"How was this thing supposed to work again...?"
Nasriel's brows furrowed, her hands gingerly working around the strange spherical device River had given the group before their departure. It was a newly-developed communication device that allowed them to relay information and hear the voices of people from hundreds of miles away. Powered by mana and built with many intricate pieces, it was definitely not the easiest thing to work out.
Casting a sidelong glance at her from several metres behind, stood Mikael. He leaned against the doorframe and veered his attention to the open sky. The group had made it swiftly out of the forest, taking a break at an inn as they waited for Daniel and Rayvis to catch up. At the same time, they prepared to give their daily reports to Rudien through the communicator.
The next few minutes were spent in prolonged silence as Mikael's listless gaze fixed to the parting clouds. Sunlight gushed from between the cracks, its radiance cupped by a thick vessel of white clouds. Somehow, the sight of it reminded him of Irene.
Right now, she was sharing a similar fate to this sky. A strong, limitless power unable to be contained by her little body. Mikael's lips pressed into a straight line - wondering how she would handle the life that awaited her.
When she woke up, Irene Cherliann was not going to live the same life she once did. She was no longer just the daughter of a duke who lived in the lap of luxury.
Her importance to this empire was vital enough to say, it was likely God himself handpicked her for this role.
...If that's the case...
Mikael's gaze fell, landing on the palm of his hand. His beautiful features twisted with a pained grimace.
...I need to step out of her life.
"Ah! They're back!"
The voice of one of the knights resounded from outside, and Mikael glanced up at the sight of two men astride their horses approaching the inn. Nasriel approached the door, peeking her head from behind the second prince and finding Daniel and Rayvis. Their horses clopped out a staccato as they slowed to a stop, gracefully dismounting and allowing the other knights to take the stallions towards the inn's stables.
The grim looks on there faces seemed almost ominous.
"Thank goodness you're here! Your Highness- I still can't seem to get this thing to work!" Nasriel smiled sheepishly, holding out the communication device and handing it to Daniel.
He blinked at it for a moment, his expression unmoving. Then with a single fluid movement, the prince raised his hand and pressed a highly conspicuous, red-glossed button on the device. Nasriel smiled awkwardly, realising he was giving her a look that said "you could have figured that one out on your own."
In a flash, the holographic image of an impatient silver-haired man took form.
"What took you so long?" Rudien's displeased voice was slightly frazzled by the poor connection, but still sounded as intimidating as ever. Nasriel still winced hearing it even after serving under him for over a decade. Too petrified to deal with Rudien's wrath, she thrust it into the young heir's chest.
Taking the device deftly into his hands, Rayvis glossed over the matter with a guileless smile. "Now now, Father. You have such a terrible way of expressing your worry. It's okay to admit you missed us."
Rudien heaved a sigh and sounded even more annoyed than before, but maintained his stoicism and moved straight to the point. "So? Where are you all now?"
"We just made it through Cledin Forest. Two more days, and we'll reach Pelto," Rayvis explained. "Oh. We also happened across a dark mage and killed him on site."
Rudien's voice raised slightly in surprise. "What?"
"He was likely just a pawn though. Daniel and I defeated him immediately," Rayvis continued, smiling. Even though this was a report, he expressed it almost like a child telling a story. "We initially thought he was a high-rank member called Silence, but the more we thought about it, the stranger it seemed."
On their way back to rendezvous with Mikael and the rest of the knights, both Rayvis and Daniel reflected on the mage they managed to kill earlier. It was true - the demon who was capable of manipulating sound waves was present in the forest before. Snow's voice disappearing for some time was proof of that.
However, everything about this situation was riddled with peculiarities to Daniel, who contemplated the matter carefully.
'Silence', without a doubt, was a high-ranked member of 'The Laughing Ravens'. He knew this from the days he spent as one of the guild members in disguise - every other low-tiered member revered that name, despite his identity being shrouded in mystery. If not dangerous, the individual wouldn't hold such high esteem among the magicians.
This description alone completely mismatched with the man they apprehended. Leaving them to conclude it was likely that the mage they killed, wasn't 'Silence' at all - but a pawn he used as bait. By the time the man was dead, the real culprit had already left the scene.
Rayvis explained this to Rudien, who lowered his gaze in deliberation. The way he tensely mulled over the matter planted a strange pall in the room. Usually, the duke would punctuate Rayvis' reports with pointers and advice - but for some reason, he was silent. Observing his father's tense look through the mana-infused hologram, Rayvis began to catch on to something.
"Is there something you'd like to say, Father?"
His voice turned a shade more serious as he asked that question. Rudien, not withholding his thoughts, immediately faced his son with a grim look. "Are you alone right now?"
Rayvis tilted his head, slightly quizzically. He glanced up at Daniel, Mikael and Nasriel - all loitering around the room and listening in on the report. "No. I'm with the princes and Nasriel. Snow is away scouting the area for any potential threats."
"Have everyone else leave except Daniel. There's a matter I need to discuss with only the two of you."
The terse instruction filled them with confusion, but neither Mikael nor Nasriel uttered a word of dissent. The second prince was the first to leave the room, his far-off and indifferent expression the same as usual. Nasriel appeared a little bewildered, but trusted the Duke. She bowed deferentially, before filtering out of the room and shutting the door behind her.
Silence swept over them for a moment, before Daniel stepped closer toward the device. "Why send Mikael away too?"
"Because from what you told me, the two of you were the only ones who apprehended that mage. Meaning this only concerns you." Rudien showed no hint of regret in this decision as he declared his reasoning. "It's part of my nature to eliminate any risks. In any case, there's something I need to ask only you both about."
The boys glanced at each other for a moment, before staring back at Rudien's hologram. They waited for him to speak.
"First of all. Did you question the mage you apprehended in the forest?"
Rayvis shook his head. "He didn't have a voice. Not the greatest source of information if he can't speak."
"He also was carrying a firearm. Such weapons are still extremely rare and have only recently been developed, so encountering an armed mage like this was strange," Daniel added, his cloak rustling as he leaned his back against the wall behind. "Immediately after we appeared, the man took aim and attempted to fire at Rayvis. I think we all know that wasn't by chance."
"Firearms..." Rudien contemplated this for a moment. "It's true that dark magic has little to no effect on anyone with our bloodline. So any demonic attack on Rayvis would prove worthless..."
"-Which is why he tried to blow my head to smithereens." Rayvis finished with amusement, his lips curled up into a devious smile. "That's the only way they could possibly succeed in killing me. Snipe me with a physical attack from afar, giving me no opportunity to fight back."
Though, it wouldn't have worked because Snow's protective spell would have immediately deflected the bullet. Almost everyone among them knew that much.
At that moment, something clicked in Daniel's mind. His ocean-blue orbs flattened in colour as his pupils shrank with horror.
A vital realisation dawned on him.
"...It was all calculated in advance."
Silence fell over the room - and as Rayvis observed the still shock in Daniel's face, his smile faded to reveal bemusement. Before he could question the prince, those royal-blue eyes turned in his direction first.
"The mage aimed at you with no hesitation, almost as if you were the target from the very beginning. Think about it! Firearms are extremely rare and expensive; it's strange for a lowly pawn to be carrying one around unless it was given to him from a superior."
"At the same time, a firearm would be the most effective way to kill you - Rayvis Cherliann of the silver lineage - immune to dark magic. They orchestrated that encounter in the forest to make an attempt to end your life with a weapon capable of doing that. But the question is... How did they know you would be there?"
Rudien and Rayvis were quiet. As the silver-haired boy began to catch on to what Daniel was suggesting, his lips pressed into a thin line. A cold finger of dread slithered down his back.
Everything Daniel said just now was the truth. And his final question echoed through the silence that pervaded. Dark magicians were stationed all throughout the continent for a long time now, and they continued to exist in the shadows and cracks of the land - growing their ranks. It wasn't strange to encounter them in dark, dingy forests like the one from earlier. Rayvis lost count of how many dark magicians he killed over the last few years in this way.
But what was abnormal was that there was clearly someone targeting him this time. Rather than even attempting to shoot at Daniel, the pawn went straight for Rayvis. With a weapon perfectly suited to kill Rayvis. Was this a coincidence? Did that man just so happen to be in the forest with his superior who gave him a rare weapon?
Did the real 'Silence' flash his demon's powers at the knights as bait? It was highly likely he knew about their presence from the start, leaving it to his pawn to apprehend them, instructing the lackey specifically to kill Rayvis whilst providing him with the Cherliann's weakness - a gun.
If that's the case... Rayvis' eyes widened ever so slightly, finally beginning to see what Daniel was saying. Somehow... The real 'Silence' knew that I was going to be among the knights.
He knew and he concocted a plan like this to attempt to get rid of me.
The only way he could have known...
...Is if someone told him where I was, and what I was doing in advance.
As Rayvis turned to face his father's hologram, he noticed the lack of surprise in the duke's expression. Rudien's crimson eyes stared back at him with a knowing gaze - as though he anticipated this outcome far before they did.
Only the people directly involved knew the truth about this expedition. Rudien kept quiet about Rayvis's expedition with the princes, concealing the matter with the excuse that they were going to check on Laydel's borders. Other than the knights present, the princes, the Cherlianns, and River Alvenicht - no one knew their true whereabouts.
Everything was making sense in the most disturbing of ways. So this was why Rudien had everyone leave the room except Daniel and Rayvis.
"There's a mole among us..." Rayvis deduced, and from the way Rudien's gaze sharpened and Daniel's expression contorted into a grimace, it appeared he hit the nail on the head.
"Don't let the seed of doubt cloud your judgement. It's entirely possible that a demon is watching you, and you just can't sense it," Rudien added, before turning to Daniel. "It's even possible that the mole is the demon living inside Daniel's body reporting back to its guild, but chances of this are low. As of now, we can't act without solid proof of anything."
Rudien's voice was placid and clear, betraying no hint of fear. The duke still trusted this group of hand-picked knights enough to put forward all other possibilities. But both Rayvis and Daniel were aware of the gravity of this situation.
Someone among them was relaying information to the Laughing Ravens. An individual close enough to accurately depict their location, as well as their movements. Whether it was a demon hiding in the shadows or a knight among them responsible for this fact, they couldn't be sure just yet.
"Stay focused. You have greater priorities at the moment. And you're both strong enough to tackle any problem thrown at you," Rudien reminded them both, his words eliminating the shock freezing them over ever so slightly. "Keep this a secret from everyone for the moment and continue onwards. We can investigate this matter once Irene is awake."
"...Yes, Your Grace." Though Rayvis managed to say these words with a bout of confidence, this was the first time in a while he had been shaken.
Moles. Betrayal. Secrets. Things like these wormed their way even to the strict, pristine military run by the Cherlianns. It was so easy to create a crack in the firm camaraderie one shared with their peers.
That was exactly what these dark magicians attempted to do. They actively sought to destroy. To plant seeds of doubt and bring despair to everyone in their wake. Preying on human weaknesses, creating reasons for relationships to fracture and wither away. Daniel had seen this happen so many times.
Humans who fell into despair so deep and so bottomless, they could no longer be saved. Throwing away any chance of salvation - they suffered in their lives, only to continue suffering.
Someone among us...
...Has given in to such a fate.
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NOTE
I know this was a tense chapter so let's lighten the load a little _(:3」∠)_ First of all, I wanted to thank you all for 400k reads! Please enjoy this celebratory Daniel pic made by yours truly :'D
Anyways, ever since I started this story in 2021, I honestly never thought it would get this far. This novel has made me suffer and given me comfort in so many ways, and writing it is both challenging yet exhilarating. There's still a lot left to go, so I won't be getting too sentimental just yet! TAW has lots more room to grow and I'll do my best as the author to make it a great story by the end!
To all readers who have supported me thus far, I owe you my greatest thanks. I know you're all just seeking free entertainment, and you probably don't care about this but I'm very grateful to everyone who spared my story even a minute or two. I wrote this book for myself, for my own fun. But at some point it became something that connects me to thousands of people all over the world, and it will forever be something I treasure!
Another 100k and we'll be half a million 🥹 I will continue to do my best to make this story a great one! Please continue to enjoy Irene's journey and I hope whatever the outcome may be, you'll all be able to smile and think "that was a really good book, I'm glad I read it."