IBYVS 48

Chapter 48

“Has it already gotten this late?”

Cedric clicked his tongue lightly as he checked the time on his pocket watch.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s important,” Elia and Calib replied quickly.

“Finding the source of the nightmare you’re having is important too.”

“But we need to perform the ritual quickly so that my brother can reach the Sanctuary of Knowledge as soon as possible… even though the path is blocked.”

Calib frowned, recalling the Empress’s actions.

Cedric said nothing and just stroked Calib’s head gently.

“Sir Cedric.”

Edwin nudged him, and Cedric rose from his seat.

“Then I’ll be off.”

“Good luck.”

“Yeah, do well.”

He left, accompanied by Elia and Calib’s farewells.

In the end, he couldn’t tell Elia what he had wanted to—the fact that his sense of touch had disappeared.

After Cedric departed, a quiet stillness settled over the brunch setup in the garden.

Elia and Calib hesitated, unsure of what to say.

“Your Highness, it’s time for Imperial Law class.”

“Oh, right. Yes, the first class this afternoon is Imperial Law.”

Following his schedule, Calib also rose.

“Then… um, Elia.”

Unable to call her ‘sister,’ Calib awkwardly addressed her by name.

“I’ll go ahead. See you at dinner.”

“Okay, got it.”

Elia also stood, seeing Calib off.

The once warm and friendly lunch ended quietly, like a meal that had gone cold.

Leaving Elia alone in the garden.

Meanwhile, as Cedric headed toward the basement, Edwin asked,

“What do you think Elia is thinking?”

A cold, chilling glance swept over Edwin.

Ah. He doesn’t like it when I take an interest in Elia.

Recalling Cedric’s attitude when Elia had come to sign the contract, Edwin quickly continued,

“She clearly cares so much for the Duke. Then why would she refuse to allow that form of address?”

“Oh, that,” Cedric said quietly.

Then what story…?

A question popped into Edwin’s mind but was quickly dismissed.

Cedric descended the dark spiral stairs two or three steps at a time, speaking as he went.

“I actually had something I needed done anyway.”

“What is it?”

“Find out who this ‘Yun’ person is.”

“Yun…?”

Edwin tilted his head at the unusual name.

“Yes. They seem important to Elia, and I want to know who they are.”

Having personally drawn up the contract, Edwin knew that Elia had lost her memories.

“Can’t you just ask Elia directly?”

“It’s difficult, so I’m having you find out instead.”

Cedric glanced at Edwin as if to say he was speaking nonsense while stopping precariously on the narrow stairs.

Edwin pursed his lips in response.

Cedric continued,

“I don’t even know if the name is exactly ‘Yun’ or ‘Uni.’”

“Do you know their age or gender?”

After a moment, Cedric replied,

“Probably a male, younger than Elia.”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

Edwin asked curiously, wondering how Cedric could be so sure of the gender and age without even knowing the full name. Cedric gave no answer.

After winding down the damp, humid spiral stairs, they finally reached the ground.

“This place always gives me the creeps. Why is that?”

“It’s a basement.”

Edwin, asking the obvious as usual.

Cedric snapped his fingers, lighting the torches along the walls of the underground corridor.

Fwoosh, fwoosh!

Illuminated by flames as blue as his eyes, the corridor appeared even more ominous.

The two made their way to the door at the end of the narrow hallway.

Cedric’s height was nearly 190 cm, and despite already being a great magician, he had more stamina than the palace knights.

The result was strong, solid muscles hidden beneath his fully buttoned uniform.

In Elia’s words, he was “the kind whose lines are seductive even if dressed modestly.”

A door so massive it made even a man of his size look small stood at the corridor’s end.

Maybe that’s why the spiral stairs are so long—it’s to accommodate this door.

Since preparing to marry Elia, Edwin had occasionally come here to assist in preparations for the loyalty oath ritual.

Cedric pushed the air lightly, and the massive door opened with a heavy groan.

Rrrr…

Despite regular cleaning, a thin layer of dust rose.

Inside remained dark, with nothing visible.

“Every time I come here, it looks like a monster opening its mouth,” Cedric commented briefly, as it wasn’t his first visit.

His first visit had been with the late Duke Keywis, and this place was where the loyalty oath ritual took place and gravity magic was taught.

Edwin nodded, agreeing with the description.

Cedric snapped his fingers again, and the darkness vanished instantly.

The massive chandelier hanging from the high ceiling lit up immediately, along with lamps on the walls, giving the room a more sinister, yet not threatening, aura.

“Now, let us proceed to the altar.”

Following Edwin’s guidance, the altar resembled that of a sacred temple.

From the center, a large chandelier shone, with delicate red silk draped across the ceiling.

At the edge of Cedric’s vision stood the altar for the ritual.

As Cedric moved forward, a red carpet rose from the black marble floor.

Steps formed in his way, and he ascended them to reach the top of the altar.

Upon reaching it, a dark red barrier surrounded the altar.

Cedric knelt slowly, and from the air above, delicate, finely woven mass cloth descended over his head.

He looked like a veiled bride, obedient and pure, a stark contrast to the dark, cult-like surroundings.

The loyalty oath ritual was simple.

One knelt at the altar and recited a prayer of subjugation.

“O guardian deity of Indigentia…”

Cedric’s steady voice echoed through the basement.

He continued the prayer for a long time, and as it prolonged, the barrier thickened.

“…The glory of the undying sun and the honor of the unwavering moon shall forever be with Indigentia.”

Finally, the prayer concluded.

The dark light that had thickened around the altar absorbed into Cedric’s body.

Thus, although he was not of Indigentia blood, Cedric became Indigentia itself.

If he betrayed the family, the absorbed dark energy would corrode his flesh and bones.

It’s practically a curse.

Hence, most people refused to become subjugated, and Dukes and Dukes’ heirs did not allow it either.

There was no need to enter the Sanctuary of Knowledge to live.

Cedric rose, roughly removing the cloth from his head.

As he descended, the once-towering altar slowly lowered.

“Did you complete it successfully?”

“Yes.”

He clenched and unclenched his fist, recalling the dark energy absorbed into him.

His sense of touch still absent, he instinctively knew the ritual had succeeded.

“Good work. Shall we ascend? We need to think about how to enter the Sanctuary of Knowledge.”

Edwin mentioned they now needed to cross a river and pass through a landslide-affected mountain.

A mountain with a landslide, Cedric thought, amused by the metaphor, and moved forward.

While Cedric performed the loyalty oath ritual and Calib studied Imperial Law, I strolled through the garden before heading to Calib’s room with Olivia.

“Why are you going into the Duke’s room?”

“I need to check something.”

“Check? The maids already cleaned everything. There shouldn’t be any traces of yesterday’s incident.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I’m not checking for traces of the incident.”

Olivia looked puzzled, but I just said, “It’s something like that,” and moved forward.

Reaching Calib’s room, I knelt by the bed.

“Elia?”

“Shh.”

I gestured to Olivia to be quiet.

She hesitated, but stepped back.

Throughout the time I listened to Calib explain the picture he drew, one thought swam through my mind.

His drawing closely resembled Mephisto’s true form in the original illustrations.

Yet, I couldn’t be sure that Mephisto was the source of Calib’s nightmare. The reason was simple: his time hadn’t come yet.

Mephisto appeared after Cedric fell into eternal slumber, when Calib cursed all living beings.

To think humans could curse all living beings so horribly… I like that, he had said.

But now… he had appeared already?

I took a deep breath and crouched down beneath the bed, staring intently under it.