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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Crimson Gaze
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The door opened to reveal Isaac, hunched over in the narrow entrance.
“Bingo!”
“It’s smaller than I thought.”
“Yeah. The entrance was designed to be hard to find. The inside is surprisingly spacious.”
I suppose it wouldn’t do to advertise that the imperial palace houses a morgue for executed criminals.
‘Corpses are a symbol of misfortune, so while unsettling, they must have been too wary to entrust them to anyone else.’
That must have left them with no choice but to build it secretly within the palace grounds. Even after 300 years, the deep-seated fear of warlocks still manifested in this way.
After descending an endless staircase, a wide-open space appeared, just as Isaac had said.
“Emily!”
“You’re here.”
Yulia and Edmond greeted me. They had already pulled open several of the wall lockers that lined the room.
On a pulled-out steel gurney lay the corpse of an unknown person.
A small tag attached to the toe listed the executed man's information.
[Harry / Age 54 / Execution Date: …]
“It seems there are about sixty bodies in good condition.”
“If we can use all sixty, that’s twenty per person.”
“Right. It may not be a complete restoration, but it should be enough to reclaim our daily lives.”
At least it meant the entire family wouldn’t have to be shut-ins anymore. A sweet reward, indeed.
“Besides, these are all the bodies of heinous criminals. Given that imperial law is based on the laws of the continent, a death sentence means they must have committed truly heinous crimes.”
Edmond must have misinterpreted my silence, because he continued.
“So, there’s no need to feel guilty. Just think about our family.”
“…Yeah. I will.”
It wasn’t that I felt particularly guilty, though.
Still, it was my first time doing anything like this, so I couldn’t help but be nervous.
“Alright. It’s my first time using this many at once, but I think I can do it.”
After all, I’d been training relentlessly with Lev every night. I was quite adept at handling mana now.
“Okay, let’s begin!”
I clapped my hands once. Wisps of black mana began to seep from my body.
Unlike before, mana crept along the floor instead of blood. As it instantly took the shape of a magic circle, I cut my fingertip with the pen nib I had brought.
A drop fell.
The moment the blood touched the magic circle, a brilliant light bloomed from it.
With a flash!
A vivid gold traced the path of the blood, carving itself into the circle. The sight was blindingly beautiful.
They say the most beautiful things are the most poisonous. My siblings, too, were captivated, unable to look away from the surreal scene.
A great wind howled!
Soon, a fierce gale began to rage!
At the same time, the magic circle expanded, filling the entire morgue. The floor, walls, and even the ceiling were embroidered with the golden sigils.
“Ugh!”
I barely managed to hold on, grabbing a bolted-down steel gurney. I was nearly thrown back before the magic circle was complete.
‘Is it because I’m casting it on three people at once? The wind is so much stronger than before.’
Squinting against the wind, I saw the three figures in the distance.
The magic circle crept up from their feet, seemingly consuming their bodies.
‘Yulia…!’
I felt my eyes meet hers just before the magic circle reached her face. Yulia was smiling as if to tell me not to worry.
I gripped the pen nib tightly once more.
With a gush!
More blood drenched the magic circle.
I could now clearly feel the souls of my siblings, held completely within my grasp.
‘Just as I thought. They’re very unstable.’
Perhaps it was the result of tethering their souls to decaying bodies. The flesh that should have been vibrant with the soul’s life force was instead crumbling away.
I knew what to do from last time. Following my instincts, I used the other corpses to mend the fractures in their bodies.
I also wove the connection between soul and body more tightly. With a very delicate touch.
If there was one thing I was confident in, it was embroidery.
‘This should do it.’
I did the best I could. I’d woven it quite sturdily, so it should be fine for a while.
The wind slowly died down. I cautiously opened my eyes.
The magic circle, once brilliant with golden light, had lost its color and was slowly shrinking. I pressed a cloth firmly against my bleeding palm to stop the flow.
I could see my siblings in the distance.
“Edmond? …Isaac?”
I called their names, but there was no response. They stood there blankly, as if they couldn’t hear my voice.
Did something go wrong?
“Yulia…!”
Just then, Yulia snapped her head up. At the same time, a light flashed through the window, the highest point on the morgue wall and the only connection to the surface.
It was lightning.
The flash of light illuminated my siblings.
I saw it clearly.
Their red eyes turned towards me in unison.
Their original eye color was gone, their blood-red pupils staring at me as if possessed. The whites of their eyes were stained black, no longer looking human.
I had seen those eyes before.
‘When Isaac went berserk…’
The realization made my entire body tense. Of course, they were like my familiars, so I doubted they would attack their master. Still, the reaction was instinctive.
“Edmond.”
I called out to the one I trusted most.
“Can you hear me?”
“……Ah.”
Suddenly, Edmond let out a soft gasp. He grimaced, his handsome features twisting.
“So this is what it feels like. …This thirst.”
“It wasn’t this bad before.”
“Ugh, this feels awful.”
Hearing their conversation, the tension drained out of me. Their eyes had turned red, but thankfully, they didn’t seem to have lost their minds.
“Whoa! Yulia, what’s with your eyes?”
“You’re one to talk, Isaac. Is there a priest nearby or something?”
“It seems all three of us are in a similar state. Is this a side effect of absorbing twenty bodies at once?”
“Huh? But Edmond’s eye color is returning.”
Yulia was right. While Isaac’s and Yulia’s eyes remained the same, Edmond’s were quickly returning to their original gold.
“Hmm… It seems they return to normal once the emotional turmoil subsides.”
Edmond had come up with the most plausible hypothesis.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“What? So you’re saying our eyes will turn like this whenever we get a little excited?”
This was a problem…
But there was no time to dwell on it now.
“Let’s think about that later. For now, we need to get out of here.”
“Emily’s right. The purpose of this was to restore Yulia’s alchemical skills. Yulia, how do you feel?”
“Ah! Well… I think I’ll know for sure once I get home and touch my tools, but for now, it feels good.”
Yulia muttered as she fiddled with the steel gurney’s frame. As if amazed by the clear sensation she hadn’t felt in a long time, she kept exclaiming, “Oh~,” “Wow,” and “Hah, yes. This is it.”
In the meantime, Yulia’s eyes also quickly returned to their original color.
“Isaac. We’ll leave as soon as you calm down.”
“Ugh! Putting pressure on me like that just makes it harder.”
“Stop talking nonsense and meditate or something.”
“So mean~.”
Isaac made an exaggerated sobbing gesture. Seeing that, it all started to feel real.
‘It was a success…!’
With this, we were one step closer to ensuring our family’s safety.
***
With a jolt, the carriage stopped.
Arriving at the Walker ducal estate in the early dawn, Tristan realized the manor was unusually quiet.
Anyone else might have thought it natural for this hour, but in Tristan’s experience, it was suspicious.
None of the Walkers ever seemed to sleep.
They would often wake in the middle of the night to cause a ruckus, and they roamed the mansion at all hours, even at the crack of dawn. For Tristan, who was sensitive to the presence of others, it was an ordeal.
‘But for there to be no one around like this…?’
Had they all, by some stroke of luck, fallen asleep at the same time?
Whatever the reason, it was a good opportunity for Tristan. Duke Walker lived up to his reputation as the Iron Duke. Not only did he seem like he wouldn’t bleed if stabbed, but he also rarely ever left his office.
‘The carriage purchase records must be in this mansion. I just need to check the date.’
Then everything would become clear.
Tristan carefully slipped into Edmond’s office. He searched the desk thoroughly, but what he was looking for didn’t turn up.
Finding a single carriage receipt in this sea of documents was a task bordering on the miraculous.
‘Maybe I should leave for today. It wouldn’t do to be caught like this.’
He was just about to get up.
“……?”
Tristan noticed one strange thing in the impeccably neat office.
One of the sconces on the wall was tilted slightly to the side.
As if it were meant to be turned.
