Chapter 96………………………………………
“That’s right. That’s right.”
Zikren echoed his brother’s words.
“No matter how I think about it, we didn’t do anything wrong. So why did they suddenly distance themselves from us? According to the Grand Aunt, Mother must have sensed her death and tried to separate from us emotionally. But I can’t understand that. There must have been another reason.”
His golden eyes narrowed as if lost in thought.
“That’s why I keep worrying about that Windfarer. If I can find it and investigate, I feel like I can finally resolve the questions still lingering in my heart.”
“Yes, Zikren.”
Aldensis spoke, looking at his serious younger brother.
“The clerics also said that the deepest wound in our hearts is the sudden death of our mother. That’s what keeps causing us anxiety. But even Luelian, who has uncovered the truth behind many incidents, didn’t know the full details…”
“Right. That’s true.”
Luelian nodded.
“It was difficult to find out even if we wanted to. We were children at the time, and I was particularly at a loss…”
He paused for a moment.
The faces of Aldensis, Zikren, and Serene grew solemn.
Judging by their expressions, it must have been after Luelian’s parents had passed away. It made sense that he would have been at a loss.
“Anyway, we only ever picked up that such an incident had happened. Maybe this is a good opportunity to look into it in detail again.”
When Luelian finished speaking, Serene chimed in.
“I think so too. Did you see the expression on the Emperor’s face earlier? It was like, ‘You couldn’t find it back then, and now? It’s been over ten years! Is that even possible?’ But as the Crown Prince said, if Lady Aristina’s drive is with us, we might actually succeed this time.”
She smiled as if shaking off the lingering gloomy atmosphere and added,
“Anyway, wouldn’t it be amazing if we could recover the Windfarer? If we do well, the might even be held again during this Founding Festival. I only ever watched it as a child and never actually participated.”
“Is that so? I’m not particularly looking forward to it.”
Aldensis said indifferently.
“Winning a tournament and then offering a sword to the one you love—that’s a rather old-fashioned story, isn’t it? I only respect it because it’s an event tied to our empire’s historical roots.”
Then why do his eyes start sparkling?
“I’m not particularly expecting anything either, like my brother. But if the Knight Tournament is held, at least I can stretch my legs after a long time. I have zero interest in the other embarrassing stuff.”
Even Zikren seemed excited as he said that.
“Anyway, everyone…”
I looked around at them.
“It seems you all have high expectations, but you’re forgetting one important fact. If I’m going to do anything, the tournament must first be conducted fairly, right?”
“Isn’t that the most obvious thing, Princess?”
“But Your Highness, as you saw earlier, Princess Violet seems likely to interfere in a biased way, being close to Zion. Wouldn’t that be extremely unfair from my and other participants’ perspectives?”
When I raised this concern about the tournament, everyone’s expressions grew serious again.
“Now that you mention it…”
Aldensis furrowed his brow and said,
“Let’s assume Zion really didn’t know what was meant by ‘that year’s Founding Festival pair must succeed, or one of them will die.’ But he should still know that his sister’s remark as a child was 99% likely a bad thing. Even so, raising such a sensitive topic in front of his parents didn’t look good.”
“Yeah, I didn’t see it that way before, but now it’s clear.”
Zikren frowned as well.
“He might truly not have known, so I won’t say much. But until Aristina suddenly came to her senses and passed the re-examination, Zion was the only candidate for the family head. Anyone would be frustrated. So we must be careful.”
“Princess, Violet is a formidable child. She monopolizes her parents’ affection and is effectively powerful in the palace. She’ll use her influence to provide every kind of support.”
Aldensis commented on his five-year-old sister, and the others’ faces stiffened.
“We cannot allow Princess Violet to do as she pleases!”
Serene clenched her fists and shouted.
“Anyway, no other challengers will care about this task, unsolved for over ten years. In the end, only Lady Aristina would be harmed. The competition must be fair!”
“Right. Right. Cheating must be blocked completely.”
Everyone agreed.
“I’ll go to Father immediately and tell him not to listen to anything Violet requests.”
“I’ll go to Mother.”
“Then I’ll go to the Academy and make sure no one yields to her sudden requests for power.”
“I’ll spread the word in society.”
Aldensis, Zikren, Luelian, and Serene immediately scattered in different directions.
Exactly. The tournament must be fair.
“No cheating, not even in dreams.”
I imagined Zion’s frustrated face and smiled knowingly… then my gaze fell on the dragon emblem carved into the empty wall, and I suddenly remembered.
“Ah, wait a second.”
The word referring to the corrupted, fallen dragon: Serpenthas. It’s also the name of the Master Guild Luelian runs.
The fact that the word came from the obsidian Zion had given me seemed very important.
“Even if we discuss other things later at the guild, I should tell him this quickly.”
Luelian said he was going to the Academy earlier, right?
I hurried in the direction he had disappeared.
Since he moves so unpredictably, I thought it would take a long time to find him, but surprisingly, I spotted him quickly.
Luelian was soon surrounded by people.
Bureaucrats, those who wanted one more official seal, and just ladies and noble daughters who had drifted in as if hypnotized.
A colorful crowd had encircled him, all demanding his attention.
“Why is it so hard to see Your Highness? Even visiting the Holy Order, you’re nowhere to be found…”
“You need to mediate the dispute over idol worship quickly. Otherwise, it might lead to war. Just a letter from you should suffice.”
“How is the tour of the Elzenito region going?”
The hallway was in uproar from all the chatter. I clicked my tongue.
“This is no joke.”
Because he had recently been in prayer, his activities had completely stopped, and now the chaos was even worse.
Everyone has moments like this.
You delay as cleverly as possible, but eventually the waves of responsibility crash over you.
“Alright, everyone…”
Luelian had no choice but to force a polite smile and handle everyone’s requests one by one.
Then.
“There you are. Shouldn’t we quickly select the devout young ladies to perform the Saint’s duties at the Founding Festival?”
As if adding insult to injury, a group of imposing noblewomen arrived with several noble daughters in tow.
The daughters clearly showed extreme interest in Luelian.
“Won’t they misunderstand me again, like when I went to the library last time?”
It was an undesirable situation. Building resentment could turn into a deadly problem.
I tried to move away quickly.
But at that moment.
The scar on Luelian’s chest suddenly revealed itself.
Hmm?
Curious, I looked closely and sensed something was wrong.
A black energy spread out, attacking the wound, as if biting into it.
“What is this?”
I watched in surprise.
Lightning-like reactions sparked from the wound. The scar twisted violently in its unique, contorted form.
“The letters will be written according to priority…”
Luelian spoke while glancing at his wound.
He might have tried to secretly channel holy power to touch it with his hand… but nothing happened.
Instead, his hand touched only irrelevant spots.
“Could it be that he can’t see the black energy?”
The scar was an extremely sensitive area. Being attacked like that must have been excruciating.
But in front of everyone, he showed no reaction. His expression didn’t change, and there wasn’t even the slightest twitch beyond controlled movements.
The black energy ruthlessly tore at the wound, as if aware of the situation.
“If he really can’t see it, maybe I can help.”
I made up my mind and stepped forward.
“Huh? Isn’t that Your Highness?”
A sharp, fierce voice cut through the crowd’s chatter.
Those surrounding Luelian all turned toward me in surprise.
Even Luelian, under attack, looked at me puzzled.
“May I take a closer look?”
I raised my eyes and strode forward confidently. The fierce look silenced everyone for a moment.
Thanks to that, I reached Luelian without obstruction.
“You’re still wearing that fake amethyst. I told you it bothered me, didn’t I?”
I tapped near the jewel on his chest just to show the location, and the black energy fell away weakly.
Was it thanks to Aristina’s refined skill in slapping?
Luelian looked at me with wide eyes, then his expression changed.
“Truly unstoppable.”
That was the expression on his face.
But I noticed his eyes brightening subtly.
