Chapter 85

King Argen’s eyes widened sharply as the thought struck him.

Grace was the greatest mage in the Frozen Kingdom, but Argen, though overshadowed by her brilliance, was also a mage of considerable skill.

Grace should have been the only person in the kingdom capable of unraveling one of Argen’s formulas.

I will have to investigate.

Grace had no interest in power or high society, yet she had thwarted his ambitions time and again.

To the outside world, she was an extraordinary royal consort.

She had created the first teleportation portal and invented agricultural machinery that revolutionized farming for commoners.

The nobles revered her, and the commoners praised her.

But that was not the kind of royal consort King Argen wanted.

Being revered and praised is my role as king...!

What Argen wanted from her was the role of an ordinary royal consort.

Drawing up budgets, decorating the royal palace whenever an event was held, and reigning over high society.

The sort of things ordinary noblewomen did.

What if Grace truly was the one who broke the dark magic on Aisha?

“Then she would have realized immediately that I was the one who cast it...”

Tap. Tap.

His index finger tapped the armrest faster and faster, growing increasingly impatient.

He did not like the idea, but he needed to find out for certain.

I should arrange tea with Grace sometime.

He was rising from his seat, thinking tomorrow would be ideal, when—

“Your Majesty. May I enter?”

A quiet knock sounded, followed by a familiar voice announcing itself from beyond the door.

“Enter.”

At Argen’s answer, the door opened and his assistant, Tree, stepped inside.

“Forgive the interruption, Your Majesty, but there is a disturbance outside. A child claiming to be a power holder is causing a scene at the royal palace’s main entrance.”

“...What? A power holder?”

Argen doubted his own ears.

“Yes. Normally, we would have handled the matter ourselves without troubling Your Majesty, but after the recent affair with Duke Pose, it seemed unwise to dismiss anything too easily...”

Thus far, only two powers had ever been discovered: ice and poison.

The power of ice belongs to the Kreutz bloodline, and Pose, who possessed the power of poison, is already dead...

“I will see this for myself. Lead the way.”

Still, Argen ordered Tree to guide him there, just in case.

The claim was not entirely impossible to believe.

Duke Pose had one legitimate son and one illegitimate child who carried his blood.

But with their father having just been executed, there is no reason either of his biological children would come here...

That left only one possibility.

“There, Your Majesty.”

Just then, Tree reached the royal palace’s main entrance and pointed toward a spot not far away.

And then—

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty.”

A bright, youthful voice like sunlight rang in Argen’s ears.

“Your timing is perfect!”

“......?”

The boy appeared to be seven years old at most.

His dark blue hair, nearly black, was wet.

With his filthy clothes and shoes worn through at the soles, he looked at first glance more like a beggar who had come asking for money.

“The knights refused to believe me, so I was just showing them proof.”

Yet his impossibly beautiful smile and black eyes resembled unpolished obsidian.

“Is this enough to convince you?”

“.......”

At the boy’s question, King Argen strode closer and surveyed the area beyond the castle gate.

He could not believe his eyes.

Everything surrounding the boy’s bare feet had rotted away.

The trees. The field. Even the tips of the spears held by the knights guarding the entrance.

“Y-Your Majesty...”

The knights confronting the boy stood frozen in place.

Their faces were quite literally stricken with terror.

Well, now.

Argen spun in a slow circle, inspecting the surroundings in disbelief, and the corners of his mouth began to curve upward.

“Ha... Hahaha...”

That was him.

The new chess piece who would replace Duke Pose.

***

Meanwhile—

“Aisha, watch me. Hiyah!”

Thump!

The pathetic sound of a wooden sword striking a mannequin echoed across the Kreutz estate.

So this was...

“A neck strike.”

Oh. A neck strike.

I nodded without much enthusiasm.

Kyle smiled proudly at my reaction, then assumed a different stance.

“Now watch this one. This is... Hiyah!”

This time, he struck the mannequin across the waist.

“This is a waist strike.”

Oh. A waist strike...

The names of his techniques were remarkably straightforward.

“What do you think? I’m good, right? I named the techniques myself.”

Kyle planted the hand holding the sword on his hip and fired a glittering eyes beam at me.

Judging by his expression, he wanted praise...

“Mm-hmm. Well done.”

I nodded for the moment, but fell into deep contemplation.

Should I quietly seek Father out and tell him Kyle needs to change career paths before it is too late?

As Kyle’s guardian, I had to judge him objectively.

It did not seem as though Kyle was destined to become a famous knight...

That was when an excited Kyle swung the sword through the air and said,

“I practiced really hard for a whole week.”

“Gasp. You even practiced for a whole week?”

This was serious.

“...Huh?”

My mouth had fallen open before I realized it, but Kyle interpreted my reaction positively and asked with even brighter eyes,

“Why? Am I too good for someone who’s only practiced for a week?”

“What? Uh, y-yes... Well...”

I was struggling for an answer when—

“You little rascal. Lady Aisha is shocked because this is all you can do after practicing for an entire week!”

A hand suddenly reached out and roughly tousled Kyle’s white hair.

I looked up and saw Knight Captain Iris, who was responsible for Kyle’s swordsmanship training.

He grinned and greeted me.

“Good afternoon, Lady Aisha.”

“Good afternoon.”

“Oh. Knight Captain Iris. Why’d you come?”

“Why’d I come? You tiny little thing, are you speaking casually to an adult again?”

“Huh? I called you Knight Captain.”

“You did well to call me Knight Captain. But how did I tell you to speak to adults after that?”

“Uh. Hmm.”

Ruffle, ruffle, ruffle—

Kyle thought hard while his white hair continued to be mercilessly tousled. Then he exclaimed,

“Oh!”

“Why’d you come, please?”

“Not ‘Why’d you come, please?’ You should say, ‘Why are you here?’”

“Close. I was only one word off.”

“Yes, you were wrong. Shall we run three laps around the training grounds?”

“Yeah. All right.”

“Drop the ‘yeah.’ How many times have I told you that it is too casual?”

Iris shouted in frustration, but Kyle covered his ears against the continuing lecture, shook his head vigorously, and deployed his I can’t hear you technique.

Then he turned to me and said goodbye.

“I have to run three laps. See you later, Aisha.”

“Mm-hmm. Do your best!”

I waved to Kyle as he ran off.

Then—

“Iris.”

“Yes, Lady Aisha.”

“He is a good kid, though.”

When I said what I had been unable to say in front of Kyle, Iris nodded as well.

“...I know. He is innocent at heart.”

Fortunately, he seemed to understand that Kyle did not behave that way out of malice.

His neck strikes and waist strikes had made me a little concerned, but—

Still, I’m glad Kyle seems to be adjusting well to the Kreutz order of knights.

He was wearing a knight’s uniform and holding a sword. That alone was tremendous progress.

When he had first arrived here, he had even found wearing shoes uncomfortable.

But now he was learning how to converse with people and undergoing swordsmanship training, even if his progress was a little slow.

You’re doing so well, our Kyle!

How admirable. Truly admirable.

I watched Kyle running around the training grounds with the misty-eyed gaze of a proud parent.

After Duke Pose’s execution, everyday life returned to the Kreutz estate.

Calypse diligently carried out his duties as duke, while I was showered with affection as the “true” young lady.

Kyle worked hard as the youngest member of the order of knights, and Lucas as the heir to the dukedom.

It seemed I no longer needed to worry about Kyle, so perhaps I should go and check on older brother Lucas now.

“I’ll be going!”

“Yes, Lady Aisha. Take care.”

Pat-pat-pat.

After saying goodbye to Iris, I ran toward the estate as fast as my stubby little legs could carry me.