Chapter 632: Last Will (6)
Chapter 632: Last Will (6)
The procession surrounding the carriage moved at a measured pace.
The Central Region, often called the heart of the continent, and the Academy in particular, was a place where the cultural riches of the world gathered. This center of education, with a permanent population numbering in the tens of thousands, was large enough to be considered a city in its own right.
Therefore, the appearance of a procession on this road leading to the Academy was not particularly unusual.
There was only one thing that made it special: the emblem decorating the carriage they escorted.
A golden dragon.
Though the Academy drew the powerful and wealthy from across the continent, there was no house that dared to use a 'dragon' as its family symbol. With one sole exception.
The Imperial Household.
It meant that a member of one of the continent's most prestigious bloodlines was inside that carriage. Naturally, the mindset of the escort surrounding it was anything but ordinary.
Not a hint of carelessness could be found in the eyes of the knights, who maintained a disciplined posture while keeping a sharp watch on their surroundings. The pressure exuded by these experts was like a form of intangible violence; not even a sparrow dared to land near the procession.
The tension was as taut as paper on the verge of tearing.
The only exception to this suffocating atmosphere was the interior of the carriage.
A silver-haired woman let out a languid yawn. Resting her chin on her hand, she stared boredly at the documents in her grasp, her gaze thick with a honey-like ennui.
This was despite the fact that her pupils were a piercing, icy blue.
"The 'Haster family,' is it...?"
Her murmur trickled out like morning dew. The woman’s eyes shifted slightly to the side, and memories she had long buried began to flicker across her retinas.
Yes, that’s how it was.
Second Princess Iris recalled the memories of her youth. Having spent her entire life confined to a sickbed, she had regained her health one day as if by a miracle. How long had it been since she first began taking an interest in state affairs?
Iris, who had been brilliant from the start, soon found herself surrounded by capable advisors. It was then that she heard the news regarding the 'Relic of the Seven Deadly Sins.'
'I hear there is someone coveting a treasure far beyond their station.'
It was a man with a pale complexion. He had silver hair that was almost white, and silver eyes where it was difficult to distinguish the pupils from the whites.
That was the day Iris first understood.
Why the Alphenhauser family was referred to as 'the open-eyed blind.'
It was impossible to guess where he was looking. The only expression on his face was a faint, hazy smile, to the point that Iris momentarily hallucinated that she was facing a ghost.
'His Majesty the Emperor has asked the Five Great Noble Families how this should be handled. Naturally, our Alphenhauser family is included among them.'
What had Iris replied back then?
She remembered how the man’s fingers, wrapped around his teacup, were chillingly long and thin.
'What is Alphenhauser’s stance?'
'Would it not be the same as Your Highness’s? How could a staff decide the path before it?'
'Still, I wish to hear it.'
Looking back, it was a ridiculous scene.
A mere teenage girl, maintaining a poker face while conversing with the representative of the Alphenhauser family. It wasn't as if they didn't know each other's hidden intentions.
At the time, Iris was desperate for allies. Furthermore, Alphenhauser was the family that had made a decisive contribution to curing her illness.
They were not an entity she could manipulate at will, given her still-shallow political foundation. Naturally, she had to at least pretend to take their opinion to heart.
Neither of them was naive enough to be unaware of this. Nor were they ignorant of the fact that the other was acting.
And yet, they had to perform such a trivial play.
This was likely the ugliest side of politics.
Of course, she didn't let it show. She didn't have the luxury to dwell on idle thoughts anyway.
Because the representative of Alphenhauser had opened his mouth.
'Benevolence or rationality—which do you prefer?'
'Rationality.'
'Not even a single handful of benevolence?'
His tone was mysterious.
A smile that could have been interest, mockery, or merely a formality hung on the man's lips. But there was no hesitation in Iris's answer.
'I say rationality. Nothing else.'
That was the only answer.
The representative of Alphenhauser replied without losing his smile. His name was likely 'Dalton.'
'As expected, Your Highness suits Alphenhauser well.'
Alphenhauser repaid that conviction by faithfully carrying out their liege's command.
The tragedy that befell the Haster family was handled through a conspiracy of high-ranking noble families led by Alphenhauser. Subsequent measures, such as providing relief, were discussed but dismissed on the grounds that it would look unnatural.
Alphenhauser had to be the family that seized another's gold mine out of greed. Of course, it would have been possible if another of the Five Great Noble Families intervened, but that would have made the situation far too large.
A direct clash between the Empire's Five Great Noble Families?
It was an event that would inevitably draw the world's attention. And where there are many eyes and ears, secrets naturally become harder to keep.
Until now, Iris had believed that choice was correct.
Until a few days ago, when she received the tragic news regarding her confidant.
"To think the daughter of that family would turn out like that."
Should I have just exterminated the entire family?
A cruelly cold regret momentarily flashed through Iris's mind. But the extermination of a noble family would have been unnatural and would have inevitably drawn eyes once again.
Does that mean I was wrong?
Such self-questioning lasted only a moment. Iris soon shook her head, erasing the doubt she had conjured from her mind.
I was not wrong.
Though her confidant was injured, Iris herself was now traveling to clean up the aftermath. Even if the plan had gone awry, it was still within a manageable range.
At least, as long as an unimaginable variable didn't appear.
It was then that the carriage came to an abrupt halt with a jolt.
"Y-Your Highness. My apologies, but a strange woman is blocking the procession... Please wait a moment."
The explanation came before she could even form a question.
A 'strange woman.'
She felt a sensation as if a thread had suddenly snapped.
Following her instincts, Iris flung open the carriage door and stepped out. One of the escort knights followed her in a panic.
"Your Highness, it is dangerous outside, so please stay inside the carriage—"
Thud. The woman’s foot hit the ground.
Her blue gaze was cast into the distance. A single figure appeared hazily on the straight line of the road.
Jet-black.
The face of the woman, who wore a deep black hood, was hidden in shadow and could not be seen. Standing silently with her head bowed, the woman's body did not move an inch, to the point that one might wonder if she were a statue if they stared long enough.
But that expectation was ruthlessly shattered before long.
Because the woman’s head began to slowly lift.
The eyes that had been hidden by the shadows flickered to life like will-o'-the-wisps. Their color was amber.
A dry hue, like the sands of a desert.
The woman’s hand reached out to her side. A longsword appeared amidst rising flames.
The moment the woman gripped it and finally took a step forward—
"Kill her at once!"
At the command shrieked like a scream, streaks of light were unleashed.
The heavily armored knights were no different from silver cannonballs. Cannonballs with a will of their own, tightening around their prey like a net.
Immediately, the mages in the rear began to mutter their chants. it was a swift response without a moment's delay.
Watching their reliable performance, Iris twisted her lips into a smirk.
You even went out of your way to come here?
It was a foolish decision. There was a reason why no one dared to touch the bloodline of the Imperial Household.
If anything, Iris felt this encounter was like a grace from the Heavenly God.
The perfect opportunity to set every distortion right!
Celine Haster gripped the handle of her longsword with both hands without a word.
And then, she vanished.
The girl’s form, kicking off the ground as if scattering into the air, collided with the silver cannonballs. Compared to the giants who all stood over 180cm tall, Celine’s frame looked far too small and frail.
But the result of the collision was the exact opposite.
Clang! With a burst of sparks, the sword of the knight who had charged first was driven into the ground. And as if anticipating this, a thrust exploded from the side.
Even though they were attacking in coordination, their sword paths never tangled. The thoroughly calculated timing and trajectories were cornering the girl like expert hunters.
If there was one miscalculation, well.
It was the fact that the girl was by no means prey.
"Guh!"
Celine’s accelerating body leaned back as if sliding. A terrifyingly fast flash of a blade grazed just above her, and a death rattle erupted from the throat of the knight who had initiated the first clash.
It was because the girl’s longsword, as she bent her knees and swept along the ground, had slashed upward through his jaw.
That’s one.
The girl’s indifferent eyes immediately moved to find her next target.
The hunt had only just begun.