Chapter 40
It’s a terrible thing. To have nearly died from being stabbed by a hidden blade made from the living bone of the Emperor’s companion dragon.
Sian watched Carl, who was clutching near his healed wound, with quite complicated eyes.
“Good heavens.”
Carl, his face pale, muttered in bewilderment.
“What exactly are you saying? Elena’s bones?”
The Crown Prince, unable to follow Carl and Sian’s conversation, asked impatiently. Carl, staggering in his seat, looked at Nathan with a deeply furrowed face.
“…When I was stabbed by Antonio’s sword, there was a small hidden blade of unknown material attached to it.”
“Hidden blade?”
If Nathan could convey the Crown Prince’s expression, he too would probably have had a contorted face.
“The bleeding wouldn’t stop, and the flesh kept rotting. I thought it was strange, but…”
“And?”
“It turns out it was bone cut from a living dragon. The dragon’s magic, writhing in pain, is dissolved and contained in that bone, having a fatal effect on the dragon’s master.”
“…What?”
Even the Crown Prince’s voice, which had been calm until now, rose. Michael, who had been listening silently, frowned at the horrific story.
“It was commonly seen in the era when dragon hunting was rampant, but it’s a terrible item that disappeared as even wild dragons almost vanished and the lineage of dragon hunters was cut off. If you saw it in person, Your Highness would understand how fatal it is, but I ask for your understanding that I can’t show it to you since you’re in Nathan’s body.”
“…Ha.”
The Crown Prince let out a mirthless laugh at Sian’s words, as if dumbfounded.
“So you’re saying that the hidden blade Sir Carter used was Elena’s bone?”
“That’s my conjecture.”
Sian nodded. Nathan let out another mirthless laugh.
“To cut a bone from a living dragon… How horrific.”
“It’s an object most people don’t even know about, and even if they did, it’s no ordinary task to cut a bone with powerful magic from a living dragon.”
“But a dragon hunter could do it.”
Carl said, his blue-green eyes becoming extremely sharp. Sian looked at him.
“That’s right. Reva could do it. That woman was called the best dragon hunter just over a decade ago.”
Carl closed his eyes tightly and shook his head lightly as if feeling dizzy. When he opened his eyes again, the sharp gaze that had been mixed with confusion now swirled with a cold killing intent.
“How dare they…”
Carl, with a terrifying expression never seen before, gritted his teeth and muttered softly.
“The Marquis knows Reva, and the Dragon Knight tried to kill Your Highness with a hidden blade made from a living dragon’s bone…”
The Marquis, the Dragon Knight, the dragon hunter.
It seemed almost certain that the three were somehow in cahoots. And that they intended to instigate a political struggle to seize great power.
If the Crown Prince and the Prince fought and destroyed each other, the Second Prince Gerriot Klaus, who wasn’t even a dragon’s master, wouldn’t even have the qualification to step up. The next likely heir to the throne would be Marquis Daniel Gregory, the current Emperor’s brother and also a dragon’s master.
“First, we need to find this woman called Revenant.”
“She might be in disguise, but the Reva I know is a woman with grayish blonde hair and green eyes.”
“I see. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’ll go to the imperial capital.”
Carl, who had been listening to Sian and the Crown Prince’s conversation, opened his mouth. Carl’s eyes, flashing with killing intent, were unprecedentedly resolute and strong.
“I’ll get a certificate proving my innocence with the help of the temple.”
“If it’s difficult, even a small piece of evidence that you visited the temple would suffice. After all, the fact that no warrant was issued despite your visit to the Dragon’s Temple means that the temple also knows you didn’t assassinate the Dragon King.”
Carl nodded.
“Is there anything else I can help with? If you need travel expenses…”
“I don’t need money. Instead, I’d like you to create a disguised identity for me.”
Interrupting the Crown Prince, Carl spoke while briefly making eye contact with Sian.
“I’d like you to find the name of a fallen noble family. A noble status from a family that left the capital so long ago that it’s difficult to trace their lineage.”
Quickly realizing that this identity was meant for her, Sian frowned.
“Wait. I’m not going. No, I can’t go.”
“Why not?”
It was the Crown Prince who asked. Even the Crown Prince, who knew less about Sian than Carl did, clearly wanted her to accompany Carl to the capital.
Sian bit her lip in difficulty.
Although it was the Crown Prince who had asked, she could tell without looking closely that Carl was waiting for her answer with even more interest.
“I…”
She couldn’t tell everything. But a plausible lie didn’t immediately come to mind either. Sian tried to speak but couldn’t continue, her lips just moving silently.
“I… was banished from my family long ago. There are people who would be troubled if I were to be seen in the imperial capital.”
“Who might that be? If you wish, I can make sure you don’t encounter them.”
Unable to reveal all her secrets, Sian evaded with a half-truth. But the Crown Prince’s side was quite adamant. Carl watched Sian, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, narrowing his eyes slightly.
A noble lady banished from her family. It was easy to deduce that the “people who would be troubled” she mentioned were related to the family she was born into.
That would mean she was a lady from a quite high-ranking family with a position in the imperial capital.
Her clever mind, excellent social skills, and occasional display of noble grace. He had expected to some extent that she wasn’t from an ordinary family, but the questions deepened.
If she was banished from her family, there must have been some major circumstances, and in the noble society, which was both broad and narrow, rumors would have surely spread.
What could have happened?
Carl felt an intense curiosity. But Sian had been extremely averse to revealing her past. It was obvious that asking would only provoke her antipathy again.
Carl kept his mouth tightly shut for a moment, then changed the subject.
“If my uncle has indeed allied with a dragon hunter capable of cutting out Elena’s bones while she was alive, we desperately need your help, Sian. Although both my brother and I are dragon masters, we know nothing about dragon hunters.”
“Moreover, if this Revenant is in disguise, we can’t identify her with just information about hair and eye color.”
Carl and the Crown Prince united in trying to persuade Sian. The perplexity on Sian’s face deepened even further. It had been difficult enough to refuse Carl’s advances until now, but with two opponents, it became even more challenging.
…I really don’t want to go back…
Sian pondered. Her statement about family members recognizing her and being troubled wasn’t a complete lie. However, it wasn’t the perfect truth either, because it had been so long since her status was deleted that hardly anyone would recognize her as an adult now.
Although her hair was platinum blonde now, it had been close to brown when she was young. The hair she thought was brown turned out to be platinum blonde like her father’s as it grew. Even her face had changed so much that no one would recognize her.
So rather than the fear of her true identity being discovered, it was more her own feelings of not wanting to return to the imperial capital full of unpleasant memories that were stronger.
But then again, if Revenant, that woman, was hiding behind the Marquis and using political strife as an excuse to hunt dragons… Perhaps she was the only one who could stop it.
Of course, she would need to be prepared to take risks herself. After all, she, Sian, was the one who knew that woman obsessed with dragon blood well.
What does it matter to me…
Sian tried to think that way, but suddenly at that moment, her eyes met Carl’s. The feeling of her heart being squeezed enveloped Sian once again.
“It seems you really don’t want to.”
The Crown Prince, observing Sian’s expression as she kept her mouth shut, unable to make a decision easily, let out a regretful sigh.
“Has the separate palace where I used to stay been closed?”
“No. It’s just been left empty.”
Carl looked at Sian again upon hearing the Crown Prince’s answer.
“If you’re worried about encountering old acquaintances, how about staying at the separate palace with your other companions and just offering advice?”
“…”
Sian, who was already greatly shaken just by looking at Carl’s subdued face, bit her lip to keep from wavering further at his kind voice that sounded almost subservient.
Really… what is this?
Even though she knew well that he was someone out of her reach, why did she keep getting swayed in this uncharacteristic way?
“…Give me some time to think.”
She couldn’t firmly reject them, nor could she rashly take a path where she might encounter past acquaintances. She desperately needed time to think.
“Take your time.”
Carl and the Crown Prince accepted Sian’s hesitation readily without further pressing.
* * *
