Chapter 63

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: The Dagger of On
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#63

It wasn’t a confession of love, nor a promise to fulfill a dream, yet I never knew a person’s words could feel so sweet.

*So just focus on walking the righteous path.*

I mulled over the sentence that had brushed past my ear. As Lucy calmly recalled his words, syllable by syllable, she spoke with a hollow laugh.

“When you say it like that, Walter, it actually feels like I have a chance.”

The laugh was meant to lighten the mood, but Walter’s face remained serious.

“Skills are bound to fade with time, and a day will come when I, too, will be defeated by someone… but that day is not today. Especially not by Crown Prince Alejandro.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I will never, by any means, lose to someone who deceives Your Majesty with such shameless words.”

His clipped, forceful tone carried an uncharacteristic hint of irritation. Lucy’s lips parted in surprise.

“Are you angry with Alex?”

“Of course. No vassal would remain calm when their sovereign is insulted.”

Walter turned his head to gaze into the distance, his profile as impassive as ever.

But having spent over half a year with him, Lucy had learned to recognize how he expressed his emotions and keenly sensed his mood.

“You really are angry. I’ve never seen you this displeased.”

“…I am not that angry.”

“Yes, you are. The corners of your eyes are shooting up liiiike this.”

Seeing Lucy raise her index fingers to the corners of her eyes and make a demonic face, Walter felt at a loss for how to respond and fiddled with his lower lip.

It was difficult to say aloud, but the reason for his displeasure was simple.

Because the Crown Prince had spoken rudely to Lucy. Because he had pressured her into marriage while threatening to invade Parnas.

He had abruptly offered a ring, claiming to propose, and then his hand…

“Your Majesty. May I have your hand?”

He extended his palm, his thoughts still unfolding.

Lucy, who had been watching him with a puzzled expression, slowly reached out and placed her hand on his.

Her long, white fingers gently brushed against the gaps between Walter’s. He gazed down at their hands, feeling the movement, then moved his thumb to softly stroke the back of hers.

Her smooth hand, devoid of any jewelry, was a stark contrast to his own large, calloused one.

Even though she must have handled a sword quite a bit at the military academy, Lucy’s hands were nothing but soft.

Then again, unlike Walter, who swung his sword every dawn, Lucy likely hadn’t had a reason to touch one since graduation, so it was only natural that her hands were soft.

“What is it?”

“…It’s nothing.”

He mumbled an excuse and carefully lowered her hand. Then, as if afraid the faint, lingering warmth on his palm would be carried away by the wind, he clenched his fist tightly.

It was a night when his contact with her, which had meant nothing until now, began to bother him a little, just a little.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The coronation, including the ceremony and various smaller banquets, finally concluded five days later.

The doors to the reception rooms, once open for esteemed guests, were closed one by one, and a procession of ambassadors lined up in the audience chamber to bid farewell.

Pleasant blessings and polite smiles were exchanged. After most of the ambassadors had departed the palace, the last remaining guest entered the audience chamber.

Lucy, who had maintained a smiling face while dealing with the envoys, instantly wiped the expression away the moment the unwelcome guest entered.

Seeing her abrupt change in demeanor, Alex’s eyes narrowed as he offered a sincere smile.

“Your visible disgust makes me feel like an insect.”

“How could I ever compare you to an insect? Do not say something so rude to the insects.”

At the verbal assault, the likes of which she wouldn’t even direct at family, Chancellor Kill, who stood beside the dais, shot Lucy a wide-eyed look as if he might keel over.

Lucy raised a hand as if to say, *don’t bother*, cutting off his nagging before continuing.

“I will refrain from speaking harshly to you, as we have an audience. I pray we never have the occasion to meet again as long as you live.”

“Your Majesty.”

Alex drew closer to the dais.

He was so tall that even with Lucy on the platform, their eyes met at the same level.

Below his flawless face, his formal attire—a wine-colored fabric adorned with diverse and delicate curved patterns—blended with his magnificent looks, making him stand out more than anyone, like an apostle of a god.

His appealing appearance was unchanged, but Alex would never know how that very fact made him all the more chilling.

Taking her silence as permission, he approached until he was directly in front of her, looking down at Lucy intently.

“I will ask one last time.”

Their gazes, their inner thoughts unreadable, met and passed. Soon, Alex leaned in, bringing his lips close to her ear.

A humid warmth brushed against her earlobe. Ignoring the way Lucy’s face contorted, Alex whispered with an elegant smile.

“My offer still stands. Are you truly going to refuse my proposal?”

Lucy crossed her legs, rested an arm on the armrest, and propped up her chin.

Seeing her seemingly contemplative expression, Alex let out a faint, knowing smile and straightened up, stepping back down from the dais. Lucy looked down on him from her arrogant posture and spat out a single sentence as if vomiting.

“I told you. I’m not interested in ugly men like you.”

At her uninhibited remark, Kill clutched the back of his neck and let out a groan, “Haaah…” An attendant quickly rushed over to support the chancellor, leaving only a chilling silence in their wake.

After staring daggers at Lucy, Alex finally bowed his head and let out a small chuckle. Within his softly curved eyes, a mysterious light flickered, betraying nothing of his true feelings.

“A shame. I wanted to take someone as beautiful as Your Majesty as my partner.”

“It’s not me that’s beautiful, but the land I possess.”

“I won’t deny that, but my praise for your beauty is sincere.”

*You’ve got to be kidding me.*

Muttering inwardly, Lucy lifted her chin sharply.

“Quite the funny thing to say for someone with not a speck of interest in women.”

When she retorted in a disbelieving tone, Alex’s eyes widened slightly. He then lightly licked his lips and looked at Lucy with intrigued eyes.

“I felt this when we first met… but Your Majesty speaks as if you know me well. It makes me misunderstand that you might be interested in me, you see.”

At his slick words, Lucy grimaced and shut her mouth.

Pleased with her reaction, Alex’s smile deepened as he offered a polite bow.

“You said you hoped we’d never meet again, but Your Majesty’s wish will not come true. I do hope that the next time we meet, sweet words will flow from those lips instead of thorns.”

Alex concluded his farewell with a captivating smile in his eyes and retreated with graceful steps.

As soon as she confirmed he was gone, Lucy extended her hand and ordered her servants.

“The place where the uninvited guest stood must be purified. Bring me a priest at once.”

The servants, who had been watching the two with trepidation, ran like the wind to fetch a monk.

The monk, who had been abruptly summoned, stood there with a bewildered expression. He nervously surveyed the atmosphere before cautiously beginning to recite scriptures.

As the incomprehensible chanting filled her ears, Lucy slowly closed her eyelids. At the edge of a mind filled with both relief and bitterness, a low voice echoed.

“No matter who I face, I will fight with all my strength. Whether it’s the Grand Duke of Dopein or Crown Prince Alejandro, if anyone stands in Your Majesty’s way, I will eliminate them.”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t worried about the future, but recalling Walter’s words dispelled most of her concerns. And once she had cooled her head, she was able to see the situation a bit more objectively.

War is conventionally a numbers game, but convention and victory are not always proportional.

That was the very reason for learning military strategy. Whether by exploiting superior terrain, luring the enemy into an unfavorable matchup, or other means, the ways to overpower an opponent were endless.

Besides, Parnas had quite a few things that Dopein and the Empire did not.

“I have to make it so we can win.”

*That’s right. I came back to win this time.*

*I came back to win…*

“Right.”

That sword.

It must be in the palace basement.

As she traced her thoughts, something suddenly came to mind. Lucy hastily ordered the chamber to be put in order, then headed for a hidden passage deep within the inner palace.

Unlike the entrance, which was bathed in direct sunlight, the moment she stepped onto the stairs, darkness and a damp chill crept over her.

*This place hasn't changed.*

…What on earth was so great about this musty, grimy place that I used to play here as a child?

Lucy let out a self-deprecating smile and silently descended the stairs.

The sound of her footsteps ceased as she reached the lowest level. In the deepest part of the basement, the treasury where the royal family’s treasures slumbered was firmly secured with chains and locks.

The head chamberlain hurriedly took out a key, but Lucy stopped him and turned back.

What she sought was a treasure, but it was a trivial piece of junk whose value no one knew; it was highly unlikely to be in the treasury.

The place Lucy headed for was the junk storeroom on the opposite side of the treasury.

“It should be around here… Where was it?”

The small storeroom, filled with miscellaneous junk, had clearly not been maintained for a long time, as every surface was coated in a pale layer of dust.

Ignoring the embarrassed head chamberlain, Lucy unhesitatingly approached a corner and knelt.

“Found it.”

From beneath a pile of old carpets and fabrics, a rusted box, so worn that its shape was barely discernible, revealed itself.

Inside the box, entangled in cobwebs, lay an antique dagger that looked even more decrepit than its container. Lucy seized a moment when the head chamberlain was distracted to secretly slip the dagger into her clothes.

“It’s been a while.”

The Dagger of On.

A mysterious relic that allowed one to live life over again. It was one of the holy objects blessed by a nameless god, much like Walter’s sword, but it had vanished so long ago that now no one knew of its existence.

She had first learned of this sword’s existence when she was about seven years old.

While aimlessly wandering the palace, Lucy had found the Dagger of On in this very spot.

The dirty, old sword was in a state that anyone else would have dismissed as trash, but to the daughter of a desert slave who had never had the chance to see jewels or relics, it appeared to be a magnificent treasure.

About a year after she had taken the sword and hidden it under her bed, it happened.

While reading the scriptures of a nameless god, Lucy discovered that this dirty sword was one of the god’s relics.