I, too, had cleverly packaged my words as if I'd been struck from behind, and suspicion soon settled on Phrygian's face.
"You never even intended to become the minor duke in the first place. Yes, come to think of it, you were the problem. If only you hadn't pushed me out like this from the start...!"
"I never advised you to marry the Baron of Kendal."
I stated it bluntly, then turned a gentle smile toward her and kindly explained.
"It was you, sister, who got scared prematurely and hastily brought the marriage proposal even before the imperial family contacted you."
Of course, if the imperial family had contacted her first, she wouldn't have been able to back out, so in reality, she had virtually no choice.
But what did I have to do with such circumstances?
It was true that I had intentionally created certain situations, but the choice was made by Phrygian.
With an impatient heart, short-sightedness, and irrational judgment.
"So it's you who's ruining your own life, sister. Not me."
As my soft-spoken words continued, the color drained from Phrygian's face.
"So what can you do, sister? You'll just have to watch from afar as Roam falls to that weak and timid youngest brother."
Phrygian bit her lip. She bit down so hard that I could see the blood seeping through.
"Aren't you bothered at all? If you've taken that position from me, shouldn't you at least properly guard and maintain it?"
Finally, she directed her resentment toward me.
Condemning my attitude for not appearing as desperate as she had been.
Toward such a sister, I deliberately put on a bored expression.
"Sister, you're being naively out of character. I am the goddess's Resurrected One. The proxy chosen by the goddess."
I rested my chin on my hand and shifted my gaze. Though blocked by the escort knights from approaching, quite a few people were sitting there pretending to be guests, watching us intently.
They were people who knew our faces. They might have come to eavesdrop on Roam's gossip.
But on some faces, clear envy and admiration were rising. Directed at me.
I gave them a sidelong smile and whispered to my sister.
"Look at those people, desperate for the goddess's blessing. The position of Duke of Roam is merely one of many options available to me."
Phrygian's expression hardened stiffly. She seemed to lack even the minimal composure to manage her expression, conscious of the surrounding eyes.
"But as for your options... I'm not sure. Do you even have any?"
"Do you think I don't know your scheme?"
The low, swift retort was mixed with fierce emotion. It was more laughable than threatening.
It would have been wiser for her to swallow her pride and ask for my help instead.
"Knowing doesn't matter."
Of course, if she had knelt, it would have been less amusing for me. Breaking the neck of an enemy with no will to fight would only be troublesome.
"I have choices, but you have none."
I spoke indifferently and straightened up. It was time to conclude the conversation.
"Can you endure it? A life where you are not the Duke of Roam."
Phrygian remained silent, her face pale.
I gave her a nod with my eyes and stood up. After putting on the hat I had taken off, I advised her in a benevolent voice.
"Heir? Trying it out turned out to be a bit bothersome. It wasn't a position valuable enough for me to fight and seize. So, do your best."
I turned away. My sister never opened her mouth until the end.
* * *
Since Maxel had left the palace, it was time to wake the Empress.
However, the Emperor summoned me as I was about to go to the Empress's palace. He wanted to hear about the results at the Lindea River.
Though when we actually met, he seemed more intent on finding fault than inquiring about the results.
"You repelled the Monsters at the Lindea River?"
The Emperor's face as he asked was full of disbelief. Under the Emperor's sharp pressure, the attendants stood without daring to make a sound, watching the Emperor and me.
It seemed the rumors were true that he had recently shown violent behavior toward those around him.
Observing the attendants' atmosphere, I nodded calmly.
"Yes."
"Then why hasn't the Empress awakened?"
Judging by his tone alone, he seemed to want to pin the cause of this entire situation on me.
Lately, it was said the Emperor was displeased with Heinri bringing in external forces and was unhappy with the palace affairs being swayed by me.
I had also heard that Maxel, catering to the Emperor's temper, persuaded him that he would subdue the Monsters to externally demonstrate the imperial family's power.
Lilia, who guaranteed Maxel's victory, had lent weight to the persuasion by invoking her foresight ability.
Perhaps because of Lilia's foresight, the emotion the Emperor directed at me was extremely fierce.
"It seems the goddess's Resurrected One is not omniscient after all. The Empire cannot rely on the Resurrected One forever."
While Maxel was away subduing the Monsters, the Emperor seemed eager to reverse the palace atmosphere, which had been swayed by the Resurrected One, even if only briefly.
"It seems the divine authority holds no sway in this matter, so the imperial family will..."
"I wonder if you recall, Your Majesty."
Impertinently cutting off the Emperor's words, he frowned.
I gave the Emperor a gentle smile. Did he think I wanted to stay here forever?
"The malevolent energy that had seeped so deeply into the imperial palace."
"Are you still going to make such preposterous claims? Under the pretext of eliminating malevolent energy, you even entered the ancestral tombs. And what was the result? The Empress was attacked by Monsters!"
"The Empress was attacked by Monsters because Your Majesty still kept the malevolent one in the palace. And now, that person has vacated the premises."
At that moment, the Emperor furrowed his brow. He had realized I was referring to Maxel.
"The Monsters are gone, and the malevolent one has left the palace, so everything will return to its proper place."
"You speak as if the Empress will open her eyes this very moment."
"Would you like to go and confirm now?"
"And if she doesn't awaken now?"
"I will acknowledge my inadequacy and plead guilty."
As I readily answered, the Emperor rose with a disbelieving look. His accompanying me wasn't my intention, but it wasn't a bad thing. Rather, it was good.
The Empress's palace, visited together with the Emperor, was as silent as usual. By the side of the peacefully sleeping Empress stood Heinri, keeping watch.
The Emperor asked the imperial physicians attending the Empress.
"How is her condition?"
"There is nothing wrong with her health."
"How can you say there's nothing wrong when she cannot awaken!"
As the Emperor lost his temper, the imperial physician floundered, looking around nervously.
Heinri interjected, as if to shield the physician.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. According to the Resurrected One, she will awaken soon."
"Tsk!"
The Emperor clicked his tongue instead of replying. That reaction showed no sign of belief in me.
All I did at the Lindea River was recite a plausible-sounding prayer, stringing together random sentences.
The Emperor must have received reports of my actions, so naturally, he wouldn't believe I had repelled the Monsters or that the Empress would awaken.
But the Empress was scheduled to awaken. Right now.
"Because Your Majesty ignored my warning and kept the malevolent one in the palace, Her Majesty the Empress has been unable to awaken all this time."
I said calmly.
Then the Emperor's complexion flushed red.
Unable to contain his anger, he was about to shout something at me, but before he could, I reached my hand toward the Empress.
The green light covering the Empress's eyes shimmered slightly.
"This is the proof."
Thread-like strands of light crept up. They touched my fingertips.
A cool sensation pierced my fingertips. The threads thickened into yarn, then into rope.
As this happened, the blindfold covering the Empress's eyes grew thin and transparent. A power visible only to me.
The authority granted to the proxy of death.
And now, it was my power.
* * *
Before the Emperor, the First Prince, and many palace officials, the Resurrected One declared. The palace's affliction had departed, so the Empress would also rise.
Not long after those words, the Empress opened her eyes.
Everyone marveled at the unbelievable miracle. Just as they were about to rejoice at the newly awakened Empress, a tremendous roar shook the very earth.
Startled, everyone looked out the window. Beyond where the roar came from, a huge cloud of dusty soil billowed up. It was from the Crown Prince's palace.
On the day the Empress opened her eyes, the Crown Prince's palace was destroyed.
All who witnessed this scene with their own eyes, though they did not speak, thought the same.
The Crown Prince, who had been publicly pointed out as having incurred the goddess's wrath; the Empress who opened her eyes the moment he vacated his place.
And the palace's affliction spoken of by the Resurrected One.
Regarding that connection.
* * *
'Authority.'
As I opened my palm, light spread in all directions and shimmered. It felt as if round particles were rolling over my skin.
Each time the light shimmered, my palm tingled slightly, similar to a numb sensation. Yet, the cool temperature felt particularly pronounced.
Focusing my mind, the evenly distributed light gathered toward specific fingertips. I hadn't tried it on anyone yet, but I knew.
'This power belongs to the goddess.'
A power that could gift death on a large scale, and sleep on a small one.
Through the authority reclaimed from the Rusalka, I could directly experience the power I had only heard about until now.
I am not a mage, so I don't know if this operates on a similar principle to magic. Describing it as I felt, it was like a drug entering my body.
That drug usually pooled around my palm area. Then, when I willed it, it seeped out as if through my skin.
Clenching and opening my hand a couple of times, a green light shimmered on my palm. Perhaps because I had also drawn in the power remaining with the Empress, the color was deeper than before.
Even looking at it again, it was wondrous. This is authority?
"The Crown Prince's palace is damaged beyond repair, so everyone is amazed, saying the goddess must have been extremely angry."
At the sudden interjection of a voice, I looked up from my palm. Xenon was sitting across from me.
I had now visited the lodging where Xenon and Samuel were staying. The reason was that the two had contacted me, saying they had urgent news to convey.
There were various topics, but the first to come up was the Crown Prince's palace.
"But by good fortune, no palace officials were injured."
Xenon added.
Currently, the hot topics circulating in the markets and banquet halls are two: the destroyed Crown Prince's palace and the awakened Empress.
Chronologically, the order of events is different, but it seems that's how it's being reported.
I answered with an expressionless face.
"Well, there were no people in the Crown Prince's palace that day. Since its owner had been away for a long time, others were given leave as well."
And the one who gave that leave was Heinri.
On his way back from nursing the Empress as usual, he happened to pass by the Crown Prince's palace and, pitying the officials working tirelessly in a palace without its owner, granted them a few days' leave.
For that, Heinri received all sorts of praise from the palace officials. Seeing how he had incidentally saved the lives of many officials, they said it must be that the goddess's protection truly followed him.