What awaits at the end of this road is (4)
On the day I was to meet in Oslo, the palace sent Chevio as my escort knight along with a carriage.
I looked Into Chevio's dim eyes. He must have not been sleeping well, his face seemed to have become rougher.
"Are you very tired?"
"Oh, I think I'm going to die."
Chevio met my gaze and smiled bashfully.
"But when I see our youngest, I look better. I feel so much stronger."
"Stop talking nonsense and get some sleep until we get to the palace."
"No, I don't want to waste time."
The smile never left Chevio's eyes as he looked at me.
"Are you okay with me not being the guardian?"
"I've never been happy with you being the guardian. If I could, I would meet God and grab him by the collar. Give my sister's eyesight."
I knew Chevio would answer like that.
Because he is a man who always thinks of his little sister's happiness before the honor of being a guardian.
I took his hand first. His rough, thick fingers carefully rubbed the back of my hand as if it were glass.
"What happened? Did the Third Prince really ask to meet me?"
"At first, the Third Prince claimed that His Majesty was a monster. He said that he was only trying to get rid of the monster?"
"Is he trying to save his life by imitating a lunatic?"
"It's obvious."
It was also a method often used by nobles who committed murder. It had worked quite well up until now.
'It's a shame. It would have worked if the opponent wasn't the Emperor.'
Oslo's crime was not murder, but treason. And the mastermind of treason deserves at least the death penalty.
"So I asked how he knew that His Majesty was a monster."
Chevio paused for a moment and sighed deeply.
"His Majesty Call you. You'll tell us how to tell the difference."
The Emperor must have been conflicted after receiving the report on the interrogation. It was obvious to anyone that Oslo was plotting something.
However, there was no way to know when or how the monster would approach. In the end, he had no choice but to call me in, desperate for even a shred of hope.
Chevio laughed bitterly.
"I should have opposed it until the end. I'm sorry that I was powerless."
"How could a knight commander disobey His Majesty's orders? I also wanted to meet the Third Prince. Don't say such things."
"...Aren't you scared?"
"Brother will be by my side, right? Uh... No? Where should I go?"
"Where would I go leaving you? Of course, I'll be by your side."
"Then I'm not scared at all."
"Our youngest..."
The moment Chevio hugged me with a moved expression, a familiar building passed by.
I quickly pushed Chevio out of the way and hung on to the carriage window.
"Didn't we just pass by the prison?"
"How do you know where the prison is?"
"Ah... I've been there before because of Sierra."
"Yes?"
Chevio answered the natural lie without any doubt.
"There is a separate place to hold political prisoners. There are many people with good words, so prisoners can be incited."
So Oslo was trapped in the west tower.
The west tower of the palace was a very secluded place.
As we passed through the gloomy street, a dreary, windowless building appeared.
"There was a place like this in the palace..."
"Isn't that a little bit true?"
A cylindrical building stood tall on an empty land.
The stone exterior walls had an ominous color as if stained with blood in some places.
The guard standing guard at the only entrance saluted Chevio.
"Welcome, Captain Astrod. Lady Astrod."
"Yes."
As I entered, a damp smell and cold air rushed in. Prisons are like that, but this place seemed particularly bad.
"Are you cold?"
"Yes."
Chevio took off his uniform and placed it over my shoulders. After waiting for a moment, the warden approached me.
"Sorry, I'm late, Captain."
"It's okay. I was supposed to interrogate a prisoner today."
"Oh, I got the report. Come this way."
As we climbed the stairs, each floor had a circular arrangement of solitary cells, with crossbows installed in front of the doors along with complex mechanical devices.
As I was paying attention, Chevio explained it to me in a tactful manner.
"If someone tries to force open the prison door, the crossbow will fire. They will be turned into a hedgehog before they even get a chance to step out."
"Then wouldn't I be able to die?"
Instead of Chevio, the warden answered with a soft smile...
"If you don't want to die, just stay quiet."
“Ah.”
Oslo must be going crazy by now.
You have to wait to be hanged in a place where you can't even dream of escaping.
'Then I guess I should use that feeling.'
Oslo was locked up at the top of the tower. Unlike the other floors, which had five or six cells attached to each other, there was only one here.
Oslo was standing right in front of the iron bars as if he had heard the noise. His eyes were glaring at us, and there was a poisonous look in them.
The warden struck the iron bars with his club.
"Can't you step back?"
"You rude bastard! The day I leave here, I'll be the first to cut off your head!"
Oslo was not at all discouraged. The warden sighed deeply at the voice that even conveyed the pride of the royal family.
"He says he was locked up here because of a misunderstanding. He believes he will be released soon. I don't know if the interrogation will be conducted properly in this condition."
"I'll take care of that."
"Yes, let me know when you're done."
"Yes."
As the warden stepped back Oslo asked urgently.
"Sir Chevio, have you found my Father?"
"..."
"I just said that the demon had transformed into a fake Emperor! Then you should have looked for the real Emperor."
He looked like a real madman. His expression was twisted in pain, and anyone could tell that he was a child worried about his father's whereabouts.
Chevio shook his head.
"Speak over there. Don't come near him."
"Yes, brother. Thanks."
Chevio took five or six steps back and leaned against the steps. Only then did he ask calmly.
"You said you would teach me how to distinguish between monsters."
But Oslo's answer was very different from what I expected.
"You made a contract with a monster, right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Have you forgotten that you interfered with me? If only you weren't here, I could have killed the monster! This is all your fault! The empire will fall because of you!"
Do you really think the Emperor is a monster?
The acting was so great that I was confused for a moment.
After all, this man should have been an actor instead of a Prince. If he had, he would have been happier than he is now.
Oslo grabbed the bars.
"What did you make a contract with a monster to gain? Is it for eyesight?"
I exclaimed in admiration at the sight of Oslo's eyes still burning with hope.
How could you still not give up hope? Your determination to still believe that there was a way to survive was amazing.
So I guess I'm just pretending to be crazy.
"Is this why you called me? I came here because I thought there might be room for negotiation... I'm disappointed."
"Negotiation?"
Oslo's eyes grew dim.
He asked a question. I continued, hiding my smile.
"Tell me how to Identify a monster. Then I may not be able to let you out of here, but I can spare you from the death penalty."
"...How can something like you do this?"
"I saved His Majesty. His Majesty will not be able to refuse my request."
Oslo's expression slowly changed. The staged madness disappeared and a cunning face was revealed.
"That's right, Father will grant any request you make. It's not because he's grateful to you, but because the Emperor is a person who believes that he should never be indebted to anyone."
"..."
"First, get me a definite answer that I will be spared from the death penalty. A document with the Emperor's seal would be good. Then I will teach you how to distinguish between monsters."
Yes, that must have been your real goal. To use me to avoid the death penalty.
I expected it.
"How can I trust that the method you told me is real?"
"What if you don't believe me? Is there any other way?"
The faint smile made me feel nauseous. I forced myself to look embarrassed.
"Then please tell me one thing. If I'm going to ask His Majesty a favor, I need to have some basis for it."
"Say it."
There was a question that had been lingering for a while.
Why did Oslo come forward?
If the top-tier monster had taken direct action, the Emperor could have been dealt with much more secretly and quickly.
"Why on earth would you do something like that?"
"It needs blood to change its appearance..."
"I expected that. But you don't have to move yourself. There are monsters too."
"You wanted to say it was me? But I told you that wasn't possible...!"
Oslo answered annoyedly and shut his mouth.
I felt joy as I looked at that expression. I whispered quickly.
"The blood obtained through the power of a demon can't change its form, right?"
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