Javier.
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was a faint warmth and a divine golden glow. And the figure of a woman with her eyes covered by a black blindfold.
“Where… am I?”
“You’re awake. Aiden, go fetch the leader.”
“Yes!”
The golden-haired figure beside him disappeared, and in his place appeared an older man with an impressive, bushy beard.
“Javier. So your eyes are open.”
“…Sir Aden? Wait. Why am I here?”
“A carriage fell off that slope. These people here found you and brought you back.”
“A carriage… Ah!”
At that, Javier shot up in bed.
“Th-The others. What happened to the others?”
“Unfortunately, you were the only one who survived. Thanks to that pendant of yours.”
“Ah…!”
Javier’s already pale skin grew even paler.
“Evok… Beltan…”
Perhaps he had been close to the ones who drove the carriage.
Tears welled up in Javier’s eyes.
“Can you explain in more detail?”
“…While we were traveling, the carriage suddenly started shaking. I heard a strange noise from one of the wheels… and right after that, the whole thing tilted.”
“Is there a chance it was an attack?”
“I don’t think so. My two retainers wouldn’t have missed something like that.”
At Aden’s words, Javier gave a heavy nod.
“Greetings.”
Just then, someone entered from outside the tent.
A man with black hair tied up and calm eyes the color of a soft silver-blue stepped in and stood beside Aden.
Given the situation, he had revealed his true appearance by dispelling his illusion magic. It was Jun.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jun, leader of the White Whale Mercenary Group.”
“The White Whale Mercenary Group… could it be—”
“Yes, you’re thinking of the right one. The recently famous mercenary group.”
“Ah… Pleased to, pleased to meet you.”
Javier bowed his head briefly to Jun while looking visibly intimidated.
“Only two guards, despite being of imperial blood?”
“I… No, I simply don’t like traveling with too many attendants.”
Quite frugal for a member of the imperial family.
But that was just a made-up excuse.
The real reason was that Javier didn’t want to draw attention, so he moved around with only two guards who were also his most trusted friends.
And now, those friends had lost their lives.
“It… It’s my fault. If I had known, I should’ve prepared more carefully, just like Mother told me to…”
“Don’t be too disheartened, Javier.”
“Sir Aden…”
“What matters now is understanding the situation. And we can’t afford to miss the opportunity at the banquet.”
“The banquet… I see. The banquet… Yes. I must go.”
It was obvious to anyone that Javier didn’t want to attend. But as an imperial member, he had no choice but to fulfill his duties.
“My mother gave me this mission… I must see it through to the end.”
Just as Javier tried to rise to his feet—
“I hope this brings you some small comfort.”
Jun pulled two necklaces from his cloak and handed them to Javier.
They had belonged to his fallen companions.
“Thank… no, truly—thank you.”
The sudden addition of the Third Prince cast a somber mood over the entire group.
No one could simply chat away in front of someone who had just lost close friends.
Aiden looked at Jun with a pleading expression.
It was a signal. He wanted to be moved to the coachman’s seat.
Though he had shared a brief friendship with Javier in their youth… it hadn’t ended well.
And more than anything, just the fact that Javier was an imperial member made Aiden uncomfortable. On top of that, the prince was now shrouded in grief.
Aiden had no desire to share the same space.
Sorry…
But Jun quietly averted his gaze from Aiden.
He thought about removing Aiden alone, but Maya and Eleanor’s presence complicated things… and more importantly—
“Sir Aden. Could I have a word with you?”
“Hmm? Is there something an old man like me know that you’d want to ask?”
Jun needed to compare what he knew from the game to what was actually happening now.
“Yes.”
As expected, a heavy, uncomfortable silence settled over the carriage.
Maya, for one, had little interest in the imperial from the start and was busy calming the rampaging ancestral spirits.
Eleanor had no desire to get entangled with the imperial family and had gone into meditation.
Lastly, Aiden’s eyes trembled pitifully…
“Hrk…”
When the quiet silence fell, Javier seemed to recall his fallen friends and began to weep even more sorrowfully.
Just as Aiden was about to speak—
Eleanor took his hand.
At times like this, it was best to simply leave things be.
Having once grown up in an orphanage, Eleanor was skilled at dealing with children.
The prince before her wasn’t a child, but… he was still mentally immature.
An uncomfortably long time passed in silence.
The first to speak was Javier.
“…I showed a disgraceful sight. Forgive me.”
“No, Sir Javier.”
As a fellow imperial, Aiden was the first to respond.
“No, it was disgraceful. I—one destined to become emperor by my mother’s command—wept in front of others.”
“……”
“But I heard that among you, there is someone who shares my blood. Is that you, by any chance?”
At his question, Aiden nodded cautiously.
“I see… So it was you. It has been a long time, brother.”
“…Brother? That’s far too much.”
To a discarded prince, being called ‘brother’ was a heavy burden.
Aiden tried to reject it, fearing it might bring harm to Jun.
“No, I still remember. That day… I had just been scolded by Mother. I was crying alone in the garden, and you came to speak to me. Brother.”
“You… remember that?”
It had been over ten years ago. At the time, Javier was only six.
“Of course. Back then, you suddenly disappeared… but later, I came to understand. The way of the adults.”
“……”
“Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“That’s not it.”
It was definitely uncomfortable, but Aiden couldn’t bring himself to treat Javier coldly. Javier, who looked as pitiful as a small animal.
“I understand too. I’m sure you had your reasons, Brother.”
“……”
“Let’s keep this just between us. Wouldn’t that be acceptable?”
“Perhaps… that might be the best choice.”
“Haha… What an ironic day. I’ve lost old friends, only to find the brother I lost long ago.”
Perhaps because he mentioned his old friends, Javier’s eyes welled up again, and the group fell into silence once more.
Truly… it was an unbearably awkward moment.
***
Shortly after the carriage set off—
Aden cleared his throat unnecessarily and began to speak.
“Ahem. Just speaking out of caution, but…”
“I have no intention of spreading rumors that the Third Prince cried.”
“You’re quick-witted, I see.”
“It’s not exactly a trade, but… would you mind telling me a bit more about Sir Javier?”
He might be a crybaby now, but one day, he would bring disaster upon the imperial family.
In the story, Jun only knew that Javier was the villain. He didn’t know the detailed background.
“He’s a soft-hearted child.”
“Soft-hearted, huh…”
Jun’s memory flashed to a rare cutscene from the game.
There, Javier was burning the empire down, driven by hatred and vengeance.
“This might be a sensitive question, but… is there anything I should be careful of at the banquet?”
“Heh. You’re good at phrasing things. You want to know about the relationships between the imperial members attending, don’t you?”
From Aden’s perspective, it was a reasonable interpretation.
After all, a prince had just been in a suspicious crash.
There was no ruling out the possibility that another imperial member was behind it. For Jun, who always had to remain neutral, it was a natural concern.
“I doubt it’s anything like what you’re thinking. More likely, it was an accident.”
“……”
“Well, since you seem concerned, I’ll tell you. Fortunately, these days, the relationships among the imperial family aren’t particularly bad.”
The First Prince, who had the support of the majority of the nobles.
Then the First Princess, who, while not as influential as the First Prince, had a solid support base of her own.
And lastly, the Third Prince, who held the most ambiguous position.
Jun listened carefully to Aden’s explanation.
As he compared the history he knew from the game with the reality Aden described, time seemed to pass quickly.
***
An odd group had formed: the Sword Soul had joined, and now even the Third Prince Javier was part of the entourage.
Still, over the past two days, no particular problems had occurred.
To begin with, few people traveled through the Intras Mountains, and the other groups Jun had been concerned about hadn’t even bothered to come this far.
They were probably still keeping watch on the Gillen Merchant Guild in the capital.
At this point, there’s no need to keep up the illusion magic anymore.
Anyway. After a few days had passed, even Javier, who had been buried in grief, began to gradually recover.
“I still hear him quietly sobbing at night sometimes… but it’s become much less frequent.”
Was it just his imagination, or were there dark circles under Aiden’s eyes as he said that?
“You’ve had a hard time.”
“It’s nothing. He’s… a pitiful child in many ways.”
“Come to think of it, you said you knew him from before.”
“Yes. It wasn’t that long ago. We only spent about a week together.”
There was a trace of self-deprecating laughter in Aiden’s eyes as he spoke.
“It’s one of the few good memories I have of the imperial family.”
“For something like that, you seem unusually uncomfortable around him. Is it because of the concubine?”
“…Yes. When I was a child, Lady Beneth saw me spending time with Javier and called me in separately.”
And when Aiden was summoned, he ended up having an experience he would never forget for the rest of his life.
“Lady Beneth kept snakes as a hobby.”
“Snakes?”
“Yes. As she spoke to me, several snakes stared me down from all directions.”
To Aiden who was only ten years old at the time, the sight of dozens of snakes closing in from every angle was nothing short of terrifying.
– You’re a discarded child. You’re not fit to associate with our son. Do you understand?
With those final words, Aiden was no longer allowed to see Javier.
His nanny scolded him harshly when she heard what had happened.
In the end, Aiden lost someone he had considered both a friend and a younger brother after just a week….and was left with a trauma involving snakes.
Ah, so that’s why he was afraid of snakes during the “Viper’s Fang” mission.
Before heading to the second level, they had gone to a dungeon to help Aiden improve his [Charge] skill. Back then, Aiden had made quite a few small mistakes because of his fear of snakes.
“To be honest, at first I felt really burdened.”
“How about now?”
“It’s still a complicated feeling, but…”
Aiden glanced over at the carriage where Javier was and smiled softly.
“I’m not afraid of snakes anymore, senior.”
“That’s good to hear.”
At those words, Jun let out a small chuckle.
Before they knew it, a grand mansion came into view in the distance.
They were almost at their destination: the banquet hall.
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