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Chapter 72
“Your Highness.”
Lord Firenze approached Ackes and bowed deeply.
“The Spirit Mage has summoned the Water Spirit King. Taking advantage of that, the Sorcerer Dante used a teleportation spell to escape.”
“…….”
Ackes’ hand, which had been gripping Lloyd, relaxed.
Ackes rose above the kneeling Lloyd, taking a deep breath, and issued a command to the knight.
“Send him to the torture chamber, not the underground prison.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The knight bowed and disappeared with Lloyd through a teleportation spell.
Ackes’ gaze then fell upon Lord Firenze.
“You will lead the Second Knight Order through the secret passage. Capture Dante, bind him with a mana restraint, and bring him here.”
Dante, having been attacked by Einra, was highly likely to be severely injured.
With his condition, he wouldn’t be able to use long-distance teleportation magic, so there was only one place he could have escaped to.
The secret passage.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lord Firenze acknowledged and left.
A gust of wind carrying the scent of water swirled once around and vanished.
Ackes brushed his hair back and his gaze fell on Erun.
Summoning the Spirit King would require an enormous amount of mana, yet Erun continued silently by his side.
He maintained the summon to ensure Ackes’ safety while preventing Dante from finding an opening to escape.
Of the two choices—continuing to attack Dante or maintaining the summon—Einra had chosen the latter.
“…….”
Ackes slowly raised a hand and placed it over his chest, feeling the heartbeat that mirrored his emotions.
Then it happened.
KRA-KRASH!
With a massive roar far greater than before, the mansion collapsed.
Dust and stone fragments flew. Erun, standing nearby, deployed a barrier to shield them.
Soon after, Lord Firenze reappeared.
“Your Highness, we have captured the Sorcerer Dante.”
“……Ah.”
Ackes turned his gaze from the collapsing mansion.
A man with soot-stained gray hair and a face marked with wounds lay collapsed, his wrists bound in restraints.
Despite his weakened state, Dante struggled to escape, and Ackes drew his sword from his waist.
Sshing.
The long, thin blade rested against Dante’s chin.
“……!”
Startled, Dante swallowed dryly, flinching.
A drop of bright red blood formed at the tip of the sword where it touched his neck.
The blade slowly traced a crimson line down his throat before being retracted.
“Hah…hah…”
Dante exhaled roughly, surrendering his strength completely.
Looking down at him, Ackes lightly flicked the blood off his sword.
Originally, he intended to kill Dante immediately, but his mind had changed.
The only reason to eliminate Dante was the potential threat he posed to Einra.
If he no longer posed a threat, there was no reason to kill him now.
There were countless ways to make use of Dante.
Ackes’ crimson lips curved gently.
“Lord Firenze.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Take him to the underground prison. The Second Knight Order will return to their family with the other knights.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Lord Firenze bowed and disappeared with Dante and the Second Knight Order.
Around them, not a single insect chirped—only the silence of death lingered.
The scent of water in the air became stronger. The sky above, devoid of moonlight, looked as though rain could pour down at any moment.
“…….”
Condensing his mana into the shape of an umbrella, he began searching the ruined mansion for Einra.
Erun, who only obeyed the contract holder, would not guide him, so he had no choice but to find her himself.
Raindrops began to fall slowly.
His steps quickened as he continued the search.
After wandering for a while, he finally found Einra in the center of a rain-soaked garden.
She stood in the pouring rain, searching for Dante.
Ackes walked straight to her, tilting the umbrella over her.
“…….”
Einra turned her head, seemingly surprised that no raindrops fell on her.
Her indifferent silver gaze fully focused on him, trembling slightly.
Erun, having completed its task, returned to the Spirit Realm as wind.
Einra’s face, now before him again, was wet with rain.
On that face, he saw the reflection of her past helplessness—the time she whispered she could no longer endure before parting.
Her unrestrained expression now seemed even emptier.
A void she herself did not realize.
“……You don’t need to wander anymore.”
Ackes chose to swallow the truth.
“Dante is already gone.”
For someone like Einra, who wore an empty expression even after such vengeance, this was not exactly comforting news.
Slowly, his hand reached out, wiping the rain from her delicate cheek.
Blinking in a daze, Einra moved her lips a beat later.
“……Ah. I let him slip away.”
Muttering, she rubbed her cheek with her hand, and Ackes carefully covered her face with his own.
He would bear the dark truth alone.
So please, his gentle one, smile.
Jerus La Hasseluna.
One of Belzesti’s most powerful authorities—so feared that even flying birds would fall in his presence—he had arrived in Elberk as an envoy under the orders of Duke Cervante. He paced anxiously in his quarters.
‘The Grand Duke of Bahar is supposed to contact me…’
Today marked his first day entering the Elberk Imperial Palace as an envoy.
The Sorcerer Dante, under the Grand Duke of Bahar, promised to send a message tonight.
Of course, the dinner hosted by Emperor Rohineas had ended later than expected, so the evening message never arrived. But Jerus immediately sent another message upon seeing the missed alert in his crystal orb.
Thirty minutes had passed after sending the third message.
Normally, by now, the contact should have arrived, yet there was still no word, even at midnight.
‘Damn it, why is this so slow?!’
Jerus barely restrained the urge to smash the antique vase on the table.
The whereabouts of the reincarnation of the former Bellaresian Emperor—this was something they had to discover, even at any cost.
Twenty-five years ago, after an inexplicable power appeared at the Emperor’s tomb, Duke Cervante ordered research into it.
Belzesti’s top scholars, sorcerers, and spirit mages conducted secret studies, but the nature of that power remained elusive.
After seventeen years of continuous research, they finally found a clue in inscriptions several hundred years old.
‘However, the language of the inscriptions was an ancient dead language, which took six more years to decipher.’
The deciphered text revealed that the power was a dimension-scale mana, manifesting according to some unknown principle.
When it appeared, mysterious phenomena occurred in the world.
The manifestations varied depending on the place and time, but once it appeared, it triggered a chain of strange events beyond human control.
If the power appeared in someone’s tomb, one usual outcome was that the soul would reincarnate with memories of their past life.
“If the reincarnation of Bellaresian remembers their past life, they will surely seek revenge on us.”
Duke Cervante, knowing all this, worried.
“So we must find the reincarnation as quickly as possible and eliminate them.”
They had searched for two years.
And now, they had confirmed that the reincarnation was born in the Saxon county of Elberk.
And as luck would have it, a sorcerer capable of seeing past lives had appeared!
Dante, under the Grand Duke of Bahar, could cooperate with them due to aligned interests, as the Grand Duke was planning a rebellion.
But exchanging confidential information over a long distance posed security risks, so Duke Cervante sent Jerus as an envoy to Elberk to contact the Grand Duke directly.
…Yet no word had come.
‘This won’t do.’
Jerus grabbed the bell on the table, intending to secretly send a servant to urge the Grand Duke.
“Sir, important news!”
A knock sounded at the door, followed by his trembling aide’s voice.
Jerus, already on edge, shouted,
“Come in quickly!”
The door opened, and his somewhat pale aide hurried in.
“What is it?”
“The Grand Duke of Bahar….”
The aide faltered.
Jerus, exasperated, snapped,
“What about the Grand Duke? Are you saying he still hasn’t located the target?”
“It’s not that… The Grand Duke’s residence was destroyed by a Spirit Mage…!”
“……What?”
“And the Grand Duke, along with his household, have all been imprisoned in the Imperial Palace’s underground cells by the Emperor’s order.”
Jerus’ face stiffened instantly.
“……Why?”
“Rumor has it, it was because the Spirit Mage’s mood was offended. Though that may not be the whole story.”
Indeed, that alone seemed unlikely.
After a moment of silence, Jerus spoke slowly.
“……I must meet Emperor Rohineas.”
“Excuse me?”
“No matter the Emperor, one cannot abuse power for personal reasons.”
Jerus rose, his jade-green eyes shining coldly.
“An emperor from a neighboring country is committing tyranny, and as a proud Belzesti noble, I cannot stand idly by.”
