Chapter 72 : Sweet Dream
Chapter 72-Unedited: Sweet Dream
Rozel combined the magical reagents.
A small flash burst with a pop. Franz asked,
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“All magic carries danger.”
She set the crimson-tinged reagent aside and reached for other materials.
“Did you hear?”
“What.”
“They say Her Highness the Princess went out again.”
Rozel’s hand paused for a moment.
“Which princess?”
“You know, don’t you?”
“Our princess truly had so much to do. How long had it even been since she was rescued from the Beast’s Tower.”
She infused mana. Fwoosh, fire caught.
“Where is it this time?”
“Ergest, they say.”
“So she planned to wander through every region that belonged to the Demon Kings? It was strange that the Demon Kings let her be.”
“They didn’t exactly let her be.”
“It’s funny enough that she traded with a beast for money. For someone called a Demon King, really. Don’t tell me they expect me to bring her back?”
“I heard His Majesty gave permission this time. The royal knight order and mage corps have been assigned to her.”
Rozel turned her head before she even realized it.
“What’s gotten into him?”
“They can’t break Her Highness’s stubbornness anyway, so they’re trying to make use of it.”
“Aha.”
She let out a soft chuckle.
“So they’re betting on whether our princess can find the tower or not?”
“Yes, but… is that alright?”
“My reagent! That’s because you distracted me!”
Rozel hurriedly blew onto it. Mana-mixed wind smothered the flames that had spread to the side.
“By the way, what do you plan to use that for?”
“I’m researching that right now, obviously.”
At Franz’s fingertips rested two massive orbs.
Storage spheres—beautiful crimson lines and gentle heat shimmering from the stored mana that changed color according to its attribute.
They held Pale’s mana.
“This was only the second time I’d seen mana this pure.”
“Isn’t it usually the first?”
“A spirit.”
Which made it even more astonishing. How could a human’s mana resemble a spirit—mana itself—this closely?
“Curious, I dug around and found in old documents a ‘living being’ whose mana resembled that of spirits.”
Rozel caressed the storage sphere. The heat seeping into her hand made her shiver lightly.
She extracted a little and dropped it into the reagent. The flames that erupted dwarfed those created with her own mana.
“What is it?”
“A mythical beast.”
“The ones I know are just slightly strong animals.”
“Not all mythical beasts are like that. A dragon exists too, doesn’t it?”
“That dragon only appears in documents from two thousand years ago.”
“That’s true.”
“So are you saying Pale is a dragon?”
“Are you insane?”
She had considered mythical beasts, but a dragon was too much.
“Dragons are only the representative species. Mythical beasts aren’t limited to dragons.”
“As I said…”
“I know. I’ve never seen a mythical beast like this either. And it’s not like I’m calling Pale a mythical beast.”
Just that it felt closest to that category.
“So what do you plan to do with it?”
“Well, there isn’t as much I can do as I’d hoped.”
“Because it’s just mana, isn’t it.”
“That’s the problem. Watching him fight, he’s closer to a mage than a warrior, so his heart must be a mana heart, right? Honestly, I’d love to rip out his heart and study it.”
“That remark.”
“What.”
“It’s extremely questionable. Please don’t say things like that in public.”
“Who do you take me for, some maniac?”
Clicking her tongue, Rozel drew the mana back out. She absorbed it fully and contemplated her own body.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s fascinating.”
She murmured with her eyes closed.
“What is?”
“It harmonized with my mana without the slightest resistance. It’ll disappear quickly because there isn’t much, but still…”
Fwoosh—
She formed the hand seal for Fireball. Nothing had changed from what she’d done all her life. And yet the Fireball’s size and quality were different.
“I really want to take him apart.”
“Again, again…”
“How could I make my mana like this?”
No.
“How could I have this?”
A greed greater than anything she’d felt even toward a Demon King’s corpse overtook her heart.
“Yes, it seems impossible for now.”
* * *
『As expected. Finish things properly. Louise must never be kidnapped.』
“Yes.”
The transmission cut. Hillan, who had been watching beside him, asked,
“Was that Lord Berje?”
“Yes.”
The polite speech he had adopted because of others’ eyes had now stuck completely.
“A group made entirely of elves… they never fail to surprise me.”
“Same goes for you.”
“Is it acceptable from an elf’s perspective?”
“At the very least, it’s better than being enslaved and dying miserably.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Not fond of the topic, Granada changed the subject.
“Did the discussion go well?”
“For now, yes. But it depends on how the king reacts. Everything rests on the Second Princess.”
“I have a feeling she might pull it off.”
Rumor had spread even to other kingdoms about how much the king and royal family adored their late-born Second Princess.
“Please don’t say something so foolish. The King of Berfht has made mistakes over Princess Louise before, but he has never crossed the line.”
Of course—
“This time, crossing the line a hundred times over would still be understandable, so I expect he’ll cooperate.”
“You just don’t like me, do you?”
“Only if Princess Louise doesn’t hide the fact that a Demon King is coming.”
But Louise would never reveal the kidnapping, as Hillan requested. And even if she tried, she lacked any basis to explain how she knew.
‘Well, he seemed confident, so I trust he has his own plan.’
For some strange reason, he wasn’t worried.
* * *
Ahem.
The King of Berfht revealed his displeasure.
His late-born daughter happily munched on a cookie with an innocent expression.
“You gave Hillan Cargill the annex palace?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Hillan Cargill had officially come to the royal castle as an envoy of the Hero Guild.
He wasn’t only Argan of the Hero Guild, but a promising hero who had slain two Demon Kings, so the kingdom welcomed them with utmost sincerity.
Whatever his goal, there was no reason to sour the first impression.
When Hillan suddenly asked for a private audience with Louise, he thought little of it.
He wanted to personally deliver clues about Roger—what could they do? And asking him to do it in a public hall was unreasonable given Hillan’s status had grown too large.
But why had that conversation led to granting him the annex palace right beside the king’s own quarters?
The annex palace had already been assigned.
“Because I liked it.”
“······.”
He shouldn’t have asked.
At that single remark that pierced his heart, the king ground his teeth.
“What do you like about that man?”
“Do I have to tell you?”
“Of course you do! Tell me everything! What exactly about him do you like? What tricks did that bastard use on you? Don’t leave out a single thing!”
“Why?”
“‘Why,’ you say?”
“Father, I’m not a child anymore.”
“To me, you’re still···!”
He barely managed to hold back the word child. Louise hated that.
“···Even so, it makes no sense for you to keep a man outside the family by your side for an entire month. As your father, as the King of Berfht, I cannot allow it.”
“It’s absolutely necessary.”
“Why? Don’t tell me you actually intend to— to—”
“No.”
The king let out a quiet sigh of relief. Louise sighed as well at the sight.
“Then?”
“Because I need him.”
“And I’m asking why you need him.”
She couldn’t tell the truth. No one except the knights who were with her knew that Louise had personally killed Max.
“I realized my own weakness.”
“Weakness?”
“That day in Ormus, I couldn’t protect the knights. I lost the dwarves who followed me because of my failure. I don’t want that to happen again.”
“That’s a commendable mindset.”
But that was all.
“There are many talented people in the kingdom. Some even stronger than Hillan Cargill.”
“But none like Hillan Cargill the ‘Hero.’”
“There’s no need for him to be a hero—”
“It was a demon who humiliated me that day.”
“There are heroes stronger than Hillan Cargill! Someone like Rozel Charnte—”
“Father.”
“···Hmm?”
The king faltered under her sharp gaze.
“Rozel Charnte is a mage.”
“···Right, of course. But still!”
“It’s only for a month at most, Father. Please.”
“······.”
“It’s nothing like the kind of relationship you’re imagining.”
“···Fine.”
In the end, the king had no choice but to grant his daughter’s request.
“You.”
But his anger hadn’t completely cooled.
He might have been a father powerless before his daughter, but as king of a nation, he still held authority over the Hero Guild’s Argan.
“So, it’s you?”
“I’m not sure what you mean, Your Majesty.”
“I heard Louise gave you the annex palace right beside hers.”
“Yes.”
“I already assigned you a separate residence, did I not?”
“···Her Highness requested my instruction.”
“Yes, I know. My daughter ‘asked’ you first, didn’t she?”
“Yes.”
The king had to suppress the urge to crush that smiling face. The thought that this cunning man might have sweet-talked his daughter made his insides boil.
“Argan Hillan Cargill of the Hero Guild.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Does a hero like you really have time to stay here for a whole month?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. If it’s Her Highness’s request, I could stay two months.”
Normally, that would’ve been absurd. There were countless things a hero could accomplish in a month—why waste it guarding a princess?
But when he thought of the achievements and fame he would gain afterward, it was an easy price to pay.
The king, however, took it differently.
“Because you have designs on Louise?”
“···Pardon?”
“I asked if you’re lingering around for a month or two because you have wicked intentions toward my daughter.”
‘What the hell.’
They said the king doted on his second princess, but to interpret it like this?
It was almost refreshing to witness what he’d only heard in rumors. He almost laughed, but luckily, his expression didn’t crack.
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding requires something worth misunderstanding.”
“Are you saying it’s not a misunderstanding?”
“Of course it’s not. It’s a certainty.”
That wasn’t the gaze of a king addressing an envoy. It was the glare of a father sizing up his daughter’s suitor.
“···How can I make you believe me, Your Majesty?”
“You can refuse Louise’s request and leave the kingdom.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Impossible?”
“I came here as an official envoy. I cannot return without any results.”
“I’m offering to give you those results myself.”
The king clicked his tongue. He felt like he was being manipulated, but it was still better than watching this man stay by his daughter’s side.
“Her Highness wouldn’t wish for that.”
“Are you threatening me now?”
“How could I dare? I merely ask for Your Majesty’s grace.”
“Hmm.”
The king swallowed a groan.
He had scolded Hillan out of anger, but ultimately, it was a battle he couldn’t win.
Hillan was both Argan and a Star, and he had Louise’s request as justification.
He could override that, but the aftermath wouldn’t be pleasant.
Even so, his reaction was simply that of a father protecting his daughter.
“···Be careful. I’ll be watching.”
“There will never be anything for Your Majesty to worry about.”
“That somehow makes me feel worse. Are you saying my daughter isn’t attractive?”
“···Of course, Her Highness is more beautiful than anyone.”
“Then you do have designs on her!”
“······.”
Hillan was only released after enduring another hour of this interrogation.
“Please understand. His Majesty only acts that way because he loves Louise so deeply.”
“It’s fine.”
The prince of the kingdom comforted the mentally exhausted Hillan Cargill.
“But you really don’t have any designs on Louise, right?”
“······.”
The king wasn’t the only one who doted on the Second Princess.
* * *
Reina Sordein’s proposal was rather intriguing.
At the same time, it raised a question.
‘Why?’
The words cooperation and demon didn’t go well together.
Especially among Demon Kings who descended into each dimension, their individualism only grew stronger. Though they pursued the same goal of dimensional conquest, they viewed one another as rivals.
Yet they didn’t intentionally sabotage each other either.
They didn’t cooperate, but unless malice was involved, they didn’t interfere.
That was why Reina Sordein’s actions to help her were puzzling.
‘Reina Sordein is involved?’
Starting with Berje Deias—whom the Archduke Arkaine had warned her to keep an eye on—then Reina Sordein, Ugar Velbek, and even Jason Kokemundo, who had threatened her.
Vivian suspected all the Demon Kings.
Naturally. The high-ranking demon that Draxon had mentioned right before his death could not have been commanded by anyone but a Demon King.
“There are two possibilities.”
Reina Sordein wasn’t acting alone. Ugar Velbek was with her.
That meant two Demon Kings had joined forces.
Even the Harmony of the Towers—a network among Demon Kings—was astonishing, but two uniting for a single purpose was unprecedented.
That fact alone was shocking, yet it also meant the matter at hand was that grave.
To exaggerate slightly, it was no different from a Demon King killing another Demon King. If their aim was to clear their names quickly, cooperation was somewhat understandable.
“If not that…”
Then one of them was the culprit, and they were trying to hide it or pin it on someone else.
Vivian leaned toward the latter.
‘The fact that they’re personally kidnapping the princess is suspicious.’
It was far too proactive when they could have simply provided information.
She wondered if they were abducting the princess to hide the evidence through deceit.
‘Since the Archduke is so invested, they’re likely pretending to cooperate to avoid suspicion.’
It was a reasonable suspicion.
That was why she refused Reina’s offer to kidnap Louise Berfht herself.
“Who do they take me for? The Demon Kings of Arein are all so damn arrogant.”
On a night when the full moon hid behind the clouds, Vivian Blunt spread her black wings.
She slipped quietly into the Kingdom of Berfht.
‘I hope that dwarf girl Louise truly holds solid evidence… Archduke Arkaine, don’t tell me you’d deceive me and break your promise.’
Vivian drifted into a sweet dream of returning to the Demon Realm.