CHAPTER 74………………….
Black particles swirled and clumped together in the air.
Then, in an instant, they transformed into something like a black whip…
“Uaaaah!”
They coiled in one sweep around the spot where Calion had just struck.
Even through my palm, I could feel something being caught inside that black shroud.
The knights rushed at the barrier I had created, and my heart pounded hard.
It didn’t hurt. I wasn’t dizzy.
“I don’t even feel like throwing up!”
The bloodstone really worked!
The knights thrashed about inside the shroud, and one of them roughly tore off a brooch ornament.
The moment the brooch was ripped away, the head of the merchant guild was revealed.
Now he was groveling to anyone who could see him.
“P-please…! Just this once, I was only asked to do this! It was Halcyon—”
But Minte’s voice rang out louder.
“Drag him away at once!”
“Please—!”
It was utter chaos.
Seeing that, I whispered under my breath.
“Hmph, serves you right.”
Honestly, I wanted to shake him upside down until nothing was left.
‘But if I do, the people cleaning up afterward will have a hard time, so I should stop here…’
When I turned around, though, I found myself face-to-face with Ares, arms crossed.
Judging from his expression, he’d heard exactly what I’d just said.
“……”
“……”
It was a very awkward moment.
With a sullen look, Ares muttered.
“You always scold me for my bad language every day.”
“Ah, just now! That was—”
“You’re younger than me, so shouldn’t you use refined, pretty words? Your Highness?”
“I’m fine with it!”
“What? And you think it’s okay for the future ruler of Erebos to speak that way?”
This brat…
Catching one slip, and now he’s lecturing his older sister?
‘I may look like this, but inside I’m already twenty, you know?’
Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.
So instead, I proudly placed a hand on my chest and declared:
“Because! I’m a princess!”
“……”
“Since I’m a princess, it’s fine!”
“Oh…”
Ares tilted his head, then gave a sly smile.
How could such a cocky expression suit a child that young?
“Ah. Because you’re a princess.”
“Uh… ah… yeah.”
…Why do I feel so embarrassed after saying that?
‘But honestly, it’s not wrong, is it? Ugh.’
Still, I was so mortified that I wanted to run away.
Calion came over to my side and frowned at Ares.
“Ismenios. Don’t get fresh with Lady Sion. You’re being terribly rude.”
“Ha! You should be thanking me, Prince. If it weren’t for me, your support would’ve been cut in half!”
“If it weren’t you, another knight would’ve helped.”
“What was that?”
“Tsk.”
“You little—”
Ah, both of you, don’t fight.
Lete scooped me up again and scolded them.
“Your Highness Alcyone, my lord! Helping Minte is good, but enough bickering!”
“Hmph. Fine.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And you, princess, don’t overdo it… Oh my goodness!”
When Lete saw my face, she gasped.
“P-princess! Are you alright?!”
“Mm… no biggie.”
Damn. The little bloodstone stopped the dizziness and nausea, but—
‘In the end, I still got a nosebleed.’
Well, it was only a stopgap measure anyway.
Nothing to do but endure it as a minor side effect.
Just then, fireworks burst outside the window.
Cheers erupted from people who still had no idea what had just happened.
It was the signal marking the end of the turbulent concert.
After the concert, the bloodstone incident was swiftly wrapped up.
As we suspected, at Count Stenel’s estate, they found a contract showing he had sold bloodstones to the Burton Merchant Guild.
Meanwhile, among the guildmaster’s belongings was a payment record from Halcyon.
‘Blinded by money, with no fear at all.’
The Burton guildmaster cried that he had no idea why Halcyon wanted bloodstones.
「It’s true! The guild only takes money… we don’t pry any further!」
At least, for now, we had stopped the priest’s schemes.
‘Though it’s still unsettling not knowing what the temple is plotting.’
Were they trying to provoke another war with the demons?
Or did they have some other goal?
Either way, I clicked my tongue as I watched Teraine send the culprits to Father.
‘Especially Count Stenel—he’s finished.’
He’d even gone as far as insulting the late queen.
Even recalling his words from that day made me feel sick.
Strangely though, Ares also seemed oddly downcast.
At first, he’d been excited—“We caught the bad guys!”—but since we returned to the palace, he looked gloomy.
I watched my youngest brother sprawled listlessly on the parlor sofa and whispered:
“Why is Ares like that?”
“……”
Calion was watching Ares from a distance too.
From the little one, an aura of sheer gloom radiated.
“Calion. Did something happen when you went to retrieve the ship?”
“Hmm… well… compared to then…”
Seeing him trail off, I was sure something had happened.
‘Guess I’ll have to go and ask him myself.’
I trotted down into the parlor.
Even though he must’ve heard me coming, Ares stayed there with his arms crossed.
But when I perched on the sofa armrest, he silently inched closer by a hand’s breadth.
“Ares. What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“N-no!”
“Really?”
I reached out and patted his head.
Normally he’d flare up—“Don’t treat me like a kid!”—but now he stayed quiet.
“You caught the bad guy, used your flames without losing control too.”
“……”
“You did so many good things, so why aren’t you happy?”
His lips, clamped tight, trembled faintly.
When Ares turned his head, his red eyes wavered with hesitation.
“…You know, Sion.”
“Mm.”
“When that guildmaster was talking, and we were listening in.”
“Yeah.”
“He called demons monsters.”
“……”
“Said they had horns, looked strange…”
At that, I looked up at the ceiling.
‘Hah. Should’ve beaten that bastard harder, huh?’
For letting such garbage words reach my little brother’s ears, I should’ve hung him by the ankles and shaken him empty.
Anger at the man mingled with pity as I stroked Ares’s head more gently.
“Did his opinion matter that much to you? Enough to make you feel bad?”
“Of course not!”
In a small, sulky voice, Ares muttered:
“But it pissed me off…”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t know anything about us, and yet he says that!”
With eyes blazing, Ares declared:
“We’re not monsters.”
“…Of course not.”
I remembered the battlefield that now felt like another lifetime.
Back then, what had I thought?
‘…If I had met Ares in those days, would I have spat such insults too?’
Chewing on the guilt spreading through my chest, I patted the youngest’s cheek.
“You’re right, Ares.”
“Sion.”
“He didn’t know anything about us, nor did he try to. That’s all it was.”
“……”
“Words from someone like that aren’t worth remembering.”
“Yeah.”
“Write them down on paper and burn it.”
“Yeah!”
Color slowly returned to Ares’s face.
Then he snapped his head toward Calion, who’d been silently watching us, and grumbled:
“What. Got a problem?”
“Are you an idiot?”
Calion looked exasperated.
But there was no malice between them.
‘Maybe this incident will help the two of them get along better.’
If so, even this mess had its silver lining.
Just then, Ares blinked at me again.
“Ah, but Sion.”
“Mm?”
“Why did you ask brother-in-law for bloodstones?”
“Oh, that…?”
Count Teraine and his wife had bowed their heads several times, saying they wanted to show me their gratitude.
‘But honestly, I don’t really need anything right now.’
With my meager experience, I could only think of things I already had—jewelry, the lands of the capital I’d rule one day, pretty dresses.
So instead, I asked for a few of the confiscated bloodstones.
‘Those bloodstones that nearly ended up in Halcyon’s hands!’
They were disposable, unable to fully suppress my divine power.
‘But a hundred, a thousand times better than nothing! Now if push comes to shove, I can use magic too!’
What’s a nosebleed or two in exchange?
I smiled brightly, about to answer Ares.
“Actually! Because I liked them—”
“They look exactly like frog blood.”
“……”
“Sion, you… like that sort of thing?”
The corner of my lips twitched violently.
‘L-look at that kid’s eyes!’
