Chapter 229: Arpentia (7)
Lian, who had been confronting the Man without a Head, suddenly flinched and shuddered at the aura he felt.
‘……This.’
There was no mistake.
It was Yuran’s aura.
And it was far sharper and more intense than what I had felt during the Underground Sewer Incident before.
‘As expected.’
I gave a small nod.
Contrary to Yuran’s expectations, what I realized from the desperate signal she had sent was not merely her presence—but that those outside, including her, had likewise been dragged into a difficult situation.
And that she had released her aura without regard for others’ eyes.
Even that alone helped me greatly in grasping the current situation.
‘Just why has everything become this tangled…….’
I thought that as I faced the Man without a Head standing firmly before us.
In my previous life, nothing like this—nothing at all—had happened.
All that had occurred was that a group of Dragons appeared in the skies above the Capital…….
I had vaguely expected and prepared myself for differences between memory and reality, but wasn’t this far too different?
To be honest, the current situation was far beyond what I could handle.
“…….”
I let out a small sigh.
‘Enough complaints. Then now…….’
What should I do now?
Unconsciously, I moved my hand to my waist.
It felt utterly empty.
Before entering the Auction House, I had surrendered all my weapons at the entrance. It was only natural.
Airos’ sword, which I always carried, was not here.
‘Then sending out a slash is out of the question.’
At least I still had my Necklace and the armor I wore beneath my clothes, but those were defensive equipment at best—not meant for offense.
I had hidden them on my person just in case, but at most I had only two daggers.
With just that, it was doubtful whether I could even buy time against that unidentified being, let alone fight it satisfactorily.
‘Well…….’
Even if I had my sword intact, whether I could truly confront that thing properly was honestly uncertain.
If I squeezed out every last bit of the abilities residing within my body and struggled desperately, I might at least manage to escape somehow.
‘But.’
The problem was that Velita stood right beside me.
I could not predict in the slightest how she would act, what variable she might become.
If I were being honest, I wished she would reveal even a fraction of the power she had been hiding all this time.
However……
“…….”
Though she stood behind me, I could feel it clearly.
Velita—she was quietly staring at me.
Because of that, her true intentions, which I already could not read at all, now felt like a fog so thick that I could not see even an inch ahead.
‘Is it because I used the Brand’s power earlier.’
It was then, as I muttered inwardly—
“Forgive my brief discourtesy.”
The Man without a Head spoke first.
His voice remained low and gentle, yet somehow unpleasant, like listening to a strange and unsettling discord.
“Though I stand here blocking the two of you, to speak honestly of my true feelings, I do not particularly wish to fight either of you.”
He made a polite gesture of inclining his head toward us.
“That is because, from my position, both of you are rather troublesome individuals to provoke in many respects.”
“……Hmm?”
Velita asked with interest, covering her lips with her fan.
The corners of her eyes curved elegantly.
“I do not believe someone like you would harbor any sense of reverence or respect toward a human member of the Imperial Family.”
“I always respect and honor all beings.”
the Man without a Head replied.
“Even if my counterpart were some insignificant creature with whom I could not communicate, that would still be so. How much more so when the counterpart is a human capable of communication, such as yourselves?”
“And someone like that casually tampers with corpses and uses them like your slaves?”
When I mocked him, he merely shrugged exaggeratedly and offered no particular answer.
He continued as though it did not matter.
“In any case, returning to the main subject…… as I said earlier, due to various overlapping circumstances, I do not wish to provoke either of you. Though, given the situation, I have been forced to block your path.”
“May I ask the reason?”
“Because you are a member of the Imperial Family.”
The Man without a Head shrugged.
“If you were male, perhaps it would be different, but troubling a lady is somewhat distasteful. Once might be excusable, but twice is rather…….”
He muttered as though genuinely reluctant, then added,
“And to be honest, provoking you and thereby making an enemy of the Empire would not be a profitable venture.”
“……I see. I understand.”
For some reason, Velita paused longer than usual before quietly nodding.
“In that case, Sir Lian Gwendil at my side—why would he be troublesome as well?”
“The gentleman beside you…… hmm.”
Instead of answering, the man adjusted his mask toward me.
It was as though he were gazing intently.
“Certainly not an unattractive face, yet hmm…… why would that gentleman…… be to that degree? Or is it a matter of preference…….”
At his muttered monologue, I asked, unable to hide my irritation,
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“……Ah, my apologies. It was nothing.”
He waved his hand slowly as if to excuse himself.
“In any case, to answer your question—if I were to provoke you, various inconvenient matters would arise for me. Thus, as with the lady, I would prefer to avoid becoming your enemy if possible.”
“……Then how about we pretend we never saw each other and part ways?”
At my suggestion, he made a gesture as though adjusting his mask again.
“That will not do.”
“You said we can’t go forward.”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll turn back. If we leave and go outside, that should be fine, right?”
“That will not do either.”
The masked man spoke firmly.
“Until everything is concluded, the two of you will have to remain here with me. If you stay quiet, I promise I will not touch a single hair on your heads. I swear it upon my name and upon the long-cherished wish I carry.”
“……Very well.”
Amidst that, Velita spoke in a quiet voice.
Her tone was as calm as ever, yet within it lingered a cold and razor-sharp edge, like a dagger.
“If you answer a few questions honestly, then as you wish, I shall remain quiet here until everything is concluded. Likewise, I stake my name—and the honor and history of the Imperial Family.”
After a brief moment of thought, the man asked,
“For questions that are difficult to answer, may I respond with silence?”
“Of course.”
“Then as you wish. Simply standing here in silence, staring at one another’s faces, would be rather awkward…… Consider it a small diversion. I shall gladly answer.”
Velita lightly waved her fan and posed her first question.
“I have heard that beings like you…… possess a certain power in even the words you utter lightly—an irresistible force. And that it binds yourselves as well. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is. Though whether you believe me or not is entirely the lady’s freedom.”
the Man without a Head replied.
“You said that provoking me would be troublesome because I am a member of the Imperial Family. Does that mean harming me would go against your beliefs, or against your plan?”
“Both.”
“Your plan. In that plan of yours, what role does the Imperial Family…… and further, this Empire, play?”
“I shall answer with silence.”
“I see. That must be difficult to answer.”
Velita nodded in acknowledgment.
Her gaze remained fixed on the masked man.
As always, her eyes revealed nothing of what she was thinking.
Yet within them, I could read a faint but unmistakable killing intent.
“Then I shall ask something more specific.”
“Please do.”
“Is there a member of the Imperial Family who has allied with you?”
“I shall answer with silence.”
“…….”
Velita fell silent for a moment.
Then she turned her gaze toward me.
Her eyes now held a deeper and more complex light than before.
“……I do not know much about that person.”
In an impeccably polite yet rigid voice, Velita asked me,
“Sir Lian Gwendil, you seem to know a certain amount about that person. If you do not mind, could you tell me as well?”
I hesitated briefly before speaking.
There was no reason to hide it anyway, and cooperating with her might help us overcome this situation.
“First of all, he deflects most ordinary attacks. Not only spears and blades, but even magic and flames left him unharmed.”
“And?”
“……He uses a technique that revives the dead.”
At my answer, the sound of Velita’s breath changed.
“If he drives a strange Iron Needle into the area where the heart should be, they move again—retaining much of their appearance from when they were alive. No, in some cases, they even become stronger.”
“Reviving the dead…… with an Iron Needle…….”
Miracle.
After murmuring briefly, Velita nodded.
Her gaze turned once more to the Man without a Head.
“Have you allied with the Holy Sun Church—and furthermore, with Cardinal Bruyant?”
“…….”
He answered with silence once again.
“Very well.”
A cold smile curved upon Velita’s lips.
“Then this is my final question.”
As she spoke, she stepped forward.
She came to stand directly beside me.
When her shoulder brushed against my arm, I felt her body trembling ever so slightly.
“You said troubling a member of the Imperial Family once might be excusable, but twice would be somewhat distasteful, did you not?”
“……Did I say that?”
“Yes. You said it in passing, but you certainly did.”
Velita smiled.
It was colder and more chilling than any smile she had shown before.
“The member of the Imperial Family you claimed to have troubled.”
Her eyes slowly—very slowly—hardened with coldness.
“That member of the Imperial Family wouldn’t happen to be—”
Velita Levymne Bestrang.
Second Princess of the Empire, and the eldest among all living members of the Imperial Family, asked in a low voice wrung from her depths,
“……You are not speaking of my older sister, whose grave was robbed when I was young, are you?”
The Man without a Head did not answer.
Velita did not wait for one.
Kwaaaaang!!!
She simply swung her hand, and at the same instant, with a thunderous roar as though space itself twisted, the Man without a Head was violently hurled backward.
The wall he crashed into shattered, and dust billowed thickly into the air.
“…….”
Velita’s shoulders were still trembling faintly, yet her eyes shone colder and firmer than ever before.
Like a blade honed over a long time, drawn solely for this very moment.