The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief in Exile - Chapter 99

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 99
“Pardon?”
A White Jade Ring—the symbol of a Salvation Priest’s ordination.
Flawless and pristine, it gleamed as though fresh from the craftsman’s hands.
“Ha.”
Olive let out a hollow laugh, snatched Saker’s wrist, and yanked the ring clean off.
“Wh—what—?”
“Inquisitor?”
Without sparing a glance at the bewildered priests, Olive examined the ring with meticulous care.
Then he slipped it into his pocket.
“…….”
“…….”
Saker, watching his ring disappear before his very eyes, and Cherdo, who had witnessed the whole brazen theft, both stood with their mouths agape in stunned silence.
It was audacity incarnate.
“Ah.”
Olive produced the ring again as though nothing had happened.
“The ring was simply too beautiful—I couldn’t help myself.”
“…….”
Saker stared at him as though he were witnessing the utter derangement of a madman.
“It appears to be a precious ring.”
“O—of course, Your Inquisitor.”
Fearing it would be snatched away again, Saker hastily slipped the ring back onto his finger and tucked his hand behind his back.
“When I endured the trials and learned Healing Magic, the Holy King bestowed upon me this ring as a mark of ordination.”
“Indeed. The ordination of a Salvation Priest and the ring that symbolizes it are always given directly by the Holy King.”
Olive posed the question.
“Has that ring always belonged to you?”
“What?”
“You’ve never lost it, never had to receive a replacement?”
“…….”
Saker stepped back warily, putting distance between them.
Rather than press further, Olive apologized once more for his rudeness and made his way to his guest quarters.
Once inside, he reached into his pocket.
And withdrew a ring.
A White Jade Ring, clasped in hardened fingers worn by years of rigorous training.
Immaculate white jade, pure as fresh snow, glimmered beneath the lamplight.
“Holy King.”
Olive’s eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the ring.
“You knew, didn’t you.”
* * *
The next day.
“It’s rather warm today.”
I fanned myself with a hand fan as I walked through the estate gardens.
“Ian, are you all right?”
“Holding up with Mental Fortitude.”
Ian had taken Verity’s place at my side.
Dressed in a heavy black winter suit as a disguise for an Undead, he looked pitiful.
“Even so, it’s not as difficult as expected.”
“Just watching you makes me sweat buckets…….”
“Want to take it off?”
“What, is this some sort of seduction—hoping to make me your concubine by undressing like that?”
“That’s fair. I shouldn’t have brought it up…….”
We arrived at a beautiful pavilion nestled in the Western Garden.
It had been built before the Duchess of Stria’s visit, expressly so she might rest here in solitude and comfort.
And the Duchess, graciously, had taken to the place.
Even now she sat there—alone, without even Kara her devoted lady’s maid—eyes closed, hands clasped tightly before her.
“…….”
“…….”
Ian and I exchanged a look without words.
And slowly made our way forward.
“Duchess.”
“Hebenia.”
The Duchess of Stria greeted me with the same warmth she always showed.
Yet I read the fear and dread written across her face.
I felt the guilt stabbing at my chest with crystalline clarity.
“Why have you come alone?”
“There’s something I needed to tell you, Duchess.”
“Tell me?”
“Yes.”
A sudden gust of wind swept past, and silver hair fluttered before my eyes.
I realized a moment too late that it was my own hair—transformed into a Magical Artifact.
‘Ah, I really can’t do this.’
I had changed my hair to win the Duchess’s affection.
And it had worked.
Yet I felt no joy in it.
Our plan was progressing steadily toward success, but instead of relief, I was crushed under the weight of guilt and indebtedness.
‘Using innocent people—it doesn’t suit me, does it.’
I had originally intended to keep the Undead servants until next spring.
That way, I wouldn’t have to face the steward.
But I had learned the true cruelty of that deception through the Duchess’s smile—the one that reached for her dead daughter whenever she looked at me.
I, who had been drunk on success and pride, felt deep remorse wash over me.
‘I won’t do this again.’
I had breathing room now, after all.
I couldn’t afford to cast aside my humanity.
Not for Izelium Village’s future—using everything and everyone that way was no long-term answer.
‘For those I hope will become my allies…….’
I too had to show sincerity.
Just as I had in the Deste Temple the day before.
Click.
After setting up a Protective Barrier around the Pavilion as a precaution.
“You were startled by the Undead, weren’t you?”
The Duchess’s expression, which had been waiting intently for my words, stiffened in an instant.
I offered her a bitter smile.
“It’s all right. These Undead have no aggression. They simply repeat the actions they performed in life.”
“H-Hebenia……?”
“Still, I’ve been standing guard as a precaution. Neither you nor Kara will come to any harm.”
…….
“Forgive me for the belated introduction.”
I glanced at Ian.
After confirming he was nowhere near, he nodded, and I unfastened the necklace I had worn around my neck all this time.
The gleaming silver hair shifted instantly to a deep burgundy.
“My name is Hebenia Clavis.”
The Duchess drew in a sharp breath.
“I’m likely the only surviving member of the Clavis Clan—confirmed alive from the Exile.”
As I fastened the necklace again, my hair turned back to silver.
The Duchess, stunned and rigid, came back to herself around that moment.
“Ah, ah……!”
The Duchess buried her face in her hands and wept.
I, alarmed, asked if she was all right, and she slowly lifted her head.
“Thank goodness……!”
She looked at me with tears streaming down her face and a trembling smile.
“I’m so grateful, so grateful……!”
Perhaps it was just my imagination.
But in the Duchess, who was weeping with genuine joy for my survival, I saw the shadow of Prince Aidellos.
“I truly had no idea what had happened.”
The Duchess explained the circumstances of the Clavis Clan’s destruction.
“The Imperial Knight Order suddenly surrounded the Clavis Mansion and shouted the most terrible charge—an Attempted Assassination of a Princess. Of course I didn’t believe it. The Clavis had no reason to do such a foolish thing.”
It seemed the Duchess too had sensed something was wrong about that incident.
“But the Clavis didn’t resist even once.”
Moreover, the moment she learned from her son, the Duke of Stria, that Collective Punishment would be applied, she immediately grew worried about my young self and my brother.
“But the Emperor carried out the execution without giving anyone a chance…….”
“…….”
“You were sent into exile.”
The entire process had taken less than a week.
“…….”
I had no words.
Ian, standing beside me, felt the same.
‘I’m hearing this for the first time.’
I’d spent countless hours trying to uncover how the Clavis clan had been destroyed.
But the Emperor had sealed the information so completely that I’d found not a single trace.
I couldn’t even wish it from Verity.
The Clavis clan head had made his wish first, which blocked me from learning anything about the Emperor through the Demon — and Clavis’s clan destruction fell under that same restriction.
The destruction of the Clavis clan was within that forbidden range.
‘But surely not here……!’
To think I’d stumble upon such precious intelligence now!
‘It really is true — you reap what you sow.’
The moment I’d resolved to do better, fortune had come knocking.
But what mattered now wasn’t the past destruction — it was what would happen next. I swallowed my regret and steadied my wavering resolve.
“Your Grace.”
I spoke.
“You’ve likely heard from the Inquisitor, but everyone employed here is Undead. They’re all people who were murdered unjustly.”
“Then the one behind it…….”
“Yes.”
To the Duchess, who seemed already to suspect the answer, I nodded.
“The Emperor.”
“…….”
“I know it’s dangerous, but I must ask anyway.”
I met the Duchess’s gaze directly.
“Please help us.”
* * *
After arriving at the Deste Estate, the Duchess of Stria visited the Sacred Shrine without fail every day.
Otherwise, she remained always in the Deste Mansion. Since it was a visit for recuperation, her sparse outings were hardly surprising.
Yet recently, another engagement had appeared on the Duchess’s schedule.
Plaza outings, to be precise.
“She frequently visits the antique shops to the east of the Commercial District.”
Late at night, Knight Commander Rashid reported this to the Crown Prince.
“Antiques?”
“It’s a district that was built around the same time as the Magic Engineering Academy. The oldest part of the Deste Estate.”
It was literally a street devoted to selling old books, worn Magical Artifacts, and various collectibles.
“Worn Magical Artifacts…….”
Crown Prince Pereus’s ear caught on that phrase.
Knight Commander Rashid, noticing this, continued.
“She visits primarily the Magical Artifact shops.”
“My mother used to enjoy magical engineering. Now that she’s old and idle, I suppose she’s haunting such places, grasping at memories of her dead daughter.”
The Crown Prince considered something for a moment.
“What about Hebenia?”
“Miss Hebenia remains at the Mansion more often. She followed along several times before, but hasn’t recently.”
“Good. I’d hate to lose Hebenia if something happened — I quite like her.”
An obedient, intelligent, beautiful child.
‘She’d make a decent Crown Princess.’
Once her aunt married Libuth in secret, the matter of her status would resolve itself.
The Deste Estate was wealthy — not a bad addition to his support base.
“If the Magical Artifact shop exploded, I could pressure the Magic Engineering Academy about safety standards.”
Knight Commander Rashid nodded at the Crown Prince’s words.
The Crown Prince, delighted, began humming to himself.
Behind the chair where he sat, the Undead he’d been playing with lay sprawled on the floor. Brass Scissors scattered across the ground.
The Undead that had protected Hebenia was there too.
‘Hardly entertaining.’
The Crown Prince lightly kicked at the fallen figures, musing.
‘Is it boring because I’m killing things already dead?’
* * *
That day, the Deste Estate was as ordinary as any other.
The only difference was the long queue that had formed once again in front of the Deste Temple.
“Please submit the number ticket you received when you made your reservation!”
“Good day to you. We are the Izel Trading Company, which created the Emergency Medical Box together with the Deste Temple.”
“We’ll process your payment right here!”
The people in line held small metal boxes in their hands.
An elderly woman turned to her companion, who was cradling a box.
“My goodness, is that it? The Emergency Medical Box?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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