260. The Selfish Scales
260. The Selfish Scales
- 1 -
The evening sun hung upon the steeple of the citadel, where centuries of time had piled up layer by layer.
The ancient stone steps and weathered walls bore the traces of time exactly as they were, yet the room perched at the summit was pristine, as if time itself had halted there.
On one side, a large bed draped with velvet curtains stood out prominently.
"Where is this place?"
"It is the room where I last lived."
I tilted my head to the side.
Evangeline had never once mentioned that she was originally from Haisen.
And then, I understood.
"At the time, this wasn't Haisen's land, was it?"
"Yes. Back then, this place was Norn's territory."
I gazed out the window with fresh eyes.
The land spread before me was not Haisen, but the territory of the Hillsa Kingdom.
But where I now stood was Haisen.
An old fortress standing at the far eastern edge of Haisen, by the riverside.
This citadel was said to be a remnant from the old days, from a time when the Empire had been far mightier.
"This way."
She gestured, pulling out a chair for me to sit, and I seated myself.
Sugar for tea, light refreshments, and the like had been prepared in advance upon the small dining table.
"Please wait just a moment."
Eve slipped into a small side room prepared off to one side, and before long, she returned with a tea service set in her hands.
She placed a teacup filled with the espresso I so enjoyed before me, laid a handkerchief across my lap, and then seated herself across the way.
My hero gazed out the window for a moment.
While she chose her words, the setting sun was dyeing her golden hair a deep crimson.
"I was unsure where to begin, so..."
Eve slowly opened her lips.
"It took me some time to work up the courage to tell you."
The woman before me now had shed both the cheeky manner and the knightly bearing she always displayed.
It was a rare sight indeed.
"Telling one's past to another is like that, isn't it? Never knowing where to start or where to stop, and organizing it all is just as difficult."
"It truly was, I found."
At my words, Eve nodded slowly.
Even so, she remained silent for a long while.
It didn't seem that she was reluctant to speak. She simply seemed genuinely awkward about opening up about herself.
"What I wish to tell you now..."
She finally began her story only after we had each nearly emptied a cup of tea.
"...is the tale of this body of mine, once a hero, who now wishes only to be your humble summon, Master."
Atop the citadel, gradually suffusing into violet hues as the evening wind swept past.
She spoke her true name aloud.
A name that, as far as I could remember, I had never heard before.
"Ravineya Vladimirovna Enne Besina."
The time when she bore that name was a story from a full 150 years ago.
- 2 -
"At that time, I was called a hero, the one who held the Scales of Judgment."
Evangeline rose from her seat and spoke, leaning against the darkening window.
Her blue uniform was tinted by the darkness behind her and the lamplight within the room.
"The Besina family to which I belonged was originally a marquis house of Kakia. When counting the largest and oldest families in the country, we were among the top five."
Her face as she spoke of past glories was composed.
There was no trace of the peculiar nostalgia, nor any sentiment of 'those were the good days.'
"At the time, the greatest powers of the eastern continent were Kakia in the north and Norn in the south, so powerful that we believed that glory would last forever."
But that splendid history did not endure for long.
Outmaneuvered in the succession struggle by rivals, they were forced to choose a humiliating exile.
"When my family fled into exile to the Norn Empire, I was barely fourteen."
A young age.
But her sword had already been sharp since then.
And that blade would shine even brighter in their land of exile.
"At that time, the Norn Empire possessed the largest territory, and so it suffered most from the dungeons that were springing up like mushrooms on all sides. I took part in battle as a squire to my elder brother, who was already a senior knight by then."
Pausing for a moment, her eyes seemed to be tracing the remnants of the past.
A faint, thin smile flickered across her face.
Not for glory, but from longing for her old family.
"You were close with your elder brother, then."
"The Besina family was originally a house of administrators, so my father disapproved of my eldest brother Mikhail, who loved the sword, and of me."
"You must have been each other's sole understanding soul."
"Exactly as you say."
Hearing her words, I sensed there was one more thing I could guess at, but I decided to focus on her story for now.
"We roamed the frontier of the Norn Empire, hunting countless demon tribes and magical beasts. I became a formal knight the year I turned seventeen, and a senior knight when I turned nineteen. And at twenty..."
A road of glory paved with a carpet of countless bodies and pools of blood.
As a result, she was revered as the young hero of the Norn Empire.
And the nail that sticks out gets hammered down—that is the truth of society.
"The nobles must have disliked that."
At my words, she gave a dark smile.
"Yes. 'A mere daughter of exiled nobility, putting on airs as if she's so noble'... that sort of thing, they said."
Had her family been so prestigious, they might have been able to raise their voice to some degree even in their newly settled country, but their position would have been unstable.
It is only natural that entrenched boulders and stones would not look kindly upon a rolling stone.
"It was especially significant that I refused to tolerate the misdeeds that had begun to spread among the nobility at that time."
Especially when that person does not fit into their mainstream culture, it was all the worse.
The cannibalism of the nobility, it seemed, had already begun back then.
"And their jealousy did not end in their minds alone."
Evangeline's voice sank coldly.
The fireplace in the room stained her face red.
"I died on the battlefield."
I felt as though the air in the room froze over, yet her voice as she spoke of her own death was infinitely composed.
"'Honorably,' that is."
But at the corner of Eve's lips as she emphasized those words, a sharp sneer had risen.
- 3 -
"They said it was a dungeon that had only recently appeared. I didn't suspect a thing. After all, the one who told me that was the family steward."
But it was a common trap.
A trap that is easily guessed if one knows they are being targeted, yet impossible to perceive if one doesn't.
The nobles' trap had been fatal.
"When I arrived, the hidden dungeon revealed itself, and the presence of multiple Dungeon Lords could be felt."
On her face as she recalled that time, there was resentment perhaps, but not a speck of fear was visible.
"Though I was of high rank and possessed pride, I found that an 'infinite quantity' was a far greater foe than I had imagined. Right at the limit, I decided to retreat."
But the dungeon entrance was already blocked.
Once by a massive boulder, and once again by a barrier created by multiple mages.
"In the end, I died in that very place. Not even my body could return to my family."
"Did your elder brother not go with you?"
At my question, Eve shook her head. With bitterness on her face.
"By that time, I was already a far stronger knight than my brother. We had once been close, but... it had been a long while since we stopped going together."
It was an understandable thing.
The experience of being overtaken by someone you regarded as beneath you inevitably deals a fatal blow to one's self-esteem.
"Jealousy is not an emotion easily controlled. I'm sure he didn't truly hate you."
"...Thank you."
At my consolation, she replied with a gentle expression.
"I understand that now too, but at the time, I held much resentment. For I believed that if only I'd had just one more comrade, I could have broken through."
On that face, there was no grudge against her family.
Even if there had been, the man would likely have passed away from old age long ago, so there was little to be done—but her understanding did not appear to be merely for that reason.
"My body and soul were passed around among multiple Dungeon Lords."
She continued, speaking flatly once more.
I drew closer to her side and took hold of her hand.
In her eyes as they met mine, affection dwelled.
"Many attempted to corrupt my mind and body, but none succeeded. Among them was the Corrupted Duke, Agares, who at that time was still a count."
It was an admirable thing that a mere human in her twenties, no matter how much she was called a young hero, could resist the schemes of such a being.
Caressing her cheek, I spoke.
"Truly, you are my hero. Eve."
"Master..."
At my action, Eve flushed.
A woman who had shown no particular emotion at the other stories, yet reacted so strongly to a single word from me.
Secretly, it was rather amusing as well.
"...In the end, that being separated my soul from my body. From then on... I have no memory. Except that before I lost my memory, I said I would offer my soul to the Demon King."
Considering she was here now, her soul must indeed have been offered to the Demon King.
For the Demon King's castle had the discretion to distribute arriving souls to new Dungeon Lords.
"And then you met me."
Eve's face brightened for an instant.
"Though at the time, I was but an ordinary skeleton."
"Was that not you, back then?"
"Yes. It is true that my soul was embedded within, but at that time, I was not granted intellect. However, the memories of that time are still vivid. I remember every single moment clearly."
In the first round, she remembered the battle against the adventurers she had met for the first time.
So, of Sonia's party at the time, only Sonia alone survived.
Lemia, who was now Artemis at my side, and their friend Jack—neither had been able to fully preserve the form of their souls.
"Because I had to sell souls and consume the broken bodies of others to repair my own."
"I can scarcely imagine it. The thought of you being broken."
At my words, she gave a bitter smile.
And afterward, Maria's party, who had come searching for them, met the same fate.
It seemed that back then, I had possessed no such margin for mercy.
That in order to survive, I could not afford even an inch of compassion.
And because of that, once Evangeline regained her intellect, she rejected me.
"At that time, I was a being who caused you much worry, Master. Even now, thinking of it, I am sorry."
"Was it not something inevitable?"
An undead who had reclaimed the memories of a human hero.
That inevitably brought upon her a fatal confusion of self.
Yet, despite that.
"We made it to where we are now, in the end."
At my words, she nodded.
When I raised my hand and stroked her hair, Eve, feeling that touch, closed her eyes gently for a moment, then opened them and spoke.
"We grew distant, and we fought. But you, Master... never gave up on me."
Taking a brief deep breath and steadying herself, she slowly revealed the very last of what was in her heart.
"...Unlike my family."
As she spoke of them, she displayed a faint pain on her face, different from the composure she had maintained until now.
I put my arm around her waist and pulled her toward me.
Eve leaned her head against mine.
I could guess at once what she meant.
"Your family exploited your death, didn't they?"
Evangeline returned to her composed demeanor and affirmed it.
"Yes. Agares informed me during the process of torturing me to corrupt me."
At the time, Eve had succeeded in guarding her heart through distrust of the demon tribe.
But her records had indeed remained in the history books, and she, who had regained her intellect at my side over 150 years later, had sought out those history books.
"'The daughter of an exiled noble gives her life for the Empire'... where could there be a more perfect proof of loyalty than this?"
A young hero who had made a noble sacrifice for the Norn Empire.
And the family of that hero.
One can easily imagine how great a political gain the Besina house would have reaped at the time.
"My family, both in the first round and now, serves as a powerful house of the Norn Empire. Upon the foundation that my death built for them."
I carefully stroked her back.
How must she have felt, after a long span of 150 years, upon learning of her family's betrayal?
Though I had experienced something similar, I tried hard not to imagine it too easily.
An individual's pain belongs to the individual. It is not for others to presume to judge.
She did not bite her lip or click her tongue. She simply remained silently in my embrace.
That sight felt all the more heartbreaking.
"It's all right to be angry. Do not restrain yourself just because you are before me."
"No. Master."
Shaking her head, the young hero of a bygone era let down her golden hair and pressed her body closer to mine.
"I certainly felt rage then, and hatred too. But now, I am fine."
In the first round, she had apparently annihilated the Besina family once.
It was, she said, to quell her fury and hatred, and to prove her loyalty to me.
"Even now, if you commanded it, Master, I would do so. But I no longer bear any grudge."
After a brief pause, she wore a smile full of love for someone upon her lips.
I suddenly felt my heart pounding.
"The distinction between human and demon, and the life I lived when I was human—none of it holds meaning for me now."
Her green eyes looked at me, holding a deep light within them.
"Only you, Master, have meaning for me. Everything else in this world is futile. Only your joy. Your pleasure. Your love—these alone are the driving force of my life."
Rising from her seat, she knelt on one knee and presented her sword.
Her blue cloak spread wide upon the floor.
"The glory of a hero, the resentment of death. All useless. My loyalty and affection, my entire life—all of it shall be spent for you, Master."
I placed my hand upon her sword.
Then, after taking the sword and setting it upon the table, I interlaced my fingers with both of her bewildered hands.
"I have received your lives, so must I not also give my own life to all of you?"
"Master..."
Eve stared at me with dazed eyes.
Then, suddenly, she recovered her cheeky smile and spoke.
"Do you not have a great many women, Master? No matter how I look at it, it seems to be a net loss on my part."
"How irreverent of you."
I flicked Eve on the forehead and helped her rise.
Because she was so much taller, once she stood, she looked down at me.
And whispered.
"I shall love you forever. With all that I am. Master."
"Yes. Let us continue together, into the future."
Meeting the eyes of her as she pressed her lips to the inside of my wrist, I smiled.
The night deepened steadily, and escorted by her, I made my way to the large bed on one side.
"Now I see why you decorated this bed so beautifully."
"In the place where I faced my end, I wished to bless a new beginning with you, Master."
Wearing a smile tinged with a strangely elated feeling, Evangeline lifted me into her arms.
I placed my hand upon her neck.
The night deepened.
Crossing 150 years of time, the story of her who went from a human hero to my hero drew to a close in this way.
Of course, this was not the end.
It was a beginning in a new dimension.
- 4 -
"The temple of you, Master, that I shall establish, will become the foundation upon which you, Master, will take your place as a new god upon this land. I shall make you into a god, Master."
"Even so, the one who shared her first kiss with Master was me, Shue..."
"A kiss... that's nice too, but the one who has spent the most time nestled snugly in Master's arms would be me, Ran. Heh heh."
"I received a promise that our bloodline would be made to prosper."
"Ah, but the first one to spend a night together with him was me."
"...!!!"
"Of course, we only held hands and slept."
"...Truly?"
"Indeed. I can swear it upon a knight's honor."
"..."
"Lady Evangeline..."
"No way..."
"Truly...? If it's a lie..."
"...Sigh. Evangeline. If you had been sincere, you would have sworn upon your honor as Master's hero, not as a knight."
"Ah, I've been caught."
"Evangeline!!!"