7
Whenever they schemed, they always met in the library. Perhaps Lyp had an affinity for it. Breathing through his mouth to avoid the foul stench his nose could never adjust to, Al pondered that.
“There’s no telling what prying ears might be hiding in my study. This library alone is safe. For generations, the Bariels have used this library to conduct secret meetings.”
Though Lyp shouldn’t be able to see Al’s expressions through his helmet, he had the uncanny ability to read Al’s mind at times. In the library, the old man’s senses were sharp. Perhaps a big part of this was due to the fact that the event his hopes and dreams were riding on—the opening day of the royal selection—was fast approaching.
“I reckon things are getting pretty busy at the royal capital right now,” Al offered.
“The castle is in utter chaos, like they didn’t see it coming. They should have known long ago that this kingdom and the royal bloodline are practically beyond salvation. But they turned a blind eye to the problem and put off arrangements for their kingdom’s future, and now the chickens are coming home to roost. Those inept bastards. They have no idea what they’re doing!”
Lyp’s hackles rose higher and higher as he spoke, the veins on his forehead popping. Looking as though he might blow an artery any second, he had only just revealed the prophecy of which he had spoken days prior.
News of the royal family’s demise spread throughout the city, and the higher nobles were already on the move toward enacting the royal selection. But they were all a couple steps behind Lyp.
“I thought you’d enjoy one-upping the people you hate?” Al asked.
“Well, I thought I would. But the only thing it’s done is made me resent those fools even more for giving me the cold shoulder all this time. Council of Elders, my ass. Just a gaggle of senile fools whose only qualifications are title and age. Miklotov, that inept governing sage of the council, and that Bordeaux, who’s a fool down to his brain marrow—I’d love to uproot the lot and feed them to demon beasts.”
“Gee, you sound angry, my lord.”
Al had been the one to steer the conversation in that direction, but trash-talking people he didn’t know still bored him. Giving lackluster replies, Al stole a glance at Schult, who was shrinking back in a corner of the room. He didn’t seem to understand what he was doing there. He had been staring at the floor since he got there.
“Now, enough griping about the fools at the capital. It’s a waste of time. The royal selection is at long last here. We must talk about that.”
“Did you tell them the princess is one of the candidates?”
“Of course. I have to tell them that the account on the Dragon Tablet is genuine. They’ll need to know that the candidates’ Lugunica badges must shine to prove this. Ideally, I would have given the shining task to Priscilla so I could claim that she was the first in line. However…” With a cynical smirk, Lyp cut off. “Right when I announced the prophecy, a badge of one of the higher nobles shone. One of the candidates being there was my only miscalculation.”
“Dang, whoever that person is, they’re pretty lucky. By the way, whose badge shone?”
“Duchess Karsten…Crusch Karsten. Little brat, shamelessly taking the title from her father even though she’s nothing but a girl. She’s a savage sword-lover and a famous weirdo who drags an eccentric servant around with her. What did the badge see in her, I wonder? Well…I suppose that’s a pointless question, seeing as how Priscilla was also chosen.”
As the old man sighed, Al smirked. The exact same thought had crossed his mind.
The Kingdom of Lugunica had badges with Dragon Jewels—if a Dragon Jewel shone, its owner was a candidate in the royal selection. In the royal selection, these five people were located and made to compete against one another for the throne.
However, many components of the requirements to be selected as a candidate were not revealed. Similarities, blood, not even blessings were considered decisive blows nowadays.
“By the way, Master, how did you discover the Princess was a candidate?”
“…I am under no obligation to tell you that. I spoke too much, but don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. All you need to do is follow my orders. The matter is closed.”
“…Very well,” Al said, obediently backing off.
When Lyp saw the compliant look on Al’s quiet face, he exhaled long and hard out his nose. Then the old man clicked his tongue at the boy standing in the corner of the room and said, “Are you going to be there forever? I’ve made time in my busy schedule to speak with you. Maybe try standing at attention instead of shriveling into a corner.”
“Y-yes, my lord… Please excuse me…”
Schult marched over to the ebony desk in the back of the room where Lyp was seated. Seeing a stack of books from the case on the floor, Al plunked his bottom down onto it.
“I won’t drag this out longer than it needs to be. Back to the topic at hand—Gilian. My plan is to appoint him as Priscilla’s knight.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold up, Master. What happens to me, then?” Al interjected, raising a hand. “The only reason I get to live here is because I’m the Princess’s knight.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t throw you out. I never toss out valuable pawns that easily, and it would be a bother keeping your mouth shut otherwise. I will make a place for you here at my house, though not as a knight. You don’t need to worry.”
“It’s not that part I’m worried about…but why do you need to go through all the trouble to swap out knights? Of course, I’m sure the fact that he’s your pawn is a big part of it…”
“Oh, it’s quite simple. The people prefer a person in power with a knight who looks the part. Gives a better impression. Since we’re in a place where non-royalty will ascend the throne, public support will not be given unconditionally as it has in the past. Foolish and simpleminded peasants need an image that is easy to understand and that they can be enthusiastic about.”
During Lyp’s fervent speech, Al raised a surprisingly respectful eyebrow. In other words, it was a branding campaign. By assigning a photogenic knight to the princess, she would make a better impression on the masses. In a competition where candidates would vie for the throne, this would have an impact that couldn’t be ignored. It was narrow-minded, of course, but setting that aside—
“You’ll stoop to any low to increase her chances of winning. I really respect you for that,” Al said.
“I don’t care for the way you phrased that, but no matter. Gilian is a perfect representation of what the peasants think a knight should be—I have no complaints. And going just off looks, Priscilla was attracted to him at first glance—abominably so. All the advance preparations are rock-solid.”
“Uhh, except we’ve got just one little problem.”
He was raining on the old man’s parade, but Al did have his doubts about his overly confident scheme. Facing the old man’s ill-tempered gaze, Al fiddled with the metal mechanisms of his helmet as he explained, “Aren’t you worried she’ll overturn your proposal? She appointed me her knight herself through that exhibition she held. I’m just a bit concerned that this is a matter where she won’t be flexible.”
“Oh, so that’s all. That’s a silly concern; don’t worry about it.” With a scoff at Al’s comments, Lyp drummed his fingers on the desk and said, “He’s a handsome knight, and you’re a clown in a helmet—I think you already know who that girl will choose. Unless you have a reason to be confident she would prefer you over him?”
“Weeeell, not exactly. His game is better than mine, ten times out of ten. Not to mention, if it came down to a sword fight, it’s possible he’d beat me there, too.”
“See? There you have it.” Giving Al’s pathetic answer a satisfied nod, Lyp leaned back in his desk chair with a creak.
Al got the gist of what the old man’s plan entailed. It was all things he could agree with. Except…
“Um, M-Master…”
While Al rationalized the plan, somebody else timidly raised a questioning hand—it was Schult.
“What? You want a turn to shit on my scheme, too, boy?”
“N-not at all, Master! Um, it’s j-just that… Well, Princess Priscilla is…” Shrinking under Lyp’s harsh gaze, Schult gulped and continued, “You aren’t going to be hurting her, are you, Master? You’re doing this for her… You’ve thought everything through to make her the monarch, right?”
“Ah…so that’s your concern. Don’t bother me with trivial things. I’ve told you my end goal many times. I need Priscilla for my plan, so why would I harm her?” Lyp scoffed at Schult’s very age-appropriate worry. “It’s my job to open the path for that girl to ascend the throne. And if she happens to resist the royal selection, I will urge her to participate. Consider that your job as well, both of you.”
“Well, based on her personality, I can’t imagine a universe where she would bow out of the royal selection.”
For one thing, she always accepted any challenge thrown at her, and for another, she spoke as if this world were made for her. If she was presented with a way to gain control of the kingdom legally, of course she would take it.
Al smirked as he imagined Priscilla obliviously marching her way up to the throne.
“Is that so, Master? W-well, I’m glad to hear it…”
Schult also seemed relieved by Lyp’s answer. Even though he was helping Lyp for a reward, it seemed he had not lost the indebtedness he felt after Priscilla rescued him. Priscilla would win the throne, and he would win a reward. To the boy, it was a win-win.
However, the exhilarated emotions of the two servants…
“She’s difficult to handle, but if I make her my puppet with a curse, I can manipulate her at will. I’ll sit my puppet on the throne, and the kingdom shall be mine, as it should be.”
…were crushed to pieces when Lyp revealed the final stage of the plan to them.
“……What?” Unable to grasp the meaning of it, Schult could only whisper hoarsely.
With a vicious smile on his face, the old man shrugged in reply. “What, you didn’t hear me? That girl’s troublesome sense of self will only hinder me. I turned a blind eye to her antics before, but once the royal selection has officially started, each and every move she makes will fall under heavy scrutiny; I cannot let her run wild and do whatever she wants. So after the announcement at the castle, I’ll take away her consciousness and make her my puppet.”
“…Are you even capable of that?” Al asked.
“Yes, I doubt either of you could imagine it. This world is filled with demands hideous beyond imagination. And there are convenient persons who help mediate with shamans. This connection of mine goes a long way back.”
Lyp’s scheme was realistic, not that of fairy tales. He would use a shaman to steal Priscilla’s sense of self. It seemed entirely possible.
“Th-this isn’t what we signed up for!” Schult’s voice cracked. Unlike Al, he was not so willing to accept reality. “Didn’t you just promise you wouldn’t hurt Princess Priscilla?!”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do anything to her. All I said is I would not harm her. If that girl is harmed, I can kiss the throne good-bye. I have no intentions of harming her body. Really, I don’t see the problem.”
“But if Princess Priscilla… If she stops being herself…then what’s the point…?!”
Lyp turned a displeased face toward Schult, who was shivering. The color of cruelty beginning to fill his eyes was proof that the boy’s usefulness and annoyingness were swinging at opposite sides of a scale.
“Oh, cut the noble bullshit, boy. I bought you with the promise of a reward. You have already betrayed her. You have no right to plead on her behalf after everything you’ve done. What, unless that girl’s allure bewitched you, too? There is nothing more shameful for a man than falling victim to a prostitute’s spell…but it does give me an idea.”
With a disgusting smile on his lips, Lyp rose to his feet and leaned over his desk, bringing his face close to Schult’s. “If you want to have your way with that girl, I’ll let you—after she’s on the throne. I don’t understand what you see in those lumps of fat, but I suppose you animals are drooling at the idea?”
“ !”
His contempt for women was plain to see when he dragged Priscilla through the mud. Red in the face from the insults, Schult reached his dainty arms toward Lyp’s neck. But Lyp easily dodged him, grabbing a pistol lying on his desk and whipping Schult in the chest with it. Letting out a sharp cry of pain, Schult collapsed onto the library floor.
“Attacking your Master… This is why I hate hiring undisciplined stray dogs.” Lyp looked down at Schult, who was writhing and moaning on the floor from the merciless beating. Lyp’s movement just then was too sharp for a man approaching seventy. It was a testament to how years of endlessly blazing ambition kept a body filled with energy.
“Burn to death for all I care. Let your organs smolder, blow smoke from every orifice in your puny body. Seeing your pitiful demise will make up for the humiliation you’ve caused me.”
As Lyp aimed the handgun at Schult and sentenced him, he looked down at the boy as if he were about to squash an insect. His rising mana shook the air in the library, the waves it manifested trampling the little body on the floor, changing the being known as Schult to dust—
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
“Sorry, coach, the ball came outta nowhere, and I just had to kick it at the Croatia goalkeeper.”
Just before Schult was burned to dust, Al’s liuyedao shot right at the pistol. The sword struck the gun from below, sending it flying. Lyp’s lips twisted with rage.
“Why are you protecting that little shit? Just shut up and do what you’re told. I thought you knew your place, bastard!!”
“Ooh, I’d keep that anger in check, Master. You’ll pop a coronary. Yeah, sorry, I dunno why my arm moved on its own…”
As Lyp fumed, Al flippantly exposed his true feelings. Even he didn’t know why he had protected Schult. Looking at it rationally, it would be most beneficial to Al to go along with Lyp’s plan. And yet Al had defended Schult when he stood up to Lyp, making an enemy of the old man.
How…or why…he did not know.
“Sir Al…you…”
Behind the clownish Al, Schult groaned and looked up at him.
“If it hurts, Schulty, go ahead and cry. It’ll be our little secret.”
Ignoring Al’s quip, Schult painfully squeezed out the words, “Sir Al…you also…love Princess Priscilla, don’t you…?”
The moment he heard the words, Al’s whole being was hit with an electric shock. After a very long breath out, Al finally understood.
“Yeah…wow…I feel so stupid. Nice one, Al… Why’d it take ya so long to notice something so simple?”
Now that he’d had his epiphany, he could finally jump off the fence he was stuck on and give his answer.
“So you’ve noticed she bewitched you? Then move at—”
“I get it. I finally get it. I really am a dumbass. I should’ve noticed it sooner.”
Turning his head to the side, Al shrugged, gripping his liuyedao just as hard and said, “I should’ve realized that I can’t be the evil sidekick of some old fart who doesn’t appreciate the horny cuteness of the princess!”
“Why—you imbecile!!” Lyp blustered, pulling the desk drawer free with his left hand and flinging it at Al.
Al slashed at the hurling object with his liuyedao, kicked Lyp into the pile of books on the floor, and yelled, “Schult! Get out of here! I’ll take care of the rest somehow!”
“Urk! Oh…yes, sir, right away!”
His face twisting in pain, Schult ran for his life toward the door and shot out of the room, not looking back. He made a wise decision. But Lyp sneered at this and said, “Just how foolish can you both be?! Why do you think I summoned only the two of you to the library? Everyone else in this mansion is already my coconspirator. If he leaves the library, that boy’s fate is sealed!”
“Dang, you’re thorough. But fate’s a fickle bitch. What if, say, I take you hostage…?”
“You think you can restrain me, boy? I didn’t make a name for myself on the battlefield as a young man for nothing. Not even Bordeaux can get the best of me in battle!”
The violent spirit surging from Lyp as he howled showed that he wasn’t just all bark. The pistol in his hand was a metia. It likely sapped magic power from his servants. It was a simple effect, but because of it, there was no way to fight against it.
Comparing their stats, Al immediately realized he was not at an advantage. And that meant—
“All the criteria have been met. Now nothing’s holding me back from using my trump card.”
“You fool…”
“Yeah, I’m a fool. And this isn’t personal, old man. You were just unlucky… No, scratch that—”
Al cut off there and smirked, a cynical echo in his voice as he said:
“ You were born under a bad star.”
With a grunt, Lyp raised his pistol without hesitation and unleashed his magic energy. Traveling through the palm of his hand and through his pistol, his mana reached overwhelming power levels. The burst of magic that shot from the tip of his metia was over five times stronger than usual.
It made direct contact with the torso of the joking helmeted knight, exploding in the center of his warped body. The foul stench of burning flesh filled the room, and flecks of scattered gore dotted the library shelves.
With a loud crash, the head, helmet, and liuyedao rolled on the floor. Lyp gave a bored look at the carnage and said, “‘Trump card’? Hah. Rubbish. Everything about that man was rubbish.”
Darting through the bloody library, Lyp headed for the door. The chances of Schult rendezvousing with Priscilla were slim, but there would be a problem if he did. He had to find the boy and dispose of him as soon as possible. Thinking this, Lyp reached for the doorknob.
“ You were born under a bad star.”
“Hmmf?!”
Lyp whirled around in shock at the unexpected voice. And there was a man, standing with his back to Lyp. He was wearing a helmet and holding a liuyedao in his one arm—
“Huh? Where did he—?”
“GRAAAH!!!”
Ignoring the goofy man’s voice, Lyp sent magic into his pistol and burned the man to death again. The flames scorched him to a crisp, and his helmet crumbled to pieces as he screamed.
Carnage soiled the walls and floor of the library once more, and Lyp recoiled at the confusing scene before him.
“Wh-what is this? What just… What just happened…?”
Realizing he was trembling, Lyp breathed slowly in and out. His forehead was soaked with cold sweat. Roughly wiping it with his sleeve, the old man looked up, trying to make sense of the situation and—
“ You were born under a bad star.”
Again…he heard the man’s voice.
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