Chapter 203
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The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
The woman's form gradually melted into the shadows.
The shadow swelled, turning into darkness.
As if shaping a gigantic beast.
“Yubel.”
Angrem, who had been standing with her hands clasped behind her back, threw herself into the shadow.
Screams continued to pour from Yubel's mouth.
“Aaaaaah!!!”
“Look outside. Quickly.”
Angrem calmly and gently moved her hand.
Her head obediently turned toward the window, following the motion of Angrem's hand.
A large moon hung there.
A full moon.
“You mustn't let the mad moon devour you. We're different from them.”
“Aah…….”
The dense darkness vanished, and night returned to its original color.
At the same time, the killing intent pressing down on their surroundings disappeared.
The redness shining in the eyes of the woman named Yubel faded, leaving them blue once more.
Those eyes glared at Zed again.
Her expressionless face was twisted like a beast's, seething with rage.
The other woman, who had been restraining her with all her might, let out a sigh of relief.
“That was careless of me. I never imagined you were one of the Red-Eyed. If I'd known there was a Red-Eyed here, we'd have ended things quickly…….”
Then the woman who had been smiling brightly held something up.
It looked exactly like the journal Garnet had been holding.
“Even if I don't look it, I'm quite gifted at thievery, you know?”
“!!”
Garnet felt at his chest.
The journal had vanished without a trace.
The theft had been so deft that he hadn't even noticed when it happened.
“Yubel, let's go now.”
“Sak! Sak! Sak!”
Yubel radiated killing intent.
That aura was particularly intense for Zed.
“It's a full moon.”
“……Man.”
But once she realized she couldn't kill him, she fell silent.
Yubel picked up Angrem and climbed out the window.
Angrem gave them a final wave before vanishing.
Those who had arrived like a storm vanished along with the shadows.
The spot they had passed through was left overturned, then sank into silence.
“Whoa…… I can't breathe with two utterly insane women around…….”
Penelope made a great fuss.
All she had done was cast Haste on Zed, and nothing more.
‘Sierra's Saints…….’
Unlike the Althe Order, which worshiped the sun and light, the Sierra Order worshiped the moon and darkness.
In the Arken Empire, the headquarters of the Althe Order, even gathering itself was illegal, and anyone carrying a Sierra emblem or object was treated like a demon worshiper and burned at the stake.
No—their treatment was even harsher than that of demon worshipers, and they were put to death.
The most vicious terrorists in the Empire were members of the Sierra Order, and Sierra's Saints were notorious for murdering nobles.
To have survived after encountering two of Sierra's Saints was an immense stroke of luck.
‘……Come to think of it, that woman's face seemed familiar.’
The woman in the tattered robe.
The moonlight alone had not been enough to make out her features clearly, so he couldn't be certain.
But the only time he had seen her clearly was when he had crossed swords with her.
He tried to seize that fragment of memory and force it open to gather information.
‘This is no time for this.’
Something more important had fallen into the enemy's hands.
There was nothing to do but report this and respond quickly.
“……This is going to be a headache. I need to inform Regent Ferda.”
“……”
“Zed?”
When Zed didn't answer, Garnet turned his head.
He stood motionless, staring out the window through which the two Saints had escaped.
It was strange.
The man who always cracked jokes whenever something like this happened looked utterly engrossed.
“Zed?”
“……What?”
“Are you all right? Why didn't you answer when I called you?”
“……Ah, I'm fine. I am.”
Even his answer lacked his usual vigor.
Zed's thoughts were in complete turmoil.
It was as though a colossal vortex were forming in his mind, with a woman named Yubel standing at its center.
That appearance when she went berserk after shattering the barrier protecting her head.
The color of her eyes when she unleashed that power.
‘Red eyes.’
He tried not to let himself fixate on it.
There were many reasons besides being Red-Eyed for someone's eyes to glow red.
The eyes of those who had undergone the Berserker ritual were red, as were vampires' eyes.
Even if that woman wasn't a vampire, she might have undergone the Berserker ritual.
Yes, that had to be it.
Even when he tried to think that way, the image of that woman named Yubel kept haunting his thoughts.
‘Emilia…….’
She kept reminding him of his lost younger sister.
* * *
Yubel and Angrem safely made it out of Hestia Village.
They ran almost as though flying with every step, at a speed no one but Luri could hope to match.
Yubel moved like a wolf.
The dark shadow had swelled and given her that form, and Yubel moved as though accustomed to it, using motions suited to that shape.
“That's enough.”
At Angrem's words, Yubel stopped.
They had gone so far that Hestia Village was now a distant speck.
The darkness gradually scattered, and Yubel returned to her normal form.
“I intended to let loose, but taking a hit was an unexpected variable.”
“……Sak.”
“It can't be helped. Many people don't know how we were made. They don't realize that it's the others we're protecting, not you.”
“Man.”
Yubel, who had been quietly nodding, looked up at the moon.
Beneath that moon stood Valdrova's castle.
“Ferda…….”
“Not yet.”
Angrem said firmly.
“He deserves to be happier. To create a better world, he mustn't meet us yet.”
“……Man.”
A gesture that seemed to reluctantly agree.
Yubel turned to follow Angrem.
“Let's get on with our work.”
Angrem opened the journal.
What she wanted was the list of people whom Dopplers had impersonated.
“It's about what happens when trash escapes the dump.”
“Man.”
Darkness wrapped around Yubel's body once more.
Just as she was about to turn into a wolf again, Angrem asked casually.
“By the way, what did you think?”
“?”
“About the man whose sword you crossed?”
“……”
She tilted her head.
Her face looked as if she didn't understand what question this was.
Angrem smiled slyly.
“It's nothing.”
“Sak.”
“Heehee, it's really nothing.”
Angrem clasped her hands behind her back and spun around.
Yubel, apparently used to this, paid no attention to her actions.
“He is incredibly handsome, just as you said, Yubel.”
Angrem murmured so softly that Yubel couldn't hear.
* * *
The next morning.
As soon as the sun rose, Garnet went to Ferda's office to report.
“The journal was taken from you last night?”
“Yes.”
Ferda was unable to hide his surprise.
There was no way Garnet had been careless, and Zed couldn't have been either.
Which meant……
“Was it because of that one?”
He pointed at Penelope.
“Me!? I didn't do anything!?”
“I was late and arrived afterward, but it wouldn't have changed anything. They already knew who I was, and they knew about the item as well.”
What Garnet said was undoubtedly true.
There would be no point in defending that girl, so why would he bother?
“Did anything unusual happen?”
“If we're talking about something unusual…….”
Garnet mentioned one thing that had been bothering him.
“One of the women who attacked us was the woman you ordered us to spare.”
“The one I ordered you to let live?”
“Yes. When I saw that woman's face, I thought over and over about who she was. The only person who came to mind was the woman found at the Dvelung estate.”
To think that woman, who had seemed only to be waiting for death, was one of Sierra's Saints.
“Then I suppose I planted the seed.”
Ferda thought.
Had he been right to kill her then?
But he did not regret what was already past.
What mattered more was what he needed to do now.
“What could they do with that journal now that they've taken it?”
“The information about the serum capable of creating Dopplers or demons is the biggest concern, but it isn't the Saints' primary objective. Sierra's Saints are Sierra's agents—in other words, executioners—not researchers.”
Sierra was the goddess of the moon and vengeance.
“Then they intend to learn the locations of the Dopplers.”
“That's right.”
They had lost information, but since they had a copy, they could restore it at any time; it wasn't fatal.
Moreover, if Sierra's Saints were acting for that purpose, it would actually make it easier to eliminate the demon followers scattered around.
“But the biggest problem is that the information will be shared. If they learn that the leak originated on our side, they'll tear us apart with it. If they take an aggressive stance, they'll claim we colluded with the Sierra Order.”
“I suppose they would.”
The Empire was extremely displeased by Hestia's growth.
In fact, the Empire's nobles had been looking for excuses and repeatedly trying to rein it in.
If they learned about anything involving Sierra's Saints, they would seize on it.
“We'll discuss that matter.”
“With whom?”
“Who else would know more about this than the princess?”
Olivia Arken.
She had driven Alexander out and was now manipulating Ureas.
In fact, thanks to her, they were resolving the problems Ureas might otherwise have charged blindly into without realizing it.
“I say this out of concern, but…….”
Garnet knew her true motives, and even though it might irritate Ferda, he had no choice but to bring it up.
“You shouldn't place too much trust in the princess.”
“Don't worry.”
Ferda was not the sort of man Olivia could easily beguile, but he was still a man in the end.
Olivia was a woman capable of devouring any man.
Garnet merely bowed and turned away.
Ferda contacted Olivia using the crystal ball.
-It's been a while, Regent.
“Have you been well?”
-Well? I've become terribly busy, day and night.
“That sounds exhausting.”
-It is. Perhaps that's why hearing from you has put me in such a good mood.
“I contacted you for another reason…….”
Ferda told her about the list concerning Dopplers and the Sierra Order.
-A list concerning Dopplers……. The timing seems just right. You know the Empire has been in an uproar lately, don't you?
He did know.
The former leader of the Althe Order, Archbishop Joseph Faust, and Marquis Akkad Dvelung, Valdemar Golt's right-hand man, had turned out to be Dopplers.
The Empire's mages were examining Akkad's corpse, while Erdes was investigating Joseph Faust, and neither had produced any clear results yet.
Taking advantage of this turmoil, the nobles were fostering distrust in the current system and attempting to shift the balance of power.
There were countless suspicions of Dopplers, but Valdemar Golt had always been an exception.
No, people had suspected him time and again, but the accusers were beaten to death by the mob, merely proving that he was untouchable.
-You need to prove that you have had no contact with the Sierra Order, Regent, and I need that list of Dopplers. I think we can reach an agreement on that basis. What do you say?
“That is possible.”
-Then let's meet and discuss it. As you'll soon learn, I was planning to visit the Far East anyway.
“What brings you here?”
She said.
-Because of the war with the Heinkel Kingdom. Ureas Arken, the second prince, will be stopping by there.
* * *
A month passed.
A splendid carriage was making its way into Hestia Village.
The carriage of the Arken Empire rolled in over a red carpet.
It was on an entirely different scale from when Olivia had come alone, both in size and splendor.
It was a ceremonial carriage fit only for those with power rivaling the emperor's.
Ureas and Olivia were riding inside.
They held a low-key arrival ceremony focused on security, showing their faces briefly to adventurers and citizens, then made their way up to the entrance of Valdrova Castle.
Ferda and Luri stood waiting where the carriage stopped.
Ureas emerged first.
This was Ferda's first time seeing Ureas.
Ureas's first impression was definitely different from Alexander's.
Unlike plump Alexander, Ureas had sharp angles to his face, and his muscles were well-defined.
But whereas Alexander possessed a sinister intelligence, Ureas showed no such depth.
“It is a pleasure to meet Her Highness the Princess and His Excellency the Acting Emperor.”
Ferda politely greeted him.
Ureas accepted the greeting with dignity.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Regent Valdrova.”
“Please call me Regent Ferda.”
“Ah, my apologies. I shouldn't have taken that title so lightly.”
Neither Ferda nor Luri looked pleased.
They were brothers at opposite extremes, so how could they be so alike in the one thing Ferda disliked?
Since giving in to emotion would only hurt him, he welcomed them for now.
“Thank you for coming, Acting Emperor.”
“Not at all. I heard you sent me a letter, but my adjutant only found it later. I sincerely apologize for that.”
He offered a plausible excuse, but Ferda knew he had deliberately ignored it.
But if there was one difference from Alexander, it was that while Alexander had acted out of political calculation, this man had simply found it bothersome.
“I've never seen one in the Empire, but it seems you have an excess of these things called magic-engineering rifles here. It looks like every guard on the walls has one.”
“With a land infested by monsters right in front of us, it's only natural to be heavily armed.”
“Is that so? I was tempted to snatch one right away and take a look.”
“Brother.”
“But I shouldn't take a sentry's weapon, should I?”
Ureas laughed heartily, casually glossing over his true intentions.
“Since you've taken an interest, I'll inform the researchers at the castle and have them prepare some items in development for you to test.”
“I'd be very grateful if you did! Unlike my elder brother, I think highly of magic engineering! I intend to spare no expense in supporting it!”
His reaction was like that of a child receiving a toy.
Ferda liked his simplicity, at least.
“Then I'll show you around. Please, this way…….”
Ferda led the way, and Ureas and Olivia followed after him.
Just then, Luri subtly stepped in front of Olivia.
“I'm sorry, but Her Highness must first meet someone.”
“……Me?”
“Yes.”
Luri said.
“My master, Lord Valdrova, the Red Dragon, wishes to meet you, Lady Olivia.”