Chapter 369 Resolving An Old Mystery Part 2

Chapter 369 Resolving An Old Mystery Part 2

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Dale followed Erile to her room at the end of a corridor connected to the main hall, taking a seat at a small and simple wooden table by the window as she walked to a cabinet nearby, grabbing a small tea set before putting it on the table.

"Here... I boiled it before you arrived, it's not as hot as before but it's still more than warm." She said with a smile as she poured Dale some tea

"Tea? I don't see that around these parts..." Dale said with a small smile as he felt the fragrance of the tea in the air

"Yes... People here don't seem to have the practice to drink it but back home, it was almost kind of mandatory, learning how to brew and drink it for the Aristocrat parties." She replied in an exhausted tone as she remembered her tutelage as she grew up

"I didn't have much material to work with, but some of the merchants brought tea leaves with them... Though it would be more correct to say I had them bring some, a bit selfish but I don't regret it as I'll have some for a while."

"Honestly, being like this, uncaring about keeping formalities and appearances is liberating, yet, I often see myself returning to those old habits." She said as she raised a teacup to her lips

"Uhum... Just like now?" Dale asked as he looked at her hands

Erile had one of her pinky fingers raised, it was rather classy...

"Oh!... Yes, like now." She said with a chuckle as she put the teacup down

"... It's very good, can I pass by and have a cup every once in a while?" Dale asked with a smile as he looked at his Status screen

[Populus Tea-> Mental Power +5]

As per usual, a food item gave him a buff, albeit a weak one.

Nonetheless, Dale wasn't surprised, as despite not being a Cook and hence unqualified to prepare special meals with buffs, Erile's teas were good enough to qualify by the System's parameters.

When he first drank it, he was quite surprised, not expecting Tea to have such benefits, but then again, a Tea can be interpreted as a potion, regardless of how angry an alchemist will become upon hearing this statement.

"Of course you can, I would be honored."

[Erile's intimacy has risen slightly]

"And... Thank you, I was never very good at it, but after failing a thousand times, it became muscle memory... Even if it's still not up to par."

She chuckled, reaching for her air as she brushed it, gazing at the window and the outside, her eyes distant as she looked for past memories.

"Compared to me, Xon is much better... Oh! I never told you about him, did I?" Erile said as she realized her blunder

She blinked quickly, looking straight into his eyes, like two emeralds shining brightly.

"You haven't, but I'm all ears, we do have the time." He said with a smile as he waited for her to speak

'Her Buttler, he couldn't come as that would not only break her disguise, it would also disrupt her plans.'

'He was one of the diversions she left behind so her father wouldn't realize just how far her "vacation trip" actually was.'

'For everyone back in her hometown, Erile just went on a small vacation to relax, but in truth, she essentially fled home to seek something her grandmother often spoke about...'

'Either out of curiosity or respect, though she did receive a "revelation" from her Goddess.'

'It's a complicated situation... Or not, it depends...'

"W-Well... Xon is..."

For the next few minutes, Erile narrated a story, eventually chaining into several other stories as Dale kept asking questions.

Time flew by as she talked but Dale did not stop her, only adding more fuel to the fire by exchanging stories with her, laughing with her from time to time as he did so.

[Erile's intimacy has risen considerably]

It seemed that just by listening and talking with her, their relationship strengthened. She began to open up, bit by bit as the moments passed by.

But eventually, she began discussing what she heard from the Soundbox...

To simplify things, Erile just played the entire soundbox to Dale, and just as he remembered, it took well over half an hour for the entire 'podcast' of the Commander to end, almost causing him to sleep midway through.

Though he didn't of course, otherwise Erile would've gotten upset... Although she did yawn once as she watched through it again.

It was important to say that this wasn't her second time hearing it, nor her third...

'In the end... It worked, as soon enough, the Corps fell...'

'I wonder what the king thought when he realized that? Did he feel it was a shame or did he feel relieved? Regardless, he wouldn't live to see the consequences of his actions so who cares, right?'

'Leoseus passed his Title to his son, and eventually, it came the time for his grandson to rise to the throne...'

'But in an extreme and violent incident, three entire generations of the Royal Family were all brutally murdered, leaving behind only offshoots, the brothers and sisters of the past Kings.'

'For the coincidence it was, they were now the only Royals with a veridic claim to the throne... But then, disaster struck again, and all women were slain.'

'Why women? For one reason only, the traditions of the Empire.'

'The Title can only be passed to men, this means that if a King has four sons and he passes the Title to one with the ceremony, if he perishes before having a proper successor, the other brothers won't ever have a proper claim in the throne.'

'And neither would a sister have, if she were to exist... But she has one thing they do not have... She can foster a new generation.'

'A baby born within the Royal Blood, if a son is born, he would have the qualifications to partake in the fight for the Throne and likely will, and for those that survived the onslaught of the Royal Family's death. Such a thing could be disastrous.'

'In the letters between the Commander and many of his associates, it seemed that the death of the Royal Family was something he had foreseen, not orchestrated.'

'For too long the current Royal Family has neglected important issues and with his power, he managed to peer into the darkness underneath the curtains, the Royal Family's time was fast approaching, and they knew it... They were just unable to fully defend themselves. The culprits were too proficient.'

'And that's something that pales me even now, the capability of a group or individual that can perform such a feat in the territory of the Imperial Arms...'

'There is a ploy going on in the Center of the Continent, an organization, a group, someone, that has a deep-rooted hatred for the current dynasty, and he almost succeeded in carving them out of this earth.'

'I say... This is the shadow of a Main Storyline, a mystery grand and significant enough that may chain together with many, many other issues, eventually leading to an "end", possibly the birth of a New Generation of Adapters... But that is another matter altogether.'

'Either way... The current Royal Family is an illegitimate one, descendants of other Noble Families with heavy ties to the original Royal Family but not direct ones.'

'Erile is now the sole female descendent of the original line, her Second-order great-grandfather was Emperor Jumieus, and her great-granduncle was Emperor Leoseus.'

'Not only that, her bloodline is "pure", having only High Nobles as her ancestors from her Great Grandmother's time to now, including even the Commander of the Corps, a man of great power, strength, and respect, even if that only extended to the South.'

'Besides, she now has become a Saintess and if she receives support from the Arkesian Church, her influence would reach an all-time high.'

'Her existence would likely shake the political scene of the Empire if it was confirmed, not that it's hard... Her Red hair says a lot.'

'Red hair is associated with the Royal Family, they say that all of those who possess it are connected to them in one way shape, or form, many Nobles possess it, treating it as a token of royalty.

'I particularly find it difficult for a single family to hold such genetic heritage, but this mystery is something that can only be solved by following the clues left behind in the Commander's letters, or in other words, to leave the South towards the central parts of the Continent.'

'For a single group to possess a specific genetic trait says a lot about what they could possibly be... The last descendants of another extinct group? A mystery with great possible repercussions...'

'Heck, for all that's possible, the Royal Family could be the descendants of an important group of the Old Empire, that's not completely impossible to think about, is it? Everyone has ancestors, and it had to have passed by the Old Empire, though if that's significant or not will be left for a player to figure out somewhere down the line.'

'For Erile, this revelation bears weight due to the words her Grandmother used to tell her and of her upbringing as a Noble.'

'Seeing herself as the last rightful heir of the Royals must've made her heart beat with power and desire, only to be curbed by the waters of her incompetence.'

'As she's now, she would only be used by the current Royals, to be bred and strengthen their claim of the throne, even if it meant some degree of inbreeding...'

'A horrifying thought to entertain, but a reality the Nobles wouldn't hesitate to follow through if it meant solidifying the Royal Familie's dwindling power.'

'Currently, the Royal Power falls to the hands of a young and recently crowned Emperor after the sudden retirement of the previous one, the times are changing and the political scene is unstable and full of strife for territory, power, and wealth.'

'This is how the Continent operates.' Dale thought as he listened to the final words of the Commander

"... And despite everything, do know that out of everyone, you're the only one that I ever and will ever love, be it in this lifetime, or several more in the future." The Commander said with a light gasp as the sounds of clashing and conflict died out outside of his chambers

The Audio of the Sound Box had been made over several days, and with each, the Commander's restlessness grew quite visibly...

And now, he was taking his final gasps, the moment before his death, where the Elite Soldiers of the Corps all fell just outside of his Office.

The fall of the Southern Corps.

[DING]

[Your quest has been updated]

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Notes