Arc 5 Chapter 6 : Alisha's decision

[Raul POV]

That night, after parting ways with Alisha, I left the capital under the escort of fifteen Knights whom Alisha had assigned to me. I knew this escort was nothing more than a facade. Her true intention in having these fifteen Knights accompany me was to keep me under surveillance.

I was currently at one of the production facilities my family had built, specifically inside the control building. The escorts were stationed around the building because I had refused to let them enter.

A shoulder-length, black-haired woman was standing before me.

She was Akane, whom I had previously assigned to gather important information about this country, since I could not do so myself while the Boyars and Alisha were keeping such a close watch on me.

"How has your surveillance been going?" I asked Akane.

"Someone has been using your appearance to commit crimes," she replied. "As you ordered before coming here, I have been spying on those who suspected the House Garcia of being involved in the deaths of Duke Alvaro and Tsar Feodor. As a result, I found someone who looked exactly like you killing a Boyar after he had met with another Boyar."

Just as I expected.

There was no doubt about it. Lilith was behind all of this.

Duke Alvaro must have ordered her to commit crimes while wearing my face so that the Boyars would pressure Alisha into keeping me in this country.

"Lastly, someone with the same appearance as you attacked a Boyar's entourage tonight," Akane continued. "However, the attempt failed. The Boyar was only injured, while several Knights and Mages accompanying him were killed after fighting that person who looked like you."

I suspected Lilith had deliberately spared the Boyar this time, leaving behind a witness who could report to Alisha and provide strong evidence for keeping me here.

If that was indeed the case, then once I returned, Alisha would begin by imprisoning and interrogating me.

After that, nothing would stand in the way of Duke Alvaro and Lilith carrying out whatever plan they had prepared for this country.

If their objective was to harvest as many human souls as possible, then they would certainly act in the capital.

The two of them alone would not be capable of accomplishing something on that scale.

That meant they had prepared reinforcements.

For that reason, I suspected they would unseal the Ancestral Demon—Devorus, who was sealed somewhere far to the north of this country.

However, even that would not be enough.

"What are your next orders?" Akane asked.

"Search for magic circles hidden in places rarely visited by humans throughout every corner of the capital," I replied. "Report to me when the Festival begins, specifically after the theatrical performance ends."

Even if they tried to obtain Devorus while he remained sealed, their forces would still be insufficient to confront the entire capital on their own.

That was why I was certain Princess Lilith had hidden the troops she brought with her and would summon them when the time came.

"Akane, how are things in Ragusa City?" I asked.

"A ship is ready to depart whenever you are," Akane replied. "Are you really certain you want to go there? I don't think their race is particularly fond of humans, you know. They might kill you on sight."

"Don't worry. I've already taken everything into account," I answered casually.

After finishing her report, Akane left without being noticed by the Knights watching me.

Her abilities as a Ninja made her perfectly suited for moving through the shadows without being detected by those around her.

I then gazed at the stars scattered across the night sky outside the window.

This country would soon be struck by another disaster...

If we met in battle, would I be able to defeat her without using my Awakening?

I didn't know.

One thing was certain.

When I fought her, I could not use the methods I had relied upon against my previous enemies.

---

[Alisha POV]

The sun had yet to rise, yet there was already a knock at my bedroom door.

Normally, Leon would never wake me this early, especially after I had held a meeting with the Boyars until midnight the previous night.

When I opened the door, a white-haired servant stood before me with a worried expression.

"Leon, why did you wake me up so early?" I asked him.

"The Boyars wish to speak with you again, Alisha," Leon replied. "This time, Boyar Vidir has just arrived, and it seems he has brought some important information."

Important information?

Was the matter he intended to report really that urgent?

I didn't know, but I hurriedly changed my clothes before returning to the room where I had met with the Boyars the previous night.

When I arrived, four people were already waiting for me.

However, one of them was covered in fresh injuries. His right hand had been severed, while his right eye was closed as though he had been blinded.

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"What happened to you, Boyar Vidir?" I asked the newly arrived Boyar.

The Boyar remained silent and merely stared at me.

Boyar Lenin stood up, prompting me to shift my gaze toward him.

"Princess Alisha, Boyar Vidir and his entourage were just attacked," Boyar Lenin explained.

I looked back toward Boyar Vidir, seeking confirmation after hearing Lenin's words.

The mutilated man nodded, confirming what I had just been told.

"Black eyes and black hair. He appeared from the darkness of night and attacked us," Boyar Vidir finally said. "Seven Knights and three Mages I brought with me were killed. He even nearly took my life if not for one of my loyal followers sacrificing himself to give us enough time to escape."

"Black eyes and black hair? Don't tell me that..."

"That's right, Your Highness. It was Raul de Garcia who attacked my entourage last night."

Boyar Vidir interrupted me before I could finish.

How could this have happened?

Hadn't I assigned fifteen Knights to monitor his movements when he left the capital?

Could it be that he had killed all the Knights I assigned to him?

"Your Highness! Please, don't wait until the number of casualties among us increases!" Boyar Lenin approached me. "First Boyar Makarov, and now Boyar Vidir. It is obvious that he is targeting those of us who suspect him so that his plan to seize control of this country through his marriage to you can proceed without interference!"

No.

If he truly intended to target the Boyars, I didn't think he would act so openly.

Something was wrong.

I was certain there had to be an explanation behind all of this.

Should I use Dream Catcher on Raul de Garcia?

If I only used it for one night, I didn't think its effect would shorten my remaining lifespan by much.

However, if I did so, I would be unable to use the ability again for quite some time.

"Your Highness, if you insist on refusing to detain that man despite the clear evidence before us, then none of us will support your government for as long as you remain the leader of this nation!"

Boyar Lenin suddenly gave me a troubling ultimatum.

I fell silent, unable to answer his words.

Losing half of the Boyars' support would be disastrous, especially if another catastrophe were to strike this country.

Judging from the looks in the eyes of all four of them, their decision already seemed unanimous.

If I was not careful with how I responded, this country could once again fall into crisis.

And yet, my instincts told me that Raul was not the mastermind behind the series of murders that had occurred recently.

"Gentlemen, could you please leave Princess Alisha alone for a moment?" Leon said, breaking the silence. "I promise that Princess Alisha will give you an answer within ten minutes."

Leon...

What was he trying to do?

It was rare for him to take the initiative like this.

The Boyars nodded before beginning to leave the room one by one.

Now, only Leon and I remained.

I looked at my loyal servant, my childhood friend, and the closest man I had left in my life.

"What do you want, Leon?" I asked him. "You took an action I never ordered you to take."

I stared at him seriously.

This time, he did not avert his gaze as he usually did.

I could feel an intense determination burning within his eyes.

"Alisha... What is stopping you from arresting that man?" Leon asked gently. "All the evidence is clear, and if we delay any longer, the damage caused by that man will only grow worse!"

Leon thought the same way.

However, I knew that his opinion was influenced by his desire to stop my marriage to Raul de Garcia, rather than being purely for the sake of the nation.

The same applied to the Boyars.

They were too quick to judge the situation before them.

"Listen, Alisha..."

Leon walked closer and placed both hands on my shoulders.

"Why are you so determined to maintain your status with that man? You know about your own illness, don't you? This marriage is nothing more than a false agreement that benefits only our side! So it makes no difference whether the two of you eventually marry or not. But if you lose the support of the Boyars, then the future of this country is certain to stagnate, and the prosperity you dream of will never come to pass!"

Leon's words pierced straight into the deepest part of my heart.

It was true.

From the beginning, we had intended to deceive the House Garcia through this agreement, using their wealth to inject the funds necessary to restore the destruction caused by the monster attacks on our country.

Although I had once said that I would do anything for the prosperity of this nation, stabbing in the back those who had helped us when our country was in crisis went against every moral standard I possessed.

Even if he was the suspected culprit behind the series of murders currently taking place, I still wasn't convinced that Raul was guilty.

Father once told me, 'It is better to regret trusting someone than to regret not trusting them.'

To be honest, I still didn't understand the difference between the two.

But...

If I didn't arrest that man, I had no way to convince some of the Boyars to continue supporting the next government.

"I understand, Leon..." I said as I removed his hands from my shoulders. "I've made my decision."

.

.

.

After convincing the Boyars, I waited in my room that afternoon.

A letter had arrived informing me that Raul de Garcia would return to this palace at exactly noon.

I had already decided to arrest him here, by myself.

Leon initially disagreed with my plan, but I insisted on carrying it out.

There was something I needed to discuss with him privately before I decided to end our relationship.

—Knock! Knock! Knock!

There was a knock at the door.

"Your Highness, I have brought Raul de Garcia."

It was Leon's voice from the other side of the door.

"Let him in," I ordered.

I stood up and walked toward the window, looking out at the snow falling over the buildings within the Romanova Palace Complex.

It was beautiful...

In another six months, I would no longer be able to see this scenery.

—Tap... Tap... Tap...

I heard the door open and footsteps entering the room.

Turning around, I saw a black-haired man with one blind eye.

"Welcome back, Raul," I greeted him. "How was your night?"

"Nothing special, Your Highness. The production facility my family built is located far from the urban area," the man replied. "I simply spent the night accompanied by silence. I suppose I'm more accustomed to that than staying in crowded places."

"I see," I murmured.

I then looked into his eyes.

Our gazes locked.

Raul's expression began to change.

It was because an intense cold must have begun spreading through both of his legs.

The entire room was also beginning to freeze thanks to the magic I had just activated.

"What is the meaning of this, Princess Alisha?" the man asked without showing any sign of confusion.

Was he not surprised that I had suddenly attacked him here?

"I will be honest with you..."

At the very least, this was what I had to do if I wanted to bring this to an end.

"I have no more than half a year left to live."

The ice began creeping upward from Raul's feet toward his knees.

He offered no resistance whatsoever.

"That is why the agreement between our families was nothing more than a deception, so that the House Garcia would provide us with their wealth to rebuild this country without receiving anything in return for what you had given us."

For some reason, it felt as though I were confessing my sins.

The illness I suffered from was a secret known only to Father, Leon, and Rasputin.

When my engagement to Raul was announced as an agreement last year, I already had very little time left to live.

That meant that once Duke Alvaro's wealth had been invested into our country, I would certainly have died not long after our marriage took place.

Father and I had planned to fabricate my death so that it would appear to be a murder.

That way, the Garcia family would never suspect that we had violated our original agreement.

"I see," Raul murmured, still staring at me with those black eyes of his.

By then, my ice magic had already covered Raul's waist.

Even so, I detected no regret, anger, or disappointment in his expression.

"Then why did you lure me here and capture me like this after my family helped the Tsardom of Slavia, Princess Alisha?"

Raul's question pierced my heart with guilt.

But I had to remain strong.

Everything was for this country.

Everything was for the future of the Slavian people.

"Raul de Garcia... You are temporarily under arrest on suspicion of murdering a Boyar and Misha Stronov."

My ice magic began covering his entire body, leaving only his neck and head exposed.

"Furthermore, as the ruler of the Tsardom of Slavia, I have decided to end our engagement here."

The words had been spoken.

There was no turning back this time.

All I could do was move forward and see how this situation would end.

I hoped that my decision was the right one and that it would not lead my country into another abyss of disaster.