Side Story Chapter 278


    “No!” Anna shouted, unable to watch Kireua endanger himself. She knew how skilled Aaron del Killian, the current head of the Killian family, was, better than anyone else. Everyone in the Kilian family agreed that he was a leader who excelled in both martial prowess and intellect; in fact, Aaron was the one who had made the Killian Family what it was now, bringing them out of the oppressive shadow of Grand Duke Lucifer.


    The Killians now had an unshakeable position within Swallow, but that was only because they had made a different choice from the other ducal families that had chosen to seek shelter under Lucifer’s wings.


    It had been obvious that Lucifer would be wary of the Killian family if they continued to grow stronger, so they had voluntarily chosen to sacrifice themselves to defend Swallow against Thran and the me Emperor. The effort would weaken even the strongest family, so no one in Swallow had objected.


    That was how a single ducal family had fought a country for decades—but that was the only way to gain Lucifer’s trust, which left the Killian family no other choice. It turned out to be a stroke of genius. Compared to the knights of other families, who became idle pigs, the Killian family’s knights made incredible progress thanks to theirbat experience. Of course, taking some degree of casualties in the process was inevitable.


    <em>‘Judging from what Aaron is saying, he must have been focusing on winning over the people of Thran, not subjugating them.’</em>


    Anna’s spection was urate, but there was one woman who saw a bigger picture.


    “I must say, you’re rather good, Duke Killian,” Arashmented.


    Aaron flinched, his murderous energy fluctuating a bit. He turned and red at Arash. Since she was a member of the Imperial Family, Killian refrained from directing his murderous energy at her, but his re was intimidating enough.


    “…What are you trying to imply?” Aaron asked, his lips pressed into a tight frown.“The Killian Family has been taking a different approach from the imperial family—that is the point you want to make here, isn’t it? And this is your golden opportunity to make the people you won over part of the Killian family.”


    Everyone’s jaw dropped to the floor.


    “You caused quite amotion in the middle of the pce, so the rumors will spread in no time. Thran will be burning with anger against the imperial family. On the other hand, the Killians were against the me Emperor’s execution and haven''t participated in quashing Thran’s resistance, so…”


    Aaron remained silent, his energy unrestrained, lending weight to Arash’s assertions.


    Kireua was impressed.


    <em>‘These people are true leaders,’</em> he thought. Kireua had learned a lot during this mission. Although he had read a lot about crushing his opponents with overwhelming might in his father’s biography, it wasn’t every day that he got to witness such high-level political mind games.


    “…Hmph. I won’t dignify that with an answer.” Aaron scoffed as he withdrew his energy. “I’m scared of what manner of strange spections your brilliant mind will conjure if I stay here any further, so excuse me.”


    “I would appreciate an answer from you before you leave.”


    “Let me just make it clear that the Killian family and I are absolutely against attacking Hubalt! My thoughts remain the same: it is more urgent to stabilize the empire!”


    “Now that you’ve started your n, you will need time to take total control of Thran, I take it?”


    “Enough!” Aaron’s energy burst out again.


    Arash was unfazed. In fact, she smiled as if she had been expecting Aaron’s reaction.


    “If you truly believe that stabilizing Swallow is more urgent, I think an apology is in order.”


    “What? What apology?”


    “Everyone here witnessed the discourtesy youmitted against the Prince of Avalon.” Arash raised an eyebrow.


    Aaron nced at Kireua warily.


    “Oh, oh…! I’m still shivering because I was so scared earlier…” Kireua groaned, cowering dramatically.


    “That boy started it!” Aaron growled.


    “You’re talking about an important guest from Avalon, not a ‘boy’,” Arash reminded Aaron.


    “…You saw how the Prince of Avalon disrespected me first, Fox Master.”


    “Come on. You know that that’s not how politics works. Who knows? Your discourteous attitude might have made Prince Kireua harbor ill feelings against Swallow and he might speak badly of Swallow after returning to Avalon.” Arash tilted her head. “That would be quite a problem.”


    Due to the remarks he had made earlier, Aaron couldn’t say a word. Kireua was fully convinced that Arash was more skilled with words than Aaron was.


    “…Fine. If Avalon raises an officialint about this matter, I’ll take responsibility and resolve the affair. Okay?” Aaron coldly answered before storming out of the chamber.


    “H-How arrogant…!”


    “He’s truly insolent, even if he’s from the Killian family!”


    “He acts as if the Killians are superior to the throne!”


    The nobles’ outpour of grievances seemed preposterous from Arash’s perspective.


    <em>‘A noble family superior to the imperial family…’</em>


    The thought brought a bitter smile to Arash’s lips for a moment before she turned to Kireua. “Are you a fighting dog or something?”


    “Did I look like one?”


    “You must be disappointed that you don’t get to fight.”


    “Nothing can be done about it. Besides, my time in Swallow taught me that violence can’t solve everything.”


    “My, you sound like you could have won if you and Duke Killian actually fought each other.”


    “You understand me correctly.”


    Arash’s expression darkened. Kireua was the Martial God’s son and had two Evil Sins—the powers of Wrath and Greed—and in addition, Arash could faintly smell Lucifer’s scent on Kireua as she got closer to him.


    <em>‘I can’t predict what Kireua Sanders will do,’</em> Arash thought. She—no, all military strategists were extremely vignt of anything that was unpredictable. It was best to remove such elements before an actual war broke out, but if that wasn’t possible…


    “…Can I have a moment of your time, Your Majesty?” Arash quickly turned to Anna.


    “Me?” Surprised to be suddenly called out, Anna pointed at herself. “I’m ‘Your Majesty’ now?”


    “Duke Killian said just now that he opposed your imperial ordermanding an attack on Hubalt.”


    The nobles also remembered what Aaron had said earlier and began to murmur among themselves.


    “An imperial order is the empress’s order, so Duke Killian has in essence acknowledged your legitimacy, Your Majesty. Besides, he wouldn’t havee all the way over here in the first ce if he didn’t. He isn’t really a man of action.”


    “Wh-What? Are you serious? You saw how he snapped at everyone. Is he a softie or something?”


    “…No, he’s closer to a man with an extremely brilliant mind.”


    “F-Fox Master, please exin for us, too,” Voltaire anxiously interjected.


    “I believe that reporting to Her Majestyes first. Can I ask for your understanding, Duke Voltaire?”


    Voltaire went quiet as he looked at the throne. With the way things were going, Voltaire needed his people to unite under the new monarch to go up against the Killian Family. He could always pursue his personal ambitions after he acquired power by supporting the new empress while she was surrounded by strangers.


    “Th-The meeting is over! Let’s exit the chamber, everyone!” Voltaire yelled.


    * * *


    Arash and Anna walked down a long, humid underground passage in the pce.


    “I didn’t know there was a ce like this underneath the pce…” Anna wondered aloud.


    As a wind elemental spirit mage, she had a remarkable ability to find hidden ces because wind could reach anywhere in the world. A ce like this one Anna should have sensed long ago, but she had only found out about its existence aftering here herself…


    “This ce is kept an absolute secret. Ah, don’t step on that one. It’s rigged to trigger a trap; spears will spring out when you step on it.”


    Anna gasped in surprise and froze mid-step before shooting Arash a re.


    “Only step where I step, please.”


    “Hey! You should tell me that kind of stuff sooner!”


    “You wish to help Prince Kireua, yes?” Arash suddenly asked.


    Anna’s eyebrows twitched. “What about it? Are you asking me this because you have a solution for me? Judging from what happened earlier, Aaron won’t sit on his hands if I try to help Kireua out.”


    “You don’t really need the Killian family’s help. In fact, your answer lies over there.”


    “What…?”


    “The imperial family of Swallow has guardians called Vaikals. They only protect the imperial bloodline.”


    “...Vaikals?” Anna nkly repeated. Although Arash had told her the name before, Anna knew nothing about them; even her father had never mentioned anything about them despite being a prince.


    “We’ve arrived.”


    An enormous stone gate stood at the end of the passage. Arash promptly used a device and the old gate slowly opened up.


    “Huh? The security seems toox, considering that the almighty guardians of the imperial family are here.”


    “It’s okay. People who aren’t from the imperial lineage can’t do anything even if they manage to get here.”


    “What in the world does that mean…?”


    The vault within was revealed, answering Anna’s question.


    “Va-Vaikals…” Anna swallowed as she gazed upon the majestic sight in front of her. “…aren’t human…?”