Chapter 59
“Are you sure it’s a humanoid demon?”
“Yes, it’s certain.”
Impossible. Humanoid demons were Leopold’s exclusive. Only Leopold could create that dreadful thing, and that person—Marquis Blanche looked back at Silbert. His white eyes were bloodshot, every vein burst and reddened.
Marquis Blanche asked again.
“Maybe it was a mistake. Humanoid demons completely disappeared after Leopold’s tragedy. Could you have seen some other demon that looked similar…?”
“No, it was definitely a humanoid demon. It wasn’t tall, but it had intelligence. I also hope it isn’t true. I captured two of them alive. So please, Marquis, you should verify it yourself.”
Once they said they’d captured them alive, denial became difficult. Even if one assumed that the dead dark mage Theodore claimed to have found had made them, there was no idea where to even begin investigating. Something that should never have been created had seen the light of the world again.
“Then are these wounds caused by the demons?”
“No. These… were left to me by the dead dark mage.”
“Left to you? Didn’t you say he was already dead when you found him?”
“His heart was definitely stopped, but he moved like someone thrashing, and then said this.”
The bandages that Theodore had wrapped as if tightly binding something were completely unwound, revealing darkened flesh and slashes that looked as if made by a blade. But on closer inspection they weren’t wounds. Theodore recognized that it was a sign, and at the same time he said words that made Silbert’s ears doubt what they’d heard.
“Leopold will be revived. Death will soon come.”
“!”
“He left me a mark.”
No matter how skilled a paladin commander Marquis Blanche was, he could not have been untouched by the shock of Leopold’s tragedy. Enough time had passed that the memory had dulled, so he could not immediately recognize Leopold’s mark. Blanche slowly gripped Theodore’s arm. Memories that would not be forgotten came back to life.
That demon used to leave marks on the slaughtered paladins, as if they were trophies. The horrific scene reappeared before them.
Corpses of comrades entwined like vines, flesh melted by pestilence, the sickening stench of rot and the worse metallic reek of blood.
“That’s why I called on you to sit with us, Marquis. High Priest and Marquis, didn’t you help cut off Leopold’s life with the ‘Nameless Knight’? But how…?”
Only then did Marquis Blanche understand why Theodore had made such a request. He had judged that of everyone present, only these three could handle the current crisis.
“He’s dead.”
At that moment, a heavy footfall struck the audience chamber like a rolling stone hitting the ceiling. The owner of the footsteps was Silbert.
“That demon died at ‘Albion’s’ hands. I saw it plainly. That is an unchanging fact. ‘Albion’ and Leopold—both died before my eyes.”
The audience could not continue for long. “Leopold’s revival” was not something that could be resolved in a few words. After thinking it over, Dylan decided to increase the number of knights guarding the border. However, since the reinforcements would all be paladins, having paladins suddenly appear at the border could create panic, so Silbert arranged an appropriate pretext.
Also, Blanche and Theodore would take charge of investigating the dark mage’s base that Theodore had discovered. The villager population of Floa had already been evacuated, so news that a demon had ambushed them would likely have spread throughout the town. Calming their fears was the immediate priority. It was also important to prevent the news from leaking. They decided to use “purification efforts” as an excuse to reassure the villagers while conducting a careful investigation.
They agreed to keep this from other aides and Klagen for now. The fewer people who knew about Leopold, the better. His name alone inspired terror and spread fear. There would inevitably come a time when they’d have to tell others, but for the moment it was not that time.
As soon as the audience ended, Dylan left the chamber first to send a messenger to Count Boltz, but Silbert and Marquis Blanche checked Theodore’s arm before leaving.
“Sir Arvelche, hold your arm out.”
“…….”
“Thank heavens. You’re not cursed. It’s literally only a mark.”
Silbert’s voice trembled faintly as he examined Theodore’s condition.
“There’s no poison; you’re fine. Think of it like a cut from a blade. That’s about it. The one who left the mark wasn’t powerful enough to curse you like Leopold did.”
Theodore watched in silence as Silbert let his holy power hover near the mark. The white light formed a small orb that circled the mark. It carried warmth, like the touch of sunlight. The sign, which at first had looked like a serious wound and a black bruise, vanished in an instant. It was as though no wound had been there at all.
Checking his arm’s movement to confirm he was fine, Theodore thanked him and at the same time voiced a question that had been gnawing at him.
“High Priest.”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”
Silbert hesitated briefly and then spoke quietly.
“Do you want to ask who ‘Albion’ is?”
“……If it’s rude, please forget my question.”
Marquis Blanche answered for Silbert then.
“It’s not rude. You’re a paladin commander too, so it’s fine for you to know. It’s been a long time… ‘Albion’ is someone you also know.”
Theodore was an active paladin commander. Among paladins there was hardly anyone he didn’t know. Even dead paladins were usually names he’d at least heard. But he had never heard the name ‘Albion’ before.
“Albion is the ‘Nameless Knight.’ When everyone else fled in terror, abandoning their duty as paladins, he alone fought Leopold and died—a legendary hero of the empire.”
At that moment Theodore’s eyes widened.
“Albion is the Nameless Knight? Isn’t that epithet meant to indicate that his name, origin—everything—is unknown?”
“That’s right. We don’t know where he came from. All we knew was that single name, and now even that name has been lost. Albion wanted it that way.”
Marquis Blanche recalled the last words of a fallen comrade—words he had shared with no one until now.
Like the meaning of his name, “white land,” Albion’s power purified or dispelled magic, and when he did, holy power lingered around him and the ground would shine white. He was a skilled paladin but did not want attention. When Blanche and Silbert were admired as young heroes, he always stood behind them.
He became known as the Nameless Knight when he used a holy stone to pierce Leopold’s heart. But there was more to that story.
Albion had driven a holy stone into Leopold’s chest, and while Leopold was crippled—bound and unable to move by immense holy power—Albion pierced his heart.
However, creating that holy stone consumed all of Albion’s holy power, and he was exposed to the tremendous magic that Leopold released when he died. Everyone assumed Albion had died, but he had survived—barely. His body had been melted by the magic and was slowly turning into a demon.
“If anyone asks who killed Leopold, don’t reveal my name. That’s my last wish.”
Whether fortunate or not, Albion died after saying that, already turned into a monster. Albion had insisted that his existence remain unknown. Blanche and Silbert gladly honored their comrade’s last request. Because when he died he’d become a demon, they secretly removed his body and held a quiet funeral away from prying eyes.
Until now, only Silbert, Blanche, and the previous emperor knew the truth. Dylan likely had heard of it from the former emperor as well. That was why his face had gone pale when he heard talk of Leopold’s revival.
Hearing that the one who had killed Albion—whose body had turned into a tragic monster—might rise again was almost unbelievable.
Hearing the previously hidden backstory, Theodore could not immediately speak.
He understood why the High Priest had said “Albion killed Leopold.” But one question remained unsettled.
“‘Albion and Leopold—both died before my eyes,’ didn’t he say?”
Yet the High Priest had emphasized the word “alone” as if intentionally.
“Then why does the High Priest say he wasn’t there?”
Theodore watched the High Priest carefully. Each time Albion’s name was mentioned, the High Priest seemed greatly agitated.
In the end Theodore did not ask the remaining question. He had a strong sense that that part would not be answered. Silbert himself knew it well. Even if Theodore had pressed him, Silbert would not have answered. Because the story of Albion he’d told contained parts that were untrue.
“What a contradiction.”
“…….”
“I told the truth but also lied.”
Silbert muttered the words with a wry laugh as he headed toward the High Priest’s chambers. Marquis Blanche’s footsteps stopped abruptly behind him. Silbert turned to look at Blanche. A long silence stretched between them. The first to break the quiet was the Marquis.
“Albion’s death is not your fault.”
“……But maybe he could have lived.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t have moved either. Don’t blame yourself. No one could face Leopold without fear.”
“No—you would have stood and fought. You say that, yet you were the first to step into the places Leopold had swept through.”
Silbert pressed his brows together. His white eyes still bore a reddish tinge from the bloodshot veins.
“I was the first to meet Leopold. But I couldn’t move. He had the corpses of our comrades in his hands; I only trembled instead of swinging my sword. Then Albion appeared.”
Albion was strong. He must have been terrified too, but he gripped his sword in courage and cut through the overwhelming magical pressure to fight Leopold. And he died. Seeing Albion die as a monster, Silbert had thought every night: if I hadn’t collapsed and had mustered courage, if I had fought alongside Albion, wouldn’t he have survived?
“If Leopold truly revives….”
“Don’t say such things. He is dead.”
“I know. I know that. But if he were to rise again and appear before me—”
Silbert smiled brightly and spoke with cruelty.
“That time, I won’t hesitate. I’ll thrust a blade through that bastard’s heart. I will, without fail.”
