NOVEL NEXT chapter 55
55 – Collapse-7
“Are you shaking?”
Yurishia’s eyes wavered.
You must be confident. She is a knight among knights. She is a descendant of the imperial family.
No matter what happens, you must not show any signs of agitation.
But she could not deny his words.
“…How did you know? Who else knows this besides you?”
When I think back, there weren’t many people who could take down the princess just because they knew this.
His magic energy was real. She was the princess who had pointed her sword at Katharine, but even she could not pour out this level of magical power.
Unless a monster is a different species from a human or a devil that crawled out of hell, it would not be able to pour out that much magical power.
“Well, okay.”
He laughed.
“…”
However, Eurisia had an obligation to fight against them even if they threatened the empire.
Demons have not attacked this world for hundreds of years. However, their traces and the magic they had spread still remained on the earth.
You never know when they might threaten the empire. If the devil is cunning and strong, he might be able to defeat the princess using the same method he used.
“I need to know.”
The princess knew her own skills well.
She
She thought that among humans, she could show ‘a one-sided victory’ no matter who she fought, but she did not think she could fight and win against a demon.
Even so, I wanted to resist until the end and meet an honorable end. She just didn’t want everyone to see her collapsing as she was buried in her past and struggling.
“Right now, as far as I know… I’m the only one who knows this.”
“…”
“The incident itself. Well, if you look carefully, you might come across someone who knows… But actually, the incident itself wasn’t that big of a deal, right?”
What he said was right.
“What is more important is how the princess views them.”
While Euricia, who was working as a knight, was clearing out a warlock’s den, she killed a child there as well.
The incident itself was a common occurrence. Even if she went to court and presented this charge to the judge, Yurishia wouldn’t even need to attend the court in person.
The really important information was the feeling of guilt. She felt guilty that she couldn’t get over this incident.
“How could there be so many things that I could have known? I did not visit that village, nor did I accept their vengeful spirits into my body.”
Wade lightly shook his hand.
“Because the princess remembered them, she was only able to take advantage of them.”
Yuri Sia bit her lip tightly.
She had a guess.
He was actually a survivor of that city, and it was too much of a leap to think that the boy would grow up to become a great warlock like Wade.
Digging into other people’s memories to reveal their wounds and using that to control their emotions is a basic level of deception.
The hallucinations were insanely vivid, it was an unexpected weakness for her, and the magic energy he poured into her to perform the charm was just so great that it was excessive.
“What do you want?”
“Is there anything more I could ask of the princess?”
Yurishia was lost in endless questions.
Although he seemed to know everything, he never asked for anything.
He is the person who knows the secret to defeat the princess. Even if he didn’t know this information, at least he knows it now.
There are many enemies of the empire. There are a lot of warlocks who come and go to the information guild as if they were at home in order to bring down the princess.
He could take everything the princess had just by promising to ‘keep her mouth shut’.
“I won the tournament, so the dean will soon give me a medal. I will also receive a considerable amount of prize money. Is there anything else besides that?”
“…”
There is no way he doesn’t know. What information he has and what he can do.
But he didn’t do anything and was just smiling.
“What should I do?”
“Well, it’s not like I don’t have a direction in mind.”
Instinctively, Yurishia knew what he was going to say next.
He does not force.
“But, the choice must be made by the princess.”
“Can I… Do it?”
Yurishia was in doubt.
She had lost confidence that her judgment was right and that she had to do it.
I wanted to be saved. I wanted someone to decide. I wanted you to make a decision.
She wanted people to recognize that her life was without the slightest blemish, and that she should walk her path calmly and confidently without worrying about the inevitable sacrifices.
All she had done was a terrible and ugly hypocrisy, and she had commanded him to atone before the tombstones of those who had fallen on her sword.
What Yurishia wanted was a decision. Instead of the unreliable being ‘Princess Armidion Yurishia’, she makes judgments and decisions made by others.
And, she had no one but Wade to make that decision.
It was impossible to spread this story to others, and even if she did, there would be no way that someone who did not know her feelings and situation would be able to clearly perceive the situation.
But Wade calmly drew a line.
“That too is a matter for the princess to decide.”
When asked whether the princess can make a choice or not, she replies that even that is a matter for the princess to decide.
The words went round and round. But, that too was the truth.
Whether or not she would be able to overcome this problem was ultimately a matter for the princess herself to decide.
If she wanted to, she could shake it off. You could ignore it if you wanted.
She was also the princess who chose not to overcome it.
“I’m glad you’re healthy. I’ll see you later in the student council room.”
He let out a soft smile and left Yuuri Sia’s hospital room without even having a chance to stop him.
“Ah…”
Yuri Sia, who was alone again, let out her short sigh.
I felt like I was left alone in the world.
/////
“You’re here.”
While I was waiting at the appointed place, I was able to find Olivia, trembling and looking at me.
Uncharacteristically, she raised her words towards me. As long as the ‘group of knights following the princess’ recognizes me, they will not be able to treat me as casually as they did before.
“What happened to Fabian?”
Actually, that was what I was most curious about.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have a way to obtain information, but it was entirely dependent on the rumors of Claire and the ladies who were close to her.
Even if they were the same noble family, they would not be able to compare to the information she gained by talking to ‘a group of knights who follow her princess’.
“Well, it seems to be going well.”
“Hmm…”
“He may not be exonerated, but the fact that he was harassed by Conrad and his group, that he was mentally unstable, and that he was caught up in a conspiracy… Will all be acknowledged.”
“Thank goodness.”
Conrad was neither a victim nor a suspect in this case, but he was more deeply involved than anyone else except them.
“The victory you achieved… Seems to have thrown the Edwith family into confusion.”
“I guess so.”
This, too, was within the calculation.
From the Edwith family’s point of view, no matter how much they hate Conrad, their sentence must be reduced somehow.
Even putting family affection aside, it was never a good thing for a serious crime to run in the family.
For that to happen, it was necessary to turn Fabian’s murder trial itself in a direction unfavorable to him.
My evidence was strong enough to be undeniable, but still, legal questions such as ‘Did Fabian have a clear sense of reason to be able to discern right from wrong?’ Or ‘How serious were the crimes and harassment of Conrad and his gang were?’ Because there was room for argument.
And, ‘there is room for dispute in court’ means that it is a political issue. In political issues, the authority and power of the nobility may be involved.
“It must be confusing.”
But, I defeated the princess.
Rumors abound. Some claim that the princess lost to me on purpose, while others emphasize that I am a member of the student council.
Even putting those rumors aside, it was clear that I had either ‘the power to defeat the princess’ or ‘the influence to negotiate with the princess over her defeat.’
Then they had no choice but to save themselves.
If we wage a war of public opinion and politics from river to river, and it happens that the princess behind me and Fabian happens to be the princess, I will be in big trouble.
People who have a lot have no choice but to make stable choices. If public opinion does not turn to their side, all academy students and the entire empire will threaten the Edwith family.
The option of ‘cutting the tail’ was bound to become more attractive.
“…Is the princess okay?”
“Are you worried about him?”
Olivia nodded her head wordlessly.
A lot of things happened. She had to make many ‘choices’ to survive, and one of them was accepting demon energy into her body.
She will never accept her demonic energy again, but her brief remaining magical energy will haunt Olivia persistently.
Every time she fights with her warlock or any of her other demonic powers, it will put pressure on her and constantly remind her that she has made the choice to accept her demonic energy.
However, her loyalty did not disappear.
No matter how great the desire to be recognized is, one desire does not explain all human behavior.
Olivia’s hesitation and concern are probably actions that come from the heart.
But I couldn’t say anything positive.
“It will never go back to the way it was.”
Because Euricia is already broken.