Chapter 11.11

“And about Derrick.”

Herace, having set the documents down, looked at her.

“Why did he ask for the investigation to be stopped?”

Even though he claimed not to know who tied him to the ship, he repeatedly begged them not to investigate the matter.

He said it was only out of fear of retaliation, but Brienne was truly puzzled.

What kind of person was Derrick Harrington?

He was the type to explode in anger if he was even slightly slighted. With such a personality, it was hard to believe he wouldn’t seek revenge over something like this.

“I find that odd too. Melosi Bailey’s claim that the culprit behind the Academy library explosion and the one who imprisoned Derrick Harrington are the same person also bothers me.”

Herace narrowed his eyes as he flipped through the documents.

“It looks like someone is trying to hide something. There seem to be a lot of connections, so we should dig deeper here as well.”

“Should I have told Zen about this too?”

That statement—that the person who hid Derrick Harrington and caused the library explosion was the same—

Brienne recalled Melosi Bailey’s rambling voice in her mind.

Her face had looked so bad that Brienne hadn’t even gotten proper evidence and just let it pass.

So she thought it was lacking proof to just tell Garzen based only on Melosi’s words.

But what if it really was true?

What if not telling Garzen caused them to miss a crucial clue?

‘If something worse than the explosion happens…’

Feeling she’d made a big mistake, Brienne bit her lip.

At that moment, Herace gently took her hand.

“Just in case, Brienne, you did nothing wrong.”

“…”

“You’ve been trembling for a while now.”

He gestured gently toward Brienne’s hand.

Only then did Brienne look down at her hand in surprise, and Herace smiled.

“Regret in moderation helps you move forward, but that doesn’t mean you should freely blame yourself.”

He gently squeezed her hand.

“All you need to do is what you can from now on. I’ll help you. If you fall, I’ll lend a hand, and if you’re lonely, I’ll stay by your side.”

“…You’ll stand in the rain with me?”

Such a steadfast person.

Recalling Herace’s letter, Brienne smiled slowly.

The more his quiet comfort tickled her heart, the more the shadows that clung to her faded away, as if they’d never been there.

It was truly magical.

Whenever Brienne heard Herace’s voice and met his eyes, even the hardships that had once made her feel suffocated seemed to disappear.

That had always been the case.

“Thank you, always. For being my strength. For pulling me out.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Brienne expressed her gratitude, and Herace smiled kindly.

“As long as you don’t hide from me, I’ll always be here. I may not give you great courage, but I’ll always be in this place.”

Then he softly kissed the back of Brienne’s hand.

His deep-colored eyes reluctantly parted from hers.

“I’d like to do more, but there are still unresolved matters, so let’s postpone for now. I’ll write to Prince Garzen as well.”

“Oh, I’ll do that.”

Brienne quietly rose with Herace.

She remembered Garzen’s grumbling about someone intercepting the note she’d sent.

Second Prince, Perian.

And that mysterious man.

“Last time I went, the royal palace didn’t seem all that safe. Since this is important information, we should be careful.”

Prince Perian had visited Diashi at Seints Medical Center and acted suspiciously.

He’d even called Brienne to his bedroom, urging her to betray Garzen, who was investigating Hamartia.

With things so complicated and not knowing the true identity of the Second Prince, Brienne was hesitant to act rashly.

Recently, she’d even felt as if someone was watching her.

“Do you have a plan?”

At Herace’s question, Brienne nodded.

“First, I need to set up a meeting.”

* * *

“…This is strange. I have a bad feeling today. Somehow, I really think that young lady is going to find something out.”

Perian, squinting at the window, muttered as he raised one hand.

“Ardi.”

At that, a parrot flew from the open cage and landed on his hand.

Perian stroked the head of the parrot, Ardi, and his gaze passed over the white birds locked in the cage before returning to Ardi.

Perian let out a relaxed breath, looking at his Ardi.

People seemed to find all the birds filling his office uncanny, but Perian felt more at ease when surrounded by cages.

All his birds, unlike their siblings, were born weak and abandoned by their flock.

Proudly, Perian spread one of Ardi’s huge wings.

“It feels like just yesterday you fell from the nest, dying, and now look at you.”

As if understanding, Ardi tilted his head and spread his wings.

But Perian’s eyes, watching Ardi’s antics, only grew darker.

“…Yes, Ardi. Soon, I’ll be just like you. You can look forward to that day.”

Muttering so, Perian stroked Ardi’s chin. At that moment, he heard a knock.

“Come in.”

Perian turned from Ardi as the closed door opened and his secretary appeared.

“Your Highness, a letter just arrived. It’s from, uh, that person in Rontiano.”

“That old man, suddenly?”

Perian, looking puzzled, strode over and snatched the letter from the secretary’s hand.

Tearing open the letter irritably, Perian’s face twisted.

“Ha, what is this…!”

He crumpled the letter and threw it to the floor. The secretary flinched and stepped back.

“Y-your Highness, are you alright? Why so suddenly…”

“Shut up!”

Yelling at the hapless secretary, Perian searched for whiskey with trembling hands. He grabbed the half-empty bottle and drank it all at once, his eyes growing unfocused.

The bottle slipped from his hand and shattered.

The startled flapping of birds filled the office.

“Did that Duke trick me?”

A pounding headache brought up the face of the Duke of Bannon.

A long time ago, the Duke appeared before Perian, who was hiding from his brothers at the founding banquet of the Holy Kingdom of Roeta, and promised to make him King.

In exchange, if Perian would simply cover up the Duke’s affairs in Roeta, the Duke would give him a world where neither divine power nor magic was needed.

He would allow Perian to stand atop the blood of the brothers who had looked down on him for being born without any abilities.

<Just like the birds you cared for, Your Highness.>

<What does that mean…?>

<I heard you enjoy bird hunting.>

With a polite smile, the Duke bowed and presented Perian with a shotgun.

<But it seems you don’t hunt just any bird.>

<……>

<I heard you stake out in front of the nest where the bird fell for days and nights.>

At those words, Perian felt a chill run through his entire body.

Though it was their first meeting, the Duke knew more about Perian than anyone else in the Kingdom.

<I’ve heard you’re a sharpshooter who never lets a chosen prey escape. Someone patient enough to wait—that means you’re destined for greatness. I want to help you, Prince Perian.>

<……Help me?>

<Yes, if you promise to help with my plans.>

Perian knew well how absurd and excessive it was for the Bannon family, who held the Imperial Family of Rontiano in their grasp, to reach out to him.

Since the Duke of Bannon had chosen him, Perian felt he should trust the Duke and follow him in everything.

The Duke was the first person ever to take his side.

So, just as the Duke instructed, Perian gathered the lower class and rebuilt a religion that had already vanished.

In the name of Riela, Goddess of Vengeance, he promised to carry out their revenge.

[Hamartia.]

Behind the name Garzen had given, Perian’s army slowly began to consume Roeta.

But—

“To use Hamartia to attack the Temple? How dare he notify me so suddenly?”

The Duke of Bannon had sent a message, without warning, that he would use Hamartia to destroy the Temple.

The date written in the letter was today, so there was no way to stop it now.

‘So he told me today on purpose, so I couldn’t interfere.’

But Perian was no longer as naive as he’d been as a child.

Realizing that the Duke of Bannon never shared his plans with him, Perian could guess there was another scheme at play.

At that moment, the secretary asked in a flustered voice,

“The Temple, Your Highness? What do you mean? Prince Garzen is there right now…”

“Garzen?”

At that name, Perian’s dazed gaze sharpened slightly.

“Why is that guy’s name coming up here?”

The secretary hurriedly reported,

“Um, Prince Garzen just headed to the Temple. That’s what I heard from the First Prince’s aide.”

“…D*mn it!”

Perian shot up from his seat and grabbed the secretary’s shoulder. His face had turned pale.

“Why? Who else is going there?”

“I—I haven’t been able to find out yet…”

“You useless fool!”

Perian shoved the secretary aside and hurried to prepare to leave.

“This isn’t the time. Right now, I have to get to the Temple…!”

But as he rushed to the door, Perian suddenly froze.

“Y-Your Highness?”

“…Ha.”

Perian let out a hollow laugh and slumped to the floor.

His feet tingled and he’d hurried, but even if he went now, there was nothing he could stop.

“D*mn Duke, from the start…”

If Hamartia failed to attack the Temple, Perian himself would take the blame for everything.

With things having grown so complicated, there was nothing he could do.

“Ha, haha…”

Perian laughed like a madman.

Grasping ambitions he never should’ve had, and taking Bannon’s hand—that was how it all began.