<h4>Chapter 274</h4>


    I returned to the Temple the next day.


    The official story was that I had been dispatched on a special assignment, under Mr. Effenhauser’s instructions.


    Because of that, neither Ellen nor Harriet were angry with me.


    The events that had transpired had been among the most dangerous that I’d had to go through. However, I couldn’t talk about it with anyone else. In the end, it seemed like I was still seeking out danger on my own without regard for Ellen’s worries.


    I felt sorry, and the guilt only grew heavier because it had been something I could not avoid getting involved in.


    There would be many such instances in the future.


    “What was the special assignment?” Ellen asked, and I clicked my tongue briefly.


    “It wasn’t really a special assignment. That was just an excuse.”


    <i>‘Did you get into trouble again?’ </i>said Ellen’s expression. She seemed about to get angry, so I shook my head vigorously.


    “It was an issue rted to Tiamata. That’s all.”


    “Did you get caught?”


    “In a way...”


    That was both true and not true.


    Charlotte and Sabioleen Tana now knew that I was Tiamata’s master.


    But I was lying, and I was scared that Ellen might see through my lie.


    “We decided to keep it a secret. There won’t be any other problems.”


    “... That’s a relief,” Ellen said, still staring at me intently.


    “Were you worried about me?” I asked.


    “Yeah.”


    Seeing Ellen say that so calmly made my heart ache.


    “It’s fine, as long as nothing happened.”


    That was all Ellen said.


    Since nothing happened to Charlotte that night, she said she would spend the weekend in the capital and then return to the Temple.


    If Charlotte and I returned to the Temple together, Vertus might find it suspicious, but I felt rather reassured that nothing would happen over the next few days.


    Charlotte’s survival had been confirmed, and was regarded as a turning point in history. I didn’t know how long that wouldst, but for the time being, nothing would happen to her.


    This new trait of mine, Qi Sense, had yed a significant role.


    It had been a stormy few days. Friday had just passed, and it was the weekend.


    In the end, we got through it safely.


    Ellen grabbed my arm.


    “You have something to do.”


    “... What? What do I have to do? Train?”


    Ellen shook her head. “No. Study.”


    <i>‘What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?’</i>


    “The others are waiting.”


    Ellen grabbed my arm and dragged me along with her to the study room in the ss A dormitory.


    There, Riana, Harriet, and Adelia were sitting together.


    Riana greeted me with a somewhat sour expression. “Oh, the main character has finally arrived. Busy with your special assignments, huh? What was it all about?”


    Harriet stood up with a determined look as soon as she saw me, and Ellen dragged me to a seat.


    “W-What is this... Out of the blue, and as soon as I get back,” I muttered.


    Harriet ced a notebook in front of me.


    “These are the key points and expected questions for the uing final exams. Ellen, Adelia, and I made them together.”


    <i>‘Wait. What?’</i>


    Harriet’s eyes sparkled.


    It was true that the final exams were just around the corner.


    “If you go through this, you won’te inst.”


    <i>‘Wait. Guys... Why are you making me all emotional with something like this?’</i>


    “You can’t lose to Ludwig again, got it?”


    I didn’t really need this, but Ellen, Harriet, and Adelia all wore such expressions that I couldn’t bring myself to say that I didn’t care about the exam results.


    <i>‘I’mpeting with Ludwig? How far have I fallen...’</i>


    Anyway, after that, I studied as though my life depended on it.


    ***


    It was Sunday at the Winter Pce.


    Vertus sat quietly in his office chair after receiving a report. His usual yful smile was gone, reced by a stiff, expressionless mask.


    Vertus read the report without any reaction.


    The content was simple.


    The protective measures for Charlotte de Gradias and the Spring Pce that had been ordered to be put in ce by the emperor had been lifted.


    “... Wasn’t it said that her ability couldn’t be controlled?”


    “Yes, Your Highness. It was believed so... We expected that final measures would soon be taken against the First Princess...”


    Vertus had only recently learned about Charlotte’s ability.


    A supernatural power that controlled shadows...


    But it seemed peculiar for someone who had been imprisoned in the Demon King’s castle to suddenly develop the power to control shadows.


    Depending on how it was framed, Charlotte’s power could be seen as a power of darkness, and thus, it could be easily manipted into ims that she had been cursed by the Demon King.


    However, there was no need to go that far. Some things could be covered up, no matter how hard one tried.


    The protective measures implemented around the Spring Pce, the reduction of staff to a minimum, and Sabioleen Tana taking up permanent residence in the Spring Pce...


    Moreover, the murder of a maid in the Spring Pce at night...


    From these circumstances and his various deductions, Vertus had sensed that Charlotte’s end was near. So, Vertus left it alone.


    But the lifting of the protective measures and Charlotte’s apparent safety implied that the issue had somehow been resolved, which meant that apetitor he had expected to fall was now back in the game.


    <i>‘Have I gone a bit soft?’ </i>Vertus thought.


    He should have attacked when he saw the opportunity.


    If they had seeded in sealing Charlotte’s ability or discovered some simr solution, the story of the princess being cursed wouldn’t hold water.


    Moreover, it would tarnish the imperial family’s honor, and the emperor’s wrath would turn towards him.


    Although the structure of this particrpetition didn’t allow for fairpetition, the emperor desired andmanded it.


    He had a potential card to y, but he couldn’t tell if it was a sound one or not.


    It was more likely to anger the emperor.


    <i>‘What on earth could have happened...?’</i>


    Leaving Charlotte alone had been a final act of mercy.


    He didn’t particrly want to mess with a dying princess, and there had also been the risk of unnecessary bacsh.


    If the situation had been resolved, the fight for session would have to resume.


    <i>‘How should I navigate this situation?’</i>


    “What about security around the Spring Pce?”


    “It is expected to be reinforced again.”


    “Hmm... It will be harder to gather information now.”


    The already-tight security would be further strengthened, making it more difficult than before.


    “Sabioleen Tana must have seen everything that happened...”


    “She won’t speak.”


    “Yes, I suppose not.”


    She was themander of Shanapell, and only listened to the emperor’s orders. Sending her to the Spring Pce was already highly unusual, as she usually strove to remainpletely neutral regarding the issue of session.


    If Charlotte’s condition had improved, she would surely be a neutral party again.


    “Find out anything you can. What exactly happened, and if the First Princess’s condition has truly improved.”


    “Yes, Your Highness.”


    After the attendant left, Vertus crossed his arms.


    This was supposed to be the downfall of a rival, but now that the oue had been reversed, Vertus felt like he should be upset.


    Strangely, Vertus found it curious that he wasn’t feeling particrly awful. Shouldn’t he be pounding the ground, throwing things, or shouting?


    Yet, Vertus was smiling.


    .


    .


    “Hey, why do you always have such a grim face? It’s annoying.”


    “What’s it to you?”


    “Your already-ugly mug looks even worse when you’re scowling. Try smiling a bit. No one’s going to p you for smiling.”


    “Who would dare p me?”


    “There you go, twisting my words again. You always take my words the wrong way.”


    “You always talk weirdly in the first ce. Always picking fights.”


    “Anyway, just smile a bit, will you? I already dislike you, but seeing your face like that makes it worse.”


    “You’re so annoying. Will you go away if I smile?”


    “I don’t know about going away, but I might find you a bit less annoying.”


    Vertus, who rarely smiled, and who hadn’t smiled much since his mother’s passing, offered a clumsy smile.


    “Yeah, that’s a bit better. Still annoying, though.”


    “What do you want from me?”


    That was a conversation that he and Charlotte had shared, a long time ago. He couldn’t even remember how old he was.


    It was a time when he didn’t dislike his half-sibling as much as he did now.


    A time when he didn’t fully understand what their rtionship would be.


    A brat who was just always rude... To Vertus, Charlotte was that kind of brat, and he was that kind of brat to Charlotte.


    They were ipatible.


    If one existed, the other shouldn’t.


    A fight he’d thought was over had to go on, and that was exciting to him.


    That thought sat with Vertus as he sat there in his office, smiling.


    ***


    [Name: Baalier


    Age: 17


    Race: Archdemon


    Current Stats:


    [Strength 10.2(C)]


    [Agility 9.9(C-)]


    [Dexterity 11.9(C)]


    [Mana 14.2(B-)]


    [Stamina 15.2(B-)]


    Talents:


    Supernatural Power - Self-Deception


    Supernatural Power - Incantation


    Mana Sensitivity, Mana Maniption


    Traits:


    [Divine Spirit] - Increased resistance to mental magic


    [Hero’s Lineage] - Greatly increased growth limit. Increased growth speed.


    [Qi Sense] - Crisis detection.


    Abilities:


    [Control Demon (B)] (Archdemon exclusive ability) (Not usable in the current state.)


    [Self-Deception (A)]


    [Incantation (F)]


    [Mana Reinforcement (D)]


    Overall Ability Rating - Intermediate Demon King


    Combat Rating - A]


    I hadn’t checked my status in a while, but it now reflected significant increases in my stats.


    Thanks to the influence of the Hero’s Lineage, I could feel my stats increasing much faster.


    Mybat level was now at A rank. It felt like just yesterday that I had been at F rank, but I hade a long way.


    Not only had I unlocked Mana Reinforcement, but my Self-Deception had also reached A rank, and although it was stillnguishing at the lowest grade, I had awakened the power of Incantation.


    Interestingly, Self-Deception hadn’t evolved into Incantation; rather, it was as if I had gained an additional supernatural power.


    Abat level of A rank meant that I wouldn’t be outssed by other strong individuals.


    Additionally, my Control Demon skill had somehow increased from C rank to B rank.


    The F-ranked power of Incantation... I had only reported it to Mr. Effenhauser, and whether he understood the full details of it or not, he decided to keep it a secret.


    Although my abilities would be revealed during a physical scan, Mr. Effenhauser would keep it confidential.


    Even when I told him that I had awakened a seemingly powerful supernatural power called Incantation, he had merely acknowledged it with a simple “I see.”


    I still didn’t know the full extent of how it could be used. I hadn’t had the time to leisurely experiment with it.


    I was being forced to study for the final exams because of external pressure.


    They didn’t know what had happened, and I kept Incantation a secret from them.


    I had acquired a new power, Incantation, and also found out that Tiamata responded to my anger.


    Saving Charlotte had been fortunate, but it turned out I had benefited from the whole ordeal as well.


    “Reinhart.”


    “Oh, hey Charlotte.”


    Charlotte returned on Monday morning.


    Judging by her expression, nothing had happened while she’d been alone over the weekend.


    The shadow that always seemed to linger on Charlotte’s face had lifted.


    I considered telling Eleris about this, since she might know something, but I decided against it.


    If Eleris found out that her power was a remnant of the Demon King, she might try to intervene.


    Sarkegaar would try to resurrect the Demon King, while Eleris would try to eliminate him.


    Although there was a possibility that I could persuade Eleris not to act, there was no way she could handle something that even the imperial mages couldn’t.


    I was the only one who could control Charlotte’s power, and the fewer people who knew it, the better. Besides, it was difficult to leave the Temple at the moment, since Harriet and Ellen were pressuring me to stay put and study.


    There did not seem to be any immediate threats to Charlotte’s safety, and I nned to keep an eye on the situation.


    Having navigated the crisis around Charlotte, I needed to think about the next issue: the Revolutionary Forces.


    I needed to figure out what to do about them.


    The imperial family—including the emperor and even Vertus—had been so focused on Charlotte’s life-or-death situation that they had overlooked the Revolutionary Forces.


    If left unchecked, a civil war or rebellion could break out within the empire, and if that coincided with the Gate Incident, it would be a decisive blow to the already-staggering empire.


    The Revolutionary Forces needed to be eliminated, without question.


    But how?


    Sarkegaar, who was responsible for infiltration and information gathering, believed that I intended to use them to create chaos in the empire and rebuild the Demon Realm.


    Because of that, I couldn’t just order Sarkegaar to assassinate all the leaders of the Revolutionary Forces.


    If I provided the information to Charlotte or Vertus, I would have no way to exin how I obtained it.


    The only usible exnation I could think of was to say that I’d gotten the information through the Thieves’ Guild. However, the actual source of the information wasn’t the Thieves’ Guild, so if anyone actually investigated the Thieves’ Guild, they would easily uncover my lie.


    Charlotte trusted me more than Vertus did, and she might ept my information even without me fully exining where I got it from.


    Time was passing, but I couldn’te to a decision easily.


    I didn’t want to influence the future session of the throne, whether in Charlotte’s or Vertus’s favor.


    More specifically, I didn’t want to support Charlotte and make Vertus my enemy, nor did I want to support Vertus and cause Charlotte’s downfall.


    It wasn’t an easy decision to make.


    ***


    Despite the numerous issues surrounding me, my time as a student at the Temple continued, and the final exams were just around the corner.


    That Monday, aside from Charlotte’s return, there was another change.


    Charlotte’s ability was presumed to be safe for now, but it was only a <i>presumption</i>.


    Therefore, the imperial family—specifically, the emperor—decided to allow Charlotte to return to the Temple, but not without implementing certain safety measures.


    That Monday morning, before sses started, the first year Royal ss students were called into the lobby of the dormitory.


    There was someone else there, who Mr. Effenhauser and Ms. Mustang introduced to us.


    “Starting today, Dame Sabioleen Tana will be serving as the dormitory supervisor for the first-year Royal ss.”


    “Nice to meet you. I am Sabioleen Tana, and I will be responsible for your daily safety and dormitory discipline.”


    Sabioleen Tana had unexpectedly taken up residence in the Royal ss dormitory.