Side Story Chapter 11
A gust of strong wind blew in the entrance to Raymond Valley,
“Welcome to the south, Miss Anna bel Grace, the Wind Monarch!”
“We welcome you with all our hearts!”
A woman slowly walked out of the sharp gust of wind. Despite the fact she was over forty, the woman appeared to be in her late twenties at most.
Several executives of the Southern Avalon Empire held their breath as the monster—the elemental spirit in wolf form—standing by the woman’s side growled. It was the famous White Wolf, Anna bel Grace’s trademark.
“…Huh? My, you didn’t have to bother welcoming me like this.” Anna chuckled.
“Thank you for accepting our request, Wind Monarch. I am Dargo rane Suspen, the Emperor of the Southern Avalon Empire,” Dargo proudly said.
Anna silently looked at Dargo. Despite the fact that Dargo was already a Master, the invisible pressure he felt around Anna was indescribable.
‘Is this the power of the Three North Stars…?!’ Dargo wondered.
Anna bel Grace was not only strong in the northern region but also considered powerful on the entire continent, strong enough to be compared to the Nine Stars. Knights, mages, elemental spirit mages, the rare magic swordsmen… In every class and each attribute of power, the highest-ranking predators were known as monarchs.
On the same note, no one could utilize the mana of wind better than Anna bel Grace. Only the current Magic Tower Master, one of the Nine Stars, was close to her level.
“…Emperor, my ass.” Anna quietly mumbled, pouting. The executives’ eyes widened. “You must be misunderstanding something here. No matter which of the rebel armies succeeds in the coup, there is only one throne. You know this, right?”
“…I’m well aware of that.”
“Mmm. Good for you then,” Anna said in a sing-song voice.
“But I might be the one who claims the throne,” Dargo continued in a serious voice.
“Are you serious?”
Dargo nodded. “Of course, I admit how great the ruler of the northern region is, but only time will tell who the final victor will be.”
“There’s always someone who needs to see gold and trash side by side to tell them apart from each other,” Anna muttered to herself. It was obvious who she was talking about.
A vein bulged on Dargo’s forehead. “…Wind Monarch, I do appreciate your help, but humiliating me any further—”
“Alright, cut it out. I’m here to help so let’s forget about this and start talking business.”
Dargo was dumbstruck. Although he had heard rumors about the Wind Monarch’s eccentricity, he hadn’t expected her to be this bad!
“You know how valuable a warp stone is in times of war, right? I want to be paid for my help, along with the additional charge I had to spend in order to get here,” Anna demanded.
“Wait a minute.” Dargo raised his hand. “Isn’t that too much? We’re allies working together to reach the same goal.”
“Huh, didn’t you just say you’ll beat the head of the northern rebel army and become the emperor of the Avalon Empire?”
That shut Dargo’s mouth.
“So let’s keep the books clear. It’s better that way for both of us, right?”
Dargo frowned slightly. “…Fine. What do you want?”
“My terms are simple: in all the battles going forward, the southern rebel army will follow my order above anyone else’s. And…” Anna trailed off.
Her next term was shocking even for Dargo.
“All spoils of war from the battles will belong to me, Anna bel Grace.”
* * *
Right after the spar between Kireua and Cain came to an end, Cain headed to Charles’s.
“Your Majesty!” he shouted.
“…I did say I’m fine with it, but aren’t you coming a little too often?”
“I-I’m sorry. It’s a little urgent…” Cain trailed off with an apologetic look.
“I’m joking.” Charles smiled. “Is there a problem?”
“Umm… did anything seem wrong with His Highness Kireua recently?” Cain asked.
Charles’s face quickly darkened at the mention of her son’s name. “Why? Did anything happen to my Kireua?”
“Ah, don’t get me wrong. It’s really not a problem, but something is bugging me.”
“That just makes me more anxious,” Charles said.
“If I’m right, it’ll be good for him, so you really don’t have to worry,” Cain reassured her. She finally loosened up.
“…I’m not sure,” she mused. “I don’t really remember feeling anything off or wrong with Kireua… Exactly what is bugging you?”
“…From what I heard, you and His Highness Kireua have been together since the rebellion first started in the southern region. Is that correct?” Cain asked.
“Yes, that’s right.” Charles nodded.
“Over the past several years, did he show any abnormal signs during battles, especially regarding his aura?”
She had seen Kireua battle countless times, so she started to think after hearing Cain’s question. When her son had first returned to the Empire, he had bragged about how he had become a Master, which had been really surprising for her. At the time, he had declared that he was going to protect his mother from now on—and he actually did so in countless assassination attempts against her.
Charles shook her head. “…No; although I’m aware that Kireua has a talent for fire aura, I didn’t notice anything odd.”
“Was there a time when his flame turned black before…?”
“No, never,” Charles answered.
Cain quietly sighed. “…Your Majesty, I’ll ask you one last question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Are you really going to be okay if His Highness Kireua doesn’t take the throne? As you already know, you and His Highness Kireua may have to leave the palace once the First Prince takes the throne.”
Cain was right. Even if the other queen consorts were fine with it, the other nobles would not accept it. Since a civil war had already broken out, everyone would feel uneasy about doing nothing about a potential source of trouble.
“Then I’ll make Kireua the next Duke Pontier,” Charles declared without hesitation. “The southern region is—no, was—a pretty good place to live.”
“Your Majesty…”
“You know, I’m making a rational judgment, not a sacrifice. The person who actually sacrificed was Sersiarin.” Charles smiled plaintively.
Sersiarin loved Joshua more than anyone else, but she had to give up on her love because they were once siblings. Even if they didn’t share the same blood, people weren’t going to look at them in a good light if they got married, so Sersiarin decided to stay as Joshua’s sister forever.
At the time, some people had derided Joshua as a cruel tyrant that slayed his own father, so Sersiarin didn’t wish to become an additional obstacle for Joshua.
“Sersiarin loves His Majesty as much as—-no, more than we three queen consorts do. Since she even made such a request to you, she surely would never want the princes to fight, so how can I dare wish for my son to become the emperor?” Charles brushed her hair back. “So I’ll leave the matter to you. It doesn’t matter if you choose Kireua or Selim. I’ll respect your decision.”
* * *
Cain stood on top of the ramparts at night, lit only by the dim moonlight and a handful of torches.
“Mmm…” he grunted. He had a lot on his mind.
‘…It was definitely an ebon flame,’ Cain thought. Ebon flame was said to be able to destroy everything in the world.
Cain slowly and silently drew his sword, revealing a surprising sight. Cain’s entire sword had been scorched in the clash against Kireua’s ebon flame, and the fire on the sword didn’t go out even afterward. Using his aura to put it out was meaningless because the ebon flame even tried to devour his aura.
“…I’ll have to throw this away.”
Cain threw his sword off the rampart without hesitation. If Kireua had really used the legendary ebon flame…
“…He might really have a chance against His Highness Selim.”
Cain smiled. Having many talented members of the Imperial Family was actually good news, not bad. Cain could mediate a possible power struggle between them, but of course, the chances of it happening in the first place was rather low.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew over him. It felt odd to Cain. Something about the wind just now seemed very artificial.
“…Wait, I’ve smelled this scent before.” Cain sniffed the air.
The residual scent in the wind was familiar. It was…
-Hey! Combat Emperor!
Cain’s eyes popped wide open in surprise.
“Anna bel Grace…?”
-I would like to make you an offerrrr! Would you like to listennn?
The guards instantly sounded the alarm. The soldiers woke up and jumped up onto the rampart, but Cain couldn’t relax.
“That witch should have been in the north, so why is she here?” Cain frowned.
-You knowwwwww what can happen once wind starts to blow in a confined valley like thisssss?
“…What the hell!” Cain shouted.
The inside of the valley was blocked by natural cliffs, so it wasn’t really windy. However, if the wind somehow blew through the entrance to the valley, it became very strong. If someone as talented as Anna used her elemental spirit here…
“Do as you wish! I’ll slay you before you can do that, you witch!”
Cain’s thoughts about what he had seen during the spar were blasted out of his head.
“Yo-Your Highness?” he stuttered.
The person that had just shouted was Kireua. He’d come to stand right by Cain’s side.
“I am Kireua Sanders! The second prince of the great Avalon Empire! Wind? I’ll cut through it along with your head!”
-My, Sanders…? Yes, you’re the Hero King’s sonnnn!
The echoing voice was tinged with interest.
-I heard the rumorrrrr. I’m actually very interested in youuuuuuu.
“What?”
-You know, make do with what you haveeeeee.
“What bullshit is—”
-You really are your father’s son. You’re totally my typeeeeee!
Kireua quickly scanned his surroundings, but no matter how hard he looked, no one was around nor could he even find a trace of someone’s vital force.
“It’s useless, Your Highness. She’s probably watching us through her elemental spirit.” Cain shook his head.
“Then is there no way for us to find her?” Kireua asked.
“I have a rough idea of her location, but there is a high chance of it being a trap,”
Kireua frowned.
-I’ll propose a deal to you tooooooo.
“A deal…?” Kireua blankly repeated.
Anna suggested a deal Kireua couldn’t refuse.
-Let’s have a duel until one of us dies, like you did with Argooooooo. If you win, I won’t lay a finger on the fortress.
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