C107: The narrowing shadows of the past (1)
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"……But isn't it a compliment if you say he resembles the First Princess?"
"What the hell did you hear me say? My sister is a dangerous person!"
Erendir still had chills when she remembered her older sister, First Princess.
Although she came all the way to avoid her sister's interest and oppression, the fear of her still remained as a scar deep inside. That's why Erendir wasn't very happy with Rudger from the first time she saw him.
The teacher looked like her sister.
"……Well, I don't know."
In fact, even if Rudger was a dangerous person, Rene didn't really care about it.
Obviously, the first impression was that he was a scary person that was difficult to approach, but when they actually talked, it was easy to see that he wasn't that kind of person.
'He even saved me in a dangerous moment.'
When there was a quarrel at the training ground, when a werewolf attacked, and when she was almost caught in the attack of the fire giant at the banquet hall Rudger saved her life. He even taught her about magic and lent her books.
'Huh? Thinking like this, I……I just got something from Mr. Rudger, but I didn't do anything for him.'
Of course, there is a difference between the status of a student and a teacher, but even so, if she only received like this and does nothing, then there is a problem.
'What should I do?'
I've been thinking about it for a while, but I can't think of any special gift because Mr. Rudger didn't seem to need anything. Above all, I was eating with Erendir now, so I had no time to think elsewhere.
"Anyway! Junior Rene watch out for Mr. Rudger, okay?"
"Uh, yes…… I'll try."
"Whoo. That's enough."
"But you're okay now, right? You seem to have been very busy since the test."
"……A little. Would you mind not talking about the test?"
Erendir avoided Rene's gaze. She wanted to show her a great performance as a senior, but it was a shame because she messed up the test.
Even the maids who followed her to protect the dignity of the royal family urged her to study. Because of that, it was hard to meet Rene, a friend she had only recently made.
"Hmm. But it's okay now. We're guaranteed free time."
Of course, if she messes up the next exam, then it will be worse than now.
"Oh, yes."
The more confidently Erendir said something, the more uneasy Rene felt. Having these feelings won't constitute a crime of disgrace to the Imperial family, will it?
"Then, will we continue to eat together next week?"
Rene suddenly remembered that she had an appointment with Freuden not long ago and she didn't think the appointments should overlap. If it is not possible, it seemed necessary to tell the senior in advance whether they would eat together or postpone it.
"Well, wouldn't it be hard when the classes don't overlap? And next week……Well, I'll be busy then."
"Is something wrong?"
"There's a big auction at Kunst next week and they're begging me to come."
Erendir is a princess, but she didn't particularly like such formal occasions. However, the problem was that, because Luke's auction was so large this time, a large number of key figures from other countries gathered.
The Empire also had to be represented by the right person and Erendir was the only one that could attend the auction. At least she wasn't the type to turn away from the responsibility of her own identity.
It will definitely be a bothersome and annoying place, but she had no choice but to go since she was a princess.
"You must be having a hard time, too."
"Are you worried? Thank you."
"Oh, my. What?
"But I'm worried about junior Rene. Without me, junior Rene would have to eat alone."
"Yes, well…."
Since Erendir looked at her with sorry eyes she couldn't say that she had more people to meet. It seemed like Erendir was looking at her as a "comrade" without friends. How would Erendir react if she said, "I have someone else I can eat with?"
'Let's not do it.'
She didn't even want to say that out of curiosity.
"Anyway, have a good day senior. Don't get hurt like me."
"I'll be back in a little while just to show you. The Kunst auction house is also famous in the Exile Empire, so it's very secure."
Erendir waved her hand, saying,
"Don't worry. Could something happen there?"
* * *
Lindebrugne, the capital of the Exilion Empire.
In the center of the great city, a white, majestic imperial castle that dazzled in the light of the sun took its place with deep roots.
A woman entered a place that was dark even though it was daytime because the light did not come in properly. She was a beautiful woman with fierce eyes and silver hair that grew long to her waist.
"Did you call me?"
It was Trina Ryanhowl.
She bowed her head, kneeling on one of her knees to the one who had called her.
"Hmm."
But there was no reply from the other party so Trina remained seated with her head down silently.
The figure of the person sitting at the top of the room was not visible. A shadow was cast, so all she could see was a part of her lower body and her right hand, which received a little light. The white and slender jade hand moved around the chessboard next to it.
After putting the last piece on the chessboard aloud, the owner of the room opened her mouth.
"I heard the investigation failed."
"I have no excuse."
"It's an interesting thing. Ryanhowl's coming back without getting the hang of the case."
At first glance, it sounded like she was blaming her, but she didn't. The owner of the voice was purely admiring the fact that she had failed.
"I have no excuse."
"All right, raise your head."
When permission was granted, Trina could only raise her head.
"So you really didn't get anything."
"It has been confirmed that there has been some kind of experiment. It's just……."
"So you didn't know more than that."
"Yes."
"Well."
The owner of the voice seemed to be troubled for a while, then moved her hand again to grasp a chess piece. It was a white knight.
"The Werewolf Incident in Leathervelk."
She muttered and knocked down a black pawn on the chessboard.
"Death of the Godfather, Bellbot Rickson."
Then, another black pawn was pushed down.
"The ashes of a burned factory."
Tuk. Another black pawn fell down and when the white night reached the end of the chessboard her hand stopped abruptly.
On the chessboard, where there should be nothing, a piece was blocking the way.
"Oh."
The plan went wrong.
If it would've gone as planned Trina would have found out the real culprit of this incident and even caught the tail of those behind it. However, the flow was cut in the middle by someone.
"There was a disturbance which I had not foreseen."
"……if you say disturbance."
"The one who obstructed your investigation and covered up this case."
The owner of the room put the knight on the chessboard and the one in front of the white knight was the black king. The knight couldn't move forward because of it like Trina Ryanhowl, who's had a hard time with the investigation.
"Everything that should have ended smoothly turned out wrong. It is my fault."
In fact, the voice of her who spoke had a hint of joy in it.
Trina was inwardly surprised at the sight because the presence in front of her and the owner of this room said she made a mistake.
She plays everything in the world like pieces on a chess board and in fact she had the ability and talent to do just that.
Trina has never seen her fail.
"I don't know how long it's been. A completely unexpected interrupter stepped in."
"Did something similar happen before?"
"Yeah, that was when you weren't around the border."
"Yes."
"Well, it's no big deal. It's a story of when I was young, and I didn't have my powers yet."
Although she is now wielding the power of the National Security Agency, she didn't have that much influence back then. Like everyone else, she had a time when she was alone.
"I, who had not yet fully achieved my power, had no choice but to get help from outside in order to increase my power."
"Outside, you mean?"
"Oh, don't overreact too much. Even if it was outside, it had nothing to do with other countries. I'm sure I won't get caught by you, the Nightcrawler Knights, because the person that I received help from was a wanderer with no connections whatsoever."
"Are you saying that you only got help from someone like that?"
"Yes, I got it."
The First Princess did not deny her past and shortcomings.
"Even though I said I didn't have the strength at the time, I opened my hand to someone. It's a funny story."
Recalling her past, the owner of the room and appointed as the next emperor of the empire, the First Princess Eileen von Exilion curved her golden eyes like a crescent moon in the shadows.
Trina couldn't believe that she, a tall, proud, and solitary superhuman, said that she had been helped by someone.
"Trina, you think I'm kidding."
"……No."
"I don't mean to blame you. No one would have believed me if I had said that. I am now that kind of person to you but this is definitely true."
Princess Eileen carefully lifted the black king.
"Trina Ryanhowl."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I'm sure you're familiar with the military, too"
"Not much, but I'm sure I know enough."
"In the past, more than five years ago, the military prepared for a coup."
"……What?"
Princess Eileen waved her hand to Trina who asked in surprise.
"Listen to me. It's over anyway. Anyway, the ringleader of the case was the Marquis of Tetperon, who controlled the military. In his later years, he became senile and determined to become emperor of the empire, so he secretly formed a military unit under his command and tried to stage a coup."
"It's crazy."
"It's crazy, but what's more surprising is that the operation almost succeeded. My incompetent father in peace knew nothing about it and I had no means at that time."
How on earth could the First Princess stop the Marquis of Tetperon, who controlled the military?
"Trina, do you know about Black Ops?"
"Isn't it a special unit that operates secretly in the Empire?"
People think that the Nightcrawler Knights of the Security Service are the most dangerous and dirty work groups, but that is wrong. In fact, there was one organization more unknown than them.
If the Nightcrawler Knights were to deal with the dangers within the Empire the Black Ops were people who were secretly active in other countries beyond the Empire.
"There was an Alpha team of the most dangerous guys in the Black Ops."
"The Alpha team……."
Eileen smiled softly at the muttering Trina.
"No, it's not."
"What do you mean?"
"You think that I called the Black Ops Alpha team. That's wrong, it's the other way around."
"If you say otherwise……."
"The Marquis de Tetperon, who was trying to start a coup, called the Black Ops Alpha Team."
The Black Ops lived in the shadows of the Empire and the Alpha Team was composed of the six most experienced members of the Black Ops.
"The one who eliminated the Alpha Team by himself."
"……What?"
Eliminating the Alpha Team alone?
Trina didn't understand what she said. The Alpha Team is made up of a small number. However, each and every one of them is called a human weapon.
Unlike the knights who simply received formal training, they were polished in practice, and they were also people with unusual powers that were not well accepted by the public. But someone dealt with them alone?
"At that time, I didn't have any talent yet compared to now, so I was immature, but I still had an eye for the flow."
"……Is that so?"
"I saw no coup, I didn't know who secretly supported it or how they might move. But he……he saw everything."
Like the black king she was holding. He appeared suddenly like a goblin, and disappeared suddenly like a mirage.
"After that, I tried to find him, but I couldn't. What I'm thinking is that the man who suddenly disappeared, maybe this is him now."
"Do you know who he is?"
"I don't know. He didn't tell me his real name in the first place and used a pseudonym to hide his identity."
The first lady recalled the alias and laughed.
"Jack the Ripper. That's how he introduced himself."
"Jack the Ripper……."
The Jack mentioned over there is just a word with the meaning of 'anyone' that represents an unspecified person. So, the man who introduced himself as Jack the Ripper simply named himself a man-killer. In a way, it was a really ignorant pseudonym.
But if that's the man who killed all the Alpha Team, the core of the forces that led the coup, the meaning of the name changes then.
"Hahaha. It's getting fun."
"Princess?"
Trina Ryanhowl was puzzled when she saw feelings of joy in the eyes of the First Princess because she was always bored and it was also the first time she saw her laughing.
"It may not be fully revealed yet, but the fact that there's a trace like this means he's the one."
"Are you saying that Jack is going to act soon?"
"He may or may not be. I don't know everything. But isn't it just as fun to not know?"
Princess Eileen's soft laughter echoed low in the audience room and her eyes shone sharply.
"I look forward to it."
* * *
"Hmm?"
Rudger, who was reading the magic thesis presented by the Magic Tower this time in his office, felt a tickling in his ear.
'Who's talking about me?'
It wasn't a big deal anyway. The moment when his magical powers are depleted, wasn't there even a voice calling him tenaciously?
'Tsk. Damn it.'
After taking the magic pill, it felt like the voice had subsided again.
Rudger dismissed it and turned his gaze back to the paper.