Chapter 201

Chapter 201

With its bloodshot eye, the aged face of Nix stared out at Roxana as she remained frozen in place. There were other noticeable changes in him, which was why Grizelda had locked him inside a room she had marked with various spells and sorcery. It was also the reason he continued to wrap himself tightly under the blanket.

“Do NOT call me by that accursed name ever again!” Every time he spoke through his grit teeth, a piece of his skin fractured and then fell off his face. “I... I’m Nix!”

The puppet’s body quickly began to decay as he started to grow. It was a phenomenon that had occurred because of the recent incident. Or rather, it was a symptom that had started to show itself ever since he first started to experience Achille’s nightmares.

Roxana stared at him while reassuring herself that she was right for not taking him to see her mother. There was no way she could present him to the overly sensitive woman in such a state. If her mother were to see him now, she would undoubtedly prove unable to withstand the sight of her son’s corpse in such disrepair. Roxana continued to stare at him quietly until she finally, slowly, parted her lips to speak.

“Sure, Nix.” Whether she truly believed him or was merely pretending she did… “You are not Achille.” ...accepting his demand seemed the best course of action. His expression suddenly changed, but he immediately proceeded to throw his blanket back over himself to prevent her from seeing his face any longer.

She took the hint and left him alone in the room.

* * *

“H— Or rather, that thing cried the entire time you were gone.”

Grizelda was still sitting in her chair while updating her younger sister matter-of-factly about the puppet’s behavior. The thin walls must have allowed her to hear their conversation. Roxana would have simply ignored her sister if she had spoken in a manner clearly intended to mock or provoke a reaction from her. However, for once, Grizelda had spoken sincerely.

“The way I see it, I think he’s purposefully say—”

“I know.”

She curtly cut her sister off, then walked past her in silence. The older woman’s quiet gaze followed her back. Roxana sat in an empty chair with an expressionless face.

Fwoosh!

“Hey, Big Sis, I’m here!” Just then Jeremy arrived at the house.

Rather than greet him, Grizelda grumbled, “Why are you two acting like this is your house?”

Of course, he simply ignored her and approached his beloved sister. “Glad to see you made it here safely. Did you finish sorting things out?”

“Meh, more or less.”

Their plan was to regroup back in Agrece just as the other clans had chosen to return to their own respective lands. He leaned even closer to her before whispering, “Orka and Pandora left for Fipellion as well.”

Oh, right. Orka… Roxana recalled the name as if she had almost completely forgotten it. In truth, she had forgotten about his existence entirely due to the more pressing issues regarding Nix and Deon. She also knew that most medicines in their world would be ineffective at treating the poison coursing through Orka’s body, so was a bit shocked to learn that he was still on his back to Fipellion.

From what she had heard regarding his condition, she figured he wouldn’t likely die right away. She even thought of trading an Agrece-patented cure in exchange for his sincere apology, but she couldn’t be sure when—or if—such a day would come. She tabled the matter in her mind as she thought of something more important to ask her brother.

“What of Noel Vertium?”

“He’s in the same state as he was yesterday.”

The image of Noel staring blankly beyond the window lying on his bed resurfaced in her mind. She had returned to Yggdrasil castle five days prior after entrusting Deon to Sierra and Nix to Grizelda. Once she reentered the castle grounds, she acted as though she had never left. By the time the Cassis’ tracking unit had returned, she was questioned about the decoy corpse being Nix and testified that it was indeed him.

To her surprise, Noel had given the same testimony. At first, she found it strange and highly doubtful that he of all people would not be able to distinguish between the decoy and the real puppet, but he had seemed to have lost all hope and will after awakening. Perhaps he finally gave up on Nix, or... maybe he’s planning something else. She even considered that he might think Nix would come find him first once his body had begun to decay.

“How’s the puppet? Can I go in and take a look?” Jeremy asked after he had finished studying his scarlet-eyed sister’s expression.

“No... I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She recalled how the blond puppet’s body had started to crack like a marble statue. Even with Grizelda’s recovery magic circle, all they could do was slow down the decaying process. The previous evening, Roxana had casually suggested to Nix that they try meeting with the Gold Master since she thought his maker might have a solution.

Nix had appeared receptive to her advice but refused to meet his creator in the end. She did not push him any further on the matter, but only ever seemed to gaze upon him with her eyes slightly lowered afterward. That night when the dusk painted the night sky red, she wondered if her efforts had all been in vain as she arrived in the field Cassis’ words had encouraged her to set out for.

Without warning, a small sound crept through her ears. Jeremy and Grizelda heard the sound as well and proceeded to turn their gazes in its direction slightly. It was something like a muffled whimper.

Roxana closed her eyes and did her best to shut it out.

* * *

Around that time, Cassis had also left Yggdrasil. He had been chosen to serve as the representative for the five clans, so was returning from Vertium after delivering the news regarding Noel’s attack on Yggdrasil.

Even before he had arrived with the news, the atmosphere over the Gold lands had become morbidly sullen, despite the clan members’ ignorance of what had transpired in the neutral territory. The people who resided in the Gold manor’s rear garden showed a great deal of relief upon seeing that the unfamiliar footsteps, which initially invoked fear and anxiety within them, belonged to the Blue Heir.

Cassis was quick to tell them all of the warrior doll incident, then watched in silence as the Gold clan members were stunned speechless. Before long, however, they slowly came to accept the fact that their young leader was more than capable of committing such a crime.

Some even took the opportunity to speak out about the orange-haired clan master’s torture of them in order to find Dante’s killer. They unanimously agreed with the decree Cassis delivered, which said that Vertium’s borders would remain closed until a verdict had been reached concerning Noel. They again appeared somewhat relieved at the thought of the green-eyed youth not returning to them for some time.

However, they soon began to fear that they would perhaps also fall out of favor with the other clans due to the Gold Master’s absurd actions. Their mansion was abuzz with whispers and murmurs regarding that point. Those who had accompanied Cassis from Yggdrasil began to move to their assigned positions under his direction.

Cassis himself then left the rear garden to revisit the main manor. His men had already begun their search for any potential threats such as puppets resembling those they had faced in Yggdrasil.

“The Gold Master is currently away. Shall I escort you to the waiting room?”

Quite a few attendant puppets still remained within the residence. Some of the knights even confused the doll servants for actual humans, which was understandable considering that the puppets before them moved in a much more delicate fashion than the ones they had fought.

Fortunately for them, Noel had ordered every last one of his warrior puppets to invade Yggdrasil, so the dolls that remained in Vertium were evidently of no immediate threat. Even so, the Blue Knights took no chances and instructed the servants to reveal if they were human or not, then quarantined them accordingly.

All the while, Cassis pressed forward. After having searched a number of the rooms, he finally found Dante’s corpse. The white-haired steward was suspended inside a glass container full of a mysterious liquid that he supposed was preventing the corpse from decaying. The floor was also scattered with puppet scraps, which he presumed had been from failed experiments, as well as an array of papers containing indecipherable magic circle scribblings.

He glanced around the room in silence before returning to the container. The man that lay inside would never know of the lengths his master had gone to and the crimes committed for his sake. The disarray of puppet pieces juxtaposed with the calm stillness of Dante as he lay dead at the center, sent a chill down Cassis’ spine. He had initially intended to find the steward’s corpse and then dispose of it, but he instead left the room and the dead man intact inside the container.

“Cassis, are you just now getting back?”

Sylvia was the first to greet her brother as he reentered the Yggdrasil castle grounds. Most of the Blue clan members who had attended the spring gathering had chosen to remain in the neutral territory in order to care for the wounded and help with the restoration efforts.

It also didn’t help that most of the castle’s attendants had been killed during the invasion and the extent of damage was far too great for those who remained to handle even with the help of the other clans’ own servants.

“There seems to be even fewer people here now compared to when I left,” Cassis said as his golden eyes perused their surroundings. Since he had been sent to Vertium almost immediately after returning from tracking down the escaped combat puppets, he was unaware of all the additional guests who had left the castle in his absence.

“Yes, almost everyone else has returned to their own territory. Roxana also left three days ago, and the Black Master gathered the rest of the Agreces before leaving as well.” Sylvia studied her brother’s expression before continuing. “Orka Fipellion is also gone.”

She had only heard secondhand about what had transpired between the White Heir and her honorary sister-in-law. Although Roxana’s name was never explicitly mentioned in the rumors that had spread throughout Yggdrasil castle, the Blue Princess’ intuition laid bare the truth.

A coldness swept across Cassis’ eyes.

Be it a gift or a curse, Orka had been in such an unfortunate state by the time the Blue Heir learned of his transgressions that even he felt no further retribution was necessary. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that the poison the Fipellion had ingested was the very same one flowing through his beloved’s veins.

He instead chose to leave the White Demon Tamer alone until he was safely out of the neutral territory since he feared Roxana might not appreciate his interference in a matter she had already handled. He had never felt more perturbed than when he first realized he was truly an outsider when it came to Agrece affairs. He had also known that she would leave the castle soon after he had set out for the Gold lands.

In truth, he had even hoped he might have a chance to pay Orka a visit upon his return, so learning that he too had left so soon came as a slight disappointment. What Cassis had planned to do to the Fipellion would forever remain his secret.

“Cassis.” Sylvia’s voice was oddly hesitant as she called out his name. “Is Nix really... dead?”