Chapter 50 ─ Mask

As of last night, a cease-fire occurred.

It seems that the whole territory thinks that the war is over.

That's fine with me, it means I'll be going home soon.

In the morning they were arranging the feast hall for the guests. It was very noble to have parties for anything.

In the evening will be the party, so I must work hard today so I can go home soon.

◇◇◇

In one of the corridors of the Lautreamont mansion.

Gerald was walking quietly while smoking his pipe.

Yesterday he achieved a great feat after a long time of waiting.

The war would soon be over, no doubt.

Suddenly his smile faded, it was because of the person he saw.

His wife, Celestine was coming from the same direction.

She was still wearing her copper mask even in the daytime.

As he passed her, she muttered.

"You won't get away with this."

"You're not one to tell me that."

And they continued walking in their respective directions.

◇◇◇

In a makeshift camp, stood Gregore.

He was using a magical tool which one could say was a primitive and fanciful version of a Smartphone.

"Yes. Please hurry up and come."

"Yes. I can't explain it properly, but I have a bad feeling."

"It feels like everything is going just the way someone wants it to. Yes, yes, I'll be waiting at the appropriate place."

The call ended.

Gregore finished speaking and then turned to a person behind him.

"I have a mission for you."

◇◇◇

It was midday, but the adventurers were drinking.

That was because they shouldn't fight anymore.

There, a woman was drinking as if she were a man in his 40s.

The woman was Gladys Wolford, her hair was combed to the sides and reached her ears because of how short she was.

The color was red like the wine they serve in fine restaurants, her eyes were dark amber.

Gladys was a mercenary. She was a different version of adventurers.

A mercenary worked for commitment, while adventurers worked for the guild and sometimes for nobles.

I was drinking along with some female companions.

Gladys was working at the academy as she had a purpose.

"I want to have a boyfriend!"

She was almost in her 30's. She entered the academy thanks to an acquaintance.

The reason was so that way, a student or professor, would want to have her as a mistress or concubine.

By imperial decree, a mistress or concubine receives economic or social benefits.

So no matter what woman she was, she would gain. Nor could she be abandoned by that man. That was the law.

She came here recently because she thought she would make some money since she heard there were only monsters.

One of her friends told her. "If you're so desperate for a man, look, there are plenty of options there."

She turned to see a group of men... posing.

It was Jerome and Leonard.

"Muscle is culture!"

"Muscle training, it's bodybuilding!"

They were talking nonsense, so she felt no interest.

(I didn't keep my virginity intact for so many years for some idiot to take me. I want to live a good life under the shoulder of a rich, handsome, successful man!)

She drank her tankard to the bottom as she cried.

◇◇◇

The night fell.

The feast began.

Different nobles, among them Estoria official servants were present.

Laughter and friendly chatter echoed in that room.

The only person who didn't seem to fit in there was Emily.

She was invited since she was the heroine who won yesterday's battle.

She wasn't even drinking or eating anything. She was just leaning against the wall.

She didn't care if anyone spoke ill of her.

She was here for a reason.

(I want to show my household how strong I am.)

Emily belonged to a prestigious baronet household which was very small.

Her influence with other knights was low.

Since she was a little girl, Emily always loved swords.

At age 5 was the first time she used one.

Her older sister saw her and pushed her.

It said. "A woman knight is a joke. Don't generate disgrace in our family."

But that didn't matter to her. She loved the sword.

Like every little girl, she was read tales of knights and princesses, but for Emily, knights were more interesting.

Strong, brave, loyal.

They were the perfect example of a warrior.

That's why she wanted to be one.

It is thanks to a woman, sword princess Christina, that women knights are not a joke.

It is also due to the first emperor of the Bryes dynasty.

The old family dynasty had no heir, so it was time to choose a new one.

The first Loic, i.e. the future emperor without being elected, belonged to an unimportant family branch.

It was thanks to his mother, who always supported him that he was able to become emperor.

He knew that the laws in the empire with women were terrible.

That's why he decided to change them.

That was the reason for this world, but more was the will of the "game".

Several years in the academy for knights, one day Emily entered a dungeon.

In that dungeon she got lost, and then... she found it.

A beautiful sword with a shield in a hole.

As the laws in the empire state "if you find it it's yours, and if someone wants to take it from you, challenge them to a duel". It's just that the temple couldn't take the sword from Emily.

She didn't know it was a sacred sword. Not even the temple, they just wanted it because it was so beautiful and would be in their treasury.

Emily wasn't a character in the game, she was just another person in this game world.

She didn't notice, that Razel was looking at her.

◇

The party started smoothly. It seems that the ceasefire talks are going well.

I hope so.

I approached with a tray of drinks for the guests, Gerald's specific ones, and overheard their conversation.

"Your brother, Cardinal Offrey seems to be the favorite to be the new patriarch, doesn't he?"

"So he says, but there are other popular cardinals. Even bishops who have influence."

"It looks like the next patriarch will take longer than it seems."

Their conversation was irrelevant to me, after all, did it even matter?

For Lily it does, if she becomes a saint. Her importance as a saint is to help me defeat the demon king.

But apparently Astraea said to forget about the demon king and concentrate on the real threat.

It's all so confusing.

Why couldn't I reincarnate into a simple otome game or an ero one?

Is it too much to ask not to complicate my head?

I wandered around the room offering drinks until I bumped into an unexpected person.

"Ah!"

That person was...

"Cid, what are you doing here?"

The third prince, Cidfert von Bryes.

Next to him was an older man with glasses.

We pointed at each other out of unexpected surprise.

"That's what I should say! What are you doing here?"

I proceeded to tell Cid everything that happened.

"... Why am I not surprised coming from you?"

"It was your father's fault, the emperor."

"By the way, who is he?"

I pointed my face at the man next to him.

"Oh yes, may I introduce him to you. He is one of my older brothers, prince #120 of the empire. Machias."

"A pleasure."

I said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Number 120?!"

Sometimes I forgot that guy is the worst man in the country.

"I understand, but what are they doing here?"

"Several nobles have been gathered here because the matter of this war is taking so long. Usually conflicts are settled quickly either with a private duel or political matters."

"Since I am a temporary acting duke, I was invited, my elder brother who was here, is my deputy in the Granville territory."

True, after defeating Astraea, the lawless city was destroyed.

Cid became its temporary ruler.

"I understand that, but what did they call you for?"

"I don't know. Maybe because the two territories are close, perhaps?"

Cid's older brother spoke up.

"For us non-heir sons, it is very difficult our situation. I may be older than Crown Prince Sirius, but not being born to the legal wife, the late empress, we have no chance to enter the competition to be the next emperor or prime minister."

"But that's good for us, the old imperial families poisoned themselves tell the stories. They even planned conflicts to eliminate those of higher rank. I was certainly glad I was born into a rank that had no relevance.

It was both interesting and scary to know what the imperial family is capable of. I'm glad I'm not part of it."

But it wasn't the one I was interested in.

I was interested in knowing more about the white knight. I couldn't ask him since, in the game, the white knight only existed in the ending, obviously no one has any idea who that knight is today, but they will in the future.

Geez, I need a break.

I told the chief butler to give me a break, so I headed to the servants' quarters to get some sleep.

The corridor light was dark for some reason.

In that darkness, I heard a sound.

It was a beautiful melody that reminded me of that famous musician, Beethoven.

I know, because the same melody was being played in the game.

As I approached the door where the music was playing, I opened it a little to see.

There, illuminated by the moonlight, was Gerald's wife, playing the piano.

The melody was very beautiful, but a tone of sadness was being played.

Also, there was something that caught my attention.

Her mask was on top of the piano.

Her face was uncovered.

It was my chance to try to act as a guardian in the shadows and see what her identity looked like.

But unfortunately, I was not used to wearing these fancy shoes so I used a lot of force and ended up opening the door.

She noticed my presence, quickly grabbed the mask and put it on.

Then, in a gentle tone she said.

"Are you okay? But more importantly, what are you doing here?"

"Sorry, I was going to the rest room and heard the melody you played, very beautiful by the way."

I must get out of here as soon as possible.

But she said avoiding him.

"Please sit down."

"But I..."

"Sit down, please."

She was the madam of this house, I must listen to her, even if I don't want to.

What can I do to avoid this situation?

"I'll be frank with you. Are you a spy for him?"

I was speechless at what she said.

"Spy? I'm sorry, but don't I understand anything?"

"Are you sure? Even if I say that..."

She put her hands under the nightstand and pulled out some documents.

"Do I have proof of your complicity?"

I'm tired, this is so weird every time.

"Sorry, I have no idea what..."

"Are you still playing dumb?"

Page after page she turned.

"I know about his financial frauds, I know about the under-the-table deals he's made." I know all about his private life. And yet he still plays dumb?

Wait, she's not talking about me, she's talking about her husband.

"You mean your husband does illegal things?"

She seemed to understand that I don't know anything.

"Are you really not one of his spies? Despite the fact that you always stare at me?"

It was so obvious that I was always seeing her!

She relaxed in a disinterested way.

"Sorry, I seem to have become paranoid already."

No, no, this is serious, don't relax.

"Err, I'm sorry, but what's this all about?"

I want to know what's going on here.

She settled back in her chair as she told me.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but if you're not one of their chips, I can make you one of mine, how about it? I'll pay you of course."

Money is always welcome, but my curiosity about this case is more important.

"I don't understand what's going on here, could you explain it to me?"

She seemed reluctant at first, but then relented. How easy.

"What if I told you, what in this war is something else?"

"Huh?"

"What if I told you that this war was provoked by horrible people?"

"Whose goal was to seize the minerals in this territory and thus sell them to enemies of the empire to finance their wars."

Huh.

Hey...

What the hell?

Seriously, what the hell?

"From the beginning, this territory was mineral to exploit its resources. We were never warriors or soldiers, so if you come from the capital, you should see that this territory is not developed like the others. "

She's right about that, this territory compared to the ones I've seen seems to be truly in a medieval setting, the others look like it's a futuristic 19th century version.

"A long time ago, my older brother died, he was the rightful heir."

"In my situation, as the only daughter, I was forced to inherit the territory, I didn't want to since my father refused to choose other lovers' sons as successor."

"Then one day, when I turned, I woke up like this."

Suddenly, she took off, the mask.

I was at a loss for words for what I saw.

To describe what I saw. Did anyone ever imagine seeing a petrified tree?

They say its bark is so rough that it scrapes the fingers.

Besides being a very unpleasant sensation to touch because it can have bacteria on it, it is very unpleasant to see and touch one.

That, is what I was seeing.

Celestine's skin was pale gray, it seemed to have cracks.

Even her red lips were gray.

But, the detail that caught my attention the most.

It was her beautiful visible eyes, they were cyan.

"I woke up like this one day, doctors and healers came to treat me, but no one could detect that it was this disease. But I know what it is."

"A curse."

"A curse?"

"Curses are the product of black magic. Which is rare to find. One day before my birthday, I was visited by a strange woman who claimed to be a distant aunt, she fed me a dessert, it was my favorite."

"As I ate it, I watched her hold back her laughter."

"It was there that I understood, my relatives wanted to take over this territory, my father didn't want that, he didn't trust them. To be the lord of these lands, he cares about his people, that's what I've been doing on the sly."

"I would take money from my father that he entrusted to me and give it to a maid, who would go to the village and distribute it to all the hungry."

"Haven't you ever wondered how there is food despite the problems we face? Well, it all comes out of my late father's pockets."

"My husband, that man's family wants this land, that's why I was forced to marry him even though I've never had an engagement before. I thought for a moment... that fate had smiled on me, but it wasn't."

"It wasn't..."

She ducked her head due to his sad tone.

"I... I was just used. He secretly took over these lands. His resources, his family wants to be the next patriarch. This plan could never have succeeded if not for the death of the former patriarch."

Uh... wait a moment...

You're telling me... that I caused this?

It was me who killed that guy. But it was because he would be a danger to the future.

"Maybe they had my house or not as a target, but my husband has been busy because he has bought my relatives. It's only me left to prevent him from completely taking over this place. My allies are traitors, I hardly trust anyone."

"Even if I paid to get help, no one guarantees me that those guys won't betray me, really... how pitiful I am."

Celestine burst into tears.

Probably... no, for sure she had been fighting alone all this time.

Besides, that this came up just because I decided to eliminate that guy.

If what she says is true and it's all a scam, what's this celebration for?

◇◇◇

A man was approaching Gerald, it was Duke Hugh who came to say goodbye.

"It was a splendid dinner my lord. But I must be going."

"Sure. But one thing, is it done?"

The duke smiled at Gerald.

"Of course. The war will be over when we have gotten rid of some nobles who oppose you. After all it was for that reason that the war broke out, hahaha."

Gerald smiled in a wicked way.

"The enemies of Offrey Household have been bothering us for a long time, this is a good opportunity to get rid of them as well as to take over these lands. All in all, that useless woman must be good for something."

"Indeed it is, well. I'll retire and report all this to His Majesty."

"It was a pleasure doing business with you."

"Likewise."

As he watched him go, Gerald thought.

(Although part of that was a lie, my real goal is to find a new headquarters for the Black Ravens).

(As the lawless city fell silent, we need a new place to establish our temporary base. All for the sake of taking over this country).

The current situation and the game, are so distorted, that one cannot deduce what is the correct line of events.

But what is certain is that once again, the "villainess" was a victim of this game world.