Chapter 95
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95
“As expected, they’re following us.”
Lucian’s lips curled into a smirk as he spotted Godfrey’s party trailing them from a distance.
“I anticipated it, but I didn't think they’d attempt an assassination on the very first day. They must be quite desperate.”
“What are your orders? I can deal with them immediately if you wish.”
Felicia gripped the sword at her waist, her eyes sharp. She looked ready to charge and wipe them out the moment the command was given.
“Not here. Even if we take them out, we should lure them deeper inside first. It’ll make disposing of the bodies much easier.”
“True. It’s better to report them as missing rather than having to make excuses for a pile of corpses,” Hugo added, nodding in agreement as he reached into his tunic.
A moment later, Hugo held out several pieces of flint—one for each person.
“Here, take one each. You’ve all done well enduring the cold until now. As for how to use them…”
“You said to hold it and focus mana into it, right? I remember, so no need to explain.”
Recalling his conversation with Glen, Lucian began to circulate his mana. Soon, red runes appeared on the flint, and it began to vibrate faintly. Simultaneously, the chill that had been seeping through his skin vanished, replaced by a pleasant warmth spreading through his body.
“Impressive. It certainly lives up to being a tool crafted by one of Lord Blasker’s disciples.”
Lucian rolled the warming stone—which looked exactly like ordinary flint—in his hand, a satisfied smile on his face. Thanks to the thorough disguise, the magical artifact had passed through the baggage inspection without a hitch.
Feeling the warmth, Lucian glanced back at Godfrey once more.
‘You lot probably never intended to participate in the Hundred-Day Hunt properly from the start, but the same goes for me.’
If the enemy was openly cheating, why should he play fair and suffer for the sake of nobility? Unless it was a calculated move to gain public favor or legitimacy, such self-sacrifice was nothing more than narcissism. Foul play should naturally be met with foul play.
“Is everyone’s footwear working properly?”
“Perfectly, sir. It’s like walking on flat ground; I’m not sinking into the snow at all.”
“Good. Then let’s move.”
The moment he finished speaking, Lucian’s party began to traverse the snowy mountains with agility. Despite the deep snow that should have hindered them, their movements were incredibly light.
Lucian let out a short laugh as he watched Godfrey fall further and further behind.
‘Let’s keep this up for about five days.’
*
“…Why on earth are they so fast?!”
Godfrey grit his teeth, his eyes bloodshot. For over three days now, Lucian had been leading them on a wild goose chase, slipping away every time they got close. It was a speed that defied common sense.
“How can a brat who’s probably never even stepped in deep snow navigate these mountains so well?!”
Regions with unique climates required specific knowledge—how to endure the cold, how to traverse snow-covered terrain easily, how to preserve body heat while sleeping, and so on. Unless one was a local, these were things that usually required a great deal of struggle and experience.
Godfrey had assumed Lucian’s party, composed entirely of outsiders, would be caught in no time.
‘Instead, the gap is only widening. We’re going to collapse before we even catch them. Damn it!’
“Young Master, is it wise to keep pursuing them like this?”
One of his close retainers spoke up cautiously. Godfrey’s eyes snapped toward him at the unexpected sign of weakness.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying? We came here to kill him, and you’re suggesting we tuck our tails and run?”
“You know as well as I do, Young Master. This speed is impossible under normal circumstances. They must have come prepared with something.”
“…”
Godfrey fell silent at the retainer’s seasoned observation. Unless he was a fool, it was impossible not to realize it by now: Lucian’s party was using some kind of trick to stay ahead.
Just as Godfrey had no intention of participating sincerely in the Hundred-Day Hunt, Lucian had no intention of playing fair either.
“If it were just to gain an advantage in the hunt, it would be fine, but if they came with the same intentions as us, then in the worst-case scenario…”
“Enough.”
Godfrey cut him off, his voice low and heavy.
“So what? You want me to give up and just compete with them for trophies?”
“…”
“You idiot. This is our last chance to settle everything quietly. If we lose him now, it means a real war!”
For the Calix family, a full-scale war was the worst possible outcome. It might have been different if Lucian were alone, but he already had the full support of the Imperial Family. On top of that, families with grudges against Calix and various riffraff supporting Lucian’s legitimacy had flocked to his side. Even if they won, it would take an immense amount of time and resources, and the family’s power would inevitably decline compared to before the war.
“It would be putting the cart before the horse to ruin the family just to save my own skin. Sometimes, one must step forward even at the risk of danger. Stop talking nonsense and find a way to track them!”
At Godfrey’s firm command, the retainers bowed their heads in unison. However, no matter how much they racked their brains, they couldn't find a way to catch up. What could they do with their bare bodies against an enemy clearly using some kind of cheat?
Two more days passed without them closing the distance, and just as the party was reaching the limits of their exhaustion—
“Yo-Young Master! They’ve stopped! The distance is closing!”
“...!”
At the shout, Godfrey’s eyes snapped open. The targets, who had been moving constantly except for hunting, eating, and sleeping, had suddenly stopped?
“Go, now! We must catch them before it’s too late!”
“Yes, sir!”
The retainers dashed forward the moment the order was given. They were all too exhausted to even consider that this change in behavior might be suspicious.
*
“They certainly are impatient. Charging in with bloodshot eyes.”
Lucian remarked as he chewed and swallowed the last piece of rabbit meat. It seemed they had suffered so much over the past five days that they hadn't even considered the possibility of a trap.
Raymond, who had finished his meal earlier, spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice.
“They likely believe they are the hunters and we are the prey. Or perhaps they feel it’s too late to turn back even if it is a trap, so they’ve decided to just ram through.”
“Well, it makes things easier for us. I was getting tired of rabbit meat anyway.”
“Do you dislike rabbit, sir?”
“I don’t dislike it, but I’ve had so much of it I’m sick of it. It’s about time we changed the menu, don’t you think?”
He hadn't eaten rabbit for five days because he liked it. He chose it because it was the most common, easiest to hunt, and simplest to clean. When you have to move fast to avoid being caught, what else is there to eat but rabbit?
“Let’s try to catch a different animal today. If we look around, we should be able to find at least one bear.”
“You bastard! I finally get to see your face again!”
As soon as Lucian finished speaking, Godfrey’s curse rang out. Having approached within dozens of paces, Godfrey glared at Lucian with bloodshot eyes.
“What kind of trick did you use? How did you outrun us?”
“Using informal speech openly now, I see. Quite the mouth on someone standing before a Duke.”
“Duke? Who would recognize a title received by fawning over the Emperor? It seems you’ve secretly brought in everything you needed while pretending to follow Northern traditions. Have you no shame?”
“…”
Lucian stared at Godfrey, momentarily speechless. To think a man who came here for an assassination would lecture him about shame because of a little cheating.
“He’s insane. An assassin is asking me if I have no shame.”
“People with no conscience usually leave out their own faults when they speak,” Hugo remarked.
“He probably learned it from his father,” Felicia added.
As Lucian’s party took turns mocking him, Godfrey’s face turned a deep shade of red. But just before his rage could explode, an ominous sound echoed from the sky.
Rumble—
“What is that?”
Lucian instinctively looked up. A massive dark cloud, which hadn't been there moments ago, now loomed overhead. It was growing larger by the second.
“This is…!”
“Heh, it’s over.”
CRACK—!
A bright light flashed within the dark clouds—the precursor to a lightning strike. Having been briefed by Colin beforehand, Godfrey burst into laughter and shouted.
“Burn to death! You Imperial dog!”
“Tsk!”
Clicking his tongue, Lucian quickly pulled something from his tunic and tore it. At that exact moment, a blinding flash erupted from the clouds, and a massive bolt of lightning struck downward. The thunderous roar that followed a split second later was deafening.
BOOM—!
“...!”
Lucian’s party instinctively clutched their ears and staggered. The world momentarily turned white, making it impossible to see. A moment later, as their senses returned, they looked ahead.
“…What?”
Godfrey’s party, who had been shouting triumphantly just moments ago, was gone. All that remained were charred, black lumps of soot in the shape of humans.
While everyone stared at each other in bewilderment, someone walked up from behind. The figure, treading softly through the snow, pulled back his hood and bowed.
“Pleasure to meet you, Your Grace. I am Colin, a mage of the Celestial School.”
“Seize him.”
The moment the greeting ended, Lucian’s retainers lunged at Colin.
*
“Ugh, could you please loosen these ropes a bit? I can’t do anything now!”
“I wonder. You might use some strange magic to escape and then strike us with lightning.”
“There are very few mages who can do such a thing! It’s the same as a knight who can break chains with his bare hands.”
He’s not saying they don’t exist.
Lucian looked down at the mage, who was tied up tightly and shouting as if he’d been wronged. To be honest, Lucian was a bit confused. He had expected Godfrey to come for his life, but he hadn't expected the mage Godfrey hired to betray him and try to switch sides.
‘I also wonder why he came to me in the first place.’
From an outside perspective, Lucian currently looked like a perfect loyalist to the Emperor. Knowing how ruthlessly the Imperial Family hunted mages, no mage should ever seek him out. Yet, this mage named Colin hadn't even thought of running away and had revealed himself.
“I don’t know what you’re up to. Do you think you saved my life? Did you think you’d be protected if you swore loyalty and brought up a life debt?”
“How could that be? I saw your composure, Your Grace. You surely had a plan. You would have been fine even without my help.”
“You’re missing the point. I’m saying I would have been fine even if you had sided with him.”
“Pardon?”
Lucian threw something toward the blinking Colin. It was the remains of the paper he had pulled out and torn earlier. Colin stared blankly at the shredded paper before his eyes widened.
“A defensive scroll?!”
“Yes, that scroll. I received it as a gift from Sir Glen.”
Colin felt a chill run down his spine. The Protection School was one of the few officially recognized schools, alongside the Flame School. They were experts at defending against and disrupting external physical and magical interference. But for that Protection School to have crafted a single-use scroll rather than a stationary magical tool? Even if it were for a single, momentary effect, it was bound to possess immense defensive power.
‘If I hadn't betrayed him and had dropped the lightning on him as originally contracted…’
The exact defensive capability was unknown, but somehow, he knew by instinct rather than theory: it might have caused some damage, but everyone would have survived. And after Godfrey’s party died, his own head would have been the next to roll.
‘A benefactor if caught, a grim reaper if missed.’
Colin felt cold sweat trickling down his neck. He felt he finally understood, if only a little, what the words of the prophecy meant.