Chapter 231: Spring Part 7

Lobelia led us to a nearby tent. As expected of an imperial member, the hospitality was on another level.

Despite being a tent, it was larger than most houses and had everything you could possibly need.

We sipped our tea, watching her subordinates move swiftly at her gesture.

Even the tea was high-quality.

Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve had something this refined. It’s a bit of a relief.

“So? What brings you here?”

“Lady Ariel is quite worried about Your Highness. She says you’re pushing yourself too hard alone.”

“I see. That does sound like Ariel. Still, she’s overprotective, really. But I’m not in as much trouble as she thinks. I’m simply fulfilling my duty as a member of the imperial family.”

“Is that so?”

This is bad.

Even now, she’s giving orders to her subordinates while speaking with us.

Her expression, though iron-willed as always, clearly shows signs of fatigue.

Anyone could see she’s overworking herself…. except her, apparently.

“Well, there’s a lot I want to ask, but let me start with the most pressing question. Is that alright?”

“Of course. I’ll answer Your Highness’s questions with sincerity.”

Though… I might embellish a bit. I do have to survive, after all.

“…Who’s the kid?”

“This esteemed being is the Great Demon Mephistopheles. Now bring forth more of those cookies. I find them quite acceptable.”

“That’s what he says.”

“Oh dear, what a pitiful situation.”

Snap!

With a flick of her fingers, Lobelia summoned a knight waiting nearby who brought over a fresh plate of cookies.

Unlike the neatly arranged ones from before, this batch emphasized quantity over presentation.

The knight’s eyes held a glint of pity as he set them down.

“At least you’re easy to communicate with.”

I guess appearances do matter.

Everyone, including Lobelia, just sees Mephistopheles as a poor troubled child.

Well, considering he really is something along those lines, there’s no need to correct them.

“I thought you were just a cold and heartless man… but it seems you’ve got a warm side after all.”

“……”

Lately, I keep hearing people describe me as cold and heartless.

Could it be true? Am I really that cold?

“Well then… I suppose we should clear out the others first. Don’t you agree, Brother?”

“Ahem!”

At Lobelia’s sharp glare, Theseus sheepishly averted his eyes.

At least he’s self-aware enough to realize he has no right to argue.

With a wave of her hand, Lobelia ordered all the knights inside the tent to leave.

Then she gave an additional command. “You all too…get out.”

At that, more figures appeared from thin air and exited the tent like ghosts.

“They were executioners, huh?”

Yuna grinned knowingly, as if she had known all along.

So, they’re the Executioner Knights?

It seems Lobelia is backed by the elite unit led by the Black Knight Lanius.

Well, it’s only natural, since she’s stationed on the front lines.

“So, Brother… what brings you here, exactly? Don’t tell me you came all this way to fight on the front lines.”

“Lobelia, I…”

“Answer me.”

“…I came chasing a vampire.”

“Johan, was it your idea? Did you put him up to this pathetic lie?”

“…Sorry. I didn’t think he’d be this bad at acting.”

I had planned to keep the scriptwriter a secret. After all, Ex Machina is classified as a terrorist group, and mentioning it wouldn’t do us any favors.

So I intended to use the local vampire rumors as a convenient excuse. Especially since I really was planning to deal with the vampire…

But it didn’t work.

It was all because Theseus was even worse at lying than I expected.

“First, please calm down, Your Highness. Saying we’re chasing a vampire isn’t a lie. It’s just… part of the process toward our real goal.”

“Go on. Let’s hear it.”

She’s sharp.

She must be under a lot of stress, being stationed on the front lines like this.

Ariel’s concerns were justified.

Lobelia was clearly under immense pressure.

“Let me just ask to confirm. Have you, by any chance, heard any rumors about a vampire?”

“…I have. There were some rumors recently about one showing up, but I figured it was nonsense. As if vampires actually exist.”

“Exactly.”

“I checked into it myself since they said there were victims, but I concluded it was something a barbarian shaman could’ve done too.”

“That’s true. That would make sense.”

The true extent of shamanistic powers is still a mystery.

Even now, I don’t really know what kind of ability is sealed in my right arm.

What kind of curse did Vidar even carve into me?

It’s driving me mad. New functions keep appearing in my arm and I have no idea what they do.

“Whether it’s a real vampire or not is beside the point. The culprit does exist and they’re not one of the barbarians.”

“Go on.”

“The culprit is a high-ranking member of Ex Machina. One of the Gears, Strigan.”

“How would you kn… Oh, right. I forgot, it’s been a while.”

“That’s why.”

She used to call me “Oracle” all the time, and now she’s asking how I know things?

She must be really worn out.

“So? Why exactly are you and my brother chasing this Gear?”

“Glad you asked, Your Highness. From this point on, Prince Theseus will explain.”

“…Me?”

“Would you rather I do it?”

“Would you be so kind?”

“I’d like to hear it from my brother’s mouth. I have a feeling Johan might try to pull something.”

“So she says.”

I wouldn’t pull anything.

Though… some creative editing might be involved.

“Lobelia, so… well—”

***

Rumbleeeeeee!!

With a thunderous roar loud enough to flip the tent, crimson lightning poured down.

It was Lobelia’s fury.

Of course, even amid the aftermath, I remained unharmed.

“So this is the Geneva Gear’s shield? It’s better than I expected.”

“Perhaps you should have returned it after all?”

“No.”

I said, peeling Immun off my back.

The shield generated by the Geneva Gear….no, to be precise, it didn’t feel exactly like a typical shield.

Strictly speaking, it was closer to a projectile than a shield.

Tiny metallic particles swirled around me, blocking incoming attacks, adapting, and shifting shape.

A fitting ability for Immun who created the Philosopher’s Stone.

If applied creatively, it could probably be used offensively too… But perhaps due to Immun’s personality, it’s only ever been used for defense.

“Brother, I had believed you threw everything away for the cause of justice.”

“L-Lobelia?”

“But what’s this? You’ve been living side by side with a terrorist?”

“Calm down, Lobelia! This isn’t the place!”

“That’s my line!”

Well, she had every right to feel betrayed.

Theseus, who abandoned everything after becoming disappointed with life in the Imperial Palace.

The aftermath hadn’t been minor.

The once-stable line of succession had been thrown into chaos, sparking conflicts among the imperial family.

In some sense, the current turmoil in the succession line is entirely Theseus’s doing.

A tragedy born from someone who set out in pursuit of his ideals. Though, to be fair, it’s hard to say that was Theseus’s fault.

The others were the ones who tore each other apart just because their strongest competitor had disappeared.

But Lobelia was different.

“You really were just a selfish person who only thought of yourself!”

She had no choice but to throw herself into the succession battle just to survive.

Someone like Loki was out to eliminate even those imperials with no claim to the throne. What choice did she have?

She was young with no faction or power behind her. She had no other option but to claw her way up the ladder of succession, just to stay alive.

Her choice wasn’t just about survival. It was also about saving her younger siblings.

But tragically, all of her siblings died. Not because of Loki, but because they failed to overcome the Emperor’s trials.

Lobelia is someone who’s rotting inside, whether she realizes it or not. She’s not purely good; she’s calculated, at least to a degree. Because she tasted the bitterness of the world.

She was nothing like Theseus, who was born with power and privilege from the start.

So it’s only natural that she would be furious at the darker side of Theseus.

But…

“Your Highness, please calm yourself. I’m worried the child might get hurt.”

“Urgh—!”

There’s no question that this kind of anger will do Lobelia no good.

I used Mephistopheles who was still casually munching on cookies with a calm face as my human shield.

Crackle…

At that, Lobelia who was barely reining in her rage forced herself to quell the lightning erupting from her instincts.

“…What a disgrace I’ve shown.”

“That’s right.”

“Johan, could you at least offer a token reassurance now and then?”

“Your Highness, how could your fiery wrath ever be disgraceful? I understand completely. It’s just that your passionate spirit is so intense, common folk like me can hardly bear it. So I beg you, please temper your sun-like fury.”

“…Why is it that you never do moderation?”

“But you’ve calmed down, haven’t you?”

“…Yes, I have.”

Lobelia let out a sigh, clearly exasperated.

“If they keep looking at each other like this, something worse might happen. Yuna, take Prince Theseus out for a bit.”

“Hmm… okay, got it. What about the rest?”

“Take Immun too. Their personalities are too similar. They might end up getting on each other’s nerves.”

“Hey, that makes it sound like I’ve got a messed-up personality.”

“No, Your Highness. I simply meant the two of you are the kind of people who drive others up the wall by nature. Even I find myself sighing when I watch you.”

“Ah, for once, we’re in agreement.”

***

I decided to walk around outside the tent with Lobelia to help her cool off.

If I left her like that any longer, she might seriously come down with a stress-induced illness.

While walking outside, I explained everything to Lobelia from the relationship between Theseus and Deus to my current situation.

“You really do lead a twisted life.”

“I think so too.”

“So? What do you plan to do? Honestly, if you became the head of Ex Machina, I wouldn’t mind. Assuming, of course, you helped clean up the terrorists under your command.”

“I have no intention of taking the position.”

“Well, that’s just like you. But if we go by everything that’s happened so far, even if you don’t want to…”

“That’s enough. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Ha, is that so?”

I’d already told her everything about Theseus and the Scriptwriter.

All that was left was Ariel’s request.

But honestly, asking Lobelia not to overdo it felt pointless.

Would she even listen?

“Your Highness. When do you plan to return?”

“I don’t intend to go back until the front line stabilizes.”

“When do you think that might be?”

“Well… I’m not sure.”

“If I may speak freely, Your Highness, staying tied down to such a dragging conflict doesn’t reflect well.”

“……”

“Cleaning up remnants is like pulling weeds. It’s bound to be slow and drawn-out.”

“But it still needs to be done.”

“There’s no reason it has to be you doing it.”

“So what are you suggesting?”

Responsibility aside, the real issue was something deeper:

Lobelia hadn’t tasted success in a long time.

And that lack of accomplishment weighed on her.

“Come hunt the vampire with me. If you take down one of Ex Machina’s executives, at least it’ll feel like progress, won’t it?”

“…Honestly, I thought you were going to tell me to quit everything and go home.”

“I don’t make requests that won’t be listened to.”

“Is that so…?”

Lobelia let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

Doesn’t seem like it meant much to her.

Well, I suppose I didn’t say anything particularly special.

This whole thing is meaningless unless she finds satisfaction in it.

“Isn’t that just how life is? Nothing ever really goes the way we want. It’s hard to stop until you succeed at something.”

“That’s…”

“Sometimes, even after you pour everything in while turning a blind eye to everything else, all you get is a half-baked result. And forcing yourself to be satisfied with that… it’s not easy.”

“Spoken like someone who knows from experience.”

If anyone could pick up on what I was really saying, it’d be Lobelia.

This was about me.

Varg’s curse. The transcendence syndrome.

I never managed to fully cure either. I only ever got halfway.

And I forced myself to be okay with that.

It wasn’t until I completely healed Ariel that I realized it.

“No matter what anyone else says, if you aren’t satisfied, it’s meaningless. So I’m not going to try to stop you. I just wanted you to know there’s another way. Maybe a better one.”

“…I see.”

Maybe some of it got through. At least this time, it wasn’t just empty words dressed up to sound nice.

So I’d like to think it was honest, from me.

Whether she accepted it or not…

I’d done what I could.

“Oh, and this is a bribe.”

“You could at least have called it a gift.”

Trying to break the awkward mood, I handed over the “bribe” I’d brought.

Lobelia, looking in slightly better spirits than before, gave a small smirk and accepted it without complaint.

But when she unwrapped it and saw what was inside—

“……”

Thud!

She lightly smacked me in the side.

“Guh!”

“You really don’t understand what ‘secret’ means, do you? Giving someone this kind of gift without a shred of tact…”

“I gave it to you when no one else was around, didn’t I…?”

“Hmph.”

You say that, but you clearly like this kind of thing.

***

Leaving Johan who was still gasping for air after taking a punch from her, Lobelia walked alone through the snow-covered streets.

Crunch, crunch.

Each step she took left white footprints behind.

“…Ha.”

She had tucked the teddy bear Johan had given her into her belt, letting it rest at her side.

Then, on a sudden impulse, she looked up at the sky.

“So it does stop snowing here after all.”

In the North, where snow falls 365 days a year…

Sunlight now streamed down through the eternal winter.

“Looks like spring is trying to come.”

Lobelia lowered her gaze and looked down at the teddy bear.

The stylishly decorated gray bear wore a slightly crooked expression.

“…But it’s not supposed to come.”

Lobelia quietly hugged the teddy bear to herself, feeling its warmth in secret.