Chapter 110

“Waaah—!”

The knights of House Schletz who had been waiting before the castle gates succeeded in reaching their objective: Queen Grace’s palace.

Because Duke Kreutz had taken the King hostage, the royal knights had been thrown into confusion, allowing them to make their way there with relative ease.

The combined forces of the knights of House Schletz and the Queen’s own knights were formidable.

The problem was that during the process, knights on Argen’s side had abducted Grace.

Victory had been right before their eyes.

But if their leader died, victory would be meaningless.

Bring Queen Grace here.

What? You dare give me orders?

Argen’s face turned crimson with humiliation at Calypse’s command.

Once the royal knights arrive, someone like you will—

But he could not finish.

A sharp blade had touched the end of his throat.

You still don’t seem to understand the situation.

He had not even heard the sword being drawn.

By the time he felt as though something needle-sharp had pricked him, Calypse was already gripping the sword.

Coming back to his senses, Argen stared across at him, his gaze trembling.

That wasn’t an order. It was a °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° threat.

Beyond the sharp blade, shadow fell across the enormous man’s face. Yet even that darkness could not conceal the terrifying red glow of his eyes as they calmly stared at him.

.......

Only then did Argen realize.

The true reason Calypse had been able to become the ruler of the north.

...For now, Grace...

Gulp.

Argen opened his mouth, barely managed to swallow, then finished answering.

I’ll have Grace brought here.

In the end, he accepted Calypse’s proposal.

He had no other choice.

Grace was the only weapon he had left.

And so, now—

“Grace! Did you truly join hands with Duke Kreutz and stab me in the back?”

“I heard that in exchange for bringing me here, you agreed to stand trial.”

The King and Queen had gathered in the same place.

In one sense, it was an ordinary sight.

But because both of them were standing there with their wrists bound, everyone remained on guard, glaring at the opposing side without relaxing for even a moment.

As the confrontation continued—

“You said you were his closest knights.”

Calypse, still gripping Argen harshly by the back of the neck, spoke.

The knights beside Grace who served Argen flinched.

“You must be proud that you trained fiercely from childhood and became the King’s closest knights. But do you know this?”

“.......”

“Your master cast dark magic on his wife. At present, Queen Grace is unable to say words connected to dark magic, monsters, or House Kreutz.”

“W-What...”

“His Majesty cast dark magic on Queen Grace?”

As expected, they apparently had not known.

At the mention of dark magic, the knights’ eyes shook with considerable shock. One of them glanced at Grace, who stood rigidly upright, and opened his mouth.

The knights were not the only ones stunned.

The nobles who had been unable to leave the royal castle and were now trapped with nowhere to go were equally shocked by what they heard.

“King Argen cast dark magic on Queen Grace?”

“He used dark magic on his own wife? That makes no sense. Isn’t this a lie meant to deceive us?”

“But Queen Grace isn’t saying anything.”

“That’s...”

“There is no such evidence anywhere! Do not listen to the wicked words of a man who has started a rebellion!”

As the murmuring grew louder, Argen anxiously watched the crowd and hurriedly gave the order.

The nobles recoiled in surprise.

One noble among them, trembling violently, opened his mouth.

“Y-Yes! This is no different from rebellion! King Argen has no reason to cast dark magic on Queen Grace!”

“That’s right!”

Hope rose in Argen as the mood seemed to shift in his favor, and the corners of his lips lifted faintly.

“Then His Majesty should have the Queen answer questions concerning the dark magic!”

The noble shouted with an expression of absolute faith in the King.

“Yes, exactly!”

Encouraged by his courage, the other nobles who had been glancing at one another began adding their own voices, and soon everyone was shouting that they should uncover the truth.

“If Queen Grace truly has not been placed under dark magic, then she should be able to explain all of this, shouldn’t she?”

“That’s right! Then why isn’t Queen Grace saying anything?”

“Your Majesty, please have Queen Grace answer regarding the dark magic and clear away the disgrace Duke Kreutz has brought upon you!”

As the people’s cries grew louder, the corners of the now-pale Argen’s mouth slowly sank.

Everyone was looking at him.

The nobles.

The knights holding Grace captive.

They were all demanding the truth with earnest eyes.

D-Damn it....

Argen’s mind went blank.

And while everyone’s attention was focused on Argen, elsewhere—

Rustle—

The back of Grace’s voluminous dress rose slightly higher.

Almost as though something were quietly crawling out.

Everyone else was too agitated to notice, but Calypse had been watching Grace the entire time, and his eyes caught it.

What is that?

Grace’s dress was moving ever so slightly.

His eyes narrowed at the strange sight.

Then—

Pop.

A red eye poked out between the folds of the dress and stared directly at him.

...Red eyes?

There were only two people in this world with eyes like that.

Calypse himself.

And his daughter, Aisha.

Then that thing can’t possibly be...

Father.

At that moment, the child stuck her entire face out and mouthed the word at him.

Calypse’s startled eyes widened.

“Your Majesty, reveal the truth!”

“We demand the truth, Your Majesty!”

The people’s excited voices grew increasingly fierce.

Calypse, still holding Argen by the back of the neck, hurriedly handed him over to the knight beside him.

“Hold him exactly like this.”

“Yes? Where are you going?”

“The restroom.”

“...Pardon?”

Even to his own ears, it was an absurd excuse, but there was no time to explain further.

Besides, knights who had already seized the Queen’s palace were stationed all around Argen, so leaving briefly should be safe enough.

Go into that room.

Calypse indicated with his eyes the reception room where he had confronted Argen alone.

They had dragged Argen out so quickly that the door had been left open.

The child understood the movement of his lips, nodded, then crawled like a cockroach with a quick scritch-scritch through the gap in the door.

...What in the world is that...?

The bizarre sight confused him for a moment, but outwardly he showed no agitation and maintained his cold expression.

At the same time, he wondered why the daughter he had entrusted to the knight commander was here.

He had explicitly ordered the commander to protect Aisha, and the man should have been fully aware of how dangerous the royal castle was right now.

While thinking, Calypse happened to meet Grace’s eyes.

But then—

Don’t scold her.

Grace mouthed the words.

“......?”

He tried to ask what she meant, but having finished what she wanted to say, Grace simply turned her head away again.

Surely not.

Had Aisha not snuck in here on her own, but actually coordinated this with Queen Grace?

What are they plotting this time?

In the end, Calypse let out a low, incredulous laugh and entered the reception room.

***

“Father.”

“Aisha.”

Once inside the room, Calypse picked up the child, who was still posed like a baby cockroach, and held her in his arms.

He wanted to ask what in the world was going on, but the situation did not allow for it.

First, he needed to send the child somewhere safe.

“How did you get in here?”

“It was a lie!”

But—

“What?”

“Argen said earlier during the sparring match that he created ice power with his magic, remember? That was all a lie.”

The child was faster.

At those significant words, one of Calypse’s eyebrows slowly rose.

“They say if you eat a power crystal, you can temporarily use that power. Someone made a potion using an ice crystal, and the knights drank it.”

“Who told you something like...”

Calypse instinctively began to ask who had told her that, then stopped.

He realized that who had told her was less important than who had supplied the power crystal.

If Aisha was right, the only people who still possessed ice power were members of House Kreutz.

Calypse, the head of the House.

Young Lord Lucas.

Princess Aisha.

And the remaining one was...

His eldest son, Cedric.

“.......”

Long ago, after Aisha had brought Lucas back, Knox had once asked her where Cedric was.

If you found Young Lord Lucas, do you also know where the eldest Young Lord is?

At the time, Aisha had quietly closed her mouth.

With an expression that suggested she found the question difficult to answer, she had fidgeted with her fingers for a long while before muttering—

You won’t be able to find the eldest Young Lord. ...I don’t really know either, hehe.

She had vaguely brushed it aside, so Calypse had assumed she genuinely did not know.

Knowing Lucas’s whereabouts did not guarantee she would know Cedric’s as well, and he had no right to tell a child to find his eldest son.

But—

“Don’t tell me Cedric... No, Cedric too...”

Even as he spoke, his heart seemed to turn cold.

“Is a spy.”