Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Black Forest
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Argent Castle's office window was half-open.
The breeze slipping through the gap carried the scent of the plains' soil, but the tense killing intent from a few days ago had vanished like a lie.
The red army flags that had filled the space below the walls were now fading into faint dots beyond the horizon.
In the wake of the war clouds lifting, the languid sunlight of everyday life settled in, but a mountain of heavy tasks still piled up on Lilia's desk.
Scratch. Scratch.
The sound of the quill scraping across parchment echoed rhythmically. Lilia narrowed her brow, glaring at the documents spread before her.
The empire's administrative papers were either smudged with ink or reeked of the musty odor unique to aged parchment.
'A new emperor.'
She dipped the quill tip into the inkwell, murmuring it to herself. A collateral imperial with Atria Castle.
A rural noble who had never even crossed the imperial palace threshold, let alone carried the first emperor's blood. He would undergo the coronation and sit upon the throne.
A puppet monarch shaken by his brother, Duke Karls, who held the real power. It was an unavoidable choice.
With no legitimate bloodline to be found, someone had to sit on that seat to stave off the empire's chaos.
She sighed and leaned back against the chair. The leather backrest creaked under her weight.
Lilia was dressed in comfortable indoor attire instead of her usual armor or heavy formal robes.
Her deep navy silk blouse was buttoned neatly to the collar, but the thin fabric clung to her figure, revealing every curve.
She shifted in her chair, crossing her legs. The white pants wrapping her thighs stretched taut.
Her shoulders, exposed below the blouse, were slender and straight, but the curve of her breasts below boasted generous volume.
Her waist was slim enough to grasp in one hand, flaring out into rounded hips.
Lilia rolled her stiff neck and turned her gaze back to the documents.
Empire Imperial Household Expenditure Report - Last 10 Years
This was the data she had brought to uncover the truth behind the national treasury, supposedly squandered by the deposed emperor Batanias.
Feast expenses, jewelry purchases, concubine maintenance costs. Traces of extravagance and indulgence were everywhere, just as expected.
But her finger paused at a different entry.
Direct Territory Management Expenses: Black Forest
The amount was off.
'Too much.'
Lilia tapped the figure with her quill tip.
Hundreds of thousands of gold coins were being spent every year.
The Black Forest was abandoned land. A place infested with beasts and poisonous plants, uninhabitable by humans.
Yet the management costs there rivaled half the total for the imperial capital.
This wasn't just for guards or fences.
At first, she thought it was a fabricated ledger for Batanias's money laundering. But as she turned the pages, her doubts deepened.
Previous Emperor's 5th Year of Reign Expenditure Report
Emperor Before Last's 12th Year of Reign Expenditure Report
It wasn't just Batanias. His father, and his father's father before that.
Emperors across generations had poured vast sums into the Black Forest.
Even Urellius, the "Sage Emperor" hailed a century ago as the most upright and wise in imperial history, was no exception.
No, he had spent far more than Batanias.
Mere negligence? Or corruption?
Lilia bit her lip. Was it an imperial slush fund? Or was something hidden in that forest known only to emperors?
She rose from her chair and approached the window. Beyond the glass, a dark indigo shadow crouched at the eastern horizon's edge.
The Black Forest.
The deposed emperor was heading there now, under the pretense of escort in Roselia's carriage, but truly under guard.
If something was hidden in that forest, would Batanias know of it?
She had heard the news. At Helena's insistence, the actual negotiations in the Oath Room had been conducted by Batanias alone.
What if his insistence on exile to the Black Forest wasn't just to save his skin, but to pursue whatever was hidden there?
A chill ran down her spine. Lilia gripped the window frame tightly.
"No way it's mere coincidence."
She returned to her desk and closed the ledger. The leather cover shut with a dull thud.
Her gaze fixed on the Black Forest's position on the map. A green blank void, unmarked. That empty space seemed to gape like a mocking black maw.
"I need to look into this more."
The wheels of the escort carriage ground against the wet stone pavement of Argent Castle.
Each time the iron-rimmed wooden wheels scraped over the road's bumps, a jolting vibration traveled from my buttocks through my whole body.
The interior, woven from paulownia boards painted black, was surprisingly spacious, but the thick iron bars over the windows reminded me this was no mere transport—a moving prison.
Beyond the bars, the sky was shrouded in leaden clouds, and the empire's flags fluttering atop the receding walls hung limp in the rain-heavy wind.
I leaned back against the plush velvet cushion and stretched out my legs.
Just days ago, the cold weight of shackles had clamped my wrists and ankles; now their absence made my body feel light as if floating. Of course, it wasn't full freedom.
Roselia knights in armor emblazoned with red rose crests rode alongside front and back, and an imperial overseer sat in the driver's seat.
But the thick wool coat and leather boots replacing my prison garb at least afforded some human warmth.
"Not a bad ride."
I muttered to myself and stole a sidelong glance at Adella, seated across from me.
She wore light leather armor.
Instead of her usual heavy steel breastplate, she had on a brown leather jacket tailored for mobility, its cinched waist accentuating her toned physique.
The high collar revealed a hint of her collarbone, and her thigh-hugging leather pants were worn and frayed in places, molded perfectly to her muscular contours.
Her helmet rested on her knee, and her tousled brown hair was roughly tied back.
She stared out the window.
Her gaze seemed fixed on the frowning sky and her receding homeland, but the fingers tapping her helmet betrayed her tangled emotions.
"Captain—or should I say, Escort Knight now?"
As I spoke, Adella slowly turned her head.
Her brown eyes met mine. The old sharp hostility and disgust were gone. In their place lingered subtle awkwardness and a calm resignation.
"Call me whatever feels comfortable."
She replied. Her voice was low, but politely measured.
"You're deposed now, but still of imperial blood. I can't treat you casually."
The title felt foreign in my ears. Just days ago, the same mouth had spat "prisoner" or "you scum." Courtesy born of unbound chains? Or had those secret moments kneading her buttocks crumbled her defenses?
Formal speech. It sounded good, but felt a bit disappointing. Isn't this too stiff between us?"
I feigned hurt, leaning forward.
The carriage jolted, closing the gap between us. My knee nearly brushed her thigh.
The familiar scent of leather and soap-tinged body odor tickled my nose.
Adella pulled back slightly, averting her eyes.
"We must separate public and private. This is a mission."
"Mission? Babysitting me?"
"Escort."
She corrected.
"My duty is to deliver you safely to the Black Forest. It's a dangerous place."
Her eyes grew serious. Black Forest. A name that stirred a warrior's instincts.
She was likely already simulating battles with the beasts we'd face.
I chuckled and sank back into the cushion.
"Dangerous, huh? I think you're more dangerous than any beast."
"What do you mean?"
"Just... alone in the woods, who knows what might happen. Might have to pitch a tent and spend the night."
I added teasingly.
"Gets cold at night, they say. We'll have to share body heat, right?"
Adella's earlobes flushed red instantly. She cleared her throat and whipped her head to the window.
"Lord Batanias. Don't worry about such nonsense. We packed plenty of blankets. And no more... physical contact like last time. Absolutely not..."
Her voice trembled faintly. Flustered.
The carriage wheel hit a rock, bucking sharply. Jolt.
"Ugh!"
Adella lost balance and pitched forward. I reflexively grabbed her shoulder.
"Careful."
Beneath the leather jacket, my palm felt her firm, warm shoulder.
She startled and looked up at me. So close. My face reflected in her brown eyes.
"Ah, sorry."
She hastily straightened and brushed off my hand. But the faint tremor as her fingertips grazed my skin was unmistakable.
Delicate Touch (Lv.1)
Sensing the faint fever flowing over her skin.
She was tense now. Not just from the carriage's shake. Because she was alone with me?
I withdrew my hand and peered out the window. Beneath the ashen sky, endless wasteland rolled backward.
Black Forest.
My exile—and new starting point.
The number 99 floated in my mind. My remaining lives. And the fate I'd altered in these 10 days. Negotiations with Helena, Adella's escort, unseen enemies.
Beyond mere survival, I had to unravel this tangled world's threads.
The Dimensional Stone hidden in the Black Forest. Everything awaited me in that deep indigo darkness.
The carriage jolted again. This time, Adella held steady. She clutched her helmet, lips pressed tight.
'This is where it gets real.'
Black Forest.
The place people called "shitland" and shunned. A death ground crawling with beasts and toxic weeds.
But to me, it was more than exile. The land of last hope.
Dimensional Stone.
The sole escape from this godforsaken game, Atria Continent Chronicles.
The one key to log out from this unreasonable world, clearly designed to screw players. Essential for the runaway ending.
But hope wasn't all it held.
The reason gamers failed thousands, tens of thousands of times. Why global rankers despaired and smashed keyboards. The source of its infamous difficulty.
The Black Forest's abyss.
The ancient calamity sealed by the first emperor with his blood and soul.
The true reason neighboring kings swore obedience to the empire's emperor in the Oath Room. That seal could only be maintained by imperial blood.
Batanias von Atria.
Me.
When this body's owner got his head chopped in the prologue cutscene, the seal breaks. The legitimate imperial line ends.
Argent Territory is devoured by shadows from the abyss, Duke Karls isolated without backing.
Neighboring nations grow greedy, the empire falls into chaos, the continent engulfed in war.
The expanding abyss, fueled by those desiring annihilation, ends the world.
That was the game's scripted scenario. Inevitable doom.
'Will me surviving change that?'
The system said surviving 10 more days delayed doom by a year.
Even delayed a year, the world would end in less than a decade, no matter how you stretched it.
Long for some, but woefully short for me.
Worse, those craving doom would now hunt my life.
Like in the prison.
'Running is my only way to live.'
I bit my lip hard. Hero? Savior? Don't make me laugh. I have no intention of saving this world.
Toying with Helena and kneading Adella was fun, but I won't risk my neck for it.
Dimensional Stone.
That's my only hope. Find it, leave this damned forest, this insane world. Helena, Karls, Adella, the whole lot—who cares.
Doom or not, I'll return home, play Dung5, and live comfortably.
'Please...'
The carriage jolted into the forest's edge. Dense trees blotted the sky, dimming the surroundings. Chill air seeped through the bars.
'I have to find it. No matter what.'
I clenched my fist. Sweat beaded in my palm.