Chapter 115 · The Turned Tide (1)

Belus’s face hardened. He must have heard something completely unexpected.

“Giving up—what exactly does that mean?”

I didn’t answer and plopped down on the sofa. It was a rude thing to do, but the conversation seemed likely to run long, so I had no choice. I was terribly tired and could no longer stand.

Belus too slowly sat down before me, following my lead.

“I mean to discard the greed of swallowing Kalisa.”

At my words, he cleared his throat as if taken aback.

“Princess, ‘swallowing’ seems too strong an expression.”

“Trying to make them a vassal state is swallowing them, isn’t it?”

Until now, I had worked hard to play the pure child in front of this man. But given the situation, the words just came out.

“That is not my wish but His Majesty’s long-cherished desire. It is to put an end to the threat of war that might erupt again at any time.”

He responded gently despite my rough words.

Any Santran would agree, but I did not. To me, it sounded incredibly selfish. And Belus had encouraged him from the side, so the king came to hold such a desire—it even felt a little shameless.

I looked into his eyes and spoke forcefully.

“To save Sir Parsiel, we must invalidate all the conditions set in the armistice and send Leo back to his homeland.”

Belus looked troubled.

“Why do you think that must be done?”

“Unless it is a condition of that magnitude, King Pereus of Kalisa will not give up the method to break the curse.”

“…”

Behind his monocle, his golden eyes wavered.

“Are you certain King Pereus knows the method?”

“Yes. I just confirmed it through Leo.”

“You went to that tower?!”

When I nodded quietly, Belus sighed. Instead of pressing me about going to the tower, he sank into deep thought.

“Princess, that opinion will certainly face enormous opposition. Santra suffered great damage in the war and paid a bitter price. There were many sacrifices to even bring about the armistice.”

After agonizing for a while, he quietly added,

“What the princess is saying is like asking to make the three-year war never have happened.”

Hmm, as expected. And whose effort made that achievement possible? It was won because Paeon fought with all his might! Knowing that, shouldn’t you not be so lukewarm about it?

“I believe Sir Parsiel is worth that much. The Great Temple would also be in serious trouble if it lost Sir Parsiel.”

“…”

Belus hesitated, then spoke.

“There is not only the method the princess mentioned.”

“What method does the High Priest have in mind?”

“It is difficult for me to tell the princess…”

I let out a hollow laugh at his hypocrisy.

“Is it a method of pressuring King Pereus using Leo? Through torture or something like that?”

Belus’s pupils widened for an instant. He looked deeply embarrassed. Well, it wasn’t the kind of thing to come out of an eight-year-old’s mouth.

“I do not think that is a clever method.”

I shot back coldly.

“What if King Pereus absolutely refuses to reveal the method? What if Sir Parsiel ends up dying because of it?”

“That is… too negative a prediction.”

“Shouldn’t we always consider the worst case in uncertain matters? You said King Pereus is a cruel man. He could abandon his son for the greater cause.”

“…”

“If Kalisa invades immediately after that, can you guarantee victory without Sir Parsiel?”

Behind Belus’s monocle, his golden eyes sank.

I had roughly grasped the current situation of both countries from talking about the war with Ark and Rizen before. At the time, Santra’s forces were superior to Kalisa’s, but they had suffered great damage and had not recovered enough to wage war right now.

Also, the reason they could not end the war easily despite superior forces was that King Pereus was an outstanding strategist and tactician. With him still alive, and without knowing exactly what Kalisa’s current forces were like, they could not bear the risk of losing their greatest asset, Paeon.

“The one in the difficult position right now is not Kalisa but Santra. King Pereus is no fool either, so he will know that. And Sir Parsiel has less than three days left, so we must step back and attempt negotiations.”

I crossed my arms and spoke coldly.

“Before greed makes us lose everything.”

A moment of silence passed.

Belus, who had been agonizing with a serious face, soon smiled faintly.

“There is nothing unreasonable in what the princess says.”

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly. At least this man was not a stubborn fool.

If Alter had been allowed to torture Leo like that, Alter would have killed Leo, pretending it was a mistake. He had no intention of finding the method in the first place. That fool would only be desperate to eliminate Paeon right now, regardless of whether war broke out in Santra.

“I have a question.”

Belus adjusted his glasses and asked.

“Why did you come to me first instead of telling His Majesty directly?”

That was obvious. No matter how much trust I had from the king, a matter this big could never be accepted on my word alone. Alter and Aquila would oppose it with all their might.

But if Belus stood at the forefront, it could be achieved.

I smiled brightly and spoke.

“Because it will certainly face enormous opposition, and having the High Priest take my side will be the greatest strength.”

“You evaluate me too highly.”

Hmm. Was he pretending to be modest, or testing me?

“I also have a favor to ask of the princess.”

“What is it?”

He looked at me with meaningful eyes.

“Will you promise that no matter what happens, you will never betray God’s will?”

I furrowed my brow.

‘God’s will?’

Was he talking about the oracle?

My oracle was ‘the one who will bring light to Santra.’ Not betraying its meaning would mean devoting myself to Santra until I die.

It was a very High Priest-like request.

“Of course. I am Lord Lux’s servant.”

I returned to being the pure and devout child and answered with a smile. But Belus examined me with a probing gaze.

As expected, he was not an easy opponent.

◇ ◆ ◇

Alter had had a headache since dawn. The eldest young lord of the Ellenoa family had finally caused trouble. To attack the royal guards!

Since they had long been allies and he was the next head of the Ellenoa family, Alter had let it slide even when he became the princess’s dog and acted out. But this time he had gone too far.

“Count Ellenoa, Ark Ellenoa cannot avoid severe punishment. He would have no grounds to complain even if expelled!”

“That cannot be! My son expelled!”

Count Ellenoa was furious.

“He must have been bewitched by that bastard princess. Or that stupid-looking lowly holy knight instigated him! Either way, my son is not at fault.”

“Whatever the reason, it is true that he attacked the royal guards and contacted the Kalisan prince, is it not? Everyone testifies that they were attacked by Sir Ellenoa, so what am I supposed to do?”

As they bickered for a while, a knight came running in a fluster.

“Commander, Vice-Commander. His Majesty is urgently calling for you.”

“His Majesty? At this hour?”

“It must be about my son. Please speak well to the Commander. If he can keep it to a light punishment, the Ellenoa family will not forget the favor.”

Alter nodded irritably and left the office.

◇ ◆ ◇

The audience chamber.

Unexpectedly, Aquila and several nobles were gathered there as well. Everyone had been dragged here suddenly at dawn and looked bewildered.

“Count Alter, Count Ellenoa. You’ve come.”

The king spoke in a hoarse voice from the throne. His complexion was terribly haggard.

“Thank you all for gathering despite the sudden summons. I had to make an important announcement urgently, so I had no choice but to call you at this hour.”

“Your Majesty, what is the matter?”

The king glanced at High Priest Belus standing beside him. When Belus nodded with a stiff face, the king let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.

“As of today, Santra will completely invalidate the terms of the armistice with Kalisa.”

The audience chamber instantly grew noisy.

“What? What does that mean?”

“Invalidate the terms of the agreement?!”

To them, it was truly like a bolt from the blue.

The king spoke as loudly as he could so he could be heard in the noisy chamber.

“The two nations will return to the state before the war. The prince held as a hostage will be returned to his homeland, and Kalisa’s international isolation will be lifted.”

The nobles’ eyes went wide. None dared say to the king’s face that he had lost his mind, but they shouted until their throats were raw.

“Absolutely not, Your Majesty!”

“For what reason on earth?!”

The king, looking ten years older, spoke calmly.

“Sir Parsiel has been cursed and his life hangs by a thread. The only one who knows how to break it is King Pereus.”

“Sir Parsiel?”

The nobles, hearing for the first time that Paeon was dying, were greatly confused.

“Who dares put a curse on Sir Parsiel?!”

Alter shouted, veins bulging in his neck.

“It is that prince!”

Alter strode to the center of the audience chamber and spoke accusingly.

“Prince Basileo, King Pereus’s only legitimate son, is the culprit. There is no one else who could have cast the curse! We are the victims, so why should we invalidate the agreement?”

The chamber grew even noisier.

“Is that true, Your Majesty?”

“Your Majesty! To send a traitor back to his homeland instead of executing him!”

The king cut him off coldly.

“The negotiations are already finished.”

The nobles were aghast.

“You negotiated without even hearing our opinions?”

“Your Majesty, this is impossible!”

“Even if Your Majesty has the final decision, you cannot decide such a grave matter without the resolution of the council of elders!”

Standing in the midst of the chaos, Alter raised his hand. The nobles fell silent for a moment and fumed.

“Your Majesty, we have all sworn loyalty to the royal family and all went to war when it broke out. The blood we shed could fill the Lancer River! And now you would make the fruits of that sacrifice meaningless?”

The king, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth, his teal eyes flashing.

“Count Alter, there is something I wish to ask.”

“…?”

Alter felt uneasy for some reason. Things were turning strange. He could not understand why the king was suddenly acting like this.

“As you know, a curse requires a great deal of time and mana. It is impossible with just a simple activation word. King Pereus said that curse is especially difficult.”

“Th-that is so. But what does that have to do with this matter?”

“Then how could Sir Parsiel have stood still while a mere eleven-year-old child cast such a curse?”

“…”

Alter had to struggle to maintain his composure. But the paling of his face was beyond his control.

“In my view.”

The king looked at him with eyes that could freeze him solid.

“I suspect someone else cast the curse on Sir Parsiel over a long period through a medium.”