Chapter 77

Part 2: Contract (1)

As mentioned before, the Royal Academy occupies a vast area to the south of the capital. It includes huge sports fields, buildings, warehouses, and laboratories. Among the many facilities, the largest is the vast forest and park, which takes up a quarter of the Royal Academy.

This place serves as a resting area for students and is also used for various training and practical sessions. At night, the vast area is completely dark, with only the sounds of insects and small animals heard.

Today, even those small sounds were not heard.

Instead, only the sound of light footsteps could be heard.

And a low humming.

The sound coming from Vaea, who was walking ahead.

I followed behind her, my mind incredibly complicated.

It seemed to go well. After going home and coming back, she brought up a troublesome topic.

Something about the noble, did she find out?

Or was there still room for doubt?

No, there was certainly room for doubt.

The noble did want to kill me.

On the day the noble died, I had used the excuse of hunting to separate myself from the others.

However, the distance was too great to raise suspicion.

Moreover, the fact that the noble wanted to kill me was something I didn't know at the time.

Was she just going to ask, or did she notice something?

But she wouldn't bring me to such a secluded place at night just to ask a normal question.

Thud, thud.

We passed through the well-maintained park and now entered the dense forest.

Click.

I stopped. It didn't seem right to follow any further.

If something went wrong, I needed to be prepared for Vaea's inheritance ability.

"I don't think we should go any further. I've heard that students are not allowed to enter the forest alone, even during the day. And we were told not to wander around the back part of the park at night."

At my words, she stopped and turned around.

She looked a bit disappointed as she spoke.

"We could go a little further."

I shook my head.

"I'm just scared."

At my words, her expression changed slightly.

"But you used to go hunting at night, didn't you?"

"Hunters can be scared too."

She pouted at my bold words.

"Then, there's nothing I can do."

She gave up on going further, so I spoke.

"What did you want to ask about the late noble? I don't know much about him."

At my words, her eyes softened.

"Let's see."

She tapped her foot.

Tap. Tap.

With each tap, mana spread from the ground.

"There's no one following us or watching us."

She smiled at me.

"It's just the two of us."

Damn, is this place also within her domain?

Sweat formed on the back of my neck.

She spoke.

"What I want to ask is..."

Her smile bloomed.

"Did you kill our father, young master?"

There was no beating around the bush, no noble rhetoric. She asked me directly.

"Excuse me?"

Surprised eyes, and a bewildered expression.

It had been a while since I had to manage my expressions. Okay, I won't give her any chance to find out.

But to ask 'You're the culprit!' right away.

It was the worst-case scenario I had anticipated.

Does she really know something? Then there's no answer.

With the save point so recent, there's no way to fix it.

The atmosphere is tense, but I need to pretend I don't know.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden..."

"Really, it's impressive. I couldn't even tell if it was acting or real."

Of course. How much practice did I do after I died?

My acting is almost perfect!

"Anyway, I need to understand what you're saying to answer. Besides the absurdity, there must be a reason why you're asking if I killed the noble."

"Hmm. You're right. I didn't explain well enough."

She nodded at my words.

Wait, what?

"Originally, my father intended to kill you when you came to our house."

Hold on.

"Father loved the noble's second wife. Well, since the noble is a bastard, I should say the second wife of Duke Grecia."

She shrugged.

"Anyway, my father loved her. It might have seemed crazy, but he did love her. As a result, the two noble wives were mentally devastated."

I stared at her, mouth agape.

What is she thinking? Why is she spilling everything?

"I also suffered. Before, there was at least a proper reason, but this time, he kept talking about killing you without any reason. It was very difficult for me too."

But, I heard him say he didn't want to kill me, but he still killed me with excitement afterward!

"On the day you came, he had prepared to kill you, but you didn't show up all night, so it was canceled. In the morning, you met me at the door. I had been up all night."

"That's ridiculous..."

I shook my head, showing my confusion.

It was a great expression and performance, but it didn't stop her from talking.

"My father didn't give up and instructed me to kill you either on the way to the capital or during class at the academy. That was one of the reasons he sent me to the Royal Academy."

She shook her head.

"But after leaving home, there was no reason to follow my father's orders."

She made a face as if asking to be petted.

"Did I do well?"

She did well, but why is she hitting me from behind now?

"Fortunately, my father passed away in the middle, so his orders ended. It was a great relief. You looked terrifying."

Perhaps her ability to declare her domain, like my ability to sense mana, allows her to perceive the forces around her.

"Nothing happened, my father died, and I was freed. Everyone lived happily ever after! That was the situation before I returned home."

That was my situation too. So I didn't kill Vaea and just let her be.

"But when I returned home and checked, my father didn't just pass away."

Of course, it was different from what was announced publicly. He died in a fire in the basement.

"The actual cause of death was a fire in the basement. The ladies and the servants thought it was suicide."

"Ah, suicide? No, the problem isn't the suicide..."

Interrupting her mid-sentence seemed risky. I decided to listen to what she had to say.

She raised her finger for emphasis.

"But!"

But what?

"From the burned body, I found traces of a sword and a struggle."

"Wh...!"

I almost made a big mistake. I almost shouted that it was wrong out of surprise.

There shouldn't be any traces left. I made sure everything was well burned.

"It really burned well. The gold was melted, the woman's picture was burned, and my father's body was reduced to a few bone fragments."

"So everyone still thinks my father died in a fire."

Huh?

"I secretly searched my father's bone fragments and found broken and sword marks, but the marks were too faint to cause controversy. Everyone accepted that he died in a fire, so I didn't tell anyone else."

Secretly searching her father's bone fragments wasn't something a noble daughter should do.

More importantly, she didn't tell anyone else?

"If what you say is true, it just looks like he died in a fire. Even if there were signs of a struggle, it's too much to assume I caused his death!"

From a look of disbelief to a slightly angry one. I raised my voice a bit. Hmm, it was okay.

"You're right. I'm only telling you because of my inheritance ability. I can perceive the traces of mana in my domain, or in the house. In the burned basement, I found traces of your mana."

I didn't expect Vaea's inheritance ability, which allows her to control a certain area, to include such a skill.

This is problematic. I need to say something.

"No one will believe this story. Do you think you can frame someone with such a story?"

At my words, Vaea looked dejected.

"You're right. Who would believe such a story? I couldn't even tell my family."

Knowing her nature, seeing her dejected face only made the back of my neck stiff with tension.

Still, I needed to check if I could take a step back.

"Is there anything else you want to say? I feel misunderstood. I'm going back now."

I said this and turned around. Then I took a step.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The brick path I was about to walk on shot up.

A stone wall, over 4 meters high, blocked my way.

Of course, it didn't work.

I turned around again.

"There's no choice. Even if no one believes me, I know. I don't understand how you returned home at that time and killed my father in the basement, but I believe you killed my father."

In the end, it was the worst outcome.

With Vaea's personality, evidence or confirmation from others wasn't necessary. Even with an alibi, if the story didn't add up, she would believe it anyway.

"Even if I hated him and sang songs wishing he would die every day, he was still my father. I need to avenge my dead father."

The ground began to tremble.

The trees behind her swayed and approached.

The air became sharp, and it was hard to breathe.

This place was within her domain.

I pulled out the dagger hidden at my waist.

Whirr!

A red sword aura burst from the dagger.

She didn't call me to talk about her dead father and expect me to just follow.

Even if I couldn't prepare armor or anything else, I had at least prepared the dagger.

"Wow! You can release mana outside! Is it enough to reach here in one night?"

She tilted her head at the sword aura coming from the dagger.

"What are you doing? This is inside the academy! Unauthorized duels are grounds for expulsion!"

It felt like it was all over, but I decided to keep acting.

It was too close to the save point to give up and commit suicide.

It was also difficult to meet Vaea in the middle of her journey to the academy and give up on all the classes.

It was too late to go to the noble's territory before leaving.

It would also be difficult to hide Vaea's body after killing her inside the academy.

In any case, I needed to settle this quickly.

The ground beneath me sank.

I propelled my body upward.

Stones shot out from the surrounding walls.

I deflected the flying stones with my sword.

Seeing this, Vaea spoke.

"Struggling is useless. This is my kingdom, declared as my domain. Inside here..."

I heard this before I died. I didn't need to hear it again.

I kicked another flying stone.

I launched myself toward Vaea, who was standing near the swaying forest, looking at me with a pitying expression.

I had experienced her inheritance ability before.

I didn't plan to lose this time.