parentshiftbook Chapter 270
Chapter 270
Chapter 270
19. This isn’t right, is it?
On the Starfield Wasteland, a vaguely humanoid mass of light that called itself a god lightly spoke those inconceivable words.
At that time, Celt couldn’t help but laugh and cry at once after hearing it. He couldn’t understand why, at such a moment, someone would come up with such a boring prank. Most likely, it was just an illusion created by Light Magic. If gods truly existed in this world, how could no one have mentioned them for thousands of years, only for him and Queen Maqiya to encounter one?
Or perhaps… it was merely a hallucination before death?
“I didn’t believe it at first. I even went mad, swinging my sword and slashing at that mass of light, but I realized that no matter how I attacked—even with magic—it had no effect. That only made me more convinced it was an illusion, but…”
“But she really did push you onto the throne.”
Sheffy felt a headache coming on. That thing, Lady Aimeris… how had it actually appeared and caused trouble during the succession incident forty years ago?
“How did she do it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know either…? Your Majesty, at this point, there’s no need to hide anything, is there? I’ve already made my stance clear—I have no interest in using Lady Aimeris to do anything to the Kingdom of Aurus. I’m only ensuring the true stability of the Demon Domain.”
“No… I’m not hiding anything. Forty years have passed, and I truly don’t know how she did it.”
Celt shook his head and sighed softly, taking the jeweled sword inlaid with multicolored gems from Queen Maqiya’s hand.
This sword was the very witness to how he had fallen into despair at the height of his vigor, and then inexplicably ascended the throne from that very despair.
“She only raised her hand and sang a song. The mass of light circled the wasteland a few times, like the simplest dance performance, and then she told me… to return to the Royal Capital, sit on the throne, and everything would follow naturally. No one would stop me.”
“Why?”
“Because she said my muddle-headed royal brother was already dead.”
“……”
Sheffy froze for a moment, then understood the cause and effect behind the king’s story.
Matters of the royal family were top secret. Even Princess Livra, who was also a member of the human royal family, was hearing this for the first time.
“Father King, are you saying… that while you and Mother were far out in the wilderness outside the Royal Capital, Lady Aimeris merely sang a song and danced, and your royal brother was killed? Something like that… could it be that she had already arranged an assassin in the palace, and her appearance there was just a smokescreen?”
“That possibility is unlikely.”
Queen Maqiya had also experienced the entire incident. She still remembered the strange scene she witnessed when she accompanied Celt back to the Royal Capital, even though they didn’t trust the mass of light’s words but had no choice but to return.
“Celt and I led a small force and rushed back to the castle. That man was already dead on the throne, his heart pierced through with a hollow. The ‘Sword of the Nation,’ the Wright Family, could do nothing—they had no idea how Celt’s royal brother died under their strict protection. There was no trace of any assassin. A nation cannot go a day without a ruler, and the war was still ongoing. With no other option, the Wright Family hastily supported Celt, who was second in line to the throne, to inherit the crown and continue resisting the Demon Clan’s invasion.”
“Wait.” Sheffy raised her hand and voiced this doubt. “You mean… at that time, the members of the Wright Family had no idea how the former monarch died? Setting aside assassins, they didn’t even see any traces of magic?”
“The one responsible for guarding the former king at the time was the grandfather of the current Hero. Back then, he himself was the Hero. With Tenth-Rank strength, he still failed to protect the monarch. Because of this, he abandoned the title of Hero and withdrew into the mountains, never returning to the Royal Capital until his death.”
“Instant-cast magic… no… was it an instant death spell…?”
“Princess?” King Celt looked up and asked, “Did you just say something?”
“No, I was just guessing. It has no real reference value.”
“Is that so… sigh, what a pity. I had people investigate for many years. I even kept my royal brother’s body in the palace for a long time without burial, just to determine the cause of death. But unfortunately, aside from the heart being pierced by magic, no other traces of magic activation were found. It’s almost as if… sigh, never mind.”
“I think speaking frankly would be more helpful for communication, don’t you?”
“This was practically like divine punishment.”
“Is that so...”
“Yes. From that moment on, I held deep apprehension toward the Holy Theocracy of Coreia and avoided conflict whenever possible. Because I had seen it… the moment a god brought down divine punishment. It only took the duration of a single song and dance. She said she could do it, and it truly happened… How could anyone not believe after that…”
Indeed, what humans feared most was the unknown.
Even the most experienced mage, when faced with a mysterious spell they had never encountered in their life, would only fumble in panic to erect defenses. And if that mysterious magic happened to ignore defenses, then that veteran mage might die on the spot without being able to do anything at all. That was what made the unknown so terrifying.
However… coincidentally, Sheffy already had prior understanding of the kind of magic Celt described.
Livra was clever. She leaned close to Sheffy’s ear and spoke in a whisper, because this information had not yet been made public.
“Miss Shaya… what Father King described, could it be the instant-cast magic that Aunt Ailellek encountered when she faced Lady Aimeris’s true body?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Wait, why are you calling her ‘aunt’? Are you related to my family?”
“Not yet.”
“Not ever.”
Look how smug she was.
No wonder that old king hesitated to bring this up—he was afraid of being punished by Lady Aimeris too, wasn’t he?
Well, that probability should be quite low. Judging from the last encounter with Lady Aimeris, she seemed to be in a rather weakened state now. It was unclear why she had such leeway forty years ago, but things were different now.
Sheffy pushed Livra’s little head away when she refused to move back, then crossed her short legs.
Alright, she roughly understood what had happened.
But the most crucial core question, Your Majesty, you still haven’t said it.
“What was the price?” “Father King, what condition did Lady Aimeris set for helping you?”
“......”
They spoke in unison. Sheffy and Livra stared at each other, having asked different questions in different ways, yet arriving at the same point.
“Miss Shaya…! You think so too! We really are in sync!”
“Of course. If that kind of being helps someone willingly, there’s definitely a price. That’s the most critical part.”
“Mm-hmm! I think so too. Thank you, Miss Shaya. You just said our ‘being in sync’ was obvious, which means we really are in sync!”
“Not really. I meant it’s obvious to think of that question first. As for thinking the same thing as you, I only feel miserable.”
“That’s too much!”
The king and queen were a bit stunned.
Ah…?
“Livra… so you and the Demon Clan Princess are actually that close?”
How does arguing and bickering show a good relationship?!
Sheffy pushed Livra away again and ordered her to continue facing the wall in reflection. She had no intention of being interrupted at the most critical moment.
“So, Your Majesty, can you answer this final question?”
“You mean the condition Lady Aimeris proposed to me…”
“Yes. What did she ask you to do? After you ascended the throne, what governing demands did she make of you? Was it to grow closer to the Holy Theocracy of Coreia? To deliberately provoke the Demon Domain? Or to stir conflicts with the higher races?”
All of these sounded like things Lady Aimeris would do. That being was like a troublesome child—doing whatever was most annoying.
But…
Celt’s response completely exceeded Sheffy’s expectations.
“I ascended the throne, changed national policy, allied with the higher races, and secured aid from the Holy Theocracy of Coreia, forcing the Demon Clan to retreat. Princess, I can responsibly tell you that ever since I took the throne, Lady Aimeris has never appeared again.”
“She never appeared again…? She made no demands of you?”
“No, there was a demand. Only once—during our first and last meeting on the wasteland, she spoke before leaving.”
His throat dry from speaking and still recovering from illness, Celt paused to drink some water.
Meanwhile, Queen Maqiya gently patted his back to help him catch his breath.
At the same time, she spoke on behalf of her husband, recounting the “divine oracle” they had heard back then.
“She only said one sentence.”
“After ascending the throne, be a good king. Give everything you have, avoid conflict, stabilize the Demon Clan, extinguish the flames of war, and bring peace to the people.”
“Strive for this world… and bring about a hundred years of peace.”
Oh, I knew it—she loved stirring up trouble, so it must’ve been about fanning the flames—
Wait?!
This… this isn’t right, is it?