#006. Among Day and Night
“So, you’re saying I have to choose between day and night?”
“Correct.”
The curse placed upon him was truly cruel—something that felt like it had been taken straight out of a fairy tale or a novel. He recalled that it was originally a legend about a knight and a maiden.
Between day and night, only one time allowed him to retain his original form. The other time, he had no choice but to live entirely as a monster.
However, he could not decide that for himself. The decision had to be entrusted to someone who had seen both forms. Artorius had confined himself within the ruins of Aquila Castle, where he had encountered no one.
Or rather, anyone who did see him in his monstrous form had drawn their sword—and died.
“Night.”
Anastasia chose without hesitation, like the knight of legend.
“However, I want to regain my original form during the day, when others can see me. I have already lived for 200 years as a monster.”
Artorius pleaded, but Anastasia shook her head.
“No. It must be night.”
A radiant ring hung from his neck, attached by a chain of pure silver.
Now that she looked closely, she could see it clearly.
Engraved upon it was the symbol of the Chantier dynasty: a dragon with angelic wings.
“Can you explain why it must be night?”
Anastasia… grabbed his necklace tightly, as if seizing him by the collar—or rather, like holding him by a leash.
Artorius looked down at her, while she met his gaze firmly from below.
In a resolute voice, she whispered,
“I don’t fully trust you yet, Artorius. If your goal is to lift the curse, you could easily go to another woman who would be more helpful to you.”
“That’s not—”
Click.
Like a real leash being pulled, Anastasia yanked on the necklace.
“I’ll say it again—I don’t trust you. I’m probably the only woman in this kingdom who wouldn’t run away after seeing your monstrous form. So, you must be night-only. Only at night should you take your true form.”
However, it was less an order and more of a desperate request. Anastasia herself understood that well.
She was not meant to be this kind of person.
She did feel the need for unwavering power. But somewhere deep inside, another version of herself whispered:
If you take this man into your grasp and control him, how are you any different from your father?
“…Very well.”
Artorius obediently accepted her request. Though phrased as a command, his trembling voice carried the tone of a plea.
Within that trembling voice was a deep fear of being abandoned, of being betrayed.
Since he had been a monster to everyone, it would be enough if he could not be a monster to just one person.
Artorius closed his eyes and nodded.
“Tomorrow, a masquerade ball will be held.”
All masquerade balls are held at night. Even 200 years ago, that hadn’t changed, and Artorius quickly understood the implication of her request.
“Are you asking me to accompany you?”
“Yes.”
Artorius was impressed by Anastasia’s meticulous planning.
At a nighttime masquerade ball, where faces are hidden, one can reveal one’s true self and present oneself as a knight.
And during daytime social gatherings, she could present him as her most powerful knight above all others.
Anyone watching would think she had hired two knights.
“Before that… I would like to ask if you are prepared to bear the weight of being labeled a traitor.”
Anastasia released his necklace and looked down at him with eyes as deep as the sea.
“Artorius.”
“Yes.”
“I already broke ties with my family today.”
She walked lightly to the window and leaned against it. Outside, below, the manor was visible.
The lights were still on.
“They’re probably thinking about how to make things difficult for me tomorrow.”
Anastasia shrugged lightly as she imagined their schemes.
“For now…”
Each word that left her small lips made Artorius’s senses sharpen.
Standing with the moon behind her beyond the window, Anastasia turned back toward him and declared boldly,
“I’ll show you how I devour the House of Étranger first.”
Artorius lay on the floor at the top of the tower, in Anastasia’s room, quietly staring up at the bed.
Only her wrist protruded slightly from beneath the covers.
“…What did I just witness?”
In those deep-sea-like eyes, he saw the ancient creed of the Chantier dynasty.
Like a tidal wave sweeping across the land.
That was the quality required of a king by Chantier. It was also the reason Artorius had been chosen as heir over his older brother.
Anastasia had told him to sleep, but since being afflicted by the curse, he had been unable to sleep.
It wasn’t particularly uncomfortable… but listening to her steady breathing as she slept made him envious of what it meant to dream.
Then, a rough, strained breath reached his ears.
“…No.”
A pained voice.
Artorius blinked and rose to his feet.
Anastasia had curled up like a shrimp, covered in cold sweat.
Whatever tormented her so deeply—
“…The last time I saw her, she was just a fragile human.”
Now, in both body and mind, she had moved beyond the bounds of humanity.
From Artorius’s perspective, she was carrying an immense burden.
Hatred and resentment—yet also a deep, earnest longing hidden within her heart.
He knew well that she could not bear all of it forever. And from his long experience, he also knew how meaningless the old saying was—that revenge is futile.
Clear, decisive vengeance.
Only that could heal Anastasia’s soul. To set everything right again, and to claim what she rightfully deserved.
Before she sank into becoming a monster like himself.
Only then could her earnest wish bloom without delay.
“…May everything be finished before it’s too late.”
Quietly, Artorius took Anastasia’s small hand in his.
Her hand, extended beyond the bed, had been chilled by the cold air slipping through the wooden window frame. Gradually, warmth returned to her fingertips.
The faint trembling of her fragile body subsided, and her labored breathing calmed once more.
Like moonlight spreading across clouds.
Diana was heading up the tower, carrying a basin of warm water.
That was the plan… but—
“…What is that?”
Someone was standing at the base of the stairs leading up the tower. Or rather, it was too large to simply call “someone.”
It had to be over two meters tall…
Moreover, it wore slightly distorted silver armor, and carried a long sword on its back that radiated an unmistakable sense of nobility.
A monster?
Yet under the brilliant sunlight, the massive figure looked far too dignified to be a monster.
A human?
What kind of human could possibly have such a physique?
Only the northern barbarians—the Saden people—came to mind. Occasionally, some of them entered the kingdom’s protection and were granted knighthood by nobles.
But…
“Did the Duke take in a new knight?”
Tilting her head, Diana approached the staircase.
That’s when it happened.
“You must be Diana.”
A pair of blue glowing eyes looked down from above.
“Y-Yes… that’s me…?”
“Hand it over.”
“…Pardon?”
Before she could react, the basin was taken straight from her hands.
“Go and inform the manor’s staff. From now on, everything sent to Anastasia must pass through me.”
“…Was that Princess Anastasia’s decision?”
“Yes.”
There was nothing more to say.
“May I ask one thing…? I’ve never seen a knight like you within this castle.”
The towering knight shrugged.
“Of course not.”
“…What?”
“I swore my loyalty to Second Princess Anastasia Étranger last night and became her knight of my own will.”
“…Pardon?”
Diana stood frozen like a broken clockwork doll.
Noble ladies certainly had the right to appoint their own knights.
However… if the head of the house revoked that appointment, it would be rendered void.
There was no way Anastasia wouldn’t know that. So what on earth was going on?
“Oh, and there was one more message from the princess.”
“…What is it?”
“She asked me to pass it on to her butler, Enoch. She said tonight’s journey will be rough, so he should thoroughly check the carriage’s wheels and axle.”
At that same time, in the Duke’s office, Sorvan Étranger was deep in thought.
What on earth were all those gold dust fragments?
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t find an answer.
Moreover, when she had been locked at the top of the tower, she had always been bound with black iron shackles designed to suppress magic and prevent escape.
“Just how did she break free?”
He had no way of knowing that mages who reached a certain level could not be restrained by black iron.
Simply touching their skin was enough for the metal to crumble like sand.
That was the power of those known in the world as archmages—uncontainable and unstoppable.
But it had already been 100 years since such mages had disappeared.
Sorvan had clearly seen Anastasia’s slender fingers slice through the air and open space itself.
Grinding his teeth, he muttered,
“…Whatever it is, I can’t let her run wild unchecked.”
He stood up.
From a drawer, he took out a sphere filled with a red liquid.
A family heirloom known as the “Orb of Ileset,” which could invoke magic using witch’s blood as a medium. With it, Sorvan could at least imitate a mage.
How fortunate.
Even if only for the moment he held the orb, he was one of the only two mages in the kingdom—though only while it contained Anastasia’s blood.
Now it was time to punish his little canary.
But as he stormed out, Sorvan was stopped at the office entrance by Diana, who was hesitating there.
“D-Duke!”
Sorvan’s eyes flashed. Diana flinched, but once she had spoken, she could no longer run away.
“What is it?”
“Th-there’s a knight at the base of the princess’s tower…”
“A knight?”
He hadn’t hired any new knights recently.
In the first place, knights required land grants as fiefs, so he couldn’t afford to hire many.
“Yes. He says he has sworn loyalty to the princess and has joined her service… I thought you should know.”
Sorvan let out a sigh.
It seemed today, he had one more person to deal with.
But what he didn’t know—
The Orb of Ileset was indeed a powerful artifact in the current age, but 200 years ago, during the era of magic, it had been nothing more than a failed, insignificant relic.
