Akuyaku Reijo Ni Koi Wo Shite Chapter 72

“The Hidden Truth.”

There was a conference being held inside the Camargue castle, and the Knight Commander barged his way in as soon as he arrived. He was in such a rush that he didn't even have time to catch a breather, but he did not complain, he was the person who wanted to put things in order the most.

He couldn't fail to notice that this conference was a rather private affair and the only attendees he knew personally were Rion, Ariel, and Sol.

「You took your time getting here, old man.」

And those were the first words the host directed at him.

「My journey was anything but slow, actually. I arrived faster than planned.」

Frederick had traveled to Camargue in a hurry, indeed. And while his journey hadn't quite taken half the usual time required to cross the distance, it had been pretty close to that – off by a mere handful of days.

「What I meant was that the decision to come here itself was late.」

「…That is on you due to making your motives so unclear.」

「I’m reflecting on that. I might have overestimated you a bit. I thought you’d be able to understand without us making a move.」

「As if. Even now, I still do not get it. Why did you have to push the situation to such a grave point?」

All Frederick could see Rion demand was a removal of the leaders.h.i.+p of the compromised organizations. The Knight Commander was ready to undertake all necessary steps for this as soon as Rion faced the King with such a request. The boy has proved himself to be reliable enough to make such an outcome possible.

「…I see. You really do not understand it at all.」

「As I said.」

「You don't understand more than you think. How to manage the situation is secondary to why have we ended here in the first place. Why do you think I've done all this?」

「…Because the governing elites of the kingdom betrayed you, right?」

From the way Rion asked, Frederick already knew that he had been mistaken. However, he couldn't figure out how and to what extent.

「Oh, there are traitors, indeed. But do you know who did they really betray?」

「…Are you saying they betrayed the king, not just you?」

The Knight Commander guessed that the plotters had schemed something that would benefit Merica in a big way.

「If it was just that, I wouldn't have bothered.」

「Hey now?」

「Just so you know, before I explain, I have no solid evidence for my conjectures. Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced I'm correct either. Which is, perhaps, why my intentions lacked clarity to such an extent.」

「….Continue.」

A situation that could restrain Rion, preventing him from acting overtly. A very idea of such a thing shook Frederick to the core.

「Very well. But do listen to the end, even if what I say sounds unbelievable. I ask the same of you, Princess.」

「W-What!?」

The Knight Commander exclaimed in surprise hearing who Rion addressed.

「What are you so surprised about? Didn’t you already know that she was here?」

Rion was completely unfazed by that.

「Even if I did… Why must she be here?」

They were about to discuss internal affairs of the Kingdom of Gran Flamm. Frederick wasn't happy about doing this in the presence of a princess from another, hostile, country.

「You’ll know soon enough. Where should we start… Ah, right, some self-introductions are in order.」

「Self-introductions, my dear host?」

「Isn’t that needed, highness? Take this old man here, the Knight Commander of Gran Flamm kingdom, whose name is… completely unknown to me now that I think about it.」

「…Frederick Dawson, Commander of the Knightly Orders. While I have never expected that the two of us would meet in this kind of situation, it is nevertheless a pleasure to make your acquaintance, your royal highness.」

Even though he was muttering complaints under his breath, Frederick still stood up and introduced himself, properly greeting the Princess. His position demanded a certain level of decorum, after all.

「I am Olivia Clockford, Second Princess of the Kingdom of Merica. The man next to me is my royal knight, sir Yuri Stewart. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Dawson.」

「Having a chance to meet the famous Frederick Dawson is an honor. I am Yuri Stewart, my lord.」

Having been presented by Princess Olivia, Yuri had also introduced himself. He had come to Camargue after hearing that Rion had been accepting Merican envoys. He hadn't known he had been actively baited to show up in this manner.

「Those two are Mercury Blau and Venus Weiss. Personal guards of me and my wife respectively.」

「You have a personal guard?」

This was an interesting piece of news for the Knight Commander who had wanted to put Sol at Rion’s side.

「I am a territory lord, after all. I can call them how I want, can't I?」

Rion mistook Frederick’s reaction for as a rebuke for doing things that didn't fit his current social status.

「Without a doubt.」

「Then stop complaining about how others run their affairs. Now, the introductions are made, let’s get back to the main topic.」

「…Let's.」

It was true that he was in no position to complain about the inner workings of the Viscount House of Bandeaux. Furthermore, those two were personally acknowledged by Rion, there must have been something in them despite their young age.

He decided he would just investigate them later, the pressing issue of the day came first.

「So, traitors. We were talking about who and what was exactly being betrayed, right?」

「Correct.」

「Let's establish something first. If I, and the soldiers under my command, failed to escape into the territory of the Merica Kingdom, what do you think would have happened to us?」

「…Escaped?」

「That’s right, escaped. I wasn’t really planning to invade Merica. I advanced in that direction only because there was no other escape route. That was also why I attacked Princess Olivia’s headquarters — breaking the enemy's chain of command would make this maneuver easier.」

「Did you not have pre-existing plans to invade Merica before that?」

「I did, but only to open an escape route if one was required. I am quite aware that I’m pretty hated at the court, and people get killed all the time by friendly troops in the confusion of the battlefield.」

Well, they did in historical novels Ryou read, at least. This kind of meticulous preparation for even the smallest kind of risk was what made Rion so fearsome. In this situation, though, he was lying. Although it was true that he had been wary of the possible betrayal, the reason, why he had moved Bandeaux and Hashu Army as he had, had been to deny Orcus the chance to invade Bandeaux. He kept silent about this now because he didn’t want to inform Gran Flamm of Orcus’ betrayal.

「….Mhm.」

Frederick wasn't entirely convinced, but there was no time for lengthy probing either.

「So, old man, what do you think would have happened if we failed to escape?」

「Breakdown of the chain of command and failure to execute orders would bring confusion to numerous units. Your troops would probably get exterminated by Merica.」

「And then? How would the rest of the interception force affect the situation?」

「Our army at the time also moved south in pursuit of the enemy. Merican forces would be attacked from behind, and suffer huge damage.」

「I’ve heard that the remaining forces gave chase. What I need to know is when exactly were they ordered to act. That will confirm or disprove my theory.」

「….When did they move?」

Frederick still didn't understand the meaning of Rion’s question.

「How did our commanders know that the headquarters of Merican army fell? Our intelligence network should not be functioning properly at that point. And even if it was, would there be enough time prepare for a general attack south? Just from distance alone, our enemies should learn about Princess Olivia's defeat faster than us.」

「That is true…」

Again, the inconsistencies in chronology reared their head. Without an accurate and detailed information, it was difficult to have a good idea of even one’s own army's situation. The order to counterattack seemed fine under normal circ.u.mstances, but even then, issuing it on the basis of such a suspicious piece of information like "the routed elements of your army have overrun enemy headquarters" was undoubtedly a mistake. And while the investigating Royal Guards had noticed the inconsistency in the order of events, they had treated it as part of the plot to attack Rion, thus failing to question things larger in scope.

「…Fine, you got me, cut to the chase already.」

「I think the traitor’s objective was simply to kill a lot of people. It didn't matter who died as long as they were human.」

「….What?」

The Knight Commander finally connected the dots. But he really didn't want to believe his conclusions were right. But Olivia and the others, lacking certain crucial facts, had no clue what all that meant and the frustration started to show on their faces. This made Rion turn to the Princess with his next question.

「Highness, why do you think demons attack people?」

「That is just their nature, no? They are like the demonic beasts in this.」

That was the only motive that Princess Olivia, a person originating from a place with no demon activity, could think of. And because she hadn't met Maria, the Princess was oblivious to both the existence of the devils and their goals.

「I would agree if people were accidental victims of demons wreaking havoc. But those demons target, humans on purpose. Or rather, there are being made to do so by the devils.」

「What is a devil?」

「That is a good question I lack a good answer for. All I know is that their main objective seems to be revival of their G.o.d — the Demon G.o.d.」

「…Is there really such a thing as the G.o.d of the devils?」

Olivia had never before heard about such a thing, not even in folk tales. The name stirred no memories and didn't sound familiar at all.

「I cannot say for certain, princess. The devils certainly seem to believe in that. Which raises a question.」

「A question?」

「If they believe in the existence of their G.o.d, bringing him back should be their first priority. So why do they waste time organizing demon attacks on humans? Isn't this odd?」

「…I am sorry, I still cannot wrap my head around this.」

「If the Demon G.o.d is truly sealed away, the devils should be working to break or remove that seal, right?」

「…Right.」

Although Olivia agreed hesitantly, she was still unsure on why would this make sense. Rion's train of thoughts was natural to him, because of all the fantasy novels Ryou had read in his life. People without such background would naturally struggle to follow this train of thought.

「And yet the devils are apparently not doing that, they are busy making sure people die instead.」

Rion was basing his a.s.sertions mainly on Maria's inaction on the subject. The game protagonist was only trying to prevent major demon a.s.saults and wasn't making any preparation to interrupt the breaking of the seal. That meant that there either was no such event in the game or that it was far off in the future. Rion was inclined to believe the former.

「And this leads me to believe that having people die is necessary for lifting the seal. Does this sound familiar, princess?」

「…Don’t tell me, a human sacrifice?」

「Oh, so it does.」

「I have come across legends of that type involving an ancient deity from the southern part of the continent.」

「Is that so? Well, in our case, I believe things to be similar, even if I have no certainty. The devils probably require a huge number of human lives to be sacrificed to break the seal. That is likely why they incite demons to target humans. But if one wants a lot of people to die, demons are not the only way to go about it, right?」

「…Don’t tell me.」

The princess understood at last. Although it was something hard to believe, if this information proved to be true, it would be of grave importance to the Merica Kingdom. Olivia started to estimate possible consequences even while half of her mind was stunned in surprise.

「Incidentally, do not try to leverage this information to get other countries to attack Grann Flamm. Consequences for Merica would be rather dire.」

Rion immediately warned the princess. Out of pure good will in this case.

「Consequences for our country?」

「You have initiated this conflict. Clearly, there must have been someone to propose the invasion. And it wouldn't be an insignificant bureaucrat. That person is rather important, right?」

「That’s….」

Olivia’s reaction showed that Rion’s conjecture was true. The war, exactly as Rion had said, had been based on a plan that a high ranking official had proposed to the king.

「I was spot on, huh… If that’s the case, I believe you should start having serious doubts about that person. Are they really working for the sake of your country? Did they really propose that invasion strategy with the aim of having Merica win?」

「…Are you implying that the person in question is a devil?」

「Again, I cannot say for sure. But I believe there’s a chance that you have been tricked. Top military officials of the Gran Flamm kingdom have promised a betrayal. This is proven beyond doubt. It is not a stretch to think that such a promise was what prompted your official to act.」

「…」

It was as Rion had said. But it would be naive to dismiss all the suspicions just because the government figure in question might have been tricked. Nevertheless, hearing Rion raise this possibility himself, only increased the authenticity of his words in Olivia's mind. She was now willing to believe the idea of traitors-devils.

「Does my idea sounds plausible now, princess?」

「….Yes.」

「Great. It's up to you to investigate the rest of the facts. But be careful, please. Their objective is to kill, they will not hesitate because you're a royal.」

「Alright.」

「Now then, sir knight, it’s your job to help her highness with that. You should, by now, have a good idea of who exactly is suspicious , right?」

Rion turned towards the man standing behind Olivia, Yuri.

「…Was that not why you had me investigate all those things until now?」

Taking Olivia’s captivity as a hostage situation, Yuri had felt himself forced to comply with numerous requests of Rion. Only now did he grasp the reason behind all that.

Rion had been using Yuri to gather intelligence required to support his idea.

And while Yuri had only been pretending to cooperate fully, purposely leaving out most of the important details, Rion was still able to see through the deception, and was able to uncover the truth within the limited information provided to him. Also, now the knight also understood why Olivia needed to be informed of this as well.

「Maybe. I believe that the two countries must cooperate in this case. Or at least stop hindering or trying to take advantage of each other.」

「Agreed. I think so too.」

At least, until the threat of the devils was hanging over the land. It might be a temporary truce, but for the most part, Olivia agreed with Rion.

「Excellent. With this, there's no more reason to keep you here. Do return to your country at once, princess.」

「Eh?」

「I believe speed to be of the essence in this situation. If anything is required to enable you to travel faster, let me know, it will be arranged.」

「…Is this really fine?」

She already knew from the very start that Rion had been really serious about releasing her in the near future. So this last question was not addressed to him, but to the Knight Commander.

「…I saw and heard nothing. Hypothetically, if I were to find your royal highness in such circ.u.mstances, I would consider continuing to detain you a bad decision. I would also wish you swift return to your country so that you could shed light on the conspiracy and remove the devil in question. I would also consider a very close cooperation to be a splendid idea.」

「If you were to find me like that, I would give you my word as a Princess of the Kingdom of Merica, Lord Dawson.」

「Mhm. I will put my faith in those words. Now then, what are we going to do with that crucial country of ours, boy?」

Merica Kingdom’s matters would be left to Merican people. What Frederick wanted to know was how should the matters of Gran Flamm proceed according to Rion.

「Do you have no ideas of your own, old man?」

「Oh, I am thinking. Hard. But all this is a little… sudden.」

「That “suddenness” is your responsibility.  You should have a greater ability to investigate than Bandeaux and yet you found out nothing. The truth is, I’m the one who wants to ask for more information.」

「All this is your fault, you know?.」

「Hah?」

「Every time you make a move, everyone’s attention gathers on you. In fact, they focus on you so much that they become blind to other things. Isn’t it about time for you to realize just what kind of person you are?」

The people in the room all showed their agreement, nodding along to the Knight Commander’s words. The only one who disagreed was the person in question, Rion.

「That is just pa.s.sing your responsibility to others. But the Demon G.o.d aside, just how much do you think they have noticed?」

「They have at least noticed that his highness, the Crown Prince, was doubting them.」

「Arnold?」

「…Show a modic.u.m of respect, please.」

The Knight Commander smiled bitterly as he said that and Olivia, listening from the side, was uneasy. In Merica, if the Crown Prince came to know that a viscount addressed him without the due respect, he would destroy that Viscount's future. But she soon came to a conclusion that Rion's att.i.tude was beneficial to her country.

「His highness, the Crown Prince, I meant to say. Why would his highness do such a thing?」

「He expended quite the effort to prevent a punitive expedition upon your lands. Some of the exchanges he had with the main suspect seemed off to him.」

「So very unnecessary.」

「He did that on purpose. By implying betrayal, he has set certain things in motion. In a way, he was the closest to grasp your real motive.」

「But it could also end up a hindrance. Our targets are likely getting rid of evidence as we speak.」

「Evidence of what? The existence of a Demon G.o.d? How can you even prove somebody is a devil?」

「I don't know. Demonic idols and the like? Eh, a long shot, I guess. Even if such things existed, they would not be easy to find.」

This was rather flippant, but Rion had for a long time sought a way to prove that a person was a devil in disguise. He had found nothing, which had been one of the reasons why he hadn't done more until now.

「…So how do you want to proceed?」

「Doesn’t that woman know of a way to see through a devil's disguise?」

Love her or hate her, Maria was the one with most knowledge on the subject.

「I have not considered such a possibility, there was no reason to make such inquiries of Miss Theodore.」

「…I guess there's nothing to expect from that direction, then. Especially if you still know nothing of use despite spending so much time around her. And, I guess, even if she knew something, she's still likely to lie and pretend otherwise.」

It was obvious to Rion by this point that Maria wanted to rake in all the achievements worthy of the protagonist. She was acting based on her desire to be praised by the people, and she was likely to be fine with hiding information until a moment that offered the greatest opportunity to capitalize on it came.

「Do you really see no way forward?」

「Not entirely. But the only viable solution is a huge gamble, and I'm feeling hesitant.」

「It will have to do for lack of other choices.」

Frederick believed there was no more time for careful deliberations. Even as they were sitting here discussing the matters, the devils could be scheming something vile.

「Easy for you to say. It might make me a murderer, or a criminal that attempted murder. That means execution.」

「…Is that so.」

He finally understood the all-or-nothing gamble that Rion was hesitating about.

「Nevertheless, it has to be done. I have already discussed this with my wife, we'll go ahead.」

「Is that so… So be it. If you fail, I shall join you on the gallows.」

「…Don’t you be saying that so casually, old man.」

Several days pa.s.sed. After seeing off Princess Olivia’s and her attendants as they departed for Merica, Rion set out for the capital immediately. He was only accompanied by Frederick and the Royal Guards under the command of Sol Aristes. Not a single people from Bandeaux came with him. This was a precaution just in case someone planned to do something to Bandeaux in his absence.

Ariel knew that Rion wished it because he didn’t want her to die in case something were to happen in the capital. And that was exactly why she chose to remain. Not to live on as Rion secretly wished her to, but to be able to die while exacting revenge.

She wished to deter the Kingdom from taking Rion’s life by making everyone know this.