Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 249
Since the Emperor’s enthronement, the Imperial Palace had been enduring its most chaotic days.
The cause was, as expected, the Archbishop.
He had blown things up so thoroughly that it made you wonder why he had never reached for the Imperial Court before.
He had made it public.
At an official state council, no less.
“The missing persons cases within the Imperial Palace are connected to demons.”
“And coincidentally, we have determined that the majority of the missing disappeared from the Empress’s Palace garden.”
He said it while hardening his good-natured face, as if he were reporting a true calamity.
“Did you hear? At the Empress’s Palace…”
“Now that you mention it, wasn’t it said that handmaid also disappeared recently?”
“Good heavens…”
The nobles tangled in various chains of cause and effect tried to hush it up as much as possible after hearing the news, but the servants and attendants of the Imperial Palace were different.
The central nobles might be safe, but we’re the ones who have to set foot in this place!
It was only natural that fear spread among them.
“…So at this rate, we die if we say one wrong thing, and we die if our luck runs out.”
“Sniffle, I’m so scared…”
“I’m the pillar of my family, and a single misstep will send everything crumbling.”
Realistic terror always spreads the fastest.
“I can’t stay here.”
“I-I have to survive!”
The attendants assigned to the Empress’s Palace submitted their resignations or requests for leave, each citing their own reasons.
Naturally, the Empress’s Palace, famed for its splendor, crumbled in an instant.
The garden, once filled only with an intoxicatingly beautiful floral fragrance, began to reek of rotting vegetation once it was no longer tended. The handmaids who had dressed and groomed the Empress also vanished, leaving the Empress’s attire increasingly plain.
Given the circumstances, not even the Emperor’s Palace or the First Prince’s Palace could send people to help.
No, it was closer to the truth that they didn’t send anyone because their own safety was more important.
“The situation is dire, Your Majesty.”
The head of the central nobles, Marquis Nord Lepisent, had come in person to the chambers of his precious daughter, born later in his life.
He did not hide his disappointment in his daughter.
Under that reproachful gaze, so unlike his usual composed demeanor, the Empress had to clench the folds of her dress tightly beneath the table.
“…My apologies, Father.”
“You should be apologetic.”
“…”
“Because of this incident, the central noble coalition has shattered, and those who have defected to the Second Prince’s faction are numerous. Do you understand what this means?”
Anger gradually filled Marquis Nord’s voice.
“It means that the standing of my House Lepisent has been diminished.”
His voice grew louder, and his hand trembled as if he wanted to raise it at any moment.
The Empress took all of this in, yet she struggled not to lower her head.
That would only fuel her father’s anger.
“Hoooo…”
Marquis Nord let out a deep sigh, then spoke resolutely.
“However, keep in mind that this will not topple the Empress.
The attendants will return, and it will be revealed that Your Majesty was not behind this.”
“Your meaning is.”
“Surely you know, Your Majesty.”
The Marquis answered, rubbing his face with a wrinkled hand.
“Abandon him. Abandon the First Prince.”
“How could a mother abandon her son?”
The Empress covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke.
To outward appearances, her expression was that of an utterly grief-stricken mother, but the corner of her lips protruding past her small hand was curved into an arc.
She had expected things to play out this way.
The core of the central nobles. The precious daughter of House Lepisent and the position of Empress would not crumble so easily.
If there was anything she had worried about…
‘It was whether my aging father would make a foolish choice.’
She had agonized that he might choose the First Prince’s side simply because her son was young and held the title.
If it came to that, sacrificing the First Prince and falling in line under the Second Prince to lie low was a hundred times better.
Of course, it wasn’t that she lacked maternal love entirely, but…
“What on earth have you done!”
“Because of you, Mother, my own standing has become precarious.”
“Either appeal to Marquis Nord to handle this, or do everything you can to minimize the damage.”
“Damn it, for things to blow up this much while I was confined!”
Watching the First Prince, who had rushed to her quicker than anyone else to hurl abuse right after the Archbishop’s words spread, whatever remaining affection she had simply evaporated.
His pitiful intelligence, failing to grasp that if she abandoned him, he would become a kite with its string cut, a bird with nowhere to go, was a bonus.
‘He even resembles the Emperor in that.’
The Empress composed her rising lips, lowered her hand, and answered as if deep in deliberation.
“However, Father’s words carry even greater weight… I will need time to consider.”
“One day should suffice.”
“I shall give you my answer as swiftly as possible. Father.”
“Very well. And…”
Marquis Nord rose from his seat and said firmly,
“I have no connection to the demons. Nor does my daughter have any connection whatsoever.”
“You state the obvious. This is all entirely a false accusation.”
“There will not be a second time.”
It was a warning that if anything similar happened again, he would abandon her without hesitation.
“I will bear it in mind.”
It was rather callous for a conversation between family, but the Empress accepted it naturally.
Family, as she had experienced it, had always taken this form.
You simply side with whoever brings you profit.
“Farewell.”
Marquis Nord left without a backward glance, and the Empress felt relief.
And then…
* * *
“…Oh my. How your heart must ache.”
The Archbishop stood in the dark corridor of the Empress’s Palace, looking at the foolish figure before him.
The First Prince.
Regrettably, he had overheard the entire recent conversation.
“Archbishop. How dare you skulk about like this…!”
“You should lower your voice.”
The Archbishop wore a good-natured smile and reached out to clamp the First Prince’s mouth shut.
“You must be especially careful from now on, shouldn’t you? I imagine you have no one left to rely on.”
At those soft, methodical words, the First Prince flinched.
Once he removed his hand, the First Prince hurried to make excuses in a much smaller voice than before.
“I-I am not behind this. I know nothing of the disappearances. As you know, I am already confined to the Prince’s Palace, unable to leave…”
“However, Your Highness.”
The Archbishop lowered his eyebrows as if in pity.
“Was it not you who cursed the Second Prince?”
“That is…”
“That alone is sufficient evidence.”
“Wh-what must I do?”
At the First Prince’s question, the Archbishop shook his head.
As if it were unnecessary.
No, as if he already knew everything.
The sight gave the First Prince chills.
Until now, the Archbishop had shown no interest whatsoever in politics.
He had also been taught that the Temple had been considerably diminished in scale due to fifty years of peace.
Thus, he had unconsciously considered the Archbishop a ‘harmless figure.’
But he was wrong.
Those eyes.
‘Those are not the eyes of an Archbishop.’
The First Prince had no abilities of note.
But before the strong, he possessed an instinctive and peculiar talent, like a herbivore, for quickly reading their avarice.
“Ah.”
Even though he realized what the First Prince had noticed, the Archbishop ignored it and uttered a soft exclamation as if an inconsequential thought had struck him, obliquely remarking,
“I have nothing I desire at present… however, if I simply pass by, Your Highness will likely feel very uneasy.”
“Th-that is so. So anything, anything at all.”
In any case, as the first servant of that One, he must not torment others.
“Then, shall we make a very small trade?”
* * *
The island.
Of course, <In the World> was home to countless islands.
However, there was only one island that you had to search for to discover.
Commonly called ‘Mermaid Island.’
A place said to be the site of the mermaids’ kingdom in ages past, and…
‘It was an event map.’
Before <In the World> replaced all events with ‘Hotel Easter’ due to various issues like reward inflation.
During its early, fresh days, the summer event was hosted on ‘Mermaid Island.’
-A place that can only be reached by going to a specific location on a specific day.
-A space where the mysterious mermaids once resided.
-In the past, all manner of treasures collected by the mermaids sleep beneath a wrecked pirate ship.
…That was the gist of it, if memory served.
Of course, Lion had gone too.
He went and participated in treasure-hunting events and maze-escape events.
The problem was…
“How am I supposed to actually get there?”
Before he possessed this body, it had only taken a single click. Now he had to find it by trudging along on his own two feet.
Even the NPCs knew nothing about Mermaid Island.
“There’s no proper information either…”
-Whaaat? You’re not just spouting nonsense ’cause you’ve got a fever, are you?
-Go where?!
Lion fell deeper into thought.
Now that he thought about it…
There was a way, wasn’t there?
Lion tried to recall the moment he moved to the event map—no, Mermaid Island—in more detail.
You definitely clicked on a pool inside a certain cave…
“Hmm.”
What he clearly remembered was that it was a specific map in the southern region.
‘I just need to find that much.’
If the Saintess and his main character had found that location, they surely would have left items behind.
Then, just getting near the area might allow him to move to Mermaid Island.
Just like the Labyrinth.
‘Then first, I need information about the Saintess and the southern region.’
He’d ask Licht about the Saintess.
As for the southern region…
Just as Lion was about to continue his train of thought.
[A penalty has been imposed.]
“…Huh?”
The notification about the penalty popped up without any additional explanation.
And Lion’s body…
“…”
Was perfectly fine.
Lion looked back and forth between the notification window and his own body.
Wondering if it was a penalty on an item, he checked his inventory, but it was fine too.
Even the map had quietly settled in a corner of his inventory, somehow in a ‘re-bound’ state.
In other words, truly nothing had happened.
‘…The fact that nothing happened makes it scarier.’
Lion absently rubbed his arm.
Nothing had occurred for now, but the penalty notification was still occupying a corner of his vision without disappearing.
It probably wouldn’t vanish until the ‘real’ penalty was applied.
‘The map… I’ll have to check it later.’
At this point, even Lion felt the need to be cautious.
Besides, apart from the penalty, he had a bit of a headache.
-You’re finally thinking about resting?
-Let’s rest already. Let’s get out of here! Go to your room and hug that drooling demonic beast!
“Fine. I should.”
Lion slowly rose from the wrecked recovery room and headed back to his room.
Elvia, Grandpa, even his younger brother hadn’t returned from the Imperial Palace yet, so he needed to spare his body as much as possible in the meantime.
Flump.
Lion lay down on the bed just like that.
Pooch scurried over and settled against Lion’s flank, and Nature chirped from the head of the bed.
They seemed to know to some extent what had happened.
-That’s right! Scold him more. He needs to be chewed out!
-He’s still wet behind the ears, and he overdoes it like that?
-If that’s how it’s gonna be, give me that body! I’ll use it sparingly.
‘Such nagging…’
Lion let out a dry laugh as Tiamatrak chattered away, relaying all of this to Nature, and his eyes slid shut.
And then, on an ordinary day a few days later.
Lion learned what the penalty was.
“Ehhh??”
…It was rather baffling!