“Old records say that even when the use of mana is restricted, this sword can still be used as a mana blade,” the king went on. “Though apparently it still loses a lot of its power.”
“Is that really okay?” asked Arcrayne.
“You should do a better job wielding it than me, since your mana is in its prime. And besides, if you have it, it might help avoid needless bloodshed.”
Giving Arcrayne regalia in this situation was equivalent to proclaiming him the next king.
The prince took Caledfwlch, then grimaced. “It’s quite heavy.”
“Haven’t you prepared yourself for this?” asked Sachis.
“That I have...” Arcrayne looked displeased in both his mana and the look on his face.
He might have readied himself mentally when Estelle had received the award, but actually wielding a sacred sword must’ve been another thing entirely.
If Arcrayne became king, Estelle would naturally become queen. As the future she’d once vaguely imagined started to feel more and more real, she suddenly grew uneasy.
Can I really handle it...? she wondered, lowering her eyes and linking her hands together on her chest.
✦ ✦ ✦
To Liedis, who’d been summoned from the Royal College’s dorm, the news of his father and brother becoming indisposed at the same time was hard to believe. As well as the fact that his mother Truteliese had become regent because someone had to rule the country in the meantime.
When he’d first heard all this, the first thought in his mind had been that either his grandfather or his mother had done something. He’d been told that it had been food poisoning from beef, but that reason had sounded entirely forced.
Sachis had used his power at the hunting contest, coughed up blood, and collapsed. It wasn’t the first time he’d come down with something, so there was a possibility he was gravely ill in some way. If he became unable to function as the king now, Liedis would lose his chance to take the throne.
As he headed to the Leo Palace with his chief officer, negative thoughts on his mind, he saw, besides the regular employees, soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms walking around for some reason. Something big seemed to be going on.
“Who are these soldiers...?” asked Liedis.
“They serve House Marwick and are here to guard Her Majesty,” replied his chief officer.
A female employee saw Liedis at the entrance and led him to the parlor, where Queen Truteliese and Duke Marwick awaited him. Behind his grandfather stood his uncle Silvio.
“Things have become quite messy, but you have me and Her Majesty, Your Highness,” began his grandfather. “We shall support you with all we have, so please rest assured.”
“That’s right, Liedis. If His Majesty... You know. If it comes to that, I’ll support you as the regent until you reach the age of maturity,” continued his mother.
It felt like their pained expressions were masks hiding their smiles. Liedis found it sickening.
Did they make up this story about food poisoning to get rid of Sachis and Arcrayne at the same time? Once he’d had that thought, it refused to leave his head.
“How is father’s condition...?” he asked.
“Unfortunately, it cannot be described as good.”
Truteliese’s clear statement shocked the prince.
“Let me see him,” he said.
“Very well. Let’s go.” Nodding, Truteliese got up.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What about my brother and Lady Estelle?” Liedis asked as they walked to Sachis’s bedroom.
“Unfortunately, they’re both bedridden too, as far as I know. I can’t go see them—the employees of the Libra Palace are wary of me and won’t let me in. So I can’t know their condition for sure.”
It was only natural, given the relationship Liedis’s mother and brother had had so far. The prince was dejected on the inside.
“Look, Liedis, if His Majesty and Arcrayne don’t...”
“Stop,” Liedis interrupted her.
If his father and half brother were to disappear, the throne would automatically become his. But he didn’t even want to think about it.
The condition of the king was a state secret. Members of the Sovereign’s Guard stood watch outside his bedroom. Only Liedis and Truteliese were allowed inside.
Sleeping in the bed, Sachis looked pallid. It was clear he was alive, as his chest slightly rose and fell. However, he seemed to be emaciated from illness, and looked significantly older than usual.
Numerous tubes were connected to his arms. It was painful to look at.
“He’s not regaining consciousness. The court physician is saying we should be prepared for the worst...” said Truteliese.
Father... Liedis said inwardly.
Passing through his mind were thoughts of how his father had collapsed a year and a half ago, how he’d coughed blood when fighting the dragon, and how there’d been all those rumors of assassination plots surrounding the late Queen Miriallia and the previous Marquess Rogell.
“Was it really food poisoning?” he asked.
“What is that supposed to mean?” replied Truteliese after a pause.
“Is that not simply what you’re making it out to be? While making my brother and father disappear at the same time in order to make me king.”
Liedis’s bold question was met with a calm smile.
“What if I said it is? Would you despise me?”
His mother’s beautiful smile sent a chill up Liedis’s spine.
“What are you saying, mother...?”
“Even you’ve always thought you were more fit for the throne, haven’t you? You’ve grown up hearing it from your grandfather all the time.”
“That’s...”
Recalling the things he himself had said before, Liedis couldn’t deny it on the spot. However...
“Even so, scheming for it is wrong. I don’t want to sit on such a dirty throne.”
“Well, aren’t you fastidious?” Truteliese giggled. “The throne was smeared with blood from the start. No matter how peaceful a kingdom is at any given time, there’s no throne without blood on it. Even if things are calm in the country, the king still sends felons to the gallows.” With a bewitching smile adorning her beautiful face, which was often compared to a red rose, Truteliese spoke quietly, almost as though reciting a poem.
“There’s a difference between executing criminals and attacking my brother, who’s done nothing wrong!”
“Oh, but he has done something wrong. He was born before you.” Truteliese spewed venom with a radiant smile on her face.
“Is he already...?”
“I’m keeping him alive for now. It would be boring if he died right away.”
Liedis gulped.
“He was always an eyesore. I want to at least have some fun with him first...”
“What have you done to him...?”
“There’s no need for you to know. Leave everything to your mother.”
The way his mother’s smile never left her face made her seem like a ghastly monster in Liedis’s eyes.
“Did you come after Lady Estelle too?”
“I had no choice. She was an eyesore too. They haven’t married yet and people were already calling her Princess Dragon Exterminator...”
After Estelle had bravely fought the dragon, she’d become more than just the woman Arcrayne had fallen in love with at first sight. She was now a hero, and just as Liedis had feared, his mother and grandfather wanted to get rid of her.
“Did you do something to my father too...? Or is he ill...?”
“Who knows?”
Liedis couldn’t read anything from Truteliese’s smile.
“You don’t need to know anything. Your mother will take on all the shady matters.”
A chill ran down Liedis’s spine. He got goose bumps and began to tremble.
“Why did it come to this...?”
He didn’t want such a throne. It disgusted him. But if he became the last member of royalty of direct descent, he’d have no choice but to take it. Several artifacts in the royal family’s possession could only be used by those of appropriate lineage—they rejected anyone not of direct royal descent.
A particularly important one was the so-called Foundation Monument lying under the palace. This artifact controlled the water supply and defenses of the island of Great Rosalia.
The absence of a king would make the people suffer. But this wasn’t how Liedis wanted to take the throne.
In fact, he’d even thought he had no right to become king. That was how sinful his grandfather’s actions at the hunting contest had been.
“I never knew you were so fainthearted.” With an affectionate smile, Truteliese put her hand on Liedis’s cheek as he trembled.
Suddenly, a sharp pain ran through him, as though he’d been stabbed in the neck with a needle. He became dizzy in an instant.
“Huh... Wha...?”
“Get some rest. While you sleep, your mother will do everything that needs to be done.”
Liedis saw that the ring on Truteliese’s middle finger had a needle attached to it. By the time he realized she’d drugged him with something, it was already too late. His vision swayed and his consciousness became hazy.
His mother caught him as he began to fall. Her warmth was the last thing Liedis felt as he sank into darkness.