Chapter 79
Before going outside to search, our choice to gather information from inside proved to be the right one.
“Did the new lord seem to have issues as well?”
Eints nodded.
We were holding a strategy meeting before heading out.
If we had gone straight outside, we could have fallen victim to that darkness.
If Fidelo acted first and rushed in, we were more like the brains behind the operation.
Even if our methods differed, our goal was the same: we just needed to reach the same conclusion.
Eints spoke.
“Clearly, the previous lord covered up all the incidents and was dismissed, so it doesn’t seem like anything was hidden in that regard.”
“The lord smelled like the victims.”
Baldwin said.
“The same smell?”
“Yes. The same unpleasant smell that came from the victims was on the lord. From what I could tell, the lord was probably a victim too.”
That explained the strange behavior the lord had shown.
Tailen often stuttered or avoided eye contact, displaying behavior typical of someone avoiding others.
If Tailen was still suffering from aftereffects, that would make sense.
“And the victims displayed the same behaviors.”
“The same behaviors?”
“Yes, Your Highness. I observed their actions last night, and when night came…”
Baldwin frowned.
The victims, still not fully recovered, remained in the castle, and it seemed he had been observing their actions.
“They looked… hungry, almost desperate.”
“…I looked into Endia and past records. Among the records left in the mage tower, there are stories of people who were consumed by darkness and returned. They said those people acted insane at night, but once light was shone upon them, they returned to normal.”
I guessed it might be due to the influence of Scotia.
Perhaps because the darkness craves light, it made them endlessly chase after it.
“Last night, the light in Tailen’s room didn’t go out either.”
Then Tailen must be experiencing the same aftereffects.
“In that case, it’s probably best we head to the forest now. We shouldn’t scatter—let’s stick together… maybe hold hands.”
Baldwin grabbed my hand.
Then, baring his teeth like a vigilant puppy, he said,
“Tying ourselves together with a rope seems the better choice. We can’t keep holding hands continuously.”
What’s gotten into him?
I wiggled my fingers in Baldwin’s hand.
“…That’s a good idea too.”
Eints agreed.
Somehow, it felt like sparks were flying between Baldwin and Eints.
Had something bad happened between them?
Ah, of course the relationship between the sub-male lead and the main male lead wouldn’t be good.
If one of them was happy, the other was destined to be sad.
Anyway, as we made our decisions, tidied up, and prepared to leave, a commotion erupted outside.
“Has Prince Fidelo returned already?”
I looked out the window, but there was nothing we could confirm from here.
I wanted to hear from Fidelo, or from Endia and Camilla, what had happened.
I pulled Baldwin and ran to the first floor, thinking we needed to hurry.
When we arrived, we saw:
“Hu, huuuh… What do we do… Brother, what do we do…”
Camilla was crying like a child, and Endia was shivering as if she’d been doused in ice water.
Jerod was trying to comfort them, and Tailen was standing there helplessly.
The knights who had accompanied them were nowhere to be seen…
“Prince Fidelo isn’t here.”
Baldwin muttered softly.
He was right. Among those who returned, Fidelo wasn’t there.
There was no way Jerod had left Fidelo alone…
Judging by the reaction of the others, something had gone wrong.
My heart sank.
No matter how much of an antagonist Fidelo was, or how unpleasant he was to me, he was someone I knew.
Thankfully, he liked me, and he had already become part of my daily life.
An indescribable anxiety began to pool around my feet.
I grabbed Baldwin’s sleeve.
Fidelo was a character who had always appeared as the antagonist.
At this young age, he shouldn’t die or come to harm.
But if Fidelo died or was harmed here, the novel would be completely twisted…
Fear dug into my heart.
By the same logic, Camilla, Eints, and Baldwin could die or be harmed at any moment too.
“Laila. What’s wrong?”
Baldwin grabbed my wrist.
“Di… Fidelo… Fidelo is…”
“He’ll come back. Nothing will happen.”
Baldwin turned me toward Fidelo’s side.
His red eyes blazed as if reflecting sunlight.
They shone like a flame illuminating the darkness, brilliant and beautiful.
Baldwin smiled gently.
“Laila. Prince Fidelo will return safe and sound.”
“How… how can you be so sure?”
“There are so many people here. We’re here too. We can save him.”
Baldwin comforted me softly.
We. Yes, we were here.
The main characters of this story were here, and I was too.
The protagonists always accomplish what they set their minds on—that’s the unchanging law of novels.
With Baldwin, Eints, and Camilla here, we would achieve what we wished.
And then there was me, a variable.
I had already bent the story’s course and carried Raghnis and Fracia on my back.
There was no way I wouldn’t get what I wanted.
I came into this novel to solve its problems, after all.
I could do this.
“Yes. Now is not the time to cry.”
I wiped the tears that had been streaming down my cheeks unconsciously.
“We will definitely find him.”
“Yes.”
Baldwin gave a faint smile.
As I turned to descend the stairs, Baldwin held me back.
“Laila. It’s not just you—it’s us.”
“Huh?”
“You’re not doing this alone. We’re doing it together. Understand?”
Baldwin stared at me.
He wouldn’t let go until I gave him a clear answer.
I nodded slightly. I knew I was worrying those around me.
I was only trying my best to prove myself, but it seemed precarious to them.
But I had never tried to solve everything alone.
I only wanted to be part of the process of solving the problems.
Holding Baldwin’s hand, I said,
“Of course. We’re together.”
Only then did Baldwin let me go.
I ran down to the first floor and hugged Camilla.
“L-L…”
Camilla called to me in a voice that trembled intermittently.
“Fidelo… Fidelo disappeared…”
“It’s okay… We can find him.”
“Fidelo… he suddenly disappeared. Someone was dead… and I saw red eyes and black… black cloth. It… it was darkness…”
Camilla trembled as she recounted the scene.
As I listened, I saw Jerod.
“He was dead without a drop of blood. The same as the previous victims discovered.”
“The starving darkness consumed him. Fidelo… Fidelo would have suffered the same fate…”
“No, Endia. We’ll get Fidelo back.”
Eints came down from the second floor carrying something.
Baldwin followed behind him.
It was a long rope.
“The darkness targets those who are alone. So if we tie ourselves together with this rope, we should be fine.”
Just as we had discussed earlier.
Eints glanced between Endia and me.
“The only ones who can use magic here are Endia and Laila. But Endia, if it’s too hard, you don’t have to come.”
“No!”
Endia shook her head, trembling.
“I’ll go. I have to go.”
Her small face, swallowing tears, looked pitiful.
Endia had inherited the golden hair typical of the royal family.
Perhaps because of the hair color, she resembled Eints.
Although these kids shared only half their blood, they were family.
Even Eints, trying to act composed, had trembling hands.
He nervously bit his lip, pale-faced.
He too was worried about Fidelo.
They were a family, after all.
My heart swelled.
I had thought of Eints, Endia, and Fidelo separately.
Because I was illegitimate, I had never entered their circle, and assumed they wouldn’t include me either.
But they were more mature than my adoptive mother.
Even if they had to live while turning away from each other, deep down, they were connected.
I envied them.
And I wanted to protect them.
I first took the rope Eints offered.
I tied it around my waist, and Baldwin did the same.
One by one, like sausages, we tied the ropes around our waists, and Jerod held the end in his hand.
“So, we’re all going?”
We nodded firmly.
“Good. But don’t take your eyes off each other.”
“Yes.”
And so, we walked into the darkness once again to find Fidelo.
I felt glad to be part of this. I was happy to be one of them.
Even if it didn’t suit the moment.
