Dungeon Defense (WN)

“It seems…… this isn’t a question I’m in any position to answer.”

“I know. You most likely do not have the authority to decide on your own anyway. Rest well at your quarters and join His Majesty and me for dinner this evening.”

I lowered my gaze to the papers spread before me on the desk. I was clearly dismissing him.

It was a rather discourteous gesture, but Wolfram Heidelberg withdrew without protest. Perhaps he was too stunned by what I’d said, or perhaps he was simply a man skilled at masking his emotions. Likely a bit of both. The moment he left, I rang the small silver bell on my desk.

“You called for me, Your Highness.”

Ivar Lodbrok entered from outside the door, where she had been standing by. Since Daisy’s disappearance, Ivar had taken over as my attendant. She was somewhat clumsier than Daisy had been, but not to the point of hindering her duties.

“Have the Elector Demon Lords already gathered in the reception hall?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ve been told they arrived half an hour ago.”

“Ah, I’ve kept them waiting longer than I intended.”

I rose from my chair, balancing myself with the help of a cane and the prosthetic that replaced my left leg. Ivar stepped forward to support me, but I shook my head. “I haven’t fallen so low that I need another’s arm just to stand.”

Ivar’s expression wavered, her eyes glistening with distress.

“But, Your Highness…….”

“That is enough. I said I am fine, did I not? Instead of wasting concern on trivial matters, focus on managing the war funds. You have already made contact with the Helvetica Union, I trust?”

“……Yes, Your Highness.”

I staggered slightly as I made my way to the door. My gait was awkward, an unsteady wobble I couldn’t quite correct. Until I grew accustomed to it, I would have to waddle like a duck.

“Very well. If war does break out, we’ll need the Helvetica Union’s mercenaries without question. Drop a hint that Laura will be leading them again, then the sellswords will follow us without hesitation.”

“Th-there is, however…… one problem, Your Highness.”

“Hm?”

Ivar’s lips parted, then closed again. She looked unsure how to begin. When I urged her on with a calm glance, she finally spoke with visible reluctance.

“Prime Minister Lazuli is requesting an audience at this very moment.”

“…….”

My chest sank like a stone.

All the thoughts that had filled my mind until now—plans for suppressing the Plains Faction’s revolt, strategies for using Barbatos as a diplomatic pawn, countermeasures against Elizabeth and Daisy—were instantly swept aside, evaporating like alcohol in open air.

“Now? Here?”

“She arrived almost the instant the Republic’s envoy entered the palace. While Your Highness was conversing with the envoy, the Minister has been waiting outside your door the entire time.”

I shot Ivar a sharp glare.

“You didn’t tell Lapis about my left foot, did you?”

“Of course not. I think she must have heard it through other channels. Minister Lazuli built connections with the palace officials and many others while you were absent during the Chrysanthemum War. I suspect the leak came from them.”

Ivar’s expression was equally troubled.

I had made it clear—Lapis and Laura were never to learn about my left foot. Both were staying at the Demon Lord Castle, and as long as no word left this side, they had little reason to discover the truth while buried in their duties there…….

But so be it.

Now that the secret was out, there was only one course of action.

I turned and walked toward the wall. Behind me, Ivar’s uneasy voice called out.

“Your Highness?”

“What is it?”

“Well…… what are you doing?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking?”

I set my right foot on the window frame.

“I need to escape before Lapis storms in.”

Yes—there was nothing left but to flee.

“Your Highness, but this is the third floor!?”

Ivar, who had managed to stay polite until now, exclaimed in horror.

“You’ll be gravely injured if you fall from here!”

“It’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. At worst, I’ll just break a leg. But since my left leg’s already broken, I’ll simply land on that one. In other words…… I’ll be perfectly fine.”

“That is not how logic works! How can you say such nonsense with a straight face!?”

Ivar rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.

“Let go! I said let go this instant! You have no idea how terrifying Lapis can be, Ivar! If she catches me, she will lecture me for at least five hours straight! The Elector Demon Lords are waiting in the audience chamber right now—how am I supposed to face them after that!?”

I thrashed and struggled, but despite her slender arms, Ivar’s grip was absurdly strong—I couldn’t shake free no matter how I tried.

“Even so, absolutely not! Your leg’s already injured, and now you’d jump from the third floor? There’s a limit to recklessness, Your Highness! And rest assured, this one is well aware of how terrifying the Minister can be!”

“W-wait, I’ve got it! I’ve thought of a brilliant idea!”

I looked up at her face with sudden inspiration.

“Ivar, you will carry me and jump! The two of us can escape together. That way, there’s no danger to me, and everything is neatly resolved. Truly, a flawless solution!”

“I’m terribly sorry, but absolutely not.”

In Ivar’s violet eyes shone a light of grim determination.

“Then I will be the one getting scolded by the Minister afterward!”

“Ivar, are you turning your back on me!?”

So that was it—she wasn’t stopping me because I might get hurt, but because she’d be the one in trouble if she let me escape. Unbelievable. I was so shocked I couldn’t help but shout.

“So you’re saying your own safety matters more than your lord’s!?”

“Your Highness deserves a proper scolding! Ordering me to hide the truth from both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Military Affairs—why not order me to cover the sky with my hand while you’re at it!”

Ivar dragged me down from the windowsill with a frighteningly firm grip. I nearly fell backward from the sheer force. So this was what the affection and loyalty of a devoted vassal—or lover—looked like at their peak? Truly outrageous.

“The Military Affairs Minister might be deaf to the world’s affairs, so perhaps deceiving her is possible. But the Prime Minister? Impossible! Her web of connections alone could cover half the continent!”

“S-Since when did Lapis become like that?”

“Ever since she began serving you, Your Highness!”

Ivar ground her teeth with visible frustration.

“Anyone seeking to curry favor with Your Highness starts by currying favor with her! Nobles, merchant guild masters, even the Elector Demon Lords themselves—all have gone to the Prime Minister with gifts and flatteries. At this point, half the Demon Realm is in her grasp!”

“That’s absurd…….”

“Absurd? Not in the slightest!”

Ivar’s eyes were ablaze.

“Your Highness only ever concerned yourself with foreign affairs, leaving every matter of domestic governance to the Prime Minister! How could things not turn out this way? You brought this upon yourself, so please, be good and let her catch you.”

There was something oddly bitter in Ivar’s voice.

It wasn’t just fear of being scolded by the Minister. No, the emotion dripping from her words felt older, heavier. Something long fermented inside her chest until it had gone sour, and now it was spilling out through her lips. It was enough to make my shoulders twitch in unease.

“Ivar…… don’t tell me—have you been bullied by Lapis?”

“I have no idea what you are implying, Your Highness.”

Ivar’s lips twisted into a crooked smile.

“Surely I am not so small-minded as to be upset over being bossed around by a former subordinate. No, of course not. Nor would I ever hold a grudge against Lord Dantalian for reducing me to a mere handmaiden. Absolutely not.”

“You’re clearly sulking and pretending otherwise!”

I was genuinely shocked. It seemed Ivar had quite a bit of pent-up resentment toward Lapis, and, to my horror, she’d chosen me as the outlet for it. What greater injustice could there be?

“Now then, Your Highness! Prepare to face the judgment of justice!”

“You’ve stopped even pretending to be polite now, haven’t you!?”

“And who was it that told me to drop the pretense in the first place, hmm?”

We squabbled like children, but also with deadly seriousness that only children could muster. It wasn’t a joke. Our very lives might well have hung on the outcome of this ridiculous struggle.

And then—

“It is rather noisy in this office.”

Snap.

Both of us froze mid-motion, hands still clutching at each other’s clothes. As if some unseen cue had been given, we turned our heads in perfect unison toward the doorway.

There stood Lapis—immaculate in her tailored suit, her expression calm and unreadable, her cool gaze fixed upon us.

“The atmosphere of a private office reflects its owner’s character. It should always be composed. Never shaken, never heavy-handed, and above all, dignified in its moderation. Do you not agree, Miss Ivar?”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

Ivar bowed at once, as though she hadn’t been arguing just a moment ago. The speed at which she shifted stances was nothing short of miraculous—comparable, perhaps, only to the breeding rate of goblins.

But at this point, putting on an act was pointless. The water had already been spilled. Lapis’s cold, clipped voice shattered Ivar’s last ounce of hope.

“Come see me after your duties are concluded tonight. There are a few matters regarding your work ethic that require correction.”

“M–Minister, I only acted out of concern that His Highness might be injured—!”

“You may present your objections then.”

Lapis turned her gaze away from Ivar and fixed it upon me.

Her eyes dropped first to my left leg. For a fleeting instant, her movements halted. Without saying a word, she let her gaze travel slowly down the length of my prosthetic.

“…….” “…….”

A silence heavy enough to crush the air settled over the office.

Sensing the shift instantly, Ivar slipped out of the room without so much as a whisper. I wanted to call her back—anything to break this unbearable stillness—but I couldn’t. Lapis’s gaze had locked onto me, and under that gaze, words simply refused to come.

A long moment passed.

“Lord Dantalian.”

“……Yes.”

Then came silence again.

Lapis parted her lips slightly, but no sound came out. She held them open for a few seconds, then closed them again with slow, deliberate restraint. That faint motion—those lips that trembled as if to speak, only to fall silent—struck me harder than any rebuke ever could.

I couldn’t even bring myself to apologize.

For the first time, I truly understood what it meant to have nothing to say, even with a hundred mouths. Before her, I was utterly disarmed, reduced to something helpless and small, like a scolded child.

Lapis let out a faint sigh.

“……There is something I must tell you regarding Miss Daisy.”

“R-Right.”

“I had originally decided not to tell you. But with things as they are now, I can no longer keep silent.”

What could she mean by that?

Honestly, I hadn’t expected Lapis to bring up Daisy at a time like this, so I just stared at her blankly, too stunned to react. It was, in a sense, a gesture of surrender. An unspoken vow that I would listen quietly to whatever she had to say, no matter what it was.

“I have more or less pieced together what happened in Niflheim. However, Lord Dantalian, there is one thing about Miss Daisy that you have misunderstood.”

“I’ve misunderstood……?”

“Yes.”

A shadow crossed Lapis’s face, her expression twisting faintly in discomfort.

“A very serious one.”

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. Got this done a bit faster, but not as fast as I’d like. I’ll try to speed it up, but I’ve been a bit loopy since I ended up working every day in November. PLEASE FORGIVE ME. PREVIOUS CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER