“Send messengers to the empire.”
The Crown Prince, repeating Greta’s words like a puppet, had clear eyes. Who would dare say the Crown Prince was strange when looking into those chillingly transparent eyes? He had never blinked even once, yet no one there had noticed that fact… Eventually, the Crown Prince’s mouth echoed Greta’s words.
“There is someone who can trace the location of the perpetrator of the incidents on the outskirts of the capital.”
Unexpected incidents on the outskirts of the imperial capital, flowing from an unexpected person in an unexpected place. Before Olivia and Craeyer could follow the traces of the incidents, far from the scene, Greta in the Norden Palace had already sensed what was happening. A faint sensation she had felt since she stabbed her father, the magician, to death not long ago. Her father might not have felt it, but Greta, a far superior magician, did. The fact that this sensation was growing stronger. And if she could feel it, it must be related to the ancient gods. Her green eyes flickered with a light like that of a snake’s scales. After licking her lips once, Greta repeated the same whisper as the Crown Prince.
“I will help catch the perpetrator as soon as possible.”
As Greta fell silent, so did the Crown Prince, and as she turned away, he walked beside her. Back in the king’s office, Greta patted the Crown Prince’s cheek lightly and whispered.
“Well done.”
Only then did the Crown Prince close his eyes, and Greta lightly kissed his forehead. For a moment, the pattern of the ancient gods appeared on his forehead, but it was fleeting. Seeing the collapsed Crown Prince, like a marionette with its strings cut, Greta sat in the king’s seat in the office and leaned forward, burying her back deeply. She closed her eyes and followed the faint sensation that kept nudging at her nerves. The heart of the empire, the outskirts of the capital. The trembling sensation was chaotic and unpredictable.
“What a useless thing to do.”
Greta clicked her tongue briefly. It was not at all pleasing for someone to be practicing wrong rituals where her eyes couldn’t reach. If someone who didn’t know what they were doing performed the wrong rituals, the arrival of the ancient gods would only be delayed. It could even result in the failure of their arrival, so whoever it was needed to be found and burned at the stake. Whatever he had done, everything needed to be purified.
“I should contact Craeyer.”
He had been captured by the imperial princess. No, perhaps he wanted to stay there. The princess wouldn’t be able to keep him captured. But Greta soon shook her head. There was no need to ask for his help in dealing with such a small fish.
“Everything is the will of the ancient gods.”
If he was doing what a pure warrior of the gods wanted, it was the will of the gods.
“Craeyer.”
As she called his name, a radiant and beautiful smile blossomed on Greta’s face as she caressed the empty canvas.
“Even though you are far away, you are still so vivid here.”
A deep shadow was cast over Greta’s eyelids as she closed her eyes, embracing the empty canvas.
* * *
As the blood of the servants was splattered in the corridors of the Norden Palace, Olivia and Craeyer pushed through dense trees and bushes and arrived at a fairly wide clearing.
“Here.”
Olivia carefully scanned her surroundings at Craeyer’s words, but there was nothing particularly noticeable.
“It’s too late to ask.”
“Huh?”
“Do you not remember this incident?”
Understanding that he was referring to events before the regression, Olivia shook her head.
“There was such an incident. But…”
Olivia, squinting her eyes and furrowing her brow, groped her memory.
“At that time, a separate investigator was assigned, and the case was closed shortly after.”
“Closed? Then you should know who the culprit is.”
Even though she didn’t need to hear the unspoken suggestion that they should immediately go apprehend the culprit, Olivia shook her head again.
“I don’t know the culprit.”
“So, it closed without catching the culprit?”
“No. We found the culprit, but it was a completely charred body, and the location where it was found was one of the missing persons’ homes.”
Ultimately, there were no clues to the culprit’s whereabouts now.
“You said you smelled blood. Where?”
“Here. And there too.”
Craeyer’s furrowed brow, pointing to the ground, which was darker than the surrounding area and seemed to have been recently disturbed, revealed a deep pit. Along with the scent of blood emanating from the bushes, there was also the stench of decaying bodies. It was disgustingly pungent.
“Here?”
Olivia blinked as she took a step towards where Craeyer had initially pointed.
“What’s wrong?”
Her foot suddenly hung in the air.
“Craeyer?”
As Craeyer lightly lifted her with one arm and propelled her forward, the damp soil beneath her feet clumped together, and darker red soil sprayed out from within. After setting Olivia down a little away from the scene that seemed to be the site of the incident, Craeyer asked,
“You can’t smell the blood?”
Though Olivia wrinkled her nose and sniffed, apart from the scent of grass, there was no other smell.
“No. Instead, it’s somewhat fragrant. A sweet floral scent? It’s intense.”
As Olivia looked around busily with wide eyes, she suddenly spotted Craeyer returning to the clearing and exclaimed,
“Why are you going alone?”
“I think it’s better to stay here. The land around here is heavily contaminated.”
Confusion returned to Olivia’s face at Craeyer’s words.
“Contaminated?”
Her question was naturally understandable. There were lush green bushes around, and there was an inexplicable sweet floral scent. There were indeed suspicious signs of disturbed soil, but to call it contamination… However, instead of giving Olivia a proper answer, Craeyer picked up a broken branch scattered nearby. With a light swing, a crack split open in the air, and the moist, black soil split apart like a smoothly sliced cake. It was an unbelievable sight, created with nothing more than a thin branch about twice the length of Olivia’s index finger, but Olivia, the sole witness to the sight, was not surprised at all. What could surprise Moore? He was the man who had collapsed the toughest walls of the imperial palace with just one swing of his sword. Even if it had been done with just his finger instead of a branch, creating such a result wouldn’t have surprised her at all. Instead, she lifted her head, eager to see something, and waved her hands impatiently.
“Craeyer, what’s going on? What’s happening?”
Though she was frustrated, there must have been a reason for him not to move. While she didn’t believe he only spoke the truth, she also didn’t think he would tell pointless lies, so Olivia obediently stayed in place as Craeyer had warned. By the time the pit on her forehead had grown to one, two, and then three deep ones, Craeyer spoke.
“When did it start?”
“The disappearance?”
“Yeah.”
As Olivia replied after reexamining the documents she had meticulously combed through last night, Craeyer nodded.
“It started much earlier than that. At least a few years ago.”
“What do you mean? Even if we go there…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Craeyer was standing in front of her.
Olivia, too stunned to make a sound, stood frozen with her mouth agape, and Craeyer gently closed her jaw with his hand. Feeling unfairly silenced by his touch, Olivia suddenly glared at him.
“I did it to show you quickly because it’s frustrating.”
Although Craeyer said nothing, Olivia knew he could tell she was annoyed by his sudden appearance in front of her. Nevertheless, she added a word. However, seeing the lingering injustice in her blue eyes and her still trembling rounded shoulders, Craeyer immediately lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“If you knew, you should have…”
“I’ll continue to do this in the future, so you’d better get used to it.”
Before I could finish my sentence, Olivia shouted at Craeyer, shaking her head vigorously.
“Apologizing like that is… Ugh! Ugh ugh ugh! Ugh!”
Despite Olivia’s hand hitting his large hand covering half of her face and expressing her dissatisfaction, she paused at Craeyer’s following words.
“Get used to it.”
Although Craeyer’s eyes, hidden by the slanted shadow, were not visible, his low voice contained nothing but absolute sincerity.
“I can’t save you every time there’s a dangerous moment by warning you.”
In response, Olivia looked at him intently. There was no corner to refute his words. They were on the same boat, heading towards the same goal. And that goal was something far beyond just laughing and achieving it easily; it was something very dangerous, right in front of their noses. But… Olivia slowly removed Craeyer’s hand.
“Craeyer.”
At her call, Olivia’s blue eyes, as calm as a windless lake, and Craeyer’s crimson eyes, burning endlessly like a blazing earth, met. How long had it been since they faced each other like this? Olivia opened her lips.
“You’re right. I should get used to it.”
“Yeah.”
In response to Craeyer’s answer, which came back without a moment to breathe, Olivia pushed his chest and shook her head.
“It’s true, but…”
It was indeed a perfect match for their situation right now. Four times. Four times, Craeyer mercilessly killed Olivia. No matter how much she held his hand, no matter how much she knew he wasn’t just a murderer swinging his sword and seeing blood.
“I’m afraid of you.”
Olivia’s voice, staring straight into Craeyer’s eyes without avoiding them, was faintly trembling. It was an instinctive fear. Like the relationship between the apex predator and its prey in the ecosystem. Craeyer didn’t comfort Olivia. He didn’t understand her, nor did he empathize with her fear. He just conveyed his sincerity.
“I won’t kill you.”
How could one not know the sincerity in that quiet voice? Olivia nodded vigorously.
“I know. But even though I know, my heart still sinks with each beat, so why are you…?”
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Translator Note:
This chapter was translated by Bree.
If you like my work please support us in Patreon. Next post will be released on March, 14.
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