Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: After the Curtain Falls (5)
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The blood-red circuits etched into the wall.
From a distance, they looked just like dozens of insects crawling across the surface. It was a circuit far removed from anything resembling neatness, even as empty flattery.
'A jumble of messy lines, not clean ones.'
It resembled a tangled ball of thread or a child's scribble. This was the hallmark of circuits from the ancient kingdom.
No regularity.
Raw and unrefined circuits.
If modern mages' circuits pursued precision and balance, those of the ancient kingdom chased chaos and imbalance. Staring at the asymmetrical lines, I muttered to myself.
"...It's complicated."
It was complicated.
And not just this circuit in front of me.
'An unexpected situation.'
The discovery of the corpse and the mysterious circuit.
And Skeval's lingering presence.
The worst I'd imagined from the given information was something like an altar appearing in the palace.
'But this...'
It far exceeded my worst imaginings.
『By seizing blood and flesh, it continues its life.』
A circuit bearing that meaning.
And the one before my eyes was incredibly worn. Faint lines overlaid repeatedly with fresh blood. It hadn't been drawn just a year or two ago. It carried traces spanning at least a century.
'Hundreds of years.'
I recalled this kingdom's history in my mind. The knowledge my master had hammered into my head under the guise of general education. I lined it up step by step.
"...682 years."
The time when this kingdom was founded.
"The first palace built was the Crimson Palace."
Though the throne had moved to the newly built White Palace after the Crimson Palace aged, the first one constructed was indeed the Crimson Palace.
As I recalled these facts.
"......"
I lifted my head to gaze at the circuit.
A circuit that seemed centuries old, bearing marks of repeated use. Looking at it brought one word to mind.
'Black curtain.'
A black curtain draped over the royal family for ages.
Something lurking in the kingdom's deepest shadows, body-hopping all the while. What exactly it was, I had no way of knowing.
'But one thing's certain...'
There was darkness shrouding the palace.
A deeply rooted darkness that hadn't formed overnight.
"Why reveal itself now?"
That was why the question arose.
"It could have stayed hidden longer."
A being capable of drawing ancient circuits on this scale. The ancient circuits I'd seen were mostly fragmented.
Shattered words or letter fragments.
'But this is a complete sentence.'
A being that could etch a circuit like this.
One that had lurked for at least centuries.
"Why reveal itself now?"
I narrowed my eyes.
It could have hidden its presence behind the curtain far longer, yet it chose to expose itself. I pondered the reason.
"...It was confident it wouldn't get caught even if exposed."
Or perhaps...
"It knew we'd figure it out but was certain we couldn't stop it."
The candles placed throughout the Crimson Palace flickered suddenly.
The red shadows on the floor rippled in response.
The wavering shadows took on the form of human faces.
-Hee hee hee.
The face-like shadows were laughing.
As if mocking someone.
2.
"Can't track it."
"...Can't track it?"
With nothing more to investigate, I'd slipped out of the First Prince's quarters and rendezvoused with Kalt, who had been scouting nearby.
「Sir Kalt, any progress on the investigation?」
「If there is, please share the situation...」
As we walked the palace corridors, the guards who came running up to pepper Kalt with questions weren't entirely off-base, given the current circumstances.
The First Prince's disappearance.
And Kalt, walking beside me, specialized in 'finding people.'
'Tracker.'
A specialized class optimized for pursuing targets and following trails. Kalt was the knight whose name came up first whenever Trackers were mentioned.
Rooting out traitors, backtracking demonic energy to destroy key strongholds—he'd racked up achievements on the battlefield, and his exploits as a Hound were well-known.
The finest Tracker.
A hunting dog that missed no trace, however small.
"Tried everything."
And yet here was Kalt declaring right in front of me.
"Can't find him. At all."
The First Prince, Isaac.
Kalt's conclusion from investigating the prince's disappearance was 'unfindable.' A first for me, so I furrowed my brow.
"...What does that mean?"
"Truly, no traces left behind at all."
Kalt explained.
"The First Prince, Isaac, has lived in this palace his entire life. Never once left it. Meaning he's been holed up in the Crimson Palace from birth till now..."
It's unusually clean.
Kalt muttered.
"Even the smallest traces a human should leave are gone, not even a common afterimage. Nothing at all. Like a ghost passed through."
"That make sense?"
"For a human, no. Even those elusive heretics leave thick trails... What a mess."
No traces meant no way to find him.
Facing Kalt's words, I stroked my chin thoughtfully. My pace slowed, then I came to a stop.
"Hey, Kalt."
"Yes, Senior? What's up?"
I turned to him and said.
"What if it's not human?"
"Not human? Well..."
Kalt crossed his arms, tapping his elbow.
"Unless it's completely incinerated, anything with a physical form leaves some trace. Even assuming it's not human, it still doesn't add up."
"If it were possible, what form do you think?"
"Probably."
He pointed at my feet.
I looked down. My shadow lay there.
"Something like shadow or light."
Kalt gave a wry smile as he spoke.
He answered, but his attitude suggested it wasn't particularly insightful.
"I'll investigate more. So, did you figure out the circuit?"
"...For now, yeah."
"What'd it say?"
I wrote a single sentence on a scrap of paper and handed it to him. Kalt's face hardened as he read it.
"...Good thing the palace mages couldn't read it."
Kalt gripped the paper tightly without a word.
"What now?"
"Originally, I figured you'd track it down and I'd smash it... but that seems impossible."
If Kalt declared it 'impossible,' pursuing the First Prince right now was out of the question. Unless I demolished the entire Crimson Palace.
'Even that might not be sure.'
It was a being that hopped between human bodies.
Half-measures would just let it cut and run.
'And charging at the king, who might be connected...'
That wasn't so simple.
Before deciding, I needed to meet someone.
"For now, we meet her."
"Who?"
I said.
"First Princess Luriel."
3.
The office of the First Princess, Luriel.
As always, nobles clamored outside the firmly shut door, calling her name desperately.
『Please, just a chance...』
『Just once, hear us out...』
Voices starting to crack.
Despite their pleas, the door stayed shut. No sound came from inside.
"Ugh."
The voice came from behind them.
The nobles turned with hollow eyes. There stood a woman in a deep black robe. Her skin, glimpsed beneath, was ghostly pale.
"You gotta clear the way sometime."
A clear, girlish voice.
The nobles flinched at the contemptuous tone, shoulders trembling slightly. Her rudeness was unmatched, but an inexplicable pressure silenced them as they slunk back.
She passed through the parted nobles.
Standing before the door, she knocked lightly. A mere whisper compared to the nobles' cries.
-Creak.
Yet the door responded.
The door that hadn't budged for hours slowly opened. As the nobles' eyes widened in shock, the woman stepped inside with light footsteps.
-Thud.
The nobles stared blankly at the closed door. Their eyes filled with emptiness.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Luriel, in light sleepwear, sipped her tea while eyeing the paper before her. A single sentence was written on it. She read it aloud.
"By seizing blood and flesh, it continues its life."
A horrific sentence.
Luriel grimaced and looked up.
"This is the meaning of the circuit etched there? Professor."
Lania, seated opposite, nodded.
Luriel pressed her temples.
"How often has it been used?"
"No idea. But definitely not just once or twice. And it's been there a long time."
"...Roots spanning generations."
Luriel felt a throbbing headache.
'A tale I'd love to dismiss as mere conspiracy.'
But Luriel knew she couldn't.
"I know it's hard to believe, but..."
"No, I believe you."
Luriel shook her head.
"If you say so, then it is. Plus, assuming this sentence is true... it lines up with the situation."
Rising, Luriel pulled a few history books from the shelf lining one wall of the office.
"Look."
She pointed to the history books on the table.
"Think about it—it's strange. The royals have always had quite a few children per generation. And that number stayed consistent. Without anyone forcing it."
Five or six.
The number of heirs maintained that way.
"Frankly, Professor, this is abnormal."
"...Too troublesome otherwise."
"Exactly. The more heirs, the more noise in deciding succession. It just gives nobles fodder for factions."
Yet despite that.
Despite countless royals buried in the palace front yard from power struggles.
"Even those who endured such power struggles... those who climbed the throne trampling their kin's corpses... they all turned into puppets the moment they ascended."
Luriel tapped the history books, eyeing the professor.
"We've talked about this before."
『Father's politics are decent enough, but his flaw is treating his dick like a toy. And my brother is the epitome of that flaw.』
Lania nodded.
Luriel pressed her brow and continued.
"All those who left their mark in history before ascending... changed the instant they took the throne. Some called it the royal family's curse, and plenty were executed for spreading such rumors."
But now, looking back.
"They weren't wrong."
Muttering that, Luriel sighed.
"All those children, just to prepare vessels to hop into? Me, Aila, my siblings..."
Her golden eyes cooled to ice.
Realizing she was born to be a puppet, Luriel's lips parted slightly. A hollow laugh escaped.
"What bullshit. Really."
"......"
"Don't look at me like that, Professor. My shitty life just got a bit shittier."
Luriel reached for her teacup.
She wet her throat with the remnants and closed her eyes briefly. Lania waited in silence. The quiet didn't last long.
"So, Professor."
Luriel opened her eyes.
"Don't you suspect me?"
"...Pardon?"
"A being lurking in the royal family for ages. It prolonged its life by taking over the bodies of those born with royal blood."
Then, Luriel asked.
"Doesn't that put me in the same category?"
"...That's."
"Aila rejects them with her starlight, but I'm just a mortal. With my brother gone, aren't I the prime suspect?"
A mere human, fodder to be devoured.
Unable to resist an otherworldly existence.
"You."
Luriel smiled sadly.
"What do you think of me now?"
The thought that even this face might seem like mere acting to it choked her.
All she'd built.
Every struggle in her life so far.
Feeling it all meaningless, Luriel lowered her gaze. The empty teacup mirrored her life, and she murmured weakly.
"Even if you suspect me, I can't blame you..."
"No, I haven't thought that at all."
"...What?"
Luriel looked up.
Lania blinked her blue eyes innocently. Her gaze hadn't changed since they first met.
"From the start."
Lania smiled wryly.
"Your personality, Your Highness... you couldn't fake it even if you tried."
Her tone carried genuine conviction.
Author's Note
New cover, award acceptance thoughts, and award fanart (added today) can be found in the notice!