Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Mad Dog and Mad Maid (1)
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Under the First Prince, the court mage Nekelt.
"......"
He narrowed his eyes. He closed the magic tome he had been reading and stretched out his arms. He pulled over the crystal orb sitting in the corner of his desk.
The orb, which should have shown the detached palace, was pitch black. Proof that the circuit had been severed.
'...Was there any warning sign?'
There had been no warning. It hadn't shown anyone tampering with the circuit either. That meant the circuit had been dismantled before the familiar could even react.
"How strange."
"Yours too?"
The other court mages nearby chimed in one by one. It wasn't just Nekelt's familiar. The connections to all the familiars planted in the detached palace had been cut.
"...Any signs?"
"None."
"No reaction at all."
Hmm. Nekelt stroked his chin as he let out a breath.
It took about five seconds for the familiars to react. The fact that no one had sensed anything meant someone had touched the circuit and shattered it within those five seconds.
'That's impossible.'
Nekelt declared firmly to himself.
These were circuits inscribed by court mages, no less.
'And hidden ones, tucked between the gaps in the circuits at that—dismantled in five seconds?'
No way that was possible.
These were surveillance circuits blended into the gaps of the protective circuits guarding the detached palace. Touch them wrong, and the protective circuits would blow up too.
Picking out and dismantling just the surveillance circuits was a challenge even for Mage Tower Lord-level mages.
'Unless a Black Mage Tower Lord who specializes solely in inscription and dismantling showed up... it would be tough.'
And as far as Nekelt knew, the Black Mage Tower Lord had never made contact with the princess. He'd never even set foot in the royal palace.
That left only one possibility.
"...Looks like they ran some mana experiment in the detached palace."
"Isn't that the mad dog's lair? Probably up to some weird nonsense again."
"Must've done an Anti-Mana experiment or something. Pointless drivel."
An Anti-Mana experiment that could blow circuits.
They must have run that experiment, taking out both the protective and surveillance circuits guarding the palace.
Why would they do that?
The reason wasn't hard to guess.
"Guess she thought a little stunt like that would peel off the spell eating away at her body?"
"All she did was blow the poor surveillance circuits."
The First Princess Luriel must have noticed too.
That something was wrong with her body, and that it was tied to some magical means.
'And her response to that is this pathetic?'
The court mages couldn't hold back their leaking chuckles. They spat mockery at the princess.
"Her last gasp before death, eh? How many days until that circuit activates?"
"About three days left, I think. By now, it's probably slowly gnawing at the princess's body. Since His Highness the First Prince procured it himself, its performance is guaranteed."
Its origins were unknown.
But its effectiveness was proven.
'No spell leaves a trace, and no spell can destroy the circuit.'
That was the scariest part.
Once the circuit activated, the spell entering its preparatory phase couldn't be detected by any means.
A spell that couldn't be observed.
A spell that left no magical traces.
It slowly, very slowly choked the life out of its target. Slow but certain, driving them to death. There was no escape.
The court mages let out sinister smirks.
"She'll be dying soon."
"The sight of that arrogant bitch, who yapped like a mad dog without knowing her place, withering away powerlessly... should be quite the show."
The court mages knew well what kind of man their lord was.
The First Prince, Isaac.
He never let slide anyone who bared their teeth at him. Even if they shared his blood as siblings.
'Should've kept your head down like a dead rat.'
The First Princess Luriel had crossed a line she shouldn't have. Interfering with Isaac's plans meant only death.
"So, what about the surveillance circuits? I'd love to get up close and watch that arrogant princess gasping her last."
To that question, Nekelt shrugged and replied.
"Sneak in at night, scribble some new ones roughly, and we're done."
In his mind, it wasn't a big deal.
2.
"Ah, it's a circuit from the ancient kingdom."
"Pardon?"
"Tricky one. Can't deal with it right now. Three days from now seems to be the activation date..."
The First Princess Luriel blinked.
What was this professor saying right now? She rarely panicked, but lately, surprises kept piling up.
Luriel stared blankly at the professor.
The professor blinked and tilted her head.
'...What did I just hear?'
Her mind couldn't catch up to the situation.
Luriel slowly retraced the recent events. She closed her eyes and replayed her conversation with the professor in her head.
It had started with the professor's question.
-Why three days?
Why was the protection period three days?
Realizing it was time to explain, Luriel set down her quill. She lifted her long hair, exposing the nape of her neck to the professor.
-Do you see this pattern?
Her platinum hair had hidden the nape of her neck.
A black pattern was etched there. The moment it appeared, Luriel had sensed her own death.
'It appeared on my sisters too.'
A week before the Second and Third Princesses died, similar patterns had shown on their bodies. As the patterns darkened, they grew weaker.
They languished and, on the seventh day...
They met their ends.
-Same for me. My vitality is fading. It's been about four days since the pattern appeared, so I figure three to four days left.
No one had figured out what the pattern was while the two princesses died. So Luriel hadn't revealed hers.
It would cause a fuss and restrict her actions.
Luriel had decided to seek answers outside. That's why she'd summoned the professor before her now. Showing her nape, Luriel gave a wry smile.
'No way it'd be easy to find answers.'
With that thought, Luriel lowered her hair. It cascaded, covering her nape again.
-I don't expect easy answers. You have three days. Find them within that time...
She muttered as she turned away.
-Ah, I know what this is.
The professor said calmly.
-It's a circuit from the ancient kingdom.
As if it were no big deal.
'...What the hell?'
Finishing her recollection, Luriel slowly opened her eyes. The professor stood there, head tilted. Luriel met her gaze and spoke.
"...What did you just say, Professor?"
"I said it's a circuit from the old kingdom."
"So you're saying you know what this is? Where did you learn about it?"
"From mages who've been on the battlefield... no, experienced the battlefield."
The professor stammered and averted her eyes. Luriel frowned. Those were the eyes of a liar.
'...Not entirely false.'
The lie only came when mentioning the source. Luriel stepped closer to the professor.
"...Why avert your eyes? Look at me, Professor."
"Pardon?"
"If the source is inconvenient, I won't press. It's not important anyway."
"......"
"Do you know what this pattern is?"
The professor slowly nodded.
"It's a circuit used in the now-extinct old kingdom, and on the battlefield by shaman units. Though this one seems more focused on concealment..."
"Explain in detail."
"The gist is this."
She tapped her own nape.
"The circuit parasitizing the cervical vertebrae activates by draining the host's life force. Honestly, it's less a spell circuit and more like a summoning one."
"...Summoning circuit?"
"When the two princesses passed, did any magical beasts appear?"
"...About two days after their deaths, some beasts we kept on the palace outskirts escaped and were put down."
"Those probably weren't the palace's beasts."
The professor said.
She gave answers so easily. No hint of deception in her words. Just certainty.
"It's a circuit that summons a beast using life force as the medium. First time seeing it used for assassination... so the summon type must be Ghost lineage."
"...Professor."
Luriel frowned.
"Are you saying my sisters died having their life force sucked out by mere beast summons?"
"That's about right. Seems it dumps all the circuit's load onto the host."
Luriel ground her teeth.
Crunch.
That made sense. Luriel hadn't just sat idle. She'd investigated her sisters' deaths thoroughly.
Fragmented traces like puzzle pieces.
Assuming the professor's guess was correct, they fit together. The puzzle completed. Information connected too easily.
"Aha."
Luriel let out a hollow laugh.
So that's how it was. She muttered as she stared straight at the professor.
"Can you remove it?"
"I could now, but it's been about four days since the pattern appeared, right?"
"Yes."
"Your life force has already been drained. I could dismantle it, but the lost life force won't come back."
"Doesn't matter. Right now—"
"Princess."
The professor gave a bitter smile.
"Draining life force isn't something to take lightly. It'll leave lifelong aftereffects. Weighing life on scales isn't trivial."
"...You say that like you've experienced it."
"Who knows."
The professor dodged the question.
She just gave a wry smile and looked at Luriel. Luriel met the professor's blue eyes.
"Princess."
The professor slowly spoke.
"You can wait three days. No problem. When the circuit summons the beast, right before it severs the link with you... kill the beast. That'll end it, and your drained lifespan should fully return."
"...So three days after all."
Luriel narrowed her eyes at the professor. This woman had identified the circuit in an instant. She'd done what no one else could, as if it were nothing.
Certainty shone in the professor's eyes.
Unshakable.
'...Not just any professor, at least.'
Lania van Trias.
Luriel felt interest toward her. She gave off the vibe of someone hiding much.
But Luriel didn't pry further.
'No need to.'
No point forcing what she wouldn't reveal. Luriel nodded.
"...You're more capable than I thought."
She was simply grateful for her competence.
The dilemma weighing on her had unraveled so simply that Luriel even felt a touch of emptiness.
"Any guess who inscribed this circuit?"
"No need to guess."
Luriel pressed her temple and said.
"Obviously those vermin court mages siding with my brother. Plain as day."
"Hm..."
"I'm pondering how to deal with those bug-like bastards. Would love to execute them all... but no hard evidence. Even if there was, my brother would interfere for sure..."
"Court mages, you say?"
"...Yes?"
The professor blinked.
"Then just leave them be—they'll crawl right to you."
"...What do you mean?"
"Wait till nightfall?"
She said.
"I could catch one or two for you."
3.
The detached palace shrouded in darkness.
Court mage Nekelt, under an invisibility spell, headed down the corridor.
'Quick scribble and out.'
He planned to reinscribe the broken surveillance circuits. Having snuck in, he stopped before the corridor.
"......"
He blinked.
He was a court mage, a skilled one. Adept at reading hidden circuits.
The circuits guarding the palace were visible to him.
He'd thought they'd broken with the surveillance ones, but they were intact. Nekelt felt something off.
'...Why are those fine?'
Did that mean only the surveillance circuits were targeted? Did that even make sense? Doubts filled his head. But only briefly.
'...Doesn't matter anyway.'
Whatever happened, just reinscribe. Nekelt moved forward without hesitation.
There were protective circuits, but he and the other court mages had designed them, excluding themselves.
No circuits triggered as he passed the corridor. Nekelt approached, still invisible.
Thud.
Then, footsteps echoed.
He turned. A maid entered his view. Seemed like she was there to replace the corridor's candles.
Of course, she didn't notice Nekelt.
"......"
Nekelt touched the corridor wall with his finger.
He drew mana and began inscribing the circuit. Mana flowed like water, settling into the gaps between circuits.
Scratch.
Just as he hid the surveillance circuit in the crevice.
"Ah, that's not how you do it."
He froze.
A sudden voice made his finger halt. He turned toward it.
The maid replacing the candle.
She didn't look at him. Muttering as she set down the candle.
"You can't do it like that..."
As if specifically for Nekelt to hear.
'...What?'
Can she see me?
'No, impossible.'
Must be a crazy maid.
Thinking that, Nekelt extended his finger again.
Tap.
Something patted his shoulder. Nekelt whipped around. And swallowed hard.
"Ugh, so frustrating."
The maid, unnoticed until now, stared straight down at him. She sighed heavily, as if exasperated.
"Hey, that's not how you inscribe it."
And bluntly lectured him.
"Wh-what...!"
"Goddamn it. Hey, move."
"Wh-what are you doing! How can you even see me..."
"Shut up and watch. See? That way, it's obvious. To hide it, piggyback on existing circuit lines. Scribble like that, and anyone'll spot it, fuck."
She grabbed his wrist.
And yanked.
"Like this."
Crunch, crrrunch!
His wrist twisted with a sound. How did such slender fingers hold that strength? Not that it mattered now.
His wrist was crushing in agony.
Nekelt couldn't hold back a scream.
"Urk, uurrgh!"
"Shh."
Even that failed.
The maid's white-gloved hand clamped his cheeks. Sealing his mouth.
"Hey."
She slowly twisted his wrist, forcing his head toward her.
"Wanna talk for a bit?"
She grinned.
The candle flickered in the darkness. Her face emerged through the shadows.
A smile like the devil's own.