Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Just a few days ago, Shan, who had wondered if an outstanding priest could sufficiently save even a fallen king, was newly astonished that such an event had coincidentally occurred.

Of course, he did not yet know how the King had been brought back to life.

“Then what happens now?”

“What do you mean, what happens?”

“This war itself started because the King fell. Don’t tell me everything just goes back to as if nothing happened?”

At Shan’s question, Roden let out a short groan, “Mm.”

“Of course that can’t be the case… For now, even to judge that, we need to quickly return to Palles City.”

Not only had the atmosphere become chaotic, but even Cheryn, who had to firmly maintain her balance as the leader of their faction, was said to look somewhat unstable.

In a situation where she needed to resolve this immediately, she was instead engrossed in work.

One could only guess that the revival of the King had likely dealt her a great shock.

At any rate, Roden’s opinion was that the only person who could become a pillar of support for her in a situation like this was Shan.

Since he was the Lord Protector of Palles, the strongest knight, and Cheryn’s closest friend.

“The Princess is?”

“Of course she didn’t express it, but that’s how it looked to me.”

If Roden said so, that must be right.

Having finished their secret conversation, Shan immediately sought understanding from Viscount of Treba, who was standing beside him.

“Excuse me, but something seems to have come up at the castle, so I’ll have to go on ahead.”

“Dear me, would it be rude if I followed along?”

“It shouldn’t be.”

Since she had merely told him to come quickly and hadn’t said to dump the Viscount somewhere or prevent him from coming, that was likely the case.

“Well, if that’s so. Go on ahead quickly. I shall follow slowly behind.”

For the escort to disappear ahead while escorting a guest was somewhat rude, but the Viscount did not seem to mind much.

No, rather, he seemed to be slightly pleased.

Leaving Roden to explain the situation to the others, Shan immediately mounted Arwin and galloped along the riverbank.

As if bored of matching paces with other horses all this time, Arwin vigorously moved her four legs to cut through the wind, covering a distance that would take an ordinary person a whole day of walking in a mere two hours.

*

Arriving at the harbor connected to Palles City, Shan immediately galloped along the road into the city, then ignored all rules, riding his horse all the way inside up to the Count’s castle.

“Did His Majesty the King really…”

“What will happen to us now?”

“Since it’s treason-”

Upon storming in, just as Roden had said, he could feel that the atmosphere inside the castle was unsettled in various ways.

When he arrived in front of the stables, the servants who recognized his face bowed deeply.

“Ah, you have arrived, Sir Shan!”

“Here, he has come a long way, so feed him something good.”

Handing Arwin’s reins to the stable master, Shan strode forward with the fastest steps possible within the bounds of maintaining his dignity as a knight.

The entrance to Cheryn’s office was guarded by Sir Aran.

“Sir Shan? I haven’t heard that the subjugation force returned yet, so how already…?”

“I came ahead. The Princess is inside, right?”

“Your Highness! Sir Shan has arrived!”

[Already? Tell him to come in for now!]

Stepping into the office, he saw Cheryn untying her hair, which had been tied up tightly for convenient work.

Seeing Shan, she asked with an expression mixed with fluster and joy.

“Why did you come so quickly? I did see Roden rushing out earlier, but-”

The reason Cheryn trailed off was that Shan’s face looked even cleaner than when she had seen it before.

Because in the process of his skin melting off once and recovering, even small scars had all disappeared.

“You were really hurt badly…”

Being an outstanding mage, she recognized that such traces meant he had been severely injured and then recovered.

Receiving her sympathetic gaze, Shan smiled somewhat exaggeratedly.

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine now. The priest assigned by Viscount of Treba was truly skilled. That person…”

“I heard it was a priestess?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

“From what I hear, the two of you talked quite a bit on the way here.”

For some reason, Cheryn’s face looked slightly displeased as she mentioned that.

Making a slightly pouting expression, she shook her head and spoke.

“This is no time to be talking about such things. How much of the story did you hear before coming?”

“Up to His Majesty… that is, up to the point that the King has awakened again.”

Recalling that Cheryn was not particularly fond of using honorifics for her father, Shan intentionally lowered his reference to him.

“Right. Regrettably, it seems to be true. I don’t know how healthy he has become, but he has reached the point where he can write a letter.”

Describing her father’s recovery as regrettable, she pulled out a letter placed on one side of the office and shook it.

She seemed to have guessed that the King had regained consciousness upon seeing the handwriting on that letter.

As they conversed, Shan was slightly bewildered by Cheryn’s surprisingly composed attitude.

Roden had clearly said her state wasn’t good, so was he unable to notice such signals due to his inexperienced nature?

“The demand is simple. Undo everything done so far as if nothing happened, and quietly return to the royal palace.”

“Will you do that?”

“As if. I’d have to be crazy.”

Cheryn snorted and flippantly tossed the letter onto the desk.

Then she let out a groan as if it were a headache.

“Thanks to this, it’s utter chaos. Of course, the people of Palles have despised that man for a long time, so they aren’t shaken much, but Conrad’s side is highly likely to collapse the moment this fact is conveyed.”

“I wonder how on earth he was cured. After receiving treatment this time, it seemed highest-ranking priests could really save anyone unless they’re actually dead, but to raise someone even those people gave up on…”

“The illness father contracted originated from the Southern Continent, so perhaps they found a miraculous treatment from over there. Coincidentally, the Kingdom of Ruman trades with the Southern Continent as well.”

At her nonchalant answer, Shan asked back with a puzzled look.

“Did you know what the King’s illness was?”

When he had asked before, she had definitely brushed it off as if she didn’t know well herself.

Cheryn clicked her tongue with an ‘Ah,’ and ran a hand through her hair.

“Well… I did know. Though I tried my best to keep it a secret, I couldn’t escape the eyes of the spiders.”

Shan did not pry into what the King’s illness was.

If she hadn’t wanted to talk about it all this time, there must have been a good reason for it.

However, perhaps interpreting this as a silent pressure instead, she hesitated for a long while before letting out a sigh so deep it seemed it would extinguish her breath, and confessed the truth.

“Father’s illness is a venereal disease. That is why it has been kept secret all this time. For three queens to die one after another because of a mere venereal disease… the moment it became known, the authority of the royal family would fall to the ground.”

“Pardon? A venereal disease?”

“A disease transmitted through sexual relations. Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

“I do know, but…”

Previously, while receiving liberal education, he had heard Roden mention that such things existed and to be careful of them.

He had never felt much interest in sexual matters, so he hadn’t thought about it carefully, though.

No, to be honest, Shan actually possessed a slight sense of fastidiousness regarding that area.

It was because the memory of the mercenaries who had forcibly dragged away Debby, the fairy acrobat of the Altoan acrobatic troupe, to violate her was intensely burned into his mind.

“Is it to the extent that even priests’ miracles cannot cure it? If he is the King, he should be able to receive as much treatment from highest-ranking priests as he wants.”

“That’s because it isn’t an ordinary venereal disease.”

The disease Gizel III had contracted was a rare type of venereal disease that had crossed over from the Southern Continent decades ago.

Since most people who caught it died within a few years without living long, and the symptoms were severe, it collapsed on its own without spreading much in the Arman Alliance, so not many people even knew of its existence.

“When I secretly investigated using a strand of hair father left behind before, it seemed to be a disease related to magical creatures. Its contagiousness and lethality are on a completely different dimension from general illnesses.”

However, Gizel III, who unluckily contracted this disease, managed to maintain his health and succeed in producing multiple descendants by steadily receiving treatment from the highest-ranking priests as a king.

Naturally, the fact that all three queens died young was also because they had been infected with that disease.

As the number of highest-ranking priests capable of stalling the progression of this disease was limited, and secrecy had to be maintained, those women could not enjoy life-extending measures like the King.

“Now you know why I hate father so much, right?”

“Yes…”

Although Shan had never possessed proper parents, he felt that if he could never see his mother even once for such a reason, a heart of resentment toward his father would naturally form.

Cheryn, wearing a desolate expression, muttered softly.

“The only reason I could somewhat let go of my desire for revenge was that, in the end, he couldn’t overcome that disease and collapsed. ‘You tried so desperately to live, but in the end it turned out like this; serves you right,’ I could laugh at him like that. But… now he’s survived? After killing my mother?”

Her voice, which had been quiet at first, gradually grew fierce, until soon she could not overcome her emotions and slammed her hand against the desk with a loud bang.

Her expressionless face distorted with hatred that had accumulated layer upon layer over long years.

At the sudden loud noise, Sir Aran peeked open the door slightly from outside to look inside, then hurriedly closed it again.

“It shouldn’t be like that! Then, what does that make my mother? Sold off to a man she didn’t even love, giving birth to a daughter, only to catch a strange disease and die…”

As if the mask she had forcibly worn was peeled off, Cheryn spat out her rage, and soon grabbed her ocean-dark blue hair as if trying to tear it out.

It was a self-harming behavior characteristic of a person unable to control their emotions.

Now, he could clearly feel what Roden had meant by Cheryn’s state being unstable.

As if something suppressed for a long time had finally reached its limit and burst, she was unable to control herself.

Even when she had confessed to killing her wet nurse, she hadn’t been like this.

“Calm down, Princess.”

“Just imagining it is so horrible. It’s filthy! To think that the seed I was created from was something full of those germs…”

Shan listened quietly to her mutterings and placed his hands over Cheryn’s two hands.

When he pressed firmly on a specific spot, the strength in her grip loosened.

“Ah.”

“You’re going to pull out all your hair at this rate. Having gone bald after being doused in hydra venom this time, I know that even if I wanted to shave it off normally because it was annoying to trim, when it actually vanished, I really missed it.”

How much more so would it be missed if hair of such a pretty color vanished, rather than plain black hair like his?

Perhaps calmed down a bit by Shan’s words, Cheryn let her hands drop instead of pulling at her hair again.

Then, she abruptly hugged Shan tightly (who had drawn close while untying her hands) and buried her face in his chest.

“Ah.”

“Just a moment, just a short while is enough…”

Right now, despite her young age, Cheryn was neither an ambitious leader leading a faction nor a genius mage.

She was merely a teenage girl desperate to resolve the wounds and hatred she had harbored since childhood.

Shan could understand such feelings of Cheryn to some extent.

Because he, too, inside the shed of Willow Village, had times when he wished to hold anyone close and share warmth.

Only the sound of burning firewood in the fireplace and the sound of sobbing resounded inside the office.

*

King of Pendia, Gizel III.

He was originally the younger brother of the former king, a figure with little possibility of inheriting the throne.

Unless an absurd event occurred where both his elder brother and his elder brother’s children lost their lives.

Of course, as could be seen just by the fact that he became king, that absurd event actually occurred.

The carriage he was riding flipped over, his breath stopped while sleeping, or he was attacked by demonic beasts while out hunting…

After a series of unfortunate accidents that might happen once in a while occurred multiple times, when the bloodline of the former king was cut off, Gizel III, who had just ascended the throne, faced tremendous condemnation.

Who could be more suspicious than the fellow who was the king’s younger brother and held the title of Court Count as the royal chief steward at the time?

Several lords revolted, saying they could not stand by and watch a usurper and kinslayer sit on the throne.

In response, the King used various schemes to overcome the difficulties.

First, he took the daughter Duke of Ranpel, a great lord of the west, as his wife, making him a maternal relative.

Then he employed the legendary knight who would later become Marquis Abel, putting him in front to purge opposing factions.

He married the princess of the Kingdom of Ruman from across the sea to suppress the southern lords.

And he intimidated the Palles region, which acted exceptionally independently, with military force, establishing his prestige by abducting the Count’s daughter…

In that process, he rather welcomed the princes born to his various queens becoming subjects of dispute.

Because the more his retainers divided and opposed one another, the stronger his own power to side with one party became.

So to speak, he was a figure who held a fairly large share of responsibility for Pendia ending up in this state today.

Naturally, there was no way the people of the Palles region, who were one of his victims, would like the King.

But even they could not help but be shaken when the legitimate King of Pendia recovered and declared the disbandment of the faction.

That was the power of legitimacy held by a royal family that had endured for hundreds of years.

In the noisy meeting hall of the Palles court, Princess Cheryn, the leader, finally made her appearance.

On her face as she looked down at the retainers gathered in their seats, not even a trace of her earlier disheveled composure could be seen.

Thanks to her mature appearance unbefitting her age, topped off with heavy makeup, Cheryn looked fiercer and tougher than any male ruler.

And standing right beside her was the Lord Protector, Shan Barendil, the kingdom’s strongest knight who had recently subjugated the hydra.

Just the two of them standing together caused the confused retainers to calm down before long.

Once the atmosphere was set to some degree, Cheryn, who was quietly looking down at the retainers, immediately opened her mouth and brought up the main topic.

“I believe it has been conveyed to everyone that His Majesty the King, my royal father, has sent a letter this time.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Count of Palles, Kladek, answered as the retainer of the highest noble rank.

Cheryn expressed her gratitude to her maternal uncle and repeatedly spoke to those around her.

“My royal father has declared the disbandment of our faction. He instructed that since Elvin, who treated him, is the suitable successor, all troops held by Conrad and myself should be returned, after which Duke of Morayen should be subjugated. But… will this truly be his will?”

At her continuing words, the retainers realized how Cheryn intended to break through this situation.

She instilled her will into the retainers with an appealing voice.

“My royal father is virtually confined by Elvin after losing all means of protecting himself. We cannot attach meaning to a letter written in such a situation. Therefore, I will regard this request for disbandment as Elvin’s unilateral claim and refuse it.”

Following that, she declared that for the King’s true will to be conveyed, he had to escape Elvin’s influence and reach a safe state (that is, a state under her protection) before she would obey the order.

It also meant that in the future, she would build up strength to crush Elvin’s forces.

Of course, the moment Gizel III truly came under Cheryn’s protection, he would end up in a state worse than death.

Because his daughter, the leader of the faction, as well as the people living in this land, all hated him.

“That is correct!”

“Long live Princess Cheryn!”

“For the Lady!”

When a plausible excuse to defy the King’s intent without openly rebelling against him was created, the retainers cheered.

In truth, among them were a few who felt reluctance toward opposing the royal family, but they could not reveal it.

In this land, the authority brought by the name of Lady Aste’s daughter was greater than that of a lecherous king.

What the people desired was merely a leader who declared they would fight without hesitation.

“Moving on to the next item on the agenda, Viscount of Treba raised the topic of wanting to establish a friendly communication network with our side. He is scheduled to enter the castle tomorrow with the subjugation force, so I intend to determine our stance beforehand.”

“Could they perhaps change their mind due to His Majesty the King’s declaration?”

“We will have to coordinate that part when we meet tomorrow.”

“Will cooperation with the Viscount be helpful? If their side were to be attacked, it would prove troublesome. Unlike Palles, isn’t their domain exposed to the outside?”

“Kanjeon Marsh is a rugged terrain difficult for foreign enemies to invade. They are so isolated in nature and transportation is inconvenient that we simply didn’t try, but in a situation like now, I consider that cooperation will bring more benefits than losses. Representative of this, among the magical plants that can be cultivated using the hydra byproducts obtained this time, there are ones that only grow in marshes…”

Cheryn led the meeting with a confident attitude, taking control of the retainers.

As it continued from cooperation with Viscount of Treba to the distribution of armor made from hydra hide and the uses for mana stones, the retainers also cast aside their initial reluctant demeanor.

Acting as if the King’s declaration of faction disbandment was nothing, they naturally got swept along by the atmosphere.

A few hours later, declaring the end of the meeting, Cheryn walked down the corridor with Shan and spoke.

“Good work.”

“I was just putting strength into my eyes beside you the whole time, though.”

“That was immensely helpful. If I were alone, it probably wouldn’t have worked out at all.”

After weeping endlessly while holding Shan in the office, Cheryn felt that something inside her had been washed away considerably.

Although her hatred for her father remained unchanged, she became able to endure it more stably instead of expressing it recklessly.

She had thought relying on others was merely becoming weak, but should she say it felt as if she had grown stronger now that a pillar of support had formed in her heart?

Suddenly remembering when she had buried her face in Shan’s chest, Cheryn changed the subject out of embarrassment.

“Come to think of it, I had forgotten, but I heard you had some amazing experience when hunting the hydra? Roden said it would be better to hear the explanation directly from you; what is that about?”

“Ah, that.”

He had intended to tell her about that right away when meeting Cheryn, but somehow it had gotten pushed back.

“What?! No, you’re only telling me such a story now…?”

As expected, Cheryn showed great interest in the unusual magical patterns carved into the hydra’s body and the hallucination Shan had seen.

It was a reaction just like Roden’s, which brought a slight chuckle to his lips.

Although she also felt quite a big interest in the story of Great Emperor Baren, who could be called her ancestor, what she showed even greater interest in was the matter regarding the Altoan Empire.

“Perhaps the people of the Altoan Empire reached out to the technique of controlling demonic beasts.”

“Is that so?”

“If they were researching casting magic on the bodies of demonic beasts, it’s hard to think of anything else. If we could find that clue… mm, would it be difficult now?”

She had already heard the story that the city where the Master of a Thousand Shapes resided had been burned down by the Holy Crusade.

Under the circumstances, the place where the demonic beasts were kept would likely be the same location, so it would be hard to find distinct traces.

Seeing Cheryn’s regretful appearance, Shan brought up the words he had prepared beforehand.

“I was actually going to tell you about that, but perhaps the facility where the demonic beasts were confined might still be intact. Though I’m not certain, it was quite a distance away from the city. And since it was underground, it likely wouldn’t catch people’s eyes easily.”

“Really?!”

Hearing the story, Cheryn turned her head so fast it seemed her neck might break.

It was a reaction fitting for a mage who had just heard that an unexcavated Altoan ruin was right nearby.