Chapter 329: Prince Bernard
Chapter 329: Prince Bernard
"Angel is just a type of monster. They are unrelated to any kind of god." Victoria is the one who spoke.
"You know about angels?" I asked.
"Javier told me before, but he said that they are extremely rare and hard to find, so it's easiest to not look for them." Victoria said.
"I know where they were though. But it has been a thousand years, so I don't know if they still in the same location." Spot said.
"Then, once I leveled up, let's go check that place first. For now, we'll go find this Bernard."
Riding on Spot's back, we arrived at the town where we supposed to be able to find Fabio's brother at. He's supposed to be a general. I guess he should be somewhere where the guards are stationed.
There's no need for me to enter the city normally since I might be gone by after visiting Bernard. But how will Fabio convince him?
First, let's see if there are any cult members here.
Hmm… from the look of it, the number of cult members in this city is much less than in other cities in Arturo. Not even ten people have explosive devices in their mouth. And among those people, none of them are the guard, or have respectable position. Just travelers or hunters. I guess this place is not a strategic location for the cult members to gather.
Maybe because this Bernard is battle-crazed, he chooses to fight nearby monsters himself or with the guards. That's why the number of hunters is much less than in any other cities.
I guess I can ignore everyone else but Bernard. Now, where is he?
I tried to remember Fabio's description of him. He's a short adult man whose height is barely 140cm. He likes battle, but he's weak so he's losing all the time. What a weird person. And he's supposed to be older than me?
He should realize his own weakness. Well, I don't mind as long as he's someone we can trust.
And I easily found this guy. He's inside a mansion in this city. He's sleeping with a pregnant woman. I guess he's married in the time after Fabio faked his death. Is his personality the same?
Should I meet his wife as well? I don't think I should yet. For now, let's wait until he's alone to approach him.
I don't know where to wait, so I just intrude into his mansion and wait until he's all alone.
After waiting only for a while, he wakes up and left the bedroom. I'll follow him. Good thing there are not many servants in this mansion. There are many hiding spots for me.
He's coming this way. I look around to see that there's only the courtyard over here. He might be going there, so I go over to the courtyard and waited for him.
Just as I thought, he entered the courtyard. There are no one else here. The servants are busy inside the mansion, and I don't think there are any expert level who can sense us here. Should I greet him right away?
"Heh! You think I don't know that you're hiding there! Come out and let's fight!"
Suddenly, shorty Bernard said that. Don't tell me that he noticed my arrival? Doesn't that mean he's an expert level mage? I thought that he's weak.
Should I come out of hiding?
As I was about to leave my hiding spot, Bernard did something unexpected.
"What do you want from me?"
Hmm? Why didn't he wait until I come out to say anything?
"I know you're there! Come out!"
…don't tell me that he's…
"There's no one who can hide from me!"
I looked at him closely, and see that he's not looking at me. in fact, each time he spoke, he looked at different location.
…I guess he's just stupid.
"Hmm… I need to be more intimidating. Let's try this one. Show your face or face the consequences! That's not enough."
Oh, god! This is embarrassing to watch! I'll just come out now.
"Actually, I've been here for a while already." I said as I come out of my hiding spot.
"…"
"…you're Prince Bernard, right?"
"Wait a minute. I need to manage this embarrassment first. You should have come out when I first spoke so I won't be this embarrassed." Prince Bernard said.
"…take your time. While waiting, I have someone who want to meet you. I'll bring them to you." I said.
"Ah, okay. Wait! Are you an enemy!?"
Suddenly, Prince Bernard prepared to cast a magic at me.
"Come out and let's fight!" I said, copying the word he said first.
"Gyaaah! That's embarrassing! Stop that!"
Let's ignore him and contact Sonia to tell Fabio that I'm ready.
Soon, Sonia returns and tell me that Fabio and Queen Carmen is ready to meet Prince Bernard. She also said that Albert is ready anytime.
So, while Prince Bernard is recovering from his embarrassment, I opened two portals to let Fabio, Queen Carmen, and Albert to come.
"…he's Prince Bernard?" Albert asked.
"…yes. He's my brother. What happened?" Fabio asked.
"Many different versions of 'I know you're there!'"
"Don't remind me again! Oh, who are you people and how did you get here?" Prince Bernard asked.
"Did you forget about me?"
Fabio took off his wig and show his red hair to Prince Bernard.
"Brother Fabio! You're still alive! And… Oh! Queen Carmen!" Prince Bernard was shocked to see that his brother is still alive.
"Just call me mother. Your mother is a good friend of mine. Shame that she died early. But it's good since she doesn't have to experience the same thing I did." Queen Carmen said.
"W-what happened? How did someone who is supposed to be dead is still alive!?"
And this is where Fabio explained everything, while Albert decide whether Prince Bernard can be trusted or not. This will keep happening many times again in the future, so I need to get used to this. But it sure is boring when they explaining things, and I have nothing to do. And when I'm the one doing the explaining, I'm too lazy.
Let's just hope that everyone we explained to can be trusted.
"That's what make him decide for us to fight for the throne!?" Prince Bernard shouted.
"That is exactly what the real father himself wanted in case I really died before taking the throne. He has told me that is what he's going to do just in case." Fabio said.
"Anyway, you don't look as battle-crazed as I expected. Do you really love to fight?" I asked Prince Bernard.
"After the news that brother Fabio died, I change. I was about to get married back then. And now, I'm married and my wife is pregnant with my first child. I think I should be more careful with my own life and stop fighting as much as possible." Prince Bernard said.
"You're married!?" Queen Carmen was shocked to hear that.
"We didn't announce it because of the situation. The two of us left the capital under the pretense that we're going to fight for the throne and show my ability to rule this city. But I have no intention to be a king. I just want my child to live peacefully. But it seems that's impossible. I'll help you as much as possible. Anyway, are you going to talk to our other siblings?" Prince Bernard asked.
"If possible, I would. But I don't know if I can trust many of them at this moment since they willingly followed the impersonator's order. I believe the one who will end up to be the next king will be another impersonator. Or worse, our own siblings have joined with the cult. For now, our goal is to rescue the real father." Fabio said.
"I see. Then, are you going to leave now?" Prince Bernard asked.
"Yes." Fabio replied, but that's not the answer I want to hear. So, I denied that.
""No.""
Not just me, Albert seem to have something we need to do first. I let Albert speak.
"I think it's best to introduce ourselves to your wife first since Fabio, Queen Carmen, and probably King Harold himself will stay here. I think it's best for the three to stay here, but only after King Harold's condition is good. Until then, he will be under my… or his friends' care." Albert said as he pointed his index finger at me.
"As for me, I need to kill the cult members roaming in this city to make sure that this place is safe. We need a safe place from the cult inside this kingdom. Albert, how about sending some of your people here?" I suggested to Albert.
"I'll do that. After you kill them all, return immediately. You also need to introduce yourself to Prince Bernard's wife." Albert said.
"Understood."
I leave the mansion to take care of the cult members in this city. So far, I didn't see anyone suspicious to be expert level mage, or higher ups of the cult who doesn't need explosive devices in their mouth. But just in case, I keep looking around for two hours before I return to Prince Bernard's mansion to greet his wife.
After meeting the wife, I took Albert back to Tatrama, and I returned back to Arturo with Fabio. As for Queen Carmen, she said that she will stay here in hiding. And to help Prince Bernard's wife as well through her pregnancy.
Next is to meet Fabio's other brother in the castle. I hope this will be easy.