Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Frozen Blood (1)
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Tok.
A cold droplet of water fell onto my forehead.
I gasped sharply and opened my eyes wide.
My severed consciousness suddenly reconnected, and reality came rushing back.
The first thing that entered my sight was a ceiling covered in intricate patterns.
It was even tilted, nearly making me nauseous as I tried to make out what the patterns were.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the urge to vomit, then opened them again, and only then did everything come into proper focus.
Moonlight slanted in through the gap between the ceiling and the wall, illuminating the surroundings.
At the edge of the sagging ceiling, where the upper floor had collapsed, water had pooled.
Unidentifiable droplets tapped rhythmically against my forehead.
A signal to wake up and get moving.
I pressed my hands against the floor and staggered to my feet.
What was that? What just happened?
Where's Wedin? Clemence?
Questions swirled in my mind, but none of them had answers.
No, at least one did.
A short distance away, Wedin lay collapsed.
"Weddy!"
I rushed to his side and checked his condition.
There were no visible wounds or bloodstains; he seemed to have simply lost consciousness.
I slapped his cheeks and tapped his head, but he didn't stir.
All I could do was wait for him to wake.
In the meantime, I checked my possessions.
I'd dropped my staff somewhere in the room. I had no idea if it was still there or if someone had taken it.
I could still cast magic without it, but my control would suffer, which was a bit worrying.
I'd grown too accustomed to mixing Imperial and Kingdom magic.
The knot-untying key was still deep in my inner pocket, as were Althur's study and the pouch of blue chronium.
My dagger for self-defense was intact too.
They must have figured a mage with a dagger wasn't much of a threat.
And around my neck hung Mother's eternal crest, steady and secure.
I clutched it tightly and let out a sigh of relief.
We were trapped in a ruined room—one that had been in ruins for a long time.
Moonlight dimly lit the space, but I could make out the outlines well enough.
The ceiling sloped, the windows were blocked by massive pillars, and the floor was cracked and half upheaved.
The furniture was all smashed beyond recognition, yet somehow the door remained remarkably intact.
That's why they'd locked us in here.
I rattled and pounded on the door a few times before reaching that conclusion.
Each shake sent dust and pebbles raining from the ceiling.
The heavily rusted handle looked like it might twist open if I tried...
"Achoo."
A sneeze from behind made me stop shaking the door.
Wedin, covered in dust, was sneezing as he woke up.
"Weddy. You with us?"
"Ugh."
Wedin groaned as he pushed himself up.
Dust and dirt billowed up from the filthy old carpet.
"This feels absolutely awful."
He finally managed to spit it out after a bout of coughing.
"Now that I've experienced it... My head hurts, my face stings, and I can't stop coughing. I get why Teacher Grain said not to use it."
The stinging face was from my slaps, and the sneezing from the door shaking, but I played dumb.
"What are you talking about?"
"That technique the woman used to knock us out."
Wedin raised his finger and mimed something snapping.
"She said holy mages have secret moves. Man, my mind just cut out."
"That maid was a holy mage? I figured she wasn't a normal maid."
I recalled Kalia's icy demeanor.
Her movements and attitude were anything but those of an ordinary maid.
Ordinary maids felt warm and approachable, like Mia.
"I dunno. To me, she seemed like some assassin or spy."
"Oh, remember that adventure novel from a few years back? 'Shadow Maid Lea'..."
"...Is now really the time?"
I scowled. Wedin shrugged.
"Just saying, that's the vibe."
"Lea or Kalia, I'm worried about Clemence."
I sighed and extended a hand to Wedin. He grabbed it and stood.
As he brushed the dirt and dust from his clothes, a cloud puffed up.
"They weren't trying to kill Clemence. They wanted to take her somewhere."
"And this is it?"
I gestured around the room.
Wedin finally looked around and frowned.
"Yeah, White Guard Knights would never approve this place. The assembly hall hasn't collapsed in the meantime, has it?"
"Don't jinx it."
I dismissed his words.
I hadn't even considered the possibility, but hearing him say it sent chills down my spine.
The only way to check was to get outside.
And we had to find Clemence.
"Let's get out of here first."
"How...?"
Bang.
The chair back I hurled crashed noisily into the wooden door.
The ceiling creaked, pebbles fell, and the walls shook.
Wedin gaped in alarm.
"Hey, no mage-like way to do this?"
"Mana's precious."
This method had punched a hole in the old wooden door.
I peered through the gap.
A wide corridor stretched both ways, with no signs of life nearby.
"Good, no one's around."
"If there were, they'd have come running by now. We're making a racket..."
I ignored Wedin's mutter and reached my arm through the hole to twist the latch from outside.
If it didn't work, I'd have to break the handle...
Clunk. The rusty lock gave way.
"Got it."
We stepped out into the corridor.
The massive hallway was wide enough for a carriage and utterly wrecked.
No matter how I looked, this wasn't Flavia's assembly hall.
So where the hell had they brought us...?
"Lib, come here."
Wedin called from the opposite side of the corridor.
There'd be no glass left in windows where the floor and ceiling had collapsed and walls tilted into a courtyard.
Standing at the corridor's window, desolate wind blew straight in.
And outside stretched a castle long turned to ruins.
A massive fortress carved into a canyon hugged a small city center.
Once teeming with people, now most buildings had lost their shape, buried under earth and stone.
Wind from the plains scoured the structures, and a pale moon lit the empty desolation.
The ramparts too had crumbled more than halfway.
Turrets everywhere stood abandoned, with no one left to guard or places to protect.
Beyond the broken walls lay vast plains and a wide river that seemed to have stopped flowing.
And in the distance, that city was definitely Flavia...
"Where the hell is this...?"
Wedin's voice trembled. I drew a sharp breath.
"Cornick Fortress."
We were in the upper levels of the massive citadel.
"You think this makes any sense? Dragging us here just to get Clemence. Prius knights are surely looking for us."
"They probably didn't expect us to be with her."
We headed down the long corridor toward its end.
The other end was buried under collapsed pillar debris, and other rooms had broken doors or sunken floors—no other way through.
"I don't get why the Duchess is doing this."
I was just as baffled. Couldn't guess her motives at all.
And this place... it stirred bad memories.
I steadied my breathing, shoved the old recollections aside, and gripped Wedin's arm firmly.
"Find Clemence and get back to Flavia. That's all we think about now."
Wedin nodded gravely.
At the corridor's end was a wide staircase leading down.
It switched back midway, so peering down didn't reveal the lower floor clearly.
If only Ash were here right now...
I bit my lip.
Ash would have come charging to save us immediately.
Has he gone back to Flavia by now? Do Father and the knights know we're missing?
"Lib."
Wedin suddenly whispered and stopped me.
I turned with a puzzled look, and he scowled, pulling me tight against the wall and crouching.
Only then did I hear footsteps from below the stairs.
A knight on patrol, the swish of cloak and sword.
We'd nearly walked right down without realizing a knight guarded the floor below...
Wedin glared at me.
"Pull yourself together. Find Clemence and get back to Flavia, right?"
"...Yeah."
I calmed my pounding heart. Wedin peeked below.
"How do we get down? Looks like he's patrolling."
"They won't kill us. Should I just go down and ask where Clemence is?"
"Whoa, that's actually a good idea."
Wedin muttered without smiling. I chuckled and stood.
"Wait, for real?"
He grabbed my arm, thinking I meant it literally.
I patted his hand.
"Hide over there. Just in case, prep the holy mage secret move."
"Ah."
He got it then and nodded, slipping quietly behind the stairs.
I confirmed he was hidden, then deliberately stomped down the stairs.
"You!"
The house knight in blue uniform spotted me and strode over with a fearsome glare.
I flinched.
"How'd you get out of the room? Back now!"
As expected, no immediate sword draw or swing.
Clear orders not to harm us.
I said calmly,
"I'm just looking for Clemence. I need to make sure she's safe."
"The lady's fine. Now go back. Stay put, and you won't get hurt."
He placed a hand on his sword hilt to intimidate, pushing me back up the stairs.
I retreated with a scared expression, climbing step by step.
"Where's Clemence? Why are we here?"
"Quiet. How'd you get out? Door was locked tight."
As we neared the top, I spotted Wedin pressed against the opposite wall—out of the knight's sight.
"It just opened."
"What? Impossible."
The knight's face paled slightly.
As he turned toward the corridor, Wedin crept up silently behind.
"No way ghosts are real, right? Did you see someth...?"
Thud.
The knight collapsed mid-sentence, consciousness snapped.
Wedin stood behind, staring at his hands with a complicated expression.
"He was just talking about ghosts."
Won't hear the rest of that story.
I confirmed the knight was out cold.
"Still feels bad."
Wedin shook out his hands unhappily.
"Better than drawing blood. Let's go down."
"Ugh... Hope we don't run into more."
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.