“Hmm.”
Emperor Devrica regarded the three slips of paper before him with interest. They were reports sent by the people he had stationed throughout each region.
[Duke Schweiss of the West is on his way to the capital.]
[Duke Nora of the South has arrived in the capital.]
[Duchess Elkein of the East is already in the capital.]
“So, all three heads have come to the capital?”
At the Emperor’s question, the aide standing quietly off to the side answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Is it because of the S-Class Black Forest...?”
“That doesn’t appear to be the case.”
“...I suppose not.”
Weren’t they the same people who always told him to handle whatever happened in the capital himself?
Of course, if they had known the Black Forest that appeared this time was S-Class, they would’ve rushed here before anyone else. But by the time word reached them, everything was already resolved. There was no reason for them to come racing to the capital now.
“It seems they’ve been making preparations to come to the capital for the past few months.”
“Any idea why?”
“Not yet, Your Majesty.”
The North was, by far, the region with the highest number of monster outbreaks in the Empire. The situation had grown so severe that the Empire had designated it a Grand Duchy and entrusted its entire defense to House Persia.
Even so, monsters continued to appear throughout the West, East, and South, if not as frequently as in the North. The ducal houses charged with defending those regions were House Schweiss in the West, House Elkein in the East, and House Nora in the South.
Together with the Grand Ducal House of Persia, which guarded the North, they were known as the Four Great Houses that protected the Empire.
Over the past few years, monster activity had doubled, leaving the three heads too busy defending their own territories to visit the capital.
And yet, all three had arrived in the capital at the same time. What made it all the more surprising was that no one had the faintest idea why.
“Send word to those three that I wish to see them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And find out what each of them is doing.”
“At once.”
***
“Open it.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Creeeak.
When the heavy iron door slowly swung open, a man stepped inside. He was a middle-aged man with striking black hair and black eyes—Vainel Schweiss.
The ruler of the western region crossed the room in long strides, making his way toward the figure slumped in the corner.
Sensing someone enter, the woman huddled inside the cell slowly lifted her head. Despite her snow-white hair, her face looked far younger than anyone would’ve expected.
“...! Y-You...!”
Agne, Ceres’s aunt, stared at him in shock. When Duke Schweiss came to a stop right in front of her, she sucked in a sharp breath.
“You’ve been lying to me all this time.”
His voice was so flat it was almost devoid of emotion. Even so, the anger simmering beneath it was unmistakable.
“L-Lying...? It’s all a misunderstanding!”
“A misunderstanding?”
Swoosh.
A violent gust of wind burst from around him. It was the power passed down only to the eldest heir of House Schweiss: the ability to command the wind.
The gale whipped Agne’s white hair wildly in every direction. As she felt her skin sting, thin streams of blood trickled down her face and neck.
Her complexion turned deathly pale.
“Are you telling me the money you squeezed out of me for that child’s treatment wasn’t based on a lie?”
“T-The child really was sick!”
“She was. Because someone poisoned her.”
“Th-That...”
She desperately searched for an excuse. But when she looked into Duke Schweiss’s cold, unreadable eyes, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head. She knew nothing she said would convince him.
“Please... spare me!”
Begging for her life was all she could do.
“How dare you...”
So I was fooled by a pathetic worm like this? Duke Schweiss clicked his tongue as he looked down at Agne trembling on the floor.
“I’ll return every last coin!”
Agne’s desperate plea only made Duke Schweiss’s gaze turn colder. As if reflecting the fury building inside him, the wind tearing through the prison grew even fiercer.
“Is she really that stupid? Does she actually think he’s angry over the money?”
“She’d have to be. Otherwise she never would’ve dared pull something like this.”
At that moment, two more people entered the prison. They were a man and a woman who looked to be around Duke Schweiss’s age.
Duke Nora, who ruled the South, and Duchess Elkein, who ruled the East.
Duke Nora, whose smiling eyes stood out at first glance, kept smiling as though he found the whole scene thoroughly entertaining.
In contrast, Duchess Elkein’s eyes blazed with anger as she glared at the trembling Agne, looking like she might kill her on the spot.
“Isn’t it ridiculous? Every last one of us got swindled by someone this stupid.”
Duke Nora laughed softly, his eyes crinkling even further. Meanwhile, Duchess Elkein strode over and grabbed Agne by the collar.
“Urgh!”
“Have you lost your mind? Do you have a death wish? You actually thought you could fool me?”
“P-Please... have mercy...”
Around Duchess Elkein, a crystal-clear water sprang into the air before coiling tightly around Agne. It was the power of water, a gift passed down through House Elkein, the family that protected the eastern region.
“Ghk...!”
Agne choked for air like she were drowning.
“That’s enough.”
Duke Nora stepped in and pulled Agne out of Duchess Elkein’s grasp.
“Haa... Haa...”
Agne collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. Duke Nora gave her back a few gentle pats, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“We share some of the blame for believing her so easily.”
“How could we not? She said little Julia was sick!”
Fresh anger flashed across Duchess Elkein’s face as she ground her teeth.
“I told her again and again not to marry into that damned family.”
As memories from years ago resurfaced, Duchess Elkein couldn’t stop cursing under her breath.
Ceres’s mother had been her oldest friend and the only person she truly considered family. Then one day, she’d shown up with an unassuming man and announced that she intended to marry him.
He came from a mercenary family, but there was nothing particularly impressive about him. He was kind, sure, but that was about all he had going for him. What on earth did she see in that man?
She’d spent days trying to talk her friend out of it, following her around wherever she went, but it was all in vain. Blinded by love, her friend had simply smiled without a care in the world and kept asking her to attend the wedding.
In the end, Elkein had no choice but to give up.
And look where it had led. Who would’ve thought someone from that man’s family, his own sister, would end up preying on her dear friend’s children?
“I should’ve stopped her from marrying that b*stard no matter what!”
“Don’t speak ill of him.”
Duke Schweiss finally broke his silence, having ignored the bickering between the other two until now.
“He doesn’t deserve that.”
Just like Duchess Elkein, Duke Schweiss had opposed the marriage from the very beginning.
He, too, was far from pleased when Ceres’s father announced he intended to marry some plain and unremarkable woman. But unlike Duchess Elkein, he hadn’t openly chased after the couple trying to break them apart.
He simply couldn’t understand why someone as kind and capable as his friend would choose to marry such an ordinary woman.
“Doesn’t deserve it? Are you seriously saying that after seeing how all this turned out?”
“How is any of this his fault? Stop talking nonsense. You’re only making yourself look foolish.”
“Foolish? I’m the foolish one? Fine, I’ll show you what real foolishness looks like.”
In an instant, roaring wind and surging water swept through the prison together. Even the guard outside took one look and bolted.
“All right, enough. This isn’t the time for the two of you to start fighting.”
Duke Nora shook his head with an amused sigh as he stepped between them. More than twenty years had passed, yet they were still arguing over their friends’ marriage.
Unlike the other two, Duke Nora was close to both of Ceres’s parents. He was also the only one who had genuinely celebrated their marriage.
“I take it neither of you has heard.”
Duke Nora turned his gaze to Agne, who remained curled up on the floor while trembling in fear.
His trademark playful smile still rested on his lips, but anyone who knew him well could see there wasn’t any warmth in his eyes.
“Our Ceres... I heard she even tried to take her own life.”
The words fell quietly from his lips.
“...What?”
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