231. Their Round Table
231. Their Round Table
- 1 -
It was past midnight, the hour when dawn was rolling in.
I could not tear my gaze from the face of Saintess Esther.
Under the moonlight, her face shifted moment by moment.
The face that held a mixture of faith and fear when she entered the garden.
The eyes shining with rapture and emotion at the moment she discovered me.
And finally, the expression settled with loyalty and affection.
That last expression was clearly different from how she had been before.
It was darker, carrying an intense fervor I had not seen in her previously.
"Master. Ahh. Master..."
Her voice still held emotion, and her sparkling eyes held endless longing.
"At last... back at Master's side...!"
Both Esther's voice and body trembled violently.
I could tell that the trembling came from uncontrollable feelings directed at me.
It was only regretful that those feelings weren't solely positive.
"Rise. Ash."
"I'm sorry... Master. I'm sorry..."
It was the third instruction. And the third reply.
But still, she remained kneeling on that spot, unable to move.
"My lord. May this humble consort speak a word?"
"You may."
I was able to hear the reason from Ran.
First of all, it was obviously not because Esther suddenly disliked listening to me.
There was no reason to doubt the loyalty toward me from Seth, who had come first, or from the two who had come later.
However, it seemed there was a slight difference between the two groups' final deeds.
That was the reason she was behaving this way.
"When my lord had to leave that world, while the rest of us were all outside and lacked time to respond, Saya and Esther..."
"The two of them?"
Ran paused mid-speech to glance at Esther.
It seemed to be a very difficult thing to say.
Despite my counter-question, she hesitated, and only after the other involved party, Saya, stepped closer and nodded her support did she open her mouth.
"Those two... were among those guarding my lord's side at the time."
"I see."
It was a reason that made instant sense.
Furthermore, I now understood the standard by which Seth had divided them into two groups.
If one lost their deeply revered and beloved master right before their eyes, it would not be strange to gain frenzy beyond simple emotion.
Because of that situation, they likely couldn't bear to send them to the past first.
'Saya's state isn't entirely sound either...'
If Esther was simply in a depressed state, Saya was in a situation where she absolutely refused to leave my side.
When I was with her, she could maintain a somewhat sensible attitude, but the moment she was a little apart, it was as if she had separation anxiety...
[Master? Master...?]
No, she actually kept searching for me absentmindedly.
In the end, her sticking to me was mostly unavoidable. Not that there was no need for it.
The other three also understood that attitude.
Of course, I couldn't leave it like this forever... but at least for a while, I needed to watch over them.
"Weep no more. Ash. You are right before my eyes, and yet to show only tears makes me sad."
A brief silence flowed at my words, then Ran added in a playful voice.
"That's right. Ash. Because we also find it difficult to see you so melancholy."
Her golden eyes took on a kind light.
"Besides, isn't today a happy day? It's the day all five of us have gathered together like this."
Warmth seeped through Ran's voice.
She gently wrapped her arm around Esther's shoulders.
"Because our hearts, loving Master, are all the same."
I smiled as I watched their interaction.
Five gazes turned toward me.
Watching the deep affection and loyalty in their eyes, I gradually felt emotions and sensations piling up beneath my chest.
Love.
Care and affection for them.
"Right. It's time for us to think not of sorrow, but of other things."
"Revenge..."
However, the word that slipped from Esther's mouth was even lower than before.
Left like this, the mood would turn even darker.
Without panicking, Ran smiled brightly.
"That's good too, but right now, I'm thinking of something else."
"Huh...?"
Yuran rose slowly from her seat and came up behind me.
The hem of her clothes, styled similarly to a hanbok, brushed the floor with a soft sound.
"Do you know that countless nobles in the royal capital... are intoxicated by our lord's beauty? Ash."
Her hands wrapped around my shoulders.
Her golden eyes shone seductively.
"I know how they look upon our lord."
"Ah... that is true. I've seen it a few times myself..."
At Ran and Xue's words, Esther and Saya's eyes simultaneously widened.
"How dare...?"
"No way..."
A certain emotion carried in both their voices at the same time.
Esther's was darker, Saya's was hotter, differing only in that respect; the root was the same jealousy and wariness.
The strategy of lighting a fire of jealousy had worked perfectly.
"Young nobles and noble ladies alike were all desperate to approach Master. You should have seen them."
"I've had to block them from trying to feed me wine several times..."
Ran's voice continued, still carrying mischief, and as Xue joined in the back-and-forth, the two's focus grew more intense.
"We must deal with all of them..."
"Master. Will you not grant us permission to erase them?"
Esther's voice dropped dangerously low, and killing intent flashed in Saya's eyes.
"You girls..."
I showed a sighing expression, but at the same time, I felt my heart lighten.
At the very least, it seemed much of the darkness had been stripped away from them.
"Yes."
It seemed their hearts had grown lighter, and it was the same for me.
Because I felt as if the fragments scattered across the world had finally been 'completed as one'.
'I feel somewhat reassured.'
There were still things to do ahead, but most of the preparations were already finished.
Together with them, the execution stage would proceed smoothly.
"Master."
As I watched them chatting for a while, at some point Eve had come beside me.
Clink.
In her hands was the black tea, now fully steeped.
Her green eyes looked at me and curved softly.
"Thank you."
When my hand took the teacup, Evangeline's fingertips lightly touched mine.
Normally, it would have ended there.
But today was different.
Swish.
I felt friction and warmth on the back of my hand.
Feeling her careful touch scratching the back of my hand, I met her eyes.
Her face was somewhat red.
"I adjusted the temperature to suit Master's palate. Just like always."
A small but clear signal that she was stepping forward first.
In that moment, I felt something between tension and competitive spirit flash among the other ladies.
I opened my mouth to clear the air.
"Then, let us now speak of important matters."
At my words, all five gazes gathered at once.
The mischievous smile vanished from Ran's face, and Evangeline grasped the hilt of her sword.
Xue still had languid eyes, but her pupils turned sharp.
"The situation in the royal capital will soon change. It is a change we shall bloom, using what they brought upon themselves as nourishment."
Saya nodded at my words.
She had already looked into the various dangers lurking in the royal capital.
What Saya had investigated were dangers by human standards, but since she belonged not to Haisen but to the Han nation, there were no threats to me among them either.
"By any chance, does that include matters of Duke Astermark or the Holy Kingdom?"
Esther's voice asking me was sharp. A cold light also frosted her eyes.
Thirst for revenge.
It is an emotion one can briefly set aside, but difficult to detach from.
I soothed that simply.
Though Esther made a very apologetic expression upon hearing my words, the vengefulness didn't leave her face at all.
Had she been unable to take proper revenge 'last time'?
I grew curious about her circumstances, but for now, I put that thought aside and looked around.
Everyone was waiting for my next words.
"We will execute several tasks simultaneously."
I continued in a calm voice.
"First, we will expose the corruption of the Holy Kingdom."
The corruption of the Holy Kingdom.
Among it, what would be the biggest scandal?
That was none other than the 'selling of saints'.
Their hideous practice of treating saints and saintesses like goods.
"A saint is one of the beings highly sanctified among the common people."
"Yes. That's correct. In some ways, their influence is greater than the Holy Kingdom itself."
Evangeline agreed with me.
Saints are the clergy who step forward first when something happens, and travel outside the Holy Kingdom the most.
To the common people, they are more familiar than the Pope, while also practically being the embodiment of divine aid itself.
"If the Pope is the spiritual master of the clergy, then saintesses and saints are virtually the practical saviors of the lower classes."
I continued in a leisurely tone.
"Because to those without power or wealth, they are beings closer than God."
"To think... they would consider not God, but a saint as a savior."
Esther said so with humility and caution against impiety, but that was the truth.
Because the masses didn't care about doctrine.
As such, this revelation... the 'stud treatment' of saints would greatly separate the Holy Kingdom's influence from the common folk.
"The second matter would be that princess... no, the young princess."
Saya continued my words.
"Young princess? What do you mean...?"
"Ah, now that you mention it..."
When Saya sought permission with her eyes, I nodded, and she began to speak of the 'niece' of mine she had discovered in the old grand ducal palace.
About the young girl who had suffered all kinds of experiments and abuse since childhood, and who was still yearning for me day and night in the underground of that grand ducal palace.
The emotions that rose on everyone's faces upon hearing the story varied, but one root was identical.
Fury.
"How dare they, to Master's bloodline...!"
"Ha... The Gluttony Duke scattered far too many children upon the surface."
Xue and Saya growled, unable to hide their feelings.
Though they calmed down when I raised my hand, flames still flickered in their red-tinged eyes.
"Do you intend to make that person a true royal?"
The most composed about this matter was, of course, Evangeline.
Her hand gripping the sword hilt was as firm as usual, and there was not a trace of agitation in her voice.
However, this was not because she was human, but simply because she possessed the calmest judgment.
I nodded.
"Yes. Since we are at it, I intend to use her as a banner to plant within the royal family. I plan to use the zealots."
"But if we use them, the activities of demon race worshippers within the Haisen Kingdom will be greatly diminished."
"Do not worry."
At Evangeline's words, I smiled.
"Because even that is what I desire."
As she said, afterwards Haisen would likely take a more active stance in rooting out and suppressing zealots.
This meant a reduction in the forces I could freely use right now.
But at the same time, it also meant that the means by which other demon realm grand dukes could influence this side would decrease.
"It's not only the continent's humans we need to keep in check."
"It is as you say, Master..."
Also, what I aimed for with this method was not just sole dominion over the Haisen royal family.
There were two people whose standing I needed to improve right away.
"In that process, you too shall help her, Ash."
I slowly turned my head to look at Esther.
Her pure white eyes shone more clearly under the moonlight.
"Just give the order. Whatever it is, if it is for Master..."
"It likely won't be a big deal."
I shook my head once to cool down her dark passion.
Right now, she had the side effect of every emotion flaring up greatly.
It might be something she would later reflect upon and kick her blanket in embarrassment over.
"Are you planning to leave Ash here?"
"Yes."
"Master?"
I affirmed Yuran's question, which had seen through my thoughts.
Esther immediately wore an anxious expression.
I beckoned her closer and patted the back of her hand as I spoke.
"Of course, if it were purely up to my heart, I would want to bring Ash to my dungeon right away."
I paused my words for a moment.
Immediately after, seeing her eyes waver with emotion and regret, I continued what I had to say.
"But if I did that, you would lose a position filled with precious memories to you. The position of a saintess is not something to be thrown away so easily, is it."
And to maintain that position, I had to fabricate a story that would fool both the Holy Kingdom and the Kingdom.
"For example, how about being a companion to the princess newly returned to the royal family?"
"A princess and a saintess... they will have a status neither can easily meddle with."
"If the deal was done in the dark, no one can claim the rights."
Xue and Evangeline simultaneously agreed.
Though they were uneasy for now as they had no foothold, those titles alone would grant them a status few could challenge.
They would be able to serve as a support for each other.
"And if I back them from behind, it will become even more solid."
Two pillars are easy to shake, but the moment they become three, no wind can shake them.
My five subordinates' eyes gleamed.
"Meanwhile, it would be ideal if we could expose all the threatening beings in the royal capital."
"I think so too."
I affirmed Saya's words.
As already mentioned, she had investigated the threats in the royal capital. More than half of those dangers were inside the royal castle.
Among them, the ones I knew the identity of now were the Royal Court Mage, the knight order commanders, and the Chief Chamberlain.
"They are all known as superhumans of high rank or above."
At my words, Xue's eyes glinted red.
It was a look where loyalty toward me and her characteristic frenzy blazed simultaneously.
"If just two of us gather, we can take them..."
"If it's three, we could probably overwhelm them."
I shook my head at Xue and Ran's words.
That was impossible.
Simply counting numbers, at least one would remain, and those were just the 'minimum' after all.
"Wouldn't it be too dangerous? Just think of it as merely buying time. If you respond defensively, they have no way to harm you either."
They silently agreed with my words. Though their pride was hurt, reality was reality.
Esther was relatively fine, but Saya was greatly weakened from removing the subordination imprint of the Han nation.
Also, we needed to buy a bit more time.
"And lastly..."
"We must drive a wedge between the Han nation and Haisen."
It was Evangeline who interjected my words.
When I nodded with a smile, she shyly looked down as if receiving praise.
"Yes. And we already have the prepared words that will align with the other tasks as we go."
The princess. Saya. And even the dealings with the already ruined minor kingdom of Kiza regarding Saya's former master.
"The Prince will not be able to give up on Saya."
"A fish that bites the bait will, in the end, enter the basket of fate because of that greed."
Yuran covered her face with her fan. Her eyes curved beautifully, but it was the smile of a schemer.
We continued talking for a long while after that.
A meeting to flesh out this plan.
"The sun will rise soon."
I rose from my seat.
The conversation that had lasted all night had ended, but our story was just beginning.
The dawn light shining beyond the spires of Hylash seemed to illuminate our future.
All preparations were complete.
All that remained now was execution.
"Let us go to our respective places. For our play will soon begin."
Their eyes sparkled.
Eyes in which darkness no longer dwelled.
They were filled only with anticipation for a new beginning.
- 2 -
Thus a new curtain rose, and three days passed.
Deng-deng-deng - !
The bell tolled through Hylash, the royal capital of Haisen.
In a manner not heard for decades.
"This is..."
"I-It can't be."
"Everyone get inside. Everyone!"
As the citizens realized what the bell sound filling the streets was, their faces began to pale one by one.
It was the warning sound signaling an 'enemy raid'.