Chapter 164
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The Circuit
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Jun headed toward Dexter's room, and Aiden, left alone, was pacing the hallway when he turned at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Brother."
The third prince, Javier.
His usually pale face was even whiter as he faced Aiden.
"Your Highness Javier."
"Haha... I told you to drop the formalities when it's just us."
"I'm grateful you say that, but there are still plenty of people left in the mansion."
"Mm. You're right. I got ahead of myself in my excitement."
With that, Javier naturally headed toward the balcony.
Below them stretched the outdoor banquet hall that had been in use all day.
Aiden watched Javier's back with a touch of pity.
The Javier he knew was not strong in body or mind.
"You must have had a long day."
"Thanks for saying so. It gives me a bit of energy. My mother will be pleased too."
"......"
"It might sound odd coming from me, but my mother's a woman with many wounds. She has high expectations of me because of that."
Venes, the current consort and Javier's mother, had once been from the Outers.
It was a marriage arranged after the current emperor ascended the throne, aimed at forging genuine alliances with the Outers within Blackout.
As a consort, Venes had entered the imperial palace bearing the worries, fears, and hopes of countless Outers.
"Since Father's era began, many Outers have come under the empire's banner. Over hundreds of years, much of their anger has faded."
But history had been passed down through writings and tales across generations, and their wounds lingered still.
Venes had poured her efforts into healing those countless scars.
"And the surest way... is for me to take the throne."
That was why Venes showered Javier with attention, and Javier did his utmost to lighten her burden, but...
"Even so, it's overwhelming."
"......Are you struggling a lot?"
Aiden didn't know what words of comfort to offer Javier.
Instead, he chose to listen to his complaints.
Though Aiden had once suffered a trauma at Venes's hands severe enough to haunt him... Javier was the one who had given him brief but good memories amid the palace that felt like a prison.
"If it's tough, then yes. It is. Excruciatingly so. But..."
His gaze drifted past the banquet hall to the cityscape beyond the ramparts.
"Would my mother's life be any easier than mine? I doubt it."
The daughter of a tribal chief who had entered the tangled web of gains and losses in a place called the imperial palace.
Compared to the weight she carried, Javier's pain might just be the whining of an immature child.
"You can't say that for sure."
"......Hm?"
But Aiden thought differently.
He had emerged from the stifling palace, met a certain mage, and spent time with him—short or long, depending on how you saw it.
And the world Aiden had come to know was always fresh and new.
"Lady Venes undoubtedly carries a heavy burden, but I don't think Your Highness Javier's is any lighter."
"What makes you say that?"
"I've met so many people since stepping out into the world. They've all been in different situations, struggling to make the best choices they could."
Did that mean their worries, deliberations, and desperate flailing were trivial just because their status was lower?
Aiden could firmly say no.
That was the reality he had learned over the past year traveling with Jun.
"And, well..."
"And?"
Aiden hesitated, wondering if he should say it.
But considering Javier's pain...
At that moment, Javier pulled an artifact from his pocket and activated it.
A high-performance item that blocked outside sounds from the conversation.
"Speak freely, brother."
"......The paths a person can take aren't just one."
"......"
"Choosing to share Lady Venes's burden is your decision. But just bearing it together doesn't make you 'family'."
"Then..."
"Discussing how to solve it—making it even a little easier, finding ways to move forward together—that's what 'family' is, isn't it?"
Aiden naturally thought of Jun, then of their comrades.
Jun had never looked down on them, always seeking their opinions no matter the problem.
Rather than blindly agreeing, the comrades would ask why and ponder it seriously.
Sometimes, unexpected solutions emerged from those discussions.
Their bond had evolved from leader and subordinates into one of mutual reliance.
"Speak my mind... to my mother."
Javier thought of his mother and gave a bitter smile.
"Thank you for taking my whining seriously, brother."
"No. I might have spoken out of turn about someone else's business."
"No. It'll be hard to act on right away, but someday, if I find the courage..."
Perhaps a moment would come when he could face his mother and talk openly.
No telling when, though.
Maybe because some frustration lingered unresolved, Javier's expression darkened as he returned to his room.
Aiden could only hope this moment was part of healing those wounds.
Jun returned shortly after.
Seeing Aiden waiting on the terrace, Jun asked,
"What happened? You look like you've seen it all."
"Haha... Nothing, senior."
"Like you've grasped some profound truth of life."
"The next schedule's been set."
That evening,
Jun gathered his comrades and explained the plans he'd discussed with the two royals.
"First off, we've got a circuit tour."
"Whoa... The royals themselves touring Blackout?"
Eleanor already sounded like she foresaw a grueling path.
And indeed, as she worried, the schedule was quite tight.
"Yeah. It'll focus on the checkpoints run directly by the imperial family. The deepest we'll go is the fourth layer."
"Fourth layer? That's gonna take forever."
"It will be long, but luckily the travel distances aren't too bad. As you know, the imperial checkpoints are chosen for their strategic locations."
"True enough."
Even in Blackout, market economies thrived, so shorter distances between cities were always better.
More people lived in those areas, making it perfect for promoting the empire's strength on this tour.
"So, what do we need to watch out for?"
"Nothing special. We're basically just figureheads. The royals' protection will mostly fall to the imperial knights anyway."
Rumors said the Heavenly Dragon Knight Order captain, who had reached level 9, wasn't joining, but his deputy was a level 8 powerhouse at the entry stage.
Plus the Black Guard Knight Order captain nearing level 7 and all his knights under him—unless something extreme happened, their forces were more than sufficient.
"And all three principals can protect themselves anyway."
First Prince Dexter himself was level 6.
First Princess Natalie wielded considerable magic,
and Third Prince Javier had combat prowess around level 4.
'Though the third prince isn't exactly battle-hardened.'
So the White Whale Mercenary Corps shouldn't have much trouble escorting them.
'A total milk run of a job.'
It would eat up time, but with minimal risk and an imperial commendation at the end, it was a huge win.
Yet for some reason,
it felt prickly.
"......"
"......"
Maya and Eleanor were glaring at him with scary intensity.
Jun hurriedly opened his mouth, making excuses.
"A-hem. Still, we can't let our guard down. We don't know how the Heavenly Firmament Cult might interfere! Everyone, stay sharp."
"Good thing we don't have to sew your mouth shut."
"Yeah. If you'd called this easy too, I was gonna bash your head with my staff."
Having weathered the crisis, Jun sighed in relief and got to the main point.
"But our assigned mission is just the surface level."
"Why's that?"
"We have a real final destination. The circuit tour is just a smokescreen to hide it."
"Final destination?"
"Yeah. As I said, our true mission this time... is tracking down the Heavenly Firmament Cult's trail."
They were dragging this out to keep the enemy in the dark, but the imperial goal was nabbing the cult that had schemed against Javier.
"That's why the Black Guard's with us."
"Yep."
"So where exactly is this final spot?"
"......Third layer. Voltain's ore zone."
And that was where Jinovan, now the marshal, was stationed.
Around the time Aiden and Javier were deep in conversation,
Jun was holding a strategy meeting with the two royals who had commissioned the job.
"To cut to the chase, we've got a lead..."
First Princess Natalie's languid voice drew a nod from Dexter.
"Our final destination is the third layer, mage."
"The third layer... Voltain's ore zone, right?"
"Yes. Combining the intel I've gathered with reports from the Black Guard... the Heavenly Firmament Cult's trail leads to the third layer, Voltain's ore zone."
Jun's expression hardened slightly as he spoke.
"Based on the circumstances, why do you think they're heading there?"
"Probably to bribe the commander there. Their pattern seems to exploit people's desperation."
"Desperation."
"You know him. Marshal Jinovan. A fallen noble who's lost his title."
"......"
"Intel suggests he's backed into a corner. Seems he's been losing political battles in the Black Forest on multiple fronts."
Jun thought of Jinovan for a moment.
He had a decent personality and was a good man at heart.
Would someone like that really side with the Heavenly Firmament Cult against the empire?
'Who knows.'
As Dexter said, the cult knew how to prey on despair.
They'd extend a hand that seemed harmless at first. But grasp it once, and you're done for.
They loved binding people like a drug, slowly dragging them into the abyss.
'I hope he hasn't made a foolish choice.'
And so, the circuit tour to catch the Heavenly Firmament Cult began.