Abner couldn't help curling his lips into a smile at Xio's dazed expression. Then, he briefly told her how he had used Pride's identity to worm his way into George III's service.
Only then did Xio understand what had happened, but she immediately sighed and said softly, "So the person who framed my father really was His Majesty the King himself?"
Otherwise, there would have been no need for Abner to go to such lengths to get close to George III.
As she thought this, she glanced at Abner and continued, "Without your help, whether it was restoring my father's reputation or taking revenge, facing a king... the hope would have been so slim. I simply couldn't think of any way to accomplish something like that...
"Besides, my father had been loyal to His Majesty the King... Was he truly innocent when he was executed?"
At that, Xio stared intently into Abner's eyes, hoping for an answer.
Abner pulled her to his side and said solemnly, "Your father was a 'hero.' There is no doubt about that!"
When forced to choose between the person he served and the justice he upheld, Mason Dere, the former captain of the Royal Guard, had chosen the latter. Without question, he had been an upright man and a true knight.
Xio gave a soft "Mm," and her gaze gradually became resolute.
After some time had passed, Abner finally released Xio and asked with a smile, "It seems your simulated advancement ritual for becoming an Imperative Mage in Brave World was quite successful?"
Xio had not chosen to advance directly to Demigod in the Spectral Empire. For one thing, Abner had not given her Giuseppe's Beyonder Characteristic.
For another, the "world" in the Spectral Empire was not a real world after all, and nearly everyone