Chapitre 249: [Chapter 249] He is stupid
The news of another defeat spread through the Imperial Palace, casting a heavy gloom over it.
Abelus found it strange. The Imperial Family was more powerful than any royal family on the continent, and those Maindelant bastards were just a bunch of savages huddled together. They were incomparable in terms of financial power and legitimacy, so he thought they would be easily crushed with a surprise attack.
He thought he would finally get back at the Grand Duke, who had been a thorn in his side all his life as the Crown Prince, and establish his authority in front of the nobles.
But why did he keep losing? Even the Marquis of Rikeandros, the most useful of the nobles, was gone now. Megara's whispers were starting to get tiresome…
'Is there a spy?'
Abelus seriously suspected it. Not the kind of spy that grand nobles usually planted for intelligence gathering, but a traitor from the upper echelons of their side who had joined forces with the enemy.
His suspicion was not based solely on the continuous defeats. The Maindelant army was located about one-third of the way from the northernmost tip of the vast Empire to the Imperial City of Pelena, if you drew a straight line between them. Naturally, they had passed several secret outposts that the Imperial Family had hidden in the past.
Since nobles were all untrustworthy, past emperors had found several places that could be called natural fortresses, so that they could stop any rebellion to some extent. Only the direct imperial family, specifically the emperor and empress of the time or the Crown Prince and his consort, knew the location, and any enemy who set foot in the area would inevitably suffer heavy losses.
But the Maindelant army had cleverly avoided those secret outposts. The first couple of times, they might have chosen a different path by chance, but later, even when they were deliberately lured, they still did. They were clearly acting as if they knew where the Imperial Family's secret outposts were.
Someone knocked on the door of his office, where he was sitting alone. Abelus said gruffly,
"Come in."
The Crown Prince's chamberlain cautiously opened the door and rushed in. He held a book in his hand.
"It's finally here."
Abelus finally showed interest. The chamberlain approached his lord with quick steps and respectfully presented the book.
"It just arrived, Your Highness."
The cover of the book simply bore the inscription "Betrayal." It was clear that it was made for the purpose of being produced quickly and in large quantities to be spread among many people, without the gold-leaf binding or elegant calligraphy that even the cheapest books in the court had.
Abelus felt a sense of aversion at the very idea of touching such a book, but he accepted it and flipped through it. The beginning was something he knew.
It was the novel that had made every citizen in the Imperial City hold their breath in anticipation of the next chapter, before the Morie Trading Company closed down and the newspaper that had been under its patronage was investigated.
Abelus's hand, which had been flipping through the pages in a cursory manner, slowed down. Page by page. The pages fluttered. The scene where the identity of the sage is revealed to be a dragon, the scene where Natrik in the azure gem decides to betray everyone else, the scene where the power of time, dwelling in the gray gem, finally seals the dragon…
"Abominable!"
Abelus threw the book away, leaving only the last few pages. The chamberlain flinched. The book was something the Maindelant army was distributing internally. Abelus had been curious after a report from someone who was investigating the enemy's information, saying that he should know the enemy's claims.
But even the chamberlain knew from the rumors circulating around. He knew that the novel, which had been a source of amusement for the Imperial City's social circles, had actually been a massive act of treason against the Imperial Family, planned from the beginning by the Maindelant side. Who were the three heroes? Who was the first emperor? To dare, for the sake of boosting the soldiers' morale…
"Take it away!"
Abelus shouted, pointing at the book, and the chamberlain quickly obeyed. Abelus paced around his office, grumbling.
Unlike the chamberlain, Abelus knew a little more. He vaguely knew that two of the ancient three heroes were fabricated by the Imperial Family. But three gems? That was something he had never heard before.
'Could it be true?'
He had never heard that from his father. But Abelus instantly realized that if the contents of the novel were true, many of the mysteries he had had would be solved.
'Camille must have known.'
Now he understood. He understood why Camille had been so obsessed with the Grand Duchess of Maindelant, who seemed to have nothing special about her.
His father had casually mentioned that Ellandria and Palos, two of the old heroes, were actually the first emperor's subordinates when Abelus was crowned Crown Prince. But given his nature, thinking that even one of the emperor's possessions would diminish his authority if passed on to his children, he probably had many more secrets hidden in his heart.
Abelus had heard about it. Was it before he was born? His father had been ill once. At that time, Camille was practically the Crown Prince, so it wouldn't be strange if his father had told her about this deep history beforehand.
But.
'It doesn't change anything, even if you talk about it.'
Who in the court would believe this novel, which was all about intrigue? It was even ridiculous that they had gone to such lengths to produce this useless story.
But a sense of unease arose in his heart. Could there be more hidden secrets of the Imperial Family? The legend of the three heroes played a major role in the legitimacy of the Imperial Family's existence.
For the first time, 'real' fear crept into his mind, which had always thought it could solve everything on its own. A deep-rooted inferiority complex surged up.
Perhaps that gem, one of his greatest prides all his life, was also possessed by that bastard Cledwyn. That thought caused him anxiety. Perhaps it was time to set aside his methods and pride. He had to catch that bastard and kill him…
Just then, someone knocked on the door again. Abelus stopped abruptly and shouted irritably,
"Come in!"
The door swung open. The chamberlains who always frequented the Crown Prince's chambers knew that Abelus was in a bad mood, so they didn't open and close the door so loudly. Abelus's eyebrows shot up.
And his face soon turned very grim when he saw the faces of the people who had entered.
"What is it?"
The chamberlain who had escorted the Earl of Islani and Alekto Islani, father and daughter, quickly retreated outside. Abelus glanced at Alekto. Was she the one the Marquis of Rikeandros had wanted to make the next Crown Princess before he died?
The Marquis of Rikeandros and Megara's intentions were obvious. They must have thought that Abelus would never favor Alekto over Megara. Without making any particular judgment about their analysis of him, Abelus looked away from Alekto.
"Your Highness. My daughter has discovered something extraordinary and has come to inform Your Highness."
The Earl of Islani's expression was strange. He was feigning dismay, but his eyes and the trembling of the corners of his mouth betrayed the overflowing joy. And the same was true for Alekto.
"Extraordinary?"
Abelus narrowed his eyes.
"What is it?"
Alekto stepped forward, her movements rather graceful. She no longer tried to hide her gleeful expression and revealed it completely.
"The fact that someone you hold close is actually lying to you, Your Highness. I was so shocked that I couldn't even speak. In the world, a mere bastard born of a commoner, playing with the most noble family in this empire!"
The chamberlain closed the door and disappeared.
****
Abelus stormed into Megara's room like a whirlwind.
The small room Megara wanted and Abelus provided was created through a rather ambiguous compromise.
Since the Imperial Family had introduced the official consort system, they needed a room to give to the women who received that position, but to pretend to be ashamed of the consort's existence, they compromised by reducing the size of the windows. The Crown Prince could visit the consort's room whenever he wanted, but to avoid upsetting the Crown Princess, they compromised by placing it close to the Crown Prince's bedroom, but in a remote and cold location.
The women who had stayed in this room in the past had either withered away miserably or lived like the Crown Princess, depending on the Crown Prince's whims. But none of them had ever left this room gloriously.
Abelus had felt a certain amount of pity for his 'fated love' who lived in this small room. He had grown tired of her, wanted to tease her, argued with her… what couple hadn't experienced such things? But Megara had always been a 'lifesaver' to him.
So, Megara had really run wild in the Imperial Palace. This small room, while having narrow windows, was as bright as gold, and the remote entrance was frequented by the most powerful people in the court. She hadn't yet experienced winter since she had moved into this room, but if she had ever complained about the cold in winter, he would have probably smashed the Imperial Palace stables to get enough firewood for her.
The room, lavishly decorated in the latest fashion, was littered with broken jade and torn silk. The windows were tightly shut, even though it was daytime, and the fireplace was burning fiercely, consuming the dress. In the middle of it all.
Megara stood.
Abelus, who had stormed in angrily, couldn't help but be momentarily surprised by her unnatural appearance. Megara, wearing only a white linen dress, a thick corset, and a black ribbon tied around her chest, was unrecognizable.
As if she had discarded everything, as if she no longer liked it.
She smiled at Abelus like an angel.
"You're here, Your Highness."
"Maggie, what is this, no, no."
The room was thick with smoke, naturally, since the windows were closed and the fireplace was burning fiercely in the middle of summer. Abelus frowned.
"I heard about everything you did to my sister. What kind of trick are you trying to pull now?"
"Trick?"
Megara tilted her head, her innocent smile unchanged. Her appearance as the most beautiful woman in the social circles remained the same, but Abelus felt that the feeling he got when he saw her smile was completely different.
It was disgusting and frightening.
"It's a trick, isn't it! You dare to slander a member of the royal family? And you even threatened the Duke of Ellandria in the process? Your crimes deserve twelve executions. You're terrifying and cunning!"
"Oh, did Alekto say that? That I threatened the Duke of Ellandria? Oh… well, that's what you would want to hear, isn't it? Our family is ruined, so there's nothing we can do, but you still need the Duke of Ellandria's intellect, right?"
"That girl is still smart," Megara murmured leisurely.
Her purple eyes, which she had always been proud of, were unfocused. Abelus coughed from the smoke.
"Cough, cough! Anyway, come with me. The reason I'm not dragging you to the executioner right now is because of our past affection. You can't get away with pretending to be crazy. This time, no matter what you do, there's no one to take the blame for your crimes."
"Oh, of course. Am I denying my crimes right now?"
It wasn't even a funny joke, but Megara laughed after she finished speaking. Abelus's hair stood on end. Was she really plotting something? Was she planning to die with him here?
As if in response to his words, sparks flew from the fireplace. And flames spread along the fabric of the dress that was only half in the fireplace. The fire spread to the surrounding area, crackling.
"Come out! Let's talk outside."
"Why? It would be easier for you if I died here. You wouldn't want to admit you misjudged your beloved consort and investigate, would you? You're the best in the court at justifying your actions, saying nothing you've done is wrong. This is real."
Then what is false?
Abelus strode into the center of the room. He grabbed Megara's arm tightly.
"Come with me. Come with me and be investigated."
The power of the person who possessed the azure gem should have caused pain to anyone, but Megara didn't flinch. Instead, she stared at Abelus's face and spoke quickly, like a madman.
"I got rid of the Princess for you. Don't you understand? If the Princess had been around, you would never have been able to act as you pleased. You know that, which is why you're here, calmly talking to me. You've hated the Princess for a long time. You didn't want to be interfered with. You'll punish me lightly and stall for time, won't you? Until the world turns the way you want it to. But do you know?"
Her whispering voice was as clear as a shout in Abelus's ears.
"You're stupid. I've never met anyone as stupid as you in my life."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone