I Stole the Heroines' Tragedy Flags-Chapter 34: What Are You?

The late night was in full swing in the capital of the empire.

During the early hours when everyone was asleep, I entered the basement of a building.

Sitting across the table from some bastard.

"Ain, please come over to my side."

Suddenly, the bastard started barking nonsense.

I was taken aback and didn’t even respond, just stared at him blankly.

He wasn’t even wearing a mask anymore.

Maybe he didn’t need to.

The friendly tone he used when dealing with Hella was gone.

The expression that mimicked innocence had turned into that of a sly fox.

He crossed his legs and casually looked at me.

A charisma that could easily be called the quality of a king emanated from him.

“...Haha! Just a joke, just a joke. I was just saying it for fun.”

“I don’t think so at all.”

I also wasn’t wearing a mask.

There was no need for one.

The guy in front of me, alone, wasn’t a prince anymore, but an arch-enemy.

He was just a bastard.

"So, why did you call me?"

"You're a bit short with your words today...? I am still a 4th prince, you know."

"I have no intention of changing that."

"...Well, I guess it doesn't really matter. Actually, it feels refreshing, so it's even better."

"Get to the point."

"Shall we sit first?"

I quickly pulled out a chair and sat down.

I didn’t know what he was about to say, but the employment proposal from earlier was quite unpleasant.

I wanted to wrap up this pointless conversation quickly.

"I said it was a joke, but I mean it to some extent."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to make you my ally."

"...Why? Isn’t there anything you need from me?"

"Yes. There is. Quite a lot."

Zeleon interlocked his fingers and placed his hands on the table.

With a thick smile, he spoke plainly.

"Do you remember how many assassination attempts there have been on Hella Leonerit over the past two years?"

"..."

"There have been 167 incidents officially reported to me. There might have been more."

 It was the number of times the imperial family had attacked Hella.

And the number of times I had stopped them.

...I don’t actually remember the exact number.

It might have been more than that.

Tap, tap.

Zeleon tapped his fingers on the table as he continued.

"All 167 attempts failed. It’s because of your existence, Ain."

"...So?"

"It was truly surprising. I heard the adventurer guild had hired escorts for the 3rd princess, but I never expected someone so capable."

"Well, that’s because the guys you hired are just useless trash."

"Haha, you're going too far. But still, they were expert-level, right?"

He placed several documents on the table.

It seemed to be information about me.

One of them had only a few words written on it.

"I thought I was quite skilled at gathering information, but I couldn’t find anything about you, Ain."

"..."

"The mercenaries you dealt with left no trace, and the adventurer guild keeps your information locked away."

He had done quite a bit of research.

That made me feel worse.

"Ain, you're talented. Among all the people I’ve seen, you’re undoubtedly the most shining gem."

"It seems like your taste in people is low. Are you still 17 or something?"

"You're the same age as me. And yet, you possess an overwhelming talent for someone your age."

"..."

'This is strange.'

Was the 4th prince always like this?

There was an odd disconnect between his current behavior and his in-game persona.

The doubts I had kept distant before resurfaced again.

“...Let me ask just one thing.”

"What is it?"

"Why the hell are you trying to kill Hella?"

It wasn’t just Zeleon.

The imperial family, currently in the midst of a succession struggle.

Why were they so intent on trying to kill the 3rd princess, who had no power to fight back?

It had been a question that gnawed at me during every tutorial.

'Does Hella have something that could threaten them?'

It seemed like a reasonable hypothesis.

But nothing came to mind.

His answer would be crucial.

"Is that what you're curious about?"

"Of course I am. They've been relentlessly coming after her for 2 years now."

"Well... It’s about the issue of tradition."

"...Tradition?"

I mulled over his words.

Succession to the throne... tradition... suppression.

It sounded like nonsense, but the answer that emerged was clear.

"Is it because Hella has a higher rank in the succession than them?"

"Them? The only person who would call my siblings like that is you, Ain."

"Answer my question. What do you mean?"

Hella was born between the emperor and a commoner.

She was also the youngest child.

No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense that her rank in the succession would be higher than theirs.

"What do you think the tradition of the empire is based on?"

"Of course—"

I paused.

Suddenly, I found myself choking on my words, thinking of a particular person.

The empire’s tradition.

Naturally, it was related to the founding of the empire.

A thousand years ago, the emperor who unified all the kingdoms and established the current empire.

The first hero’s close friend. ...An old connection of mine now, far too distant.

When it comes to the tradition passed down by such a founding emperor...

"Could it be that Hella has received the holy mark?"

"...To think an outsider like you knows about the holy mark... Ain, you never fail to surprise me."

"Answer quickly."

"What you think is correct. When Hella turned 8, the holy mark of the guardian god Tantalion was confirmed on her body."

"..."

Crazy.

Swearing involuntarily at how sudden and absurd the revelation was.

The holy mark represented a blessing from the gods.

It was a form of divine protection given only to those the gods chose to recognize.

It was rare for someone other than a saint or a holy person to receive such a mark.

The most famous example was the first emperor of the Leonerit Empire.

'Did Hella receive it? From the empire’s guardian god?'

The guardian god Tantalion.

In the past, he was merely a spirit.

A spirit that protected the Leonerit royal family before it became an empire.

As time passed, he became the Spirit King, and then the God of Spirits, the pinnacle of all spirits.

When the kingdom he had protected flourished into an empire,

Tantalion bestowed the holy mark upon the first emperor.

It was a symbol of the empire itself.

"...What if Hella fully manifests the holy mark?"

"Naturally, she’d be set to become the emperor. She would have the blessing of the guardian god, the very essence of tradition."

My head was spinning.

Why in the world would the guardian god give the holy mark to Hella now?

It hadn’t happened since the first emperor, right?

My head throbbed.

The reason they were trying to kill Hella was for something so ridiculous.

I couldn’t believe it.

'...No, more than that.'

The question was answered,

But another one emerged, far more unsettling.

"Why are you trying to kill Hella?"

Zeleon was Hella's arch-enemy.

By necessity, he was bound to confront her.

But that couldn’t be the reason for trying to kill her.

He, like Hella, had been pushed out in the succession struggle.

At least he wasn’t trying to kill her for the emperor’s seat like the others.

'Something feels off.'

The fact that he was giving me this information so easily was strange.

I knew him from the game.

He was a psychopath who tormented Hella in every way, trying to kill her.

So what about him now?

He seemed oddly calm. There was something more to him.

His desires were different. He seemed to have a different goal, one that wasn’t aligned with the game.

He felt like someone else.

"Ain, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) it seems you’re mistaken. I haven’t directly harmed Hella. I’ve never hired mercenaries for that."

"But you left room for others to do it. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble."

"What can I say? That’s my fate."

"...What?"

"It’s an unavoidable inevitability. I must kill Hella to survive."

His unexpected answer left my mind blank.

The scenario I had vaguely suspected had become reality.

He knew his fate.

"...What are you? How much do you know? Where did you get this information?"

"I’m actually curious about that too. What exactly are you, Ain? How much do you know?"

"Answer my question first."

"Answer me first, Ain."

He countered with a question, and I got no further answers.

This circular exchange was just an empty standoff.

He was intentionally avoiding answering.

"...You."

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"..."

"You’ll have a hard time refusing my offer."

Just as I was about to raise my aura, freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

His one sentence froze me cold.

I felt the presence of two people outside the building.

'...I knew it. He wouldn't be alone here.'

From the brief sense of their presence, I could tell they were far more skilled than I was.

Both of them were at least top-level experts.

Were they his guards?

'Do I really have to kill him?'

There were still so many things left unresolved.

But with him being such a huge variable, trying to extract more from him wasn’t the smartest move.

Someone who could hide their intentions was always the most dangerous.

I stared at his confident face, realizing he probably thought I couldn’t kill him.

Well, that wasn’t exactly wrong.

"I still like you, Ain. If you come to my side, I can solve your questions—"

"Hey, you. Your tongue’s too long."

"...!!"

It would be difficult to kill him with my own strength.

But it wasn’t impossible.

I scattered my aura and charged at him.

At the same time, a massive amount of aura surged from behind me.

It was his guards.

...

That day, a bloodstorm swept through the empire.

And the 4th prince died.