The Holy Sword's Choice
Refusing to back down, Imperial Consort Cleo frantically pivoted.
"Ha, haha! If it is truly such a perilous object, shouldn't I be commended for discovering it instead? If what Young Duke Raymon says is true, the Rose Palace was in grave danger."
She swept her gaze across the cavernous undercroft before crying out with fervent indignation.
"Look at the demonic beasts swarming this very underground! The Imperial Palace has been assaulted by monsters! Fine, perhaps Titania was not fallen to a curse. I will grant you that much, Young Duke. But is it not thanks to me that this vile object, planted by those targeting the imperial family, was brought to light?"
Cleo forced a tremulous smile.
"Look at my poor Brian, look at how pitiful he is, chased by beasts until he fainted! How could such a tender boy have anything to do with this? The real culprits—"
"Pr-Prince Brian... he demanded bait so he could hunt demonic beasts."
At that well-timed voice, Imperial Consort Cleo's eyes flashed with venomous fury. Under no circumstances could she allow Brian to be branded an accomplice to an attack on the Imperial Palace.
"Who dares utter such insolence!"
James, our planted pawn and one of Prince Brian's hunting companions, dropped to his knees, trembling like a leaf. His timing was immaculate.
"Y-Your Imperial Majesty, please forgive your humble, foolish servant! The truth is, while out hunting, my companions and I saw a wolf with a magnificent golden mane... and we sought to capture it."
Cleo's eyes blazed with murder as she glared at James. She had likely never dreamed that one of Brian's worthless, loudmouthed hunting buddies would stab him in the back like this.
"Though an arrow struck it from afar, the beast was colossal and brimming with life, and in the end, it vanished near the Imperial Palace grounds before we could catch it. When we excitedly recounted the tale to the Prince... His Highness insisted that any quarry entering palace grounds was rightfully his. He commanded us to procure bait for demonic beasts! I-I tried to dissuade him, but...!"
"Lies! It's an utter lie, Your Majesty! This is clearly a vicious attempt to frame Brian while he lies unconscious!" Cleo shrieked, throwing a hysterical tantrum.
Well, yes, it was an attempt to frame Brian. But it was equally true that Brian had been stupid enough to swallow such blatant bait and stupid enough to faint like a maiden. To think a fool like him was a leading contender for the throne... What was to become of this empire?
Then again, in the original novel, that incompetence was precisely why a civil war erupted and plunged everything into chaos. While I took a moment to ponder the empire's grim prospects, the Emperor roared.
"So you are telling me that spineless wretch cowered in terror, only to faint before the beast in such an unsightly state?!" The Emperor's gaze shifted dangerously. "Speak, Young Duke Castrein."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Can that object—the one the Imperial Consort called 'evidence'—truly attract demonic beasts?"
"It is potent enough to lure entities that could be considered kings among demonic beasts."
"...Then that gigantic golden wolf beast, the very one Brian wished to catch, could have invaded the palace because of that thing? Along with all the other monsters?"
Cleo's face drained of all color, turning white as paper. Raymon answered calmly.
"I believe the probability is very high. Beasts of such caliber are instinctively drawn to immense power."
"Y-Your Imperial Majesty! No, that is not true! Please look at me, Sire! It is your Cleo. How could I ever put Brian, whom I love more than my own life, in such danger...?"
"You love Brian more than your life, but not me?"
"Y-Your Majesty, that is not what I meant!"
At the Emperor's deeply displeased retort, Cleo shivered in terror.
"Hmph. Very well. Titania, speak. What is this sword, that it should speak to you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Truth be told, I happened upon the sword purely by chance while wandering about the Imperial Palace."
Cleo gnashed her teeth in silent fury. That's right, you never should have sent that sword to my palace in the first place...
"I inquired quietly to see if it belonged to the imperial treasury or if one of the knights had misplaced a heirloom blade, but none claimed to have lost a sword. I never dared to draw it, and since no one came looking for it, I simply left it in my chambers and forgot all about it."
In an era where magic ran rampant and odd relics littered the palace grounds, someone might later inform the Emperor that it was the demonic blade 'Verris-Faccio' or something of the sort. I couldn't unravel the blade's full history right now, but anyone who had wielded it for more than six months would have certainly suffered ill consequences.
Still, what of it? If I spun the narrative to say that I had awakened its 'true, dormant nature,' who could possibly refute me?
"Then, in the early hours of this very morning, the sword spoke to me. It cried out for me to awaken, warning that a crisis had befallen the Imperial Palace!"
I feigned dabbing away tears.
"I know many have attempted to wield this blade in the past, and that only those thoroughly versed in swordsmanship could even carry it with ease. Yet when I took hold of it, nothing went awry! Even though I know nothing of swords! So when I awoke and heard people branding it a cursed blade, I could not help but wonder."
Image control, image control... Crafting an innocent, vulnerable expression, I appealed to the Emperor.
"I heard that the one who first touched this blade today was a maid who crept into the Rose Palace to steal. Could it not be that the dormant blade flared with wrath because an ill-intentioned hand disturbed it? Or perhaps it sent a warning because danger loomed over the palace. Though now that I am fully awake, I cannot hear its voice at all."
"Oh...!"
"Perhaps it was an heirloom concealed within the palace by one of our imperial forebears, destined to protect the empire in its hour of need."
"Indeed! That you could wield it unharmed, Titania, may well be because of the imperial blood flowing through your veins."
"They say great power demands great responsibility. Perhaps it allowed me to hold it because I was merely a young girl with no desire to take a human life."
...Though that was a rather rich claim, considering I had just been wildly swinging it around, blasting holy beams, and pulverizing beasts left and right.
High Priest Ilian, ever perceptive, chimed in smoothly to support my claim.
"Your Majesty, when I treated Her Highness Princess Titania... I sensed no foul or ominous energy clinging to her from the sword."
"Ha! What tremendous power this blade possesses! To eradicate demonic beasts in a single sweep!"
The Emperor murmured in awe.
"Hmm, yes. If it caused no harm while kept quietly in your room, only to cause trouble all of a sudden... the blame lies far more likely with the maid who touched it with wicked greed. A cursed blade? Bah! Look at how it obliterated those demonic beasts in one fell swoop! If anything, calling it a holy sword would be far more fitting!"
A flicker of unmistakable greed crept into the Emperor's eyes.
‘Hey, Emoticon Sword.’
‘Yes, Contractor? ( '◡')’
‘Can you suppress your rejection reaction for just a moment if someone else holds you?’
‘Who is holding me?’
‘The Emperor.’
‘Uh... normally, that’s really, really not allowed... (ꉺ0ꉺ )’
‘Just a few seconds is enough.’
‘Mmm... Since I’m touching Gloriana’s Insignia right now, I can manage it for a brief moment. I’ll hold it in! (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ’
...Wait, so you mean you were branded a cursed demonic blade all this time simply because you refused to hold it in?! All this suffering was your fault?! Swallowing down a sudden wave of indignation, I kept my facial expression strictly under control.
"I present this sword to Your Imperial Majesty."
I demurely offered the sword to the Emperor. He chuckled heartily.
"Good, my dear Titania, how commendable. Let me see for myself whether this sword was truly bestowed to protect our imperial house."
Without a shred of hesitation or courtesy, he grabbed the hilt. The Emperor flinched for a split second, likely caught off guard by the sword's unexpected weight.
No sparks flew; no ominous hum reverberated. When the Emperor held the sword completely unharmed, admiring gasps rippled through the onlookers. Puffed up with pride, the Emperor beamed.
"A truly magnificent blade!"
He took a firm stance and swung it through the air with a hearty whoosh. Deep down, he was clearly hoping a dazzling deluge of light would burst forth, just as it had for me.
"..."
"..."
Nothing happened.
Frowning slightly, the Emperor poked the tip of the blade into the remains of the giant rat monster Raymon had slain.
"..."
"..."
Still, nothing occurred. Not even a speck of holy fire or burning ash.
The Emperor struggled to mask his disappointment. Seizing the moment, I spoke in a quiet, hesitant tone.
"Um... forgive me, Your Majesty, but..."
"Hm?"
"Before I awoke, the sword asked me a question. It asked if I wished to save the Imperial Palace from peril."
"Oh? And how did you answer?"
"When I replied that of course I did, it asked if I was prepared to do so even if it meant shaving away my own lifespan."
"Oh...!"
"And I told it that I did not care, so long as everyone was safe."
"Mmm..."
The Emperor let out a low groan. Looking between my slender, delicate wrists lacking an ounce of muscle, the dead weight of the dormant blade in his grip, and the mountain of beast ashes strewn across the floor, he nodded in convinced realization.
"...I see. So it is thanks to your noble sacrifice that we stand unharmed today!"
I was grateful he bought the lie, but really? Your youngest daughter supposedly shaved years off her life to wield a divine weapon for you, and that was your entire reaction? Gnashing my teeth on the inside, I offered a saintly, radiant smile.