Chapter 19: Wings of the Dragonlord (3) | The Hundred Reigns
Anna didn't invite Casval to her 'study session,' which allowed Simon to relax a bit. He could finally enjoy a night of revelry without worrying about assassinations or working for level-ups.
"Alright, I now wield the Wand of Truth, which compels all to answer!" Anna said while raising her cup of wine with one hand and her stick with the other. "Simon, reveal unto me the secret none should hear!"
"I said it was family only," Simon replied while glancing at Tiella, the other person whom Anna had roped into her nonsense tonight. "No offense."
"None taken," Tiella replied shyly. "Should I leave you two be, Anna?"
"You are the sister I never had, of course you can stay. I trust you to keep your tongue." Anna waved her stick at Simon as if it had power. "Now answer me!"
Simon wondered if he should lie. He had been told to keep Father's death a secret, and Thalas would jump at any excuse to see him hanged.
"Tiella can keep a secret," Anna insisted upon sensing his reluctance.
"It's not her who worries me," Simon replied. Tiella was of a reserved nature so he didn't doubt she could keep her tongue, but Anna… Anna could be an inveterate gossip when drunk. The information he had could put them in danger.
"Are you doubting me, Simon? I am shocked!" Anna waved a cross in the air with her hand. "I swear on the Light I shall keep the truth to myself!"
"This information could put you in danger," Simon warned her.
"Then I double-swear!"
I guess I'm only bound to keep Father's death secret, Simon thought. I could give her a morsel of truth.
"The Overlord has chosen an heir," Simon replied mirthfully.
"What?!" Anna asked as she nearly dropped her glass of wine, while Tiella covered her mouth. "Who?!"
"Only one question at once," Simon teased her. "That's the wand's rule."
"Come on! Don't be like that, I need to know!" Like any highborn girl, Anna immediately resorted to bribery. "I'll give you two, nay, three turns in a row if you answer!"
"It could be Thalas," Tiella suggested.
Anna immediately shot the suggestion down. "Can't be him. His behavior wouldn't make sense otherwise."
"His behavior?" Simon inquired.
"Thalas told me I was wasting my time with you and that I should instead spend it with the 'better born man.'" Anna rolled her eyes. "He even implied the possibility of marriage."
"Marriage?" Arranged marriages were common among imperial nobility, and Anna was the most desirable maiden in the empire as heir of the Berwick Islands; not to mention that Maublanc Paimon was the Magnos' children honorary 'uncle' in name only. It didn't surprise Simon that Thalas would try to secure her hand… were it not for a tiny detail. "Isn't Thalas already engaged to Antonine de Shax?"
"He is, but the Shax Marquisate holds little weight when compared to the Berwick Islands," Anna gloated. "I wonder what kind of face she would make if I were to tell her..."
Simon wondered what to do with that information as well. It explained how Anna managed to spare Simon's life from execution in a previous reign. She could simply have hinted to Thalas that she would consider a marriage proposal if he let her friend off the hook. Telling Antonine the truth would likely lead to a lovers' spat, if she believed him at all, but surely he could do more with that information…
Simon burst out laughing as a cruel and devilish plot crossed his mind; the kind that would make his father proud.
"Why are you laughing?!" Anna joined with a chuckle, his good mood now infectious. "Come on now, share!"
I know how to kill Thalas and Vouivre. Maybe both at once… "It's just…" Simon forced himself to calm down, and failed at it. "It's just… I try to imagine you and Thalas…"
"What, you think he would survive the honeymoon?" Anna replied, bursting out laughing. "Or you would rather keep me for yourself?"
"I don't share my favorite honorary cousin," Simon joked back.
"Oh, really?" Anna gave him a mischievous smirk. "Anyway, that was your question, so now you have to answer."
"Shouldn't Tiella get the wand now?"
"I want to know too," Tiella replied with a laugh. "Come on, tell us!"
"Fine, fine." Simon took a deep breath. "The heir… is Laurent Linconnu."
Tiella frowned in confusion. "Laurent Linconnu?"
"Wait, isn't that the guy everyone is looking for?" Anna scoffed. "Who is he?"
"That would be a new question," Simon teased her back.
"That does it! I bestow a dare upon you for your insolence!"
Simon chuckled. "But I respected the rules."
"Haven't you heard?" Anna waved the wand at him. "I'm the Overlord, I can do whatever I want."
That made Simon laugh a lot more than it should have. "Fine, fine," he said. "What dare shall it be?"
"You will have to kiss one of us," Anna smirked, ear to ear. "On the mouth."
Same dare as last time then? Simon was now convinced Anna and Tiella had planned this game between themselves as a prank. Well, joke's on you, Anna, I get to try both options.
Simon pretended to think things through, and then moved on to embrace Anna. Tiella covered her mouth with a gasp when he pressed his lips on her friend's own to teach her a lesson. Simon thought it would feel weird and wrong, but Anna was an experienced kisser and made it work well.
In fact, she seemed really into it.
"Since when have you become so daring, Simon?" Anna asked after pushing back. "It does not displease me."
"You asked for it," Simon replied.
"I did." Anna gave him a long, ambiguous look. "What am I going to do with this daredevil, Tiella?"
"Marry him?" Tiella quipped.
"That's it, you get a dare too!" Anna waved her hand at Tiella. "I order the two of you to kiss for my entertainment!"
Simon and Tiella had no choice but to obey, after which the night devolved into wine and nonsense. They spent the evening theorizing about Laurent Linconnu's identity until Tiella drank so much she passed out. Simon and Anna carried her to bed afterwards, which proved easy for him thanks to his Class-enhanced strength.
"She's heavier than I thought," Simon told Anna before noticing the forlorn look she sent him. "What?"
"Do you think you could convince your father to legitimize you?"
"What an odd question." Where did that come from? "I don't think so, why?"
"Because then we could fuck," Anna replied bluntly while finishing her cup. She was obviously drunk, and that untied her tongue. "I don't want to get attached and regret it later, especially if I have to marry Thalas."
"What?!" That Anna would come on to him didn't surprise Simon all that much after she told him that she had come to the Academy to enjoy herself, but to marry Thalas of all people? "I thought you didn't want to do it?!"
"I don't, but my father will likely force my hand soon if what you told me is true." Anna let out a heavy sigh. "The War and Church Parties both need Dad's swords, and he was always more amenable to the latter. I don't see Louis setting aside his fiancée, and Dassein is more likely to get hitched with his horse than to marry, while marrying Thalas could potentially put me on the throne as the new empress. Guess which option my father will choose."
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Simon scowled. As much as he hated to admit it, that was indeed a likely possibility. "Nothing is set in stone."
"You're sweet, Simon, but you haven't been paying attention. At least one of us will be free." Anna wistfully played with her glass, a sorrowful look on her face. "You should leave for the night. You don't want to see me in a morose mood."
Simon went to visit Duchar and Cassandra the next day. Both were overjoyed to hear that he intended to test out his new Land of Darkness Perk in the archive and reassured him it would have no impact on the world above ground. Balzam Magnos had apparently outfitted his secret stashhouse with every anti-divination spell known to mankind.
The corridors were dark and damp when Simon, Lorimor, Duchar, and Cassandra gathered in the archive's depths. Simon glanced at his retainers—his gaze lingering on the rat cage Cassandra had brought—and then raised his armored hand.
"Land of Darkness I," he said, words rising from the depths of his Class' spirit to his lips. "The Abyss be my witness, I claim this archive as my den!"
Miasma gathered in his hand, darkness flowing between his fingers. Simon felt drained for the first time since he had gained the Overlord Class. Tier I spells hardly seemed to put a dent in his miasma reserve, yet this particular Perk did drain him.
Shadows of the blackest ink coalesced into his palm in the shape of a small ebon crystal, hardly the length of his thumb. Simon could have mistaken it for the obsidian they mined in Uyo, but even the dark glass lacked the unnatural smoothness of this object. It radiated power like a furnace as it began to float into the air by its own will. A pressure fell upon the room, with the stone shifting as a malicious force began to claim rooms and doors alike for itself.
The darkness had fed on Simon to manifest, and now he could sense it feed him in return. He felt stronger as his Lord of the Demon Castle Perk triggered in return, empowering his stats. This dreary place, at long last, began to feel like home.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Cassandra whispered under her breath.
"Yes… yes it is," Lorimor replied in adoration. His tone was that of a man who had witnessed a miracle. "A heart of darkness… I hear it beat in my head."
Even Duchar seemed impressed. "Fascinating," he muttered to himself while stroking his beard. "It usually takes either centuries of tragedies or a demonic sabbath for a miasma crystal of this quality to coalesce into existence, yet Your Dark Majesty can do it with a wave of his hand. Most incredible."
"Father never showed you this power?" Simon wondered. So he didn't know if Father had a backup Dungeon stashed somewhere.
"I never had the pleasure." Duchar turned to his daughter. "Cassandra, my dear?"
Cassandra raised the rat cage and glanced at the rat held inside. She whispered something to the animal so low Simon couldn't hear it, but it caused the animal to drop dead on the iron floor of its container. The ambient miasma immediately closed on the animal's flesh and caused it to walk again, with darkness behind its empty eyes. The reanimated mouse attempted to bite Cassandra on instinct, to no avail. Its teeth only sank into metal bars.
"Interesting," Duchar commented upon studying the undead creature. "The Dungeon itself puppeteers the corpse like an advanced version of the Blood Doll spell. This ought to imply a degree of sentience, nay, active intelligence."
"The soul did not come back," Cassandra said with obvious disappointment and a hint of sorrow. "Saddening."
Her expression surprised Simon. "Are you feeling sad for a rat, Cassandra?"
"All life is precious, Your Majesty," Cassandra replied calmly. "I became a necromancer to preserve it from death. The loss of any creature, no matter how small, diminishes us all."
Her response took Simon aback. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't bothered to learn much about Cassandra or her reasons to study necromancy. He had written her off as hardly better than her amoral father, but perhaps he had been too hasty to judge her.
"Stop," Simon ordered the undead rat, who immediately ceased to bite the bars in response. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Duchar?"
"Not quite. We will need to check if the corpse becomes inert once outside the Dungeon, how far the effect extends, if it affects any cadaver brought inside, or only those who perish inside the Dungeon, and many other factors…" Duchar rubbed his hands in scientific anticipation. "Would I have Your Majesty's authorization to study their crystal?"
"You do, so long as no one above ground notices it and that it does not impact your other duties," Simon replied. Duchar and his daughter had been of tremendous help so far, so he was fine letting them indulge. "Lorimor, have you found anything on dragons?"
"Yes, and… not quite." Lorimor cleared his throat and presented him with a small notebook. He sounded quite uneasy. "I searched the late Overlord's—may the Dark bless his soul—notes and found mention of dragons, but… I am not certain Your Dark Majesty would wish to… to see the rest…"
Huh? What foul writing could leave a cultist of the Dark uneasy? Did Father put some horrifying truth to paper? This only aroused Simon's curiosity, so he snatched the notebook out of Lorimor's hands and opened it at a marked page. It showed a list of some kind.
Simon: At least 14, likely 17 (see unknown assassinations)
Louis: 6
Zodiac fiends (discounting Simon): 6
The elves: At least 5, probably 9 (see unknown assassinations and Paladins)
Dragons: 4
Traps, mishaps, and accidents: 3
Military Coup/The Cocagne Affair: 1
Succubi Sex: 1
Paladins (discounting Simon): 5
The Berwick Lich: 4
That cursed musan sniper: 3
Euphemia: At least 2, probably 6 (see unknown assassinations)
Norbelle: 1
Public execution: 1
Suicide: 2
Lauriane: 1
Dassein: 1
Unknown assassinations: 10 (likely Simon, the elves, Euphemia, Mastemo, or any combination)
Unknown assassinations? Public execution? Succubi sex? Was this an account of all of Father's deaths? Lorimor and readers would likely fail to understand the significance of these jumbled thoughts, yet Simon was sure his father had recorded a list of his past demises.
Simon wasn't sure what to make of the fact that he had apparently slain his father over fourteen times, not to mention other details. Paladins and zodiac fiends discounting Simon? Did that imply Simon became the Paladin during previous reigns?
Seventy. That's seventy deaths. Simon recounted to be sure. Thirty are missing, or at least twenty-nine given how his final reign ended. Did Father simply forget to record them, or did he have fewer reigns than I?
"Does the term 'zodiac fiend' mean anything to you?" Simon asked his retainers. The fact that this group, whatever they were, had killed his father more times than dragons bothered him.
"The term sounds familiar, though I cannot remember why," Duchar replied, his hand stroking his beard. "I can look into it if Your Majesty wishes it."
"Yes, do so." Simon recalled that Lorimor identified a link between the demonbarrows and the constellations. A connection was likely, but he would need confirmation.
Whatever the case, it vaguely amused Simon that Thalas was apparently the only Magnos child not to have killed their sire at least once. He wondered if that was the result of loyalty, or incompetence.
Simon flipped the page, hoping to find more information, only to gasp in surprise as he found himself staring at a lurid and highly detailed drawing of a naked beastwoman. It took him a few seconds to recognize her. Spymaster Shabram?
There were annotations beneath the picture.
Shabram, 7/10, too much of a biter.
What the… Simon flipped to find the next pages showing Agnes Firewand and a splendid woman he didn't recognize portrayed in similarly lurid fashions.
Isabelle Barbatos, 9/10, amazing, but not worth the extensive setup.
Agnes Firewand, 1/10, barely does anything, closes her eyes waiting for time to pass.
"I can't believe it…" Simon muttered to himself in a mix of amazement and disgust as he continued to browse through the gallery. "What a bastard."
Euphemia, 2 to 8/10 depending on mood. I miss the early days.
Succubi harem, 3/10 completely overrated (partners die too quickly for them to gain proper experience). Can't believe I died for that.
Antonine de Shax, 9/10 just for Thalas' face. Dirty girl.
Meredith D'Ose, 5/10, passable. Nothing special.
Cassandra Honorius, 10/10, unforgettable. Always wild.
Queen Remedia of Cocagne, 10/10, worth the civil war.
The list went on and on, showing hundreds of women that went from Simon's own mother—who earned herself a 5/10 for effort—to peasants in various states of nakedness. The amount of details implied Balzam had seen them all that way at least once. There were far too many conquests for a single lifetime.
Simon's already low opinion plummeted with each page, and then hit rock bottom when he found her entry.
Anna, 7/10; she fought me the whole way.
Even Anna. Simon scowled in utter disgust. What a foul soul his father had been. At least Vouivre and Eole are missing from the list. Whoever killed you did the world a service, Father.
Seeing Anna's naked drawing was too much for Simon, who snapped the journal shut. "Toss this trash into the fire," he ordered Lorimor after stripping himself of the Overlord armor. "There's nothing useful inside."
Simon walked out of the archive in an utterly foul mood. How dare his father and Thalas treat Anna like an object to be used and discarded for pleasure or influence? The mere fact that Balzam Magnos had done that to her, even in a reign erased from existence, disgusted him to his core, and the idea of Thalas forcing her to marry him only sickened him further.
He's his father's son, Simon thought as he walked out of Duchar's home. A rotten apple falling from a cursed tree.
He had to do something to help Anna, and he had an idea how to achieve that.
Simon closed the door behind him and froze in place.
Casval.
Casval was waiting for him in the alley outside Duchar's home.
It took all of Simon's willpower not to freeze in place. He had ordered Meredith and Leonard to ensure no one would follow him to Duchar's place, and they had managed to keep Thalas' posse at bay, but Casval managed to sneakily slip past their security perimeter anyway.
I knew he was a snake in the grass, and I still underestimated him, Simon thought before feigning a smile. "Casval, what are you doing here?"
"I was worried about you. These streets aren't safe." He almost managed to sound sincere, too. "Is that a woman's scent I smell on you?"
A scent. Sometimes Casval would use terms that gave away his inhuman nature, though most onlookers failed to spot them. Does he think humans could smell each other's presence?
"I'm meeting my girlfriend," Simon lied through his teeth.
"I see." Casval observed for a moment, his gaze calculating. "We are friends, right? Friends help each other. That is what friends do."
"Yes, we are friends," Simon lied. "What of it?"
Casval's smile turned predatory. "I have an offer for you, Simon."