Kapitel 224: [Chapter 225] A Drop That Makes the Cup Overflow
From the day she returned to the castle, Neris was inundated with all sorts of tasks.
It was only natural. She had been away for a long time, and now she was officially one of the ultimate people in charge of this vast north.
Moreover, she had many things to worry about besides the usual duties given to a lord.
"I'm glad the Duke arrived safely."
Dora answered briskly to Neris's words.
"Yes. As Your Highness commanded, 'Yayeon' is continuing to help smoothly without revealing his identity."
The Duke of Elandria, who had nearly been murdered by his son and rescued by Yayeon, was still hiding, pretending to be dead.
Yayeon's report through a messenger was that he had recently moved to the land of a loyal subordinate and was consolidating his forces there.
"Any news from the imperial capital?"
"I was just about to report. Duke Odroi submitted a memorial urging the crown prince to quickly decide on a crown princess, and the crown prince, who was not happy about it, scolded the Duke."
"He even went as far as to cause a commotion? He seems to be completely smitten with Megara."
Neris could guess the situation just from that much.
Abelus was a scoundrel to his wife, but he wasn't stupid enough to cause a commotion because he didn't want to get married in front of others. If he had been, he would have rejected marriage to Neris in his previous life.
He would have been disgusted that Valentin was being mentioned as a crown princess candidate. Megara must have cried or begged, or lamented her fate and urged him on.
The current Duke of Elandria wouldn't have pushed his younger brother.
Someone must have subtly informed Megara about the contents of Duke Odroi's memorial. Neris was confident she wouldn't be surprised if that person was Nellusion.
After learning the truth of the past in the Dragon's Lair, Neris had also thought about the family known to the world as the descendants of 'Palos'. One of the men who brazenly stood tall in the portraits of the three heroes.
Their descendants had died out. Until now, Neris had thought it was something that had naturally happened over time. But after learning about the past, she began to assume that the family might have been intentionally 'absorbed'. The fewer people who knew the secret, the better.
'Perhaps they were killed for revealing their intention to become independent. Or maybe they failed to negotiate something by bringing up the old secret.'
The imperial family constantly trumpets the heroic tales of the three ancient heroes to all the citizens of the empire. Even though only two of the heroes' families remain. By constantly bringing up the vanished Palos family, the imperial family is using the grandeur of the old legend to support itself.
Valentin marries Abelus and becomes the crown princess. At first glance, it seemed like it could be a last lifeline for the Elandria family. But what if something happens to the bloodline of the main family after Valentin becomes the crown princess?
Then the imperial family would be able to completely absorb the legend of the three heroes. How grand it would be in the eyes of the people. Two of the three heroes' descendants have become one.
It meant that Keamil had sufficient motivation to completely absorb the Elandria family's influence before they could act out again, and to eliminate the accomplice who knew the old secret.
So Nellusion couldn't send Valentin to be the crown princess yet. Especially now, when he needed to survive while being disliked by the imperial family.
"Yes. Instead, he moved the crown prince through the crown prince's mistress. He's placing con artists in the club you told me to keep an eye on, and they're extorting money from the crown prince. The crown prince's mistress is building her own position in the meantime."
"He still uses others to get what he wants."
The pack of wolves she had unleashed was tearing through the imperial family faster and more greedily than Neris had anticipated.
Neris knew Finito, one of the clubs where Nellusion was making money. In her previous life, she had personally recommended it to a few people.
The Elandria family was continuing to decline economically. The Morie Trading Company and the Mackinnon Trading Company were moving quickly, taking over the positions vacated by the Elandria and Wells families. Nellusion probably hadn't had this little money in his life.
Unfortunately, the Elandria family's con artists had many branches, both official and unofficial, that had spread throughout various fields over the years. Nellusion would be trying to use one of them to catch his breath.
After thinking for a moment, Neris quickly instructed,
"Send some of our experts to the club. It's fine if they look like newcomers. And be careful that the former Duke of Elandria doesn't contact the imperial family. Now that he's terrified, it would be a problem if he joined hands with the imperial family in the name of revenge against his son."
Keamil, Nellusion, and Megara still needed to tear each other apart a little more. That would give them more time to prepare.
Dora answered, "Yes," with a solemn expression. Neris took a letter from the drawer and handed it to her.
"Can you deliver this to His Holiness the Pope in secret? As soon as possible."
"Yes, Madam!"
Neris pondered as she watched Dora leave the office immediately with the letter.
'The Temple.'
The first Pope she had seen in her vision.
Neris remembered the expression the dragon had used. He had said he didn't know if this meeting was guided by 'some god'.
There is only one god now. At least according to the common belief of the people of this continent.
But do all people truly believe in only one god?
'The barbarians, as they are called, have their own gods.'
The citizens of the empire didn't even want to trade with them properly. They ignored them and sometimes hated them. The barbarians couldn't even sue in the imperial courts if they were wronged.
Even though they were openly persecuted, the citizens of the empire couldn't understand why they believed in their own gods. Didn't the priests of the god Timaios prove the righteousness of their god by performing miracles of healing? But if you think about it.
'The barbarians' gods can also prove themselves.'
Perhaps they have the ability to perform miracles of their own.
What if… 600 years ago, there were more gods naturally coexisting than there are now, and the one who helped Bisto during the slaying of the evil dragon was simply the first Pope.
'There must be records of that time in the Papal Archives.'
If the current temple was raised by Bisto's power, he would have undoubtedly tried to take advantage of it.
It didn't seem likely that the first Pope, who had already betrayed his comrade and was in the clutches of a weakness, would have left nothing behind.
'I need records that can vouch for what happened then.'
If Omnitus had remained Pope, the records in the Papal Archives would have been meaningless, but now that Ren is in that position, it's worth a shot.
Knock, knock. Neris, lost in thought, looked up at the familiar sound of knocking.
There were many people who would come to see her in this castle, but only one person made this kind of knocking sound. A sound that was clear and quick, as if he had already entered the room, but was knocking to get her attention.
Sure enough, Cledwyn smiled contentedly as she looked at him directly. He rose from leaning against the doorframe and approached his wife. He pressed his palms against her cheeks, kissed her, and asked,
"Busy?"
"Not really. Why?"
"I want to show you something."
"What is it?"
"I can only show you if you come with me. It's a bit much for me to carry."
Did this man buy another dress? Neris stood up, suspicious but curious. She had something to tell him anyway.
"Where are we going?"
"The basement."
"Alright."
Seeing him talk about the basement instead of the dress room, she thought it might be work-related. The castle's vault, containing the castle's secrets, was down there.
Neris chattered as she walked down the corridor with him. She was half-hugged by her husband, but it was so familiar that she didn't even notice.
"I sent a letter to Ren. I asked him if there was any evidence about the past we saw in the lair. Don't you think the Papal Archives might have some old records?"
"It's possible. I also sent letters to the scribes you invited from the imperial capital. To have them publish articles about the past?"
"No, even if they were to publish articles denying the imperial family's origins now, it would only be difficult and wouldn't actually benefit us. The foundation of the imperial family is based on the heroes' deeds, but the current power dynamics they have established over 600 years of ruling people won't collapse because of those deeds. The imperial family's foundation is based on the heroes' deeds, but the current power dynamics they have established over 600 years of ruling people won't collapse because of those deeds."
The two stood in front of the door leading to the main palace basement. The knight guarding the basement door saluted and let the couple pass.
The door opened, and a cold draft unique to the basement rose up. Cledwyn scooped Neris into his arms.
"What are you doing?"
"The stairs are steep here. If my wife were to stumble and get hurt, my heart would ache too much…"
"Oh, I understand."
Though she said that, Neris knew he was being considerate of the rats that were bound to be in the basement. She was embarrassed, but she decided not to refuse his consideration.
The stairs were indeed steep and narrow, winding down to a considerable depth. Neris closed her mouth for a moment, then resumed her enthusiastic explanation.
"For a country to function properly, many things are needed. Wealth, military power, administrative power… If you read through history books, you'll see that there have been so many countries on this continent that have risen and fallen. It's easy for the people of the Bisto Empire to think of their country as a very stable fence, but it's not really like that."
"That's right."
"Attacking their legitimacy is only auxiliary. It's not strong enough to be the direct cause of death, but it's good for supporting other causes. I'm going to prepare the last drop that will make the cup overflow."
"And it's also a way to provoke them? In any case, the imperial family wouldn't want their past to be revealed."
"You have to scratch them when they're unprepared to make them waste their strength."
She knew her husband would understand immediately. Neris smiled proudly.
By then, they had reached the basement. Sturdy, well-painted walls and several sturdy-looking doors lined both sides of the long corridor.
"Now, from here."
The knight guarding the lower level opened the door Cledwyn had indicated. As soon as the door opened, Neris forgot what she was saying, blinded by the radiance that poured out.
Jingle, jingle.
Though radiance couldn't make a sound, the dazzling light was so bright that it felt noisy. It was coming from the jewels that filled a room the size of the West Palace greenhouse.
Diamonds, pearls, sapphires, emeralds… not only the commonly prized jewels, but rare shapes and colors of precious metals, adorned with the finest craftsmanship, were neatly arranged on shelves lining the walls. Dozens of tiaras that seemed too heavy to wear, hundreds of bracelets, earrings that could be changed every day and still not be worn in a lifetime…
Neris was dumbfounded and forgot what she was saying. Cledwyn smiled and gestured to the knight again.
"Next room."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein