Chapter 6

Love

Sieghart led me out of the banquet hall.

The music from the banquet hall gradually faded into the distance.

He seemed to be looking for somewhere without people.

‘What is he trying to say?’

Sieg stopped walking.

He looked around.

It was just the two of us.

After checking once more to make sure no one was listening, he opened his mouth.

“Cheli.”

“Yeah.”

“I have one favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

“It'll benefit you too. It might sound strange at first. But just hear me out until the end.”

“What on earth are you trying to say?”

“I never thought I'd end up thinking like this either. But no matter how much I thought about it, there wasn't any other way.”

Sieg was acting strange.

He hesitated for a long time with an anxious look in his eyes.

It made even me nervous for no reason.

“...Cheli.”

“Why do you keep dragging it out like this!”

“You take Carniel. I'll take Ardel.”

“...?”

“Let's each have the person we want.”

There was a question I'd heard countless times while studying alchemy.

Whether I could make a love potion.

My answer was always the same.

No.

It was possible to affect a person's nerves through alchemy.

You could reduce pain or dull the senses, or conversely make them more sensitive.

But the emotion called love.

Forcing someone to feel an emotion they didn't already possess was impossible.

‘How am I supposed to have Master...?’

When I first met Sieg, he asked me about love potions.

I told him back then too that I couldn't make one.

So why was he saying something like that?

It didn't seem like he was joking.

“Sieg. Explain it properly. Just hearing that, I have no idea how I'm supposed to help you.”

“I've tried everything I could, but nothing changed. I've finally realized it for certain.”

Sieg smiled bitterly.

“No matter how well I treat her, she avoids me. Even after I earned the achievement of supposedly killing the Demon King by myself, she doesn't show the slightest interest in me. No matter what I do, to Ardel I'm nothing more than the prince of Helicion and the Hero. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“That's because Lady Ardel already has someone else in her heart...”

“I know. I know that too. She spends the entire day following Carniel around. How could I not know?”

Resentment appeared in Sieg's eyes.

“If I'd met Ardel before Carniel did, things would've been different... King Walter protected Ardel like a flower inside a greenhouse and was extremely wary of her meeting other men. She grew up in an environment like that, so what would she know about men? Then at a banquet, she happened to meet the greatest genius mage in the history of the continent... Of course he would've seemed special. Of course she would've wanted to meet him herself. I felt the same way... But Ardel mistook that curiosity for love.”

“...Only the person themselves knows their own heart. Don't make assumptions however you please.”

“Be honest.”

“...”

“Even you, who likes Carniel, think I'm more attractive as a man than that bastard, don't you? If you have any conscience, you can't deny it. I'm better-looking, and my status is higher too. So why does Ardel keep looking for Carniel when I'm right in front of her?...Does that situation make any sense?”

“Master is several times more attractive than you. And if you brought me here just to whine pathetically like this, go talk to someone else.”

For a moment, I felt like an idiot for having been tempted by the idea that I could have Master.

Sieg's story.

Listening any longer would only make me feel worse.

I turned around to leave.

“Wait, Cheli.”

Sieg grabbed my wrist.

“Don't touch me.”

“You haven't even heard what my request is yet.”

“I don't want to talk to you anymore.”

“You can decide after hearing what I'm asking. It won't be too late then.”

Sieg continued holding my wrist.

My wrist hurt.

“Use a potion to make Carniel and Ardel spend the night together.”

Is he insane?

He wants me to make Master and Ardel sleep together?

I don't even want to imagine it...

Don't men care more about a woman's chastity?

Is Sieg really fine with that?

What the hell is he thinking?

“What do you gain from making those two spend the night together?”

Sieg let go of my wrist.

A red handprint remained behind.

“Carniel is from the lower class. No matter what he does, that will never change. If I, the Hero, tell King Walter that the two of them were in the same bed... do you think a king who loves his daughter so dearly will stay still? There'll be a trial. While Carniel is wearing mana restraints and waiting for the trial, you take him and run away. You can elope with him. Once Carniel disappears, I can take care of Ardel myself.”

It was an insane plan.

And.

Because it was insane, it made sense.

No matter how great Master was, he couldn't use magic while wearing mana restraints.

If a trial were held, Master would easily be able to predict that the worst possible sentence would be handed down.

He would never again be able to use the magic he'd devoted himself so passionately to learning.

But what if I offered to save him?

There was one flaw, but if I fixed that, it would become the perfect script.

“Then how are you planning to get the two of them into the same room?”

“Simple.”

Sieg pulled out a bottle of alcohol from inside his clothes.

“...You do know Master hates drinking, don't you?”

“I already asked Bragan. I told him to ask Carniel to have a drink with him. Since it's Bragan asking, Carniel won't be able to simply ignore him. Besides, today is a special day.”

“...Does Uncle Bragan know about this too?”

“I gave him an appropriate excuse... Well, even if he figures it out, it doesn't matter. You don't need to worry about Bragan.”

Considering the relationship between the Kingdom of Helicion and the Kingdom of Thorgadin, Sieg's confidence.

It was perfectly understandable.

But...

“Even if he gets drunk, there's no guarantee things will go according to plan. Master is a mage. Controlling his emotions is one of the most basic fundamentals.”

“That's why I need you. Mix a potion into the alcohol. If Carniel is drunk and his senses are heightened on top of that, he won't be able to resist if Ardel approaches him...”

Sieg smiled bitterly.

“I loved Ardel from the moment I first saw her. She was a stranger, but she didn't feel like one. It felt as though I'd known her for a very long time. That's why I thought it was fate.”

“...”

“I don't care what Ardel does in another man's arms before coming back to me. Even if everyone points fingers at her. Even if rumors spread that she lived in some back-alley pleasure district. I'll still love Ardel. If I can spend time with her, I can endure anything.”

Sieg's face.

It looked pure.

I could feel sincerity in his voice as well.

“Sieg.”

“What will you do?”

“Let's go with your plan.”

“Cheli. You made the right choice!”

Sieg smiled brightly.

He looked delighted, like a child who had been given a toy he'd always wanted.

“Give me the potion once it's ready. I'll take care of everything after that.”

I nodded silently.

I returned to the banquet hall with Sieg.

I ran into Lunaelin.

Her expression was no different from usual.

“Cheli.”

Hwarin came over to me.

“What did you and Sieg talk about? Did the two failures in love decide to join forces? Or did you suddenly fall for each other?”

Hwarin was the same as always.

For some reason, I couldn't laugh.

It was probably just a meaningless joke.

But it felt as though she'd discovered what had just happened.

I brushed Hwarin off by saying it was nothing.

Then I crossed the banquet hall and headed somewhere I could make the potion.

‘...I already decided to do it.’

Does Master really have no feelings whatsoever for Ardel?

Master told Sieg that he didn't.

Every member of the Hero's Party heard him.

Only a person themselves can know their own feelings.

However.

Sometimes, even a person doesn't know their own feelings.

‘...Don't hesitate.’

The flaw in Sieg's plan is Ardel.

He must know that himself.

He knew, but deliberately didn't tell me.

Because Ardel is someone he absolutely needs.

Because she has to stay alive.

But.

Not for me.

Ardel has to die.

That way, Master will be more likely to accept my proposal to run away together without any lingering attachment.

‘...Ardel, I'm sorry.’

____________

Carniel's trial ended.

Not even half a day had passed.

‘...That mage wench.’

Marina, who had once been praised as a genius mage.

I'd summoned her because I thought she would harbor resentment after being overshadowed by Carniel and consumed by jealousy...

In the end, she removed Carniel's mana nerves, but she continued taking Carniel's side until the very end.

Because the master of the Magic Tower had to maintain neutrality?

Or was it loyalty between mages?

I couldn't be certain.

So I assigned knights I trusted as executioners.

I ordered them to escort Carniel together with Marina.

“Why is the captain of the knights here? Did I not personally order you to guard Ardel!”

Ardel.

A flower with a sweet fragrance.

A treasure that soothes my heart merely by looking at her.

My... with the lips of a merciful Goddess.

“I am going to see Ardel.”

“Your Majesty. I understand your concern for Her Highness's physical and mental well-being. But there is something that must be dealt with first.”

“What could possibly be more important than a father going to see his daughter!”

“An urgent messenger has just arrived.”

“I'll check it later.”

“Your Majesty, but...”

“Enough!! How many times must I tell you before you understand? I am going to see Ardel.”

“...Understood. I will escort you personally.”

I wanted to go alone, but I couldn't get rid of him.

With no other choice, I headed toward Ardel's room with the captain of the knights.

“...What in the world is this?”

Ardel was gone.

The flower I had planted in my garden had disappeared.

“Find out where Ardel went this instant!”

A demon with two horns had appeared alongside a red comet.

One of the cities in my kingdom had been completely annihilated.

Those were the things the captain of the knights had told me while we were heading toward Ardel's room.

To think my people would once again have to fear an invasion by the demons...

My mood sank.

My heart felt heavy.

However.

No news could hurt my heart as much as the fact that Ardel was not in her room.