Chapter 64: Darius And The Trio

"Yawn."

Deia yawned and slumped down, naturally leaning against shoulder.

Feeling her warm weight, I pretended to be bothered by her careless action.

"You're too close."

"Hm?"

Then, Deia turned her head, which was still resting on my shoulder, and replied,

"It's because you're the most comfortable thing to lean against in prison."

"...."

"Also, it's normal for siblings to have this kind of physical contact."

She responded shamelessly.

The only sibling relationship I had seen up close was between King Orpheus and Princess Eleanor.

The two seemed quite close to each other, so it somewhat made sense. Yet, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being deceived by Deia.

Deia quickly turned away again.

"Ah, it feels more comfortable if I don't see your face."

Well, if that was the case...

Since I had decided to let it slide, Deia chuckled and brought up the Archmage's proposal from earlier.

"What do you plan to do about that?"

"...."

"He said that he could help us escape. It's not impossible to escape from this place as long as we accept his offer, right?"

Archmage Ropelican had secretly approached Deia and me, offering to help us break out of prison.

Unexpectedly, he proposed to take our side.

He apologized for the extremely unreasonable treatment, despite my success in overcoming three nearly impossible trials.

As I was unable to give an immediate answer, the Archmage left, promising to return later.

Normally, I would have accepted his offer and thanked him with gratitude.

However, I was somewhat skeptical about Ropelican's proposal.

"Is that really the true intention of his proposal?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

Unable to comprehend the meaning behind my words, Deia pressed her head more firmly against my shoulder. She seemed to urge me to get straight to the point rather than beat around the bush.

Feeling her weight, I expressed my thoughts clearly.

"Archmage Ropelican is an incredibly loyal person. Even among those who are close to the King, he can be considered as the closest aide since the late King's time."

The relationship between Ropelican and King Orpheus was beyond that of a King and his vassal.

Archmage Ropelican was in charge of the young Orpheus' education, and Orpheus thought of him as a life mentor.

They were practically family, so Orpheus never kept any secrets from Ropelican.

"Hmm?"

While Deia was impressed with the detailed information I grasped from the situation in a short span of time, in reality, I was just recounting what I had witnessed in the game.

"All of Ropelican's actions are with the Royal family in mind. In other words, he offered this proposal for the sake of King Orpheus."

If the Mage Tribunal Judge, Tyren Ol Velocus, strictly served the Kingdom, Ropelican was loyal to the Griffin Royal Family, or to be precise, to King Orpheus.

There was a significant difference.

If it were Tyren, he wouldn't just overlook such matters.

He wouldn't have simply overlooked the fact that the Royal Family had supported the dark mage who massacred people throughout the Kingdom in the past, and, on top of that, that very mage was of Royal Family blood.

However, Ropelican was different.

For the sake of King Orpheus, he would tolerate and silently ignore such matters.

Would someone like Ropelican really go against the King's order and attempt to free me?

I could guarantee— there was no way he would do that.

Hence, I needed to consider the opposite.

He wasn't trying to release me because he believed I was unjustly accused.

He simply intended to eliminate someone like me before I could become an obstacle to the King.

It seems like the King is genuinely troubled with what to do with me.

He couldn't decide whether he had to fulfill the promise and take responsibility, or silently draw the sword for the sake of the Royal Family and the Kingdom.

Suddenly, a part of Hamlet's soliloquy by Shakespeare came to my mind.

If I slightly altered the phrase to fit this situation...

To kill or not to kill.

That was the question.

King Orpheus was tormented by indecision in the face of this problem.

If that were the case, Ropelican would rather get rid of me, who was the problem, so that the King wouldn't have to make a choice at all.

Things are going better than I thought.

Unlike when I took the wrong route in the game, the King didn't fall into shock or go crazy due to the guilt of being unable to overcome it.

Clearly, he acknowledged his situation and was in distress.

Therefore, I didn't know the outcome. However, it was better to wait for now.

* * *

"Huff, huff!"

Late at night.

Darius, who was unconsciously breathing heavily, quietly inspected the sword at his waist.

Even though the sword was almost an extension of his body and had accompanied him throughout his life, he kept checking it from time to time, perhaps out of anxiety.

"Wow, I never thought I would infiltrate the Griffin Royal Palace."

"It would have been nice if the Chief was here as well."

"What should we take back as a souvenir?"

On the other hand, the trio of Scrapyard Nomads who came along were acting as if they were on a field trip, laughing and enjoying themselves, leaving Darius dumbfounded and bewildered.

This was a stealth operation to infiltrate the Griffin Royal Palace, and it was quite astonishing that they could remain so relaxed.

It turns out they didn't follow that crazy woman around for no reason.

They might not have been like that when they still led ordinary lives. But once they broke out of their shell, they were no different from Findenai.

Was this how people changed in order to survive in the Clark Republic, infamous for being full of horrible rumors?

I can't really tell whether they've adapted, or they were just completely broken.

Regardless, thanks to these people, Darius felt somewhat relieved. Thus, he took a deep breath and looked up at the high wall.

Although their bodies were already concealed in the darkness, to break-in, they had to conquer the towering walls fencing the Royal Palace.

Due to the risk of being exposed when using mana, Darius decided to crawl up. So, he loosened up his grip and approached the wall cautiously.

One of the trio asked Darius.

"Are you really okay with it?"

"What do you mean?"

Darius wondered what he meant, as they were just cheerfully talking a while ago. However, the latter unexpectedly brought up some sensible points.

"I understand your siblings are precious, but if things go wrong, all of you could really lose your heads, you know? And the Verdi Household itself could face extinction."

Darius paused for a moment upon hearing this. The statement was not wrong.

After all, their aim was to free Darius' two siblings who were confined.

Furthermore, one of them happened to be a dark mage, and dark mages were vehemently hated in the kingdom.

Even if they were family, attempting to protect a dark mage could lead to more than just Darius losing his life. It could spell the end of the Verdi Household.

"Yes, family is important."

If asked to name the most important thing to him, he would undoubtedly answer that it was the Household's glory.

The name of Verdi—the giant who guarded the Northern Mountain Range—was a source of pride for Darius.

Yet, two months ago, after exposing their Household's accumulated dirty deeds, they decided to start anew.

With a tightly clenched fist, Darius firmly declared.

"However, I am not the only Verdi."

"...."

"Those two also carry the name of Verdi with pride."

Hearing those words, the trio grinned and chimed in,

"Just admit that your siblings are precious to you."

"Yeah, no need to use the family as an excuse."

"Still, you've changed a lot since we first met."

"Ahem."

Feeling awkward, Darius cleared his throat, and one of the trio handed him a rope draped over his shoulder.

"I brought this since it seemed like we might need it. We'll help you get inside, so just hang this from the castle wall."

"Huh? You guys will help me get inside?"

Wondering what they meant, the trio confidently took their positions right in front of the wall, creating a makeshift jumping platform for Darius with their hands.

Darius was dumbfounded.

"Sigh."

Since this was preferable to crawling up the wall, Darius seized the opportunity and leaped.

"Heave ho!"

Perhaps due to the trio's impressively synchronized movements, Darius jumped so high that he was surprised by the outcome.

His body truly zoomed through the sky.

He then managed to easily cross the bars on the wall fence and landed smoothly on the other side.

"Huh."

Obviously, the trio had done this kind of thing several times during their resistance movements.

They were not just skillful but also experienced.

Just as Darius was about to secure the rope on the wall to help the trio to cross.

"Hmm, you're quite audacious, huh?"

The chilling voice of an elderly man echoed from behind. Darius threw the rope down, his neck creaking as he turned.

Simultaneously, he drew the sword from his waist.

Certainly, it was a beastly strike.

Darius demonstrated a sharp sword strike, proudly showcasing that he wasn't called the giant guarding the Northern Mountain Range for nothing.

He had grown significantly through rigorous training, especially following the crushing defeat against Findenai.

Just like Findenai, the attack was so fierce that one could say that he was overpowering when facing him.

Thud!

Before he could land a proper attack, the pressure from the mana pouring out of the elderly man pushed Darius backwards, causing him to collide with the wall.

Stuck to the wall like a painting, he could only open and close his mouth repeatedly while confirming the presence that had subdued him with a single move.

"How reckless of you. Your personality is completely different from that of your solemn and reliable younger brother. Perhaps you're agitated because your siblings have been arrested?"

It was an impressive elderly figure with a staff resembling an ancient tree, wearing a robe so magnificent it exuded an air of mystery, and adorned with a striking white beard.

"It's quite amusing that you thought there wouldn't be any magic on the Royal Palace's walls. If I hadn't discovered you in advance, you would have been roasted by now."

Archmage Ropelican Linus clicked his tongue while staring at Darius.

"Did you come to rescue your siblings, Margrave Norseweden?"