Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 49: Shadow (2)

“See?”

Ellen’s voice was full of conviction.

It was as if she were declaring that Harad was wrong, and that she had won the bet.

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

“There’s no way you were.”

I remained unfazed.

My gaze had already calmed.

“Tell me in detail, Horn. How did you catch him?”

“I caught him at a ruined inn near the plaza.”

Listening to him, it was a familiar inn.

The inn above the tunnel connected to the Second Stage Boundary, the one Arika had discovered and Kubel had cleaned.

The tunnel was a secret.

It had not yet been revealed to the knights.

“That wasn't the investigation site.”

I remembered all the documents I had distributed to the 2nd Knights.

The one given to Horn was an abandoned house located on the outskirts of the western district.

“This mage came out of that abandoned house. Our eyes met, and he ran away.”

His running speed was considerable, but there was no sound.

He even said that the passersby didn't notice the mage's existence.

“If it hadn’t been for me, I would have lost him.”

Horn reported, trying to calm his excitement.

“It was definitely magic.”

The Origin must have been a stealthy one.

It was similar to the mages who had been targeting Elaine.

“He’s a mage, alright.”

The mage was a face I didn't recognize, but I didn't think Horn would be so incompetent as to confuse Aura and magic.

The mage Horn had brought, whose hands were bound with iron chains, was in his underwear.

Horn had brought him like that. It was an appropriate measure, as he didn't know what might be hidden in his clothes.

The mage's exposed skin was covered in bruises.

His only possession was his underwear, and I thought the mage's face was impressive.

To be precise, those eyes.

When our eyes met, the mage's pupils trembled. It was a fearful face.

“He only acts like that when someone's watching.”

I muttered quietly.

The gaze, the trembling, the movement of his Adam’s apple, his fingers…… that wasn't real, it was an act.

Having lived by reading people’s expressions in my past life, I saw through it at once.

“What kind of magic was it?”

“His body turned black. At first, his form disappeared, but later, only his presence disappeared.”

“He could probably do that now too.”

My words came true.

The mage's form turned black and then poured down like water.

The melting form returned to a human shape when it was struck by Horn’s fist.

Horn, who had subdued the mage, looked at me with a proud face.

“But why the mastermind?”

“He confessed it himself.”

Horn showed me his fist.

It was the same size as the bruises revealed on the mage’s skin.

It meant that when he was caught and beaten, he had spilled everything.

‘A confession.’

A confession is sometimes a surrender squeezed out by pain.

If that were the case, he should be complaining now.

But the mage was still.

His breathing was shallow, and he wasn't sweating. He only trembled when our eyes met from time to time.

“Resistance?”

“That was it.”

The projection of the sun I had shown was an exception; Horn was not weak.

A vigilant Horn was a knight who could stand against a 4th Rank.

The mage who had attacked Elaine was at most a 3rd Rank.

“You did well to capture him.”

“He didn’t have strong magic like you.”

Just as strong knights are rare, the 4th Rank is a rare level.

“Ah, that’s not what I meant.”

I said, making eye contact with the mage.

Then his pupils trembled again.

“They were the type to commit suicide as soon as a surprise attack failed. It must have been to avoid giving up information.”

Once again, my words came true.

The mage mumbled. Horn’s hand quickly entered his opened mouth. The mage’s teeth bit Horn’s finger instead of his tongue.

When our eyes met, he pretended to be scared.

When I mentioned running away, he tried to run away, and when I told him about suicide, he tried to commit suicide.

‘It’s like he’s giving feedback.’

It wasn’t that my words were coming true, but that the mage was getting instructions from my words.

And that included suicide.

It’s something an ordinary human couldn't do.

‘He’s more like a machine than a human.’

I couldn't feel any emotion from the mage.

Only calculated reactions were stuck to him.

“Ah, so that’s what it was.”

I muttered as if I had understood something.

“You, you’re an insect.”

Arika, Ellen, and Horn all chuckled.

I understood the intention to provoke, but the word, which wasn't even a curse, sounded strange.

“Even so, an insect is a bit…… huh?”

Ellen, who was about to scold me, suddenly gasped.

Her gaze was fixed on the mage.

The mage, who had only been fearful until now, was glaring at me as if to kill me.

“Amazing, to think an insect can get angry too.”

I grinned.

* * *

If you put a lot of venomous insects in a jar and close the lid.

In the end, only one remains.

The strongest individual, the last one that has consumed the venom of the other insects.

That one is a poison.

The most terrible poison, favored in the Norbu desert nations of the southern continent.

“In the Otherworld, they tend to make it with mages instead of insects.”

Arika's eyes narrowed, and Ellen's eyes widened.

It was information that did not exist in Serzila.

Arika doubted its authenticity, and Ellen was purely surprised, believing it.

“They call it Gu Poison, but it has no poison. Instead, their mana increases, since they're mages.”

It was a difference in belief, but in the end, they both contorted their faces.

“They don't just throw anyone in. They only put in mages with poor talent, that is, a poor Origin. It’s efficient.”

It was because I was speaking from the Otherworld's perspective.

“The point is that a useless mage becomes useful. Since their emotions die in the process of being made, that usefulness is even more valuable.”

“It’s not something a human would do.”

“It’s something a human does.”

I corrected Ellen's words.

“You’re still naive.”

Ellen bristled.

Arika did not agree. Unlike Ellen, she knew a lot about the continent.

“What are you trying to say?”

Horn and the 2nd Knights had returned to their quarters.

It was Ellen's measure. Arika had also noticed that the reason was because she was anxious.

The situation was taking a strange turn.

“That man was caught on purpose.”

The mage had come out of the abandoned house Horn was investigating.

He said they had made eye contact and he had run away, and at first his form had disappeared, but later only his presence had disappeared.

The mage had been considerate of Horn.

In case he couldn't keep up.

‘The place where he was caught must also have a meaning.’

The mage was not caught in the abandoned house, but in the inn where the 2nd Stage tunnel was.

I made eye contact with the mage.

“You wouldn’t have a name. What do they call you?”

Elaine had been attacked five times.

“Number 6? Or are you at the top, so Number 1?”

“……”

“Speak, insect.”

The mage's gaze was murderous.

It didn't seem like he would open his mouth even if he was beaten.

But Horn had gotten a confession from this insect.

“Can you only say what you’ve been allowed to say beforehand?”

It wasn't a confession, but an order to say that if he was caught.

I had no reason to refuse.

It had saved me the trouble of interrogating him. I was confident I could sort out the truth from the mage's words.

“Go on.”

“I am a shadow.”

The mage said, as if he had been waiting.

His voice was as if it was full of phlegm.

‘A shadow.’

His Origin must also be of that kind.

The magic of the mages who had been attacking Elaine had been stealthy.

“Which Tower?”

“The Red Tower.”

“Oh, I’m from the Red Tower too. What a coincidence.”

Arika's eyes narrowed.

Ellen laughed in disbelief.

She knew very well that I would sell out the Red Tower at the drop of a hat.

“But you’re not fire.”

“A shadow cannot exist without fire.”

A 6th Rank Origin may shake the laws of the world, but before that, the Origin conforms to those laws.

That’s why mages consider compatibility.

So there was some truth in the statement that the Red Tower included mages with Origins related to shadows.

“The Red Tower wants you.”

Fire is a rare Origin.

It was not at all strange that the Red Tower wanted me.

“You’re trying to frame me as the cause of this incident.”

It means that the assassination attempt on the Grand Heir is a protest from the Red Tower, which wants me.

If they don't let me go, Serzila will continue to be attacked.

‘So that’s why he was caught at that inn.’

The tunnel under the inn, which was connected to the Second Stage Boundary, was connected to the vicinity of the Sanctuary of Fire.

It was suitable for linking it to the Red Tower.

“Ellen, what do you think?”

“……It makes sense.”

Ellen had a doubtful expression.

She seemed to be recalling Herbis of the Fiery Watchtower.

If it was the Red Tower, which was blind to Origins of the same lineage, it was possible.

“What about you?”

Ellen asked with a suggestive tone.

It seemed she wished the culprit was the Red Tower.

“I know more than you think. About the Otherworld.”

“So?”

“Shadows belong to the Moon Tower, not our Red Tower.”

Then the mage's face contorted.

An emotionless Gu Poison. But I read emotion in the mage's eyes.

“You’re peeking, aren’t you.”

His pupils were too dark.

He was peeking.

I spoke to the someone who was peeking.

“You’re very ambiguous to me.”

At those words, Ellen flinched.

Ambiguous.

I had used that expression for Cassion.

“I can understand not revealing your knowledge of magic to Serzila.”

Right now, I was considering the mastermind peeking through the mage's eyes to be Cassion.

“But why did you kill so many mages from the Otherworld? Even though you're a mage from the Otherworld yourself.”

“Come to the Red Tower.”

The mage said.

If his previous voice was as if it was filled with phlegm, now it was like scraping a steel plate.

“The eyes. The same goes for Compaso of the Ivory Tower. Why did you kill him?”

“Come to the Red Tower.”

“Why did you only send mages after the Grand Heir? You could have just killed me.”

“Come to the Red Tower.”

“Why do you hate me?”

“Come to the Red Tower.”

The answer was the same.

But the peeking gaze was getting more and more intense. Black light shot out from his pupils like thorns.

“Let me guess.”

That emotion, I recognized it.

“Jealousy. Am I right?”

Suddenly, thorns shot out from his pupils and stabbed at me.

They didn't reach.

It was because of the fire that had bloomed in front of me.

The shadow stopped before it reached the fire. It seemed to dislike touching it.

“Looks like I hit the mark.”

I grinned.

“It’s late today, so let’s do it tomorrow.”

“……”

“When the sun rises tomorrow, I’ll go to the Grand Duke’s residence. And I’ll say, that you were actually a mage.”

The shadow that had shot out of his pupils swelled in size.

It felt like it was enraged.

“The Grand Duke will probably believe me more than you.”

The swelled shadow writhed erratically.

It felt like it was denying it.

“Unfortunately, it’s the truth.”

Grand Duke Aratus cherishes me more than I think.

It was a conclusion I had reached after experiencing it myself in my past life.

“Your severed head will be dangling in the Grand Duke’s hands.”

I swung my left hand like a pendulum and smiled brightly.

“So think carefully, the time you have left is only tonight.”

It was then that the mage's head fell to the floor.

Ellen's sword, which had cut off his neck, stopped in front of my eyes.

“……Who were you just talking to?”

“The 2nd Knights Commander, Cassion, as you know.”

* * *

Cassion is a mage, but I cannot provide evidence that Cassion is a mage.

Because that evidence is my regression.

‘I don’t think they’ll believe me even if I tell them I regressed.’

It means we're at a standstill.

If Cassion insists he's not a mage, Elaine will believe him without question.

‘Not Grand Duke Aratus, though.’

That Grand Duke would cut off Cassion’s head without a moment's hesitation.

‘Just like in my past life.’

It means I can solve it easily if I borrow the Grand Duke's hand.

But I shouldn't.

‘It has to be different from my past life.’

It has already changed, but it needs to change more.

That was why I had postponed the report.

The grace period of dawn would drive Cassion into a corner.

He would be forced to make a choice.

It wasn't difficult to predict what that choice would be.

I had to prepare for Cassion’s choice.

‘Preparation. I can only think of one thing.’

It’s like I'm asking for trouble, but that trouble has meaning.

If it has meaning, I have to do it.

Because every action of a regressor must have meaning.

If Cassion is to be executed, the one who cuts off his head must be Elaine, not Grand Duke Aratus.

‘Or me.’

The former is the best, and the latter is close to the worst.

If I kill him, Elaine will not be convinced.

“……You, aren't you leaving?”

I looked at Ellen with a look of disbelief.

She was sitting on the floor.

The floor of my small annex, my bedroom.

“I’m sleeping here.”

“You should at least make your bed before you say that.”

Anyone could see that Ellen had no intention of sleeping.

“No. You said you’re going to report to His Grace the Grand Duke when the sun rises tomorrow. I’m going to watch until then.”

Her voice was very sharp.

“If Lord Cassion is really a mage, he’ll come looking for you at dawn. If he doesn’t, he’s not.”

“He might not come if you're here.”

“Why?”

“Because you are also a Serzila.”

I was no longer ambiguous.

I had realized what kind of person Cassion was.

“Cassion is a greedy coward.”

Ellen did not understand.

“Anyway, your eyes see Lord Cassion as a mage, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t think so. If Lord Cassion doesn’t come by sunrise, I’ll squash your report.”

It was an unexpected development.

I let out a groan. If Ellen is with me, my plans will go awry.

“I said it before, but conviction and stubbornness are different.”

“You don’t have any evidence either. Besides your eyes.”

I opened my mouth with a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality.

“Actually, I regress……”

-ion.

My voice wouldn't come out.

My lungs shriveled. It was as if someone had grabbed my heart.

‘……The Stone of Regression?’

I couldn't resist.

It’s a law, I sensed instinctively.

I cannot speak of my regression.

‘I won’t.’

After repeating that a few times, my heart started moving again. I could breathe.

“Regress, what?”

“That I am from the fut……”

-ure.

My breath disappeared again.

My lungs and heart shriveled even more severely than before.

‘……I really won’t.’

This time, I had to repeat it for a longer time.

After a long while, my heart and lungs returned to normal.

I felt like I would really die if I tried one more time.

‘It was possible with Gullen.’

I know a magic that sees the future, I had once told Gullen.

It was to get Gullen to wield an axe.

‘It means I can’t tell only Elaine.’

The Stone of Regression didn't just make me regress.

It seemed to have restrictions.

‘What about using a third party?’

Just thinking about it made my heart stop with a thud.

It seemed the Stone of Regression did not allow loopholes either.

The only way to share the regression is through dreams.

‘Wait.’

I wasn't the only one affected by the Stone of Regression.

At the sudden thought, I turned my gaze towards Ellen.

Ellen, who had been glaring at me just a moment ago, was lying down.

Her posture looked quite uncomfortable, as if she had been forcibly knocked out by someone.

“Hey.”

“……”

No answer.

“Ellen.”

I tried slapping Ellen's cheek.

Not a single twitch. Only my palm hurt.

“Ellen.”

I clenched my fist and hit her again.

It was the strength of a knight, but Ellen’s cheek didn’t even turn red. It was a formidable heavenly power.

“Hey.”

I hit her with a fist imbued with fire.

Only then did her cheek turn slightly red.

“I see.”

No matter how long I hit her, Ellen did not wake up.

Just as there were restrictions on this side, there were restrictions on Ellen as well.

“So this is how she dreams.”

If the stimulus is fulfilled, Ellen dreams.

That dream had a coercive nature.

Ellen falls asleep regardless of her will.

‘Only at night?’

Or instantly at the moment of fulfillment?

The former was more plausible than the latter.

If so, at what time? For how many hours? There were so many things I wanted to check.

But the situation was not favorable.

I took a piece of paper and a pen from the desk. My hand, holding the pen, stopped.

“It’s better not to.”

I shouldn't force a decision.

What I wanted was not a puppet.

To me, the Elaine of my past life was close to a tyrant.

I took Ellen’s sword, scabbard and all.

The hilt that came into my hand felt unfamiliar yet welcome.

“Oh, Kubel.”

When I came out, Kubel was waiting.

The thing he was holding was steaming; it was the late-night snack Ellen had requested.

“I only need half, no, a quarter of a half. Ellen fell asleep.”

The grilled meat was skewered for easy eating, and I only took two.

“It’ll probably be a while before she wakes up.”

“Did you do it, Harad?”

“Hmm, half of it is my responsibility.”

Half was the responsibility of the Elaine from my past life.

The meat tasted amazing. Kubel scanned my entire body as I ate the meat. I didn't look like I was out for a stroll. I was wearing Ellen's sword.

“Ah, I didn’t steal it. I’m just borrowing it for a while.”

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk.”

Then Kubel’s expression hardened.

It was a face of someone who had made a decision.

“The only thing you have left to do today is put Shura to bed.”

“But……”

“And when Ellen wakes up, you can put that in her mouth.”

I pointed to the remaining meat skewer and smiled.