Chapter 37 A Well-Crafted Puppet Show
The Empire is a country where the use of magic is strictly forbidden.
For three hundred years.
And yet here, within the central walls of the Imperial Palace, there is a faction that wields such a strange power.
“No way. The security inside the wall is almost perfect…”
Perfect, huh?
Delphine stammered, remembering the recent bizarre murders.
Veliran interrupted him with a chilling tone.
“One thing is for sure,” he said, “the pupils of the eyes.”
“Pupils…!”
Delphine’s eyes widened at the word that finally came out.
Belly nodded and continued.
“Whenever the power contained in this black crystal is used, the pupils of the caster’s eyes change as if they were not human.”
The woman named Marian added in a softer tone.
“Also, all victims of its power are missing their pupils.”
“Did you notice anything unusual about the pupils of the decapitated heads, for example?”
Suddenly, goosebumps broke out all over her body.
Delphine involuntarily wrapped her arms around her and shuddered.
So that’s why Glasscok asked her such an unknown question…!
“But what is that power…? And…”
And what does it have to do with Ioannes?
Veliran finished in a heavy tone.
“Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve been able to find out, at great sacrifice.”
Delphine’s mouth dropped open, unable to find words.
Her mind was in turmoil.
Things from the Northlands with delicate magical engineering.
Phosium.
A black crystal of unknown power, and the beings within the barrier who used it.
… And Ioannes.
A former slave turned marquis.
A man of uncanny strength.
And most of all, Glasscok, whose eyes were missing.
“What…”
Delphine stuttered, her face blue.
Her legs gave out and she staggered, and the man named Lynn leapt from his chair and grabbed her.
Delphine stood, barely braced by the strength of his strong arms, and muttered.
“I’ve never heard any of this before…”
She felt like a puppet in a puppet show.
Played by a string in a preordained play.
“Yes, there is something strange and odd about this Empire.”
Veliran’s gaze drifted off into the distance, presumably toward the wall.
“The existence of the Wall and the Black Crystal… And the Marquis of Pride. We suspect there is some great secret in this Empire, and we are investigating.”
He turned his gaze back to Delphine, who had gone white, and fixed her with an intense stare.
“My lady. Do you still stand by what you said about wanting to know the truth?”
Lynn and Marianne’s gazes fell on her as well.
Delphine’s eyes twitched slightly.
There it was again.
They were testing her again.
“Even if you knew the truth, would it change anything? Perhaps it would only make it harsher.”
Was this what the man in the carriage had been talking about?
But her hesitation was short-lived.
Her mind was still unchanged.
She, Delphine Pembroke, had no intention of closing her eyes to the truth and being swept away by fate.
Delphine bit her lip tightly and nodded.
Then a satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Veliran’s mouth.
“You still have your radio, don’t you?”
Delphine nodded again.
“Keep it charged whenever you can. I’ll radio you if I find anything new.”
Just then, Lynn, who had been watching Delphine with an unreadable gaze, spoke up.
“The radio. Don’t let that man hear you.”
Her tone was bitterly blunt.
By that man, did she mean Ioannes?
She looked up, puzzled, and the man flicked his gaze away and spoke in a low voice.
“He’s known for being as cruel as the devil himself, … and his wife is no exception.”
No, he would never lay a hand on her.
Behind all her daring, she had faith that he would never harm her.
But somehow, she hesitated to speak up in Ioannes defense right now.
Chewing on her lip, Delphine finally settled for a slight nod of her head.
***
The room Lady Pride left.
“What do you have in mind, Belly?”
Lynn, who had been silent for a moment with a strange expression on her face, spoke up in an uncomfortable tone.
“She’s just a noblewoman who was raised to be a noble.”
“Do you really think so, Lynn?”
Belly asked, narrowing her eyes.
After a moment’s pause at the outrageous question, Lynn answered nervously.
“… If you’re thinking of using her to bring out the rabid dog, forget it. You don’t think that Pride is going to be swayed by a woman, do you?”
“No, I’m not trying to use her as such a card.”
Veliran blue eyes gleamed meaningfully.
“… Since we’re alone, I’ve been calculating the revolution’s chances of success at two to one, and of course, since Pride showed up, they’ve gone down to three.”
“… What?”
At that, both Lynn and Marianne looked incredulous.
The organization’s initial revolutionary funds had all come from gambling houses.
His genius allowed him to calculate the number of all possible outcomes at the gambling tables in real time.
Lynn and Marianne’s decision to join the revolution in the first place was based solely on Belly’s trust.
“… You, you bastard, you lured me in with all your sweet words, and then you saw the odds so low?”
Marianne muttered incredulously, and Belly replied with a nonchalant expression.
“That’s what gambling is all about… But just now, I think we’ve found a wild card.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what that means, Belly.”
“I’ll tell you when I’m more certain. Now’s not the time to be sure… Okay. Not yet…”
He mumbled something unintelligible to himself, then suddenly looked up sharply and exclaimed.
“First of all, Mrs. Pride… no, I mean Delphine Pembroke’s family tree.”
“What? She comes from a venerable aristocratic family, of course…”
But Belly was already muttering to herself, as if she couldn’t hear what was being said around her.
“I guess it’s the maternal side… But that still leaves the question of ‘why’…”
“Hey, Belly!”
Despite Rin’s shout, Belly was still seized with a strange enthusiasm and seemed to be deaf to the sound.
“Yes. There… depends on her to win or lose this revolution.”
There was a glimmer of madness in her blue eyes, like a gambler facing an upset win.
***
Leaving the headquarters, Delphine was forced to shade her eyes again with a black cloth.
After enduring the foul stench and the swaying of the carriage for some time, it soon came to a stop.
She removed the blindfold and dismounted near the eastern gate of the wall.
“Your ladyship’s entry and exit today will soon be erased.”
The Duke, who had learned that she had used the maid’s identification, explained.
Wearing a rabbit mask, he told her that it was too dangerous to go any further, and then left her to her own devices.
Delphine covered her head and face with her white handkerchief again and walked to the barrier.
“Hmm. An errand from the nobility to District 3?”
Again, unlike on the way out, she was more thoroughly inspected as she entered the walls.
The knight standing guard at the gate scrutinized her credentials and asked her again.
“What was the name you wrote on the list when you left the gate?”
“Betty…”
“Hmm. You went out with your coachman, where did you go and come back alone?”
“Well, it was a secret request from my master, so I’m not allowed to give you the details…”
She took Betty’s advice and trailed off without sounding too obvious.
As if he was reluctant to pry into the affairs of a nobleman, the knight didn’t press further.
Instead, he motioned to her handkerchief with an impatient gesture and ordered.
“Show your face.”
Oh, no.
Delphine bit down hard on her lower lip in embarrassment.
She wanted to avoid showing her face as much as possible, just in case.
‘Not that they’d know my face.’
This was far from District 1, and from the knight’s demeanor and tone of voice, he didn’t appear to be a high ranking knight of noble birth.
Luckily, there was no photo on her credentials, so it was impossible to identify her.
Delphine slowly pulled back her handkerchief.
“I’m sure of her identity, but she doesn’t usually send just one maid to district 3…”
At that moment, the knight stopped talking.
What? Did he notice something strange?
Delphine quickly lowered her eyes to hide the color of her pupils.
The knight stared at her for a moment in disbelief, then asked, somewhat dumbfounded.
“… You. What family’s maid did you say you were?”
She hadn’t said anything like that.
Why would he ask that, she wondered, but before she could think, the answer came out instinctively.
“Baron Herrs.”
Even the knights a few feet away were turning to look.
What’s wrong with him?
Surely no one cares about a maid walking down the street…
