Chapter 113: The Cocagne Affair (13)

Norbelle’s airship, The Legendary, returned to Cocagne in triumph.

Norbelle herself arrived flying on her summoned Phoenix for dramatic effect, to the acclaim of nobles and commoners alike who had filled Fabliau’s streets to welcome them. Her eidolon landed atop the castle with a cry that sent flaming pillars rising to the sky, which the mages aboard the Legendary echoed with conjured fireworks.

Simon clapped alongside many dignitaries once Filip and the alliance’s soldiers climbed off the airship. The Ranger arrived riding on top of his wolf, waving at the people present, smiling at his son and wife… and scowling the moment he saw Simon. Their successful alliance hadn’t endeared him to the king in any way, and the way his wolf’s eyes darted from him to Remedia back and forth unsettled him. Simon and his lover had done everything in their power to remove the other’s smell, but he feared the beast might still catch something that escaped their notice…

“Verdis, how I missed you!” Norbelle lied the moment the royal family gathered, taking the prince’s hands into her own. “Did you miss me?”

“I was worried sick,” Verdis replied as he gallantly kissed her on the back of her hand, and unlike Norbelle, he was entirely sincere.

“Welcome back, my husband, my good daughter,” Remedia greeted them. “I am well and truly relieved to see you come back alive.”

“Please, was there any doubt?” Norbelle replied with a smirk. “The gods and my brother dear were with us. There was no way we could lose.”

Simon remained silent, unsure of what to make of that statement. Filip didn’t share his wariness. “You would put your brother on the same level as the Phoenix?”

“Why not? His strategy worked perfectly.” Norbelle put her hands behind her back and smiled at Simon. “All the strings he pulled backstage led to our brilliant victory.”

“I only provided sound advice,” Simon replied. His gut told him Norbelle had guessed a little too much, and he was leery of exposing himself.

“And what advice it was,” Norbelle replied, a mischievous look on her face. “Magvolia and Navarre are ours, and our siblings now stew in Telluria. A buffer area stretching from the Dragonsea to Uyo protects this beautiful nation from my wicked brother, Louis. Her Majesty can now rest easy.”

“Cocagne is more than willing to help in ensuring a peaceful transition of power in Magvolia and Navarre,” Remedia said, which was a diplomatic way of saying she was pulling back her forces and wouldn’t help Euphemia and her allies pursue Louis to the north. “What of Lady Satine? I would have expected to see her messengers escorting you.”

“Princess Satine and her allies departed for Magvolia’s Darkwood,” Filip explained. “They sought to investigate an evil lurking in the region before proceeding with the princess’ coronation.”

“But they promised to invite us to the ceremony as soon as a date was agreed upon,” Norbelle finished. “A day that cannot come soon enough.”

This reassured Simon that Satine had apparently taken his warnings seriously and convinced Alphonse, Frea, and the White Unicorn to follow through on them. The sooner they and the Oracle realized where the real danger lay, the greater their chances of saving the world.

“I say this calls for a celebration,” Norbelle cheerfully suggested. “A Grand Hunt, maybe?”

“That is a great idea!” Verdis replied with enthusiasm, having fallen into the trap his fiancée had laid so easily in his path. He had been eager to take up arms alongside his father and frustrated that his mother wouldn’t allow it. “Simon and I could participate!”

“Yes,” Filip said, squinting at Simon. “Yes indeed.”

Simon kept his mouth shut as he considered what to do. Grand Hunts were a Cocagnian tradition dating back to its unification under the first royal couple, where the Ranger asked the Mage for her hand by offering her a dragon’s skull. Only open to men, the tradition involved multiple noble house scions tracking down monsters reared in the royal woods by the Wildguard, with the winner being the one to kill the most impressive catch.

In short, it was the best setup for an unhappy ‘hunting accident.’ Nobody would bat an eyelash at the sudden demise of a Magnos advisor who had the misfortune of encountering a dangerous manticore or bandits in the woods… not to mention that the Ranger was in charge of organizing such events, with little to no input from the queen.

Remedia wasn’t blind to this exercise’s purpose and tried to shoot it down. “Such an event would be welcome, but premature,” she argued with Filip. “Accidents are common in Grand Hunts, and our borders aren’t entirely secure yet. I would rather avoid shedding the blood of our youth.”

“On the contrary, I think it will be good for Verdis and everyone else,” Filip countered. “A Grand Hunt offers many opportunities for levels. What better way to prepare our young for future conflict than practical experience?”

He’s not wrong, it might be a good opportunity to gain a few levels, Simon thought. He was confident he could take out any creature sent his way… but perhaps not without the Overlord outfit. I could go as a Ninja and reinforce my Agility. It would be the safer option, not to mention I doubt most weaker monsters would give me much Overlord experience at my current level.

Remedia and Filip argued for a bit on the matter, though it made no difference. Organizing a Grand Hunt fell under the King-Consort’s purview and Remedia didn’t have a good excuse to prevent the event. Cocagne had just won a great victory worth celebrating. What better moment would there be to impress the population and showcase Cocagne’s power?

In the end, the best Remedia could do was ask for a delay until representatives such as Satine or Euphemia could come observe it; something that might take weeks or months.

“Are you pleased with yourself?” Simon whispered to his half-sister, knowing exactly why she had planted the idea in Verdis and Filip’s heads.

“Quite,” she shamelessly confirmed. “This Grand Hunt ought to be suitably amusing.”

“At no cost to yourself, since you cannot participate.” Her plan was painfully transparent: ensure Filip died trying to kill him during the Grand Hunt so it would cause an international incident, destabilize Cocagne, get rid of an internal obstacle with plausible deniability, and hopefully create an opening for Simon to fill. “This was ill-advised. I’m already making steady progress.”

“Don’t tell me you’ll miss on your chance to take out the romantic competition?” Norbelle whispered, before leaning in to kiss his ear. “My dear Daddy-Killer.”

Simon froze where he stood, his spine stiffening, though he managed to hide his unease behind a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

Norbelle simply smirked at him and patted him on the shoulder, a knowing look on her face. “It’s truly clever, how you’re setting the stage on fire,” she replied. “I can’t wait to see the endgame.”

She knew. Or she at least suspected enough to try and gauge his reaction. Simon knew better than to confirm her suspicions. “I don’t understand.”

“I think you do,” Norbelle replied with a shrug. “Either way, Mother believes Lauriane and Dassein will fold once we’ve slain Louis, and she is pleasantly surprised with your work here. She will let bygones be bygones.”

That was… surprisingly considerate given how Euphemia had tried to execute him once. He guessed she was pragmatic enough not to let old grudges get in the way of her power and successful governance.

Simon was considering how to proceed with the next steps of his plan when he sensed a sudden attempt at telepathic contact. Shabram.

“Your Majesty?” Shabram called out to him, her tone slightly unnerved; a rarity that put Simon on edge. “Prince Louis sent orders to our ship to divert from its course to another location. We are to board an airship to a new base.”

“A new base?” That was unexpected. “Where?”

“I do not know, which worries me greatly. If Prince Louis refused to tell me, then it means he distrusts me.”

Simon had a bad feeling about this, too. Did Louis have a secret trick kept in storage for the day he was pushed into a corner? “Play the model ally for now and keep me informed of any new developments.”

“As Your Majesty wishes.”

Simon closed the telepathic line with a clouded mind. The War Party had been pushed back to the end of the continent, more or less securing a quick end to the Endymian civil war before it could truly begin. Cocagne had secured peace with Euphemia and its borders. He had even managed to reason with the White Unicorn, and Vouivre was mysteriously inactive. Everything was going extremely well.

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So why did he have this ominous feeling sinking in his gut?

———

Remedia was quite tense during their spellcasting training session.

Maybe it was her husband’s return, the Grand Hunt, the situation abroad, or a combination of all of them that bothered her, or perhaps the fact that they would have to stay strictly professional during their time together from now on. Either way, she mostly stuck to keeping her arms crossed with a thoughtful look on her face as Simon attempted to master the Timethief spell.

One of the miasma-based Chronomancy spells he learnt from the Chronomicon, it was the closest thing to a standard Haste spell he could get. This particular piece of sorcery worked by applying the Slow status to a target and used the ‘stolen time’ to grant the caster Haste in return. It was relatively inefficient in that the former condition was required to trigger the latter, but it still had its offensive uses.

“You are doing well, Simon,” Remedia complimented him after another round of practice. “Your intuitive grasp on magic is simply astounding.”

“I only progressed so far thanks to your teachings,” Simon replied humbly. And the Overlord Class’ Perks.

“You flatter me, yet I feel I only refined what was already there. You possess both the curiosity, flexible thinking, and affinities required to become a powerful spellcaster.” Remedia bit her lip. “Natural talent indeed…”

Simon frowned. “What’s on your mind, Remedia? The Grand Hunt?”

“No, no, it’s… not only that…” She took a deep breath, and Simon could tell she had reached some kind of important decision. “Close your eyes.”