Side Story Chapter 47

Side Story Chapter 47

While Kireua was infiltrating the rebel headquarters in the west, things were happening in the far northern reaches of Avalon.

“...It’s done now.”

-What are you doing?!

“Can’t you tell? I’m mimicking you,” Joshua nonchalantly replied to the Demon Spirit’s question.

Since Joshua had woken up earlier than he had planned, he decided to separate his soul just like the Demon Spirit had done in the past.

“I had a good reason, but I’ve been too inattentive to other people. After meeting the woman from the Agnus family, which I’d forgotten about, I have a strong feeling that I should help them.”

-You’re nuts. Only gods can separate their souls, so how could a human like you do it?

“Do you still don’t get it?” Joshua asked.

-What?

“I didn’t spend the past two decades just trying to annihilate you. I’ve been absorbing all your power,” Joshua said.

-...You’re more wicked than a demon. I should burn you to death in hellfire and feed your remains to a monster!

The Demon Spirit was already aware of what was happening, but Joshua confirmed it. The Demon Spirit cursed him again and again, but Joshua slowly closed his eyes, grinning. His body was still trapped in this giant ice boulder, and he couldn’t take a step out of this place until the Demon Spirit was completely exterminated. However, that didn’t apply to Joshua’s soul.

The sky shook fiercely as Joshua’s mana made its presence known.

Once Joshua split his consciousness into two, the consciousness in the ice boulder was left dormant.

“...That body looks good,” Joshua murmured.

Not long after he closed his eyes, Joshua found a corpse buried in the snow. It belonged to one of the rebels who had been swept away in the avalanche Joshua had created. Although creating a new body was difficult even for Joshua, he could certainly give recreating a body a try.

“Carmen von Agnus, you gave me a great present.” After successfully pulling a part of his soul outside the ice boulder, Joshua’s smile deepened. “Now, where shall I send my new body first?”

* * *

Kireua sprinted across the hallway. Every step he took moved him a great distance. Thanks to some unexpected help, he could escape easily. The aforementioned help was dangling by his waist.

“L-Let go of me now! My hair is all messed up!” Anna shouted.

“No, they’ll catch up very quickly if we slow down.”

“Are you serious right now...?! I'm as old as your aunt! My skirt is going to turn upside down!”

“You said that we’re in a relationship where we can overcome the limits of age and nationalities,” Kireua casually riposted.

“That only applies when you and I start a family!” Anna shrieked.

However, Kireua had no intention of letting go of Anna. Even at that moment, the number of soldiers and knights blocking Kireua and Anna’s path was increasing.

“It’s the Second Prince! Stop him! Stop him with your life!”

“C-Ceiling! He’s running on the ceiling!”

“What in the world...!”

The way Kireua bypassed them was very clever. He didn’t risk going into a fight where he was outnumbered. Instead, he moved like an assassin and traveled across the ceiling as naturally as if he was running on the ground.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Stop screaming; you won’t fall down! By the way, what was that earlier?” Kireua asked.

“Wh-What earlier?” Anna stammered, unable to pull herself together.

“Excuse me?”

Just as expected, the nobles reacted sharply. Regardless, Iceline didn’t pay much heed to them.

“Selim takes after his father... Hmm, excuse me. Selim takes after His Majesty the most, so he has a childish side. I’m saying this as his mother, so I hope it doesn’t cause any misunderstandings.”

“Mmm...” Most of the nobles nodded in agreement, unexpectedly.

Joshua Sanders was undoubtedly the legend of Avalon and a monarch beyond reproach. Nevertheless, Iceline had more than enough right to say such things about the Emperor.

“Compared to Selim, Kireua is a replica of his mother. I believe that the perfect combination of His Majesty’s martial prowess, Queen Consort Charles’s political expertise, and the other Queen Consort’s exceptional intelligence is found in the Second Prince,” Iceline explained.

“I-If Her Majesty Iceline says so...”

“On top of that, all of you and I might go through the same suffering once Selim ascends the throne.”

“Pardon? What do you mean...?”

“Leaving home without saying anything, making trouble first and thinking later... Ah, of course, all of you would have to clean up the aftermath, wouldn’t you? And that isn’t all.” Iceline began to tick her fingers off with a violence that belied the pent-up anger hidden beneath her habitually frosty, expressionless face. “...He never says ‘I love you’ to his wife. His knight served him all his life, but he let him remain a bachelor even when that very knight is already over sixty. Our children probably don’t even remember what their father looks like. He’s utterly heartless, and...”

The nobles broke into cold sweats. They didn't know what to do.

Sersiarin couldn’t stand the air and awkwardly attempted to calm down her sister-in-law.

“I-I think we heard enough, Your Majesty.”

However, Iceline was snorting in anger now. “Gosh... the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Sersiarin, am I the bad guy here?”

“N-No, not at all...”

A long time had passed. The quiet, shyly smiling woman was gone.

Sersiarin looked away from Iceline, who kept on grumbling, and smiled stiffly at the nobles. “So... let’s get back to the main topic. I myself recently received a letter from Her Majesty Charles that she’s in support of the First Prince.”

The nobles began to stir. Two out of three votes had been cast, so only the Second Queen Consort still had to make a vote. However, some of the nobles looked faintly afraid for some reason.

“We... should go ask her in person, right?”

“Who will go? She must be busy as a bee, so we might be interrupting her...”

None of the nobles volunteered. Even Iceline and Serciarin quietly nodded in understanding. Everyone in the room was hesitating on what to do next.

“Then can I cast that vote?”

All heads turned at once.

The door to the council chamber was wide open, and a person wearing a robe was standing therein. The odd thing was that the nearby knights were also staring at the robed person in disbelief.

“Who are you? How dare you walk into this sacred chamber with a hood over your head?!”

“This is not a place for such discourtesy—!”

“What are the Imperial Knights doing? If an outsider is in the Palace, they should have reported it to Her Majesty immediately!”

The person’s shoulders rose and fell underneath the robe. “I told them to. Am I not allowed?”

“What a nutjob...”

“Wa-Wait.” Iceline sprang up from her seat, her lip trembling with uncontrollable emotion.

She wasn’t the only one. Serciarin was covering her mouth and struggling to hold back choked tears. Even if everyone in the world had forgotten that voice, these two women would never be able to forget the man to whom it belonged.

“...It can’t be, right? Say something, please,” Iceline begged, her eyes wet with welling tears.