Chapter 28

That was the compromise that Lars had offered Erik, who’d blamed him for allowing Shizuku to jump off the tower. More accurately, Leuticia had forced the king to offer a compromise. Once the king had agreed to his side of the deal, Erik left Shizuku at the castle and focused on examining the documents and other jobs he’d been assigned. Farsas Castle might have been a dangerous place for Shizuku, but it was also where the biggest repository of magical knowledge could be found. If Shizuku wanted to return to her old world, Farsas was an important place that they couldn’t afford to bypass. However, even after thoroughly examining all the documents he could, Erik hadn’t been able to uncover the truth behind the events of two hundred and forty years ago—and there were no other clues, either. Just as Erik had begun to consider moving on from Farsas, the incident they were currently involved in occurred. “She tried to kill me,” the king said coolly, responding to Erik’s clear refusal. “Do I need any more justification than that?” “That’s rich of you to say, considering you’re constantly trying to make her resent you. Even so, she’d never try and kill someone just because they were winding her up. Just look at her wrists—you can tell that she was bound earlier. It’s clear as day that she was a victim of mind control magic.” “Victim or not, she poses a high risk. I’d rest easier if she were disposed of.” “If you kill her now, you’ll never find out who was behind tonight’s incident.” At that, the king’s desire to kill Shizuku weakened for the first time. Tilting his head to one side, he glanced at Erik. “Are you implying I can obtain evidence from her?” “From the outset, she was probably a pawn being manipulated to target you. If she presented herself as an assassin, you wouldn’t hesitate to dispose of her. She was placed under direct mind control so that they wouldn’t need to silence her. If we break the spell, she can tell you how they did it.” “I see. So they’re sacrificing her to frame you as the mastermind behind the forbidden curse.” “Exactly.” Erik looked at the girl in his arms. If this was how things were going to end up, he should have left her behind and come to the castle by himself. At least then she wouldn’t have been used as someone’s pawn. The more authority someone had, the more intertwined and muddled their intentions became. He should have known that—both from history and from his own experiences. Still, even if he’d suggested going at it alone, Shizuku wouldn’t have let him. She was the kind of person who hated burdening others with her own problems. It wasn’t her fault that she’d ended up in Erik’s world, and yet she carried the weight of her predicament on her own shoulders. She was lost and had no outlet for her frustrations—but she would still carry on searching for the next possible solution. That was just how Shizuku was. Lars deftly turned his sword in his hand, its blade gleaming in the moonlight. As he inspected the sharpness of its blade, he asked Erik a question. “What you’re saying is just a theory. There’s still the possibility that you and she are the ringleaders. Wouldn’t I be saving myself a lot of trouble if I just got rid of all those ‘what-ifs’ right now?” “Are you planning to purge any possible threat now?” Erik’s austere response made Lars snort with laughter as he raised his arm, pointing his sword in the pair’s direction. “What do you think you’re doing, you idiot?!” exclaimed a new voice. Just then someone emerged from behind Lars, pushing him and making him lose his balance. He stumbled a few steps backward, struggling to keep upright. Thanks to a bit of teleportation magic, Leuticia now stood among them. “…Lettie.” “What do you think you’re doing? You’re supposed to be retrieving all the bodies! Why are you tormenting Shizuku again?!” “It’s her fault,” the king replied petulantly. “I’ve done nothing wrong.” His younger sister puffed out her cheeks in anger, and Lars casually raised his hands. “Why are you even here, Lettie?” he asked. “Staying up late is bad for your skin.” “Azulia came to me, distraught that you’d disappeared when there were still so many corpses around! And on top of that, Erik was suddenly nowhere to be found, so I hurried back… I thought you said you were done with that girl!” “More like you made me say that.” “Just get back to work!” Leuticia’s lecture had Lars on the back foot. He sheathed his sword and waved his hand in Erik’s direction. “Whatever. I’ll leave it there for today. Just make sure you deal with Crestea properly. That’s my condition for letting you off the hook.” “Fine.” Erik gave Shizuku’s body to Harve. Leuticia used teleportation to summon a blanket to cover Dysral’s body, and her brother lifted the former king up onto his shoulder before the two royals teleported away. Silence descended once more, and Erik picked up the dagger, still lying on the grass. Harve, who’d been quietly watching the situation play out, turned to his friend with concern. “Are you all right?” “I’m fine. You should head back without me.” Erik slipped away into the shadows of the garden, following after the woman’s corpse. Harve kept looking over his shoulder as he made his way back to the castle. Fifteen minutes later, he spotted flames rising in the garden through the hallway window. Unable to bear the sight, he closed his eyes. In the dream, she was asleep. She slept with a book as her pillow. No books would open now. She wouldn’t get a glimpse into that secret history. She slept inside the dream—for it was a locked cage, which urged her to let go forever of the memories she had lost. When Shizuku woke up, she saw Erik reading a book by her bedside. Mea, back in her bird form, was perched on his knee. After thoroughly rubbing her eyes to make sure it was really him, she hastily sat up. “Erik! You’re back!” “…I knew you wouldn’t remember.” “Remember what?” Shizuku cocked her head to one side in confusion, but Erik just gave her a wry smile and said, “Nice to see you back.” His expression was a reassuringly familiar one. All this time, Shizuku had constantly been on edge to some extent, desperate not to show weakness or arouse suspicion—but now that Erik was around, it felt like a distant memory. Shizuku smiled with relief. “Are you finished with your work? Hang on, where am I? Was all that a dream?” “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘all that,’ but this is the healing room in the castle.” “Healing?” “Yep. You were a victim of psychological magic. Do you remember who used it on you?” It sounded more like Erik was simply asking for confirmation rather than genuinely seeking an answer. Shizuku frowned at the unfamiliar term. Her thoughts weren’t entirely clear, but if Erik was claiming that something had happened, that must have been the truth. She closed her eyes, desperately trying to dredge up her memories from the previous night. “Oh… There was…a skeleton walking in the garden.” “Good.” “Then…I met the king’s mother and returned to my room… Aaaaaarghhh! That small-time crook!” Having recovered her memories, Shizuku tightened her fists with such force that she was ready to jump up on the bed. Now that her memory had been jogged, she recalled Dylguey telling her he was going to use psychological magic on her, and her anger was so strong, it made her body temperature rise. “Th-that makes me so mad! I’m so angry! Where is he now? Dylguey!” “If it’s Dylguey you’re after, he’s already been imprisoned. It sounds like they’re having trouble getting a statement from him, though.” Erik placed a piece of paper on top of his book and wrote something on it. He’d scrawled down the text in something resembling cursive handwriting, so Shizuku couldn’t even make out the words. Yet that didn’t really bother her. She was mostly just angry at the mage who’d tried to control her mind. She hurled her duvet to the side in rage. “Dodging their questions, is he?! I’m going to go and give him a piece of my mind!” “You can try, but he won’t hear you. Dylguey’s in a state of mental collapse.” “Did he do that to himself?! …Why would he do that?” Erik seemed as unruffled as ever, yet his explanation made Shizuku—about to take off at a run—stop in her tracks. When she eventually calmed down, she turned back toward Erik, who was leaning tiredly back in his chair. What had happened that Shizuku was having trouble remembering? It was already broad daylight outside. “Dylguey probably made a mistake when he cast that spell on you, causing his own mind to collapse. He’s the prime suspect for this incident, but it’s impossible to get any kind of testimony out of him, so they wanted you to give a statement instead, once you woke up.” Shizuku stared at Erik, but he just shrugged his shoulders and scratched at his temples with the end of a pen. By the time all the corpses in the castle had been recovered, it was already starting to get light. While the king was busy dealing with the aftermath of the incident, Leuticia had healed Shizuku’s wounds and sent people to look for Dylguey, who they eventually found sitting on the floor of his research lab. By that point, Dylguey had already suffered a mental breakdown. He was mumbling something to himself, but none of the words made any sense. Regardless, the way that Shizuku’s assistant demon had been lying unconscious in the room and the unique way in which the spell on Shizuku had been configured led Leuticia to conclude that Dylguey was indeed the man behind Shizuku’s abduction, at the very least. Leuticia had arrived after hearing Shizuku had woken up, and she let out a soft sigh. “I don’t believe that Dylguey acted alone in casting the forbidden curse that animated the corpses, though,” she said. “He didn’t have permission to view those spell documents, and besides, he’s never even left the castle city.” The king’s younger sister gracefully tilted her head to one side. Having come to check on Shizuku, Leuticia was now questioning her about the incident. “Shizuku, did you see anyone with Dylguey inside the castle grounds?” “Only from behind. He was a young man, tall, dressed entirely in black. I think…I might have seen him in the castle city once before. He was watching me and the king from the square when we went to inspect at the bell tower.” “What did his face look like?” “At the time, he was too far away for me to make out anything… But for some reason, I felt like we made eye contact.” It was rather unsettling that she’d felt that way, considering she hadn’t even been able to discern his face from that distance. As Leuticia was mulling over this with a puzzled expression on her face, she looked over her shoulder at the mage behind her, who’d been jotting down the evidence. This man was a total stranger to Shizuku, and he offered the king’s younger sister his notes. She reviewed what he’d written, then nodded. “Thanks. I might come and ask you some more questions another time. I feel bad bothering you so much…” “Don’t be ridiculous! I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me! I’m just sorry I can’t remember more of what happened… I can’t even remember how I got out of that room…” “It’s understandable. That’s just the way that psychological magic is. No—I’m the one who should apologize for my stupid brother’s stubborn behavior. I’m truly sorry about that.” “…It’s fine.” Lars’s own sister might have called him stupid, but that still didn’t give Shizuku an excuse to join in with the insults. Although Shizuku had plenty of opinions on Lars’s behavior, she averted her gaze and changed the subject. After all, she couldn’t even remember what had happened the night before. “Is your work in Candela finished?” Shizuku asked. “More or less. I’m going to be able to spend more time over here now, so if you need anything, all you need to do is ask.” Leuticia flashed Shizuku a brilliant smile, then left the room, accompanied by her subordinate. Still somewhat dazed, Shizuku shook her head as she watched the woman walk away. Erik returned shortly after the king’s younger sister had left, almost as if it were coordinated. He was no longer holding the book he’d left with; instead, he carried a pot of tea and a bag of pastries. “You done?” “For now,” Shizuku replied. “She said she might come back to ask me some more questions.” “Things are going to be chaotic for a while. It’ll take a lot of work, putting all the bodies back in their proper places and whatnot.” They quickly tidied up the table and started drinking the tea that Erik had brought. Shizuku didn’t have much of an appetite, but the warm tea made her feel human again. She bowed her head at him. “I hardly know what to say… I’m sorry for dragging you into all this trouble after you made the effort to bring me here.” Shizuku wasn’t totally sure what had happened the previous night, but she’d heard that Erik had been scolded for acting without permission. Since she’d dragged Erik to Farsas, not only had he been forced to work, but he’d even come close to being framed for Dylguey’s crimes, and Shizuku felt extremely guilty for everything that had happened. She bowed so deeply that her forehead met the table, but Erik simply gave her an awkward smile. He offered her a pastry, trying to get her to look up. “Coming to Farsas was partly my decision, so I don’t really have anything to complain about. And besides, I’m grateful you gave me a reason to come back here. If it wasn’t for you, I probably never would have returned.” “R…really?” “Yeah. Did anyone tell you about my past?” Shizuku made a noise—that was a difficult question to answer, and any words got stuck in her throat. Still, that response was still an obvious yes, though Erik didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. “Don’t feel bad about it. My story’s common knowledge. If anything, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” “N-no need to apologize. I mean, it’s not like I’ve told you everything about my past, either.” No matter how interested she was, that didn’t give Shizuku the right to pry too deeply into his past. She’d ended up hearing much of his story already, but she had no intention of dragging any more information out of him. As Shizuku nibbled on one of the pastries Erik had brought her, she gazed at the young mage, her expression filled with restless unease. His face, however, made her feel as if four years really had gone by. It had been a while since Shizuku had last seen Erik. In a sense, he was just the same as always, but something was different about him, too. Unable to identify what that was, Shizuku stared at his profile, her head cocked to one side. He must have noticed, because he stopped staring out of the window and turned to her. When their eyes met, Shizuku felt so uncomfortable that she almost choked. “What’s wrong?” “N-nothing.” It wasn’t as if Shizuku could say, “Something seemed odd, so I was staring at you.” She coughed in an attempt to smooth over the awkwardness, but Erik sighed, then tapped his fingers on the table in an effort to lighten the mood. Once he’d got her attention, he gave her a bittersweet smile. “Hey…do you want to hear the true story?” “About what?” “About the girl I used to work for.” Shizuku already knew her name—Katiliana—and that she was no longer around. Shizuku looked back into Erik’s deep-blue eyes, then silently nodded. A subtle smile spread over his face. “If I had to describe her in one word, it would be faltering. She was clumsy and was unable to truly rely on other people. She always seemed fidgety and anxious. And she was so eager to know how other people felt that it just made everyone suspicious of her.” Shizuku felt like she could relate to about half of what Erik was saying. Still, she kept quiet and listened carefully to his story. “I think it was just a coincidence that she chose to hire me. We were about the same age at the time, so that must have put her at ease. Thanks to her, I was able to widen my field of study—and being the kind of person I am, I was grateful for that. Plus, she was like the younger sister I never had.” Allegedly, various vulgar rumors about Erik and Katiliana’s relationship had circulated at the time. When Dylguey had mentioned that, she’d found it hard to reconcile with the mental image she had of Erik. “I studied in Farsas for a little over three years. It was good for me and helped me build some confidence, but over time, I stopped paying her any extra attention. Since she didn’t have many other people who she was close to, she was lonely—though back then, I didn’t realize how she felt. She hadn’t been up front about it, either.” That was something that often happened among family members. People took the ones close to them for granted and neglected to pay them enough attention. Only after those neglected people were gone did their families remember how precious they had been. “Katiliana…gradually stopped coming to the castle and started shutting herself away inside her residence instead. She told me she’d disturb my research by asking stupid questions and having me act as her bodyguard.” “Her bodyguard?” Shizuku repeated. This notion struck her as a little odd, and Erik awkwardly nodded. “Katiliana was a member of the royal family—and she was shy, too. Since I was constantly by her side, I had to double as her bodyguard. Most combat magic is beyond my capabilities, so I learned how to use a sword. At the time, that was my only pursuit that wasn’t magic-related.” “Whoa. Does that mean you’re a good swordsman?” “I’m pretty bad, actually. About all I can do is defend myself.” “Huh… I had no idea.” It was true that Erik rarely carried a sword with him. Perhaps he was as bad at using it as he claimed. Now that Shizuku’s questions about that particular tangent were resolved, she urged him to continue. “Sorry. Please, go on.” Erik obliged, gazing into his teacup. The pink liquid inside it was perfectly still. “The incident occurred shortly after three years had gone by. One day, Katiliana asked me if there was a spell that could increase how much magical power someone had. There was, but it was a forbidden curse—so I explained that to her. I even told her that, in some cases, it could kill the spellcaster, but then she asked me specifically how the spell was structured.” Shizuku felt nervous and gulped. If Dylguey’s version of the story was correct, that had been the question that triggered the tragedy. “I did wonder why she was asking me that, but I was so earnest. I came up with a simple spell that even she’d be able to handle and taught it to her.” “You did?!” “Yeah. I taught her a spell for growing medicinal plants.” “…Huh?” Shizuku’s stupid-sounding exclamation made Erik smile—but it was the kind of wistful smile that evoked a sense of loss in those who saw it. He turned his deep-blue eyes toward the window and gazed outside. Faint clouds drifted slowly across the pale-blue sky. “I pretended it was a forbidden curse, but it was really a spell to grow flowers. My plan was to give her a firm scolding if she tried it out, then praise her for what she’d achieved afterward. Even if she was angry initially, I thought the flowers would cheer her up once they bloomed. But things didn’t work out that way…” Shizuku knew how the tragedy ended, and she bit her lip at the thought of what came next. “But the spell that she assembled was the real forbidden curse. I’d been returning from the castle when I decided to wander over and see how she was doing, and what I found was horrific. Certainly no flowers blooming in the garden. And then she smiled at me and asked if I was pleased.” “…” “At that stage, I was confident in the knowledge I’d acquired, and I felt like I could do everything by myself. So when I saw the vast amount of magic that was pouring into the garden from the forbidden curse, I thought I could find a way of dealing with it, but I was naive to think that magic brought about by human sacrifice would be so easy to control. I stupidly interfered with the spell and almost got dragged into it myself.” Erik was telling Shizuku what he’d seen with his own eyes. Four years after the events had unfolded, she was getting to hear the truth. Erik reflected on his past actions with a lasting sense of bitterness. Every now and then, he found himself glancing back at the dark shadow that constantly lingered behind him. “It was Katiliana who stopped me from being swallowed up by the forbidden curse. She gathered together the magical power she’d created and asked me one more time whether I was pleased. So I told her that I wasn’t. As soon as she heard my answer, she absorbed the magic into herself…then, with a smile, asked me to kill her.” Erik let out a thin sigh. Shizuku sensed that there were some emotions lurking beneath the surface that Erik hadn’t voiced, and her heart silently ached. There were feelings swirling beneath the surface of his dispassionate account that went beyond regret. They’d showed themselves intermittently throughout the conversation before fading away again. “After she absorbed the forbidden curse, I killed her and stopped the curse from spreading, then went to the castle to report what happened. When I told them I’d killed Katiliana, they asked me whether I was the one who taught her the forbidden curse—and I said yes.” Shizuku hadn’t heard that part of the story. Taken aback, she asked Erik a question. “You didn’t tell them the truth?” “No. To be honest, I was disappointed in myself at the time. From an outsider’s perspective, I’d murdered a member of the royal family. I thought execution would be an appropriate punishment.” “But, Erik…” “No—I wasn’t held accountable for the crime. That was only because it was convenient for the castle, though. I was still guilty. She was the one who’d hired me, so it felt wrong for me to turn my back on her and stay behind. That’s why I left Farsas and returned to my previous studies. As I said earlier, if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have come here at all.” Erik picked up his teacup. It was still more than half full, but it must have already gone cold. He took a sip anyway. “That’s where the story ends. This is the first time I’ve told anyone the truth, so it feels kind of weird.” Then he laughed. Erik didn’t look the least bit happy, but Shizuku did get the impression that he felt a little lighter. Erik had confessed to killing someone, and yet Shizuku wasn’t scared or disgusted by his admission—likely because she had no way of knowing how either of them had felt at the time. She probably never would. She’d never feel their sorrow or anger. Now that the wounds had somewhat healed, she could only rely on the sentiments that remained now—along with the accounts she’d heard from others—to help her piece the past together. Just like the number of footprints scattered across the world, there were as many versions of the truth as there were individuals. Shizuku, having grazed the surface of the story, saw Erik moving forward, so she began walking ahead, too. The silence felt long, yet Shizuku directed her clear gaze toward the young man, as if there’d been no pause at all. “Um… Thank you for telling me that,” she said. “No worries. I realize it’s a lot, but I thought you deserved to know. I’m a criminal, and there’ll be no erasing that fact for the rest of my life. I’m entirely responsible for the way things ended up. Other people in this country would probably speak about Katiliana in a different way, but from my perspective, she’s the reason I am the person I am today. I’ll always be grateful for that.” “Yeah.” Shizuku could tell that this was how he truly felt. It was over now—so all Erik could do was reflect, hold on to his memories, and remain grateful. Erik glanced at Shizuku, who gave him a slight nod, and he smiled. “Also…try not to push yourself too hard,” he said. “If things get tough for you, I’d appreciate it if you told me.” Shizuku’s eyes widened slightly. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she just laughed instead. Her reaction, however, simply brought a wry smile to Erik’s face, and he didn’t say anything else. The subtle aroma of the tea and Shizuku’s laughter drifted out through the gap in the window. They were carried away by the breeze, where they dispersed beneath the sunlight and gently drifted down onto the flowers blooming in the garden. The spacious room was filled with the scent of burning incense, which made one’s mind hazier with every breath. Both the furniture—all matching in crimson—and the decorations that adorned the pillars and walls were elegant, but they gave off a menacing feel at the same time. All the decor was tailored to the tastes of the woman who lived there, and it suited her aura perfectly. The woman reclined on her bed, fine silk wrapped around her arms and legs. Once she’d finished listening to the story, she yawned behind her folding fan and glanced at the kneeling man out of the corner of her eye. “Oh. The corpses of the royal family were walking around the castle grounds, you say? That must have been a sight to behold. I’m inclined to grant a reward to these zealots for stirring up trouble in Farsas.” “It seems the mage responsible for the affair made a mistake casting a spell and suffered a mental breakdown… However, the forbidden curse itself was conveyed by a different individual altogether—likely the same person who was involved in the Candela Castle incident.” “That incident, huh? So there’s an interesting individual roaming around teaching people forbidden curses. Regardless, both of these incidents are mere brushes with fire. Real fun takes time.” She was in a good mood today. The belly of the woman she was looking after was growing steadily rounder, and being unfamiliar with pregnancy herself, she celebrated with childlike excitement whenever she got an update on the woman’s progress. “When that child is born, Farsas will be thrown into a panic,” she said, her voice filled with delight. “We’re talking about a direct descendant of the royal family that’s not supposed to exist.” The gray-haired man kept his head bowed as she spoke. The princess smiled and closed her fan. “There’s still time, but we also need to discuss that epidemic. Let me know if Farsas is close to finding a cure… Yet you’re the dullard who couldn’t even find the princess of Anneli. I’ll get Faneet to accompany you.” “Understood.” There, in that room, the woman’s beautiful, poison-tinged voice marked the beginning of a silly little game. Once again, the curtains slowly drew back on a playground stage, for an act that would never make it into the history books.