Chapter 268 – In the Audience Chamber

The design of the audience chamber in Silvatoria’s Royal Castle is said to be well-suited for protecting the assembled dignitaries.

Opening the large door at the front reveals a space as expansive as a dance hall. Directly opposite the entrance, a tiered structure rises, upon which sit the thrones of the King of Silvatoria and the Queen’s seat.

To the left and right of the hall are seats for the feudal lords and the robed nobility to occupy when attending audiences.

This is the designated location to receive Zadias. The reason lies in the ability to deploy powerful magical barrier walls around the frontal throne area and the noble seats on either side during an emergency.

The plan is to summon Zadias to the audience chamber, announce King Eberhart’s recovery there for the first time, and have the King formally receive the envoy from Verdgar anew. As it is an official occasion, the close aides chosen by King Eberhart himself will also attend to serve as witnesses.

We, too, will face him in the same unprotected area as Zadias.

“Theo, that…!”

“…What is it?”

Called by Grace, I looked out the castle window towards the direction of the Sages’ Academy… and saw something like a flying sailing ship approaching. A vessel flying Silvatoria’s national flag. That’s… something I haven’t even seen in BFO.

“…What is that?”

When I asked, King Eberhart frowned.

“A ship that flies through the air. It’s a project the Sages’ Academy began development on quite some time ago. I hadn’t been informed it was completed… They probably intend to announce it on this occasion, I suppose.”

…An airship. So this is part of the source of Zadias’s confidence.

Frankly speaking, in terms of aerial combat capabilities, Verdgar stands head and shoulders above other nations.

This is excluding my Aerial Combat Gear, of course… The reason lies in the existence of the Labyrinth. It provides a relatively stable supply of monster meat from Orcs and the like, enabling them to maintain forces like the Wyvern Corps.

Therefore, other nations inevitably have smaller Wyvern numbers compared to Verdgar.

From that perspective, considering the airship—a vessel capable of transporting numerous personnel, weapons, and supplies—it certainly has the potential to be a powerful weapon.

In BFO, it would probably be classified as one of Silvatoria’s secret weapons, right…? The fact that they’ve brought it out at this timing might mean word of the Aerial Combat Gear unveiled at the spring dinner party has reached them.

Anyway, for Zadias, this is tantamount to declaring he has no enemies left within the country, and it also serves to showcase Verdgar’s military assets.

“Excuse me,” I said, using Light Magic to create a telescopic lens and magnify the distant airship.

“Hoh.”

King Eberhart let out an impressed sound. Everyone peered curiously from behind me.

I observed the hull. The keel section seemed to be made of metal. From what I could see, the strength seemed adequate. It’s clearly built with full military deployment in mind.

On the deck were the Black Knights. At the helm stood Zadias, and beside him waited a magician clad in a robe. Unhealthily pale skin, sunken cheeks. A man with gray hair who looked nervous.

“This magician?”

“That would be Chancellor Volheim. He likely intends to come to the castle to report its completion as well.”

That answer was somewhat expected… Coming to the Royal Castle alongside Zadias, huh? Since it’s the airship’s unveiling, it’s only natural for the person in charge to attend.

“Since it’s an unveiling, they probably haven’t loaded any weapons onto the ship, right?”

Princess Adriana remarked. Indeed… I don’t see anything like a ballista.

“No… Please look here.”

Along the side of the hull, blue spherical objects were embedded in a row.

“These are?”

“We should probably consider them some kind of weapon. Look. There are also small windows near the spheres. I suspect it’s a mechanism to aim and fire magical projectiles from here.”

Considering their placement compared to Earth-side sailing ships, I think these are likely items serving an artillery-like purpose.

So, unable to obtain the magical technology possessed by the Ancient Bloodline, they were developing new weapons. While the extent of their power is unclear, if these are weapons involving magic tools, they probably operate using the marksman’s magical power or magic stones as a power source. That said, I don’t think they’d be that powerful…

“Well, isn’t that rather crude? The fact that they’re arriving on that thing means… the Black Knights are accompanying them. If they’re even carrying weapons… it’s not a situation that can be resolved simply by His Highness behaving himself.”

One of the close aides spoke in a flustered voice. King Eberhart placed a hand on his chin in thought, then asked me.

“Let me be direct. What do you think of that?”

“As a weapon… it’s probably excellent. However, if I were told to fight it here and now, I wouldn’t consider it much of a threat. Weapons of that magic tool type rely on magic stones for power, so their performance has inherent limitations.”

“Preposterous—! You’re… essentially saying you could take on a warship single-handedly.”

“Unless it can’t be shot down with magic around the 8th tier… then I might consider it a threat…”

“Wha—”

My words left the aide speechless, while King Eberhart gave a wry smile. Princess Stephania remained perfectly composed, and Sheila nodded as if it were only natural.

“…I suppose so. Judging by the magical power you exhibited when performing Circulating Ki… you could probably do even more than that?”

“Yes.”

When I nodded back, the aide’s expression twitched. Even so… for King Eberhart, Zadias is his own flesh and blood.

He frowned and made a pained face, but as if shaking off his hesitation, King Eberhart declared.

“Good. The plan remains unchanged. We will summon Zadias to the audience chamber and proceed as arranged. If the information from Verdgar is true, missing this chance would only lead to further tyranny. If Zadias and Volheim lead the production of more such ships under their direction, their foothold would become unshakable.”

Right. By revealing his hand, Zadias must be confident in his advantage. Dissenting feudal lords would likely be coerced into submission by force. For King Eberhart, such actions would be unacceptable given the current situation with the Demon’s suspicious movements. Moreover, with incidents like Beriondora’s and information suggesting Zadias’s connection to the Demon emerging.

“…I was unable to strongly condemn his mistakes. It’s natural to fear that my mutation might eventually befall him as well. But such a thing cannot serve as any excuse. Therefore, as King, I must verify the truth. If it is fact, Zadias’s actions are unforgivable, and I too will have no choice but to oppose him later.”

“Father…”

Princess Adriana called out to him with concern. King Eberhart smiled a lonely, wry smile.

“And if we are to confirm it, there is no other opportunity but now.”

For King Eberhart, this moment is the watershed—to make a decision or remain seated as he is.

That’s why we must verify the truth of the information we brought by observing Zadias’s reaction. Even if he understands logically, emotions are another matter.

I… cannot share King Eberhart’s concern for Zadias’s inner feelings like he does. Even if told that Zadias acted out of fear of mutation, it doesn’t sit right with me. If the reason truly was the fear of it happening to himself, he shouldn’t have tried to use research as a pretext.

Fundamentally, Elliot’s kidnapping and brainwashing, what he did to Marquis Zilbolt, what he attempted in Verdgar—not a single one of these can serve as an excuse. King Eberhart is right.

But I don’t intend to voice that now. King Eberhart also needs time to sort his emotions and make his decision. Everything will be confirmed from here on out.

The airship came to a stop, positioning its stern towards the castle. This suggests two things. Firstly, it increases the likelihood that those spheres are indeed weapons classified as projectile arms.

Since it’s an unveiling, they probably intend to explain the ship’s performance to some extent. In that case, parking with projectile weapons aimed at the castle, even if to display military might, would be rather clumsy.

The second point is… that Zadias hasn’t noticed the trap. If he had sensed it, he would likely have kept the weapons aimed at the castle while parked, given that no explanation has been provided yet.

As we waited in the antechamber leading to the audience chamber, Zadias, Volheim, and the Black Knights entered. Zadias and Volheim were unarmed, but the Black Knights, serving as the Crown Prince’s escort, appeared to be wearing swords.

“Ah, Your Highness Stephania, a pleasure to see you looking so well.”

Zadias offered a greeting with a composed smile.

“And to you, Your Highness Zadias.”

Princess Stephania responded with an elegant bow.

“My visit to His Majesty proceeded smoothly, so I am now to present greetings from my father in the audience chamber.”

“We were also asked by the Prime Minister to attend the envoy’s greeting session before the dinner. Thus, I have come here with the Chancellor of the Academy.”

“I see.”

Yes. So that’s why Zadias and his party will take their places in the seats on the left side of the audience chamber. The arrangement is for the Prime Minister, acting on behalf of the bedridden King, to receive the greetings and accept the official letter in the audience chamber. At least, that’s what Zadias has been told.

“How did the treatment go?”

“His Majesty expressed his gratitude to me. His condition… was beyond my expectations.”

Without mentioning specific results, Princess Stephania spoke quietly.

How he took that, Zadias showed a formally solemn expression and nodded.

“There’s nothing to be done. We too are at a loss and somewhat bewildered ourselves. Shall we change the subject? Did you see the ship outside?”

“Yes. Just now, from the castle window. As expected of the magical powerhouse Silvatoria is, you create amazing things.”

“Of course.”

Perhaps satisfied with Princess Stephania’s reply, Zadias smiled.

“If Your Highness is willing, I can take you aboard the ship later. The view of Silvatoria from the sky is exceptional.”

“That sounds lovely. If the opportunity arises—”

Just then, a trumpet sounded from deep within the audience chamber. The signal that the Prime Minister had arrived.

“Then, later.”

“Until then.”

Zadias crossed the antechamber and entered the left-side seats.

In harmony with the grandly played trumpet, the large front doors slowly opened. As the envoy, I followed a step behind Princess Stephania as we proceeded into the audience chamber.

On the left: Zadias, the Chancellor, and the Black Knights. On the right: the King’s close aides.

A soldier loudly recited words praising Silvatoria and King Eberhart, and the trumpet sounded once more. As that figure appeared from the passageway at the rear of the audience chamber, Zadias’s eyes widened and he let out a small, stunned voice.

“Wha…t?”

What Zadias saw there was—the robust, healthy figure of King Eberhart.