With a flash, Lucynil and I returned to the outskirts of the Royal Road.
Before I knew it, Lucynil had transformed from a vampire with snake-like eyes into a girl with silver hair and blue eyes.
I, too, had returned to my Reinhardt form instead of Valier.
"Hmm, so this is your disguise?"
"Yes."
Lucynil glanced up and down at me in my Reinhardt form and crossed her arms.
"You certainly look like you have an attitude problem."
"What?"
"Exactly."
There was no one else around.
"It's been a while since I've been to the Royal Road."
Lucynil gazed at the sprawling landscape of the Royal Road.
"Do you have a place to stay?"
"Hmm… I was told to find a guy called Count Argon Ponteus. She said he'd help me somehow."
It seemed like Lucynil was planning to leave herself in Sarkegaar's care. There was faith that Sarkegaar would take care of things somehow. After all, he was a competent guy.
Lucynil thought deeply while crossing her arms.
"You've also been in contact with the Black Order, right?"
"…Yes."
"I don't know how you've been getting by so far, but from now on, it's going to be really dangerous. So, try to stay within the range where I can help you."
Cantus Magna and the Black Order.
As I started to get seriously involved with the determined ones, I couldn't help but face dangerous situations more often. So, it seemed Lucynil was planning to provide something like close protection.
She had a point.
Lucynil was right.
"Um, didn't you know that I'm going to Temple?"
"…Temple?"
I knew this wasn't the right time to say it.
Compared to the conversations we've had so far, this was something I shouldn't say.
But I really needed to go to school! Even though it's winter break right now!
Temple was my priority!
Strictly speaking, that was the most important place! In many ways!
"Ah, you… you were infiltrating there, right?"
It seemed like Lucynil had heard something from Eleris, so she tilted her head.
Infiltrating… was that right?
Or not?
"Forget it. Isn't this not the time for you to do that?"
Lucynil stated the obvious as if I had started playing in the water just before a typhoon came.
It felt weird to be lectured by someone who, although not a child, looked like one.
"No, I have to be at Temple. I have so many ties there…"
"…Really? Are you serious?"
"Yes."
Lucynil looked at me, licked her lips, and desperately held back the flood of curses she wanted to unleash.
"No, there are reasons!"
To be honest, my staying at Temple wasn't just an excuse.
How important it was to build relationships with the influential people at Temple under the pretext of rebuilding the Demon Realm. Furthermore, my classmates were the future successors of the empire, and I had told them how much influence I had on them.
"…Now that you mention it, it does make sense."
Lucynil nodded as if it made sense when I mentioned that I was infiltrating Temple to maintain relationships with influential figures in the empire.
"It is quite dangerous… but I won't interfere too much."
Lucynil crossed her arms and looked at me.
"It won't be a loss for me if you die in some ridiculous way. Just be careful for Eleris's sake."
It seemed that Lucynil had no intention of meddling more than necessary in my affairs.
If she had dug a little deeper, she would have realized that I was living in Temple for a slightly different reason.
That would have complicated things, but fortunately, she didn't.
"For now, I'll follow Eleris's advice and look for Count Argon Ponteus."
In that case, I could contact her through the Rotatory Gang. When Lucynil was needed, I could send a message to Sarkegaar. Or, when Sarkegaar visited to report, I could ask him to call Lucynil.
For now, I parted ways with Lucynil.
Another great mage. Lucynil, the ruler of Wednesday.
Eleris said that Lucynil was more versatile than herself, but I still couldn't quite understand what that meant.
After Lucynil entered the Royal Road first, I began to enter as well.
Harriet would be researching dimensional magic using the materials from the palace's magic department. However, expecting results in just a few days would be difficult.
The results came from my side.
It was quite an achievement for just a few days away from the Royal Road.
***
"Your Majesty, the investigation results show that no traceable evidence has been found."
"I see."
Bertus was reading the written reports in the winter palace's office.
The investigation by the royal family and the Holy Knights into the recent death of Riverrier Lanze had just ended. The funeral was already over, but they continued to investigate the demons who attacked them.
It was certain that non-human beings had attacked.
Most of the corpses had exploded and turned to ashes, but some were found torn apart.
The corpses appeared to have died while fleeing.
Bertus was looking through photos of the battlefield, which were recorded using magic.
There were no photos, but there were multiple witness accounts of something in the shape of a demon flying in the night sky.
'Why did this happen…'
Bertus was lost in thought.
There were countless reasons for the demons to attack the Holy Knights.
Moreover, it was assumed that the demons who attacked this time were the same ones who attacked the Holy Knights before.
Last time, a powerful mage, Lycanthrope, and a Dragon appeared. Of course, it wasn't a real dragon, but they still didn't know what kind of demon it was.
During the previous attack, they had activated a warp gate and escaped with the demon prisoners.
However, there were no casualties back then.
This attack made it clear.
In the previous attack, the demons hadn't been unable to fight the Holy Knights; they had chosen not to.
Soon, it became apparent that the demons at that time had no intention of killing.
But this time, the attack had been far too ruthless. Not only had all the knights been killed, but even Riverrier Lanze had been slain.
Perhaps they hadn't fought back then because evacuating the prisoners had been the priority.
Bertus felt like his thoughts were becoming increasingly tangled.
It wasn't just suspicious; there were far too many strange points.
He could understand the use of large-scale destructive magic, but there were multiple witness testimonies of something resembling a demon roaming the night sky.
'Why on earth?'
Did it look like they were advertising that this was an attack by demonkind?
It would have been better to disguise it as a conflict among humans, but the demon had flown through the night sky, flaunting its presence.
Did the demons know about the Nameless Order?
Were they completely ignorant of the current continental situation?
If they knew, the demons should have disguised it as a human conflict, not as a show of their existence.
The fact that there were actual witness accounts of demons made things worse, and some even started to whisper that the royal family or pro-empire faction had disguised it as the work of demons to assassinate the Nameless Order and its leader, Riverrier Lanze.
Had there been no demon sightings, this incident would have likely ignited a powerful conflict against the Holy Knights and the Five Great Divine Faiths.
Knowing that, they shouldn't have staged the attack this way.
If he were in a position leading the remnants of the Demon Realm, he would never have done it like this.
'It can't be stupidity.'
This was the most foolish thing the demons could do.
It would only help the empire.
One shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that the remnants were that foolish. It might have been just an emotional move, but it fit the situation for the empire too well.
'Did they really help the empire? But why?'
There was no reason for it, but it seemed like the demons had attacked the Nameless Order to help the empire and deliberately revealed their existence.
Why did they have to do it that way?
Why did the demons take such risks to do something that would only benefit the empire?
It was overly optimistic to see this as a mistake by the remnants.
The demons had helped the empire.
Although the situation was such, Bertus couldn't understand why they had to do it, and his thoughts were getting more tangled.
He couldn't even begin to understand their intentions.
As Bertus furrowed his brows, trying to sort out his thoughts on his own,
"Your Highness… and about the matter you ordered me to investigate last time…"
The subordinate cautiously interrupted the prince's contemplation as he made his report.
Deep in thought, Bertus furrowed his brows even more.
"Previously? What are you talking about?"
"Uh… to investigate the silver-haired girl…"
"Oh… that."
Due to the massive incident, Bertus had completely forgotten about that matter.
As the memory of the enormous blunder he had made returned, Bertus's face turned slightly red.
"Hmm, so did you find out anything?"
An unknown silver-haired girl.
She had a subtle resemblance to Reinhardt, which made him casually wonder if they were long-lost siblings.
He had encountered a silver-haired girl before, who bore a subtle resemblance to his classmate Reinhardt, which made him think they might be related.
Even though he had almost forgotten about it, the memory was still quite fresh for Bertus.
Technically speaking, this was stalking.
The Empire belonged to the Emperor, and the first prince was one of the most powerful successors to the throne.
So, if the prince openly stalked someone, it would cause quite a commotion.
"First, I checked the registration information of the Royal Road citizens…"
"And?"
The first prince could search the entire Royal Road if he wanted, if not the entire empire.
"There was no registration information that matched the conditions you mentioned."
"Since the silver hair could be dyed… I figured there wouldn't be."
Hoping for a perfect match with the limited information Bertus remembered was difficult.
Silver hair, golden eyes, and beautiful.
The information was too vague.
So, even if she was actually a citizen of the Royal Road, it would have been difficult to find someone who met the conditions.
"So, I looked into Reinhardt, who you said was your classmate. I wanted to start with his registration information…"
"Well, that would have been the most likely possibility."
Reinhardt was from the streets, but he had registration information.
Starting from his origin, it would have been possible to find out more. However, his subordinate seemed to have trouble and scratched his head.
"But Reinhardt's first registration was early last year. I couldn't find any information before that."
"…What?"
Bertus tilted his head at that remark.
"It happens quite often. The poor sometimes live without registering at all… And those who live their entire lives as street beggars sometimes don't have any registration information at all. Since you said Reinhardt was from the streets…"
Reinhardt's registration information was first entered last year. That meant he had lived as an unregistered person before that.
It wasn't unusual.
Certainly, it wasn't that strange.
However, Bertus had once suspected Reinhardt of being a successor raised by a criminal organization.
Reinhardt denied it, and Bertus didn't believe his words but didn't investigate further.
His subordinate said that tracing Reinhardt's birthplace was practically impossible since he had lived as an unregistered person for quite some time.
By now, Bertus knew that some of the misconceptions he had about Reinhardt were not true.
The Rotatory Gang, to which Reinhardt belonged, was just an organization of beggars.
Reinhardt was simply a beggar. He was sent from the Rotatory Gang to the Temple.
His registration was in early last year.
As soon as he registered his identity, he entered Temple and enrolled in the Royal Class.
So, it meant that he had obtained an identity to enter Temple.
Bertus thought that Reinhardt had no education, but he had a discerning eye.
He knew a lot for someone who came from the streets, but it was possible that he gained his discernment by picking up various things from the gang since he was young.
However, Bertus suddenly became curious.
Was Reinhardt really from the Royal Road?
Where was he born and how did he grow up?
"Well, I'll just ask him directly."
'Where are you from?'
'Do you have any siblings?'
When he had time, he could drop by Temple and ask him. It was simple.
Deciding to think about Reinhardt's case later, Bertus started pondering about the demon group again.
His head still felt like it was about to explode.
***
A few days had passed since he returned from the Vampire Council.
Nothing had changed much. Harriet de Saint-Owen was busy with her work, as were the magic research club members.
So, I spent my days busily, training with Olivia and waiting for Ellen to return, just like usual.
But then.
"Hey, where are you from?"
When Bertus, who had returned from the palace out of nowhere, suddenly asked that question, it felt like my heart dropped.
"Uh… Royal Road."
"Where in Royal Road?"
What's going on?
Did he find out something?
My heart pounded like crazy.
However, I desperately maintained a calm demeanor through self-suggestion.
"I don't know the details. I was abandoned when I was too young. Would a street rat like me remember such a thing?"
"…Really?"
He must have thought about how I grew up during this time.
But if Bertus had found something out and knew my true identity, I would have to leave the Royal Road.
But so suddenly?
If he knew the truth, he wouldn't be asking me so calmly, right?
It was just an attitude of asking something trivial. Bertus crossed his arms and stared at me, seemingly contemplating something.
"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"
In the end, I asked him. Bertus seemed to hesitate for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
"…It's a bit awkward to say this. Well, anyway."
Bertus placed his hand on my shoulder and spoke quietly.
"Do you, by any chance, have siblings?"
Ah.
Could it be?
Was that it?
"Ah, no, not at all. At least not in my memory… I think…"
"Last festival, I saw a girl who looked very similar to you. So, I was wondering if she was your sibling, and I wanted to find her, but it's difficult to find someone you only know by face."
"Ah, yeah… that's true…"
I felt dizzy.
I felt like throwing up.
"So, I thought that if I knew where you were from, I could try to find her. But your identity registration was only last year?"
At those words, goosebumps broke out all over my body.
The fact that I had encountered Bertus while cross-dressed was leading to an investigation into my background.
It was certain that Bertus didn't know anything yet, and he didn't find it suspicious that I had registered my identity for the first time last year without any previous records.
Dangerous.
It would be truly dangerous if he delved any deeper.
"So… it might be a bit awkward to say this, but if your parents abandoned you, and then… your sibling was born, you might have a sibling you don't even know about, right? I mean, I won't do it if you don't want me to, but if you do, I was thinking of looking into it personally…"
No.
He could find out.
I had to stop him.
It might start with good intentions, but he could end up discovering my true identity.
This wasn't a joke; my life was genuinely in danger.
There was no other choice.
Almost as a reflex.
"It's me."
I had no choice but to tell the truth.
"…Huh? What?"
Bertus seemed unable to understand what he had just heard.
"It's me, I said."
I was curious about the expression on my face even myself.
"What…? Huh? What did you say?"
Bertus began to doubt his own ears.
I had escaped death, but…
I wanted to die.