Chapter 55 (1/2)

Imperial Palace Garden.

“How was your lesson today?” Julie asked cautiously as she stood amid a winter scenery.

Glancing at her, Sophien answered, “It wasn’t that bad.”

The emperor had been postponing her knight lessons, using the closure training as an excuse, but no one even knew what kind of training that was.

“That’s fortunate.” Julie swallowed a sigh of relief.

“However, your chess skills were unexpected,” Sophien replied.

The two played chess during their break time, but the knight was no match for the emperor. Julie’s skills in it were at an amateur level.

“I had high expectations because I heard you’re his fiancé.”

“… You mean Professor Deculein?” Julie’s eyes widened, not expecting him to be brought up.

“Do you have any other fiancé?” Sophien teased.

“No.”

“Learn a bit from him. Give him some use.”

“…”

The emperor recognized Deculein’s chess skills, but Julie wasn’t even aware he played chess.

‘I really don’t know anything about him.’

“Also, my little brother wants your fiancé’s autograph.”

The emperor held out a certain book to Julie.

“You mean prince Kreto?”

“Yeah. Ask him to sign here. It’s been a while since I’ve acted like an elder sister.”

[Understanding Elemental Magic]

It was a magic theory book written by Deculein, notorious for its excruciating difficulty and exorbitant price.

Julie also bought it with her own money to learn more about him, but she couldn’t read more than ten pages of it.

“I’ll let him know.”

“He said it was just too complicated and difficult. My brother’s probably just joking, but make sure to tell him anyway.”

“… Noted.”

Knights usually didn’t talk much, a trait of theirs that Sophien frowned upon.

“You may go.”

“Thank you.”

“From now on, try not to give me short answers. I know you’re here to give me lessons about knighthood, but you can let yourself be someone I can talk to.”

“…You mean friends?” Julie’s eyes widened.

The emperor smiled and nodded, making her take a deep breath to hide her overwhelming emotions.

“Whoooooooooo…”

“Enough. You may go now, my friend.”

“… Thank you. It’s been an honor.”

Sophien returned to the imperial palace with her knight, Keiron. She respectfully bowed as they left.

“Please come this way.”

After that, a maid guided her.

She walked through a separate passageway in the garden. However, the maid soon disappeared from her sights, a eunuch taking her place.

“Greetings, Lady Julie. I’m Jolan.”

“… What’s going on?”

Julie looked at him with suspicion in her eyes, to which Jolan simply smiled brightly.

“Can I borrow a moment of your time? I have a favor to ask for the stability of the imperial palace. The other knights are already waiting for us.”

Despite being dubious of him, she followed after him anyway.

“We’re here.”

At an annex in the vast and complex imperial palace’s eastern corner, Raphael, Syrio, and Gwen greeted her, looking as confused as she was.

“…Oh, Julie?” Gwen waved.

Julie responded with a bow and stood by their side.

Syrio grinned. “Now that you’ve gathered us all, can you tell us what’s going on?”

“Of course.”

Jolan replied in a soft tone.

“I have a mission to ask of you.”

“A mission?”

“Yes. Monsters are lurking in the basement of the imperial palace, and an imperial insider wants you to deal with them since he can’t take care of it himself.”

“Is it an imperial order?” Raphael asked, his voice sounding as low and heavy as usual.

“It’s not an imperial order, but consider it a test of loyalty. We’ll report it as the knights’ tribute to the Imperial Family if you can resolve this. Naturally, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.”

“…”

The knights pondered about it for a moment in silence.

After a while, Gwen pointed to Julie.

“If she’s going, that person needs to go too.”

“Who?”

“Deculein.”

That name seemed to make Jolan slightly uncomfortable.

Gwen chuckled.

Even the eunuchs who often went through all sorts of hardships in the imperial palace were afraid of the name Deculein.

He was also famous for his political power, and his prestige was increasing day by day.

Hence, even though Jolan was one of the emperor’s closest aids, he couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable.

“It sounds dangerous, so you should ask your fiancé for permission at least, right?”

She was still pointing at her, who hurriedly shook her head.

“N-No. It’s okay—”

“Right. His practical skills are unquestionable.” Raphael intervened, cutting off Julie’s words. Syrio also agreed with a silent smile.

“… Hmm.”

The eunuch looked dissatisfied, but he soon nodded, regaining his brightness.

“Yes, I understand. We’ll try to talk to Sir Yukline.”

Gwen found that answer absurd.

He called them by name, but Deculein was ‘Sir Yukline.’

‘Maybe that’s why family backgrounds are important…’

“You do that. Julie. Let’s have dinner tonight. On me.”

She answered bluntly and left the palace with Julie.

* * *

—We are still following your orders.

I made a plan to contact them.

Naturally, I would never show impatience or surprise. Likewise, I wouldn’t express any emotions, words, actions, or behavior that could be used against me.

Double-crossing people was easier than breathing for me, anyway. It had already melted into this personality and body.

“… These arrived, master.”

While I was contemplating countermeasures, Roy came and handed me a couple of documents.

[Luxury Hotel Renovation: Black Krain]

[Future trade routes and plans]

[Overview of the mission of the mercenary corps]

These were the results of the businesses that I invested in. Reading them using [Understanding], I found out they were settling without any problems.

“I’m done. Take it.”

“Yes.”

They brought good news, but I had no time to think about them right now. I returned to thinking of a way to reply to my old connections after sending Roy back.

… There was no need to think.

—Master.

A shadow gleamed in the corner of the study room. It wasn’t an actual being but a magical illusion. Nevertheless, I looked at it calmly.

What I said next felt almost instinctive.

“Guide me.”

*

… There was no utopia in any world where people lived.

Even in the capital of the most powerful empire on the continent, light and darkness definitely coexisted.

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. Oklan, at the southeast of the continent, was a slum that had been in decline since the mine closed.

Deculein’s former henchman took me to a dark and damp cave beneath it. Thick moisture enveloped my body as pale lamps fluttered as if they were about to break.

“I see you, Master.”

Two individuals of opposite genders knelt in the cave to greet me. The similarities in their looks made me think they were siblings.

“Tell me. What was my order?” I asked as a test before they could say anything.

“You commanded us not to let Louina enjoy her freedom if she set foot on the continent.”

Looking at them, I found no was fortunate. They kidnapped Louina by themselves, after all.

However, the problem was what these guys wanted.

I continued to pretend to be indifferent.

“It was premature.”

“We know.”

The man’s tone carried disrespect.

“We thought you had abandoned us. I suspect that’s the case even now.”

“Are you rebelling against me?”

“No. If you have abandoned us, then you are no longer our Master. Hence, this is not rebellion.”

“I never abandoned you. Guide me.” I replied calmly.

The two stood up, and we moved with the man in front and the woman behind me. Not long after, we arrived in a cavern too wide for the number of people present.

Louina was tied up in the middle of it. Her face was covered with what looked like a black sack, and her hands and feet were held cuffed.

She looked like a war prisoner.

“What treatment did you give her?”

“We injected antimatoxin.”

Antimatoxin was a famous magic drug for wizards due to its ingredients that acted like ‘stabilizers.’ However, when injected directly into one’s blood vessels, the victim would lose the ability to use magic for at least three days.

I looked at the duo.

“Good work.”

The airflow subtly changed the moment I uttered those words. They tried to hide their expressions, but they couldn’t fool my eyes.

They were dissatisfied.

Thanks to that, I figured out they weren’t out here to gain my compliment.

“…”

I glared at Louina, who had become a wreck. Beside her, a red airstream glimmered.

A death

She had resolved herself to kill me.

The biggest problem of it all was just beginning.

I pondered about all ‘probable developments’ I could think of.

If I were to say, ‘I’m here to save you, Louina. Whoever kidnapped you has nothing to do with me.’