Chapter 46: The One Who Approaches the Truth part 1
Left alone, Kassel could only let out a hollow laugh.
‘A dragon’s attack? And it’s targeting only our family…?’
Did that even make sense? The capital, Lapiz, was situated at the very heart of the Arkan Empire. There was no way a dragon could fly in unnoticed. Moreover, the words had come from Tiana, someone with whom he had clashed since their very first encounter, making the claim even more unsettling.
Returning to his office, Kassel pulled something out from the bottom-most drawer.
‘I heard that the latest trend for parentage verification isn’t through the Temple but through the Tower.’
The Tower’s Truth-Seeker’s Stone.
One had already been sent to the Grand Temple, while another remained at the Tower. Not just anyone could request its use, and the cost was significantly higher.
‘Can it verify the truth of a testimony rather than an object?’
Thinking of the Tower naturally brought Fay’s face to mind. Given the gravity of the situation, it was difficult to justify meeting her just because he wanted to see her. But still, he wanted to see her.
He tried to reason with himself, but as soon as he imagined Fay’s shy smile, the thought of abandoning everything just to meet her crept in.
‘Sigh… This is difficult.’
Kassel stood up, slipping a silk ribbon, one that the princess, his sister, occasionally used, into his pocket. Even if the incident were to unfold late next summer, time was tight to track the remaining dragons across the continent. He had to act fast.
Without delay, Kassel secretly made his way to the Tower. Thanks to his reputation and considerable wealth, gaining access to the stone proved easier than expected.
‘So, this is it.’
Placing the silk ribbon before the statue, he took a deep breath. He had only one question in mind. Though he could have asked the question that had tormented him for so long, today was not the day.
“Someone has prophesied that a dragon will bring disaster to my family, the Klein Duchy, next year. The owner of this silk ribbon is the one who made that claim. Is it… true?”
The gargoyle’s eyes, which adorned the Truth-Seeker’s Stone, turned white before shifting to green.
‘Heavens!’
Red meant falsehood, while green indicated truth. But then, something strange happened. The completely green eyes of the gargoyle turned white again. Then, only the right eye turned green while the left remained white.
Startled, Kassel spoke.
“What does this mean? Wait… this is…?!”
Before the gargoyle, letters began to form on a rectangular plaque in white script.
<It is a remnant of a forgotten past.>
“What…?”
He tried to ask again, but after the message was complete, the gargoyle’s eyes returned to their original state. No matter how many times he tried, the statue did not respond again.
The Tower staff explained that since the statue was based on divine magic from the Grand Temple, it was difficult to judge ‘phenomena’ rather than people or objects. The phrase left behind, <It is a remnant of a forgotten past.>, must be the key.
Kassel tried to decipher its meaning.
‘A forgotten past? Does that mean our family suffered a similar event in ancient times? No… that doesn’t make sense. That would mean it already happened, and yet, everyone has forgotten it?’
The words were brief, and the interpretation was left to him.
‘I explicitly asked if it would happen next year, and the statue did not deny it. What does this mean…? I can’t make sense of it.’
After considering various possibilities, Kassel shook his head.
If it were the Orleans Duchy, perhaps. But the Klein Duchy had a relatively short history.
If there had indeed been a dragon attack on their estate, it would have been impossible to suppress the information completely. There would have been records somewhere, and surely, rumors would have been passed down by those who enjoyed gossiping.
Even in the long-established Orleans Ducal House, everyone knew that one of their ancestors had once drunkenly urinated on the emperor’s statue and was flogged for it. If there had been such an incident, it would have been recorded somewhere.
Instead, a different question arose: Which dragon would be attacking the estate?
Back at the palace, Kassel researched every dragon that had existed since the birth of the Tiselle Continent.
By the time the Arkan Empire was founded, nearly all ancient dragons had gone extinct, or rather, had perished in battle against the Supreme God.
‘The only dragon whose fate remains unknown is Lucius.’
The Ancient Dragon Lucius.
He was said to be powerful, inquisitive, and frequently involved in human affairs. His last known whereabouts were during the fall of the Sharff Empire, where he battled Emperor Karon and then disappeared without a trace.
Some claimed he had died; others believed he had been sealed away. But there was no definitive proof.
‘Lucius, huh…’
A name crossed his mind, but Kassel shook his head.
That name was rarely used in this era, but there was no way a dangerous dragon would take human form and quietly live in the Tower unless he had gone mad.
Apart from the ancient dragons, fewer than ten dragons remained.
Three were in the ocean and had nearly assimilated with the sea, having not been observed for centuries. Even if they weren’t entirely merged, the likelihood of them leaving the ocean to storm the empire was close to zero.
Of the remaining seven, three had been confirmed slain, and two were sealed by powerful magic. Of the last two, one had been turned into a taxidermied specimen beneath the imperial palace.
Kassel had seen it when he was young.
‘That leaves only one dragon whose movements are unrestrained and whose survival is confirmed.’
