“….Hu!”
I snapped out of the vision with a deep and cold breath.
When I came to, two pairs of eyes stared straight in my direction.
“What happened, human?”
“Human?”
“That…”
Holding the side of my head, I moved out of the bed and closed my eyes. The scene from the vision replayed in my mind over and over again.
‘Did I… hear correctly? Did I say…’
I thought back to the woman who stood behind Leon and my body involuntarily shuddered. I tended not to think about Julien’s family. They weren’t my real family and the more time I spent with them the more likely I felt they would find something wrong with me.
Perhaps they already had, but it was such thoughts that made me avoid them.
At least, that was how I previously approached the situation. Things had changed, but I still kept a certain distance.
That was why I never asked about Julien’s mother.
Who she was, and why she wasn’t present. I had assumed she had passed away given her absence.
I thought about asking Leon, but he didn’t know either.
Nobody seemed to really know.
….There was one person who knew, but he was the last person I wanted to talk to.
Aldric Evenus.
That man… He was simply too dangerous.
I preferred to keep a distance from him.
Ding!
Bringing me out of my thoughts was a low chime that was soon followed by a notification.
[◆ Main Quest Activated: Puppet Master]
: Character Progression + 531%
: Game Progression + 17%
Failure
: Calamity 1 + 17%
: Calamity 2 + 11%
: Calamity 3+ 18%
…A quest notification.
‘Puppet Master?’
Seeing the name of the quest, a lot of what I had seen started to make sense.
‘Yes, the first clue was Leon’s eyes. In the vision, he’s obviously being controlled by someone. Could that be someone by Julien’s mother?’
If it were the past, I would’ve immediately come to that conclusion, but I no longer felt this was the case.
After what had happened with the previous quest, I no longer trusted the visions. There was a chance that the ‘Puppet Master’ wasn’t actually Julien’s mother.
There was also a chance that she was, but I couldn’t exclude the possibility that she wasn’t. I needed to thread carefully.
One lapse in judgment and the entire scenario might flip over.
…I couldn’t afford to fail again. Especially since I was still unaware of the consequences that would come from failing. I had been paying close attention to the girls, and through my observations, they all acted the same way.
Despite failing the mission and their meter increasing, they still looked normal.
And that only made me more anxious.
As an old quote said, ‘The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown.’
…It was the lack of understanding that made me anxious.
The less of something I understood, the more anxious I felt.
“Human?”
“Oh, right.”
Realizing that I had been ignoring Owl-Mighty and Pebble the entire time, I quickly apologized and looked at them.
“I’m afraid you’re right, Owl-Mighty.”
“Is someone controlling my body?”
“Most likely.”
“…How can you tell?”
Looking at Pebble, I pointed at my head.
“Because I see.”
“You see?”
Pebble cocked its head, looking a little confused but somewhat understanding. It made sense
considering all they had seen.
“The future. I can see it.”
***
“What do you think?”
“…He looks healthy.”
“Yes.”
In one of the hotel’s private rooms, the Empress and Emperor sat next to each other while thinking about Leon. Although he seemed a little sick, he looked healthy overall.
The two of them felt glad with the sight.
Of course, this was far from enough for them. Turning their heads, they looked in Amell’s direction.
“What do you think? You’ve spent quite a bit of time with him. How do you see him?”
“Eh, ah…”
Amell’s mouth twitched.
What could he say? He had indeed seen a lot. And it was exactly because he had seen a lot that
he wasn’t sure of what to say.
Leon was certainly healthy, but his personality was a little twisted…?
‘Yes, that seems fitting.’
Amell didn’t actually blame him for this.
If he could pinpoint one person for Leon’s twisted personality, it’d be none other than Julien
who still felt like an enigma to him.
Still, during the times when Julien wasn’t present, the calm and collected Leon from the Summit would come. Only when Julien was present would he become twisted.
“Amell? Is there nothing you have to say?”
“Well, he’s good…?”
Amell could only force out a smile.
That very same Julien was blackmailing him as well in some sense. He knew about Leon’s identity, and revealing it to him now wasn’t a good option considering the political turmoil it
would bring.
It was best to keep things quiet for now.
“Good? Just good?”
“….Yeah.”
“Is he doing well in the Academy? Are they treating him right? He doesn’t get bullied, right?”
“Bullied?”
Amell thought back to the paper ball incident back in class where he framed Julien for throwing a paper ball. He then recalled the interview that happened a few days back and a
series of other incidents.
If anything, he’s…
“No, he’s too strong to get bullied.”
“I see, that’s good.”
With a visible look of relief, the Empress pressed her hand against her chest.
“I’m glad to hear that. How about his grades?”
“Good.”
“His love life?”
“Err…”
How should he know?
“If he doesn’t have one we can take care of that issue for him. There are many candidates that
we have in our mind.”
“…Eh.” For some reason, Julien’s face appeared in Amell’s mind. He could imagine him trembling
with bloodshot eyes while saying, ‘Do it. Accept it. You have to.’
What the hell?
Amell massaged his forehead. He had come to Haven to get closer to Leon and learn from
them. Instead, the more time he spent there, the more he felt like he was being corrupted.
“I think it’s best if we wait for his opinion. He might resent you if you do something like
this.”
“Oh, yes, that’s true…”
The Empress’s excitement immediately deflated and she sighed. The Emperor beside her placed his hand over her shoulder and changed the conversation.
“Let’s not dwell on that situation for now. We have more pressing matters to tackle.”
The Emperor focused his attention on his son.
“…The situation in the Kasha has gotten even more troubling. The House of Myron is also
having second thoughts about granting you access, but we were able to somehow convince
them to stick to the plan.”
“Why are they so hesitant?” Amell asked with a frown. As far he understood, while the situation was somewhat complicated, it wasn’t anything too big.
And yet, upon hearing the news from his father, Amell felt that the situation was even more
serious than expected.
“We don’t know, and that’s what worries me.”
The Emperor truthfully replied, his tone growing graver with each word.
“A situation like this has never happened in the past, and if not for the fact that we’re so busy
trying to handle the current crisis within the Empires, I would’ve done my best to understand
what is happening. My guess is that the Mirror Cracks within the Kasha have gone rampant, making trade impossible.”
“…But wouldn’t it be easy to tell if that’s the case?”
“It would be, but the House of Astrid has sealed all information on the situation on their
side.” “The House of Astrid? Ah, if it’s them then…”
The House of Astrid, though not as influential as the Empire, commanded a certain power that could not be dismissed. Meanwhile, the people of Kasha, despite their economic struggles, constantly fought against formidable monsters to ensure their survival. Their top brass were incredibly powerful. They alone had enough power to make any Empire
weary.
Starting a war with them wouldn’t do good for any side.
…And given their power and influence, it was also very easy for them to seal all information.
“Like I said, I wouldn’t normally allow you to enter such a dangerous place, Amell, but we
don’t have much of a choice. We need the trades in order to sustain the current troops that are fighting in the Mirror Dimension. Don’t expose yourself to much danger and listen to those of the House of Myron. So long as you behave accordingly, nothing should go wrong.”
‘Behave accordingly?’ Overhearing the last words, Amell frowned. Why did it seem like he was hearing the word over
and over again?
…And why did it feel so ominous at the same time?
It couldn’t be that…
“Amell?”
“Ah, yes. I will..”
Amell raised his head and hastily nodded his head.
“Father, please don’t worry. I’ll take care of this matter and make sure nothing goes wrong.
You can count on me.”
“Good.”
With a genuine smile, the Emperor stood up. Placing his hand over the Empress’s shoulder,
the two started to fade.
“Knowing you, I know you will stay true to my words. I’ll come visit again once you come back
from the Kasha. Have a safe journey there. Take care of your brother while you’re there.”
“Thank you.” Similarly standing up, Amell bowed.
“I’ll make sure to come back safely.”
***
The next day.
Early in the morning, the cadets assembled in the estate’s reception area. Their faces were
relaxed, and they appeared refreshed-unsurprising, given the top-tier facilities the estate provided.
With their minds and bodies relaxed, they seemed eager to tackle the upcoming task.
“Everyone please wear these clothes. From the moment you put these clothes on, your identities will change. You will no longer be the most promising and talented cadets in the Four Empires, but simple and humble servants from the House of Myron.”
The Head Maid, a woman with short black hair and brown eyes, handed each cadet a set of
gray uniforms. As they took the uniforms, their expressions shifted to frowns.
Kiera in particular looked unimpressed by the plain design of the uniform.
“Shit, so I’m going to be a servant?” “…That’s what she said.”
“No, she didn’t. She said something else.”
“Stop. Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.”
“Yup, that’s what she said.”
||||
Aoife’s eyes fell on Kiera’s neck. That long and slender neck of hers. She had the sudden urge
to squeeze it.
‘No, I need to hold back. I can’t kill her now. There’s too many people looking.’
“Are you thinking of killing Kiera?”
“Uh?!”
Startled, Aoife quickly turned her head to find Evelyn already dressed in her servant attire, her
purple hair neatly tucked back. If not for her face standing out so much, Aoife would’ve taken
her for a servant.
Holding onto a bag of chips, Evelyn cocked her head at Aoife.
“…Hmm, you’re holding yourself because too many people are watching, right?”
How did..!?
Aoife’s eyes widened in shock. Seeing her reaction, Evelyn nodded her head.
“As I thought.”
Satisfied, she bobbed her head once more and retrieved her hand from the bag of chips. She
left shortly after that, leaving Aoife standing there completely dumbfounded. At the same
time, she heard her soft mumble, ‘I’m getting good at this.’ ‘What just happened? Did she just…?’
“To ensure that you don’t stand out, you will also be given a few things to hide your true
appearance. Please wear the masks that will be given to you.”
Walking up to Aoife, one of the servants handed her a mask that changed her appearance
completely. Taking out a small mirror to see the changes, she tapped on her face a few times. ‘It’s still not too bad.’
The mask automatically changed her hair and eye color-both currently brown. She looked
quite plain.
Still, when all was said and done it wasn’t anything too bad.
“Wait, why is my mask like this…?”
And when it was all said and done, she had it better than some people.
Turning her head to stare in a certain direction, she hastily covered her mouth.
“Puut.”
That…
She definitely had it better than him.
