Chapter 29: The reason
「Enjoying the wind, Kibadios?」Kyles patted Kibadios' back.
「Yes. I have never been on an airship before, let alone a royal one.」answered the hybrid, his arms leaned onto the airship's balcony rails. 「As an incubus, I do possess wings, but enjoying the sky without having to use my wings is a much more pleasant experience.」
「I bet!」Kyles laughed, then paused for a moment before continuing. 「What do you think about the story King Lance told us?」
「What about it?」
「... I dont know.」Kyles looked up at the clear blue sky. 「Somehow, I feel sorry for the Prime Minister. He was misled into believing he could have resurrected his lover and it caused him to carry out such a reckless plan. I was thinking, if I were in his shoe, if something happened to Yllaner, would I have done something similar? Risking hundreds of thousands of innocent lives, just for a chance to have her back.」
Kibadios remained silent, giving the hero no answer. After all, he did not think Kyles ever expected an answer to such a rhetorical question like that. 「Whatever happens, just know that you can never resurrect dead people.」Kibadios finally replied. 「Just try your best to protect your loved ones, to protect Princess Yllaner.」
「Of course!」Kyles grinned. 「I'll protect her with my life!」
「That's reassuring.」Kibadios spoke faintly
「What's that?」
「No, it's nothing.」dismissed the hybrid.
「Kibadios dono!」a voice called out from inside the ship's corridor.「I did not have a chance to apologize to you before.」
「For what?」Kibadios gave Thomas, the old hero, a cold look.
「For being disrespectful to you.」The hero confessed. 「My hatred for demihuman blurred my judgement of you. I have always believed all demihumans are up to no good, but without your assist dealing against Ryuujin, I'm sure the Kingdom of Maeg, no actually, for matter of fact, this whole region of the continent, would be plunged into chaos because of the Prime Minister.」
「...That was nothing.」answered Kibadios. 「After all, you did save my retainers before so I guess we're even.」
「Hahaha! You're too kind, Kibadios dono.」laughed the old man.
「If you dont mind me asking though.」continued Kibadios 「What happened to you in the past?」
「Huh?」
「I heard some snippets about you from Kyles and how you lost your eyes to a demihuman, but I was just curious about the whole story.」
「Well...」Thomas was hesitant for a while. 「I guess it's no harm to tell you and Kyles dono here. It's not like it's a secret. I used to foster a demihuman child. I raised him as my own but one day, he betrayed my trust and slaughtered innocent villagers out of rage. That's when I confronted him and I lost my eyes in the process. Ever since then, I could never trust another demihuman. But you have proven me wrong, Kibadios dono!」
「Still, you're not going to suddenly trust demihuman now, are you?」Kibadios smiled.
「You're right! Not likely. You're the exception, I guess.」
Ah, is it now? You have such a bad judgement, old man. It's lucky you didn't lose your life yet, let alone your eyes.
「Anyways, I think we are going to approach Lorian soon. We should start preparing for the landing.」Kyles reminded the two.
「Of course! Please excuse me, Kyles dono, Kibadios dono.」Thomas nodded and walked back to his cabin.
「See!」Kyles nudged the hybrid. 「I told you Thomas dono is a good person at heart.」
「Yes. I guess you're right...」
「Anyways, I'll go and get ready with Yllaner. You should prepare for the landing also.」The hero waved goodbye, in which Kibadios only nodded. With his eyes, he could see far at the horizon, Lorian, the glorious capital of Maeg was coming into view. After all, this has been the second day since they boarded the airship.
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During the first day, the heroes and their companions were gathered together in front of the newly crowned king of Maeg in a small room within the ship. The room was not technically small, but it was by no means considered big. Decorated with merely a small round table and a few chairs while the room's wall was reinforced with thick iron, imbued with strong protective magics, the hybrid knew it clearly served as some sort of Situation Room equivalent for the royal airship. Small chatters between the heroes and their parties had come to an abrupt end as King Lance slowly made his way inside. The king, despite being a handsome man dressing an impeccable royal regalia, appeared pale with a dark complexion under his eyes. It seemed as though he had not had any good sleep for a while. Not that anyone would expect him to, not with all the upheaval that he and the royal family experienced recently.
「Thank you for all coming here.」He gave a polite nod at the general direction where people gathered. 「The Kingdom of Maeg owes you a huge apology.」
「Let the bygone be bygones.」Thomas was the first to respond to the King's greeting.「However, we would still want to hear the story about the Prime Minister.」
「Yes, That'd be the only thing the kingdom owes us.」Amber continued.
「Indeed.」King Lance agreed. 「That is why you were all gathered here today. I bet you all have so many questions about what happened.」
「First of all, what of the Prime Minister now?」asked Kyles.
「He's actually here on this airship, being transported back to Lorian to face justice.」answered King Lance.「I actually just had a conversation with him before coming here.」
「... So, why did he do such a reckless thing?」Amber curiously asked. 「Releasing a Catastrophe level threat from its seal.」
「You were saying something about a woman when you apprehended him, weren't you?」Thomas recalled.
「Yes, Reena.」King Lance sighed. 「She was my and Jayden's closest friend.」
「Wait, if I remember correctly, she was your fiance, wasn't she?」Amber, a native hero from Maeg, seemed to have a revelation.
「Indeed she was. Although our engagement only lasted a few years, until her father committed treason against the Kingdom… or at least, that's what written in the public records.」
「What do you mean? If I recalled, Viscount Frederick, along with the second prince, caused a small rebellion almost a decade ago, right?」said Amber.
「... That was merely a cover story. In truth, it was a feud between my eldest brother and my second brother, who was fighting against one another for the throne. Viscount Frederick took the side of my second brother, but in the end, it was my eldest brother that won. As the results, Viscount Frederick was branded a traitor while my second brother was killed. His death was branded as a casualty of the rebellion.」
「... Where was your father, the former king, during all of this?」frowned Thomas.
「My father was never fit for the struggle in politics. With his soft nature, he was unable to stop the feud between his sons. Up until then, he was relying on the help of Jayden's father, his best friend, to stabilize the situation within the Kingdom. Once Jayden's father passed away, all hell broke loose.」
「I see.」
「We knew about the power vacuum created when the previous Prime Minister passed away, but I didn't know it was that bad.」Surprised Amber. 「... But then, I was only a teenager then. I doubt I could understand the Kingdom's politics. Anyways, what happened to lady Reena after her father was executed?」
「Understanbly, our engagement was broken off, like I previously mentioned. At the time, I thought that was a good thing since both of us knew we were better off as friends. Her true love was Jayden, anyways.」King Lance smiled. 「She had been working as an officer in the army and after her father's death, because Jayden had been cleverly pulling the strings behind the scene, she was able to keep her job. Everything was fine for her… and for their relationship to grow. At the time, I did not know the worst had yet to come.」
「What do you mean?」Kyles asked.
「Do you know about the great rebellion what shook our kingdom four years ago, Kyles dono?」
「I was not in the kingdom then, but everyone in the region knew about it.」
「Compared to the 'Frederick Rebellion', it was a huge conflict that was responsible for the death of most princes in the kingdom.」Amber told Kyles.
「Yes, only after the conflict did I become the designated heir to the throne. The rebellion claimed the lives of my four brothers…」
「If I'm not wrong, wasn't the rebellion caused by...」
「Yes, my own brothers. That was why it devastated the royal family. Reena was killed in the conflict.」
「... I'm an outsider so would you mind telling me what happened?」Kibadios grimly asked the King. After all, the series of unfortunate events occurred in this kingdom seemed to be more than just coincidence, at least from the hybrid's point of view.
「It all started when the princedoms of the third and fourth prince suddenly rebelled. Although they did not have many personal troops, the fact that the rebellions were led by royal members was damaging enough. Before the two princes could fully muster troops, my father dispatched his own personal delegates to the princedoms to convince and prevent them from fully rebelling against the central government. Accompanying the delegates was Reena's regiment. During the negotiation, however, my eldest brother was impatient. So, without my father's approval, he launched a surprise attack, easily took over one of the princedoms. That action, however, was the death sentence for the members of the delegate and Reena. My fourth brother quickly subdued Reena's troops stationed in his land and openly rebelled against my father and eldest brother. He summarily executed her and the delegates.」King Lance's voice slowly broke. 「... Their bodies... were displayed in the city's common square for weeks until my eldest brother's troops finally overran the city. Both Jayden and I were devastated when we learned of her death. Blaming my eldest brother for it, we convinced my father to punish him for his actions… That, however, was our mistake. My eldest brother, fearing that my father may strip him of his crown prince status, decided to lead his troops to attack the capital. Now, it was his turn to rebel. Many provincial governors sided with him, thinking that he would eventually be able to overthrow our father and take over the title of the King. Civil war engulfed our kingdom. Of course, I and many of my brothers stood up against my eldest brother. We began to launch a campaign to subdue the provincial governors. It ended in stalemate as we were able to overpower them… One of my brothers was even killed in one of the battles. The civil war, though, came to an abrupt end as Jayden, leading the royal army, was finally able to crush my eldest brother's. Needless to say, Jayden quickly killed him without apprehending him back to the capital. With my eldest brother's death, the civil war came to an end.」
「... and ever since then, Jayden has been trying to resurrect lady Reena?」Kibadios asked.
「I dont know when such an idea came to his head, but I know for sure, for the first few years after the war, Jayden merely drowned himself in work to forget about Reena. Only recently did he start to act strange. When my father, the former king's health, finally deteriorated to the point of being bedridden, Jayden started to take over the royal's power and authority. He even jailed me once I spoke out against him.」
「So, it was his turn to stage a coup.」Thomas pointed out.
「... Yes, though, he did not intend to truly take over the power.」Lance tried to defend his friend. 「He did not fully crush those who opposed him. He knew the moment he stepped out of the capital, the forces loyal to the royal family would take over the control and free me, yet he let them live.」
「... That does not exonerate him of his crime.」Argued Thomas. 「... but I wonder, in the end, what was he trying to accomplish by releasing Ryuujin, risking hundreds of thousands of lives like that? Both your majesty and Kibadios dono have been talking about resurrection?」
「He was trying to resurrect Lady Reena with primal dragon's blood.」explained Kibadios. 「At least that's what he told me. He was merely being tricked.」
「By who? How can such an intelligent man like him can be easily tricked like that?」asked Amber.
「By the girl standing next to him before, she called herself Adela. She tricked him into believing that he could see his beloved again.」answered the hybrid. 「He is indeed gullible, but then, again, can any of us be sure that we would never fall for such trick, had it been the person who we love the most that died?」The meeting had ended soon afterward but it had seemed as though the Prime Minister's story had struck a chord with the people who listened.
After the conversation with Kyles and Thomas, Kibadios sighed as he walked back to his room. The story he was told the day before still bugged the hybrid. Too many coincidences , the hybrid thought to himself. It was as if the whole tragedy had been orchestrated by someone… The Astrals and Adela would be the prime suspect. The one thing that bothered Kibadios the most, though, was the fact that if everything was planned by Adela, then something was missing… If it was the Adela that he knew and hated, then things are not yet finished. The chain of events would not merely stop at releasing Ryuujin like that. They were still missing a 'Grand finale.' He knew Adela had not finished with her plan, yet. Something big is coming !
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「Ara ara!」 a feminine figure lightly stepped into the room located at the lowest level of the airship, blood dripped down from her hands. 「Who do we have here? Where is my handsome Prime Minister? All I could see now is a pathetic man with a broken spirit.」
「... Why did you toy with me, Adela?」Jayden stood up. 「WHY DID YOU GIVE ME FALSE HOPE?」The man loudly screamed out from the top of his lung, his hands grabbed tightly onto the iron bars that enclosed around him.
「I did not force you to do anything. I merely gave you options. I thought you were always confident in the choice you made...」Adela smiled. 「At least, that's what you told me before when you rejected me.」
「What?」Jayden was taken aback from the revelation.
「Remember this face?」Adela's homunculus vessel suddenly transformed into another beautiful figure, a somewhat familiar face that Jayden knew he had seen somewhere.
「I used to be interested in you, Jayden.」Adela began to explain. 「Don't you remember this face? In this appearance, I tried to make you mine, once. After all, I'd love to add you, a handsome and talented man, into my collection. But you rejected me. You HUMILIATED me! HOW DARE YOU, A MERE MORTAL??」
Jayden's eyes widened as he remembered the girl standing in front of him as one of the many suitors he had rejected when he was young. What is this? All this just because…
「Hmm, I started to like that confused look of yours. But let me tell you something: Ever since you humiliated me, I have made sure you have to forever live your life in misery. Why did you think the conflict between the crown prince and the second prince started? Or why Viscount Frederick allying with the second prince? Why did the third and fourth prince decide to rebel? Who encouraged the crown prince to attack them?」Adela laughed maniacally. It's so easy to influence people when they believe the Astrals are on their side . 「Yes, I was the driving force behind everything that happened to your beloved kingdom.」
「How dare you?」Jayden gritted his teeth.
「NO, HOW DARE YOU CHOOSE SOME WHORE OVER ME, ADELA? DO YOU KNOW WHO AM I??」Adela screamed back. 「That's why I made sure that whore had to suffer. Hahaha! Do you know that once I got the fourth prince to capture the girl called Reena, she was begging for her life. So I treated her like a whore she was, and ordered that if she could please all the troops in the city, I'd let her go...」
「... Stop...」
「And so she got onto all four like a hungry bitch and started to suck their cocks willingly! Of course she could not please all 10000 men stationed there and gave up only after a few hundreds. She almost drowned in their cum though. A befitting end for a common whore!��
「STOP」
「You know, before her execution, when I told her the reason why she was being punished, she was begging for her life and confessing how she only wanted to use you! Poor bitch! She was hoping to marry you to get to a better station in life, only to be executed because of her association with you! She was begging to suck more cocks in exchange for her life, all the way until her last breath. You know what her last words were? "Please, fuck me! Treat me like a bitch, like a cattle! However you like! Please just dont kill me!" Hahaha such a pathe...」
「SHUT UP!!!」
「Ah, yes!」Adela sadistically touched her breasts and crotch. 「That face, the anguish face of someone who just learned the true nature of his lover. I think I'm falling in love with you all over again… But too bad, I won't take you with me even if you prostrate yourself and kiss my feet.」Adela suddenly thrust her hand forward across the iron bars and pierced the dejected Prime Minister's heart. Just as she had planned, in addition to the fact that the power of Jayden's
「...D… DA… DAMN YOU… ASTRALS!」Jayden's last words before his mind was fully corrupted caught Adela by surprise. How did he know ?