That night, the prison of the fortress.
-Creeeak…
“Alright, all done.”
With sound dampened, Leje carefully bent the bars of the cell, allowing Rudell and his group to escape through the gap.
“When the guard comes, I’m counting on you.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Ah, I probably won’t get caught…”
With that, Silphier and Eleor had a fake doll made of a pillow and a blanket laid on the bed, showing its back.
It might not fool anyone in broad daylight, but in this dark night, it was enough to deceive the guard’s eyes.
“Be careful; you never know what might happen.”
“Don’t worry.”
Dagruul, who was in the opposite cell, said that, and Rudell nodded, blending into the shadows with Leje.
In the completely black space, the two moved forward.
A moment later, they emerged from the prison and revealed themselves in a supply room where piles of goods were haphazardly stacked.
“Seems like no one’s around for now.”
Even though it was a military fortress, it wasn’t possible to monitor every corner.
Confirming that nobody was nearby, Rudell nodded and surveyed the situation.
The only things visible were a few unmotivated guards and the stacked supplies, along with the fierce sound of wind and blowing blizzards.
“So, where to now?”
“First, we should head to the scene of the incident. We might find some clues.”
After all, criminals always return to the scene.
Even if that wasn’t the case, checking the crime scene was essential for finding leads on the matter.
“Okay, hold my hand.”
“Ugh… I really hate this.”
Complaining, Leje extended her hand toward Rudell as he reached out.
Once Leje took hold of Rudell’s hand, his shadow rose like smoke, enveloping the two of them.
And so, they headed toward the true nature of the fortress, hidden within the shadows.
*
As they arrived at the scene, the flickering shadows of the torches danced along the corridor.
“It seems like no one’s here.”
Appearing from the shadows, Rudell surveyed the surroundings and spoke.
The room where the special envoys had stayed was still in disarray, seemingly untouched for the investigation.
It was the usual state of affairs.
“So? What are we going to do now?”
“We need to find something. It would be great if we could find a clue.”
Of course, finding a clue wouldn’t be easy, but they had no choice.
If this really was the work of the Church folks, all the important clues would have been cleaned up already.
In such a situation, any investigation would likely lead them to be accused.
“Well, saying that… I don’t think we’ll find anything.”
Grumbling at Rudell’s words, Leje began digging around the room.
Rudell also busily searched the area for clues but didn’t come up with anything worthwhile.
“What on earth happened here?”
“It seems they were murdered while everyone was asleep. The opponent appears to be quite a skilled assassin.”
Considering the murder scene, the room was surprisingly tidy.
If it weren’t for the splatter of blood on the bed, one could hardly believe a murder had taken place here.
It clearly indicated that they had been killed while they were asleep.
“Does this have to do with the Church?”
“Perhaps. The timing doesn’t seem right for an internal power struggle within the Empire.”
Of course, they couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of an internal power struggle within the Empire.
However, to Rudell, the chance that this incident was related to the Church looked to be at least 99.9 percent.
“What grudge do they have against us to disrupt things like this…?”
“Who knows, maybe they just want to watch the world burn.”
That could very well be the case.
Responding to Leje’s grumbling, Rudell continued to search for clues.
But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find substantial evidence, and just when Rudell and Leje were getting tired…
–Shuff, shuff.
“…!!”
“Leje, over here.”
As the sound of footsteps approached from outside, Rudell pulled Leje close and they hid in a shadowy corner of the room.
At that moment, two soldiers, appearing to be guards, entered the room.
“Well, well. Why is this door open?”
“Did someone come in?”
“It looks like no one’s here…”
One soldier, holding a lantern, began to search through the room.
Hidden in the shadows with Shadow Magic, Rudell and Leje held their breath as they watched the scene unfold.
After a considerable amount of time searching the room, the soldier let out a short sigh and sat on a nearby chair, striking a haughty pose as if he were a noble.
“What are you doing…”
“When else are we going to sit in such fancy chairs like this?”
The soldier who answered with arrogance looked at the other soldier.
The other soldier sighed and pressed his forehead as if he had a headache from the first soldier’s behavior.
“By the way, did you hear that story? A handmaid got taken away again today?”
“Again? I really don’t know what’s going on; that’s already the fifth one.”
“Exactly! In this situation, what the heck is the count doing…?”
“…”
Rudell and Leje listened intently to the grumbling soldiers.
“Wasn’t that next patrol their turn? I’m lucky it’s not me.”
“You’re on that patrol the day after tomorrow, right?”
“What?!”
The guards got up from their seats, chatting as they disappeared down the hallway, and the room fell into silence again.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Yeah, I heard it loud and clear.”
At first glance, it seemed like a typical ghost story, but Rudell and Leje sensed that it was fundamentally different.
That was because, whenever the Church stirred things up, mysterious incidents always followed.
And right now, their instincts were alarmingly alert.
“They definitely said it was the next shift, right?”
“Let’s follow them.”
It might take some time, but perhaps they could discover a clue.
Rudell and Leje moved their footsteps toward the hallway behind the soldiers.
*
“Ghosts are all lies. Where are there ghosts in this world?”
“No, but they really say they saw one.”
In the dark corridor, two soldiers advanced, relying on the lantern’s light.
“Think about it logically. The ghosts we know are monsters like wraiths or specters, right? So, does it make sense that people facing ghosts become totally fine but are just carried away?”
“Well, they’re not totally fine; they say they looked like they had their souls sucked out and became all gaunt.”
“Regardless, if it were a monster, they wouldn’t have made it out alive; that’s even weirder.”
Monsters are essentially beings that harm people.
Specters and wraiths, the representative ghost monsters, don’t have a physical form, making them like grim reapers to someone without magical abilities.
The fact that ordinary handmaids survived encounters with such monsters suggests that it’s likely something other than a regular monster.
For Rudell and Leje, it was certainly worth investigating.
It was definitely worth investigating.
So, Rudell and Leje followed the soldiers walking down the hallway, stopping in front of a certain hallway.
“Ugh… I really don’t want to pass through here.”
“Exactly, why did I have to get picked for this patrol…”
The soldiers walked along the hallway with voices that seemed reluctant, the creaking of their armor echoing through the corridor.
When the soldiers reached the end of the hallway…
“Phew… Thankfully there’s nothing happening.”
“Let’s hurry, I don’t want to stay in this creepy place for another second.”
With a sigh of relief, the soldiers proceeded down the hallway and disappeared from view.
And then, Rudell and Leje emerged from the shadows and entered the hallway.
“Do you feel anything?”
“Well… I don’t feel anything at all…”
Rudell responded to Leje’s question. He focused on sensing magic power, but all he felt was the cold air.
“Is there some sort of condition?”
“Well, I don’t think that’s the case.”
A ghost that appears based on conditions? Now that’s a story that doesn’t really make sense. Monsters didn’t have the intelligence to match the conditions of their opponents.
“What the heck are we supposed to do…?”
As Rudell muttered and looked around for any possible clues…
“Um… over there, Rudell?”
“Huh? Why?”
At the sound of someone calling him, Rudell tilted his head and turned to her.
And at that moment, what caught Rudell’s eye was a translucent curtain moving through the air.
“That… it’s really a ghost…?”
It didn’t take long for him to realize it was taking on a human form.
“I can’t believe ghosts actually exist…”
“It doesn’t seem like a monster, but what is it…?”
Just then, while the two were talking, looking at the ghost in disbelief…
[ㄷㅗ… ㅇㅗㅏ… ㅈㅜㅓ…]
A voice that was difficult to describe began to reach their ears.
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