Chapter 265 : Chapter 265
Chapter 265 : Watchdog (2)
***
"The, the qualifications of a king..........!"
Ramba's pupils trembled, unable to find their bearings. He blankly looked back and forth between Vena and the crown she held.
"I've heard of it before. That terrifying legend that if a person of impure bloodline or an illegitimate usurper wears it, their head will be completely crushed."
Ramba shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. He spoke in a tone that showed it didn't feel real even as it came out of his own mouth.
"Of course, I thought it was just a fiction made up to elevate the majesty and sanctity of the throne, but, th-that was real?!"
Ramba's pupils gleamed brightly with the brilliance of the gold crown. It was indeed a holy relic. Just looking at it made him feel as if he were being submerged in ecstasy.
"It's not mere empty formality to decorate authority. This is closer to a living tool of judgment."
"H-Huh.......... It's unbelievable."
"That's only natural. Since such a horrific tragedy rarely occurs, there's no way for it to be known to the public."
Normally, a coronation ceremony is held in front of everyone. If the sight of a newly enthroned king's skull getting crushed were revealed to the entire world, that fact would have been passed down through generations so that there wouldn't be anyone who didn't know.
"There is a living witness passed down in secret, though. Kings who personally proved the might of this crown with their entire bodies."
Vena's eyes narrowed as she scanned the crown. Ramba swallowed his dry saliva and asked.
"Wh-Who on earth is that..........?"
"Philinus I."
Ramba's mouth fell wide open. Philinus I. A legendary king who was said to have been adored by the women of the entire country for his beautiful appearance. He was a figure whose record wasn't loaded with a single line of achievement, entirely filled only with praises for his looks.
There wasn't anyone who didn't know that the current King, Philinus II, who possessed a severe inferiority complex regarding his appearance, admired him and succeeded his royal title.
"It's quite a famous secret history that on the night before his coronation, Philinus I summoned every single renowned prostitute in the Imperial Capital to the palace and partied decadently."
Vena's voice sank low.
"An unprecedented situation occurred where the scheduled coronation was delayed due to the aftermath of the revelry. The Imperial Household Agency hurriedly changed the schedule to a private coronation attended only by royal relatives and high-ranking ministers. But that's exactly where the trouble broke out."
Abruptly, Vena curved her slender fingers like claws right in front of Ramba's eyes. With her long fingernails, it was truly threatening.
Ramba backed away without realizing it.
"This crown snapped and bit Philinus I's head."
"..........!"
"They say it was literally a bloody coronation. He barely managed to detach the crown and save his life, but thanks to that, his much-boasted face was completely ruined."
Ramba's body stiffened hard. Could there be any room for doubt? She was the Boss of the main branch of the Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats. Even if one combined all the hypocritical history books across the Kingdom, they would be lighter than the weight of truth contained in a single line of secret history known by Vena.
Above all, the crown before his eyes was quelling all doubts. It wasn't a nature that a mere imitation could mimic.
"To think the reason Arthur VIII didn't hold a coronation ceremony was also perhaps.........."
"Do you understand now?"
As Ramba's mouth opened, his head also slowly tilted backward.
Although the late king, Arthur VIII, held an accession ceremony, he didn't undergo the 'coronation' of placing the crown on his head. It was under the pretext of simplifying the procedures.
"It was to hide the dishonor of being a usurper."
Vena raised the crown high. For an instant, a red gleam swirled over her pupils.
"He'd want to find it by any means and erase it from this world. Because to Philinus II, this is no different from a guillotine rather than a holy relic."
Ramba swallowed his dry saliva. Why on earth was such an object in a place like this?
Although the rumor that the Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats were hiding the treasures of the royal family was a widespread joke that even three-year-old children knew, Ramba suddenly felt terrified when it appeared before his eyes.
More than anything, what was chilling was Vena's intention. There was no way to know why she was confiding such a dangerous secret to him.
"W-What is the reason you are showing this to me?"
Ramba asked haltingly.
It was just then.
"Boosssss—!"
In an instant, the silence was shattered. Mountain burst in while flinging the door open as if he would break it.
"E-Escape! Hound! Be-, be-be-, betrayal!"
Mountain shouted urgently with his awkward pronunciation. While Ramba's entire body froze with horror, Vena was strangely calm. To the extent that the panicked Ramba was even more bewildered by her composure. She looked like someone who had foreseen in advance that this time would come.
"Listen carefully, Ramba."
Vena abruptly grabbed both of Ramba's arms. She even bent her knees to match his eye level.
"There's a passage escaping through the back. Sprint blindly down the path you see."
"W-What all of a sudden—"
"You must protect this crown even if you stake your life. Find that grand Milord of yours and tell him to protect it."
Ramba shrunk his shoulders completely. His violently trembling pupils went back and forth between Vena and the crown. Before he knew it, the crown was held in his hands.
"Go, quickly."
***
Gunt's scheme was quite fresh.
"The Crown of Suffering, huh."
I repeated that name. It was truly a wondrous object.
"The problem is—"
"That its exact whereabouts cannot be known."
Gunt and I tossed a word each as if giving and taking. Before I knew it, we were hitting it off strangely well.
But the change of mood ended right here.
"Then in the end, it amounts to nothing but talking about catching floating clouds. You have a surprisingly frustrating side."
"It is the best method among the realistic options."
"No, there's no realism to begin with, so what's there to say about it being better or worse? You want to stake Adeline's destiny on an object whose location isn't even known? Are you gambling with me right now?"
Gunt did not back down even an inch.
"Zisair has prepared a fake crown since long ago for this coronation. If we can only find the real one and swap it, it will become an unsurpassed excellent opportunity to depose Lucian—no, Philinus II—and establish Adel at the coronation scene watched by ten thousand people."
"That's why I'm asking where that 'real one' is. To put it bluntly, isn't it possible that Zisair already found it and destroyed it long ago?"
"In the past—"
Gunt opened his mouth lowly. He was quiet to an unpleasant degree. Only then did I realize that the one who had actually heated up and pushed hard was me.
Though I'd put on all sorts of acts pretending to be rational and cynical unsuited to myself...... in truth, I had inadvertently harbored a sliver of expectation for this absurd scheme.
"I once secretly pursued the whereabouts of the crown. Utilizing the resources of the Imperial Magic Corps."
His voice was small. It must mean he wasn't proud of it. Since the Imperial Magic Corps isn't personal property.
At any rate, I was focusing on his words without realizing it.
"And we found a clue. Our conclusion is that it must have fallen into the hands of the Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats."
If it's the Wild Dogs and Sewer Rats, there's a sufficient possibility. Since I happened to break the ice with Vena as well, asking wouldn't be difficult either.
Nodding my head, I asked back inadvertently.
"What do you mean by 'our'?"
"Coincidentally, there was a member who possessed an interest in the Crown of Suffering. That friend took the lead and investigated. It will not be wrong. Because he was a prodigy of our Imperial Magic Corps."
My eyes widened instantly. For some reason, my heart also pounded.
"Could it be—"
"Yes. He is a friend you know well too. Raven."
".........."
"His real name is Raziel."
I've no interest in the bastard's name, but the moment I heard that name, as if it were a signal, my head throbbed as if it would split.
Flashes appeared before my eyes from the intense headache. Beyond the intermittently surging pain, unfamiliar—no, scenes I've seen somewhere before flashed past like afterimages.
I'd never experienced them, but they were definitely my memories.
'They must belong to that Lust Demon bastard.'
Unidentifiable scenes violently stirred my mind.
'......It's not just memories of the past.'
Suddenly, the figure of the eyeball insect Demonic Beast came to mind.
GURGLE—
Once the bastard's pupil spun around one full turn, what was visible next was a room that was somehow familiar.
Perhaps due to the unique atmosphere, I recognized it at once.
'Vena's office.'
I realized right away. It was similar to the sensations I'd experienced before. A strange assimilation similar to the Phantom Demon's sorcery or Manuan's diary.
'Right now, I am sharing Vena's field of vision.'
The inside of the office was packed with some fellows. All of them were surrounding this way in a circle while holding their weapons ready.
Familiar bastards could be seen among them.
'The Hound and the mustachioed knight.'
It was that mustachioed knight who had played the role of Philinus II's escort knight at a mediocre level. Armed soldiers were with him as well. The Hound was also leading the Wild Dogs.
'What on earth is this combination?'
Among the tightly packed bastards, one bastard entered my sight immediately. He was right in the center as if declaring himself the leader.
Anyway.
He was a bastard who shouldn't be here.
---
Ramba sprinted like mad while cradling the crown in his bosom. Although he ran straight along the path he was told, the underground waterway extended without end.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
Let alone where this vicinity was, he couldn't even gauge how far he had come.
When a shock is too great, thoughts become paralyzed. The royal secret history Vena told him, the betrayal of the Wild Dogs, and even this 'Crown of Suffering' held in his own hands..........
As things difficult to handle rushed over all at once like a tsunami, his reason let out a scream and snapped as if fleeing.
What was moving Ramba right now wasn't reason, but a fear closer to a convulsion.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH—!
At any rate, he had to run. Not just the Wild Dogs, but even the royal palace's guards had burst in.
He didn't know the reason. He had no leeway to think about such things either.
"Gasp, hehh, gasp..........!"
His heart felt like it would burst. His mind had gone completely white, but for some reason, the crown inside his bosom was hot enough to burn.
For a fleeting moment, a thought like this occurred to Ramba: perhaps he had lived until this very moment for this purpose.
It was just then.
"..........!"
Ramba came to a dead stop. A low whistling sound was heard from somewhere. The sound, amplified as it traveled through the enclosed underground space, filled the entire area.
"Hehh, hehh.........."
His legs trembled violently. The leisurely blowing whistling tightened his windpipe. It was just as if a predator were enjoying driving its fleeing prey into a corner.
"Keep running. Don't stop."
The voice was heard from the front. Soon, a human figure appeared from a distantly visible corner. It was the master of the whistle.
Gulp—
Ramba swallowed his saliva. An overwhelming bloodlust was felt. He barely managed to shift his feet. For now, he absolutely had to run.
SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!
'Why! Just why..........!'
The rims of his eyes turned hot. He felt nothing but wronged as to why such an ordeal had suddenly befallen him. His legs grew heavier and heavier. It was gradually his limit.
"Huu—"
Presently, his running came to a halt. A crowd was approaching straight ahead.
"Give up, Sewer Rat."
Heaving rough breaths, Ramba examined the faces faintly visible beneath the torchlight.
They were the Hound's Wild Dogs and the guards led by the knight.
"Haa, haa."
He looked back. Over there, that whistling man from earlier was walking over leisurely.
Instinct warned him: this side was far more dangerous than the crowd in front.
"You're quite a nimble fellow. It would've been difficult if you'd rotted more in the prison."
He approached while languidly cracking his neck from side to side. Black hair darker than the darkness he had his back to wavered. The clothes wrapping his sturdy body were unique. It was an Imperial-style attire.
Ramba's gaze, half-resigned, slid to his hands.
Soon, as if the man was conscious of that gaze, he carelessly threw down what he was holding in his hand.
Thud, roll—
Two heads rolled and fell at Ramba's feet. It was Vena and Mountain, who hadn't even managed to close their eyes.
"Ugh..........!"
Ramba dry-heaved. Crouching down, he threw up his stomach contents. Watching a shocking scene while his breath was catching up to him, he simply couldn't endure it.
"Hey, it's getting dirty over there."
The man standing alone muttered indifferently and flicked his finger. It meant to hand over the crown.
"W-Who are you, you..........!"
Ramba asked while wiping the moisture flowing down his chin. The man laughed boisterously.
"In a situation where his life thread looks ready to snap, instead of begging for his life, he requests an introduction first? Truly worthy of a beggar who vomits on a holy relic of the royal family. It's no ordinary mettle."
The man took a step forward. The curled-up corners of his mouth were chilling.
"This body is Batz von Bargrech of the Empire. It'll be a quite heavy name to take along as a traveler's allowance for a beggar's path to the underworld."
SHING—!
A streak of silver flash shot up long from Batz's waist.