstacle.>
“It appears we will be unable to launch the ship.”>
Mathias expressed his dismay. The waters near the Hraesey Islands were already treacherous, and setting out in a side-sailing vessel on such a day would have been nothing short of suicide.>
He called the fishermen waiting on the deck back inside and decided to remain at the temple until the weather cleared.>
“Please make yourselves at home.”>
The priest quietly welcomed them all.>
There was only one room in the temple that could serve as a sleeping quarters. Originally the high priest’s chamber, he had graciously yielded it to them, allowing Jeanne, the fishermen, Mathias, and Divine to gather together in one place.>
Divine turned to the priest and asked, “Then where will you spend the night, Father?”>
“You need not worry about me. As a priest, I will fulfill my duties.”>
The priest intended to stay awake throughout the night and pray to the gods. While such a request did not suit Rian, he could still pray for their safe passage.>
Before leaving the room, the priest paused briefly, then turned to look back.>
“Lord Rian knows all there is to know about what happens on the sea.”>
Jeanne and Mathias stared at the priest in confusion, unable to understand his words. Divine, who felt a slight prickling sensation, deliberately averted his gaze toward the ceiling. The priest’s statement had sounded suspiciously like a warning directed at himself for bringing Isola’s diary from the temple.>
Thanks to the rain, night fell early. Divine sat in the corner, hunched over a candle, secretly reading a book.>
“I hope Isola feels the same about her diary being tucked away in some dusty corner and prefers that a knowledgeable reader like me take a look.”>
Divine’s brazen attitude was unmistakable. He rationalized that if Rian were truly that petty a god, she would have already punished him long ago.>
Seeing him loitering suspiciously in the corner, Jeanne quietly approached.>
“What are you doing right now?”>
Divine looked up at Jeanne and smirked. “As you can see, I’m reading.”>
“Is there some special rule that says you must read in a place like this?”>
“This spot is actually quite cozy.”>
“You are extremely suspicious.”>
“Everything I do is for Her Highness. It won’t harm anyone. Please do not worry.”>
Divine continued flipping through the pages of the diary. His speed in reading was astonishing; he had devoured countless books.>
Reading it, one realized it was less a diary and more of a notebook of thoughts. Unlike ordinary journals, it scattered jottings whenever a random thought struck him. Some pages were filled with random scribbles, while others listed incomprehensible words in cipher.>
Divine’s hand paused as he turned a page.>
It was a page drawn with remarkable skill—a cross-shaped necklace. Beside it, accompanied by arrows, was the name Laurent.>
Divine glanced briefly at Jeanne. Though hidden beneath her clothing, the red gem embedded in the Rosary she wore resembled the drawing in the diary far too closely.>
“Her Highness said this is one of Lord Laurent’s relics.”>
Curious whether it might contain some clue, he turned the pages more carefully.>
As night deepened further, Divine remained absorbed in the book. Jeanne leaned against the wall, dozing, while the fishermen slept curled up in a corner.>
Mathias, who found sharing a room with Jeanne uncomfortable, stepped out of the chamber.> >
Outside the temple, Mathias wandered in search of a breeze. At the altar he found the priest kneeling in prayer. From behind him came the priest’s voice.>
“When the war ends, Duke Mathias will find it difficult to remain here.”>
Mathias froze in place.>
The priest turned his head and looked at Mathias.>
“A time will come when you must make a choice. If at that moment you choose for yourself, you will survive. But if…”>
The priest’s words trailed off. Mathias stepped closer to the altar and drew his sword. It appeared aimed at the priest, yet it was turned toward his own forearm.>
Blood dripped onto the altar.>
“During the day, Sir Jeanne, the captain of the knights, was present, so I could not properly offer the sacrifice.”>
Rian was a goddess so dangerous and terrifying she was sometimes called the goddess of the drowning. To such a deity, a single fish brought back from the sea was a pittance.>
Mathias’s blood seeped into the solid marble of the altar as though vanishing into the stone.>
“Father, I do not know how remarkable your prophecy is or how accurate your visions are. But…”>
In the dim light cast by the candle, Mathias’s violet eyes grew even more mysterious. The firm resolve within them was far harder than the gem of the same color.>
“I will make my choice for the sake of my homeland, Bluisol.”>
He would sacrifice himself as a living offering if necessary to achieve his goal. Seeing that unyielding determination, the priest decided further advice was pointless. Such stubborn conviction was, in a way, madness, and could not be swayed by any arguments from those around him.>
The priest simply nodded quietly and lit another candle on the altar.>
“It seems I will not interfere any further. I will offer a prayer for His Grace’s safe journey.”>
Outside the temple, the rain continued to fall steadily.>
The next morning, as soon as the sun rose, the day was bright and clear. The sunlight streaming in was intensely warm, as one would expect in the height of summer.>
Jeanne had been worried about a prolonged rainy season, but now that the weather had cleared, she breathed a sigh of relief.>
As soon as she woke, Jeanne asked Mathias, “Where did you go during the night?”>
“I took a short walk.”>
“Even with rain like that?”>
“……”>
Mathias idly rubbed his left forearm.>
Divine chuckled and chimed in, “Hey, Your Highness. You underestimate the skill of your knights. You thought I couldn’t sneak in and out without anyone noticing, even if I weren’t a spy?”>
“It wasn’t about sneaking. I just couldn’t explain what I did.”>
“Then why can’t you say what it was?”>
“Because there was nothing special about it. On the contrary, you stayed up all night reading that book with such intensity.”>
Upon hearing those words, Divine clapped his hands and rushed over to the priest.>
“Father! I read in the history books of La Rochelle that one of Charles’s knights, Isola, spent his final days here.”>
The priest nodded. “That is correct.”>
“It still doesn’t make sense why Isola would come here. Wasn’t he originally from this side?”>
“That is right. Isola was born in La Rochelle and was a priest of Rian from the very beginning. He later met Charles, was moved by his ideals, and became his follower. The priests of Rian know this.”>
“Then I have one more question. Is it possible that as Isola traveled to the continent, he took some special item with him? Perhaps something like the Rosary?”>
The priest stared intently at Divine.>
“You seem to know far more about her than is normal.”>
Divine shrugged and turned toward Jeanne.>
“Your Highness, would you show the priest your necklace?”>
“Why?”>
“It is still speculation, but I believe I will soon be certain. That Rosary—Isola gave it to Laurent. Since Isola was a priest of Rian, there must be some connection.”>
“Hmm.”>
Divine thought the book he had read late into the night must contain such details and stepped forward to hand the necklace to the priest.>
The priest examined the strangely red gemstone for a long time.>
“Ordinary Rosaries are made in the shape of a cross using pure silver. Embedding a gem is rare, especially a red one like this.”>
The priest gently held the Rosary in his hand. Instead of the cold metal, an inexplicable warmth emanated from it.>
“Rian is a goddess far from mercy. If she gave something, there must be a price. This carries the power to exchange life force.”>
“Exchange life force?”>
“In simple terms, it is the power to convert life force into the energy of life at the cost of the user’s lifespan. It can heal, regenerate, or grant temporary powerful strength.”>
Jeanne’s expression hardened. Divine’s became even more twisted.>
“However, life cannot be weighed with absolute precision. I therefore advise against using it.”>
The priest returned the Rosary to Jeanne. Hesitant, she placed it around her neck, then, after a moment’s pause, took it off and loosely wrapped it around her arm.>
The priest stepped closer and bowed deeply. In a soft voice he whispered, “The second opportunity will not come easily. Some things will be the same, others different, but in every situation you must walk the path yourself. Please be careful.”>
Jeanne’s eyes widened at the words that seemed to hint at regression.>
The fisherman who had left first prepared the boat. The storm that had raged through the night had been worrying, but fortunately the side-sailing vessel had remained unscathed.>
Jeanne, Mathias, and Divine boarded the boat. The priest bid them farewell with clasped hands raised in prayer.>
“May the blessing of the sea always accompany you.”>
***
Walter Martinez remained locked in his room all day, smoking cigars nonstop.>
His quarters were so thick with smoke it felt like the lair of a fox. Anyone entering had to cough once as a greeting, fear it was a fire, then—after coughing again—move through the choking haze like wading through fog before finally facing him.>
When a commander falls into despair, the subordinates suffer even more.>
Walter had been smoking cigars the entire time. Leonardo ground his teeth in irritation.>
Jade and Traquel.>
Walter Martinez had suffered utter defeat in two major battles. Having lost countless smaller engagements as well, doubts began to arise in people’s minds about whether he was truly a capable commander.>
Why must I serve beneath such an incompetent fool?>
Having been born a pirate, Leonardo took great pride in his abilities while harboring deep resentment toward his status. Even in peacetime he looked down on naval officers who held positions above his own, but after this incident even Walter had become unbearable.>
Leonardo quietly made a vow.>
If the defeat reports reach the homeland one after another, it is possible they will strip Walter of command of the navy. If that happens, he would be the most likely candidate for the next admiral.>
A sharp pain surged from his left eye. Head lowered, he covered the spot with his hand. The pain lingered for a long time.>
He had pulled out the arrow and received treatment, yet regaining the lost eye was impossible.>
Leonardo reached into his inner pocket with one trembling hand and pulled out a small bottle. Using a wad of cloth, he stuffed several pills into his mouth. They were pain-relieving narcotics. Several pills fell to the floor.>
“That bastard.”>
Immediately after being shot, even in his dazed state, Leonardo had remembered the face of the person who had fired the arrow. Under the messy black hair blown by the wind were eyes of deep green.>
He had disliked the man from the very beginning, simply because he had been staring at him.>
Grinding his broken teeth, Leonardo poured out his anger toward Heini.