Chapter 84 - Second Princess Lucia Silv: "Hunchback. Anything Else You Want to Ask?"
"Hunchback. So, anything else you wanna ask?"
"Who's living inside there?"
"Curious? The bars have tiny gaps, so go take a peek if you want."
I was wandering through the dim, sealed-off space with the warden, listening to his explanations. That's when I spotted a cell that stood out from the others—uniquely designed. Glancing inside, I saw a woman chained by one arm and one leg with iron shackles. She was... incredibly beautiful.
"Lucia Silv."
"Silv? As in... the imperial family name?"
"So the hunchback knows that much. Like you said, she used to be a princess. Now she's locked up here for her crimes."
"Crimes...?"
"Colluding with demons. Trying to assassinate princes and princesses. The kind of shit a witch—no, a villainess—would pull." The warden clicked his tongue and waved me off. "But she escaped execution just because she's a princess. Instead, she'll go blind and rot in here till she dies. Back off. They say getting too close might kill you."
A princess with too much ambition who did what she shouldn't have. And that led to this end. That was the whole story—or so I thought. But soon enough, I'd realize Lucia wasn't a villainess at all. Living my life always watching my back, I actually felt a strange kinship with her. Framed unjustly, reduced to a melted, hunchbacked wreck—just like me. Having been through it myself, I knew she hadn't committed those crimes. She was innocent.
That pity was why I paid her extra attention, as I recall.
...
The Demon King invaded, and I fought in the war as a regular soldier of the Gaia Empire. Sure, my skin was melted from burns, and I was a hunchback... but I joined for the money, for my hometown.
Or not? Looking back now, it felt more like I just wanted to throw this ruined body into the meat grinder. Already fucked beyond repair, might as well roll it out there.
An endless war. Ironically, struggling not to die pointlessly kept me alive. A bit of luck helped too.
During that time, I took a major wound midway through. Needed months to recover. But I refused to pull back from the front lines. Stupid, in hindsight. I believed my hanging on there meant rations for my hometown folks.
Anyway, my superior—uncharacteristically nice—assigned me somewhere decent for a bit. Guard duty in the Gaia Empire's underground prison. A chance to patch up while doing the job.
I wasn't pushed around by civilians in fights, and with the hunchback look plus burns, I cut a terrifying figure. Perfect for instilling fear.
So I ended up as an underground prison guard for about six months. That's where I first met Lucia... and we fell in love.
"Don't hold the sword so close. It's a little scary."
Rebelling here could lead to real misunderstandings, so I let the knightess drag me off meekly. Thanks to that, I even got close to Lucia, who was strolling in the garden.
"Keril. Who's this?"
That voice—I'd heard it enough in the previous timeline to last a lifetime. The beautiful face, the alluring tone: no doubt, Lucia Silv.
"This creep snuck into the garden to spy on Your Highness."
"I sincerely apologize for entering the garden without permission."
I casually pushed aside the sword at my neck and bowed properly.
"I'm Baron Dran. New to the title, so I got lost in the palace buildings."
"Baron Dran?"
"Yes."
Lucia approached me slowly.
"Your Highness!"
"It's fine."
The knights tried to block her, but Lucia came right up to my face, studying it closely.
...So this is the color of Lucia's eyes. Even kissing up close, I'd never noticed. They sparkled like nothing else in the world.
"You're beautiful."
Ah. Slipped out on its own.
"...Pardon?"
Lucia blushed at the unexpected compliment.
"This bastard!"
"It's fine."
Stopping the knight from decking me, Lucia murmured,
"Baron Dran... Daron... Daron Dran?"
If she already knew about me, this'd go faster. I caught her quiet words and quickly confirmed.
"Ah, you already knew my name."
"Pardon?"
"I'm Daron."
"...The real Daron Dran?"
"Yes."
The man personally appointed baron by First Princess Asabel. Must be juicy gossip in the palace.
"As the rumors say, Her Highness Asabel recently made me a baron."
"My sister did?"
At that, Lucia's lovely eyes narrowed. Oops. She and Asabel weren't on good terms. Asabel had always suppressed her, compared her relentlessly, kept her from building power. Judging by the glares from Lucia's maids and knights, they hated me now. Suspicious intruder was bad enough, but my boss being the first princess? That really pissed them off.
This wasn't good.
"Ah, but that doesn't mean I'm Her Highness Asabel's loyal dog. I just happened to rack up big merits in the Magical Beast Subjugation Operation she joined. Got the title as a reward."
"So what do you want from me?"
"Pardon?"
"Sounds like you're making excuses to impress me. Or hiding ties to my sister?"
The people around seemed to think the same. I looked like a sleazy opportunist. Bad first impression.
"No way. Daron here never lies."
"Not as Baron Dran... but as Daron?"
"Your Highness! You must confront her right now. Who knows what schemes she's plotting?"
The knightess with the sword yelled that I couldn't be trusted. The bad blood between the sisters was obvious.
"Go."
"Your Highness!"
"Thank you."
I bowed in gratitude. She was too kind for her own good. If she didn't know me at all, she'd have demanded an investigation and an apology on the spot. Even if too weak to confront Asabel directly, she'd have humiliated me. But Lucia let me go cleanly.
"Beautiful Your Highness. Until we meet again."
...
After Daron left, knightess Keril was still fuming. It was the princess's call, but letting him off that easy felt wrong.
"Your Highness. That bastard was eyeing you with the dirtiest look."
"Don't call him 'bastard.'"
"Pardon?"
Keril panicked. Cursing in front of the princess wasn't ideal, but for a lowborn like her, bad language was hard to shake. After her potential was recognized and she became Lucia's knight through gratitude, she'd cut back. But no one stopped her from cursing in moments like this. Speaking rough for the princess's sake vented everyone's frustrations. Even Lucia never reined her in for it.
"Your Highness. Why?"
"Me?"
Stopping her from calling him 'bastard' was one thing... but Lucia's face now.
Fuck? No way?)
"What's with me?"
"N-nothing."
Keril stared incredulously at where the bastard had gone, then back at Lucia. She was gazing in that direction with lingering regret.
Lucia, who showed zero interest in men, feeling drawn to one was good. But that man? The obvious schemer? That was the problem. Wise, pure Lucia Silv making that face shocked not just Keril, but everyone around.
"Keril."
"Yes."
"Investigate this Daron Dran."
Phew. Guess it was my imagination.
But Keril was wrong—it wasn't imagination. Lucia wasn't letting it slide. Anyone could see he was suspicious; a probe was warranted.
"From his past to recent activities. Oh, and the people around him too."
"Yes."
"And... what he likes. Any woman he's into. His tastes, that sort of thing."
"...Pardon?"
"I'll head in now. Thanks for your work, Keril."
Lucia left the baffled Keril and exited the garden. Her maids trailed after. In her room, she shooed them out, wanting to be alone. Still fluttering, she pressed a hand to her chest.
"Finally met you."
She whispered the name softly.
"Daron."
...
"Fuuuck. No matter how I slice it, that first impression was the worst."
The reunion I'd waited for. To Lucia, it was our first meeting; to me, a longed-for moment. Lucky she was so kind and trusted me—there had to be lingering doubts otherwise.
Lucia Silv... she's the one woman I can't treat roughly. Second if you count Mom. No forcing it, no ulterior motives. Like the previous timeline, I wanted pure affection. This'd be a headache.
"Well, she came around anyway."
After asking around and wandering another half hour, I reached Asabel Silv's palace. I showed ID to the guards and entered. Straight to Asabel's office.
"Baron Dran. Come in."
"She's inside?"
"Yes. Your Highness! Baron Dran is here!"
A voice called from within. The door opened, and I entered the office from days ago. That's when I met them.
"Daron?"
"Oh. You two know each other?"
The red-haired hero, Charlotte. Her boyfriend Jed. And comrade Elinne too.