The Sham King's Secret

In the audience chamber, three men and one woman awaited the group.

"Ah, welcome... We've been waiting..."

At the center of the audience chamber stood two jade thrones.

The man from the pair seated on them spoke first.

He had an utterly ordinary face.

Deep dark circles and a gaunt, sickly look made him seem frail, but he was the picture of an everyday middle-aged uncle you could spot anywhere.

His constant nervous glances around, though, didn't inspire much trust.

"Welcome. We are honored by your presence."

The woman, by contrast, was stunningly beautiful.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties or early thirties, with sharp eyes that gave her a cool, aloof air. Unlike the king, she seemed utterly composed.

Anyone with even a shred of perception would easily guess who they were.

The current king and queen, I bet. More ordinary than I expected.

-……Hmm.

Flanking the royal couple were two men standing at attention.

The one to the queen's left, the only one armed with a sword here, looked like the king's royal guard captain.

And the one to the king's right...

"Sergail. What are you doing here?"

Gillian scowled at the man.

The man called Sergail appeared to be a very young man in his twenties.

Narrow, perpetually squinting eyes and striking blue hair defined his look.

He smiled brightly as he replied to Gillian's question.

"General Gillian. Is there some reason I can't be here?"

"Of course there is. The discussion we're about to have concerns top-secret royal matters. It's not something for an outsider like you."

"Hmm. Is that so? If you say so, General, then it must be. But I wonder if His Majesty agrees."

As Sergail glanced at the king, the man flinched but cautiously nodded.

"Y-yes, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that's right. Duke. I permitted it. Sergail is Ramark's prime minister. He can't be absent from something this important."

"Your Majesty. Even if he is the prime minister, he's still an outsider. He lacks the qualifications to—"

"I don't want to hear it! Duke! I say it's fine. I am the king of this land! Eek."

The king startled himself with his own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outburst and hurriedly glanced at Gillian.

"……My apologies, Your Highness. Forgive my impertinence."

Gillian bowed and backed down.

But his face was flushed with barely contained rage, like he might explode at the slightest prod.

"Then let us proceed with the discussion."

The king and queen, Carpe, and the dolls exchanged brief introductions.

"From now on, the prime minister will explain my position."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

Sergail bowed once to the king, then turned to Carpe with his inscrutable expression intact.

"Carpe, was it? To be direct: You've come to retrieve the third relic our kingdom holds?"

"Spot on."

Recovering the 'Lindor of the Dark Lord,' undoubtedly stored in doll form.

That was Carpe's sole objective.

Once the king handed it over, he planned to hunt for a soul to seal in the soul stone.

"I'm afraid that's not possible. The Magic King's relic is the essence of mana itself. We can't just give away something so precious without compensation."

"……What?"

"Sergail! You insolent—"

"General. I speak with His Majesty's full authority. Any further disrespect will be treated as treason against the crown."

"You... you—!"

Unable to counter the claim of royal proxy, Gillian could only swallow his fury and retreat.

"Now, where were we? We're not refusing outright. We simply require fair compensation."

"……Ridiculous. Fine, go on. What exactly do you mean by 'compensation'?"

"I'm glad we're communicating. I hear Lindor of the Dark Lord is the strongest among the seven dolls... To balance that, we'd need an equivalent relic, wouldn't we?"

Sergail pointed squarely at Tina.

"We'll exchange her—the Knight of Radiance. Oh, and since she bears the rightful bloodline, she could serve as His Majesty's consort to preserve the royal—"

Thud!

Gillian couldn't hold back and slammed his foot down.

The audience chamber shook, the king let out a shrill "Eek!", and the guard by the queen's side reached for his sword.

It was a powder keg on the verge of ignition.

"……."

-Ha. They're straight-up screwing us. No need to even think about it...

It is tempting, though.

-What? You're not actually considering the trade?!

Nah. Just debating whether to blast that guy's face with Wind Cutter. Hmm. Might make us permanent enemies with Ramark.

But gotta do it, right?

He'd probably end up killing Gillian, but oh well.

Yeah. Since when did he play this game weighing consequences anyway?

Resolved to smash and dash clean—

"We refuse."

Tina stated flatly, her face emotionless.

"First, the Magic King's relics do not belong to Arkram. All relics are the personal property of Magic King Dretsch, and thus all rights belong to his heir—my lord. Ramark has no claim just because they've been storing it. And one more thing."

Tina's brow furrowed ever so slightly—barely noticeable without intense focus—as she continued.

"I have eyes too."

"……."

"……."

"I'm saying no. My future husband must be someone who can charge the battlefield at my side."

"……Ha, hah hah hah!"

Gillian's booming laughter echoed through the chamber.

* * *

After the audience devolved into chaos.

The flushed-faced king dismissed them, and Carpe was ushered to a reception room in another hall.

"Tch. Figures it wouldn't be that easy. Kinda saw it coming."

Still, Tina's clapback had been refreshingly crisp.

-One weird thing, though.

"What?"

-Remember when I said I'd spent a good chunk of time in Arkram during my last run?

"Yeah."

-Probably about a year after LaSe launched.

Cheonma had been high-level back then, braving entry penalties to lower zones for a hidden quest.

-And while chasing that quest, I met the Arkram king once.

"Whoa, really?"

-From a distance, but I saw him clear as day. That guy... wasn't him. Similar, but the king I remember was someone else.

"……Huh?"

What did that mean?

Basically, Cheonma was saying someone else was impersonating the current king...

-Nah, probably not. Gillian and Drek wouldn't react like that if it were.

"Then what gives?"

-Your fault.

"……Me?"

-Yeah. You snagging the hidden Magic King class triggered new Arkram-related scenarios. That's the most logical explanation.

"Ah."

Carpe nodded.

Just like how chasing the Magic King quest early unlocked the elves ahead of schedule—this was another uncharted path Cheonma hadn't seen.

-Which means another scenario's waiting here...

Then—

Knock knock.

"It's Drek. May I enter?"

"Ah, sure."

Drek entered the reception room and bowed to Carpe.

"My apologies. It seems retrieving the third relic will take more time."

"After that mess, yeah. Oh, where's Gillian?"

"He went back to the audience chamber to press His Majesty further. Sigh. I half-expected this, but... the prime minister's bolder than I thought."

"Speaking of, what's his deal? Even Gillian hates his guts."

"He's currently the man His Majesty trusts most."

According to Drek, Sergail was a shadowy figure of unknown origins.

He'd appeared out of nowhere when the current king—the second prince—was overlooked in favor of the first, earning the second's unshakeable loyalty.

The only one who believed in the second prince when everyone else backed the first.

"That's why His Majesty favors him above all. In fact, he orchestrated the coup."

"Yeah, I get the picture."

Carpe nodded.

A worn-out cliché from fantasy comics, novels, and real history alike.

Cozy up to the indecisive, inferiority-riddled second-in-line.

Stage a coup, crown the puppet king, and rule from the shadows as the scheming minister!

Like Liu Shan and Huang Hao from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Nailed it.

-Difference here is he's competent, not just a bum like Huang Hao.

Damn. Squinty-eyed schemers are always the villains.

For Carpe, who needed to wrest the third relic from that very schemer's grasp, it was infuriating.

Now what?

Sneak into the storage and steal it?

"Um, heir."

"Yes?"

"There is a way, but..."

"If there's a way, of course we'll take it."

"Then follow me. But please move discreetly."

Drek led Carpe out of the palace.

He scanned surroundings obsessively the whole way, utmost caution on display.

What the heck? Isn't Drek the finance minister? That's a top position, right?

-In palace hierarchy, he'd rank in the top ten easy.

......And the pinnacle of power's creeping around like this? What's going on?

-Hm. I can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guess, but...

Huh? For real? Spill it.

-No fun spoiling it. Just follow.

Carpe paused briefly; mistaking it, Drek chuckled awkwardly.

"Heh heh. Sorry. I'd love a warp scroll, but all warps in and near the palace get logged by the magic division... Bear with the inconvenience."

"Ah, no problem. Wasn't uncomfortable."

"Good. This way, then."

A top-secret matter too sensitive even for warp logs.

Carpe's curiosity spiked.

"From here, walk silently. Others might overhear..."

Carpe nodded wordlessly and trailed Drek endlessly.

They left the inner palace, crossed the gardens, slipped out a side door of the outer palace.

But it wasn't over. Drek kept scanning, treading carefully beyond.

Through palace-side markets.

Deeper into merchants' residential streets.

Squeak squeak.

Before long, Carpe found himself in a slum teeming with rats.

Deeper still into the slums.

Winding like a maze, they finally reached a large but dilapidated three-story house.

"We're here. Thank you for bearing the tedium."

"Nah, felt like an adventure. Fun."

"Heh heh. As expected of the heir—such magnanimity. A pleasure."

Drek's tone sobered abruptly, face stern.

"What you see from now on must remain secret. Even from General Gillian."

"……Understood."

Carpe nodded; Drek smiled kindly and knocked.

Knock knock. Knock knock. Knock knock.

Two knocks, thrice—response from within.

"Arkram's sun shines high."

"Truth shall be revealed to all."

Creeeak.

The passphrase exchanged, the creaky door swung open.

Carpe whispered excitedly at the scene.

"Whoa, epic. Fantasy trope #137: passphrase ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dialogue! Yes! This is fantasy!"

-......Isn't the passphrase kinda cheesy? Sun this, truth that...

"Nah, it's got vibe."

"Agreed. I think it's cool too, Master. The soldier's wrong this time."

"Mm. I concur with Mirage, my lord. It's rather thrilling."

-......Fine. I'm the idiot. In the one-eyed kingdom, two eyes make you the fool...

Cheonma shook his head.

No arguing with a trope-obsessed gamer and two actual fantasy natives.

"This way, heir."

Carpe followed Drek inside.

A rough-looking man lurked within—likely the passphrase guy.

"Welcome, Drek. This him?"

"Yes. Where's Lord Roy?"

"Third floor."

"Right. Thanks. This way."

As Drek ascended, Carpe followed—

"......Ooh. Oooh!"

The rough man shot a gleaming gaze: envy, admiration, awe.

Not spoken, but his eyes screamed, Talk to me!

"Th-this way?"

"......Ah."

Honestly a bit scary, so Carpe bolted upstairs.

Ignoring the disappointed sigh behind, he reached the third floor.

One door, guarded by one man and one woman.

Knock knock.

"Lord Roy, it's Drek. May I?"

"Ah, come in."

Finally.

The moment a kingdom's finance minister's ultimate secret unveiled.

"Welcome. We've been expecting you."

Early forties?

A red-haired man sat at a desk, shuffling papers.

Haggard from hardships, but strikingly handsome middle-aged.

-Ah, just as I thought.

Cheonma reacted first to the man.

-That's him.

Outta nowhere? Context, man.

-Remember what I said? The king's face didn't match my memory.

Yeah.

-This guy's the king I remember. For sure.

Wait... what? You mean—?

As Carpe pieced it together, the redhead spoke.

"Welcome, heir of the Magic King. Allow me to introduce myself."

The man rose slowly, bowing deeply.

"I am Royusten Ramark. Elder brother to Ramark's current king."

Drek's ultra-secret.

The first prince, vanished during the second prince's coup.

"Welcome to the secret society 'Arkram,' heir."

As the first prince finished, an alert appeared before Carpe.