<Episode 37>
A huge curtain of dark blue water blocked something unknown from flying towards me.
‘It’ disappeared without a trace as soon as it touched the veil created by the Naiad.
[Are you okay? Do you have any injuries?!]
Naiad, who appeared from the hazy fog, urgently grabbed my arm and checked to see if there were any wounds.1I don’t know why the image of a mother hen checking on her chick popped into my head😂.
No, this was not the most urgent thing right now!
“It looks like assassins attacked. Ashamed is fighting alone now, Naiad. Please help him quickly!”
[Assassin… I understand.]
Naiad, whose already stiff face grew even colder, raised her body which she initially lowered to check on me.
Shoo–
A past that now felt distant came to my mind.
Similar to the huge water pillar that I Iad raised when the official residence of Terma City was completely engulfed in flames, to drive away Ifrit and make the flames go away.2For those who don’t remember, her father’s assistant tried to kill her by ordering someone who had a fire spirit to set the place she slept in on fire when he realised that he couldn’t get rid of her any other way.
But this time, the stream of water, which took the form of a huge ring that circulated around the Naiad and me, spread out in all directions, dancing as if it were alive.
“Ugh-!”
“Uh!”
The bitterly cold fog touched the water and disappeared.
My vision, which was blurry since the beginning of the attack, gradually became clearer.
Under the bright midday sun, the sight of uninvited guests holding swords with curved blades was clearly visible here and there.
“The knights…!”
The maids were not even visible.
Where had everyone gone?
What exactly was their identity?
Ominously, the black outfit reminded me of an assassin.
The water columns floating in the air as if they were alive flew out to capture them, but the moment they swung the black moon sword in their hands and cut the water stream…
“!”
[this…….]
An unknown black trace appeared in my field of vision and disappeared without a trace, and the cross section of water cut by the sword… literally disappeared leaving no trace, as if it had been eaten by something.
It disappeared as if it never existed in the first place.
The attack that was created by the Spirit King himself, not anyone else, had disappeared.
“……Nonsense.”
I blinked in confusion, doubting deep in my bones what I had just seen.
[……I can’t see your companion. I will solve this problem, so hurry up and find that child first!]
At that moment, Naiad woke me up from my shock.
The thick fog had all disappeared, but Ashamed was nowhere to be seen.
A large, endlessly circulating ring of water surrounded me as if to protect me.
I quickly got up and started looking for Ashamed.
“Ashamed!”
But the little boy was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment I felt as if my heart was burning and bit my lips.
Tik tuk-
In the midst of a melee where the Spirit King was summoned and engaged in a battle, the sound of leisure steps, which did not suit this urgent situation, reached my ears.
I slowly raised my head.
Not too far away. Some black figure was fluttering between the bushes.
“Ah. How long has this been?”
A voice so seductive that you can almost feel the languor and sweetness.
The boy’s body hanging limply in that figure’s embrace belonged to someone I knew well.
“-Ashamed!!”
The moment I saw the child’s face with his eyes closed and a pale complexion, I couldn’t stop the child’s name from coming out of my mouth.
Ah, why, why on earth, when did that happen?
If only I had found Ashamed a little sooner, but no. He must have just fainted. It must be so…….
I didn’t know how countless thoughts bloomed and withered away in a split second.
“Is that too surprising?”
The man holding Ashamed in his arms muttered with a soft smile.
“Don’t worry. He just fainted.”
I let out the breath I was holding after the man uttered that single sentence, then I finally looked properly at his face.
If the word fascination was embodied in a human face, it would look just like that person.
Chestnut-black hair that fall short at the nape of the neck and a pale skin.
The sharp bridge of his nose and his gaze were fierce, but his eyes…
With gray eyes that quietly sparkled with a strange light, it was unusually dark and deep, giving him an air of mesmerism.
The gloomy beauty flowing in the air currents around him seemed to adequately hide the intimidation, but that was only a deception.
It was as if the nape of your neck was going to be bitten off if you got near him, fooled by his fascinatingly beautiful appearance.
Like you are facing death it self…
Inexplicably, the moment I made eye contact with him, that thought occurred to me.
“…Who are you? Are you an assassin? At someone’s instigation, to do something like this…”
I asked, trying to hold back my heart that felt like it was about to burst.
The man who seemed to be staring at my face obsessively, examining every eyelid and every movement of my lips, said with a smooth smile.
“Well. It was a special feeling to see that face asking who I was.”
“……..?”
When I asked who instigated this to try to harm us, I received an answer that had nothing to do with the question.
Roar-!
[Edith!]
At that moment, a huge roar rang out.
Naiad ran towards me.
Behind her, there was a curtain of water that was so high reaching the sky, rippling and shaking violently like a tsunami that was about to hit at any moment.
[Have you found your companion? I first trapped those people in a curtain of water… Who are you?]
Naiad, who had been talking to me in a loving tone, found a man standing with Ashamed in his arms and quietly muttered.
“…You don’t remember.”
The man, who did not show any signs of fear despite facing the Spirit King’s wrath, placed Ashamed on the ground and held out one hand and muttered.
…What was he talking about?
At that moment, when he narrowed his eyes, the man held the black, fluttering afterimage that had suddenly appeared in his pale hands.
It looked similar to the weapon that the presumed assassins were holding, but it was much larger than theirs.
Another difference was that it is wasn’t wrapped like the other weapons.
“This method is not bad for solving problems.”
It looked like an afterimage, a trace.
But he seemed to be able to hold it in his hand and use it freely.
As I took a step back, I gazed nervously at the unknown power that flickered black and looked like an old moon that had lost its light and was eaten by the night.
[That is… Right. You are the royal family of Nisha!]
A voice resembling a coldly forged blade filled with deep hatred shouted with passion.
It was, unbelievably, the voice of Naiad.
…… Moreover
Was he really a Nisha?
Nisha was the name of a kingdom located next to Roshan.
The person who attacked the carriage was the royal family of Nisha?
What… this ridiculous identity?
Why him?
Although the Kingdom of Nisha had a very bad relationship with Roshan, during peacetime they were just silent and did not engage in any conflict with each other…?
“Naiad, what is that…?”
In my despair, I called out to her, but Naiad, unlike usual, did not answer my voice.
A gentle tremor passed through her hand directed to him.
…Was it fear or anger?
Naiad, who was trembling with an unknown emotion, spoke bitterly.
[O descendants of sinners who destroyed my principality. Are you trying to cut off the bloodline of the only remaining principality in the world?]
The moment she finished her speech, which I couldn’t understand a single word of, it felt like it was getting dark above my head.
A water sphere so large that it completely blocked out the light pouring from the sky swirled, and the spirit king’s anger poured out as if she was punishing the man in front of him.
“Is that even possible?”
With a slow motion, I saw a black afterimage was freely swung from the man’s hand, leaving a unique trail.
The moment she was cut by that black figure, all attacks sent by Naiad disappeared.
As if a torn mouth resembling an old moon had devoured everything that touched it.
“No…….”
I chewed my lips.
I must summon Oried.
Naiad alone was not enough.
“You shouldn’t be lost in other thoughts.”
“!”
The moment I opened my mouth to recite the summoning spell, I heard the man’s voice whispering as he passed right by me.
Hissing–
“Ahh!”
Soon something sharp flew to my leg and stuck in it.
[Edith!]
Naiad cried out in horror, but she could no longer approach me.
[this……]
Her body disappeared like foam.
In an instant, Naiad’s figure disappeared. Her summon had been lifted.
“What…….”
It hurt so much that I couldn’t stand.
I collapsed to the floor and groaned in pain.
It was as if my leg had been pierced, the pain was so indescribable that even my reason seemed paralyzed.
Tik tuk–
“Stop, you better give up. It’s an artifact that suppresses the flow of mana in the body.”
The distant voice of someone approaching right in front of me could be heard.
…No, it shouldn’t be like this.
I have to recite the summoning spell as soon as possible…
“Since this is my first time using it, the recoil will be greater, but you won’t be able to summon spirits anymore anyway. therefore…”
As soon as those words entered my mind, my mind became increasingly blurred.
I felt an eerie sense of foreboding as my vision became unclear.
“Stop resisting further and just close your eyes.”
I tried to force myself to come to my senses, but it was impossible.
There was no strength left in my entire body.
In the midst of my increasingly faint mind, the kidnapper, who was full of unfathomable riddles, whispered affectionately.
“Mariette’s daughter.”
***
The 2nd prince of the Roshan Empire, Ashamed Haas Ruairi, and Grand Princess Edith Ronen Heilian had gone missing.
“……What?”
No, to put it accurately, they were kidnapped.
How could a carriage with the two children go missing?
It was clear that it was in fact a kidnapping.
“Who dares!”
Archduke Heilian, who received the news, let out a roar that sounded like a beast.
He got up from his seat and grabbed the collar of the subordinate who informed him of the situation.
“I asked who kidnapped my daughter! Could it be that you haven’t identified the mastermind yet?!”
“⋯⋯⋯I’m sorry. The imperial family is currently searching, but no traces have been left behind….”
The Empire was shaken by the shocking news.
It was clear that these news should have been top secret, but it only took one day for all the people of the city to find out who had spread it.
“Roberick! Just a moment, wait a moment! If we leave it to the imperial family to find the child…”
Archduke Hailian looked almost crazy with anxiety.
“Let go, Chastia.”
In the end, Roberick shook off the Grand Duchess and disappeared in search of his daughter.
“How did this happen!!”
And, the Emperor’s Palace was also turned upside down.
***
Kidnap the second prince, Ashamed, and kill him without a trace.
That was the original request, but the result was the urgent news that Grand Princess Heilian had also disappeared without a trace.
“Why on earth did you ignore the request I made? I told you to kidnap and assassinate only the 2nd prince. Why did you make a mess of things by kidnapping Grand Princess Heilian!”
The Emperor could not bear his boiling anger and shouted.
***
TL:
Ok, that got interesting pretty quickly, a few hours and the next chapter will be released;)
