Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Embers of Regret (5)
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What Anes held in her hand.
was undoubtedly the head of a high-ranking demon.
"…."
The sudden turn of events required time to process, so Hedera reviewed the situation from the beginning.
Balton's achievements: over a hundred magical beasts.
Zekiel's achievements: identifying and purifying the cause of the erosion.
It was an overwhelming victory for Zekiel.
"…."
The unexpected outcome left her speechless for a moment.
Still, Hedera knew exactly what she had to do. As the Second Princess, she must uphold fairness, so first and foremost, she had to maintain her composure with all her might.
It was the first time she felt so unfamiliar with herself.
'Have I... been rooting for him this much?'
Her heart, always serene, now flooded with relief—this sensation felt utterly alien to Hedera.
Meanwhile, unlike the Second Princess, the mages made no effort to hide their shock. The grand hall erupted in noise in an instant.
"The Inspector... the Inspector won!"
"N-No way! You mean he racked up all those achievements and returned on the very day he set out? How on earth?!"
"He's a noble soul. A true noble has taken the Inspector's post."
The joy of the unexpected triumph was all the greater after endless worry moments before. Everyone began pouring out their shock unreservedly.
"Ah, oh dear…."
"Lord Widro! Pull yourself together!"
Widro shook his head vigorously.
The torrent of anxieties dissolving in a flash felt like his soul was drifting away, but that wasn't what mattered now. What did was the fact of victory.
"This has to be reality, right? What I'm experiencing?"
"Even illusion magic couldn't fabricate something this absurd!"
"You're right. It really is. How could this…."
Widro stared blankly at Zekiel.
In all his time, the Magic Tower Inspectors had mostly dumped their work on Widro and Knox while indulging in luxury. No, that was all of them.
An Inspector this proactive and capable? At least, it was Widro's first. He could only marvel.
"This Magic Tower... we were the ones in the wrong after all."
Up until now, Widro and the others had been incompetent.
Beyond that, they hadn't trusted the new Inspector, Zekiel. Even if he was hard to fathom with ordinary eyes, they'd been overly suspicious.
"Everyone, we should apologize to the Inspector later."
Widro stroked his beard and glanced around.
Elation lit up the mages' faces. For the Magic Tower to rejoice together over good news like this—it had been so long ago that he couldn't even remember the last time.
"N-Now the Inspector heads to the Imperial Palace for his report?"
"I wonder what he'll bring back from the palace? What?!"
The hall grew noisier as excitement mingled in the air.
The Second Princess Hedera let the scene play out long enough before parting her lips in a slow, measured voice.
"Enough."
It wasn't a Word Command, but it had the same effect.
The clamor died instantly, and all eyes turned to the princess.
"Imperial Magic Tower Inspector."
The Second Princess gazed steadily at the Inspector.
"...Well done."
Zekiel gave a faint smile.
"No need to mention it."
Powerlessness.
The agony of wanting to do something—anything—but being utterly unable.
Or no matter how hard you try, it all amounts to nothing.
Balton knew well how profound a tragedy powerlessness could be. Ever since that day in his childhood, when he'd been brutally beaten in a back alley simply for being a beastkin.
—Filthy beastkin brat.
—Get out of the village.
His parents, crushed by discrimination and power struggles; young Balton, hiding in the wardrobe, able to do nothing.
If his life were a book, Balton's first page always began there. Weakness had brought suffering, so he vowed never to be weak again.
Yes, if he grew strong, wouldn't everything change?
Of course, resolve and achievement lay worlds apart—a vast chasm.
Just recalling those days made Balton's hands tremble; he woke often from nightmares drenched in sweat.
In the end, Balton chose the sword.
Magic required money he lacked, and above all, a helmet hid his beastkin ears perfectly. He swung it like a madman.
It wasn't smooth sailing, sadly. Balton had no talent for the blade, and learned defeats left him despairing at the slightest setback.
So, he forged fuel to burn himself with.
Inferiority. Rage.
That was Balton's chosen kindling. To trample those who trampled him, to rise above those who looked down on him—he burned his very soul.
Thankfully, sweat never betrayed him.
—Congratulations on your enlistment. You're an Imperial Knight now.
He bore fruit spectacularly, joining the Imperial Knights. That one night, even Balton slept in joy.
Yes, just that one night.
From the next day, Balton thought of only one thing.
...But now, what should he do?
Captured by that thought, he could do nothing.
He'd compared himself to others endlessly, fueled his life with inferiority and rage to reach this point—what now to drive him onward?
It wasn't the happiness he'd imagined.
This was mere coping, not resolution. His family wouldn't come back to life now.
He'd lost his goal. Apathy returned.
Amid that, a tempting opportunity arose.
—They're selecting a princess's escort knight.
The chance came by coincidence—a turning point in Balton's life.
Second Princess Hedera.
The moment he first beheld her, a shiver ran through him. She was perfection incarnate, unlike him—from her noble birth and bloodline to her very abilities.
Balton's life, lowly in origin and talent alike, stood in total opposition.
Balton reached a swift conclusion.
Yes, make Hedera his life's goal.
Let loyalty to his lord be his motivation.
—A report soon.
—Got it.
—Wait.
Of course, Hedera treated Balton with strict formality, showing little personal interest in her escort knight, but Balton felt no deprivation.
Scorn and contempt were all too familiar to a beastkin like him. Her professional demeanor even felt warm by comparison.
Of course, he sometimes harbored greedier wishes.
Balton supported Hedera while depending on her. There were times he longed for more attention, craved even one extra word.
But he endured that well enough.
The Second Princess has no emotions by nature.
The Second Princess treats everything professionally.
That premise had been rock-solid.
How could he feel slighted if she treated everyone the same?
Yes, that premise—solid until recently.
—Shall we talk?
The day he confronted Zekiel, the first crack appeared.
...What in the world?
Balton knew well: even amid celestial crises, Hedera's heart never wavered.
Calm in any peril, trusting no one, a calculator who never lost—a synonym for perfection, the Second Princess he served.
She surely had been.
In that dread, Balton proposed the wager. He strove to crush Zekiel utterly, ensuring he never appeared before Hedera again.
Defeat.
But Balton lost.
An indefensible defeat. He'd underestimated Zekiel, who had won perfectly.
Thus began the dismal achievement report.
And yet.
—I'll give you a chance.
Why? Just before hearing the report, Hedera offered an out-of-nowhere chance. Absurdly generous.
—We'll reward both sides and call it done.
"…!"
Balton brimmed with elation. He could only admire her.
He thought he understood why Hedera offered the chance.
She surely knew the wager's outcome already. The Second Princess didn't want her escort knight humiliated. Such consideration.
For lowly Balton.
The Second Princess had spared him a thought.
She cared for him deep down...!
Balton cried out with all his might at once.
—Princess, absolutely not!
As long as he had Hedera, Balton was fine with anything.
If he could remain her escort knight, he could endure any humiliation, rise from any colossal failure.
Yes, believing she cared for him filled him with surging strength—like being reborn.
But.
However.
—The Louifil region has been purified.
"…."
When the results were announced, an unbelievable sight unfolded before Balton, his head spinning.
Second Princess Hedera harbored emotions.
Her gaze fixed solely on Zekiel.
The nature of that emotion.
Undoubtedly, relief.
"What the…."
His teeth ground together. His body trembled violently.
Not concern for him.
Hedera had been concerned for Zekiel.
"Why... why…?"
Balton couldn't comprehend.
Wasn't Hedera a perfect being devoid of emotion? Why reveal such vivid feeling?
But what truly shocked Balton about himself was realizing the emotion he felt toward Hedera wasn't betrayal at all.
Envy.
This was immense envy, plainly.
Years of rolling in the dirt, utter devotion, and he'd never glimpsed Hedera's emotion once—yet Zekiel drew it out so easily, so simply. Balton envied him.
Envy.
Ah, such envy.
He wanted to feel Hedera's emotion too.
Even faintly, just once.
No matter how hard he tried, how he yearned, how loyally he served—it was unimaginable for him.... Why was it so effortless for someone else?
Why this utter unfairness?
"Well done."
Hedera's single word to Zekiel.
And simultaneously.
Balton felt his body shatter into pieces.
His entire world collapsed.
The next day, I prepared to depart for the Imperial Palace.
"Shall we go?"
It was time to visit the Imperial report office with Hedera.
Unexpectedly, though, it was Solana who came to see me.