35 – true darkness

“From what I hear, it seems that Prince Leiden has visited the palace.”

“Yes…? Raiden…?”

At those words, Lucy stiffened slightly and turned to the maid.

The maid nodded at him and said.

“Didn’t Prince Raiden protect the princesses during the terror attack a few days ago?”

“Yes… it is.”

“It seems that His Majesty invited Prince Leiden to the palace to give a reward for that.”

“ah……”

After hearing the maid’s explanation, Lucy put on a puzzled expression.

Feeling strange about that, the maid tilted her head.

“Princess…? Why is that?”

“Oh, nothing…”

Lucy shook her head and looked away.

The maid looked at her strangely for a while,

Soon, he started to wait on her clothes again.

‘Raiden is here…?’

Lucy, who slightly turned her head away from the maid,

I felt a complicated tangle of thoughts in my head.

She was still undecided on how to treat Raiden.

“Um…”

She drools, frowns,

He sighed and murmured softly.

“Haa… But first, I should say thank you…”

Whatever the relationship between him and her is now, whatever the relationship,

The fact that he saved Lucy and Anna does not change.

Because he was covered in blood all over his body, and he fought against the assailants even while being covered in blood.

Rather, it was a thank you that should have been given earlier.

I just hesitated because the target was Raiden.

“Okay, it’s over. Princess.”

While I was lost in thought, the grooming was over before I knew it.

Lucy quietly stared at the mirror in front of her.

Wearing only the academy uniform every day, but wearing a bright dress after a long time, it was no joke.

It was also oddly uncomfortable.

“Lady, let’s go to the audience room now.”

“Ah yes.”

Lucy nodded at the maid’s words and got up from her chair.

With the maid, she walked towards the audience room,

I felt some kind of trembling.

She tapped her aching chest,

I quietly called Raiden to myself.

‘If, Raiden…’

When I said thanks to you,

if you smile at me

What reaction should I show?

If you’re really, back to those old days…

If it was to take off the mask of that crazy man who was so awkward…

What will happen to our relationship in the future?

Can I go back to the old days?

To the time when you were a strong support for me.

We were best friends who were dear to each other,

Back then, when everything was fun.

‘Can I… go back…?’

Lucy, who was fiddling with her fingers and moving her feet,

He paused for a moment, and made a sneering sneer.

‘I’m really… what am I thinking…’

Surely when he left himself,

When I’m alone in my room, trembling with loneliness,

When you cry for longing,

I swore I’d hate him.

Due to Raiden’s recent changes in behavior, her firm resolve was shaken.

Lucy slightly bit her lip at the complex and entangled feeling.

“We have arrived, Princess.”

While she was bruised and walking, Lucy was already in front of the audience room door.

Lucy glanced at the door, which seemed even bigger today, and took a deep breath.

Then, as if talking to himself, he muttered.

“Me too, what are you nervous about?”

All it takes is meeting one damn knight who forgot his promise.

She muttered to herself as she reached out her hand toward the door of the audience room.

ㅡKiki profit…

The huge door opens with a heavy sound.

And, through the crack in the door, the figure of a boy comes into view.

A black suit and black hair suitable for such a suit.

Quite tall, with a moderately well-built body.

For some reason, the atmosphere seems to be slightly tired.

As Lucy steps into the throne room,

The boy slightly averted his eyes and looked at her.

Leiden Lysit.

He, who served Lucy as his master in the past, was exchanging conversations with the emperor in the audience room.

.

.

.

“…So, that’s how it happened.”

“Ohhh… It’s like listening to a heroic epic…”

When I told him about the banquet hall raid, Milliam brushed his beard curiously.

“To subdue the top 10 sword users at once…”

“Even though my body has become a disgrace.”

“Didn’t you win in the end?”

“That’s right.”

Milliam smiled and laughed, as if he liked my simple answer.

……What kind of laughter is that?

As I frowned at his grotesque laughter, Milliam stopped laughing and said:

“Yeah… I heard that you’ve taken care of the bandits, so I thought you’d become a bit stronger, but it’s beyond my imagination.”

“……Yes?”

what?

How does that guy know I dealt with bandits?

Didn’t I tell you?

“How do you…”

When I asked, tilting my head slightly,

Milliam replied with a sinister smile.

“I guess you didn’t notice…”

“Yes?”

“The coachman of the wagon you rode in, actually, I planted him secretly.”

“……”

……I definitely remember that I ordered a high-end carriage service that felt like a Kaka X taxi.

Planting your own person there…

Are you saying that he cut off the service in the middle and planted his own person?

“I can see everything.”

“Aren’t you saying that you secretly watched it too proudly…?”

“Heh heh, who would say anything. I’m the emperor.”

“……”

……He’s a really crazy man.

You mean surveillance…?

I’m still the eldest son of a duke…?

“Hahaha! That coachman, he was the leader of the Imperial Knights!!”

“……?”

Knight Commander…?

Yellow Knight Commander…?

What do I know?

A knights’ order made by gathering only the strongest knights in the empire?

“No… you’re wasting too much manpower…”

“What about it? In such a peaceful era, at least the leader of the idle knights can be used privately.”

“Even though……”

While me and Milliam were talking like that,

The door to the audience room opened, and someone entered.

ㅡKiki profit…

“Father, I heard you called.”

A voice resounding inside the audience room, slightly soft but sharp.

Hearing that voice that was familiar and somehow nostalgic, I turned my head and looked towards the door.

There stood a slightly stiff, golden girl.

“Welcome, Lucy.”

“Meet the Little Sun of the Empire.”

Watching Lucy enter the audience room, me and Milliam greet each other.

Lucy hesitated slightly at our greeting, then took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“Yes, father. And… goodbye to Raiden…”

Naturally, Lucy ignored my greetings… Huh?

I wondered if I had heard something wrong for a moment, so I opened my eyes wide.

When Lucy made eye contact with me, she quietly averted her eyes.

“……?”

what…?

Did I just get a ‘hello’?

Are you sure you’ve been ignored?

And Raiden? Is it Raiden?

Not Prince Raiden, just Raiden?

Lucy’s unexpected greeting, let me stand in a daze,

Milliam looked at the two of us with a smile, wondering what was so good about it.

“Crunchy… Yes, it looks good.”

“……?”

“……”

I stare blankly at Lucy, and Lucy avoids my eyes.

And Milliam smiles as he sees us in front of us.

This ambiguous confrontation lasted until the prince and Anna, whom Milliam had summoned, came to the audience room.

.

.

.

“Sorry, I’m late, Father.”

“It’s okay, Aaron. Come on over.”

After Lucy, Anna enters, and finally, the prince, who is a little late due to schedule, arrives at the throne room.

As if Milliam had been waiting, he opened his mouth.

“Okay, everyone is here.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Does everyone know why we gathered like this today?”

The imperial prince, Aaron von Lietro, answered Milliam’s question.

“Yes. Isn’t it to acknowledge Prince Raiden’s credit for saving Anna and Lucy during the last raid and give him a prize?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Milliam nodded, as if satisfied with Aaron’s succinct summary.

Milliam said to himself, looking at me standing with my head down.

“Yes, Prince Raiden. I’ve already said it before, but I’ll officially say it again.”

Milliam slightly raised himself on the throne, looked down at me and slightly bowed his head.

“As the Emperor of the Empire, and as the father of two daughters, I express my deepest gratitude to you.”

When Milliam greeted him like that, Aaron next to him also lowered his head and said.

“Thank you for protecting my younger siblings. I will never forget this favor for the rest of my life.”

I, who became the protagonist of a rare sight in which the emperor and the prince bowed their heads at the same time,

I smiled awkwardly and accepted their thanks.

“It is unacceptable for the suns of the Empire to bow their heads to a humble subject.”

“Thank you very much, Prince Raiden.”

The two of them said that once again and raised their lowered heads.

“Then, Prince Raiden.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What do you want as a prize? Whatever you want, I’ll give you more.”

At those words, I raised my lowered head and looked at Milliam.

So, here’s what we saw.

“Your Majesty, before we talk about the award, there is a story that needs to be told.”

“Um, what is it?”

“This is a story about an organization called ‘The Seekers’ who caused this terror.”

“Hey, let’s try it.”

Milliam shows interest in my words with an expression of interest.

I nodded and continued talking.

“Your Majesty, how much do you know about an organization called ‘The Seekers’?”

“Well… I know how much it’s known to the public…”

“A group that kidnaps people with unique unique magic and conducts experiments on humans. This is what is known to the world as the ‘Explorers’.”

“Um, yes.”

“But isn’t that strange?”

Isn’t it strange?

If the ‘seekers’ were truly nerds pursuing magic,

When the mission to kidnap Raiden failed, why didn’t you keep aiming for Raiden?

If Raiden was really the target, wouldn’t it be right to try kidnapping two or three more times?

And so is this attack.

The princesses have no talent for magic.

As far as I know, Lucy and Anna. Both princesses were figures on the Mutu side.

If so, aren’t there any particular reasons for the princesses to be the targets of the ‘seekers’?

“Why did the ‘explorers’ target the princesses?”

“Um…”

“Come to think of it. Why did my daughters…?”

“That’s right. Lucy and Anna probably never learned or used magic…”

I mean, Milium and Aaron with serious faces and chins.

I stared at them and answered the question.

“In fact, the organization called ‘Explorers’ is because some force moves behind the scenes.”

“A force…?”

“Yes, the faction manipulated the ‘seekers’, weakening the power of the imperial family, and trying to increase their influence.”

Yes, aiming for Raiden, the eldest son of the Duke of Lisitt, the closest aide to the imperial family, called the ‘sword of the empire’,

Suddenly aiming at the imperial princesses in the banquet hall, everything.

They were attempts to cut off the limbs of the imperial family in order to devour the empire.

“To think there was such a power…”

“What kind of people are you talking about!!”

Aaron and Milliam shouted with amazement and anger at my words.

I answered their questions in a calm voice.

The true main villain of the original [The Hero Loved by Everyone] and the dark side.

In the original story, the identity of this force that is revealed on the surface only after Alan organizes all the ‘seekers’ in the second half of the story…

“platform.”

“……?”

“The force behind the ‘Explorers’ is the Church.”

“what…?”

At my bombshell remark, the jaws of everyone in the audience dropped open.