Chapter 732

‘He’s gone.’

Eleonora, leaning against the window of the mansion, watched Leopold’s carriage fade into the distance. She let out a deep sigh and returned to the tea table, slumping into her chair. The weight of despair and creeping fear had drained her of the strength to stand.

“Haa…”

With trembling hands, Eleonora picked up her teacup and sipped the now-cold black tea, trying to soothe her churning stomach.

Things had gone awry. Terribly so.

“…What do we do now?”

Eleonora sighed again, overwhelmed by the hopelessness, and turned her head to look at the girl sitting beside her. Her tone was entirely different from before.

“Do you think I know? If I had known it would come to this, I would have refused outright from the start. But now that I’ve agreed, what’s the point of panicking?”

The girl, Belnesia Valenstein, turned her green, three-hundred-eyed gaze toward Eleonora and spoke sharply.

The polite demeanor she had shown in front of Leopold and Hasalleur was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was rude and ferocious.

“Valenstein, you know Leopold’s personality, don’t you? No matter what reason we give to refuse, he’ll just counter it and try to persuade us again. If we keep refusing, it’ll only make him more suspicious.”

Eleonora glared at Belnesia, her voice tinged with irritation.

“Hasalleur was already openly suspicious of us. If Leopold starts doubting us too, what then?”

Eleonora recalled Hasalleur’s blue eyes.

Eyes like a beast licking its prey’s neck. When she declared that she’d tear the Ghost Sword to pieces even if he were resurrected, Eleonora’s heart had skipped a beat.

It felt as though Hasalleur already knew everything and was just testing them.

“You should’ve acted better. You were trembling so much even a blind man could tell you were terrified.”

Belnesia tapped her teacup, openly mocking her.

‘This brat…!’

Eleonora’s brow furrowed in displeasure.

Though they had maintained a facade of a proper master-servant relationship in front of others, the truth was that Eleonora and Belnesia’s relationship was far from good.

Eleonora found Belnesia uncomfortable and contemptible, while Belnesia openly looked down on Eleonora. Both knew each other’s true identities.

They were only cooperating because they shared the same backer, but in reality, they were practically indirect enemies.

“Yes, you’re so good at acting, aren’t you? To endure such words to your face. If only you had shown such patience last year, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

“……You couldn’t even breathe properly in front of that woman, yet your mouth is still alive.”

Belnesia gritted her teeth and glared at Eleonora. Her pale, corpse-like face was etched with clear anger.

“And you’re any different? ‘I have no connection to him’—what a ridiculous lie. You won’t find anyone in this world more deeply connected to the Ghost Sword than you.”

Eleonora smirked, mocking her—no, him.

“Right? Werner Asher Valenstein.”

She pointed out the meaning behind the alias he had chosen.

Werner Asher Valenstein.

Belnesia Valenstein.

Yes, this girl was none other than the resurrected soul of Werner Valenstein, who had been killed by Hasalleur, placed into a suitable body.

A masterpiece created by Peirus after countless experiments, a homunculus capable of containing the Power of Feats. That was Belnesia.

Peirus had appointed Belnesia as the Eighth Apostle to fill the void left by the deceased Ragnar and sent her to the Seventh Apostle, Eleonora.

To protect Eleonora, who lacked the strength to defend herself…and to keep an eye on her.

After all, Eleonora, who had returned to her family, might waver and abandon her duties as an Apostle.

Of course, Eleonora had long since realized that Belnesia was also her watchdog, and that was why she disliked her. Even if she weren’t a watchdog, she would’ve disliked her anyway.

A seventy-year-old man in the body of a young girl was physiologically repulsive, and he was also an old man who had clung to the witch Isabella, Eleonora’s sworn enemy.

So, Eleonora could never like her. Though, strictly speaking, she wasn’t even human anymore.

“Even your alias reeks of self-importance. You could’ve chosen any name, but you had to mix in your real name. Why not just wear a sign that says ‘Ghost Sword Resurrected’ on your forehead?”

“Are you done?”

“Should I continue?”

The murderous intent in their gazes seemed to spark flames.

Of course, the only thing they could do was glare at each other with hostility. Actually harming each other was impossible.

Belnesia couldn’t attack another Apostle due to the restrictions placed by Peirus, and Eleonora lacked the ability to kill Belnesia, who had finally crossed the line.

—

“Haa…what am I doing now? This isn’t the time for this.”

After several seconds of verbal sparring that would’ve torn each other apart if their words had physical power, Eleonora was the first to lower her hostility.

She had no choice. If the worst happened, she would have to rely on Belnesia, whether she liked it or not.

“…Let’s think of a plan first.”

“Hmph.”

Belnesia snorted, looking as though she had expected Eleonora to back down. The expression suited her youthful appearance so well that Eleonora’s lips twisted grotesquely.

‘Has she completely turned into a girl in speech and behavior too? Has she really gone senile?’

Eleonora barely held back the words rising in her throat and continued the conversation in a more productive manner. If she had let them out, they would’ve ended up in another heated argument.

“Median-Landenburg Kingdom…whether its capital is in Landenburg Territory or Median Territory, we can’t avoid being sent there. The place will be swarming with that woman’s close associates, and considering the suspicious looks she gave us, she might even have us secretly watched.”

It would probably be difficult to even contact Peirus in secret.

Unlike in this mansion, where they didn’t have to worry about prying eyes, in Hasalleur’s residence, a single misplaced word could bring her blade down on their necks that very day.

They would be completely bound, hands and feet.

“Even if they send some lowlifes to watch us, it wouldn’t be hard to get rid of them.”

“No, we can’t touch them. Think about it. If the people watching us die, wouldn’t they naturally suspect us? That would just confirm their suspicions.”

Moreover, even if they were being watched, there was no good way to stop it.

Killing the watchers would be tantamount to a confession, and staging an accident seemed unlikely since they wouldn’t send someone so careless as to die in an accident. There was no way out.

“Then…what about eliminating Leopold? Establishing an independent kingdom and assigning you to it is Leopold’s idea, but that woman, Hasalleur, doesn’t seem too keen on it. If we assassinate Leopold while she’s away, wouldn’t it naturally fall apart?”

“That’s…difficult. At least for now.”

Though it was a more realistic suggestion than dealing with the watchers, Eleonora shook her head again.

“Why not? He has many enemies, so even if he’s assassinated, no one would suspect us.”

“Leopold hasn’t produced an heir. He’s worried that if a crown prince with Duke Bien’s bloodline is born, the Duke might assassinate him and put his own grandson on the throne to manipulate the empire.”

Though now, with the empire’s fortunes in turmoil, the Duke is pouring support into stabilizing the situation rather than assassinating Leopold….

But once the empire stabilizes and Leopold’s heir is born, Leopold’s existence would only be a hindrance to Duke Bien.

“However, if someone other than Duke Bien assassinates Leopold…an empire without an heir would inevitably fall into chaos.”

An emperor dying without an heir. A precarious national fortune and the looming threat of war. The overly powerful nobles.

It wasn’t just chaos—the country could be torn apart.

“That’s why Leopold has prepared a will in case of his assassination. A will even the empress doesn’t know about. Only I and Persval of the Royal Guard know of its existence.”

“What’s in the will?”

Belnesia tilted her head and asked.

“A recommendation. A recommendation for the most suitable person to be crowned the next emperor in place of his unborn child or Karl and Leonor, who have renounced their succession rights. Can you guess who that person is?”

“Don’t tell me…?”

Belnesia’s eyebrows twitched. Leopold, who prioritized Eleonora’s safety, wouldn’t try to put her on the throne.

That left only one possible successor….