Chapter 18 – Names and Truths
Xavier finally spoke, his voice cutting through the lingering notes of the failed song.
"…Sure."
His gaze was fixed on Ignes, sharp and unyielding. Despite the history hidden in his soul, he held his position like a shield, playing the role of the cold antagonist with practiced ease.
Ignes met that gaze, his crimson eyes as calm as a frozen lake.
"Yes."
Maximilian—Xavier's older twin—looked between them, his brow furrowed in genuine confusion. "Xav… why are you being so antagonistic toward Igna? He's only just woken up from a two-year sleep."
Xavier ignored his brother completely. His focus was a laser, locked onto Ignes.
"…Or are you simply against killing your own kind?" He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low vibration. "Isn't that right… Demon King Nyx?"
The room went deathly silent. The Dukes froze, and the air in the temple seemed to thicken with a sudden, heavy dread. To accuse a son of the Heart family of being the reincarnation of a demon sovereign was more than an insult; it was a declaration of war.
William's chair scraped harshly against the stone floor as he stood. "Xavier, stop talking nonsense! There are limits to what even a Prince can say."
Ignes, however, didn't look angry. He simply tilted his head, a flicker of distant, amused memory crossing his face.
"…Oh." He pointed a finger at the Prince. "Paperwork man."
Xavier's cold, imperial aura shattered instantly. He gripped the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white, nearly slipping from his chair in shock.
"…That is not my name," Xavier hissed, his golden eyes wide.
Ignes remained unmoved, his expression flat. "In the void, I asked for your name. You didn't tell me. You just kept writing in those glowing ledgers, dumping every scroll on my desk because you hated the bureaucracy. So… Paperwork Man it is."
Frederick suddenly leaned forward, his Emperor's mask discarded in favor of pure, wide-eyed curiosity.
"When?" he asked quickly. "Before the apocalypse or after? And… did you actually fight him? Ignes… were you truly the Demon King?"
To Frederick, who had spent his first life watching anime and reading novels, the idea of his friend being a "Good Demon King" was thrilling rather than terrifying. He knew Ignes; if Ignes was a King, he was likely the kind who ruled with a sigh and a mountain of research.
Ignes blinked at the Emperor. "Wow, Frey. You're remarkably excited for a ruler whose Empire is supposed to be fighting demons."
William let out a long, suffering sigh. "Igna… at least call His Majesty 'Uncle'. Your manners have completely vanished."
It was only then that the Dukes truly noticed the shift. Ignes wasn't treating Frederick like a monarch. He was treating him like an equal. Like a peer.
Alexander was about to speak, but Ignes beat him to it.
"Alright," Ignes said with a shrug. "Then it's Max."
William looked like he was about to faint. "Igna! You cannot call the Emperor by his own son's name! Have you no shame?"
Ignes leaned back, looking bored. "That is his name. He simply happened to give it to his firstborn as well. That's all."
Frederick nodded, a nostalgic smile playing on his lips. "Yes, William. Max is indeed my name. My real name."
William blinked, his brain struggling to process the revelation. "…That is truly your name? From the other world?"
Frederick smiled. "Yes. And by the way—this is Izar. The one I told you all about."
William looked at his younger brother in genuine shock. He remembered the stories Frederick had told—of a talent that could make people feel as though they were flying, a mind that achieved the impossible in the world of medicine. "…Is that true, Igna? You are that Izar?"
Ignes nodded simply. "Yes." He then shot a side-eye at Frederick. "You didn't say anything weird while I was young, did you?"
Xavier, who had regained his composure but was no longer acting quite so cold, spoke up.
"…No. He didn't," Xavier muttered. "He just spent years describing how 'great and holy' your light was to anyone who would listen."
Frederick sighed dramatically, leaning his head on his hand.
"My own son… gone to the North for ten years… and now he returns and refuses to even call me 'Father'."
Ignes smirked faintly, a look of shared understanding passing between him and the Prince.
"Xavier is like that," Ignes said smoothly. "If your best friend from high school suddenly becomes your father in a new world… there's no way you're going to call him 'Dad'. He has too much pride to address a 'friend' as a parent."
The four Dukes watched the three of them, feeling more like outsiders in their own world than ever before. The war might have just ended, but a whole new world of secrets was just beginning to open.