Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 379

Chapter 379

“……! Captain of the Guard! Are you out of your mind!”

Danimel, in shock, widened his eyes as much as possible. The Captain of the Guard seemed to ignore his reaction. Without even looking at Danimel, he bowed deeply to Raon Hwizen and said politely.

“I will escort you to the Imperial Palace.”

“…….”

Raon Hwizen was just as bewildered by the unfolding situation. Even after seeing the path open before him, he remained frozen in place for a moment. His face showed that he hadn’t expected the Captain of the Guard to actually decide to retreat. Perhaps he had assumed that someone directly under the Emperor would prioritize Danimel’s wishes.

“Your Highness?”

“Ah.”

Only after hearing the voice did Raon Hwizen slowly exhale. Color returned to his pale face as he finally seemed to grasp reality. He paused to catch his breath before starting to walk as the Captain of the Guard led the way. Only then did Asel and the others, who had been tense, breathe a sigh of relief. They had managed to extinguish the immediate threat.

“What are you doing, Captain of the Guard! Retreating like this is treason! This is treason!”

Danimel shouted from behind the retreating Captain of the Guard, his face pale. His desperate voice, like a scream, echoed through the mountain. But the Captain of the Guard nonchalantly retorted.

“I have full operational control. I will take all responsibility, so please follow my decision, Danimel.”

“……Keuk! You will regret this moment! I will report all of this to His Majesty in detail!”

Unable to do anything more as the one in command of the troops was firm, Danimel turned away, grinding his teeth. Immediately, he began to draw something on the ground and chant a spell. He seemed to be trying to use space- 이동 [teleportation] magic. A quick glance revealed the coordinates. It was a magic circle that 이동ed [teleported] to the Imperial Palace.

‘Is he really going to report to the Emperor?’

While I was dumbfounded, Danimel disappeared before my eyes. Just in case, I kept an eye on his presence until the end, and it seemed he had indeed 이동ed [teleported] to the Imperial Palace. After he disappeared, Raon Hwizen couldn’t hide his awkward expression in the silence that followed.

“Sir Almasner, I…….”

“Do not worry.”

“……!”

“I have been watching over His Highness since he was very young. I know His Highness’s character better than anyone else.”

A gentle smile appeared on the Captain of the Guard’s usually stern face. It was an expression that clearly conveyed reassurance. Raon Hwizen slowly blinked before lowering his gaze.

“……Thank you.”

A faint voice escaped from his moving lips.

There are good people by Your Highness’s side.

Why don’t you start by recognizing them first?

Watching that series of events, I recalled what Alec had said to him. As if he had thought of the same thing, Raon Hwizen’s eyes also deepened. It was a look that showed he had realized many things and felt a myriad of emotions.

Suddenly, I looked up at the sky and saw two stars. They were particularly bright stars in the 운무 [mist] of stars scattered like embroidery. When one’s light became brighter, the other seemed to gain strength and became brighter as well. They looked like they were encouraging each other and growing together. One of those lights seemed to be illuminating Raon Hwizen’s path.

No matter what happens in the future, I had a feeling that his life would move in a different direction than before. It would definitely be for the better.

* * *

As Raon Hwizen stepped forward, the retreat began in earnest. The sight of a path opening in the densely packed crowd as he walked was a spectacle in itself. The torches held by the army split on both sides, guiding him like markers on the road he had to take. I and the others also followed that path, maintaining a reasonable distance.

“Ugh, I feel nervous for some reason.”

While gauging the distance to the Imperial Palace, Alisa whispered in a small voice, her head lowered. Since they were passing through the middle of the procession, there were bound to be many eyes watching, and that seemed to be a burden. When I glanced back, Asel and Serium also looked unusually tense, as if they were overwhelmed by the atmosphere. They wouldn’t be comfortable in this situation in other ways either. It would be good if things went well with the Emperor, but if not, they would inevitably be branded as traitors.

If that happens, I’ll have to help them, right? I came because of Sibelius, but I can’t ignore Raon Hwizen after knowing each other for so long. It’s not like he committed real treason, and it’s obvious to anyone that it’s a frame-up, so I felt even more compelled.

‘……Besides, the Archduke seems to be involved too.’

Come to think of it, when did I coordinate with him? I was a little taken aback by this connection because I didn’t know that the Emperor of the 카터스 [Karten] Empire would be 친분 [friendly] with the Archduke. The words Troel once said, that the missing Archduke might be in the 카터스 [Karten] Empire, made me feel even more uneasy. I hadn’t paid any attention to Emperor Narjen, so I hadn’t looked into the Imperial Palace. I was about to check the internal situation in advance before arriving when…….

‘Huh?’

Suddenly, the air felt restless, and I sensed subtle movements around me. I could feel an erratic flow within the following army. A group was stealthily leaving the procession. Judging by their hooded figures and atmosphere, they didn’t seem to belong to the Guard. Not all soldiers would be on the Captain of the Guard’s side, so they might be a group belonging to Danimel. If they were planning to strike Raon Hwizen, now, when he was off guard, would be the opportunity. I couldn’t help but tense up, thinking they might attack. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be planning a surprise attack; they were just silently 이동ing [moving] elsewhere. And that direction was towards the Academy.

‘……Oh no. Are they ignoring the retreat order and just advancing?’

The purpose was so clear that I got goosebumps. I never thought they would go so far as to disobey the captain’s orders altogether. Everyone was in a 분위기 [mood] to retreat quietly, so I hadn’t even considered such a sudden action. My face hardened with a sense of despair, but one question filled my mind. Raon Hwizen was voluntarily going to the Imperial Palace anyway. So why go to such lengths? Did the Emperor give them separate orders? Did he anticipate the Captain of the Guard’s decision and take measures in advance?

‘Anyway, this is not the time for this.’

At this rate, even if Raon Hwizen’s false charges were cleared, a disaster would occur. I thought about informing the Captain of the Guard of the situation, but I soon changed my mind. It was such a secretive movement that no one had noticed it yet. Everyone was already tense, and if I said that there were people disobeying orders, it would only complicate things further. They probably wouldn’t believe me easily, and it would be difficult to explain how I noticed the presence that even the Sword Master hadn’t sensed. It was also difficult to guess how the group that was quietly leaving the procession would react if they were caught. More people might sympathize with them and resist the retreat. In the end, there was only one method I could choose: to quietly deal with them myself.

“Sorry, I’ll be away for a bit.”

“El, where are you going?”

“I have a place to stop by. I’ll be back soon, so go on ahead.”

After smiling at Sibelius, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, I immediately blended in with the soldiers and left the procession. I suppressed my presence as much as possible instead of using space 이동 [teleportation], which might cause a commotion, so everyone didn’t seem to notice that I was leaving. After getting a reasonable distance away, I completely shed my form and quickly flew towards the Academy. Perhaps because my true nature had awakened, my mind became excessively cold when I thought about facing the enemy.

‘What should I do? To deal with them most easily, it would be best to kill them all. No, wait. That’s too extreme. Let’s use a more gentle method. If I evaporate all the moisture in their bodies…… Damn it, how is that any different from killing them?’

While fighting the cruel impulses that kept taking over my thoughts, I quickly caught up with the group heading to the Academy. When I saw them up close, they were not only wearing hoods but also masks. Their body shapes were all different, but they all had the same meticulously trained aura, and their murderous intent was too strong. It was really certain that they weren’t the Guard, and they didn’t seem to be ordinary warriors either. I was pondering what their identities were when I heard the one who seemed to be the leader giving instructions.

“The plan has changed a bit, but what we have to do is the same. Kill the professors as you see them, and capture all the children alive. Be careful not to injure them.”

The followers nodded at the heavy voice. Just from those words, their goal seemed to be to dispose of the faculty, and they didn’t seem to have intended to kill the students from the beginning. If the Emperor wasn’t crazy, that would be natural (although trying to kill the professors wasn’t normal either), but somehow the feeling wasn’t clean. Especially the part about ‘be careful not to injure them’ bothered me. Usually, wouldn’t they say ‘don’t let them get hurt’ at times like this? Is it just a difference in expression? Besides, as I continued to listen, the conversation became increasingly strange.

“Team 1 attacks and sets fire to the school. In the meantime, Team 2 smuggles the kids out. You all brought the 이동 [teleportation] scrolls, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good. You’ve all already identified the ones on the list. Don’t forget that those guys are special items, so you have to pay extra attention to them. As always, start as soon as you 이동 [teleport].”

“Yes!”

‘List? Special items?’

What, now that I see it, the purpose of eliminating the faculty is…… not it?

The words ‘smuggle out’ and the expressions that treated the children like objects, such as ‘special items,’ all bothered me. For some reason, I felt like I already knew the end of this conversation. It was also a fact that I didn’t want to admit. And the ominous premonition was unerringly correct.

“If things get dicey, just kill them and extract their hearts.”

“……!”

I unknowingly gasped. I was in a natural state, so no one would hear me, but even if they did, I wouldn’t care because I couldn’t think of anything. Only the words that the leader had said a moment ago circled around my ears. In the meantime, he was handing out small 포대 [pouches] to his colleagues one by one.

“You can put the cut-out heart in here as quickly as possible.”

“What is this?”

“It’s a specially magically processed sack. I heard that if you put it in here, it will stay alive for a few hours. It seems that if you perform a purification ritual in that state, the effect is the same.”

“Heh, that’s amazing. So this sack plays the role of the body? Don’t you have any extras? It would be convenient to 옮기다 [transport] everything with this.”

“Unfortunately, this is all we have. I heard that it was difficult to find the materials, so they couldn’t make more. You can only put one in each sack, so use it carefully. You should only use it in really urgent moments.”

“I can’t help it. I’ll be careful.”

‘Crazy.’

Every question and answer was abnormal. I tried to clench my fist, but my hand trembled. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, there was only one conclusion. Capture, purification ritual, heart. After hearing this far, only a fool wouldn’t know their purpose.

‘……They were trying to sacrifice the Academy students to the 악신 [evil god].’

It felt like bitter water was 넘어오는 [rising] from my throat. The school had been a place that the Archduke had been targeting for a long time. With age, status, and ability, there would be no place as suitable as this to obtain those who met the conditions for sacrifice. I should have suspected it from the moment the ridiculous pretext of suppressing the rebellion was presented. Still, I believed that it wouldn’t be that far. Because it was an event led by the Emperor of 카터스 [Karten], not a 마신관 [demon worshipper]. I just thought that he had lost his reason in anger at the suspicion that his son had rebelled. That’s more 상식적인 [logical] than gathering 산 제물 [human sacrifices] to create an 악신 [evil god].

Is the Archduke really here? Was the Emperor of 카터스 [Karten] also helping with this terrible thing? Turning the Academy, the pride of the Empire, into ashes overnight, killing innocent children in a gruesome way, and putting it all on his son, the Crown Prince?

‘Ah, the Crown Prince!’

In a moment of madness, I hurriedly looked back at the Imperial Palace. If the Emperor was really leading this, then the justification for the rebellion was just an excuse in the first place. No matter what explanation he gave, Raon Hwizen would not be safe. As if reading my thoughts, related chatter continued.

“But I didn’t expect the Crown Prince to show up at this point. When did he come back? He wasn’t there even when I checked this afternoon.”

“Well, leave that side alone. He came to find his own death, so the Emperor will take care of it.”

“Well, the Imperial Palace is the most dangerous place for the Crown Prince right now. But what about the Captain of the Guard going with him? We created an excuse to send him out in the first place because he was in the way.”

“We’ve bought enough time, so it doesn’t matter by now. It’s better for us. He’s a quick-witted guy, so I wasn’t sure if we could 속이다 [deceive] him until the end anyway. We can proceed without having to use our heads.”

“That’s true. By the time he arrives at the Imperial Palace, we’ll be done, so he’ll just waste time 이동ing [traveling].”

“Haha, that’s right. Anyway, if we succeed in this, everything will be over. Let’s all 힘내다 [cheer up] a little more. For Ilya!”

“For Ilya!”

The 모습 [appearance] of those who shouted the slogan as if raising a toast was cheerful. It was hard to imagine that these were the 모습 [appearances] of people who were going to kill innocent children from now on, and that’s why it was even more disgusting. The inside of my chest was getting colder and colder, and I couldn’t tell if it was because of my 본성 [true nature] or because I was too angry right now. Maybe it’s both. On the other hand, my head seemed to be unusually clear. That’s why I started to see parts that I didn’t usually pay attention to. For example, the thoughts that were stuck all over their bodies. It’s not something that sticks to people well, but I don’t know how many sins they’ve committed to get to that point. They probably don’t even know how dirty they are.

“Dirty things need to be washed.”

As I muttered to myself, raindrops suddenly fell. It seemed that I had unconsciously created dark clouds. The ones who were about to depart were clicking their tongues at the rain that suddenly started to fall.

“Oh, why is it raining?”

“We have to hurry.”

They were hurrying when they suddenly stopped. That’s right. They would have realized that it wasn’t raining even if they moved away from the spot. While they were bewildered, I slowly revealed my form. Just in time, the leader looked around and met my eyes. I smiled faintly as I watched the shock slowly settle on his face, his eyes wide with surprise.

“Shall we all experience it? An exciting waterway 탐험 [exploration].”