Act of Audience
Whether one would call the audience chamber in the castle of Ciel-Terra luxurious or not was a matter of opinion.
The audience hall is a bit conventional, with a red carpet running all the way to the throne at the far end, and the white walls adorned with gold ornaments. It was a cozy place that, from a commoner’s point of view, may have been luxurious enough, but at best it would have been inferior to the castle of a feudal lord in another country.
The king on the throne, … Hilbert II, or Hilbert “Lionheart” Nicholas Ciel-Terra, looked satisfied and squinted at the view from his throne.
Hilbert was in his late thirties. His hair and beard were red, almost brown, and he kept them slightly puffy to make his thin face look bigger. Even so, his lack of physical build made him look tall and slender, and he lacked any sense of dignity. He was concerned about this, and secretly added shoulder pads to his crimson cloak.
“Your Majesty, Commander of the First Order is here.”
“Let him through.”
The Kings Guards who came as the herald were still a little nervous. Hilbert thought it was funny. The former king’s Kings Guards had died fighting for the former king. The current Kings Guards are all newly recruited men.
The clattering of armor and the clanking of footsteps approached, and soon Lawrence appeared.
He had taken off his full-face helmet and carried it under his arm. A bard once said, “Even his appearance should inspire his allies. The flame of passion above his head, the precious light in his eyes. There is no maiden who does not dream of a knight more radiant and beautiful than the seven moons of the night.” Lawrence was a knight who was admired not only for his power but also for his beauty.
He came in with more enthusiasm than was necessary and, as was the custom, dropped to one knee before taking his seventh step.
“Raise your head.”
When Hilbert called out to him, Lawrence looked up. His eyes lit up as if he were a child watching a group of knights marching by.
It was a wonderful feeling to be respected in this way by a hero who was one of the best in the world.
Hilbert wondered what Lawrence, who had been so disobedient to the former king, must have looked like when he used to come to this audience chamber.
“Thank you for all your hard work.”
“Your Majesty, you are too kind.”
Lawrence was down on one knee, bowing again.
“I never thought she’d come back as an Undead.”
“Ha. An abomination of unholy blood, that even in death vengeance should be taken against the fatherland. Shows how much blood of her father was in her veins. I have no doubt that you were right in your decision to slay that man, who was unbecoming of a king.”
“I don’t need to know what you are going to say. But more importantly, what is the point you are trying to make in this matter?”
“Yes, your majesty. It concerns the sword I used in the battle with her.”
Lawrence drew the sword from his waist and held it before himself.
The Terra Ayur, the magic sword, the greatest treasure of Ciel-Terra.
The sword was made by using the highest quality orichalcum from the mines in the country, having it forged by a dwarven blacksmith who was said to be the best of his time, and hammering in some rare dragon material. It was without a doubt the most expensive sword that existed in the country at the time.
As a magic item, it had only “absurd sharpness” and ” insanely sturdy” … effects, but that was all. But the strike cut through thick armor without a single scratch on the blade, and the magic power that seeped out is a powerful shock that strikes the opponent. It was given to the Commander of the first Order of Knights for many generations, and helped create many distinguished military achievements. It was a sword that became a banner for allies on the battlefield (or rather, it was made for that purpose).
Not only was it strong, but the beauty of its edge was praised in many songs.
…But the blade of the sword was now covered in sticky blood.
“This is…”
Hilbert leaned forward involuntarily, and a guard took the sword from Lawrence and brought it to the throne.
Hilbert took the sword himself and looked at the blade. The blood had a subtle tint to it, as though it had almost dried up. It had an unpleasant dampness to it.
“It was stained during the battle with her. It is my fault that I have soiled the country’s treasure, the supreme magic sword, in this way…”
“Very well. What’s more important, what is this?”
“I don’t know. I have washed and polished it, and even when I let the priests cleanse it, it still remains. One of the priests said … that this is proof that the Undead has not perished, and keeps the curse active.”
“What…”
Magic weapons generally resist deterioration.
The blade does not break so easily and does not get stained so easily.
It was an unusual situation for a magic sword of this magnitude to have blood stains on it that wouldn’t come off.
“To tell the truth, the final blow that I thought would finish off the battle left me with a strange feeling. It was a strange response, as if I had been cheated out of the fight. It was as if I had cut … a shell and the contents had escaped somewhere else.”
“Hmmm…”
Lawrence said, stammering with reluctance.
It was painful for him to tell the respected king of his own failure. However, the sense of duty to report everything he had learned in battle as a knight seemed to motivate Lawrence.
“I do not blame you. If a man of your stature has failed, it is only because the enemy was so formidable.”
“Eh……”
“I We do not know where she is hiding, but we must be prepared for the fact that she will appear again in time. When that time comes, I will leave it to you. If not for you, we would not be able to fight against her. Finish her off, and then you will be absolved of the curse and the regret of having let her slip through your fingers.”
“I will! With the sword given to me by the king and the honor of the Order, I will defeat this abominable monster!”
Lawrence looked overtly relieved, and then he seemed to tighten his resolve.
He seemed determined not to fail a second time.
“At times, O King. Anything from the Federation…”
“Oh, about that?
Lawrence asked, seemingly unable to stop himself from asking, although he seemed to have finished his main task for the time being.
Hilbert gave a thin smile.
“Still nothing. They must be turning blue by now. They will no longer have a shred of the precious metals that our mines produce.”
The Kingdom of Ciel-Terra had close ties with the Federation of Gireshtal, a major power in the west.
The Federation defended Ciel-Terra, and Ciel-Terra granted mining concessions to the Federation. Mutual benefit may sound good, but in reality, it was unequal on the basis of differences in national power, and Ciel-Terra had been at a disadvantage.
… At least, that is what the disgruntled domestic factions in Ciel-Terra thought.
Hilbert’s main reason for his coup d’etat was to resolve this unequal relationship.
His move ignited those who were dissatisfied with the Federation but had resigned themselves to the fact that there was ‘nothing that could be done about it’. Even Hilbert himself was surprised by the support he received.
In particular, he was enthusiastically supported by miners and merchants. They had a strong sense of dissatisfaction that they were being forced to do unequal business under the influence of politics.
Lawrence was not directly involved, but he seemed to have a sense of righteous indignation.
“If there was any disturbance with the Federation, that would be the time for our Order of Knights to show our strength. We will cut off the heads of the fools of the Federation with human faces and the hearts of monsters.”
Lawrence clenched his fists and vowed to be victorious.
“Yes, but even if we have the advantage in terms of the strength of our troops, the Federation is still powerful. It is not an opponent that our country can fight alone. War is something that begins when you have to fight and when you are prepared to win. Please be careful not to provoke the Federation.”
“Understood. I’ll leave now…”
＊ ＊ ＊
Retreating to his office, Hilbert stretched as hard as he could and then shook his head as though he had lost all strength.
“I’m getting tired of striking such brave poses.”
The fact is that Hilbert is regarded by the public as a hardliner against the Federation, that loathes the Federation like a scorpion. In fact, his views were slightly different from the public’s assessment.
He knew how troublesome it would be to break with the Federation and owe a debt to the four major powers. A huge enemy would be created right next door, and negotiating with hypothetical allies would not be a simple matter.
If he was not careful, his country would be used as a shield against the Federation. There had been no conflict among the five major powers, but how long would that peace last? From now on, Hilbert will have to engage in “golem diplomacy” rather than “tough diplomacy”.
But even so, he just thought it would be better than ending up eating cold food for the rest of his life. He got to take the throne, so that was a whole heap more profitable for him.
Which is more beneficial to the country as a whole is … Well, that’s a story for the future.
As a usurper of the throne, Hilbert was very grateful for the existence of public opinion that supported him.
If public outcry were strong, the lords might have turned opportunistic, even though Hilbert had the power of the four great powers behind him. If things went wrong, some might have joined hands with the Federation and asked for their protection.
However, the current situation had reached the point where it was a “dividing public opinion”, even if one were to look at the situation a little harshly. It would be risky to carelessly revolt in this situation.
What is more problematic were the radicals who were getting carried away under Hilbert, and they never stopped.
They are looking for Federalists in the streets and lynching them, or they are seriously planning to ride to the border and beat the Federalists back to the Federation. He had nailed Lawrence, but he had no control over the actions of even the civilians who pretend to be volunteer soldiers.
If public opinion in the Federation, stimulated by this, tilted in the direction of “We must attack Ciel-Terra”, he did not even want to think about what would happen… Even if they could get reinforcements from the four major powers, the battlefield would still be Ciel-Terra, which bordered the Federation.
The same was true of the case concerning Rosalia, the former queen of the former king Elbert, and her daughter, René. Hilbert himself had no intention of doing anything about René and Rosalia.
Even if some Lord were to push René to the throne under the banner of the “rightful royal family”, there would be no one to follow her lead because she was a woman and an abomination. It was obvious that René posed no threat to his throne.
However, Lawrence and other knights who were particularly critical of the former king, Elbert, as well as the citizens who supported Hilbert, continued to cry out for the bloodline of the former king to be ended. There was no reason to stop them, and he gave the go-ahead from a position of passive approval.
If the result of that is the creation of such an Undead, it’s quite the mess.
‘René, huh? Don’t hold a grudge against me…, but I guess that’s an impossible proposition.”
Hilbert thought about his niece, who he had never even seen face-to-face.
It was ten years ago that she and her mother were expelled from the court. It was shortly after René’s birth.
Hilbert was one of those who used René and her mother as material for criticizing Elbert. He loudly criticized, saying, “The abominable child was born because he brought in a lowly woman from a commoner’s background.”
He had received a report that a party of skilled adventurers had been destroyed.
In most cases, adventurers outperform regular knights in battles against monsters. The idea that an Undead who would strike down such an adventurer with a single touch on his armor might be after his life was not comforting to Hilbert.
“Fu… I have a headache. So many problems to overcome when you become king.”
Well, Lawrence won once, so he will win again, Hilbert thought.
That’s what he wanted to believe.
