Chapter 206: Espérance’s Gambit

Deon Hart had known for quite some time that Rememver was no ordinary person.

From the start, Rememver hadn’t seemed to bother concealing it, casually revealing his extraordinary nature. Only someone utterly oblivious would fail to notice.

His silver-blue hair and eyes, coupled with his casually mentioned origin of Esperance, were details that etched themselves into Deon’s mind without conscious effort. He recalled them now, at the opportune moment.

“[The Crown Prince]… No, should I call him Emperor now? Elpidius Deserth received mercenary support from Esperance.”

Hearing those words, Deon instantly understood how things had unfolded. He had already received information about Elpidius visiting his mansion.

The Empire, aiming for the Human Realm, was always a key target of Demon Realm’s vigilance. Eudoardo Deserte, the linchpin, even more so. Though he was dead, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to look away immediately. ‘That’ Eudoard couldn’t have raised a mediocre successor.

Informants monitoring Eudoard’s movements smoothly shifted their focus to the new Emperor Elpidius as soon as his death was confirmed. Thanks to this, Deon quickly learned about Elpidius’s visit to this very mansion.

‘An extraordinary Esperance native, Elpidius visiting the mansion where he resides, and then mercenary support from Esperance. It’s obvious what happened.’

All that remained was confirmation.

Crimson eyes followed the old man in the tailcoat. Deon, ignoring the cooling tea before him, sat still, clutching the box on his lap, watching Rememver leisurely sip his tea before abruptly speaking.

“Could you lend us mercenaries as well?”

It was a direct question.

Rememver paused only briefly before setting down his teacup. His lowered gaze lifted, meeting Deon’s naturally.

“No, I’m afraid that would be difficult.”

“Hmm.”

He was testing the waters, and it was a hit. If Rememver were truly uninvolved, he would have responded with confusion.

This confirmed Rememver was the conduit for mercenary support.

Wasn’t there a saying in noble circles about pretending to know even when you don’t? Recalling this adage, Deon offered a meaningful smile.

“Then, what about recalling the mercenaries sent to the Empire?”

“That too is difficult.”

“This is troubling.”

Honestly, it was baffling.

Esperance was a kingdom beneath the Demon Realm’s notice, irrelevant in their plans to swallow the Human Realm. Its existence or absence made little difference. Devouring it would only lead to troop depletion, and the gains wouldn’t justify the losses. It was such a minor kingdom even Deon himself had forgotten its existence.

In other words, if Esperance remained quiet, it was unlikely to draw the Demon Realm’s attention even after the Human Realm’s conquest.

“Supporting a nation being trampled by the Demon Realm can be interpreted as an act of defiance against the Demon Realm, wouldn’t you agree?”

Such actions changed the narrative.

How best to deal with Esperance? As Deon began to formulate plans to dismantle Esperance in his mind, Rememver chuckled amiably, seemingly aware of Deon’s thoughts.

“Surely not. Esperance has always maintained a neutral stance. In the past, present, and future, that remains our position.”

“Your current actions hardly seem neutral.”

“Lord Hart.”

Not ‘Master’, nor his title, but an unfamiliar form of address.

Deon paused reflexively, looking at Rememver. The old man wore a smile etched with years. The words that followed, unlike his soft, low voice, carried a sharp edge.

“Esperance is a sword.”

“……”

“No one gets angry at a sword.”

“……Ha.”

Deon, as if the tension that had gripped him melted away, let out a hollow laugh at the remark that poked at his past.

Right. That was the logic I used to survive while playing both sides between the Emperor and the Demon King.

He didn’t voice the question of how Rememver knew. Given Rememver’s abilities, it wouldn’t be strange if he did.

He simply stared straight into the old man’s silver-blue eyes before speaking, breaking the brief silence.

“So, Esperance is in such a position, and you want me to overlook it?”

“To put it bluntly, yes, that’s the gist of it.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“……”

“Rememver, you’ve completely misjudged. What you just said is nonsense. The premise itself is flawed.”

It wasn’t even funny.

A cold sneer escaped him.

“That logic applies when the sword doesn’t choose its master. But you refused our mercenary request, didn’t you?”

A sword that possesses will and chooses its master is better broken than left unattainable.

Rememver, meeting Deon’s calmly burning crimson eyes, let out a faint sigh. It was an anticipated outcome.

His voice, slightly more relaxed, trailed off in a lament.

“…I knew it would come to this. Why is it so hard to pretend not to notice an old man’s sophistry…”

“We too have our own position to consider.”

“Are you truly going to do this?”

“Yes.”

Then quickly show me your remaining cards. Even if ‘he’ appears as a pawn this time, I won’t be angered.

Deon smirked.

As if unable to withstand that gaze, Rememver cautiously added, a rare hint of apprehension in his voice, as it was a sensitive matter.

“Considering that we recovered your brother’s body, wouldn’t you reconsider?”

“……!”

Deon’s eyes widened. His pupils, dilating in tandem, soon filled with joy and elation, and his parted lips curved into a bright smile, utterly dispelling Rememver’s worries.

Such overflowing emotion felt suffocating. Could joy itself be suffocating?

Deon, his eyes crinkling as if he were truly dying of happiness, choked out a voice thick with emotion.

“…Indeed.”

A single tear escaped his eye.

“It was Rememver.”

The one who recovered my brother’s body.

Rememver cautiously observed Deon’s face. Deon smiled again, defiantly.

Not taken and used arbitrarily, but ‘recovered.’ He had suffered considerable emotional distress searching for the body because Rememver moved it, but he couldn’t be angry knowing that if left untouched, crows would have ravaged it before Develania reached the place.

He was attempting to use it for negotiation now, but that was only because Deon had deliberately intended to corner him.

“Did you know?”

“I had a slight suspicion. And only recently.”

He had suspected it after reading Develania’s report on tracking Cruel’s body.

The location where the trail went cold, after relentless pursuit, subtly overlapped with his own mansion. From there, Deon had reflexively thought of one person.

The old head butler of that mansion, who acted as if he knew everything.

It was just a guess, but he had gambled before the Demon King based solely on that and his gut feeling. Thankfully, it had paid off.

“So, what is your answer?”

“…Location…”

A trembling voice, like air escaping, faintly slipped out.

The tactile sensation of the wooden box in his arms felt newly rigid. Deon paused, quietly clearing his throat, before speaking with affirmative intent.

“The location… where is it?”

“I will escort you there immediately.”

Rememver rose from his seat, retrieving a sewing kit and bandages from under the sofa.

***

After walking for quite some time, they arrived near the border.

Deon, finding a small hill near the place where day and night divided, turned to Rememver without a word. As if reading the question and reproach in his eyes, an answer came immediately.

“Lord Hart travels between the Human and Demon Realms, so I sought a place from where either side could be observed.”

“Still, magical beasts… monster attacks are possible…”

“I’ve erected a barrier, so it’s alright. Given the circumstances, I couldn’t create an elaborate array to block even demons, but it’s sufficient to filter out mindless beasts like monsters.”

“…Thank you.”

Four wooden pillars placed around the tomb seemed to be the core of the barrier.

A broken sword placed before the tomb entered his vision. Recognizing the familiar form, Deon silently approached and knelt before it.

‘Cruel’s… sword, it is.’

There was no mistaking it.

The sword he held until his life ended that day. Seeing it brought back the desperate situation of that time, and Deon clenched his jaw until his teeth ground together.

‘Not yet.’

Now was not the time to indulge in emotions. Forcibly tearing his gaze from the sword, he turned his head.

This time, a tombstone caught his eye.

“…Why is this tombstone blank?”

A tombstone stood erected, yet nothing was inscribed upon it.

Setting the wooden box beside him, he ran his hand over the smooth stone. An answer came from behind.

“This old man was not granted the qualification to inscribe it.”

“…Ah.”

Now he understood.

The question he couldn’t comprehend was resolved. Deon removed his hand from the tombstone and turned to Rememver. The eyes that were always rigidly fixed now flickered with clear emotion.

“You were waiting for the day to tell me the location of this tomb.”

That’s why you remained alone in the mansion that should have been vacated.

He had been curious all the way here. Why Rememver, in a situation made dangerous by meeting Elpidius and providing mercenaries, was still staying in the mansion he should have left long ago. It was unlikely he didn’t know Deon would come to the mansion.

“But why specifically…?”

Cruel would be a complete stranger to him.

Towards the young eyes full of questions, Rememver smiled gently.

“If I didn’t know, perhaps I could have ignored it, but wouldn’t it be difficult to turn a blind eye to the corpse of one who sacrificed his life for another, left carelessly abandoned?”

“As long as there is no further interference, I will not touch Esperance, no matter what happens. My brother…”

It was an unexpected remark, but Rememver, knowing it was another way of saying thanks, waited in silence for the rest.

Following that, a voice thick with grief, tinged with piercing sorrow, flowed out as if chewing on each word.

“…Sacrificed ‘everything’ for just me. This much gratitude is a fair exchange, I suppose.”

“He was an even greater man than I knew.”

Not just ‘life.’ Reading that meaning, Rememver nodded gently.

In fact, not only that, but Deon Hart’s voice also strongly conveyed self-deprecation and self-loathing, feelings like ‘for someone like me,’ ‘what am I,’ but he pretended not to notice.

“Then, what words will you inscribe on the tombstone?”

“…You mentioned qualification.”

“Yes.”

Deon wore a bitter smile.

“Do I truly have the qualification to fill this tombstone?”

“If not the one whom the tomb’s occupant sought to protect until the very end, then who else would fill the tombstone?”

“……”

There was no reply.

Deon turned his head to look at the tomb. He reached out and lightly stroked the well-kept grass before his eyes, speaking softly.

“The grass too… did Rememver manage it?”

“Yes.”

“…Since I have already affirmed the compensation, I will not offer further words of gratitude. However, aside from thanks, may I ask one question?”

“Please do.”

“Why is that not cleared away? Is there a special reason?”

A single flower bloomed atop the tomb, directly in the center.

…The same kind of flower as in my room. A bizarre flower that, despite being from the Human Realm, showed no discernible signs of wilting or withering.

‘I’ve never had any affinity with flowers, but recently, I keep encountering them.’

And only one kind. Deon frowned.