Chapter 93
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93
A chill shot down his spine. The sheer pressure of facing her without iron bars between them was terrifying. He felt like a fool for ever looking down on Evangeline Rohanson, even for a moment, just because he’d had a cage to hide behind.
Was this thing even human? Was she a living creature at all? Maybe she was closer to a reanimated corpse, just like Polus.
Evangeline smiled, as radiant and picture-perfect as ever.
“You’re back early, Sir Ante. I suppose you have something to tell me?”
“…Yes.”
Antenor couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes. He lowered his gaze and explained the situation outside.
“His Majesty the Emperor has declared Tenebrae Reverdi the true culprit and ordered the capture of the escaped criminal.”
“Tenebrae? Not Jeremia?” Evangeline asked, her tone puzzled. It was only natural she’d find it strange; all the recent rumors about the Crown Prince’s assassination had pointed to Jeremia. Even Gabriel had suspected her. Yet the Emperor had issued an official decree, permitting the knights to kill Tenebrae on sight.
It was proof that they had definitive evidence against her, and a clear statement that she would no longer be treated as royalty.
“If the knights have been mobilized, does that mean the paladins have joined the pursuit?”
“Yes. Most likely.”
“Then Sir Gabriel must be pursuing Tenebrae as well.”
Antenor nodded. Gabriel had been detained at the Imperial Palace due to his association with Evangeline. He would have undoubtedly joined the hunt, believing that capturing Tenebrae would help prove Evangeline’s innocence.
Evangeline frowned slightly. “I must find Tenebrae as well.”
“Are you going to help execute Lady Tenebrae?”
“Quite the opposite.”
The answer was the exact opposite of what Antenor had expected. Not to kill her, but to save her?
Regardless, going outside now was a terrible idea.
“There are knights everywhere.”
“I didn’t say I would be the one looking,” she replied. “I have some children who are very good at finding people.”
Children? Surely she doesn’t mean that man named Jelly?
“Pudding. Can you find her?”
Pudding? Who in the world was that? He had no idea, but it was bound to be some extraordinary entity. He couldn’t fathom why she named them after such unfitting desserts. Her taste was truly awful.
The moment Evangeline finished speaking, the air itself opened its eyes. A bizarre line sliced through the space before them, unfolding. Behind her, giant eyeballs materialized, their pupils slowly rolling.
Just as Antenor was about to scream, Jelly clamped a hand over his mouth.
Antenor thrashed, gasping for breath, until Jelly finally released his grip, as if suddenly remembering he was choking a human.
“Shh,” Jelly whispered. “He’s concentrating.”
It felt like standing in a massive clock shop, only the walls were covered in eyes instead of clocks. Each one blinked at a different speed, creating a bizarre, wet squelching that echoed through the dungeon. The sound was so nauseating it made him want to claw his own ears out. Just then, cracks spread across the eyeballs. They began to shatter, breaking apart like pieces of hard candy.
Antenor clapped his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, the cluster of eyes was gone. In its place stood a handsome boy, clutching his face as blood streamed from between his fingers.
“Ugh!”
“Pudding.”
Evangeline’s voice held an uncharacteristic note of concern.
The boy, Pudding, explained, “…I think I encountered some interference.”
“You don’t have to push yourself.” Evangeline reached out to wipe the blood from his eyes, but it only smeared across his pale skin. The sight of something so pure being defiled made Antenor look away.
“No,” Pudding insisted. “I never want to feel that helplessness again—the feeling of being useless to Lady Evangeline.”
As the boy focused once more, the dungeon walls began to warp. The floor undulated like raw flesh, and the torches flickered in unison, casting shadows that danced in grotesque shapes. Antenor wished Jelly would cover his mouth again.
“Found her.”
The words echoed from all around, spoken by dozens of different voices chanting in unison. It was as if mouths had opened up in the very ground beneath his feet, though he could see none.
Just as suddenly, the world returned to normal. The dungeon floor was solid stone once more. The only difference was that the boy named Pudding had vanished.
Jelly blinked in bewilderment.
“Master, he went on ahead by himself.”
“Let’s follow him.”
A sharp snap of her fingers echoed in the chamber. And then, Evangeline was gone too. Antenor was left utterly alone in the empty dungeon with nothing but the corpse of Polus.
* * *
The silence of the dark dawn was trampled into the mud by heavy footsteps and blazing torches.
“Find the depraved traitor who murdered His Highness the Crown Prince!”
“By order of His Majesty the Emperor! □□□ is no longer of the imperial family! If you find her, you may kill her on sight!”
Jeremia was escaping the castle with the help of Azazel, Tenebrae’s guardian knight. The mad, roaring shouts terrified her, and she glanced back over her shoulder.
They’ve all lost their minds.
To her, they looked like men possessed by demons.
“Find and kill □□□ Reverdi!”
The knights were screaming the name “Tenebrae” at the top of their lungs, but the sound never reached Jeremia’s ears. While everything else was perfectly clear, that specific name was strangely muffled, as if someone had muted it. Naturally, she assumed they were looking for her.
Anxious, she kept looking back as she ran, and her foot slipped. Her body lurched, and she tumbled hard to the ground. Azazel, who had been clearing a path ahead, rushed back to her side.
“Are you alright?”
“My… I think I sprained my ankle.”
Tears welled in Jeremia’s eyes as a sharp pain shot through her ankle. It was unfair enough that things had come to this, but now she was injured and couldn’t even run. Was she really going to be caught and die a miserable, unjust death?
“Let me support you.”
“No, it’s fine.”
Jeremia looked up at Azazel as he offered her a hand. If she was going to be caught, she had to at least get him to safety. Even if this was all a misunderstanding, she was being treated as a criminal. The crime of aiding her escape was not a light one. If he were caught, he would pay a terrible price.
“Sir Azazel, thank you for everything. I can manage on my own now. You should go back before you’re discovered.”
“Lady Tenebrae entrusted me with your protection, Lady Jeremia.”
But Azazel insisted on helping her. Jeremia’s eyes brimmed with tears, moved by the kindness of her twin sister and her loyal knight.
Unable to run far with her throbbing ankle, she had no choice but to slip into the nearby forest. The woods behind the Imperial Palace were the Emperor’s private hunting grounds—vast and dense, an ideal place to hide.
“We should be able to rest here for a moment.”
“Thank you.”
After confirming no knights were nearby, Azazel helped Jeremia lean against a tree. Her relief was cut short by the sound of snapping twigs. Having failed to find any trace of her outside, the search party was moving into the woods.
“She may have fled into the forest! Search every inch!”
Torches flickered through the thickets. They were closing in. Jeremia covered her mouth, holding her breath.
“Sir Azazel, we need to get out of here.”
The trees provided cover, but they couldn’t stay here forever. As Jeremia urged him to move, however, Azazel gave her a strange look.
“S-Sir Azazel…?”
“There’s no need for that.”
“What?”
His sudden change in demeanor threw her into confusion. The devoted knight who had offered to carry her just moments ago was now looking at her like a delectable meal. He drew his blade, his posture like that of a chef preparing an ingredient.
“Ugh…!”
She couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Trembling, Jeremia looked down. The sharp blade was buried deep in her stomach, only the hilt protruding. It was Azazel who had stabbed her.
“Ah, is this not the spot?” he remarked casually, pulling the blade out. A warm gush of liquid erupted from the wound. Without hesitation, Azazel adjusted his angle and plunged the blade back in. His movements were so calm and methodical that she couldn’t even resist as he pierced her stomach once more.
“Where did they say the tattoo was? I guess hearing about it isn’t the same as seeing it for yourself.”
Tattoo? The word sparked a memory—the dragon eating its own tail, tattooed on her stomach.
“What are you… doing…”
The pain was beyond anything she could have imagined, and her head spun. She clutched her stomach, her hands coming away wet and slick. All she could do was lean against the tree and gasp for air, each breath sending an agonizing tear through her abdomen.
As Azazel stepped closer again, Jeremia forced her screaming, dying body to move, stumbling backward. Driven by a desperate will to survive, she clutched her bleeding stomach and began to run. With every step, her ankle throbbed and her torso felt like it was being pierced by a spit.
But blinded by the immediate horror, she forgot that Azazel wasn’t the only threat. In her flight, she ran straight into a group of men in familiar uniforms.
The heat of their torches washed over her face. In the firelight, the search party scanned her features, then let out a chilling, triumphant cheer.
“We found Tenebrae Reverdi!”
Jeremia couldn’t believe her ears. What did they just say? They found Tenebrae?
“We found Princess Tenebrae, who fled into the forest!”