238. Frost Blade
238. Frost Blade
- 1 -
"What in the world is the meaning of this?"
King Luihart Heisen II's cold voice echoed through the conference hall.
This incident had been shocking to all the people of Hysen.
The shock spared neither noble nor commoner, though it took a different form for each.
"..."
The nine highest-ranking nobles gathered before him maintained a uniform silence.
Two dukes, five marquises, plus the prince and princess.
Normally, these were people who would have launched sharp offensives against one another over their respective interests, but today they kept their mouths shut.
The power and influence they possessed did not grant them the ability to respond to a situation like this.
"Since it seems no one has anything to say, I shall speak first on the matters that must be addressed."
The king's gaze turned out the window.
A landscape vastly different from just a few days ago met his eyes.
Two flags fluttering among the citizens.
The saintess's banner and the royal crest were flying side by side.
"The situation regarding my 'youngest daughter' and the saintess. We must address this."
The saintess's banner was a complete one, adorned with a laurel crown, hammer, and shield, but the royal crest lacked the individual emblem that normally signified a prince or princess.
Because no one in this room had imagined that the princess could reveal herself in the light of day so quickly.
"Marquis."
At the king's single word, a middle-aged man bowed his head.
He was the one who had stayed up all night compiling the report to summarize the situation in the royal capital's outer city.
"Report the situation accurately."
"Yes. Your Majesty."
The marquis swallowed dryly.
"Saintess Esther and Her Highness the youngest princess... personally ventured to places the army could not reach, traveling to save the people. In particular, they protected the citizens from the attacks of the giants that appeared in the east and west..."
"Giants, you say."
The one who interjected was Grisella, Luihart's second daughter and the current queen's eldest.
Her icy voice made the marquis's shoulders shrink.
"Even with such monsters appearing, where exactly was the Royal Court Mage?"
"That is..."
The marquis glanced at the king and the other nobles.
Directly criticizing the Royal Court Mage's whereabouts was a burdensome matter even for him.
"I heard he was in the eastern district..."
"And what was he doing there?"
Grisella's voice grew even colder.
"To my recollection... he was burning undead... and was said to have gone to face the giant..."
"Hold on."
The one who stepped forward against Grisella was Adenbar II, the legitimate heir of the royal family and son of the former queen.
Adenbar wore a seemingly affable smile.
But the blue eyes hidden beneath that gentle expression were as cold as midwinter ice.
As the eldest son of the former queen, the ambition he held was never a light one.
"The Royal Court Mage merely prioritized the lives of the officials we must protect for the sake of the nation; he did not, by any means, turn his back on the lives of the people. This must be taken into account."
"Indeed."
"Quite right."
Several of the nobles present added their voices to his opinion.
Though they quickly shut their mouths when Grisella's chilly gaze fell on them, the other nobles also clearly had no desire to hold the court mage accountable.
'This won't do.'
Sensing the increasingly frigid atmosphere of the conference hall, Grisella calculated her next move.
Her brother's words sounded plausible on the surface, but the political intent hidden within them was far too obvious.
He wanted to protect the mage, who was part of his faction, from blame.
But the man would be punished regardless.
Had Yurena not distinguished herself, he would have faced an even greater punishment.
Because someone needed to take responsibility for the royal family's tarnished honor.
"Setting other matters aside, the achievements of Saintess Esther and Princess Yurena must be properly recognized. Especially."
Grisella's eyes turned toward her father the king.
"We must never see a repeat of this situation, where the princess's own emblem was not properly prepared."
She meant that the youngest princess's existence must be formally and officially acknowledged by the royal family, not just in formality, and given the authority befitting her status.
No one could refute this point.
At those words, Luihart's gaze turned toward one of the dukes.
"Duke Astermark."
"Yes. Your Majesty."
The duke who bowed his head at the king's call wore a humiliation-stricken expression.
Because he had guessed what was coming next.
And sure enough.
"It seems your desired courtship and marriage talks will have to be buried as they are."
"Khmm..."
The duke could not hide his discomfort at words that had come out exactly as he'd feared.
But there was no other way.
"Understood. I shall accept Your Majesty's counsel."
Luihart understood that those words implied 'if another chance arises, it would be welcome,' but only the tip of his eyebrow twitched, and he said nothing.
The marriage talks had been an opportunity the duke had fashioned for himself in the first place.
Because that had fallen through, the royal family's honor had been slightly tarnished, but with a far greater scandal erupting immediately afterward, it was no longer a significant matter.
"Let us say no more on the matter of the saintess. It is beyond our jurisdiction anyway."
"Yes."
At any rate, the matter of Saintess Esther was thereby concluded.
They would likely have to confer with the Holy Kingdom on the details later, but since that side would also be busy for now, that would be a matter for another time.
Especially now that the saintess they had been prepared to discard had just saved countless people in the royal capital.
"Before we discuss the matter of Princess Yurena, there is something we must examine."
At that moment, Adenbar stepped forward again.
"Look at this document."
The corner of Grisella's mouth twitched as she looked at the document.
What Adenbar handed over was a detailed report on the mercenary group Yurena had recently brought into the royal capital.
"The Twilight Hunter Mercenary Group."
A cold tone seeped into Adenbar's voice.
"It is said to be a mercenary group that accepts monsters into its ranks. Are we to allow such people into the royal capital?"
His cold voice resonated through the conference hall.
The nobles murmured, exchanging opinions.
"The commander, one named Daniel, is said to be human, but I hear there are those among the company who are not human. Monsters in human form, and even monsters in their original forms."
Adenbar's eyes, as he tapped the document, turned toward Grisella.
As if daring her to refute him.
Grisella gladly did so.
"Elder brother. This is not the time to harbor such prejudices. The Twilight Hunters' track record has already been verified."
Grisella picked up the document on the table.
Within, the records of demon beast extermination in the border regions over the past few months were detailed.
Achievements accomplished by humans and monsters together.
It was a direct challenge to the continent's long-standing customs and prejudices.
"Furthermore..."
"You aren't judging this emotionally, are you, Princess? Blood ties should not make you lose your composure."
The air in the conference room froze at Adenbar's words.
His remark was a pointed reference to the fact that Grisella and Yurena shared the same mother.
Even if that was only a matter of official record and they shared only half their blood, Yurena was officially Grisella's younger sister regardless.
"It seems to me that you are the one being emotional, elder brother."
Grisella's hand gripped the document tightly.
Her grip was strong enough to nearly crumple the paper, but her voice alone remained calm.
The nobles held their breath before her ironclad self-control.
"What we need right now is competence. Can you truly say those words even after seeing the eastern district now reduced to ruins?"
"That is..."
Adenbar was at a loss for words.
The gazes of some of the nobles turned out the window.
- Long live Her Highness Princess Yurena!!
- Long live Her Excellency Saintess Esther!!
The voices of the crowd still surrounding the mansion Yurena and Esther had entered could be heard, continuing their praises.
"Rumors of the princess are spreading throughout the kingdom. Everyone. We cannot, with no just cause, dismiss the forces the princess personally brought in. Your Majesty."
Grisella's words were correct.
King Luihart let out a deep sigh.
- 2 -
"The Hunter Daniel seeks an audience with his Master."
"I behold once more the one to whom I shall offer my life."
"O master of this infinitely precious bond of fate."
Three different greetings rang out one after another.
Each carried a different weight of loyalty.
"Come, all of you. Daniel. Orea. And Etna."
These were my subordinates, whom I was seeing after a long time.
Daniel, perhaps from hunting demon beasts, wore a resolute expression on skin grown even more swarthy. Orea's once-pristine chitinous armor now bore numerous visible marks.
The long mercenary life had left fine scars upon them.
And Etna was dressed in noble formal attire, which had been my specific order.
"Unni."
"Come here. Now that I think of it, you must have already exchanged greetings with Yurena."
As I spoke, lacing my fingers with Yurena, who approached my side, Daniel clasped his hands and bowed his head.
"I am sorry. However, it was a matter of procedure."
"Did you think I wouldn't know that?"
It was a formal apology.
The Twilight Hunters were, in name, a mercenary group hired by Yurena for her personal guard and the security of the royal capital.
So it was only natural to greet the employer first, wasn't it?
"Still, allow me to introduce them once more. Yurena. These are my subordinates, Daniel and Orea."
"Yes. I heard. ...Unni. Lady Orea and Lady Etna are monsters, correct?"
I nodded while stroking her hair.
Yurena half-closed her eyes, wearing a pleased expression.
"You may have heard of the Mistheim Plateau, famous for Hysen ironwood. They are the queen and minister of the Myrmekian Cleaver Clan who lead the monsters of that land. They have followed me since the Opening of the Demon Realm."
"No way. That place... belongs to you, unni?"
"If we are speaking of ownership rights to the land, I suppose it does."
Yurena's eyes, brimming with curiosity, darted between me and the two Myrmekians.
"I am Orea Clever. I behold the Young Princess."
"I am Etna Clever."
Orea and Etna greeted her with postures perfectly identical to human nobility.
Yurena's gaze turned toward Orea.
Over the black exoskeleton resembling human armor, her eyes, so infinitely similar to a human's yet utterly pitch-black, radiated a sense of presence.
Beneath Orea's helmet, her black antennae, protruding and gleaming, twitched.
The sight of her perfectly mimicking the etiquette of nobles might have been mocking human vanity.
"...I look forward to working with you."
I patted Yurena's arm as she hid behind me and drew her out.
"Do not be frightened. There are not many as loyal as them. Even across entire lifetimes."
"Yes... b-but I'm still not used to..."
Having been rapidly grown through experiments and magic, Yurena had the stature of an adult woman, albeit a quite short one, but strictly speaking, her existence was no different from a child's.
In every aspect, she still needed a 'mother.'
That was why I had summoned Etna with special instructions for her attire.
"Yurena is the daughter of my half-sister. So I would appreciate it if you could look after her well."
"I shall receive your command. Master."
Etna bowed her head with a noble's courtesy.
Though it had not been a long time, she had perfectly mastered human etiquette and knowledge while living in the human world.
That was the reason I had chosen her as Yurena's 'Head Lady-in-waiting.'
She could not be a wet nurse, but the favor of a princess could easily make a single monster with undeniable skill into a head lady-in-waiting.
Even if not affiliated with the royal family, she could be in the princess's service.
"That matter aside. Speaking of which, what has become of the mercenary group's treatment?"
"I shall report."
Daniel straightened his back and continued.
"Firstly, the monster forces must be stationed outside the royal castle, and all operations must be coordinated with the Royal Army Command. Additionally, the monster members must bear special markers enabling location tracking."
"Those are not such bad conditions."
I nodded with a smile.
The several monster mercenaries who had followed Daniel and the others here bore no such markers.
Though no one knew it, they had already infiltrated every corner of the royal castle.
"Currently, we have six hundred human mercenaries and five hundred eighty monster mercenaries. I command the human side, and Orea commands the monster side."
That force was nearly the entirety of the mercenary group's current strength.
Of course, the forces I had summoned from the dungeon in the meantime were included.
Hylash was not in a position to refuse this mercenary group.
Now that the royal capital's garrison and soldier strength had been reduced to less than half, the royal family could not resist if one of the border counts or a nearby marquis were to come bearing old grudges and strike the royal capital.
In that situation, Yurena had made the quick decision to bolster their forces.
There could be those who harbored questions and doubts about the decision made by the 'ignorant' youngest princess, but they could not immediately overturn the decision itself.
"And..."
The gaze of Daniel, the commander of that mercenary group, turned toward Saya and Shue, who stood beside me.
Since they originally had no official status in the royal capital, they had been granted elite positions when the mercenary group was brought in this time.
It was a status that allowed them to move more freely than Evangeline the knight or noble lady, or Yuran.
"The status of the two ladies has also been fully settled."
"Good. You have done well."
"Your words are more than I deserve."
As I watched Daniel bow his head, a smile lingered on my lips.
At last, a blade had been aimed at the very heart of Hysen.