Chapter 277
Chapter 277
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 277
Chapter Title: An Amicable Enmity (6)
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“Fine. If you’re that curious, I’ll give you a special introduction.”
“No, I’m not really…”
Before Shirone could finish, Zion extended a hand toward the sword.
“Come, Armang.”
A clear, metallic ring echoed through the room.
The moment Shirone turned toward Armang, the sword lifted on its own and shot into Zion’s hand.
Shirone, twisting his body to follow the sword’s path, stopped abruptly. The blade was already at his neck. The cold steel vibrated, a high-frequency hum circling his ear.
Uorin, her hobby interrupted, grew cross.
“Brother! What are you doing all of a sudden?”
“You stay out of this.”
This time, Zion would not yield.
His lips twisted as he glared at Shirone. The boy’s unafraid eyes, even with a blade to his throat, were infuriating.
“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or are you worried I might actually kill you?”
Shirone focused on the vibration he felt beneath his chin.
He was already in the Spirit Zone. The properties of Armang, conveyed through synesthesia, were truly bizarre.
Was this really a sword, or was it a living creature?
“Why no answer? Aren’t you supposed to be a genius mage?”
It was a petty remark, coming from someone who had just launched a surprise attack.
Of course, Shirone was confident he could teleport faster than Zion could react. But he couldn’t guarantee he could evade a flying magic sword.
Zion, taking Shirone’s silence as an admission of defeat, burst out laughing and withdrew the sword.
“Hahaha! Just as I thought, you can’t do anything, can you? I was right. All those magazine articles were just fluff. The greatest talent? You’re just a student…”
Uorin placed her hands on her hips, a displeased look on her face.
“Brother, you’re being too harsh.”
Zion ignored her and tossed Armang.
The magic sword, gleaming with a cold light, flew swiftly and silently back to its original spot, standing upright.
Shirone belatedly realized there had been no stand supporting the sword in the first place.
“Do you know why I’m not killing you? Because you’re not worth the effort. There are plenty of people in this palace who dislike you, even without me. You probably felt it, didn’t you? This morning.”
Shirone didn’t understand what Zion was talking about. He had been busy with the paternity test that morning, and nothing else of note had happened.
The only thing was that he couldn’t get in touch with Reina.
But if something had happened on her end, rumors would have already spread through the palace.
“What are you talking about? What about this morning?”
This time, it was Zion’s turn to tilt his head.
Though he found Shirone insufferable, he knew better than anyone that the boy wasn’t stupid.
It meant that Reina, his legal guardian, was intercepting information before it reached Shirone.
‘Hmm, she’s no pushover either.’
He had underestimated her because she wasn’t the head of her family, but she was a more resourceful woman than he’d expected. Then again, that was probably why the Ogent family had sent her.
In any case, she clearly didn’t want last night’s events to come to light.
A brilliant judgment, even from an enemy.
“Hmph, you know, you’re really quite a pathetic fellow. In the end, even your own allies don’t trust you. You’re probably the only person in the entire palace who doesn’t know what happened last night.”
Shirone’s temper flared, and he demanded.
“I’m asking you what happened!”
From Zion’s words, it seemed Reina knew. How could he not know something she did?
It couldn’t be that he was being sidelined. But he couldn’t fathom what circumstances would prevent even Amy from being sent to him.
“Forget it. I’ll go ask myself.”
Deciding he wouldn’t get anything from Zion, Shirone walked toward the door. Uorin, who had been listening the whole time, spoke up.
“You probably won’t be able to see them even if you go. I heard they moved lodgings during the night.”
Shirone paused, his hand on the doorknob, and looked back at Uorin.
This was also the first he was hearing of this. What on earth was happening around him?
“Moved? To where?”
“I wasn’t told that either. Your brother’s legal guardian added a non-disclosure clause at dawn. You can probably find out if you go to the audience chamber.”
She was telling him to go ask the highest authority directly.
And a non-disclosure clause, no less. While not the most powerful diplomatic tool, for Reina, who was in a relatively weaker position, it was an aggressive move.
Finally sensing that the situation was serious, Shirone left the gallery without a backward glance.
***
An awkward silence fell over the gallery after Shirone left.
Zion glared at Uorin. Whether she was aware of the tense atmosphere or not, she was focused only on drinking her tea. An hour could pass, and she wouldn’t so much as twitch an eyebrow. That was his sister.
“Whose side are you on, anyway?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Sides?”
Uorin asked back with an innocent expression.
Zion finally exploded.
“Why are you being so nice to Shirone? That bastard is my enemy! An enemy trying to usurp the throne! You should be helping me!”
The blatant demand made Uorin uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong with you, brother? We’ve never talked about this before. Don’t tell me you were being nice to me because you expected something? Because I’m Therase’s daughter?”
“No, that’s not it, but…”
Zion’s face flushed.
The common folk would never understand how humiliating it was to hear such a thing from his own sister.
In truth, her mere existence was a help.
The moment he introduced himself as Uorin’s older brother, any noble would spare no support. It was with that immense firepower that he had eliminated countless formidable enemies.
Uorin probably knew. Yet she had never once mentioned it.
And he had liked that. But he never imagined it would come back like a boomerang and strike him in the back.
‘Tch! So this is how you want to play it?’
Feeling wronged, Zion turned away, huffing indignantly.
Seeing him act as if he would never speak to her again, Uorin sighed and patted her sulking brother’s back.
“Oh, come on. I get it. Do you think I haven’t thought about it? It’s just… it’s awkward for us to talk about this. This is the number one reason royal families fall apart. Besides, no one here can threaten you. What are you so afraid of?”
Zion suddenly wondered himself.
What was he afraid of?
Shirone was just an illegitimate child with no connections or foundation. All he had to his name was a paltry reputation in the magic society. The Archangel’s power? This was the royal palace, a place teeming with Archmages.
“You’re right. I was being petty. I’m sorry.”
Zion immediately changed his tune. He was pleased that his sister had understood his feelings.
Uorin said a few more things he had always wanted to hear before returning to her seat.
Unlike Zion, who was grinning from ear to ear, she looked exhausted as she poured her tea, letting out a long sigh toward the ceiling.
‘Hmph, men.’
***
**2. The Trap of a Dilemma (1)**
Shirone went to the administrative department and requested an audience.
Permission was granted in ten minutes. The process was so fast it seemed as if instructions had already been given.
When he arrived at the audience chamber, a royal guard opened the door. Orkampf, properly attired, was waiting.
“I was about to send for you. Come this way.”
Shirone sat in the chair opposite Orkampf.
He was wondering where to begin when Orkampf answered before he could even ask.
“Your family has been moved to the annex. I will have a steward guide you.”
The quick explanation sounded almost like an excuse.
But he hadn’t come to see the king just to find out where his family was staying. Shirone wanted to know something more fundamental.
“What is it that I don’t know?”
Orkampf sighed.
Being king was the end of the line. Reina could escape difficult questions, but he could not.
“From last evening until dawn, there were five assassination attempts. Three poisonings and two assassins. A lethal dose of poison was detected in the food meant for your family. At dawn, assassins were caught in the royal apartments at one-hour intervals. They took their own lives, so we couldn’t trace who was behind it, but it’s obvious to anyone that you were the target.”
Shirone felt as if he’d been struck in the head with a hammer.
Assassination was the work of people. But it was so unexpected that it felt like being hit by a natural disaster.
“Why are they trying to kill us?”
“What do you mean? Did you really think nothing would happen?”
To be honest… yes.
It wasn't that he had been careless. But having the conviction that enemies would make their move just two days after his arrival at the palace was another matter entirely.
“I don’t understand. Assassinating a candidate for First Prince is a major crime. If the mastermind were discovered, it would be enough to destroy their entire family. Does it make sense to carry out such a momentous act in just two days?”
“Do you think them foolish? No, Shirone. On the contrary, this was a very rational and clever decision. It attacks a blind spot in one’s thinking.”
“A blind spot… in thinking?”
“There are two types of assassins: Assassins and Hitmen. There is a saying among the traditional Assassins: ‘It is not the man who kills, but the situation.’ A sword can be dodged. But a situation cannot. If they had to kill you anyway, then yesterday was the perfect opportunity.”
Shirone corrected the flaw in his thinking.
It wasn’t that he had forgotten the danger of assassination. But he couldn’t deny that a part of him had thought, ‘Surely not now?’
“Assassins are not skilled with the sword, but at manipulating situations. That’s why in the royal palace, one assassin is more feared than a hundred guards. They strike at the blind spots in your thoughts. Once you’re caught, you have no choice but to offer your neck, even knowing what’s coming.”
Orkampf was right.
Why had he been so complacent?
No, it wasn't a mistake of that level. One couldn't live life scrutinizing every aspect of their thoughts. Even if he had corrected one line of thinking, they would have found another blind spot to exploit.
“Shirone, don’t try to analyze everything with your head. The royal palace is a den of ravenous beasts. There are no cowards here who would miss their chance to act out of fear of failure, no matter how great the price.”
Orkampf rose from his seat and walked to his desk. He poured a strong liquor into a crystal glass and said.
“Reina made a good call. In three days, you’ll be the official heir anyway. Starting a mud-slinging match now will only hurt us. So, you should also pretend you know nothing.”
Shirone clenched his fists.
He admitted Reina’s judgment was sound. But his parents could have been killed.
“You want me to just take it? We could use this as a pretext to counterattack.”
Orkampf smiled bitterly.
“Then let me ask you. Who do you think is behind this?”
“It must be the Therase faction…”
Shirone stopped himself.
Was the Therase faction really the only one targeting him? That, too, was a blind spot he had overlooked until now.
“…I don’t know.”
“Right, you don’t. The change of a candidate for First Prince is an event that shifts all the interests in the kingdom. Even besides the Therase faction, anyone could have a motive to eliminate you.”
Shirone mentally listed the possible suspects.
The faces of countless people flashed through his mind. Even Orkampf’s…
“Does everyone want me dead?”
Orkampf returned to his seat, crystal glass in hand.
“If it was Therase, it was likely a warning. If it was a neutral faction, it was to see your reaction. They want a reliable source to find out what kind of person you are.”
“A warning? It was a lethal dose of poison. They would have died if they ate it. Even Amy, who came with us through no fault of her own, could have died.”
Orkampf gulped down the strong liquor. Shirone was overly agitated, but perhaps that was normal.
For an ordinary person, assassination was a distant concept. One might get robbed or hit by a carriage, but to endure each day with the thought that a professional killer was targeting you would drive anyone mad within a month.
He had lived such a life. He had eaten, used the restroom, and even had children while coexisting with assassins his entire life. He himself, who could forget it all with a single gulp of strong liquor, was the abnormal one.