I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

Princess Illia, on the contrary, showed no reaction at all.

She clearly hadn’t even grasped what the words just spoken truly meant. Quietly, she blinked slowly, glancing around at those conversing nearby.
The reality must have struck her only after the handcuffs and shackles materialized from thin air and bound her tightly to the floor.
Judging by the mana gathered at her fingertips, it was Bellatrix’s doing.

"Uh…?"
Illia’s dazed cry echoed through the council chamber at the same time Carlyle shot up from his seat, the chair cracking under the force.
"Release her."

But the first to react was the Hero.
Expressionless, she drew her sword and leveled it at the Princess’s throat.
"Hero, you can’t do this to the Princess—she’s someone who exists to safeguard humanity—"

"I exist to cut down ‘evil.’ Not to be the Imperial Guard."
"Hero Gray."
Bellatrix sighed as she spoke.
"Why do you think I’m evil?"

"What else do you call someone tormenting the innocent? Don’t drag this out—"
"Why do you think that Princess is innocent?"
Gray’s brows twisted.

"What?"
"Do you know why that Princess was driven out of the palace?"
"Why would I care. I’m not interested in the Imperial family’s petty power struggles—"

"It’s not that. Sorry, but that Princess never had the base to take part in power struggles. At best, she was just a child, wasn’t she?"
Even with the Holy Sword pressing against her neck, Bellatrix spoke calmly.
"Every time Illia stayed inside the palace, she constantly drew in ‘Hell.’"

"...What do you mean?"
"When she wasn’t inside the palace but outside, it didn’t happen. But when she was inside, wherever she went, accidents followed."
Theodor added an explanation.

"She herself seems to be sensitive to that aura."
That was something Carlyle had confirmed with his own eyes as well.
Inside the palace, he had detected demonic traces that even he and the Holy Sword had overlooked.

"...I don’t understand what you mean. But why does that become a reason I must kill Princess Illia?"
"You see, Carli—the problem is why she reacts so sensitively to those things."
Bellatrix continued quietly.
"We’ve been observing that child for a long time."

They had exiled the Princess from the ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) palace, then monitored every incident connected to her whenever she had stayed inside.
Theodor added to Bellatrix’s words.
And the conclusion their research reached was—

"That child was corrupted from birth. Tragically so."
With those words, Bellatrix once again released mana from her body, overlapping it with Illia’s.
It was like scanning her entire form, detecting what lay within.

And when Carlyle saw what was drawn out, his pupils shook.
An impossible sight was unfolding before his eyes.
[...Damn it. This can’t be real…]

Even the Holy Sword’s curses made sense.
What had been extracted from Illia’s body was black death-qi.
Not false, but genuine, straight from Hell.

...Something that should never exist inside any living being.
The Holy Sword’s blade rang with a faint hum. Gray, holding the same relic, must have felt it too.
"..."

...He had never known.
He had lived by her side all this time, yet never imagined something like this could be inside her.
Could it be an illusion? That they’re playing some trick—

[No. If it were, I’d have told you immediately.]
At the very least—
As far as I can feel, it was real. That was what the Hero explained.

Which meant the credibility of the explanation skyrocketed.
"This child is a being ‘created from Hell’ itself. I don’t know what process she went through, but demons were deeply involved in her birth. Otherwise, how could a living creature harbor death-qi in its body?"
"I—I’m connected to demons—? What are you even saying, I, I can’t possibly—"

"...She may say that, but that Princess herself is a bomb. Neither my brother nor I have discovered the purpose behind such corruption."
Whether Illia’s reaction was genuine ignorance or deliberate acting—
Whether she knew the truth herself or not—

That was impossible to tell.

But at least one fact was undeniable: she was a being connected to demons.
...Even the Holy Sword said so.
"Which is why she must die. Here and now."

"..."
"That is all we ask, Carlyle Belfast. To prove that you too are not tainted by demons."
If he truly had no connection to demons, there would be no hesitation in killing such a thing.

Bellatrix fixed her serious gaze on Carlyle.
...Come to think of it, hadn’t she said earlier they needed a ‘safeguard’?
This must have been what she meant.

[...It’s not something I can deny.]
Gray’s voice groaned from within the Holy Sword.
[The fact they’re pushing this onto you instead of handling it themselves is sickening… but the reasoning itself is sound.]

What do you mean?
[There’s a chance she’s being manipulated without even knowing it. But the demonic energy inside her is real. That Princess is a bomb that could go off at any moment.]
So,

Carlyle asked in a low voice,
you’re saying I should kill Princess Illia now?
[...If it were me, I would.]

It seemed the Holy Sword was not lying.
You could tell just by what came next.
Gray, who had been following along with the explanation until now, suddenly froze.

And then—
With a stiff expression, she slowly sheathed her sword.
...Illia’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

"—Hero?"
For one as intelligent as she, it wouldn’t take long to realize.
That Gray had just—

Renounced the fight of her own will.
Declared she would not protect Illia.
That left only one person.

"Carlyle, Carlyle—"
Illia shook her head desperately, tears welling in her eyes.
"I don’t know anything, I really don’t—"

There was no sense of falsehood in her words.
...But still.
The demonic energy drawn from her body still drifted through the chamber.

And both the Holy Sword and Gray—those most sensitive to such things—testified that the Prince and Princess spoke truth.
Even Carlyle himself had believed it until moments ago.
But—

...Hero.
It felt as though ice poured through his veins.
His limbs tingled.

Is this really falling to me? Am I the one who has to kill her?
[...That would be the right thing. If it were me.]
…

[You cannot deny that the Princess is tainted by demons.]
It could still be a lie… couldn’t it?
[Not from what I feel.]

…
[And demons…]
The Holy Sword’s voice sank low.

[It’s not an unlikely scenario. You’ve seen firsthand how insidious Hell can be. Corrupting someone at the Empire’s very heart, or meddling in a birth to plant a living time bomb… such things are well within their means.]
...Even Carlyle.
He couldn’t deny those words.

And yet—
Until yesterday, no—
Until just moments ago, he had laughed with her, treated her fondly.

A companion. A friend.
And now he was to kill her with his own hands?
—Can I call you ‘big brother’?

...Suddenly.
A memory surged from the depths.

A voice he least wanted to recall at this moment.

"—"
He felt himself sinking, sinking deep. Reality blurred.
His head spun. Blood welled from his clenched teeth.

Once again—
He felt a sensation he never wished to recall.
The feel of someone’s blood staining his hands.

The blood of someone he never imagined would bleed because of him.
[And yet.]
Then suddenly—

A voice pierced through it all.
[I believe in you, Carlyle Belfast.]
…

[Do not act by me, but by what you believe is right.]
"—Hero."
[I believe not in myself, but in the conviction that changed me—yours.]

With those words—
His mind instantly cleared.
"…"

Carlyle closed his eyes.
—Never make a choice you’ll regret. Do you understand?
—Never lose yourself. Trust in who you are.
Come to think of it, those were the words he had just heard before entering here.

"…"
For a moment Carlyle was dazed.
Then he quickly rubbed his burning face.

Wow, Hero.
[...What is it?]
I’m an idiot. Maybe I’ve wasted all these years I lived.

What a disgrace, Carlyle Belfast.
After so many regressions, and still faltering in a moment like this?
[What nonsense are you spouting now?]

Nothing.
Carlyle chuckled bitterly to himself.
The situation had pressed on one of his trauma switches.

He had nearly lost the ability to judge calmly.
But really—
If he thought about it, the answer was obvious.

"Prince Theodor. Princess Bellatrix."
"...Yes, Carli. Are you ready? If you need more time, that’s fine."
"No. Not ready, exactly… I just needed a bit of courage."

"I understand. It takes courage."
"No, not the kind you’re thinking of."
"...?"

The Prince and Princess tilted their heads in puzzlement.
Carlyle let out a sigh.
Then he walked over.

He crouched down before Illia, who sat shrinking, her face still blank with disbelief.
"Your Highness."
"Carlyle, I—I don’t, I, I swear, I don’t—"

"Your Highness. I won’t kill you."
Illia’s face went blank.
...At the same time, Theodor and Bellatrix’s expressions turned grim.

"What are you saying? That you’ll leave a demon’s creation alive?"
But Carlyle ignored them, gazing instead at the air above.
The black demonic energy Bellatrix had drawn out still drifted, writhing.

The Holy Sword still rang faintly in response.
There was no doubt it was real.
The Princess. The Prince. Gray. The Holy Sword.

Even Carlyle himself, just moments ago, had believed it.
But—
"From the start, this is a lie."

It was worth building a different hypothesis.
"And I’m going to prove it right now."
Perhaps—

...Everyone in this chamber.
Had all been deceived by someone else entirely.