I Became the Childhood Friend of the Northern Duchess – Chapter 209

Bartheus was caught from behind and began answering the intruder’s questions one by one.

Although he couldn’t speak, he merely nodded or shook his head as per the other party’s requests.

“Are you the one keeping an eye on Marquis Albrecht Bertus?”

“…….”

*Nod.*

The tone felt less like a question and more like a reaffirmation of nearly certain information, so Bartheus nodded without hesitation. After all, it was hard to believe that someone daring enough to invade the Imperial Palace on such a late night would have come without doing this much research.

“Second question. Are you cooperating with Albrecht, or are you in this situation due to some unforeseen reasons? If it’s the former, please nod; if it’s the latter, please shake your head.”

“……!?”

However, his calm expression quickly shattered with the second question.

While this inquiry also carried a degree of confidence, the content was not something to be taken lightly.

Bartheus hesitated for a moment, then began to mumble and nodded.

The masked man fixed his golden eyes on him and spoke, as if he had expected this.

“Just as I thought. I was certain you would lie, no matter what situation you found yourself in.”

*Was it a trap?*

With the man’s confident assertion, Bartheus felt as if he had been read like an open book, forcing a bitter smile from him.

“If you were intentionally cooperating with him, it wouldn’t make sense to nod now when you could simply shake your head to escape this situation. Anyone who’s not an idiot would know it’s tantamount to suicide.”

“…I might just be lying to survive.”

By now, the hand that had been covering his mouth was let go, so Bartheus cautiously retorted.

But the masked man merely shook his head, urging him back to his seat while adding an explanation.

“Your friend mentioned that if he knew you, even if you had to lend your strength due to coercion from the enemy, you would answer that you intentionally cooperated for atonement.”

“Friend?”

Bartheus, having an inkling of who the unknown man could be, started visualizing someone among his friends.

And instantly, one man’s face formed in his mind.

“Yulken?”

“Since you guessed, it seems you know my true identity.”

“You couldn’t hide all your hair. That fiery red is hard to miss.”

Despite Bartheus’s remark, the masked man, Edgar, shrugged as if he had wanted to be found out, sitting opposite him.

No sooner had he seated himself than the Emperor offered him advice.

“…You should run. Right now, that guy has branded me. He might even be listening to our conversation.”

“Doesn’t that make your advice dangerous too?”

“Regardless, if he finds out you’ve come here, he’ll kill me. Before that, I need to let at least one young friend live.”

He spoke calmly, but Bartheus felt his mouth dry up.

He had long discarded the thought of his own life, but it wouldn’t end with him; Albrecht might target his family too.

Yet, despite that, the only reason he could speak so boldly was due to a sliver of hope.

For Albrecht, the current fall of the Imperial family would mean losing his shields.

Thus, even now, he thought Albrecht wouldn’t resort to such brutal methods until he reached his goal.

*Swish.*

After hearing this advice, Edgar lightly uncovered his mouth and spoke.

If he was coercing Albrecht actively, he’d surely have some tricks up his sleeve prepared already.

“Thank you for your advice. But you probably don’t need to worry.”

“What do you mean?”

As Bartheus twitched his eyebrows in response, Edgar’s lips, which had revealed themselves, formed a small smile as he added:

“I anticipated this, so earlier I scattered a scroll that blocks magical energy near His Majesty’s feet. For the next hour or so, that guy won’t hear our conversation, so don’t worry.”

“You’re thorough. But you should be careful not to underestimate him.”

Bartheus expressed pure admiration and nodded, seeming to understand.

When he had first heard of Yulken being saved, and knew Albrecht was paying him the most attention, it was also strong evidence of Edgar’s exceptional caliber.

Still, he couldn’t help adding a final warning, as those hot-headed people often fall hard.

Edgar, understanding Bartheus’s sentiments, graciously accepted the comment and replied with a confident smile.

“I’m not underestimating him. I just have faith in my allies.”

“…I see. So you have someone trustworthy on your side.”

That would definitely make sense.

Though he could not identify that ally, for someone like Edgar to show such confidence indicated they were quite significant.

Wanting to ask for more details, Bartheus realized it was time to stop fiddling with trivial matters.

After all, this man was here for another reason.

“I apologize for delaying my true intentions. So what do you want from me?”

“An answer.”

“What answer could you need now that the truth is already out? I’ve already told you two truths: that I supported him and that I had no choice but to board the same ship with him.”

In fact, it should’ve been Edgar who needed to ask questions in this situation, yet Bartheus was the one itching to inquire.

That’s because, if he really wanted to resolve this quietly, he could have just killed him the moment he had caught him.

Of course, assassinating the Emperor wasn’t trivial, and the resulting backlash had to be borne.

Nevertheless, once he’s gone, Albrecht’s shield would disappear as well.

Plus, considering the chaos that would soon descend upon the Imperial Palace, it would make future maneuvers much easier.

*Yet, I can’t fathom why he sought conversation with me.*

Was there something he hadn’t considered?

Lost in thought while trying to ascertain Edgar’s intentions, nothing concrete came to mind.

In the end, he was left with no clues and had to seek answers from the man before him.

“The answer isn’t grand. I merely wish to see the will of you, Bartheus Helbenior.”

“My will?”

“Yes, I want to know what you truly desire. Are you going to end up swallowed by this serpent without being able to face your wife? Or will you…?”

At the mention of his wife, Bartheus’s eyebrows twitched, but he soon managed to regain his composure.

Since he mentioned having met Beatria before, it was not unfathomable for him to make such deductions based on that.

Then Edgar hesitated for a moment before continuing, and Bartheus’s gaze darkened.

“Are you going to fight with the resolve to lose everything?”

A brief silence followed.

Amidst it, Bartheus’s greatest concern was not for himself but for his family.

He didn’t think the man in front of him would easily retract his earlier words, but there was always the possibility, albeit slim.

“…Will my answer impact the treatment of me and my family?”

“Nothing will happen today. But my lover and lord mentioned this: should we ever cross swords, be prepared for one side to perish.”

In other words, even if he chose to side with Albrecht, he meant to withdraw quietly today.

However, the next time they met, no assurances could be provided.

Considering their respective positions, this answer was relatively moderate.

“Will you grant me some time?”

“I anticipated you would say that. Though I can’t offer much time.”

To think he would have anticipated that as well…

Having had his fill of unexpected generosity, Bartheus smiled wryly as if he had surrendered.

“You truly are generous to the enemy. So, how much grace can you afford?”

“One day. You wish to consult with the Empress, don’t you?”

“That’s somewhat prophetic.”

“I hear that often from my lover. So, is one day enough for you?”

Edgar’s question made Bartheus jest about whether he had no options left.

For him, even being granted a day’s grace was overwhelmingly generous.

To ask for more would be nothing less than shameless.

“Yes, one day would suffice. But could you lend me one favor?”

“What do you wish for?”

“I’d like you to lend me that item you used a moment ago.”

In other words, he needed a means to have a private conversation with his wife.

Communicating through letters or messages would be meaningless, as they would need to pass through someone first.

Moreover, there was a risk of being discovered midway.

However, Albrecht, with the curse and mark placed on the Helbenior family, could listen to most of their conversations, which is probably why he was less concerned about the content exchanged.

With such a strong safeguard, it often led to overconfidence.

This was the only method he had to take advantage of that opening.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

When Edgar readily handed over the item, Bartheus accepted it gratefully and tucked it away.

“By the way, what would you have done if I hadn’t needed this item?”

“I don’t know, I hadn’t thought about it. But you seemed like someone who might have at least one or two extras.”

Since he had already received the impression that Bartheus would ask for more time.

Perhaps this man was offering an opportunity.

Then again, he might present a means to grasp that opportunity as God’s messenger.

“…It seems I’ve been caught this time.”

“Would I simply survive eating my age?”

Bartheus laughed genuinely for once.

Though it wasn’t precisely the time for laughter.

In a way, he had been forced into the worst kind of binary choice, asking him to choose the lesser hell between two.

“Please change the flags at the palace front according to the conversation the two of you have tomorrow.”

“Of course. How should I do that?”

“Raise the enemy flag if you choose to resist alongside us before sunset, and if you choose to follow Albrecht, raise the blue flag.”

“Understood. May I ask you one last question?”

As Edgar stopped his departure and slightly turned his head, Bartheus, meeting his golden gaze, voiced his final lingering question he’d held deep inside.

“Why go this far? From your perspective, wouldn’t it be simpler to use this as a pretext to overthrow the Imperial family and seize power?”

“That’s true. I won’t lie; I’ve considered that approach. But…”

Edgar and the Robeheim family hadn’t necessarily thought of this option from the start.

In fact, many suggested spreading this fact quickly to the public and publicly cornering the Imperial family and the Bertus family, seeing it as closer to the royal way.

However, the moment Yulken passed the decision-making power to Edgar, who had the largest public standing, he suddenly thought:

“Although I’m not a hero, so saving everyone feels overwhelming, I at least wanted to minimize the number of those who die unjustly.”

“You wouldn’t have to feel a thing. While it’s true that it was forced upon you, that alone doesn’t cleanse your sins.”

“Yes, that would be the common understanding. There’s a man in our castle who says something similar.”

Edgar resonated with Bartheus’s remark.

More precisely, he nodded at the same phrase uttered by Kelrag earlier.

Yet there was one slight difference in their thinking.

“At least, I think this: Rather than giving them a chance to atone for their sins, I want to offer them a chance to fulfill their wishes. If this isn’t the future you genuinely desired, I wanted to at least give a chance for you to gamble once.”

“Such a soft heart.”

“Being soft-hearted, I may still be able to save something, you know?”

Despite Bartheus’s low jab, Edgar responded with a bright smile.

In a world where one hero wants to save only half of the hundred, there might very well be a hero who wishes to save them all.

Although Edgar’s nature wasn’t entirely that grand, he simply didn’t want to start categorizing who could be saved from the outset.

Even if one hero saves fifty by striving for a hundred, isn’t it better for another hero simply to attempt saving a hundred from the very beginning?

After all, it’s often said that setting higher goals is better.

“I sense the effect is wearing off, so I’ll take my leave now.”

“Take care of yourself. By the way, you managed to sneak in here despite the barrier and guards.”

“I was just born in a strange way. Well then.”

With that, Edgar waved a gentle hand as if greeting a friend and vanished into the darkness.

On such a quiet night, the moon was still shining brightly, but Bartheus couldn’t even catch up with the presence that had disappeared.

*Was that why the moon shone so brightly tonight?*

Despite his heavy heart, Bartheus could only think of the reason why the moon appeared especially bright tonight.

They’ve long said that the sky brightens on the day distinguished guests arrive as evidence of it.

Of course, whether he was a noble guest who would save the Helbenior family or merely a water ghost trying to drag them down into the depths of hell was something only time would tell.

*It’s regrettable that he can’t be called an ally just yet.*

That would all be determined based on tomorrow’s answer.

In any case, what he wished for, now and always, was nothing but a guarantee of a peaceful family life.

Even if it meant selling his soul to the devil.