༺ Heralhazard༻
“……”
I calmly bowed my head and greeted King Orpheus as I entered the audience chamber.
If any of the other nobles or vassals had seen this, they would have considered it to be impertinent and caused an uproar, but since this was practically a private meeting, I didn’t feel the need to go overboard with the formalities.
This pleased King Orpheus, as he responded with a hearty smile.
“You have a keen eye for people. You noticed that I don’t particularly enjoy excessive formality.”
I simply answered that I figured it out when I saw the King turn away immediately when Deia adhered to etiquette and knelt towards him.
However, in reality, I only did so because I remember him saying something similar in the game.
“By the way, did you spend some quality time with your sister?”
“Yes, thanks to that, I also got to explore the capital.”
“Hmm, it is surprising. I thought you wouldn’t really care about your sister or other family members.”
King Orpheus tapped his chin before standing up from the throne and walking towards me.
The Archmage, Ropelican, who had been standing on the King’s right side, naturally followed behind.
“Well, only the final trial remains. Normally, overcoming even one trial would be challenging, but you managed to solve two of them quite remarkably.”
“….”
“In the first trial, you managed to defeat the Mage Tribunal Judge Tyren and proved your abilities.”
King Orpheus patted my shoulder as if to praise me for my impressive achievement.
“In the second trial, you provided comfort and healing by helping my sister Eleanor break free from the nightmare that had been plaguing her.”
The King applied more pressure, firmly gripping my shoulder. It was as if he was trying to prevent me from escaping.
“Now, only the final trial remains. Once this is completed, the Kingdom will officially recognize you as a Dark Mage. It’s truly a historic event.”
A Kingdom that vehemently rejected dark mages would directly hire a dark mage and even grant them a separate position?
It would probably create the stir for a few years, and my name would undoubtedly go down in history.
However, I didn’t care about such things.
“And from what I’ve seen, it seems that you already have some idea about the final trial, don’t you?”
“….”
I chose to remain silent.
Unlike the first two trials, I had known about the final trial since I was first imprisoned.
In fact, the last trial was related to the King on a personal level.
It was a significantly different problem compared to the previous two trials.
“You remember this note, right?”
King Orpheus unfolded the crumpled note in his hand.
It was the note I sent him to read in case his trust in me wavered during my imprisonment.
On it was the last will by King Orpheus’ late father, King Ophert.
Considering it was the late King’s final will to his son, who succeeded him, the phrase didn’t seem to make much sense.
Regardless of how one looked at it, it certainly seemed more like a curse than a blessing.
Looking at the content of the note in his hand, King Orpheus pursed his lips as if something deep inside him had been exposed.
His grip on my shoulder tightened, making it seem like he was forcibly leaning on me.
“This is the final trial. Since you already seem to know about it, it could be considered as the easiest trial.”
When he glanced away from the note, forcing an easygoing smile, and looked at me, the King appeared to be insecure.
“Why did my father advise me to continue staying foolish when I must bear the burden of this Kingdom?”
In all honesty, it was a curiosity that I expected he would never be able to figure out.
If the previous two trials were assessments of whether I had the ability to help the citizens of Griffin Kingdom, the last one was just…
A matter of resolving the King’s personal dilemma.
Suddenly, I thought of a story from the Bible that I had read a long time—of how Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.
Now, I felt like Joseph, who gained Pharaoh’s trust by interpreting his dreams.
I wondered if I would gain the King’s trust if I could decipher the late King’s will.
My mouth wouldn’t open easily.
Despite visualizing this moment multiple times, I wasn’t confident that King Orpheus would be able to endure it.
At this moment, my only concern was to avoid making a mistake.
Even in the game, King Orpheus would crumble if I took the wrong route and he realized the truth.
It would start with absentmindedness and escalated to delusions, hallucinations, and even phantom pain, his condition worsening to the point that it would severely shake the Griffin Kingdom and lead to its downfall.
However…
There was a route where he managed to overcome all of that and grow. There was also a route for him to repent and vow not to repeat the same mistakes.
That was why, as someone who had seen that future, I could confess about being a Dark Mage.
“From now on.”
After the pause, I calmly continued speaking to King Orpheus, whose pupils were dilated and was unable to contain his nervousness.
“Your Majesty, I request that you try to maintain composure and listen to my words carefully.”
“….”
Gulp.
As if indicating his level of nervousness the sound of the King swallowing his saliva resonated throughout the audience chamber.
This was also an episode that existed in the game.
It was a connected quest given by King Orpheus that ran through the game, to the extent that it affected the main episodes as well.
Back then, starting with confusion about the late King Ophert’s last will, it eventually unraveled various secrets within the Kingdom and the dark secrets concealed by the Royal Family.
Although the will could be simply perceived as a curse on the son, it was a serious statement that could shake the entire Griffin Kingdom to its core.
It served as the starting point to understanding where the Kingdom’s absolute enmity toward black magic originated from and the reasons behind it.
It implied that the identity of the Royal Family and the deeply rooted Griffin origin had actually been corrupt to the core till date.
“The reason Your Majesty’s father, the late King Ophert, left such a will is solely because he was thinking of Your Majesty.”
“For my own sake? What does that mean?”
As a father, the late King hoped that his son wouldn’t come across the truth, but ironically, because of that will, Orpheus ended up reaching the truth— the truth about the Griffin Royal Family’s disgustingly persistent hypocrisy.
Their acts of hypocrisy and wickedness that deceived tens of millions of citizens.
In reality, they were standing over a pile of corpses they had accumulated over time.
“Your Majesty, your ancestors who established the illustrious dynasty of Griffin through numerous wars and victories…”
It was at that moment the old truth, obscured by layers of dust, came to light.
“Were actually dark mages.”
* * *
Step, step, step.
“….”
The footsteps, echoing with a loud resonance, filled the silent corridor as we continued forward without saying a word.
It was as if each step carried some weight, as if someone was contemplating something.
In particular, King Orpheus’ steps seemed to hasten unintentionally. It was a sign that the Archmage immediately noticed, as he stared at the King with concern.
At the intersection of the corridor on the first floor.
The path on the right would lead us to exit the dining hall, while the path on the left would lead us to the garden outside.
A Griffin statue was placed in the middle of the intersection, as if to force us to make a choice.
A woman, her face covered with black cloth, slowly appeared from inside.
[You’re right. It is here. Just as you said, there’s something inside here.]
Just to be sure, I sent the Dark Spiritualist ahead to confirm it.
I calmly grasped the wings of the Griffin statue and pulled them downward with force.
With a grinding sound, the wings folded, and the wall behind it began to open.
“….”
“Hmmm.”
Seeing that, King Orpheus and Archmage Ropelican muttered gloomily and discontentedly in low voices. They probably never thought that there would be such a secret passage in the Royal Palace.
“Let’s go in.”
As I led the way, suddenly, the underground path I went through two months ago at the Verdi mansion came to mind.
However, this passage was much more stable and well-constructed.
Inside was a record room that looked like a library, with books sticking out everywhere and a massive desk at the center.
“What is this…?”
The Griffin crests were scattered all over the place, symbolizing that everything here belonged to the Royal Family.
The Archmage carefully picked up a book from the desk, brushing off the accumulated dust.
Then, his eyes opened wide with surprise. The title wasn’t written on the book, but its dark red color suggested that it contained information regarding Hemomancy.
Hemomancy, which dealt with manipulating blood, was one of the subjects of black magic that stood side by side with necromancy and Cadavermancy.
[This is such an impressive place. If I had known about it when I was alive, I would have lost all reason and tried to infiltrate it somehow.]
The Dark Spiritualist could only remain calm because she was already dead.
Otherwise, she might have literally gone wild and devoured books as she entered.
King Orpheus dragged himself with heavy steps towards the central desk.
Next to the picture placed in front of it, faded words with dried ink.
“….!”
The King’s eyes quivered upon seeing that.
In the picture, stood a young boy, brightly smiling.
Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be quite good-looking. Though he was a bit small in stature, his smile suggested that he was well loved by many people.
And I knew his identity.
Luaneth Luden Griffin.
He was the youngest son of the Griffin Royal Family 200 years ago. A son born of a different woman than his brothers. A son who could be considered the King’s shame.
He also went by another name, Heralhazard.
He was the dark mage who single-handedly brought the Griffin Kingdom to the brink of destruction, the very villain who instilled a deep-seated hatred towards black magic throughout the current Griffin Kingdom.
Beneath the picture were numerous letters, handwritten correspondence exchanged between the King of the Griffin Kingdom of that time and Heralhazard.
All of them were written during the time when Heralhazard was carrying out massacres, containing detailed information about which castle towns’ forces were out or facing shortages of supplies.
At the end, was a single phrase: ‘To my beloved son.’
The phrase painfully pierced King Orpheus’ heart.
Crumple.
Orpheus clutched the letter roughly with trembling hands.
Heralhazard was supposed to be the diabolical villain akin to a plague on the Kingdom.
However, as he read the letter, it became clear that it was all actually a self-fabricated conflict engineered by the Royal Family.
Tears streamed down the King’s face as he slowly turned his gaze towards me.
“Y-you…”
The voice was filled with such intense resentment that he could almost be mistaken to be chewing on his own words.
“D-did you… know all along?”
With eyes bloodshot from tears, he vehemently demanded an answer.
I met his eyes with composure and nodded slightly.
“Yes, I knew.”
And then…
Slam!
“Ropelicaaaaaaaaan!”
King Orpheus struck the desk and shouted as if his throat was about to burst, calling for the Archmage.
Thickly piled dust scattered in all directions as the Archmage’s extensive mana permeated the space.
Calmly closing his eyes, Ropelican tapped the floor with his staff, ready to receive the command.
“Ar—”
I wasn’t sure if he was struggling with his words because of the shock or if it was because of guilt towards me.
Whatever it was, King Orpheus covered his face in his hands.
A voice with desperation resonated from behind those hands.
“Arrest him.”
Amidst excruciating pain, as though his flesh were being carved away, the king issued his order.
Soon after, shackles made of the Archmage’s mana surrounded my entire body.
I accepted it in silence.
