Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume14 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 7===

"Your Highness, Prince Arneus."

He heard that voice as soon as he stepped out of the Temple of World Isolation.

Arneus turned his gaze towards the voice's source. In the shadows of a stone pillar was a woman in a knight's uniform.

Her black hair was gorgeous to the point of seductive. Those dark blue eyes of hers seemed filled with dark flames.

Dame Leschkir Hirschkilt, a member of Numbers.

"Ah, Dame Leschkir&mdash;"

"Your speech earlier was splendid, Your Highness."

With a seductive smile on her lips, she offered praise.

What had taken place several hours earlier was a speech delivered to the gathering of national representatives from across the continent. Weeping sorrowfully for his bedridden father the Ordesia emperor, he had strongly condemned the mastermind behind the abortive assassination attempt, the Second Princess.

"I can't believe you were capable of that, Dame Leschkir. I was scared out of my wits when the demon spirit was rampaging..."

"Ultimately, it was just a shadow of power sealed into a spirit crystal&mdash;merely a 'manifestation.' As one would expect of the Dusk Witch's spirit, even a Numbers knight would not be able to emerge unscathed in a battle against it."

"...I see. Well, that being said, your acting skills were top-notch."

Arneus smiled malevolently.

"However, are you sure you want to kill His Majesty just like that?"

"...No, killing him is not the best method."

Arneus shook his head and said:

"My father still has to complete the important task of naming me as his successor. Also, he can no longer rise from bed after approaching that demon spirit and coming into contact with the miasma of death."

"Indeed, he is already no different from a dead man."

A seductive smile surfaced on Leschkir's face.

Filled with potent malice, that smile made Arneus feel a chill along his back.

However, it was only for an instant and Leschkir soon left his side.

"Then I shall take my leave. It would not do if anyone witnessed this scene."

After bowing gracefully, she disappeared into the shadows behind the pillar.

(What a terrifying woman even though I know she's clearly on my side.)

Arneus wiped sweat from his forehead and whispered in his mind.

Although she was aiding the Arneus faction, she was not allied to him personally.

Dame Leschkir was one of Lurie Lizaldia's subordinates. In other words, she was in league with the Holy Kingdom.

(...What should I do with the Holy Kingdom that's currently backing me?)

Arneus had no interest in the Holy Kingdom's goals at all. All he had was an ambition to become emperor like any other person.

Using the Holy Kingdom as a means to that end, that was what he intended from the start.

"Things are proceeding quite smoothly, Prince Arneus."

"...!?"

Arneus jumped in fright at the voice he suddenly heard from behind him.

He looked back to find a man in his prime, standing there without him knowing, holding a scepter in his hand.

Arneus felt a chill down his spine. That man was Lord Conrad the prime minister who was supposed to have died, poisoned by Arneus' subordinates.

"...How tasteless, Lord Prime Minister. If anyone were to see you in your carelessness..."

"Don't worry, there is no one here."

Despite Lord Conrad's appearance, the adorable voice belonged to a girl.

Immediately, the prime minister's appearance became distorted, transforming in an instant.

Before his eyes was a cute girl in sacred vestments.

Twelve or thirteen years old in appearance, lustrous blonde hair shining brilliantly. Her right eye was a mysterious violet but her left eye was covered by a boorish eyepatch.

She was one of the Holy Kingdom's cardinals, Millennia Sanctus.

Facilitating Sjora Kahn's coup d'etat in the Alphas Theocracy and masterminding the attack on the Academy with Lurie Lizaldia, she was the girl with Otherworldly Darkness residing in her.

Held in her hand was an unsettling mask of pure white.

"Fufu, obtained from Sjora, this is quite convenient in its ability to simulate the memories and personality of the person whose shadow was stolen in addition to their appearance."

Unbeknownst to Arneus, the mask in her hand was the elemental waffe, Proteus Mask, of the demon spirit Baldanders. During the Blade Dance tournament, Sjora Kahn had used this elemental waffe to subject Team Scarlet to great hardship as well as making the Quina Empire's Four Gods team fall into her trap.

Fianna's guess that the prime minister had been exploited by the Arneus faction was actually not far off from the truth. Last night, it was Millennia Sanctus who had visited Fianna's bedroom in the guise of Lord Conrad. The real prime minister had already been assassinated the previous day.

"With the nobles in the Second Princess faction all thrown into prison, there is no one capable of stopping you now."

"Hmm, yes, I am most grateful for the support from the Holy Kingdom of Lugia."

Arneus bowed his head unnaturally. To be honest, it would have been very difficult for him to take the Ordesian throne without the Holy Kingdom's support.

However, he felt inexplicably intimidated by such a young girl.

"So, will you hand the witch over to us as agreed?"

The girl looked up at Arneus and asked.

"Yes, as you wish. I will have that woman transported to the tower at Guas Gibai immediately."

"Very well, I shall wait at the tower."

"But is there any value left in that woman to exploit? Having lost the power to contract with spirits, that witch can no longer pose any threat against us."

Arneus asked in puzzlement. What this girl wanted was the witch's body, what on earth was going on?

"It is none of your concern, Your Majesty."

An adorable smile appeared on Millennia's face with a chuckle.

Instantly, Arneus felt an extremely terrifying presence.

"I-I see. Indeed, it is none of my concern..."

Like a broken puppet, he kept nodding.