After school.
Rudell and Leje were heading somewhere.
“Leje, can’t you tell me what’s going on yet?”
“Not yet. There might be eyes watching.”
“Hmm…”
If it’s a secret worth hiding this much, how important could it be? Rudell let out a soft groan at her unusually cautious reaction.
So, they continued down the golden hallway dyed by the red sunset seeping in through the window for a while…
Suddenly, they stopped in front of a grand door with vintage embellishments.
“This is…”
“The meeting room. It’s Leje El Lagrind.”
This was the main building of the Academy, specifically the student council room.
As Leje softly knocked on the door, it swung open and the two stepped inside.
“Welcome, you two. Did you have a good vacation? Or was it filled with various issues?”
“It’s been a while, Princess Karens.”
“It’s been a while, sis.”
Looking at Kaylee who greeted them warmly, the two lowered their heads.
“Was it tough to come? Please take a seat.”
At Kaylee’s invitation, the two made their way to the table, as she also got up from her desk to join them.
“I heard the news. You were promoted to the Count’s House, right? That’s impressive!”
“It’s nothing special, just a burden.”
“Be a bit more confident! You saved the Princess’s life, after all! You could stand a little prouder!”
“Right? Sometimes I feel more frustrated than you do.”
“Hahaha…”
Kaylee and Leje.
Rudell let out an awkward laugh with a cold sweat from their tit-for-tat comments.
But that was just for a moment…
“Let’s see… you still haven’t heard about this from Count Weinstein, have you?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Rudell nodded at her question.
If it involves Kaylee, then it’s definitely not something ordinary, Rudell thought as he looked at her.
Kaylee seemed to ponder something for a moment before decisively opening her mouth.
“First of all, I want to clarify that this is not a compulsion but a request for cooperation. It’s up to you whether to cooperate or not.”
“A request for cooperation?”
What on earth could warrant her to say this?
As Rudell was thinking such, Kaylee pulled out a letter wrapped in a purple envelope from her pouch.
The seal on that envelope was none other than the royal family’s seal.
“This is…”
It wasn’t hard to recall who sent that letter.
There was only one person from the royal family who would send such a letter to them.
That was none other than the Kingdom’s First Princess.
Jade Elizaveta Perun Prucel.
“This is a letter from the Princess to both of you. Take a look.”
“…”
In response to her words, Rudell picked up the letter envelope, carefully opened it, and checked the contents inside.
And…
“Umm…”
With a serious look, Rudell read the letter before exhaling a short sigh and placing it back into the envelope.
“So… it says to cooperate with the Peacekeeping Force to apprehend a serial killer known as the [One Who Steals Lives]. Is that correct?”
“Exactly.”
In reply to Rudell’s question, Kaylee nodded with a slight smile.
To summarize the contents, it was a request to help the Peacekeeping Force capture the serial killer that has been the talk of the Royal Road lately: [One Who Steals Lives].
“The One Who Steals Lives…”
Rudell recalled hearing about that figure, albeit briefly.
They were said to operate mainly around back alleys and supposedly suck the blood of the people they kill.
Just by the sound of it, they could only be called a vampire, but no one had seen them yet, and their true nature—whether human or monster—remained an enigma that was whispered about among people.
Since this character didn’t appear in the original story, Rudell took patrols every night for a few days, but by mere coincidence, that figure never showed up while he was on duty.
“So? Are you interested?”
“Even if you say that… is it really alright? We’re just ordinary students, after all.”
No matter how powerful they might be, it still hadn’t been long since the two of them became adults…
If one were to be specific, Rudell hadn’t even undergone the coming-of-age ceremony yet.
Logically speaking, it was unnatural for someone to assign such a task to them.
“I figured you’d say that.”
Kaylee let out a short sigh as if she anticipated his response and looked at both of them seriously.
“What I’m about to say now must not be disclosed anywhere. Got it?”
“…”
In response to her words, Rudell and Leje nodded.
If she insisted on something like that, it was definitely information that shouldn’t be leaked to the outside.
After a brief pause, Kaylee slowly began to speak…
“Have you heard of the Church of the Eaters of Death?”
“…!!”
At her completely unexpected remark, Rudell swallowed hard as he looked at her.
Why on earth does that name come up here?
On the surface, he was trying hard to maintain his calm, but his mind was more tangled than ever.
That’s because the characters would only learn about their existence much later on.
At this point, only Rudell was supposed to know about their existence.
“I’ve never heard of it. What is that?”
“Umm… where should I start explaining…”
With a frustrated voice, Kaylee shook her head and began her explanation.
From the mythological era, the celestial war, the wicked schemes of the evil god Thanatos, and the existence of those who followed him; all the various atrocities they committed throughout history, as well as the truth of what happened during this Sabbath Festival.
The story she recounted didn’t deviate much from what Rudell knew.
“My goodness… is that really true?”
“At least both the Princess and I think so. Whether you like it or not, you two have been tangled in it.”
Once Kaylee finished her story, Leje opened her eyes wide, as if she couldn’t believe it.
Who could easily accept such a story out of the blue?
The events that they thought were merely heated and extreme political conflicts were intertwined with matters related to gods…
It truly sounded like it was beyond bizarre.
However, knowing that no one, especially not Kaylee, would fabricate such outlandish tales, Leje had no choice but to believe her words.
“The Princess and I think there’s some connection between the One Who Steals Lives and the Church of the Eaters of Death.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Intuition.”
“…”
Leje looked at Kaylee with a face full of disbelief.
Is she kidding right now…?
That was the kind of look she had.
‘That means she still can’t fully trust us yet…’
Rudell understood the implication hidden in that reply.
There were surely those in the royal castle who acted as their lackeys, so how could there not be within the Academy, a key facility of the kingdom?
Even with a diligent professor who had served at the Academy for many years recently being revealed as one of their subordinates, it was only natural that no one could easily trust anyone in such a situation.
Considering that, the wariness from Jade and Kaylee was quite reasonable.
“So? What now? Just so you know, this isn’t forced. It’s ultimately your choice.”
“Umm…”
At her question, Leje let out a low groan.
Naturally, it was a tough decision to make from Leje’s perspective.
Considering the Duke’s nerves were already frazzled due to the issues in the Count’s Domain, would they really dive into another risky ordeal?
Should the Duke find out about this, it certainly wouldn’t just end in suspension.
They might even be imprisoned in the Duke’s Domain for real this time.
For that reason, it was only natural for Leje to find it difficult to decide.
“Rudell. What do you think?”
“I think… it’s okay. Since we’re already involved, we might as well. More than anything, it’s a command from the Princess, so it wouldn’t be right to refuse.”
Unlike Leje, Rudell nodded and showed a positive reaction to the proposal.
A command from the Princess.
While he answered like that, he had other intentions up his sleeve.
‘This could be a good opportunity to uncover the true identity of the One Who Steals Lives.’
If he was someone colluding with the Church of the Eaters of Death, it would be better to nip it in the bud; if not, it could be an opportunity to recruit new forces.
New strength is always welcome.
Of course, whether he really could become a true ally would remain to be seen only when they faced him directly.
“Alright, we’ll cooperate too.”
“Good decision! The Princess will be pleased.”
After much deliberation, Leje seemed to have made up her mind and answered, prompting Kaylee to get up from her seat with a bright smile.
“I’ll inform your homeroom professor… so, Count Fernand. You’ll be able to hear the detailed story if you visit his office tonight.”
“Got it. I’ll do that.”
“Since we don’t often get a chance, how about a cup of tea? We just got in some rather nice tea leaves.”
“I’ll go ahead first. I’m busy, you know.”
With a bright smile towards her, Leje turned and walked down the hallway.
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