Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 381

Chapter 381

“But how are we going to catch up? They went on horseback.”

At Alisa’s very reasonable question, I lightly scratched my cheek. It would be great if I could use spatial magic at times like this, but I can’t suddenly conjure abilities I don’t possess. I’ll have to make do with what I have. Fortunately, I had a pretty good idea.

“Well, if you don’t have teeth, you use your gums.”

“Huh?”

“No, that metaphor doesn’t quite fit. How about this.”

While the group, not understanding my meaning, looked bewildered, I decided to demonstrate instead of explaining. I summoned Cyciel [large, magical wolves] for each of us.

Swish! Whoosh-

The appearance of several wolves materializing out of thin air couldn’t help but be noticeable, no matter how discreet I tried to be. Especially since they were as big as mountains and semi-transparent. The nearby soldiers gasped and stirred in surprise. The group also looked shocked, standing there blankly with their mouths agape. I glanced back at them leisurely and smiled.

“Cyciel is faster than a horse, you see.”

* * *

We rode with great speed, but we didn’t see the Captain of the Guard and Raon Hwizen until we arrived at the Imperial Palace. No matter how fast Cyciel was, their head start was too significant. When we arrived in front of the Imperial Palace, only the horses that had carried them remained. People who had fled the fire were milling around, exposed to the relentless rain. They looked shocked when they saw us arrive on Cyciel.

“Where did His Highness the Crown Prince go?”

“Ah, he went inside…….”

At Asel’s urgent question, one of the dazed people startled and answered. Asel rushed in, and I and the rest of the group followed. Thanks to the quick response, the fire damage didn’t seem too extensive, but the inside was quite a mess due to the rainwater that had flooded it (or rather, had been deliberately poured in). We climbed the soggy stairs and ran down the equally soaked hallway. Our destination was the Emperor’s office. Asel guessed that Raon Hwizen, trying to find his father, would have headed there since it was the time when the Emperor usually conducted state affairs. That guess was correct, and we soon found Raon Hwizen and the Captain of the Guard standing in front of a door. The other guards were nowhere to be seen, probably searching elsewhere.

“Your Highness!”

At the call, Raon Hwizen, who had been standing as if rooted to the spot, reacted. Turning his head towards us, he looked shocked, his complexion paler than ever. The Captain of the Guard wasn’t much different.

“Your Highness, are you safe?”

“Asel…….”

Asel hurried over, and Raon Hwizen immediately reached out and grabbed his arm. He seemed to slowly exhale as if grounding himself in reality, but he still looked unsteady.

“Asel…….”

“Your Highness? What on earth…….”

Asel, who was worriedly examining Raon Hwizen, who could only call his name and couldn’t seem to form a coherent sentence, stopped speaking abruptly. The expression was gradually draining from his face. I also turned my gaze to where he was looking and paused. I heard the sound of the group behind me collectively gasping. The scene inside the room was visible at a glance through the open door.

The first thing that caught my eye was the floor. It seemed that this was the point of origin of the fire, and there were particularly many burnt patches. Dark red liquid was pooling on the scorched carpet. It was blood that had once been inside a living thing, but had now lost its vitality. Rainwater mixed in between, forming a red stream that flowed all the way to the hallway. Following that path, I soon saw figures lying all over the place. There were more than ten bodies, roughly estimated, sprawled out in a half-burned state.

“…….”

“…….”

Silence descended, so profound that even the sound of a pin dropping would have echoed. I was the first to regain my senses. As I moved into the room, the group, who had finally stopped holding their breath, began to follow in a fluster. I stopped in front of the closest body and examined its condition. Just by turning the face-down body over, I could easily determine the cause of death. There was a black hole near the chest. The heart had been removed. That alone was terrible enough, but Asel’s muttering made me even more shocked.

“His Highness Prince Dimitri…….”

“……!”

Good heavens, is this body a prince? Surprised, I looked at him, and Asel nodded with a mournful face. “It is Prince Dimitri of the Fifth Order.” I could feel the tremor in his voice, which was filled with shock. Feeling an ominous premonition, I looked back at the other bodies as well. Men and women of similar age to the dead prince were mixed together randomly, and they were all wearing clothes made of fine materials. I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but they all seemed to have similar appearances overall. Then, as if guessing what I was thinking, Asel’s voice continued.

“It seems…… they are all princes and princesses.”

“Huh…….”

I suspected as much, and as expected, they were all members of the Imperial Family. The bodies of princes and princesses found inside the Emperor’s office. There was only one being who could have summoned them to this place, so I got goosebumps. I thought he seemed to be plotting something while avoiding the Captain of the Guard’s gaze, and this was it? Offering his own children as sacrifices to the Evil God? How could he do such a thing? I thought the Grand Duke was out of his mind, but the Emperor of Katers was clearly even more insane. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe this terrible reality.

“How many princes and princesses are there in total?”

“Excluding His Highness the Crown Prince, there are fourteen.”

“Fourteen.”

I quickly counted the number of bodies I had roughly glanced over. Six men and seven women.

‘One is missing.’

It’s fortunate that one is unaccounted for, but it was difficult to even guess whether the remaining one had luckily avoided the disaster or not. Meanwhile, Raon Hwizen, who had been walking unsteadily, slowly bent down and sat next to me. His expression was stiff, but his eyes were shaking violently. He stared intently at the body of the Fifth Prince for a while, then began to take in the other bodies one by one. After looking around the room like that for a long time, he let out a long breath as if sighing.

“……Adris is not here.”

“Adris?”

“He is the Second Prince. The sage Danimel is his father-in-law.”

Asel continued the explanation. Only one out of fourteen had avoided the disaster, and that happened to be the prince connected to Danimel. It wasn’t even necessary to guess that he was one of the accomplices involved in this situation. It was as good as saying there were no survivors.

‘Where are those guys?’

The fire broke out after Danimel moved to the Imperial Palace. It was clear that they had set the fire and ran away to cover up the situation here after the original plan went wrong. If I hadn’t been there, the Imperial Palace would have been almost completely burned down by the time the Imperial Guard arrived. Even if they found the bodies, there would be no evidence left that they were used in a ritual. Perhaps this was all meant to be blamed on Raon Hwizen.

They probably didn’t expect the fire to be extinguished so quickly. If they were watching the situation, they would be quite embarrassed by now. They might come crawling out on their own to find out what was going on. Of course, if the Grand Duke was with them, he would have recognized my presence, so he wouldn’t act rashly.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. It would be best to leave here for now.”

While I was looking around, the Captain of the Guard, who had approached with a serious face, advised Raon Hwizen. It seemed he had judged that it would be better to evacuate him because the situation was deteriorating rapidly. Raon Hwizen, who had been dazed, slowly nodded at those words. He was helped up and was about to leave the door, leaning on the Captain of the Guard.

“Captain!”

Just as I thought I heard an urgent cry, I saw Imperial Guard knights running from the other side of the hallway. The Captain of the Guard, who was looking at them, hardened his face the next moment. The reason was soon clear. Danimel was visible behind the Imperial Guard. Moreover, he was not alone. A middle-aged man wearing a red cloak was with him right next to him. It was someone I had never seen before, but the hair color was familiar. The same scarlet color as Raon Hwizen’s, which only appeared in the Katers Empire Imperial Family. There were only two people in the current Katers Imperial Family who possessed that color. Just by looking at that, the man’s identity was obvious.

“Your Majesty.”

“Almasner! What is all this!”

A fierce roar echoed to the Captain of the Guard, who was hastily paying his respects. The Emperor, who had walked quickly, glared at Raon Hwizen for a moment. It was not the expression of looking at the successor who would take over after him. Raon Hwizen’s expression was calm even though he would clearly feel the distinct hostility towards him. It was probably because he hadn’t shaken off the shock yet, but it seemed he was already used to this kind of gaze. Instead, he stared at the back of the Emperor. There, a boy who looked to be about Isana’s age was standing. The hair color was different, but the face alone resembled the Emperor like a carp bread [a common Korean street food shaped like a carp], so it was not difficult to guess his identity. The boy—probably Prince Adris—who was sneering at the situation here, flinched and avoided his gaze when he met Raon Hwizen’s eyes.

“I heard everything from the Chief Mage. I am very disappointed that you disobeyed my orders and retreated! Moreover, there was a fire in the Imperial Palace! Do you know how surprised I was to hear the news while taking a walk with Adris in the detached palace!”

“……Have you been in the detached palace until now?”

“What do you mean by that question?”

“I said that because I was relieved that you were safe. It seems that the point of origin is…… Your Majesty’s office…….”

“The office? Are you inspecting that place now?”

The Emperor’s appearance, looking puzzled, was only nonchalant. He appeared shamelessly, and it seemed he had decided to pretend not to know about this situation. It was so blatant that the intention was obvious, but he wasn’t even trying to hide it. It was as if he thought, ‘What can you dare do to me, the Emperor?’ It was confidence befitting the supreme ruler, and it was even violent in that it was actually true. The Captain of the Guard couldn’t possibly not know something so obvious. He was frozen like a statue. The Captain of the Guard’s expression hardened even more when he saw the Emperor stepping forward as if to inspect the room.

“Your Majesty, if you truly don’t know, it would be better not to see it.”

“Don’t see it? What is there in my palace that I shouldn’t know?”

“……You will be shocked.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t I know even more?”

The Emperor scoffed and walked past him. The subsequent development was obvious, so there was no need to guess or say anything. The sound of gasping echoed, and the Emperor, who had entered the office, gasped and jumped out.

“What is all this!”

“Your Majesty! What’s wrong!”

“There are bodies inside! Princes and princesses……!”

Danimel and the Second Prince hurriedly went inside at the Emperor’s appearance, unable to finish his next words, and soon let out a piercing scream. This was also artificial, like a scene from a low-quality play. Was that why? Even though a scene of utter chaos was unfolding, the gazes watching them were only calm. Not only my group, but also the expressions of the Captain of the Guard and the Imperial Guard knights were indifferent. Their eyes were all coldly dead. It was a gaze looking at a deceiver. Everyone here was aware of the situation. The problem was that there was no evidence and the other party was the Emperor, so they had no choice but to be played by an obvious trick. Among the people clenching their fists, I slowly looked around. The Emperor’s actions were annoying enough, but what I was concerned about was a different part.

‘Is the Grand Duke not here?’

No matter how much I concentrated, I couldn’t sense any other presence. I didn’t think he would readily show himself, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t find him. Perhaps he was expecting the sacrifices that would be sent from the academy and was at that place. Thinking that way, I was newly conscious of the magic scroll I had put in my pocket.

“This must be your doing!”

In the meantime, the Emperor was grabbing Raon Hwizen by the collar. As expected, he seemed to have decided to blame the Crown Prince for this whole situation. The flustered Captain of the Guard stepped forward to stop him.

“Your Majesty, please calm down. His Highness the Crown Prince has nothing to do with this! This was already the situation when we arrived.”

“Shut up, Almasner! Do you think I don’t know that you have changed swords [switched allegiances]!”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you disobey my orders and help the Crown Prince! Ah, right! Almasner, could it be that you killed all the other children with succession rights for the Crown Prince? And then set a fire to cover up the facts!”

“No! How can you misunderstand me like that! The Crown Prince and I arrived at the Imperial Palace after the fire broke out. There are many witnesses who will testify to that!”

“We’ll find out by investigating step by step! Guards! Imprison the Crown Prince and Marquis Almasner in the Cold Palace [a prison for disgraced royalty] immediately! I will never let this terrible thing go unpunished!”

“……!”

Even if it was an absurd order that anyone could see through, the weight of it changed when it came from the Emperor’s mouth. However, perhaps because the sudden turn of events was bewildering, the Imperial Guard could not move immediately even after the order was given. Then, the Emperor’s eyes changed the next moment. In a flash, he rushed at the knight next to him and drew a sword from his waist. It was Raon Hwizen who stopped him from cutting down the knight as he was. Thanks to him grabbing the Emperor’s arm by a hair’s breadth, the knight was safe with only a scratch on his cheek.

“Eek!”

The knight, who had been standing blankly for a moment, belatedly realized what was about to happen to him and swallowed his breath. And the Emperor’s anger was immediately poured out on Raon Hwizen.

“How dare you!”

With a dull sound, Raon Hwizen’s head turned sharply. The Emperor had struck his face with the hilt of his sword.

“Y-Your Highness!”

Asel shouted almost reflexively in embarrassment. Raon Hwizen only quietly rubbed near his lips. Red blood was flowing down in streams, probably because it was quite badly burst.