novelraw Chapter 321: Outcomes
Chapter 321: Outcomes
320 - Outcomes
‘What a strange man.’
On her way back, Elika pondered.
As the princess married into this kingdom, she went to pay her respects to Duke Rupert Tertan, the maternal grandfather of Prince Eric.
When she left for the visit, there had been a sense of anticipation.
The prince was peculiar in some ways, but she had assumed that his grandfather would warmly welcome a new granddaughter-in-law.
After all, what grandfather wouldn’t? She thought that with Duke Tertan’s favor, she could at least secure her safety by gaining his support. However, Rupert Tertan turned out to be even more suspicious than Prince Eric.
He did show her a kind reception.
A spread of fine tea and refreshments was set out, and he smiled at her. But the Duke refrained from stating any “assertion”—a natural element of conversation for most people.
Simply discussing what’s right or wrong isn’t the only form of an assertion. Choosing the topic of conversation itself is an assertion, but the Duke only followed her lead without introducing any topics of his own. He only swallowed down his icy tea, gulp after gulp.Could this be a quirk of Conradian culture?
Perhaps people in the southern continent have a custom of not revealing their own thoughts to those they’re meeting for the first time.
Or maybe it’s because I’m a woman, and he didn’t want to engage in any meaningful discussion with a woman.
Disappointed, Elika left the suspicious Duke behind and returned to the palace. There wasn’t much a foreign princess could do here.
For now, even the head maid held more authority than she did.
Since she hadn’t yet married, she didn’t have the right to involve herself in palace matters, and the most she could do was ensure the small group of maids she brought with her weren’t forced into unfair duties. This stifling life would continue until she was officially recognized as the country’s princess after marrying Prince Eric.
Or perhaps even after that...
The label of “foreigner” would likely cling to her until she bore a child. Elika’s spirits sank.
Slap!
No. Even so, it’s comfortable here.
Elika slapped her cheeks lightly to reinforce her positivity.
Compared to the court of Ofrontis, where she had to weigh every word carefully, this place felt as comfortable as a corset without a busk. And, above all, her mother wasn’t here.
She paused in her steps to savor the subtle sense of liberation.
Even if she was a powerless princess from another land, no one here would scold her, no matter how strangely she acted. That was the greatest advantage.
The king, who collapsed over a decade ago, was now on the verge of death, so he didn’t bear consideration, and the queen, whom she might have had to tiptoe around the most, had passed away while giving birth to Princess Lerialia.
Moreover, Prince Eric, who started a rebellion eleven years ago, had driven all his relatives out of the palace and exiled them to the provinces. So who would reprimand her now?
Suddenly, Elika had an odd thought.
For a member of the royal family to drive their kin out of the palace… one wouldn’t do that unless their own position was severely threatened. After all, the more royals who actively engage in politics, the stronger the royal authority tends to become.
But Prince Eric had done so.
It was probably due to the political landscape of the Conrad Kingdom, which was consolidated around Duke Tertan, and the fact that Eric relied on the Duke’s protection… Hmm.
Elika de Isadora thought that perhaps she should view this power structure differently. What if Prince Eric and Duke Tertan weren’t allies who seized power together?
The suspicious Duke and Prince Eric, who cherished the necklace his mother had left him when she vanished over a decade ago… His mother was the Duke’s daughter, but wait.
‘Wasn’t it around that time that the king also fell ill?’
The prince could only instigate a rebellion because the king had collapsed. Furthermore, it was only possible because Duke Tertan was backing him. And yet, it seemed that the benefits had largely gone to the Duke alone.
Prince Eric certainly didn’t seem to have gained much happiness. Perhaps he was…
‘Ofrontis or Lutetia… Here or there, it’s all the same in the end.’
Elika thought of her brother, whom she’d left behind in Ofrontis, the capital of the Kingdom of Aisel.
Oscar de Isadora.
Her younger brother, the second prince, was currently embroiled in a struggle for the throne with their older sibling, Crown Prince Vivian de Isadora. Like herself, her brother didn’t seem particularly happy back there.
It seemed that in this world, princesses were married off, and princes were used as pawns. Feeling bitter, she continued walking.
“I’m here to see the prince. Could you let him know?”
After a while, the chamberlain answered her awkwardly.
“The prince is currently busy, so he asks that you come back another time.”
“Is that so? Then please tell him I’ll wait here.”
Elika ended up waiting for three hours outside the prince’s office before finally seeing him.
Ugh, my legs ache. She flopped onto the sofa without greeting him.
“What brings you here again?”
“I just came from meeting Duke Tertan. He’s quite an excellent person.”
Eric’s eyebrow twitched. Noticing this, Elika felt certain she had cracked the puzzle. Her gaze softened, and she patted the seat beside her invitingly.
“You must be exhausted from work. Why don’t we take a short break and have a meal together?”
“…”
“Come now. Ah, and the wedding preparations are going smoothly, right? Things seem to be very busy.”
Her eyes conveyed an understanding.
Eric, without realizing it, avoided her gaze. Regrettably, the event being prepared wasn’t the wedding—it was the Akinen, the coronation ceremony. Soon after, the news that Caderyk de Yeriel had passed struck Lutetia hard.
---
‘Damn it, this is insane.’
Rev was on the brink of losing his mind these days. He had anticipated difficulties, but winning over the knight was proving almost impossible, and time was running out to obtain the ambergris—winter wasn’t even over, and the prince was already on the verge of ascending the throne.
Curse these gods—what in the world am I supposed to do?
Cardinal Verke, whom they had ordered to abduct, still hadn’t arrived. As a result, Lena Remained without divine power, just an ordinary girl busying herself with the other children at the orphanage.
Rev was on the verge of frustration, practically ready to give up. He couldn’t help but feel that it had been a mistake to come here instead of Lean.
Not that he particularly blamed his friend... Well, maybe a little. If he had been entrusted with the task, he should have avoided actions that would interfere with Rev’s situation here.
The {Lineage} plotline, a critical pillar in the Beggar Sibling scenario, had been revealed to the world, prompting an inevitable response from Prince Eric. But with Lean absent, Rev had no way to Leverage that {Lineage}.
With Akinen’s coronation so close and no chance of stopping Prince Eric’s ascent to the throne, opportunities were dwindling.
If he couldn’t persuade the knights to launch a full-scale assault, the only way to expose the prince’s identity in a battle-worthy fashion was to reveal it where the knights were gathered. Missing the coronation would make things complicated.
‘I should just give up.’
Rev thought this was the wisest choice. Rather than recklessly antagonizing Oriax before they were prepared, it would be better to plan for the next opportunity... After all, they wouldn’t face an “ending” anyway, so it seemed the more sensible option.
Rev had reached this conclusion after much consideration.
This round belonged to the Beggar Sibling scenario. Whether Lerialia marries, achieves her dreams, or dies, an ending would eventually come. However, the moment the ending triggered and time reset, it wouldn’t impact this spinoff childhood friend scenario.
Even if the Beggar Sibling scenario concluded, their lives would continue. For their lives to be recorded in the ending credits, they’d have to keep on living in that world.
At least, that’s what he hoped.
To take a pessimistic view, it was also possible that the Beggar Sibling scenario had already ended. In that case, capturing Oriax could be delayed without issue, couldn’t it?
Once again, Rev trudged back in frustration. All he had accomplished over the winter was persuading only two people—the knight Jenia Zachary and the commander of the royal guard.
He returned to the orphanage at Grania.
Resolving to give up, he planned to leave immediately, so he went to find Lena, only to find her cheerfully mingling with the other orphans.
Laughter and chatter filled the air, and the children were calling her “Teacher Lena.”
...Well, as long as Lena was happy.
That was enough.
Rev beckoned her aside from the group. With a sigh, he explained the situation and suggested they should just leave, but Lena burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Rev, you dummy. You made two big mistakes.”
“...?”
“First, you’re convinced you need to capture Oriax because of some quest.”
“That’s right.”
[ Quest: Guardian, 1/4 - Barbatos ]
It was part of the Guardian quest. Ray had already captured Malhas, so the count was likely updated by now, though Rev hadn’t checked yet.
Lena Continued.
“There’s no rule that says the quest has to be completed before the ending, is there? What would you do if that wasn’t the case?”
Rev stifled the complaint that rose to his throat: ‘That would be downright unfair!’ Such remarks would only annoy Lena.
“And besides, Akinen isn’t our only chance. Think about it, Rev. There’s another event coming up soon where you’ll find plenty of knights gathered.”
“...Lena, I know you haven’t seen Oriax, but to catch him, I’d need at least a hundred knights. Without a big event like a coronation, there’s no way I could gather that many knights in one place. And I couldn’t persuade them to join me even if I wanted to... I only managed to persuade two over the winter. Talking to the other knights made it clear they don’t care about me.”
Just like his worthless name.
Jenia Zachary, who viewed life as rather monotonous, was one of the few who would listen, and the captain of the royal guard, whom he’d met through Sir Iron, was racked with guilt for abandoning Lean and had been willing to hear him out.
Because they were willing to exchange a few words, he could manage to persuade them.
He couldn’t just throw around his authority as a Swordmaster or wield an aura blade in front of the first knight he met—such tactics would do nothing but intimidate them.
Rev dejectedly confessed his winter “progress.” Lena Comforted him, saying, “Aw, I see,” as she soothed her boyfriend.
“But there’s one more event where the knights will gather, besides Akinen. And it’s happening soon.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to be? Is there a war?”
“There might be in the Kingdom of Aisel, but I mean here. Didn’t the princess come here to marry?”
“...!!”
“So on the day of the wedding... Ah!”
“Lena! You’re a genius!”
Rev suddenly embraced Lena, planting kisses all over her cheek in his excitement. Shocked and flustered, she gasped and shouted.
“You idiot! Genius, my foot… Wh-what do you think you’re doing?! Put me down! I-it’s still the middle of the day…”
Rev hoisted her over his shoulder with a cheerful face. Realizing what he was up to from their last encounter, Lena Let out a yell.
“It’s broad daylight, you fool! Put me down right now, or I’ll scream!”
At her fierce threat, Rev reluctantly put her down.
Even though they were officially dating now, Lena was unlike Ray’s girlfriend, Rera Ainar.
In the carriage, Lena Had been caught off guard since it was her first time. But immediately afterward, she had sternly scolded him, warning she wouldn’t let it slide again if he did that.
Lena Had her own approach to dating. Unlike Lera Ainar, who frequently held hands and shared kisses, Lena generally limited their interactions to holding hands.
Once on solid ground, Lena tidied her clothing and shot Rev a sharp look.
“I know why you’re doing this, but keep it appropriate. It’s still broad daylight, and people are working.”
“...Sorry.”
“And I’m busy too, you know. You always think I’m just playing around. You say that all will be resolved once I gain divine power from Cardinal Verke, but do you think that’ll be free? If I want it, I’ll have to ask for it when he arrives. Don’t you think so?”
“...Yeah.”
Rev’s shoulders slumped, making him look smaller.
Lena held back further comments, deciding she’d done enough nagging, and changed the subject.
“From now on, why don’t you help out too? We’re really short-handed here, and you’re much better at the work than I am.”
“What kind of work?”
“Want to see? We’ve been twisting straw ropes together. We’ve made quite a few, but if you’d helped, we could have made twice as muChapter You’re very good with your hands.”
“Oh, come on, twice as much? I’m not some spinning machine or anything... Whoa! What is this?”
As he followed her to the storage room, Rev’s eyes widened at the sight.
[ Achievement: Baptism of the Saint – {Divine Insight} has been granted to Leo. ]
Bundles of straw ropes, neatly coiled, stacked in a shimmering white glow. Meanwhile, Lena Looked at him in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”