Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Found It
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Aurora set down her fork and knife, crossing them neatly on her plate. It was a signal that she had finished her meal.
A maid who had been standing politely behind her approached immediately, holding a handkerchief. It was made of silk, adorned with gold, and looked ridiculously expensive.
The maid dabbed gently at the corners of Aurora's mouth with precise, elegant movements. Aurora accepted the gesture calmly.
While one maid tended to Aurora's mouth, another cleared the fork and knife from in front of her, and yet another picked up the now-empty plate and vanished.
No sooner had the plate been removed than a new one appeared. At almost the same moment, the maid who had been wiping Aurora's mouth finished and stepped back. The handkerchief was as pristine as before.
Atop the new plate sat a chocolate cake—topped with chocolate shavings and drenched in chocolate syrup.
Aurora scooped up a bite of the cake, which looked so sickeningly sweet it could make one's tongue ache just to look at it. She ate it without batting an eye, then shivered slightly in delight as the sweetness flooded her mouth.
As if she couldn't bear to eat another bite right away, she stabbed her fork deep into the cake to hold it in place and opened her mouth.
“Work is still underway. No idea if it'll succeed or not.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
“Skip the thanks. It was because of that bastard that you all ended up in my territory. It's my responsibility.”
Ordered to remain in the imperial palace indefinitely until summoned again by Caiquilia, Aurora had been traveling here and there, trying to get the Silver Dawn Knights reinstated.
Of course, it stemmed from the belief that she had to tie up the mess caused by the trash who had once been her father—not out of any desire for atonement.
Aurora was far too ruthless for atonement, and she'd handled most of that scum's countless atrocities with the bare minimum of obligatory cleanup. The Silver Dawn Knights were the sole exception.
Above all, if she meddled carelessly in the matter of those labeled devil worshippers and executed, she risked being accused of covering up evidence under the guise of cleanup—sparking doubts about her sincerity.
Being grilled like that was something she'd refuse even in death.
‘...Though it will feel a bit lonely.’
She chewed another bite of chocolate cake. If the Silver Dawn Knights returned to the palace, that man would surely leave with them.
Delta.
The man who had saved her life from that damned thing, who pulled off utterly unpredictable feats as if to flaunt them, and who hid some enormous secret. And...
‘Enough wallowing in sentiment.’
The third bite of cake slid down her throat. Sweet aroma rushed into her sinuses, and the chocolate flavor spread across every corner of her mouth. It was cloyingly sweet.
Yes, she had to stop wallowing. There was no helping it. Hadn't she already shared her body with another woman?
Even if imperial law permitted polygamy, it was merely permitted—not unrestricted. Without limits, nobles would have dozens of wives and concubines.
To be allowed polygamy, one needed achievements of monumental scale. Even nobles got no exceptions. Family prestige? Irrelevant.
Only personal accomplishments mattered.
Word had it that the empire's founding emperor had decreed it so, though Aurora didn't know the details. It was recent that she'd even started caring about such things, so it was natural.
‘Well. With Delta, it's not entirely impossible.’
She recalled the rumors swirling in the palace. During the unprecedented crisis of a dragon appearing in the imperial capital, a man had confronted it head-on.
While everyone else lay unconscious, he'd stood alone to protect the people, and in the end, the living apocalypse—the intelligent natural disaster—had fled first.
The protagonist of the rumor was Delta.
‘Probably exaggerated.’
Aurora thought so. A dragon fleeing from a mere human? Absurd. No matter how many times she turned it over in her mind, impossibility was the only conclusion.
But it wasn't entirely false either.
Unless someone maliciously spread outright lies, rumors always built on some kernel of truth.
Delta probably had faced the dragon. Instead of it fleeing, circumstances had coincidentally aligned, leading it to withdraw for some reason.
‘If it were complete nonsense, Aunt would never have let it slide.’
If it were pure fabrication, Caiquilia—the party involved—wouldn't have stayed silent.
Yet Caiquilia let the rumor fester. The emperor couldn't possibly miss rumors in the palace, so she must have heard and deliberately ignored it.
The fact that Aurora and the knight captains—Delta's companions—had received far better treatment since the dragon attack was further proof.
The emperor had heard the rumor and allowed it to spread unchecked, while Delta's group enjoyed lavish hospitality. To the people, it was as good as confirmed fact.
“So, Delta still hasn't returned?”
Aurora glanced out the window. Thick darkness had settled outside.
“No. We heard he left with the Eternal Mage, but nothing since.”
“He'll handle himself. No need to worry. It'll just hurt us if we do.”
She meant it sincerely.
She trusted Delta's abilities, and more than that, dragging even Minerva along—whatever method he'd used—made fretting over his survival downright foolish.
If she was going to worry, it should be about someone else.
“...Iris, hasn't it been noisy outside for a while now?”
Claudia furrowed her brow slightly. She was right. The palace, usually silent and serene at this hour, had grown rowdy enough to reach even this dining hall.
“I sensed it too. No idea what's going on.”
“Can't see from here. Probably the opposite side? What could make noise carry all the way here?”
Lize tilted her head and peered out the window, but alas, not this direction. After a moment's thought, Aurora stood. It seemed worth checking out.
The knight captains, sensing her intent, followed suit.
‘...What the hell is that mess?’
I leaned against a wall far from the epicenter of the chaos, utterly disgusted. I couldn't even stomach being near that collective madness.
I should have known better when Minerva said she'd contact ahead about finding the Crystal Scroll.
“Skientia! Step on my back, please!”
“No, Skientia! Step on me first!”
“Line up! No cutting in line without manners!”
‘Are they insane?’
Even from the voices alone, it was clear something was off. Shouts demanding to be stepped on first, accusations of rudeness for cutting in—it was pandemonium.
At the center was the Crystal Scroll, cradled preciously in Minerva's arms.
They insisted she couldn't dirty her feet on the bare ground and offered their backs to step on to reach the mage tower—leading to this farce.
In the midst of it, the dazed Minerva actually stepped on them, and the stepped-upon trembled in ecstasy with blissful faces. Total disaster.
‘Can't watch anymore.’
I shook my head and put more distance between us. Hundreds of mages pulling this stunt en masse—it was a gathering of lunatics.
Thank goodness it was known that Minerva found the Crystal Scroll. If I'd come clean, I might have been the one in that chaos.
No matter how stunning the mages' looks and figures surrounding Minerva, inserting myself there was a hard pass.
“Silence! Silence! What is this commotion!”
Then, a group of stern-faced mages appeared from afar.
Their faces were stunningly beautiful, needless to say, and even under loose robes, the curves of their ample bosoms were evident.
“The Crystal Scroll has been found, so I understand the joy! But this? This behavior? Have you no shame!”
The newcomers bellowed several times, and the noise died down a bit. The mages prostrated before Minerva slowly rose.
Minerva, however, didn't stop. Somehow casting magic in her stupor, she marched across empty air—step, step.
“Mages have pride! Dignity! What do you think you're doing!”
‘Wow, at least some normal mages—’
“Daring to lie under her before us elders! You rotten lot! Can't you follow order!”
‘...’
Their outrage was hilariously off-base.
No sooner had I wondered if these were normal than the shouting mages flattened themselves before Minerva. Mages were all the same breed after all.
Gazing pityingly at the pandemonium in the palace garden—hundreds of women tangled on the ground, shuddering and moaning lewdly with each step Minerva took—than a familiar incredulous voice came from behind.
“What's that? Why are they all crazy? Drugged or something?”
It was Aurora.
Behind her trailed the knight captains, wearing equally baffled expressions.
“You've arrived, my lady.”
“Yeah, I'm here. But... aren't those Minerva and the mage tower folks? What's going on in the middle of the night?”
“Indeed. I'm curious too.”
“You went out with Minerva and still don't get it?”
“That's true, but does that seem related to understanding this?”
“...Sorry. My mistake.”
The sight of hundreds of women prostrating, quivering and letting out strange moans each time Minerva stepped over them, wasn't even remotely pleasant.
More grotesque than alluring.
“It's too hard to watch. Shall we move somewhere else first? I'll explain after.”
Aurora and the captains looked intensely curious about the outside commotion, so I suggested relocating. All five agreed easily.
As we headed inside the palace, the chaotic noise faded. The moment we entered a suitably distant room, Aurora spoke up.
“So, what happened?”