novelraw Chapter 248
Chapter 248
Chapter 248. Untainted Black (3)
Damn it.
Seeing the beautiful scenery of the imperial palace through the iron bars on the window made curses spill from my lips.
Just a little walk would lead me outside where I could roam freely, yet here I was, trapped behind bars, a sight that was nothing short of ridiculous.
'Haaa.'
I let out a sigh.
Despite being in a potential life-threatening situation, I didn't actually feel any immediate threat to my life.
If Eulsis had ordered my execution immediately, things could have been different, but since such an order hadn't come yet, it seemed I might be alright for the time being.
'Alright? That's hardly the case.'
In reality, it was just a matter of time. Having wounded Eulsis, it was an issue that couldn't simply be overlooked.
'I entered the state of 'Open Eyes' and let my emotions heighten.'
If I hadn't applied the brakes quickly, I undoubtedly would have taken Eulsis's head.
That was how significant the 'Sword Saint' was to Yulian.
'If I had taken his head.'
I would be not just confined like this but perhaps already lost my own head right then and there.
In times like these, 'Yulian's' instincts are truly burdensome. To have to risk everything based on one of his choices.
'Tsk.'
I clicked my tongue and unfolded the newspaper I'd received from a member of the Rose Knights earlier.
'A total solar eclipse returning after two years.'
As I opened the newspaper, the phrase 'total solar eclipse' was what I noticed first.
'Three weeks from now?'
I committed the date of the total solar eclipse to memory and ran my eyes over the contents. The article I was searching for wasn't immediately visible.
However, not long after, it would soon cover every newspaper.
Something that could overturn the current situation.
"Hey!"
Bang, bang──!
Just as I was reading the newspaper, someone banged on the bars. It was a member of the Rose Knights assigned to watch over me.
"It's a visit."
Come to think of it, I had called for Zahard. There were things I needed to convey.
"Get out."
The bars swung open, and I moved my body out of the cell.
In the meantime, a member of the 'Rose Knights' whose eyes met mine flinched.
Above his head, I could see the 'Color of Fear'.
"I don't understand why you are so afraid."
When I pointed out that emotion, the knight looked at me with trembling pupils.
"What, what do you mean?"
"It's just a visit. What's there to be scared of when I'm a prisoner with my hands bound like this?"
"...... So, what are you trying to say?"
"If you're a knight, you shouldn't be so afraid."
Knight.
As soon as I mentioned that word, the face of the knight guiding me turned red.
In truth, the 'Rose Knights' are knights in name only. They are little more than a social club for nobles. To say they are not acting like knights is like striking a nerve.
"Enough."
He looked ready to pounce at any moment, but another knight stepped in to stop his colleague.
"It's an order from His Highness Eulsis. Treat Yulian as a member of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, Blind Eyes, with the treatment befitting that status."
'Tsk.'
As the knights clicked their tongues, I thought to myself.
'As expected, they were placed here by Eulsis.'
If that's the case, it's unlikely any of them are connected with the 'New Dawn Society'.
Any chance of attempting escape via some method had become impossible.
'Attempting such moves could make things more dangerous anyway.'
Shrugging my shoulders, I resumed my steps toward the visiting room.
***
"This scene is unusual."
Entering the visiting room with handcuffs and accompanied by guards, Zahard spoke with a bewildered expression.
"Can I be honest?"
"Yes, please go ahead."
"You look so fitting, I'm at a loss for words."
Seeing me in handcuffs, Zahard remarked how fitting it seemed, making me chuckle.
"Can you even see my appearance with those blind eyes?"
"People have an aura. Since I can't see, I tend to be more attuned to sensing that aura."
Zahard smiled faintly.
"The prison is filled with a dreary aura. A place like that and you are... hmm."
He cleared his throat and continued.
"No, I'll stop there."
He seemed to have said it all already.
"Hmm, anyway."
Zahard sighed, looking around the visiting room.
"There seem to be quite a few watchers."
As he pointed out, guards weren't the only ones in the visiting room.
There were several people watching, most of whom were members of the Rose Knights, making it obvious to even an ordinary person that this was no typical visitation.
"Given my extraordinary reputation, it seems they're giving me special treatment from above."
"Special treatment from above, huh."
Zahard chuckled and remarked again.
"So it was true that you were detained for something related to the imperial family."
"Yes."
I had no intention of denying it, so I just nodded.
"Everything you and I say is probably being recorded, so we can't talk about anything important."
As if to say something secretive, Zahard adjusted his posture, making the eyes on us even more intense.
The determination to record every word of our conversation was palpable.
"I'm unfamiliar with these sorts of things, so it seems I won't be much help."
"No, it's alright. Just having you come by is more than enough."
"Hmm?"
Zahard seemed slightly perplexed. Since it wasn't an environment where something important could be said, he seemed to think his visit was pointless.
But that wasn't the case.
This environment.
The atmosphere itself became a hint for me.
'The Demon God's Horn...'
It seemed they hadn't retrieved it yet.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be such intense surveillance to eavesdrop on our conversation.
'Reviving the Demon God requires a procedure.'
Gathering the horns is one of those procedures, but a certain ritual is also needed.
'On the day when Solarun's eye is obscured, the great demon will descend upon the continent once more.'
Here, the obscuring of 'Solarun's eye' refers to the total solar eclipse happening three weeks from now.
'Moreover, Eulsis hasn't even gathered four of the Demon God's Horns.'
The reason he had visited Flugel's hospital room was to retrieve the horn that had been entrusted to Flugel.
'Well, given the chaos, it's understandable.'
In Flugel's hospital room, a member of 'Blind Eyes' had been taken by the 'Heavenly Reverence Guards'. Amidst such chaos, finding the 'Demon God's Horn' must have been difficult even for Eulsis.
'... Eulsis.'
If he was truly involved in the Sword Saint's death.
Thinking of that again brought a surge of rage through me.
From my core, a burning energy surged up, and a sense of displeasure stirred.
Almost, like before, my 'Open Eyes' nearly activated, but I barely held it back as I turned my gaze back to Zahard.
"How are things outside?"
"Nothing that qualifies as a major issue."
Specifically, nothing to say in 'this situation'.
"I understand."
After hearing Zahard's words, I stood up first.
"When I come next time, should I bring you some food?"
"Food?"
"Yes, didn't you bring me food once when I was locked up?"
Ah, yeah, that did happen.
"It's only fair I return the favor. We are at least that close, aren't we?"
"I only accept your sentiments."
I didn't really have an appetite for anything.
What I really wanted was, after all this, to quit everything and just wander the world.
"I'll be out soon anyway."
***
"Is that truly what they discussed?"
Abigail, the diviner of the Emperor, frowned as she asked. Having received a report from a member of the Rose Knights guarding Yulian.
"Yes, lady Abigail."
"... He's certain that he'll be out soon."
How could he be so certain?
"It could simply be bluster."
Abigail shifted her gaze to the knight speaking.
"And why do you think that?"
"Surely, Yulian would have noticed how the guards are recording everything he says."
Yulian was known for his keen awareness. He would've easily grasped what was happening around him.
"He could be bluffing to have us waste our efforts with unnecessary concerns."
Abigail considered that the knight's words had some merit.
Life was at stake here. If anyone were capable of bluffing in such a situation...
"If anyone could..."
It would likely be Yulian. Abigail recalled the time Yulian shrugged before Emperor Adratan.
Back then, had he not won the Emperor over, Yulian would have surely met his death right there.
"A man indifferent to weighing his life on the scales."
That was Abigail's assessment of Yulian.
"Damn it, Milena. Even in death, you make my life difficult."
With a venomous thought, Abigail clicked her tongue.
The twisted fate tied to the Queen of Thorns Milena seemed to persist, and the mere thought of 'Yulian' irked her.
Yet, 'the Witch' could not directly harm 'the Queen of Thorns's' bloodline.
Due to an ancient curse etched by sorcery, the Witch could not harm the intermediary, the Queen of Thorns's descendants.
"That is, directly anyway."
Therefore, Abigail had alternative plans ready.
Keeping him alive was likely to become an obstacle to her future plans.
Despite being incarcerated, Yulian seemed to have some method up his sleeve giving him the confidence to hold his ground, or so Abigail mused.
"Lady Abigail, his Highness Eulsis ordered Yulian to remain detained and not to be touched."
Noticing Abigail's thoughts, the knight spoke up.
"I act for the benefit of His Highness Eulsis. Anything that advantages him, I will do."
Mentioning Eulsis, Abigail's tone was filled with excitement, but her face, eventually, grew cold again.
"Anything at all."