novelraw Chapter 88 : Edel Ribenia (2)
Chapter 88 : Edel Ribenia (2)
Chapter 88: Edel Ribenia (2)
“……”
When I was too taken aback to say anything, Edel quietly smiled.
“Surely you don’t still have no grasp of the situation, do you?”
“That’s not it… but, since when?”
“Since when?”
“The moment you infiltrated Karbenna.”
“In that case, your question’s off. You should be asking until when I was infiltrating.”
She raised two fingers.
“March 2nd. After watching the duel between the two cadet candidates, I asked a question during orientation. That was the last time.”
“…I see.”
“It was a coincidence. When I was last inside, I just happened to witness all that.”
‘But you know what?’ she said, her eyes sharp even as she still wore Lea’s face.
“When coincidences keep repeating, that’s what you call fate.”
Then, as she raised her hand close to her face, I heard a soft click.
When she peeled something off her face as if removing a mask, Edel’s true appearance finally came into view.
In her hand was a semi-transparent mask.
“The highest-grade Artifact—Mask of Baudouin.”
“…So that’s what you used for your infiltration.”
“Correct.”
The Mask of Baudouin—an Artifact that could reproduce another person’s face.
It extracted information from the target’s hair, so with just a single strand, one could perfectly impersonate that person’s appearance.
Of course, it didn’t alter one’s physique or voice, so there were clear limitations.
However, since Edel and Lea were similar in build and voice tone, they could easily alternate infiltrations between themselves.
I asked cautiously.
“But why go that far? Was it because Lea Bronte alone couldn’t be trusted?”
“That’s part of it, but…”
Edel folded her arms and nodded after a brief pause.
“Well, let’s be honest. Honestly, I just wanted to get some air.”
“Because living the academy life meant you could get away from your busy official duties?”
“…There were things I wanted to try, too.”
Her eyes gleamed with lively energy as she said it.
“Anyway, you’ve worked hard all this time. Now you can finally take a breather, right?”
“Well… I wonder if they’ll really leave me alone.”
When I averted my gaze and answered halfheartedly, Edel’s expression gradually turned serious.
She looked me up and down before speaking in a voice filled with certainty.
“Colonel Eugene Carter.”
“Yes.”
“Who are you, really?”
Before answering, I first went over everything I had done up until now.
That way, I could tailor my reply to her intentions while keeping the truth hidden.
‘Anyone would find it suspicious.’
In the past, I had indeed been someone who fought fiercely all across the Empire.
Whether my purpose was the revival of my house, personal advancement, or mere self-satisfaction—no one could say.
For over a decade, from Karbenna to the Special Task Force, Eugene Carter had lived a life more radiant than anyone’s, and everyone believed he would continue to do so.
But arrogance and greed brought him to ruin, and he couldn’t withstand the fall.
And yet—
Just when everyone had given up, believing Eugene Carter will never rise again, I returned, as if to deny that notion outright.
In less than three weeks, I had accomplished countless feats—and acted as if this was merely the beginning.
‘How could anyone not find that suspicious?’
Regression, possession, reincarnation—none of those things could exist in reality.
Even in this world where magic and guardian spirits were commonplace, that remained a universal truth.
So the only explanation one could reach was, “He’s changed after surviving a great ordeal.”
But even that didn’t fully explain the strangeness of my actions.
Francia Brida, Rubia Magnus, Michel Bernhardt—
Each of them, too, must have harbored doubts about the man called Eugene Carter.
And yet, the reason they stayed with me despite those doubts was simple—
Even if they couldn’t fully trust me, they didn’t want to let this opportunity slip by.
A fallen noble’s survivor, a pariah from the lowest-ranked Magic Tower, a reformist dropout crying for change—
To them, I was an irresistible temptation.
But Edel Ribenia was different.
She was a direct royal of the Ribenia Empire.
Her rank might have been lower in the line of succession, but she more than made up for it with her intelligence and public support.
Unlike the other three, who had reasons to ally with me, Edel didn’t need to.
There were plenty of others who could fill my role if she wished.
So my usual approach wouldn’t work on her.
If I didn’t prove that I was more than just that, I’d never be able to stand beside her.
‘…So in the end, I’ll have to gamble.’
After much hesitation, I finally spoke.
“To be honest, I’m a little afraid.”
I chose to drop a deliberate keyword—one that was false, yet cautious.
“I don’t even know if I should tell you this.”
“……”
“You might think I’ve gone mad. Or dismiss it as nonsense to hide the truth.”
“……”
“But it’s the truth. As unbelievable as it sounds—even I can hardly believe it myself.”
“Don’t tell me, you…”
“…You seem to have some idea already, so I’ll say it. I am—”
It was at that very moment.
Swiish!
A projectile the size of a fist came flying from behind, aiming straight for Edel’s neck.
“Get down!”
I immediately drew my sword and slashed horizontally.
The projectile, struck directly by my slash, shattered into nothingness.
But the attack didn’t end there.
Dozens of poisoned arrows followed, tracing arcs through the air as they poured down from every direction.
“Stay close to me!”
As I channeled a small amount of mana, a translucent barrier spread out from my shield.
Shadow Shield. A high-grade Artifact that protected its user on all sides like a living shadow.
It was one of the most useful Artifacts I had ever acquired from the Magic Tower.
After blocking the ambush and dispelling the barrier, a voice echoed around us.
“Of course, I didn’t think you’d go down that easily… but still, you’re impressive, Eugene Carter.”
From all around the alley, large, muscular men began to emerge one by one.
Each of them wore a uniquely designed mask.
Among them, the one who seemed to be the leader pointed at me while resting a huge mace on his shoulder.
“If you don’t want things to get bloody, back off now, Eugene Carter. You’re not our target.”
So they were after Edel, as expected.
A princess wouldn’t normally come alone to a secluded place like this.
I tightened my grip on my sword and glared at him.
“…And if I refuse?”
Then, a fierce killing intent surged from the man’s entire body.
“Then there’s no helping it. We’ll just have to kill you together.”
“You think you lot can kill me?”
“Your arrogance pierces the sky. Just as he said.”
“He?”
“You’ll find out right before you die.”
The man swung his mace through the air with a heavy whoosh, then gave a subtle nod.
At the signal, his comrades began taking positions around us.
I leaned toward Edel and whispered,
“You don’t need help, do you?”
“No. I assume it’s the same for you?”
“Yes. Enemies of this level aren’t much.”
“…Then let’s continue our talk after we deal with these fools.”
“You’ve got quite the sharp tongue, Your Highness.”
“I’ve been through far too much lately.”
That ended our exchange.
The moment the enemies charged at us, I struck first with a slash.
One of them barely managed to block it with a shield filled with mana.
Unable to fully absorb the impact, the shield split apart with a screech and rolled on the ground.
That sound marked the start of battle.
If they’d been weaklings, I would have butchered them in one blow and torn their leader apart within minutes.
But they were far from ordinary.
What stood out most was the precision of their teamwork and coordination.
Every time I tried to slip through a gap, another would counterattack as if waiting for that moment.
The stalemate dragged on for more than five minutes.
— How about using it now? Limit Release?
It seemed I looked like I was struggling, because Clina spoke first without me calling for her.
— The cost from the last use wasn’t that high, and you’ve recovered a lot since then, haven’t you?
No. I won’t use it here.
— Underestimating them, are you? They don’t seem that easy to deal with.
I know.
— Then why?
Because there’s something I want to test…
More than that—
I trust her.
And that trust was already bearing fruit from an unexpected place.
“Kh—!”
“Next.”
A dagger, no longer than a hand’s length, pierced clean through the enemy’s carotid artery.
As blood sprayed everywhere, the man thrashed his hands in panic.
The moment his comrades flinched from the sight, Edel’s hidden weapons flared to life.
“Gaaah!”
A throwing knife she flicked from her sleeve embedded itself straight into another enemy’s nape.
In the blink of an eye, two were down. Edel casually flicked the blood from her fingers.
“Come on, you can do better than that, can’t you?”
The enemies, who must have assumed she was only slightly stronger than an average woman, began to falter.
I sighed at the sight.
“You guys got the distribution wrong.”
“…What?”
“You should’ve focused on stopping her, not me.”
Edel Ribenia.
The Third Princess of the Ribenia Empire, and one of the Empire’s top intelligence operatives.
Even as a princess, she didn’t have access to every piece of information.
Most things she’d delegate to her subordinates, but that too had limits.
Someone of her stature wouldn’t risk her subordinates’ lives for a single investigation.
Which meant that all those classified details—she uncovered them herself.
In other words—
Edel Ribenia had personally gone into dangerous places where her life hung in the balance, and always came back alive.
“How do you think that’s possible?”
As Edel felled her remaining opponents with overwhelming performance, I charged at the enemy leader.
He barely managed to block my downward strike near the handle of his mace.
Thunk!
Naturally, blocking my follow-up thrust at the same time was impossible.
“H-How…!”
“You people should’ve done better homework.”
“Captain!”
As his subordinates tried to rush to help him, I slashed again, cutting them off.
Seven enemies remained.
They exchanged panicked glances—and in the next instant, they scattered in all directions, disappearing.
A disgraceful retreat after such a bold ambush.
“Didn’t even count as a warm-up.”
“Agreed.”
Edel and I approached the enemy leader.
He tried to muster his remaining strength to swing his mace, so I sliced off his left arm without hesitation.
Finally, he gave up and dropped to his knees, lowering his head.
“It seems the captains always get the worst of it. Same with this one… and with Abattoir, too.”
“…So it was you who wiped out Abattoir.”
“Someone hearing that might think I stormed their base myself. They came to me and got wrecked, that’s all.”
The man leaned back against the wall, sighing bitterly.
“If you can’t win, retreat and wait for the next chance—that’s common sense. My subordinates only followed that rule.”
“Oh, I see.”
Edel drove her dagger deep into the man’s thigh.
“Kh—!”
“Who was it? Who sent you? Abel? Rachel? Or Bernhardt?”
I glared at him from the side and added, half-warning, half-advice.
“I haven’t hit a vital spot yet, so you can still live. Be honest.”
But the man lowered his gaze, showing no sign of cooperation.
Edel twisted her dagger harder, her intent to kill radiating out.
“Ghhk…!”
“No, I won’t kill you. I’ll keep you alive and torture you until I find out who ordered this.”
“……”
“So don’t you dare talk. Understood?”
With an even colder tone, Edel tapped her dagger against his wound.
The man said nothing—only hung his head low.
Just as I reached out to force his chin up—
Foamy white bubbles began to rise from his mouth.