DBWC 08

Chapter 08

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you live.”

“…Li… live?”

The woman suddenly lifted her head.
Looking down at her, Elkinas spoke with dull eyes. His voice was calm, as if the sharp edge had worn down.

In a way, he even sounded tired.

Of course, his face was still expressionless, killing intent flowing from it.

“Go to the imperial palace and deliver a message. Tell them, ‘Her face resembled her more than any of the previous ones. They should be satisfied with that much.’ Now go.”

“Th… thank…!”

The woman’s eyes widened.

With a tear-soaked face, she sprang to her feet and repeatedly bowed deeply toward Elkinas.

“Thank you, Your Grace! A crime worthy of death! The crime of impersonating Lady Arene! I’m truly sorry! Truly! Thank you for sparing my life!”

While she sobbed and shouted her thanks over and over again, Elkinas simply stood tall, holding his sword, looking down at her.

For a moment, his eyes flashed again.

He watched the woman crying miserably for quite a while, then twisted the corner of his mouth.

“…No. Never mind. I take it back.”

“…Pardon?”

Without even the slightest hint of a smile, Elkinas said to her,

“You’re not similar to Arene at all. Not even a little. There’s no comparison whatsoever… Just tell the Emperor it was a failure.”

“…Huuuuu…!!”

“Now go.”

The moment Elkinas curtly ordered her to leave, the woman vanished faster than anyone else in the room.

Only the cane she had dropped while standing up from the chair, and a single corpse, remained behind.

And…

Right now, I was doing my best not to lose my mind.

What… just happened?

So the pointless thing the Denvain imperial family had been doing regularly was bringing women who impersonated me to show to Elkinas.

What was even more shocking was Elkinas’s attitude.

He treated those women as if they were truly Arene.

Then he smiled, asked them several questions, and if they failed to answer properly, he disposed of them as he pleased.

He kept meeting someone who was not me, and calmly denying someone who was not me right before his eyes.

Over and over again.

For eighty years.

Only then did I fully understand what Zephyr meant when he said,

“He’s gone mad.”

There was no way Elkinas, who had continued all this, could still be sane.

My head felt numb, as if someone had struck it hard. I could even hear a ringing in my ears that hadn’t been there before.

What should I do now… what should I do?

The thing that broke my thoughts was a high-pitched bell.

It sounded different from the bells I knew. A sharp, piercing sound, as if tearing through the air.

I came back to my senses and looked toward the source of the sound.

It was Elkinas.

Covered not in his own blood but in someone else’s, Elkinas was ringing a silver bell placed on the table.

As if they had been waiting, servants immediately opened the door and entered. They were all large, sturdy men.

“Excuse us.”

Without saying anything more, they began cleaning up the scattered remains on the chairs.

Elkinas took off his vest, wiped his sword roughly with it, and tossed the vest onto the floor.

Then, as he started undoing the buttons of his shirt, he asked,

“Where are my change of clothes?”

“They’re on the way, Your Highness.”

No sooner had one of the servants replied than the door opened again and other servants entered, carrying trays with clothes on them.

Even though they saw the blood-soaked scene, none of them flinched.

They didn’t look surprised at all.

Were they naturally this bold? No.

They had simply seen scenes like this too many times and had become numb.

Elkinas calmly tossed his shirt onto the floor where blood had pooled, then reached out and picked up a fresh shirt from the tray.

There was a large scar on his right arm as he lifted the shirt.

I remembered that wound.

Before I died, Elkinas had received it while fighting against Kunterne.

As soon as he put on the shirt, Elkinas casually removed his trousers and shoes as well, throwing them onto the floor.

The moment I saw his bare thigh through the shirt, I reflexively lowered my gaze to the floor.

I hated myself for even noticing something like his naked body in a situation like this.

After a moment, it sounded like Elkinas had finished dressing and was fastening his sword belt again.

“Burn all the clothes. They’re stained with unlucky blood.”

“Yes, sir.”

His voice was indifferent, his tone casual.

It sounded like the kind of tone someone would use to say, “I’ll have a light dinner tonight,” or “Bring me some tea.”

Except what the servants were dealing with wasn’t teacups, but a room drenched in blood.

I couldn’t understand that gap at all.

But the servants silently continued cleaning the office.

Elkinas leaned against the desk, crossing his arms as he watched them.

Surely we were visible to him.

Yet he looked as though he had no interest whatsoever in me, Zephyr, or Carlot, who were sitting in the corner.

I studied Elkinas.

His expressionless face looked inorganic.

People often compare handsome faces to sculptures, but he seemed like a statue to me in a different sense.

A face with no sign of life.

Eyes with no spark.

Lips pressed into a straight line, jaw stiff.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.

The most alien thing about him was his eyes.

Under the shadow cast by his long eyelashes, they stared fixedly at one point.

The gray irises at their center didn’t shine in the slightest.

I had never looked at Elkinas when he was expressionless like this.

Whenever our eyes met, he would either smile playfully or look worried.

Ah… I couldn’t endure this anymore.

I knew this was the scene Zephyr wanted to show me.

I understood everything he wanted to say—his worries and his concerns.

But regardless of that, I wanted to leave this place.

I didn’t want to keep looking at my broken friend any longer.

…I want to step outside this door. Would that be okay? Maybe if I take a deep breath in the hallway I’ll feel better. Should I tell Zephyr or Carlot? In this atmosphere? Would that be okay?

I was anxiously twisting my fingers together when—

Suddenly I felt someone’s gaze.

I lifted my head.

Elkinas was looking at me.

More precisely, he was looking at my hands, which were nervously fidgeting together.

Oh no.

Startled, I quickly hid my hands.

Elkinas stared at me directly, then slowly opened his mouth.

His voice was cold and sharp.

“I told you today’s visitors were finished, Carlot.”

“I apologize, Master. But a guest insisted on seeing you.”

“…”

Carlot bowed deeply as he answered.

From his straight back, I could sense tension and fear that he couldn’t hide.

At that moment, I realized everyone else was feeling the same fear I was.

Even such a loyal butler was afraid of his master.

Elkinas glanced at Carlot.

“…If you broke my order to bring them in, it must be related to the subjugation force. But I don’t recognize these faces. Who could they be?”

His sharp gaze swept over me and Zephyr behind Carlot.

It felt like being sliced by a blade.

“Let’s take a guess.”

Pretending to think, Elkinas raised his hand in an exaggerated motion.

Then he spread all five fingers so we could see.

“Let’s see. Hania is dead.”

He began counting on his fingers.

His thumb folded down.

“Jamil is dead too.”

His index finger folded.

“And the friend I loved… I just killed.”

With a small laugh, he quickly folded his ring finger as well.

A chill ran through my chest.

“Gedor said he’d never show his face in front of me again.”

Now only one finger remained standing on his hand.

The middle finger.

“Which means the one left is… ah.”

Pointing that middle finger at Zephyr, Elkinas spoke in an exaggerated tone.

“Could it be… the damn snake bastard who hasn’t shown his face once since I cut down Gedor nine years ago?”

He was smiling brightly.

But his words were the exact opposite.

And as soon as he finished speaking, killing intent began to rise from him like smoke.

The pressure was suffocating.

Zephyr slowly stepped forward and took a fighting stance.

Tension filled the air between them.

And…

I began to feel dizzy again.

If I told Carlot I wanted to step outside now, would it break the atmosphere? Should I raise my hand and ask where the bathroom is?

BANG!

Startled by the sudden noise, I turned my head.

It was Elkinas.

Just moments ago he had been standing by his desk counting on his fingers, but now he had grabbed Zephyr by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

His movement was so fast it left an afterimage.

“…Where the hell have you been hiding all this time, you damn lizard bastard? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

Gripping Zephyr’s collar tightly, Elkinas leaned his face close to his.

His smile remained, but his eyes gleamed with murderous intent, making the sight grotesque.

“Make up your mind. Am I a snake or a lizard?”

Zephyr muttered while hanging in the air.

There was even a faint smile on his face.

“Don’t pretend to be relaxed. Your heart’s beating like crazy. Even dragons feel fear, huh? How funny.”

With a sneer full of mockery, Elkinas lifted Zephyr and slammed him against the wall again.

Zephyr groaned in pain from the impact.

“You’d better answer properly from now on… if you want to live.”

Leaning his face right up to Zephyr’s, Elkinas asked: