Chapter 99

A peaceful afternoon in the royal palace.

“...A public sparring match?”

“Yes. The rumor has already spread everywhere, so everyone’s looking forward to it! Was it supposed to be a secret...?”

At the maid’s question as she tended to her hair, Grace fell silent for a moment.

Then, hiding her surprise, she gave the frightened maid a faint smile.

“Ah, right. That was it. I must have forgotten.”

“Whew, you startled me. I’m really looking forward to it! It’s not every day you get to see a power used in person.”

The maid continued chatting excitedly, but Grace could no longer hear her.

King Argen is preparing a public sparring match with the House of Kreutz? Without telling me?

Ever since Duke Pose had been executed after taking the blame for all of King Argen’s crimes, Grace had been plagued by doubts.

Had Argen truly joined hands with a duke from another kingdom and tried to kill Calypse simply to satisfy his own greed?

It was the most basic question, but with the witness already dead, there was no longer any proper way to investigate.

And yet Calypse’s words had clearly indicated that it was true, and Duke Pose had also said something meaningful just before his death.

Then is he truly fit to be king of the Frozen Kingdom?

And if, in a situation like this, he tries to provoke Calypse again, what should I do?

To the outside world, Grace was King Argen’s wife.

The people of the kingdom had no reason to doubt the royal couple’s relationship, but Grace had known for a long time that Argen was displeased with her.

“A teleportation portal? I could have made something like that myself if I’d researched it for just one more year. Why did you have to make it? Did you want to steal my achievement that badly?”

Proud and jealous by nature, Argen had long resented Grace.

When she created the portal, he complained that she had stolen his accomplishment.

“You said you were preparing a banquet, and all you came up with were artificial candles? Well, people didn’t react badly, but... you’re the lady of the royal household. You need to pay attention to things besides magic too. Chandeliers, displays, things like that.”

He would deliberately find fault with trivial matters just so he could complain to her.

After years of marriage, Grace had been forced to admit it.

Argen did not have what it took to rule a kingdom.

He was an exceptional mage, but he had yet to learn the most basic decency expected of a human being.

How could a man like that govern an entire kingdom?

...And he even used dark magic on Princess Aisha...

Her breath caught for a moment at the mere thought of it.

Grace had pretended not to know until now, but from the moment she unraveled the intricate formula engraved into Aisha’s body, she had already had a strong suspicion.

There were only two people capable of constructing a formula that complex.

Grace herself.

And Argen.

I need to meet him anyway, if only to ask about that.

Before something even worse happened, she needed to have a serious conversation with him.

“Ask His Majesty King Argen whether he is available for tea tomorrow afternoon.”

Grace immediately sent the maid away, and the next day, she waited for Argen inside a warm glass conservatory.

“Once the tea has been brewed, you may all leave.”

Because the subject could be sensitive if overheard, she dismissed even the servants.

She waited alone in the conservatory for ten minutes.

“Grace.”

Argen arrived a little late, shrugging his shoulders without the slightest hint of apology.

“What brought this on? I never thought you’d invite me to tea.”

“I hear you’re holding a public sparring match with the House of Kreutz.”

Grace did not bother asking why he was late.

She knew she would not receive a proper answer.

In truth, her trust in him had already fallen so low that she had never expected him to arrive on time in the first place.

“Ah. Right. The public sparring match. I forgot to tell you. I’ve been so busy lately.”

It was not even convincing enough to qualify as an excuse.

Grace handled almost all of the actual work, leaving Argen with little more to do than sit upon the throne.

Then, as he looked at Grace, Argen suddenly frowned.

“By the way, you ought to learn a little more about proper conduct as a noblewoman.”

“Pardon?”

“When you invite someone, shouldn’t you greet them first? Yet you jump straight into business. You really are no fun at all...”

Grace stared at him closely, startled by the remark.

There was only one time Argen, who normally watched her reactions carefully, spoke to her so brazenly.

When he was drunk.

Looking more closely, she saw that his face was slightly flushed.

He had clearly been drinking late into the night, overslept because of the resulting hangover, and still had alcohol in his system.

Grace sighed, pretended not to hear his remark, and went straight to the point.

“So why the sudden public sparring match? I even heard that Duke Kreutz himself will be participating.”

“Ah, that. People have been uneasy ever since the incident with Duke Pose and the monsters. I invited the duke personally to calm everyone down.”

“.......”

“Seeing an ice power should improve public morale. You should come watch with me. It ought to be quite a spectacle.”

“I see.”

Grace nodded vaguely and subtly hardened her expression.

It was time to address the other matter.

“Your Majesty, there is one more thing I would like to ask you.”

“Of course.”

“It concerns Princess Aisha.”

The instant Aisha’s name left Grace’s lips, Argen’s drunkenly unfocused eyes widened, then narrowed.

He already knows what I’m going to ask.

Seeing his reaction, Grace thought to herself.

She did not want to hear the answer.

But she had no choice.

“Did anything about her strike you as unusual?”

“What are you talking about?”

“During the banquet incident, I discovered that Princess Aisha had been placed under dark magic. I removed it, but the formula was exceptionally complex.”

Silence fell for a moment.

Argen, suddenly astonishingly serious, lifted his teacup.

“So?”

“As far as I know, there are very few people in the Frozen Kingdom capable of constructing a formula that complex.”

“How few?”

“Two.”

There was no hesitation in the clear, pale-green eyes fixed upon Argen.

“I believe there are exactly two.”

The silence that followed her answer was even more suffocating.

Both lowered their heads as they tilted their teacups toward their lips.

Clack.

Almost as though they were competing, both cups landed sharply on their saucers at the same time.

“.......”

Argen was the first to raise his head, but instead of answering, he chose silence.

And through that silence, Grace finally understood.

The one who had cast that dark magic really was the king of this country.

Her own husband.

And he had done it to a person.

Worse still, to Princess Aisha of House Kreutz when she had still been an infant.

Officially, everyone believes Duke Pose was the one who used dark magic on the princess.

In truth, Duke Pose could not use magic.

He possessed the power of poison already, so he had never had any reason to learn it.

But people had paid no attention to that fact.

They had simply needed something easy to gossip about.

If they ever learn the truth...

“Grace.”

That was when it happened.

His voice, suddenly lowered, rang in her ears.

When she lifted her head, Argen was smiling.

The grave expression he had worn only moments ago was gone.

For some reason, his smile seemed almost hollow.

“How sad. Are you saying that of those two people, one is you and the other is me?”

She had expected him to lash out or pretend not to understand.

The unexpectedly sentimental question felt strange, but Grace answered anyway.

“No. I’m not trying to corner you. I’m asking because I don’t know the truth either—”

Her calm explanation abruptly stopped.

Grace was certain she had dismissed all the servants before Argen entered.

And yet a strange sensation brushed across her awareness.

She could feel blatant stares boring into her back.

“......!”

Grace turned her head, and her eyes trembled faintly.

There were servants there.

Even knights.

She had clearly told everyone to leave...!

Then Grace suddenly realized.

Every one of them wore the same cold expression.

And every one of them belonged to Argen.

“...I only asked because there was no other way for me to know. As far as I am aware, the only people capable of creating a formula that can control another person’s mind are you and me, Your Majesty.”

“I see.”

Growing uneasy, Grace answered quickly while thinking of the people waiting outside the conservatory.

She had stationed her personal guard nearby in case anything happened.

No matter what occurred, all she had to do was scream and—

“Grace.”

Her racing thoughts came to an abrupt halt at the sound of Argen’s voice.

“I’ve known you since we were young, so I know you well. Whenever you start thinking hard, you concentrate so intensely that you don’t even blink. Quite impressive.”

At some point, he had risen from his seat and approached her.

Slowly, he lifted her chin.

“Even now. You’re not blinking.”

“.......”

At the very least, even if I dismissed everyone else, I should have kept my guard beside me.

Or I should have told him to come inside the moment anything seemed wrong.

But she had not.

Because she had never imagined that something this irrational could happen inside the peaceful royal palace.

“I don’t want to make an enemy of you.”

But just as the history books she had read had taught her, wars and sudden disasters always erupted when no one expected them.

Like a single stone being nudged loose and, through a chain reaction, triggering an avalanche.

“Your Majesty.”

At some point, the knights had surrounded Grace.

After a brief moment of alarm, she lifted only her gaze and looked at Argen.

He stood over her, still wearing that leisurely smile.

“And yet you dare slander the king of the Frozen Kingdom and attempt treason.”

“That isn’t—”

“If it isn’t, then you never should have suspected me in the first place.”

This is wrong.

“I don’t want to see you commit treason.”

Something has gone terribly wrong.

“So please.”

“Keep your mouth shut.”

Tap.

With that single command from Argen, her vision went black.