novelnext Chapter 89: Find the Mastermind (2)
Chapter 89: Find the Mastermind (2)
[Silver Valley – Palace of Perpetual Rain.]
For decades, since the palace had been the home of the fifth Prince, not a single outsider had stepped inside the palace.
But it was different today, since last night, Prince brought a Prisoner along with him. The workers, maidens, and all the people who took care of the palace were bickering and whispering about the events occurring inside the palace.
Because there wasn’t just one outsider, but two. The second was a man they could easily differentiate by his appearance. Wearing a black coat with golden reptile iris, long black hair, and a black three-piece suit with golden linings.
*Thmp*
*Thmp*
*Thmp*
*Thmp*
*Thmp*
The sound of Ymir’s footsteps resounded in the gallery as he walked deeper into the castle. Water would flow elegantly through the cracks in the floor and walls, but these walls were more sturdy than newly built palaces.
He arrived in the middle of the palace, which was a room below the rain hall. Mountain Lions had a habit of roaming inside the palace without disturbing anyone. These animals with black fur and elegant eyes were more like pets to the people of the palace, despite their size.
He patted a lion sitting on the gates of the chamber, and it huffed a quiet breath and snuggled into deep sleep.
The room was like a closed chamber, with the rain hall’s fountain’s water seeping through the ceiling and falling elegantly onto the floor, and dispersing in the cracks in the corner.
A maiden wearing a dark grey shawl, long black frock, with an emblem of a lion, opened the gates for Ymir, and bowed slightly.
But before he could enter the room, he saw Orochi looking at the gate as it opened, and walked in front of him.
"So, did it go well?" Ymir asked.
"What do you expect as an answer, no?" Orochi scoffed. "I severed his contract, but as I told you, it drains a lot of life force; he doesn’t have much time."
"How long?" Ymir asked.
"Let’s say he’ll live for the night," Orochi replied.
"That’s enough time, I owe you one."
"You owe me many," Orochi said.
"Then keep tabs of favours, who knows I might repay them if I’m in the mood," Ymir said, and patted Orochi’s shoulder once, entering the room.
The maiden looked at Orochi once. From their conversation, they both seemed friends, so she just smiled and closed the doors, walking in with Ymir.
"...Ungrateful bastar-"
Orochi grunted, then his eyes drifted to Graves, who was leaning against the wall with his ear placed on them, trying to listen to what might be happening inside.
"..." He just looked at Graves like he was watching an idiot.
"Why don’t you go in there?" Orochi asked.
"Oh, Lord Orochi," Graves straightened up.
"His highness didn’t tell me to accompany him, so I stayed behind," he continued.
"It’s highly likely he didn’t even bother telling anyone; he doesn’t look like someone who’d want his people to move on his orders," Orochi continued.
"Ah---that seems true," Graves nodded, "but still,"
"And it’s better than prying on conversation from outside..." Orochi added.
"I see, I should probably go inside. Thank you for guiding me, Lord Orochi," Graves bowed, and he, too, got past Orochi and entered the chambers.
"..." Orochi just stared at the door and shook his head in disappointment.
"Mortals," he scoffed.
.-.-.-.-.-.
Besides the water falling from the fountains of the rain hall, there was a set of empty tables and chairs carved out of dark wood.
And in the corner of the room lay the almost lifeless body of an elder with emerald eyes. Skin loose and falling from his skeleton, clothes barely holding onto his stature, and he was shivering with cold.
This was Vael, the same man who looked young and healthy till yesterday, but now he had aged in a few hours.
Graves entered the chambers at the right time, as Ymir gestured at him to drag Vael to the table.
Graves nodded, and a mannequin made of water manifested, appearing from within the walls beside Vael. That translucent mannequin picked up Vael from his neck and dragged him all the way to the table as Vael struggled to breathe, and dropped him in the chair.
*Splash*
The water creature then dispersed, falling as water does, and seeped into the cracks of the floor.
"Haa---*Cough* *Cough* uhh" Vael gasped for air, gripping the handrest of the chair, as his eyes opened wide.
"He didn’t treat you well, did he?" Ymir said and took a seat opposite Vael, while the maiden stood on the right side of the table, and Graves on the left.
"Ahh, look at you, tch," Ymir said, clicking his tongue. "I thought you couldn’t get any more ugly."
Vael stared into Ymir’s eyes with whole intensity to kill, but his core was shattered, his demonic contract was severed, and he was weaker than normal people now.
A man who gave his humanity for power was now a lowlife, weaker than normal humans. He hated everything, wanted to kill himself, and tried several times, but he just couldn’t.
"I will...give you nothi-*Cough* nothing. You cannot get me to answer no matter what, I’ve gone through a lot of pain to fall for it," Vael grunted, but even his voice sounded like an old man on his deathbed.
"Oh, come on, do I look like someone who’d heat a tub of oil, and fry your body slowly till the point your head remains and feed it to the lions?" Ymir spread his arms like he wouldn’t do all that; he’s not that kind of man.
’Well, you’re pretty precise about it,’ Vael thought.
"Look, I’m not an evil man, Vael. I don’t want you to suffer like this." Ymir spoke in a low, comforting tone.
"Did you have water?" He asked, and then gestured at graves.
A glass of pure water manifested on the table, and inside it was drinkable water.
Vael had seen many magicians show tricks, but Graves was just on another level. But he didn’t have the energy to think about the possibilities of his survival, he just gripped the glass and chugged the water.
He kept drinking for a while, but the water inside the glass wouldn’t end.
"This water seeping into the palace is saltwater because, despite its name, the palace of rain, it comes from a river that flows from the ocean beyond the Silver Valley. That river has an ending which falls on the central dome, which is a floor higher than the rain hall, and when that amount of water hits the dome, it disperses across all of the mountains, creating an effect of rain, hence the name, Palace of Perpetual Rain," Ymir said.
"Pretty magnificent craft, huh, a rain that never stops," he commented.
Vael placed the glass on the table and gasped for air. He felt satisfied for a long time.
"So, when did you arrive, Marakana?" Ymir asked casually.
The way it was asked was so casual that Vael just simply replied without a thought.
"In the morning of the same day," he replied.
"Must’ve been a long journey," Ymir murmured, and then he looked at the maiden. "Do we have a map of the Lunar Kingdom with us, oh and a pen?"
"I will get it for you, your highness," She bowed and left in a hurry.
"I’m going to repeat myself, I am not telling you anything," Vael growled.
"Relax~ Relax~ I’m not forcing out anything from you, I’m not a bad guy like that man who was just here," Ymir replied, pointing at the doors.
"I’m gonna show you something really interesting. This is not an interrogation," Ymir said.
Vael couldn’t pinpoint what Ymir was trying to do. It all seemed like a useless struggle to him. But then again, he remembered what kind of man he is... the most normal prince of all massacred his men like bugs; he can go to any lengths.
After a while, the maiden returned. She must’ve made quite a run that her hair, which was previously tied in a bun, was falling to her waist.
She had rolled a sheet of paper, the size of the table, in her hands, and she opened it up on the table, revealing the map of the Lunar Kingdom.
And then she took out a fountain pen from the pockets of her shawl, and extended it with both hands towards Ymir.
"That’s much better," Ymir said, taking the pen.
He then leaned on the table, looked at the map for a second, and then marked Marakana.
Vael looked at the mark in confusion.
"Your shoes weren’t muddy, you were a total of thirty members, the last station stop for the locomotive is near the palace of Judea, but you’re demonic contracted humans, you wouldn’t move all together in a single train. You need carriages to arrive in Marakana since there will be a lot of them upon hearing the news of the Saintess arriving there."
"You arrived there in the morning of the same day, your clothes had slight marks of sitting in carriages for a long time, so I can assume..." Ymir made a circle with Markana at its centre.
"That you come from one of the places within this circle," he said.
Vael furrowed his brows and widened his eyes, looking at Ymir.
"Don’t be surprised yet, we’re just starting."