Kays Translations

53. The Crumbling

　Elliot and Lloyd were walking down the castle’s corridors towards the Knights’ quarters when they heard voices and looked over to see Marianne and Emily, who was being supported by a maid, walking on the other side of the corridor across the courtyard.

“Emily ……?　What’s wrong?”

　When he called out to her, lady Marianne noticed him and gave him a short bow, but Emily didn’t seem to notice and just kept her head down. Then she was escorted away by the maid.

“…I wonder if something happened…?”

　Emily would always notice Elliot’s presence and rush to him, but now she looked so haggard and exhausted it was bewildering.

“If I remember correctly, there was a stray in the northeast of the capital. She must have participated in the subjugation as a way to entertain the senior knights. It seems that Marcus and the others have just returned. Want to hear what they have to say?”

　He nodded to Lloyd and looked at the high-ranking knights who had just returned from a subjugation mission, standing just inside the gate at the end of the corridor. Marcus and Richard noticed them and came running over, looking somewhat pale.

“Did something happen during the subjugation? I thought Saint Emily was acting a little strange.”

“No, no… the subjugation went smoothly, it was completed  without any issues!”

　Marcus’ voice sounded more staccato than usual as he makes the report. Richard also looked at Elliot with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Are you sure nothing happened ……?　You guys are acting a little strange.”

“It’s not that there was anything ……”

 　Then Marcus quietly told him about what had happened during the defeat of the undead magical beasts.

“…… Emily ran away from the undead magical beasts ……?”

　Elliot muttered in disbelief. Even after hearing what happened from Marcus, he was still not convinced. However, the somber and dejected look on Marcus’ face as he spoke made it seem like they were not lying.

Marcus turned his head down, saying bitterly, “Deputy Commander Elliott, maybe we’ve made a mistake.”

“Um, ……, I heard that Emily-sama is still not good at healing or recovery magic, and only has purification magic which is at a monk level, and that even that is too unstable and takes time, so she is still an apprentice…….I think I remember hearing her say that the very first ……”

　Elliot blinked. The sound of Marcus’s voice, which was usually loud and lively, but was now confused and hesitant, ringed in his ears.

“I remember …… that when the wounds were severe, the priests would heal them first… I remember that that was certainly the case.”

　Elliot went back through his own memories. Once on the battlefield, Emily had come to him for advice, saying, ‘I don’t think the priest like me very much.’  Having heard this, he had even felt uncomfortable when the priests cut in and cast healing magic on him.

“Healing is something that you can see with your own eyes, as the wounds heal. But Purification is …… we can’t tell whether it’s working or not by the looks,……”

“…There’s at least a two day grace until the decay begins, so the purification can be done by then. In that case, let’s wait and have Emily-sama do it. In the beginning, indeed, it was like that. ……”

　 Marcus and Richard’s voices sank. The other senior knights seemed to remember as well, and looked gloomy and uneasy.

“But ……”

　The more he thought back on his memories, the more he knew the stories they told him. He stayed silent and couldn’t continue speaking, but felt the presence of several people approaching from behind.

　　Turning around, he saw Crown Prince Alexis walking towards them with his attendant.

　Elliot and all the knights present lined up on either side of the corridor to make way for him, and assumed an abbreviated salute.

“Hello, at ease. I’m sorry, I couldn’t get you to make time for an audience with me, so I decided to come and see you in person. It looks like it was worth it.”

　Crown Prince Alexis said to Elliot with a calm expression on his face.

“Even though it’s something you’ve already settled, I still wanted to let you know.”

　Alexis said, smiling, and walked into the knight’s chambers.  They followed behind him, and found Alexis laying out several documents he had received from the chamberlain on the table in the room.

“I’ve been asking for an audience for quite some time now. We just don’t seem to be a good fit.”*

　Alexis chuckled, but Elliot’s brow wrinkled as he looked at the papers laid out, unable to move. One of them was a signed IOU that he’d seen somewhere in his distant memories.

“Well, it goes without saying, but it’s pretty obvious when you look at it.”

　Lloyd, Marcus and Richard all had looks of shock on their faces.

“It seems you only knew about it from the list, so this is probably your first time seeing the real thing. After your triumphant return, you must have been wondering about this… thing.”

　Saying this, Alexis takes one of the IOUs and placed it on top of another one, lining them up so that the signatures could be compared.

“As you can see, the signatures were elaborately copied and forged. I have checked them all, and they were all by similar means. The fact of these debts themselves did not exist.”

 Elliott thought he could hear Alexis’s voice in the distance. His ears were ringing and he even felt slightly dizzy. But at the same time, along with the shock and indescribable discomfort, there was a part of him that knew that it was true after all.

　What emerges from the truth that is presented to him is his own terribly distorted preconceptions.

　–At that time, it would have been better for me if Flora had been a bad wife. I subconsciously thought so…

　Now that the conclusion he had reached in the past was crossing his mind, he felt disgusted and wanted to vomit.

　It’s a good excuse for being attracted to another woman who isn’t your  wife.

　That’s why, I believed it. Even though I knew she wasn’t the type of woman who would do something like that, I didn’t question it.

　Elliot remained silent, seized by the sensation that the ground beneath his feet no longer existed.

　Seeing Elliot standing there frozen, the color drained from his face, Alexis took a breath and tried to speak to him.

“Holy Knight Elliot, and all of the senior knights, I want you to listen to me. This is…”

　However, as if to interrupt his words, the door to the room opened, and Dylan Agreas Ziemeld and his attendant entered the room.

“Ah, Your Highness, here you are. His Majesty wanted to see you. He says he has something urgent to discuss with you.”

　Behind Count Agreas, who was speaking in a calm tone, was a messenger, a royal guard, who certainly looked as if he had been running and was now out of breath .

　Crown Prince Alexis frowned for a moment, sighed abjectly, then had his  attendant put away the documents and left the place.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who left comments in the comments section.

While I am writing, I can only reply to typos and pointers that I deem necessary for an immediate response,

I am unable to reply to every single one of them, but It’s encouraging to hear all your thoughts. Thank you very much!

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