Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: I Will Teach You Fear (6)
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Holy Temple Record Room F Sector, Top Secret Materials Room.
A space where only information left for Solana alone was meticulously arranged. Today, an unexpected noble guest had visited and was poring over every single letter.
None other than the 2nd Princess, possessor of Dragon Blood—Hedera.
"…."
The contents themselves were vast, yet neatly summarized in a mere fifty or so pages of documents. The information they contained was everything there was to know about the current Inspector Zekiel.
"…Is this all?"
Hedera muttered in disbelief before she could stop herself.
The record room attendant, wrapped head to toe in white cloth, had been watching her nervously for a while now. With great difficulty, they nodded.
"Probably so, Your Highness."
"This is insane. Are you messing with me right now?"
Hedera uttered a rare outburst.
And she had every reason to. She had come all the way to this record room herself to unravel the knots in her heart, only to find the crucial parts cut off entirely.
As the 2nd Princess's mood sharpened in real time, the attendant standing beside her could only flounder helplessly.
"A-As Your Highness knows, the top secret documents here were all personally compiled by the 3rd Princess. If it's not written here, it truly doesn't exist. We're not hiding anything, so please calm your anger…."
"I get it, so shut your mouth."
She sealed the attendant's lips tight with a Word Command.
"What in the world…."
Hedera began devouring the documents again from page one.
Even on the second read, chills prickled across her skin.
Hedera's eyes widened. With pupils slit vertically like a dragon's, she glared at the pages as if she might tear them apart.
—The subject is undergoing self-treatment due to excessive cold qi. Periodic high-intensity interventions will likely be required, and the treatment duration cannot even be estimated.
It was absurd.
At least, that's what Hedera thought. In the distant past, wasn't Zekiel—her own teacher—the unrivaled master of cold qi?
...And now, he had been consumed by it instead?
Hedera's fingertips flew through the pages.
—All internal heat-generating organs are paralyzed. Exact cause unknown, but there is reason to believe they were forcibly sealed. On hold.
—Due to deterioration, only a fraction of total mana can be utilized, with efficiency at an all-time low.
"…."
The prowess Zekiel had displayed at the announcement was staggering.
And that was with abysmal mana efficiency? No one—not even Hedera—could have noticed. His worst was better than anyone else's best.
And then.
The final line.
A line she couldn't believe, even reading it again.
—Days left to live: not many.
Something heavy sank in Hedera's heart.
"…Is this really all?"
Hedera muttered blankly once more, but no answer came. Nor could there be.
The 2nd Princess closed the documents, then started over from the first page.
She read to the end, then began again from the first.
Again.
Even after repeating it several times, there was nothing more.
Thump— Thump—
Suddenly, her heartbeat grew louder. For Hedera, who responded to everything with apathy, this was a feeling she hadn't experienced in ages. Anxiety, it was called.
Thump— Thump—
A terminal illness?
She hadn't known.
No, she couldn't even have imagined it.
Strength inherently implied health. How long had he been carrying this burden while appearing stronger than anyone? The timing was impossible to pinpoint.
'That's why my Word Command worked….'
Because his body was in such dire straits. To him, Hedera's Word Command must have been an enormous burden.
Gulp. The 2nd Princess quietly swallowed dryly.
What if.
If the reason he left her was this too, and the secret he kept was this…. It all fit perfectly why he had hidden it so thoroughly.
—There are things in this world like that. Things that become sins just for wanting to know them, things that wound deeply just for asking….
...Yes, thinking of it as terminal made it all make sense.
It was more than enough reason not to speak.
More than enough reason to try hiding it by any means.
Thump— Thump—
"…."
A dragon was essentially immortal.
The immortal Hedera had demanded answers from the terminally ill Zekiel.
When she had snapped at him to explain himself, what must his feelings have been, bearing all this alone? She, who never worried about lifespan, couldn't even imagine.
Thump— Thump—
Sweat beaded on her forehead.
At the same time, a new question bubbled up.
'Terminal, and yet… why show up again?'
A conversation with the 3rd Princess Solana suddenly came to mind.
—Why did you appoint my Magic Tower's Inspector on your own whim?
—It's good for him too.
Good for him. That's what Solana had said.
In what way could it possibly be good for him?
"No way…."
Did Zekiel value Hedera's ascension ritual more than his own life? Like the letter saying it was for her happiness, did he have no choice but to appear?
What if.
Even if just by some slim chance.
If Hedera's assumption was correct.
Thump— Thump—
Then what did it mean for her to propose that bet in Luipl, saying she'd test him one more time? What significance would it have held for him?
Thump— Thump—
Her heart was still pounding with anxiety.
Because Zekiel had shown no sign of it.
Because he hadn't uttered a single complaint.
Thump— Thump—
So the end of this anxiety was nowhere in sight.
"Ah…."
Hedera's grip tightened. Moments later, the documents in her hand crumpled with a crunch.
She quickly turned to check the clock.
Zekiel would have just arrived in Luipl by now. It would take at least a few days to return, so what should she prepare in the meantime?
'…The Imperial Treasury.'
They had agreed that if she won the bet, she'd open the Imperial Treasury. Maybe there'd be something helpful there? At least an elixir to improve his health.
"…."
But she had to abandon that thought immediately.
She had promised to open the Imperial Treasury.
If she won the bet.
...Yes, if Zekiel won.
Thump— Thump—
'Can he win?'
Zekiel's health was in a state as poor as it could possibly be. He might look fine on the surface, but it was no different from a castle built of sand.
And his opponent was Guard Knight Balton.
Balton's recent displays had been impeccable. Hadn't he been swinging his sword tirelessly in the training grounds right up until departure, without a hint of fatigue?
The worst-off mage versus the peak-condition knight.
Hedera could guess the outcome of this match.
Thump— Thump—
Her steadfast steps finally faltered.
Her heart couldn't overcome the anxiety and felt ready to burst.
Sweat trickled down the woman's spine.
Her mind had long gone blank.
Luipl.
Zekiel and Tirbi were walking alone together.
"For the Inspector of the Imperial Magic Tower to request a drink with me—what an immense honor, you have no idea!"
Tirbi led the way, bubbling with excitement.
She prided herself on her shrewdness and thus knew exactly which strings to pull.
Anes? Her interest had vanished the moment she learned she was just a secretary. The one Tirbi needed to woo now was obviously the Magic Tower's Inspector, Zekiel.
'This should go smoothly.'
After all, the Inspector wanted to drink alone with her. What better proof that things were falling into place?
Thank goodness. Thank goodness the Inspector was so worldly.
And so, they arrived at a residence with a rather suggestive atmosphere.
For the record, the ambiance here was entirely intentional. Tirbi made a point of accentuating her hips as she rummaged for the stored liquor.
"Since this is Luipl, I wonder if we have anything rare enough to satisfy the Inspector. Serving lukewarm swill would be rude, after all."
"Doesn't matter."
Zekiel fashioned glasses from ice. Not ordinary ones, but shaped with frost swirling elegantly around them.
'Oh, so he can handle magic at this level?'
But the intent behind crafting such flashy glasses was obvious. Trying to impress her, right? She inwardly mocked Zekiel to her heart's content.
Thus began the drinking session.
Tirbi quietly swept her hair behind her ear.
"A lowly thing like me daring to pour for the Inspector—hope that's alright. Ah, your knights seemed busy rushing about…. Are you sure you're okay on your own, sir?"
"Let them run around. It'll just make their feet hurt."
Tirbi stifled a laugh that threatened to burst out.
'Look at this guy, treating the mission like an afterthought?'
Chasing her without a care for results or anything. It was so ridiculous it was laughable.
"Inspector, let me pour you the first one!"
"Sure."
His brief reply came as his gaze lingered on Tirbi.
"…But why do you keep staring at me like that?"
A line tossed out with simple seduction.
"Didn't I tell you?"
Yet Zekiel drained his glass lightly and said,
"That I'm only interested in you."
Tirbi's hand paused mid-pour.
Come to think of it, the Inspector's eyes were… different.
"…."
Blue eyes gleaming fiercely, like those of a beast encountered in the dead of night.
For some reason, it felt like they pierced straight through everything she was.