Chapter 42

The ground was muddy wherever his feet touched.

The mountain path, right after a downpour, kept gifting my shoes with mud and branches.

In return, I left behind bloody footprints.

The legs of an eleven-year-old were short.

Though my steps were hurried, my blue pupils were surprisingly calm.

It didn't look like I had just cut the lives of forty knights and an old friend.

Though the smell of blood was strong on my body, I felt rather at ease.

Holding my breath, surveying my surroundings.

Cautious steps and the back of my neck stiffening with tension.

Only after tightening my own noose did it not feel awkward to say the name Shion Pollinglight.

And so, the returned hero climbed the mountain path.

There was a rustling sound.

A portly figure was visible in the distance.

The Fourth Prince, my half-brother, is recognizable even without seeing his face.

I passed silently between the trees and casually opened my mouth.

“Brother Nebulo.”

“Aack! Uwaaa… oh, Zionis? Zionis!”

Nebulo's screaming face brightened.

Then, with a face full of tears, he rushed over.

With the momentum as if he would cling to his much younger brother and sob.

“Z-z-zionisss-! Why did you take so long! I was scared… huh, blood?”

The portly body came to a halt.

The smell of blood had caught him.

The sight of my eleven-year-old brother, covered in red, was terrifyingly eerie in the dark mountains.

At the hint of fear, I shrugged my shoulders.

“It splattered a little.”

“……”

Nebulo fell silent.

The eeriness was amplified by my nonchalant appearance despite being covered in blood.

My unwavering pupils were like those of a beast.

It was not like an eleven-year-old and as if I had no intention of hiding it, I wore a sneer.

“Why are you so surprised? It seems you've already taken care of a few yourself, brother.”

“…Uh, yes. Somehow.”

Nebulo nodded his head with a stiff face.

Though they were not easily visible, severed limbs and such were rolling around.

It was quite a gruesome sight.

They were the assassins who had tried to ambush Nebulo.

“It must not have been easy, did you use your Ars?”

“Yes, well……”

The Fourth Prince, Nebulo Le Etier.

Though he was looked down upon among the princes and princesses, he still had the strength to protect himself in the Great Palace.

Especially since he had unlocked his Ars early and was skilled in its use, he would be able to save some face.

“Even though I changed the rendezvous point, a few of them followed me right away somehow……. H-what is all this…….”

“What do you mean, what is it? The information was leaked. Viscount Levio sold us out. He even let his dogs loose.”

“…V-viscount Levio?”

I picked up an arm that was rolling on the ground.

A knight order's crest was on it and it belonged to one of Viscount Levio's men.

He didn't seem to have any intention of hiding it.

Nebulo's face turned red.

He did not hide his anger and kicked a leg that was rolling around.

“D-d-damned baastard-! The, the, the money he took from my maternal grandfather!”

I won't let him get away with it if I get out of here!

Nebulo huffed and puffed in anger.

His voice was loud, but I didn't bother to stop him.

There was no one else within earshot.

Nebulo, who had been fuming for a long time, quivered his lower lip.

“…Th-then where should we go? If we can't trust Viscount Levio, ugh, ughhh……”

“For now, let's take the mountain range.”

“D-do you have a plan?”

“Of course.”

I smiled.

“Though the specifics aren't set yet.”

“A-as expected! You're also acting as brother Secundus' advisor……. Heh, hehe, I did well to follow you……!”

Nebulo rambled on ridiculously.

Did you eat the Erta cookies well then, I'm sorry I couldn't give you more presents when you came to the detached palace, let's go see the acrobatics again when we get out of here…….

It was a blatant display of 'don't forget the favor I showed you'.

I gestured to my half-brother.

“But please be quiet now. I have a lot to think about.”

“…Huh? Ah, y-yes.”

“Now. Let's move, brother.”

***

Nebulo Le Etier felt like he was going to die.

‘Hic……’

His heart was pounding so madly it felt like it would burst, he was out of breath, and sweat was pouring down like rain.

Though it was somewhat cliché, it was the most fitting expression.

Nebulo's build was a bit too portly for climbing a mountain at night right after a downpour.

He couldn't count how many dozens of times he had clenched his teeth.

His legs hurt especially.

His knees felt like they were splitting, his calves like they were exploding, and his thighs like they were melting.

His feet had lost all sensation a long time ago.

He had used up all his energy to even move his mouth a long time ago.

Unuttered groans swirled around his solar plexus.

‘Uwaaaaah……’

The fat prince had an aptitude for magic.

He couldn't compare to the Reclusive Prince, Kateka Keshulei, who had received the fairy's blessing in abundance, but he boasted a decent skill.

However, as anyone could guess from his physique, he had no talent for using his body, and he had never tried to cultivate what little talent he didn't have.

So he had no choice but to pant like a dog on a summer day.

‘H-how much longer……’

It had already been at least two hours.

The path that had been invisible just an inch ahead was now a little clearer, so it seemed dawn was not far off.

With a desperate desire for a glass of cool water, no, fruit wine, Nebulo wiped away his sweat.

Even if he wiped it, another bead of sweat would soon appear, but at least his eyes would sting less.

“…Z-zionis. Are you done thinking?”

“Not yet.”

“…Oh, okay.”

He hesitantly glanced at his half-brother.

The sight of him just walking silently was quite unfamiliar.

Seeing him sweating, it seemed he was having a hard time too, but how could he be so calm.

‘What is he thinking? I won't be able to call him sluggard Zionis anymore. He's like a different person……’

He was anxious, but he couldn't bring himself to say it and just mumbled in his mouth.

He was the half-brother he had always looked down on and bullied, but now he was afraid.

When had it been?

Since he had suddenly appeared, covered in blood?

No, it might have been since he had obtained the Treasure and joined Secundus' faction.

Yes, it was around that time.

‘…That's right, he's like a different person. It was right from the start of the Succession War. Why didn't I know?’

Once the thought came, the questions grew.

There was a subtle sense of incongruity, but why hadn't he noticed?

It didn't seem to be just because of the chaos of the Succession War.

Nebulo racked his brain, but it only drained his energy, and he sighed.

Just then, a protruding rock pressed into the sole of his foot.

“…Ouch!”

“Did you step on something?”

I asked indifferently and continued walking.

Far from stopping, I didn't even look back.

Nebulo felt that it was unfair.

They had come this far together, weren't they in the same boat now?

In the end, he suppressed his fear and grumbled.

“W-would it kill you to explain a little? It's not that I don't trust you……”

“Hmm. Then I'll at least tell you what I've thought of so far.”

He looked beyond the mountain.

It seemed the color of the sky was faintly changing.

“We are running away. Who are we running away from?”

“F-from brother Ferbias.”

“That's right. The eldest of the thousand-year Empire is trying to kill us. Then what should we do?”

“…R-run away as far as possible?”

“Wrong. That's far from enough.”

I shook my head.

But there was no light of disappointment.

I had never expected anything from Nebulo in the first place.

“Since he underestimated us, he ended up with just this pursuit team, but if he really tries to kill us, it'll be in an instant. He'll chase us even outside the Empire.”

It was still the middle of the Grand Convergence.

That's why he must have sent Viscount Levio's knight order to reduce the noise.

He must have thought that they would be enough, since he underestimated me and Nebulo.

If Ferbias' own forces had moved or if perhaps Amethus had come……. Ugh, those terrible jade-green eyes!

I shook my head and Nebulo stammered.

“…Th-then what are we supposed to do?”

“It's simple. We have to make him lose interest.”

A smile that deepened under the moonlight.

“How about a story like this?”

The smile of a liar.

“Two princes fled from an assassination attempt but were caught. However, the pursuit team was counterattacked and all of them died. Seeing how they died, it seems they were taken down by an Ars, but since the Ars of the Cordis imperial family is powerful, it's not a strange thing.”

Thinking to myself that I was spinning a good tale, I snickered.

Nebulo just stared at my lips.

“They fled, leaving many traces behind. Seeing the bloodstains wherever they passed, it's clear they were seriously injured. Even if the Ars is strong, a fatso and a child. The mountain journey must have been quite arduous.”

“U-uh.”

“And so they fled and fled… and in the middle of the Sobel mountain range, their strength ran out and they became food for the beasts.”

“…What!?”

Nebulo's face turned pale.

I waved my hand as if to say, 'what's the big deal', and took something out of my pocket.

“We just need to make it look like that, brother.”

“…Huh? Ah! A substitute doll!”

Nebulo exclaimed upon seeing the doll in my hand.

When a special operation was performed, a mock corpse made of the same components as a real person would appear, an item often used by spies from the West.

I had taken it when I had visited Nebulo's detached palace before.

He didn't seem to recognize that it had been in his own detached palace.

“A skilled magician can distinguish between a real corpse and a substitute doll, but this is the Sobel mountain range. A place where mystery has been cast out.”

Besides the substitute doll, I had brought several other things.

Raw meat, pig's blood, and so on.

Things that would make the mock corpse more plausible and attract beasts.

I had been sprinkling pig's blood throughout the mountain journey, and there were several growling sounds nearby.

“Two corpses, torn by beasts and rotted by the rain, their original forms lost. After they're moved to the Great Palace, not even Hermai will be able to tell the difference.”

“Woooow……”

“That side will be busy with the aftermath of the Succession War, so interest will cool down quickly.”

“…You, Zionis, you're a genius……!”

Nebulo rushed over.

I casually dodged, and the fat Nebulo crashed his head into a tree.

But the smile did not disappear from his fat face.

“Thank you, thank you! I'm alive thanks to you! L-let's go see Aconeus' performance later. If I tell my maternal grandfather……”

“What are you talking about? How can we go see that performance.”

“Hmm?”

The fat prince tilted his head.

Then his fat face turned pale.

Of all the expressions he had shown so far, it was the one most filled with horror.

“Ah, ah, aaaah! Don't tell me, because we have to hide our identities… we can't see performances anymore? Or acrobatics? Uwaaah, th-this I didn't think of……”

“That's not it. How can a dead person see a performance?”

“…Hmm?”

At the incomprehensible words, Nebulo tilted his head.

Then he looked at his half-brother.

“…W-what do you mean……”

My face was cold.

There was no room for even the moonlight to seep in.

My blue eyes were terribly fierce.

In my hand was a substitute doll, but only one.

Whose share was it?

It couldn't be Nebulo's.

“N-n-no, right……?”

Even the dullest fat prince had no choice but to notice.

He had no choice but to quiver his lips.

“…Z-z-zionis. N-no, right?”

“No to what?”

“D-d-don't do it……”

Nebulo collapsed.

He tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't listen.

His thick legs were exhausted from the arduous mountain journey and had already lost most of their function.

This too was as I had intended.

Nebulo hastily backed away, almost crawling.

“…W-what will you do, b-by killing me……!”

“It would be dangerous if both were substitute dolls, right? I thought it would be good if at least one was real.”

“D-d-don't be ridiculous!”

“I had no intention of being ridiculous.”

A tree blocked his path and Nebulo couldn't escape any further.

I approached.

With my blue eyes shining fiercely, with the smile of a liar, I approached.

Was this the aura that an eleven-year-old could show?

Fear seeped in.

“You've worked hard to climb this far, brother Nebulo. It's neither cramped nor quiet, but it is dark.”

The dense trees and all sorts of insects, the muddy ground and the sounds of beasts from all over.

A good location!

I nodded in satisfaction.

“You won't have any complaints about this as your gravesite, will you?”

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