Chapter 6

A while later.

We sat side-by-side in the Grand Palace's garden, catching our breath.

It was a good thing we had prepared an escape route in advance.

If we hadn't, it would have been a close call, and we would have been caught for sure.

At the end, Theo had to carry me on his back because my stamina ran out, but well, it was a fact that we succeeded in escaping.

It was also thanks to the fact that, for some reason, no one came after us.

I was still panting heavily due to my poor stamina (a Might stat of 5 loses even to a mountain hare), when Theo, who had recovered his stamina before me, asked with a worried expression.

“Your Highness, did you perhaps know how to use magic?”

No.

That wasn't worry; it was a sense of betrayal.

It was a look of suspicion, wondering if I had been hiding something from him.

I quickly waved my hands.

“Magic? No. Not at all.”

“But since Grand Captain Zeta is a magician, maybe you secretly learned magic from her when she was your private tutor……”

“No way. Even if I had learned, I would have quit due to a lack of talent.”

In , magic was not something anyone could easily learn.

Magic was considered special, and just as it required innate talent, the number of magicians was rare.

But in Leon Akardi's character creation screen, there was not a single mention of magic.

If he had talent, at least one related trait would have appeared.

“Besides, even if I had learned magic, who would be foolish enough to use it there? I could have been caught.”

“Then what on earth was that just now?”

“I don't know either. It just, it just happened.”

I felt like I knew the cause of the problem, but I hid it from Theo.

I thought that if Theo found out, he would make a fuss, asking if it was a cursed ring and telling me to throw it away immediately.

Instead, I took out the ring and stroked its surface.

The flame that had been flowing from the ring had already died down while we were running away.

Now, it only occasionally shone with a dark luster on its edge.

Theo, still not understanding what was going on, muttered worriedly.

“I hope this isn't some kind of ominous sign.”

“I agree.”

Honestly, the voice that I heard from somewhere when I put on the ring earlier was much more on my mind.

That voice was very familiar to me.

Not that the voice itself was familiar.

I meant that the way the sentences were arranged was similar to the log (log) provided in the game.

Is this an effect of the ring?

Maybe it was.

In the game, the log was a basic function provided by default and didn't require a special item.

But now, the world of the game had become reality.

Anything could happen.

I'll have to slowly find out about the ring's effects later.

Right now, I was too tired from playing out a chase scene in the middle of the night.

I took the ring off my finger, put it in my pocket, and got up from my seat.

“Let's go and get some sleep. I'm dead tired.”

“I think I've used up all my courage for today as well.”

“I didn't know that was a consumable. Will it be refilled by tomorrow?”

“If I fill my stomach with some food and get some sleep.”

“I guess I'll have to put something expensive in my stomach tomorrow.”

The novice thieves didn't have the mental energy left to feel the joy of succeeding in their operation.

Even Theo, who had been full of motivation just a moment ago, looked very tired.

“Even if someone comes looking, we don't know anything.”

“Yes, I didn't see anything. If we get caught, it's all Your Highness' fault.”

“Damn it. You're going to be like that even now?”

We grumbled and went into the separate room.

The night's commotion seemed to come to an end like that.

***

“Your Highness, Your Highness. Please wake up.”

At dawn, I woke up from a light sleep to someone's touch shaking my shoulder.

When I opened my eyes, Theo and an imperial palace attendant were looking down at me.

The imperial palace attendant, in particular, had an urgent expression.

The moment I saw it, I instinctively knew there was a problem.

“What's wrong?”

“His Majesty has just passed away. Her Grace Zeta has asked me to bring Your Highness.”

“……Let's go quickly.”

With Theo's help, I quickly got ready.

Seeing as the guards hadn't been dispatched, it seemed last night's incident hadn't been discovered.

I checked for the presence of the ring I had put in my pocket and then headed to the sickroom.

As I walked down the corridor, the sound of a bell rang out at an unexpected time.

It was the sound of the bell announcing the emperor's death.

Guided by the attendant, I went to the sickroom and confirmed the emperor's death.

The emperor's appearance wasn't much different from before.

Except that he wasn't breathing.

Even after I arrived, people continued to flock to the sickroom.

Among them, not many looked sad.

It was partly because the emperor had died a peaceful death, but more importantly, it was because the matter of succession was much more crucial.

Isak spoke to me from the side.

“Cousin.”

“Your Grace Isak.”

“I came as soon as I heard the news.”

“Me too. Have you confirmed His Majesty?”

“Just now.”

For someone who had rushed to the palace, Isak's attire was neat.

It looked as if he had prepared in advance.

The moment Isak was about to say something to me, the conversation was cut off.

When enough people had gathered, Zeta stepped forward.

“Since everyone has gathered, I will explain the procedures from now on.”

Zeta was serious, perhaps unaware of last night's situation.

That was a great relief for me.

“You have all confirmed His Majesty's passing. As you know, the imperial throne has been stable for the past few decades, so I believe you are all unfamiliar with the funeral procedures.”

Zeta explained familiarly, as if she had handled such matters often.

Well, since the Elven race lives much longer than humans, an event from a few decades ago would feel like it happened yesterday.

“First, after washing His Majesty's body, we plan to enshrine him in the royal tomb. The ceremony will be held as soon as the day breaks. Please attend at that time as well.”

“Understood.”

“After conducting the funeral and memorial service at the royal tomb, we will hold memorial services again at intervals of three and nine days.”

Zeta suddenly looked at Isak and said meaningfully.

“His Majesty's will will be announced by the Senate after that.”

I witnessed Isak glaring at Zeta with murderous eyes.

But like a seasoned politician, Isak only revealed his true feelings for a moment before quickly hiding his expression.

“Those who wish to personally mourn His Majesty, please do so now. Then, I will see you all in the morning.”

Zeta left first.

But after that, almost no one moved.

“Finally, His Majesty too……”

“He has protected the empire for a long time……”

“I wonder who the successor will be……”

From all sides, people were whispering about who would become the next heir to the throne.

Most of them were ministers who had no direct right to be involved in it.

Heartbreakingly, my name was, as expected, not called.

It seemed no one thought there was a possibility.

This is sad.

And another unexpected fact.

Isak was also not mentioned as a successor.

I thought he would be nominated as a powerful successor, but it seemed he was not favored by the people.

I subtly checked Isak's reaction.

“……”

Isak had maintained his silence since we exchanged greetings earlier.

He looked expressionless, but no matter how I looked at it, he seemed angry.

Is this why he crashed his army into the capital?

Thinking that only meaningless public debate would continue, I nudged Theo's side.

“Let's go. We won't hear anything good staying here anyway. Let's go and get some much-needed sleep.”

“Will it be alright if you're not here?”

“They won't need me anyway. They'll manage on their own.”

My prediction was wrong.

Before we even left the sickroom, an imperial palace attendant approached and whispered.

“Your Highness. Her Grace Zeta has requested a private audience with Your Highness.”

“A private audience? With me? Why?”

“I do not know. She only asked me to deliver the message.”

“……”

Judging by the tone, it was not a request but a demand.

It seemed she thought I would naturally comply.

I considered making an excuse and refusing, but I gave up after seeing the Royal Guard waiting beyond the attendant's shoulder.

It was a clear sign that if I refused, they would drag me away by force.

Moreover, as soon as Zeta's name was mentioned, people's gazes were drawn from all sides.

Isak, in particular, looked like he was shooting murderous rays from his eyes.

Zeta was the emperor's closest aide and a big shot in the imperial political scene.

Naturally, many people were paying attention to her actions.

And now, the emperor had passed away.

So it was understandable to be curious why Zeta would want to meet me of all people at such an important time.

It was a situation where one could piece things together if they wanted to.

If I refused Zeta's request, a future of being pestered by people was clearly drawn in my mind.

So there was only one conclusion I could draw.

Run to the less tiring side.

“Your Highness? Her Grace Zeta is waiting.”

“I know. Stop rushing me. I'll go anyway. Theo, you come too.”

“Yeees.”

Theo followed me, looking miserable like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

The attendant only frowned and didn't say that Theo shouldn't be brought along.

He must have judged that one Royal Guard member, even if he caused trouble, could be suppressed by the other Royal Guard members.

I patted Theo on the shoulder in encouragement and then winked at Isak who was looking this way.

Isak twisted his lips without a hint of a smile.

“Then let's go.”

***

Fortunately, the attendant guided us not to a prison, but to the Grand Captain of the Royal Guard's office.

Unfortunately, Zeta was sitting at her desk, staring at me intently.

If Isak's gaze was ‘I will kill you,’ Zeta's gaze was ‘You know what you did wrong, right?’

An alarm went off in my head, sensing a crisis.

Perhaps I had entered a tiger's den to escape the wolves.

I, who had many things to be pricked about, spoke first.

“Your Grace Zeta, I thought you would be busy preparing for the funeral?”

“It is not I who presides over the funeral, but the Senate. I cannot interfere and disturb people who are already busy. Nor should I take away their work.”

“I see. I didn't know since I've never attended an emperor's funeral. By the way, don't you offer any hospitality to a guest you've summoned here?”

“Do you think I would have brought Your Highness here just for a cup of tea?”

Zeta's vocabulary was polite, but her tone was not.

Perhaps it was because she was once Leon's private tutor.

Somehow, I felt like I was being called to the teacher's office and being scolded.

Still, it was a relief that there was no look of pity in her eyes.

“As I recall, I haven't caused any particular problems for a while, so is there another problem?”

“……”

No. I was wrong.

That was just the look of someone looking at a problem child.

A look of someone who had been disappointed so many times that they no longer expected anything.

I thought I had confirmed how much of a mess Leon Akardi had lived by seeing people's reactions, but it seemed I hadn't seen the bottom yet.

I didn't know, but Zeta seemed to have had a pretty deep relationship with Leon.

My heart ached slightly, but I pretended not to know.

“What is it?”

“If you're going to come out like that. I'll show you directly.”

“……?”

Zeta snapped her fingers.

Then the ring I had put in my pocket was pulled by an invisible force and shot up into the air.

Telekinesis magic.

It was the first time I had experienced magic since coming to this world.

And from the fact that she executed the magic with a simple gesture without chanting a spell, I could tell that Zeta was an XX-rank magician who had reached the highest level.

“……”

“You've been quiet lately, so until yesterday, I thought Your Highness had become an excellent model student. As expected, you had another purpose.”

The ring, which had been floating in the air, landed in Zeta's hand.

Zeta held up the ring and glared at me through its hole.

“But I didn't know you had the guts to steal His Majesty's ring. Now, do you have any excuses?”

I could feel an ice-cold anger boiling in Zeta's voice.

“If you have nothing to say, I will arrest Your Highness for theft and imprison you. I will not let it slide this time.”

The atmosphere was murderous.

I had a premonition that if I answered wrong, I would be shattered to a point of no return.

If I'm not careful, I might see a bad ending before the civil war even begins.

I couldn't help but recall the mythological figure who got too close to the sun and was burned.

That was me right now.

A character who naively approached the sun, only to realize reality and scream.

Then, once again, I heard the mysterious voice.

「Trait Activated : Heart of Iron and Blood

Only death is eternal. Therefore, there is no need to be surprised by uncertain and trivial matters.」

It was strange for the trait to activate even though the ring was not in my hand.

But there was something else that was important right now.

The message the voice contained was much more important.

Yes. It was just as it said.

I only have one life anyway.

I could die tomorrow instead of today.

My damn fate.

As I accepted that fact, fear disappeared from my mind, and an idea exploded like a supernova.

A good way to overcome this situation and solve future problems.

I don't know if it will work.

But if you're cornered on a cliff, you have to at least flap your wings with all your might.

“Hahaha.”

When I suddenly burst out laughing, Zeta looked at me strangely.

“Why are you suddenly laughing? If you're waiting for someone to come and help you, you're mistaken. The bodyguard you brought with you would have been suppressed by my orders by now.”

“That's not why I'm laughing. Who would think of easily escaping from an XX-rank magician?”

“Then what is it?”

Zeta looked at me as if I were a madman.

I crossed my legs, clasped my hands on my knee, and smiled at Zeta.

“It's just so funny that you are detaining me, who is acting on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor. If His Majesty were to see this from the afterlife, what would he think? Would he think that fools are joking? I don't know. But I don't need to make excuses to His Majesty. You are the one who has to make excuses.”

At that moment, Zeta's eyes widened to their limit.

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