The Strongest Dull Prince's Secret Battle for the Throne-Chapter 703: Because of Me

“How are you feeling, Elna?”

Orihime was in Elna’s room which was located in the temporary royal capital of the Perlan Kingdom. The Allied Forces had decided to confront Wilhelm, but those who were exhausted from the recent decisive battle were staying behind in the temporary royal capital with Orihime being one of those among them. Though she had mostly recovered thanks to the medicine of the Dragon People, she was still not in perfect condition. Many others were in the same situation, and so Orihime found herself with time to spare.

“... How do you think?”

Elna, who had only her upper body propped up on her bed, replied tersely to Orihime. Orihime smiled at the fact that she had received somewhat of a response.

“A little while ago, you didn’t respond at all but now you can answer. That’s progress!”

“...”

Elna looked exasperated but Orihime didn’t mind.

“People overcome things step by step. Rushing now won’t help.”

“...I’m not overcoming anything.”

“Even so, you’ve started to accept it.”

Elna lowered her head at Orihime’s words. Orihime continued to speak to her.

“People eventually die. That is their fate. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be human. That’s why people live to the fullest. While Arnold always seems unmotivated, I believed that he was actually doing his best. It was a very human way to live.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Living life to the fullest is important. That’s what I do. If you want to believe someone is alive, you should live your life to the fullest too. Arnold is a trickster. Thus he has a higher chance of being alive than most.”

“That's just wishful thinking... Al was in the Supreme Commander’s room... And I was the one who dragged Al out…”

She wanted her childhood friend to be recognized by those around her. Al wouldn’t put in the effort, so she thought she had to do it for him. Since she kept telling him to achieve more, to be more active, that led to him becoming the Supreme Commander… and ultimately to this current outcome.

It was her fault. If he had just stayed in the castle, he wouldn’t have died and this was the result of her actions. She knew the risks, but she still pushed him to be more active and achieve more, thinking that she could protect him from any danger.

It was shallow and foolish confidence.

“It’s like I killed Al myself…”

“That’s arrogant. Arnold became Supreme Commander because he wanted to. He sought the position of Marshal and took command of the entire army because he believed it was the right thing to do at the time. Taking all that responsibility yourself is arrogant and is an insult to Arnold. You should correct that.”

If Elna’s words were true, it would mean that Arnold took a significant position simply because she told him to. He wasn’t that thoughtless. He must have made a deeply considered and determined decision.

“But…”

“Blaming yourself is easy. If you think everything is your fault, it becomes simpler. You can just feel down about it… But it’s rare that everything is entirely one person’s fault.”

Elna fell silent at Orihime’s words. Blaming herself was indeed easy, but she couldn’t cope any other way.

Orihime understood that too.

“By the way, this is about Prince Ansem.”

Orihime abruptly changed the subject.

It wasn’t out of concern but because it was something that Elna needed to know.

“Prince Ansem said there were some strange things about Arnold’s actions just before his death.”

“What do you mean?”

“Arnold sent reinforcements to Vinfried and as a result, Vinfried has been able to move freely since. But this reinforcement didn’t have a significant impact on the overall situation. It wasn’t a good move and Prince Ansem said he wouldn’t have done it, so he thought Arnold wouldn’t either.”

Arnold sent his nearby knight Finn to the battlefield and dispatched the reserve forces. It seemed like a reasonable strategy at the time, but in a war against demons, the number of ordinary soldiers wouldn’t have mattered much.

They couldn’t be overwhelmed by numbers alone, which is why Arnold immediately sent Finn to the battlefield. He must have known that sending regular troops to Vinfried wasn’t a good move… But if Arnold took that step intentionally, he must have had a plan—a reason to thin out the defenses of the Supreme Command Centre.

“That’s why Prince Ansem believes that Arnold was up to something.”

“What kind of plan?”

“I don’t know… And Prince Ansem doesn’t know either. It’s just a hunch. That’s why I believe that Arnold might still be alive. At the very least, I’m not convinced of his death and until I am, I’ll believe that he’s still alive.”

“Are you saying I should believe that too?”

“Do as you like. This is my issue. How you resolve it within yourself is your own problem.”

Orihime wasn’t there to persuade her, just to talk. She didn’t intend to lead her anywhere, only to share her own thoughts with her.

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“Well, I should be going. The Dragon People will be coming to give me more bitter medicine soon.”

“...Thank you, Orihime.”

“No need for thanks. If it helps you to look forward, that’s enough… But for now, you should rest. Eat well and sleep properly. It’s no fun if you’re bedridden.”

With a big smile, Orihime left the room quietly.

After seeing her off, Elna sighed.

“You’re surprisingly caring, aren’t you?”

“I-I was just passing by…”

No-Name, who had been hiding in the room, revealed herself.

Then she spoke.

“You seem a bit better.”

“I haven’t been able to sleep well with all these visitors…”

“It’s a sign of how well-liked you are.”

“They just don’t want the hero to be bedridden.”

As she spoke, Elna stared at her hands. She knew she couldn’t stay like this, but she couldn’t muster any strength in her arms. The fire in her heart had gone out and now she was no longer a hero, a knight, or even a swordswoman.

She had lost her reason to fight.

While many people had came over to her to try to rekindle her fire, none had succeeded.

“You know that you don’t have to force yourself, Elna?”

“I’m in a position where I have to… but it’s not going well.”

“Prince Arnold was a peculiar person.”

No-Name suddenly started talking and Elna listened. Talking about Al hurt, but still, she liked hearing about him.

“When people heard the news of his apparent death, they were shaken. But as time passed, more and more people began to believe that he might still be alive.”

“Al was a strategist.”

“He had the power to make people think ‘maybe.’ That’s how much he had accomplished. It’s a different kind of charm from Prince Leonard.”

After saying that, No-Name fell silent for a while.

Then she asked.

“If Prince Arnold were to appear now, what would you do then, Elna?”

“What would I do… I guess I’d first check if he was a demon.”

“I see…”

“Don’t worry. I just want him to be alive. That’s all I need. But Al hated being manipulated by others - He wouldn’t let the demons simply use his body, and he wouldn’t forgive me if I were to be fooled by it. So, it’s okay.”

The scenario of the demons using Arnold’s body to approach Elna was the worst-case scenario that the Allied Forces were considering and No-Name felt both relieved and pained by Elna’s words.

Even after the news of his death, Elna’s driving force was still Arnold.

After a brief conversation, No-Name left the room. She walked out of the temporary royal capital, heading for the west forest, the meeting place.

“Indeed, the meeting place is in the western forest.”

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