The Royal Palace (1)
The Royal Palace (1)
"I must return immediately."
At the Baron's son's words, the butler advised him, "Since it's already late, it would be best to leave early tomorrow morning."
The sun was already setting, and the Baron's territory was a very long way away.
"Can you have everything ready by morning?"
The butler replied to Manuel, "Yes. I'll have everything prepared."
The Baron's son expressed his gratitude to Manuel.
"Thank you."
Everyone wore grim expressions in the wake of the sudden misfortune.
The servants quickly packed the luggage and began making preparations for those who would leave the next day.
The group also retired to their assigned rooms.
The dinner banquet was canceled as well, and the Baron's son bustled about until late into the night, checking whether there was any other news.
"Still, I didn't expect them to relegate me to a mere guest room."
I looked around the room and clicked my tongue in disappointment.
Well, this was the Kingdom's capital.
The influence of the Lansarot Marquisate, the Duchess's family, was stronger here than that of the Duke's estate.
As an illegitimate son, this kind of treatment was only natural.
It was just that, since I hadn't been treated too badly at the main estate lately, this sort of treatment felt novel all over again.
"Is this closer to entering enemy territory?"
It was something I was fully prepared for.
I'd received far worse treatment before—not just once or twice—and it had even led to my death.
After resting in my room for a while, I stepped out onto the balcony.
As the night deepened, the capital's once-scenic nightscape sank into pitch-black darkness.
The servants, who had been preparing for the next day's departure, had all gone to bed, too.
But I wasn't the only one still awake.
"What are you doing up so late?"
A voice drifted over from the adjacent terrace.
I turned my head and saw Balea, the Baron's daughter, standing on the dark balcony with a captivating smile.
Just like my room, the adjoining rooms were guest rooms, where Balea and her brother were staying as guests of the Duke's estate.
The room next to mine belonged to Balea.
I'd stepped out onto the balcony because I'd sensed her presence.
"I suppose I'm excited since it's my first time in the capital."
At my words, she gave a peculiar snort.
"I had this feeling before, too, but your tone of voice seems fitting for your position and age, while the depth in your eyes and the things you say seem entirely different."
Her casual remark had hit the nail on the head. Remembering what had happened before my death in the Baron's territory, I clenched my fists slightly.
So my acting hadn't fooled her.
'Is it really okay to let her go like this?'
But the words that came out of my mouth were entirely different.
"It seems you can't sleep either, Young Lady. Allow me to offer my condolences once again regarding the Baron."
At the change of subject, Balea narrowed her eyes, then let out a long breath.
It was a sorrowful sigh, mourning the Baron's death.
But the words that followed were completely different.
"If my father really is dead, then he died at the perfect time."
My jaw dropped at her words, as though I'd just heard something utterly absurd for the first time in my life.
Fortunately, the moon slipped behind the clouds, concealing my darkened gaze.
"Hmph. You don't need to be so surprised. I can't go into details, but this is a much better outcome for you, Young Lord."
Of course it's a good thing. Do you have any idea how hard I ran around to make it happen?
But why is this woman blabbering about it to me?
The real her, as I'd seen her just before my death, seemed half-mad. Surely she wasn't going to act like that here, too?
Her gloomy expression gradually brightened.
"Of course, it's also a very, very good thing for me. Do you know? Now I can start anew. I can live as Balea, not just as a baron's daughter who does whatever her father tells her."
On the surface, her words sounded like those of a noble daughter escaping her parents' control.
But I knew what they really meant.
A wild beast locked in a cage had just broken free!
I relaxed my tightly clenched fists.
The beast that had been released from its cage wasn't looking at me.
"Now I can do whatever I want. Once I go back and confirm my father's death, I'll erase the old Balea and start fresh."
I supposed the true meaning of that was that she would destroy the evidence of her past crimes and make them impossible to trace.
And the mana fluctuating around her made me flinch instinctively.
Fortunately, the mana subsided at once. Her bright smile vanished, and she returned to her gloomy expression.
"Oh dear, I must have babbled too much in the night air. Please forget everything I just said. I must have lost my mind when I heard that my father had passed away."
Now, how should I respond in a situation like this?
"Ah, yes. Yes. I-I didn't hear a thing."
I stammered out a reply, putting on a flustered expression.
At my reaction, she smiled sorrowfully.
"Thank you. Well, I'll head inside first."
She bowed her head, and I returned the gesture.
With that final greeting, she stepped back into her room.
She left me with these parting words:
"See you later, little young lord in a mask."
Left alone on the balcony, I quietly stared at the now-empty terrace next door.
I wasn't a champion of justice.
This world was full of blades, villains, and madness.
Just because I knew about them didn't mean I had to—or even wanted to—execute every villain and madman.
Just because they had killed me in my previous life didn't mean I could go around hunting down and killing every one of them in my next.
If I did that, I would have had to track down and kill all the maids who had killed me the very first time.
And I was curious. Now that her puppeteer of a father was gone, what would become of her?
As long as that blade wasn't pointed at me, I was curious to see where her madness would be directed.
So I decided to let her go.
I went back into my room and closed the window, too.
Early the next morning, the carriage carrying the Baron's son and Balea set off.
As they said their goodbyes, the Baron's son expressed deep regret that he wouldn't be able to attend the Academy with Manuel.
And understandably so, since he would have to inherit and govern the territory once he returned home.
He could have appointed a territory manager and entered the Academy anyway, but managing the territory was difficult enough even when he was there in person. Hiring a manager was out of the question.
Meanwhile, what would Balea do?
At that moment, she was sitting in the carriage, passionately playing the part of a grieving daughter who had just learned of her father's death.
There was no telling whether she would return to the Baron's estate and turn the territory upside down, establish her independence, or continue doing what she had done before.
But it was out of my hands now. I could only hope she wouldn't stand in my way.
And so the Baron's children left the capital.
It was an absurd situation: they had traveled all the way to the capital only to turn around and leave again. But within a single day, people had completely forgotten about the matter of the Baron's estate.
Manuel and the people in this mansion were busy preparing for his admission.
As expected, they paid almost no attention to me, but I quietly slipped in and made preparations for my own entrance to the Academy.
The servants did their best to avoid running into me, but they were still the Duke's servants. In the end, if I ordered them to do something, they had to comply.
While I was living this amusing life of subtle ostracism, a visitor arrived.
It was a butler dressed in clothes embroidered with the royal crest.
Surprisingly, a royal butler had come looking for me.
"Queen Ria Carlos summons Alex."
The butler's expression as he said this was different from before.
When we first met, he had been a butler who completely ignored me.
But now, sheer embarrassment was written all over his face.
His training was lacking. If it had been the chief butler back at the territory, he wouldn't have let it show at all.
In any case, this was a summons from my patron.
I followed the royal butler and the soldiers toward the royal palace.
"...Hmm. It's... it's cool."
I looked at the royal palace outside the carriage window and said in a lukewarm voice.
"It is a mag-nif-i-cent royal palace built by our Founding King, King Carlos."
The royal butler, sitting in the front seat, replied to my words in a businesslike tone. Even he didn't go so far as to call the palace cool or beautiful.
The royal palace grew larger as we approached. It bore the heavy influence of the Founding King, who had been a knight.
It was massive, sturdy, and a proper combat fortress, without even a shred of aesthetic appeal.
The Founding King, who had lived through the Great War, would have needed a proper combat fortress. But since then, the royal palace had never once been invaded by foreign enemies.
As time passed, the capital grew and external raids vanished. Most people living in the capital didn't particularly care for the royal palace's appearance, which had come to seem almost like an eyesore.
In the end, the name "Knight's Castle," given during the Founding King's reign, was now regarded as a kind of self-deprecation.
Thanks to the grand title of the Queen's guest, I didn't have to leave the carriage even after entering the inner castle; I could ride straight to the inner palace.
The residence of the third queen, known as the "Lady's Palace" and connected to the royal palace within the inner castle, was quite beautiful, unlike the main castle.
I got out of the carriage and entered the building under the royal butler's guidance.
The corridor was beautiful, and servants stood on both sides with their heads bowed.
They weren't greeting me because they knew who I was, but because of the royal butler. Still, unlike the greetings I'd received at the Duke's estate, these made me a little nervous.
I thought that after dying several times, I wouldn't feel nervous anymore, but the aura of the royal palace was extraordinary.
"Welcome."
As I was ushered through the ornate door, a welcoming voice greeted me.
The parlor inside was more luxurious than any room I'd ever seen in my life.
Two women, apart from the maids, were in the room.
One was a little older, the other young. Both were exceptionally beautiful.
The younger woman was familiar, so the older one had to be the Queen.
The younger woman was Katrin de Rattenhamar.
She was Katrin, the woman I'd called the Firebird Hunter back when I didn't know her name.
She'd been pretty as a mercenary, but dressed in a gown and makeup instead of her mercenary attire, she was so beautiful that she was almost unrecognizable.
I nodded to Katrin, then bowed politely to the Queen.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty the Queen. I am Alex... De Gracia."
I stammered slightly, since it had been a while since I'd used my full name, but I didn't seem to have made it too awkward.
"I am Ria de Carlos. You may call me Ria."
The Queen looked at me with delight as she replied to my greeting.
But that was absurd. There was no way I could simply call her by her name.
She had me sit on the sofa opposite her, then continued speaking.
"I was quite surprised when I received Katrin's request. She's never asked me for a favor like that before. Thanks to her, I was very eager to meet you, Young Lord."
Indeed, even if I was the Duke's son, it was bound to seem strange that she'd asked to patronize an illegitimate child instead of the official heir.
So of course, it would pique her curiosity. I sighed inwardly at this natural outcome.
Katrin looked at the Queen and me with an apologetic expression.
"I had no choice. It would have been strange for me to patronize the Duke's son, and it would have been difficult to bring it up with my father. So I had no choice but to ask the Queen."
She was Katrin's sister, but Katrin couldn't very well call the Queen of this country "Sister" here.
But telling me to call her Ria was taking the joke way too far.