The Hundred Reigns 78: The Elf Conspiracy (5)

Previous Chapter

-------

“The White Unicorn?” Simon asked while feigning surprise. “You are with the White Unicorn?”

“The people’s spirits are not so easily broken,” Elaine replied with a faint smile. “House Magnos’ reckoning has been in preparation for a very, very long time.” 

“I have been organizing such gatherings since I finished the palace’s renovations, though tonight’s guests nearly cancelled it,” Lady Justine boasted upon slouching on a sofa. “Are you reassured now that you have seen his face?”

“What madness possessed you to disguise yourself as the Overlord?” Robert Flauros admonished Simon. “Many almost backed out of this gathering out of fear that Balzam Magnos was attending this ball.”

“If you had told me this party was a front for the White Unicorn, I would have come as the Paladin,” Simon replied, which drew chuckles from a few of the people present. “I just… I don’t understand how my father and Shabram could miss a conspiracy this big. Lord Malphas has been in my father’s service for years; he should have picked up on your true sympathies.”

“My family was never on the Overlord’s side,” Lord Patriate admitted. “The Oracle’s plans stretch across decades and centuries. We were planted many years back with false identities, with orders to climb the empire’s echelons and accumulate as much influence as we could. We played the role of loyal subjects until our orders finally came.”

“The night my father was slain,” Simon said, smirking as he fished for more information. “Did you do the deed? If so, then I owe you my gratitude.”

“Thank you, but it would be misplaced,” Patriate replied politely. “My task was to smuggle in a special weapon called the Mana Sword into Frightwall’s chapel, where the Oracle predicted Balzam’s assassin would find it.”

“The assassin?” Simon’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t know who killed my father?” 

“That information was deemed so sensitive that the Oracle kept it to herself. She alone knows who picked the sword.”

“Which is a pickle, because that mystery assassin still holds the Mana Sword,” Justine complained. “Whereas now we have a new Overlord to deal with.”

Patriate sighed. “Our agents are trying to locate this Casval, but I admit we neglected Telluria and have little to no presence on the ground there. I hope Lady Eole’s knowledge of the shifter tribes will help us.”

This information disappointed Simon. The Oracle was so big on operational security that she centralized all key information around herself, even something as critical as her chosen assassin for the Overlord. She wasn’t so different from Balzam in that regard. 

Then again, it made sense. The Overlords continuously ruined her plans by mysteriously divining them before they happened. Simon would have been extremely paranoid too, in her place.

It also seemed the assassin didn’t directly work for the Oracle, or at least not as a direct part of her conspiracy. It must have been either a contracted killer capable of infiltrating Frightwall like the Rogue, or someone already inside the castle like Louis or Euphemia. Simon wondered if investigating who attended the chapel on the day of Balzam’s murder would yield more insight into the matter.

Nonetheless, learning the mere fact that the White Unicorn had little to no presence in Telluria was already valuable information in itself. This explained why Vouivre had such an easy time establishing a foothold there and why the Malphas family decided to personally pursue Louis there in the reign where he visited the Academy. They simply had no one else to send. 

This was Simon’s opportunity to learn almost everything. 

“What will you do now, Lord Simon?” Lady Justine asked him pointedly. “Our contract only forbids you from revealing our secrets to outsiders, but it doesn’t compel you to help us.”

Simon raised an eyebrow. “You would let me go after I learned all this?”

“Do you take us for the Overlord?” Lord Patriate replied with a hint of disdain. “We don’t force people to join us. You have all of our gratitude for helping smuggle Lady Eole and Lady Firewand out of Frightwall, so we’re willing to help you leave Endymion and disappear as you originally planned if you do not wish to fight with us.”

“But it would help us a great deal if you did,” Elaine admitted. “We could work together to change things for the better.”

By hastening a deadly civil war and bombing Frightwall? Simon nonetheless pretended to be cautiously interested. “I’m… I’m willing to listen for now.”

“Very good,” Lord Patriate said upon inviting him to sit with Elaine. “I suggest we all switch to elvish so Lady Eole can join the conversation. Let us start with a roundtable introduction.”

And so, Simon was introduced to two dozen high-ranked conspirators from all across Magvolia and western Endymion. Most of the people present didn’t surprise him all that much, since he had seen them rise against Louis or in support of Princess Satine’s failed revolution, but a handful had done neither. These hidden members were nobles or powerful merchants from other imperial regions like Valendre or Navarre, or even the imperial heartland. Simon assumed they had either chickened out at the last second like the Eligos did, or preserved their cover by playing the long-game. Nobody present came from the eastern tributaries like Fablan or Telluria, which told Simon the conspiracy mostly focused its efforts in the west due to a combination of its proximity to their allies in Lore and the War Party’s stronghold. Infiltrating the Church Party’s dominions must have been deemed a lower priority since Euphemia was more amenable to compromise.

This meeting also allowed Simon to meet with Lord Robert’s father, Duke Rufus Flauros, and his wife Anselma. The former was a middle-aged man with a graying blond and well-trimmed beard, short hair, his son’s eyes, and a solemn face that didn’t inspire much warmth. The red doublet bearing the burning leopard standard of his house seemed more lively than the man wearing it. 

His wife was more interesting. Simon had already seen her portrait from Shabram’s files, but seeing her in the flesh said more than any picture. Although her face was almost identical to her twin sister Justine's, besides the auburn hair, her smile was warm rather than sharp, her dress modest rather than extravagant, and her posture more regal.

“Greetings, Lord Simon,” she said when he gallantly kissed her hand. “Lady Firewand spoke highly of you.”

“She did?” Simon asked as he turned to look at Belzemine, who seemed uncomfortable all of a sudden. He had extensively drilled her on what to do for this event, including to not look at him for orders, but she was no trained spy. “You look… different, Lady Firewand.”

“I am… free,” she said. Not with triumph, but with uncertainty. “Free to… speak my mind.”

“Free?” Simon’s eyes lingered on her chest and ‘noticed’ the absence of slave brands on her skin. “The Overlord’s Brand… it’s gone.”

“Me and my sister’s life work,” Lady Anselma explained as she presented Simon with a small silver dagger covered in elven runes. “This weapon severs any magical slave brand it touches.”

“But I thought the Overlord’s slave brands were impossible to remove,” Simon said, feigning surprise. 

“They aren’t,” Lady Justine replied with a scoff. “The Overlord’s brands are a highly advanced form of demonic pact that can bind a target’s soul to the Overlord’s, even when coerced into submission. Like all contracts and curses, they must include an exit clause: in this case, the Overlord failing to provide the promised ‘benefit’ or revoking the brand.”

“What these daggers do, truly, is to transmit false information to the recipient’s brand that the Overlord failed to deliver the benefit, which causes a paradox and voids the contract without harming the recipient,” Lady Anselma explained. “We planned to use it to free Lady Firewand for years, but we knew the Overlord would sense her freedom and come investigate, so we had to wait for Balzam Magnos’ demise and form a secure evacuation plan before proceeding.” 

“I see…” Simon never imagined such a loophole existed in the Devil Brands, or at least in a way that could be exploited. For a weapon to impersonate the Overlord Class’ soulbound command… Crafting these devices must have demanded decades of study and experimentation, perhaps even centuries, especially since removing some Brands should actively harm the holder. “Can I touch it?”

“Yes, of course,” Lady Anselma said. “We have a handful.”

Simon grabbed the dagger’s handle and edge, but though his Class spirit filled his heart with burning hatred and a nagging demand to shatter the blade for the insult it represented, he didn’t sense any loss of connection to Shabram or Duchar. The dagger only worked when used on the slave, not the master.

Could Simon cover that weakness in the brands? They were automatically applied when he used the associated Perks, so he couldn’t exactly modify them himself. A Title might get around the issue depending on the Crimson Throne’s whims, but he knew too little about his own powers to judge that possibility for now. 

“This device will change a lot,” Simon said upon returning the dagger. “Many of my father’s generals were kept in line by their brands.”

“Many slaves in Telluria would rise up should they learn their slave tattoos can be removed too,” Eole said with enthusiasm. “I can recommend many shifter tribes that would gladly join our side should we give them this dagger.”

Lady Anselma nodded in support. “Creating copies will take time, but we can craft more now that we have confirmed that they work.”

“Which brings us to the matter at hand, now that introductions are complete.” Lord Patriate clasped his hands. “Now that Lady Firewand has been successfully exfiltrated from Frightwall, the Oracle has foreseen that the Goddess’ Judgment will fall upon this cursed castle on the agreed-upon date.”

“The Goddess’ Judgment?” Eole asked with a frown. 

“A powerful astromancy spell cast from Illusea by the Oracle herself,” Lady Anselma explained. “It can only be cast once per year, on the 30th day of the month of Nivose, at a specifically marked location. It will lay down Frightwall and decapitate Endymion’s leadership.”

Lady Justine waved her fan. “I say we cancel that plan.”

Patriate frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you see the golden opportunity we have, my dear brother?” She waved her fan at Simon. “We have a Magnos in bed with your daughter, who is coincidentally close to Lauriane Magnos. Why not put one of them on the throne once Louis is out of the picture? We could preserve and reform the empire from within rather than tear it apart back into petty fiefdoms.”

“The plan–”

“Whose plan? The Oracle’s? The one that changes every morning?” Justine sneered dismissively, which took Simon slightly aback. She clearly didn’t have a high opinion of the Oracle. “The Mana Sword was meant to kill the Overlord in a way that would have prevented the killer or anyone else from inheriting the Class, with the Goddess’ Judgment destroying Frightwall and the Crimson Throne to prevent the possibility of recovery… Yet the Class found a new vessel anyway. If the first step has already failed, what guarantee do we have that the second will yield fru–”

“Wait!” Simon’s head perked up, his heart skipping a beat. “What did you just say?!”

Lady Justine raised an eyebrow. “The part about your sister, or the Overlord?”

“The latter,” Simon replied, unable to contain his curiosity. “You have found a way to prevent the Overlord Class from passing from one holder to another?”

“We thought we did,” Lady Justine corrected him, her fan covering her mouth. “Alas, the Oracle’s predictions once again proved wrong.”

“It wouldn’t say they were wrong, just slightly off,” Lord Rufus Flauros said diplomatically. “The Oracle informed us she can still perceive the assassin in her latest message to us, so they didn’t inherit the Class.”

“To answer your question, Lord Simon, the Mana Sword is a special blade crafted and reforged over centuries for the purpose of destroying the Overlord Class,” Lady Anselma explained. “Overlords possess multiple Perks and defenses that make them extraordinarily difficult to kill. Weaker weapons bounce off them, they can teleport around or drain slaves of their lifeforce to regenerate their wounds…” 

“I saw it for myself during the Reformation.” Rufus Flauros crossed his arms. “It took years of campaigning for Euphemia and Balzam to corner Gargauth in Frightwall. We had to slowly isolate him by killing his followers, weaken him from a distance with ballistae and magic lest he magically heal by slaughtering our own soldiers, then have the strongest human Class users in the world finish him off once he reached the point of exhaustion. Only the Commander could have pulled off such a victory… and it was still a dangerously close affair from what I heard.”

“The Mana Sword was designed to cancel out most of the Overlord’s Perks to ensure Balzam Magnos could be slain in one blow without the possibility of escape, while disabling the Class to prevent it from jumping onto a new host,” Lady Justine added. “Which it failed to do.”

But it did manage to kill my father in one blow in a powerful assassin’s hands, Simon thought. The fact that such a powerful weapon remained unaccounted for disturbed him. Could it cancel out all of my reigns if it kills me? Father had to be on his last one considering the notes he left me, but still… 

Vouivre also used something called the Horoscopic Sword or something similar to kill him in an earlier reign. Could it be the same weapon going by a different name? If so, then it failed to affect the reigns.

“Again, sister, the Oracle is adamant the assassin didn’t inherit the Class,” Lord Patriate insisted. “The Mana Sword did break the succession mechanism, at the very least.” 

“But this Casval Ashmodai inherited the Class because my father left a will, not because he was slain by a magical sword,” Simon pointed out, trying to play the devil’s advocate. 

“I think the testament wouldn’t have worked normally,” Lord Patriate replied, “Mardok and Gargauth would have ensured a loyalist inherited it if it were so easy. My guess is that the Crimson Throne latched onto the testament as a way to preserve the Overlord Class when the Mana Sword broke the line of succession.”

Simon had his doubts about that theory, but he guessed it was a plausible explanation for those unaware of the reigns. This meeting at least confirmed their knowledge of the Overlord Class was based on guesswork, and the time loop remained a secret from them. 

“Could we pull it off again?” Lord Robert Flauros asked. “If we find this Casval before the imperial parties…”

“We have weaker copies of the sword that can harm the Overlord, but none that carry the Mana Goddess’ blessing,” his stepmother lamented. “They might harm the Overlord more than normal swords, but they likely won’t cancel out all of their defensive Perks.”

Eole scowled grimly as a dangerous possibility formed in her mind. “What if Vouivre gets to this Casval first?” 

“Vouivre? That scalefolk warlord?” Patriate shrugged. “I’ve heard rumors about her, but she’s a minor threat.”

“She is no scalefolk, but a powerful dragon seeking to enslave shifter tribes to conquer Telluria,” Eole said, repeating the information Simon shared with her. “If she learns the Overlord hides in her territory, she will stop at nothing to claim the Class.”

“A dragon?” Patriate repeated in disbelief as other guests exchanged gasps and puzzled gazes.  

They don’t know? Simon thought, which prompted a question from him. “My siblings mentioned something about Gargauth having heirs,” he half-lied, knowing from Shabram that they already witnessed Casval’s dragon form from their failed attempt to capture him, “Wouldn’t the Oracle tell you that?”

Lady Justine smiled. “My, are you implying our seer isn’t entirely reliable?”

Patriate glared at his sister before answering Simon’s words. “The Oracle remains mortal. She cannot see everything at once, Lord Simon, and she has spent most of her time focusing on plotting Balzam Magnos’ death.” 

“I still wonder how she did it,” Simon admitted. “I thought my father’s Anathemic Secrecy Perk protected him from all divination attempts.”

“The Overlord’s actions and motives may be unscrutable, but the ripples of their actions remain visible,” Patriate replied. “The Oracle cannot see the way the fish moves, but she can divine where its waves will hit, if that makes sense. Anathemic Secrecy simply turns her prophecies into predictions.”

“And every new Overlord throws all previous predictions into chaos, so why should we stick to a plan that is already obsolete?” Lady Justine inquired. 

“Expelling Endymion from Magvolia is the plan, Lady Eligos,” one of Princess Satine’s supporters retorted. “The line of Renais must rule in name and truth again.”

“But we can do so without bloodshed.” Lady Justine pointed at Simon. “Bujan and Fablan have viceroys that grant them relative autonomy. We could have him approach Lady Lauriane after we eliminate Prince Louis and check to see if she would be open to granting such status to our dear princess-in-exile. Satine could rule this country without shedding a single drop of blood. Why cast away what we have already obtained for uncertainty?”

“What we have obtained?” Patriate snorted. “Have you grown so used to your station’s comfort, my sister?”

“Have you?” she replied pointedly, glancing at her siblings and niece. “Will you truly pack your things and return home once this is all over?”

Although Anselma scowled and avoided her gaze, her husband holding her hand, Elaine didn’t even hesitate. “We must proceed, my aunt,” she insisted. “Even if we fail to destroy the Overlord Class, destroying Endymion would durably cripple Balzam’s successors in their bid for world domination. We will put them back centuries.”

“We could achieve the same result by reforming the empire,” Lady Justine insisted.

“Which is impossible so long as Prince Louis remains alive and in power,” Patriate countered. “He and his followers will not give up on their projects to invade other lands without a fight.”

Simon watched them argue in silence for a while, taking notes of everyone’s position on the matter. His first instinct was correct: Justine Eligos and her brother Patriate did not get along. The former had clearly grown to enjoy her current station, and the thought of surrendering her luxurious lifestyle to wage a civil war didn’t appeal to her. She was the conspiracy’s obvious weak point. 

Patriate and Elaine, meanwhile, were true believers adamant about following the Oracle’s plan to tear down the empire; a plan that, if Elaine’s story about her mother was even vaguely accurate, probably boiled down to personal hatred. The more he heard, the less Simon was convinced they would come around through diplomacy. He had to learn more about those two. 

Lady Anselma struck him as somewhere in the middle. She was loyal to the White Unicorn—enough to fight the War Party to the death when she lost her stepson Robert in the Darkwood and her husband raised his banners in rebellion—but she also seemed to harbor doubts. And if that ‘going home’ comment translated to returning to Illusea and abandoning the family she had come to love, this gave her another reason to doubt the Oracle’s plan.

All these petty schemes will collapse when the Zodiac Parade begins… which makes it strange they haven’t mentioned it, Simon thought. The Oracle had been alive since before the Doom, so she had to know the comet Abraxas would return soon. The elves named it. Is she missing the danger by overfocusing on the Overlord, or is she hoping to neutralize the archfiends beforehand? She did send Frea and the Paladin to investigate the Stone Muse’s seal in my previous reign…

All in all, it seemed the Oracle was so paranoid about the risk of infiltration that she only told her agents what they needed to know to complete their current mission. This particular conspiracy to destroy Endymion from within was likely unrelated to whatever forces she dispatched to deal with the Zodiac Fiends. Simon wouldn’t learn much on that front from this group. 

What am I to do with these traitors? Simon wondered. The tragic thing was that part of him still somewhat sympathized with their cause. Many of these people fought to retake their homeland from Endymion or to prevent Louis from conquering more. He might have been tempted to help them if they had contacted him years ago, just as he once supported Eole’s desire to free slaves in Valne.

But he was the Overlord, and they wanted him dead. 

He knew from experience in his previous reigns that most White Unicorn supporters would try to kill him the moment he revealed himself as the Overlord, and their plans to tear down the empire would do more harm than good. The suffering Endymion caused paled a great deal when compared to the destruction the Zodiac Parade would unleash upon the world, and the White Unicorn had rejected all of Simon’s attempts to reach out to them or solve things by diplomacy in previous reigns. Balzam had thoroughly poisoned that well, and decades of radicalization against everything Overlord-related had made peace an unlikely prospect.

Moreover, they had killed him thrice; first by poisoning his goblet, then by sealing him until he was left at Vouivre’s mercy, and finally by having Ser Richard sabotage his attempt to summon Asterion to repel Louis. It was the latter that stung the most. The archfiend could have potentially made all the difference and helped salvage the situation.

The White Unicorn had cost him Cassandra, and that stung. 

Their sabotage had also worsened things beyond those three particular deaths. Their attack on Frightwall threw the empire into chaos and systematically worsened his chances of survival or accumulating information he dearly needed. 

These people were just obstacles in the way of him achieving a better future for the moment. Tolerating their existence was a luxury he could not afford right now, especially since he was only one Oracle prediction away from discovery. She would realize the truth the moment she tried to predict an outcome involving Simon Magnos and come up short. 

Simon knew almost everything he needed to wipe out the elf conspiracy across Endymion from this meeting alone. He had learned the names of all the key figures involved in it this side of the Dragonsea. He could defang those infiltrators by blowing the whistle on them at the start of his next reign. 

There was only one piece of information that still escaped him, and which Simon was pretty sure he would never be trusted with: how the Malphas managed to hide their true nature as elves from the world. Learning that secret was critical to both identifying any remaining infiltrators and preventing new ones from slipping in. 

And he knew exactly how to obtain it.

“I’m sorry,” he said, interrupting the debate, “But you’re forgetting one thing.”

“What?” Patriate asked.

“Louis is the Warrior,” Simon pointed out. “He thrives on conflict because it strengthens him. He has been looking for a civil war against Euphemia for years because he hopes it will let him reach level 100.”

“Exactly my point,” Lady Justine said. “A war may only strengthen our enemy rather than weaken him. We must explore other possibilities.”

“The Oracle foresees Louis’ inevitable victory should he keep the Goetia Research Center, and we will need all the forces we can muster to take or destroy it,” Patriate replied, his eyes squinting at Simon. “Unless, of course, we could sabotage it from the inside.”

I knew it, Simon thought as all eyes turned his way. That’s the only reason this crafty bastard invited me.

“I’ll be blunt, all this talk of starting a civil war doesn’t sit well with me,” Simon replied after a moment of thoughtful consideration. “My sister Lauriane is kind to me. I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“You said it yourself that she wants to put a madman like Louis on the throne, Simon,” Elaine argued. “She won’t be talked out of supporting him.”

“Because she loves him.” Simon crossed his arms. “I think I can make her reconsider.”

“You will fail,” Patriate insisted. “Believe me, Lord Simon, I have tried more times than I can count. She believes in House Magnos’ right to dominate the world.”

“Then…” Simon pretended to hesitate, then came up with a brilliant idea. “What if I lured her out of the facility?”

“How? She won’t leave her fortress with tensions at an all-time high.”

“I think she would,” Simon replied while suppressing a smile. “For my wedding.”

-------

Next Chapter