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The Tale of the Wizrain Kingdom

The Emperor's Younger Brother

Translated by: S3

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

—It was shortly thereafter that word reached Cross that Elna had arrived at the mine along with Rigoberto.

「You say a message has flown in from the spirit user at the mine?」

「Yes...! It's true. I knew Elna was alive—I mean, of course she is, she's Elna!」

Cross strode down the corridor of the lord’s manor at a brisk pace, with Kyle practically running to keep up beside him.

It had been over two days since Elna and the others vanished. Ignoring Lancielo, who had been lamenting that their survival was hopeless, Cross had not relaxed his search for a moment. The dragon scale connecting him to Elna pointed toward her general location and confirmed she was alive, but he could not reveal the existence of the scale to others.

However, at a certain point, Elna’s presence had vanished. This was because she had stepped into the Spirit Forest—the "Forest of Confusion"—though Cross did not know that at the time.

He had spread out a map of Marls and guessed she might have disappeared in that forest, but since the path Elna took was one permitted only to her by the spirits, investigating the official routes yielded no progress, and the search stalled. He could not afford to let the soldiers borrowed from Marls wander aimlessly and get lost themselves.

—*Elna will undoubtedly reach the mine.*

While the search continued in case she had taken a different path or because Rigoberto’s whereabouts remained unknown, Cross trusted Elna implicitly.

—*Then I should focus on doing what I must do.*

Beyond the doors he flung open with force, the Lord of Cruschment and the members of the Albarul Empire were assembled. Lancielo was among them.

「I-I heard my brother... my brother is at the mine...! Surely, that must be a false report!?」

Cross spared Lancielo a single glance before immediately turning his face toward the Lord of Cruschment.

「I heard a message via spirit arts has arrived from my wife. May I have the details immediately?」

「Of course, King Crossgard. We have been expecting you.」

A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair bowed elegantly.

「This technology is a fusion of our country’s proud magi-mechanics and spirit arts. Unfortunately, it can only be used for short durations at present...」

On the table sat a strangely shaped black device equipped with two large, protruding gears. As the Lord of Cruschment placed his hand on the device, the gears began to turn with a quiet *clack, clack-clack*... At that signal, servants closed the curtains, and the room plunged into dimness.

At the tip of the gears was a tube shaped like an inverted cone. Suddenly, light spilled from the tube.

『Whoa, Cross!?』

Elna’s image appeared, projected onto the wall of the room. Cross’s eyes widened slightly, but he instantly masked his surprise.

「Elna. Are you in good health?」

『What's with that? That roundabout way of talking... Oh, wait. My apologies.』

She must have seen the others standing behind Cross. Within the square space, Elna existed as if she had been cut out from reality. It was a bizarre technique, as if a door had been connected right then and there, though the image was grainy and the sound occasionally skipped. It was technology that projected distant objects as if they were right in front of one's eyes.

—*I see. So this is magi-mechanics.*

(I want one,) Cross thought to himself, somewhat inappropriately, before immediately setting the thought aside. This was not the time for that.

『Yeah. I’m fine. I got a few scratches, though. And I got a nosebleed because I was pushing a bit too hard?』

「A nosebleed? Fine, then it is no problem. Just stuff some tissue up your nose.」

『I told you, it already stopped!』

He had let a familiar tone slip out, but he quickly tightened his expression and asked:

「What is the status of Emperor Rigoberto?」

『I told the people of Marls earlier, but there are no problems there either. He’s lying down because he took some poison, but the treatment is finished. According to the man himself... he’ll be fully recovered soon.』

Elna shifted her gaze toward Lancielo at the end, adopting a more formal tone.

「You did well. Now, regarding your return—」

『That’s fine too. I had a hard time getting here because I took a special path, but I’ll take the official route back. A diplomatic envoy from Cruschment is coming soon, right? I’m planning to return with them.』

「Indeed. Be extremely cautious on your way back.」

『Understood. ...Hm? Eh, is it over already? Sorry, talk to you—』

The image cut out abruptly, and silence fell over the dark room. The curtains were pulled back vigorously, letting in the light from the window; Cross squinted at the suddenly bright scenery.

The Lord of Cruschment stared at the spot on the wall that was now just a wall again, muttered, 「...Excuse me for a moment,」 and bowed before exiting the room. After watching him go with a puzzled look, Kyle turned back to Cross and offered a bright smile.

「Amazing, isn't it? Magi-mechanics. Though this is only possible because we have an excellent spirit user dispatched from the Kingdom of Wizrain. The short connection time is the only flaw.」

「Yes. I should like to hear more about it in detail later. Now—Prince Lancielo.」

Cross addressed the man who had been huddled in the corner of the room, biting his nails. Lancielo’s shoulders jerked upward, and he let out a fawning laugh. 「H-Heh, ah, ha. Yes, King Crossgard?」

「Your brother is in good health and will return safely. This is most joyous news.」

「Ah, yes. Of course it is. Yes, truly... However, your fiancée did mention that my brother had been poisoned. I would feel terrible to trouble the people of Marls any further. If it pleases you, we, the people of the Empire, shall go to meet him—」

「That will be unnecessary.」

The words were spat out like a rejection. Lancielo blinked slowly, stunned. 「...Huh?」 Cross looked down at him with cold, pale eyes.

「From your perspective, this news must be quite inconvenient. I am not such an incompetent husband that I would recklessly send someone who might commit an outrage to where my fiancée is.」

「What... what are you talking about...?」

「You have been consistently pessimistic about the survival of your own King. Though you appeared to be overcome with grief, your actions were as if you had already decided he was dead. It was as if you were screaming 'die'. Is this entire affair not your own treacherous plot?」

「Wh—are you suggesting I planned this...? For a brother to attack his own brother... that would be treason! T-To be suspected of such a thing without evidence...!」

「Oh. **That is why I investigated.**」

While searching for Elna, Cross had done exactly what he needed to do.

「...Huh?」

Lancielo’s mouth hung open. His voice sounded like that of someone who thought they were taking a breath of relief at home, only to find they were inside a dragon's nest.

「First, your actions when you were attacked. And the Imperial carriage. Only the area where you were remained perfectly unscathed. Your statements upon returning to Cruschment, the people you contacted... Yes. I don't much care for late-night excursions. It is as good as saying there is someone you wish to meet while avoiding prying eyes.」

「Wh-Wh-Wh... T-This is outrageous! N-No matter if you are the King of another nation, there are things you can and cannot say... None of those are decisive evidence!」

「Precisely. By the way, you mentioned going to the mine to meet your brother, but I wonder, just how were you planning to get there? Naturally, you would have taken your own guards... but it seems that by the time my fiancée made contact, you had already prepared to move them. Quite swift of you. Truly, your brotherly love is magnificent.」

Cross spoke a string of things he didn't mean, and continued. Lancielo’s face grew paler as he looked toward the exit, but the people of Marls moved to block it. Lancielo finally understood—this room had been prepared specifically to condemn him.

「You intended to send a party to the Emperor, lace him with a poison that would cause even more severe symptoms, and then claim he died despite the treatment... That was the script, wasn't it? Did you plan to insist the poison was from the initial attack?」

(Well, with my fiancée there, there's no way such a thing would happen,) he thought with a derisive laugh.

「We have already apprehended your guards. That small vial you obtained during your night excursion—where are you keeping it now? If it has already been applied to the guards' blades, then combined with your statement about going to meet him... well, it should suffice as circumstantial evidence. Apprehend him!」

「Sir!」

「Stop it! Stop it, stop it! This is an internal matter for the Empire! It has nothing to do with you!」

「As you say. However, this is Marls. You intended to claim innocence by choosing a time when the Emperor’s guard was reduced and using Wizrain as a witness, but your plan has gone awry.」

When Rigoberto was attacked, Lancielo had fled headlong back to the city; the first thing he did was claim to be a victim. Searching for his brother was an afterthought—no, he had undoubtedly hoped he wouldn't be found.

Gripped by both arms by the Marls soldiers, Lancielo collapsed weakly at the knees.

「Poking one's nose into your country's internal disputes is the height of bad manners, but when it involves my fiancée, that is a different matter. Your luck ran out the moment you involved Wizrain.」

Of course, if Rigoberto recognized this as a "favor," it would be worth the trouble, but there was no telling. There was always the possibility he would simply spit out that Cross had done something unnecessary.

「It would be best for us to manage and take custody of him until the King of Albarul returns. We will dispatch a few knights from Wizrain as well. Notify the capital of Marls regarding the imprisonment of this high-ranking official—」

「M-My apologies!」

The Lord of Cruschment, who had exited earlier, burst back in. He looked pale as he scanned the room, his eyes eventually landing on Cross.

「King Crossgard, a report! Just now, your fiancée mentioned that 'a diplomatic envoy from Cruschment is coming,' but we have received no such report! I checked with my subordinates just in case, and they have no knowledge of this...!」

「...What?」

Then who on earth was the party heading toward the mine?

In the room that had turned deathly silent, a loud laugh suddenly echoed. It was Lancielo.

「Ahahaha! There is no way I am the only one targeting my brother! He is the 'Blood Emperor', after all! If something is not to his liking, he kills everything! His brother, his mother, his father! I am sure he will kill me soon, too! Because that man with the red eyes... the man with the red eyes said so!」

Lancielo rolled around laughing like a broken clockwork toy. Held down even further by the soldiers, he continued to laugh with his forehead pressed against the floor. 「...It's no use, he's deranged.」「Move him out, quickly.」 Urged by the soldiers, Lancielo stepped forward with a strange, jerky motion. It was as if he had forgotten how to walk.

「...Red eyes.」

Cross murmured. He remembered Elna's words.

—*You know how we passed that carriage reserved for royalty with the Imperial crest in town once? At that moment, I saw red eyes for just a second. So I assumed the royalty over there had red eyes...*

He pressed his fingers to his lips and looked down. Suddenly, Cross looked up and turned on his heel.

「K-King Crossgard!?」

Kyle chased after him. Cross’s expression didn't change as he walked, but anyone who knew him would have noticed his agitation.

「Wait! Where are you going!」

「To Elna. I am heading to the mine on Mount Vidrast. Right now. I have a bad feeling about this.」

「That’s impossible! The climb up there is complex. You’d practically have to fly! If you go now, you'll never make it in time...」

After shouting that much, Kyle stopped in his tracks.

「Is something the matter?」

「There is a way.」

Kyle looked up and met Cross’s gaze directly. A faint smile played on his lips.

「It's what I told Elna. That I’m thinking of a technology for transporting goods that’s even better than horses.」

「Ho? Well, let's hear it.」

Cross smiled with a mischievous look, and Kyle returned the same expression. Just like the two of them in their past lives, they shook their shoulders with a suspicious *fufufu*.

「My wife becomes extremely weak at times. And it is a husband’s duty to protect his wife, after all.」

「That's enough to make my ears turn red, but I understand. I will prepare immediately! I'll deliver you to Elna's side as fast as humanly possible!」

---

「Oh, it cut out.」

At that time, Elna was staring blankly at the wall of the mine.