Chapter 15
—
In the outskirts of the Barfulus Kingdom lies a certain tower.
At first glance, it looks like an abandoned tower, but in reality, it’s a place meticulously guarded with utmost severity.
That’s because this tower is a prison.
It was created to inflict suffering far worse than death on those who commit unforgivable sins.
Paradoxically speaking, you can’t even be locked up here for just any old crime.
Being imprisoned here means you’ve committed a sin so grave that it matches the severity of this place.
A representative example would be… treason.
“Goodness, this place isn’t as bad as I thought!”
Contrary to her words, Saskia was pinching her nose with a handkerchief to block out the putrid stench that could numb your senses.
What she was looking at was an elderly man shackled to the wall beyond the window.
Though he looked frail and weak, unable to lift even a finger, his eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
“…Who are you?”
“Wow, you’re pretty talented, huh? How did you hire the Darkmoon Guild from inside here? Were those shackles just for show? Do you wander around freely when the guards aren’t looking? Or are the guards in on it too?”
“I asked who you are.”
With a glare filled with malice, Saskia pulled out a small vial from her robes and placed it on the floor.
“I’ll just say you have some mutual interests with this person.”
The man stared at the vial she had placed.
The blood-red liquid inside wriggled as if it were alive.
“If you want to achieve your goal, drink this. It’ll restore your peak strength, though you won’t last more than a few days. But hey, what does that matter to someone like you?”
After delivering her one-sided explanation, Saskia turned around and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
“…”
Alone, the man shifted his gaze to the shackles binding his limbs.
They weren’t ordinary shackles. Not only were they incredibly sturdy, but they also bore special curses designed to block magical activity.
Yet, despite all that, the shackles melted away effortlessly.
The man, staggering as he stood, bent down and picked up the vial.
Without hesitation, he opened it and drank the liquid inside.
—
Two days after the Darkmoon Guild’s attack, we visited Duke Buelwerke early in the morning.
Naturally, it was to find clues about Lucy’s parents.
Why didn’t we go the next day? Well, after returning home the night of the attack, the three of us spent the entire day in bed together, leaving Lucy and Iris completely exhausted and in need of rest.
It’s not uncommon for maidens to discover the pleasures of the flesh and become consumed by desire, but their case was particularly intense.
No matter how tired they got, they kept asking for me over and over again.
While I enjoyed it, I couldn’t help but worry—it felt like they might be getting addicted.
Anyway, upon hearing about the Darkmoon Guild’s attack from the magic academy, Duke Buelwerke expressed concern for our safety.
“Thankfully, you’re all safe. However, despite investigating everywhere at Lord Aydingger’s request, there’s currently no clear suspect.”
“Is that so.”
Perhaps Lucy’s parents are from outside the Barfulus Kingdom.
It’s plausible they lost or were forced to abandon her here for some reason.
“As the professors at the magic academy mentioned, knowing Lady Lucy’s family magic would make it easier to speculate…”
Two days ago, it became undeniable that Lucy inherited the blood of nobility or royalty.
Otherwise, why would someone go through the trouble of hiring the Darkmoon Guild to kidnap her? Besides, hiring them isn’t cheap—it requires extraordinary wealth.
Thus, Lucy’s magical talent must come from inheritance, meaning her family likely possesses its own unique magic.
The problem is, there’s no way to investigate family magic.
I even asked Professor Sanelleck, but apparently, family magic is like an exclusive contract with spirits—if you have the talent, you naturally gain access to it. There’s no way to explain or detect it.
In other words, once Lucy’s magical talent fully awakens and stabilizes, she’ll naturally understand it.
“For now, please continue the investigation.”
Ultimately, we left the duke’s estate without much progress. Lucy seemed somewhat reluctant about finding her parents.
“B-but can’t we just not look for them? I don’t really want to see them anyway…”
“We originally planned to ignore it, but since they’ve attacked us, they must pay the price.”
“But Adam, something seems off with the knights.”
“Hmm? What’s going on?”
As we approached the training grounds, we saw fully armed knights moving busily.
Wondering what was happening, we were soon spotted by someone approaching us.
“Ah, Master! We’ve been waiting for you!”
“Tobias? What’s the matter?”
“Just moments ago, news arrived that Volfrout escaped from prison a few days ago, and the entire kingdom is on high alert!”
“Volfrout?”
Who’s that?
“His Majesty has been waiting for you as well, so may we ask you to visit the palace? Of course, only if it’s not inconvenient for you, Master…”
For a moment, I hesitated, but decided to head to the palace.
Judging by the atmosphere, this wasn’t an ordinary situation. It’d be better to observe from close range rather than get caught up in events blindly.
“Thank you! Then we shall escort you immediately!”
“I’ll go myself, so there’s no need to guide me.”
So, I headed to the palace, where King Barfulus, Princess Josephine, Zandra, and what appeared to be the queen were gathered.
Upon seeing me, King Barfulus sighed in relief as if a great weight had been lifted.
“Oh! You’ve arrived just in time! This takes a load off my mind!”
“That’s fortunate. So, what’s the matter?”
“Volfrout has escaped.”
“I heard that, but…”
Who exactly is this guy that caused such chaos?
Realizing he’d missed an important detail, our kind king began explaining.
“Volfrout is my late father’s younger brother. Around twenty years ago, during the reign of the previous king, he attempted a rebellion but failed and was imprisoned in the remote prison tower.”
He should’ve been executed, but the former King Barfulus opted for imprisonment instead.
Judging by his inability to sever ties with his bloodline, even after attempting to kill him, the previous king must’ve been quite lenient.
“No, that’s not entirely true. That prison tower is a place where death would seem preferable.”
Surprisingly, the current King Barfulus doesn’t seem to take after his father.
“I think I understand the situation, but there’s still something I don’t get. Is this guy truly that dangerous?”
“He is. My uncle…Volfrout carries the purest royal blood among all the royals. Anywhere he goes, not even a single blade of grass can survive.”
Additionally, the king’s description wasn’t metaphorical.
“Our family’s hereditary magic is ‘Corruption.’ It allows us to decay and dissolve specific targets. Originally, it could only be used on things we touch, but Volfrout can affect distant opponents as well as his surroundings.”
Indeed. Just hearing about it makes it sound annoyingly troublesome.
“By the way, does affecting his surroundings mean dissolving the environment around him?”
“Hm? Ah, yes. How did you know?”
“It’s happening right there.”
The wall was rapidly melting and disappearing.
Emerging through the gaping hole in the palace was an elderly man floating in mid-air, clad in impeccably tailored attire that belied his supposed decades-long imprisonment.
He immediately leapt into the air and swung his sword.
Had it been under normal circumstances, he would’ve cleanly sliced through me and split my body in half. But this time, it didn’t happen.
The moment he swung, the blade dissolved and vanished.
“!”
Detecting the danger, I propelled myself backward through the air and landed safely on the ground.
That was close. If I had stayed frozen, I would’ve dissolved mid-air.
“Adam!”
Catching the sword thrown by Iris, I looked up at Volfrout.
He was observing us as if studying something, then suddenly raised his hand.
“…”
Ah.
This is fatal.
To be precise, everyone here except me will die.
The range probably isn’t large. If I move sideways away from the center of his gaze, avoiding it shouldn’t be difficult.
However, no one else here possesses the agility to do so.
Looks like I’ll have to sacrifice an arm.
Judging by how the sword dissolved earlier, there’s a slight delay before the corruption takes effect. If I strike just before the magic activates, I might be able to pierce his heart.
Just as I prepared to leap again, I froze.
Lucy was raising her arm toward Volfrout, mirroring his gesture.
Wait…
Could it be?
“…Hmph.”
A brief smirk crossed Volfrout’s face as he and Lucy simultaneously unleashed their magic.
I could sense the collision of their magical energies through the trembling air.
The result was astonishing—”neutralization.”
Their powers perfectly canceled each other out with identical force and nature.
“Eh…?”
Everyone was surprised, but Lucy herself was the most shocked.
Staring wide-eyed at her own actions, she was greeted by Volfrout descending from the air and speaking approvingly.
“Excellent, my daughter.”
—
Daughter?
Princess Josephine doubted her own ears, but Volfrout had clearly called her “daughter.”
Not only that, but despite being blind, Josephine could sense the magic Lucy had just used to counter Volfrout’s.
What this implied was obvious.
“This… this isn’t fair, is it…?”
Unlike Josephine, Lucy could see.
Unlike Josephine, Lucy was rumored to possess a genius-level talent for magic.
And unlike Josephine, Lucy had an SSR gacha character… or rather, a handsome and powerful man by her side.
While she secretly envied Lucy, Josephine hadn’t harbored jealousy.
After all, Lucy seemed to have endured her own struggles, whereas Josephine, despite her blindness, was still a princess.
“But… but…”
Volfrout’s daughter. The royal family’s hereditary magic.
The undeniable evidence was manifesting right before her eyes.
“Then… then… what about me? What am I…?”
Amidst the situation where no one paid her any attention, Princess Josephine quietly despaired alone.
