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chapter 45
“Black magic.”
He muttered seriously, then drew a dagger and carefully cut away all the surrounding fur he had been feeling around.
The black Cerberus’s flesh was exposed. From a slight distance, I could clearly see what lay beneath.
“Inverted pentagram…”
A red inverted pentagram was drawn on the black skin.
Because of its color, the inverted pentagram almost looked as if it had been carved into the flesh.
Seeing the mark, I also wore a serious expression and pressed my lips together.
‘This wasn’t in the original story.’
That was the problem.
Judging from Aiden and Felix’s reactions, they looked like devout believers facing a demon, but I had no information on it.
Which meant this was a new element not present in the original story.
Or perhaps it hadn’t been revealed before.
“I thought it was odd that a black Cerberus appeared, but I never imagined it would get involved in something this suspicious.”
Felix clicked his tongue and muttered. He seemed unwilling to come near Cerberus, already taking a few steps back.
Glancing at us, he asked,
“So, we should… report this to the Academy, right?”
“No.”
Aiden answered quickly.
“Even if we report it, no one would believe it. The last official appearance of black magic was fifty years ago. Plus, submitting a monster corpse that would disappear during transport as evidence is impossible. It’s perfect for being labeled a liar or delusional.”
“Damn it! Then what are we supposed to do?”
Felix groaned in frustration. Aiden, instead of scolding him as usual, simply stared at the black Cerberus’s body with a contemplative expression.
‘The reappearance of black magic after all this time… it’s cliché, really.’
Honestly, even without an explanation, I could roughly understand.
Magic in this world is divided into three major categories:
White magic, elemental magic, and black magic.
Among them, elemental magic, used by mages like me, is the most common. Magic of the elements—water, wind, earth, fire, and others—falls into this category.
White and black magic, on the other hand, are only briefly mentioned in texts, with no detailed information.
To put it simply, white magic could be considered the ultimate evolution of rare healers like May.
‘Then black magic is probably the opposite.’
Brainwashing, control, berserking—
In short, extremely sinister but powerful magic.
Moreover, inverted pentagrams are famously used in the occult as demon summoning circles.
“…For now, let’s make a camp a little farther away. The main goal of this assignment is to indirectly experience hunting monsters over a one-night, two-day period anyway.”
‘Damn it.’
Throwing logs into the fire at the base camp, Aiden gritted his teeth.
Of all places, it had to appear where he, the second heir to the throne, was.
He was the only surviving member of the direct royal line who wasn’t the Empress’s child. And now, a Cerberus tainted by black magic had appeared.
‘Such a coincidence doesn’t just happen.’
It was clearly the Empress’s design. She was always looking for a chance to consume him.
To make matters worse, the inverted pentagram inside Cerberus’s throat was practically confirmation.
‘It existed before…’
When he was younger, the same mark appeared on the neck of an assassin sent to kill him.
That assassin had been unusually strong. That was also around the time he started hiding his abilities from the Empress.
If such people came in a hundred at once, even as a Sword Master, he couldn’t guarantee a complete victory.
“Sigh.”
His chest felt tight. Exhaling, his breath dissipated into the cold night air.
“What are you doing?”
That familiar voice came then.
Startled, Aiden reflexively flinched, but realizing it was Kanis Esclif, he sheathed the half-drawn sword.
Cold sweat ran down his spine from the tension.
‘I didn’t sense her presence.’
If she could evade a Sword Master’s awareness, how advanced must her skill be?
Aiden was genuinely grateful she was not an enemy.
If Kanis Esclif sided with the Empress, nothing could be worse.
“As you can see, I’m just on watch.”
“Hmm… Aren’t you sleepy?”
“Not really.”
Aiden tossed another log into the fire.
“I’m used to staying up all night awake. It’s no big deal.”
“Ah.”
It was a vague answer.
Turning his eyes, he saw the young princess’s face twitching at the corners of her mouth.
“…Esclif. If you’re planning to pity me, you should stop—”
“Pity? Between you and me, whose life do you think was harder?”
“Then why that expression?”
Kanis frowned slightly.
“Your tone is just annoying.”
Aiden’s mind froze.
“…What?”
Never having heard that before, he stammered like a broken clock.
“What does that… mean?”
All he could manage was that question, but he was powerless.
He had been raised speaking highly formal, aristocratic language.
For him, the casual tone of Felix or Kanis, both high-born, felt strange.
“Forget it. Never mind.”
“……”
He looked at Kanis with a deep sense of grievance.
Of course, Kanis had no intention of explaining herself, leaving Aiden feeling only more wronged.
He heard the sound of her sitting down nearby. Kanis settled onto the grass without any mat and looked back at him.
The fire crackled. Shadows flickered across their faces, appearing and disappearing in the light.
Aiden stared at the red glow reflected in her blue eyes and impulsively spoke.
“I have something I want to ask, Esclif.”
“What is it?”
“You….”
He tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.
So close, yet Aiden Grace and Kanis Esclif were worlds apart.
A natural-born illegitimate son of the government with dazzling talent, and an unfortunately talentless legitimate daughter.
Even if she regained her status as heir, the treatment she had received in the past would not vanish.
‘It’s unlikely our thoughts will align.’
It would probably be hard to even ask for help.
Naturally.
Just because he liked Kanis doesn’t mean she felt the same.
And politically, it would be better for her to stay on the good side of his older brother and their mother—the clear next emperor.
“…No. It’s nothing.”
The words stuck in his throat and remained unspoken.
Out of awkwardness, he sipped the cocoa he had placed beside the fire.
“Ah, this is really frustrating.”
“Gah!”
Startled by the unexpected vulgar curse, Aiden spat out his cocoa.
“Wh-what did you just say…”
“Who told you to talk like that? I’m not playing with you.”
Kanis said, leaning her chin on her hand.
“When an unremarkable man speaks like that, it’s infuriating, friend.”
“Ha, geez.”
He let out a helpless laugh. Normally, her attitude would have been punishable as royal disrespect.
The problem was that she wasn’t “normal.”
As expected, Kanis Esclif didn’t care at all about her blunt words and continued muttering as she stared at the prince.
“Were you caught up in something like an heir competition? I can roughly tell. You were about to tell me but stopped…”
Her words trailed off. Her sharp eyes pierced him.
Only the sound of insects and the crackling fire filled the silence.
“Were you going to say something like, ‘Even the more talented illegitimate son deserves a chance…’?”
“…No. That’s not it.”
“The pause was long, though.”
Aiden flinched. He had indeed thought along similar lines many times.
Of course.
Born of the same father, one born to a smooth path, the other losing a twin and constantly threatened with death.
As Aiden sighed inwardly, Kanis suddenly spoke.
“Do you want me to help?”
