354. An Unexpected Gift (2)
354. An Unexpected Gift (2)
- 1 -
The journey back to Clarent from Agares's territory.
The weather in mid-autumn was quite chilly.
The languid ease after dealing with Tarnix, the unpleasantness gained from the Corrupted Duke's fortress. And the deepening night.
Various circumstances intertwined, leaving only a feeling of lassitude.
A time when only deep darkness filled the surroundings.
Upon a silent boat.
Saaaak... Cheol-sseok...
The boat moved forward without hesitation.
Only the water currents spreading beneath the hull broke the stillness of the night.
I stared blankly at the flowing water below the window, then spoke to Ran, who was sitting beside me.
"The aroma is lovely."
Inside my cabin, a refreshing tea fragrance from the tea Ran had brewed filled the air.
It was Han-style tea she had learned by watching Saya brew tea from the Hwa nation.
Given that her mother, whom she never knew by face, was originally a human from the Han nation, it might be a deep-rooted fate.
She had been reincarnated as a full-fledged demon upon becoming a dungeon lord, but originally she was what was commonly called a 'half-demon.'
That was likely part of why the Hoga clan acted with even greater hostility toward her.
It was understandable, but something I could never accept.
"I am relieved. As it was my first time, I was worried..."
Ran looked at me setting the teacup down and spoke softly.
I put down the empty teacup and brought up the main subject.
The matter of the 'gift' that Agares had handed over.
"She didn't appear to be of the direct bloodline."
Ran quietly nodded.
"Yes. That is correct."
Ran's face was more composed than usual.
But there was no way I would miss the cold killing intent lingering in her eyes.
It was the same expression she had maintained from the moment she saw that gumiho in Agares's fortress. That appearance of extreme restraint showed, rather, the depth of her inherent fury and hatred.
That boiling fury and hatred were so great that her anticipation for a 'second revenge' was what defined her at that moment.
"Ran."
When I called her name, she lifted her long eyelashes and looked at me.
The same affectionate gaze as always.
But within it, there churned a blue fire that she had not yet been able to erase.
"What do you want to do?"
Ran's revenge was her own.
Even if it could be utilized in my strategy, I could not decide the direction it took. And I must not.
A moment of silence passed.
She was looking across the sea, but her eyes held no focus.
A breeze blew in and tickled her black tails. I saw her long eyelashes tremble like fairy wings.
"I wish to... have a conversation. May I?"
A cautious voice. I took her hand and stroked it.
The sharpness coloring her voice told me that the 'conversation' they would have would not be a peaceful one.
"Of course. Do as you wish. However..."
I gently lifted her hand and brought my lips to the delicate inside of her wrist.
Beneath the soft, warm skin, the pulse that had been beating regularly became a little rougher.
When I raised my head, the surprised look in her wide eyes was adorable.
"Have that conversation in front of me. Understood?"
It didn't mean I would be watching.
It meant I would be with her. It meant I would share the heavy burden of her revenge.
As if sensing my feelings, she blushed, then lifted my hand and, in turn, pressed her lips to the back of it.
"I am grateful. And..."
She smiled bashfully and bowed her head toward me.
A voice filled with sincerity flowed from her lips.
"I love you. From the depths of my heart."
"And I, you. Ran."
We naturally leaned against each other.
The two shadows reflected on the cabin wall merged into one.
As our warm breaths mingled, a quiet time belonging only to us flowed by.
The boat continued smoothly toward the lower reaches of the Foile River.
- 2 -
In the heart of Orbis, the Black Royal Palace of Atrium.
For the citizens of Orbis, freed from the anxiety of national independence, that palace was a prideful symbol of newly rising glory.
But to the siblings who had come there, it was merely a suffocating space.
For they were hostages exchanged for Duke Grimbart's life.
"Enter."
Following the Chief Chamberlain's guidance, Heinrich entered the grand hall with his family.
His wife, two sons, and even his younger sister, Iselda.
The accompanying attendants, knights, and servants remained outside the door.
"Prince Heinrich and Princess Iselda of Aririt have arrived!"
The first thing that caught their eyes upon entering the grand hall was another throne beside the Queen's throne.
The woman seated there was neither the Queen's fiancée nor a relative.
'So that's the woman...'
'The real power.'
A single name flashed through the minds of Heinrich and Iselda.
Philia Elskopf. The mastermind of the alliance.
Kneeling below the dais, they carefully looked up at the thrones.
Queen Amelia had her golden hair elegantly swept up and wore a splendid crown.
She wore a dignified yet gentle smile, but they could read a 'wariness' in her eyes.
The woman seated beside her had an atmosphere that seemed to draw the gaze in.
Black hair and purple eyes. A beautiful figure wearing an elegant, if not flashy, black dress.
Countess Philia Elskopf.
She looked down with a gentle expression upon the kneeling Heinrich, Iselda, and their family.
During the flow of silence, Heinrich's second son pointed at Philia and cried out innocently.
"... Pretty...!"
The low, admiring cry shattered the solemnity of the grand hall.
In an instant, Prince Heinrich's face grew even paler.
His wife, beside him, panicked and covered the child's mouth, pulling him into her arms.
"I-I'm so sorry! The child is still young, so..."
Philia smiled gently.
"It's alright. Isn't he adorable."
Her voice was warm, but Heinrich felt an even greater sense of intimidation from her words.
This was a place where no mistakes could be made.
Yet the magnanimity with which she overlooked the child's blunder paradoxically seemed to demonstrate her absolute position of power.
After looking at Heinrich and Iselda for a moment, Philia turned her gaze toward Amelia.
"Chief Chamberlain."
Though she said nothing else, Amelia nodded as if receiving permission from that glance alone and opened her mouth.
Witnessing that scene, Heinrich and Iselda felt chills run all over their bodies.
The Queen was paying attention to another person's mood. Right there within her own nation.
"Lodgings have been prepared for the two of you in the east and west wings of the royal palace respectively. You will live there starting today."
And so, while they were in shock, the Chief Chamberlain's voice resounded throughout the chamber.
"Separate quarters have been prepared for the rest of your party, so you may send them there. Meetings will not be forbidden, of course. So long as it is under our watch."
Meaning that while staying with one's wife and children was permitted, attendants, maids, and knights could only accompany or sit with them under strict surveillance.
It was practically no different from a segregation measure.
Heinrich carefully questioned it.
"Th-then the servants...?"
"We shall send our own. If you have brought any servants or soldiers with you, send them back."
At the Chief Chamberlain's firm words, Prince Heinrich's complexion grew even paler.
But Princess Iselda quickly assessed the situation and nodded.
"Understood. Your Highness."
Once the official schedule concluded, only the Queen and her 'mentor' remained in the audience chamber.
In the place where all attendants and vassals had withdrawn, the Queen bowed respectfully before Philia.
"For the time being, focus on stabilizing the occupied territories. Maintain the army."
Philia spoke with her chin resting on the armrest.
On her other hand, spread open, a glow of magical power shimmered.
"Yes, Master."
She knew the cost of maintaining an army was no small matter, but Amelia raised no objections.
Because her master's words always came with a reason.
She already had a premonition of something.
'There's going to be another war.'
Amelia sighed internally.
But it was a path she had already steeled herself for.
From the moment she had called a demon her master and come to serve her as a lord.
- 3 -
Traveling by boat throughout the dawn, followed by the official morning schedule.
But the body of a dungeon lord did not tire from just that.
Upon returning to Clarent, I immediately decided to unwrap the 'gift' with Ran.
"I never thought I would see a collateral branch member of the Hoga clan in this manner."
Ran's voice was low and cold.
The warm and gentle version of her that had whispered love to me on the boat not long ago, or the usual soft and docile image she normally showed, was nowhere to be found.
"Y-you... are..."
Shock and disbelief filled Hosorang's face as she looked at Ran.
Even while trembling with fear, an irrepressible question burned within her.
"Just how do you possess the power of a White-faced Golden-furred Nine-tailed Fox? With a body that isn't even a Golden Fox...!"
The White-faced Golden-furred Nine-tailed Fox was an ability only an extremely small number of the Hoga direct bloodline were born with. To her, it must have been incomprehensible.
But Ran gave no answer. She merely folded her fan with a 'Tak!' and looked down at her.
Contempt and hatred clearly rose in the corners of her eyes.
"I will be the one asking questions."
An elegant but chillingly icy voice.
Ran lifted the monstrous celestial fox's chin with the tip of her fan.
"You only need to answer. Your name?"
"Ho-Hosorang..."
Hosorang stammered in reply, gripped by terror.
"I see, Sorang."
Ran slowly nodded and pulled the corners of her mouth up.
It was a curve like a blade, showing no softness whatsoever.
"Seeing as you came out from the main house on an intelligence mission... you must be a member of the Dark Shadow Hall."
"How, do you...?"
Sorang's eyes grew even wider.
Because 'a nameless monstrous celestial fox of the Eastern Continent' had precisely pinpointed the main house's organizational structure.
She unwittingly asked back.
"Are, are you... perhaps related to the main house?"
"You could say so, and you could also say I am not. However."
Ran slightly opened her fan to cover her mouth.
The figure was bewitching and mysterious, but...
"I believe I said I would be the one asking questions."
Her eyes were more blood-chilling than ever.
"Kkeuh...!!"
In an instant, a pained groan burst from Hosorang's mouth.
She hastily turned her head at the sudden pain.
One of her tails was burning, engulfed in a violet flame.
A tail—the source of a monstrous celestial fox's demonic and spiritual power.
Terrible agony, and indescribable terror.
The emotion sweeping over her at that moment was so vivid it felt tangible.
"P-pl, please...! I'm sorry! I was out of line! Please, just spare my tail!"
Only then did my confidante retract her power and laugh, cold as a sheet of ice.
"There is only one warning."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Hosorang cried out desperately, pressing her forehead to the floor.
What followed was a brutal repetition.
Every time Hosorang hesitated in her answers, Ran set her tails or ears on fire without hesitation.
The depth of the questioning gradually deepened toward the Hoga clan's core secrets, and amid the burning pain, Hosorang's resistance crumbled.
Eventually, by the time one of her tails had completely vanished.
Hosorang, with not even the strength left to beg, was answering every question honestly and despairingly.
"N-not the tails... please, I beg you..."
Throughout the entire interrogation, Ran never once changed her expression, nor showed any emotional agitation.
After all the information was acquired, she fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
Her golden eyes seemed to be staring into the distant past.
I, too, organized the information gained from the interrogation in my head.
The shrinking power of the Hoga clan, the appeasement policies toward the collateral branches, the subtle conflicts between successors... they were all useful puzzle pieces.
If we had known nothing, we might have been satisfied, thinking we had taken a large step closer to revenge.
"There was little that was new."
But for Ran and me, it was merely a process of reconfirming past memories with current information.
"Still, the gaps to dig deeper seem wider. If all goes well, we might go beyond your revenge and target Andras as well."
The territory of a Demon Realm Archduke.
That place, too, was a vast hunting ground that I would have to visit someday.
A place where I could catch three birds with one stone: all sorts of rare resources and monsters, and the weakening of a rival power.
Ran cautiously offered her advice.
"It will not be easy. After the last battle with Dantalion, the other Archdukes are now watching us closely as well..."
"Yeah. They would be."
Sorang heard our conversation and flinched.
"C-could it be... Your Excellency the Archduke of Paradox...?"
Ran and I looked down at her simultaneously.
Within her eyes, four flames were ablaze.
The light shining from my eyes and Ran's.
"I've just gotten my hands on something good."
"Indeed."
Ran's hand, holding a violet flame, slowly approached Sorang.
The monstrous celestial fox's eyes were filled with terror, but she no longer had the strength to resist.
"Kkeu-euk...!!"
Amid her pain, a fourth black tail sprouted, disguised as golden, and she fainted, losing consciousness.
A satisfying harvest.
I had gained a new tool, and our future plans had been fleshed out a little more.
'But this is only the beginning.'
Whether it was Ran's revenge, or the conquest of Andras.
I would hold it all in my grasp.