Chapter 58
‘You may not understand, Young Duke, but I have my pride as well.’
She had saved others without wanting anything for herself, yet she called the act of saving her own life a debt. She told him he didn’t need to be swayed by it.
She lived precariously, swaying like a reed, needing no one’s help. And then, as if she might vanish at any moment, she would give a chilly smile and say, Ah, I’ve made a mistake…
Perhaps that was why.
“Criticize me all you want. I do not care if you reproach me or pour out insults. In fact, I think it would have been better if Her Imperial Highness Titania had criticized me like that.”
Whenever he heard news of Titania, his feet stopped. When he heard she had gone through a great ordeal, he wanted to reproach those around her for what they had been doing. When he heard that no matter what she suffered, she rarely grew angry and endured without resenting anyone…
He could not ask her why.
An excuse—yes. As the Empress said, it was an excuse. If he didn’t follow her even with such an excuse, the void left by the person who had nonchalantly said, ‘The future Young Duchess must be truly happy,’ was agonizingly empty. Every time memories resurfaced, Raymon asked himself:
Did Titania use to laugh like that?
Did Titania use to speak like that?
He didn’t know.
Raymon could no longer be sure of anything. He felt as if he were wandering through an endless maze.
“I simply wish to protect her. To the best of my ability.”
Because of the person who spoke of her own absence as if it were nothing.
The majority of demon beasts come from beneath the earth.
That was common knowledge.
Strictly speaking, the term ‘demon beast’ referred to all living organisms that breathed through a ‘core’ as a medium. They did not consume ordinary food; they generated and used demonic energy within their cores simply by breathing.
Most of them were hostile toward anything that was not a demon beast. Enemies of humanity that could not be reasoned with, could not be bred for food, and sought only to slit the throats of other living beings.
Ironically, the byproducts of demon beasts were lucrative. Once the core was destroyed, most demon beasts died, rendered powerless.
However, those byproducts contained an immense concentration of power. An intact core was worth whatever price was asked.
Mages were frantic to study demon beasts. They had gained much through their research. Most of the power extracted from the corpses of demon beasts that had already lost their cores was not dangerous.
If refined properly, it could be used like ordinary mana. Various studies had led to the widespread distribution of magic tools using the power of demon beasts, even among commoners.
However, there was a taboo even for them.
Do not inject ‘refined demonic energy’ into a living being.
Because they might mutate into a demon beast.
Whether beast or human.
Of course, foolish humans exist everywhere.
Baseless rumors circulated that the source of the demon beasts’ natural immortality was that very demonic energy. All sorts of dangerous items supporting this claim were sold in secret.
The Empire was the nation where the most demon beasts appeared on the continent. Whether the founding myth—that they had sealed the source of the demon beasts—was true remained unclear, but at one time, it was a nation that handled demon beasts as easily as killing newborn rats. Though they now relied solely on the Castline family, their stockpile of byproducts remained overwhelming.
The Castline family were experts when it came to demon beasts. The same applied to handling their byproducts. They managed these items strictly when trading them to foreign nations, ensuring such dangerous goods did not roll around haphazardly.
But as with anything, there were bound to be smuggled goods. Some mercenaries would gain profit through illicit trade, evading the eyes of the Castline family.
In the quiet room, only the sound of a voice echoed.
“Our family is famous for being merchants. Naturally, we handle all sorts of goods. However, we do not directly touch items that are so dangerous. My father always said that water drunk in haste is bound to cause indigestion.”
Flux, the Young Count Cortez who had revealed his identity, gave an eerily bright smile.
“My father trusts me greatly, so he entrusted this city to me for several years. Even if the actual practical work is done by aides… I know my father’s affection for this city too well, so I worked hard, thinking he had finally acknowledged me. To the point that when I learned of the existence of the black market auction in this city, I thought I shouldn’t ignore it.”
Everywhere, there is a black market.
Moreover, it would be stranger if the largest trading city in the south didn’t have one.
Of course, no matter how capable Flux was, he didn’t harbor the delusion that he could eliminate or control the black market auction entirely.
In the first place, there was no telling what kind of big shots were among its clients—or whether Count Cortez could even handle those big shots.
Flux simply thought, ‘It’s my city. I should at least grasp what is going on.’
Furthermore, he could never find out who the actual owner hosting this black market auction was or what kind of backing they had.
Fearing what might happen if he touched it recklessly, he could only keep a close eye on it.
Then, one day.
“I secretly had an experienced mercenary who had worked in the North infiltrate that auction. Usually, he would just keep quiet and observe, reporting the situation secretly. But one day, he called for me urgently. He said this wasn’t something we could just ignore.”
A truly ‘dangerous item’ had appeared at the auction. At the call of the man who recognized it, Flux hurried to the auction house, and then…
“I only remember the sound of something exploding with a thud. When I regained consciousness, I was already in this state.”
The item in question exploded, and everyone nearby died. Thanks to the mercenary shielding Flux at the last moment, Flux was the only survivor.
He tried to find out later who the organizers of the black market auction were, who had brought in that item, and why it had exploded underground like that, but as if by magic, they vanished, erasing all traces.
Flux was injured.
It was an injury that could not be explained in words.
The capillaries in the whites of his eyes had all burst, making his entire vision appear red.
Strength left his hands and feet, and black marks—as if charred from being burnt—grew larger by the day. His strength vanished, and his limbs twisted. Day by day, his body grew gaunt.
If one were to look only at the outward appearance…
It was as if he were turning into a demon beast while still alive.
“At first, my father called a priest. But the priest’s power did not work. Isn’t it funny? They say they can drive away demon beasts and heal people’s wounds with holy power. Does that mean I cannot be saved? My father handed the priest an enormous sum of money and even went down on his knees, begging for a way. That priest said I could be cured if we used a divine relic kept in the Temple.”
A divine relic kept in the Temple and revealed only during the Dedication Festival.
The only ones who can touch it directly are members of the Imperial family.
Many thought the Dedication Festival was merely an unnecessary ritual. The Northern Barrier and the Southern Barrier seemed infinitely steadfast to the common people.
Though demon beasts occasionally appeared through gaps in the barriers, and there were attacks within the interior, most people thought of it as if a very fierce wild animal had appeared.
Of course, Count Cortez was not stupid. No matter how much the Dedication Festival was ignored, he knew well the significance of the fact that a direct descendant of the Imperial family came in person every summer and winter to shed their blood.
What if something went wrong with the Southern Barrier?
What if demon beasts invaded because of it? This city itself would be destroyed. There would be damage beyond measure.
However, he was an only son.
the only son his frail wife had left behind.
Intelligent, never frivolous, and possessed of such clear reason that he was a successor fit to inherit the family business as he was.
He had money and information enough to envy no one.
Then let us buy up everything that resembles a divine relic. That was his first thought. But obtaining such ‘items’ was no easy task. Primarily, things called ‘divine relics’ almost always belonged to the Temple, and there were rumors that the Duke of Castline’s family held most of the items containing fragments of divine power that were said to have similar effects.
He even called in all sorts of mages to struggle against it somehow, but there was no improvement.
Some even declared that natural recovery was impossible unless they could somehow summon an ancient elementalist, whose very existence was uncertain.
Even when they managed to obtain something, his condition did not improve in the slightest.
Thus, Count Cortez eventually bribed a priest of the Southern Temple to steal that divine relic. And he handed it to Flux. He intended to use it briefly and then return it.
Flux’s condition showed a slight improvement. But…