“……Precipie?”
While Dietrich stared at me with a puzzled expression, I swallowed lightly without him noticing.
[Duke, His Majesty will definitely try to summon me to the palace again.]
What Dietrich was going to do was as clear as seeing a fire in broad daylight. As soon as he hears reports of my and Fenric's arrival at the capital, he will send men to force me back to the palace.
[…But I have a plan.]
All the way in the carriage, I was lost in thought. I combine the new information I have with the various possibilities and try to come up with a decision.
The premise of that thinking was very simple:
How could I stay outside the palace and never return?
To stay by the only person I can trust and rely on in this damned game world: Duke Fenric.
Finally, I found the answer.
It probably wouldn't work out, but it was a gamble that had to be taken.
“While I was staying in the village near the Forbidden Forest... I checked out my mother’s house.”
“Do you mean Lady Vanessa?”
Dietrich already knew that Vanessa lived in a village adjacent to the Forbidden Forest.
“I asked Your Majesty in the past why I was not executed... and were you aware of the reason for that?”
Hearing Precipe's words, Dietrich automatically recalled the words of the old grand wizard of that time.
“My father was a demonic creature.”
Then Prisippi took Nidhogg's scale from her hands, and displayed it before him.
“To be more precise… it was a dragon.”
[Then these people possess a high level of intelligence, and are able to think unlike other monsters...]
“I think this is the reason. The reason why the previous emperor could not kill me and only exiled me.”
“…….”
“Did you know? That dragons are much smarter than ordinary monsters... and that they are very attached to their young?”
There is no way Precipe could have known this information herself.
The one who told her about it was Fenric, who wanted to console her on the way back to the capital.
He told her that Nidhogg was probably coming to look for her. If he were alive, he would certainly do it.
As for whether or not the former Emperor knew the whole truth, or how he discovered Vanessa’s betrayal, or if he knew that Precipe’s father was a dragon... that remains a matter of speculation.
It's just that worrying about the bigger consequences might have kept him from killing her.
This is a hypothesis that is considered quite plausible.
“It's true that I thought the Grand Wizard's words might be nonsense, since he's crazy anyway… but that wasn't the case.”
Honestly, she was afraid of what Dietrich would do if he knew the truth. So she was afraid.
But now that the milk has been spilled, fear is no longer useful. Even if you remain silent, Sikfried is there.
The man who had experienced fighting with monsters and knew exactly why the monsters didn't attack Precipe… he would tell Dietrich about it, no doubt.
And if the truth is going to come out anyway, you might as well take advantage of it.
“……so.”
Dietrich asked her, staring at her, after listening silently.
“So what do you want?”
“…….”
“Even if you are a descendant of monsters… nothing will change.”
But Dietrich's reaction was a bit surprising.
Although he is an unpredictable man, Presippi expected that he would either exploit this fact to his advantage, or discard it as with all the bad endings she had witnessed in the game...
“I just spoke with the Duke. It seems that there is a strong possibility that Ivan was the one who killed Atari Hannan and Noah Dviran.”
...So, everything that happened was Ivan's doing? Prisippi looked a little surprised.
“Since we know the identity of the killer, it means that there is no longer justification for the Duke to protect you.”
“…….”
“In other words, you should return to the palace.”
Dietrich knew full well that if this news leaked, it would cause a significant political earthquake.
But he also thought: Who knows the truth? And if there are those who know...they can simply be silenced.
As the previous emperor did when he killed the old great wizard.
He was willing to do anything... just to keep Priscipe by his side.
anything. By any means.
“No… my opinion hasn’t changed.”
Preseppe said, a nervous look still on her face, but she continued steadily.
“I don't want to go back to the palace.”
“Huh……”
“If you, Your Majesty, insist on forcibly chaining me inside the palace as you did before, I will immediately spread rumors that I am a descendant of monsters.”
Dietrich's face instantly froze.
“Other times, it might have been just a rumor that could be ignored, but now that Great Mage Ivan has killed even the Archbishop and escaped, the situation is completely different. The Church will seek to verify the matter immediately.”
There has already been an uproar about the expulsion of wizards and the abolition of the Magic Tower. If rumors started that a descendant of monsters was living in the palace, the consequences would be clear to everyone, and Prisippi was well aware of that.
“It will eventually come out, and I will probably be killed.”
“….”
“No matter how hard you try, Your Majesty, you will not be able to stop the church if it rises up in earnest.”
Preseppe's plan to stay out of the palace was clear: use her security as a means of pressure and threat.
Will this work?
Might she be forced to stay by my side even if she dies? If you think about Dietrich's trajectory, it's not that far-fetched.
…Those fears were not far from her mind, but she could not forget the face of Dietrich who begged her to return to the palace.
Maybe Dietrich, who found consciousness thanks to a glitch in the game, became a slightly different person than Dietrich, who only acts according to the settings.
Just as he had just said: “Even if you are a descendant of monsters, nothing will change.”
“….”
Dietrich did not show any reaction for a while, he did not get angry, did not scream or hold Precipi stubbornly like he usually did.
Rather, he looked at her with a slightly sad look, then said in a low voice:
“If you're going to stay by my side, you'd die better.”
Prisippi averted his gaze slightly, and the word was somewhat true.
“You threatened me with your life because you knew how I would respond.”
“….”
“Isn't it?”
She was very cunning...
In Dietrich's eyes, staring at Precipe, many feelings were reflected.
But he knew very well that no matter what happened after her truth was revealed, it would be no different from the words she spoke.
Moreover, she was the one who spread this word herself, so there is no way to silence it.
So his response was really specific:
“...Get out.”
Dietrich said in a voice that almost screamed.
He wasn't interested in knowing if Prisippi didn't want to stay by his side or if her feelings for Vendrick were different.
Maybe he doesn't want to know...
“But you should know well, Preseppe, that responsibility for the consequences of what you did today lies solely with you.”
No matter how much you hate it, if your entire place disappears, you have no choice.
Dietrich's eyes, staring at Fendrik, shone with a murderous intensity.
“….”
In fact, Dietrich's threats never reached Preseppe.
She was well aware that the numbers of knights killed in the Forbidden Forest were enormous, and even monsters had attacked the palace, and Ivan was still on the run.
So, no matter what happened, Dietrich couldn't touch Fendrick now.
He had no excuse for it, and he himself couldn't move freely now.
"Yes."
Precipi answered, staring fixedly at Dietrich.
“Thank you for your advice, Your Majesty.”
Although her face wasn't really thankful.