“Are you asking me to buy you for 1 billion Krone?”
Before Yulia returned to the Duchess.
Lloyd stopped her and made a proposal: to buy him.
Naturally, the princess was taken aback. She probably thought it odd for someone like him, who was associated with Ortega, to suddenly appeal to her to purchase him.
From a financial perspective, 1 billion is no small amount. Yulia was surely consolidating her power for the succession battle behind the scenes. Every penny would be crucial for her.
In summary, it was a dire situation for Lloyd.
But Lloyd targeted that very point. If Yulia was spending money to win the succession battle, it meant she would be willing to spend any amount for it.
Knowing parts of the future is helpful in times like this. So are Lloyd’s unique political negotiation skills. In the end, Lloyd succeeded in persuading Yulia. He even managed to make her drop formalities, making the conversation feel a bit more friendly.
“But I don’t think the Duchess will just let you go that easily.”
“You can ask for a token of alliance.”
“A token of alliance?”
“Yes. The Duchess summoned you to build a coalition of the weaker factions, correct?”
Lloyd picked up a pen.
He sketched the power structures of the First Prince and the Second Princess on the notebook. The two took up most of the space. Below them was a small area representing Yulia.
— Ssssht.
Then, he tore a blank page and placed it beside.
On it was a circle larger than Yulia’s but smaller than the other royals, labeled with “Grey Duchess.”
“If you draw out the succession battle like this, it’s clear your influence is indeed smaller than the Grey Duchess’s.”
Tap, tap.
Lloyd alternated tapping the pen on Yulia’s and the Duchess’s areas.
“But she is not of the Estrid bloodline. She can never claim the throne. The size of her power is meaningless.”
Lloyd crumpled the page with the Grey Duchess’s area and tossed it into the trash can.
It landed perfectly in the bin.
“The upper hand in this negotiation is yours, Princess. Even though you desperately need the Duchess’s power, you possess something she can never have.”
“The Estrid bloodline.”
“Exactly.”
The princess stroked her chin, needing time to think.
But Lloyd didn’t give her that time.
Pressing on quickly favored the proposer in such matters.
“The Duchess was kind enough to listen to my opinions, so I already informed her.”
“… About what?”
“That she should comply with any request you might make.”
Leaving with the Grey Duchess to side with the Third Princess. That had always been Lloyd’s plan. Upon meeting the Third Princess, he realized something. She was kinder than expected and must be secured. She was the only light for the otherwise gloomy Lloyd.
Yet, it puzzled him why the current Yulia differed from the one he knew.
Instead of inheriting madness akin to Ortega, she possessed the Arcane Eyes that sealed Ortega.
“And. If you still don’t believe me, confirm this. Lend me your ear for a moment.”
Thus, Lloyd formed a hypothesis.
Perhaps Yulia had also been brainwashed by the Grey Duchess. Just like commoners.
If so, there was only one method.
Kudoku.
◆
Yulia refused the tea offered by the Duchess.
— “It’s likely tea brewed with Kudoku. One cup won’t affect you, but repeated consumption is no different from standard Kudoku. If the Duchess’s expression changes when you refuse the tea, my words are true.”
Just as Lloyd had said.
As soon as she declined the tea, the Duchess’s brow furrowed momentarily. Though it quickly returned to normal, Yulia was astute enough to notice the slight change.
‘That child was right.’
If she hadn’t decided to listen to that boy…
‘I would have become this woman’s puppet.’
A chill ran down her spine.
Swallowing dryly, Yulia maintained her composure while heightening her vigilance. Fortunately, it seemed there would be no further attempts at brainwashing.
“Actually, the reason I invited you here today, Princess…”
Only after several more minutes did the Duchess get to the point.
In summary, she wanted to support Yulia in the succession battle.
— Swoosh.
The Duchess stood up and approached.
Grey filled Yulia’s vision.
It was the color of the Duchess’s hair.
She leaned over, bringing her lips close to Yulia’s ear.
Gulp.
The involuntary swallow.
The Duchess whispered into her ear, as if enjoying Yulia’s tension, finding it endearing.
“I truly wish for you to be addressed as Your Majesty, not just Your Highness.”
Just as expected.
As Lloyd had said, this woman coveted the Estrid bloodline.
Her plan was to brainwash her with Kudoku and then place her on the throne. Yulia would become a puppet, used and discarded like a marionette.
Of course, the possibility of that was also extremely low.
At best, she would have been used and discarded as a mere card in this woman’s hand.
“…”
Yulia realized.
The value of the boy named Lloyd.
1 billion Krone.
It was the price of her own life.
And Yulia was someone who always repaid her debts.
“I have one condition.”
“A condition…?”
The Duchess’s hand, which had revealed its fangs, reached out to her.
Yulia decided to take that hand.
Knowing that the Duchess possessed poison reduced the risk. On the contrary, it increased the possibility of Yulia using her.
In addition.
“Lloyd. Sell that boy to me. I will buy him for 1 billion Krone.”
She wanted to confirm.
To see if Lloyd’s words were indeed flawless and perfect.
Would the Duchess, who clearly valued him, actually sell him? If she did.
“…”
It would mean Lloyd was right.
Thus, it wasn’t a losing deal for Yulia.
If Lloyd was right, he was worth more than her life and the 1 billion Krone.
If he was wrong, the Duchess wouldn’t sell him.
“…”
The silence wasn’t short, nor was it excessively long.
The Duchess picked up her fan and fluttered it a few times.
Then, she asked.
“You met that boy, Lloyd?”
“Yes. He seemed quite clever and I liked him.”
“He told me something. To grant any request Your Highness might have. Hmmm.”
She made an exaggerated sound of contemplation and smiled.
It was a smile akin to a snake.
“I don’t know what conversation you had during your brief visit to the restroom.”
Another silence.
The Duchess studied Yulia’s expression before nodding.
“Alright. As a token of friendship with Your Highness, I will hand over Lloyd.”
◆
“Lloyd. Pack your things.”
The servants’ quarters.
Lloyd, sitting quietly on the bed, stood up at the butler’s words.
“My things?”
“Yes. As of today, you belong to Her Highness the Princess. You will leave with her. There isn’t much time. You have 20 minutes to prepare.”
Lloyd nodded quietly.
Bang.
The butler left the room.
Lloyd placed the pre-packed bag on the bed. He had anticipated Yulia would succeed.
More importantly…
“I want to confirm something.”
The Grey Duchess’s mansion.
This place was filled with many suspicious elements.
Rooms where mana couldn’t be sensed, masked butlers appearing occasionally, or traces of the Blood Cult’s leaders.
This mansion was special because it concealed so many peculiarities.
“And the basement too.”
The carriage before entering the mansion.
The stories he had heard about the mansion.
He was curious about the basement.
Even when he extended his sensory perception to its extreme with sedatives and Ortega’s awakening effects, he found no basement.
What was the sight he saw when he first arrived at this mansion? The other children, except Lloyd, were dragged to the basement. Yet, their testimony that they had never been taken downstairs only confused Lloyd further.
But he hadn’t been completely without evidence.
The items left behind by Arno, the White Knight.
Lloyd took one of those items from his pocket.
A luxurious purple key.
In passing, but clearly, Arno had mentioned.
There was a passage to the basement.
— Squeak.
Lloyd carefully opened the door.
With his departure from the mansion confirmed, he had a final 15 minutes to explore the mansion without significant risk.
Lloyd extended his sensory perception.
Rooms where no mana could be felt. He had tried entering them several times before, but they were locked with special mechanisms.
After checking his surroundings, Lloyd inserted the key and turned it.
— Clunk.
The door opened smoothly.
Lloyd peeked inside.
In the room was a small mirror.
And in that mirror, he saw his reflection, with a stark white, eerily white snake coiled around him.
“…!”
He heard someone approaching.
Lloyd quickly closed the door and put the key back in his pocket.
From the other end of the hallway, the butler who had spoken to him earlier asked.
“Why are you out here? Did you have business in that room?”
“No. I was looking around for something I lost.”
“There’s no time to look. Let’s go. Bring what you have.”
Lloyd nodded.
His luggage wasn’t much, just enough to fit in two large bags.
Only a small mirror had been added to it.
