First, we begin with Melrose.
“…Mikhail. Why the long face?”
“It’s nothing, Grandfather.”
On their way from the Royal Castle to the Melrose estate on the outskirts of the Royal Capital, Belt, Margrave of Melrose and Prime Minister, let out a quiet sigh at the somewhat somber appearance of his legitimate grandson, Mikhail, who was riding with him.
Belt had an idea why Mikhail was acting strangely.
A young girl—the adopted daughter of the Layton baronial family, a royal princess’s bodyguard, and a Rank 5 adventurer—had suddenly vanished. The princess, who was close to her, had subtly spread a “death theory,” which perplexed those who knew the girl. However, when factions opposing the First Princess and their funding sources began to be crushed thereafter, Belt understood the background.
He had managed to make discreet contact with her using the Shadow Unit and grasp her movements by supporting her from the shadows. Still, Belt, whose heart had nearly stopped, grumbled to himself that he wished she had informed him as well. Observing the two, Oz, the attendant who was the other passenger, spoke up.
“Shall I prepare some refreshments?”
“No, not right now.”
Belt, his mood slightly lifted by Oz’s consideration, once again pondered the cause of the current situation.
It was probably the fault of that ‘Saint’. Even Belt, a doting grandfather, no longer thought of her as his granddaughter. However, having taken her under his protection once, and with the eyes of other families and branch families upon him, he hadn’t banished her.
But by the time he realized that girl was “poison,” she had already slipped from Melrose’s grasp, built a faction encompassing the Crown Prince, Prince Amor, and even the Holy Church, and risen to a position of such influence that even assassinating her was no easy task.
Belt figured that even if he were to annul the adoption now, with her influence, the aristocratic faction would likely take her in as an adopted daughter. So, as a final restraint, he had decided to keep her as the ‘adopted daughter of a viscount family.’
As a result of being outmaneuvered politically, he had let her run wild. That girl—Aria—had likely sought to temporarily break free from the political shackles of being a princess’s associate to diminish that power.
However, Mikhail, who had considered himself her “comrade” as one of the princess’s aides, wasn’t lamenting that she hadn’t told him anything—rather, he was grieving over his own inability to immediately understand her intentions and act, unlike the princess. From Belt’s perspective, it was childish sentimentality, but he could understand those feelings.
There was no proof. She herself wouldn’t admit it. But Belt was convinced that Aria was none other than “Alicia,” the memento of his deceased youngest daughter.
He wanted her to return to him as his granddaughter. But if she refused, he at least wanted her to live freely.
If she rejected nobility, he was fine with just watching over her. As long as she was alive, that was enough. But he wanted her to call him Grandfather. He constantly wished he could have her meet his wife.
He was quite similar to Mikhail himself. That was why, this time, he had Mikhail return to the estate for a change of pace.
It took half a day to return to the estate on the outskirts of the Royal Capital, so Belt himself only went back about twice a week. Mikhail had visited the estate to some extent after enrolling in the academy, but since becoming the princess’s aide, he had only returned about once a month.
Mikhail’s parents were governing the Melrose territory in Belt’s stead, so they weren’t in the Royal Capital. However, Belt’s wife missed Mikhail when he didn’t return, so bringing Mikhail home would be a good diversion for both of them.
If possible, he wanted to have Aria meet his wife, but Belt also understood that if he forced the issue, that girl would disappear somewhere.
“Master Belt, Master Mikhail.”
At Oz’s sudden, warning-like voice, Belt looked up. Reacting to this, Mikhail directed his gaze outside the carriage.
“…Grandfather. Doesn’t something feel off?”
“What is it?”
Belt stopped Oz, who was about to say something, with a hand gesture. He then deliberately frowned and questioned his grandson, who had begun to speak of such things. Mikhail, though hesitating slightly, started to explain what he felt.
“Since I started associating with Aria and the knights of the Shadow Unit, there are things I’ve finally become able to sense.”
“…I see.”
From the demeanor of the two, Belt too was made aware of the situation “outside.”
Battlefields, and places about to become them, have a unique “atmosphere.” The presence of insects and animals. The expressions and voices of people. The traces of someone having passed along a road… These accumulated details become an “atmosphere” that only those who can perceive it will sense.
Mikhail must have been trained considerably under the princess. Conversely, Belt, who had fewer occasions to go to the “field,” was slower to notice that distinctive atmosphere than his two companions.
“Someone—”
“—Master! Horses approaching from the front!”
Before Belt could take any action, the carriage halted, and the coachman reported it.
“Horses? What’s going on?!”
The fact that the coachman had noticed meant that the accompanying Melrose family knights should already be responding. However, Belt, feeling a sense of foreboding due to the lack of battle sounds for an ambush, exchanged a look with Mikhail and gripped his own sword.
“Master, I shall go and see.”
“No, we’re going out too. Mikhail, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Hearing Mikhail’s reply as he too grabbed a dagger, Belt, inwardly impressed that his grandson had indeed been tempered in courage, stepped outside.
If preparing for an ambush, it was better for nobles not to leave the carriage. Especially with Oz, a knight of the Shadow Unit, present, entrusting it to him would be wiser.
However, there were no women or children to protect here. For Belt and Mikhail, who were somewhat skilled in combat, exiting before being surrounded was a tactically sound option. Recalling that the Melrose family members tended to be, shall we say, proactive, Oz let out a soft sigh.
“What is going on?!”
“…M-Master!”
When Belt called out, a man who had been talking to the knight at the front noticed Belt and cried out.
“Nils? What happened?”
Belt knew him. He was one of the attendants at the estate, a civilian, not a knight of the Shadow Unit, but Belt remembered him as a relatively calm individual. Why was he in such a panic? Why had he come this far from the estate?
As Belt questioned him about what was happening, Nils dismounted his horse and approached Belt with stumbling steps, his face desperate as he raised his voice.
“Master, it’s terrible! Men who appear to be from a knightly order are heading towards the estate! A knight who went to challenge them was killed on the spot!”
“What did you say?!”
Hearing this, Belt stepped towards Nils to get more details—and in that instant, he drew his sword from his hip.
“M-Master?!”
Clang…!
“…It seems we were being led on.”
As Belt deflected an arrow that had flown from somewhere, Oz and the knights drew their weapons and scanned their surroundings.
There were multiple routes from the Royal Capital to the Melrose estate, and only Belt himself or an attendant like Oz knew which road would be chosen on any given day. That was precisely why Nils, who had tried to warn them of the danger, had been “played” by the “enemy.”
From the darkness of the night road ahead, three more horsemen appeared. The man at their head, bow in hand, gave a nod from horseback.
“I presume you are His Excellency, Prime Minister Melrose.”
“…You, are you Kirkland?”
“Indeed. I am Kirkland, Company Commander of the Second Order of Knights. It has been quite some time since we last spoke face-to-face, hasn’t it?”
“You… what is the meaning of this?”
He was the one who had fired the earlier arrow. A handsome man of about thirty, he was the second son of the Kirkland viscount family. Belt recalled being introduced to him at evening parties as a young but capable knight.
Belt had also received reports from the Shadow Unit that Prince Amor was incorporating the Second Order of Knights and gathering weapons for a part of it.
After discussions with Margrave Dandole, the Knight Commander General, it had been decided to heighten security in the Royal Capital and dispatch surveillance by the knightly orders and the Shadow Unit. However, that had been only two days ago, and subsequent reports had not yet arrived.
Even if they were gathering soldiers to do something, there was a limit to what could be achieved with merely a few hundred men. At the very least, to cause any significant incident, they would need several times that number of troops. Otherwise, even if they encountered and defeated the Third Order of Knights, which patrolled the Royal Capital’s surroundings, they would be too exhausted for proper military deployment.
Besides, Amor was, nominally at least, a prince. He was currently infatuated with a strange woman, but Belt had conventionally (・・・) thought that, as a member of the royal family, Amor wouldn’t act so rashly.
Were they planning to attack somewhere? What would that achieve? Even if they accomplished something, it would only leave behind the disgrace of treason and the dishonorable end of being subjugated and “killed.”
Amor was not that foolish a man. Belt, who had known Amor since he was a child, the youngest prince, believed so.
At the very least, if he were to start something, Belt should have been able to sense the signs. But—
“That is, of course, Your Excellency the Prime Minister. It is to strike down you and the Grand Knight Commander, and to make the rightful Crown Prince the King.”
“What did you say…?”
Belt involuntarily widened his eyes at Kirkland’s statement. Those who try to force their opinions from the very beginning are often not entirely sane, but this was beyond the pale.
Was he this foolish? Was he this shortsighted?
“Did you not encounter the Third Order of Knights?”
“No, of course we encountered them. They were patrol squads, but we took the liberty of crushing a few. Had it been us before, we likely would have suffered casualties as well, but now, we have Prince Amor’s ‘Divine Protection,’ you see.”
“…”
Prince Amor’s Divine Protection… Taken at face value, it would sound like the honor of fighting under Amor’s command, but there were rumors that Amor actually possessed a Divine Protection (Gift).
“Do you think you can win with merely three men?”
The four knights guarding Belt were Rank 3, and Oz, a knight of the Shadow Unit, was also a Rank 3 stalwart. Although Belt himself had retired from the front lines, he was still Rank 3, and Mikhail, even at his young age, possessed strength around Rank 2.
Kirkland’s strength, I’d heard, while not reaching Rank 4, was at the upper end of Rank 3, with a combat power close to 600. The knights of the Second Order of Knights accompanying him also seemed to be around the upper end of Rank 2, but with merely three men, they couldn’t possibly defeat Belt and his companions.
“Fufu… As expected of the Melrose Family. You possess fine knights, indeed. But!”
Kirkland smiled defiantly before Belt and his men, who outnumbered him. The ambitious yet intelligent look he once had was gone from his face, replaced by a palpable sense of madness.
“We were chosen by the Saint-sama, the messenger of ‘God’! We were granted power to guide this country aright and have become invincible! Now, my men, show them that power!”
“”…Aaaaaaaarrrrgghh!!””
At Kirkland’s voice, the knights who had been standing silently let out a cry, spurred their horses, and charged forward.
“Protect Belt-sama!!”
Oz shouted back, and in response, four knights spurred their horses, thrusting their spears.
In a mounted charge using lances, the speed of the gallop directly translated into power. However, with a sufficient skill gap, it was possible to counter such a charge and turn it back against the attacker.
“—Hmph!”
A Melrose knight, lance poised, extended his arm as if to counter-thrust, striking the knight from the Second Order first with his spearhead. It was a reckless technique, relying solely on arm strength—one that could easily break his arm if executed poorly—but the Melrose knight prioritized neutralizing his foe.
But—
“Aaaaaaaarrrrgghh!!”
The knight from the Second Order, despite his shoulder being pierced, pressed forward. Even as one of his arms was torn off, he slammed the lance in his remaining hand into the Melrose knight.
“Gahak!”
The Melrose knight fell from his horse, vomiting blood. Another of Belt’s knights had also ended up in a mutual kill, almost like a suicide attack. Seeing this, Kirkland frowned slightly.
“Good grief. They already lack their own will, but… if they die too many times, they start to reek like beasts, so could you try not to kill them excessively?”
“You bastard…!”
Kirkland himself had already joined the fray, with Oz and one knight engaging him, but neither could land an effective blow.
But what did he mean by ‘don’t kill them excessively’? Kirkland’s next action made it chillingly clear.
“…’Rise’!”
At Kirkland’s command, the two fallen knights of the Second Order rose. Moreover, one of them picked up his severed arm and reattached it simply by pressing it to the stump.
Undying knights… A chill ran down Belt’s spine at the sight, yet he surmised this must be Prince Amor’s Divine Protection (Gift).
That, he realized, was why Prince Amor had made such a reckless move, and it was also the source of Kirkland’s fanatical confidence.
“That’s right! With this power, what threat does mere rabble pose? We are the warriors of God!”
“…But if you die too many times, don’t you lose your will?”
Those were words Kirkland himself had let slip. Becoming undying knights might indeed grant them excessive confidence, but if their will vanished as a result, wouldn’t that be a source of terror instead?
Belt, while desperately searching for a breakthrough, tried to unsettle Kirkland’s mind with his cunning words. Nevertheless…
“Hahaha! His Highness proclaimed that he would restore our minds once this is all over! And His Highness himself has died numerous times without ever losing his mind! I can’t speak for weak soldiers, but a chosen warrior like myself, akin to His Highness, would never lose my mind after a mere few deaths!”
Kirkland’s mind was already so consumed by the euphoria of ‘Immortality’ and being one of the ‘Chosen’ that he was in no state to heed any other words.
It likely wasn’t just Prince Amor’s influence. Someone else must have twisted his mind with honeyed words.
“Now, the pleasantries are over! It’s about time you faced me, Your Excellency!”
As Kirkland shouted and lunged, his subordinate knights charged in response. One of Belt’s remaining knights moved to intercept them, and Mikhail was inevitably drawn into combat against them as well.
“Grandfather!”
“Don’t lose focus, Mikhail!”
Chiding his grandson, Belt also advanced. One of his knights had already fallen to Kirkland’s blade. Oz’s sword bit deep into Kirkland’s neck, but Kirkland, shrugging it off as if it were nothing, sent Oz flying and raised his sword against Belt.
“This is the end! You cunning relic of a bygone era! Perish, along with your wicked soul!”
‘—It is you who will.—’
That ‘voice’ suddenly echoed from the night’s darkness.
Like moonlight spilling from the night sky, a girl with hair the color of burning gunmetal grey drove the knife in her hand down onto Kirkland’s head. Cloaked in particles of light that resembled silver wings, she cleaved his body in two.
The battle had begun.
How will Aria fight? How will Karla make her move?
—Announcement—
We’re pleased to announce that this work has been nominated for the ‘Next Light Novel Award,’ commonly known as ‘Tsugi-Lano’!
Anyone can vote once per day on the ‘Tsugi-Lano’ website until December 15th, so we humbly ask for your support!
This is all thanks to everyone who has supported and recommended this work. Thank you very much.
Somehow, all the other nominated works are incredibly amazing…