Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Darius and the Three Musketeers
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“Yawn.”
Deia slumped against my shoulder, resting her head there naturally as she yawned.
Even as I felt the warm weight, I pretended to scold her for the reckless behavior.
“You’re too close.”
“Hm?”
Deia merely whipped her head around, still leaning on my shoulder, to respond.
“Among everything in this prison, your shoulder’s the most comfortable to rest on, that’s all.”
“......”
“And this much skinship between siblings is totally normal.”
Her response was brazenly unapologetic.
If I had to think of sibling pairs, the only ones that came to mind were King Orpheus and Princess Elenoa.
They did seem quite close, so it made sense, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being fooled.
Deia whipped her head back around.
“Ah, not seeing your face makes it even more comfortable.”
Well, if that worked for her, fine.
I let it slide, and Deia let out a little chuckle before bringing up the grand mage from earlier.
“What are you gonna do?”
“......”
“He said he could help us break out. If we just hold hands, we can escape without anyone knowing, right?”
The grand mage Rockpellican had secretly visited me and Deia with a proposal: an escape plan.
Surprisingly, he offered to take our side.
He apologized, saying that this treatment was too unfair for someone like me who had overcome nearly impossible trials.
Unable to give an answer right then, I only got a promise from the grand mage that he’d return later before he left.
Normally, one would grab the offer gratefully and thank him profusely.
But I viewed Rockpellican’s proposal with some skepticism.
“Is that offer really for our benefit?”
“Huh? What’re you talking about?”
Deia pressed harder on my shoulder, as if demanding an explanation. It felt like she was throwing a tantrum for a quick answer, or protesting that I was being too vague.
Feeling her weight, I shared my honest thoughts.
“Grand Mage Rockpellican is fiercely loyal. He’s the closest of the close aides who’ve served from the previous king’s time.”
Rockpellican and King Orpheus shared more than just a king-and-subject bond.
The grand mage had educated a young Orpheus, who in turn revered him like a soul mentor.
They were practically family, so Orpheus kept no secrets from him.
“Hmm?”
Deia hummed in admiration, as if impressed that I’d figured it out so quickly, but I was just reciting what I’d seen in the game.
“All of Rockpellican’s actions start and end with the royal family. In other words, King Orpheus.”
If Magic Judge Tairn All Bellocus pledged his unwavering loyalty to the nation, Rockpellican’s loyalty was to the Griffin royal family—specifically, Orpheus.
That was a crucial difference.
‘Tairn wouldn’t let something like this slide.’
He wouldn’t overlook a black mage supported by the royal family who massacred citizens, nor the fact that he carried royal blood.
Rockpellican was different.
For King Orpheus, he could turn a blind eye, stay silent, and tolerate such matters.
‘For a man like that to defy the king’s orders and try to free me?’
I could say it with certainty.
No way in hell.
This required thinking in reverse.
It wasn’t because I seemed wrongly imprisoned that he wanted to release me.
I had become a massive headache for King Orpheus, and this was just a way to get rid of me.
‘He’s really agonizing over me.’
Whether to honor the promise and take responsibility, or draw the sword of silence for the sake of the royal family and kingdom.
It reminded me of Shakespeare’s Hamlet soliloquy.
Though the situation was different, twisting the words a bit:
To kill or not to kill.
That was the question.
Faced with it, King Orpheus was under immense pressure.
Rather than let him struggle, Rockpellican planned to release the problem itself—me—so he wouldn’t have to choose at all.
‘Not a bad flow.’
Unlike screwing up a route in the main story and ending up with mental illness from unresolved shock, this was clear.
He recognized his situation and was agonizing in torment.
No telling the outcome, but for now, it was time to wait.
* * *
“Huff, huff!”
Late into the night.
Darius breathed heavily without realizing it, calmly checking the sword at his waist.
It was a blade he’d carried his whole life, practically an extension of his body, yet anxiety made him check it repeatedly.
“Wow, never thought I’d infiltrate the Griffin royal palace.”
“It’d be nice if the boss was here too.”
“What souvenir should we grab?”
In stark contrast, the Scrap Merchants trio who came with him grinned like they were on a picnic, leaving Darius dumbfounded and bewildered.
This was sneaking into the heart of Griffin’s palace. How could they be so brazen? It was astonishing.
‘No wonder they hang around that crazy woman.’
They seemed normal enough in daily life, but once the lid was off, they were no different from Pindenai.
Was this how people changed to survive in the notorious Clock Republic?
‘Evolution, or just broken? Hard to tell.’
Thanks to them, Darius felt his tension ease a bit as he took a deep breath and looked up at the high wall.
The darkness hid their bodies naturally, but to infiltrate, they had to scale that massive royal barrier.
Using mana risked detection, so Darius planned to climb manually, loosening his hands as he approached.
One of the trio asked him.
“But are you sure about this?”
“About what?”
They’d been excited moments ago, but now came surprisingly sound advice.
“I get that your siblings are precious, but if this goes wrong, heads really roll. The whole Verdi Family could be wiped out.”
Darius paused at that. It wasn’t wrong.
This was breaking out two imprisoned siblings.
And one was a black mage.
A being the kingdom despised to the extreme.
Even for family, protecting a black mage could end not just with Darius’s head, but the Verdi history itself.
“Yeah, the family’s important.”
If asked Darius’s top priority, it was the family’s glory without a doubt.
The giants who guarded the northern mountains, the Verdi name was pride incarnate to him.
But two months ago.
The family had been exposed in all its ugliness and started anew.
Clenching his thick fist, Darius declared firmly.
“However, I’m not the only Verdi.”
“......”
“Those two carry the proud Verdi name as well.”
The trio snickered and chimed in.
“Just say your siblings are precious.”
“Yeah, no need to blame the family.”
“You’ve changed a lot since we first met.”
“Ahem.”
Darius coughed awkwardly, and one of the trio handed over the rope slung over his shoulder.
“Brought this just in case. We’ll get you inside, so just hook it on the wall.”
“Hm? You’re taking me inside?”
Puzzled, he watched as the three boldly positioned themselves right at the wall, forming a step with their hands for him to jump on.
Absurd and ridiculous.
“Hah.”
But better than climbing alone, so Darius went with the flow and stepped up.
“Hyup!”
Thanks to their perfect coordination, Darius leaped higher than he thought possible.
His body soared into the air.
He effortlessly cleared the iron spikes on top and landed swiftly on the other side.
“Ha.”
They must’ve done this countless times in resistance ops.
Skilled to the point of professional.
As Darius hooked the rope to the wall to support the trio’s climb—
“Hm, quite bold.”
A chilling elderly voice came from behind. Darius’s head snapped around with a creak, sword already drawn from his waist.
A beast-like strike.
Proving he wasn’t just any northern mountain guardian, Darius’s sword was razor-sharp.
Especially after his crushing defeat to Pindenai, he’d trained even harder and grown.
But like with Pindenai.
His opponent was brutally formidable.
Boom!
Before he could fully swing, a mana surge slammed him back against the wall.
Embedded like a painting, he gaped, staring at the one who’d subdued him in one blow.
“Impetuous. Completely unlike your steadfast, heavy younger brother. Excited because your siblings were captured?”
A staff like ancient wood, robes ornate to the point of mystical, white beard striking—an old man.
“To think you assumed the palace walls had no spells. If I hadn’t spotted you first, you’d be roasted by now.”
Archmage Rockpellican Rainer tsked at Darius.
“Have you come to rescue your siblings, Count of Northwedden?”