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Chapter 69
Lifting his chin and lowering his gaze, Kissel stood atop the high tower, looking out over the unfamiliar yet festival-filled scenery of the Lumen Empire.
“First, I need to create an alibi—and prove that the Duke could return at any moment. I have to keep Mertiel strong, even in her absence.”
Ah, isn’t this far too difficult?
Kissel clutched his head in anguish in the direction of the workshop, then straightened his back with renewed determination.
“But if it means my master can return safely, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”
The Inera that Kissel knew always seemed like someone living on the brink of death.
A person who longed for life more than anyone, yet had no lingering regrets in any moment.
It had already been fifteen years since he’d been with her.
During that time, Kissel had wished more desperately than anyone for Inera’s survival.
He had endured, always anxious, clinging only to the hope of this very moment.
“Compared to the desperation of wanting my Lady to live, holding her place for just a hundred days is nothing.”
Inera always thought he sacrificed too much for her.
That her being alive was entirely thanks to him.
“My Lady, you’re gravely mistaken.”
He had scolded her about this since childhood, begging her not to think that way.
Kissel’s education in all else had succeeded, but in this one thing, he had failed.
“You saved me, my Lady. The reason I am who I am today, everything I have—it all comes from you.”
Kissel’s feelings for Inera were beyond the ability of any word in existence to describe.
She had fed him, clothed him, raised him, and loved him since childhood.
And in return, he had received even greater love from her.
He wanted her to be happier than himself—even if he broke apart, he only wished she could keep smiling.
Even the sight of the smallest wound on her hand made his chest ache as if his heart were being split apart.
If he felt that way, what wouldn’t he do for her sake?
“Well then, shall we begin?”
The plan was perfect.
Even in the freezing winter wind that stung his skin, Kissel smiled.
Though one hundred days of grueling work awaited him, though he had no idea what state the sleeping Inera was truly in—
He was happy simply knowing that Inera might survive.
How long he had longed for this moment.
No matter how many days and nights he tried to put his feelings into words, no one would truly understand.
He leapt down from the tower.
It was so tall one could see the capital of Lumen at a glance, yet Kissel did not hesitate.
Drawing his sword, he landed lightly at the base of the tower and inhaled deeply.
“All right, gentlemen—enough hiding. Come out.”
Ssshhk.
At his relaxed words, those who had been hiding slowly revealed themselves.
“You—who are you?”
They were the ones who had lured him here after Inera had fallen asleep.
In truth, before coming to this tower, Kissel had already caused a ruckus at an information broker’s shop in the capital.
Not just a ruckus—he had destroyed property, killed people inside, and deliberately lured some to follow him here.
“I’m the one who will kill you for the sake of our cause.”
At Kissel’s fluent declaration, the men bared their teeth and raised their swords.
Kissel smiled wearily amidst them.
“I’m never wrong, but… let me ask one last thing. You’re men of the Second Prince, aren’t you?”
He had heard from Inera that the Second Prince must be stopped from becoming Crown Prince.
And what better opportunity than this?
Kissel had found the best way in the current situation.
He was far inferior to Inera in both martial skill and intellect, but—
“From now on, you’ll help make it look as though my Lady was kidnapped by the Second Prince.”
Not once had he skipped a day of studying with Inera.
“Sorry, but this is the most perfect, efficient route I’ve devised.”
Since the age of ten, he had lived as her sparring partner in her path to become a magic swordsman.
Breaking magical restraints with his bare hands, felling groups of grown men with a single swing—
“All of you can come at once. Let’s finish this quickly.”
Kissel Bessen—
“Though the ending won’t change either way.”
—became a Sword Master faster than Pablo Herka, the so-called genius praised as a once-in-a-lifetime talent.
“If I overdo it, people might discover I’m a Sword Master.”
He had achieved it four years earlier.
Through the oracle, it was known that there were only four Sword Masters in the Libedro Empire. Two remained unidentified.
One of them was Kissel.
Naturally, the other hidden one was Inera.
“My Lady—it’s exactly one hundred days. If you’re late, I’m asking for a six-month vacation.”
So please, wake soon.
✦ ✦ ✦
The coronation banquet of the new Emperor of Lumen.
He couldn’t cause a public uproar, but—
It was enough to shake the very heart of those who formed the empire’s core.
Though he could have avoided injury, Kissel deliberately returned to the imperial palace with a few wounds. The first person he sought was Eshidwa.
“My Lady has been kidnapped. While tracking the culprits, I discovered they had hidden in an information broker’s den. We clashed, and I learned they acted under the orders of the Second Prince.”
“……”
Eshidwa, who had been neatly attending to state affairs, furrowed his brows.
On that flawless face that seemed incapable of breaking composure, a small crack appeared.
“What?”
“They confessed it was done because Lumen’s First Prince intended to marry the Duke to the Second Prince. If you wish, you may interrogate the captives I brought.”
Kissel spoke confidently.
He had already cast a spell on them so they could say nothing but the same story—no loose ends.
It was a spell bought for a fortune from Count Adin’s household. No trail would be left behind.
“So where is Inera now?”
“She has yet to return. The men holding her hostage are still in hiding. They said they would send a letter. We need only wait… Yes, we’ll just have to wait.”
Before long, the letter would indeed arrive—from the Asra Merchant Guild, who were currently in Lumen for trade.
Thus, the staged “kidnapping” of Duke Inera Mertiel would be complete.
It was the alibi for her hundred-day absence.
Of course, this alone was not enough.
“And you expect me to believe this, Lord Bessen?”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince will have no choice but to.”
Eshidwa looked at Kissel.
With a faint, ambiguous smile, he leaned deeply into his chair.
Of course, it was hard to make sense of this sudden ploy.
Moreover, Eshidwa knew Inera’s true strength.
He would surely realize the kidnapping was staged. But he had no choice but to play along.
“So, please—press the Second Prince for answers.”
It was a situation that could only benefit him.
“As a citizen of Libedro, I beg this of the future sun of our nation.”
And besides, keeping Inera’s disappearance for a hundred days hidden was simple.
This was a matter between nations.
The Lumen Empire would do everything to conceal it, and as said, Eshidwa stood to gain much from the staged kidnapping of Duke Mertiel.
“How should I take this, I wonder?”
“It’s simple. Accuse the Second Prince. While Your Highness works to recover my Lady, we will conduct our own search.”
Eshidwa’s eyes darkened.
He scratched his neck and laughed.
“Remarkable. Your master always manages the most unimaginable things.”
“There is nothing here that can harm you, Your Highness. And… if possible, please keep this matter buried for now.”
“We cannot settle this with just a private talk between us.”
Eshidwa brought Kissel to the new Emperor of Lumen.
The Emperor’s complexion soured instantly at the report.
“Only two days on the throne, and such a disaster—no wonder.”
For nothing less than the Second Prince had kidnapped a duke from another nation.
“You wouldn’t dare feed me lies. If you slander the Imperial Family of Lumen, your head will not last the day.”
At the Emperor’s threat, Kissel bowed silently, wearing the face of a man suppressing fury.
