༺ The Verdi Siblings ༻
“Yawn.”
It was already past noon.
People momentarily paused their bustling footsteps to have a hearty lunch, and Deia, who had been curled up on the bed while others sat at the dining table, stretched herself out.
She felt refreshed and light, perhaps because she overslept for quite a while before waking up.
A gentle smile automatically formed on her face as she began brewing coffee in her pajamas. Here, there wasn’t any need to worry about the servants’ glances, no need to rise with a frown due to fief duties, and no need to start working as if chased by something.
“I was so nervous when I entered Graypond.”
When she heard that Deus surrendered himself, she thought another significant incident was about to unfold.
However, after arriving here and confirming it herself, it turned out he was actually favored by the King.
Furthermore, Deia became even more at ease after learning that he also resolved Princess Eleanor’s chronic disease.
“He says he has to complete some trial or something, but I’m sure he’ll handle it well.”
Slurp.
Deia moistened her throat with coffee and gazed gently out the window.
Having been allowed to stay in a guest room in the Royal Palace, she wore a big, satisfied smile.
When she heard they would serve a separate meal for her, she wondered what it would be.
Filled with anticipation, a faint smile crept onto her face.
“Having a vacation is so wonderful.”
Before coming here, she left her fief duties to the eldest son, Darius. Knowing him, she was sure he was handling it adeptly.
She took another sip of coffee.
Wondering which coffee beans they were using that made it so tasty, she briskly walked to check the packaging containing the coffee beans.
However, at that moment…
Clunk!
The door suddenly swung open and knights clad in armor rushed in. Startled and wondering what was happening, Deia instinctively stepped back.
Srrrng!
Along with the chilling sound of swords being drawn, they pointed at her neck. The knights’ movements were precise, disciplined, and well-trained.
Among them, a man who wore a lone red embellishment on his headgear spoke, he appeared to be the leader.
“Deia Verdi! You are arrested for treason against the Kingdom!”
“Wh-what?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
Just yesterday, she kneeled before the king to build a positive image.
‘Deus?‘
But Deia quickly began to rack her brain.
It must be that the trial that Deus said he was going to complete had gone wrong. With that thought, Deia shouted in anger.
“Where is Deus! What about him?!”
“Shut up, Criminal!”
“You can at least tell me that, can’t you? He’s my brother! What happened to Deus?!”
Although she knew she was making a scene here, she had already gone too far to back off.
Anxiety throbbed in her chest, making it impossible to ignore.
However, one of the knights who had sneaked behind Deia precisely struck the back of her head.
She collapsed to the floor like her consciousness had gone out like a flame.
It was this moment that Deia’s vacation came to an end.
* * *
“Ugh.”
Hearing Deia’s groans, I slowly turned my gaze to the side.
When she was thrown into prison unconscious, I was a bit taken aback. But now, she was sitting next to me, leaning on my shoulder.
If someone saw this sight, they might have mistaken her for simply sleeping.
“Ouch, my head.”
Waking up, Deia furrowed her brow and shook her head repeatedly.
When she met my eyes and realized she was leaning on me, she quickly moved away, fluttering like a startled chicken.
“Whoa, what the heck?!”
Because she suddenly moved with intensity, Deia clutched her head. It seemed that a headache had unexpectedly struck, her expression twisted in discomfort.
After a brief moment passed, she regained her composure and noticed my jacket hanging on her shoulders.
I thought it would be cold since she was just in simple pajamas whilst in the chilly prison air. So, I draped my jacket over her.
“Ugh, it’s so cold.”
Deia looked furtively at me. Now, wearing my jacket, she cleared her throat before asking me.
“I roughly understand the situation, you know? We ended up like this because of some trial or something, right?”
As expected from Deia.
When I nodded at her in acknowledgment, she sighed heavily.
“What was it exactly? The King seemed to favor you quite a bit. How did everything change in just one day?”
“…I can’t answer that.”
This was a problem that Deia shouldn’t inquire about recklessly, because, with one wrong move, the Griffin Royal Family’s origins could be uprooted.
“You can’t answer my question even though I got involved in this too?”
Deia, gesturing subtly with her hand, was trying to point out the situation. But still… there was no way I could respond to that.
“Sigh, okay. What’s the point of forcing someone who won’t talk?”
She pouted a little before coming to my side again, leaning on my shoulder like before.
“It’s because it’s too cold.”
After spitting out words with a bad attitude, she turned her gaze outside the bars.
They weren’t inside the prison under the Mage Tribunal Judges, but an underground prison directly managed by the Royal Family.
Not only were there many imprisoned criminals here but also quite a number of evil spirits as well.
It would be possible for me to escape using them.
‘However, the problem lies in the Archmage’s apprentices.‘
They were watching me menacingly, ready to turn me into ashes the moment they saw any sign of me using mana.
Furthermore, a kind of shackle on my wrists partially blocked my mana. Thus, I would inevitably lose if I engaged in a battle of speed.
“So, are we going to be executed together now?”
“…That’s a possibility.”
“A possibility? Are there any other options?”
I confirmed her suspicion in silence, recalling King Orpheus’s last reaction.
With tears streaming down his face, he ordered my arrest, filled with apology and lament.
‘The sight of King Orpheus breaking down that I personally witnessed is different from what I had seen before.‘
It differed from the King’s destructive path, where he avoided his responsibilities, succumbing to complete insanity and escaping reality.
Now, he clearly acknowledged what needed to be done, and that was why he arrested me to cover up the truth.
‘This kind of situation has never happened on any of the routes.‘
After discovering the truth, there were only awkward endings where he asked Aria, the protagonist, to keep silent for the sake of the Kingdom, or an ending where the King went crazy and didn’t remember anything.
There was no ending where he directly ordered someone to be arrested like this.
I saw a glimmer of hope.
He was unable to bear responsibility and yet was also unable to kill me to cover it up completely—that was the meaning of my arrest.
Perhaps by now, King Orpheus was alone, struggling with his thoughts in anguish and pulling his hair out.
He might be drowning his sorrows in alcohol or banging his head against the wall. Or he might be stuck in the secret passage, reading all related records.
I didn’t know what choice he would make.
‘If this situation leads to an execution, I’ll have to break out of prison, even by force.‘
Before having an audience with the King, I secretly hid Lemegeton in a place known only to the Dark Spiritualist and me.
Additionally, the Dark Spiritualist was currently following the King closely, checking what decision he would make.
That was why I could calmly wait inside the prison. However, if the King decided to execute us…
‘At that time, I would have no other way.‘
I could only hold on to this way out.
After escaping using Lemegeton and necromancy, I would threaten to bring the Royal Family’s secrets to light, thus holding sway over Orpheus.
‘Well, it’s not what I want to happen.’
In the end, the story would unfold in the direction I desired.
Then, the King would have no choice but to officially acknowledge me.
However, I didn’t want to achieve that through a filthy fight in the mud.
I hoped it would happen through the King’s genuine blessings and a smile.
“Hey.”
I was organizing my thoughts when Deia tapped me on the shoulder, calling me. When I met her eyes, she looked at me strangely.
“You need to tidy up your hair a bit. It’s too long.”
“…You’re surprisingly calm in this situation.”
“Regardless, our heads will be separated from our bodies, won’t they? After all, I am not the one making the decision. On another note, your hair is truly too long.”
She was right.
The strands of my hair were on the verge of poking into my eyes. The hair behind my head had also grown long enough to touch my neck.
“I’ll help you cut it later. It’ll feel refreshing once you go completely bald.”
Deia played with my hair as she pleased.
However, I warned her because it made my face itch when she brushed my hair into it.
“Tone down your pranks.”
“…I’m just bored.”
Deia’s murmuring voice mixed with the sound of approaching footsteps and a staff tapping on the ground.
Seeing the Archmage’s apprentices startled and hastily greeting the person, I had a feeling I knew who it was.
It was Archmage Ropelican Linus.
He was looking at me from a standing position outside the bars, lost in thought for a moment.
I chose to remain seated with Deia, instead keeping my gaze fixed on him without getting up.
Ropelican sighed and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry.”
It was an apology that carried a variety of meanings.
* * *
The Verdi family’s eldest son.
Guardian of the Northern Mountain Range.
Giant of the North, and many more monikers.
Darius Verdi, who had acquired some rather dramatic nicknames, was sitting on his bed with his arms crossed in a small hotel room in Graypond.
Because of his build, the room had become even smaller. Currently, he was silently waiting for the news.
Clang.
The door opened right on cue and a group of people entered. They were the trio of the Scrapyard Nomads, a force leading the resistance movement in Clark Republic.
Although they were rude rebels who didn’t bother to knock, Darius wasn’t bothered by such things.
As they trained together, Darius found himself getting along well with the members of the Scrapyard Nomads, even more than he expected.
Surprisingly, they held no grudges and were much more broad-minded than he thought, coolly accepting defeat, which Darius found appealing.
However, he still didn’t like their leader, Findenai.
Anyway.
The Scrapyard Nomads’ members rushed in anxiously while making a fuss.
“The rumors are true. They’ve been arrested! They even seized the Verdi family’s carriage in the Royal Palace!”
“Hmph.”
There was only one reason why Darius was here.
Following Deia’s departure for Graypond, he, too, came to Graypond, trailing her secretly.
From Deia’s perspective, she advised Darius to stay in the fief, fearing that she might be captured along with Deus and executed as a traitor.
It was indeed a crisis for the family since it had been revealed that a family member was a Dark Mage.
However, as the eldest son, Darius couldn’t just sit idly in Norseweden, so he secretly followed.
Until yesterday, everything seemed quite fine.
There were no signs of an arrest or encirclement by the Kingdom’s army. Instead, Deus and Deia spent a warm time together.
Even for Darius, who regularly received reports from the Scrapyard Nomads, it was surprising information, but it also brought a sense of satisfaction.
However, today…
Upon learning that all of Deia’s gifts for the King had been completely burnt and the carriage was seized, Darius couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
The meaning of that was clear.
Deus and Deia had been arrested.
It was unknown whether it was because Deus was a Dark Mage or for some other reason.
“Phew.”
Darius firmly gripped his sword.
“I guess I have to fulfill my role as the eldest son.”
Right now, if he made a move recklessly, it might not only endanger the lives of the two, but also result in the utter downfall of the Verdi family.
No, in fact, at this point, wasn’t it just a matter of time?
Perhaps it was already the end of the family’s extended history.
Setting aside such minor details, Darius took a deep breath and steeled himself before declaring with a sigh.
“I will come and rescue the two from prison.”
