Chapter 172

Verde was entering the palace again just two days after leaving it.

He had just returned from secretly contacting the Information Guild with Arndt's help at the townhouse to trace the sales route of the moonstone plate.

Of course, he hadn't written down the organized information due to Arndt's concerns,

But all of it was inside Verde's head.

-You remember all this, right? Really? You can't give His Grace incorrect information.

-Have I been fooled all my life? I'm a pharmacist. I memorize combinations of hundreds of herbs, so how could I not memorize this?

Verde passed through the castle gates triumphantly.

He was determined to impress the young Duke by reciting from memory everything he had memorized.

This was because he felt his role had been greatly undervalued until now.

The formidable battle fanatic Leandros and Arndt who was involved in all matters of the castle.

Amelia with her innate talent for persuading and manipulating people.

And now even the Holy Knight who had joined them in Valentine, like a parasitic older brother.

Being among such monsters made him feel utterly deflated.

Looking back, he hadn't accomplished many memorable achievements so far.

Saving the Duke who had been frozen to death was one thing.

But after that?

Hadn't he just screamed "Aaaaargh!" while getting caught up in various incidents, then been rescued? Hadn't he been found naked after falling completely for some suspicious woman in Valentine?

If there was anything he had accomplished recently, it was the tonic he had made for His Grace.

Feeling that his value was becoming increasingly diluted among the members of the Hartmann ducal family, Verde decided to show the Duke just how outstanding a talent he was.

Before entering the royal palace, when Verde presented his entry permit, the guard made an ambiguous expression.

"Are you Verde of the Hartmann ducal family?"

"As written there."

"Wait a moment."

Another inspection, they'll rummage through everything. Go ahead, do as you please. Search every corner of my underwear. As if you'll find anything suspicious.

Verde waited sarcastically for the guard who had left his post.

But when the missing guard returned with some burly knights, he realized that things were taking an unsettling turn.

"What are you doing? What on earth have I done- Aagh!"

Two of them roughly grabbed Verde's arms and twisted them behind his back.

Forcibly made to kneel on the bare ground, Verde tried to look up at the person in charge, but couldn't make out the face because of the backlight.

"Are you Verde of the Hartmann ducal family?"

"I've said so several times! Won't you let go? There seems to be some misunderstanding, but don't be violent, let's talk, talk!"

"Report to His Highness the Crown Prince. We've arrested the member of the Hartmann ducal family. Send a carrier pigeon as quickly as possible to the personnel stationed on the outskirts of the capital."

The outskirts of the capital?

Verde instinctively realized this meant the Hartmann townhouse.

When had they sent people all the way there?

What had happened while he was away from the royal palace?

"Hey, could someone please explain what this is all about!"

"Shut up. Filthy Hartmann scum. His Highness the Crown Prince bestowed great mercy, yet you dare repay such enormous grace in this manner!"

"What does that mean! Where is His Grace? Let me see His Grace!"

"Do you truly not know? Arenheit Hartmann is being charged with attempting to assassinate His Highness the Crown Prince and failing."

What nonsense is this?

Verde was left speechless at the sudden announcement.

But the knight, assuming Verde's silence was due to something else, spat out in a hateful tone.

"Most fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince is safe, but that vicious would-be assassin, realizing his failure, tried to flee through the garden. However, one of the palace staff caused him to fall from the wall he was climbing."

"What kind of nonsensical rubbish is this?"

"How vulgar! Denial is useless. This is evidence that the Hartmann family had planned treason internally. Therefore, we will thoroughly investigate those connected to the Hartmann family and summon important witnesses. The Duke's servant is no exception."

Could this bastard possibly have a pathological lying disorder? Verde sincerely thought so.

But if that were the case, he couldn't understand why he was kneeling on the ground like this.

Moreover, they had already sent troops around the townhouse.

Didn't this make it seem like the Crown Prince had anticipated the assassination attempt in advance?

Before Verde could say anything, a palace employee urgently ran over from a distance and whispered something in the knight's ear.

The knight listened carefully to the message, then ordered his soldiers.

"Take him away."

"Wait, where? Where are you taking me! Let go! Let me go! His Grace wouldn't do such a thing! There must be some misunderstanding!"

The soldiers who had been pressing down on both of Verde's shoulders lifted him abruptly.

Meanwhile, his hands, bound behind his back, stung.

What should he do now? How could he get out of here? Had Arenheit really tried to kill the Crown Prince?

Verde's mind was in chaos, but the answer soon came.

The Arenheit he had known was not that kind of person.

To be precise, the young Duke was not the type to do something as audacious as assassination.

Arenheit was so timid that he chose to drink concentrated tonic that dissolved his internal organs rather than converse with Yurik.

Moreover, Arenheit greatly cherished the people around him.

He wasn't shameless enough to not realize that if he tried to kill Yurik, the consequences would affect not only himself but also Arndt, Leandros, Amelia, and others.

For such a person to have lost his mind as soon as he was left alone and tried to assassinate the Crown Prince?

This made no sense.

There must certainly have been some circumstances.

First, he needed to meet Arenheit and find out the detailed inside story.

Though he wasn't sure, since they said Arenheit had fallen from a wall, he must be badly injured.

A would-be assassin of royalty could have been executed on the spot. Yet, judging by the fact that the knight hadn't mentioned anything about Arenheit's life or death, it meant he had survived.

If so, Arenheit was most likely in the underground prison where those charged with serious crimes were incarcerated.

While coldly analyzing one thing at a time in his head, Verde suddenly realized that he had entered the interior of the royal palace.

"Where are you taking me?"

"......"

Not to the underground prison? Is he still being kept in luxurious confinement in a guest room because he's a duke? Or is he with a physician because he's injured?

Verde arrived at a firmly closed door along with the silent soldiers.

The door was enormous.

It differed in size from the guest rooms of the royal palace he had seen so far. It even seemed larger than the massive door of the Hartmann ducal residence's banquet hall.

The huge door, which looked difficult to open even with several people pushing it, was slowly, creakingly pushed open.

Verde, who entered the room staggering as the soldiers pushed him, doubted his eyes as soon as he looked up.

It was the most magnificent hall he had ever seen.

Though everything was painted red as if burning with fire, it wasn't due to the sunlight.

The floor, which had been smoothly laid without a speck of dust, had long been sticky and dirty.

The detailed paintings that surrounded the entire hall should have shimmered colorfully as if sprinkled with jewels and gold dust, but now they slept gloomily, having lost their radiance.

And the gazes of the figures in those beautiful murals were fixed on one spot.

The one standing before the throne, which should be treated most sacredly in this country,

Crown Prince Yurik den Menadia, bearing the silent condemnation of the figures in the paintings, turned toward the visitor.

"The Duke's servant has finally visited."

Verde couldn't breathe in the thick fishy smell that filled the room.

The Crown Prince's black clothes appeared clean, but the blood spatters on his face and hands had long dried and turned brown.

Had he killed a servant or something here to vent his anger?

Verde mumbled while holding his breath.

"...I heard our Duke is being charged with attempted assassination."

"The charge of daring to harm the one and only heir to the royal family."

"His Grace would never do such a thing. He was so ill until a few days ago that he couldn't even move!"

"Is that so? But people sometimes display superhuman willpower when something happens. How can you be certain the Duke wouldn't have done so?"

"Please let me see His Grace."

"Let me see His Grace, you say..."

Yurik smiled.

"Verde. It's good to see you boldly stating your demands before the Crown Prince of a nation."

"...You knew my name?"

"I may not follow the Duke around, but I do know whom he meets."

"Did you also already know that I wasn't a servant?"

"I can see how that small head of the Duke's might turn."

Verde felt a chill.

The fact that Yurik knew about him and still acted that way, and the fact that neither he nor Arenheit had noticed it.

There was no need to ask how long he had known.

Every move they made had been reported to Yurik. From the beginning, or perhaps even before that, continuously.

Yurik continued, rubbing the dried blood on his face with the back of his hand.

"I don't dislike humans like you. I like how you try to achieve what you've set your mind on, in whatever way. It's similar to me."

"Please let me see His Grace."

"But sometimes, it feels hateful because of the resemblance. I'm sorry, we might not get along well."

"Where is His Grace?"

"His Grace, His Grace. That damn His Grace! How do the Hartmann bloodlines always meet such loyal people? I'm genuinely curious now. I don't even know what's different between me and Hartmann."

"His Grace..."

"Yes, yes. His Grace. Let's ask Duke Arenheit Hartmann directly. Isn't that a good idea? I'll hear the secret directly from him, and you'll see His Grace."

Yurik rubbed the sword he was holding with his bare hand, without wearing gloves.

Verde watched Yurik's actions in a state of extreme tension.

When beads of blood oozed from the white hand cut by the sharp blade, Yurik squeezed out the dripping blood and let it fall to the floor.

A dark red lump at Yurik's feet twitched as soon as the blood touched it.

Twitching, twitching, and a soft lump that trembled as if pulsating...

"No."

Verde muttered blankly.

He denied reality. No, it couldn't be like this.

The lump, receiving the Crown Prince's blood, writhed, grew, and accelerated its regeneration.

It had nothing to do with the will of the one who had been its master.

Solely because it was designed that way, it went through the programmed procedure and painfully returned, the lump.

"No, no, this can't be..."

The lump, which had been unrecognizable in form, began taking shape.

Based on the growing bones, organs essential for human survival were generated, and fat layers and muscles to wrap them were reproduced.

On top of that, still fragile skin began to settle, forming the shape of a person familiar to Verde's eyes.

But before this 'process' could be completed, Yurik knelt before it and grabbed the fragile head that hadn't even been fully formed yet, lifting it.

"Can you hear me, Duke? I'm curious if you can hear well."

That which was not human, but rather something in the process of being made into a human, could not respond.

It was only natural. It didn't have ears yet.

It was merely a creature that hadn't even developed a sense of self, let alone ears.

A primitive creature that had just started to beat its heart and exhale its first breath.

But Yurik shook his head and stood up.

"It failed. Can't be helped."

"Don't-"

Before Verde could finish speaking.

Yurik's foot headed toward the small head.

A terrible sound reached Verde's ears. A sound so horrific he couldn't believe he had just heard it.

There was nothing he could do.

The cruel sound was engraved in his mind, clearly and cleanly.

His legs, drained of strength, gave way. But Yurik didn't even give him a glance.

He only continued to crush and stomp the pitiful life dying beneath his feet with the sole of his shoe, which was covered in filth.

"Let's try again. Duke, try to do it a bit faster this time."

Yurik calmly continued the repetitive action like a game, encouraging the lump of flesh.

When the Crown Prince dropped blood, the dead lump of flesh moved and desperately proclaimed life.

Yurik would watch it for a while, then destroy it before the lump could properly take shape.

Again and again, he kept crushing and smashing the head.

The immature bones and flesh, not yet fully formed, were crushed, burst, and collapsed, returning to the starting point.

Everything was surreally disgusting and nauseating—Yurik, who urged such a thing to revive, and the lump of flesh, which struggled to gain life once more without knowing anything.

Verde collapsed on the spot and began to vomit.

If he could, he would have blinded his eyes. He wanted to damage these ears so they couldn't hear. But he couldn't.

Yurik, who came into his tearful sight due to retching, was smiling.

He was not human.

He was something wearing human skin.

Not a person, but a monster far beyond human.

How many times had 'what had been Arenheit' faced death like this?

When the lump of flesh was rolling around, splashing in a pool of blood and bodily fluids, Yurik stopped his cruel kicking.

He looked down at his blood-soaked shoes, and then, as if suddenly remembering Verde's existence, turned his head.

"I regret I can't help you meet the Duke. I did my best, but... one can't satisfy everyone."

"M-monster."

"Why did you think I was human? Because I have two arms and legs each, and a normal face? Humans are so good at self-deception."

Looking at Verde rolling in his vomit, Yurik sheathed his sword and turned around.

Climbing the stairs, he naturally sat on the empty throne and looked down like a deity looking down on a lowly creature.

"Do you want to bring the Duke back to life?"

Instead of an answer, a gaze filled with shock and disbelief flew toward him.

When Yurik flicked his finger, the ropes binding Verde's hands tore away on their own with a snapping sound.

Verde, bracing against the floor, crawled slowly.

Watching him soil his entire body as he crawled toward the lump of flesh called Arenheit, Yurik smiled broadly.

"Assuming there's no blood from me, it would take about four days for the Duke to take his form. I plan to smash his small, pretty head as soon as it's formed. But Verde, if you entertain me, I might forget about tormenting the Duke for a while... By the way, how is Sir Leandros doing? How has he been lately?"