“Let’s hurry and set off.”
“Yes, my Lord. But are we going just the three of us?”
“…”
Just as I was about to rush out of the laboratory, I turned around at Sylvia’s question and saw Charlotte and Julia silently staring at me.
The Empress’s summons.
A matter of great urgency.
There might even be a mission that needs to be resolved as soon as we arrive.
“Charlotte. Julia. You should come with us for now. Change your clothes and come out.”
“Okay!”
“Yes!”
Then, it would be best to take as much power with us as possible.
However, there’s no need to drag along the entire undead army.
Just taking Charlotte and Julia, who are already on the level of ultimate weapons by themselves, should be enough.
“My Lord, what is the matter?”
As Charlotte and Julia rushed back to the mansion, Sylvia approached me after the children had moved sufficiently far away and asked in a quiet voice.
“What was written in the decree…?”
“It said to come to the palace by today. It didn’t specify what the matter was.”
“That can’t be…”
Sylvia’s expression hardened.
Being summoned by today means to come as quickly as possible.
It seems Sylvia has realized that something serious is going on.
I hurriedly began changing my clothes to prepare to leave.
“Didn’t you just change into that outfit this afternoon? Why are you changing again?”
Sylvia tilted her head in question.
Indeed, I hadn’t engaged in any activity that would make me sweat.
It hadn’t even been half a day since I had changed, and I hadn’t conducted any experiments that would soil my clothes.
“I’ve been too close to Julia for too long, so I must have absorbed her scent a lot. If the Empress… If Her Majesty notices, it could lead to strange misunderstandings. Of course, I have done nothing suspicious or strange, so I’m not guilty, but it’s better to eliminate the potential for misunderstandings, so I’m changing.”
“…It seems that no one else but you, Master, can remember and distinguish the scents of children so precisely.”
Despite my logical and reasonable explanation, Sylvia’s expression turned to one of disdain.
Why can’t she sense it? It’s just that Sylvia has a rather dull sense of smell, but the Empress, who cares for the children, would definitely notice.
“Hmph, haaa. It really only smells like you, Master.”
“…”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ frowns.]
Naturally, she picked up the clothes I had discarded.
She buried her nose in them, taking a deep breath before exhaling.
Then, she calmly put the clothes back down.
This time, my expression turned to one of disdain.
“Enough. Let’s get moving.”
Before long, having changed into a neat outfit, Charlotte and Julia came rushing in through the back door.
The coachman I had called in advance hurriedly arrived on his carriage.
The moment all four of us climbed into the carriage, it began racing towards the palace.
[Kaak! Humans! Where are you rushing off to? My snacks!?]
“Oh right. I promised to bake cookies for Dirt-Dirt…”
As I turned back at the bustling sound of footsteps, I saw Dirt-Dirt trotting after the carriage with its cute little steps.
“I’m sorry, Dirt-Dirt! Something urgent came up!”
[Wait! Wait for me…! Kaak!!!]
Then, with a thud, Dirt-Dirt fell face-first into the mud.
It let out a desperate roar towards the retreating carriage.
“You stay at the mansion and guard it!”
[Kaak! How dare you treat a great spirit like me as a mere guard dog!!!]
Whether it was angry or not, Dirt-Dirt was shouting loudly.
However, with disgruntled footsteps, it turned around and headed back to the mansion.
If there really is an urgent situation, I might need at least one force to guard the mansion in case of emergencies.
Dirt-Dirt can now grow and shrink its size on its own.
If the mansion is in danger, it should be able to respond adequately by itself.
I can leave it behind because I trust Dirt-Dirt.
It’s not because I think it would just be a hindrance if I brought it along…
“But, Mister! What about the experiment you were doing in the lab earlier? What was the result? I couldn’t see well because I was crouched down…!”
Suddenly, as the carriage left the bumpy dirt road and entered the highway, Charlotte jumped up and settled next to me.
Julia hurriedly took a seat beside me on the opposite side, making what was once a spacious carriage feel cramped in an instant.
“The experiment was successful, and a provisional conclusion has been drawn. It seems that Neomium is accumulating in my heart and continuing to exert its influence.”
“Four…!?”
I confirmed that every time I used the skill, ‘Touch of Death’, the mana concentration around my body rapidly dropped, centered around my heart.
And the drastic decrease in mana concentration is fatal for living beings.
For humans, it might only lead to exhaustion, but for lower life forms like insects or spirits, it could lead to immediate death.
This is the principle behind how ‘Touch of Death’ kills lower life forms.
“S-So, does that mean you can’t use mana…?”
“Probably because of the Neomium. The Neomium surrounding my heart prevents the mana produced by my heart from escaping.”
“I heard Neomium is a metal, right? Does that mean your heart is like a steel heart?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
“Charlotte! What’s so amazing about it…?”
Charlotte’s eyes sparkled with admiration, while Julia looked nearly on the verge of tears, scolding Charlotte.
I’m grateful for their concern, but I’m really fine.
After all, I’ve been in this physical state since the very first day I possessed this body.
I don’t really care about my heart being in this state or not being able to use mana.
After explaining that repeatedly, Julia finally sniffled and stopped crying.
“My Lord. But when my sword absorbed into your body and then came out, didn’t it come out charged with mana?”
“That’s right.”
“So, my sword went inside my Lord’s heart and came out…?”
“Uh… That seems to be the case.”
“Then, every time I put my sword in, I’m stabbing it into your heart…?”
Sylvia’s mouth dropped open, and her face turned pale in an instant.
Stabbing a sword into my heart…
Saying that sends a chill down my spine.
‘Aslan Vermont, what kind of person are you?’
Looking at it all together, it’s quite bizarre. A fist-sized chunk of metal is piled up in my heart.
Even with a heavy longsword moving in and out of my heart, my body remains intact.
At this point, it seems I was born not only with the fate of a villain but also with an indestructible body.
Perhaps the more grotesque the villain, the longer their lifespan.
If I had possessed the body of a righteous hero or an ordinary extra, I might have died long ago.
“My Lord, we have arrived.”
Before I knew it, the carriage had reached the palace.
Before stepping out, I turned around to check on the children.
Since it wasn’t their first time here, they were waiting calmly and politely.
‘Good kids.’
It seems there’s no need to emphasize etiquette training anymore.
I smiled to myself and exited the carriage.
“Ah, Count Vermont! Welcome. You’ve arrived quite quickly. I expected it would take a bit longer…”
“Let’s skip the pleasantries. Where is Her Majesty?”
“She is waiting for you in the audience chamber.”
“…?”
The audience chamber?
How strange.
The Empress is welcoming guests not in her office, but in the audience chamber?
I tilted my head in confusion but followed the maid’s guidance toward the audience chamber.
I felt as if I had entered most of the rooms in the palace already, but the audience chamber was unfamiliar to me, so I had no choice but to follow.
As the door to the audience chamber opened smoothly, I found the Empress lounging on a sofa, her legs stretched out comfortably.
…Wait a moment.
What’s with that relaxed posture?
Wasn’t this an emergency?
“Aslan Vermont. I come at the summons of Her Majesty the Empress to pay my respects.”
“Oh. You’ve already arrived. It seems I sent the courier just a moment ago, yet you’ve come rather quickly.”
“Yes? Well, you said to come as soon as possible…”
“How does the phrase ‘it would be nice if you could see me today’ translate into you rushing over here like this? You don’t need to express your loyalty in this way; I know well that I am always at the center of your heart, so don’t worry.”
“…”
With a smirk, the Empress lowered her legs from the sofa and put on her shoes.
Barefoot.
The red nail polish on her toes was striking.
“Aren’t you busy today?”
“I declared today a holiday since I have less work for a change. I feel quite sorry for always welcoming you while buried in paperwork.”
“Weren’t you in a hurry to summon me? You sent a decree instead of a messenger, after all.”
“The messenger is currently on vacation. Apparently, he’s using up all his accumulated leave from over twenty years to travel with his family. It’s a rather busy time. What a scoundrel.”
“…”
The Empress clicked her tongue and made a displeased expression.
What? The reason for sending a decree instead of a messenger was simply because the messenger was on vacation?
And he still has all that accrued leave from over twenty years?
The welfare in the palace is beyond imagination!
After all, it’s an extreme workplace where managers and officials get dismissed almost daily.
If there weren’t such benefits, only a lunatic would endure working in the palace.
“Hah. So it seems it wasn’t an urgent matter after all.”
“Heh. Were you worried about me? Is that it? You keep revealing your loyalty subtly like this. You’re quite cunning, almost at the level of a fox.”
“That’s not it at all…”
“Your Majesty! It’s been a while!”
“Ch-Charlotte! You shouldn’t make loud noises in the palace…!”
“I’m allowed! The audience chamber is designed so that sounds don’t leak outside, so feel free to be loud.”
“Her Majesty says it’s okay!”
“…”
While I was at a loss for words, Charlotte peeked in and appeared, followed cautiously by Julia, who seemed to be very careful as she entered the audience chamber.
As soon as the children appeared, a big smile spread across the Empress’s face.
When she saw me, she had smirked…
It seems she really loves children so much that sometimes she looks a bit dangerous.
“Your Majesty, may I now hear the reason you summoned me?”
“What a stingy person. I wanted to spend my rare day off leisurely. Do you want to talk about work so badly? I’ll share the details later, but for now, let me give you an important piece of news.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“General Reinhardt… My half-brother will soon be returning from his expedition. We are planning to hold a grand welcoming ceremony, and your role in that will be quite significant, so just keep that in mind for now.”
“…!”
As the Empress spoke, unable to hide her smile while delivering good news, I couldn’t help but feel my expression harden.
And understandably so.
‘General Reinhardt. He’s definitely the villain foreshadowed in Chapter 2.’
The person the Empress is so eagerly welcoming is the second villain that the protagonist will face after Aslan’s death in the original.
