Chapter 86
Translator’s Note:
Hello, Lovely Patrons!
It’s with mixed emotions that I announce this will be the final chapter here…
Because guess what?
We’re moving site…
Yet again, Wook!?
Absolutely, indeed!
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Victor frowned.
It was difficult to know which spirits the dozens of imperial family members had contracted with. However, Nathan was a summoner of a top-tier spirit. Victor knew at least the existence of the spirit Pose.
But…
“Why is His Highness the 2nd Prince trying to kidnap my sister?”
“Because Nathan is my enemy.”
“What?”
“Now that things have come to this, Sir Victor should know everything,” Lark said. “Nathan is trying to get rid of me to claim the throne. There have been dozens, no, hundreds of attempts so far.”
“…”
“It was Nathan who made a so-called shaman approach Lisbeth this time and falsely accused her of targeting the 1st Princess Bella.”
“Wh-what?”
“And the reason why the princess got caught up in this battle for the throne…”
“…”
“…is because she helped Lisbeth during this trial. Contrary to popular belief, the princess has never met the shaman and does not even know their face. She just perjured herself at the trial to get Lisbeth’s sentence commuted.”
When Lark confessed, Victor’s mouth fell open. He soon said with a shudder, “S-so to sum up… Your Highness and the 2nd Prince have been fighting behind the scenes over the throne. The 2nd Prince knew that Rubette helped you during this trial.”
“Yes.”
“He found out that you seem to have some kind of relationship with Rubette, so he wanted to kidnap Rubette as a hostage?”
“…”
Lark was silent on the question because there were a lot of questions about his motive behind catching Rubette and trying to blackmail him.
‘In the first place, there’s no need for Nathan to stage a hostage situation by taking risks. If he were planning to blackmail me like that, there are many other targets besides the princess.’
Lark’s cherished biological sister, Lisbeth, and his real mother, the empress. Weren’t they within a stone’s throw? There must’ve been a reason Nathan hadn’t used such shallow water.
Although he could shake Lark’s composure by holding hostages, he couldn’t achieve what he wanted. In addition, the risk he must take if his tail is stepped on is not small.
‘He’s not trying to shake or intimidate me. Nathan was just…aiming for Rubette.’
Lark clenched his fist when he guessed it.
‘Why? Could it be that he found out Rubette’s secret?’
If so, everything fits. Had Nathan discovered that Rubette was a contractor for ‘Vista’, a spirit that sees the future…
Recalling the history of countless tragedies that had been unfolded by those who were targeting Vista’s contractors, Lark despaired.
‘But how? If it’s true that he’s discovered Rubette’s secret, then by what means? No way…’
When his head began to ache from all sorts of doubts…
“If the 2nd Prince has bad thoughts, wouldn’t it be hopeless, to be honest?” Victor, who lost his composure, murmured. “I only felt it was time for a blink of an eye, but in fact, the 2nd Prince stopped time and took the kidnappers away in the meantime.”
“That’s right.”
“How do you beat such a tremendous ability?” Victor despaired. “It’s fortunate that Your Highness didn’t die and survived until now, right? Isn’t it game over if he secretly stops time and puts poison into your meal?”
“That’s impossible, Vice-captain. Spirit abilities do not apply to spirits of the same level,” Ren interrupted to explain.
“It means that the time of Landian, the spirit of His Highness the Crown Prince, does not stop. Landian will watch everything and inform him.”
“Then what if he cuts his throat instead of poisoning him?”
“Anyone would suspect the summoner who can stop time if his throat suddenly gets cut. Even if he tries to make it look as if someone else has done it, it will create a sense of incongruity. Do you think the 2nd Prince is so foolish?”
As Ren scolded, the confused Victor turned toward Lark and shouted again, “Even so, the hopelessness remains the same! This ability is so cheat-like!”
“Calm down, Sir Victor. I know what you imagine, but it’s not a very powerful spirit. There are obvious limitations. There will be weaknesses that we are not aware of.”
“And what is that!?”
“Pose is a spirit that has appeared four times so far. Including Nathan, there were five contractors in total.” Lark crossed his arms and added, “There are limitations to Pose that have been known as summoning. It is limited by space.”
“Space?”
“Pose can stop time only within a certain range of space. And Nathan, the contractor, must be in that range.”
“Ah…”
“When Pose uses its ability, time in the world doesn’t stop simultaneously. Also, Nathan can’t stop Lubon’s time if he sits still in his room.”
If Pose were a spirit that could stop time without restrictions, it would have been designated as a ‘dangerous group’. So the reason Pose was not a dangerous spirit was that it had obvious limitations.
“One more thing. No one but Nathan can enter the space where time has stopped. Nathan must have personally taken away the knights you missed, one by one.”
“Wow…”
“This is roughly what is known, but there are some things we can’t guess.”
“What’s the part you can’t guess?”
“For example, exactly how wide a range of time can be controlled. Also, how long it can stop time,” Lark, who gently closed his eyes, muttered while biting his lips as if in trouble. “Despite its limitations, it’s definitely too dangerous an ability.”
***
In an unknown place.
The five knights who escaped from Victor were instantly relieved to see Nathan in front of them.
“Your Highness the 2nd Prince, our apologies.”
“Our apologies!”
All the knights knelt in front of Nathan.
“No, no. It was a great job. Was Victor Diollus that strong? Maybe he signed a contract… with the spirit of indestructible? Has his body really become ironclad?”
“Yes, we’ve only heard about it and saw it for the first time this time. There was no hope at all.”
“Even if we send ten, twenty, hundred instead of five, it will be difficult.”
As the two knights wagged their tongues, Nathan, who had been stroking his chin, swallowed.
“I see. My older brother had so many escorts in Lubon that I couldn’t possibly break through the defenses. That’s why I tried to infiltrate through you guys.” Nathan shook his head in pity. “Victor Diollus wasn’t as easy as I thought.”
“We’re ashamed!”
“Our apologies!”
“Haha, never mind that. How can you deal with someone who can’t get a knife stuck in his body?” Nathan smiled kindly, and all five knights were impressed.
The knights had been suspicious when Nathan told them not to worry because he would save them even if the operation failed. But Nathan kept his promise. Before Victor interrogated them, he used his ability to steal them back.
“We will give our allegiance to the 2nd Prince! Thank you!”
“Thank you for saving us, Your Highness!”
“Haha, this is embarrassing. Stop. You don’t have to thank me.”
Nathan bent his knees to eye level with one of the knights in the middle and comforted him as if encouraging.
“Your Highness…”
Suddenly, Nathan’s friendly expression hardened.
“Because you’re going to die.”
“…?”
“… What?”
It was a flash.
The hidden guards that jumped out of the darkness in an instant twisted the necks of the five unlucky knights, suffocating them at once.
“Tch.”
Nathan stood up slowly, took a handkerchief from his bosom, wiped it off his hands, and threw it away like garbage.
“Deal with it without a trace.”
“By your order.”
And the killers quickly disappeared.
As he turned around, sweeping his hair annoyedly, he saw Pose floating carefree in the air.
“Khukhukhu… You’re cruel.”
“Hey.”
Nathan, whose expression had hardened, sat and asked, “Are you sure Rubetria Diollus is worth the risk I’m taking?”
“Of course.”
“Damn it, what kind of spirit did she contract with to protect the crown prince?”
When Pose broke the taboo and revealed the secret of Rubetria Diollus, Nathan thought it would be easy to approach Rubette and find out which spirit she contracted with, but it wasn’t. Lark was very thoroughly defending Rubette’s surroundings.
As Pose said, it seemed certain that Rubette was a tremendous ‘key’.
“What kind of spirit is this… I can’t think of anything other than ‘that’.”
“That? What is that? What kind of spirit do you think it is?” Pose asked, and Nathan answered right away.
“Vista.”
“Hoo. I see.”
However, Nathan frowned at Pose’s ambiguous response.
“Why do you think so?”
“If the crown prince is so obsessed with it, it is either a top-tier or a dangerous group.” Nathan continued, rubbing his throbbing forehead, “Among the top 10 spirits, only two haven’t contracted yet. Wishit and Chamber, but it shouldn’t be those two.”
“Ohh.”
“The crown prince has no reason to obsess over Chamber, and if it were Wishit, it would have been eliminated long ago without a chance to do anything.”
“Mm, I see.”
“Then, it’s one within the dangerous group. Since the crown prince has been acting as if he knew my plan in advance, isn’t it obvious?”
“Right. You might think of it as Vista.”
“Think”? Pose pretended to be interested and nodded in response, but it sounded strange. Seeing the cryptic Pose, Nathan gritted his teeth. “Isn’t it Vista?”
“Are you curious?” Pose asked solemnly.
Nathan nodded nervously at the gaze he met for a moment, but Pose quickly regained his mischievousness and shouted, “Thirty years if you’re curious~”
“Ah, fuck you.”
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