Episode 70
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Gawain will surely escalate things this time as well.
Therefore, Odelia...
Had been aiming for this banquet from the start.
The reason for inviting not only vassals and retainers, as is customary, but also the imperial delegation and high-ranking nobles.
Every element of the excessively lavish banquet was designed to lure him in.
'I must crush him completely this time.'
So that he can never, ever rise again.
* * *
Inside the Cardel family's carriage.
As soon as Gawain sat facing Beloa, he immediately took a small box out of his coat pocket.
"Let's use the Chaos Stone again."
As time was short, Gawain cut to the chase and got straight to the point.
"...You want to use that again?"
Beloa asked cautiously.
"It's the Ducal Palace."
Gawain shook the box in front of her eyes, as if frustrated.
"The first banquet after the Grand Duchess's official inauguration. All the nobles will be gathered. If the Purifier goes berserk in that place, what will everyone think? They'll think she's an existence they can't handle. It will be convincing why we've been hiding her, and this is an opportunity to restore our prestige."
He raised the corner of his lips.
Crude hypocrisy, so transparent it was visible behind his thin smile.
"Besides, the vassals of the North have been dissatisfied with the Grand Duke, who is an adopted son, from the start. There are even rumors that they want the previous Grand Duke to be reinstated. Those guys would rather Ludeviel Excepcion be impotent or a madman forever."
"......"
"And now a Grand Duchess has appeared? If an heir is born, it's practically a declaration that Ludville will permanently occupy Excepcion. Do you think they'll accept that willingly?"
Beloa was silent for a moment, looking at him, before calmly asking.
"Are you going to try to sway them?"
Gawain nodded, wearing a confident smile.
"I will directly win over the vassals. If I win them over by saying something like, 'My beloved brother has made an unreasonable marriage, I must protect her,' half of them will come over in an instant."
His eyes were full of conviction.
He looked like a hunter who was already winning, acting with composure.
But Beloa shook her head.
"......No. You mustn't."
His smile froze for a moment.
"Using the same trick twice is dangerous."
"......"
"We only have a few low-ranking servants planted in the Excepcion side, and we don't have the manpower to operate the Chaos Stone stably. Using it again in this state... is extremely dangerous."
Gawain's gaze, his smile, gradually turned cold.
"How about we let this one pass and aim for the next time, Brother? Next time, we'll kill her for sure, leaving no loose ends, and let a new Purifier be born."
Gawain quietly stared at her.
Then, silence.
A suffocating stillness continued for a while.
Then, when he spoke again, the words that followed were of a very different temperature than before.
"So, you're just going to watch that Purifier sit in the Grand Duchess's seat?"
"That's not it..."
"What do you mean, it's not?"
Gawain suddenly slammed his fist against the carriage wall.
"My honor is buried in the mud right now. The title of Envoy of God, the image of a savior, is all about to be taken away by that bitch. And in that situation, kill the Purifier?"
He leaned closer to Beloa, shouting as if cornering her.
"Suspicious eyes will be focused on our already noisy family. And I'm the one who has to clear up that suspicion first."
"......"
"Do you want to see your brother being criticized that much?"
Gawain's words were no longer persuasion.
It was a one-sided denunciation, an oppression.
And as always, it instantly turned into blame towards her.
"The reason the plan failed at the wedding... there was one Spellwork missing from the circuit."
At those words, Beloa's expression hardened.
Because she knew what he was about to say.
"It's your fault."
"......"
"Because you couldn't even check that measly circuit properly... If you hadn't made that mistake, it would have all ended at the Grand Cathedral. If things had gone according to plan back then, I wouldn't be here like this now."
Gawain quietly picked up the box again and placed it on Beloa's lap.
The box containing the Chaos Stone.
"Is there another way to make the Purifier go berserk in this unprepared state... other than using this Chaos Stone? Tell me right now if there is."
Beloa pressed her lips shut.
At that silence, the corner of Gawain's lips twisted cynically.
"Make sure you do it right this time."
He said.
As if this was not a request but an order.
Gawain coldly said, looking out the window as if turning away from her.
"I don't want to be disappointed in you any further."
Beloa bit her lip, looking down at the box.
The small, light object felt as heavy as a lead weight.
If Gawain was going this far, she could no longer object.
To her, the family's will was the truth, and the orders of her brother, who carried the family's future, were the law.
'He means for me to be the medium directly.'
To activate the Chaos Stone, a fixed point was needed to secure the Magical Power circuit.
It was possible at the Grand Cathedral because they had been steadily working on it for days, based on the already established Magic Circle.
But inside the Ducal Palace...
There was no time for that.
No time to grasp the foundation, no time to secretly install it, and no manpower to install it.
There was no way Gawain didn't know that.
When Beloa indirectly pointed it out, he deliberately pretended not to hear.
He ignored, evaded, and coerced.
As if the answer had been decided from the beginning.
In the end, there was only one conclusion.
Beloa had to directly engrave the mark on her body and become the medium for the Chaos Stone.
"......But if you use me as a medium, the moment it's discovered, it will immediately expose Cardel as the mastermind."
She cautiously retorted.
Then, Gawain returned to being a kind brother and said in a gentle voice.
"Oh, Beloa. When have I ever told you to sacrifice yourself?"
And he added nonchalantly.
"We have a spy planted inside the Excepcion castle. A low-ranking servant, but... that will be enough for that purpose."
"......"
In other words, Beloa would be the medium, but if a problem arose, the responsibility would be shifted to that spy.
On the surface, it seemed to guarantee her safety, but in reality, it was no different from using her as a shield.
In fact, there was no alternative to her.
It would be fatal for the existence of the Chaos Stone to be known to the outside world, and Gawain and Beloa were currently the only people here who could activate it without a separate Spellwork.
"......"
Becoming a medium did not mean that her life would be threatened.
But it was by no means a light task.
If the control of the Chaos Stone failed, side effects such as Magical Power overload, temporary fainting, and sensory loss would occur.
Nevertheless, Beloa lowered her head.
This was her brother's order, and it was the only opportunity for her to make up for her mistake.
Above all, what she feared more than any side effect was the look in her brother's eyes when the operation failed.
"......I understand."
She took a small breath.
The Chaos Stone in her hand slowly pressed down on her heart like an unquenchable anxiety.
