✦ Chapter 39 – Embers of Regret (5) ✦
What Agnes held in her hand was unmistakably the head of a high-level fiend.
“…………….”
The sudden turn of events required time to process, so Hedera reviewed the situation from the beginning.
Valken’s achievement — elimination of about 100 monsters.
Ezekiel’s achievement — identifying the cause of erosion and purifying the area.
Ezekiel had won by an overwhelming margin.
“……………”
The unexpected result left Hedera momentarily speechless.
Never before had she felt so unfamiliar with herself.
‘Was I… rooting for him this much?’
For Hedera, whose heart was usually calm, this sense of relief felt incredibly strange.
Unlike the princess, the mages didn’t hide their shock. The grand hall instantly erupted into commotion.
“The Inspector… The Inspector has won!”
“Im-impossible! Are you saying he accomplished all this and returned on the same day he left? How on earth?”
“He’s a genius. Truly, a genius has taken the position of Inspector.”
Until just a moment ago, they had been filled with worry, so the joy of unexpected news was even greater. Everyone began to express the shock they felt.
“Oh, my…”
“Master Widro! Pull yourself together!”
Widro shook his head vigorously.
The worries that had been so great were relieved in an instant, and he felt like his soul was leaving his body, but that wasn’t what was important now. What mattered was that they had won.
“What I’m experiencing now, it’s really reality, right?”
“Even illusion magic couldn’t be this absurd!”
“Indeed. It’s truly unbelievable…”
Widro stared blankly at Ezekiel.
In the past, when they thought of an Inspector of the Imperial Magic Tower, they had mostly seen people who only cared about their own interests, passing off work to Widro and Nox. No, that had been all of them.
This was the first time Widro had seen an Inspector who was so active and competent. He could only marvel.
“This Magic Tower… We were indeed the ones in the wrong.”
He and the others had been incompetent all this time.
It was also true that they had not believed in Ezekiel, the new Inspector. It was understandable that they had a hard time understanding him with their ordinary eyes, but they had been overly suspicious.
“Everyone, we should apologize to the Inspector later.”
Widro stroked his beard as he looked around.
The mages’ faces were alight with joy. It had been so long since the entire Imperial Magic Tower had shared good news and rejoiced together that they couldn’t remember the last time it happened.
“Will the Inspector now visit the Imperial Treasury?”
“What will he bring back to the Magic Tower? What indeed!”
As excitement mixed with anticipation, the place grew increasingly boisterous.
Second Imperial Princess Hedera allowed this scene to continue for a while before slowly parting her lips with a measured voice.
“Enough.”
Though not a royal command, it had the same effect.
The commotion ceased instantly, and everyone turned their attention to the princess.
“Imperial Magic Tower Inspector.”
The Second Princess gazed steadily at the Inspector.
“…Well done.”
Ezekiel smiled slightly.
“It was nothing.”
~~••~~••~~
Helplessness.
The feeling of wanting to do something, yet being unable to do anything.
Or the realization that no matter what you do, it’s all futile.
Valken knew all too well the tragedy of helplessness. It had been with him since his early childhood, when he was brutally beaten in an alleyway simply for being a beast-kin.
— Filthy beastkin brat.
— Why don’t you get out of our village?
His parents, victims of discrimination and power struggles, died while young Valken could only hide in a closet, helpless to do anything. If his life were a book, this would always be the first chapter. Having suffered due to weakness, he resolved never to live weakly again.
Yes, if he became strong, wouldn’t everything change?
Of course, there was a vast gulf between intention and achievement. An enormous disparity.
Just recalling those events made Valken’s hands tremble. He often woke up in the middle of the night, his body drenched in sweat.
Eventually, Valken chose the sword.
He didn’t have the money to learn magic, and above all, he liked that he could hide his beastkin-like animal ears by wearing a helmet. He wielded the sword with manic dedication.
Of course, it wasn’t a smooth process. Valken unfortunately had no talent for swordsmanship, and he was so used to losing that he would despair even at the slightest setback.
So, he created fuel to burn himself.
Inferiority and anger.
These were the fuels Valken adopted. To trample those who trampled him, to stand above those who looked down on him, he burned his very soul.
Fortunately for him, his sweat did not betray him.
— Congratulations on joining. You’re now an imperial knight.
He bore fruit by spectacularly joining the Imperial Knights. That day, Valken was able to sleep peacefully for the first time in a long time.
Yes, just for that one day.
From the next day onward, Valken thought of only one thing.
…Now, what should I do now?
Trapped by this thought, he couldn’t do anything.
He had always compared himself to others, fueling his life with inferiority and anger to reach this point, but now what should drive him?
It wasn’t as fulfilling as he had imagined.
This was a fix, not a solution. It’s not as if his family would come back to life now.
He lost his goal. He became listless again.
In the midst of this, there was one opportunity that came his way.
— It seems they’re recruiting for the Imperial princess’s personal guard.
This chance encounter became a turning point in Valken’s life.
Second Princess Hedera.
The moment he first met her, he trembled. Unlike Valken, she was a perfect individual. From her lineage and bloodline to her abilities.
She was the complete opposite of Valken’s life, which had been ignoble in both origin and talent.
And Valken quickly reached a conclusion.
Yes, let’s make Hedera the goal of my life.
Let loyalty to my lord be my motivation.
— The ascension ceremony will be soon.
— A mere human, challenging the position of a dragon.
Valken could never be perfect. Never.
However.
If he, who was nothing but full of inferiority and flaws, could contribute to making Hedera, who was perfection itself, even more perfect? If he, who was so humble, could remain by the side of perfection?
Just thinking about it made Valken’s heart swell. It was a powerful life motivation.
— Report.
— I understand.
— Wait.
Of course, Hedera’s treatment of Valken was strictly professional, and she showed little interest in her personal guard. But Valken wasn’t disappointed in the least.
For Valken, born a beastkin, neglect and contempt were all too familiar. Hedera’s purely professional attitude towards him felt almost warm in comparison.
Certainly, there were times when he felt greedy.
Valken both assisted and depended on Hedera. There were times he wished she would pay more attention, times he yearned for even one more word from her.
But even that he could endure well.
Her Royal Highness, the Second Princess, was supposedly devoid of emotions.
Her Royal Highness, the Second Princess, treated everything professionally.
This premise was so firmly established.
How could one feel slighted when she treated everyone the same way?
Yes, until recently, that premise had been solid.
— Shall we talk?
On that day, facing Ezekiel, cracks began to form.
…What on earth was happening?
Valken knew well. Even when facing various crises in the celestial realm, Hedera’s heart had never wavered. She remained calm in any crisis, a calculating individual who never trusted others and thus never suffered losses. The Second Princess whom Valken served was synonymous with perfection.
It must have been that way.
In the face of that crisis, Valken volunteered for the wager. He tried to make sure that Ezekiel was completely defeated and that he would never appear before Hedera again.
Defeat.
But Valken was defeated.
It was a defeat without excuse. He had underestimated Ezekiel, and Ezekiel had won completely.
So began the performance report with a devastated heart.
But then.
— I’ll give you an opportunity.
For some reason, Hedera offered them an unprecedented opportunity right before he was about to give his performance report. The content was very absurd.
— Let’s conclude by rewarding both sides.
“………….!”
Valken was elated. He couldn’t help but feel deeply moved; he thought he understood why Hedera was offering this chance.
She must have already known the result of the wager. The Second Princess didn’t want her personal guard to be embarrassed. She was actually showing consideration.
For someone as lowly as Valken.
The Second Princess herself had shown concern.
She had, in her heart, been mindful of Valken…!
Valken immediately raised his voice with all his might.
— Your Highness, that is absolutely unacceptable.
Valken was fine with anything as long as Hedera was there.
If he could just remain as her personal guard, he was confident that he could endure any insult, and he was confident he could overcome even the most colossal failures.
Yes, thinking that Hedera was concerned about him made him feel as if strength was surging through him. As if he had been reborn.
But then.
However.
— The Ruiple region has been purified.
“………”
When the results were announced, an unbelievable scene unfolded before Valken, making his head spin.
The Second Princess, Hedera, was showing emotion.
A gaze directed solely at Ezekiel.
The nature of that emotion.
It was clearly relief.
“How…”
His teeth clenched. His body trembled violently.
It wasn’t a concern for him.
Hedera had been worried about Ezekiel.
“Why… Why?”
Valken couldn’t understand.
Wasn’t Hedera supposed to be a perfect being devoid of emotions? Why was she displaying such clear emotions? But what truly surprised Valken about himself was the realization that the emotion he felt towards Hedera at that moment was not betrayal.
Envy.
This was undoubtedly overwhelming envy.
He was envious of Ezekiel, who could so easily and simply elicit the princess’s emotions, even though he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Hedera’s emotions after countless years of dedication and service.
He was envious.
Oh, how truly envious he was.
He wished he could experience Hedera’s emotions too.
Even if just faintly, even if just once.
No matter how hard he tried, how much he admired her, how loyally he served, he couldn’t even imagine it… Why was it so easy for someone else?
Why was it so unfair?
“Well done.”
Hedera’s single remark to Ezekiel.
At the same time.
Valken felt pain as if his body was shattering into pieces.
His world collapsed entirely.
~~••~~••~~
The next day, I prepared to depart for the imperial palace.
“Shall we go?”
It was time to visit the Imperial Treasury with Hedera.
However, unexpectedly, it was Solana who came to see me.