Silverd, Lalalua, and Krone gathered in the audience room, having been told that Lloyd had received a report from Misty. According to the marshal, a glowing bird had flown onto the deck of the Leviathan, and spoke using Misty’s voice before it vanished into thin air.
“Thanks to the trio’s efforts, Sir Ein’s rampage has been stopped!” Lloyd reported. “According to Lady Misty, he currently lies dormant.”
“Then has Ein been saved?!” Silverd said joyfully as he stood up.
Both relieved, Lalalua and Krone hugged each other.
“Of course, Your Majesty!” Lloyd replied. However, he had some grim news to deliver as well. “But... We have no idea how to wake him. It seems that Lady Misty is looking for the right way to rouse him as we speak. In the meantime, the trio shall keep watch over Heim.”
“Very well,” the king replied. “But what of Ein’s will? Has Lady Misty mentioned anything in regards to that?”
“I’ve been told that Sir Ein must be fighting a battle within his own heart, all by himself, sire.”
Silverd furrowed his brows and approached the marshal. “So what you’re saying is that it’s a clash of wills between Ein and the Demon Lord’s essence, or something of the sort?”
Lloyd nodded. “That’s what I believe, Your Majesty.”
“Is there anything that we can do?”
“Lady Misty has only told us to sit back and wait. I’ve been told that Sir Marco joined the fray, and even then, they were backed into a corner and almost lost.”
“I-I don’t believe it... Has Ein’s power simply undergone a colossal growth spurt?”
“That’s what it seems, Your Majesty. If even the likes of Lord Arshay has struggled against such a foe, I believe it would be a display of insolence to even suggest that we could help in battle. Sir Ein has become just that powerful.”
Silverd placed a hand over his eyes and fell silent; even Lalalua was at a loss for words. It seemed all hope was lost, except for one young lady in the room.
“If I may say a word or two?” she asked with determination. After receiving a nod of approval from the marshal, she went on, “Sir Lloyd, you’ve made no mention of Ein’s chances of returning to his normal self. By chance, does that mean that Lady Misty has made no promises either?”
“Nothing gets past you,” the marshal said.
The king gasped, but Krone remained calm—seemingly unfazed by the situation. She knew the answer to her question, but it still stung her in the heart.
“Sir Lloyd, please share your thoughts with me,” Krone pleaded. “Is there a chance that Ein could awaken and resume his rampage? And should that happen, must we end him once and for all? What is your take on the situation?”
The marshal wasn’t keen on answering the young lady’s questions, even though he easily could. Misty’s report had put every card on the table, and he frankly wished never to speak of it.
“Lloyd, His Majesty and I are curious as well,” Lalalua said.
And so, the marshal had no choice but to say something. “Should we fail to find a suitable way in which to wake Sir Ein, or should he lose to the Demon Lord, we may never stand a chance of truly ending his rampage.”
He struggled to continue on. Combined with what he said earlier, if there was a chance that Ein would go berserk again, it was clear what they had to do. No one dared to say it, and they refused to acknowledge the truth, but Krone broke the silence.
“If a rampage threatens the world, then the tree must be cut down beforehand.”
It was only then that Lloyd refused to say another word. He didn’t want to deny reality with a lie, but he couldn’t speak the truth either. He feared losing not only Ein, but the loss of another precious and priceless life important to him—Olivia.
The princess had taken root in Ein. The crown prince’s death would guarantee her death alongside him. Everyone was aware of this fact, turning the room gloomier still.
“Then I must be by his side,” Krone said firmly.
She didn’t want to lose both Ein and Olivia, and adamantly insisted on saving the both of them. The young advisor was undaunted and undeterred as she turned to the king.
“Your Majesty, those four risked their lives and finally managed to stop Ein. Should he awaken once more, he would’ve evolved further, and I can’t imagine them stopping him then,” Krone said, justifying why Ein would need to be defeated. “In fact, it might already be too late if we act after Ein shows signs of losing control again. To save this world, we must either take Ein’s life or save him before any of that can happen.”
“And what do you expect me to do?” Silverd replied. His tone was unusually gruff as though he’d forsaken all hope.
“I’ll fight until the very end.”
She didn’t mention what she’d do or how she’d fight, but as the king fell silent as he stared at her visage.
“My beloved has done the same. No matter what unreasonable situation he was forced into, he never gave up hope and valiantly faced them all. But I cannot be like him,” Krone said. Her face, however, remained determined, dignified, and proud. Elegance was all around her as she continued, “The only thing I can do is fight and struggle. With everything at my disposal, I’ll bet it all on a chance to simply hear his voice again.”
Silence permeated the room as Krone’s words filled their minds. A myriad of emotions welled up within the others, from admiration to pain to courage. But above all, a sense of helplessness gripped their hearts. The king was most struck by her passionate words.
“I didn’t think I’d still be learning new things at this age,” he mumbled while turning to his wife. “Any small detail is fine. I’ll gather all the information that I can from the researchers. I shall ask Sierra to contact the chief as well.”
He walked out as Lalalua hastily stood up and chased after him. “Y-Your Majesty! Dear! Please calm down! Argh! Good grief! Lloyd, could you please gather the reports for me and send them to me later? I’ll chase after him!”
Just after the king and queen made their swift exit, Lloyd stood up in awe and turned to face the little lady. He slumped his shoulders slightly, but he’d also been motivated by her words, just as Silverd had.
“I can’t lose to those two,” Lloyd said. “I must quickly go through the reports and find anything that’ll allow me to take action. Has anything happened while I was away? How’s the castle?” Aware of the recent damage to the castle, the marshal wondered if there was anything he could do on his end. “I hope it wasn’t anything serious.”
“Oh, there’s something I must tell you,” Krone replied. She hadn’t mentioned it earlier, but Katima had taken Dill to her lab while the marshal was away. Lloyd had received no word of this incident. “I suggest that you head for Princess Katima’s underground laboratory. I think it’s best that you’d see things for yourself instead of hearing it from me.”
“Hmm? I’m quite confused, but very well.”
Krone wasn’t one to leave out any details, causing Lloyd to quizzically tilt his head. However, he quickly turned on his heels and left, leaving Krone behind.
✦ ✦ ✦
Krone headed for Chris’s room. Sierra was already there, sitting at Chris’s bedside as she slept.
“Chris was always a hard worker,” the elf murmured when Krone entered the room. “She always said that she wanted to be just like her big sister, Celestina, and often tagged along whenever they went into the forest. Chris only became a knight because Celes made an offhand remark about it. That was all it took.”
Until then, the sisters had never been outside Syth Mill and the handful of villages that surrounded it.
“So when Celestina disappeared with the first prince, Chris closed herself off to the world for a while,” Sierra explained. “I think she was lonely beyond belief. She then became a personal knight to the second princess, who was later married off. I think Chris must’ve felt like she had nowhere to be.”
Krone knew of the existence of LeFay von Ishtarica. He was Silverd’s first child—a genius who stood head and shoulders above his peers. However, he’d taken Celestina into the Dungeon of Spiriting Away, and they’d never been seen since then. The incident was still a mystery and had many unresolved questions. Ein had once heard the story from Majorica, and Krone had learned of it as a child while taking lessons with Warren.
“Thinking back, I’d still occasionally receive letters from Chris back then,” Sierra said. “But it all suddenly ended one day.”
“Ten years ago,” Krone guessed.
“Precisely. The last letter that I’d ever received was her talking about how the second princess would return with the crown prince.” The elf’s smile made it clear that Chris’s letter had articulated her joy quite well.
“Lady Sierra, Lady Krone, please excuse me,” Martha said as she entered with a tea platter.
Krone took this opportunity to ask the maid a question. “Martha, do you recall the time when Chris still used to write letters?”
“Pardon?” the maid asked before she quickly caught on. “Ah, the ones for Lady Sierra, I presume? I recall that Dame Chris’s last letter was sent around a decade ago.”
Sierra’s eyes widened in shock and awe. “I-I’m surprised. A superb servant of your rank remembers such a trivial thing from so long ago.”
“I don’t remember every little detail, of course. I only recall because I was actually involved in drafting that letter.”
As she poured a fresh pot of tea, Martha told a tale from just after Ein arrived in Ishtarica—in the days before Krone’s own arrival.