Chapter 32
Aquila ran wildly down the corridor.
Tap tap tap tap!
The smooth marble floor was immaculate.
Walls that bore traces of age here and there, finely carved decorations, and a corridor so long it seemed endless.
And right there—
Aquila got lost.
‘Did she sink into the ground? Where in the world did she go?’
He looked around with a stunned expression.
He had thought he was running after the sound of footsteps, yet now he was completely alone.
Moreover, none of the servants who had been scattered about earlier were anywhere to be seen.
Frowning deeply, Aquila scanned his surroundings.
He glanced out the window for a moment.
Cahena and Chelsey’s fight had only just begun, and the rest of the group would be searching for other guild members.
However, strictly speaking, they were not the only ones who needed to be pursued.
Celsia’s close associates.
Not only those who had obtained Aquila’s hair, nails, and blood to cast the Curse of Deadly Poison, but also those who had acted together with her.
Whether they had acted in ignorance or with full knowledge, all accomplices had to be apprehended.
That was why Shen was moving while Aquila was using the Scales of Judgment.
He knew the estate better than anyone else, and having served Aquila for a long time, he would be widely trusted.
But—
‘Even if I say that Celsia committed evil acts against me, I wonder how many people in this estate would believe it.’
It had been nearly ten years since she married and took the name Reschenhardt.
Ten years was more than enough time to have gathered a considerable number of allies.
And yet, no matter how he looked at it, this body seemed to have no proper allies aside from Shen.
While Aquila stayed at the estate, only a handful of people had ever approached him properly, and among them, it was no exaggeration to say that only Shen had shown genuine closeness.
‘Even Shen said this one had no friends… hopeless.’
If those close to Aquila had been summoned away for the Frost Forest subjugation, that would be a problem in its own right.
He would not be able to ask them for help right now.
Among those remaining in the estate, Aquila could not tell whether more of them were on Celsia’s side or not.
Which made sense, considering it had only been a week since he possessed this body.
‘…She really chose her timing well. Even if she did not expect something like this to happen.’
Aquila turned his body fully away after staring at his cold expression reflected in the window.
Various circumstances overlapped, repeatedly placing him at an advantage or a disadvantage.
And among them, the worst by far was the fact that Aquila knew absolutely nothing about the layout of the Reschenhardt Estate.
This grand estate was simply too vast.
‘I would rather use my Authority, but… my stamina probably will not hold.’
Stolen Divine Authority (Minor) was a detection-type skill.
He wanted to use it immediately, but his physical condition was already in terrible shape.
His head was dizzy from motion sickness as it was, and if another wave of disorientation were to pile on top of that—
There was a high chance he would be seized by the impulse to close his eyes, throw his body away, end the iteration, and start over.
There was also the issue of where to leave his defenseless body if he did that.
‘If only it were not for that damned Sun God.’
Rage toward the Sun God burned fiercely within him.
Furrowing his brow, Aquila brushed his hair back and rolled up his left sleeve.
A silver bracelet adorned with a blue gemstone revealed its presence, glittering under the light.
They had agreed to make contact after it was over.
More than anything else, in a situation where he could trust no one and had no idea how things would turn out, he needed even a single additional ally.
To Aquila now, the people he had gained through deals were more reliable than the name Reschenhardt itself.
When he activated the mana stored in the mana stone, the blue gem emitted a luminous glow.
Blink, blink.
The light flickered like a signal, and then—
Woooong!
A mana formula rose up, encircling his wrist like a golden ring.
[…Is this Aquila Reschenhardt?]
“Yes. Are you Heinen?”
[Yes. I was actually waiting for your contact. I will report first. We have captured a guild member disguised as a coachman. Shortly after you disappeared beyond the teleport, the Temple Knights discovered him attempting to escape and immediately apprehended him.]
“That is good news. Did anyone else manage to get away?”
[No. There were a few merchants as well, but their trade certificates appear to be genuine. Nevertheless, they are being detained just in case.]
Heinen’s blunt, businesslike voice echoed.
It felt stiff for a holy knight, but Aquila quite liked this conversation, which was limited strictly to business.
He looked around and started descending the stairs for now.
“Good. Then I will report the situation on our side. I obtained a confession using the Scales of Judgment. I also confirmed the truth that she has been colluding with the Guild of Darkness, so there should be no concern regarding justification.”
[That is more good news. Since we do not know who else might emerge from the teleport, we will leave some personnel behind and hurry to send people inside.]
Then, after a brief pause as if speaking with others nearby, Heinen suddenly asked—
[There is an opinion suggesting that we should transfer the guild member disguised as a coachman to Portplum first. I wished to ask what you think.]
“If we leave the guild member unconscious, can even one person escort him to Portplum?”
[One holy knight will suffice.]
“Then please do so. Include a priest among those remaining, and have those with combat capability enter this area in greater numbers.”
[Is the situation urgent?]
“The Guild of Darkness member here does not seem ordinary. Vice-Captain Cahena and Priest Chelsey are tied down, and the culprit is on the run. I am pursuing her, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
[…Understood. We will divide our forces immediately, and I will enter together with them.]
“Understood.”
[Then, under the radiance of the Sun God, I wish you victory.]
With that brief exchange, the communication was cut off abruptly.
The blue gemstone, which had been glowing brilliantly, grew quiet, and the golden ring vanished.
Aquila lowered his sleeve to hide the bracelet and fully descended to the first floor.
For now, he intended to find anyone at all—anyone he could see.
He needed someone to guide him.
And perhaps because it was worth coming down, he soon heard footsteps nearby.
Aquila hurried toward the sound.
Turning a corner, he spotted familiar ash-brown hair.
“…Young Master Aquila?!”
“Shen!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected relief, Aquila’s voice grew slightly louder.
Shen, his green eyes wide, hurried over to him.
“How did you get here…? Are you finished? You succeeded, right?!”
“Yes. It succeeded.”
“Phew, thank goodness! I was really worried. Of course, it is not that I did not trust you, young master, but….”
When Shen learned that the price of forcibly using the Scales of Judgment was staking Aquila’s soul, he had been unable to recover from the shock for quite some time.
Why did you decide something like that on your own, why did you not tell us first—resentment and worry had poured out of him.
It was a reaction born from having seen Aquila in danger several times in such a short span.
And Yujelia had been the same.
She had not pressed her opinion as strongly as Shen, but she had spoken with a sorrowful expression.
“We are just worried. Please understand that.”
Aquila had simply nodded.
Even if he were to return, he would make the same choice again anyway.
In any case, had it not been for the need to move quickly afterward, he might have spent much longer calming them down.
“Um… but why do you look so unwell? You look like someone who has been rolling around somewhere. Is Vice-Captain Cahena chasing a Guild of Darkness member?”
Shen, who had been smiling brightly, turned serious as soon as he saw Aquila’s face.
Aquila flinched.
‘Is it really that obvious that I was thrown around?’
After brushing back his still-disheveled hair, Aquila grabbed Shen’s arm instead of answering.
“I need you for that matter. Come with me.”
“…Yes!”
Shen looked like he had many questions, but he answered Aquila firmly.
Then he turned around.
He had not noticed because only Shen had caught his eye, but there were two people behind him who appeared to be Reschenhardt private soldiers.
“You should finish what you were doing and report later. Please go.”
“Yes, understood.”
The soldiers answered energetically.
At Aquila’s brief glance, they bowed their heads and hurried off as if on urgent business.
Watching their retreating figures, Shen smiled and asked,
“So, what should I do, young master?”
“Celsia Reschenhardt escaped. Help me find her.”
“Yes! Help find—what? Who did you say?!”
***
Shen briefly explained what had happened while Aquila was in the other space using the Scales of Judgment.
What was surprising was that more people believed Shen than Aquila had expected.
The Temple Knights were actively pursuing the Guild of Darkness, but many people also believed that Celsia, given her eccentric temperament, was capable of committing evil deeds.
Especially since the victim was none other than Aquila Reschenhardt.
Regarding this, Shen said, “Everyone knows how much she saw you as a thorn in her side, young master. It would be harder not to believe it.”
Moreover, with the current head of the house away on a subjugation, the second child who had been appointed as acting head was helping to stabilize the situation.
Contrary to Aquila’s expectations, things were proceeding rather smoothly.
“A long, silver key? Hmm… that is probably the greenhouse key. Lady Celsia often takes walks around there!”
After hearing the explanation, Shen immediately thought of the location.
He even added an unnecessary comment, saying, “She uses the garden all by herself. It is surprisingly hard to walk around without crossing paths, you know?”
“Is the greenhouse empty?”
“Probably. I am not entirely sure, but I do know there are a lot of moonflowers nearby. I went around that area when she asked me to procure materials for curse removal.”
Aquila nodded at those words.
A flower representing the Night God Helitica.
He did not know exactly what the ‘ritual’ referred to, but given the involvement of followers of the Night God, there was a high chance that this was the place.
Guided by Shen, Aquila ran after him.
Passing through well-maintained trees, grass, and flowers, they soon discovered the greenhouse.
The building was fairly large.
Just as Shen had said, moonflowers bloomed abundantly nearby, and although the greenhouse walls were made of transparent glass, vines had grown over them, making it difficult to see inside clearly.
‘It is a good place for scheming.’
That was the first thought that came to mind.
As Shen approached the door, he discovered a silver key inserted into the lock and quietly called out to Aquila.
“Young master. This is….”
At a glance, there was a high probability that this was the key.
If it was here, then it meant Celsia was definitely inside the greenhouse.
Yet the surroundings were strangely quiet.
Like the calm before a storm.
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Aquila checked his mana out of habit.
Since it had not been long since he had completely emptied his reserves, the amount of mana was not great.
He quickly repeated the mana breathing he had practiced so often.
‘I can probably fire off a simple spell, but it will not last long. Something nearby that could be used as a weapon….’
It was then, just as Shen stepped forward to open the door.
“…Kyaaaaaah!”
A sound suddenly came from inside.
“Aaaah! Mother, please! I beg you! I do not want this…!”
A piercing scream and a desperate voice.
Shen and Aquila quickly exchanged looks.
And then—
Bang!
Without a word, they rushed into the greenhouse.
Pushing through towering shrubs to the very back, Aquila arrived in an instant and widened his eyes at the sight before him.
Two children, and Celsia.
“Mother! Please, please stop…!”
A child whose voice had not yet fully broken was shielding another identical child behind him.
But what caught Aquila’s attention was not the twin-like children.
His black eyes fixed on the black ore held in Celsia’s hand.
‘That is the core of the Black Swamp.’
…But that should not be here right now.