Chapter 24 - Escape

[Translator - Peptobismol][Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 24 - Escape

"Are you asking me to buy you for a billion Crone?"

This conversation took place just before Yulia returned to the Duchess. Lloyd had stopped her and made his proposal—asking her to buy him.

Naturally, the princess was taken aback. To her, it must have seemed strange that a boy harboring Ortega would suddenly pitch himself to her.

And a billion Crone was no small sum. Yulia was surely gathering resources for the succession war, where every penny would count.

In summary, Lloyd was in a tough spot.

But Lloyd turned that to his advantage. If Yulia’s lack of funds was due to her preparation for the succession struggle, then it meant she’d be willing to spend money if it could help her win that struggle.

Knowing some of the future can be helpful in such moments. Lloyd’s unique political acumen also came into play. He successfully convinced Yulia, even managing to get her to drop the formal speech, making her feel a bit closer to him.

"But do you really think the Duchess will let you go so easily?"

"Ask for a token of alliance."

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"Yes. The Duchess invited you here to form an alliance of the weaker factions, right?"

Lloyd picked up a pen and started drawing.

He sketched out the power dynamics of the First Prince and the Second Princess, their factions taking up most of the space on the notebook page. Below them, he drew a small area representing Yulia’s influence.

— Scritch.

Then, he tore a blank page from the notebook and placed it beside Yulia's.

On this page, he drew a larger circle than Yulia’s, but still smaller than the other heirs’. This circle represented the Duchess of Gray.

"If we visualize the succession struggle, it looks something like this. Frankly, your influence is currently smaller than the Duchess’s."

Tap, tap.

Lloyd tapped the pen back and forth between Yulia's and the Duchess’s territories.

"But the Duchess isn’t of the Estrid bloodline. She can never take the throne, no matter how powerful she is. Her power is meaningless in that regard."

Lloyd crumpled up the page representing the Duchess and tossed it into the wastebasket.

It landed perfectly inside.

"The advantage in negotiations lies with you, Princess. Even if you desperately need the Duchess’s power, you have something she can never possess."

"The Estrid bloodline."

"Exactly."

The princess seemed to be deep in thought, stroking her chin.

But Lloyd didn’t give her time to ponder.

In such negotiations, it was always better to press quickly, giving the one making the offer the upper hand.

"I’ve already laid some groundwork with the Duchess."

"...What kind of groundwork?"

"I suggested that if you were to make any demands, she should do her best to accommodate them."

Joining forces with the Third Princess and leaving the Duchess’s mansion had always been Lloyd’s plan. And when he finally met the Third Princess, he realized she was more virtuous than he had expected, making it clear that he had to secure her favor. She was the only ray of light in Lloyd’s otherwise grim situation.

What puzzled him was why the Yulia he knew differed from the Yulia he saw now.

She wasn’t someone who shared Ortega’s madness; rather, she was someone who inherited the Reverse Eye, the same power that had once sealed Ortega away.

"And if you still don’t believe me, there’s a way to confirm it. Lend me your ear for a moment."

Thus, Lloyd formulated a theory.

What if Yulia, too, had been brainwashed by the Duchess, just like the other low-ranking cultists?

If that were the case, there was only one solution.

The antidote was solitude.

◆

Yulia refused the tea offered by the Duchess.

— "It’s likely a brew of the ‘Gu Worm.’ One cup won’t have much effect, but repeated consumption would be no different from regular poison. If the Duchess's expression changes when you decline, then you’ll know I was right."

As Lloyd had predicted, the Duchess’s brow furrowed slightly when Yulia declined the tea. Though her expression quickly returned to normal, Yulia had keen enough senses to detect the brief change.

‘So the boy was right.’

If she hadn’t listened to Lloyd’s warning...

‘I would’ve become this woman’s puppet.’

A shiver ran down her spine.

Yulia swallowed dryly but maintained her composure while heightening her vigilance. Fortunately, it seemed there wouldn’t be any more attempts to brainwash her.

"The reason I invited Your Highness to this humble abode today."

The Duchess finally said after several more minutes of conversation.

In summary, the Duchess wanted to support Yulia in her bid for the throne.

— Slink.

The Duchess rose from her seat and approached Yulia.

A sense of foreboding washed over Yulia as she noticed the Duchess’s gray hair swaying.

The Duchess leaned down, her lips brushing against Yulia’s ear.

Gulp.

Yulia involuntarily swallowed.

The Duchess, savoring Yulia’s tension, whispered into her ear.

"I truly wish for you to be addressed as ‘Your Majesty’ rather than ‘Your Highness.’"

Just as Lloyd had warned, the Duchess was after the Estrid bloodline.

Her plan was to slowly poison Yulia’s mind, then place her on the throne as a puppet monarch, controlled and discarded at her whim. Even if Yulia succeeded in claiming the throne, it would be a hollow victory.

Of course, the chances of success were slim. Yulia would likely be used as a pawn and then discarded.

"..."

Yulia understood now.

The value of that boy named Lloyd.

A billion Crone.

That was the price of Yulia's own life.

And Yulia was not one to leave debts unpaid.

"I have one condition."

"A condition...?"

The Duchess, who had shown her fangs, was met with a firm hand from Yulia.

Yulia had decided to accept the Duchess's offer, knowing full well that she was dealing with a venomous snake. But now that she knew about the poison, the risks were mitigated, and there was even a chance to turn the situation to her advantage.

Furthermore...

"Lloyd. Sell that child to me. I’ll buy him for a billion Crone."

She needed to see for herself.

Was Lloyd’s advice truly infallible?

Would the Duchess sell him off, despite her apparent favor for him? If she did...

“......”

Lloyd would be right.

Thus, Yulia’s request wasn’t a losing proposition.

If Lloyd was right, he was worth every bit of the billion Crone and more, having saved her life.

If he was wrong, the Duchess wouldn’t sell him.

"....."

The silence that followed wasn’t short, but it wasn’t overly long either.

The Duchess picked up her fan and fanned herself a few times.

Then, she asked.

"You’ve met Lloyd, I see?"

"Yes. He seemed quite intelligent, so I took a liking to him."

"He once told me that if Your Highness requested anything, I should comply. Hmm."

The Duchess let out an exaggerated hum, followed by a sly smile.

It was the smile of a serpent.

"I don’t know what you discussed during that brief trip to the bathroom/"

She said, her voice dripping with amusement.

After another moment of silence, during which the Duchess studied Yulia's expression, she nodded.

"Very well. As a token of our friendship, I will give you Lloyd."

◆

"Lloyd, pack your things."

Back in the servants’ quarters.

Lloyd, who had been sitting quietly on his bed, rose at the butler’s words.

"Pack my things?"

"Yes. As of today, you are the property of Her Highness, the Third Princess. You will be leaving with her. There isn’t much time. You have twenty minutes to prepare."

Lloyd nodded quietly as the butler exited, closing the door with a loud bang.

He then pulled a pre-packed suitcase from under the bed and placed it on top.

Naturally, Lloyd had known Yulia would succeed.

But there was something else...

"I need to confirm something."

The Gray Mansion.

This place held numerous secrets, making it quite unique.

There were rooms where no mana could be felt, mysterious masked butlers, and traces of the cult's high-ranking members. All these peculiarities were carefully hidden within the mansion.

"And then there’s that basement."

The carriage ride before entering the mansion.

There had been rumors about the Gray household, and the basement was one of them.

Even after he had expanded his senses using the sedative and Ortega’s power, Lloyd found no trace of a basement. Yet, when he first arrived at the mansion, he had seen something—a glimpse of the basement. The other children, who had been taken to the basement, denied ever having gone underground, adding to Lloyd's confusion.

But it wasn’t all for nothing.

Among the belongings left behind by the White Knight Arno, Lloyd found something.

He pulled it out of his pocket—a luxurious, purple-tinted key.

Arno had mentioned it in passing, but clearly.

He had found a passage leading to the basement.

— Creak.

Lloyd carefully opened his door and stepped out.

Now that he was set to leave the mansion, this was his last chance to explore freely without significant risk.

He expanded his senses.

He focused on the rooms where no mana could be detected. He had tried to enter them before, but they were locked with special mechanisms.

After making sure no one was around, Lloyd inserted the key into one of the locks and turned it.

— Click.

The door opened smoothly.

Lloyd peeked inside.

The room was mostly empty except for a small mirror.

In the reflection, he saw himself.

And coiled around his reflection was a snake—an impossibly white, ghostly serpent.

"....!"

He heard someone approaching.

Quickly, Lloyd shut the door and tucked the key back into his pocket.

The butler from earlier approached him from down the hallway.

"Why are you out here? Did you need something in that room?"

"No, I was just looking for something I thought I had lost."

"There’s no time for that. We’re leaving. Take only what you have packed."

Lloyd nodded.

His belongings fit neatly into two large bags.

Only one thing had been added to his luggage—a small mirror.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]