Sigrid Chapter 100

[ … words ]

‘Why is Morris here? How?’

Her bewildered eyes wavered. A moment later, there was a grinding sound of a stone wall moving, and a large man emerged.

Adolf kicked the unconscious Morris and said.

“Take him away.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“He was hiding and spying on us……. We need to interrogate him to find out what’s going on.”

“Understood.”

The man began dragging Morris by the legs. He apparently lacked teleportation abilities. Sigrid watched as he dragged Morris inside.

Adolf looked around.

‘He was wearing an Imperial Guard uniform. Did the Emperor send him?’

He didn’t think the Emperor would fully trust him, but he hadn’t expected to be under surveillance.

‘No, what use would it be for him to monitor this area?’

Adolf’s mind became cluttered with various thoughts.

“We’ll know once we interrogate him.”

People have a limit to how much pain they can endure. Adolf smiled faintly.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy inflicting pain on others.

A moment later, the large man came back out and said.

“I’ve tied him up inside, but will you interrogate him directly?”

“Yes. But first, break his spirit a bit.”

Adolf said, turning his head.

“I’m going to meet Bibi for a moment.”

“Understood.”

Adolf disappeared with a pop. Sigrid felt the familiar ripple of Aura. The man looked around once more before going back inside.

‘What should I do……?’

Sigrid leaned against a pillar and squeezed her eyes shut.

She had to go rescue Morris. But if she did that, she’d be breaking her promise to Beramund to move together. Not only that, but it could completely derail this plan.

‘They won’t kill Morris right away. They said they’d interrogate him.’

But what could they learn from interrogating Morris?

Nothing.

It was also uncertain whether they would release him unharmed after the interrogation. No, Sigrid knew they definitely wouldn’t do that.

Moreover, interrogation.

It would probably be torture disguised as interrogation.

Having experienced it herself, Sigrid didn’t want her friend to suffer that fate. Especially not Morris…!

Her deliberation was brief but intense.

‘I’m sorry, Beramund. Your Highness the Crown Prince.’

But she had to go rescue her friend. If she could save Morris before Adolf returned and quickly inform Beramund, who knew what might happen.

‘Yes, that might be better.’

Move as fast as possible.

Sigrid crouched down. She quickly felt around the wall where the large man had entered earlier. Then she pressed and pulled bricks with familiarity. This was thanks to the Empress having already taught her how to enter.

Rumble.

With a small but to Sigrid seemingly loud noise, the secret door opened. It was more of a tiny gap than a door. She squeezed her body through the small opening and closed the door from inside. Then she began descending the dark corridor stairs.

Despite wearing boots on the stone steps, her footsteps made no sound at all. Even if someone were standing at the bottom of the stairs, they wouldn’t have known she was coming down.

The secret room was neither small nor large, but for someone who had come down that narrow passage, it seemed surprisingly spacious.

The man who looked like a magician, the large one from earlier, was tying Morris to a chair. Sigrid surveyed the room.

‘A magic circle.’

It was similar to what Arkana had shown her. It was drawn in the center of the floor, about 1 meter in diameter. Morris was still unconscious. Sigrid separated the entire scabbard from the sword belt with her fingertips, hoping the man wouldn’t turn around.

‘I can’t leave blood behind.’

She couldn’t leave any traces.

With a click, the strap came loose and the scabbard came into her hand. Then Sigrid kicked off the floor and mercilessly struck the back of his head. With a thud that sounded quite painful, the magician collapsed to the floor.

Sigrid let out a breath and reattached the sword to the belt.

She bent down to untie Morris’s ropes.

At that moment, the Aura rippled behind her.

“Zen, I left my gloves here earlier—”

“—!!”

Sigrid whirled around. Adolf’s face contorted.

“You—”

Sigrid’s hand didn’t go for her sword hilt but grabbed his arm directly. Then she instantly infused it with Aura.

“Ugh?!”

Adolf, who had been about to teleport, was flustered by the disruption of his magical power. Sigrid grinned.

‘Yes, I thought it would work!’

As she twisted his arm, Adolf stretched out his other arm towards Sigrid. The strong force sent Sigrid flying, but she rolled once with breakfall technique and stood up.

Adolf clicked his tongue and chanted a complex spell. Just before Sigrid could rush in, the magic struck her.

But there was no pain or impact as she had expected.

Instead, Sigrid was bewildered.

“Huh—?”

“Did you think we wouldn’t have countermeasures against Aura users— Ugh!”

Adolf rolled on the floor to avoid Sigrid’s sword. Sigrid frowned. Her Aura wasn’t coming out. As if it was blocked somewhere? Or as if the path had become confused?

Sigrid grew anxious.

She couldn’t let this bastard escape. If this matter leaked to His Majesty, not only would the current operation be ruined, but they would face retaliation.

“Siri……?!”

A bewildered voice came from behind. Morris, having woken up, was shocked to find himself tied to a chair. Moreover, Sigrid was brandishing a sword in front of him, facing off against an unknown person.

“What is this…….”

Morris looked around. The complex floor pattern and maps hanging on the walls……. It was suspicious at a glance. He struggled to free himself from the bindings, making the chair rattle.

Adolf laughed and looked at Sigrid.

“Stay right there. Or that man’s head will fly off.”

Sigrid flinched at those words.

“Siri, don’t listen to that bastard!”

As Morris shouted from behind, Adolf swept his hand horizontally. Blood spurted from Morris’s thigh.

“Morris!”

Sigrid turned to look at him, then glared back at Adolf. Adolf didn’t miss how she positioned herself between them.

“What will you do?”

Sigrid gripped her sword handle tightly. She closed her eyes, then opened them and dropped the sword to the floor. The thought ‘That was the sword Beramund gave me’ briefly crossed her mind.

“So, how did you find out about this place?”

Sigrid looked up at Adolf’s question.

‘How much does he know? Or does he know nothing at all?’

She moistened her dry lips with her tongue before speaking.

“His Majesty ordered me to monitor you.”

“Emperor Yuri?”

“How dare you use His Majesty’s name!”

Sigrid barked like her former self, like a loyal dog, and Adolf reached out to her. There was a flash before her eyes.

“Argh—!”

Sigrid bit her lip to swallow her scream as she fell to her knees. Her muscles convulsed uncontrollably from the electric shock. The smell of burning flesh filled the air.

“Sigrid!!”

Morris screamed her name from behind.

“I see. That old geezer…….”

Adolf looked down at Sigrid, lost in thought. But doubt still remained.

“Let’s verify if that’s really true.”

Adolf bent down and shook the fallen magician— Zen.

“You didn’t kill him.”

Adolf looked at the writhing Sigrid. He must have given her quite a shock, she’s probably half-dead. It should have been enough to kill instantly, yet she’s still alive; he marveled at the tenacious vitality of Aura users.

“Did he order you not to harm them?”

Finding his own words plausible, Adolf narrowed his eyes. Zen, having regained consciousness, opened his eyes with a groan.

“What’s going on?”

“This woman knocked you out from behind. She says she was monitoring us on the Emperor’s orders.”

“What?!”

Zen angrily tried to jump up but clutched his head from dizziness. Then, panting, he kicked Sigrid. The unconscious Sigrid didn’t move a muscle.

“This crazy woman!”

“Stop it. She’s an Aura user. We can’t kill her before extracting the Core.”

At Adolf’s words, Zen grumbled. Adolf continued.

“I’ve sealed her Aura, so tie them up side by side. I’ll go to the Emperor to confirm.”

“What are you confirming?”

“Whether those two are really his pawns or not.”

“And if they’re not?”

At Zen’s blunt question, Adolf chuckled and said.

“Well~ We’ll ask about that when the time comes.”

With that, he immediately disappeared through teleportation. Zen roughly grabbed Sigrid and tried to tie her up with rope. Or rather, he tried to.

Sigrid, who had been pretending to be unconscious, kicked his knee, causing the joint to bend backwards as Zen let out a horrible scream. As he fell forward, Sigrid brought her knee up to his chin. Zen writhed and collapsed on the floor.

“Siri!”

Morris cried out with a choked voice. Sigrid picked up the sword from the floor and cut Morris’s ropes.

“What’s going on?”

At Morris’s question, Sigrid said.

“I’m sorry, I’ll explain the situation later. For now, we need to meet Beramund.”

Sigrid raised her sword and ended the fallen magician’s life.

Earlier, she had chosen not to kill to avoid leaving traces— to avoid leaving blood. But now there was no need for that. Morris’s wound was quite deep, so Sigrid used her belt to stop the bleeding.

“I’d like to carry you, but I can’t use my Aura right now……. I’ll support you.”

At Sigrid’s words, Morris stood up, tested his injured leg, and nodded with a groan.

‘I thought I was going to die.’

Sigrid swallowed a sigh, thinking of the pain that had coursed through her entire body.

There was only one reason she was still alive right now.

Grateful for Arkana’s protection spell, Sigrid left the secret room. Even though she had avoided a fatal blow, it still hurt. Her skin stung as if burned, and there was a smell of scorched hair.

“Sig, are you really alright?”

Sigrid nodded at Morris’s question. The stairs, which hadn’t seemed long when coming down, felt endless now as she supported Morris going up. As they finally made it outside, Morris said.

“I’m fine, so you go ahead first.”

“But…….”

“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but time is of the essence, right? This is the outer palace anyway, so I should be able to find a servant if I go a bit further. Go, Sigrid. I don’t want to be your burden again.”

Morris added the last words with self-loathing. When Sigrid dropped her sword because of him, he had felt like dying.

What if Sigrid had died then and there?

And he didn’t want to feel that way again. He’d rather die himself.

Sigrid nodded. As she stopped supporting him, Morris stood properly and flashed a smile, saying, “See? I’m fine.”

“Morris, get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“Got it.”

Morris nodded, and Sigrid hesitated before turning back and starting to run. As she moved, her entire body began to protest in pain.

‘And on top of that, my Aura…….’

Whatever magic had been cast, her Aura wasn’t moving properly. Sigrid continued running, trying to move her Aura again like someone trying to untangle a knotted rope.

Adolf waited with a slight feeling of impatience.

Even he couldn’t meet the Emperor at any time. If he suddenly appeared next to him through teleportation, it would cause an uproar. So he was waiting at the arranged place, having sent word through an aide, for the Emperor to come.

He had said it was a very important matter, so the Emperor should arrive soon.

While waiting, Adolf mentally organized the possibilities.

First was the case where the Emperor had actually been monitoring them.

He didn’t fully trust the Emperor either, so he could understand if the Emperor didn’t trust them. But that didn’t mean they had to accept this kind of interference.

It would be best to negotiate for a more favorable position by talking about how hurt they were by the suspicion.

‘Even though he’ll become our puppet soon anyway.’

Second was the case where a second force had been monitoring them.

But he knew that female knight Sigrid well. She was the Emperor’s puppet. So this possibility wasn’t very likely.

A moment later, the Emperor entered with an unpleasant expression.

“You said it was important? What is it?”

“I am honored to be in Your Majesty’s presence.”

Adolf bowed his head in greeting, then said.

“Are you suspicious of me?”

“Suspicious?”

“Yes.”

“You suddenly came to see me saying it was important, and this is all you have to say?”

The Emperor’s voice was tinged with irritation. Adolf continued.

“If you’re not suspicious, why did you put me under surveillance?”

“Surveillance?”

The Emperor asked, genuinely puzzled. Adolf raised his head to look at him and spoke deliberately.

“I heard you ordered Achtschwietz to monitor me?”

“I did no such thing.”

As he spoke firmly, Adolf responded with a smile.

“That’s not what Lady Ankertna said.”

At those words, the Emperor’s eyebrow twitched.

“Lady Ankertna? What did she say?”

“We caught her near the secret room we’re preparing today. According to her, Your Majesty ordered her to monitor us.”

“Ankertna…….”

The Emperor’s face contorted as he thought for a moment. Soon, he said.

“Go back immediately and kill that woman!”

“What?”

“If I didn’t send her, it must have been the Crown Prince who did.”

“But she drank the poison…….”