“An oracle....”
“Hasn’t it been two hundred years since the last one?”
The temple filled with murmurs. Its calm, reverent atmosphere vanished without a trace as the nobles and priests began whispering among themselves.
“.......”
After leaving the prayer chamber, Richard stared silently at his hand.
His fingertips were trembling faintly.
[The balance of the world has been broken.]
[I deliver this warning to you who have grown insolent.]
The voice continued to echo through his mind.
A warning.
Nothing like this had ever happened in any of his previous regressions.
...And there was only one thing he had changed in this lifetime.
Seduce the “male lead”... Cailus.
Richard clenched his teeth.
Could it be... that I’m not allowed to?
He recalled the moment he had killed Cailus in his previous regression.
The instant Cailus stopped breathing.
“Plausibility” had collapsed, and the world had come to an end.
Presumably, the death of the “story’s” male lead had undermined its “plausibility.”
If so—
Maybe... Cailus and I ending up together...
He clenched {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} his fist.
Could that also threaten to destroy “plausibility”?
Richard squeezed his eyes shut.
Of course, he knew.
He knew it was possible.
The male lead and the second male lead ending up together could hardly be considered desirable.
But.......
If even this final method truly wasn’t allowed....
Then I have no other way.......
Was he supposed to stand by and watch Daphne die?
.......
Richard soon shook his head.
...It’s probably nothing.
It couldn’t be.
It must not be.
The oracle... might not even have been directed at me, right?
Suppressing the instinct that told him it undoubtedly was, he denied it over and over.
If he truly wasn’t even allowed to seduce the male lead....
He had no path left.
No hope.
He couldn’t bear it.
......Right.
Richard slowly opened his eyes.
Nothing is certain.
He was merely guessing at the meaning of the oracle. He couldn’t know for sure.
So he could be wrong.
...It’ll be all right.
Reassuring himself, Richard let out a long breath.
“Your Highness, Young Lord Friedrich.”
Someone approached cautiously and addressed Cailus and Richard in turn.
When Richard looked over, he found a priest standing beside them.
“The High Priest would like to ask you a few questions concerning the oracle that was just delivered. Might you spare him a moment?”
“.......”
It was not a request they could refuse.
After all, the two of them had happened to be inside the prayer chamber when the oracle was delivered.
“Very well.”
Cailus, who had been standing quietly beside him, answered first.
“I have no objection either.”
Richard was reluctant, but agreed nonetheless.
“Thank you. May the god’s blessing be upon you. Please follow me.”
The two of them followed the priest.
Their questioning by the High Priest ended more quickly than expected.
Most of the questions concerned the atmosphere when the oracle was delivered, whether they had heard the god’s voice, and what intentions they had harbored while praying.
Richard gave suitably vague answers, while Cailus merely repeated terse responses with his customary expressionless face.
It seems they didn’t learn anything useful.
The priests exchanged glances, bowed politely, and soon showed them out.
The two then returned to the Imperial Palace.
The nobles were still busy discussing the oracle. Phrases such as “the first in two hundred years” and “the god has awakened” passed endlessly from one person’s lips to another.
...It has nothing to do with me.
Richard strolled slowly through one of the Imperial Palace gardens, trying to cast aside his tangled thoughts.
That was when it happened.
“Young Lord Friedrich.”
A low, imposing voice sounded behind him.
Only one person could exert pressure like this....
“...I greet the Sun of the Empire.”
Richard immediately turned and bowed with due courtesy.
Laios le Regnantia.
With piercing crimson eyes and a blade-like smile upon his lips, the Emperor seemed particularly pleased today.
“You must have been surprised. An oracle, of all things.”
“...Yes. I never expected it.”
“Naturally. It has been two hundred years, after all.”
Laios slowly moved to Richard’s side and clasped his hands behind his back as if unconcerned.
“I hear the god delivered a warning.”
“...That is correct.”
“Does anyone come to mind?”
“.......”
Richard quietly inhaled.
“I’m... not sure.”
His lips had barely begun to move when Laios spoke.
“Well.”
The corners of Laios’s mouth curved upward.
“I believe I know.”
“......!”
Richard’s gaze stiffened.
“What do you....”
Just as he began to speak, Laios said,
“Vilmar Cesica.”
“.......”
“Wouldn’t the warning have been directed at him?”
The answer was unexpected.
“Who has done more to disrupt the order of the world than that man? You must have heard some of it before, but the atrocities he has committed are too numerous to count.”
Laios gave a short laugh.
“Do you know that his trial is tomorrow?”
“......Ah, yes. I do.”
Richard nodded.
Come to think of it....
The Duke’s trial was indeed tomorrow.
Richard had expected him to die before it could even take place, but matters had unfolded differently.
...Well.
Perhaps Laios had decided it would be better to destroy the hated man’s honor before the entire world and then kill him.
“Tomorrow will mark his end. Before that happens, wouldn’t you like to... see him once?”
“...Are you speaking to me?”
“Yes. I thought it might be best for you to see the Duke yourself.”
Tilting his head slightly, Laios smiled with peculiar intensity.
“He was captured thanks to you. Shouldn’t you witness that triumph with your own eyes?”
Richard pressed his lips tightly together.
It was easy to discern the Emperor’s intentions.
......Is he testing me?
Although Richard had recovered the Empress’s body, Laios did not know what means he had used.
He seemed intent on observing Richard’s reaction for himself, to determine whether Richard might have some connection to the Duke.
Thorough as ever.
After taking a moment to steady his breathing, Richard bowed his head.
“Understood. I will see him.”
Laios nodded in satisfaction.
“Follow me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Richard followed Laios away.
The underground prison lay in the deepest reaches beneath the Imperial Palace.
It was a grim place where cold stone walls, damp air, and the lingering stench of old blood mingled together.
Richard walked slowly behind Laios.
The soldier stationed before the iron door saluted.
“I greet the Sun of the Empire. Do you wish to see the prisoner Vilmar Cesica?”
“Yes. Open the door.”
Creeeak—
The massive iron door slowly opened.
And inside—
A man sat leaning against the wall, bound in chains.
Vilmar Cesica.
“.......”
As Richard’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, his gaze slowly swept over the cell.
The man’s upper body was drenched in blood, his shirt torn, bruises and raw wounds scattered chaotically across his entire body.
The horrific marks of torture.
And yet—
His vivid violet eyes remained fixed precisely on Richard.
“.......”
Richard regarded him without emotion.
There was no particular reason to pity him.
Vilmar was a wicked man. Richard had merely joined hands with him temporarily to accomplish his own objective.
“Young Lord Friedrich.”
Standing at ease with his hands clasped behind his back, Laios asked,
“What do you think?”
He was asking what Richard thought of the sight of Vilmar Cesica after such horrific torture.
“.......”
This was a test.
A test to confirm that Richard was not one of the Duke’s people.
“It is not enough.”
Richard answered without the slightest change in expression.
Without a trace of uncertainty or hesitation.
Apparently reading his demeanor, Laios raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
“I’ll leave you alone for a while. I’m sure the two of you have things to discuss.”
He seemed convinced Richard would not betray him.
“Take your time.”
Leaving those words behind, Laios strolled leisurely out of the cell.
The soldiers followed the Emperor, closing the iron door and withdrawing as well.
Bang—
The massive iron door slammed shut,
and frigid silence filled the cell.
Within that silence, Richard quietly moved.
He stepped forward slowly and stopped before the man bound in chains.
Those eyes, still steeped in dark madness, stared unwaveringly at Richard.
Richard drew a breath.
Then he asked bluntly,
“What are you thinking?”
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