Levation's Legacy
Are you sure...?
Halfway. For now, trust this ancestor of yours. Touching the count's daughter right now would not be wise. And... I doubt you could even win.
Hmm.
I cooled my excitement at the ancestor's words for the time being. Thrashing that golden child to a pulp right now was definitely not a wise choice. It wasn't because I thought I'd lose, of course.
So what now?
"I believe the young lady will clear up this misunderstanding someday. With that, I shall take my leave."
"Hmph. What a dull fellow."
I left Cashabella's contemptuous laugh behind me and walked away.
Back in my room.
"Is it really the magic of the great archmage Inoxia?"
I am certain of it.
"How, exactly?"
Let me think. The Heorn Kingdom had already stood for more than three hundred years. Even a hero whose name had once shaken the world should have been long buried and forgotten by now.
But Inoxia is still alive?
Whether she lives or not, I cannot say. Her magic alone may have been passed down. And the possibility that she still lives is not entirely zero. There is the case of the 7th Apostle, after all.
So it came down to two possibilities.
First: only Inoxia's magic had been inherited.
Second: Inoxia, like the 7th Apostle, had prolonged her life through some unholy means.
Which of the two it was did not matter for the moment.
What did matter was this:
—You would do well to savor the peace you have now. The day Falaon burns, you will regret the choice you made today.
Cashabella's warning.
Our conversation had been brief, but one thing was crystal clear.
She's insane. Not the pretty kind of insane, either—the ugly, dangerous kind.
Burn Falaon?
If anyone else had said it, I would have shrugged it off as anger talking. But the Cashabella I had just met was the real deal—someone with the will to actually do it. Whether she had the power to match that will was another question entirely...
...though if she got her hands on the Merlin seat of power, who knows.
So that was why the count could not spare attention for outside affairs. With a first daughter that unhinged, how could he look anywhere else? Take his eyes off her for a second and she might try to swallow the entire house whole.
The conclusion followed naturally.
The count's golden child, Cashabella.
Deal with her, and not only would the count's position as alliance leader fall into place—any latent threat to Falaon would vanish with her.
So how to handle Cashabella?
The ancestor held the answer.
"You said Cashabella is under the thrall of magic. What kind of magic is it?"
A form of mental magic, one might call it. It erodes the target's self-control and goads their emotions into frenzy.
"...?"
Even at a glance, it was thoroughly sinister magic.
"A hero used magic like that?"
So long as it is not black magic, the question is only how one uses it.
"Hmm."
Fair enough. He had a point.
Still, a doubt remained.
"If it really is that magic, does breaking the spell solve everything?"
She would become more rational than she is now, at least.
"How do you break it?"
I do not know.
"Excuse me?"
I tilted my head at the ancestor's utterly shameless reply. He didn't know? A moment ago he had spoken as if he had a method ready.
A truly gifted mage might find a way, but... well. If Merlin had such a mage, they would have diagnosed the count's daughter long ago. Therefore...
"Therefore?"
Why not begin by retrieving Levation's legacy?
A legacy, all of a sudden? Grab what we can and run?
...No.
Levation was a coward. Even after the world called him a hero, that never changed. His armaments therefore leaned heavily toward defense, evasion, and escape—and among them, I recall one that nullified mental magic.
In other words, use the founding ancestor of Merlin's own heirloom.
It was far from a guaranteed solution. But still—
Good enough for now. Find the legacy and we'll know.
Strike while the iron is hot. I left the room at once.
I went straight to Ellie and arranged a schedule. She looked puzzled by my sudden urgency, but answered readily enough.
"I was actually going to speak with you about that. Father is preparing a hunting tournament."
"A hunting tournament?"
"Yes. We hold one around this time every year, and with Young Master Khtun here, he seems inclined to move the date forward a little."
"When would that be, then?"
"We'll have to see... May I ask why you're in such a hurry?"
"Well..."
I told her what had happened with Cashabella. There was no reason to hide it, and I wanted her counsel in case things went wrong.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.
I left the magic itself out of the account. Yet Ellie's face clouded with worry all the same.
"So Sister... did that."
"You already knew?"
"Yes. This is nothing new. After I returned from Falaon this time, she even suspected I had taken Brother's side."
"Ah."
Given how openly she behaved, it would have been stranger if the family hadn't noticed.
"Does Young Master Ahentar know as well?"
"Yes. Since Sister changed, he has probably suffered more than anyone."
"Changed...?"
"Mm."
My reaction to the word made Ellie look a little uncomfortable. She soon sighed and went on.
"Sister wasn't always like this. When we were little, we were actually... close. She looked after me better than Brother did."
"Something happened, then."
"If there was an incident... it would be the Blood Awakening Ceremony."
"The Blood Awakening Ceremony?"
"Yes. Sister failed to awaken the family's bloodline."
"You mean she was without a bloodline?"
"No. She awakened Mother's bloodline instead. Not Swiftness—the Blessing of Indomitability."
Ellie smiled bitterly at the memory. The light of talent had been brilliant, she said, but Cashabella had been deeply distressed.
I could understand why.
The Indomitable bloodline—that's the one that makes you tougher, right?
Yes. Depending on how one trains it, the body can become harder than iron.
Not a bloodline talent that suited a noble young lady. Cashabella had dreamed of becoming a countess in her own right. For her to awaken her mother's bloodline instead of Merlin's Blessing of Swiftness must have been a crushing blow.
"From that day on, Sister began to change little by little. At the time we thought it was a phase that would pass... and then the incident happened."
"What incident?"
"She killed the nanny who had raised her since childhood."
"..."
That was genuinely shocking. She killed her nanny? Even Count Merlin had been devastated, Ellie said.
"Sister claimed the nanny had poisoned her."
"Had she actually been poisoned?"
"No. The family physician and even priests were brought in to examine her. There was no trace of poison. Sister had lied."
"Ah."
After that, Cashabella changed completely. She trusted almost no one, kept only a handful of people close, and even those she did not spare if they showed the slightest oddity. At some point she became convinced that her eldest brother Ahentar meant to kill her.
I sought the ancestor's opinion.
What do you make of this?
It does seem to be Inoxia's magic. I recall that before casting it, she always had the target drink a certain potion.
So Cashabella's claim may not have been entirely wrong?
Perhaps.
I see. The picture was growing clearer. A separate question still nagged at me, though.
"Were the eldest young master and Young Lady Cashabella... close?"
"Yes, they were."
"Even though they were rivals for the succession?"
"It may be hard to believe, but Brother never clung to the heir's seat. He had no intention of abandoning his duty as the legitimate eldest son, either... but he once said that if Sister ever proved herself, he would gladly step aside."
"It sounds as if his mind has changed since then."
"Yes. The sister we have now is far too dangerous to inherit the house."
"Hmm."
On that point I agreed completely. If Cashabella became Count of Merlin, a great deal of blood would flow. Falaon would not be the only casualty—Ahentar's entire faction would likely be wiped out.
And after that, anyone who so much as raised a suspicion would not be left alive either.
I steeled myself. First priority: normalize Cashabella with the Merlin founder's legacy. If that failed, throw my full support behind Ahentar and make him count.
Whether my help would amount to anything was another matter—but I had to try something.
In any case.
"I've said too much. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more real help."
"Not at all. For now, let's focus on finding the legacy."
"Yes. Once I obtain it, I'll have a way to help you, Young Master Khtun."
I did not ask how she intended to help me. She had offered freely, and I was simply grateful for the sentiment.
We set the schedule, and I returned to my room.
That evening, I shared everything I had learned with the companions gathered in one place.
It was not a complicated story.
Why was Falaon in danger? The golden child.
Why could the count not attend to outside matters? The golden child.
In short: solve the golden-child problem and every other problem solved itself.
The real question was how to reform her—and fortunately, we already had a method in hand.
Whether it will actually work is the issue, but...
I prayed fervently that the Merlin founder's legacy could purify the golden child. As things stood, even without Cashabella, the count was unlikely to give Falaon proper attention. In the worst case—
I might have to watch out for Cashabella on top of the Apostle Council.
Using the information I had shared, I assigned tasks to the group.
"Brother James, please continue meeting with the Holy Shade Society people and gather more intelligence."
"We'll exchange information with Merlin's knights as well."
"I'm counting on you."
For several days we moved busily, working to read the atmosphere inside House Merlin. The result only strengthened our certainty: the reason the count would not freely accept the alliance leader's seat was none other than his golden child, Cashabella.
The only thing keeping Cashabella from running wild right now is the count himself?
In other words, the count was her restraint.
...By the time we had finished every judgment, we set out with the count for the hunting tournament.
"I arranged this gathering for your sake, so enjoy yourself freely."
"You have my thanks, Your Excellency."
"Then let us begin. Everyone—! Raise your bows! A reward awaits whoever brings down the greatest beast today!"
At the count's booming cry, knights and retainers spurred their horses. Ellie and I exchanged a glance and started walking.
Treasure hunt: commence.
Merlin's legacy was waiting for us.