It was fortunate that most people in the slums were gathered only in the square. After leaving the square and entering the alley, it was a little easier to run away.
After we went out on the main road and mixed with the people, we could barely catch a breath.
I ran away with all my might, so my whole body was sweaty even though it was cold.
âUh huft⊠Oh, Lord, I thought I was going to dieâŠ!â
Hamilton said as he took off his cloak. Under the cloak, he was dressed in a neat suit.
This manâs basics of disguise arenât perfect.
âAre you okay, my lady?â
âIâm okay. What about you, Agoth? Are you hurt?â
Agoth had had several collisions with people as she had taken the lead in clearing the road. Unsurprisingly, upon closer inspection, there were scratches on the back of her cheek and hand.
âWhatâs this? You got hurt?â
âAyy, itâs not even that bad.â
Agoth grinned while fiddling with the scar on her cheek.
âLetâs get some medicine when we get home. Sigh, thatâs upsetting.â
âItâs strange to hear that from someone who broke her ribs and couldnât see because of poison during the subjugation of the monsters.â
As I examined Agothâs wounds, Hamilton, sitting on the flower bed, said softly.
At a glance, he looked as if he had aged about ten years.
âDid you not even bring a weapon, Viscount?â
âI was undercover. How could I pack a weapon?â
What did I expect from a man who wore such a luxurious suit under the cloakâŠ
âSigh. I hope they donât remember my face and come to take revenge.â
âAre you scared?â
âOf course. Ordinary people sometimes run like a herd of angry bison when out of their minds.â
âThey wouldnât have seen it because it was too dark.â
When ordinary people flock together, doesnât it mean they are already in an extreme situation?
Because they wouldnât be able to attack the nobles without risking their lives.
âBy the way, why were you there?â
âIâd like to ask something. Do you believe in Dracoism, PrincesS?â
âIf I were a cult member, would I have run away like this?â
âWell, thatâs true, butâŠâ
Hamilton scratched his neck and looked flustered.
âWell⊠that person who seemed like the religious leader talked to you as if you were acquaintances.â
âAh⊠that is a rather complicated story.â
Feeling cornered, I averted my gaze from Hamilton.
From where to where should I tell the story? I was busy editing the story in my head.
âSomething is going on, isnât there?â
âDidnât I ask you first? Viscount, why on earth were you three?â
âIâm just a spy.â
âYeah, but why?â
âHow dare I divulge the reason?â
âOh, is that so? Does that mean I can hand over your information to Draco believers?â
âPrincess! Youâre cruel!â
âWell, you saved your life thanks to us. Youâll eventually confess anyway, so just blow it out.â
âIf you said it like that, donât you think we wouldnât have been found if it werenât for you?â
âI donât think so. I think they wouldâve found out no matter what. Viscount, you were so obvious.â
âNo, such harsh wordsâŠ!â
âDidnât you go there because you were curious about something? I donât think itâd be a bad idea to be honest and exchange information.â
âThen if you tell first, I will alsoâŠÂ Hatchoo!â
Hamilton sneezed heavily.
He sweated so much in the chilly weather that his body temperature dropped as his sweat cooled.
I was starting to feel chilly too, and Agoth, standing next to him, sniffed.
âUgh⊠letâs change the place first. I donât think itâs something weâre going to talk about on the street.â
âThatâs true.â
âLetâs go to the restaurant we always go to.â
Hamilton suggested, but I was a little hesitant.
Aristocratic guests frequented the restaurant.
It seemed that something unpleasant would happen if it came to the empressâs ears that I met with Hamilton, Caesarâs assistant, separately.
FurthermoreâŠ
âCan I enter a restaurant wearing this outfit?â
I untied the cloakâs laces and took it off.
The clothes I was wearing were the shabby dresses worn by maids.
Hamilton frowned at the outfit.
âUgh, why are you wearing that outfit?â
âOne has to do it right to infiltrate.â
âAs long as I donât take off my cloak, whatâ No. Letâs stop talking about this. Iâm really going to catch a cold.â
Hamilton stood up. As expected, it was cold, so he hugged his arms and swept his body once.
âI will take you to my mansion.â
A wise decision.
I smiled positively.
***
I had known Hamilton for a long time, but it was my first visit to his mansion.
His mansion was a very small two-story building. The garden size was small enough that the boundary line could be seen from one end to the other.
âItâs cute.â
Of course, since it was a mansion of an aristocratic family, the expression âcuteâ was inappropriate.
However, in this life, living only looking at big mansions, my senses seemed to have become a little brazen.
âLetâs go to the drawing room. Iâm sorry, Miss Agoth, can I arrange another room for you?â
âIâll be waiting in the next room.â
Agoth refuted Hamiltonâs comment.
âNo. Agoth, change clothes and get some rest. Youâll catch a cold if you wear clothes wet with sweat.â
I persuaded Agothagain. Agoth looked sad, but she nodded obediently to my command.
She followed the mansionâs maid to another room, and Hamilton and I headed to the drawing room.
Thanks to the fireplace, there was warm air in the drawing room. As soon as the hot tea came out and I took a sip, I felt like my whole body was melting.
Iâm in trouble. Iâm starting to get sleepy.
âNow, letâs talk frankly.â
Tired after drinking tea just like me, Hamilton opened his mouth with a slightly languid voice.
ââŠÂ Sigh. All right.â
I agonized for a while, but finally decided to let it out. Well, I just need to avoid talking about my past life.
âIâll go first. Not long ago, I interpreted the pattern found on the monstersâs bodies.â
âYou mean the pattern that was discovered during the subjugation mission.â
âYes.â
âBut the scholars said it was impossible to interpret because it was not rune language, so by what means?â
âItâs not rune language, but characters that were used before rune language. Itâs similar to the characters of the demon⊠Well, actually, Iâm not an expert in this area, so I donât know for sure.â
âWho did you hear from?â
âItâs Yulika Brande.â
âAh⊠Mm. The culprit behind many recent developments. I wondered how they knew about the pattern. Apparently, the origin was here.â
Hamilton said with a slightly angry expression.
The empress must have threatened not only me but also Caesar with that sentence, so Hamilton must have roughly grasped the situation.
And Iâm the one who handed it over to her. Cough.
I spoke quickly to cover up the awkwardness.
âAnyway, the content of that sentence was, the king⊠Yulika Brande said the word âkingâ is pronounced âKrusechâ in demonic language.â
âYou mean the evil dragon Krusech?â
âYes.â
âSo you thought it might have something to do with those who worship dragons, so you wanted to investigate.â
âI still donât know exactly what it is related to.â
âThen what the religious leader said to youâŠâ
âAck, stop.â
I said to Hamilton, blocking the question by showing my palm.
âYou have information, too, right?â
I would be in trouble if you just tried to dig up all my information.
Hamilton frowned and Mmâed. But after listening to my stories, he couldnât stop talking, so he opened his mouth before long.
âWell, similar to you, I heard that the increase in the number of monsters was related to that religion, so it was necessary to confirm the facts.â
The answer came as expected.
I didnât think Caesar would be investigating the matter separately.
âAnd in additionâŠâ
Huh? In addition?
âThere is also news that more and more people are missing with the religion these days.â
Missing.
It was a story I had already heard from Agoth.
âSo why did you, not the security guards, do that?â
âIt seems that the security guards did not judge them as missing. They disappeared voluntarily, for the purpose of religious activity.â
âDo they disappear spontaneously?â
âProbably, as before, that person called the leader instigates the people and drags them away.â
Hamilton said with a serious expression.
âMy guess is that heâs taking people to the place where Krusech is sealed.â
The evil dragon Krusechâs power was strong, and humans had no power to kill the dragon.
So Dante Renatus decided to seal the dragon. The mage who had been with her in battle had taken advantage of Danteâs slicing of the dragon and sealed the dragon forever.
In the way Dante wanted.
In the place Dante allowed.
And the sealed place was known only to the mage and Dante herself.
Back then. Even now.
I hadnât even told Erez.
âThatâs not⊠I donât think so.â
Helena denied Hamiltonâs guess in a slightly shaky voice.
âWhat?â
âKrusech doesnât exist.â
âBut the records say it was impossible to kill a dragon, so it was sealed somewhereâŠâ
âYes, and since the sealed place is gone, it canât exist.â
âGone? What does that mean? How the hell did you know about that?â
Hamiltonâs voice dropped a little as if doubting me.
âCome to think of it, the religious leader also spoke as if he knew you, right?â
âDo you remember the festival where Caesar was kidnapped?â
I looked up at Hamilton and asked.
âI met him in the village that time. He said the same thing to me then. Savior, god, king.â
âDonât you know him?â
âI donât know. Thatâs when I first met him, and I havenât seen him since. Until now, I just thought he was a crazy person, so I forgot about it.â
âWell, I think Iâd be crazy to hear that crap.â
âRight?â
But I canât think of it like that now.
A man who hasnât aged for nearly 10 years. A person who now uses the now-devastated magic as âthe power of a dragonâ.
Someone who calls me king.
âKing. Krusech.â
Perhaps the word âkingâ he called may not refer to the day I once ruled as an emperor.
Little by little, the outlines of his wants seem to be revealed.
Krusechâs Resurrection.
But why? For what reason?
âPutting the religious leader aside, where is the sealing place that has now disappeared?â
Hamilton asked again.
Now that Iâve said this much, itâs hard to hide more. Even if he knows it, itâs already gone, so thereâs nothing he can do about it.
I let out a long sigh and then placed a condition on Hamilton.
âPlease donât ask me how I know instead.â
âAll right. I swear.â
âThe dragon was sealed in the heart of Dante Renatus. You needed someone strong enough to suppress the dragonâs power.â
âWhat?!â
Hamiltonâs eyes widened.
He looked like he had never thought the dragon wouldâve been sealed in the body of a living person.
âBut 500 years have already passed. Danteâs corpse, along with its sealed purpose, must have decayed and disappeared.â
But Hamiltonâs expression never brightened. I narrowed my brows at his stiff expression.
âWhat is it?â
âIf that is true, the dragon may not have disappeared yet, Princess.â
âWhat? What do you mean?â
âThe body of Dante Renatus was not buried.â
Now it was my turn to be surprised.
âWhat?!â
Hamilton said to me with darkened eyes.
âThe body of Dante Renatus remains. Itâs embalmed like most of the great men and in the basement of the Cathedral of the Church.â