Chapter 87

Variable (1)

Count Staviana had ruined Gawain’s life.

Several years ago, the Count had sent assassins to the Third Prince’s palace.

That day, Gawain’s mother died.

It was not the assassins who killed her.

Gawain had killed his own mother.

It was because of the berserk episodes caused by his chronic illness.

Gawain suffered from a mental disorder.

Whenever he became agitated, he would completely lose his reason.

The condition was known as Divine Turbulence Disorder.

Once his rampage began, Gawain became completely indiscriminate.

Unable to distinguish friend from foe, he wildly swung his spear and unleashed his divine power.

Gawain’s mother was caught in the aftermath. She was torn apart and obliterated along with the assassins.

—My son, this is not your fault. Your mother does not resent you. Do not falter. Steel your heart. All of this is merely a trial, so please overcome it and use your power for humanity. Never forget—you are a child chosen by the Great Saint.

Those had been his mother’s final words.

His mother had not blamed Gawain, but the rest of the world was different.

Everyone called him a monster who had murdered his own mother.

Countless nobles turned their backs on him.

Gawain was inevitably brought to ruin.

Once considered a leading candidate to become the next king, he was ultimately driven from the palace.

The position of crown prince became vacant, and the Seventh Prince took it for himself.

The Seventh Prince was Count Staviana’s maternal grandson.

The Count had engineered Gawain’s downfall to make his grandson the crown prince.

Everything had gone according to the Count’s plan.

The Count gained even greater power, and the attack on the Third Prince’s palace was quietly buried.

Only a very small number of people knew the truth behind the incident.

Gawain was one of them.

He had learned the full story of the attack from Campbell, a knight who had once been one of the Count’s closest confidants.

Not long ago, Campbell had appeared before Gawain without warning and confessed.

—Your Highness, I was one of the assassins who attacked the Third Prince’s palace. This scar is proof.

A severe burn scar marred Campbell’s face.

It was an injury caused by Gawain’s rampage.

Kneeling before him, Campbell had confessed every detail of his crime.

—Count Staviana ordered us to provoke Your Highness into a rampage. Disloyal as I was, I obeyed him, and Your Highness was left with a grievous wound upon your heart. Please tear this traitor limb from limb and put me to death.

Thanks to Campbell’s confession, Gawain learned the entire truth behind the incident.

Count Staviana had taken everything from him.

To Gawain, the Count was an enemy who had to die at all costs.

Gawain spoke.

“Sir Johan, I heard the news. It seems congratulations are in order.”

“What are you referring to, Your Highness?”

“Not only have you received a title, but you have also joined the Royal Council. At such a young age, no less.”

Johan replied calmly.

“It is all thanks to His Majesty’s grace.”

Gawain shook his head.

“No. That isn’t right. It would be more accurate to call it Count Staviana’s scheme.”

A shadow fell across Gawain’s face.

He could not control his expression. The mere thought of the Count made his stomach churn.

Johan swallowed a low groan.

“...The Count’s scheme, you say. It is true that none of this would have been possible without his influence.”

It was only because the Count had changed the law that the young Johan could become the head of his house.

Even the half-ruined Barony of Myatro had been admitted into the Council entirely thanks to the Count.

Gawain said,

“Sir Johan, I’ll ask you directly. Why is the Count helping your house?”

As far as Gawain knew, the Count and Johan had been enemies.

The Count had employed every possible scheme to swallow the barony whole, while Johan had desperately struggled to protect his family.

Then the situation had changed in an instant.

The Count had suddenly begun supporting Johan.

It was baffling, and Gawain even felt a certain sense of betrayal.

Originally, Gawain had intended to recruit Johan into his own faction.

Gawain and Johan shared a common enemy, and when they had met before, they had gotten along remarkably well.

Gawain had thought they might accomplish many things together in the future.

That expectation had now dimmed somewhat.

Johan and the Count had joined hands.

Gawain simply could not understand why.

Johan answered,

“For the sake of my house. I struck a bargain with the Count so that I could restore my fallen family.”

Gawain’s expression darkened further.

“...You joined hands with a devil for no greater reason than that?”

Johan frowned.

“Your Highness, what do you mean by ‘no greater reason than that’? Look at the state of the South. Calamities break out every other day. All manner of evil runs rampant, yet I have no means of keeping it in check. I am almost ashamed to bear the title of Watcher of the Abyss. House Myatro needs power—the bare minimum required to protect its people and watch over the Abyss. The Count’s support may allow us to make up for some of what we lack. I struck a bargain with him to fulfill my duty, not to satisfy some private desire.”

Johan’s argument was sound.

Gawain could hardly refute it.

He lowered his head slightly.

“I take back what I said about it being ‘no greater reason than that.’ I let my emotions get the better of me and spoke carelessly. I didn’t truly mean it.”

Johan said,

“Whatever my own circumstances may be, there is one thing I believe I understand. Your Highness truly despises the Count. May I ask why?”

Gawain fell into thought for a moment.

After a brief silence, he answered,

“...It is a deeply personal matter, so I find it difficult to speak about.”

Gawain was keeping Johan at a distance.

That was only natural.

The Count and Johan were now allies.

Gawain could not reveal the cards in his hand to Johan.

Johan nodded.

“I understand. I will not ask any further. However, there is something I hope Your Highness will remember.”

“What is it?”

Johan’s expression settled into calm composure.

“There are neither eternal enemies nor eternal allies in politics. Although I have joined hands with the Count for now, that does not mean our alliance will last forever. The moment we have satisfied each other’s needs, our relationship may fall apart at any time. Such is the nature of every bond tied together by mutual interests. I sincerely hope Your Highness will keep that in mind.”

Gawain looked puzzled.

“I appreciate the advice. But why are you telling me this?”

Johan replied calmly,

“Because one day, Your Highness and I may find ourselves pursuing the same goal. I wished to leave that possibility open.”

One day, Gawain would become a hero who carried the fate of humanity upon his shoulders.

Johan could not afford to sever his relationship with him.

To prevent the end of the world, Johan would have to make use of Gawain.

Gawain stared silently at Johan.

Then he suddenly burst into an innocent laugh.

“Haha! Sir Johan, you truly are an interesting man. You’re strangely candid, yet as seasoned as the old monsters of the royal capital.”

Johan chuckled.

“I shall take that as a compliment.”

“Of course it was a compliment. It is no easy thing to give such an impression at your age.”

Johan shrugged and replied jokingly,

“I suppose it is simply the way of dealing with people that I learned on the streets. I was originally a vagrant, after all.”

According to his established background, Johan had been a vagrant wandering the streets.

He was an illegitimate son abandoned by the Baron, a bastard who had been fortunate enough to be taken in because of the succession dispute.

It was already common knowledge, so there was no need to hide it.

Gawain said,

“You must have endured an incredibly difficult time.”

“The same is true of Your Highness.”

Gawain had suffered through an unhappy childhood.

After being driven from the palace, he had endured all manner of hardship.

Contempt and ridicule had followed him wherever he went.

“Haha! Now that I think about it, we have quite a lot in common.”

There shouldn’t have been anything else. Johan was puzzled.

“What else do we have in common?”

The smile vanished from Gawain’s face. He spoke with a calm expression.

“We wield the same kind of weapon. Haven’t you recently been training in spearmanship?”

Johan was slightly taken aback.

How did Gawain know?

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not find an answer.

No one outside the lord’s castle had witnessed Johan’s training.

Though shaken, Johan did not let it show.

“That is correct. A spear seems to suit me better than a sword. But how did Your Highness learn of that?”

Gawain answered,

“There was a mountain of broken wooden spears piled up in the training yard. Yet the soldiers carried swords instead of spears, and your hands are covered in calluses.”

Johan quietly swallowed a groan.

A trivial mistake had given Gawain a clue.

During their previous meeting, Gawain had detected the scent of the Holy Spear Espada on Johan.

Now, Johan was training in spearmanship.

Anyone would find the situation suspicious.

Johan said,

“You are remarkably observant. As Your Highness said, I have recently taken an interest in spearmanship and have been training day and night. These calluses formed only recently.”

Gawain held out his own palm.

“I was the same. When I was training in earnest, my hands were covered in scabs. Though I haven’t held a spear in the past few months.”

Johan began to act.

With a cautious expression, he asked,

“...Could it be that you still have not found Espada?”

Gawain nodded.

“Regrettably, that is the case. These days, I cannot even sense its presence.”

The Holy Spear Espada no longer existed in this world.

Only the Demonic Spear Turavak remained.

Johan’s face filled with concern.

“I hardly know what to say. It is truly regrettable. If there is anything I can do to help, please tell me, Your Highness. I will do everything within my power to assist you.”

A faint smile appeared on Gawain’s lips.

“I appreciate the offer, but you needn’t trouble yourself. Espada is connected to my soul. Unless I can find it myself, no one else’s help will change the situation.”

His soul?

This was the first Johan had heard of it. Even though he had read the original novel, this information was unfamiliar to him.

Johan spoke.

“...Do you mean it is a relic engraved upon your soul?”

Gawain nodded.

“That’s right. Espada and I are one and the same.”

A faint sense of unease washed over Johan.

“Could it be...?”

His words abruptly trailed off.

The reception room door opened.

Ilea suddenly entered and said,

“I sincerely apologize. It was such an urgent matter that I had no choice but to intrude. Please forgive me.”

Johan looked at her.

“What happened?”

Ilea approached Johan.

She whispered in an extremely quiet voice,

“There is something strange about Gawain’s condition. I can sense an incredibly faint but unmistakable trace of demonic energy coming from him. I think the situation is taking an unexpected turn.”

Johan felt as if he had been struck in the back of the head.

The hypothesis he had entertained was beginning to rise to the surface.

He leaned close to Ilea’s ear and whispered,

“...Could he be undergoing corruption? As a backlash from the Holy Spear’s fall?”

Ilea nodded.

“I think so.”

According to Gawain, his soul was connected to the Holy Spear Espada.

Now that the Holy Spear had fallen and become a Demonic Spear, it was possible that Gawain was being affected as well.

A similar case had appeared in the original novel.

Geppetto, the Wraith of the Duchy. When the relic engraved upon his soul was defiled, he had slowly begun to deteriorate.

In the end, he became an evil spirit.

Johan looked at Gawain.

Perhaps it was merely his imagination, but Gawain’s eyes seemed darker than before.