I continued while keeping an eye on Will"s condition.
“First of all, in order to make Jebera attack the royal capital, my mother decided to win over Ambert as her ally.”
The young man who Jebera loved, Ambert.
Apparently, he was originally a male prost.i.tute. but as expected being courted by an old woman 40 years his senior made even him shrink back.
Ambert took up my mother"s offer and whispered sweetly to Jebera.
『Instead of running away from the Witch Hunt, why don"t we just conquer that Kingdom? You just have to create the kingdom of the witches and become an immortal Queen. I will become the first man to kneel before your throne.』
In other words, they dragged Jebera out on a flashy stage so she wouldn"t escape with the gem.
Jebera made up her mind, took her disciples with my mother included and attacked the royal capital, aiming to take the head of Stommes Mistria.
“However, Stommes-sama had the strongest weapon against the witches. It was Cross Obsidia, Will"s father.”
Will"s face was pale enough to stand out even in the dim light.
I continued talking in a matter-of-fact way.
“In order to kill Stommes-sama, they first needed to defeat Cross.”
The knight who had an extraordinary loyalty towards the King. Most likely he was also very knowledgeable about the Rose Gem.
…leaving him alive would only be a root of all problems later on.
“The witches, who realized that they wouldn"t be able to survive unscathed if they tried to fight him straightforwardly, decided to take a hostage. However, Cross, well aware that he had earned the resentment of the witches, hid his beloved wife in the royal castle. As expected, the witches couldn"t do anything.
….Then, Schnell-sama deceived Cross" wife and handed her over to the witches. That is how he caused the strongest knight to die a miserable death.”
He staggered so hard that I couldn"t support his body anymore.
“….Apparently, Schnell-sama said this to Will"s mother:『I can"t let you, who have found out the truth stay alive, but I can save the child in your stomach』. It was because Cross" child would most likely have a strong ‘Core" and be useful to Mistria in the future. However, Will"s mother got extremally furious and rejected his offer…do you know what were her last words?”
When the topic was brought up Sednyl-san turned towards Will and told him while smiling.
“As if I"d let you people do whatever you want with this child…! I won"t give him to anybody! I will absolutely not forgive! Both the filthy witches and the royal family of Mistria should perish!”
And she stabbed the dagger into her stomach.
….however, only Will was saved. She might"ve hesitated to kill her own child at the very end.
Seems like Schnell, who saw such fierce act before him, felt lost at how to deal with Will and decided to send him away for a while to observe.
I know because I"ve seen Will"s past in “anime”, but he was treated quite badly at his aunt"s house.
Schnell-sama should also have heard about that from the reports.
But he didn"t do anything. He was the one who made the child miserable but he didn"t feel like making up for it at all. What a cold King, right?
Sednyl-san nodded earnestly.
“Good grief, I was surprised when His Highness Rain became close with you. Even though that person doesn"t know anything, he always has the best luck. Moreover, to make you into a knight of all things. It"s as ironic as it can get.”
Voiceless Will fell to his knees at the place he was standing.
As a knight, he probably can"t forgive the treatment his father received.
No matter how strong or talented you are, once you get judged as a nuisance, you"ll be discarded.
Getting your loyalty trampled is much more painful than having your body torn to shreds.
The truth about his mother must have been a shock too.
Any ordinary mother would definitely wish for their children to be saved first, but Will"s mother was so overflowing with the hatred for the King that she even refused that offer.
Nevertheless, Will served enemy"s son as his knight and devoted absolute loyalty to the royal family of Mistria.
What a cruel twist of fate.
Even without looking at his face I can understand that Will"s heart is in chaos.
No matter what I say to him right now, it will be useless, so I"ll continue with my story.
“…Jebera, who killed Cross Obsidia and Stommes-sama, took over the royal capital in order to quickly become the Queen. My mother stole the recipe from Jebera with the help of Ambert and swiftly killed her master. She didn"t seem to feel even a sliver of guilt. Then she returned the throne to Schnell-sama, signed the peace treaty and became the savior.”
If she didn"t have an accomplice from the Kingdom side, everything probably wouldn"t be solved so smoothly.
Seems like the only Rose Gem Jebera succeeded in creating wasn"t found, because she had hid it somewhere. Schnell-sama was fl.u.s.tered but my mother didn"t really care much about it, bcause she thought that as long she had the recipe, she would be able to create the gem anytime.
My mother wasn"t interested in honor or power. The only thing she wanted was eternal beauty and youth. In order to create the Rose Gem without being disturbed by anybody, she just had to isolate herself in the countryside.
“At the very end, my mother decided to make a contract with Schnell-sama, just as an insurance. It was a magic that forbade revealing the truth behind the attack. If any of them broke the oath, they would lose their lives…however, if their children were born, the price of breaking the contract would shift to them.”
“…….”
Will slightly lifted his head.
Neither of them wanted to risk their lives forever, so they arranged to shift the compensation of death to their children.
Good grief, they really did a cruel thing to us.
His Majesty and my mother too, what did they think of their children?
“That"s what the engagement magic contract engraved on my and Rain-sama"s bodies was. If we married just like that and had a child, the contract was supposed to dissolve and disappear. Fufu, I"m really glad that we managed to dispell it with mutual agreement.”
It"s a contract that"s made with the idea in mind that if they became relatives, they wouldn"t need to fear being betrayed. I do think that it"s a bit of a shallow thinking but as long it brought both of them enough time to solidify their positions, it must"ve been good enough.
By the way, telling the truth to your allies doesn"t breach the contract. Because it"s not public. It"s the reason why I and Sednyl-san know the truth.
Of course, if those allies betray them and spread the information to the public, the contractor will lose his or her life. That"s why Schnell-sama shouldn"t have told about it to anybody other than his most trusted subjects. Probably only the people who have served him since the coup d"etat like Sednyl-san.
It seems like Prince Rain hasn"t been told anything.
I mean, it"s dangerous, isn"t it? He has always been trying to discover the secret of the witches. If he accidentally found out the truth about the events twenty years ago and decided to condemn his father"s cruelness, he would be the one to die.
That being said, there would be no way he would be told anything. If he found out that his life was hanging on the contract, he would surely feel a grudge towards his father. Coup d"etat for 2 generations continuously isn"t a laughing matter.
Schnell-sama didn"t mind if at worst Rain-sama died.
Though he probably erased all the evidence so Prince Rain wouldn"t find out the truth on his own.
“Also…I slightly don"t believe this, but, apparently, His Majesty asked my mother to create a single Rose Gem for him. In exchange, he offered the needed materials and supported her research.”
In other words, despite wanting to get rid of the Rose Gem at the beginning, Schnell-sama lost to the greed and started to seek out immortality.
I"m astonished, but well, I guess it"s a very human thing to do.
As for my mother, she must"ve been very happy because not only could she continue her research with the King"s authorization, she even got the sponsor.
“Is this enough for you to confirm what happened twenty years ago?”
“Yes. You have unmistakably inherited the truth.”
…..I talked much so now I"m tired. I want to drink something.
But the real deal comes only now. I"m really sick of it already.
Will is still sitting on the ground. I can hear his shallow breathing.
I wonder if it"s better to say something to him after all?
But Sednyl-san won"t wait.
“Please allow me to ask you a few more questions. Sonisama, do you have resentment towards the royal family?”
“Not particularly. Now that the contract has been annulled, I don"t see the need to drag this on.”
“I see….then, do you possess the Rose Gem?”
Jeez, I wish you wouldn"t look at maiden"s stomach like that. His mask of a gentleman is crumbling away.
“No, Jebera"s recipe was incomplete, or perhaps, it could have been a trap. After several trials and the error, my mother, who finally created the Rose Gem, wore it and at the beginning really became young again, but it was a poisonous rose. I should have written it in my letter too.”
Saying that my mother died from a disease was a lie. She ruined herself. As expected, touching the Seven Major Taboos isn"t a good thing.
Even that one finished gem could have been a poisonous rose. Though already twenty years have pa.s.sed and we can"t be sure whether it still exists or not.
“When I heard the news of Alonisama"s death, I doubted my ears. But it has already been two years since her death. What are the prospects of you improving and presenting the gem in your mother"s place?”
“It"s impossible. In the first place, I have no intentions of taking over the research. Because its horror has been ingrained in my body. It"s a mystical flower that can"t be created by the witches of this era, so I recommend you to honorably give up on it.”
Sednyl-san snorted. He might even be thinking that I"m an unambitious good-for-nothing witch.
“Then where are the recipe and the research materials right now?”
“I burned the original. The knowledge and the research data exists only in my head. I intend to take it to the grave, so please rest a.s.sured.”
“Doesn"t that only put you in more danger?”
“Depending on the opposite party, it might become a negotiation material.
“Like the previous King, my Lord is the most afraid of that recipe ending up in someone else"s hands. You won"t offer up the Rose Gem, you keep the recipe to yourself and on top of that, you"re holding the witch killing sword in your possession. You are a very dangerous existence. Haven"t you considered that now that the contract has been annulled, the King might try to kill you?”
It looks like I"m already a nuisance for Mistria.
If they kill me right now, the recipe will be buried in the dark for eternity and there won"t be any need to worry about the secret leaking anymore.
They might provoke the witches" animosity, but Will is at my side ideally. Making him kill me and direct the dissatisfaction towards his previous lord, Prince Rain. They must be thinking that in the worst close they can just cut off Prince Rain too.
“In order not to let that happen, Witch Sonia will propose this to the King of Mistria.”
Sednyl-san gave a shrug.
“If Mistria swears not to harm me and my precious people, I will help in defending the western border of Cucurouge. Depending on the situation, I will also gather intelligence.
Recently, on the western continent high cla.s.s magic is starting to be used in war. I"ve even heard that there are plans of employing the witches in the army. Being so wise, His Majesty must be aware that if we can"t catch up to the era, Mistria will not have the future.”
By nature, the witches don"t like getting involved in politics or the country. They like to coop up in the mountains and indulge themselves in researching magic, but I"ve heard that recently the number of witches who join hands with the nation in exchange for being provided the ingredients for experiments have increased.
“Indeed, if I disappear, you won"t have to worry about unnecessary knowledge spreading around and the secret of coup d"etat would also be protected, but it would also cause you to lose the fighting forces in case of emergency.”
“Depending on the witch during the times of emergency is very dangerous. There is no guarantee that you will not betray us.”
“Well, let"s see. First of all, I"d like you to put more effort in diplomacy so such emergencies wouldn"t appear and the most importantly, King of Mistria should firmly hold Rain-sama"s reins. I"ll have you know, he still owes me a favor for that marriage ceremony.”
Depending on the course of the story, I could even create enough disturbance to lead to riots or a civil war. Not doing so was just my kindness.
“It"s quite painful if you bring that up…but it"s something you did on your own accord. We can"t accept a favor placed on us like that.”
“…I see. Then, are you going to kill me right here then?”
Sednyl-san smiled with a grin.
“I an wavering. It"s obvious that it would be better to get rid of you, but you are way too beautiful. Rather, how about presenting your body instead? It might even make my lord happier than the Rose Gem.”
I felt the urge to click my tongue at the men"s gaze that was almost licking me all over.
Your Majesty the King, I thought you were a reasonable person, but I"m disappointed. To think that you would send such vulgar men as messengers.
“If you can"t obtain it, then get rid of it. Just like the Rose Gem. How about it?”
“I refuse. I prefer a carefree country-side life. Besides, killing me with the fighting forces you have now is impossible.
I am not proposing difficult things. I"m telling you that I will live leisurely in the countryside so you should leave me alone. If needed, I will even lend my powers to Mistria during the times of difficulty, so just what are you dissatisfied with?”
“Even if we leave you alone, other men won"t let you off. During the marriage ceremony, many people were nailed to the place because of your beauty. We want to avoid the truth leaking out after you get surrounded by other authorities.”
Oh my.
Sometimes beauty really is one"s enemy.
“My Lord fears you and His Highness Rain joining hands more than anything. Just like twenty years ago, the witch and the Crown Prince might collude and kill the current King. Wasn"t obtaining Will also a part of that plan?… According to the reports, you have also met with His Highness" allies today at noon.”
Honestly, they really had the worst timing, didn"t they?
Even though I hastily left the royal capital to not attract any unnecessary suspicions.
That woman called Emerald really insists on getting in my way, huh.
“That"s the most unlikely. I and Rain-sama had our engagement broken. To join forces and stage a coup d"etat at this point? What would I even gain?”
“I have no idea, the old men wouldn"t understand, but my Lord is a worrywart…Sonisama, won"t you kill Will Obsidia here, right now and eliminate those worries? If you prove that you are not allied with the prince, we will consider your proposal. And Will, you should fight too.”
At those words, Will"s body became stiff.
I see, so he"s planning to let Will kill me. Indeed, if he"s my opponent, we would have a good fight and since the survivor will be full of wounds, they"d be able to deal with them easily.
There"s a possibility that I will be captured alive but Will will be killed without any questions.
They obediently let him hear the truth because they were planning to kill him since the start, most likely.
…Well, I did expect that they would decide to kill Will.
“You"re telling us both to fight to death? There"s no way we would do such a thing when the result is obvious. How stupid.”
“I wonder about that …Now then, there is a Sky Dragon here, isn"t it? There are also a couple of them waiting in the forest. Cucurouge is almost under your nose. Wouldn"t you like to see your hometown rising up in flames on this dark night?”
While the other four became his shield, Sednyl-san mounted the Sky Dragon and seeing that we weren"t meaning, the four also followed after him.
Looks like they"re planning to watch us kill each other while observing from the VIP seat in the sky.
“Will, if you run away from this place or die easily, I will vent my anger on the Prince and Miss Emerald back in the royal capital. Well, it"s not like I will kill them, but there are many things that are worse than the death. That lovely and pure girl definitely seems worth tormenting.”
“Sednyl….you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Will glared at Sednyl with a face looked like it would start crying anytime.
He threatened us by using my hometown and Will"s friends as shields.
It definitely looks like an idea of a sc.u.m.
“Come on, start fighting! If you try to attack us, I"ll immediately head over Cucurouge or the royal capital!”
The dragon took off and the specks of the dust danced in the air.
Left on the ground, we were silent.
Hmm~ Is it a coincidence, I wonder?
This situation of fighting to death with Will is like the original “Anime”.
I"m almost starting to believe in the power of fate.
But Sednyl, it"s a pity.
After all, you"re still a “mob character” whose name didn"t even appear in the original work. You"re not fit to be my opponent. You"re such a small fry that I almost start feeling sad.
I won"t be manipulated or deceived by anyone.
You won"t be able to achieve anything you want with this cheap development.
Because I"m still the “Last Boss” more or less, you know?
—
Notes
Alonia: Make a contract with me ／人◕-‿‿-◕人＼
On a scale from 1 to kms how s.h.i.tty do you think Will is feeling right now?
I kind of imagined Sednyl to be a cool gentlemanly old man but he turned out to be some two-faced 3rd rate mob villain, or more like villain"s underling?
I"m suspicious of how the king"s people were tailing Sonia and got to see her “meet” with the Prince"s friends right when they were thinking about the risk of those two conspiring. I swear, if this was the real reason behind Emerald sending Citrine and the others to Sonia……….maybe I"m overthinking?
anyway, not much super confusing words this time. There was just few problems with j.a.panese not having the subject in sentence so you have to guess who the f.u.c.k is talking about and if they mean “I” or “them”.
Dodgy sentence is ここからククルージュまで目と鼻の先。闇夜に炎となって浮かぶ故郷が見たいのですかな？because I"m not sure what exactly he means, though I do know that he"s threatening Sonia with burning Cucurouge. hmu if you know a better translation.
Also, funnily enough I"ve been maintaining 4 chapters in a month pace so I think I will just make this the last chapter for this month. Plus I"ll be moving for a bit so I might need some time before I can get another chapter out
P.S unrelated but I kinda found yuri that looked interesting so I"ll probably release the prologue today too
As usual, you know where to find raws so tell me about any mistranslations, typos, weird grammar and I"ll fix it afap