Chapter 46 A Name For Truth
She was cautious, wondering if she should be asking such a question, when she heard a simple answer.
“Magic circle, yes.”
Delphine turned to look at the man.
He spoke, his tone a bit blunt as usual.
“In case you hadn’t noticed by the color of my hair and eyes, my mother was a gypsy and a witch.”
Delphine’s eyes widened slightly.
Black hair and eyes were rare in the Empire.
In the witch hunts of three hundred years ago, many had been captured and burned at the stake as evidence of witchcraft.
“I was taught that the color black was associated with magic, that it was simply superstition. Are you saying it was true?”
“I don’t know exactly. It was a long time ago, and no records have survived.”
Lynn replied dryly.
“But for all those years, my family has kept the magic circle alive by secretly carving it into our bodies.”
He fished in his pocket for the phosium.
“I was the one who first told Belly that she could use magic if she had the phosium.”
“… I see.”
Slowly, the shape of the group that had been so elusive at first began to take shape.
That’s because they trusted her enough to tell her the truth, piece by piece.
‘… Unlike Ioannes. ‘
“By the way, let’s turn around.”
As she turned around, she saw an oddly shaped building that looked like it was made of stacked wooden blocks.
As she turned to examine it, she saw that the gates were studded with phosphorium, which glowed with a pulsating light.
Perhaps some sort of binding magic was being applied.
With that thought, Delphine followed Lynn’s lead and entered the building.
The atmosphere of the La Rouge headquarters was quite different from the last time she had visited.
“Alas, the Lady is here!”
“Hey, watch your language, unless you want to turn charcoal black, our headquarters is also a wooden building!”
A few who recognized Delphine’s face whistled and said things she couldn’t tell if they were admiring or joking.
Judging by the occasional pat on her shoulder, it was probably playful admiration.
… She wondered if she was accepted by them.
The unceremonious hospitality wasn’t all bad.
Lynn, who glared down at her with a small smile, led her to a corner of the headquarters.
“He’s in the dungeons.”
They reached the end of the hallway and came to a large iron door.
Lynn placed his hand on the door and muttered something softly, and it swung open with a heavy thud.
Inside the door was, to her surprise, a stone staircase leading down to the basement.
There must be some sort of magical power at work in this building, Delphine thought.
The path to the basement was quite dark.
Lynn held out her hand.
Taking his large hand, Delphine began to slowly descend the stairs.
“Were you able to find out much from the man?”
Delphine asked as they walked down the stairs, and Lynn frowned slightly.
“… Yes, but it was reckless.”
For some reason, he looked angry.
His demeanor made Delphine feel a little apologetic.
“But it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
“If I hadn’t shown up, you would have been in trouble.”
“But… Ah yes, you were spying on me that day, weren’t you?”
Then he frowned.
“That’s right…”
“Ah, welcome. My friend.”
Just in time, the stairs ended, and an uncharacteristically pleasant voice called out.
“Belly.”
Delphine inclined her head slightly, and Belly returned the greeting with a broad smile.
“Welcome.”
Her smile was still angelic in the dimly lit basement.
Even in the dim candlelight, her molten golden blond hair shone brightly.
“You’ve gone far beyond my expectations, My Lady.”
Lynn raised one eyebrow at the comment and quickly retorted.
“Performed, what did you take my report to be? She was in a dangerous situation when I arrived.”
“Well, she was a little reckless, to be sure… but it was still very good judgment under the circumstances.”
Delphine glanced at Lynn, who looked disgruntled, Lynn tried not to show her displeasure too much.
Rin looked like she was about to say something in frustration, but Veli quickly slapped her on the back.
“Come on. Shall we go inside? Our friend has finally spilled the beans after a week.”
Belly led them to the back of the prison.
Nicolai was sprawled out in a cage.
His once immaculately handsome teeth had been reduced to almost rags.
Most horrifying of all were his hands.
“His fingers were…”
“He doesn’t talk much, but his fingers are his weakness, and he wants to know if he’ll never be able to play again.”
Belly smiled gently, her face like an angel.
“That’s why we were able to have a heart-to-heart, right, my friend?”
Belly asked in an affectionate tone, as if calling on an old friend.
The raggedy man shuddered and gasped in surprise.
“That’s right, that’s right, I’ve already told you.”
“Well, let’s say it again in front of the lady here.”
“What, what do you mean?”
“Well, I don’t know. Let me start with this… The black crystal, who did you say gave it to you?”
Belly asked, her eyes twinkling brightly, but the pupils within them were not smiling at all.
Then the man, who had been watching her closely, spoke slowly.
“… Him.”
The man behind the bizarre murders.
A man who had wielded immense power behind the scenes in an Empire where magic had been banned for three hundred years.
And the one who had managed to keep it all hidden, even from Delphine, a noblewoman of District 1, was…
“His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed upon me.”
“…!”
Delphine’s face flashed with astonishment.
The man continued to ramble on, watching Belly’s eyes.
“He, he gathers a special group of his most loyal subjects and gives them black crystals…”
“What did you call that group?”
The man quickly answered Belly’s cold question.
“We call ourselves the Veritas.”
Veritas?
She’d never heard that name before.
Belly stared down the man with an icy gaze and continued her questioning.
“And what allegiance did you join Veritas in exchange for?”
“I was paid to compose and perform songs in his honor. He said music was the best tool to incite the people…”
Emperor…
The Emperor of this Empire, the scion of a great hero, was behind all these strange events.
Delphine muttered in disbelief.
“It’s impossible…”
But as soon as the words left his mouth, she felt as if the puzzle was coming together.
Only someone of the Emperor’s stature would be able to secretly prank an entire Empire like this.
“So anyone with a black crystal can use such power?”
“Ah, no. That’s not true…”
The man shook his head in disbelief at Delphine’s sharp question.
“I don’t know why, but it requires a special ritual… You can only use the crystal by abandoning your humanity.”
Shed humanity…?
“And what did you do for that?”
Lynn asked, looking down at the man.
His dark eyes held cold contempt.
“I took a cat… and sacrificed it.”
The sound was disgusting enough to make her gag.
Unlike Delphine, who swallowed the barely contained earthenware, Belly spoke in a calm tone.
“I heard rumors of the sudden disappearance of cats in the capital not long ago. How many did you sacrifice?”
“Four, three hundred… thirty-three.”
The man fumbled and looked at his mangled fingers, muttering.
“Originally, uh, six hundred and sixty-six would have been better… Uh, I couldn’t help it. Four, three hundred is a lot of noise…”
“Shut up. You’re bragging about what you did.”
Lynn slammed the hilt of his sword against the pommel in warning, and the man quickly shut up.
Emperor.
Abandoning humanity.
… And Ioannes, the Emperor’s chief of staff.
Ferocious since childhood, Ioannes had never cared much for humans other than himself.
Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.
Delphine took a moment to catch her breath, then spoke again with difficulty.
“… Then Ioan, no, Lord Pride also…”
Delphine pursed her lips for a moment, unable to get the words out, before finally finishing her question.
“… Was the black crystal commissioned by the Emperor?”
The ragged man gasped for breath and answered.
“I don’t know the man, I don’t know him. I saw him for the first time the day of the concert.”
“You saw… for the first time?”
Delphine exclaimed, unable to contain herself.
Her voice echoed ominously in the cave of dark, damp air.
“Well, yes. His Majesty reserves the black crystal for those who have shown special loyalty to him.”
The man nodded quickly.
“But I’ve never seen the man before, not when we’re all here together.”
“I was suspicious, too, and asked him a few times, but he seemed genuine.”
Belly, standing next to her, confirmed.
Just to make sure she wasn’t just asking nicely, the man on the ground shuddered and whimpered pitifully.
“How many times have I told you it’s real… Then why did you put my finger…”
“But are you saying it’s really a human ability? With the man’s brutal way of doing things…”
“Hmm. Hey, Lynn.”
Belly interrupted, and Lynn glanced up at Delphine’s white-knuckled stare.
“I have one more question. What is that black crystal?”
Delphine asked, trying to keep her face blue.
“What kind of power does it contain?”
