Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 554

Connor Lint, who had been at the Allied Forces’ camp, had been lured by Sarkegar to the outskirts of the camp where Antirianus had lain in wait. Once there, he fell under Antirianus’s hypnosis and was transported to the sewers via mass teleportation. As a result, he had no idea what was happening.

Despite this, he didn’t attempt to escape, likely because he was somewhat familiar with Antirianus. After all, he had been kidnapped by Antirianus once before. It wasn’t a pleasant sort of familiarity, but it was familiarity nonetheless.

Honestly, Connor Lint could have escaped if he wanted to. However, despite his panic, he eventually did not do so.

“So, what do you want from me?” he asked.

Although I hadn’t explained everything in detail, Connor Lint knew I was trying to deal with the Gate Incident in my own way.

He was fundamentally a good guy. He hadn’t just been lured here by a woman; he probably just couldn’t ignore someone asking for help and wanted to lend a hand.

Of course, it would be a lie to say we didn’t hold any advantages over him.

“What could I possibly want from you?” I asked rhetorically.

“My supernatural power?” he replied.

“That’s right. I’m trying to get into a place that’s hard to access.”

Connor Lint was a fool, but he wasn’t a complete fool. The fact that I’d sought him out, despite having powerful mages with me in the capital, meant I was trying to enter a place inaccessible by magic.

“Is it the Temple? What are you planning to do there...? Ellen is at the camp, isn’t she?”

He was indeed a fool—and a clueless one, at that.

Well, I wasn’t the one to talk. I knew I was being a jerk...

Connor Lint tilted his head, oblivious to the change in Olivia’s expression, which had turned icy.

“Why would I go to the Temple? I’m going somewhere else, idiot.”

“Somewhere else? Don’t tell me...”

His face turned pale as he finally realized where I intended to go.

“The Imperial Palace? I don’t know what you’re planning to do there, but now you’re dragging me into it?! What do you want me to do? Whatever it is, I’m not doing it! I’m going back!”

He tried to shake off Sarkegar and Antirianus. Of course, he could just teleport away as well.

“Mr. Lint, we don’t necessarily need your voluntary cooperation,” Antirianus said with a smile.

‘Oh, what nonsense is he spouting now?

“S-sorry?”

“If I were to damage your brain and turn you into a puppet that only listens to me, you would be ruined as a human, but as a tool, you would become quite useful...”

“Stop spouting nonsense, old man! I’m not doing it! I said no!” Connor said.

‘Hey, I just wanted a little help from him, not to turn him into a slave for life!’

But Antirianus showed no signs of stopping.

“Even if Mr. Lint escapes our grasp, where else could he go besides this capital city of Gradium or the Allied Forces’ camp? The whole world has become uninhabitable for humans. You might escape for now, but eventually, I will find you. Ah, I could place a tracking spell on you right now while we’re at it.”

“Eek... P-please, spare me, grandpa!”

“I never said I would kill you. Just a little tweak to your brain...”

“Oh, come on, stop it! You’re scaring the kid!” I interjected.

Antirianus was indeed wicked, but he preferred tormenting or frightening others over killing them. That made him a villain, but just shy of truly evil.

Connor Lint’s eyes darted about, and his face began to turn blue. I hadn’t intended to threaten him, but Antirianus’s intimidation was unexpectedly effective.

Indeed, even if he managed to escape us, there were limited places for him to go. If we were determined to find Connor Lint, we could do so anytime unless he chose to live as a hermit in the wilderness.

The notion that running away was futile seemed to have broken Connor Lint’s will to flee.

“I didn’t mean to scare you... I just wanted to politely ask for your help. Don’t mind what that old man said,” I said.

“You seduced me with a beauty trap and call that polite?!”

I was stunned. “I have no excuse for that... Uh, well...”

I hadn’t instructed Sarkegar to uss a beauty trap to seduce Connor Lint, but I had done something similar in the past, so I had no defense.

“Anyway, help us. We need to get into the Imperial Palace. All you have to do is bring us in and take us out at the designated time. That’s it.”

“Why should I do that? It’s a serious crime! If I’m caught, I’ll be hanged! It’s treason!”

‘Hmm. Maybe asking nicely isn’t the way to go after all.’

“Seems like asking for help won’t work.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep my mouth shut, so do whatever you want. But I’m not helping yo—”

“Do it,” I said curtly, looking at Connor Lint. “Just do it if I tell you to, you twit. Do you think I’m a pushover?”

“Damn it, I knew it would come to this...” Connor Lint muttered sullenly.

Indeed, a king’s word is more of a command than a request.

“Do as you’re told, and if you get caught, just say you did it because I ordered you to! Say I threatened to kill you if you didn’t, or something like that! Surely they won’t kill you.>”

‘But then again... If Antirianus is acting as the villain here, then I’m just an evil lunatic, aren’t I?’

*** 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

In the end, following my coercion and Antirianus’s threats, Connor Lint seemed to decide that running away was futile, and quietly followed me.

I sent Sarkegar and Antirianus away.

We planned to raid the imperial mausoleum and then the national cemetery.

Our group now included me, Olivia, Harriet, and Connor Lint. Thanks to Antirianus’s unnecessary kidnapping of Connor Lint during our previous preemptive strike on Serandia, we had now secured his help, though it was coerced rather than being freely given.

Harriet and Connor Lint weren’t particularly close. Neither were me and Connor Lint, for that matter. But now, Connor Lint was accompanying three of the empire’s most wanted war criminals.

“I-is it really okay to walk around like this, even with our hoods up?” Connor Lint asked, worried that our faces, well-known from wanted posters, might be recognized, resulting in chaos.

“I’ve cast perception-blocking and noise-canceling spells. There might be mages around who can see through it, but you don’t need to worry. Not many people are that vigilant.”

“I see...”

The crowd itself served as a curtain.

In a place like the national cemetery, wearing a hood might seem suspicious, but out on the streets, people were dressed like this everywhere, and it was impossible to suspect everyone on the street.

Connor Lint then looked over at Olivia, who was walking silently.

“Uh... You’re... Olivia Lanche, right?”

Olivia seemed surprised. “You know me?”

“It would be strange not to...”

It would have been odd not to recognize her while in the Temple, and would be even stranger given the current situation. Moreover, Olivia had often visited our dormitory, so Connor Lint was bound to recognize her.

Even if Connor knew we weren’t as evil as the rumors suggested, he couldn’t help but be scared, especially since he was now walking with us as if he were one of us.

“So, what exactly are you planning to do in the Imperial Palace? You’re not going to... harm Vertus, are you...?”

“Of course not.”

“Right? There’s no reason to do something like that... But then, what are you planning to do in the palace...?”

‘Should I tell him or not?’

Harriet looked troubled, and Olivia shrugged as if the decision were mine.

There was no need to tell him. He would be shocked to hear what we’re planning, and knowing that he helped with such a thing would only burden him with guilt.

It felt strange to tell him, yet it felt strange not to tell him as well.

Maybe it was better to just use him and let him go, but it also felt like he had a right to know.

“In the end, this is something that will help with the war, but it’s something many people won’t understand or accept,” I said.

I would leave the choice to Connor Lint.

“Do you want to live not knowing anything, or do you want to know something that’s better not to know?”

Connor Lint peered at me from under his hood. He had to know that we weren’t breaking into the Imperial Palace for fun.

We walked on for a long time.

“I don’t want to be used without knowing anything,” he finally said.

Though he seemed no different, the war had clearly also changed Connor Lint.

“I need to know what I’m doing.”

‘I see. Then he should know.’

“We’re going to enter the imperial mausoleum and reanimate the remains of the war heroes buried within as Death Knights.”

“You crazy bastar—!”

“Yeah, I figured you’d react like that,” I said as I quickly covered Connor Lint’s mouth.

***

Connor Lint’s initial reaction was the same as ours when we first heard Olivia propose the idea. After his initial outburst, though, he fell silent for a while.

He was likely thinking the same thoughts that had crossed the minds of both Harriet and I. ‘They’re already dead. They’re beyond returning, and we’re merely using the remains of those who are gone. If those remains can be used to save the living, shouldn’t we do it? Is it really such a bad thing?’

Even so, just as I had decided not to turn Effenhauser and Loyar into Death Knights, there was still a conflict there.

Connor Lint seemed to be left with nothing but questions.

“Do you think this is right...?” he asked.

Harriet, unable to reach a conclusion about this, remained silent as well, and I had nothing to say either.

It wasn’t hypocrisy or malice; it was just a terrible thing.

It was Olivia who answered, not me.

“This is right. Who cares? Wars have always been fought in the name of peace. Such contradictory actions are an ancient tradition of humanity,” Olivia said with a mocking laugh.

Her mockery was probably directed at the entire world. However, since she would be the one creating the Death Knights, she was likely reserving the harshest mockery for herself.

“I think this is the right thign to do. If it turns out to be wrong later, then it’ll all be my fault. Let’s just go with that,” she added.

Olivia said she would take all the blame, but none of us believed that was all.

“We’re almost there.”

The walls of the Imperial Palace of Emperatos were drawing closer.

***

We entered a deserted alley near the western part of the Imperial Palace. It had its own stench, but it wasn’t as bad as the place we first entered.

We didn’t have a blueprint of the Imperial Palace, but Harriet had a map Charlotte had drawn.

Olivia took a look at the map, which was too well-drawn to be just a rough sketch, and gaped in amazement.

“Charlotte can draw too?” Olivia exclaimed.

Indeed, from the conversation I had with her in the Spring Palace, Charlotte seemed to have a negative view of painting.

This wasn’t related to painting, of course, but Charlotte had drawn the map with precision, as if using a ruler. She seemed to know almost everything rather well, even things she didn’t need to know.

What does it mean to be royalty? When I thought about it, I seemed to be performing my role as a king completely wrongly. Then again, it was only natural that I was not good at it, I guess.

Connor Lint flinched at the mention of the missing princess’s name, but since everyone knew I had rescued the princess from her execution, it wasn’t surprising.

As Olivia said, the map was incredibly detailed. It included the central palace, Tetra, the seasonal palaces located in the east, west, south, and north, as well as the annex buildings and their locations. It even detailed the area around our target, the imperial mausoleum, the tram routes, and the locations of the palace guards’ barracks.

“Charlotte drew this...?”

“Yeah.”

“Then does that mean she knows about this too...?”

“Of course.”

Connor Lint seemed dazed as he tried to imagine what the princess was thinking while drawing up this map.

‘Indeed.’ It was like asking her to draw a map to show us the best way to rob her ancestors’ graves.

Surprisingly, I didn’t ask her to draw it. She had done it of her own volition.

I wondered what had been going through her mind while drawing it.

Harriet looked up at the winter sky, visible above the alley.

“It would be better to move at night,” she said.

The day was short, and it was getting darker.

“According to Charlotte, the entrance to the imperial mausoleum is always closed, and guarded by two palace guards. Naturally, the guards don’t enter the mausoleum, and it's not open to the public.”

“So once we get inside, it’ll be empty?”

“That’s right. Not just anyone can come and go as they please. It’s always kept closed, and only opened for the administrative staff who enter periodically to perform maintenance. They enter once a week—and that won’t be today, but tomorrow.”

That was good news.

“The lock isn’t mechanical—it’s magical. The mausoleum is managed by a mage who knows the unlocking spell. I’ll first try to dispel the magic on the door, or unlock it magically. We need to determine if that’s possible.”

“What if it’s not possible?”

“Then it gets a bit complicated. To do it quietly, we either need to get the unlocking spell from the mausoleum manager or sneak in when the mausoleum opens tomorrow. That would mean doing the job twice. Of course, there’s still some risk involved.”

Even if we managed to enter the palace, getting into the mausoleum wasn’t going to be easy.

“Of course, the protective magic around the mausoleum itself isn’t that strong. We could break in through a window or the ceiling with your Aura Blade, Reinhart. I’ll handle the alarms and use noise-canceling magic. Disabling the building’s alarm would be easier than unlocking the main entrance. That means we don’t necessarily have to wait until tomorrow.”

Since we were doing this under the cover of night and would not need to return to this place, we could afford to make some noise.

Harriet’s claim that disabling the building’s alarm was easier than unlocking the door seemed plausible, although it seemed a bit absurd that breaking in through a wall or window was easier than opening the door.

But then again, wasn’t that true for any house? If entering quietly wasn’t possible, we could afford to make some noise and leave some traces behind without much issue.

Harriet looked at Connor Lint, who had the most important but arguably the easiest role.

“Lint, your job is to get the three of us over that wall. Then I’ll use every stealth and camouflage spell I know. All teleportation magic is blocked inside the palace. I don’t know how long the work inside will take, but—”

“Wait, wait,” Connor Lint interrupted Harriet as she tried to explain further. “So, all I have to do is get you in and get you out?”

“Yes.”

“But... Wouldn’t it be easier if I took you all the way to the mausoleum?”

Both Harriet and I stared blankly at him, while Olivia nodded.

“That’s true,” Olivia said in agreement.

He was right. If Connor Lint could help us from start to finish, the job would be much simpler and easier.

Harriet hesitated, knowing it was unfair to involve him so deeply.

“That’s true, but... that would be too much of a burden on you, Lint,” she said. “And it won’t be a pleasant sight.”

Connor Lint was an outsider, brought here by coercion and intimidation. Asking him to help with the mausoleum break-in would make him not just an accomplice, but a key player. He would even witness the resurrection of the heroes of old as Death Knights.

It was absurd to involve him so deeply after dragging him along against his will. Seeing the resurrection of past heroes as Death Knights might traumatize him. Our original plan was only for him to get us into the Imperial Palace and then get us out again.

However, Connor Lint shook his head. “I’ve already decided to do it. From that point on, there’s no difference between doing more or less.”

I regarded him silently.

“I don’t know if this is right,” he said, meeting my gaze, “but regardless of whether it’s right or wrong... If I’m going to play a role in this, I don’t want to do it half-heartedly. It’s true that I’m part of this operation, isn’t it?”

Connor Lint couldn’t make a moral judgment, but he wasn’t going to sit on the fence when it came to action. If he was going to play a role, he seemed determined to see it through rather than do the bare minimum and claim ignorance later.

Connor Lint looked at Harriet. “Don’t make me a coward.”

“I’m sorry,” Harriet said. “That was rude of me.”

Harriet realized that excluding him from the important parts was more of an insult than being considerate.

“Oh, no. It’s not that... Well...” he stammered, not expecting Harriet to apologize.

We were going to rob the imperial mausoleum and resurrect the remains of past heroes as Death Knights.

“You know this is a historic crime, right?” I said.

Connor Lint chuckled. “Well, someone has to be around to record it in order for it to be considered part of history,” he replied.

“That’s true.”

Everyone grows. It’s inevitable, even if it isn’t by their own will but due to circumstances and the environment.

In the end, I couldn’t help but give a wry smile.