< Chapter 5 - The Devil's Hand #7 >
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“I want to go with my beloved Prince Yude! Come on, I can’t let you go!”
“Well, that’s perfect. That’s all I have to do.”
Uther clapped his hands, and Cordelia blushed, shut her eyes tightly, and began to swear.
“Oh my god, really.”
“Yeah, I understand. I understand.”
As Uther agreed, Cordelia’s face turned even redder. Not from shame, but from anger.
“hey!”
“huh.”
“why!”
“uh.”
“Why is it me again? You, you can do it! That’s right! It doesn’t have to be me!”
Because Uther and Cordelia loved each other, it wasn’t that Cordelia loved Uther unilaterally.
As Cordelia’s eyes sparkled with excitement as if she had gained some great enlightenment, Uther shook his head.
“Ehehe, that’s not it.”
“Why, what, what isn’t it? Because of that damned syllable again?”
“No, no matter what, it’s not because of the nine-syllable pulse. Let’s just think about it rationally.”
Yuder made a rather large gesture with both hands as if to calm himself down, then stood up and continued speaking.
“Who has business in the North, you or me?”
“You.”
“That’s right, I am. Then, if I go, Cordelia wants to go with me, right?”
“however?”
“If I say that I don’t want to be separated from Cordelia and that I’ll ‘take’ Cordelia with me, then even though we love each other, it’s a bit… right?”
Uther smiled bitterly as if he was troubled, and Cordelia frowned once again.
Because it was just as Uther said.
There was a huge difference between Uther ‘taking’ Cordelia and Cordelia ‘following’ Uther.
“So, rationally speaking, it’s a situation where Cordelia should have appealed to follow Uther… If it had been the other way around, I would have done it. Seriously. I swear it.”
When Uther spoke, placing his hand on his chest as if he were swearing an oath, Cordelia’s expression suddenly crumpled.
“I hate you to death.”
“I’m sorry, I love you.”
“What is that crazy guy talking about?”
“I know.”
Uther smiled slyly and sat back down, and Cordelia also sat down, though her lips were pouting.
“Okay, let’s say we’re going together like that… We need to kiss each other for the information exchange and other things that will be happening tonight.”
“Is it because you caught Minos?”
“Yeah, Lucas did join in, but he was too big of a deal for the three of us to catch.”
If Minos had only fought against Yuder and his party, it could have been passed over as ‘Minos was just weak’, but the problem was that Minos had defeated none other than the fire mage Ronin in front of everyone.
If it had been said that Uther and Cordelia had defeated someone that strong, everyone would have thought it was strange.
“Um… Can’t you just say that you’re very tired and weak because you fought Ronin?”
“That would work, but since we’re even using our father’s name… I think it would be better to just open one card here to see the bigger picture.”
“You’re playing the game?”
“Come closer for a moment.”
As Yuder looked around again and spoke softly, Cordelia blinked and approached Yuder.
“therefore······.”
As Uther whispered a small explanation, Cordelia, who had been listening quietly, nodded at some point.
Because, as always, it was a fairly plausible story.
“Hey, by the way.”
“huh?”
“Do you really need to whisper this?”
There are only two anyway.
“No, I didn’t know. I just went with the flow.”
Cordelia narrowed her eyes as Uther smiled awkwardly.
‘Sometimes I don’t know if someone is stupid or smart.’
He’s obviously crazy smart, but I guess he’s a little bit clumsy.
‘Well, outboxers are people too.’
As Cordelia nodded, convinced by herself, Yuder smiled slightly and quickly spoke as if organizing his thoughts.
“Anyway, you get the general idea, right? I’ll tell the overall story, so just give me the gist.”
“okay.”
The event is this evening.
Uther and Cordelia looked at each other and nodded.
&
Trésien, one of the most luxurious lodgings in Languedoc, was busier than usual.
This is because all of the children of the twelve northern families who had been staying in Langest had moved to Trezian, and at night, guests from all over, including the Knights Templar, gathered.
While the Knights of the Blue Lion and the Langest Guard were guarding Tressian tightly, the leader of the Blue Lions, Sir Barua, the captain of the Langest Guard, and the mayor of Langest visited Tressian, and the magicians of the Red Dawn Tower, led by the flame wizard Ronin, also visited Tressian.
And at 8pm.
Yuder, standing in the conference room on the first floor of Trezian, began to speak in front of everyone.
“I met the Fairy Queen.”
“What?”
“The Fairy Queen. The queen of fairies. Oh, of course fairies have multiple queens just like humans. It’s not just one queen.”
Everyone in the conference room blinked and looked at each other at Yuder’s explanation.
No, weren’t you talking about how you defeated Minos?
Why are you suddenly talking about the Fairy Queen?
Moreover, you met the Fairy Queen?
“You’re confused, I understand. But it’s true. Miss Cordelia and I met the Fairy Queen. A few days before we arrived in Langest.”
As Yuder continued to speak calmly, the atmosphere in the conference room changed to ‘let’s listen first’.
Satisfied, Yuder continued speaking.
“It was a fantastic night with a very beautiful moon. The fairies, enchanted by Miss Cordelia’s dazzling appearance, approached her and asked if she would like to join the Fairy Queen’s nighttime fun.”
When Uther spoke, pointing at Cordelia, everyone’s eyes turned to her, and Cordelia blushed for a moment before lowering her head.
‘Hey, what the hell is that crazy guy talking about?’
It was true, but it was still embarrassing.
But Uther paid no attention and asked Cordelia.
“Miss Cordelia, right? The fairies came and said that Miss Cordelia was so beautiful and wanted to invite you to the Fairy Queen’s night out.”
“Uhh··· Yes······.”
Cordelia answered in a crawling voice, but no one in the conference room doubted her sincerity.
In any case, it was true that Cordelia was a peerless beauty. Moreover, it was cute to see her blushing with embarrassment.
“Anyway, in the midst of all that, a Bycon suddenly appeared and attacked us. I heard it was a guy who used to harass fairies a lot.”
The eyes of the wizards, led by Ronin, lit up at the mention of Bicorn.
This is because the demon that is as rare as the unicorn is the bicorn.
“This is the horn of the bicorn we caught that time. After Miss Cordelia and I defeated it together, we each took one.”
As Yuder gently shook the bicorn horn he had taken out of his bosom, amazement spread among the wizards.
“Wait a minute, can you show me?”
“Of course.”
Yuder readily complied with the wizards’ request and gave the horn of the bicorn to Jun, who was by his side.
“Oh, it’s true.”
“It’s true. It’s definitely the horn of the bicorn. It’s filled with the power of chaos.”
As the wizards each expressed their admiration, the atmosphere in the conference room changed slightly again.
It was as if he completely trusted Uder’s words.
“After repelling the Bykons, the fairies said that they should invite more people, and led Cordelia and me to the fairies’ banquet hall. And there, Cordelia and I met the Fairy Queen.”
“Wow.”
It was Sylvia who expressed her admiration.
Although she had a dignified appearance and was a peerless beauty, she was only eighteen years old and still a young girl.
If it had been a private matter, he would have come up to me right away and asked me all sorts of questions about the Fairy Queen.
After describing the Fairy Queen’s appearance in considerable detail for Sylvia, Uder turned back to Cordelia.
“The Fairy Queen gave us a gift for defeating Bycon: Moonlight.”
Now it was Cordelia’s turn.
Cordelia swallowed hard, then stood up with Moonlight in her hand and stood next to Uther.
“This is the Holy Staff Moonlight. It contains the powerful magic of the moon.”
As Cordelia held Moonlight forward, not only the wizards but also the knights showed interest.
And Uther was satisfied.
Because the atmosphere has already been created.
From now on, as long as you don’t make excessive claims like “I made meju with red beans,” whatever you say will sound pretty believable.
“Moonlight had the magical power of the moon that had been accumulating for the past hundred years. During the fight with Minos, Lady Cordelia released all that power at once… and as a result, she was able to defeat Mine, who was greatly exhausted from the fight with Lord Ronin.”
There was no need to mention the Sun’s Necklace or the Bellastine’s Magic Circle.
‘Anyway, Lucas doesn’t know much about Bellastine’s magic circle.’
As expected of a swordsman, he would have thought that he had just used some kind of magic, so he could have made up his mind as much as he wanted.
“So that’s how it really happened?”
The leader of the Blue Lions, Sir Barua, gave Uder the answer he wanted most, and like dominoes falling, everyone in the conference room began to show expressions of understanding.
‘Okay, it worked.’
Lucas, who actually participated in the fight, nodded his head in agreement, which was a very positive sign.
Now, no one will object to this.
‘I hope Father’s health… goes well.’
The reason why Yuder chose the card called Fairy Queen.
‘The Fairy Queen told me.’
Something big is going to happen in Langest.
He also told me the location, saying that it was a place where ominous energy gathered.
‘I had no choice but to use my father’s name because I thought you wouldn’t believe me if I told you it was the Fairy Queen. I’m truly sorry. I will gladly accept any punishment.’
Since Sir Barua had told him that the source of the information was Count Bayer, it was clear that Count Bayer would question Uder as to where he had obtained such information.
So, we turn to the Fairy Queen, who is the source of that information and whose identity we cannot verify.
‘And… what’s important is that we managed to stop it somehow.’
Thanks to Uder’s information, we were able to capture nearly seventy demon followers, and thus prevent the attack.
Count Bayer was a man who judged merit and demerit fairly, so if he had achieved this level of merit, he would have covered up the demerit of selling his name.
‘Perfect.’
As Uther smiled with satisfaction, Cordelia, who had been watching from the side, narrowed her eyes.
The skill to create a story by mixing truth and lies, and the acting ability to tell lies in front of so many people without being nervous.
Wasn’t Outboxer 009’s former job a conman?
‘There is a possibility!’
It was when Cordelia was getting excited again, even snorting.
“Hey, I can see what you’re thinking. Anyway, let’s get out of here.”
As before, Uther gently poked Cordelia’s side and, with Cordelia screaming very quietly, he got down from the stage and returned to his seat.
After that, the story flowed according to Uder’s thoughts.
“The purpose of this attack is unclear, so I would like the children of the twelve northern families to remain in their quarters until reinforcements arrive from their families, even though it may be somewhat inconvenient.”
The purpose is unclear.
Only Uther and Cordelia knew that the Devil’s Hand was after Lucas and Cordelia.
That would be the case, since the Devil’s Hand fighters did not know their purpose in the first place, and Minos, who knew their purpose, died a violent death.
No matter how much they tortured and intimidated the captured Devil’s Hand fighters, nothing would come out of it.
‘This also needs to be hidden for now.’
If it becomes known, it will become more difficult to move with Cordelia.
Of course, they had to prepare for additional attacks from the Devil’s Hand, but it would be difficult for them to carry out another large-scale operation after the failure of such a large-scale operation.
“That’s all. The members of the Blue Lions will be on the first floor, so if you need any help or have any questions, please contact them at any time.”
The meeting was effectively dissolved with the end of Sir Barua’s story.
But no one left the conference room except for Sir Barua and his party.
They wanted to talk amongst themselves, but the two people they most wanted to talk to were Uther and Cordelia.
“Thank you so much. I survived thanks to you two.”
The first one to approach Uther and Cordelia was Sylvia.
Even Yudera couldn’t help but blush when she, a peerless beauty, expressed her gratitude with reddened eyes.
Cordelia let out a cheer without realizing it and then grabbed Sylvia’s hand and said.
“No, Sister. Were you really scared?”
“Yeah… But Cordelia even fought herself. She’s really amazing. And······.”
When Sylvia trailed off slightly, Cordelia tilted her head and spoke slowly.
Cordelia’s appearance as the Yellow Storm came to life only in front of Uther, but in front of other people, she appeared more as Cordelia Chase, the daughter of the Count Chase family.
“Can you tell me more? The story about the fight with the mines is scary, but… I want to hear more about the fairies, too.”
“Of course, sis. I’ll tell you everything.”
As Cordelia smiled brightly, this time Sylvia blushed slightly.
Because it was a truly beautiful smile, like a flower in bloom.
“Viola, you come here too. Let’s talk together.”
“···Yes, sister.”
Viola, who had been watching from the corner, flinched and trembled when Cordelia gestured, but judging from the slightly excited voice and eyes, she seemed very happy that Cordelia had called her.
“That’s what I mean… it was a night when the moon was really beautiful.”
As Cordelia began to talk, Felix, a Sylvia holic, joined in, and the wizards and knights who had become interested in the Fairy Queen also gathered.
‘Okay, leave that to Cordelia.’
Instead of going to Cordelia, Uther turned to Lucas, who was still standing.
And then, either by coincidence or because he had been looking this way from the beginning, Lucas’s eyes met mine.
“Your Majesty, may I talk to you?”
Lucas stood up from his seat and approached Yuder, asking.
It was a welcome development for Yuder, who already had something to talk about with Lucas.
“Of course, Prince Lucas. I also want to talk about the fight that happened that day. I really lived because of Prince Lucas.”
Lucas smiled bitterly as Yuder spoke smoothly.
Because Lucas had eyes too.
It was Uther and Cordelia who led the fight that day, not Lucas himself.
‘Okay, what do we do with this now?’
Yuder sat down with Lucas and pondered.
As I had told Cordelia, I had to subtly tell Lucas about the Sunflower while also inviting him to the North.
‘Let’s talk about the fight first.’
It starts with a fight with Minos, then drops a story about the nine-syllable pulse, and then hints at a cure.
It was the moment when Yuder, who had finished the rough design in his head, was about to open his mouth.
“Prince Yude.”
“Yes, Prince Lucas.”
When Yuder answered smoothly, Lucas took a deep breath and then spoke in a slightly lowered voice.
“Have you ever heard of the sun flower?”
Sunflower.
A soft smile appeared on Yuder’s face.
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< Chapter 5 - The Devil's Hand #7 > End
