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Chapter 269 [Illustration]

Charlotte had said that only she and I knew the clues about Baalier, and she hadn’t told her retainers about my whereabouts for some reason.

Was it related to what Charlotte was going through? And did Charlotte stop contacting Baalier because she feared I might be in danger?

The picture was becoming clearer.

Charlotte’s power was likely not a supernatural power.

If it were just a dangerous supernatural power, there would be no reason to suggest finding me.

—I’m prepared, Dame Tana. If I get blood on my hands again, please kill me.

There it was. The person who had died in the Spring Palace had indeed been killed by Charlotte.

Her power had gone out of control, and she had killed someone. And she didn’t even remember it.

—Your Highness...

—Promise me.

A pause.

—I cannot promise that.

—Promise me. Please.

Sabioleen Tana did not respond to Charlotte, who was begging for death.

The conversation ended.

I quickly hid in the instrument storage room that was connected to the music hall at the end of the right-side corridor. The door was open, and there were no instruments inside. I knew it was an instrument storage room because of all the empty music stands. The musicians had probably taken all the instruments away.

I considered closing the door but decided against it, fearing the sound might be detected. Instead, I hid within the darkness of the room.

Neither Charlotte, Dyrus nor Sabioleen Tana would ever enter this room. They had no business being in the music room, let alone this storage room.

The storage room was dark, but darkness was perfect for me. All I needed was sound.

‘This situation might actually be advantageous.’

Click.

The door to Charlotte’s bedroom opened, and I could hear Dyrus’s and Tana’s footsteps.

—Wouldn’t it be better to watch over her while she sleeps?

—It was useless. She even tried tying herself up while she slept. But it was all meaningless.

A short pause.

—I see. But she hasn’t left the palace yet, has she?

—For now, yes... but it might only be a matter of time.

—Do you mean she might appear in the Tetra Palace, or the Winter Palace?

—It’s just a guess. I can only hope that’s not possible...

They were clearly discussing a past incident that had already occurred, but without knowing what the incident was, I couldn’t make sense of their conversation.

Charlotte’s movements could not be restricted or restrained.

All I could figure out was that it was related to Charlotte’s ability somehow.

—By the way, is your shoulder alright?

Pause.

—It’s fine. It’s not a serious injury. And it happened because I was careless. I’ll manage.

—Aren’t you going to see a priest?

Another pause.

—It’ll be dangerous just leaving a record of me receiving treatment from a priest. The fact that Her Highness can injure me... You understand the implications of that.

—Yes.

—Her Highness might hear us. Let’s refrain from discussing this further.

—Understood... I was careless.

Charlotte’s ability had gone out of control, and Sabioleen Tana had been injured.

For her to suffer such an injury... ‘Is Charlotte’s power strong enough to harm the leader of Shanapell?’

They seemed to be keeping the fact that Charlotte had attacked Sabioleen Tana a secret.

Would Charlotte’s ability go out of control, causing her to lose her sanity, and would Sabioleen Tana, after doing all she can to defend herself, end up having to kill Charlotte?

—Hmm...

As they approached the palace stairs leading to the first floor, Sabioleen Tana’s steps halted.

—Is something the matter?

I could feel it.

She was on alert.

—Something...

I held my breath and erased my presence.

Sabioleen Tana sensed nothing. How much time had passed?

—It’s nothing. It must be because I haven’t been sleeping well.

—How many days has it been?

—Six days... no. A week, maybe. I’m not sure.

—Shouldn’t you rest during the day?

—I have my orders here, but also my duties as the leader of Shanapell. There’s no time for rest.

—I see...

Carrying out her duties in the day, and guarding Charlotte at night... Sabioleen Tana hadn’t been able to rest at all for quite some time.

The two of them started moving again, descending the stairs.

I didn’t let out the breath I had been holding.

‘Just a bit more. Move a bit further away!’

—You’ve done well, Dyrus. You can go now.

—Yes, Commander... But are you alright? You look exhausted.

—It’s not like you can stay.

—That’s true...

—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be sarcastic. I guess I’m a bit on edge myself.

—It’s alright. I didn’t take it that way at all.

—Is that so? That’s good, then. Rest well. You’ve been through a lot too.

—Let’s hope for an uneventful night, then.

—Let’s hope so.

Dyrus left the Spring Palace.

My initial thought was that reducing the number of people in the palace would ensure no one witnessed Charlotte being killed by Sabioleen Tana, but there was another reason for it.

It was also to prevent anyone from becoming a victim of Charlotte’s rampage.

Now, only three people remained in the palace. Sabioleen Tana, Charlotte, and me. Which meant my life could be in danger as well.

‘Should I leave the palace?’

I was clearly already in danger.

I couldn’t tell if the danger signals from my Qi Sense were warning me about a danger to Charlotte, or warning me about my own safety.

There was a soft sigh, and I heard the sound of Sabioleen Tana collapsing into a chair in the hall.

Leaving was the right thing to do. Charlotte’s power was strong, and while Tana could handle it, I certainly couldn’t.

I was more likely to be the one in danger. That was what my Qi Sense was warning me about.

Rumble...

I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to.

Sabioleen Tana was now sitting in the grand hall, which served as the entrance to the palace. It was as if she was trying to monitor everything.

Flash! Flash!

Sabioleen Tana seemed to be manipulating something, and the corridor was gradually getting brighter. Even the magical lights in the instrument storage room where I was hiding suddenly lit up.

Sabioleen Tana had suddenly illuminated the entire palace.

The possibility of escaping under the cover of darkness had now vanished. If I wanted to leave, I would have to do it when she left.

As expected, Sabioleen Tana didn’t move, and so I couldn’t move either.

The dice had already been thrown.

I held my breath, hoping for nothing to happen while being certain that something would.

***

Staying hidden was absolutely boring, but it was also a period of excruciating tension.

I was constantly focused on using Self-Deception to erase my presence, so as not to get caught by Sabioleen Tana’s senses.

Sabioleen Tana didn’t move from her spot.

My absence from the Temple might become an issue.

‘If nothing happens, what excuse will I have for leaving the Imperial Palace so late?’

Secondary problems started to come to mind, but all of that would have to wait until both Charlotte and I got through the night safely.

It was already deep into the night—definitely past midnight.

For some reason, Sabioleen Tana had illuminated the entire empty palace as if trying to banish the darkness.

The instrument storage room I was in was also lit, but it was still out of her line of sight, so she hadn’t noticed me.

How much time had passed in this tedious waiting?

Click.

The light in the instrument storage room went out.

That wasn’t all. Shortly after, the lights coming from the corridor also went out.

I didn’t know how the palace’s lighting was controlled.

Sabioleen Tana hadn’t moved.

Had she turned off the lights?

‘She was the one who turned on all the lights earlier, so why would she suddenly turn them off?’

No. This wasn’t her doing.

I peeked out cautiously into the corridor and was greeted by an unexpected scene.

One by one, the magical lights throughout the palace were flickering and then going out.

—Now... Even this...

I heard Sabioleen Tana’s quiet mutter. Her voice was filled with shock and a hint of genuine fear.

It had to be Charlotte turning off the lights.

‘Why is this happening? Why is she doing this?’

I couldn’t understand.

Sabioleen Tana got up and started moving. She was heading towards Charlotte’s bedroom.

I held my breath and tensed my entire body to avoid detection.

I could not let her find me.

The Revise function would take into account countless coincidences and possibilities to ensure that I wouldn’t be discovered. This had to include the condition that I was doing everything in my power to hide my presence.

Not being discovered was the future I was aiming for, but if I suddenly made a noise, she would undoubtedly notice.

I had no intention of testing whether the predetermined future could be changed.

I couldn’t make this life-threatening gamble any more dangerous.

—Your Highness! If you are awake, please respond!

Sabioleen Tana called out as she walked down the corridor.

—Your Highness!

She called Charlotte as she headed towards her bedroom.

The Spring Palace was in complete darkness.

Flash!

Rumble...

It was even darker because of the rain, and without the occasional flashes of lightning, it would be hard to distinguish anything.

The flashes of lightning actually hindered my eyes from adjusting to the darkness.

—Your Highness!

I heard Sabioleen Tana’s voice, close to desperation.

Click.

I heard the sound of Charlotte’s bedroom door opening.

Silence.

Sabioleen Tana said nothing. There had not been any other sound of a door opening before this.

‘So, Charlotte is missing again.’

—Once again... She’s disappeared...

I heard that despondent, despairing mutter.

At that moment,

Flash!

I almost screamed in surprise.

In the instant the lightning flashed, I saw something.

Something was in front of me.

Rumble...

A split second later, a boom of thunder rattled the windows.

‘What was that? What was that in front of me just now?’

I stared ahead, opening my eyes wide, but I couldn’t see the figure that had been watching me from the darkness.

It wasn’t a hallucination. Something had definitely been watching me.

Something that hadn’t been there before had suddenly appeared.

Flash!

Once again, the lightning momentarily banished the darkness.

A shape appeared in front of me, only to vanish in an instant.

I definitely saw it.

A figure... It was watching me and smiling, and it resembled Charlotte.

But it was definitely not Charlotte.

Something was watching me from the pitch-black darkness.

I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel the presence of that something in front of me.

—Heh.

—Heh heh.

—Heh heh heh heh....

—Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh....

The creature’s eerie laughter sent chills down my spine.

Flash!

The next flash of lightning illuminated it clearly: jet-black hair like the deepest abyss, deep black eyes like the void, and vertical, slit-like red pupils.

It was closer in appearance to a demon.