Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Witness in the Darkness (1)
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The four days Shirley had mentioned in my dream nagged at me, so in the end, I decided to just close my eyes without actually sleeping.
...But while I could’ve handled a full day under normal conditions, the effects of the drug hadn’t fully worn off yet.
“Ugh...”
I drifted in and out—dozing off, dreaming, snapping awake with my eyes fluttering open at random—staring at the window as it slowly brightened.
I managed to kill time somehow, but my condition was utterly abysmal.
“Arma Cruise.”
The fact that he called my full name out of nowhere told me it was definitely Theodor White who’d come to wake me.
“Just a sec...”
My head throbbed like it might split open from lack of proper sleep, and my eyes stung sharply because of it.
I flailed vaguely at the air to shake off the fog, but with Theodor’s help, I barely managed to sit up.
“Thanks...”
Theodor didn’t reply and just spun on his heel.
Moody as a cat that’s gorged itself silly.
After neatly folding the bedding where he’d slept, Theodor headed toward the sound of running water in the shower room, calling out, “I’m going,”
then paused at the door and glanced back at me.
“I’ll look into it.”
“Yeah, sure. Good luck.”
He wouldn’t find anything, of course.
No matter how famed a detective Theodor was, it’d be tough to deduce that the version of himself from my dream had drawn a magic circle in red ink on someone else’s chest.
“Senior Arma.”
After Theodor left, Arthur emerged from the shower, shaking water from his hair, and approached me.
The intimidating presence I hadn’t noticed with three people around hit me full force now, but what could I do? I’d walked right into the tiger’s den.
...?
Arthur peered at my face, looking displeased about something, then jerked his chin toward the shower room.
“Nah, I’m good.”
I usually showered at night anyway, and with my body wrecked from tossing and turning all night, dousing myself in water felt like a terrible idea.
Arthur nodded and strode past me toward the dressing room.
I stood near the door, warily watching him change.
“Looks like you didn’t sleep well.”
He spoke to me as he dressed in his academy uniform, starting with the blouse.
The velvet vest—gold and black blended together, usually hidden by his cloak—shimmered delicately in the morning light.
“It was fine. They say I’ve got lousy sleeping habits, though.”
Of course, that was a lie.
I slept like the dead, barely shifting position from bedtime to morning.
I just didn’t want to get caught up in Arthur’s pace.
Arthur lowered his eyes and gave a meaningful smile that felt eerily ominous.
“You look rough.”
“Anyone would after yesterday.”
“Well, true.”
Now he stood before the mirror, brushing his hair back to bare his forehead.
That pale, smooth brow brought back the moment he’d taken a bullet to the chest.
His gaunt face, ghostly expression, and normally neat hair all disheveled—it screamed that something seriously wrong had happened to Arthur.
“I figured you’d head out with Theodor right away.”
-Clink.
In the heavy silence of the dorm room, the sound of a sword being sheathed made my heart drop.
Arthur had fastened the scabbard—connected to a belt at the waist and straps across the chest—then slid the blade home at his hip.
Academy rules forbade carrying lethal weapons without special permission, like mine.
The sword at Arthur’s waist was just a blunted training blade for today’s classes.
“After finding that magic circle, that guy who flinches every time he looks at me?”
Feigning calm, I glanced at the holster on Arthur’s desk—stained with blood but roughly wiped—strapped it on, and checked the bullets out of habit.
Armed to the teeth at point-blank range with things we weren’t supposed to use as weapons, we might as well have been actors on a stage.
Arthur, who’d watched me check my ammo, approached slowly.
I stared at him advancing with sword at his side, fighting the urge to back away.
I didn’t want to show any weakness until I figured out what he was after.
“Sorry, but I can’t give you any more time.”
“...What?”
No sooner had I spoken than a metallic scrape—like the one Arthur had mentioned earlier—mixed with the tramp of multiple shoes echoed from outside the window.
“Who’s coming?”
Arthur stood facing me at the door, back to the window, but a swordmaster’s senses were leagues beyond a normal person’s.
With hearing like that, he could easily guess what was approaching from the sounds alone.
Wiping the eerie smile from his lips, Arthur gave a curt reply.
“The clash of gauntlets and greaves. Student Council.”
“Of all the luck.”
They’d shown up far sooner than the half-day I’d expected.
I’d wanted to revisit the crime scene even if it meant getting arrested, but that wasn’t happening now.
Arthur brushed past me slowly toward the door.
“Planning to run?”
“Open it.”
His polite speech was courteous, but he wasn’t exactly compliant.
I wondered why he’d grown so prickly and on edge.
‘Did the dream affect him?’
In the dream, I’d fired four shots.
First to Theodor’s eye, second to Judith’s finger, third to Arthur’s heart, and last to myself.
Shirley was the only one who hadn’t died by my hand, but since I hadn’t witnessed her death directly, I couldn’t be sure.
“Arthur.”
“Yes.”
I sighed softly at his mild, polite response and shook my head.
“We’ll talk later. Alone.”
“Understood.”
Right now, Arthur Usher’s suspicious behavior wasn’t the priority.
If anything, it was more a side note than the heart of the matter.
Just foreshadowing for the next incident.
Arthur lowered his gaze, dipped his head in a bow, and I returned the gesture.
Right on cue, the academy’s Student Council burst in—lightly armed with gauntlets and greaves.
(We jokingly called them the police.)
“Arma Cruise. Found you.”
One of the cap-wearing cadets shouted.
But for all their bluster, they didn’t rush to restrain me—instead, they formed a loose circle, blocking my paths without closing in.
Their demeanor was far too polite to pass for dealing with a criminal.
“Sorry, but—”
“Please come with us.”
Few of the cadets were younger than me, but academy rules dictated that everyone—council members or regular cadets—used formal speech with each other out of mutual respect.
Their stiff expressions softened slightly at my words, and they began moving swiftly while holding their circular formation.
-Clank, clank.
“......”
“......”
No one spoke, so the only sounds were our footsteps and the clashing of gauntlets and greaves, echoing noisily around us.
As we exited the Thorn Crown Class dorm building, cadets from the class had gathered, whispering and staring at me.
Snippets like “She killed someone” and “Arma Cruise, how...” floated from the crowd.
‘Word travels fast.’
Not even twelve hours since I’d woken in the chapel, and already the rumor mill was churning the chapel murder into prime gossip.
“Straight to the Black Lily House?”
“Yes.”
Unlike the near-straight shot across the sea half a day ago, going overland was quite the trek.
At this pace, it’d take a solid twenty minutes even hustling.
As we passed the Thorn Crown Class dorms and crossed the rear garden, a shout rang out from afar.
“Senior Arma—!!”
Even across the distance, with the sea in between, the voice was crystal clear—Shirley’s.
I turned toward the sound and spotted her in the Wooden Cross House’s rear garden, one leg hooked over the fence like she was about to vault the cliff.
“Ah, no—”
I’d raised both hands to signal her not to jump when a hand snagged her mid-leap like a spider catching prey.
The only one in Wooden Cross Class who could nab a flailing Shirley from the air was Judith.
Judith tucked the wildly thrashing Shirley under her arm and bolted from the garden.
‘Thanks.’
I gave Judith silent thanks, then nodded to the Student Council cadet.
A brief commotion, but since Shirley and I were such close friends and her escape attempt had failed anyway, it was no issue.
Once Shirley was gone, the Student Council scanned the area warily before resuming their march.
I followed, taking in the shifting scenery around us.
-Innocent and pure One, look upon this sinner with mercy... have compassion...
Coincidence or not, the closer we got to Black Lily House, the darker the native conifers on the island grew.
Their gloomy, near-black thickness exuded an overwhelming presence.
Everything about Black Lily House was sharp.
The trees, the flowers, the student council building’s roof and spires thrusting skyward, even the fence ornaments.
Unlike the Wooden Cross House air—thick with the boozy-sweet scent of overripe fruit trees—Black Lily House felt sharp and arid.
“Arma Cruise. Apologies, but we’ll need to check your belongings.”
“Handle it carefully.”
I unstrapped the holster from my chest and handed it to the cadet, asking politely.
He nodded, wrapping it in soft cloth to preserve any prints, then stowed my gun in a hard case that looked meant for evidence.
“Detainee secured.”
“Detainee?”
-Clink.
Suddenly, my wrists were bound above my hands—not with handcuffs, but a pair of black wristbands.