#88
Theodore nodded.
“He showed more interest in Lady Marsien’s replica than that issue.”
Marcus, who had been quietly listening, frowned.
And setting aside the problem he’d been concerned about, he joined the conversation.
“There definitely seems to be some scheme, right?”
“Yes.”
Sercil seemed somehow continuously anxious. Having been by Ersen’s side that much, there was no way Sercil wouldn’t know what the three of them knew.
The Prince was too calm.
That was definitely not the attitude of someone facing an unexpected situation.
“For now… let’s wait and see.”
Skyle said this while slightly lowering his eyes. The two briefly exchanged glances behind Skyle’s back.
Sometimes Skyle would look strangely gloomy.
When Skyle was like that, he tended to show more extreme behavior than usual, so Theodore and Marcus couldn’t help but be somewhat tense.
‘It’s rare. Why is he like that?’
Marcus glanced at Skyle with worried eyes, then changed the subject for now.
“Let’s decide based on what he does when he returns?”
“Let’s do that.”
“Then about that replica. Looking into it secretly, it really doesn’t seem like an ordinary item.”
Actually, this was what the three had stayed to discuss.
Because Skyle had firmly stated they couldn’t share this with Sercil, who had been showing suspicious behavior lately.
Skyle nodded as if he’d expected this and looked at Marcus.
“Is there something different from what that half-demon told the young lady?”
Marcus hadn’t just confirmed the place where Ersen and Skyle had fought the half-demons.
Rather, while pretending to confirm that place, his real purpose was to reach deeper inside. For instance, using his position as an elder’s son within half-demon society for the first time.
Though it must have been something he absolutely didn’t want to do, Marcus had somehow readily accepted that task.
“I personally had things I wanted to find out too.”
Along with such meaningful words.
And now.
“They said they carved half-demon patterns on high-purity mana stones, right? That production process itself has nothing to do with replicas. So I looked into what part made it called a replica.”
“If they had simply made it to resemble the appearance, they wouldn’t have mentioned treasures. Besides, considering its efficacy, we should view it as a degraded version copy.”
Marcus nodded.
And among the things that happened during the investigation process, he briefly hesitated while recalling something related to Ersen, then pushed it to the back of his mind and continued speaking.
“Gray treasure. Remember?”
“You mean what Prince Ersen mentioned.”
“Right. I looked into that just in case, and if it’s a degraded version of that gray treasure, the replica the young lady has would have power beyond what Rico mentioned.”
Theodore’s cold face sank slightly.
“…Even what that half-demon said alone makes it a sufficiently threatening item.”
An item that amplifies dark magic and, though extremely rare, can awaken unique magic even in those who aren’t of royal blood or half-demon.
It was something that would appear in fairy tales.
Even so, the reason they didn’t seize it and were watching the young lady was because catching the young lady alone wouldn’t be enough.
They needed to catch all those connected to the young lady at once to pull out the roots.
‘And we might learn the half-demons’ true intentions too.’
They were terribly greedy and inhuman beings, yet they had been quietly holding their breath and accommodating the empire for longer than expected.
Of course, looking at the troubles they caused like casting curses on people, they couldn’t be called well-behaved, but considering what they were capable of, they were clearly keeping quite low.
‘They must want something.’
The scary thing was that what they wanted hadn’t been clearly revealed.
And that… resembled Ersen’s attitude.
Theodore slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Very briefly, fatigue crossed those eyes.
“Remember? That young lady’s reaction.”
“…Did you say she looked enchanted for a moment?”
Skyle responded.
“Right, that.”
Isabella naturally smelling the scent from the stone was strange, but Rico’s attitude was even stranger.
“That talk about drawing up old memories, I judge that to be false.”
“Specifically?”
“That gem, the original’s ability is a power that involves all half-demons’ abilities.”
“…You mean it has weak influence on half-demon abilities? Then shouldn’t we consider it has no effect on the young lady?”
“If someone unqualified uses it, their soul gets stolen.”
Theodore and Skyle fell silent.
“I know. Really sounds like some myth, right?”
At their strange expressions, Marcus responded cynically.
“But what if that item actually exists?”
“…It would be something worth an elder targeting.”
Theodore, who had been quietly thinking, asked.
“What are those qualifications?”
“Hm?”
“You said earlier that those without qualifications end up like that if they use it. Then what are the qualifications to use the gray treasure?”
“I can’t know that far, but there are related legends.”
Theodore’s eyes lit up.
“Something about a certain bloodline passing a test. The standard route for treasure users.”
“A test.”
It felt like grasping a clue.
“Why?”
When Skyle noticed Theodore’s expression and asked, Theodore answered with a raised corner of his mouth.
“I think Ersen’s purpose might be there.”
Because he’d been thinking similarly, Marcus also nodded heavily.
If what Ersen was targeting was the gray treasure, and he was using them to use it properly, all the strange circumstances would fit together.
Skyle also nodded lightly.
“Certainly, that seems most likely for now.”
However, even while saying this, Skyle couldn’t be certain.
The reason his expression showed no particular change unlike the other two was because he actually had doubts about that possibility.
Sercil was the person who saw Ersen most while he stayed at the Crown Prince’s palace, but Skyle was the one who watched him most.
Though the Prince might not know.
Perhaps that’s why.
Strangely, Skyle’s intuition was saying something entirely different.
That what Prince Ersen wanted wouldn’t be ‘merely’ the gray treasure.
‘Merely…’
It wasn’t an item to express that way.
The item itself was certainly a treasure, but why was he convinced it wouldn’t look attractive to Ersen?
‘As if what the Prince wants can’t be obtained with such treasures.’
However, since there was no evidence, he didn’t tell his friends about it.
Skyle hid his inner thoughts and focused on the topic.
“But is that all the gray treasure’s abilities?”
If it was the ability to control half-demons, then that item wouldn’t be particularly attractive to others besides Ersen who weren’t half-demons.
“They say it can freely twist emotions and memories. This doesn’t discriminate targets. And terrifyingly, it seems able to affect even great mages or sword masters. You could consider it an all-purpose item when it comes to curses.”
“How about that.”
Theodore sneered.
“That reminds me of someone.”
“Right?”
Skyle spat out that word with a slightly sunken expression.
“Eris.”
Everyone thought of the same person.
The demon who brought chaos and destruction wherever she appeared.
“……”
Skyle didn’t rashly break the silence flowing between them.
A few months ago, no, even just a few weeks ago, Skyle’s reaction would have been different when receiving the same information.
‘I would have assumed the Prince was trying to become a second Eris and moved accordingly.’
But the baseless conviction he harbored was preventing him from reacting that way.
Still, it was only a matter of time.
In the end, there was only one conclusion they could reach.
“…If that’s what Ersen wants, it makes sense that he doesn’t simply want half-demons.”
“…Right.”
Skyle nodded a beat late.
“If that treasure is the goal, it wouldn’t be strange to say he has the same purpose as that demon.”
Concubine Eris had tried to possess the Emperor.
That wasn’t simply due to her personal feelings. Anyone who had experienced Eris up close at that time would have known.
What that evil spirit truly wanted was ‘everything.’
Truly everything.
While repeatedly getting bored in an instant, she showed greed toward everything, and at the same time became a terrible being because she had the power to unleash that greed.
If Ersen was trying to follow in that being’s footsteps, they had to stop Ersen somehow.
…Somehow. Yes, by any means necessary.
For a moment, Skyle couldn’t easily voice that conclusion. The same was true for Theodore and, surprisingly, Marcus as well.
Actually, the reason they had decided on Sercil for the next order was because they had somewhat noticed Ersen’s favor.
Whatever emotion it was, since Ersen showed the most favor toward Skyle, he had decided to receive nullification last.
That was a decision to use himself as a hostage, and at the same time, it was something he chose because he could clearly feel how much Ersen was enchanted by him.
That’s why they hesitated.
But that was ultimately just momentary hesitation.
“…After lifting all the curses.”
After a while, Skyle said indifferently while lowering his eyes.
“Then, let’s deal with the Prince.”
Those words he would regret for a long time to come.
Theodore also said.
“Until then, let’s accommodate and protect him as much as possible, but prevent the gray treasure from falling into his hands at all costs.”
“We should.”
Marcus nodded while swallowing a sigh.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
