Chapter 130
Chapter 130
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Chamber of Reflection
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Agnes had stepped out with a few of the elders. Additional preparations were needed before entering the Chamber of Reflection.
“At least no one here seems to be lying right now.”
While waiting for Agnes, Paruzan scanned the remaining elders and retainers.
He had checked through Tracking to see if any of them had ties to the Old Cultists.
Damian had also peered into their insides with black magic—Gaze. At least none of them possessed demonic power.
“Just in case, I’ll scout the surroundings a bit more.”
Poof. Paruzan vanished out the window like a squirrel.
Many wore stunned expressions at the sudden move, but no one dared say anything to Damian.
“Schubert. House of the sword. Not as impressive. As expected.”
Shakia swept his gaze over the elders and retainers. Deep wrinkles formed between his brows, his displeasure evident.
The fame of House Schubert—which had produced the Imperial Knight Commander and numerous outstanding knights—had long since faded.
The only one who had shown promise lately was Agnes’s father, Luce Schubert, but he had been slain by that traitor Ramsey.
“But. Agnes. Is strong.”
She was like the house’s hope. Even under Ballack’s leadership as family head, there had been secret factions supporting Agnes.
“Shall we go, Lord Damian?”
Agnes returned with two elders. One kept a calm expression, but the other looked as if he’d swallowed bitter medicine.
“The acting head entering the Chamber of Reflection—we won’t object any further. But must Lord Damian accompany you? Couldn’t you reconsider?”
One elder ventured cautiously, but Damian’s stance was firm.
“Ballack might have set something up. There could be magical traps hidden. So I’ll come along.”
“It’s already decided. As acting head, I won’t entertain objections.”
Agnes fiddled with her sword hilt once more.
They held the advantage in both justification and force. Continuing to argue would smack of disloyalty to the Empire.
“I’ll guide you to the entrance.”
The sour-faced elder bowed his head and took the lead.
They entered the family head’s office and activated several mechanisms. Soon, the wall parted to reveal a new space.
Descending by torchlight, a massive door blocked their path.
“…I’ll take my leave here.”
Once the elder’s footsteps had fully faded, Damian shrugged and asked,
“Why so sensitive about this? It feels like more than just Ballack issues. Is the tradition that important…?”
“I don’t know the details myself, but they say this chamber holds all of House Schubert’s rights and deeds. As elders, they probably hate the idea of an outsider seeing it.”
There had once been a time when House Schubert’s prestige shook the entire Empire. Surely they hadn’t done only righteous deeds during that era.
“Kyaa!”
“Bone Fragment. Long time no see. You’ve changed a lot too.”
The Bone Fragment flitted around Agnes, making cute sounds.
Since the Elgana incident, it no longer rolled on the floor but could float at a steady height.
The Bone Fragment had grown through battle as well.
“You must have played your part too. Thanks for staying by Lord Damian’s side in my absence. …Lord Damian? Is there something on my face?”
Agnes blinked and asked. Damian had been staring at her.
“It wasn’t an act after all.”
Agnes showed no particular agitation upon reuniting.
Even with Ballack’s rampage and flight, and her sudden role as acting head.
Damian had thought instability was inevitable.
This issue was tied to Agnes’s revenge, after all.
So he’d assumed she was putting on a calm front. Wearing the mask of acting head.
But that wasn’t the case. Agnes showed no special tremors.
She simply focused calmly and sharply on resolving the problems at hand.
“The old me would’ve definitely put on the show people wanted. Not anymore. Training with you has honed not just my swordsmanship, but my mind too.”
Agnes grinned. Damian smiled back at her confident expression.
“But to think you mistook it for acting…. I’m a little disappointed. I’d never show you a false face now, would I?”
“Sorry about that. I guess I still haven’t seen the real you properly.”
“W-Well….”
Agnes fidgeted with the hair behind her ear, embarrassed.
It had been a joking remark, but she hadn’t expected Damian to respond so earnestly.
“L-Let’s head in now. This is the more important matter.”
Clank. Rumble rumble. Agnes inserted the key, and gears meshed with a resounding click. The doors parted to either side.
“A-Atchoo! So dusty.”
Unlike its grand name, the Chamber of Reflection was more like a warehouse. Still, traces of human use remained.
As Agnes lit the surroundings with her torch, Damian scanned the interior with black magic—Gaze, just in case.
Ballack might have set traps, after all.
‘None.’
Fortunately, the man lacked the brains for it.
“No need to search further, I think.”
Damian spoke, eyeing the stack of letters and documents on the table.
They were much older than the other items.
“These are all letters addressed to Ballack.”
No sender was listed. But the contents made it clear.
“This seems like one from Elgana.”
A considerable sum of money had flowed that way. To prepare the devices in Enricasil.
“An amount House Schubert couldn’t handle alone. He probably laundered it through us.”
“There are mentions of Ramsey here too.”
Agnes’s expression hardened the instant the name came up.
Ramsey, her half-brother, was a weight on her heart despite having overcome him with Damian’s help.
“…This is enough proof that Ballack was involved in your father’s murder.”
“We’ll need to inform the elders and retainers too.”
With evidence of ties to the Old Cultists already uncovered, one more crime wouldn’t change much.
Still, no one in House Schubert would dare side with him now.
“Hm? Lord Damian, take a look at this.”
Paruzan handed over a paper with a drawing. It depicted the northern tundra, with a massive statue visible.
“A place linked to the Old Cultists? Maybe their hideout.”
“Why else keep it here?”
Heh heh heh. At that moment, Elgana’s laughter echoed from the soul.
[What’s so funny?]
[Oh, just how things are unfolding like this—it’s intriguing. As you suspected, that place is connected to the Old Cultists. I met their leader there, with the statue in view.]
Elgana had no reason to lie to Damian. That settled it—they needed to investigate.
[Do you know the exact location?]
[Unfortunately not. I didn’t travel there normally.]
Scouring the vast north with just a drawing would take effort. But with the Empire’s authority, it wasn’t impossible.
“This seems to be all the info we’ll get here. Enough to mobilize the Imperial Special Forces.”
Few had touched these letters. Paruzan could distinguish Ballack’s scent.
“Even if we find Ballack, capturing him alive comes first.”
No telling how much he knew about the Old Cultists, but extracting info was priority. Absorption if needed.
“I understand. It’s no longer a matter for personal feelings.”
Agnes clearly grasped that point. Ballack’s crimes had outgrown House Schubert’s jurisdiction.
“Still, I want to ask.”
Before leaving the chamber, Agnes paused and gazed inside.
Why was it called the Chamber of Reflection? Damian’s guess: a space for the family head alone to sort their thoughts.
“What could drive someone to this? Was the seat worth it?”
With her calm expression, Agnes now truly was House Schubert’s head.
* * *
Presenting the letters and documents from the Chamber of Reflection, the elders and retainers let out deep sighs.
It didn’t matter if they had supported Ballack or not.
A man who had once represented Schubert had committed treason—and allied with enemies of the Empire.
They thought the house’s glory had faded, but now it was mired in worse.
“Sniff sniff. Faint scent—easy to track. This one’s Damian, this Agnes… Need something clearer…. Ah!”
“Uwaaaah!”
“Kyaah!”
Paruzan pinned Ballack’s son and daughter with one hand each.
Normally, elders and retainers would’ve rushed in, but not now.
Children of a criminal. Imperial law allowed collective punishment in some cases. And their conduct had always been poor—no one would take their side.
“Sniff sniff. This is enough. Narrow the range, and I can track him.”
Paruzan bared his teeth in a grin. He’d caught Ballack’s scent solidly.
“Hold them just like that.”
Crunch! Damian’s sword slammed between the siblings’ faces.
Seeing themselves reflected in the sharp metal, they didn’t dare scream.
“The Imperial Special Forces will investigate House Schubert anyway. I’ll ask first. Spill everything you know.”
At “Imperial Special Forces,” the elders and retainers tensed sharply. No need to explain their thoroughness.
“W-We really don’t know anything!”
“O-Oppa’s right! Father—no, Ballack and we share only blood, nothing more!”
Whoosh. Green flames erupted along the blade. Not the answer Damian wanted.
Even the watching elders and retainers broke into sweat. Not just from the heat—the intimidation radiating from those green flames.
“U-Ugh, th-that is….”
“I-I know one thing! Teya Mountains! He’s been scouting the terrain there for months! Even delved into the depths alone!”
“Anything else?”
“N-No! That’s really it!”
“Sniff sniff. No lies.”
They’d gotten all the info from Ballack’s children. The rest was for the Special Forces.
“Cooperate fully with the Special Forces investigation. That’s an order as acting head. Don’t tarnish Schubert’s name further.”
The elders and retainers left the reception room with troubled faces. None tied to the Old Cultists, so the probe wouldn’t drag on.
“Shakia. Ever seen a massive statue like this in the north?”
Damian showed the drawing. Shakia’s brows furrowed. Maybe he knew something—that would save a lot of trouble.
“Damian. This. How.”
“Found it in the Chamber of Reflection. Linked to the Old Cultists somehow….”
“Sword’s. Holy Land.”
Shakia pointed firmly at the massive statue, his expression resolute.
“Sword’s. Holy Land.”
Their northern task had narrowed to one, but it wasn’t a pleasant prospect.