EP.198 The Curtain Falls (4)
The royal palace, visited after several months, was in chaos.
The First Prince, Izak, was missing.
The impact of the First Prince’s disappearance was enormous. Numerous nobles belonging to Izak’s faction expressed their intention to visit the palace, among them a countless number trying to connect with the First Princess, Lruiel.
“Those rat-like bastards.”
So said Lruiel about them.
“My brother has vanished. The royal bloodline now has only three left: one is on the battlefield, and the other is studying in Apuria… Leaving only me here in the royal castle.”
With an air of boredom or perhaps disdain.
“Is that why?”
She laughed derisively, sitting cross-legged.
“They’re lining up to throw me some fancy excuses. Praising me with flattery. To think they’d abandon their master overnight and start wagging their tails in front of me…”
Ha, she let out a short breath.
“These are no more than lustful beasts who threw away all honor and pride. Not a sight I care to behold.”
“Is that so?”
“It is, Professor. It’s been a while.”
In the office of the First Princess, Lruiel. I sat across from her at a table. She looked a bit tired, brushing back her platinum hair and pressing her temples.
“Though the situation is chaotic, your visit is a welcome one. And…”
Lruiel’s lips opened and closed, repeating a motion not typical of her. After a slight pause, she struggled to continue.
“…I heard about the incident that struck Apuria from Sir Kalt.”
Her voice softened slightly.
“I was told you’ve played a key role in solving the incident. And that you suffered significant injuries as well.”
“Not that serious.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“My condition is improving, and there are no permanent injuries. These days, potions are coming out really well.”
“…I heard it was life-threatening.”
“Well, I lived, so isn’t that good enough?”
I replied with a bitter smile to Lruiel’s lingering expression.
“I was just doing what I had to do. I would have done it regardless of whether I was asked.”
“…I owe you again.”
With softened gaze and voice, Lruiel spoke with a faint smile.
“Seeing your face puts me a bit at ease. I must have been rather overwhelmed.”
Perhaps having grown accustomed to her always commanding gaze and sharp voice directing orders, her gentle smile felt a little unfamiliar.
“…Overwhelmed? Because of that?”
I pointed outside the office. The voices echoing from just beyond the tightly shut door were quite loud.
『Princess Lruiel, please give us a chance…!』
『Just once, even once…!』
『Given the disappearance of Prince Izak and the King’s silence, it seems you should take some action…』
Loud voices from the nobles. Each one clamoring about their respective circumstances had become, to be honest, a bit annoying.
‘…Feels oddly familiar.’
I had the feeling I had seen a similar scene here just a few months prior. I pondered whether that could be the reason for her tired appearance, but…
“That noise is of no concern to me.”
Lruiel simply shook her head lightly.
“The sound of beasts barking has been familiar since my birth, or even from the time I was in my mother’s womb. While I might feel irritated by the familiar noise, I don’t tremble in fear.”
She slowly raised her hand. Her delicate, white fingertips wrapped around the teacup on the table. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on her fingers.
Shiver
Her fingertips were trembling. It wasn’t cold in the room. I raised my gaze to look at her face.
“…I met my brother in the hallway.”
Golden eyes filled with anxiety.
With a trembling gaze and a voice carrying a slight quiver, she spoke.
“I heard he had vanished without a trace, yet he walked towards me casually from across the hall, casting a shadow.”
“…Shadow, you say?”
“Yes, shadow. The hallway was dark despite it being daytime, and shadows swayed along with his steps.”
With her head bowed, staring at the teacup, she continued.
“It looked like my brother, but it wasn’t him. No, I began to doubt whether it was human at all. It was something… strange. Something alien.”
‘That thing.’
Words suggesting something not human.
“When it drew closer, dragging its shadow, I couldn’t move a single step. I couldn’t even breathe until that footstep sound vanished altogether…”
She caressed her neck.
“I had thought my brother was insane all along. Regardless of how twisted he was, I had believed he was still within the realm of humanity.”
But that was not the case.
Lruiel muttered.
“It was, it was…”
She lifted her head to look at me. Her eyes were trembling more than ever.
“What was that thing that was not human?”
“Well, we should find out.”
I answered as I reached out.
My hand covered the teacup she held.
Heating
The cold teacup warmed up to a suitable temperature. The trembling in Lruiel’s fingers gradually calmed as she held the warm teacup.
“…Thank you.”
Lruiel lifted the teacup.
She sipped the lukewarm tea, took a few deep breaths, and then set the cup down again.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Thanks to you.”
She smiled faintly.
“Now, you must have something you want to ask me.”
I nodded my head.
“Regarding the sentence written in the letter you sent, can you elaborate on that?”
2.
“My brother’s disappearance was followed by a foul odor overflowing from the Red Palace. As the knights searched the Red Palace for the source of the scent, a large number of corpses were discovered.”
“These were no ordinary corpses.”
“Their facial skins had all been stripped away.”
The letter I received from her.
“With the corpses, a red circuit was also found. However, it was not a usual circuit. I couldn’t fathom its purpose. It was a type of circuit I had never seen before.”
The following story of the letter was relayed through Lruiel’s words. To summarize what I’d heard:
“A large number of faceless corpses were discovered in the residence of the First Prince.”
And the problem did not end there.
“Like it had been painted with blood, an unidentified red circuit was found as well.”
“It was so. The court mages all shook their heads. It was a type of circuit whose nature was different from conventional circuits, so they could not identify it.”
Kalt, who walked beside me, spoke. We were walking side by side, heading toward the deeply restricted residence of the First Prince, the Red Palace.
“Is your outfit fitting well?”
“It’s comfortable. Fits nicely.”
I wore the same royal guard uniform as Kalt. Dressed in black, complete with a robe that could conceal my face.
‘They say only Hounds can cover their faces in the royal palace.’
Thanks to that, no particular disguise was necessary. It felt much more comfortable compared to the ‘uniform’ I wore while escorting Princess Lruiel last time…
“I thought you wouldn’t like how tight it is.”
Kalt mumbled, pointing at my skin-tight leather pants. I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
“At least it’s not a skirt…”
“…What?”
“Nothing.”
Flowing skirts.
A maid’s outfit adorned with frills.
‘Compared to that, this is nothing…’
I had no complaints. I was thoroughly satisfied, really.
“Here we are.”
How much had we walked? We stopped in front of a firmly shut door. Kalt raised a magic tool towards the door, and it creaked open.
“I’ve left someone behind for about an hour. You should be good to confirm within this time. Do you need more time?”
“An hour will be enough.”
I pulled off my gloves.
“I’ll wait by the door.”
I nodded and stepped inside. The moment I did, a whoosh of foul odor rushed in. It wasn’t the stench of rotting corpses or blood.
‘…This is.’
The smell of drugs.
The acrid stench was artificially created. I followed the scent further in.
‘The very depths of the Red Palace.’
The place where the First Prince resided.
As I’d been told, a large number of corpses were stacked there. The corpses with their facial skins torn off were grotesquely contorted.
‘It looks like someone was trying to make a puppet.’
With that thought in mind, I moved deeper. I navigated past a heap of corpses towards the innermost part of the Red Palace. The stench grew increasingly pungent.
And then.
“…….”
I arrived at my destination.
Stopping in my tracks, I lifted my head. Beyond the wreckage that seemed to have demolished the walls in the deepest part of the Red Palace, there it was.
A circuit drawn in blood.
A gigantic circuit engraved on the wall.
I silently stared at it. Certainly, it was different from the common circuits. It was no wonder the court mages couldn’t decipher it.
“….An ancient kingdom’s circuit.”
This was a circuit made in a long-buried ancient kingdom. The way it was engraved and the method of circulating mana differed entirely from today’s circuits.
The ancient lich, Skebal, used it.
You could find such circuits in various old ruins.
Nobody understood the ancient kingdom’s circuits. It was only natural; no materials for interpreting the circuits remained.
‘All information related to the ancient kingdom was burnt away, turned to ashes—literally.’
Even if one encountered something related to the ancient kingdom, one might guess it originated there, but it was difficult to determine its meaning.
Still, it wasn’t impossible.
I approached the wall with the engraved circuit. One step, then another. Finally halting before the wall, I reached out my hand. I traced the circuit with my fingers.
‘I’ve encountered this a number of times.’
From the ancient lich, Skebal.
From the ruins left by the heretic, Gletus.
From the records of archaeological investigations in the Ashen Tower.
I had previously encountered the ancient kingdom’s circuits and had experience researching them. Of course, the results of my research weren’t great. Fully interpreting the ancient circuits was still impossible.
‘However.’
If I assumed the ancient circuit were a sentence.
“I should at least be able to read the context.”
From the lengthy sentences composed of numerous words, I was able to interpret ‘a few words.’
‘A few words and interpretations through these words.’
Essentially, it was akin to educated guessing.
But regardless of how ancient the circuit was, it was a circuit used for casting spells. Following the flow of words and words written, one could see the direction the spell would take.
Rustle
I traced the wall.
I felt the texture of the circuit and interpreted the words placed at the intersections of lines.
『Connect.』
Connecting.
『Life』
Life or lifespan.
『Blood.』
Blood.
『Acquire.』
To take or capture.
“……..”
I slowly lifted my head.
Taking a step back, I tried to take in the entire circuit. Then, I arranged the words I had read in the order that mana circulates through the circuit.
『Blood』 『Acquire』 『Life』 『Connect』
Just a bit more.
『By acquiring blood, it connects life.』
Smoothly.
『By acquiring kin, it connects life.』
Again.
『By stealing kin, it connects life.』
Thus.
“Kin.”
I uttered the completed sentence.
“By stealing kin, it connects life.”
3.
“I’ve found it.”
In a hidden room deep within the royal castle.
A place untouched by anyone.
Adorned with human corpses and bones, and decorated with facial skins, there stood a throne. On that throne sat a human.
“I finally found it.”
The voice of a human echoing with joy. It wasn’t just the voice of a human that resounded.
『Why did you call the Braver?』
The swirling darkness.
The lich hidden there cast a shadow over the throne.
『It interfered. A plan that was on the verge of success was disrupted by the Braver. Do you have anything to say about this?』
“That’s why it’ll be more interesting.”
『Interesting? You messed up for that pathetic amusement?』
The lich’s mental aura trembled with rage.
Yet, the human merely chuckled.
“Oh, come on now, Skebal, living for over a thousand years makes one thirst for amusement. I thought you would understand me.”
『Wanting to be understood by you? That’s a laugh.』
“Everyone wants understanding. Whoever it may be.”
The human sitting on the throne wore an unknown smile.
“Even the first Ashen, who endured centuries of life, and that child entrapped in darkness for centuries, and the first saint driven to madness—all of them desire understanding.”
So did I.
The human said this while spreading their arms wide.
“Imagine, Skebal! A Braver, resembling the first saint! In madness, he endured a hundred years of life. It’s certainly something to praise.”
With a voice drenched in joy, he passionately spoke.
However, that was far from praise.
“——So.”
It was mockery.
An almost derisive laughter.
“When that hundred years of life becomes utterly meaningless, it shall indeed be sweet, no? I merely wish to witness that.”
『That’s a perverse taste.』
“Thoroughly.”
Crack, the throne twisted.
The fingers of the ancient lich began to crack the throne apart. A nervous mental aura shook the surroundings.
『I did not come here to exchange philosophical musings with you. I came to hold you accountable for your failure.』
“Oh, Skebal, you humorless fellow.”
Shadows writhed under the human’s feet.
“We should look at the bigger picture, shouldn’t we?”
The human was merely a vessel to hold shadows.
“A number of pieces have gathered.”
The human laughed.
“A number of starlights have gathered.”
The shadow dressed in a human mask laughed.
“It’s been the first time in centuries. Do you still not understand the meaning of this?”
『That means…』
“It’s time to move on.”
Next.
“It’s time, then again next.”
As if mocking the words left behind by someone, the shadows swayed here and there. The tilted and swaying shadows flung the chess piece they’d been holding away.
A shattered knight.
A fallen bishop.
Countless pieces rolling on the ground.
And what remained in the human’s hand was the pawn.
“A pawn that has just begun to bear starlight, and will surely move forward greatly. Even now, this child shall continue to stride forth.”
A platinum-haired pawn.
“And it shall arrive at the end of the chessboard.”
The shadow gleefully seized it.
“We just need to wait for that day. Simply, we must remain patiently awaited.”
In a place where no one’s gaze reached.
Behind the stage.
Beyond the lowered curtain.
The black veil.
The shadow hidden behind the black curtain scoffs.
