It was a childish thing to say, but Rude was the type of person who would truly keep his word and more.

Unable to retort with such words, Rude unexpectedly lowered his lips and kissed Merche’s closed mouth briefly.

He reached out to Merche’s eyes, making her close them, and kissed there as well.

Merche’s whole body relaxed at the lingering yet drowsy contact.

“Sleep well.”

Amusingly, as soon as she heard those words, drowsiness washed over her. Then, as if sinking into water, Merche’s consciousness gradually fell into slumber.

All five families except the Lupinus responded to Magnus’s summons. They had no choice.

The prince, who would soon ascend the throne and become king, had declared, “Disobedience is tantamount to treason,” so going against his words would mean the annihilation of their families.

Thus, except for a few who had died, the heads and heirs of the five families were forcibly brought to the royal palace like beasts being dragged to a slaughterhouse.

To them, Prince Magnus asked,

“Will you swear loyalty to me?”

Although he asked as if proposing, armed knights and soldiers stood like a fortress wall beside the prince, surrounding those who had been summoned.

As if they would draw their swords from their scabbards the moment anyone refused to pledge loyalty. No one could help but feel threatened by that blatant murderous intent.

To live, to protect their families. The heads and heirs surrendered and swore allegiance.

Even the heir of Sano, whose parents had been killed by the prince’s hand, knelt with tears in his eyes.

However, only one person. Carla Venenum did not do so.

For the first time in her life, she appeared before people in an unkempt state and wailed.

She screamed and cried out that she would definitely kill him, that she would cut off his head and offer it to her grandmother.

“Oh my. What an unfortunate and pitiful situation.”

Prince Magnus spoke to her in a monotonous voice. He also declared,

Since the duke had committed the crime of treason, he would eradicate the Venenum from this land.

However, unexpectedly, a person blocked the soldiers who were trying to drag Carla away to the execution grounds.

Tereze Aquila. The heir of the Aquila family, who had been the first to pledge loyalty, knelt and lowered his entire body, pleading.

“Duke Carla is only acting this way because she does not yet know Your Highness’s true nature. Please, I beg of you, grant us a few days. I will persuade Duke Carla and make her Your Highness’s subject.”

“And if you fail to do so? If you are unable to persuade Duke Carla and she remains a traitor. Then what can you offer as the price?”

“…My life. I will offer my life as the price.”

At those words, the prince discarded his bored gaze and laughed, his green eyes shining brightly with interest.

“Very well. Do as you wish.”

The prince did not immediately send away the summoned heads and heirs.

He gave each of them a palace to stay in, making it so that none of those gathered could leave the royal palace.

Among them, Tereze Aquila and Carla Venenum were in the largest and most luxurious palace.

“Ugh!”

Clang, the thrown bowl shattered, and the stew inside spilled onto the floor.

In fact, since she had barely eaten, the amount had not decreased at all from the beginning.

Nevertheless, Carla kept retching as if her insides were completely turned upside down, curling up her body.

“…How long are you going to be like this? If you keep starving yourself without eating anything, you could really be in trouble. Do you wish for death?”

“Don’t make me laugh… You vile traitor. How could you swear loyalty to that bastard… and annihilate Sano? Can you still call yourself human after that?”

“I didn’t do that. I did my best to prevent what happened to Sano.”

Tereze stared at Carla without averting his eyes.

“I risked my life to save you. Are you going to continue showing such a weak appearance?”

“Then what do you want me to do!”

It was a scream-like cry.

As if even uttering that was a struggle, Carla breathed heavily for a long time, her chest heaving.

“You… your mother didn’t die. Your family is all alive…”

With each labored breath, tears fell drop by drop.

The crying did not stop and only intensified, eventually leading to convulsions as if having a seizure.

Unable to bear watching Carla gasping for breath, Tereze embraced her tightly.

“I can’t bear to see that prince become king. I’d rather die than witness that. Even though I haven’t lost my family like you, my feelings of hostility towards Prince Magnus are the same as yours.”

“…Why would you?”

You were the first to pledge loyalty and become his subordinate. Why would you, the heir of such a family, say those words? What right do you have?

Tereze laughed at the question with an obvious meaning. A bitter smile that somehow seemed hollow lingered in the quiet space.

“The prince tried to kill me and my mother to force loyalty upon me. If I had not pledged loyalty until the end… he would have killed both me and my mother on the spot.”

Tereze was not a fool, and she could not forcibly become one either.

Turning a blind eye to the truth that was clearly visible was not something her mother Renai would do, nor would she.

“Do you think someone who readily takes the lives of others to get what they want will become a good ruler simply with the passage of time?”

I don’t think so. Tereze shook her head firmly.

“Whenever his mind is twisted, he will recklessly take the lives of others, and if such a person becomes the monarch, that is precisely a tyrant. This kingdom has had powerless puppet monarchs, but never a tyrant. If we don’t stop him now, we will become a kingdom crumbling under the tyranny of an unprecedented tyrant.”

“…So?”

So what are you going to do about it now?

Carla let out a long sigh as if her body would collapse.

As if her soul had escaped along with that breath, her expressionless face, devoid of crying or futile laughter, was pale.

“If you’re doing this to me because you think Merche is the only option, I’m sorry, but you’re gravely mistaken. Merche cannot defeat the prince. Merche said it herself.”

“Yes. You may be right. But there’s one thing I want to confirm.”

Tereze asked,

“Does Merche not have anything that could be considered a divine object?”

A divine object. Yes, no matter how much she thought about it, that was the part that didn’t make sense to her.

In the prophecy of Widentia, it was said that a king stronger than even the founding king would arrive. If it was a king who used authority as the founding king’s divine object, wouldn’t that clearly contradict the prophecy?

Thinking that way, one thing made her curious.

Merche. The one Prince Magnus was strangely wary of and trying to kill, the one even her mother once considered a rival to the prince.

What if Merche didn’t possess authority as a royal, but had her own divine object and used its power?

“…Divine object?”

“Yes. I’m talking about the king’s divine objects that you are well familiar with. The crown, the ring, and the sword. Does Merche not have anything special, even just one of those?”

“Something like that…”

She was about to firmly state that there wasn’t. Carla hesitated.

– About the ring you gave me through Duke Fabio before. I was definitely wearing it on my finger, but when I looked again, it had disappeared. It may sound like an excuse, but since it was a gift from you, I thought I should tell you. I’m sorry for not being able to keep it properly.

The ring. The one-of-a-kind ring she had made by seeking out a craftsman to give to Merche.

Why did it come to mind now of all times?

Strangely, her chest felt tight. As if she had forgotten something. As if she couldn’t find something easy and simple right in front of her eyes.

“…In a fairy tale I read as a child, it said that the king’s divine objects sometimes appeared and sometimes disappeared. So it was like playing hide-and-seek…”

“…That’s a characteristic of divine objects, isn’t it?”

Tereze interjected at Carla’s absentminded words.

An average citizen of the kingdom might not know, but it was something the heir of a meritorious family who received in-depth education from numerous private tutors would know.

Tereze spoke, recalling the contents in her mind, despite her puzzled expression.

“Divine objects are literally the king’s possessions, so they can disappear as if absorbed. Regardless of their form, the king can freely conceal them when wearing them.”

Disappearing as if absorbed. Carla’s eyes, which had been listening in a daze, widened.

She was sure… she had heard Merche say something like that before.

– By the way, haven’t you been proposed to by Duke Lupinus before? I feel like you have. Why, he’s been head over heels for you for a long time.

– …I have received a laurel wreath.

– Wow, a laurel wreath? Did you really receive a proposal…?

A scene from the past rewound, and a conversation from a certain day came to mind. That day, what Merche had said. Among them…

– Before running away with you, I went outside for a bit. At that time, I received a laurel wreath from him once more… I’m pretty sure he placed the wreath on my head. Was it my imagination? That wreath seemed to melt and disappear as if it was absorbed. As if it was absorbed into me.

Those words. Carla, who had clearly recalled what she wanted, abruptly stood up.

Tereze, who had also lowered his body, stood close to Carla’s side with surprised eyes.

“Did you… remember something?”

“A laurel wreath and a ring. Two things. Objects that Merche wore on her head and finger but vanished without a trace as if absorbed.”

“…A crown and a ring.”

It perfectly matched the list of divine objects. Tereze inhaled sharply at the chilling sensation of the hair on his arms standing up.