Chapter 22
Moreover, Alice had no aversion to the poor, so the work wasn’t difficult for her.
Although her initial motivation wasn’t entirely pure, she wasn’t working with a dishonest heart.
She found it good and fulfilling to do volunteer work, as it kept her from dwelling on other thoughts.
Perhaps her sincerity had reached Prion, as two days ago, he had approached her first to speak.
Though it was just a formal greeting.
If they became a little closer, she would be able to tell him about her situation.
Then… he would surely help her.
If it was Prion, he would definitely help, if only because he disliked Madam Quillian.
“Good day, Grand Priest.”
“Yes, madam. You’ve come again today. I sincerely thank you.”
“Not at all, I’m grateful to be able to help like this.”
Prion gave her a faint smile.
Considering that he hadn’t shown even a hint of a smile when they first met and she was introduced as Madam Quillian’s daughter-in-law, this was truly remarkable progress.
Alice, after glancing at Prion’s handsome face, approached the poor and began distributing rye bread.
“Thank you, thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Take plenty.”
Alice exchanged a nod with Prion, who was watching her, and then started to prepare soup for the poor.
* * *
At the same time Alice was beginning her volunteer work for the poor,
Lady Meltain, who had cast an illusion magic on the prayer room, was walking down Royste Street in the commoners’ district with a man.
Arriving at a dilapidated shantytown in a more secluded part of Royste Street, an area beyond the reach of law enforcement, Lady Meltain looked around as if searching for something.
“It should be around here with a blue roof…”
“There it is,” said the man standing next to Lady Meltain.
Despite his appearance of an ordinary middle-aged man, his voice was a pleasant baritone.
Lady Meltain walked with the man to the shabby building with the blue roof he had spotted.
Creeak-
As the unoiled wooden door opened, two men inside stood up abruptly.
One had gray hair and burgundy eyes, while the other had brown hair and blue eyes.
They looked at the man behind Lady Meltain with trembling eyes, not at her.
“Is that…”
“Is it really you, Your Excellency?” the gray-haired man, who looked like a bear, asked in a shaky voice when the brown-haired man couldn’t continue speaking.
The answer came from Lady Meltain’s lips.
“Yes, it is. Brother, please remove your ring.”
The middle-aged man took off a plain iron ring from his ring finger.
Instantly, the appearance of the middle-aged man vanished, revealing Kylus’s true form – a man with black hair, black eyes, and handsome features.
“Your Excellency!”
“You’re alive, my lord.”
The two men couldn’t hide their overwhelmed expressions, seemingly overcome with emotion at seeing Kylus.
“It’s been a long time, Tessiri, Davit.”
Kylus smoothly raised the corners of his mouth as he looked at his loyal vassals.
The brown-haired man, Kylus’s aide Tessiri, approached Kylus, holding back tears that seemed about to burst forth.
“Are you really alright now? You’re not pushing yourself when you’re still unwell, are you?”
Tessiri was worried, knowing well that Kylus rarely showed when he was in pain.
Kylus patted Tessiri’s shoulder and said, seeing the anxious, trembling look in his eyes, “I’m fine. In fact, I’m in better shape than before.”
It wasn’t a lie to reassure Tessiri.
Thanks to Alice’s holy power, Kylus’s body was in better condition than before he was poisoned.
“Thank goodness. It’s truly a miracle bestowed by the gods, Your Excellency.”
It was a habitual remark from the deeply religious Tessiri, but Kylus’s hand flinched for a moment.
Kylus released Tessiri’s shoulder and spoke slowly.
“Yes. Well… that’s not wrong. Davit, have you been well?”
Kylus turned to the gray-haired man who resembled a bear.
Davit, formerly of the Golden Badge mercenaries, had forged a bond with Kylus on the battlefield.
He was also the captain of Kylus’s knightly order, the Black Lion Knights.
Davit, unable to hold back his tears, roughly wiped his face and then knelt before Kylus with a thud.
“Please kill me, my lord. I, unworthy as I am, failed to protect both you and the knightly order. Please punish me.”
“Davit, stand up,” Kylus murmured in a low voice.
“I am a knight who failed to protect my lord. So please, punish me…”
“Davit. Am I such a petty lord to you that I would punish you for something that wasn’t your fault?”
“How could that be?! You are the one who saved my life and made me human when I was no better than a beast rolling around on the battlefield!”
Davit lifted his head abruptly and exclaimed. His face was streaked with tears.
Kylus let out a short sigh and extended his hand to Davit.
“So stand up. Surely you won’t refuse my hand?”
“…My lord.”
With a loud sniff, Davit took Kylus’s hand and stood up.
Kylus chuckled at Davit, who was acting like a child.
If people knew that the man known as the invincible Gray Bear on the battlefield was this tearful, they would all faint.
“Everyone, sit down.”
Kylus headed towards the old wooden table.
Kylus and Davit sat first, and Tessiri, shaking his head at the familiar scene, also took a seat.
“Sienna?”
Only Lady Meltain remained standing.
Sienna came to her senses at Kylus’s voice.
She had been so shocked by Davit’s behavior that she had unconsciously zoned out.
Sienna had an idealized image of the Black Lion Knights, who were on par with the Imperial Knights.
Especially of Davit, the knight captain who was said to have helped Kylus defeat enemies barehanded on the battlefield.
But the sight of him whimpering, which didn’t match his large build, just now…
Well, better forget about it.
Still clinging to some of her ideals about the knightly order, Sienna erased the scene she had just witnessed from her mind and approached the table.
Once Sienna had also taken her seat at the table, Kylus began to speak.
“We don’t have much time, so let’s save the catching up for when you return to the Duke’s estate. How many of the knights have gathered so far?”
“Almost all of them, Your Excellency. It wasn’t difficult to reassemble them as they hadn’t joined other knightly orders and were just waiting for you to wake up. We’ve also started training in a quiet place with the funds you sent us.”
Davit answered.
Kylus nodded and continued, “That’s good. We’ll soon be back in our rightful place, so don’t neglect your training.”
“Understood.”
Kylus, observing Davit’s resolute face, turned to Tessiri.
“How is the investigation into Madam Quillian’s background progressing?”
“She’s been involved in so many dirty deeds behind the scenes over the past six months that gathering evidence hasn’t been difficult. In particular, she’s been consistently bribing the Bulkin Marquis family, known for being the Emperor’s sycophants. Thanks to those bribes, Young Master Edellm has been maintaining the top position at the academy.”
“She’s certainly putting in a lot of effort for that inadequate son.”
“Well, with his intellect, he wouldn’t be able to hold the top position otherwise.”
Tessiri didn’t hide his contemptuous expression.
Kylus, suppressing a sneer as he recalled his brother’s dullness, said with a hardened face, “Keep collecting evidence meticulously. We need to expose everything at once to ensure she can never rise again.”
In truth, the attempt to poison him was enough reason to execute Madam Quillian, but there was one complication that necessitated gathering more evidence.
The complication was none other than the current Emperor of the Pentium Empire.
He was the problem.
The Emperor would try to save Madam Quillian’s life somehow and set her against Kylus.
There was a valid reason for believing the current Emperor would do this.
The rumor that the current Emperor of the Pentium Empire feared Kylus Dearrut was an open secret among the nobility.
It was because of the reputation Kylus had built on the battlefield and the prowess of the Black Lion Knights, which surpassed even the Imperial Knights, that the Emperor felt threatened.
With the imperial power weakening day by day due to the corrupt imperial family, the Emperor feared that Kylus might covet the throne.
That’s why when Kylus suddenly collapsed, the Emperor didn’t even conduct a proper investigation and allowed Madam Quillian to take control of the Duke’s estate.
Moreover, he permitted the unproven young lady of the Fordley family to take the position of Duchess.
If he hadn’t been wary of Kylus, he would have sent an investigation team when the head of the Dearrut Duke’s family, the empire’s top noble family, collapsed, and wouldn’t have just stood by while Madam Quillian proceeded with the marriage as she pleased.
Come to think of it, it was thanks to the Emperor’s negligence that Kylus was able to wake up.
In any case, the Emperor’s true desire was likely for Kylus to die, just like Madam Quillian’s.
He just couldn’t show it openly.
Therefore, while not openly expressed, the relationship between Kylus and the current Emperor was at its worst.
If there had been a competent Crown Prince in the imperial family, Kylus would have supported him and tried to mend relations with the Emperor, but…
The Emperor was not just corrupt, but rotting, and there was no suitable prince in the imperial family to be named Crown Prince.
Even the only hope, the First Prince, had collapsed and remained unconscious.
At this rate, the next Emperor would be the Second Prince, who was rumored to be a good-for-nothing.
Then the future of the empire would be even bleaker than it is now.
And since Kylus had clearly expressed his intention not to support the Second Prince, the Emperor must be even more suspicious and fearful of his intentions.
Fearing that he might even stage a rebellion.
Therefore, they needed to gather a lot of evidence about Madam Quillian’s crimes so that the Emperor couldn’t force the issue.
“Yes. I will gather witnesses and evidence firmly so that even His Majesty cannot ignore them.”
“With that much, even His Majesty won’t be able to try to save Madam Quillian’s life.”
“As soon as we secure the evidence, I will send word through Lady Meltain. Then, when you regain consciousness at the Duke’s estate, we will immediately…”
“We need to move up the timing a bit,” Kylus interrupted Tessiri.
