The Lord Who Levels Up by Devouring - LLD Chapter 104: The Forgotten Truth (2) (Part 2)

He was clearly struggling with the decision.
Still, Kai’s sense of duty was just as strong as his loyalty.

Though duty could never surpass loyalty.

“The way we protect her is just different. Kai, make sure Serapia has a safe place to return to.”

“……Understood.”

Kai finally nodded with a low voice.
Seeing him like this, really…

Affinity ratings like [Trust] and whatever else didn’t matter.
To Kai, Serapia was his absolute priority.

‘Does he like Serapia that much?’

Was it just loyalty?
Or did he personally treasure her?
Or maybe it was some muddled blend of both, a feeling even he couldn’t fully understand?

I used Find Weakness [U]…
But it didn’t help much.
In short, I still couldn’t figure out why Kai was so obsessed with Serapia…

“I leave Lady Serapia in your care.”

…Kai remained just as unreadable in a different way.

A week passed in a blur.
The promised date to depart for the royal capital had finally arrived.

On one side, horses chewed on hay, ready to pull the carriages, while the soldiers did one last check on the wheels.

Preparations for the long journey were in full swing.

‘Finally!’

Serapia couldn’t hide her excitement.
A journey to the capital with just Adrian.
Well, technically, there would be maids and soldiers too, but…

…Anyway!

‘I’m so nervous!!’

Serapia took a deep breath.
Still, her mind was already overflowing with all sorts of imagined scenarios.

‘What if I talk too much and he gets annoyed?’

Maybe she should try the quiet type instead.
That way, if the silence got awkward, Adrian might start a conversation first.

Then naturally, they’d end up chatting in the carriage.
The thrilling tension when their eyes happened to meet.
And then, if she got sleepy during the long ride and accidentally leaned on Adrian’s shoulder…?

‘W-What should I do then!!’

Her cheeks flushed with anticipation.
Her heart fluttered with excitement.
She tried to calm herself with deep breaths, but her fingers kept fidgeting with the edge of her robe.

This journey felt like the perfect chance to grow closer to Adrian.
Maybe she couldn’t completely change his mind about leaving the house…
But she might at least move his heart a little.

Soon, the bustle around them quieted down.

The soldiers and maids had finished preparing.
They stood silently, waiting for the departure command—and just then…

‘Ah! He’s here!’

Adrian stepped out of the County manor and walked past Serapia.
Serapia hurriedly followed him in short steps, trying to get into the carriage with him.

“What is this?”

Adrian suddenly frowned.

“Why are you trying to ride with me?”

“Huh…? Well, because—”

“You ride the one up front.”

“Eh? The one up front…?”

She turned her head—and saw it.
Another carriage, a separate one far from Adrian’s.

“T-That one?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not riding with you, Brother?”

“There’s no time.”

Adrian closed the door in her face.

“Ah…! Aah…”

All that excitement shattered into pieces.
Her lips tightened.
Serapia forced herself to walk calmly.
Toward the carriage far from Adrian’s.
And somehow, the distance felt even farther than it looked.

“……”

Serapia’s small shoulders slumped without her realizing.

Inside the rattling carriage.
It wasn’t moving particularly fast.

‘If only we had an Aether Carriage.’

Aether Carriage —a vehicle powered not by horses, but by Aether.

With its superior speed, it could cover the trip to the capital in just two days.
And that wasn’t all.
It optimized supply storage, had internal magic circuits for auto-repair, emergency shields, shock absorbers…

The Aether Carriage was a blend of convenience and military utility.

It was one of the key reasons the Supply Command never ran out of supplies.

Unfortunately, at this point in time, it couldn’t be made.
No technology, no understanding of high-level magical engineering.

Even during my previous life, only one person could craft them—
The Hero of the Allied Forces, the master blacksmith.

In any case.

I watched the scenery of the County fade into the distance and fell into thought.
If this invitation to the royal court was the Empire’s doing… or if the Monarch of the Abyss was behind it—

“I don’t have any solid information right now.”

I didn’t know why Queen Marceline invited Serapia.
Nor what she planned to do with her.

But I did know why she sided with the Empire.

“To dethrone Leon, she must’ve made a deal with them.”

Leon wasn’t Queen Marceline’s son.
He was the son of a royal mistress—a concubine’s child.

The Battenberg Kingdom followed monogamy.
But the royal family was an exception; they had to produce heirs.
So it was allowed to have a “royal mistress.”

Still, they were only unofficial partners, not true wives.
Their children weren’t supposed to inherit the throne—

“But Leon was too exceptional.”

The Allied Forces said it themselves:

“If Ian didn’t exist, Leon would’ve been the Supreme Commander.”

Leon wasn’t especially strong in combat.
Not even close to Ian, or the other Heroes.
But with his leadership, he rose to become the field commander of the Allied Forces.

Leon’s abilities were real.
Even if he was born from a mistress, royal blood was still royal blood.
To take him down?

“She had no choice but to align with the Empire.”

The Empire likely funded Queen Marceline through the Dark Merchant Group.
In exchange, she turned a blind eye to their movements.

And so, in my past life, Leon was stripped of his right to succession.
The Battenberg Kingdom fell, broken apart by the Empire.

“All the truth was erased by the Monarch of Darkness.”

It was all forgotten—
But not this time.
Now, I could resist the power of Oblivion.
A crisis was also an opportunity.

“If I can make Leon the Crown Prince…”

The future could change entirely.
Leon, the Lion of the Allied Forces.
If I could give him power, he could be the game-changer that reshapes everything.

And it all begins with this journey to the capital.

A single flap of a butterfly’s wings could start it all.

“Time to prepare myself.”

There was a chance I’d run into the Monarch of the Abyss in the capital.
And Queen Marceline’s court…

Going in blind like this was like sticking my head in a dragon’s mouth—
But it was fine.

After returning to the past, this moment—
Before the Emperor had made any big moves—

The continent was still home to rare monsters in the wild.

Like those with:

Fluidification – reducing body friction for swift, smooth motion

Night Vision – seeing clearly even in pitch-black darkness

Camouflage – blending perfectly with the environment

“Let’s see…”

I went over my past-life memories, listing out all the rare monsters with useful abilities I could use Predation [S+] on during the trip to the capital.