A day ago.
“…I see. That’s an unfortunate situation. Need any help?”
“I appreciate the offer, Lord Franz. But I am a Lord entrusted by the Emperor, am I not? If so, it is my duty to protect my own land.”
Franz gave a small, approving smile. “Spoken like a true noble.”
It was tempting to accept Franz’s help.
But Vanitas declined for a reason.
He wasn’t entirely sure what Franz would do if he stepped into the Astrea Domain. And to be completely honest, there was a high probability the man would uncover things better left hidden.
“Though, if it comes down to it,” Vanitas said calmly, “I hope His Majesty is well prepared for a subjugation.”
Franz chuckled under his breath. “Knowing you, Vanitas, I find that outcome rather unlikely. But very well, if the worst does happen, I’ll offer my assistance.”
Vanitas gave a small nod. “That’s all I ask for.”
With the conversation finished, the two played a quick game of League of Spirits, followed by a round of exercise. Franz wanted to move, and Vanitas had no objections.
As they ran side by side on a magic treadmill, Franz spoke up.
“Though I wonder… where do you think chimeras come from?”
“Am I supposed to know?” Vanitas replied.
“You’re one of the smartest people I know.”
Vanitas turned his head slightly, eyes fixed on the wall ahead as he continued running.
“Isn’t it obvious? They’re modified monsters with a mix of various monster DNA. Experiments, basically.”
“Yes, but I meant… where do chimeras come from?”
“Ah.”
Vanitas paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes.
“Have you ever heard of the Black Dragon Cult?”
Franz raised a brow. “Cult, you say? Can’t say I haven’t. My, what a dangerous bunch.”
“It’s just speculation,” Vanitas said calmly, “but these chimeras… they’re no natural breed. From the grotesque forms to the nature of their appearances, my guess is that they’re the result of failed experiments.”
He exhaled slowly.
“A failed byproduct of something much bigger.”
“Something bigger…” Franz repeated under his breath, glancing toward Vanitas. “You think they’re trying to perfect something?”
“Highly likely, given what we’ve seen so far. But what’s scary is they’re probably right under our noses.”
Franz frowned. “If that’s the case… then what’s the end goal?”
Vanitas didn’t answer immediately and stared ahead.
Could Franz be led to this extent? Ideally, he was meant to be a boss character, but he wasn’t aligned with Araxys.
Still… it was worth a shot.
“I may be misinterpreting,” Vanitas began. “But…”
“But…?” Franz prompted.
“Artificial stigmatas.”
A beat of silence passed.
“….Ah.”
After a round of exercise, the two went for a casual stroll to cool off. Both wore hoodies and caps to make it easier to blend in with the crowd without attracting too much attention.
Franz, for reasons beyond Vanitas’s comprehension, would often sneak out into the city like this, without his wife’s knowledge.
Though… it seemed like he wasn’t sleeping around anymore.
At least, Vanitas hoped he wasn’t.
“Say, Vanitas,” Franz said casually, “what do you think of becoming my official Imperial Advisor?”
“Advisor?”
“Yes.”
Vanitas blinked. Was that a good idea?
He was already a professor, a scholar, a club moderator. He had backlogs of research to finish and publish, student papers to grade, an examination draft to finalize and submit to the Headmaster, not to mention an upcoming panel for a research presentation next month.
On top of that, he managed several businesses, had a research project focused on phone development underway, needed to make time for Irene’s tournament, and the Summit Festival preparations were closing in fast.
Was it wise to add “Imperial Advisor” to that growing list?
“I see you’re thinking about it deeply,” Franz noted beside him, grinning.
“….”
“It’s an official position, yes,” Franz continued. “But I’m aware our new Marquess is a very busy man. It won’t demand much of your time. Honestly, I already ask you for advice often enough, might as well start paying you for it, don’t you think?”
“…Ah.” Vanitas exhaled. “Send me the documentation.
“I thought you’d say that,” Franz said. “I had the paperwork prepared two days ago.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to be paid to be annoyed.”
Franz chuckled. “You say that, but you’d make a damn good Advisor. It’s great to have someone I trust by my side.”
“Then I’m honored, Lord Franz.”
The two continued their stroll, taking in the sights of the city as the sun dipped lower toward the horizon. The golden glow of the setting light bathed the rooftops in gold, and for a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Franz looked up.
“We’re friends, aren’t we?” he asked.
Vanitas raised a brow. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
Moments like this made Vanitas actually consider Franz a good friend. At least, one of the few he had in his age range. Franz liked to treat him as a younger man, but Vanitas knew better.
At least… not when it came to mentality.
‘If Franz really does go down the same path as in the game…’
It would be a shame.
“Then why are you still referring to me as ‘Lord’?” Franz asked suddenly.
“I’m an Imperial subject who serves the Crown,” Vanitas replied. “I know how to separate personal decorum from professional conduct.”
Franz smiled. “Then as the Emperor, I’ll allow you to call me Franz.”
Vanitas didn’t respond right away. He looked ahead, watching as the last slivers of sunlight slowly lowered beneath the skyline.
“.…No can do.”
Franz raised a brow. “What about ‘big brother’?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Is it really that hard?”
Vanitas let out a quiet sigh. “On one condition.”
Franz’s smile softened slightly. “Name it.”
“If… I were to disappear,” Vanitas said, “then please… protect Charlotte.”
Franz fell silent for a moment. For Vanitas, having the Imperial Family’s name behind him was no small matter. In fact, it was monumental.
But that was the problem. It applied only to him.
They weren’t politically obligated to protect Charlotte. Maybe, out of conscience or personal regard, someone might look after her. But there were no guarantees.
“Whoa, I’m a married man,” he said suddenly. “And is it really right to sell off your little sister to a friend as a concubine?”
“….”
Vanitas narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers at Franz.
“Calm down, calm down,” Franz laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just kidding.”
“I would’ve committed Imperial treason on the spot.”
“What a scary man.…”
Franz took a cautious step back.
“Then it’s a promise—”
Before Franz could finish, something small struck Vanitas in the shoulder and both of them turned.
A pebble hit the ground and rolled to a stop. Just ahead, a group of children looked at them with scowls before running off.
Commoners.
“….”
“Franz?”
Riiing—
A high-pitched ringing filled Franz’s ears.
His gaze didn’t follow the children. It burned through them. Through their backs as they vanished around the corner.
Undignified, ungrateful, and uneducated waste.
He’d built schools, pushed reforms, funded food programs in the inner districts. Nobles even pushed for free education.
And yet they still remained wild.
‘They killed her.’
His hand twitched at his side.
‘They killed both of them.’
First, the woman he loved. Then, his pathetic mother.
“….”
Franz’s eyes darkened. Right, how could he have forgotten? Human lives were nothing but cattle.
“Filth.”
“Franz.”
“….”
Franz blinked at the voice cutting through his thoughts and turned.
“….”
Meeting Vanitas’s eyes.
* * *
“Slow down, Saintess. Breathe, just breathe.”
“Haa… okay.”
Aston Nietzsche, the Sword Saint, held Selena’s trembling hand in one of the cathedral’s private chambers after being summoned urgently and now stood face-to-face with the visibly shaken Saintess.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her like this. Selena had always been sensitive to her visions, especially since recently, all her divine prophecies had come true despite Aston involving himself to resolve the issue.
Though he had managed to piece together keywords from her frantic muttering, she had spoken so quickly that most of it blurred together.
“Sword Saint….”
She finally found her voice.
And so, Selena began recounting the visions one by one.
When she finished, Aston leaned back slightly, propping his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on a closed fist.
“How am I supposed to make sense of this, Saintess?”
“Didn’t I say an origin has disappeared?”
“Yes, but… do you even know where this is supposed to be? Snow, a woman in armor, an Aetherion crest, sure, but where exactly are we supposed to find her?”
“We can ask around!” Selena said quickly. “An origin isn’t just any normal being. It’s highly likely this knight lady is someone famous in Aetherion!”
Aston let out a breath, shaking his head.
“My lady, I am a Paladin revered across every Empire. And not once have I heard of a knight matching the description you’ve given.”
“….That can’t be.”
Aston sighed but straightened and met her gaze intently. “But… I’ll do everything in my power.”
An origin disappearing was unheard of.
If an origin were dying, or had already passed, their third-dimensional abilities would normally transfer to someone fated. But if an origin simply vanished without a trace… what would become of that power?
The thought unsettled Selena deeply. It broke the laws of the world as she understood them.
As she looked at Aston, the man revered as the strongest, whose presence had brought peace to even the most panicked noble, she found no comfort.
Because lately, none of her visions had been resolved.
They had all ended in tragedy.
“Akh…!”
Suddenly, a sharp stab of pain shot through her skull. Her breath caught as her knees gave slightly.
“Saintess!” Aston reached out, grasping her hand tightly and helping her stay upright.
After a moment, she managed to calm her breathing. Her wide eyes locked onto him.
“D-Do you remember… that man I danced with? At my inauguration?”
Aston blinked. “Yes?”
His eyes narrowed in thought, but he remembered. Of course, he did.
“Vanitas Astrea?”
“Yes, him!”
“What about him?” he asked quickly. “Did you see him?”
Selena hesitated.
Then, her voice trembled.
“….He’s going to die.”
* * *
“Looking at this… it seems like she put up quite a fight.”
“But she couldn’t have just vanished like that…”
Knights of the Illenia Order inspected the area where Grand Knight Margaret Illenia was last seen. They followed a staggering number of trails left behind with chimera corpses strewn far and wide across the terrain.
The reach of the destruction extended so far that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she might have cleared every chimera in the northern ridge.
“But without any trace of her… doesn’t that mean….”
“What are you trying to say?” Vanitas asked, turning to face the two knights with a blank expression as he continued surveying the area.
“L-Lord Astrea, it’s just that… the Grand Knight isn’t the type to abandon her duty. So—”
“So?”
“…It wouldn’t be a stretch to say she’s—”
“Gone?”
The surrounding knights’ expressions hardened. No one responded, but the silence said enough. Their fists clenched at their sides as the reality of the situation began to settle in.
Vanitas turned back around, eyes scanning the wreckage. The earth had been torn open. Trees were uprooted with slash marks here and there.
“Do you see a body anywhere?” Vanitas asked coldly.
“N-Not yet, but—”
“Yet?” His scowl deepened.
“A-Ah, I just meant if we search more thoroughly, we might—”
“Don’t declare her dead like it’s a certainty,” Vanitas snapped. “What kind of knight are you?”
The air tensed around them. The knight who had spoken bowed his head, shame coloring his face. The others’ postures stiffened, as if Vanitas’s words had struck them all.
“The least you can do is hold faith until we know for sure,” Vanitas added.
He turned away from them, eyes sweeping across the treeline once more.
“Fan out. Check every path, ridge, and glade. I want reports every hour.”
——Yes, sir!
As the knights dispersed, Violette approached from the side.
“Apologies for that, Lord Vanitas. Gideon is a new recruit from our recent expansion.”
“It’s telling from his lack of loyalty,” Vanitas replied flatly.
Violette gave a small nod, accepting the criticism without excuse.
Just then, Silas’s voice rang out from a short distance away.
——Professor! Come check this out!
Vanitas turned immediately, eyes narrowing. Without a word, he strode toward the direction of the voice, Violette following close behind.
The forest opened slightly into a shallow clearing where Silas was crouched near the base of a gnarled tree. Ezra was nearby, watching silently with a furrowed brow.
Vanitas approached. “What is it?”
“I’ve been studying spirit magic recently,” Silas said. “And the mana influx here, it’s odd. Right here, where this large slash marked the trunk.”
Vanitas narrowed his gaze and adjusted his spectacles. Sure enough, the mana concentration was strange. As he stepped back and scanned the surrounding marks, he noted the same pattern.
Violette moved closer and inspected the tree.
“From the shape of the cut, it looks like the Grand Knight’s swordwork,” she said. “The density and angle of the slash… I’m sure of it.”
Vanitas rubbed his chin, eyes still fixed on the distorted flow of mana in the air.
“So what do I make of this? Margaret wasn’t just fighting chimeras… but spirits?”
Spirits were a natural presence in the world, dwelling in places rich in mana. While rare in densely populated areas, they thrived in forests, cliff sides, and uninhabited wilds. Their presence here wasn’t impossible.
But this…
No, the mana imprint didn’t belong to a common spirit.
There was something else. Something eerily familiar to Vanitas, for some reason.
He narrowed his eyes. “…It wasn’t just any spirit.”
A deep sense of regret washed over him of his refusal over Charlotte’s assistance.
What was the point of having a little sister who could control spirits as if it were as simple as breathing, if he didn’t take advantage of it?
Perhaps he had not fully moved on from his little sister, Eun-ah, despite becoming Vanitas Astrea for over a year.
No, had he truly moved on from his life as Chae Eun-woo?
“Have you figured anything out, professor?” Silas asked.
“Yes, but… I need to confirm it first.”
——!
All of a sudden, a commotion erupted in the distance. The sound of clashing steel and shouts from knights echoed through the trees.
All eyes turned toward the source of the noise, where a group of knights had begun engaging chimeras.
Silas rose quickly, and Vanitas was just about to follow when Violette stepped forward.
“Stay here, Lord Vanitas. We’ll handle it,” she said firmly. “You and Lord Silas should continue investigating. I’m not well-versed in spirits, and I’m certain none of these numbskulls are either.”
“Then I’ll join you,” Ezra added, stepping beside her.
Violette glanced back at Vanitas, silently asking whether it was okay.
“It’s fine,” Vanitas said. “Let him go. I called him here for this reason in the first place.”