Chapter 4: 4

Chapter 4 | Out of Hand

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This was minutes before the news of King Nordian’s death reached the meeting hall.

Olivia was hyperventilating.

She seemed like she could faint at any second, and it was too much of a pain for Cryer to have to approach her right now. Her blue eyes were like reeds, reeling from the strong winds of a storm.

Staring into them, Cryer finally tried to speak.

[Cryer] “This contract—“

But the second he tried to talk about his contract….

Knock, knock—

[Messenger] “Your Highness! Your Highness!”

Though she had firmly commanded everyone not to disturb them, the clear and booming voice of the messenger echoed throughout the room.

Both Olivia and Cryer cast their eyes towards the door, then towards each other.

[Messenger] “Your Highness, I’m so very sorry to bother you……but something major happened!”

[Cryer] “Apparently so.”

[Olivia] “I have to get up.”

They exchanged words with one another like a promise, but their actions didn’t match up. Olivia struggled to pick herself up while Cryer just silently watched her.

Knock, knock—

The knock was louder and harsher this time.

Olivia bit her lip, then roughly held out her hand towards Cryer.

[Olivia] “Help me.”

[Cryer] “You said you would help me.”

[Olivia] “That’s later, but this is now. Get me up.”

Her brazen words were enough to make Cryer chuckle. Trembling like a fawn and yet even his rough words like a growl weren’t enough to stop her from speaking boldly.

[Cryer] “You’re not wrong.”

He pulled Olivia up in an instant, and she hesitantly tapped her feet against the ground, her legs unstable and wobbly like an animal learning to walk.

[Cryer] “Can you walk?”

[Olivia] “I’m capable of that much.”

[Messenger] “Your Highness!”

If she delayed any longer, the messenger outside would surely die from the stress. Olivia put strength into her legs and headed for the door.

Click—

Through the open door was the messenger. He looked expressionless, yet somehow, he also seemed terribly shocked.

[Messenger] “Your Highness?”

[Olivia] “I’m here. What’s all the fuss about?”

Olivia’s voice was exceedingly calm, her face the image of a perfect Imperial Princess. Hearing it, the messenger was able to calm down a tad, and answered with a lower voice than before, bowing as he did.

[Messenger] “The King of Nordian has died.”

Staring down at the messenger’s bowed head, Olivia’s eyes shook.

The King of Nordian? Dead?

He died……? But how?

Before her fifth regression, in all four lifetimes, he was a part of the war declaration without fail. Of course small things would change here and there every time this happened, but the death of King Nordian….?

How….?

Thrown into confusion, Olivia’s shoulders stiffened at the feeling of Cryer moving closer from just behind her.

[Cryer] “Is that true?”

Like he did for Olivia, in response to Cryer’s low pitched voice as he wore the mask of a knight, the messenger gave a concise answer.

[Messenger] “Yes.”

Hearing Cryer’s reply, Olivia sharply turned her head back towards him.

[Cryer] “I see.”

[Olivia] “That’s all……? No, we should go.”

Olivia was just a second away from asking him if that simple reaction was all he could muster, but instead she gestured towards the messenger.

Guided by him, Olivia glanced back at Cryer.

Even though the King of Nordian had just died, he didn’t bat an eye at it. Any other knight would have exploded in anger and rushed to avenge their lord, but Cryer looked entirely unbothered.

Was that normal for him? To be that apathetic about it?

It wasn’t as though he and King Nordian were best pals and comrades, but still……

Olivia chewed the inside of her mouth. At the end of it all, she couldn’t hide her shock. 

This time, the King of Nordian would not be involved in the war. By now, the death of one person wasn’t enough to faze her, especially compared to the casualties of war.

But this was new blood. And now he would have nothing to do with the crux of the problem.

[Messenger] “Wait here.”

Regardless of the turmoil Olivia was currently feeling, the messenger dutifully guided them to their destination, and before long, the King of Nordian entered their vision.

What was left of him, at least. Now he was nothing more than a miserable corpse. His neck had been pierced by the sharp end of one of the fixtures with his eyes wide open—indicating his death was sudden and violent. Underneath him was blood brightly burning red, still pooling from his feet.

[Olivia] “What on earth happened?”

The sight was far more grisly than she expected. Olivia pulled herself together, pushing aside her shock and took a closer look at the king’s corpse.

Cryer was the same, but not only did he scan the body, but also everything surrounding him, too.

Looking the body up and down, Olivia shook her head.

[Olivia] “What a mess.”

She turned her head, beckoning closer one of the servants.

[Olivia] “Do you know what happened?”

[Servant] “It would seem he had an accident and ended up stumbling down the stairs.”

[Olivia] “An accident?”

[Servant] “Yes.”

Olivia tilted her head.

[Olivia] “Did his attendant say anything?”

[Servant] “Only that the king said he wished to be alone for a while, so no one was with him at the time of the accident.”

[Olivia] “So in the end, no one knows for certain.”

[Servant] “I’m sorry.”

[Olivia] “Have them clean this up.”

[Servant] “Yes, Your Highness.”

While the servants got to work cleaning the body, Olivia went and approached Cryer, who had already climbed the stairs and was observing things from above.

[Olivia] “It was an accident, apparently.”

[Cryer] “I see.”

[Olivia] “Really? That’s all you have to say, again?”

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[Cryer] “Has this happened before?”

By ‘before’, he must have been asking about one of Olivia’s previous lives. She didn’t have to think about it for long before shaking her head.

[Olivia] “No. But like I said, anything can change—save for the core of the problem.”

[Cryer] “Must have been quite the core.”

[Olivia] “Maybe…..I don’t know. Maybe King Nordian had less to do with the war than I thought? But it’s strange. You were the one who instigated it, but the declaration was always made on the part of King Nordian.”

[Cryer] “The King was nothing more than a puppet.”

[Olivia] “There’s a chance…..But, wait a minute. From the way he carried himself, he never seemed like a puppet to me.”

At Olivia’s words, Cryer’s lips twisted.

[Cryer] “The sight of a puppet playing their part isn’t a very obvious one. Most wouldn’t notice, but that isn’t the case for me.”

[Olivia] “Then…?”

[Cryer] “More importantly, did you change the flooring or maybe the materials for the stairs before the meeting?”

The question was so sudden that Olivia just blinked, but then she quickly nodded.

[Cryer] “Did you run out of time to finish it?”

[Olivia] “Of course not. Even if an entire wall needed to be removed or the floor had to be redone, a day or two at most would be enough. And before you say it, no, it wasn’t unnecessary.”

This place was the detached palace, owned by the Imperial family.

Under the Emperor’s order, even moving mountains was a feasible task, much less construction being done on the detached palace. If they were hard pressed for time, then they would simply hire more people to make it go faster.

The Empire was the only place on the entire continent that could afford such a thing.

[Olivia] “I don’t get how this could have happened. The King of Nordian was in good shape, both mentally and physically. Is it even possible for him to have simply slipped or missed his footing?”

As Cryer crouched near the floor, carefully examining, Olivia crouched down next to him, following his lead and narrowing her eyes at the ground.

But from her perspective, the floor was rather plain—nothing special to be seen. The design wasn’t very much to her liking, but it harmonized with the rest of the room, so she didn’t want to argue about it…..

[Cryer] “No. Most construction plans put slip guards at the top of stairs to prevent that. And even if he tripped, anyone with working arms would’ve grabbed the railing.”

Following Cryer’s gaze, Olivia’s eyes settled on the railing. Just as he said, it was perfectly in place, easy to grab for anyone about to take a tumble.

[Olivia] “Then that means—“

[Cryer] “This was an assassination disguised as an accident.”

Olivia tilted her head before asking another question.

[Olivia] “For what purpose would one kill the King of Nordian?”

But once more, a phrase that did not answer her question came back in response instead.

[Cryer] “That’s what he would’ve done.”

[Olivia] “He?”

Crack—

Olivia immediately jumped back like a tuna being harpooned with a pike at the sudden and loud sound of grinding teeth right next to her. It was obviously coming from Cryer, but she dared not look at him right now.

But she couldn’t help but ask.

[Olivia] “Wh…….Who is he?”

[Cryer] “He’s a mage.”

[Olivia] “A mage? Then…..your contract….”

[Cryer] “Yeah. He did this to me.”

Cryer instinctively rubbed his hand against his chest, feeling for the signs of the contract. A magical manifestation of his bindings. A seal invisible to everyone but him.

[???] ‘……You will……….Wrath………….This world will soon be………’

Emerging from the void were fragments of the past. Old memories being brought to life, carried on an even older wind, filling the empty space.

But then—

[Cryer] “What are you doing?”

With a blank expression, Cryer looked down at the small and fragile hand that was loosely draped over the back of his own.

[Olivia] “Oh, I…….”

Though she couldn’t answer properly, Olivia continued to pat the back of his hand. But seeing the narrowing of his eyes, she hurried to give him some kind of answer.

[Olivia] “I don’t know. My hand just kind of moved on its own.”

Olivia bit her lip, as if even she could understand how ridiculous those words were, though she still said them out loud. 

But she didn’t say anything else. There were no words to speak, even if she wanted to. After meeting Cryer, not once did she lie to him and this time was no different, her words only ever echoing truth.

There was no time to think or rationalize it. It was just that when she came back to her senses, she was already patting the back of his hand. It was kind of like that urge you get to pat a baby’s back to soothe them.

Her response didn’t answer his question, but Cryer didn’t continue to ask.

He did not slap her hand away, nor did he break it or cut it off in anger.

He just watched her.

A dove……Did she say she was a dove of peace?

A woman who was trying to prevent, or rather survive through the prospects of a war.

[Cryer] “You must be a real dove.”

[Olivia] “I’m human! A human, you hear me!”

A human and yet…….

After returning from death, bound by a contract he never asked for, living life like a puppet tied to strings controlled by another, Cryer was made uncomfortable by contact with other people.

It wasn’t to the point of feeling disgusted by the presence of others or avoiding people entirely, but the half-hearted warmth of humans touching him was irritating. It scratched his nerves beyond all compare.

It was probably because of the slave seal that was engraved upon him. A seal forced on him by a sick and twisted mage who breathed warmth back into his dead body, long after he had already gone cold.

But this was strange.

Somehow, this didn’t feel so bad.

It didn’t feel unpleasant nor was he filled with a desire to cut off her hand.

[Cryer] “Are you sure you’re human?”

[Olivia] “Definitely! You can trust that, honestly. When I said I was a dove of peace, I obviously meant that metaphorically. They’re symbols of world harmony and those who strive to protect it!”

He didn’t even hate the sound of her bird-like voice, chirping directly in front of him.

A faint but oddly distorted smirk spread across Cryer’s lips.

[Cryer] “So you’re human.”

[Olivia] “Like I’ve said many times now, I’m a person. You’d obviously be able to tell if I was a dove. No matter how many times I regressed, I never once came back as an animal……”

He stared deeply into Olivia’s blue eyes, reddened in the corners as she sincerely proclaimed with all her heart that she was in fact, not a dove.

[Cryer] “Not……bad.”

Cryer’s voice scattered into the air, unheard by Olivia who was still chattering away. But he could hear his own sentiment, loud and clear.

Yeah. The touch of Olivia’s warmth wasn’t bad at all.

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While Olivia and Cryer were on their way to see the body of the King of Nordian, the Nordian Palace was in chaos, albeit for different reasons.

[—] “His Majesty has passed away!”

[—] “What do you mean?”

[???] “This is not the time. We must tend to the heir, the Crown Prince.”

Among the crowd of clamoring people, a man stood up.

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