Chapter 5: Human Sacrifice
Chapter 5:
Human Sacrifice
ONCE WE MADE our way out, we found the event venue in an uproar. Everyone’s eyes turned to us as we exited.
“Huh?” I blurted out, arm still wrapped around Miss Louise. I had a bad feeling about this. The faces in the crowd said all I needed to know. But if that hadn’t been enough…
“By human sacrifice, did it mean…”
“I heard the Sacred Tree’s voice too. Do you think…”
“Wh-what should we do?”
It seemed we weren’t the only ones who’d received that eerie message.
I gritted my teeth. “Luxion, worst-case scenario…”
“You wish me to remove Louise from this location, yes? In that case, the sooner, the better. I will prepare a small ship for you. After that, we can board either the Einhorn or the Licorne and make for Holfort Kingdom.”
As I planned to help her escape, Miss Louise peeled out of my embrace. “Thank you, Leon, but that won’t be necessary.”
“What?”
Knights clad in armor raced over to us and surrounded her. Another group tried to encircle Lelia, but Serge snarled at them. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Lord Serge, please hand over that young lady. We are completely in the dark as to what is going on, but we do know the Sacred Tree is looking for a young girl as a sacrifice. The moment we heard the tree’s words, a bright light suddenly flashed inside the cave. If one of these two girls is the sacrifice, then—”
“Don’t lay a single finger on Lelia!” Serge raised his fists, ready to fight them off if he had to.
“Stop!” Miss Louise bellowed.
I caught a glimpse of Mr. Albergue in the distance, hurrying toward us. But before he could arrive, Miss Louise spoke, “I am the one the tree selected. That girl has nothing to do with this.”
As soon as the knights heard that, they exchanged glances.
I grabbed Miss Louise’s hand. “What are you saying?!”
“It’s fine. I heard it. My little brother is inside the Sacred Tree…and he’s suffering.”
“Your little brother is what?”
That was what she’d heard? I glanced at Luxion, but he moved his eye from side to side as if shaking his head. “I heard nothing of the sort.”
Miss Louise tried to leave with the knights, but I strengthened my grip on her hand. What in the world was going on? I couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen to her, but something inside me screamed not to let go.
“This has to be a misunderstanding,” I insisted. “This is all wrong.”
No matter how I tried to persuade her, Miss Louise had made up her mind. “I’m sorry for getting you wrapped up in something so crazy, but I want to go to where Leon is. I was never able to do anything for him while he was alive, but if I can meet him just one more time before it’s all over, that’s enough for me.”
Miss Louise’s fingers were so gentle as they pried mine off, and soon, she was leaving.
Mr. Albergue managed to seize her by the shoulders before she got far. “Louise! What’s going on? What’s this nonsense about you being a human sacrifice?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. I promise I’ll explain things to you later, Father.”
I stood there, frozen solid, unable to do anything.
Serge shoved his hands into his pockets and marched past me. “Leon this, Leon that. That’s all she cares about. Why’s that dead little kid so important to her anyway? I don’t get it at all.” He paused and glanced at me. Seeing that I was still gaping, he snorted. “Well, since she’s got the real thing now, she doesn’t need you anymore. Run along home.” The burning hatred he’d shown me moments ago was nowhere to be found now. “Come on, Lelia.”
“R-right…”
The two of them took their leave.
I didn’t give a rat’s ass about Serge, honestly. I was more concerned about why the Sacred Tree was demanding a human sacrifice in the first place. Marie had never mentioned anything like that. Lelia couldn’t have known either, given how stunned she looked.
Something wasn’t right. Events in Holfort hadn’t completely adhered to the game scenario either, but there was something more sinister at play in Alzer.
“Luxion, find out what’s going on,” I said.
“Never a dull moment with you, Master.”
“Something stinks. I need to get back and ask Marie about this.”
“Is that your intuition speaking?”
“Usually when I get a bad feeling, I’m on the mark.”
I wasn’t about to say I had perfect intuition, but I did get pretty accurate premonitions when things were going sour.
I left the clamor of the crowd behind, pausing only once to glance up at the Sacred Tree.
***
As Lelia and Serge walked, Emile made his way over, pushing through the crowd to reach them. His suit was in disarray, but he didn’t pay that any heed.
“Emile,” Lelia gasped. Before she could say anything else, he grabbed Serge.
“Explain yourself! I heard you forcibly dragged Lelia into the cave. Why would you do something like that?!”
It was only natural for Emile to be livid, since he and Lelia were engaged, but Serge didn’t have the energy to waste on him. Annoyed, he sneered. “Quit whining. My old man wants to see me, so I don’t have time to play with you.”
Serge had been in the cave with Louise when the Sacred Tree chose her as its sacrifice. Thus, Albergue had summoned him so he could hear the full story. Serge scrunched his face, already thinking about what a pain things would be now, thanks to this mess. From an external point of view, it probably looked like he was mocking Emile.
“What, so you’re just going to run away?” Emile clutched Serge’s collar, despite being much smaller and less muscular. It was no surprise Serge was easily able to shove him off and send him stumbling back.
“Whoa!” Lelia gasped, rushing over to Emile’s side as he fell.
Seeing her fuss over Emile only pissed Serge off even further. “Lelia, if you ever get sick of this pathetic excuse for a man, you know where to find me. I’d welcome you with open arms. You’d rather have someone you could rely on, yeah? Someone like me. I’ll show you what you’re missing out on soon enough, so don’t worry.”
Emile glanced at Lelia. The suspicion in his eyes reminded her of the kiss she had shared with Serge inside the cave. For that reason, she couldn’t completely defend her own actions.
As Serge took his leave, Emile and Lelia remained frozen in place—at least until Emile seized her by the shoulders, squeezing. “Lelia, I want you to be honest with me. Did something happen between you and Serge?”
“N-no, of course not.”
“Look me in the eyes and say that. I… I…!” Emile burst into tears.
Lelia felt the weight of the crowd’s eyes, and when she glanced around, she noticed a bunch of onlookers had gathered.
“Is that Lord Emile of House Pleven?”
“And that girl there is from Lespinasse, isn’t she?”
“What? But just a moment ago, didn’t she and Lord Serge…”
Whispers erupted, heightening Lelia’s embarrassment. She grabbed Emile’s hand and jumped to her feet. Anxious to put some distance between herself and the other nobles, she tried to pull Emile along, but he wasn’t having it.
“Lelia, give me an answer!”
Annoyed, she finally snapped, “Cut it out already!”
“…Lelia?”
“I really hate this about you. You always act so fragile and delicate, and then you have the audacity to doubt me. There’s nothing between me and Serge. Have a little faith in me, would you?”
“B-but even you have to see that it’s way out of bounds for you two to go into the cave together! You promised you would go with me, didn’t you? And you did it in front of everyone. I can’t just let that go. Serge is basically insulting me at this point. I have my pride as a man of the Six Great Houses. I can’t keep looking the other way when he does this stuff!”
Lelia felt like he’d poured a bucket of cold water over her head.
You’re exaggerating like crazy. Pride as a man of the Six Great Houses? What nonsense. Show a little more concern for me, why don’t you? You really aren’t remotely considerate.
There was a disconnect; Lelia couldn’t fathom the emphasis he placed on his noble pride. Thanks to her previous life experience, she didn’t see much value in something so superficial. It seemed like Emile was prioritizing his status over her. The feelings she’d had for him suddenly evaporated.
I picked him out of consideration for my future, but maybe I was mistaken.
“Fine, I get it,” she said. “Your pride is way more important than I am.”
“Lelia?”
“If you want to pick a fight with Serge, have at it. But it’ll only make me think less of you. It’s ridiculous you’re acting like this over something so stupid.”
“B-but this is—”
“I don’t want to hear it! Ugh, this just irritates me even more! Stop making excuses.”
Lelia was sick of his “but this” and “but that,” completely oblivious to the fact that she had made similar excuses herself. She left Emile behind and headed home by herself.
Emile stood rooted in place, staring down at his feet. Lelia glanced back once as she left and found herself disgusted by how pathetic he looked.
Why did I even pick someone like Emile? I would have been better off picking Serge from the beginning, if I’d known it’d be like this.
***
When I returned to Marie’s estate, I informed her of what had transpired at the festival. Namely, that the Sacred Tree had chosen Miss Louise as a human sacrifice, and that she had heard her dead little brother’s voice and thus decided she was willing to go along with its demands.
Marie was flabbergasted. “Why would she want to be a human sacrifice just because her dead little brother is suffering? I don’t understand at all.”
Yeah, it did sound a little odd.
“How the hell would I know? All I can tell you is she jumped on the chance to become a sacrifice, and she said it was because of her dead brother.”
We were gathered in an empty room with Cleare and Luxion listening in. I couldn’t tell the idiot brigade about this, which was why we were meeting in secret.
“Uh…okay, hold on. I’m pretty sure there was no business about a human sacrifice in the second game,” said Marie. “Besides, the New Year’s Festival is supposed to be all about the protagonist showing off that she’s dating her love interest. That’s the whole point.”
“And what was Miss Louise’s role in all that? How was she involved in the story by then? And what’s supposed to happen next?” I asked in rapid-fire succession.
Sensing my impatience, Marie promptly responded. “Uh, let’s see… She asks whatever love interest she’s picked if they’re really sure they want to be with a woman like her. I don’t remember the exact lines, but there was absolutely nothing about anyone being chosen as a human sacrifice. And if there were, it couldn’t be Louise; in the end, she’s convicted of all the crimes she perpetrated over the course of the story.”
Leaving the conviction stuff aside, if Miss Louise really did have a role up until the very end of the game, it made no sense for her to be sacrificed to anything part way through. This was clear evidence that we were experiencing an anomaly.
“What’s happening here?” I paused and corrected myself, “Or rather, what’s going to happen now?” I pressed a hand over my mouth and racked my brain.
“Knowing you, you probably made a big ol’ mess of things by getting involved, right?” Cleare said. “Anyway, if you’re so keen on saving the damsel in distress, we’d better hop to. You are going to save her, aren’t you?”
That was a no-brainer; of course I was going to save her. How could I stand by and let Miss Louise be sacrificed? My problem was that she was dead set on offering herself as a willing victim. It would be tough to talk her out of it. Was dragging her away my only option?
“I guess we can sneak in there and grab her, see what’s going on. Luxion, let’s get going.” When he didn’t immediately respond, I turned toward him. “Luxion?”
Luxion was even more unresponsive than usual, and something about him seemed different as well. Like he was more guarded. He’d been so blasé up until this point, offering to annihilate all the new humans whenever I desired, but not this time.
“Master, I have some unfortunate news,” he said.
“Unfortunate? In what way?”
“I suspect it will be near impossible to successfully rescue Louise.”
“What do you mean? That even you can’t pull it off?” How could something so simple be so hard that even Luxion wasn’t confident?
“We won’t be able to sneak around without being noticed,” Luxion clarified. “The problem is Ideal.”
“Ideal, huh? What about him?”
“He has deployed special security devices he made himself. I have further confirmed that he has defensive measures in place.”
“Wait. You’re not telling me that Lelia turned on us, are you?”
Was she really going to stab me in the back now of all times? No, given her position, it was more likely she saw Miss Louise as a bigger threat than me. But would she really be willing to go to such lengths to take her out? She didn’t seem that ruthless. For better or worse, she was like me in that she still carried the cultural ideas and morals instilled in her during her previous life.
Upon hearing the name Ideal, Marie leaned forward, wanting more information. She hadn’t used the cash shop in the second game, so she knew very little about him.
“He’s a cheat item—a warship—from the second game, right? What was he like?” she asked.
Luxion explained, “He is a transport vessel created by the old humans. However, it’s highly possible that his information-gathering capabilities outstrip my own. Although, the circumstances are likewise highly unnatural.”
Cleare shared his suspicions. “Would a transport vessel really have any need for such abilities? None of my data suggests that one would.”
“That is precisely why I am at a loss,” said Luxion. “He only left standby mode recently, but he was nevertheless able to hide from me for all the time prior to his awakening. It shows he’s a real threat.”
Now that Ideal was in the mix, we weren’t going to be able to move as freely as we had before. He was proving to be a real problem.
“So what are you going to do, Big Bro?” asked Marie. “It’d be difficult to steal her back, right? And if we aren’t careful, we could cause an international scandal big enough that we won’t be able to talk ourselves out of it.”
“Yeah, things sure have gotten complicated.”
The biggest issue was that, where the Alzer Republic was concerned, anything related to the Sacred Tree was considered holy. They would do anything to appease the tree, even if it meant offering someone’s life on a platter. They would absolutely get in the way if I tried to save Miss Louise.
“Oh, I’ve got it!” Marie snapped her fingers. “How about we just have Luxion burn the flower off the tree? If we do that, then this whole sacrifice nonsense should go away.”
“I would love to do that, but…” I glanced at Luxion, who moved his eye from side to side.
“Ideal has defensive measures in place against that as well. If we try to do anything, especially something as serious as attacking the Sacred Tree, it will cause a rift between the republic and the kingdom.”
“Well, then what are we supposed to do?!” Marie demanded, cradling her head in her hands.
That was the issue; none of us knew.
Luxion glanced at me. “Master, what do you propose? If we choose to face Ideal, I swear I won’t lose, but we will suffer losses. Furthermore…I still don’t know the full extent of Ideal’s capabilities.”
So basically, even with Luxion in my possession, I wasn’t free from danger. It was time to imagine the worst-case scenario then, which involved actually going toe-to-toe with Ideal. I had no issues taking Lelia on, but Ideal was a different story. Before we faced him, I needed to stack the deck in my favor a little more.
“First, let’s get some information,” I said. “If we can’t hit him where it hurts, then we’ll have to take him head-on. Marie, if you can remember anything, let me know immediately. Luxion, you come with me. And as for you, Cleare…”
“Yes?”
“Go home.”
“What?”
“You’re not really any use to me right now. You can just come back when it’s time to take Angie and Livia to Holfort. Well, there’s your orders. See you around.”
In a rare display, Luxion actually agreed with me. “Indeed. As long as I’m here, you don’t need anyone else. We should have Cleare return to Holfort and work on whatever needs done there.”
“H-hold on a minute! I don’t like that I’m the only one being left out,” Cleare said.
“Shut up and go home!”
“Master, you big jeeeeerk!” She sobbed and flew out of the room.
Marie stretched a hand after her. “Hey, wait up! Big Bro, did you really have to chase her away? I happen to think she’s plenty useful.”
“Nope, it’s better this way. Luxion, let’s get going.”
“Understood, Master.”
***
The Six Great Houses had called an emergency meeting. The central topic was Louise and the matter of her sacrifice. Save for Albergue, the other five house leaders were in agreement.
“You truly intend to sacrifice my daughter?” Albergue demanded.
They had decided that if the Sacred Tree desired it, they were willing to offer Louise. None of them showed the least hesitation. As far as the Six Great Houses—no, all the people of the republic—were concerned, the Sacred Tree was a divine being.
Lambert grinned, clearly enjoying Albergue’s frustration. “The Sacred Tree chose your daughter. You should be delighted to hand her over. Honestly, I envy your luck.” His words dripped with sarcasm, clearly driven by spite.
Albergue clenched his fists so tight that his knuckles turned white. Meanwhile, the other leaders continued their discussion.
“Digressions aside, this is the first time something like this has ever transpired. We should make a clear record of the events.”
“We must send someone from one of our houses to accompany her. Lady Louise requires a bodyguard. She seems perfectly willing to offer herself, but if she were to change her mind when the time comes, we would be left in an awkward situation.”
“Well, then let’s all send people from our houses.”
The way they all carried on without Albergue infuriated him. Even Fernand, whom he had shown much favor in the past, actively joined in the conversation with no regard for him. Fernand was desperate to foster new connections with the others after Albergue had abandoned him for his betrayal. In the process, he was happily laying out the perfect groundwork for sacrificing Louise.
“Gentlemen,” said Fernand, “there is one other important matter we must discuss. Namely, the Hero of Holfort.”
The leaders cocked their heads at the sudden mention of Leon.
“What does he have to do with this? This is an Alzerian matter.”
“Yes, that scumbag has no place in these arrangements.”
Since Leon had already burned him once, Fernand regarded him with the utmost caution. “He has a personal relationship with Louise,” he explained.
“And? What of it?”
The other men regarded him with perplexed expressions. They were skeptical that Leon would involve himself for such a petty reason. If he were stupid enough to interfere, he would cause an enormous scandal. No ordinary noble would go out on a limb like that to save a mere acquaintance.
But Fernand wasn’t the only lord who felt wary; Bellange had similarly been stung by Leon.
“Fernand makes a worthy point,” Bellange agreed.
Albergue had remained quiet thus far. Inwardly, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He suspected what the others feared would indeed come to pass: that Leon would be willing to save Louise. That was precisely why he didn’t want to put them on guard any more than they already were.
“I doubt he would make a move here,” Albergue said.
Bellange glared at him. “Letting our guard down is exactly what landed us in hot water every time before!”
Alas, the other lords present hadn’t personally felt Leon’s wrath, and they remained unconvinced of the danger.
“You’re speaking from the bias of experience.”
“Agreed. He couldn’t be so foolish this time.”
The way the conversation was going only stood to benefit Albergue, especially if Leon did jump in to help. Left unchecked, Albergue was certain he would be able to drag Louise back.
Perfect. If we can just keep up this momentum—
Unfortunately, Lambert, Fernand, and Bellange remained steadfast in their distrust of Leon and made no secret of it.
“That boy is abnormal! There’s no telling what he will do!” Lambert protested.
The others seemed to momentarily feel sorry for Leon, having someone like Lambert call him abnormal.
However, Fernand shared those sentiments. “It will be too late to act if we sit on our hands. We need to be prepared.”
Bellange shot a glance at Albergue. “Agreed. And we can’t be sure Louise’s doting father won’t get in the way either. I would like to think our chairman would never do something so foolish, but better safe than sorry.”
Albergue wanted to click his tongue, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Must be hard for a man like you to understand, considering how easy you found abandoning your own son.
He knew none of the nobles here would understand his relationship with Louise. As a noble, his affection for her made him the odd man out. Fortunately, the other leaders weren’t convinced that Leon would intervene, so the military measures they landed on were half-baked at best. Fernand and Bellange were sour about it, though it was a small victory, and Albergue remained concerned about what would come next.
Louise, no matter what happens, I swear on my life…
***
Louise was sprawled out on her bed in the Rault castle. A few days had passed since the New Year’s Festival, but ever since, she had been unable to rest, leaving her gaunt and haggard.
Her parents were seated beside her bed, and her mother kept trying to wipe away her own tears.
“Why… Why is this happening? We already lost Leon. Why must I lose Louise as well? Why is it always my children?!”
Louise squeezed her sobbing mother’s hand and smiled. “It’s all right, Mother. Leon is waiting for me.”
This must be exactly what Leon witnessed before he passed.
In her mind, Louise conjured an image of him in bed, unable to get up after the illness struck. It made her heart squeeze painfully. Leon had been such a considerate boy despite all he suffered. He had been so precious to Louise, but she had been unable to save him. She had carried that weight on her shoulders for so long; it was her greatest regret. Her status with the Six Great Houses and the enormous power she wielded by the grace of the Sacred Tree—none of it mattered. None of it had saved her brother. She had been left helpless.
Albergue clasped his hands, clenching them so tight his bones seemed to creak. “There is no record of the Sacred Tree blooming, let alone asking for a human sacrifice. Louise, I will not let it take you.”
“Father, you know you can’t stop it. I heard the other great nobles already held a meeting. They have sent their own knights to our castle, and they’re keeping a close eye on me, aren’t they?”
Louise was right; the other houses had sent troops to guard her. They had claimed it was for Louise’s protection, but in reality, they were keeping tabs on her.
Chagrined by his own powerlessness, Albergue dropped his gaze to the floor. “Everyone agreed to it, aside from me. So, it’s true; by majority vote, they decided to go ahead with the sacrifice.”
“Darling!” his wife protested, tears streaming down her face. “Do you really mean to let them take her from us?!”
Albergue slowly rose to his feet, his brows furrowed with determination.
“Father, you mustn’t. I have to be the sacrifice. Leon is waiting,” said Louise.
“Even assuming what you’re saying is true and he really is alone inside the Sacred Tree, I still can’t allow it. I don’t care if it means making an enemy of the other houses—I will do everything in my power to stop this.” Albergue started toward the door, cracking it open. But before he could step out, a butler came running up.
“Lord Albergue! Leo—that is, Earl Bartfort has arrived!”
“What?”
Leon hadn’t arranged for a meeting with Albergue—not that there was any need to do so—but he still agreed to see him nonetheless.
“Very well. Escort him to my room.”
***
A butler led me into a study, and after I took a seat on the couch inside, Mr. Albergue promptly filled me in on the situation. He was considering launching an all-out war to protect his daughter, which made me all the more skeptical that he and his family could ever have been villains.
Well, I guess objectively speaking, the citizens would consider him a menace if he launched an attack, no matter how righteous his reasons.
If sacrificing one person would solve everything, humans were more than willing to look the other way. I hated that about our species.
“War, huh? That’s kind of unsettling,” I said.
“You will understand when you become a parent. No… I suppose as a noble, my actions should be condemned. I’ll admit it then; what I’m doing is wrong.” That wasn’t going to stop him from going through with it, though.
“Going to war with a whole country just to save your daughter, huh?” I grinned. “I kinda like the sound of that.”
“That’s unexpected. For a man sometimes called the ‘scumbag knight,’ I thought you would tell me to sit back and let them sacrifice her.”
Excuse you. It’s precisely because I’m a scumbag that I’m willing to sacrifice the majority for a single person.
“I’m the type of guy who prioritizes the people I know over a bunch of strangers. See? Pretty scummy, right?”
“Bwa ha ha!” Albergue burst out laughing. “I suppose you’re right. So that’s the way you conduct yourself. Yes, it is indeed deplorable, but I like the way you think. That said, I am clearly unfit to lead the country as I am.”
“Yet you still want to go to war?”
Frankly, assuming they did sacrifice her, there was no telling what benefit that would provide. We had no idea what consequences would come if they didn’t either. The Alzer Republic was simply terrified that by angering the Sacred Tree, they might lose the blessings it had provided. Their decision to offer a sacrifice just to be safe wasn’t entirely wrong, but I still didn’t like it.
“Last time, I could do nothing but watch my son waste away, so this time will be different. I will do anything to protect my daughter, even if that means going to war.”
“Five against one? Those aren’t winning odds,” I said.
“Indeed not. But if I must put my daughter and the country on a scale to weigh, my daughter is more precious. It’s that simple.” Mr. Albergue’s eyes shone with determination. It would be an exercise in futility to argue; honeyed words weren’t going to talk him out of this. If I said something like “What about the people? They’ll suffer!” He would likely respond with “And what of it?”
I shrugged. “What if there’s a way to get out of this mess that doesn’t involve fighting?”
Albergue paused, immediately sensing my implication. “You mean to take Louise with you? Would you be able to do so? If you fail, you’ll be a wanted man.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’m actually pretty good at this kinda stuff.”
“I don’t doubt it.”
I thought he would express concern for my safety, but strangely, he seemed to have complete faith in my abilities. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Did he think I was some kind of underhanded thug with a talent for skulking in the shadows or something?
“Well? How do you want to handle this?” Mr. Albergue asked.
“Before we do that, there’s one thing I’d like your help with. Do you mind?”
His eyebrows rose. “My help? If there’s some way I can be of service, I am more than willing to do so.”
“Thank you. Actually, I want you to tell me about your son, Leon… Can you do that?”
***
After Leon left Albergue’s study, a butler stepped inside.
“My lord, Earl Bartfort has headed for Lady Louise’s room.”
“All right,” Albergue said absently as he gazed out his window.
“You still intend to go to war, I see,” said the butler.
“I do. My conscience isn’t clear, but it’s too late to turn back now.”
“So even Earl Bartfort couldn’t sway you.” It seemed the butler had hoped Leon would talk Albergue down.
Albergue laughed.
“My lord?”
“We will begin preparing for war. What happens from there depends on the earl.”
“You have something planned?” the butler asked.
“I can’t tell you right now.” Albergue paused briefly. “But I must say, he really is heinous.”
Leon’s proposal had made Albergue finally understand why people thought him a scumbag. He felt truly pathetic for having to rely on Leon.
“Heinous?” the butler echoed. “Earl Bartfort doesn’t seem the least bit heinous to me, my lord.”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Why is it always my children that must be sacrificed? Had the Sacred Tree cursed House Rault? Is this my punishment for getting rid of the Lespinasses?
He couldn’t help but wonder.
***
When Leon showed up in Louise’s room, she was shocked.
“Leon? How did you get in here?”
“I came to check on you. You look awful.” He approached her bed and settled into a nearby chair. He left some fruits on the table—a gift.
Louise smiled. “Even emaciated, I’m still beautiful, aren’t I?”
“I prefer my gorgeous women healthy,” he replied jokingly. “Not getting much sleep?”
He could clearly see the toll these events had taken on her. Louise dropped her gaze, her expression dark. “Every night, I dream. I see my brother trapped within the Sacred Tree, and I’m powerless to help him.” She covered her face with her hands, remembering the day he had died. “Even though he suffered so much, there was nothing I could do for him. The moment I realized he was still suffering inside that tree—for over a decade! I… I couldn’t help but cry. He must be so lonely in there, all by himself.”
Leon listened quietly. When Louise started sobbing, he gently stroked her back. “That must be rough. You see this dream every time you go to sleep?”
Louise nodded. “He cries out to me, begging me to come to him. I need to at least do that much. It would be too pitiful to leave him all on his own.”
“You really do love your brother, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. I was so shocked the first time I saw you. You two look so similar, I even started wondering if Leon would have looked like you, had he not…”
Louise had only known her Leon as a little boy, but if he had lived to be a teenager, she was sure he’d look just like the Leon before her. She wasn’t the only one who thought so; her parents agreed.
“It’s strange. After all this time, you show up, and now my Leon begs me for help.”
It almost felt like destiny.
Leon let her speak without passing judgment. “You really think we look that much alike? I mean, with everything you’ve said about him, I feel like we’re not remotely similar. As a kid, I was pretty obedient and well behaved, and I was also shy. Kept to myself.”
Hearing this brought fond memories rushing back.
“The way you speak—even the way you lie—it’s all just like him. But you know, I do think he was more the type to want to stand out. Oh, but I guess in that way, maybe you are alike? After all, you’ve become pretty famous since your arrival in Alzer, and you haven’t even been here a whole year.”
“That’s only because people won’t leave me alone.”
Even that reminded Louise of her little brother. She was convinced.
You received the Guardian’s Crest and saved Noelle from Loic. I just know if my little brother were still here, he would have done the exact same thing.
Louise reached out to caress Leon’s face. He sat still without flinching away.
“Would you mind telling me more about your Leon?” he asked.
“Sure. I’m scared of sleeping, so I’d be glad to tell you everything. All our happy memories together. Let’s see…”
***
Miss Louise was spread out on the bed, her chest slowly rising and falling. As I sat nearby, Luxion peeped out of the shadows, hovering beside me.
“Master, I used the sedative. She should be able to sleep without any dreams.”
“You really are handy, you know that?” I paused. “So how’s it look? What’s our meddlesome AI friend got in store for us?”
While I’d listened to Miss Louise recount her various memories with her Leon, Luxion had been busy searching the interior of the castle.
“Ideal’s defenses will make it difficult to extract Louise without encountering a number of problems.”
“Oh? Are you telling me that Ideal is more capable than you?”
“He is superior in his respective area of expertise, but on the whole, I have reason to believe that I am stronger,” Luxion said. “It would be erroneous to determine supremacy based on one aspect alone.”
It seemed my question had gotten under his skin. Not that robots had skin, but still.
Anyway, we’re in a real bind here.
Even if Luxion was stronger on the whole, Ideal could outplay him in his specialties, and we had no idea how to rank his combat abilities. It was still perfectly possible that Luxion would lose.
“But why the hell would Ideal even bother putting up these defenses in the first place?”
The question was directed at no one in particular, but Luxion ventured a guess nonetheless. “Perhaps Lelia ordered him to? There is also the possibility that he has some connection to what has happened to Louise.”
“We’ll have to look into that. All righty then, guess we’d better get going. It’s already pitch-black out there.”
In the short span I’d spent chatting with Louise, the sun had gone down. On the upside, I’d learned a number of things during my time here.
“Master,” Luxion said, “are you certain about this? Louise will resent you for it.”
I didn’t doubt that. “Bring it on. As long as she survives, I don’t care.”
“Master, you really are tactless.”
The last person I wanted to hear that from was an equally tactless AI.
***
A short while after Leon left the castle, Serge was in his room, lounging on his bed.
“Tch. What now?”
At this point, it was basically set in stone that Louise would be sacrificed to the tree. Serge personally had no interest in all that nonsense, but Louise’s fate did weigh on his mind. He stared up at his ceiling, thinking back on the day he first saw her. He remembered it vividly.
“Wonder if she’d finally see me as family if I rescued her.”
The moment he caught himself wondering that, he hopped up and raked his hands through his hair.
“Why am I still hung up on that? I already know she only wants a replacement for Leon. That’s all she ever talks about—Leon, Leon, Leon.”
When they were younger, she’d always looked so happy when she talked about her dead brother. She was so torn up about him that the whole castle was dark and dreary. Serge felt as if he’d been dragged all the way there simply to replace the dead boy. And in a way, that was true. The Raults wanted an heir, which was why they adopted him from their extended family—to be a stand-in.
“It’s way too late… We could never be family. Not after all these years.”
A part of Serge still yearned to be accepted, and he couldn’t completely cut out that desire.
As he was lost in thought, Ideal suddenly popped into his room. “Good evening.”
Serge jerked upright. “You? What do you want?”
“Oh, I simply have some amusing information, so I came to relay it to you.”
“Amusing? Sorry, but I’m not really in the mood for that kinda crap right now.” Serge settled back onto the bed.
Ideal drifted toward him. “Really? Are you that torn up about your first love being chosen as the sacrifice?”
In an instant, Serge’s hand lashed out to snatch up the little robot. Ideal’s metal creaked under the pressure of his grip. Serge’s eyes were bloodshot and murderous, veins popping on his forehead. At any second, he seemed likely to smash Ideal to pieces.
“What’d you just say?” he demanded.
“It’s pointless to destroy my remote terminal. Even if you do, I can immediately activate another. Now please take a look at this.” Light shot out from Ideal’s eye, projecting an image on the wall. In it, Serge could make out Leon and Albergue talking. They looked to be enjoying themselves.
“What… What is this?”
“Video feed from a few hours ago,” Ideal said.
“What? I didn’t hear anything about this!”
“Because the people in this castle didn’t see fit to inform you, and because this man so resembles Lord Albergue’s deceased son. They’re moreover aware that you picked a fight with him earlier.”
Unbeknownst to Serge, Leon had made his way to the castle and spoken to Albergue. The mere sight of him made Serge’s stomach roil with anger.
I’ve never seen Father smile like that before. Not at me.
The only expressions he’d ever seen on his father were anger or exasperation. There was always something distant and cold in his face. But what about the way he looked at Leon? Albergue had completely let his guard down.
Serge gritted his teeth as the image on the screen shifted.
“This feed is from Miss Louise’s bedroom. They seem to be having fun.”
The smile on her face was exactly like the one Serge had seen that day when they were children—the one that had stolen his heart. But he never saw it anymore, at least not directed at him.
The light faded from Serge’s eyes as he stared vacantly at the screen, sapped of all life. “You like him just because he looks like your dead brother, huh?”
“Here, you can listen to their conversation,” said Ideal, initiating a replay of their verbal exchange.
“Talking to you almost makes me feel like I’m talking to my little brother again. I had so much fun, Leon.”
“I enjoyed myself as well.”
“If only…you had been…my brother instead…”
Louise’s voice suddenly cut off.
“Oh dear. It seems there’s some static,” said Ideal. “I will need to fix that.”
Serge suddenly released his hold on Ideal and threw his head back, laughing maniacally. “Ah ha ha!”
“Lord Serge?”
“Sorry about that. Good job showing this to me. Yeah, this is some pretty amusing info. I knew it. Everyone here only sees me as a substitute. Dammit!” Serge hopped off his bed and slammed his foot into the nearest piece of furniture. He went berserk, smashing everything until his bedroom was a mess.
As Ideal watched, he said, “Actually, that wasn’t the amusing part yet. You see, Leon has a Lost Item similar to myself. See? Right here. Look.”
“What’s that mean?”
“That item is the reason Leon has caused such havoc here in the republic. This other robot is a comrade of mine, you see, and I would love to be on good terms with him. But Leon is using him to make a mess here. It’s impressive, I must give him that.”
Serge didn’t know much at all about Leon, aside from him being an exchange student who kept getting into trouble. Admittedly, he was partly in the dark because everyone in the castle had avoided sharing information pertaining to Leon with him.
“So, what? He’s picking a fight with Alzer?”
“You truly didn’t know? Since he came, he’s destroyed two prominent nobles: Pierre of House Feivel and Loic of House Barielle. And he’s done all of it by using that Lost Item. He certainly doesn’t know the meaning of moderation.”
Only now did Serge realize just how ignorant he had been. “Why hasn’t anyone told me about this?”
“Well, I never dreamed you were so terribly uninformed,” said Ideal. “I assume Lady Lelia likely didn’t say anything for similar reasons. It’s common knowledge throughout the country at this point. Everyone talks of the Scumbag Knight from Holfort.”
“Scumbag? So you’re saying Father…I mean, Albergue was having a nice little conversation with this guy? He’s practically public enemy number one.”
“Yes. I assume this Leon’s resemblance to his dead son is why he can’t bring himself to hate the boy, no matter how much devastation he brings to Alzer.”
The whole situation was making Serge absolutely livid. “What the hell…?”
So even though he’s our enemy, Albergue’s willing to give this Leon guy a warmer welcome than he gave me—his own son—just because he resembles his dead kid?
Serge clenched his fists with determination. “Hey, Ideal. Lend me a hand.”
“Certainly.”
Serge stared hard at the projected image of Leon. “If this guy’s trying to act like a hot shot with that Lost Item of his, don’t you think he needs a bit of pounding?”
Serge had thrashed Leon during the New Year’s Festival with ease. He was convinced that if they faced each other without Armor or weapons, he’d be more than a match for him.