Chapter 268: A Secret to Last a Lifetime |
The young elven king regained his composure quickly. By the time Catherine returned, his face had already settled back into an easy smile. No trace remained of the murderous intent he had shown toward Ambrose moments ago.
Catherine asked curiously, "Your Majesty, what just happened?"
Alderien replied calmly, "Nothing. I mistook him for someone I knew. I thought this Master Sargras was an old acquaintance of mine, but it turns out I was wrong."
Catherine tilted her head. "Master Sargras? But his name is Megaman Tiga."
Alderien's expression froze for a split second. This lich—even his name was fake.
"Heh… which is exactly why I said I got it wrong."
Alderien's acting was usually flawless, but Ambrose's appearance had shaken him to such an extent that even he couldn't completely hide the awkwardness.
Fortunately, Catherine was easy to distract. Alderien smoothly changed the subject.
Ambrose pressed forward. "So, let's get to business. What's that old fox James Watson's stance?"
"If the heroic spirit in your possession is genuine," Alderien said, "the Lyon Empire will pay any price to obtain it."
Ambrose let out a soft chuckle. "Any price? That old man really dares to promise anything. But does he represent Lyon… or just himself?"
Catherine frowned slightly. "He's the High Inquisitor of Lyon. Isn't he here to negotiate on Lyon's behalf?"
Alderien shook his head. "Catherine, if he truly represented Lyon, he wouldn't have come alone. He would have submitted a formal diplomatic request and arrived with a full ceremonial delegation. Lyon's protocols are no less strict than ours. Yet his visit was completely discreet."
Ambrose nodded. "Exactly. Lyon and the Court of the Silver Moon are allies, and there's no need for secrecy. So there are only two possibilities: either James Watson hasn't told anyone about the heroic spirit… or the Emperor of Lyon doesn't want it returned."
Catherine blinked in confusion. "How could that be? Arthur Lyon was their holy king. His heroic spirit should be incredibly important."
Ambrose countered, "If you were still queen, and the old king stood over your shoulder every day telling you what to do, could you stand it?"
Catherine looked puzzled. "Why wouldn't I?"
Ambrose: "…"
Alderien couldn't help but laugh. Watching the lich stumble was immensely satisfying. Once he finished, he added with a smirk, "The nobility of the elves is beyond the imagination of a scheming, underhanded lich like you."
Ambrose conceded the point. That example had been poorly chosen.
Someone like Catherine, pure-hearted, free of jealousy or lust for power, certainly wouldn't mind a "retired king" offering guidance.
"I'll admit that I'm a scheming lich and don't quite understand elves," Ambrose said. "But the Emperor of Lyon is human, not elven. He shares human flaws. No human ruler wants someone looking over their shoulder. If Arthur Lyon's heroic spirit returns, the current emperor might very well be forced off the throne."
As it happened, Ambrose was mostly correct.
James Watson had come alone precisely because he feared the emperor learning the truth. He had already lost faith in the royal family, and had no idea whether they could accept the return of Arthur Lyon.
Alderien added smugly, "James Watson represents no other but himself. He doesn't even dare make this public. So how much could he possibly pay? I hear he's incorruptibly honest. He probably couldn't even scrape together a million gold."
This time, the lich was bound to take a loss!
Ambrose glanced at Alderien, then turned to Catherine. "Exactly. Catherine, we're going to lose big this time."
Catherine blinked. "We? What does this have to do with me?"
"Of course it's we," Ambrose said smoothly. "We found Arthur Lyon's heroic spirit together. Whatever price it sells for, you get a share. And now it looks like your very first adventure's spoils are going to be sold off cheap. And it's not just me. The elves are taking a loss too."
Catherine immediately frowned. "That won't do! That's the first treasure I ever earned on an adventure. It absolutely cannot be sold cheaply! Your Majesty, we need to think of something."
Alderien maintained a calm expression, but inwardly he was roaring. This shameless lich was manipulating pure-hearted Catherine, just as he had manipulated Alderien himself four hundred years ago!
He hadn't expected Ambrose to flip Catherine's stance with a single sentence. He hurried and countered, "Catherine, it's not that simple. The elves have never lacked for wealth. What we lack now is time to recover our strength."
Catherine asked, "What does that have to do with the heroic spirit?"
"Lyon is both our greatest ally and our greatest threat," Alderien explained. "Stabilizing Lyon stabilizes the continent. If Arthur Lyon's spirit returns, it will throw Lyon into chaos. No one can predict what will happen."
"But… you didn't say that earlier," Catherine pointed out.
Alderien had convinced his grandfather via a different argument.
Ambrose said nothing. He simply watched the young king to see how he would spin this.
To his credit, Alderien reacted instantly. "It's the same idea," he said smoothly. "Arthur Lyon's spirit is like a bomb that can destabilize Lyon, but there's no need to detonate it now. If Lyon remains peaceful, we keep it as leverage. If they turn hostile, we release it. No matter the outcome, it could plunge Lyon into chaos. A trump card should be played at the right moment. Don't you agree?"
Catherine nodded slowly. That… did make sense.
If the royal family truly had conflicts with Arthur Lyon, the consequences could be explosive. Lyon might even fracture.
Alderien shot Ambrose a smug glance, as if to say, "You think you can manipulate my Catherine? Not a chance."
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Ambrose applauded outright. "Impressive. That was well spun."
The young king truly was quick-witted. His lies came layered and airtight.
He had framed everything from the grand perspective of elven interests, and Catherine, for all her naïveté, still prioritized her people. In one move, he had pulled her fully onto his side.
But did he think that was enough? Ha!
After applauding, Ambrose calmly agreed.
"Catherine, His Majesty is absolutely right. This is a crucial trump card and should be used at the right time. But tell me, if it stays in my hands, does it really count as the elves' trump card? Wouldn't it be better for the elves to hold it themselves?"
Catherine nodded. "That… makes sense. But would you give it to me?"
Ambrose smiled faintly, his tone turning cold. "Give? Come now, you know me. I don't do charity. But you can buy it. If Lyon won't pay, then the elves can. If this is truly your trump card, shouldn't you be the ones holding it?"
Catherine thought for a moment, then turned to Alderien. "He's not wrong. Shouldn't we be in possession of something this important ourselves?"
Alderien's expression darkened.
This lich… he'd flipped the entire argument. If Lyon wouldn't pay, was he going to force the elves to pay instead?
And worse, Ambrose had built his argument directly on Alderien's own reasoning. Now there was no way to refute it cleanly.
Damn it. Was he unable to outplay this lich even after four whole centuries?!
Alderien's silence made Catherine uneasy. Ambrose watched on with open amusement.
After a moment, Catherine frowned. "Wait… are you two in opposition to each other? You wanted to speak alone earlier. Did you argue?"
Alderien quickly said, "You misunderstand. I told you, I simply mistook him for someone else. This is Master Megaman, not the Sargras I knew."
Ambrose sighed. "Since Catherine has already noticed, we might as well be honest. Your Majesty, four hundred years ago, in the town of Redriver—"
"No. Shut up!"
Alderien panicked. There was no way he could let Catherine learn about that humiliation. No one else could find out!
Especially not Catherine, whom he respected and admired dearly.
But Ambrose continued calmly, "Back then, I had just started out as an adventurer and was struggling badly. I met His Majesty in Redriver and borrowed thirty gold from him out of sheer desperation.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't repay it at the time… so I ran. I didn't expect His Majesty to recognize me. That's why there was a bit of tension earlier. But His Majesty is magnanimous and chose not to pursue the matter."
A flicker of surprise crossed Alderien's face. He didn't understand why the lich was covering for him, but as long as the truth stayed buried, that was all that mattered. "Yes," Alderien said stiffly. "Just thirty gold. A trivial matter."
Catherine looked at him curiously. "Thirty gold… and you still remember it after more than four hundred years?"
Alderien: "…"
Ambrose's face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he was laughing uncontrollably.
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