Chapter 011
“What? They targeted the Little Teacher?”
“She possessed an item that’s no different from a bomb?”
“You’re saying the Little Teacher almost blew up?”
“They said she’s not the Little Teacher anymore, she’s the Young Lady.”
The crew members, having heard that Marina had targeted me within the castle, came rushing over in a swarm.
And Charie….
“This XXX-ing, XX-faced, XXX-like XXX who should X X to XX, you XX-like X. XXXX. Is your XXX a XX or something?”
I hadn’t realized it, but Charie was the owner of a magnificent vocabulary that not a single word of which could be heard by a decent adult.
No one tried to stop her.
They said Marina, who had committed countless sins, would be sent to the mines. They added that it was better for her to get used to it beforehand.
Exactly where were these mines that getting every hair from one’s sideburns to the crown of one’s head ripped out was considered a “process of getting used to it”?
I didn’t know for sure, but it seemed Marina was in big trouble.
‘They said the Viscount finally confessed to his crimes, too.’
I watched Marina as she was dragged away, having clumps of hair torn out by Charie.
‘Since this is her second attempted murder, there’s no room for rehabilitation.’
I was about to head back to my room when….
“Where are you going?”
The Vice-Captain, who had been discussing Marina’s disposal with his subordinates, looked at me.
“I’m going to my room.”
“The Captain is waiting for you.”
“…!”
The Captain.
I hadn’t met him once since arriving at San Miguel Castle. According to Antonio, he was in the innermost depths of San Miguel. Aside from a tiny handful of permitted individuals, no one knew where it was, let alone could approach it.
‘I’m finally meeting him.’
I followed behind the Vice-Captain with a tense expression.
But it was strange. The further we walked, the more puzzled I became. The path the Vice-Captain took was entirely different from what I had expected. I thought the “innermost depths” would be inside the castle, but it wasn’t.
We walked for a long while, even passing the abandoned garden where I had been attacked by Marina. We headed toward the spires on the outskirts of the castle. They were things like clock towers, guard towers, and beacon towers used in emergencies.
The place the Vice-Captain headed toward was the most secluded tower among them. It was a place with no windows, filled only with a spiral staircase—a structure with no value beyond being an external decoration.
‘The Captain is in a place like this? There aren’t even any rooms, so how….’
It was at that moment.
Screech—!
An avian monster flew into the tower. It was a massive creature, easily three meters long. Its beak was filled with jagged, mane-like teeth, and its claws were as thick as spears. The monster flew straight toward me like an arrow.
‘I’m going to die…!’
I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut in terror. But in that instant.
“There is no need to worry.”
What fell upon me wasn’t pain, but the Vice-Captain’s indifferent voice. I slowly opened my eyes.
“Ah….”
The massive monster that had been blocking my view just a moment ago was crumbling into dust from its feet up, scattering away.
The Vice-Captain looked back at me and spoke.
“Within the Captain’s sight, nothing can harm us.”
The Captain’s sight?
I jerked my head up.
It was a pitch-black night. The silhouette of a man with the full moon at his back was fractured by the moonlight. The man made everything freeze as if he were the primordial darkness itself.
Yes, that man.
Aslan.
The Vice-Captain pressed a hand to his chest and bowed.
“I greet the Captain.”
It was finally a reunion.
* * *
‘I thought the interior seemed smaller than the exterior, but there was a hidden room.’
When the Vice-Captain felt along the wall, a passageway revealed itself. We followed that path into a room. It was a room where red tapestries caught the eye.
Once the Captain took his seat, the Vice-Captain reported on the recent events.
“The Lord has been sent to the mines along with the niece who attacked the Young Lady. Accordingly, we plan to request Esgalot for the Captain’s succession to the Lordship within a few days.”
Listening quietly, I flinched.
‘The Captain is going to ascend to the Lordship himself?’
Wouldn’t there be a status issue? That’s probably why they brought in the Viscount to act as a puppet Lord in the first place.
Suddenly, my eyes fell on a document placed on the table. Seeing it, I started.
> …The aforementioned recorded property and all rights are inherited by Aslan.
> March 25th, Augusto Era
> Stefan San Miguel
>
‘He completely stripped the Viscount bare!’
He had neatly plundered everything from wealth to status. Just as I was thinking he’d done a miracle getting him to sign, I shook my head.
‘Terrible things must have happened in the underground dungeon.’
In the game, Irregulars were often judged as sadistic, to the point where the story would be revised. I didn’t feel particularly sorry for the Viscount. Why would I pity a low-life who threatened children and ultimately tried to murder them with explosive charms?
‘What’s more important is that the Captain is a man who is clear about rewards and punishments.’
Harsh to enemies, and giving allies opportunities to grow. He was the ultimate boss who would protect my organs and give me a job.
‘So I have to make a good impression….’
The Captain showed absolutely no interest in me. Even the Vice-Captain, having finished his report, glanced at me with a troubled expression. Since I had become the adopted daughter, it seemed he wanted to make a formal introduction, but the Captain was only looking at his documents.
After a long while passed, the Vice-Captain had no choice but to step in.
“…Captain, do you have anything to say to Lady Eustea?”
The Captain spoke while keeping his eyes fixed on the papers.
“Go to the main castle of Esgalot as a candidate for the Imperial Prince’s attendant. If you go and manage to bring about a private meeting between the Duke and myself, I will reward you.”
“…”
“…”
That was it. I’d suspected it since coming to San Miguel Castle, but the Captain was truly a man who only said what was necessary.
The Vice-Captain swallowed a sigh.
“That is the gist of it.”
“…Okay.”
When I blinked and answered, the Vice-Captain looked a bit embarrassed.
“It is an important mission upon which the fate of the Irregulars depends. If you succeed, you will be able to support your mother without ever having to work again.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Yes. Shall we go then?”
The Vice-Captain spoke to me while looking at the Captain with eyes that seemed to be cursing him.
‘Mm, the Vice-Captain is a pitiful manager caught between the top and the bottom.’
The reason he looked so cold was probably because he had to maintain a tight grip on his strings of sanity. I stood up, feeling sorry for him.
‘It’s a shame, but clinging for no reason will only cause trouble.’
Planning to wait for the next opportunity, I bowed deeply toward the Captain.
“I will work hard from now o… n?”
I paused as I lifted my head after the greeting. It was because I saw something strange on the Captain’s wrist as he turned a page.
The Vice-Captain asked as if wondering what was wrong.
“Young Lady?”
“…Does the Captain sleep well?”
“Pardon?”
“Do his limbs not feel numb? Is he not in pain even from a light breeze? His eyes. I want to take a closer look at his eyes.”
As I reached out, the Vice-Captain quickly blocked me.
“Laying hands on the Captain’s body is problematic.”
“I’m sorry. But I have to check.”
“Just why are you acting like this!”
“He’s been cursed!”
“…!”
The Vice-Captain flinched. The Captain’s gaze, which had been fixed on the documents until then, also turned toward me.
I said with a hardened face.
“I know that mark. That is the seal of a curse. It starts from the heart and spreads throughout the entire body. The fact that it has reached the wrist means it’s in a very serious state….”
I trailed off. The Vice-Captain was frozen, but it wasn’t out of surprise at the situation. Rather, it was an expression closer to “How did you know that?”
Furthermore, the Captain….
“You have a useful set of eyes.”
He already knew about the curse. But he was that calm? No, he devastated a family in the capital and sent a hawk to break a restrictive array with a body afflicted by that curse?
People called the elite squad of the Irregulars “monsters.” But my thoughts were different. The person who truly transcended the human realm was the Captain.
“That is the Curse of the Dark Mirror, isn’t it? An ancient sorcery triggered using a hundred corpses of Heavenly Demons, a hundred human corpses, and the caster’s own life as a medium.”
It seals the opponent’s mana and inflicts horrific pain just by breathing. It was said that at night, one cannot even sleep due to all sorts of ghostly energy.
The Vice-Captain squeezed his eyes shut. His face said that since I had recognized the curse, there was no point in hiding it.
“It is a curse that began three years ago. Since then, we have searched far and wide for a purification method and finally found a clue.”
The Vice-Captain brought something out from a cabinet in the corner of the room. it was an object wrapped in a cloth.
And I had seen that cloth before. When I first joined the Irregulars, the Captain, Antonio, and I had headed to the shopping district. The Captain and Antonio had retrieved something from there; it was the object wrapped in that very cloth.
‘What they found was the clue to the purification.’
“It is the Myeongjeong Stone. Ancient books say it is the only item that can break the Curse of the Dark Mirror, but in the end, we could not figure out how to use it. Damn it….”
“…”
“Therefore, we must enter Esgalot as soon as possible. If it’s the mages of Esgalot, they might know a way—”
“…But I know how?”
The room fell silent in an instant. And then.
“Whaaat—?!”
The Vice-Captain stared at me with an expression like his eyes were about to pop out. He sputtered before finally managing to speak.
“H-H-How…?”
But the words didn’t come out properly. The rational Vice-Captain was acting just like Antonio. That was how immensely shocked he was.
‘Because I saw it in the game.’
But I couldn’t say that. So, I rolled my eyes around and said:
“Because I was the eldest daughter of the Andres family? I had access to the secret library… Uh, since the Andres family has been around since the start of the Empire, there are all sorts of books…?”
“I see…!”
Whether the excuse worked or not, the Vice-Captain looked overjoyed.
“What must be done?”
“The reason the Myeongjeong Stone cannot be used is because of a barrier. A barrier is placed on it. I know how to break it, so leave it to me. And….”
I looked at the Captain.
“The Captain needs to prepare for the purification.”
“What kind of preparation? Just say the word.”
I answered, holding up my index finger.
“Sufficient rest and balanced meals. And the meals must include Myeongjeong grass.”
You have to build up physical strength before the purification. And you need to be ready to accept the Myeongjeong Stone through the Myeongjeong grass….
The Vice-Captain flinched.
“…”
“…?”
The Vice-Captain grimaced and looked at the Captain. The Captain began turning the documents again.
I tilted my head and asked.
“Why?”
“The Captain is not a difficult person to serve. Since he has lived a life close to death, he learns everything quickly and is not picky about food or sleeping arrangements.”
Why was he suddenly becoming so talkative?
“However, there are things that any human would find physiologically difficult to accept. Just as insects are to me. Are you not the same, Young Lady?”
“I’m good at catching bugs, though.”
“For someone it might be high places, for another it might be being trapped in a room, and for someone else, it might be death.”
“…?”
“And for the Captain… it is Myeongjeong grass.”
He was saying he was a picky eater.
* * *
A few days later. I groaned as I looked at the tray Antonio had brought back from the tower.
‘He really isn’t eating.’
Only the Myeongjeong grass remained lonesomely on the plate. The Captain truly didn’t eat it. Even the Vice-Captain, who had defended the Captain with such a long speech back in the tower, now looked like he was about to die of frustration.
No, maybe the frustration had already set in. His clean face, which everyone described as having a pure and ascetic appearance, was completely distorted.
“Did you try to persuade him?”
“I did.”
“What did you say?”
“I said, ‘The Vice-Captain asked if you want to die like this?’”
“…And then?”
“He told the Vice-Captain to come to the tower.”
Antonio got kicked in the shin by the Vice-Captain.
I let out a low groan.
‘It’s not strictly mandatory to have the body adapt with Myeongjeong grass.’
But if you don’t, you suffer immense pain during the purification. A normal person would surely die of shock. The Captain probably doesn’t care about the pain, which is why he isn’t eating it, but from the Vice-Captain’s or my perspective, we couldn’t help but worry.
‘The taste of Myeongjeong grass must be horrific.’
Myeongjeong grass was a mysterious herb that grew using mana from the air. And like rose thorns or the poison of monkshood, it possessed characteristics to protect itself. That was specifically producing the taste that the consumer finds most revolting.
“Still, we can’t just let him not eat it….”
As I muttered, the Vice-Captain, who was busy twisting Antonio’s neck, looked at me.
I said:
“What if I take care of the Captain’s meals by his side?”
“It would be a bother, so Antonio should….”
The Vice-Captain paused mid-sentence. I just smiled benevolently. Neither of us believed that Antonio would be tactful enough to figure out the Captain’s food preferences while taking care of the meals.
Usually, there are only two things Antonio says after eating:
“This is X-ing delicious!”
“This is X-ing disgusting….”
And the Vice-Captain had too much work to have the leisure to look after the Captain’s every meal. Even now, he was working without sleep because of the Captain’s succession to the Lordship.
“Um. I think it’s better if I do it.”
“…I apologize for the burden, but I must ask this of you.”
It wasn’t a bad thing for me either. If I got close to the Captain this time, I might be able to become his chef even after my role as the Young Lady ended.
‘Let’s work hard.’
I clenched my fists tight.
* * *
The innermost depths of the Irregulars, called the Spiral Tower because it was situated on the exterior.
Aslan, the Captain clad in a robe, sat in a chair with his eyes closed. Through the robe, which wasn’t tied at the front, his skin, tightened with muscle, was visible. The curse pattern that had spread to his wrist looked as if he were burdened with chains.
Vice-Captain Lorenzo spoke in a low voice.
“It is too dangerous to continue.”
Extreme pain must be racing through his body. Every step he took must feel like being cut by a sharpened blade, and every breath like his lungs being pierced by a heated iron skewer. In truth, it was a miracle he was even alive until now.
“The medicinal incense no longer has any effect. You won’t even be able to fall asleep, so why are you being so stubborn?”
At his words, a figure in one of the four magic mirrors sneered.
[So you’ll have to receive treatment from that girl from the Andres family. Eating food where you don’t know what’s inside, and using a Myeongjeong Stone you don’t know if she purified properly.]
“She is not a child who would harm the Captain.”
When the Vice-Captain spoke coldly, the sneering figure let out a mocking laugh.
[What an amazing brat. By what method did she manage to gain Lorenzo Worth’s trust to that extent?]
“Cesar!”
The Vice-Captain shouted. What was reflected in the magic mirrors were the elites of the Irregulars, excluding Antonio. They were monsters who gathered under Aslan, far transcending the category of human.
Today was a regular meeting, and the main agenda was, of course, Eustea. Cesar’s beautiful face distorted fiercely.
[If you don’t want to see a more dog-like situation, throw away those useless thoughts.]
[He’s not wrong. Since when did we trust people?]
As one elite agreed, others added their words.
[It is a matter concerning the Captain’s life. I also agree that we must be more cautious, haha….]
[The atmosphere is just great. So, does anyone have another way?]
The moment the last person finished speaking, the room fell silent. For years, the Irregulars had combed through this continent like they were hunting for lice. But they hadn’t found any distinct solution.
It was then.
Knock, knock. Along with the sound of knocking, a small voice was heard.
“It’s Eustea. I’ve brought the meal.”
One of the elites said:
[If there is an ancient book with the purification method, we should be the ones to get our hands on it… Captain?]
The elite who was speaking paused. The Captain had opened the door.
[…!]
[…?!]
Even the Vice-Captain’s eyes widened at the unhesitating attitude.
The Captain asked.
“Is it braised short ribs?”
“No?”
“…”
He became silent.
