Karnak, Monarch of Death

Until just yesterday, Prince Elliot, who had just turned thirteen this year, had gone about his days as usual. He studied under scholars carefully chosen by the empire, strolled through the palace gardens for rest, had dinner at the designated hour, and went to bed.

All of this was observed by the maids attending him. Up until then, there had been no sign of anything unusual. But the next morning, Prince Elliot, who should have been lying in his bed, had vanished without a trace.

A single note had been left on the bed in his place: If you value the prince’s life, do not act rashly.

Naturally, the palace was thrown into chaos. The imperial knight order was immediately summoned and ordered to rescue the prince as swiftly as possible. First, they needed to determine who was behind this and for what purpose the crime had been committed.

The first suspects, as always, were the cults. The Cult of the Black God, which had long thrown the world into turmoil, and the Twilight Cult, which had recently risen to prominence, were placed under suspicion.

But there were parts that didn’t add up for either group to be the culprits. Prince Elliot hadn’t been kidnapped off the streets. He had disappeared right from the heart of the palace.

True to its role as the empire’s core, the palace was protected by layers of powerful magical barriers. It boasted the strongest defensive wards on the continent, incorporating the essence of the empire’s magic tower and the Tower of Dawn, two of the continent’s three great schools of magic.

Could the cultists really possess the power to break through such tremendous magical defenses? Of course, since those cultists practiced necromancy, the most forbidden of forbidden arts, it was possible they had exploited some strange, unknown technique to find a gap in the palace’s defensive wards.

But if that was the case, there should have been more traces left behind. If they had used necromancy powerful enough to breach the palace defenses and kidnap the prince, there would almost always be remnants of dark energy lingering in the air.

Sure, they could have deliberately hidden it, but if that was the case, why leave a note behind at all? And the note itself was odd. It had certainly threatened them by mentioning the prince’s life in a blatant attempt at intimidation. But there were no clear demands.

It didn’t tell them not to search for the prince, it simply said not to act rashly. Shouldn’t they at least specify what would be considered rash?

”It seems the palace has fallen into chaos because of this.” The butler furrowed his brow slightly as he finished his report. ”Could this really be the work of the Cult of the Black God?”

Dreltein let his words trail off. ”Well...”

If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that this wasn’t the work of the Cult of the Black God. After all, wasn’t he one of the leaders of the cult himself?

Unlike the Seven Kingdoms Alliance, the imperial branch of the Cult of the Black God had long been well-organized. The days when the branch offices acted recklessly and chaotically were long gone.

But it’s not like I can reveal that... Dreltein’s brow creased. ”I come home for the first time in ages, and this is what I find.”

Until now, Dreltein had been staying at Elezar’s magic tower, living there with her. But recently, Elezar had regained her magical power. That could only mean one

—Diogres Kolon has regained the power of an archmage.

—Then, he won’t be just sitting idly by.

They would certainly make a move against them. That was why he had returned home for a while to prepare countermeasures, only for this strange incident to occur.

Is this just a coincidence, or is it somehow connected? he wondered.

He didn’t think someone like Diogres would be involved in something as vile as kidnapping a prince, but given the timing, it was hard not to be suspicious.

He asked, ”So, what has been done about it?”

”His Majesty was enraged and ordered that the culprit be found by any means necessary,” responded the butler.

It wasn’t simply because of the emperor’s love for his son. In truth, emperors of the empire rarely possessed exceptional paternal affection. But the authority of the empire, the dignity of the royal family being challenged, was a grave matter.

”The Imperial knight order and the capital’s guards have been fully mobilized to search every corner of the city. We should see results soon.”

***

The imperial prince had vanished from the heart of the palace without a trace. No matter how hard they tried to keep it quiet, an incident of this magnitude could not be hidden. With countless knights and soldiers scouring the city, how could it be kept secret?

The citizens of the capital whispered that the incident was strange enough to make even ghosts confused. And so, rumors spread even more that it must have been the work of the cultists. It wasn’t an entirely baseless suspicion either. If something was enough to make ghosts confused, wasn’t that essentially necromancy? Three days passed like that.

”They’ve found Prince Elliot,” said the butler.

Dreltein’s interest was piqued at the butler’s report. ”So they finally caught the culprit?”

”That is not the case,” responded the butler.

Dreltein frowned. ”What do you mean? Didn’t you just say they found the prince?”

”Yes.” The butler continued, looking as if he couldn’t quite believe it himself. ”The prince simply reappeared.”

”What?”

It had taken place at the residence of Count Paraman, a long-standing noble of the empire and a court official of the royal family. Prince Elliot had been found collapsed at the count’s estate, located on the outskirts of the capital.

As a man who worked within the royal court, Count Paraman was well-acquainted with the royal family. He recognized the boy immediately. Shocked, he quickly took the prince in and contacted the imperial knight order.

”Fortunately, Prince Elliot was unharmed.” Though his complexion was pale, there were no apparent injuries or signs of illness.

Dreltein’s expression became strange as he listened to the report. ”So, you’re saying the prince, who disappeared three days ago, has reappeared without a scratch?”

”Yes,” said the butler.

”And there’s no sign of a curse or mind control on him?” continued Dreltein.

The butler nodded. ”They said they checked thoroughly.”

Dreltein frowned. ”Are you saying Prince Elliot ran away from home?”

The butler shook his head. ”That is certainly not the case.”

The prince had, without a doubt, been kidnapped. When he came to, he found himself trapped in a windowless room, spending three days there without seeing a single person. It was a place where he couldn’t see outside or hear a sound. Even the meals provided were nothing more than common bread and soup, the kind found anywhere.

There was no clue about who was behind the kidnapping or where he was being held that could give him any hint. After being confined for three days, he lost consciousness again, and when he woke up, he was in front of Count Paraman.

Dreltein asked, ”So, you’re telling me someone went to all the trouble of kidnapping the prince only to do nothing and send him back?”

”Yes, my lord.”

Dreltein shook his head in disbelief. ”I have no idea what’s going on.”

At the very least, the prince’s return allowed the palace to breathe a sigh of relief. But naturally, they weren’t about to let the matter rest. They intensified the search throughout the capital and continued to track down any leads they could find. Security around the palace was tightened even further.

Dreltein himself wasn’t directly affected by the incident. Guarding the royal family was outside his area of responsibility. And so, seven days passed.

As Dreltein was training at the drill grounds as usual, his butler came to find him. ”Excuse me, my lord?”

The strange look on the butler’s face made Dreltein raise an eyebrow. ”What is it?”

”It’s news that just arrived from the palace...” The butler hesitated before speaking. ”His Highness, the Second Prince, has been kidnapped.”

”Huh?”

***

Krilton, the empire’s second prince, had turned seventeen that year. His situation was much the same as Prince Elliot’s. He had spent the day in the palace as usual, went to sleep, and was gone the next morning.

A note was left on his bed, just like before. This time, however, the message was slightly different: It seems you do not value the prince’s life. Act rashly if you wish.

Sir Chaplin, captain of the imperial knights and a silver knight, exploded in fury. ”What the hell do they want?!”

He searched the capital day and night without sleep, putting all his energy into tracking down the culprit. Sadly, it yielded no results. What drove him even more mad was what happened three days later.

Prince Krilton was found at the estate of a court official on the outskirts of the capital. Even the way the incident concluded was exactly the same as with Prince Elliot. He, too, had been confined in an unknown location by unknown captors before being released.

Emperor Gottfried II of the empire erupted in a fiery rage. ”How could something like this happen in the very heart of the empire?!”

All available manpower was mobilized to find the flaws in their defenses, and the imperial magic tower was no exception. While Elezar, being who she was, was free from the emperor’s wrath, the mages under her command were forced to forgo sleep as they scoured every inch of the palace wards for any weaknesses.

A week passed, and tension filled the palace. If it was the third prince first, and then the second prince, then what came after two?

”Double—no, triple the guard around the crown prince!”

***

Three more days passed. The crown prince remained safe. At least, it meant they had broken the pattern of the kidnappings of the third and second princes. But they could not afford to lower their guard. There was no guarantee the culprit would give up just because a week had passed. For all they knew, the perpetrator might be waiting for the moment their vigilance weakened.

”In the end, until the culprit is caught, the crown prince will have to continue living a stifling life.” Elezar handed a cup of tea to Dreltein, who had visited the magic tower for the first time in a while, and gave a wry smile.

Taking the tea, Dreltein asked, ”What do you make of this situation?”

”I don’t have the slightest idea. But there is one thing I’ve realized because of this incident.” Elezar shrugged lightly. ”Kidnapping the third or second prince, if one knew the structure of the palace’s defensive wards, may not have been as difficult as we thought.”

The wards protecting the central palace, where the emperor—the supreme of the empire—or the crown prince resided, were certainly formidable. Even if Elezar herself tried, kidnapping someone from there without leaving a trace would be impossible. But what about the residences of the second and the third prince, who were relatively less important?

”There were more gaps than I expected,” admitted Elezar.

And when it came time to return the kidnapped princes, they weren’t placed back inside the palace but left at the estates of nobles who would recognize their faces. For a skilled thief, sneaking into a noble’s estate was surprisingly not that difficult.

”So, despite the gravity of the crime, it wasn’t as impossible an act as it might seem,” concluded Elzar.

The culprits had kidnapped the third and second princes in succession, creating the illusion that even the crown prince and the emperor were in danger, but the actual crimes committed weren’t very difficult. The problem was not the method, but the motive.

Elezar questioned, ”Who on earth would do something like this, and for what purpose?”

The only thing that changed because of this incident was that it revealed previously unnoticed gaps in the palace’s security. In a way, it could even be said that they had done the imperial family a favor. Truly, it made no sense. What meaning was there in kidnapping the princes only to release them unharmed?

***

Ten more days passed. Then, astonishing news arrived from the northern part of the empire.

—The traitor, Diogres Kolon, has reappeared!

After hiding himself from Elezar and Dreltein, Diogres Kolon had returned to the Tower of Dawn. As soon as he returned, Diogres reclaimed control of the Tower of Dawn and brought all the surrounding territories back under his command.

There had been some imperial forces stationed at the Tower of Dawn, but it was meaningless. Before the power of an archmage wielding tenth-circle magic, such forces were nothing more than leaves blown away by the autumn wind.

Having reclaimed the Tower of Dawn, Diogres Kolon made a bold declaration to the empire.

—To the great ruler of Lacania, I declare: It is Elezar and Dreltein, who falsely branded me a cultist, who are the true followers of the Cult of the Black God! As one loyal to the empire, I shall use all my strength to drive them out and save the empire!

There was no denying it. It was a certain declaration of rebellion. Wasn’t it always the case that those who sought to overthrow a nation claimed as such? They would punish the traitorous scoundrel who blinded and deafened the ruler and restore the country to its rightful path.

They would advance under that pretext, conquer the palace, and then say, ”Oh dear, what a tragedy, His Majesty perished amidst the chaos,” thus ending the history of a dynasty in the most typical fashion. Elezar and Dreltein immediately raised their armies, declaring they would crush the traitor.

Having done this once before, events unfolded similarly to the last time. The moment they began gathering troops with the emperor’s permission, they realized something was wrong.

”Wait, the imperial knight order can’t mobilize this time?”

Because of the prince kidnappings, they were fully occupied searching the capital for the culprits.

”The first imperial division can’t move either?”

They had all been reassigned to the heightened palace security following the kidnappings.

”Even half of the magic tower’s mages are tied down?”

They were busy inspecting and reinforcing the palace’s defensive wards and could not be spared. It was only then that Elezar and Dreltein realized what the kidnappings had truly meant.

They were moving to confront Diogres Kolon exactly as they had in the past, and yet...

”Our forces have been cut in half, haven’t they?”

***

Karnak smiled brightly. ”Well? This time, you have to admit, I really did a good job, didn’t I?”

As she watched him boasting, Serati blinked. He had kidnapped and confined innocent children, so it was hard to call it a good job. But he had returned them unharmed, without so much as a scratch. And the result had been a drastic reduction in the enemy’s forces. Wasn’t this actually well done?

Now I’m starting to get confused too, she thought.