The Unpurified Black Skein (2)
“Brother, calm down first. I’m completely stunned too, but the emperor knew who I was and still sent me away. And… there’s actually something more urgent than Cassian’s situation.”
I recalled the black skein I’d seen in the reception room earlier—how it had been purified yet stubbornly came back to life. “It seems the imperial palace is rotting away. The ‘impurities’ that my little brother mentioned… my light couldn’t completely erase them.”
I lowered my voice. It was time to tell my two brothers about the bizarre black spiderweb I had witnessed in the palace reception room today.
The moment the story began, Carlyle’s eyes grew deadly serious. Cassian, who had been sprawled on the floor throwing a tantrum, perked up his ears and quickly sat upright.
“…Your light couldn’t completely destroy it?”
At Carlyle’s question, I nodded. “That’s right, Brother. That’s the most puzzling part. When I first bounced the light at it, I thought it had evaporated like smoke, but while I was talking with the emperor, it had already crept back up the wall. The ‘impurities’ Cassian mentioned might not be just an ordinary group of rebels.”
Cassian carefully brushed ice shards from his clothes and spoke. His eyes held the sharp gleam befitting the master of the information guild Eclipse. “It seems connected to the ‘Thorn Crown’ bastards I’ve been tracking. It’s not confirmed yet, but from what I’ve gathered, they aren’t ordinary humans. Most of them are monsters that devour the memories of the dead or hide inside shadows.”
The heavy silence was broken by none other than Carlyle. He stood up, grabbed Cassian by the collar again, and growled. “I’m disappointed in you, little brother. No matter the circumstances, you’ve violated our mother’s last wish that you protect our youngest. In the Lucerne family, those who commit crimes must be punished. For the next three years, eighty percent of your information guild’s profits will be converted into compensation for our youngest sister’s emotional damages!”
“E-eighty percent?! Brother, that’s basically telling me to go bankrupt…!”
“If you don’t like it, pay with your body instead. Elinor, didn’t the emperor say he was waiting for a top-grade souvenir? If we freeze the rare ‘second son of Lucerne’ and send him whole, His Majesty will be absolutely delighted.”
At Carlyle’s chilling joke—which was probably ninety percent sincere—Cassian finally nodded with tears in his eyes. “……Fine. I’ll give it. I’ll give it!!”
Thanks to my eldest brother’s merciless negotiation, an unexpectedly huge amount of consolation money was settled. I rose from my seat with a satisfied smile. Today’s soul-crushing ordeal at the palace had been worth it. All that remained was to soak in hot water and collapse into my soft bed!
“Um, brothers. I’m so tired, I’ll head in first!”
I hurriedly left the study and ran down the corridor. Behind me, Carlyle’s affectionate farewell and Cassian’s heartbreaking wails harmonized together, but my mind was entirely occupied by the silver cylinder hidden inside my clothes.
I quietly entered my room, closed the door, and carefully took out the silver cylinder to stare at it. When I had faced the black energy with the emperor, it had resonated so fiercely and burned hot enough to drive me crazy. Yet now it sat perfectly calm, as if none of that had ever happened. I let out a hollow laugh.
“It really acts like a living thing—impossible to predict. Are you a people-pleaser too? Were you scared of Emperor Kaelus as well?”
I turned the silver cylinder slowly, checking for any peculiarities or changes, but found nothing. Feeling somewhat deflated, I let my hand drop.
“Are you part of the Thorn Crown too? Do you die quickly when someone calls you a bad guy? Since things have come to this, why don’t you just join our side? We’re good people, so we won’t hurt you. I’ll take good care of you.”
After carrying this cylinder around all day and experiencing so much, I seemed to have developed a slight sense of camaraderie. Finishing my silly thoughts, I quietly shoved the object deep inside the mattress.
I flopped straight onto the bed. The moment the tension released, my stomach began to growl. I briefly considered pulling the bell cord but decided to head to the kitchen myself.
The instant I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, a strange shadow blocked my path instead of my personal maid Lily or the knight who guarded my room.
“……My lady, I have been waiting for you.”
He wore the uniform of the Imperial Guard, but black threads clung stickily to the edges of his shadow. Just like when the knight commander Elik had been affected.
Did he participate in the southern subjugation with the knight commander?
He looked down at me with an eerily benevolent smile. Was he a messenger sent by the emperor? Or had a Thorn Crown follower tailed me all the way here? Either way, one thing was certain: any hope of sleeping elegantly tonight was completely ruined.
**
“My lady, I have been waiting for you.”
The knight standing before my bedroom door bowed politely. On the surface, he looked like a perfectly respectable member of the Imperial Guard in his spotless uniform. But my eyes could not be fooled. A black shadow similar to the one that had clung to Knight Commander Elik was slowly stretching out like tentacles, greedily writhing toward my bed inside the room.
Ah, seriously, why is my luck so terrible today? Why do these things only happen to me!
Making a mental note to pray more diligently to Goddess Lucetia, I lifted my chin instead of stepping back. I was the one and only princess of the arrogant and haughty Lucerne family!
“I don’t recall your face. Are you a messenger from the palace? Or a black idiot who crawled in here on your own?”
“I am a messenger sent directly by His Majesty.”
At the knight’s benevolent smile, I snorted. “A palace messenger. A formal envoy managed to pass through the ducal residence’s courtyard without a butler’s guidance and freely walk all the way to my private bedroom? If Carlyle finds out, there will be hell to pay. To think the Lucerne family’s security is this lax.”
My pointed remark made the knight’s artificial smile twist grotesquely.
“As expected, you have extraordinary eyes. Now I understand why that mad emperor is so obsessed with you. However….”
The moment he took a step closer—
Vrrrr—!
A bizarre vibration rang out from beyond my bedroom door. The silver cylinder hidden under the mattress had detected the ominous energy and begun to resonate.
No! If he finds out about it, it’s over!
“There’s a very delicious smell coming from inside your room, my lady. It seems the item my master is looking for is right in there.”
The knight’s hand moved toward his sword hilt. At that exact instant—
Kwaaaang—!!
A massive ice spear flew from the end of the corridor and embedded itself in the wall between me and the knight. The entire hallway instantly plunged to subzero temperatures as white frost settled everywhere.
“What are you doing in front of my sister’s room?”
It was Carlyle. Behind him, I could see Cassian running over, panting furiously. The moment Cassian saw the knight’s face, he gasped and shouted.
“Y-you! Aren’t you the double agent we caught laundering books in our Eclipse guild?! What are you doing here? And what the hell is wrong with your body?!”
“Oh dear, I’ve been discovered.”
The moment the exposed spy tried to draw his sword—
Kwa-kwa-kwang—!
A thunderous roar erupted from inside my room as if lightning had struck. The bed shot into the air. The cylinder’s vibration had exceeded its limit, causing my precious sanctuary of a mattress to pop upward like popcorn toward the ceiling.
“……Elinor? What was that sound just now?”
Carlyle’s puzzled gaze turned toward my room. I jumped up like someone struck by lightning and blocked the doorway with my entire body.
“Huh? What sound? I didn’t hear anything. Aren’t your ears a bit too sensitive, Brother?”
I answered with the most serious expression I could muster, looking like the most innocent person in the world. Never mind that behind my back, the mattress was still going thump! thump! as it crashed back onto the floor.
“No, really, Brothers. I read a romance fantasy novel a while ago, right? It had a bed ghost and a closet ghost. Lately my bed’s been acting a little strange too. Sometimes it dances by itself like that. Wow, it’s reeeally amazing! I guess that novel was based on a true story! Ha. Ha. Ha…”
“Elinor, are you seriously saying that right now…! Have you lost your mind?!”
Cassian clutched the back of his neck and yelled. Even Carlyle looked at me with a dazed face, as if suffering cognitive dissonance from this never-before-seen intellectual attack.
Yeah… I knew better than anyone how utterly ridiculous those words sounded. Cold sweat ran down my back as I desperately searched for my next excuse.
Crack. Craaack—!
Tiny fissures began spreading across the fake knight’s body, which had been frozen by my eldest brother’s sword energy. An unpleasant grinding noise came from within the ice, and then black mist exploded out from his body. The barrier shattered, sending ice shards flying in every direction.
“There’s no time. Hand over the item, young lady of Lucerne!”
The knight transformed into a black monster whose original shape was unrecognizable and reached for me. The moment that cold, repulsive touch was about to make contact, the power of Lucetia inside me instinctively stirred.
How dare you reach your hand out here?!
A burning heat that started near my heart rushed through my veins and gathered at my fingertips.
Kwaaaang—!
The dazzling platinum radiance that burst from my palm struck the black mist head-on. It wasn’t mere light. It was closer to sacred flames that burned away darkness.
“Hey, you! When did we get so close that you’re speaking informally? Get the hell out of my room, you worm bastard!”
Boooom—!!
A fierce radiance that seemed to swallow the entire corridor swirled violently. The fake knight touched by the light let out a scream of agony and scattered into the air without leaving a trace. Once the light faded, only a terrible silence remained.
In the spot where the knight had stood, only the blackened emblem of the Imperial Guard lay abandoned, proving that what had just happened wasn’t a dream.
Silence fell. After the dazzling light that had filled the corridor subsided, only the rough breathing of three people remained. Carlyle and Cassian stared at me with stunned expressions before looking through the broken doorway. Inside, my completely shameless bed was still bouncing around like popcorn, proudly showing off its presence.
“……Elinor Lucerne.”
Carlyle spoke in an extremely low and serious voice. My heart sank. There were only two occasions when my eldest brother called me by my full name in that tone. One was when he had to decide on a major family matter. The other was when he was genuinely, truly, really angry. This was clearly the latter.
“You will now explain this situation with perfect clarity, without a single lie.”
His blue eyes gleamed coldly. The pressure of the empire’s greatest swordsman and the head of the Lucerne family—usually reserved for Cassian—crashed over me like a tidal wave, weighing me down heavily.
I awkwardly lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile, but judging from my brothers’ faces, I had already failed spectacularly. After all, Cassian was slowly drawing his thumb across his throat while mouthing, Goodbye, my sister.
“Ha, hahaha…. Brother? So, you see, our family’s bed has a very strong sense of self-expression lately? Hahaha….”
Whether my insides were burning to ash or not, the utterly clueless mattress continued popping joyfully in midair like popcorn. Somebody please save meee!