Heinley's voice was light, as if he had heard something utterly insignificant.
"I didn't realize you still couldn't accept Roam's situation. I had heard the Duchess of Roam was quick with calculations."
"My, aren't you being rather hasty?"
The Duchess of Roam smiled and lifted her chin. She knew Heinley had better presence than the lacking Maksel, but she still held onto the thought that he remained merely the First Prince.
If he desired the Crown Prince's position, support from the nobility was essential, and among them, Roam was a great noble family with many retainers even while cornered like this.
Moreover, was it not a family with deep ties to the Imperial Family for generations!
The Duchess of Roam's gaze sharpened.
The long relationship between the Imperial Family and Roam was not merely made of spiritual bonds. They had a practical relationship, and generally, such connections meant various secrets exchanged hands.
"It seems you have no idea how closely Roam has worked with the Imperial Family all this time."
"As a member of the Imperial Family, how could I not know?"
Seeing Heinley's completely unruffled face, the Duchess of Roam struggled to maintain her composure.
That ease must stem entirely from ignorance. She was certain of it.
He thinks he knows everything, but surely he knows nothing. Why else would a great noble be a great noble?
Roam's position was deep and vast, far too much for that green prince to fill with his meager talents.
"You won't be able to bear Roam's absence."
"Hmm, there's something the Duchess is overlooking."
Heinley clicked his tongue as if troubled and pressed his index finger firmly between his brows. Yet his leisurely attitude remained unchanged.
"The seat Roam occupied doesn't necessarily require Roam."
The Duchess of Roam's eyelashes trembled.
"Such an attitude is reckless. It seems you don't have a single person nearby offering candid advice."
"Those words suit the Duchess better than me. To think you'd try to spirit away a criminal."
"I did no such thing. I merely offered a final farewell, cherishing the family affection we once shared."
"Save those words for the investigator."
At Heinley's words, the Duchess of Roam let out a hollow laugh. She widened her eyes as if hearing nonsense and raised her voice.
"Are you saying you'll hand me over to the investigation unit?"
"Is there any reason I shouldn't?"
"I am the Duchess of Roam."
"Indeed. It's fortunate you know that well yourself."
Heinley, who had been engaging in conversation with a leisurely expression all along, slowly erased his smile. Gazing at the Duchess of Roam with cold eyes, Heinley spoke in a measured tone.
"That name will become your shackles."
Roam's name as shackles.
The Duchess of Roam involuntarily recalled Lilia's final cry.
"Roam will be trampled, collapsed, and burned to nothing but ashes! Do you understand? It's all over!"
That terrible curse.
"Take her away."
The knights restrained the Duchess of Roam.
She couldn't hide her humiliation as her face twisted. However, this time she couldn't shake off those rough hands.
* * *
[Captain, Soana is nowhere to be seen!]
At Zigor's restless cry, Mori also looked around anxiously with uneasy eyes. Nadev didn't say anything separately, but showed signs of looking for Soana.
Having tidied the spot where we slept, I calmly looked back at the Durahans.
Without me saying anything, Nadev seemed to realize something just from seeing my face and let out a long sigh.
[I'll quickly look around the area!]
Zigor flapped his wings busily. It was Nadev who stopped such Zigor.
[That won't be necessary.]
[But Nadev, Soana is…….]
[Zigor.]
Zigor hesitated at Nadev's firm call. Only then did Zigor seem to realize something as he looked back at me.
Watching the Durahans' conversation with subtle eyes, I swallowed a sigh and placed Mori into a silk pouch.
I could avoid meeting Zigor and Nadev's eyes under the pretext of securing the pouch at my waist.
"She wanted it."
Even after tying the knot firmly, I kept fiddling with it to buy time. I didn't have the confidence to look Nadev and Zigor in the eyes.
"Too much time had already passed to keep putting it off. So last night, I gave her rest."
As I finished the last words and glanced up, Zigor nodded with a startled expression.
[……Y-yes, that's good. That Soana found rest, truly…….]
Nowhere in that trembling voice was there any hint of celebration. However, Zigor probably had nothing else to say. Nadev quietly extended his head toward such Zigor.
Zigor sat on Nadev's head, curled his body round, and buried himself in the mane.
Just seeing his bowed head, I could tell how heartbroken Zigor was right now.
'The remaining Durahans are now three.'
Mori quietly coiled in the silk pouch, Nadev walking silently ahead, and Zigor sitting sullenly on his head.
When I lose all of them, my end will be decided too.
"So where do we need to go?"
While I was conversing with the Durahans, Zenon had discussed future plans with Samuel.
Perhaps due to the fact that few Durahans remained, Zenon's expression was also quite dark. Maybe he was even considering his own death.
Because he said he would die following me if I find rest through death.
"There's a bridge behind the main tower connecting to the rear ramparts. Go up there and cross the bridge, and a path leading beyond the ramparts will appear."
"Beyond the ramparts?"
Zenon, listening to Samuel's explanation, frowned with a puzzled face.
"According to the map, the rear of Belladia Castle is a cliff."
"Correct."
Samuel, who had been talking with Zenon, turned his gaze to me. Come to think of it, Samuel's gaze had seemed excessively calm and composed for some time now.
"That place is the final destination."
The cliff behind Belladia Castle……
Somehow, it felt like a place I would know.
Imagining the final destination we would reach, I was quietly meeting Samuel's eyes when I tilted my head at a question that arose late.
'When the last authority is realized, what happens to Samuel?'
* * *
The main tower was the primary space where the past Captain lived.
However, it wasn't decorated magnificently like the interiors of typical nobles' castles.
It could be that whatever was decorated had rotted away with the flow of time, but….
More than that, it looked like a practical place that had only the necessities from the start.
Fortunately, the ceiling was high and the corridor wide enough for Nadev, transformed into a horse, to pass through.
As soon as we entered, the path split in two. Samuel took the lead and chose the direction.
[Does this place ring a bell?]
Zigor, who had been sullen, spoke to me quietly.
Glancing at Zigor, I answered in an indifferent voice.
"I remember you running across here and rolling around refreshingly."
[Argh, why do you remember that?]
Startled, Zigor flapped his wings. Whether he grabbed Nadev's mane with his talons in the process, Nadev let out a small groan of pain.
[My body is frailer than Mori's!]
Mori, who had been quietly waiting her turn inside the pouch, poked her head out at the sudden cry.
[W-what's that all of a sudden? Zigor.]
[I am the brave knight Zigor, Captain!]
[Zigor, stop plucking the fur.]
Nadev's voice mixed with sighs didn't seem to reach Zigor. A few strands of Nadev's long mane fluttered and fell to the floor.
Watching the small Durahans causing a commotion, my heart eased a little. Perhaps because there were few of them, the early days of the journey came to mind.
After gaining the ridiculous title of the Resurrected One, that journey where I set out determined to go somewhere.
'Those were good times.'
Funnily enough, thinking about it now, that was true. Meeting the Durahan who demanded I find his head out of nowhere, and that very moment when a small bird introduced himself as a terrifying knight.
How peaceful was I then. Even bringing in my entire life before death, there would have been no time as comfortable and free as that.
Lost in that feeling while walking, I stopped as a large figure blocked my path.
"Sir Samuel?"
Samuel, having reached the end of the corridor, stopped in front of a large door.
Gazing quietly at the firmly closed door, Samuel slowly began to speak.
"This is a hall that was used as a banquet hall or dining hall as needed."
He probably didn't bring this up just to explain the interior structure of this main tower anew.
Looking at Samuel who wouldn't readily open the door with strange eyes, Zenon, watching, cautiously stepped forward and opened the door.
"……It's wider than I thought."
As Zenon said, it was a wide space. With a space like this, it would have been easy to use flexibly as a banquet hall or dining hall as Samuel said.
Thinking that as I entered the hall, I suddenly stopped walking.
It really was a wide space.
Wide enough to be suitable for fighting with swords.
"Ha…."
I would be giving rest to another Durahan here too.
Now only three Durahans remained, and among these three, who else would I….
Nadev and Zigor entered the hall, passing by me who stood still. As if the bickering earlier had all been a lie, both were quiet.
"Nadev, Zigor."
At my call, both looked at me simultaneously.
"Who is it?"
Neither answered. I'd find out anyway, was there any reason to keep their mouths shut?
Gritting my teeth, I parted my lips to ask again.
"Here……."
But I couldn't finish the question. Trying to force out a voice that wouldn't come, I ultimately twisted my face and lowered my gaze.
A fierce headache struck. It wasn't from using authority or anything like that.
This was accumulated pain. Pain that kept repeating and being learned. The inner feelings I'd been trying to ignore became an awl and pierced my insides.
"That's enough now."
Wouldn't it be okay to stop now.
A faint murmur flowed between my gritted lips.
"I don't want you to……."
disappear anymore.