Thick clouds blanketed the royal capital from morning onward, spreading as though trying to conceal something beneath them.
He looked up at the sky, pulled his robe deeper over his head, and headed toward the place where preparations were underway.
Only the most trustworthy subordinates, gathered from across the kingdom for this very day, were stationed to guard the site.
It was not a place people normally visited… but precisely because of what it was, security had been layered many times over.
「Let’s begin before the rain truly starts falling.」
With that half-hearted declaration, the work commenced.
The tips of shovels and pickaxes sank into the ground. Soil was dug up and turned over.
Halfren stood with arms folded, watching the scene. He felt an indescribable emotion.
「If this turns out to be… nothing more than a misunderstanding or a clerical error, just how terrible a thing would I have done?」
「Indeed.」
The person standing beside him also had their face deeply hidden beneath a robe.
Yet even from the faint glimpse of the bridge of the nose and the shape of the lips, there was no mistaking who it was. No, in truth, the voice alone was more than enough.
With a wry, almost bitter smile, Halfren turned his gaze toward the neatly carved stone.
『Glodia』
Only that name was engraved upon it.
Any family name that should have followed had been stripped away the moment she committed her crime.
But Halfren knew her.
“Glodia von Univance”
The younger sister of the current king, Wilmott… one of the daughters born to the royal princess Marcbel.
A rare genius among mages, possessing an unparalleled talent for magic.
And on that day, by chance, she had attempted to steal a magic tool from the royal treasury in order to obtain magic from another world, and failed. It was said that, for the sake of that ritual, she had sacrificed the lives of everyone else in the mansion.
Because of this, people came to know and fear her. Above all, the nobles mockingly bestowed upon her, behind her back, the utterly dishonorable title of 『Slaughter Princess』.
It is also said that the tragedy occurred precisely because she possessed too much talent.
「Hey, Frea?」
「Yes?」
「Is the power from another world really that alluring?」
「……」
The tone he rarely used carried a faint loneliness and pain.
While feeling his chest tighten painfully, she exhaled softly and answered.
「It is alluring. If one could wield it, there is no doubt they would make their name resound across the entire continent. Even if it meant turning every nation, even their own homeland, into an enemy.」
It was obvious.
The reason summoning spell formations were “in principle” prohibited was to prevent any further danger from being brought into this world.
Naturally, bringing in such danger would cause every power-holder on the continent to recognize the person as an “enemy”.
One could certainly leave behind a name. In exchange for their life.
「I don’t know what exactly she wished for or desired. But at the very least, there must have been some reason, big or small, for wanting such immense power.」
「Even if the result was killing her entire family?」
「Yes. But that was only the result. No evidence has ever been found that she actively wished for or caused it.」
For the sake of this day, Frea had read through every single investigation document concerning Glodia.
She truly had been a genius. Every annotation she left in the magic books she had obtained was precise and insightful.
Above all, as one of the princesses with a claim to the throne, she possessed knowledge and refinement that would shame no one no matter where she went.
She was beautiful, gentle, and always smiling in front of the queen.
「If only we could peek inside someone’s heart… would all hesitation in this world disappear, I wonder?」
「Impossible. That’s obvious.」
「True.」
The two fell silent and watched the work continue.
With a sharp clink, the pickaxe struck stone. At last, they had uncovered the remains of the person said to have been executed and buried here.
-0-
「……This is…」
Several subordinates peered into the opened stone chamber and frowned.
They moved their hands carefully, measuring the length of the bones inside with their fingers in a quick, concise way.
It was merely confirmation.
「My lord.」
「Just the conclusion.」
The older subordinate discarded any hesitation at that voice.
「From the shape of the pelvis and the length of the femur, there is no doubt: these bones belong to an adult male.」
「No mistake?」
「None. Above all, the pelvis is unmistakably male. It could never have carried or borne a child.」
The words came with the unshakable confidence of long experience.
Halfren gave a single nod and offered a brief prayer toward the one who was not “her”.
「Handle the remains with care. Return them properly and rebury them.」
「Is that all right?」
「……The one buried here was ‘Glodia’. That is all.」
Seeing the expression he rarely showed anymore, the one from the days when he was called the “Executor”, Frea held back any further words.
His subordinates, who had never known defiance, silently restored the stone chamber and began filling the earth back in.
「Once the work is finished, erase all traces and return to your duties.」
He gave the order without waiting for a reply and began to leave.
Only one horse had been prepared. Just as on the way here, the return would be the same.
He mounted easily. She was pulled up by his arm and seated sideways in front of him, held securely against his chest.
The position was unstable, but the thick arm wrapped around her waist brought back a familiar sense of security.
Back when she had still been a candidate for his legal wife, they had often slipped out of the castle like this and ridden to all sorts of places. More than once they had been chased by dragons and nearly died.
「Ow… Why pinch me?」
「Remembering unpleasant things made me angry.」
「That’s all in the past, isn’t it?」
「Yes. That’s why I pinched you now.」
「……I see.」
At his deflated laugh, Frea hid her face in the robe and smiled as well.
Back then she had never complained, no matter how close to death they came. She couldn’t.
If only she had been able to speak up then… The thought made her sigh, expelling the lingering haze in her chest.
Everything was over now.
Leave a Reply