168. Complicated Hearts
168. Complicated Hearts
- 1 -
"Well then, I shall be off."
"Wait. Take these with you."
It was just as Elena, mounted on her horse, was about to depart with her report.
Yuran stopped her and pulled two talismans from her bosom. It was a delicate motion that didn't quite suit the armor she was wearing for the battlefield.
"「Baekjeonseung. May the power of Divine General Shin reside within. Gwiryonghon.」"
"「Suhogjin. May you be protected from threats undetectable. Hyeonmujang.」"
Fwoosh!
As the two talismans activated, two fox-shaped violet flames bloomed from Yuran's fingertips and passed through the talismans.
The flames, turned gold by the power of the sorcery, enveloped Elena's body. The golden power merged with the black power she already possessed as though it was fated, creating a beautiful halo of light around her.
"Thank you. I feel strengthened."
At Elena's thanks, Yuran covered her mouth with a fan made of black feathers and spoke.
"Just don't get hurt. I wouldn't be able to face him if someone who receives his support were to be wounded in a place like this."
"Of course."
Smiling once at those words, Elena bowed her head deeply and raised her spear high.
Her black armor glinted red in the evening glow of the sun.
"Now. Let us go—!!!"
Elena's battle cry resonated across the battlefield.
Every ally on the field heard her words.
"Men of Haisen—!!"
- Kihihihing—!!
Her horse reared up high on its front legs and let out a roar.
The sight of the black horse, raised on demon blood, perfectly responding to its master's will was nothing short of a symbol of the battlefield itself.
- Waaaaah—!!
The warriors' cheers burst forth.
Countless knights and soldiers began to follow behind her.
Ooooo...!
Black mana streamed through the tip of her spear and coiled around the battlefield.
It absorbed the terror and fear that remained in the hearts of the soldiers, becoming Elena's power.
The spear, having converted emotions into mana, took on an even deeper black light.
Dugudugu—
The image of a black knight piercing through the battlefield as one with her steed.
It was overwhelmingly magnificent, a figure that had become the symbol of Ironheart — one that would break if it could not be broken.
"Stop the Witch of Haisen—!!"
Naturally, the gazes of the Zenota knights converged on her.
Knights of the United Kingdom spurred their horses and charged straight toward her.
"Try stopping me if you can—!!"
The tip of her black spear aimed for their hearts.
- Kihihihing—!!
Whirik, Kwang!!
The first to stand at the vanguard was a heavily armored knight clad in iron, wielding a shield and axe.
However, the sturdiness and weight of that armor were nothing more than prey to Elena.
Elena's spear shook the shield with intense power, and through the gap, the spear tip pierced the knight's head.
"The Knight of Rock...!"
"Fight! Fight!!"
At that sight, the morale of the surrounding forces was instantly broken.
Oooooo—!!
The fear of the soldiers plunged into despair gathered once more into her spear.
It immediately became Elena's new strength.
"Follow me! Warriors all!!"
There was something about Elena's figure, always fighting at the very front of the battlefield, that stirred the hearts of all warriors.
It was the spirit of a true warrior, something that transcended simple strength or skill.
- 2 -
By the time the battle on the plains ended and Elena returned from the battlefield, she heard a deep sigh escape Yuran's lips.
"Haa..."
'Marriage, huh...'
It was an involuntary lament that escaped her as she recalled what had happened in the dungeon.
Noticing her uncharacteristic behavior, Elena, who had been watching from beside her, immediately grasped the reason.
'She seems to have some kind of worry.'
Yuran's eyes were full of melancholy.
So much so that, to an onlooker, one could only think of her as a woman bearing a personal tragedy.
But if she knew what Yuran was actually thinking, Elena would likely have had no choice but to laugh hollowly.
'I just want to forget everything and do this and that with my lord all night long...'
Because that was exactly what she was thinking.
However, while the conclusion was this simple, the thought process leading to it was not.
'That Dungeon Lord who only looks small on the outside actually made the first move...!'
The invitation from the Baritra Marquis Household.
In her memory, this was an event that had not happened at this point in time.
As both a monster of the dungeon and a regressor, she remembered most of the timelines she had lived through, so she could be certain of it.
The events she had forgotten were all trivial things.
There was no way she would be unaware of such a major matter.
'Contact from nobles should have only been made after a year had passed...'
But now, a considerable number of demon realm nobles were already reaching out to Libertas.
The Baritra family might have been the only one with a rank of marquis or higher to extend an invitation, but it was a change that showed at a glance that Libertas's current status was completely different from before the regression.
'The feat of antagonizing and defeating three Dungeon Lords at once must have been that significant.'
And they were not just any Dungeon Lords either. They were Dungeon Lords who received tacit support from a Grand Duke of the Demon Realm on the surface.
It meant they were individuals who each possessed their own measure of skill and substance.
It was an affair worthy of note for the cunning nobles of the demon realm, who cast simultaneous looks of envy and jealousy at the young 'Great Dukes' of the surface and their sponsors.
'Because there is no noble who wouldn't want to be a sponsor to the Demon King.'
Every dungeon noble on the surface ranked marquis or above had some kind of relationship, big or small, with the nobles of the demon realm.
Most were limited to marriage alliances or blood pacts, but among them, there were even those who were blood relatives.
Two representative examples were Dantalion, who had the daughters of five demon realm noble counts as his wives and concubines, and Andras, who was a cousin of Leviathan.
'To borrow our lord's analogy, they're the "diamond spoon" types. And there are plenty of silver spoons and gold spoons as well...'
Thus, with the influence of demon realm nobles being no small factor even in the surface's succession struggle, promising Dungeon Lords were being eyed as excellent investment opportunities by nobles who had been unable to form such relationships.
Even if not necessarily aiming for the Demon King level, they were investing early in 'youngsters' who seemed likely to grow into fine demonkin at the very least.
It was obvious how much of a tasty morsel Libertas must have looked in their eyes — or in her own words, how attractive she appeared as a 'blue-chip stock'.
'And that is why a blood alliance truly has potential.'
Of course, compared to the Baritra Marquis Household, the current Libertas was woefully lacking. No, profoundly lacking.
After all, the other party was a marquis of the demon realm who could command dozens of high-ranking ability users with a mere gesture, and simultaneously the direct subordinate of 'Satan,' the most famous among the Great Dukes of the demon realm on the surface.
'So, if a marriage truly comes to pass...'
Whether Serica's position was that of a handmaiden or something else, she would inevitably become a power holder within the dungeon as the legal wife.
That was something Yuran simply could not help but be disturbed by.
She acknowledged the necessity of the alliance, but that method was absolutely unacceptable.
'I need to discuss this with Lady Echidna. An assassination that is as moderate as possible, leaving no traces of poison...'
It was just as Yuran was contemplating such extreme measures.
"Do you have some kind of worry?"
Elena asked her.
It was a statement that cut off Yuran's thought process, which had been dangerously considering, 'Still, killing her would be too harsh, so let's hypnotize her long-term to make her a useless person and then stuff her into a corner of the dungeon...'
"Lady Serica has invited our lord to her mansion. Or to be precise, the head of the household, Marquis Baritra, but still."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"The reason seems to be a discussion of marriage."
"Ah."
Elena, who had initially looked puzzled, nodded as if she now understood.
She was also well aware of just how specially the core personnel of the dungeon regarded Libertas.
"That's serious."
Thus, she too accepted the situation somewhat gravely.
While the prosperity of Libertas and her dungeon was certainly a good thing for her as well, if the internal atmosphere of the dungeon were to be completely ruined in return, it could be a detriment for the time being.
'If needed support were to be cut off, or if our master's attention were to be taken by other nobles or outside matters, delaying her response to the surface....'
Such events were honestly hard to imagine, but that did not mean one could state with certainty that they would not happen.
Nevertheless, she could not kill her curiosity.
"Does that marquis household have a son? How handsome and exceptional must this man be for them to offer him to our master?"
Elena had given up her affection for her master the moment she herself became a woman, but since her master was such a beautiful person, it was inevitable for her to take an interest in whoever might become her partner.
Because of that, she could not help but be surprised upon hearing the answer.
"No. It's probably a marriage discussion with Lady Serica."
"...Pardon?"
"Same-sex marriage is common among demonkin. The laws regarding marriage only set the most basic rules and distinctions of divine status, and otherwise leave it entirely to personal feelings... Ah, you were human, weren't you."
Yuran glanced askance at Elena, who was wearing a dumbfounded expression, as if wondering why she was stating the obvious.
Then, as realization dawned on her, she opened her eyes wide and nodded.
She had been confused for a moment.
In her memory, Elena had been a demonkin 'from the beginning'.
'That's right, she was originally human.'
Elena, or rather Elias Ironfield, had been destined to become a female-type monster even in the original history.
And just like in the 'made-up story' created in this current life, it was to be by a woman's curse.
Although she had become a succubus instead of a banshee back then, a monster was still a monster.
Rumors had spread completely — not only that she had become a woman, but also that she had become a monster — and the person who took her in after she was driven out of her family was the one who first introduced her to Libertas.
'Right...'
Having realized this anew, something naturally surfaced in her mind.
'Our lord has already changed.'
The current Libertas was different from the Libertas of the past.
She was no longer that cruel yet beautiful person who, as the result of leaving the pain and distortions she originally harbored untouched, had no hesitation in revealing all the cruelty within her.
She was a person who had built a tower of self-worth atop that pain, through love for someone and love for herself.
She was a figure closer to her later self than her early self.
'If that is the case... we must change too.'
This did not carry any hidden meaning.
'One of us must take the position of legal wife, but if it's the position of a concubine, then well...'
If Libertas knew the Yuran who was thinking this right now, she would have been truly impressed and patted her on the head several times over.
Because the Yuran she understood was the incarnation of possessive desire, a monster who only included a small number of allies within the scope of that possessiveness.
Of course, it was still impossible to know whether this was really a good thing for Libertas.
'Whatever it takes, first...!'
Because this thought also served as the reason for Yuran to reaffirm this resolution.
'A marriage between women, huh...'
Meanwhile, Elena was deeply absorbed in the topic Yuran had thrown out.
Even among human nobles, cases of same-sex marriage were not entirely nonexistent.
But there were a few conditions attached to it.
One was that one party absolutely had to be at the apex of power, and the other was that the other party had to achieve merits equal to that power.
It meant they had to be the king and their very special partner.
'A king and a special partner... In that case...'
Elena inwardly nodded.
Was the master of a dungeon not equivalent to a king? If it was that Libertas, she would be well-matched with anyone she chose to keep by her side.
Whether she was the one taking the lead, or the one being received.
'If that is the case... does that mean I still have a chance?'
In an instant, Elena felt a spark reignite in the feelings she had set aside.
But that feeling was extinguished again the moment she looked at Yuran beside her.
Because it was not only Yuran, but the images of Evangeline and others that came to mind one after another.
'Surpassing them is impossible...'
Elena unconsciously nodded.
But her thoughts did not stop there, and at some point, another imagination naturally surfaced.
An image of herself in a suit, with her sister Adelaide beside her, wearing a pure white dress.
'Wait, why am I thinking this?'
She hurriedly shook her head, trying to erase the thought, but once it had bloomed, the imagination did not disappear by her will.
On the contrary, the more she tried to forget, the more a strange heat was left in a corner of her chest.
'I must, somehow, with my lord...!'
'My sister... and me?'
As the complicated thoughts of the two women tangled messily, the night of the battlefield only grew deeper.
"Someone seems to be talking about me."
"With high probability, it is Shue or Yuran."
"You think so...? It might be Sonia."
"There are too many suspects, so it's hard to guess."
This was the conversation between Libertas and Evangeline as they arrived in the earldom of Kofzerin and made their way through the city.