Chapter 137
Chapter: 137
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 137
>Chapter Title: Labyrinth (6)
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>“What do you mean by the young lord’s trap? Is it somehow related to how Your Highness suddenly appeared out of nowhere? Some kind of device?”
“I don’t really know what that guy did either. I was trapped somewhere with Orden and barely managed to escape. For now, shouldn’t we just find him and ask?”
“But what did you do to the young Lord Scarpino for him to pull something like that?”
“Hey, what could I have possibly done? I’m the innocent one here! Listen, the truth is, Ricardo was scheming from the very start…”
Orden stared blankly at Prince Mores, who was getting heated in his explanation, when his subordinate Hermann approached cautiously.
“Are you alright, Lord Orden?”
A faint guilt flickered across the face of the subordinate, who wasn’t usually all that loyal. It was as if he felt bad for letting the archduke end up in such a state.
It couldn’t be helped on his end. He’d been ordered to gather information at the gathering as best he could and otherwise stand by without further instructions.
On top of that, what danger could there be for someone of Orden’s caliber at a mere social event?
“Who would’ve thought even that young prince would get the better of you…”
“That’s…!”
Orden’s lips twitched, but in the end, he clamped his mouth shut without a proper retort.
He might not have known he’d been flung to another dimension and back, but he at least understood that what Ricardo had done wasn’t something an ordinary person could pull off. The situation reeked of involvement from the Dark Church or demonkin.
The mere fact that a scion of the great Scarpino house was tangled up in such depravity would send shockwaves through the capital.
That was why he and Prince Mores had agreed to keep quiet about the details until they could confirm the connection to the Millow Trading Company.
Orden rubbed his dry face with his hand for a moment before asking,
“…What about Ricardo Scarpino?”
“He hasn’t been seen since midway through the gathering. The butler said he had urgent business and stepped out briefly.”
“Urgent business?”
“Yes. Of course, our people kept a tight watch on the surroundings without any gaps, so it’s certain he hasn’t left the estate.”
Hermann looked at him with a touch of worry.
“I’ll have someone look into it more thoroughly, so for now, Lord Orden, please head back to the estate and get proper treatment. You look in really bad shape.”
“Yeah, I will.”
Answering that, Orden lifted his head and looked toward the Holy Imperial family members clustered together.
More precisely, at the face of the beautiful Princess Amelia, who was smiling softly at her younger siblings.
“…But Hermann.”
“Yes, Lord Orden.”
“Do you know? Amelia… Amelia’s face looks so happy…”
“…Good grief.”
Hermann sighed.
He couldn’t fathom why his usually overly serious and gruff superior turned into such a fool whenever it came to that princess.
At that moment, as if sensing their gazes, Princess Amelia turned around. Then, to their surprise, she turned fully and slowly walked toward them!
Orden froze stiff at the sudden turn of events.
“Archduke Sigismund.”
Finally drawing near and looking down at him, Amelia’s gaze was gentler than ever before.
“I heard from Mores. You tried to help him, didn’t you?”
Orden replied in a deflated voice.
“…In the end, I wasn’t much help.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that you stepped up for my little brother.”
With that, the princess curved her lips into a soft smile. Though faint, it was enough to brighten the air around them—even Hermann held his breath for a moment.
“Thank you so much, Archduke.”
“……!”
It was probably the first time he’d ever received such kind words from the princess.
Orden’s face crumpled with emotion despite himself.
Meanwhile, the scolding of Seongjin from the Holy Imperial family continued.
“You sure cause a lot of trouble on the sly. No wonder Amelia’s always worrying about you.”
“What’d you say, punk?”
As Seongjin bristled, Masaine frowned from the side and clicked his tongue.
“Indeed. In any case, Your Highness makes it impossible to let our guard down. Even though I came along precisely for that reason, you turned things into this mess the moment I looked away!”
“No, Sir Masaine. Why is it always my fault with you?”
Of course, if one traced it back, all of this stemmed from Mores’s past misdeeds.
Even so, Seongjin felt wronged.
“Anyway, enough of this here. Let’s head back to the imperial palace. I’ve got something to say, so I need to stop by the central palace and see Father.”
As Seongjin started walking, Logan quickly blocked his path.
“Hold on first. Sit down here for a sec.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll give you a quick treatment. You’re pretty banged up too, aren’t you?”
Huh? Seongjin was quite taken aback.
Sure, his leg hurt a bit. But he thought he was moving around pretty normally—how had he noticed?
“No, this’ll heal if I just rest a little…”
“Mores.”
A cool voice cut in from behind, and Seongjin turned around with a flinch.
The gray eyes staring silently at him exerted a wordless pressure, reminding him uncannily of someone he knew well.
“You’re limping like that, so what nonsense are you spouting?”
No, she could really tell?
These people with their sharp eyes!
“Anyone can see you’re a serious injury case right now. Do as Logan says.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
Frightened for no reason, Seongjin meekly plopped down on the ground. Logan set his sword aside beside him and placed a hand on his leg.
Soon, radiant holy power poured down, and the pain in his leg began to fade.
Masaine, watching with a stern expression, asked,
“Is it serious, Your Highness?”
“I’ve done emergency treatment for now. But it’d be best to avoid overexerting and let him rest for the time being.”
“I see.”
Nodding, Masaine turned to Seongjin with a strict tone.
“You heard Prince Logan, right? Where do you think you’re going to the central palace in that condition? I’ll carry you to the Pearl Palace, so forget about walking on that leg today.”
“What?!”
Seongjin was floored.
No, people! It’s already totally fine! It doesn’t hurt at all!
Why were they treating him like a baby?
“That’s not all, Your Highness. No training for the whole day tomorrow. Understood?”
“But Sir Masaine? I’m really…”
As Seongjin tried to protest, rebukes poured in from both siblings at once.
“Listen nicely while we’re asking!”
“Don’t even think about training!”
“Uh…”
Seongjin blinked.
What was this? Why was he getting treated like this by them?
[Tsk tsk. With your personality in such shambles, no wonder you’re clueless about others’ feelings. Can’t you tell they’re worried about you as family?]
Lately, he’d been thinking it often, but this Demon King guy had an annoyingly deep understanding of humans.
‘No, but isn’t this worry a bit over the top?’
[You’re telling me. What’s so precious about this little shit that they’re fussing like this…]
‘…’
Seongjin blankly looked up at the siblings and Masaine.
Their differently colored eyes—all three shades—gazed back at him with identical looks of concern, as if watching a child by the water’s edge.
“Haha…”
Maybe because the situation was so absurd, a silly laugh escaped him for some reason. When had humanity’s strongest hunter, Lee Seongjin, ever been babied like this?
*-Just means you’ve got this many blood relatives around you now.*
Come to think of it, the Holy Emperor had said something like that once.
Back then, he’d thought of them as annoying, bothersome connections.
For some reason, though, rubbing shoulders with them didn’t feel half bad, Seongjin realized suddenly.
* * *
Young Lord Scarpino wasn’t found until late into the night.
The old butler, puzzled by the intact carriage, gathered the servants and searched the entire estate.
He had collapsed in one corner of the rear garden, surrounded by an unnatural amount of blood.
The servants initially panicked, fearing something dire had befallen the young lord, but his body bore not a single wound.
Carried to his room by the servants, Ricardo didn’t regain consciousness until late at night.
“The connection… the connection’s severed! No, no!”
Waking, Ricardo immediately flew into a panic, flailing about.
“Argh! I’m done for! It’s all over!”
Frightened servants grabbed hold of him as he thrashed.
“Young master Ricardo! What’s wrong?!”
“The guardian! He killed my mind! He’s completely cut me off from the great flow!”
“Young master, what are you…?”
“Sigurd! Sigurd! Where is he? Please, bring him to me!”
It was a far cry from the young lord’s usual refined and gentle demeanor.
The waiting physicians rushed in, and the pale-faced old butler hurriedly summoned a healing priest in the ensuing commotion.
Ricardo’s frenzy dragged on for quite some time.
By early dawn, finally calming, he burrowed under the covers on his bed, curled up.
Yet he wasn’t quite back to normal—his hollow eyes darted fearfully, his body trembling.
Unable to stand it, Isabella approached with a worried face.
“What’s wrong, brother Ricardo?”
Ricardo clenched the blanket tight, his teeth chattering.
“Ahh, it’s frightening. So frightening, Isabella.”
“What’s so frightening?”
“My connection to the exalted mind is severed. The link to the great tale, at last…”
Muttering thus, Ricardo’s eyes shook without focus, drifting this way and that.
“Nothing’s visible anymore. Everything that was so clear is now shrouded in thick veils, so vague…”
“Brother.”
“Is a mere human mind this pathetic? I can’t even see this world properly, let alone myself—like a blind man with eyes wide open!”
“……”
“Ahh, Isabella! What should I do? I’ve become nothing in this universe. I, who should have been a tributary touching the mighty current, a pillar of the great law, am now reduced to drifting dust!”
Tears welled in Ricardo’s bloodshot eyes.
Isabella watched the sight quietly for a moment before gently taking his hand and patting it.
“I see. I understand. But don’t be too sad, brother.”
“……”
“Being suddenly expelled from the great order like that. It must be an immense sense of loss. I fully understand how you feel, brother.”
Her beautiful turquoise eyes gazed at him, filled with deep compassion.
“…Isabella?”
Struck by her odd reaction, Ricardo turned to stare at her. Her face was strangely serene and peaceful.
She continued with an unusually soft smile.
[But you don’t need to grieve like that. Becoming part of the great order? It was never permitted to you from the start—you who were merely a midday puppet.]
Her flower-like red lips drew slowly near, whispering sweetly into his ear.
[It was never there to begin with, so you’ve lost nothing, brother. How fortunate is that? So forget it all now and rest easy.]