Chapter 5 – Demise
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On the day after the ball, Chrono woke up in his room inside the Chroford mansion. His memories about getting back home were fuzzy at best since he had apparently drunk way too much. Though he remembered his dance with Tilia.
Well, I doubt I need to worry about anything, seeing how I woke up in my own bed.
“My body feels sticky, but getting a bath ready will take some time…”
Just when he considered going back to sleep, he noticed his bed cover bulging. He felt like he’d gone to bed by himself yesterday, but he assumed someone might have crawled in during the night.
Layla, Elena, or maybe Fay? Mayla would be possible too.
The bulge kept stirring restlessly.
“Pheeeww! It’s so humid under the sheet.”
“Rio!”
“In person!”
As soon as Chrono shouted his name, Rio laid down so as to hide his chest. With a listless expression. Acting as if they were just after a hot, passionate night――
No, it’s too early to make a conclusion. It’s possible that he’s just trying to get a kick out of my reaction. I must first get the facts straight.
“R-Rio, l-l-last night――”
“The best night I ever had,” Rio sighed in utter ecstasy.
Meanwhile Chrono covered his face.
Now I’ve done it. Of all things, having sex with a guy… No wait, I’ve done something outrageous, but it should be possible to somehow salvage the situation. It’ll be alright as long as I didn’t get fucked in the ass. I’ll be able to go back to normal. I’m sure.
“A-About l-last night…”
“What about it? Do you want me to explain how we made love?”
“I-I-I-If p-p-possible…” Chrono stammered while resolving himself.
Rio burst out in a light laughter, “Hahaha, you don’t need to worry so much. Nothing happened last night.”
“Really?”
“It hurts if you look so happily at me after hearing this. But, yes, we did nothing.”
“Can you swear on God? If you lie, your family will be plunged into hell, okay?”
“Chrono, sometimes you say some very childish things. Well, I don’t really mind my family being plunged into hell though.” Rio sighed very deeply. “Oh well, I’ll swear on God. Last night we didn’t do anything making it necessary for me to feel guilty.”
“That’s great to hear,” Chrono spat out, full of relief.
He felt bad for Rio, but he wanted Rio to cherish his sexual preferences.
“But, that will change from now on.”
“――gh!”
A dangerous glint lit up inside Rio’s eyes. His eyes now resembled those of Layla. Those were the eyes of a predator. Chrono tried to get away, but he was pinned down in no time, resulting in Chrono looking up to Rio. What he noticed there were the two small swellings on Rio’s chest. Once he looked further downwards in anticipation of finding proof for Rio to be a woman, all he could see was the organ only men possessed.
“Hehe, take a good look.”
“――ng!”
As soon as Rio took a kneeling position, the female organ――something Chrono didn’t have――became visible. The term hermaphroditic crossed Chrono’s mind.
“Surprised?”
“Quite a bit, but what’s that scar?”
Chrono stared at the deep scar on Rio’s chest.
“This is the trace of my own attempt at scraping them off. When I came to my senses, I found myself on a bed though.”
“Below as well?”
“Of course.”
Chrono took a look at Rio’s lower half. Just looking at it made his balls shrink.
“You don’t seem overly surprised.”
“I’m surprised, but…” Chrono faltered to continue.
He wondered what should make him so surprised about a hermaphrodite in a world with elves, dwarves, beastmen, lizardmen, and similar. If he had to be honest, he didn’t know what made it special enough to be startling.
“If my parents had been as bold as you, Chrono, things wouldn’t have gone as far as me doing something like this. Heh.”
“What do you mean.”
“Chrono, you’re a neo-noble. Ah, I don’t mean to belittle you or anything.”
“I know.”
“I mentioned it yesterday night as well, but many of the old nobles worship the God ruling over Pure White Order. My family is no exception to that, you see. By the way, how much do you know about the doctrine of the God ruling over Pure White Order?”
“I only know that he’s a very inflexible god.”
If I remember correctly, Elena mentioned that she can’t have sex before marriage because she believes in the God ruling over Pure White Order. I don’t know whether that’s true or false though――
“Someone like me is regarded as an existence deviating from order. Just like half-elves.”
“What a terrible god,” Chrono grimaced.
Aren’t those the people who need a god the most?
“Do you have any other questions?”
“Why do you want to have that sort of relationship with me?”
“I thought you’d accept me for what I am as someone who has taken a half elf as lover. That hunch turned into conviction over the course of a single evening. That’s why, please accept all of me.”
“What if I refuse?”
Rio licked his upper lip. And although this was all he did, it felt bizarre. At the very least, Chrono got bad vibes from it.
“I must talk about my first and second love to explain that. Oh, I don’t want you to misunderstand. I wasn’t accepted by men, nor did I get women to accept me.”
“What happened to those who turned you down?”
“Oh my, did I ever say anything about being turned down?”
“You didn’t say that you’re a virgin.”
“A virgin, huh? Somehow that makes me feel embarrassed,” Rio answered with a blush.
“I know I’m repeating myself, but what happened to those who turned you down?”
“The one who confessed first to me was a manservant at my family’s home. He became pitiable fodder for the beasts. The second was a classmate back when I had only become an imperial knight. There was a duel and he welcomed a death of honor. Well, I was his duel partner. When I sliced him apart…”
“When you sliced him apart?”
“It’s embarrassing, but I climaxed,” Rio admitted bashfully.
It was completely nuts as a confession, though. If possible, Chrono didn’t want to have heard this. If it was possible to format his memory, he’d do so right away.
“So I basically have no choice!”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if you win the duel?”
“As if I could simply win against an Imperial Knight Order Captain!”
“So you won’t accept me despite accepting a half-elf?” Rio asked with a sad look, almost like a lost child. “I’ll do anything if it’s for your sake, Chrono. I’ll make it possible that you can enter the knight order, if you wish, and I won’t mind handing you the captain’s position either. I won’t care about you having a lover either, so accept me.”
Scary, was what Chrono felt while watching Rio pleading. The idea of killing the other party for just having dumped you was frightening. But, what scared Chrono even more was Rio trying to offer all of himself to someone he had just met yesterday.
Why has he become like that? No, I guess the reason is obvious. No one――not even his family――has accepted him for what he is, and thus he turned into this.
“What’s it going to be?”
“I don’t feel like entering the imperial knight order and I don’t have any interest in becoming a captain either.”
“Why!? The imperial knight orders are elites! The position of captain should be a dream come true for a neo-noble like you, Chrono! Do…Do you hate the idea of accepting me so much!?”
“I told you so last night as well, but starting from being friends is out of the question?”
I was an idiot, I guess, Chrono judged. I’ve got no choice but to accept Rio’s condition if I value my life. And yet I don’t want to betray a friend――a pitiable girl.
“Don’t tell me…you think I’m not being serious here?”
“That’s wrong!”
“Then I shall show you my resolve. God ruling over Green Change.”
Once Rio pointed his index finger towards the ceiling, a vortex of green light started to swirl around it.
“Here I come, okay?”
“――gh!”
Chrono’s body stiffened up. The green light separated and passed through the upper part of his chest. He didn’t feel any itch or pain. But when he looked at his chest, blood was oozing out. Rio scooped it up with a finger and put it into his mouth with an entranced expression. Chrono felt all the more scared by the fact of this making Rio look erotic.
“Did you understand that I’m serious?”
“Ouch! It’s started to hurt now!”
“Oh my, sorry about that.”
Rio lowered himself over Chrono and started to lick up his bubbling blood. The appearance of him doing that was extremely obscene and lewd.
After some time, Rio raised his body again, his dick fully erect. Well, the same applied to Chrono as well though――
“Did you make up your mind?”
“Yeah, I’ve started to feel like it might be fine to accept you.”
“Really? No, Chrono, you’re lying! If you had intended to accept me, you’d have done so from the very start!”
Rio’s voice bounced in happiness at first, but he immediately denied it while shaking his head.
“Tell me what you really think.”
“Accepting you under these circumstances is kinda like me wanting to keep my life and I dislike that――is what I think, but…”
“But?”
“Probably because I had to hold back all the time since leaving Harshel, I can only see you as a girl. That’s why I thought it’d be fine.”
As soon as Chrono smiled, Rio cowered with a start.
“Alley-oop!”
“Kyaaa!”
With Chrono raising his body, Rio fell over. Twisting her body, Rio went on all four and tried to get away. Chrono suspected that Rio had fallen into panic. If she were to become serious here, she could kill someone like Chrono in an instant. 1
“You think I let you get away!?”
“Nooo!!”
Chrono grabbed her ankle and pulled it towards himself, causing Rio to shriek cutely. He pulled her over just like that and climbed atop Rio. Rio cowered once more.
“I-It’s hitting me.”
“I told you, didn’t I? I see you as nothing but a girl right now.”
“N-No way, so easily…what was all my life for…?”
“Sorry to interrupt you while you’re reflecting, but it’s fine for me to stick him in, right?”
“Wut!? W-Wait! I still need to resolve myself!”
“Ouch!”
Rio suddenly started to thrash around. At that time, she hit him with the elbow, resulting in Chrono relaxing his hold on her. Using that opening, Rio crawled away, but Chrono grabbed her ankle and pulled her over once more.”
“All that running…what a bad child you are! A-A-And bad kids are p-punished! Time for some spanking!”
“Nooo!! I’m being violated!”
Immediately after Rio screamed adorably, the door was opened with a clack. The one standing in the door was Layla. And behind her was Mayla.
Then, a clanging could be heard. Layla had dropped the bucket she’d been holding, just to be followed by an awkward silence.
“It’s not what you think, Layla. I’ll explain everything.”
“W-While I was occupied with learning how to be a maid, my Master succumbed to homosexuality!” Layla’s sorrowful scream echoed throughout the Chroford mansion.
※
“Uuhh, I’ve got blood in my mouth.”
Chrono complained with a frown while sitting on the ground after finishing the father-son-bonding――grappling training. His foster father had pretended to not mind the matter with Rio, but the instant Chrono had showed up behind him, Chrod had reacted with a backhand blow while yelling, “Don’t think you can fuck me in the ass!!”
Chrono’s vision darkened all of a sudden. Once he looked up, he found Rio looking down at him with a smile. She wasn’t wearing a dress, but Chrono’s casual clothes.
As I thought, she got a bit of a chest.
“Should I heal you?”
“Me getting beat up by Dad is partly your fault as well, though?”
“That’s slander,” Rio pouted cutely before sitting down next to Chrono.
“In the first place, weren’t you the one who tried to rape me?”
“If you ask only about that part, you make it sound as if you’re the victim.”
“But I am. Well, I suppose I do have some room to take your circumstances into consideration as well.”
As soon as Rio shrugged her shoulders lightly, a clank could be heard. When both looked in the direction, they spotted Chrod and Fay fighting. Both were using normal, wooden swords. Chrod launched attacks in waves. Fay kept dodging his attacks while trying to get close to him to attack his openings.
But, Chrono’s foster father had apparently seen through her aim, and he lightly waved his sword to restrain her. Although you could call the swing light from his eyes, it was a blow mighty enough to easily shatter bones. Of course, it also depended how much he’d hold back, but――
“Chrono, your subordinate has some nice moves,” Rio mumbled in admiration.
If he had to be honest, Fay only looked lost on how to proceed, but it seemed the captain of a knight order paid attention to different aspects than Chrono.
“She’s wearing a white uniform, so did she belong to some knight order?”
“Yeah, the Twelfth. Though they apparently had her handle chores all the time.”
“Count Piske’s place, huh?” Rio spat out with a sigh.
“Is he no good?”
“Hmm, he’s got a strong tendency to care about his own skin first and foremost, and he either loves something dearly or hates it down to the bone, lacking all middle ground, but his abilities are decent enough and he’s not such a bad guy either.”
“But he doesn’t strike you as a good guy?”
“That’s just my personal view,” said Rio with a giggle, before returning her eyes to the battle between Fay and Chrod.
The two were fighting just as before. Chrod attacked in waves while Fay tried to get close, but was kept in check. This repeated itself over and over again. The change in the action of both combatants was so meager that Chrono wondered whether the sun might go down before they reach some sort of conclusion.
“Is your subordinate aiming for something?”
“Maybe she’s looking for a good time to use her divine arts?”
Chrono narrowed his eyes. But, he couldn’t see a black mist rising from Fay’S body.
“It’s probably that. But, isn’t she going to get started on this soon?”
“Ah!”
Chrono raised his voice reflexively. Immediately after his foster father swung his sword, Fay accelerated. While black mist billowed out of her, she circled around into Chrod’s back and stabbed out her sword.
But, her sword hit nothing but thin air. Chrod had dodged by twisting his body.
Fay looked quite vexed, and immediately after that, Chrod lightly hit Fay’s head with his sword.
“That hurts!”
“It’s my victory,” Chrod declared with a broad grin while shouldering his wooden sword.
“How did I do?”
“You used your head reasonably well, didn’t you? Making me believe that you’d use divine arts and making me change my attack pattern through a repetition trick to try get close to me wasn’t bad, I’d say. Anyone else might have fallen for it.”
Chrod grabbed Fay’s head and moved it left and right. Chrono assumed that this was probably an awkward attempt at stroking her head.
His foster father looked their way――at Rio――and tossed a wooden sword over. Rio caught it and got up.
“You be her next opponent.”
“Why would I need to do anything like that?”
“If you’re going to use my home as an inn, then do some work in exchange.”
“I cannot argue with that.”
Rio shifted the hold of the sword in her hand as if to make sure of its feel while planting herself in front of Fay.
“Please take care of me!”
“I’m not really good at swordsmanship, I must admit.”
Fay set up her sword in a mid-tier hold, but Rio didn’t even try to take a stance, simply pointing the sword’s tip downwards. The difference in motivation was palpable, but battles weren’t so easy-going that one could win on motivation alone.
“Take it easy on me, okay?”
“Here I come!”
Immediately after Rio said so with a sigh, Fay kicked off the ground. She closed the distance in a breath, and thrust out her sword. It was a serious attack that seemed to lack all moderation, but Rio dodged the attack with nothing but defensive body movement, circling behind Fay. Her movements were as flexible and elusive as a willow or fuzz. If her opponent would have been Chrono, he’d lie in his own blood around now.
Still, for her to say that she’s not really good at swordsmanship with these movements――
Rio artlessly swung down her sword. A hard clank echoed across the training ground. Fay had brandished her sword while turning around, repelling Rio’s attack.
Rio widened her eyes, appearing to not have foreseen that, and smiled. She didn’t appear to be overly eager, but she was still a top-notch swordswoman. Chrono suspected that she enjoyed fighting formidable opponents.
You become good at the things you like――otherwise she wouldn’t have become such an outstanding sword fighter.
As if regarding this as her chance, Fay stepped in and swung down her sword. Rio blocked the attack and moved into a locking of swords. This caused both to stop moving. But, since both their bodies were twitching at all sorts of places, it was very likely that they were performing a sophisticated exchange of tactical feints.
On a closer look, Chrono could see that Fay was also smiling. She donned an expression full of irresistible bliss.
Since she’d apparently been in charge of cleaning the stable at the Twelfth before being transferred, she must be having all the more fun now.
The contest of strength between both continued, but not forever. Fay pushed Rio aside with all her might.
No, that’s wrong.
Rio matched Fay and jumped. Taking a distance of around five meters, Rio gently landed on the ground. Green light was engulfing her body. She had used a divine art.
“Divine Art – Divine Garment.”
“I guess this is Rio’s victory.”
“The match is not over yet!” Fay loudly responded to Chrono’s mutter.
Sure, she’s right. Victory hasn’t been decided yet, but――
“Going by visuals, you’ve lost.”
“T-T-That cannot be! Oh goddess, please! Divine Arts – Divine Garment!”
Fay used her own divine arts, apparently trying to negate Chrono’s comment. At once, a black mist billowed up from her body.
“How about this!?”
“As I thought, you lose.”
“No way!” Fay retorted.
Having it pointed out to her that she was losing in visual impact seemed to have quite an effect on Fay.
“I shall annihilate you!”
“Hihi, no chance.”
Fay brandished her sword with a loud yell of self-encouragement. But, Rio easily evaded it and took some distance. Her movements appeared to be so light that Chrono wondered whether she might get blown away by the wind pressure caused by her opponent’s sword swings.
“Okay, I’ll get a bit serious, okay?”
Immediately after that announcement, Rio’s figure vanished, only leaving green traces behind. Once Chrono looked very closely, he noticed the sand and pebble moving unnaturally. Of course, Fay should have realized as much as well, but she didn’t try to move, only following things with her eyes while holding her sword up.
Apparently Fay’s abilities weren’t enough to fully follow Rio’s movements. At this rate, she’d get attacked one-sidedly and lose just like that.
Just when Chrono started to ponder what he’d do in her shoes, the movement of the sand and pebbles abruptly stopped. And then, in the next instant, Rio materialized behind Fay, just to swing her sword down.
A hollow sound reverberated. Fay had blocked Rio’s wooden sword. And on top of that, by shouldering her sword like Chrod had done. Rio widened her eyes in astonishment while taking some distance.
“You did well to have parried my attack. You didn’t see it, did you?”
“It was intuition!” Fay turned around while yelling.
“Intuition!?” Rio parroted her hysterically.
Chrono could fully understand her feelings on this. Anyone would be shocked if they were told that someone could block an attack from their blind spot through intuition.
“Time to counterattack!”
“Tsk!”
As soon as Fay kicked off the ground, Rio clicked her tongue in annoyance while taking more distance.
She’s probably judged close combat to be to her disadvantage. No, maybe she’s planning to stick to watching the situation for the moment. I don’t think that it’d be a bad call to make, but I feel kinda worried whether it’s truly the best option.
“If my attack won’t reach…!”
Fay kicked off the ground once more, but the distance between them didn’t shrink.
That’s only natural. If Rio focuses on running away on top of their clear difference in abilities, it’ll be hard for Fay to win this. That wouldn’t change even if they were equal in abilities.
“Goddess, please bless my blade!”
Puffy darkness started to billow out of the hilt of Fay’s sword. That sticky mass fully covered the entire wooden sword in no time.
It’s her Celebratory Holy Blade. But, even if she uses that art, extending the reach of her sword――
“Extend!”
The instant Fay shouted so, her wooden sword lengthened. No, the darkness that had enveloped the sword extended while forming a blade of its own.
Rio’s eyes flew wide open as she hadn’t expected Fay would make her blade grow.
“Haaaaaaahhh!”
“Goddess!”
Fay slashed her extended sword while Rio deployed a wall of light. But, the light wall shattered like glass and the darkness blade grazed Rio’s neck.
“Yaho――!”
“God!”
“Ughyaa!”
No sooner than Fay was about to shout in celebration, Rio’s divine art exploded. Fay had completely let her guard down and was subsequently blown away without any resistance. Her body tumbled across the ground for a while. She somehow managed to get up, but now she was reeling. Given that this had been an attack close to a surprise attack for Fay, it was only reasonable for her to be in such a state now.
“You did well to have made me go this far.”
Rio tossed her wooden sword away and pointed her left hand at Fay. Green light overflowed from her hand. It was a pretty sight to behold, but at the same time, it made a chill travel down Chrono’s spine. Just when he stood up, thinking that he had to stop Rio――
“Stop right there,” Mayla’s voice echoed.
She was standing behind Rio, seemingly having moved there at some point.
“Please refrain from murdering people on our estate.”
“I couldn’t sense your presence at all.”
“She was called Mayla the Silent Death in the past.”
“I’ve heard that name from the old man.”
“You honor me. So, what are you going to do next? If you keep going, I will hold true to my former nickname――”
“I won’t.”
Rio raised her hands as if to demonstrate her surrender and the green light dispersed.
※
At night Layla was facing Mayla in her room.
“Well done on enduring the harsh training. As of today, you have graduated from being a phony maid. Starting with today, you will be an apprentice maid.”
“Thank you very much, Lady Instructor.”
“It isn’t anything requiring you to thank me. All of it has been your own effort,” Mayla gently touched Layla’s shoulder.
Her face was brimming with affection.
Layla could tears well up in her eyes. Not once in her life had she felt this much of a sense of accomplishment.
“At present, the young master’s sexual desire should have peaked. The matter with Lady Rio frightened me for a moment, but since we managed to get in their way, we will consider it a good thing. Now go and do it to your heart’s content.”
“Yes, Lady Instructor!”
Layla rushed out of the room, flew up the stairs, and gently opened the door to Chrono’s room. She spotted Chrono doing serious practice swings. He was only wearing his underwear with his body glistening from all the sweat.
He stopped his training and looked at her.
“Layla?”
“Ma-, no, Lord Chrono, am I disturbing you?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Chrono sheathed his sword while Layla quietly entered the room.
“I was slightly startled. Lord Chrono, you――”
“I didn’t seem like the person who would train himself?”
“Forgive me.”
“How terrible of you. Even though I may look like this, I have not once missed my training session. Well, today I’m doing it for another reason, though.”
Chrono looked at her. It was a gaze full of passion. Layla realized that he had to be thirsting for a woman.
“By the way, why have you come to my room?”
“My maid training has finished…,” and then she muttered under her breath, “I have come to serve you in bed.”
“In short, you’re telling me it’s fine now?”
“…Yes,” Layla nodded.
Chrono grinned widely, just to hurriedly suppress his smile.
He appeared to be as happy as she was herself.
“Okay, once you close the door…”
“V-Very well, I understand,” Layla cast her eyes down in shame when her voice came out shriller than intended.
While asking herself why she was acting like this at such a moment, she turned around. And just as Chrono had said, the door was slightly open. The instant she closed it, she was hugged from behind. Of course, the one hugging her was Chrono.
“Lord Chrono let’s go to bed fir――”
“I can’t wait any longer.”
When Chrono said so as if being at his wits’ end, her body heated up.
“It’s alright, yes?”
“…Ye…s.”
“Okay, then place your hands on the wall.”
After Chrono let go of her, Layla placed both hands on the wall as told. Her body trembled with a start. Then it trembled once more due to a chilly sensation. Chrono had lowered her shorts.
“Layla, you――”
“P-Please don’t speak any further.”
Her cheeks were burning. Out of shame. But, even that felt nice in itself.
“Come to think of it…”
“What might it be, Lord Chrono?”
Layla restlessly rubbed her thighs together with her back turned on Chrono. He was teasing her. She wondered why, but then she recalled that she’d let him experience the very same. Basically, it was karma.
As she considered it like that, feelings of guiltiness welled up inside her.
“You’re not going to call me Master?”
“Understood. I shall take the liberty to call you Master for tonight.”
“Also…,” Chrono whispered close to Layla’s ears, the contents making her heart throb.
“Try saying it.”
“Y-Yes, Master.”
Layla remained silent. She knew what she was supposed to say, but she lacked the courage to go through with it.
If only there was an impetus――
“You’re not going to say it for me?” Chrono asked sorrowfully.
“Master, please show some mercy to this lewd maid.”
Layla mustered her courage and voiced out the line he told her to use.
“Good girl.”
Chrono caressed her ear, causing strength to leave her body. But, as she couldn’t afford to simply flop down, she propped up her body.
In the next instant, a shock penetrated her body and a white curtain spread in front of her eyes. Her legs shook violently.
“Layla, I’m going to start moving, okay?”
“Y-Yes, Master. Please――”
Before she could finish with “――indulge in me to your heart’s content,” Chrono started to work his hips.
※
Farna walked through the hallway while loosening the stiffness of her shoulders. It was the hallway leading to Ramal the Fifth’s bedchamber. From now on, she had to attend to her night’s work ―― serving the emperor as his lover.
If she had to be honest, she’d love to turn down that duty. She had to deal with the aftermath of the ball and she also had to greet influential nobles.
Hence, she had no spare time to have sex. However, being unable to refuse was one of the tougher parts of being an official mistress.
“…What a pain,” she mumbled under her breath.
Speaking of being a pain, the same can be said about the attitude of the imperial knights in charge of the castle’s security. Their reactions were stiff and inflexible salutes, insulting gazes, or flirty eyes being directed at her. If she could choose, she’d prefer to be treated as non-existent.
As she walked on with such irritation gnawing at her chest――
“Hey, Lady Farna.”
She turned around to the openhearted, friendly voice behind her. At once she spotted Countess Cheiron walking up to her. 2
Her irritation lost some of its edge. The countess’ reputation wasn’t all that good, but she was one of Farna’s few friends. Probably because they both suffered from ill reputations, it felt oddly comfortable for her to be together with Rio.
“Oh my, Countess Cheiron. I see, you’re doing your work seriously for a change.”
“That’s slander. I’m always working seriously.”
“Really?”
As soon as Countess Rio Cheiron caught up, Farna resumed walking while casting a fleeting glance at the imperial knight.
There was a red spot on Rio’s neck. Not a kiss mark, but an injury, suspected Farna.
“What happened to your neck?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I let my guard down during a grappling session.”
“Your opponent must have been quite skilled to injure you.”
“Chrono’s subordinate…if I remember correctly, she was called Fay, I think?”
“Fay? Do you possibly mean Fay Muhlifain?”
“Unfortunately I only know her name and that used to be a member of the Twelfth Imperial Knight Order.”
“In that case, it must be Fay Muhlifain.”
“Do you know her?”
“Yes, her mother worked at the palace. She was very enthusiastic about her education. But, just when it was decided for her daughter to be assigned to the Twelfth Imperial Knight Order, she passed away…,” Farna explained before murmuring, “Quite regrettably so.”
Farna was sure that Fay’s mother had to go through strenuous hardships that seemed to have shortened her life in order to have one knight after the other appear from the Muhlifain House which was already in decay by then.
The wages of a court lady weren’t cheap by any means. They were more than enough to allow a mother and daughter to spend a modest life, but if one considered the costs involved to pay for martial arts lessons and scholar education required to become an imperial knight, it’d be hard to call it enough. Moreover, one needed connections on top of abilities to become an imperial knight.
“How do you choose your members in your knight order?”
“You can basically only get into my knight order through connections. But, if I spot someone interesting during the exercises at the military academy, I’ll call out to them, I suppose? Sir Leonhart and Count Elnath 3 select their members seriously. Well, Count Elnath occasionally headhunts from other orders as well though. You don’t hear any decent rumors about Count Piske, though.”
“Indeed,” sighed Farna.
“Even without you sighing, I’m going to choose seriously from now on. She had quite a few odd habits, but Fay was――”
A sound as if something shattered could be heard. Countess Cheiron put herself on guard. Ahead of her eyes was the door leading to the emperor’s bedchamber.
“Lady Farna, you stay here!”
“Got it!”
Rio started to run, her expression tense. Kicking the door open, she rushed into the chamber.
“Your Majesty!”
Farna began to run due to Rio’s scream. Once she plunged into the bedchamber, Ramal the Fifth was lying on the floor, naked, while a young court lady was sprawled on the bed, looking dumbfounded. Her clothes were disheveled, and her cheek was swollen.
That alone was enough to explain everything to Farna. Ramal the Fifth had assault the court lady and when she thrust him away, he had likely hit his head against the floor. The problem was the state of Ramal the Fifth. No matter how you looked at him, he seemed pretty much dead.
“Oh God ruling over Green Change, please grant me a miracle of healing and activity.”
“――gh!”
Once the green light engulfed his body, Ramal the Fifth’s chest started to move up and down. Farna slowly walked up to the emperor and knight.
“What about His Majesty?”
“Sadly I cannot do much more than just keeping him forcefully alive with my divine arts,” Countess Cheiron answered with a frown.
Farna assumed the frown to be a side effect of the divine arts. Ramal the Fifth’s eyes were pinned on Farna, but they lacked focus. He slowly extended his hand. Farna knelt down next to him and grabbed his hand.
“…Farna…I…was a weak man,” Ramal the Fifth stammered with difficulty. “I’m…incompetent, and…because of that…my little brother went…against me. I was weak…and because…of that I lost my brother. But, I…didn’t hate my little brother…Alfort.”
Ramal the Fifth’s gaze wandered through empty space.
“…Chrohd, Alkor, Farna, Tilia, forgive me. I only…caused you trouble.”
The emperor breathed out quietly.
“…Who’s the one keeping…me…alive?”
“It is Rio Cheiron, Your Majesty.”
“It’s…fine now. I had a…great cause. I’m…already tired. Let me…rest.”
“As you wish.”
Once the green light vanished, Ramal the Fifth’s body slowly relaxed.
“…I leave…the rest to…Alkor.”
Ramal the Fifth closed his eyes as if going to sleep and muttered with a soundless voice…
Farna, forgive me.
Those became the final words of Ramal the Fifth.
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Translation Notes: