Chapter 61
“Kinya, you startled me!”
“Ah! Linne got surprised! But Kinya knocked on the door nicely, just like Leti said to!”
Only after seeing Kinya’s tearful face did I realize how overly tense I had been.
“No, Kinya, you did great! But from now on, could you just call my name instead? It’s because… I want to hear your voice.”
When I said this while patting Kinya’s head, she instantly broke into a bright smile as if she had never been on the verge of tears, raising her hand high.
“Okay~!”
“Anyway, what brings you here?”
I asked Leti, who was holding Kinya’s hand, and she put on a deliberately stern expression.
“What else? You hadn’t returned even though it was late, so we got worried and came to look for you. Good grief, even though we hurried, the banquet had already started.”
“You really came because you were worried about me… right? Not because you were troubled that your doll, all dressed up for the banquet, had gone missing?”
“I’m sorry, Lady Leti. I lost track of time because of my research. And I apologize to you as well, Sir Rail—because of me, you’ve ended up working overtime.”
“It’s fine! Even if I had gone back to the order, I would’ve had to do a night patrol anyway. Honestly, thanks to this, my head’s cleared a bit—I feel alive again!”
“You don’t exactly look like someone who’s feeling alive. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Now that I thought about it, I had faintly heard the sound of retching a few times.
Rail quickly averted his eyes from my concerned look.
“I’ll make sure to return the bucket thoroughly cleaned….”
As expected, nothing beats vomiting for a hangover.
“Linne, Linne. Let’s go back.”
“But…”
At Kinya’s urging, I glanced back at the mountain of medicinal herbs I had yet to finish.
“Why not take a short break? When you’re too fixated on something, you can lose sight of what’s right in front of you. If you calmly retrace your steps, the answer may come to you in an unexpected way.”
Rail was right. Clinging to a faint possibility was a rash move.
I needed to cool my head and review today’s research.
“I… suppose so….”
“Of course, Lady Linnegrimm. There’s even a saying: ‘It’s darkest under the candlestick.’”
With Leti echoing the same sentiment, I had no room to refuse. Besides, I was already exhausted. I pressed against the dark circles under my eyes, forcing a weary laugh. Yet with time pressing, the frustration of being left with nothing but weak possibilities spilled from my lips.
“Then… shall I come early tomorrow morning?”
“Yay! Linne’s done! Kinya wants you to read me a fairy tale~”
“Shall I?”
“Yeah! But only for Kinya—not Hina or Luka!”
That would probably make Hina breathe fire.
But contrary to my worry, Leti smiled as she explained.
“Lady Hinasis and Lord Lucanas are attending the banquet tonight as well.”
“Why didn’t Kinya go?”
“Kinya was tired… yesterday, people made it hard for me again.”
“It’s common for young divine beasts who haven’t manifested their powers yet,” Leti whispered. Apparently, busybodies—even gossip-mongers—tended to pester children of divine beasts about to awaken, some even stealing strands of their hair just to touch their divine energy.
“It quieted down after Lady Hinasis burned down the banquet hall a few years ago, though.”
As expected of our Hina. She never retreats.
“Mm… but Kinya’s still scared. I won’t go unless Linne goes too….”
Her small lips pouted, and her soft cheeks twitched in discontent. I picked her up into my arms.
“Then shall we stay up all night together tonight? I’ll read every single book you bring me!”
“Really?”
“Really~”
With a burst of laughter, her small warmth clung to my neck. I gladly embraced it.
“Then I’ll escort you to the Divine Beasts’ Palace.”
“Sir Rail, are you sure you’re okay? You don’t need to overdo it—you can just go home and rest.”
“I’m fine! Truly!”
But with his pale face, the words carried no conviction.
In the end, Rail stubbornly insisted and followed behind us.
Holding Kinya, I walked ahead. The palace, apart from the banquet hall, was wrapped in silence.
Most of the servants had been gathered at the banquet, and the members of the Third Division had also gone off to enjoy the festival. It was only natural.
Outside the corridor windows, the palace lake lay still, glittering faintly under the moonlight. But instead of calming me, the sight made me uneasy.
“…Feels like breaking out of the lab was for nothing.”
“Linne, Linne.”
Just as Kinya was patting my back—as if soothing my restless heart—she tugged at my arm.
“Hm? What is it, Kinya?”
“Why does that mister keep looking at us?”
Kinya pointed behind us. Rail stood there, his face stricken with shock.
“M-Mister….”
Before his already pale face could grow any paler, I hurriedly folded down Kinya’s finger.
“Kinya, don’t call him ‘mister.’ He’s the knight protecting us.”
“Knight?”
“That’s right! A fine knight.”
“Ohh… Kinya’s never seen one before.”
But she had seen him before. Speaking nonsense like someone half-asleep, Kinya yawned and rested her cheek against my shoulder.
I glanced back at the knight she had just called “mister.”
“I’m sorry, Sir Rail. She must be drowsy.”
“It’s alright. To Lady Kinyaxis, I suppose I really am just a mister.”
His face wavered somewhere between acceptance and resignation, though he forced a small joke.
“Lady Linnegrimm, shall I carry your bag for you?”
“It’s alright, Lady Leti. It’s not heavy. And I don’t want to risk waking Kinya….”
Declining Leti’s kind offer, I headed toward the stairs. But just as I placed my foot on the step—something strange happened.
“…What’s this?”
I couldn’t move forward. It was as though an invisible wall was blocking the way.
A foreboding dread crept over me. I turned back and cried out to Leti and Rail.
“Something’s—”
Wrong.
I never got to finish the word.
Thud. A sharp, piercing sound. The slicing of flesh. A blade withdrawing. Rail’s body crumpling to the floor. Blood soaking the corridor crimson.
The scene was so unreal that I struggled to comprehend what had just happened before my eyes.
After an eternity of silence, I finally managed to stammer out his name.
“…Sir… Rail?”
“Linne, Linne.”
Kinya, now awake, kept her eyes fixed on the dark corridor.
“Why is that mister still looking at us?”
Her words sent an icy chill crawling down my spine.
“My lady! Take Lady Kinyaxis and go! Now!”
Leti regained her composure first.
Drawing a dagger from her robes, she stepped in front of us protectively.
I instinctively tried to back away—but bumped into something. The path between the corridor and stairs was still blocked.
“Lady Leti, don’t! It’s too dangerous…!”
What could Leti possibly do? Even Rail hadn’t managed a single strike.
Was Rail even alive? If his heart had stopped just now…
“My lady!”
Her urgent cry snapped me out of my daze.
The gleaming edge of her dagger told me the truth: this was real.
Rail had fallen. Leti was standing to protect us.
I had only one choice.
“Protect Lady Kinyaxis!”
I had to protect Kinya.
Leti’s thunderous voice rang in my ears, and I turned and bolted. If we couldn’t go down, then we had to go up.
Thankfully, the stairs leading upward weren’t blocked.
“Kinya, hold onto my neck tight!”
“Okay!”
I raced up the stairs recklessly, nearly tripping countless times, saved only by clinging to the railing. Just as we reached the upper floor, a scream rang out from below—a short, frail voice, choked with fear.
Clenching my teeth, I hugged trembling Kinya closer.
On the third floor, I pounded on every door I saw as we ran. But not a single response came back.
“Help! The divine beast is under attack! Damn it! Fire! Fire! Everybody get out!!”
Even as I screamed loud enough to shake the corridor, no one emerged.
It was as though the only ones left in this vast palace were Kinya and me.
Despair weighed heavy on me, and fear shackled my legs.
In my arms, Kinya whimpered.
“Linne, I’m scared… Where’s Leti? Where did Leti go?”
“She’ll be here soon. Don’t worry, Kinya. Don’t worry…”
As if trying to convince myself, I repeated the words over and over. My arms ached from holding her, my lungs burned from running, but I couldn’t stop.
Footsteps echoed behind us—steady, measured, never too fast or too slow. They drew closer, closing in.
As fear swallowed me, I whispered like a mantra:
“It’s okay, Kinya. You’ll be safe. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll make sure of it….”
The bag bouncing against my hip smacked my thigh with every step. I wanted to cast it off, but I couldn’t. The glass vials clinking inside—I prayed they wouldn’t shatter.
The taste of blood filled my mouth. My throat was parched, but I couldn’t stop.
Then, in a flash, his name came to me.
“…Luce.”
I called his name.
Just as we had promised—he would be the first one I’d call.
“Luce!”
So now it was his turn to appear. Because I had called, as we had agreed, he should come.
With his usual arrogant, imperious face. The mage who could end everything.
“…Luce….”
But he didn’t come.
My voice faltered, swallowed up by silence.
The corridor remained still.
Unchanging.
The magical energy that had been coiling at the mage’s fingertips vanished.
Someone had cast a nullification spell over the imperial palace.
It wasn’t his doing. The spell was clumsy, weak, the magic within it pitiful. Three seconds. With just a glance, Luce unraveled the formula. No matter how much effort had gone into it, its duration would be ten minutes at best.
Ten minutes to finish their business—that’s what it meant.
There was no need to even wonder who was behind it.
Who else would resort to such pathetic tricks?
“…Those fucking bastards.”
His violet eyes gleamed with a dark, threatening light. The growl scraping his throat was dangerously low.
Mercy only ever bred indulgence.
A truth he was reminded of once again.
