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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 91 - Command (1)
"......"
A chilly silence weighed heavily inside the carriage.
I glanced at the Duke sitting across from me.
At that moment, our eyes met.
He stared at me impassively, as if unsurprised.
The Duke seemed to have partially accepted my advice to attack the Royal Family.
After all, with a gun pointed at his brow, he had no other choice.
'At least we don't have to worry about inspections.'
Given that Luna and I were now wanted across the continent, we had to consider every possible scenario carefully.
I no longer held the position of Chief Alchemist nor the status of a member of the Duke's house, so without a royal invitation, entering the palace was essentially impossible.
Therefore, this actually worked out well.
If I could just get the Duke's help, infiltrating the palace wouldn't be difficult.
Although relying on the Duke felt unsettling, given the circumstances, I had no choice.
"Kyle Winfred."
At that moment, a voice as cold as ice broke the silence.
"Now tell me. How can you help?"
His voice was calm.
I slowly opened my mouth.
"When we arrive in the capital, a title conferment ceremony will soon take place."
"I am aware."
"Most likely, every noble will flock to the palace. In these tumultuous times, it's the perfect event to distract the public."
The Duke stared at me with a bored expression.
Yes, he would naturally know as much...
But what mattered was what followed the obvious explanation.
"However, the conferment ceremony will not take place."
What?
"Instead, there will be a coronation."
"A coronation? With the Emperor still in good health, who would succeed the throne..."
He stopped mid-question, as a possibility crossed his mind.
Ah.
Could it be...
"On the day before the conferment."
I spoke firmly.
"Seize the throne in earnest."
A coup.
In other words, an outright assault on the palace.
The Duke would usurp the throne.
Thus, the day of the conferment would become a coronation to celebrate the Duke's new reign.
"Do you think that's possible?"
"It is."
"On what grounds?"
The Duke furrowed his brows.
He glared at me with a look that said he found it impossible to believe.
"It is possible. Seven houses will assist you."
"What do you mean..."
"It means that the Windfreds are not the only house under the Royal Family's pressure."
Noble houses, hostile to the Royal Family and typically oppressed by them.
"Surely not...?"
"The Noble Faction."
The Noble Faction.
"They will join you."
The Duke fell silent, lost in thought.
The Noble Faction.
Seven houses united solely for the sake of noble rights, countering imperial power.
"Given that the Royal Family has decided to attack the Eastern Continent, their animosity towards the Royal Family is at its peak."
Of course.
Attacking the Eastern Continent meant absorbing everything under the Royal Family's control.
At that point, the Royal Family's power would skyrocket, and naturally, the nobles' rights would diminish.
Moreover, the numerous ancient houses in the Eastern Continent would rise to prominence in their place.
For the nobles who had enjoyed their status, it would be a disaster from a clear sky.
This was also a predetermined future.
The Noble Faction's attempt to seize the throne was an event that occurred in every scenario.
"Are you certain?"
"I am certain. By the time you reach your estate, you will have received the message. You are the only one who meets all the conditions to sit on the throne, being both a member of the Royal Family and the leader of the Windfred house."
At that moment, our eyes met deeply.
His ice-blue eyes shone like blue sapphires as he slowly scrutinized me.
I chuckled softly.
And in a calm voice, I added.
"If you take the throne, there will be no need for the Windfreds to be annihilated, nor for you to execute your own daughter."
"What do you want?"
"Simple. Use any means necessary to infiltrate me into the palace."
"...Is that really all?"
I slowly nodded.
After all, once I obtained the Holy Relic, I planned to tear through the dimension and return to my original world.
In the midst of the chaos, the Duke blinked.
After pondering for a long time, he finally managed to open his lips.
His answer was.
"Very well."
As expected, it was too obvious.
****
After that, everything went smoothly.
Since we no longer had to dodge pursuit using all sorts of tricks, our journey back to the capital was unhindered.
When we finally arrived at the estate, it was only a week before the official title conferment ceremony.
"Master Kyle, Miss Luna!"
The old butler greeted Luna and me with a voice filled with emotion as we stepped out of the carriage.
"What happened for you to lose so much weight in such a short time...!"
Ah, annoying.
As I half-listened to his fussing that went on for a while.
"Master."
Diana stepped out of the carriage that had followed.
I smiled faintly and asked her.
"How are you feeling?"
"Perfectly fine."
"Then let's go inside."
Only a few days remained until we infiltrated the palace.
Initially, I worried about using underground passages, but now that I was on the Duke's side, even that was unnecessary.
The conferment ceremony was in a week.
With the Duke's help, I would infiltrate the palace, and Diana and I would go directly to the Princess.
The goal was the Holy Relic.
To kill the Princess and seize the Rosary.
Everything was clear.
But.
'Diana...'
I still hadn't asked her.
If she had no particular attachment to this world, whether she would cross dimensions with me.
From her perspective, it was a gamble with her life.
So I couldn't ask recklessly.
No, that was just an excuse.
What I feared most was something else.
'If she refuses...'
Rejection.
Yes, I feared her rejecting me.
Expecting blind loyalty from an outsider, or asking her to cross worlds with me, all of it was irresponsible and selfish.
As I agonized over it for several days.
"Master, it's Diana."
I heard a familiar knock, and Diana entered the room.
Caught thinking about her, I averted my gaze slightly.
Diana, watching me, smiled softly and walked over.
"Have you eaten?"
"No, not yet."
"Would you like to eat together?"
Together?
"Sure."
When I agreed, Diana promptly brought in a cart from outside the door.
"Please wait a moment."
Diana quickly set the food on the side table.
I stared at the food before slowly lifting my head.
"Diana."
"Yes, Master."
"Come sit next to me."
Diana silently stared at me for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood."
She sat next to me on the sofa.
"You once said you wanted to become a knight, didn't you?"
It was a sudden question.
A way to probe her lingering attachments to this world.
"Yes, that's correct."
Diana nodded without hesitation.
"Why?"
"Because it was the only path for someone of low birth like me."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all."
I took a sip of cold water from the table.
"So, have you achieved that goal?"
"I suppose so."
"How do you feel?"
"I'm grateful to be able to serve you."
It might sound like a platitude, but she was sincere.
"I will be leaving soon."
A heavy silence lingered.
Diana didn't answer hastily.
She just stared at me, waiting for my next words.
"Are you... okay with that?"
If I hadn't come here.
No, if you weren't from this world.
If we had met in a normal world under normal circumstances.
There was regret.
No, there was lingering attachment.
Diana had become the only attachment I had in this world.
And, I also wanted to be her attachment.
"I am fine."
Diana simply looked at me and nodded gently.
Then, a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"So, you don't need to worry."
A lie.
A blatant lie.
"Really?"
But.
I didn't want to lie.
"I am not fine."
Diana's blue eyes trembled violently.
I watched her confusion and slowly opened my mouth.
"Is there nothing you want from me?"
I hoped she would speak first.
That she would ask to come with me to the other world.
"Nothing."
But she didn't cross that line until the end.
I didn't like that.
"Nothing?"
"...Yes."
"Last time, you kissed me so boldly, and now you want nothing?"
"......"
Diana hesitated for a moment.
"Anything is fine."
It was something I had never said to anyone in this world.
But I had no reservations saying it to Diana.
"......"
Diana's blue eyes rippled violently.
To hide it, she bowed her head.
But after a moment, she raised her head slowly.
"Anything... you say?"
Master and knight.
The blind loyalty of that relationship began to crack.
"Anything."
I smiled.
At that moment, I met Diana's sharp gaze.
"You don't need to do this."
"That's not for you to worry about."
"You will regret it."
"That's not for you to worry about either."
Crack.
Her solid beliefs began to fracture.
"My wishes don't matter."
"They matter to me."
"But..."
"Diana."
I spoke gently, as if soothing a child.
"It's okay."
Since it's the last time.
I wanted to hear her answer more clearly.
"I am really okay."
I suddenly wondered.
What do I feel for Diana?
Affection?
Pity?
I couldn't define it.
Nor did I want to.
It was a luxurious emotion that I didn't want to contemplate in this accursed world.
Too much had already been broken in the years I had lived in this world.
My emotions had worn down and dulled.
I didn't want to question emotions I couldn't be sure of.
So I ignored it.
I pretended not to see it. I avoided it.
But when I first kissed her, the emotions, the thrill, the shock.
Now, I wanted to confirm it.
I felt that I would regret it if I didn't.
"So, answer me."
Diana remained silent.
Her bowed head trembled irregularly.
"I..."
Her voice trailed off.
"Indeed, I..."
Her voice, tinged with moisture, filled the air.
"I do not want to be left alone."
She poured out her long-buried emotions.
Those vivid feelings weighed heavily on my chest.
"I want to be with you."
The bright noon sunlight poured down on her.
"Even now."
Heat surged within me.
"And in the future."
Her voice was so intense it broke into pieces.
"You are my master."
"I know."
"I want to serve you for the rest of my life."
"......"
Her gaze towards me was fiercely intense.
The emotions in her eyes were so clear that I sighed.
"Give me your command."
Her cracked voice scattered in my ears.
A deep desire, long dormant in her heart, surged like a storm.
"Diana."
The air was hot.
"Only you..."
My heartbeat echoed through my body.
A flash of lightning cut through me.
"If you are okay..."
Her face began to draw closer.
“With me…”
My unfinished words were scattered by her hot breath as she kissed me.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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