â¬The Cliché Gourmet shivers with exhilaration.â
Confusion brimmed in Tesilid's eyes as he watched the artifact settle, but soon his expression smoothed out so that it was back to its usual complete indifference. On the other hand, Queen Laviosa's hands shook furiously as she gazed upon the red marble of the artifact, as if she couldn't begin to comprehend the implications.
"H-How is this...?"
"..."
"Is this... real?"
"..."
"It's not possible... My son is the prince. When he was born, he looked so much like his father. He never had silver hairâ Oh!" The queen lost her ability to speak as her frantic gaze met Tesilid's dispassionate eyes, the color of which he had inherited from his mother.
"Apologies, but shall we carry out the test one more time?" the chief of attendants suggested.
He proceeded to conduct the test again as he desperately hid his shock, but they weren't testing Tesilid against Queen Laviosa's blood this time. Someone brought a bottle of blood that was carried over in an even more elaborate protective casing than the artifact. Of course, the blood of the bedridden king revealed the same results.
"My goodness!"
As expected, the reddened artifact confirmed the truth once more. Touched, the chief of attendants was the first to react, dropping to his knees before Tesilid.
"It is an honor to meet you, the second prince of Vinchester!" he shouted.
Only then did the other nobles follow him.
"H-He's the prince!"
"Prince Reminick is alive and has returned!"
"Who would've known that the master of the holy sword was the second prince?!"
Excitement and exhilaration shook the banquet hall.
"I-Is this real?" Hestio muttered to Ephael in disbelief. "Tesilid is the prince?"
"Wow, this is insane. Absolutely nuts. Unbelievable."
"Umm... Brother?" Ash asked, looking over at Tesilid with wide eyes.
The members of my knight division looked to be in various states of shock as they stared between Tesilid, the queen, and the gleaming red stone.
Tesilid was the only one who remained still and silent as the din inside the hall rose around him, his bewilderment evidently having robbed him of any response. The news was so shocking that he appeared to be almost dissociating where he stood, unaware of what was happening around him. The haze I could see in his eyes confirmed this suspicion for me.
â¬The Advocate of Confidentiality fails to understand what the main lead is thinking.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World remains silent at the main lead's complicated reaction.â
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls tells you to go and hold his hand or something.â
â¬The Cliché Gourmet wants you to quickly settle this situation.â
"How... How did this happen?" asked Queen Laviosa, dazed and lost in her shock, so I revealed the truth in front of everyone.
"There was a villain who stole Prince Reminick from his family a long time ago. He secretly encouraged the young princes to leave the royal palace by using an attendant he had planted, then had them kidnapped and sold off to a group of fanatics." The moment I finished my sentence, I turned my head and locked my eyes on a particular figure in the crowd. "Isn't that right, Prince Hardale?" I asked coldly.
Another round of murmurs erupted in the banquet hall as countless gazes latched onto Hardale. Drops of cold sweat began forming on his forehead as he tried to dodge my question
"Why would you ask me about this, saintess? You're going to cause a misunderstanding," he said, letting out a nervous chuckle as he fidgeted in place uncomfortably.
"That was your last chance to confess, Prince Hardale. What a pity."
"T-This is an outrageous scheme! Stop this at once, Divine Emissary. How foolish do you think the Vinchester family is for them to fall for such a ridiculous lie?"
"Do not embarrass yourself." I couldn't help but snicker. Having established myself as a true prophet of God by shedding light on such a long-standing mystery, I had fully secured my authority inside the hall. With my accusation, Prince Hardale was on trial with the people at the banquet.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he shouted desperately. "This is a scheme!"
I cut his cry short and remarked, "Princess Celesteed and Lord Gilette are currently investigating your little scheme. You should be pleased. Your nightmares will go away once you admit your guilt and pay for your sins."
"I-I'm innoceâ"
"If you think we won't be able to find evidence because it happened so long ago, you're sorely mistaken. You see, you're speaking to a Divine Emissary."
Prince Hardale shuddered as I continued.
"God is directing His will through me. Any evidence that exists, as well as potential witnesses and the identities of the criminals you paid off, will all be revealed shortly enough. You can look forward to it, Prince Hardale."
Mentioning the kidnappers whom he thought he'd already murdered painted his shameless face white. His distraught expression was as good as any confession. It was up to the royal family to deal with him now. I looked back at Queen Laviosa, and everyone followed my gaze.
Barely managing to catch her breath, she ordered, "Arrest Prince Hardale."
"Y-Your Majesty, she's framing me! P-Please just listenâ"
"Guards! Do not stand around! Grab him and drag him down to the dungeon! Do not feed him or give him water, for I shall interrogate that monstrous beast myself!"
Only when the queen's fury filled the banquet hall did the royal knights restrain the prince and drag him away.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please don't do this! Show mercy, Your Majesty!" His piercing shrieks became more and more distant until the slamming doors of the banquet hall completely cut them off.
â¬The Cliché Gourmet is satisfied as if they'd just finished watching an entire soap opera series.â
â¬The Cliché Gourmet gives the R&D department a seven out of ten for the thrilling scene that catered so well to their taste.â
â¬The Critic for Balance is startled by this unusually high score.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World grumbles that the scene is meant to be enjoyed, not graded.â
Time seemed to have stopped in the banquet hall for a period after that, and no one dared to speak. After a minute of tense silence, a soft voice finally broke it.
"Brother?"
It was Rigarez. He looked even younger than he was, like a lost child, as he cautiously made his way toward Tesilid.
"Reminick?" he said in a broken whisper.
Tesilid slowly turned his head as if to respond to his call, his blue eyes looking shockingly removed and unemotional. Flinching at the sight of this, Rigarez didn't dare take the last two steps but reached his right hand out for Tesilid instead, desperately and helplessly.
"Brother... Reminick. Please answer me, Reminck. A-Are you mad at me?" he asked, his voice small. "I-I know I said some really harsh things to you that night. Are you mad because you still remember? I'm sorry, Reminick. I didn't mean what I said. M-More than anything in this world, I..."
Tesilid still said nothing.
"B-Brother, please say something."
Rigarez pleaded. "It's me, Reminick. Please say my name. Call me 'Rigar' like you used to. You called me that when we were children."
Tesilid stared unflinchingly back at his brother, but it was as if he was seeing through the younger man.
"Please say my name." Rigarez took another step, his eyes now full of tears and his outstretched arm to touch Tesilid's face, when Tesilid took half a step away and dodged his touch.
It was impossible not to understand what that action meant. Soon, Rigarez's hand fell through the air, his face twisted in devastation. Next, it was Queen Laviosa's turn.
"R-Reminick..." Her voice shook as she called out to her son. "I-I cannot believe what I said earlier...."
Her face instantly went pale as she recalled what she said about Tesilid to threaten me.
"I will beat him until he dies in front of you."
Although she hadn't physically struck him, the damage was done. She couldn't believe how cruelly she had been about to treat the precious son she'd be willing to change her entire life for.
"U-Ugh..."
She covered her face with both her hands and crouched down, feeling like the most pathetic sinner as she slumped before her extravagant throne.
I carefully examined Tesilid's expression as he processed the fact that some of his greatest enemies had turned into people he was supposed to love within a matter of seconds. Worse yet, he was the only one who remembered the past. What I witnessed was exactly what I'd expected.
At that very moment, his stiff and expressionless face was but a front to hide his unrelenting shock. I quickly walked over to him and held his hand. Uncaring of who heard, I said, "It's all right. You don't need to force yourself to accept them."
I really didn't care who heard what I said.
"Just think about it as ridding yourself of enemies in a rather peaceful manner."
So... Huh? I was carefully consoling him when he finally let out a long sigh, as if he could breathe again for the first time in minutes.
"Allie..."
"Yes, Tez."
"I want to get out of here."
"Sure, let's go." With a single look, I asked Ephael to take care of the rest, then took out the teleportation stone as soon as I saw him nod.
"Reminick!"
"No! Please, wait!"
Rigarez and Queen Laviosa's shrieks were cut off abruptly as the powder from the broken teleportation stone clouded my gaze with a bright light. Our destination was not the Vatican or the duchyâI had thought of a more suitable place for healing a weary soul.
â
We settled into the cabin near Feronsa, the place where Tesilid of Loop Seventeen woke up for the first time. Ever since we arrived, Tesilid stayed out on the terrace, bracing his arms against the wooden rail while the refreshing night breeze gently ruffled his silver hair. I wished the wind could have whisked away the unhappy thoughts cluttering his mind as well.
Knowing that he was not going to grow bored of enjoying the view, I decided to approach him, each of my hands holding a warm drink.
"Drink this, Tez."
"Thank you."
The mug slowly tilted in the direction of his lips, followed by the slow bob of his Adam's apple.
"It's good," he said as he managed to muster up a faint smile.
The quiet and idyllic environment seemed to be effective in calming a person's mind. As I gazed upon a relatively more stable version of Tesilid than the one I had arrived with, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Wouldn't it be better if I had him live here? Here he didn't need to bother with other people or weather the world's cruelty. Perhaps it wouldn't be all that bad if I let him stay in this place, inside the safety of this cabin and the surrounding land. I immediately voiced my thoughts aloud.
"Tez."
"Yes, Allie," he answered placidly.
"Do you want this house? You can live here if you want."
Tesilid frowned, confused. "What are you trying to say?"
"I was thinking it wouldn't be all that bad if you gave everything up and lived here."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"With you?" he asked.
Umm... Honestly, I hadn't thought that far ahead.