Chương 75: The Elf Conspiracy (2)

Eole's eyes lit up in horror.

"An archfiend?"

"Yes," Simon confirmed.

"A terrible monster drawing its power from the Goatfish constellation dwells in your people's Sanctuary, as far as I can tell. It should wake up on the first day of the Pluviose month of 404 After Doom, a little over a year from now." Eole scowled. He had managed to convince her of his prophetic abilities like in previous reigns, enough that she took his ominous doomsday warning at face value.

"I don't know of any sealed away monster in my home," she admitted, "but our native elves and dryad are old, older than the Doom itself. If a demon was captured four hundred years in the past, as you say, then they should be aware of the danger."

"Awareness and understanding are two very different things." Simon crossed his arms.

"Are they still in contact with Illusea and the Oracle?"

"No. Our manatree has been uprooted since the Doom, and our people do not keep much contact with the surface." Wait, did that mean they had little to no knowledge of the Overlord? Eole only learned of the political situation by visiting Telluria, but elves that split off from their kindred since the Doom probably never learned about Mardok's creation of the Class. A hidden nation that knew nothing about the Overlord might be one of the few places where Simon could live in peace one day…

"You should go there and warn your people of the danger," Simon told her.

"The great comet Abraxas' power will grant the archfiend both the strength to break its seal and regain its true body. A year of preparation might make all the difference."

"I will bring your word to them, Lord Simon." Eole bit her lower lip.

"But it would be easier if you were to join me."

"I have too much to do here." Simon scoffed.

"Like toppling an empire." Eole's eyes widened with realization, then interest.

"Oh, I see. I was wondering why a kind prophet like yourself would stay a prince of a rotten nation, but now I understand. You intend to bring down this cursed land from the inside."

"Yes, you could say that." As much as Simon hoped to dismantle the elf conspiracy before it ran its course, gathering information on them would likely involve assisting them in tearing Endymion apart.

"It may take a while, but I hope to reform it… and if I can't, I would like to save some people I know." Eole stared at him for a moment with a thoughtful expression. Simon thought she would offer him a feather or simply take flight from the window as she did in the past, yet her next words took him by utter surprise.

"If you don't mind, Lord Simon, I would like to accompany you on your quest."

"What?" Simon blinked in surprise. Eole always refused to accompany him when he remained a prince of the empire, and even then he usually had to ask her first.

"I told you, your Sanctuary risks destruction a year from now. You should go warn them."

"I do not need to physically travel to our Sanctuary to send them a message," she replied.

"I must simply find an elevated point." Simon recalled that Magvolia had a few such places. He'd be lying if he said the idea of Eole joining him for this reign didn't appeal to him. He knew how loyal she could be to her friends, and he was about to enter a den of vipers with fewer allies than usual, since bringing Duchar, Hector, and Cassandra aboard would raise suspicions—not to mention he didn't feel ready to meet them so soon after how his previous reign ended.

"I would gladly take you along, Eole, but the risks will be great," Simon warned her.

"First of all, I ask that you never reveal my intentions to anyone, for discovery will mean death for us both. Neither will you be able to step into Telluria so long as Vouivre remains alive. The risk that she captures you and unleashes another archfiend is too great." Eole nodded reluctantly.

"I have faith in your visions, Lord Simon," she said.

"My kind can only achieve freedom once this empire falls. If its weakness lies in another land altogether, then I shall travel there."

"That is very brave of you, Eole." Simon genuinely smiled for the first time since this reign began.

"I am happy to have you with me."

"I will assist you in any way I can." Eole folded her wings slightly.

"What is your plan, Lord Simon?"

"It's a bit too early to tell you everything, but… there is something you could help me with." Eole was a talented minstrel and actress, on top of being rather charming. He had seen her at work in Valne.

"I suspect a family called the Malphas to be working with the empire's enemies. Their daughter, Elaine, might become my fiancée soon, but neither she nor her father trusts me."

"You want to earn their trust so that you will be trusted in turn," Eole guessed.

"Surely freeing me would do the trick."

"I think it may help, but they have stayed undercover for years if I am right. They might mistake us for spies if we look 'too good to be true,' so to say, and they're willing to kill to keep their secrets."

"I understand," Eole replied with a scowl.

"I may have an easier time winning their trust than you, Lord Simon. I was imprisoned for trying to rouse my kind in rebellion, and I was a slave. My struggle was genuine and documented."

"That's… true." Eole had a point. A bastard prince of House Magnos would always remain suspicious in the Malphas' eyes, but she was the ideal White Unicorn recruit.

"You should have no trouble winning them over by being earnest."

"And once I do, I shall put a good word in for you. It is the least I can do to pay you back for your kindness." Simon thanked her for her gratitude, then sent Eole away to collect her belongings for their departure. He had to admit he wasn't sure how to feel about this. Using someone he considered a friend to hoodwink a rival conspiracy without her knowledge didn't entirely sit well with him, but… well, it beat running a murderous cult and summoning an archfiend at least.

And that act of deceit paled compared to what was next on the list… Simon heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Belzemine walked inside and closed the door behind her.

"Your Highness."

"Yes." At least this trickery will be for your own salvation, Belzemine.

"Are you done?"

"Yes. I have finished warding this room. No outsider will be able to see us or listen to our conversations, and the spells will cancel out any invisibility effect." Excellent. Simon had Shabram report on the Malphas' movements through her Brand, but Elaine was a Spy with access to unknown resources. He didn't want to take any chances.

"Then, Belzemine…" Simon said as he unveiled his Overlord armor, much to her shock.

"There's something I need to ask of you…" True to his word, Patriate Malphas arranged a journey to his sister's dukedom on his private airship. Simon boarded it with a retinue composed of a newly emancipated Eole, Belzemine, Meredith, and Leonard. He had considered bringing Lorimor with him, but the man was both a security risk and more or less useless for this reign.

Seeing Leonard after Simon murdered him and his sister in the previous reign filled his heart with guilt and anguish, which Leonard quickly picked up on.

"Is something the matter, Your Highness?"

"Nothing," Simon lied. The fact that his loyal retainer had completely forgotten his employer's crimes against him and his family didn't assuage his conscience in the slightest.

"I just mistook you for someone else." Leonard squinted at him in skepticism, perhaps having noticed the half-lie, but he didn't argue any further. Lord Patriate and his daughter warmly welcomed them in the airship's salon, with the Lord-Treasurer paying close attention to Eole.

"Could your retainer be a kish, Lord Simon?" Patriate inquired with genuine curiosity.

"She is," Simon confirmed, the question slightly taking him aback.

"Do you know of them?"

"I've heard of them, but I believed the tribe to be extinct." Lord Patriate explained as he studied Eole closely, much to her discomfort.

"Can you understand us?"

"Eole only speaks a little elvish and her native tongue," Simon replied.

"I managed to establish contact with her using what little I knew of the former tongue." Elaine smiled at him.

"You can speak Elvish, Lord Simon?"

"A bit," Simon lied, since his Perks let him speak and translate all tongues.

"I learned the basics from the imperial library. I had hoped to travel to Illusea and see the Worldtree when I was younger and foolish."

"There is nothing foolish about wishing to explore the world, Lord Simon," Patriate said. He took Eole's hand and kissed it while switching from Endymian to Elvish.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Eole."

"You are very kind, but I am no noble," Eole replied in Elvish.

"It has been a while since anyone could understand me since I've met Lord Simon."

"As it happens, my work demanded that I learn the Elvish language to discuss with elven diplomats and merchants; a skill I taught my daughter in turn." Lord Patriate stroked his goatee.

"I cannot help but notice your lack of slave brands."

"Lord Simon kindly emancipated me without asking for anything in return," Eole replied.

"Since I cannot return to Telluria on account of being imprisoned for encouraging my kind to rebel against your empire's slavery practices, I decided to stay in his service."

"Yes, I recall hearing about the troubles in Telluria." Patriate raised an eyebrow at Simon.

"Forgive me for being so forward, but why forgive a known rebel?"

"My brother Dassein sent Eole to the capital to serve as an imperial slave concubine for my father, to be raped and abused." Simon scowled in genuine disgust.

"I just couldn't keep her bound after learning that."

"That was very noble and selfless of you, Lord Simon." For once, Lord Patriate sounded genuine. His eyes moved from him to Eole for a moment before changing the subject.

"Would you mind teaching me and my daughter about your people's ways, Lady Eole? Learning about other cultures is the wellspring of an open mind, I always say." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. How forward-thinking. Simon had no idea of what he could trust when it came to Patriate Malphas' words. The man played the role of a mild-mannered fence-sitter and bureaucrat eager to go along with everyone to perfection, but that was all a lie.

A man willing to blow himself up for the sake of keeping his conspiracy secret had to possess an iron will and wells of bravery. Nonetheless, Simon had the feeling that granting Eole's freedom had won him some points with the Malphas family. Elaine invited him to a private table near a porthole during the flight, so they could learn more about each other away from their chaperones, which Simon recognized as something of a hidden interview.

He would bet his right hand his retainers and Eole were being grilled to determine whether they would threaten their plans or if they would have to be slain. She served him tea and cakes, then went straight for the throat.

"My father questioned Lady Shabram about your mother." Elaine gave him a pointed look.

"It was all true. She was indeed executed when trying to elope with a Lore merchant and take you away." Simon snorted.

"I'm surprised that my father's pet told him anything at all."

"She said there was no point in keeping it a secret with His Majesty's assassination, but asked my father to keep that to himself." Elaine smiled.

"But he never keeps anything from me."

"Neither did mine… usually for the worst," Simon replied. The truth was that Simon had allowed Shabram to leak the story as part of his plan.

"Oh?" Elaine raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

"Do you really want to know?" Simon wondered what to reveal, before settling on something unrelated to the war effort so as not to appear too informed.

"He… rated them." Elaine's face darkened.

"Rated what?"

"His 'conquests'. All the women he had slept with, he kept a journal where he drew and commented on them." Simon looked away through the porthole.

"That bastard rated my mother five out of ten, and said he felt fleeced for my conception ever since."

"Yes, yes I… I imagine that would hurt to hear." Elaine changed the subject.

"Do you have any memory of her? Your mother?"

"Just vague memories from my childhood. It's been so long." Simon sipped the tea, which he found extremely sugary. Did they add substances to it to make him loosen up?

"Why ask?"

"I never knew my own mother," Elaine admitted with a hint of longing.

"She died when I was young."

"Did my father kill her too?" Simon asked honestly. It wouldn't even surprise him at this point.

"No, not at all. She was caught in a Tribe-related pogrom and slain." Simon made a mental note to ask Shabram to investigate that in case there was any kernel of truth to the tale, given her elven heritage.

"Aunt Anselma all but raised me." Not the other one? Interesting.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but now that we are alone, I have to ask you something," Simon said.

"Do you actually want this betrothal? Or is your father forcing you into this?"

"Isn't that what we're deciding now?" Elaine smiled slyly at him.

"My father is not forcing me into anything, though I admit I do find you fascinating. You're a lot more well-adjusted than I would have expected, considering your family. One just has to look at Prince Louis or Thalas to tell the apples didn't fall far from the tree." Was this the moment when they revealed their mutual disdain for House Magnos?

"I was only ever close to Lauriane," Simon admitted bluntly.

"I hope she survives when Louis and Euphemia tear the empire apart."

"I hear she tells you everything." Elaine chuckled before sipping her tea.

"Will you gallantly fight for her once they come to blows?" Here came the loaded question, whose answer Simon had the gut feeling would influence the rest of this reign going forward. Simon pondered how to reply in a way that would ingratiate himself with the White Unicorn without being too obvious, but his answer came up the moment he conjured the image of Louis' smirk in his mind.

"No," Simon finally admitted.

"No, I wouldn't."

"The braver answer would have been yes," Elaine teased him.

"I would have supported her if she was putting forward her own claim," Simon replied earnestly, "but she wants to put Louis on the throne, and he's insane."

"We agree on that. His obsession with invading the western continent will bankrupt the realm, or so my father says." Elaine finally drank from her cup, her gaze hidden.

"Truth be told, my father intended to ship me away from court with this marriage and keep me out of trouble. Frightwall is no longer safe for any of us."

"No, it's not," Simon replied, before fishing for information himself.

"Is your father going to take a side?"

"Hopefully not. My father aligns more with the Church Party when it comes to internal policies, but my aunts are married to War Party supporters and close to Lady Lauriane's fiefdom." Elaine winked at him.

"It would be madness to defy Prince Louis in his own backyard." She meant it as a quip and misdirection, especially since her conspiracy was very much planning to stab the War Party in its own heartland, but all the pieces fell in place at this moment for Simon. The reason why the Oracle had invested so much effort in establishing a foothold in Magvolia, from placing agents like the Malphas to supporting Satine's burgeoning independence movement, became obvious to him.

The elf conspiracy wanted access to the Goetia Research Center, probably to sabotage it from the inside and cripple the War Party's logistics. The Oracle had foreseen that Louis would bring destruction to the world somehow, and he was more or less guaranteed to win the conflict so long as that particular facility remained in his control. The elves had methodically begun to encircle it with loyalists in anticipation of the siege.

It wasn't just fear of Belzemine falling into Louis' clutches that caused Patriate to follow us to Telluria back then, Simon thought as he recalled a previous reign. He hoped to keep Louis away from Magvolia to ease the attack on the Goetia Research Center. Half of the conquered country had risen up in rebellion back then without Louis around to order a bombardment, which allowed Norbelle's army to besiege the Goetia Research Center before the War Party could organize a defense.

That was likely the Oracle's optimal scenario for the conflict. That plan would be for naught since Louis hadn't left for Telluria this time as far as Simon could tell, which guaranteed a longer war the crown-prince had a strong chance of winning. Unless… unless they found a way in.

"Yes, you would be right," Simon replied as he sipped from his cup.

"If half of what my sister told me about her Crestone research is true, Louis is going to win the struggle for the throne handily."

"Is it true they're creating new Classes there?" Elaine asked not so innocently.

"Well… yes, they are." Simon scratched his cheek in fake embarrassment.

"I don't know the exact details, but I can ask her. Lauriane tells me everything." Elaine was a talented spy, but he caught the glint of interest in her eyes all the same. They wouldn't let him go now. The rest of the trip was about as boring as it was uneventful. Elaine entertained Simon with idle chatter, except for the occasional pointed question here and there.

He had the strong suspicion she now considered him someone who could be either manipulated or flipped to the conspiracy's side given time, though it would take a bit before the Malphas truly trusted him. Simon otherwise had the intuition he wouldn't be able to gain many levels from this reign, if any. Having the Malphas looking over his shoulders outside Frightwall meant he couldn't really practice either his crafting or spellcasting for the time being. Win some, lose some.

The airship eventually arrived near twilight in the Eligos Dukedom and its capital city of Surgat. The Eligos castle—or rather palace—dominated fertile plains and its own private canals like the sun with the planets. Unlike most noble fortresses, this one had a tall iron fence covered in roses and ivy for an outer wall. A dense briar labyrinth, gardens, groves, private parks, courtyards, fountains, and even an artificial lake formed the bulk of the property.

The U-shaped palace at the center was rather small in comparison, but it more than made up for it in splendor. It looked a lot more modern than any other noble estate Simon had seen, a three-floored mansion of marble, polished stones, columns, and stained windows.

"Duke Eligos tore down the ancestral keep and rebuilt it to please my aunt," Elaine said once the airship landed at a private dock inside the property.

"The western wing is still unfinished, though she says it'll be completed by the year's end." Simon would have doubted that claim without the flying gargoyles and creatures hovering over the palace. Although the imperial army had no qualms about enlisting fiends, often sending the more disciplined ones to the Academy for training, demonbinding and diabolism were heavily restricted in the empire.

All members of their kind were dangerous, and the more powerful ones simply required so much miasma to linger on the material plane that they usually started causing trouble in order to spread it further. Castle Eligos was the first time Simon saw a truly industrial-scale use of infernal creatures. Hundreds of bound imps, gargoyles, and other horned and clawed creatures toiled on the property alongside stone golems and enslaved trolls.

Not even Frightwall housed so many monsters in one place, and most sane souls would consider it a tremendous security risk. The mere fact that Justine Eligos could control so many of them spoke volumes about her power. Speaking of their host, she welcomed them at the airship dock when they climbed down from it.

Justine Eligos was quite possibly a living illustration of Endymion's nobility; a refined woman wearing a black and white silk and a fur dress worth more money than an entire village earned in a year, with golden jewels adorning her bleached blue hair and a fan of precious feathers in hand. Either she was a better actress than her brother, or she had taken quite a liking to the imperial noble lifestyle.

A small army of courtiers and guards followed in her footsteps, almost all of them being handsome young men and singers welcoming their guests with song. There were a handful of major exceptions, though: some of her bodyguards were horned, scaly fiends wielding flaming swords, and a thick, stumpy lumbering hulk of an ogre followed in Justine's footsteps. This one was muscled and bald, with a stretched leathery orange face beneath a butcher's garb and black eyes above a puffy, toothy grin.

Simon didn't miss the look of distaste Patriate Malphas sent them, nor the way Lady Justine observed Belzemine and Eole when they stepped down.

"Greetings, brother," Lady Justine said upon exchanging hasty kisses on the cheek with Patriate and then Elaine.

"I didn't expect you so soon either, my dear niece. You're among my first guests to arrive."

"Things have changed a great deal in the capital, and the winds have brought good tidings," Patriate replied before introducing Simon.

"Here is my daughter's new fiancé, Simon Magnos, baron of Whispermire, alongside Lady Agnes Firewand."

"Whispermire?" Justine smiled slyly at Simon.

"You find me most jealous, milord. I've had my eyes on acquiring that land for quite some time."

"That monster-infested dump?" Simon asked in honest disbelief, before spotting the woman's ogre sniffing the air at his approach. It was said their kind had a better sense of smell than a hellhound.

"It houses a fascinating ecosystem," Justine replied.

"Whispermire's Darkwood is an entire forest covered in miasma and inhabited by various monsters. How such a den of darkness sustains itself raises some…" She put her fan beneath her nose." Interesting questions." This one is more dangerous than her siblings. Her gaze reminded Simon of a mix of Duchar and Silk; slyness merged with dangerous obsessions. I also sense some coldness between the siblings…

"It is a pleasure to have you as my guest too, Lady Firewand. Your reputation precedes you." Justine waited for an answer from Belzemine, then shrugged when she received a frown in response.

"I see you are as taciturn as they say."

"You stink of the Dark, witch," Belzemine replied with barely concealed disdain.

"As does your home," Justine mused, before noticing her pet ogre's grunt of distaste.

"What is it, Tomoro? Are our guests' scents not to your liking?"

"The boy's a Darkblood, so thick his flesh is poisonous," the ogre grumbled.

"Sleeping Visionary, too. Wasted flavor." Darkblood? Simon wondered, having never heard the term before. Justine immediately stared at Simon with immense interest.

"A third eye blinded by the Dark… what a rare combination," she said, flapping her fan.

"Do you happen to have prophetic dreams, my dear?" Simon blinked in surprise.

"Prophetic dreams?"

"Dreams of the future, or flashes of the past. Usually involving violence." How did she… Did that ogre smell Elios Magnos' blood in his descendant's veins? Some invisible trace of sensitivity to the Dark and foresight? Simon had used his Perk to hide Overlord's darkness behind false light, so it had to be something else.

He had already guessed he had inherited some of his ancestor's Visionary gifts since he had dreamed of what he assumed to be his father's past deaths, but he had otherwise never actually seen the actual future outside of living out the reigns. Did she suggest Simon could have genuine and latent foresight?

"Yes," Simon reluctantly confirmed, knowing the Malphas could easily learn of them by questioning Lauriane or Louis.

"They don't always happen, but… they often do." Justine's eyes gleamed with a dreadful mix of greed and curiosity.

"Which ones?"

"Dreams about someone's death." She didn't seem surprised in the slightest, which only aroused Simon's curiosity.

"You suggest I could be a Visionary, even if I lack the third eye?"

"Of course you cannot be a true Visionary without the eye," Justine replied with a smirk.

"But that doesn't mean you lack gifts of your own."

"Sister," Patriate interrupted them with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Surely you won't bore Lord Simon with your occult talks, will you?"

"You're wrong, brother. I have piqued his curiosity." Their host let out a small sigh.

"But you are right, I do forget my manners. Welcome to my halls, make yourself at home." Simon had the feeling this would be a very interesting stay...