"I must return at once." The butler advised the baron's son, "It's already late. I think it would be best to leave early tomorrow morning." The sun was setting, and the baron's domain was a long way off.
"Can you have everything ready by morning?" Manuel asked. "Yes. I'll see to it," the butler replied. The baron's son thanked Manuel. "Thank you."
The sudden tragedy left everyone looking grim. The servants hurried to pack and prepare for the travelers' departure the next day, while the rest of our party went to their assigned rooms. Dinner was canceled, and the baron's son bustled about until late at night, hoping for further news.
"I didn't think they'd put me in a guest room, though." I clicked my tongue as I looked around. Then again, this was the kingdom's capital, where the family of the Duchess—the House of the Marquis of Lanzarote—held more sway than the ducal house. As an illegitimate son, I could hardly expect better treatment. It only struck me as strange because I'd been treated reasonably well at the main estate lately.
"It's almost like walking into enemy territory." I'd been prepared for it. This was hardly the first time I'd been treated worse—even killed for it.
After resting in my room for a while, I stepped onto the balcony. The night had deepened, and the capital's once-pleasant evening view was swallowed by darkness. Even the servants preparing for tomorrow's departure had gone to bed. But I wasn't the only one still awake.
"What are you doing up so late?" A voice came from the neighboring terrace. I turned to find Valea, the baron's daughter, standing on the balcony with a captivating smile in the dark. The rooms next to mine were guest rooms too, occupied by the ducal house's guests, Valea and her older brother. Hers was the room beside mine. In fact, I'd come out because I'd sensed her there.
"I suppose I'm excited because it's my first time in the capital." She made an odd sound through her nose. "I've thought this before: the way you speak suits your age and station, but what's in your eyes and behind your words seems entirely different." Her offhand remark hit the mark. Remembering what had happened before I died in the baron's domain, I tightened my fist slightly. So she could see through my act.
'Can I really let her leave like this?' But what I said was something else entirely. "It seems you can't sleep either, my lady. Once again, you have my condolences for your father." Valea narrowed her eyes at the change of subject, then let out a long sigh—a mournful sigh for the baron's death. What she said next was quite different. "If Father really is dead, then he died at just the right time."
My jaw dropped as though I'd never heard anything so absurd. Fortunately, the moon slipped behind a cloud just then, hiding the cold look in my eyes. "Hmph. You needn't look so shocked. I can't explain, but this is much better for you, young master." Of course it was. I'd run myself ragged making it happen. But why was she telling me all this? The true face she'd shown me just before I died had seemed half-mad. Surely she wasn't about to act like that here?
Her gloomy expression grew steadily brighter. "Of course, it's very, very good for me too. Do you know? I can start over now. I can live as Valea, not as the baron's daughter who does whatever her father tells her." On the surface, she sounded like a noble daughter freed from a controlling parent. But I knew what she really meant. A caged beast had escaped.
I loosened my clenched fist. The beast freed from its cage wasn't looking at me. "I can do what I want now. Once I go back and confirm Father's dead, I'll erase the old Valea and start anew." Did that mean she planned to destroy the evidence of her past crimes and make sure she'd gotten away with them? The mana rippling around her made me flinch despite myself. Thankfully, it soon subsided. Her radiant smile vanished too, and her face turned gloomy again.
"Oh dear. The night must have loosened my tongue. Please forget everything I just said. I suppose the news of Father's death has left me distraught." Now, what was the best answer to that? "Ah, yes. Yes. I-I didn't hear anything." I stammered, wearing a helpless expression. She gave me a forlorn smile. "Thank you. I'll go in first, then." She bowed her head, and I returned the gesture. Then she went inside, leaving me with one last remark: "See you later, little young master behind the mask."
Left on the balcony, I gazed quietly at the empty one beside it. I wasn't a righteous man. The world held countless blades, villains, and madmen. Knowing about them didn't mean I had to punish them all, and I had no intention of trying. I couldn't spend each new life hunting down everyone who'd killed me in the last. If I did, I should have tracked down and killed every maid who'd killed me the first time. Besides, I was curious what would become of Valea without the baron pulling her strings. As long as that blade wasn't pointed at me, I wanted to see where her madness would lead. So I decided to let her go. I went back inside and closed the window.
Early the next morning, the carriage carrying the baron's son and Valea set off. As we said goodbye, the son expressed great regret that he wouldn't be able to attend the academy with Manuel. It was understandable: once home, he would have to inherit the domain. He could appoint a steward and enroll anyway, but managing the domain would be difficult even if he stayed there. Leaving it to a steward was out of the question.
What would Valea do, though? She sat in the carriage giving a convincing performance as a daughter who had just learned of her father's death. I couldn't tell whether she would go back and turn the baron's domain upside down, strike out on her own, or carry on with what she'd been doing before. But it was out of my hands now. I could only hope she wouldn't stand in my way. And so the baron's children left the capital.
It was an absurd turn of events, coming all the way to the capital only to head straight back, but within a day everyone had put the baron's family out of their minds. Manuel and the mansion staff were busy preparing for his academy enrollment. As expected, they paid me almost no attention, but I quietly inserted myself into the preparations for my own enrollment. The servants did their best to avoid me, but they worked for the Duke; if I gave them an order, they still had to obey. In the midst of this strangely amusing life of being quietly ostracized, someone came to see me: a butler wearing the royal crest. To my surprise, he was a royal butler here for me. "Queen Ria de Carlos summons you, Master Alex." The mansion butler's expression had changed. When we'd first met, he'd pretended I didn't exist. Now he plainly looked uncomfortable. He needed more practice. The head butler back at the estate wouldn't have let it show. In any case, my patron had called for me. I followed the royal butler and the soldiers to the palace.
* * *
"... Hmm. It's mag-magnificent." I spoke without much conviction as I looked at the palace through the carriage window. "It is a splen. Did. palace built by King Carlos, our first king," the royal butler seated across from me replied in a businesslike tone. Even he stopped short of calling it splendid or beautiful himself.
As the palace loomed larger, it became clear how thoroughly it reflected the tastes of a first king who had been a knight. It was enormous and sturdy, a proper fortress built for battle, without a shred of elegance. Of course, after living through the Great War, the first king had needed a fortress like that. But the palace had never once been invaded by a foreign enemy since. As time passed, the capital grew, and the threat of attack faded, most of its residents came to dislike the palace's appearance, which some even found hideous. The name bestowed on it in the first king's day, "Knight's Castle," was now practically considered an insult to themselves.
Thanks to my lofty status as a guest of the Queen, I was allowed to remain in the carriage after entering the inner walls and ride all the way to the queen's residence. The third queen's residence, known as the "Lady's Palace," adjoined the royal palace inside the inner walls. Unlike the main castle, it was quite beautiful. I stepped down from the carriage and followed the royal butler inside. The corridor was lovely, and servants stopped on either side to bow. They were probably bowing for the royal butler rather than because they knew who I was, but unlike the bows I received at the ducal estate, these made me a little nervous. I'd thought dying several times had put me beyond nerves, yet there was something extraordinary about the palace's presence.
"Welcome." A voice greeted me as I was shown through an ornate door. The reception room beyond was more lavish than any room I'd ever seen. Apart from the maids, there were two women inside, one slightly older and one young. Both were exceptionally beautiful. I recognized the younger one, so the older woman must be the Queen. The younger was Katrine de Rattenhammar—Katrin, whom I'd called the Firebird Hunter before I knew her name. She'd been pretty even dressed as a mercenary, but in a dress and makeup, she was so beautiful I almost didn't recognize her.
I acknowledged Katrin with a glance, then bowed respectfully to the Queen. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I'm Alex... de Gresia." I stumbled a little over the full name I hadn't used in so long, but it didn't seem too strange. "I'm Ria de Carlos. You may call me Ria." She returned my greeting with a delighted expression. But that was absurd. There was no way I could address her by name alone.
She invited me to sit on the sofa in front of her and continued. "I was very surprised when Katrin asked me for this favor. She'd never asked me for anything like it before. It made me quite eager to meet you, young master." Well, I was the Duke's son, but not a legitimate heir. A request to sponsor an illegitimate son was bound to seem odd. Naturally, it had piqued her curiosity. I sighed inwardly at the predictable result. Katrin looked between the Queen and me apologetically. "I couldn't help it. It would have been strange for me to sponsor the Duke's son myself, and I couldn't very well ask Father. I had no choice but to ask Your Majesty." They were sisters, but Katrin couldn't address the queen of this country as her older sister. And the Queen wanted me to call her Ria? She was taking the joke too far.
