Empty (7)

“I’ll pick them up with you.”

A voice lowered to a hush spoke softly.

Laughter lingered in it.

He sounded amused by how fixated Alicia was on magic crystals.

Reichardt started by picking up the magic crystals rolling around nearby.

He gathered everything—magic crystals whose shells had been crushed under Lusa feet, and magic crystals with rough, intact shells.

The Lusa liked Reichardt.

It was probably because Reichardt liked the Lusa.

They rubbed their faces against his head as he passed, or made noises to show their delight.

Reichardt scooped up magic crystals quickly while petting the Lusa that came up to him.

Alicia also bent at the waist and swept up magic crystals.

She was happy.

“It’d be nice if I could ride a dragon too. Dragons can understand you, but they don’t listen.”

Alicia chatted cheerfully.

“…You can ride a dragon?”

Reichardt paused mid-pet and whipped around to Alicia.

His golden eyes sparkled as he looked at her.

“No…”

Alicia suspected Reichardt liked the Lusa because they were mounts.

She remembered his face earlier, curious about how she called the Lusa.

She also recalled how excited he’d been talking about carriages before, and her suspicion deepened.

“I see.”

The moment he heard she couldn’t ride a dragon, Reichardt immediately lost interest.

He turned back, ruffled the Lusa with quick strokes, and collected the remaining magic crystals.

“…”

Alicia watched the man stroking the Lusa with a suspicious gaze.

After packing up everything they could, the two of them left the hall.

Alicia chose one gentle Lusa from the Great Temple’s herd and rode it.

Reichardt, surprisingly, found the Lusa he had brought from Tessen and rode that one.

“Shall we go?”

Reichardt, with his sharp hearing, took the role of guide.

Rather than crashing into monsters, he chose to avoid them.

As Alicia led the Lusa, she taught Reichardt the sound signals.

Reichardt was an eager student.

He didn’t stop at simply being taught—he asked what he was curious about, and immediately tried what he learned himself.

As expected.

Watching Reichardt act more proactive than ever, Alicia’s suspicion hardened into certainty.

“You rode that monkey-faced thing on Mount Kaip.”

Reichardt said carefully.

“The monkey-bat?”

Alicia and Reichardt often dismounted while traveling to pick up magic crystals.

Because of that, Reichardt planned a route that avoided monsters and passed through places they had come through yesterday.

“Yes.”

Reichardt’s gaze drifted in midair as he answered.

He seemed to be imagining what it would be like to fly while riding the monkey-bat.

“You can only ride that as a one-time thing. You can’t keep it by your side and tame it like a Lusa.”

Alicia spoke deliberately, firmly.

“I see.”

Reichardt nodded with a disappointed face.

“When you try to ride a monkey-bat, you have to grab it head-on. It comes for the back of your neck, so it helps if you turn when it gets close—or just keep a wall behind you. When it closes in, aim for its left ear. If you hit it right, it gets dazed for a moment. That’s when you climb on, and once it’s flown up enough, you grab the horn at the base of its wing and steer.”

Alicia meant to keep it brief, but she ended up spilling everything she knew.

“That’s impressive.”

Reichardt said, his face genuinely awed.

Alicia tried not to look smug.

“I learned it all with my waist and neck nearly breaking.”

Shock spread across Reichardt’s face as his smile faded.

“Huh—haven’t I told you? In hell, no matter how badly I got hurt, I just wouldn’t die. Do I look like a demon?”

Alicia flashed a showy smile.

“No.”

Reichardt answered firmly.

Just as Alicia beamed at him with familiar warmth—

“Don’t ride monkey-bats anymore. It’s dangerous.”

Reichardt said with the strictest face in the world.

“…I won’t fall off anymore.”

“It’s still dangerous.”

Reichardt repeated himself at Alicia’s response.

“Rei.”

Alicia made a pitiful face and acted like a frail little thing.

“Even so, no.”

Reichardt shook his head, stroking her face that was laying it on thick.

“Tch. Anyway, there aren’t many monkey-bats.”

At Alicia’s sulky remark, Reichardt burst into laughter.

But then his expression suddenly changed.

“Alicia, have you ever seen a baby Lusa?”

“I have.”

Alicia answered readily at the scholarly question.

“Do Lusa have young too?”

But at the next words, she erased her expression.

‘So they do.’

Seeing Alicia’s stiff face, Reichardt guessed.

Lusa could have offspring, and magic crystals likely had something to do with how they multiplied.

Otherwise, Alicia wouldn’t look like that.

“…They do.”

Alicia answered after a long silence.

“Alright. That’s enough. We should speed up from here.”

Reichardt said as he urged his Lusa faster.

Alicia also pushed her Lusa into a quick run.

The two of them fell silent and sped toward the imperial capital.

Behind them followed a vast herd of pitch-black Lusa.

A grim rumor spread that the end of the world was coming.

It was said that the prophets who should have been in the Great Temple had left the sacred lands to save the world.

There were testimonies claiming that groups of priests had been seen in cities near the Great Temple.

People went to nearby prayer halls and asked what kind of revelation the Great Temple had received, but they could get no answers.

Some action-oriented people tried to visit the Great Temple directly to confirm the truth.

But every one of them was stopped at the Great Temple’s perimeter.

With the Imperial Knights and the Grand Duke of Tessen’s knights guarding it, people went in confidently—then quickly turned tail and left.

There were even rumors that every Clocktower Master in the Rune Empire had come to the imperial capital, Baden.

With nowhere to ask, people could only whisper among themselves.

The one thing that made people most believe in the end of the world was the Grand Duke of Tessen.

They said the Grand Duke of Tessen, known as the Devil Grand Duke, had recently abducted his fiancée, Lady Alicia, while riding a hell-beast.

‘Poor Lady Alicia.’

‘How could…’

‘They say she’s like an angel!’

People weren’t very surprised that the Grand Duke of Tessen was a Devil Grand Duke.

They’d heard it all before.

Most thought what had been waiting to happen had finally happened.

They simply pitied Alicia, who was to become the bride of Tessen’s Grand Duke—controlled by an evil demon.

Even if the world was ending.

Even if terrifying talk spread that the end was coming, the nobles’ extravagance remained unchanged.

If anything, they spent gold coins even more freely, saying the world might end tomorrow.

The imperial capital, Baden.

Queen Street, where only buildings plated in gold were said to be allowed to stand.

On Queen Street, a carriage stopped at Third Avenue—the street only those who could scatter money with every step were said to walk.

The carriage, elegant cream with golden ornamentation, was overwhelmingly large.

The other carriages around it were by no means small, either.

Yet the instant the cream carriage stopped, the others looked like mere foals beside the proud horses standing tall.

The carriage door opened, and a lady in a modest dress stepped down without having to hunch.

The beige dress was pale in tone, giving a calm impression.

But once she stepped down and began walking, the dress shimmered with each movement, revealing its splendor.

Those whose eyes had been stolen by the carriage and dress soon recognized the delicate yet cold-looking face.

A face that looked like it would send a frigid, sharp gaze if spoken to carelessly.

Not often seen, but impossible to forget—many recognized it at a glance.

The Grand Duke of Tessen’s fiancée.

Alicia Rain headed for the largest salon on Queen Street.

“L-Lady Bianca—wasn’t that the Grand Duchess just now?”

“Didn’t they say she was abducted…?”

“I’ve been wondering since I heard that rumor—why would His Grace abduct his own fiancée? How does that make any sense? And if that was Lady Alicia just now, why do people call her ‘angelic’? It felt like an icy wind blew past when she walked by.”

A group of ladies whispered while glancing toward the salon.

At the last lady’s question, the other two exchanged looks, then spoke.

“Lady Alicia…”

They stopped there and put on the most innocent smiles they could manage.

“Because when she smiles, you forget she was ever cold—she turns into an angel statue.”

“I honestly thought she was a different person.”

Unable to resist their curiosity, the three ladies tiptoed closer to the salon Alicia had entered.

At the entrance stood Karan, infamous for her high nose.

Karan, the master of Medena Salon, didn’t even treat most nobles as nobles, so she was the subject of endless gossip in high society.

“Your Grace, thank you for honoring us with your visit.”

That Karan greeted Alicia in a syrupy, overly charming voice.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Karan.”

Alicia smiled only enough for the chill to fade.

At the faint smile, Karan looked beside herself.

“Your Grace, your smile is beautiful no matter how many times I see it. I’d believe it if someone said an angel had descended.”

At Karan’s friendly flattery, those watching from inside and outside the salon quietly grumbled.

‘She didn’t even acknowledge me when I came.’

‘Am I invisible here?’

Alicia’s smile deepened by the tiniest degree.

“You can flatter me all you like, Karan—I won’t fall for it. I really came just to look around today. I won’t do something undisciplined like last time, ordering eight cloaks just because they were pretty.”

At Alicia’s vow, Karan laughed brightly.

“Oh my, Your Grace, don’t say such things. Every one of Your Grace’s choices has been correct. The children you took with you are all my masterpieces.”

In Karan’s salon, even a single ribbon cost an absurd amount.

A cloak required far more work than a ribbon.

Even buying two cloaks from Karan would make the ladies gasp in admiration.

Usually, rather than buying two cloaks, someone would commission a dress and then buy a cloak—or only buy a dress.

To buy eight cloaks there—just hearing it made people straighten their posture in humility.

“…”

“…”

Now they understood why Karan had come all the way to the entrance, fawning over Alicia.

“Your Grace, would you prefer to browse alone? Shall I close the salon?”

Karan boldly asked in a melting voice.

‘So she discriminates by how much gold you have.’

‘Tch.’

‘Damn it.’

Hearing Karan, everyone assumed they were about to be kicked out.

“Why would you close the salon? I really am just here to look around. Leave someone unprofitable like me, and go check on that lady getting a dress fitted.”

Alicia recoiled, asking why she would ever close the shop.

“If Your Grace says so, then so it shall be.”

Karan laughed again.

It was obvious Karan saw Alicia as a lump of gold.

Every word out of her mouth was smeared thick with flattery.

‘What a world…’

A lonely feeling passed through the ladies browsing the salon.

Glance.

Toward Alicia, drowning in Karan’s flattery, gazes filled with envy, jealousy, resentment, and longing were thrown.

“…”

As Alicia looked around the beautiful salon, she noticed those gazes and offered a small courtesy.

Not the faint smile she had shown Karan, but a soft smile that dissolved barriers.

Those who had been staring replied with awkward smiles and returned the courtesy.

Without saying much, Alicia continued browsing, as if what she’d told Karan had been sincere.

Then commotion broke out outside the salon.

Someone screamed in terror.

“Gasp!”

“…D-Demon…”

“What is that—is it a monster?”

Then frightened voices whispered even inside the salon.

‘Damn it.’

Alicia’s face, paused before accessories that would suit autumn and winter dresses, cracked slightly.

Alicia almost sighed, but barely held it in.

Since she was outside and prepared for watching eyes, she didn’t mutter anything vicious aloud.

‘Damn you, Rei.’

Only in her mind, Alicia cursed her fiancé and turned to look out the window.

Outside the window stood a huge, pitch-black Lusa.