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Chapter 268

“Watch your words, Reinhart. I don’t have much patience,” Sabioleen Tana said as she strode through the rain.

Even though I was a friend of the princess, it was presumptuous of me to suggest that she had been assigned the task of killing the princess. The reason she was standing in the rain, struggling with herself, might have been because she wanted to torment herself in some way.

I didn’t know the relationship between Charlotte and Sabioleen Tana. However, laying hands on someone as noble as the princess, second only to the emperor, was no small matter.

It had to have been a direct order from the emperor, and Charlotte had to have accepted it.

For the person who had to carry out that order, though, it would feel like hell.

Something was about to happen that day. But that was just a warning from my Qi Sense, not a certainty.

Before I knew it, the Spring Palace was far behind us.

I couldn’t go back to the Temple.

But I couldn’t leave Charlotte behind.

How, though?

Neither Charlotte nor Sabioleen Tana would allow me to remain in the Spring Palace any longer. I had already crossed too many lines. Too much had been permitted just because I was Charlotte’s friend.

I didn’t know if Vertus was aware of my sojourn into the palace, but even if he was, he would likely be indifferent to Charlotte’s fate. There was no reason to make a move against a rival who was going to disappear on their own.

We were already nearing the tram stop.

“You know how to get to the entrance to the Imperial Palace, right? I would take you there myself, but I can’t leave my post for long.”

“Yes. Thank you, Dame Tana.”

She usually had to ensure that I left the palace properly, but the situation we were in was unique.

After escorting me to the tram stop, she headed back to the Spring Palace.

I couldn’t get permission to stay.

There was no one at the tram stop, as everyone who needed to leave had already left. It was to ensure no one saw Charlotte’s condition.

The Spring Palace was operating with the minimum number of people, and at this late hour, even that skeleton staff, except for Dyrus, had been sent away for the night.

This was to ensure that no one saw the leader of Shanapell killing Charlotte. Security around the Spring Palace at this hour was extremely lax.

Would it be possible to secretly observe the situation? After all, this was Sabioleen Tana, someone at the Grandmaster level.

The Spring Palace would be her domain. Could I hide my presence from her senses and infiltrate the palace to observe the situation?

Whether it was possible or not, I had to do it.

The area surrounding the Spring Palace was completely devoid of people.

It was time to cause trouble again.

Not for myself, but for Charlotte.

Just like when I first fell into this world. Just as I had risked my life in the Demon King’s Castle, I now had to gamble my life within the walls of the Imperial Palace.

I couldn’t stand by and watch while the first life I’d saved was snuffed out like this.

It was dark, on a rainy autumn night.

Sabioleen Tana would be on high alert, but she would not be focused on her surroundings.

She would be solely focused on Charlotte, and her own feelings of sadness and confusion seemed to go quite deep as well.

I didn’t know if completely erasing my presence would be possible with my Self-Deception talent, but I would give it a try.

On top of that, I had one more thing; I could use the Revise function.

‘Sabioleen Tana won’t sense my presence as I infiltrate the Spring Palace,’ I thought.

[To trigger this, you need 2,000 Achievement Points.]

It wasn’t an impossibility, but it certainly wasn’t cheap.

2,000 points would have been enough to purchase a talent in the past. My supernatural talent, Self-Deception, had cost me 2,000 points.

Thankfully, the circumstances around that night made it possible—although it was still difficult—to deceive a Grandmaster’s senses.

I had 5,930 Achievement Points on hand.

I was willing to use all those points to save Charlotte, and if it wasn’t enough, I would borrow more.

[Using 2,000 Achievement Points.]

When Sabioleen Tana disappeared behind the flowers in the garden, I left the tram stop and headed back to the Spring Palace.

I placed the umbrella among the flowers in the garden and used Self-Deception.

‘No one can sense my presence.’

I made that belief as strong as possible.

My Self-Deception trait grew more powerful in real-life situations, as it reacted to my tension and urgency.

I couldn’t let Charlotte die. The sense that a crisis was on the verge of occurring that day was looming, urging me to do what was usually impossible.

I had a confident belief that I would successfully infiltrate the Spring Palace.

I didn’t know if my presence would truly disappear or not, but I moved very cautiously, and the rain did cover whatever noises I made.

While the Revise function helped to make sure that my presence was masked, if I suddenly rushed out and grabbed Sabioleen Tana by the neck, she would obviously notice it.

‘Only my presence is hidden. I cannot be complacent.’

I was soon approaching the Spring Palace again, which had seemed far away.

In the cold rain, flower petals began to fall as raindrops pattered down on them.

Shhhhh...

I tailed Sabioleen Tana’s silhouette as she walked through the autumn rain.

***

Sabioleen Tana wasn’t aware of her surroundings.

As I had expected, she seemed mentally burdened by the weight of her assigned task.

She would occasionally stop and stare blankly at the Spring Palace.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but as I watched her from behind, I could sense a deep sorrow emanating from her that she hadn’t shown in front of me or Charlotte.

I hadn’t expected to meet Sabioleen Tana before the Gate Incident, and in the novel, I had only roughly outlined her backstory without delving into the details.

Sabioleen Tana had not participated in the Great War. More accurately, she hadn’t been allowed to participate.

The emperor had kept her in the capital under the pretext that the strongest force needed to stay behind to protect the Imperial Palace.

She hadn’t been able to use her strength where it had been most needed, and that contributed significantly to her sense of guilt, and the feeling that she owed humanity a debt.

She trained Ludwig harshly, not because she was inherently cruel, but because the survival of the world hung in the balance.

Later on, Sabioleen Tana would die saving Ludwig, and when doing so, she would apologize for all the harsh treatment she subjected him to.

I didn’t know how she was in her day to day life, but while she was cold and stern on the outside, she was not the same on the inside.

She was quite ordinary, actually. A person who was too strong and therefore had to bear many burdens, but still just an ordinary person.

Sabioleen Tana was Effenhauser’s distant senior. She joined Shanapell after graduating from the Temple, and was a knight of the empire for decades. She was even given the nickname “Guardian of the Imperial Family”.

She had to have had many interactions with the imperial family.

What kind of relationship did she have with Charlotte?

I didn’t know for sure, but the hesitation in her steps showed that she cherished Charlotte.

I watched as Sabioleen Tana returned to the Spring Palace, then entered the palace as well.

I did not sense any magical barriers as I stepped through the entrance. If there had been any, my Qi Sense would have warned me, but I felt nothing.

I did not know if the magical barriers had been deactivated, or if the personnel responsible for maintaining them had been dismissed for the day, I couldn’t tell. It was felt as though it was a house without any valuables inside, and therefore did not need a lock.

The Spring Palace, which even Sarkeagar had not been able to infiltrate previously, was now an easy target, thanks to the shadow of death that loomed over it.

Thanks to Charlotte’s earlier tour, I had a rough idea of the layout of the palace.

Had I waited a few days, I might have forgotten, but I had just seen it a few moments ago, so the memory was fresh in my mind.

The only people in this vast and empty palace were Sabioleen Tana, Dyrus, and Charlotte.

The lights were on, but with no one around, there was no one to see me.

Rumble...

The ominous thunder was unsettling, but the thunder and the constant pattering of rain would mask my footsteps.

‘What should I do?’

I still didn’t know.

A vague certainty... That inexplicable feeling had refused to let me leave, and had pushed me to infiltrate the princess’s palace.

If I got caught in such a bad situation, Sabioleen Tana would not let me off easily, even if Charlotte showed leniency.

If I got caught, I could lose my life for real.

I moved through the palace, hiding in the shadows and dimly lit corners, staying out of the light.

‘Enhance my hearing.’

Rumble!

With my hearing enhanced, the roar of thunder almost tore my ears apart, and the sound of the falling rain became even more detailed.

My Self-Deception was at Rank B. After successfully activating my Mana Reinforcement, further continuous training had increased its rank.

As a result, its utility was increasing. Not only had the range of its applications expanded, but the effectiveness of the methods I had been using was also growing stronger.

At this point, I could easily isolate and distinguish the various sounds I was picking up. While this had been possible before, I could now manipulate it even more finely.

I could hear not just the pitter-patter of the rain, but also make out the slightly different sound of water dripping down from the roof and ceilings of the palace.

Within this sea of sounds, it was easy to pick out the sound of Sabioleen Tana’s footsteps. From the sound of those footsteps, I could roughly estimate the distance between us.

I did not know the entire layout of the palace, but I had a rough idea of where the main rooms were located.

The left-side corridor on the second floor led to Charlotte’s bedroom, and Sabioleen Tana was heading in that direction.

I could hear all this while hiding in the shadows of the first-floor hall.

It was possible because the palace was so silent.

The only other sounds were the thunder and rain.

—Where is Her Highness?

—She’s inside.

—Okay.

That was Dyrus’s voice.

I heard the sound of a door opening.

—Your Highness. Are you alright?

—Yes, for now.

Charlotte’s voice came through, trying to sound calm.

Charlotte’s supernatural power...

How dangerous was it, for the emperor to feel the need to kill the princess? And why was Charlotte so accepting of such a fate for herself?

Was it because she had lost control of her power and killed someone?

Click.

I heard the sound of the door closing, and no more sounds came out from within.

It had to be due to soundproofing. I needed to get closer.

As I moved up to the second floor, I kept my eyes open for any signs of movement. Even Dyrus had entered Charlotte’s bedroom, which left the corridor empty.

Just in case, I flattened myself into a recess in the corridor wall and approached Charlotte’s bedroom.

I couldn’t make any unnecessary noise. Even though the Revise function prevented Sabioleen Tana from sensing my presence, I couldn’t rely on it too much.

I was trying to deceive someone who would, under normal circumstances, be impossible to deceive.

The closer I got, the more I imagined Sabioleen Tana suddenly appearing and grabbing me by my neck.

The tension burning within me pushed away the chill of the rain. Cold sweat ran down my back.

Fortunately, neither Dyrus nor Sabioleen Tana could use magic.

If they had been using noise-canceling magic, I wouldn’t have heard anything at all. As I got closer to Charlotte’s bedroom, though, I could hear faint voices coming from inside.

—So, you still... don’t remember?

—No...

I heard Tana’s worried question, and Charlotte’s melancholic response.

‘What doesn’t she remember?’

—It seems the time is drawing near. When it happens, please don’t hesitate, Dame Tana.

—That won’t happen. There has to be a way to resolve Your Highness’s condition... The imperial family is doing everything they can to find it.

The imperial family was trying to find a solution, but I could sense from Sabioleen Tana’s tone that there was little hope.

—We won’t find a solution before my condition worsens.

Charlotte was pessimistic, and neither Dyrus nor Tana could deny it.

—Your Highness, we must find that child...

—Stop it, please. I’ve told you countless times. Don’t talk about that child.

Charlotte muttered irritably in response to Dyrus’s suggestion.

“That child” they were speaking of undoubtedly referred to me.

Did Dyrus think that finding me might improve Charlotte’s condition? Why?

If Charlotte’s power was dangerous, what does that have to do with me?

The ominous premonitions and numerous hints were leading me inexorably to an unpleasant conclusion.