Chapter 140 — Fighting Scum Calls for Scum
No one knew what illness had felled the King of Nephele.
They had tried investigating on their own, digging as deep as they could, but what Cantares had passed along amounted to practically the entire sum of their knowledge.
The king had three children: the Crown Prince, one other prince, and a princess. He had named his eldest son Crown Prince early on precisely to forestall any squabble over succession. The younger prince and princess were both said to be docile in temperament, and the political landscape had been stable enough that no serious conflict had ever arisen.
A Crown Prince who bares his ambition in a situation like this, and a king who collapses out of nowhere...
It was the sort of setup that practically begged for the most common, well-worn scenario in the book. The natural conclusion would be that the Crown Prince, at odds with his father, had done away with the old man and was now playing innocent. Since it was a matter of grave consequence, Cantares had been sparing with details, but he clearly suspected much the same thing.
Until we actually collide with them, there's probably nothing worth extracting.
Sure, the situation was suspicious enough that assuming those people were pulling something wouldn't be unreasonable—but until he knew the full picture, jumping to conclusions would be unwise.
Just as he was about to write the whole endeavor off as wasted effort, an unexpected lead came from a different quarter entirely.
"So what's that lunatic got to do with you all of a sudden?"
"You know him?"
On the off chance it might help, Arendt had contacted Llewellyn—and ended up hearing far more than he'd expected.
"Know him? Not exactly. I've only ever laid eyes on him from a distance, way back. But wandering around is my whole trade, so I pick things up here and there."
"'Lunatic'... Your Highness the Third Prince, are you sure you should be referring to a kingdom's Crown Prince that way?"
"I'd rather not hear that from you, of all people. How's His Highness the Crown Prince's stomach holding up, by the way?"
After that light grumble, Llewellyn pressed on.
"An ambitious man, that's what people say. Sharp mind, quite the schemer, from what I gathered. Maybe that's why hardly anyone seems to know how twisted his personality actually is?"
"What exactly has he done to earn that reputation?"
"Told you already. He's a lunatic. A different flavor from you, mind."
"Technically, Your Highness belongs in the lunatic category yourself."
"Shut it, you. Anyway—what I hear is, he's never satisfied until he gets what he wants by any means necessary. He'll sit there pretending to listen to the ministers who offer him honest counsel, then pay them back behind the scenes with every filthy trick in the book. He destroys the evidence so thoroughly that nobody can even lodge a protest afterward."
"Hmm."
Arrogant, ambitious, and entirely lacking in virtue. The kind of man who would unquestionably become a tyrant if he ever took the throne.
Shallow keywords, admittedly—but better than nothing.
"You're asking because of the summit, right? Our kingdom's sitting this one out... So if you turn anything up over there, you make sure to tell us. Both of us."
"I'll... think about it."
"Hey, after everything between us? I just poured my heart out for you here!"
"You didn't help at all, so I'm hanging up."
"Hey—hey!"
Llewellyn whined through the communication orb, but Arendt ignored him and cut the connection.
There was plenty that seemed suspicious on paper, but nothing had been confirmed. Which meant the posture to adopt here was... well, no great mystery.
Whatever the man was after, it made no difference to him. If the Crown Prince found him an eyesore, then removing that eyesore was a knight's duty—and if he happened to strip the man for parts and dig out some information while he was at it, all the better.
"What did I tell you, Your Highness Alois? Everything is proceeding beautifully."
A pleasant voice rang through the hall.
Alois Nepheli clicked his tongue, visibly displeased by the man who approached him, his tone threaded with amusement.
"So far, perhaps. But no one can say what comes next."
"Do you not trust me?"
"I find that I don't."
At Alois's answer, the man let out a soft chuckle.
"You accepted my proposal rather easily, for someone who distrusts me."
"It was a favorable offer. That has nothing to do with whether I trust you, Lexion."
"You really are prickly, you know that?"
The man called Lexion made a show of grumbling, but that only made Alois's mood sour further.
"I trust you'll make certain no harm comes to His Majesty's person?"
"Of course. His Majesty will awaken safe and sound. And when he sees for himself how the kingdom has changed, he will no longer stand against Your Highness the Crown Prince's will."
"..."
Alois shot Lexion an unfriendly glare. Lexion merely smiled his placid smile and absorbed the look without so much as a flicker.
Those gently curving eyes never grew familiar, no matter how often he saw them. The ever-present, uncanny smile at the corner of that mouth, even the gestures that seemed just a touch too theatrical—none of it sat well with him.
And yet he kept the man at his side, for one simple reason: he was undeniably useful.
They had known each other only a short while, and the first impression had been the worst possible—but on a single point, Alois had complete conviction.
That man will make my ambition a reality.
"Your younger sibling will be accompanying you to the summit, I hear?"
"I intended to go alone, but they're stubborn. An idiot, so there'll be no trouble."
Alois answered irritably, tilting his head at an angle.
"And you won't be going?"
"No. As I mentioned last time... I'd like to entrust this matter entirely to Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Lexion's lips curved into a soft smile.
"All you need do is kill the Callion Empire's apprentice knight."
"An apprentice knight trailing along to an occasion like that—absurd. Being marked by the likes of you is equally absurd. He must hold quite the position within the Empire?"
"Quite the position indeed. They say he's the confidant of none other than Crown Prince Cantares al Callion of the Callion Empire."
"Kill that one, and our deal is done?"
"Yes. That is all."
"You can't handle a single child and have to come crawling out here to the edge of nowhere. You people are something else."
Alois sneered and shrugged.
"I take it this evil god of yours isn't so impressive after all?"
"You would do well to mind your words, Your Highness Alois. His gaze has already fallen upon the Kingdom of Nephele."
It was an unmistakable provocation, yet Lexion answered with leisurely calm, his expression unchanged.
"In an age where Light proclaims itself the guardian of life, Darkness is a presence that brings death in an instant. With our power, a kingdom of this size could be reduced to dust in the blink of an eye."
"..."
"And that power, we are lending to the Kingdom of Nephele now. Was it not your ambition to take the world into the palm of your hand, Your Highness?"
Alois stared for a long moment at the vivid smile spread across that snow-white face—then finally clicked his tongue and looked away first.
"...If you possess such power, why the frantic scrambling over one irritating brat you can't seem to kill?"
"Ah, well. You see, he is by no means an easy mark."
Showing no trace of discomfort, Lexion made a show of licking his lips.
"We've tried every method imaginable, and every single time he slips away with infuriating grace. More than once, it's been us who took the hits. So the approach must change."
"And this new approach would be... putting forward an agent?"
"That man knows far too much about us. It's beyond strange."
Chuckling softly, the man crossed his legs with unhurried ease, a curve settling at the corner of his mouth.
"I don't even ask for Laios de Winfried. If you merely succeed in disposing of that apprentice knight, the Empire will most certainly fall into disarray."
"Seems an excessive assessment for a boy knight."
"But it happens to be the truth."
Lexion drew his brows together in a theatrical sulk.
"So I beg of you. The Holy Maiden wishes for the Kingdom of Nephele to maintain good relations with us."
"Fine. But understand this clearly—I have not the slightest intention of serving any god."
"Naturally. We are merely two parties exchanging what each of us needs. You will use the moment the Callion Empire descends into chaos to make the name of Nephele known far and wide."
"And you will have your god's revenge?"
"Just so."
Putting the king into an endless sleep, and putting Arendt von Eckhart into the ground. That was the down payment each side would render to the other.
"I will attach plenty of men, but you'd best be careful. And I'll say it again—he is not one to be taken lightly."
"Shouldn't you be the one trusting me more? Rabbit or no rabbit, I have no intention of letting my guard down."
"That is precisely the problem. He is not a rabbit."
Alois frowned at the incomprehensible answer.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it says. Arendt von Eckhart is no mere rabbit. A beast pretending to be one, perhaps—but a rabbit, never."
"...I assumed he was simply excessively cautious. Apparently not."
Only when Lexion's voice dropped into something heavier did the Crown Prince's face finally harden.
"Yes. So kill him, and recover the holy relics he stole."
"Fine. It's not as though I intended to settle for that one man anyway."
If it proved possible, he planned to dispose of Laios de Winfried as well.
The Empire today was drowning in an excess of peace. Remove Commander Laios, and nothing would remain but hothouse flowers—hothouse flowers incapable of projecting force beyond their own borders.
Hearing the Crown Prince's grand aspirations, Lexion nodded with evident satisfaction.
"May your journey conclude without incident. May the Evil God's blessing wrap your road ahead in gentleness, Your Highness Alois."
"Keep your blessing. I have no intention of leaning on any god."
"Ah, that's right—you did say that."
Alois spun on his heel without so much as a parting word.
The smile wiped from his face, Lexion coldly watched the Crown Prince's back as it left the reception room.
The door boomed shut, and the man, left alone, murmured briefly to himself.
"May the god's mercy accompany that foolish little princeling."
At last, the day of departure.
The resplendent diplomatic delegation completed its preparations and emerged from the palace. Leading the procession stood the Crown Prince's personal carriage, drawn by eight snow-white steeds; mounted knights escorted it on all sides; behind followed wagons laden with gifts for the Kingdom of Lucain, and after those, carriages carrying the retainers and servants.
"Wow, that's just a shameless display of—"
"Can you please not finish that sentence, ever?"
Arthur growled low as Arendt reined in his horse, grumbling. Arendt had no intention of retracting a word.
Having been saddled, against his will, with the role of a nobleman's son, he'd grown fairly accustomed to a life of luxury—but the blinding gold and the endless parade of opulence mobilized for imperial occasions were another matter entirely. That, he never quite got used to.
Spending every day shoulder to shoulder with them, he sometimes forgot—but the Empire's eldest son had been born fated to stand at the very pinnacle of extravagance.
"You're glaring at all of it like it personally offends you."
"That obvious?"
"You weren't even trying to hide it, were you?"
"Can't argue with that."
Arendt merely shrugged at Arthur's incredulous remark.
Just then, Licht, riding ahead of them, shot the pair a sharp look.
"You two. Quit chattering about nothing."
At that moment, Laios—who had been exchanging a few words with the driver of the Crown Prince's carriage—raised a hand high and waved toward the column.
The signal at last: they were departing.
"Still, no matter how I look at it, the money-grub—"
"I'm begging you. Shut your mouth."