Chapter 256: Regret, Despair, And... (2)
“What is this?”
Lucia asked Siriel in a hardened voice.
Her hand was pointing to something wrapped tightly in bandages.
She knew what it was. It wasn’t just wrapped in bandages; there were also talismans inserted to ward off evil and prevent decay.
It was undoubtedly once someone’s limbs, but the thought of where it came from made Lucia’s heart sink.
No.
It couldn’t be.
It must not be.
In the tent where Lucia had arrived, Glen, Siriel, Hugo, and Seira were present, but Shiron was nowhere to be found…
“Brother is alive.”“…”
The unpleasant thoughts in Lucia’s mind ceased. She shifted her gaze from the cold legs to Siriel.
“Brother said the enemy is an apostle, one who can tear and reattach space.”
Siriel looked as though she might die at any moment.
“So he must be alive. It’s not like the enemy erased the space completely, just tore and reattached it, right? Brother has never lied, not even once, and he’s never been wrong…”
“Siriel.”
“He must be alive.”
Siriel, trying to hold back tears, lowered her head. Lucia, feeling a lump in her chest, embraced Siriel.
Tears trickled down from Lucia’s eyes.
‘I’m… I’m truly garbage.’
Lucia didn’t believe that Shiron was dead. She didn’t know why, but her intuition told her so.
Just as Siriel had said, Shiron had never been wrong.
Listening to the story, Shiron could have escaped but chose to enter the domain of power to save the empress.
‘I, even though there’s such a good person, I’ve coveted the man of such a good person.’
The reason for Lucia’s tears was not Shiron’s whereabouts but the guilt she felt towards Siriel.
‘You foolish idiot. As an adult, what are you doing? I should have asked Siriel in advance to let me be his concubine, but instead, I acted like a savage in heat…’
Wasn’t Siriel always strong?
She handled everything at the academy and the knights’ duties without a word of complaint.
‘…I thought she’d always be strong.’
Even though she had grown a head taller than Lucia, Siriel, who was now burying her sadness in Lucia’s arms, looked fragile, just like when she was a child.
“It’s okay, Siriel. Shiron is surely alive. Just like when we were ten, he’ll suddenly appear out of nowhere, saying ‘ta-da!’”
“…But, but…”
Siriel finally burst into the tears she had been holding back.
“What about the fact that Brother disappeared with some woman?”
“…What did you say?”
“Siriel, watch your words. ‘Some woman’? The proper title is Empress, and her name is Louise Bisconti.”
“What does the title matter in this situation!”
Lucia looked at Siriel, who raised her voice, with dazed eyes. Contrary to what she thought, Siriel’s tears weren’t for her brother’s disappearance or death.
“Lucia, don’t you understand the situation right now?”
Siriel glared at Lucia with wide-open eyes. Lucia’s shoulders trembled.
“Brother is with another woman right now. And in such a desperate crisis at that.”
“…So what?”
“Isn’t it common sense that a man and a woman in a crisis situation fall in love with each other!!”
“…”
Was there such common sense? Lucia wanted to vehemently disagree, but Siriel didn’t allow her to speak.
“Even if she is of noble birth, Louise, that wench, is powerless, and wherever they end up…! Eventually, she’ll surely rely on Brother for both her body and heart.”
“Aren’t you overthinking this?”
Lucia pushed Siriel, who was clinging to her.
“Shiron also has eyes and common sense, and just because some woman relies on him for her body and heart doesn’t mean he’d easily give his heart…”
“Brother is hurt too, isn’t he? If he’s lucky, he might only be able to use half of his usual strength after losing a leg.”
Siriel eventually started muttering through gritted teeth.
“And having lost a leg, the sense of loss would be significant beyond just physical strength. Brother is human, too, and being human, he’s bound to have emotional vulnerabilities.”
Even though Siriel believed Shiron to be a strong-willed man, she thought of him as a human with inevitable emotional frailty.
Even if Louise Bisconti, the Empress, had bad-mouthed Shiron Prient in the past, people’s hearts were like reeds, easily swayed.
“…In the end, Brother will get involved with the Emperor’s woman, and the aftermath will engulf Rien in flames.”
Siriel, speaking mournfully, blew her nose into the handkerchief Hugo handed her.
‘Indeed, Shiron is someone who wouldn’t refuse and would accept anything given to him.’
In the end, Lucia agreed with Siriel’s opinion.
Being psychologically cornered is a prime opportunity for love to blossom.
Though it was back when they were young, Siriel had also fallen for Shiron during training, so her opinion carried some credibility.
“Then isn’t this the time to act? Shouldn’t we issue an imperial warrant or something quickly?”
“…That can’t be done.”
Glen, wiping his cold sweat, spoke as he tried to calm his dizzying thoughts.
His son being slandered as trash for laying hands on the Emperor’s wife,
His niece showing symptoms of paranoia with her eyes turned upside down,
And his normally stern brother, unable to say a word to his daughter—all of this was shocking, but Glen, who was used to crises, remained composed even in this situation.
“Uncle, what do you mean? Are you saying the five of us should search the entire continent?”
“Calm down and listen, Siriel. If what Shiron said is true, isn’t the enemy an apostle who crossed the mountains? Rather than searching, it would be insufficient to even return the troops stationed here to the Empire; in such a situation, sacrificing more valuable lives isn’t reasonable.”
“Then what are we supposed to do? Do you have any specific plans?”
“…To be honest, I don’t understand why Shiron saved the Empress. If it were me, I would have let the Empress die and gone to search for the apostle instead…”
A cold silence descended. However, everyone present somewhat agreed with Glen’s words.
With Shiron absent, Glen was the one who knew the most about the apostle.
Glen had encountered an apostle with the power to interfere with space.
Not just once, but multiple times.
But each time, Glen had responded by simply dodging the enemy’s attacks.
Deflect all incoming attacks or avoid them, and kill the enemy at all costs. That was the fighting style of the Prients, who possessed the “power of prophecy.”
“If we, his family, don’t believe in Shiron, then who will?”
Hugo, who could no longer bear the silence, spoke up.
“At least the Shiron I know wouldn’t act recklessly just because of a sense of justice.”
Shiron had desperately relayed information about the apostle through Siriel. Hadn’t he always been an extraordinary nephew? Hugo decided not to doubt Shiron’s actions.
‘The apostle might be moving even as we speak.’
“I’ll head out first. If what Shiron said is true, staying here any longer seems like a bad move.”
With that, Hugo left the tent.
“Then, should the five of us here search for the apostle? The area is too vast.”
At that moment, Seira, who had cast a freezing spell on the bandaged leg, spoke up.
“Your name was Glen, right? How do you usually deal with apostles?”
“…The Prient’s prophecy tells us where the apostle will appear. And then we kill them.”
Glen answered Seira, whom he seemed to be meeting for the first time today, without hesitation. Although he didn’t know who she was, the fact that Lucia, Siriel, and Hugo remained silent around her made her seem trustworthy.
“Since there’s no prophecy now, that method won’t work.”
“…That’s right.”
“In that case…”
Seira, who already had some information, nodded her head and then shifted her gaze to Siriel.
“You mentioned the Prient’s prophecy. So, can’t she do it?”
“…If she’s awakened, she might be able to. But, just awakening won’t be enough to make precise predictions…”
Glen stood up. A breeze began to softly escape from near the crown of his head.
‘There’s no way wind should be blowing inside…’
Siriel looked directly above Glen. A rainbow ring, smaller than the one that had engulfed Shiron, hovered there.
“This bastard…!”
“What is this? I didn’t even feel any killing intent?”
“If it was just a mere assassination attempt filled with killing intent, the power of prophecy wouldn’t even be necessary.”
Glen took a step back and drew his sword, Rigir. As it swung through the air, something strange happened.
Crash—
The space distorted, and the rainbow that had been aiming for his crown settled beside his foot. Lucia’s golden eyes trembled violently.
“…Spatial Cut.”
“I’m not usually one to name every single sword strike…”
Glen chuckled at Lucia’s muttering.
“Not a bad name.”
“…Spatial Cut or whatever, shouldn’t we chase it down quickly?”
Seira looked at the two with a dumbfounded expression. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Lucia focused on the cold presence she sensed far away.
“Ah, it seems like there’s some sort of distance limitation to its power. Is it underestimating our tracking ability…?”
“What are you doing! Move quickly!”
Thud! Siriel hoisted Lucia onto her back.
“Lady Seira, Uncle, hurry up!”
The Labyrinth.
Commonly referred to as a dungeon, it was generally an enclosed space.
Inside, there were many traps, many beasts, and winding paths, so if one were trapped, most would think they’d surely die. Fortunately, Shiron had more confidence in clearing a labyrinth than any explorer who had operated for hundreds of years.
‘…That is, under normal circumstances.’
Limp, limp—
Shiron carefully walked forward, multiple light sources floating in the air. Not too long ago, he had struggled greatly when confronted by a horde of beasts.
He had no idea how many more there might be, but judging by the presence he could feel, thousands could easily…
Snort—
Hearing a snorting sound, Shiron intensified the glow of the light spheres.
His gaze slowly traveled upward. A massive black horse, with bloodshot eyes, was staring at him.
“…Damn it.”
Shiron dusted off his hands and sighed. Then he turned around and gestured to the woman standing precariously behind him, sword in hand.
“Hey, it’s your turn now.”
“…Re-Really? It’s so huge… Can I really take it down?”
“You weren’t lying when you said you’d pull your weight, were you? Something about repaying the life you owe to the great Shiron Prient, yadda yadda.”
“I-I didn’t use such foolish words!”
“…Just get on with it. I wouldn’t tell you to do it if I didn’t think you could. I’m telling you to do it because I know you can.”
Shiron walked behind Louise and gave her a nudge with his prosthetic leg. The black horse snorted more aggressively at the advancing steps.
“Hurry up!”
Neigh!!!
“Kyaaa!”
Crash!
Louise, kicked by the horse, was slammed against the wall.