Meanwhile, back in the room, everything was silent.
Alchester was familiar with this sort of situation and the accompanying silence.
Alchester had been the knight in charge of escorting the Emperor when the latter was still just the Crown Prince, and from there, they had grown out of the master-servant relationship into regarding each other as friends. So Alchester was well acquainted with this room and could understand why the Emperor had summoned Eugene Lionheart here.
However, that didn’t mean he could just accept it. Just because the Emperor was his friend and the lord he had sworn to serve didn’t mean Alchester could accept his decisions unconditionally.
Alchester knew the purpose of this room. It was here that generation after generation of Kiehl’s Emperors had been able to separate their friends from their foes, gain a complete understanding of their allies, and deliver a unilateral judgment onto their enemies.
“I really don’t like this,” Alchester muttered to himself in a low voice.
This wasn’t something that a royal knight, who was meant to be absolutely loyal to the Emperor, should say, but Alchester just couldn’t feel comfortable with this situation.
“What exactly about this is causing you such a disturbance?” one of the De’Arc brothers asked, neither having put away their swords.
Their swords, which they had drawn together in unison, were crossed over each other and had stopped just short of slicing Alchester’s throat.
Their sharp blades touched his bare skin, but Alchester didn’t pay their swords any attention. He was still glaring down at the hand he had placed on the Emperor’s shoulder.
“Please withdraw your hand, Lord Alchester,” Karian requested.
“No matter how close you may be to His Majesty, your current behavior is extremely disrespectful to your liege,” Derry scolded.
Biting down hard on his lips, Alchester withdrew his hand. Once he had done so, the De’Arc brothers also placed their swords into their sheaths. While still remaining wary of Alchester, the two slowly retreated backward to stand on either side of Eugene.
Alchester’s brow furrowed as he glared at the De’Arc brothers.
“The Emperor didn’t tell me anything about this matter or anything that is going on here,” Alchester complained.
“You should already know the reason for that, Commander,” said Karian. “This Eugene Lionheart, it seems that the Commander truly regards this cheeky brat fondly?”
Alchester raised an eyebrow, “You’re saying I regard him fondly?”
“Would it be better to say that you favor him?” Derry returned the question with a smirk.
Snorting at the De’Arc brothers’ words, Alchester shook his head and said, “I can’t just let your words go like this. Lord Karian, Lord Derry, whether it’s regarding him fondly or favoring him, don’t those words make it sound like I’m a superior looking down on Sir Eugene from a higher position?”
As he said this, Alchester turned to stare at Eugene. The Emperor and Eugene’s eyes were shut tightly as if they were in a deep sleep. Their minds were most likely elsewhere, having a conversation in a space separate from this one, within the world of their consciousness.
Alchester continued, “I don’t think of myself as such an amazing person. The fact that I’m older than Sir Eugene? What’s so important about that? There are many other things that a knight should value more than that. Whether it’s their honor, skill, courage, or conviction. If you had to count them out one by one, you would find countless other things more important than one’s age.”
The De’Arc brothers remained silent.
“What I’m trying to say is, in terms of the countless qualities that a knight should have, I don’t think that there are any in which I greatly surpass Sir Eugene; instead, there are many things that I feel I am lacking in compared to him. That’s why I can’t say that I regard him fondly or favor him,” Alchester paused as he glanced down at Eugene’s sword. “In my eyes, Sir Eugene is someone I respect as a fellow knight. He’s someone I wish to compete with, someone I want to match in terms of skill, and also someone I hold in awe.”
Karian frowned, “Please don’t say such careless things, Lord Alchestor Dragonic. You are the Commander of the White Dragon Knights, the Sword of His Majesty, and the Empire’s strongest knight.”
“Yes, you’re right. I am the Commander of the White Dragon Knights. His Majesty’s Sword. However, the strongest knight in the Empire? Haha! Strangely enough, a lot of people do call me that. But allow me to say that I, at least, have never thought of myself in that way at all,” Alchester admitted as he shook his head with a chuckle. “If you were to ask me right now to name the knights in this Empire who I feel are better than me, I can recite several names without hesitation. If you expand that range to the entire continent, the number grows so much that they can’t be counted with all the fingers on your hands. Also, in a nutshell, Eugene Lionheart, this young man, should be counted among that number.”
Derry burst out in reprimand, “Lord Alchester!”
Alchester chided him sarcastically, “Lower your voice. What are you going to do if it causes His Majesty to open his eyes?”
Karian warned him once more, “Please be careful of your words and actions, Lord Alchester. Didn’t you say earlier that you don’t like this? That might be taken as you doubting His Majesty’s choice of actions—”
“Of course, I’m doubting him,” Alchester responded without hesitation. He glared at the De’Arc brothers as they stood on either side of the slumbering Eugene and continued speaking, “If I had known about this beforehand, I would have remonstrated with His Majesty even if it meant losing my head. You two should also be aware of the purpose of this room’s existence.”
“I don’t really feel any desire to know what you might be thinking of that has caused you so much hesitation, my lord,” Karian said dismissively. “However, Lord Alchester, His Majesty did not summon Eugene Lionheart here to suppress him. It was just for the sake of having a sincere conversation—”
“A conversation?” Alchester laughed sarcastically, “Hahaha…. Can you really say that when you know full well the abilities of this room? What’s going on in this room right now most likely isn’t just a conversation. And, of course, it won’t be a recruitment attempt either.”
Alchester clenched his fists tightly before continuing to speak.
“I wasn’t informed what was going to happen today, but you two obviously knew,” Alchester accused. “Why didn’t you say anything to persuade His Majesty otherwise? If there truly was a need for a sincere conversation, they didn’t need to come to this room for it.”
Alchester might not have personally heard from His Majesty about why he had summoned Eugene to this room, but… it should be because His Majesty had judged that Eugene, as the Hero, was a threat to the Empire.
If that was the case, then what had the Emperor decided to do to Eugene? Was he going to eliminate Eugene or just subdue him? Right now, those were the only two options that the Emperor could choose from.
However, things of that nature shouldn’t be done to Eugene Lionheart. He had not only received the acknowledgment of the Holy Sword, he had even been personally recognized as the Hero by the Demon King himself.
At this moment, the end of the Oath that had lasted for three hundred years was approaching. But to think that the Hero who, like the Great Vermouth, would personally lead the way into a new era through his firm will and actions was actually being persecuted by the Emperor instead of receiving his support? Although, for now, Alchester didn’t know how their conversation might end, he already felt disillusioned by the Emperor’s decision.
Karian frowned, “You say that we shouldn’t have come to this room… your words make it seem like you doubt His Majesty’s purpose, my lord.”
“If I say I do, would you report it to His Majesty?” Alchester challenged.
“Of course, I would,” Karian readily admitted.
“Haha! If that’s the case, then it seems that I, too, will have to have a sincere conversation with the Emperor,” Alchester let out a snort of laughter and shook his head.
If the Emperor really did so, Alchester would accept the invitation to their conversation without any resistance.
There was no further communication between the knights. The De’Arcs remained wary that Alchester might attempt to disturb the Emperor’s body, but Alchester simply stood quietly behind the Emperor without taking any other actions.
The thing that eventually broke the following silence was a low groan, “...Mmmm….”
All three knights flinched and turned to look at the source of the noise.
It was Eugene Lionheart. His bowed head was raised up, and his shuttered eyes opened. The next moment, Eugene immediately came to his senses and stood up.
Unlike Eugene, who had already gathered his faculties, the Emperor’s eyes were still shut. Instead of waking, the Emperor’s shoulders were trembling like he was going through a seizure.
“Your Majesty?!” Standing right behind the Emperor, Alchester panicked and grabbed the Emperor’s shoulders.
However, the Emperor's shaking wouldn’t stop.
“There is blood!” Derry let out a cry.
With his head still drooping low, blood was dripping down the Emperor’s face due to a nosebleed.
Alchester’s face paled. He quickly stepped in front of the Emperor and checked for a pulse while observing his complexion.
Fortunately, there were no further problems with the Emperor’s pulse and breathing. The only symptom was the nosebleed. But what on earth had happened? This was the first time such a thing had ever occurred.
The De’Arc brothers roared loudly as their faces twisted into a grimace.
“You knave!”
“You, how dare you harm His Majesty!”
Drawing their swords at the same time, they slashed at Eugene.
He had just returned to his senses, but Eugene’s head was perfectly clear.
With swords coming at him from both sides, Eugene just reached out with both hands instead of panicking.
Fwoosh!
The flames of the White Flame Formula were instantly drawn upon to engulf both of Eugene’s hands.
“Why don’t you two calm down?” Eugene suggested.
The De’Arc brothers’ swords weren’t able to move an inch. Although the brothers had drawn and slashed their swords in a hurry, there should have been more than enough force behind their blows. But the pair’s swords couldn’t even leave a small mark on the palms that had blocked their attacks, let alone keep pushing.
No, in fact, they hadn’t even been able to touch him.
The purple flames covering Eugene’s palms were overpowering the De’Arc brother’s sword-force in terms of momentum and were instead pushing the swords backward.
“What did you do to his Majesty?!” Karian and Derry shouted accusingly as they leaped backward, bringing their sword-force to full power.
Even though they had just asked Eugene a question, the two swung their swords down on him once more without waiting for his response.
Their attacks weren’t meant to just subdue him. Their swords were practically dripping with their intent to murder Eugene. Their rage was understandable as their Emperor had been put into such a worrying state, but that said, Eugene wasn’t just going to calmly allow them to keep slashing at him.
“No, like I said, calm down already,” Eugene huffed.
But it didn’t seem like they would listen to his words.
‘It can’t be helped,’ Eugene decided.
The moment the De’Arc brothers’ swords were about to hit, Eugene suddenly disappeared. The two fierce blades of sword-force sliced through the now empty space.
Instead of being shocked that Eugene had somehow managed to dodge them, the two brothers were more shaken by the fact that they hadn’t even been able to catch the slightest glimpse of Eugene’s movements.
But before they could get over their shock, it was replaced with agony.
“Gagh!” Derry let out a choked gasp as he buckled over.
A fist was buried deep in his liver. At some point, Eugene suddenly appeared right at Derry’s side.
Eugene had struck Derry with a measured amount of force, but he didn’t feel like his anger was soothed in the slightest. The memory of how this son of the bitch, Derry De’Arc, had been forcefully glaring at him earlier ran through his mind.
That said, it would be too cruel of him to actually pluck out Derry’s eyes, so Eugene decided to compromise.
Bam!
Derry’s head jerked backward. Eugene’s fist had struck Derry in the left eye with a short jab.
“My eye!” Derry screamed as his hands rose to cover his face.
Thanks to Eugene’s exquisite control over his strength, Derry’s eyeball hadn’t burst, but it hurt so much that it felt like his eye socket had been set on fire, making it difficult to see.
Crack!
A whip-like swing of Eugene’s leg shattered Derry’s left shin. Derry fell to the floor with another scream.
At this sight, the older brother Karian let out a roar and rushed at Eugene, only for Eugene to give him fair treatment. Since the younger brother was struck in his left eye and shin, the older brother was struck in the right eye and shin.
“I told you two to calm down,” Eugene said with a click of his tongue as he looked down on the brothers, who had collapsed to the floor unconscious.
Then Eugene straightened his expression and turned to face the last person standing in front of him, Alchester Dragonic.
Alchester was still examining the Emperor. Even though the De’Arc brothers were being beaten right behind his back without even being able to lay a hand on their attacker, Alchester hadn’t paid them any attention.
“Shouldn’t you be taking His Majesty to a safe place?” asked Eugene.
“It seems like there aren’t any major problems with his condition,” Alchester said after a long sigh as he straightened up. “I am not a healer, but I know enough to tell that His Majesty’s current condition isn’t bad enough that he requires hospitalization.”
Eugene hesitated, “But what if….”
“It seems you’re worried about him,” Alchester commented as he turned his head to look at Eugene. “If I had taken His Majesty to a safe place immediately, would the De’Arc brothers who were left here be able to arrest you?”
Eugene just shrugged without a response. This was because the answer to that question was already laid out in front of Alchester’s eyes.
“That’s right,” Alchester nodded. “Those two are exceptional knights, but they still can’t match up to you. Seeing them from your point of view, the De’Arc Brothers… and the rest of the Captains in the White Dragon Knights must seem like children.”
“It’s just because they were hasty,” Eugene explained.
“No matter what, the results have already been settled,” Alchester said with a shrug. “If I leave here with His Majesty, what will you do now? Would you be willing to wait here until I return?”
“Of course I am,” Eugene nodded.
“Just what on earth did you do?” Alchester asked with another sigh. With a depressed expression, Alchester stared at Eugene and said, “No matter what the reason may be, you’ve woken up… and His Majesty hasn’t. He’s even lost some blood.”
Eugene didn’t offer any explanation.
Alchester stated his concerns aloud, “The moment I leave this room with His Majesty… you will become a traitor who has harmed the Emperor of the Kiehl Empire. The laws of the empire cannot be ignored just because you are the Hero. Also, this matter won’t end with just you alone. It won’t end with the main branch of the Lionheart clan, either. All of the collateral bloodlines will be charged with treason as well.”
“That sounds likely,” Eugene agreed.
“You… probably won’t agree to be charged with any crimes,” Alchester guessed. “The moment I leave this room, no, even if I stay here, you’re probably already planning on escaping somehow. Because if you were willing to be treated as a criminal, you wouldn’t have knocked the De’Arc brothers unconscious.”
“That’s right,” Eugene nodded.
“That’s why I’m facing such a dilemma,” Alchester complained.
Was it really okay for him to say all this right now? Alchester asked himself as he touched the sword at his waist.
“To prevent you from escaping, should I be trying to block you, or… should I instead be helping you to escape,” Alchester voiced his confusion.
“Huh?” Eugene’s head tilted to the side.
“Within this Imperial Palace, there are a lot of things that are accessible to me. I can temporarily hide His Majesty, who has lost consciousness, making it seem like he’s been kidnapped. It’s possible to buy us some time in that way, then I can help you escape from beneath the countless eyes within the Imperial Palace,” Alchester proposed.
Eugene called out to him, “Lord Alchester.”
Alchester continued without a pause, “Of course, that means I’ll probably lose a lot in the process. It won’t just be my personal honor that will be tarnished, but also the honor that has been passed down through my family over the past three hundred years. No, I might even lose my entire clan. The same goes for you as well. Even if the main family line were to somehow escape the Empire, the Lionheart’s countless collateral lines would be left within the hands of the empire. They will all, most likely, be executed.”
The more he spoke, the more desperate and depressed Alchester felt.
Letting out another sigh, Alchester continued speaking, “However, that’s the only way for you to survive. You need to run away, flee from this empire, and hide in another country while making your preparations.”
Eugene asked curiously, “What should I be preparing for?”
Alchester answered, “Slaying the Demon Kings, of course. After all, that’s the sole thing that you, as the Hero, are meant to do.”
“So you’re willing to assist me because of that?” Eugene asked once more.
“Rather than turning you in as a traitor and locking you in a cell, this would be the better choice for the whole world. That’s right, so there wasn’t really a need to face this dilemma at all,” Alchester finally realized as he shook his head with a wry smile.
After looking at Alchester with a strange expression, Eugene grinned and sat down in his chair.
“What are you doing?” Alchester demanded.
“I have no intention of running away,” Eugene explained. “There’s no need for me to do so either. As such, you do not need to have been so tortured by this dilemma, Lord Alchester.”
“What on earth…? It seems that you don’t even know what you’re saying. There’s no way that something like this will end lightly,” Alchester argued.
“No, it will end without any fuss,” Eugene said, staring at the still-fainted Emperor. “Because the Emperor is extremely generous, after all. So just wait here with me until His Majesty comes to his senses.”
Alchester asked skeptically, “Are you being serious right now?”
“I am,” Eugene nodded firmly.
While feeling confused, Alchester stared directly into Eugene’s eyes. It didn’t seem like Eugene was lying or scheming something.
For a few moments, Alchester hesitated before nodding his head.
“Mmm….” After some time had passed, the Emperor opened his eyes with a groan.
Alchester quickly got down on one knee before the Emperor and shouted, “Your Majesty!”
“Lord… Alchester…,” said the Emperor, as he raised his head while gasping for breath.
On the other side of the kneeling Alchester, he saw the fainted De’Arc brothers, each with a leg grotesquely bent in the wrong direction.
And behind those two, he saw Eugene sitting in a chair. When the Emperor’s eyes met with Eugene’s, Eugene winked back with a smile.
“Aaaah!” the Emperor cried out as the memories of a terrible banquet of violence flashed through his mind.
Pwoosh!
As memories of such agony that he had never before experienced stimulated the Emperor’s mind, the nosebleed that had been stopped temporarily began to flow once more.
“Your Majesty!” Alchester cried out in alarm.
“Are you alright?” Eugene also asked in a worried tone.
With trembling shoulders, the Emperor nodded and stammered, “I-I-I’m fine.”
“Your Majesty, just what on earth happened?” Alchester asked while holding on to the Emperor’s trembling hands comfortingly.
Through gritted teeth, the Emperor declared, “Nothing… happened….”
Alchester frowned, “Huh?”
“I said, nothing happened…!” the Emperor insisted while avoiding Eugene’s gaze.
