TYND 14

TL: Motokare

Did he have some strange dream?

Harrié walked away, tired of waiting for an answer. If Yolone Sirin had created a barrier, only Theon could break it. The mages could work together on a removal spell, but—who knew—that might take days, months, or even years.

I’ll just have him smash it if something suspicious appears.

He’d rather not use brute force and damage the lab, but under the circumstances, he’d no choice. If Theon left today, even the emperor couldn’t stop him.

Having made up his mind, Harrié pointed out the suspicious spots he’d noticed before but hadn’t mentioned—misaligned bricks, uneven floors, and cracked pillars. The Aura Master swung his sword at each one but found no barriers. Each spot turned out to be nothing more than poor construction.

“That cursed old tower mage!” Harrié was openly cursing Yolone under his breath. 

Kerblaam! Boom! Crash!

They were just causing pointless damage to Yolone Sirin’s tower at this point.

Why did I have such a dream?

Harrié was right—Theon’s mind was elsewhere. The young man in his dream was definitely Rothy. Would he really look like that in ten years? Why’d the dream come right after he’d prayed for Rothy’s peace? People said Seará often gave guidance through dreams—that’s why priests blessed supplicants with “May you only have good dreams” and “May your dreams be blessed.”

Was this truly Seará’s response? 

Theon couldn’t decide if it was divine guidance or just his own suppressed desires manifesting in a dream. If it was just a dream, it was nothing but foolish one. But if it was divine guidance, then the dream held clues. Theon clearly remembered his prayer from last night. While he was lost in thought, Chungnip approached carefully. 

“Your Grace, why don’t we just ask Rothy directly?” 

Chungnip flinched when Theon drew his brows together, but continued anyway.

“I know it’s terrible to ask him to help us find the place he was experimented on, and doing so probably would cause him distress… but no one knows Yolone Sirin better than he does. He might know where the secret lab is.”

“…Bring him.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Soon after, Rothy arrived. Theon’s eyes widened slightly at the sight. Since Chloé Palace was far from the mage tower, and the bitter winter wind had been blowing all day, Ultje had dressed Rothy…very warmly. He wore a winter coat lined with soft Carridge fur, and over that, a thick but light burnous filled with Seyleon lion fur. His hands were tucked into a black muff trimmed with gold thread.

T/N: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnous

The usually scrawny child looked like a little round ball. He was so puffy that he could probably roll down a hill without getting hurt. 

“He looks absolutely adorable dressed like this. Like a doll.”

“Doesn’t he? Rothy’s so lovely that any colour, any outfit, suits him perfectly.”

Ultje laughed softly, happy with Chungnip’s praise. He’d always enjoyed dressing others up, and Rothy had become the outlet for the talent he couldn’t fully indulge during the war. Rothy, who was feeling a little daunted, perked up as soon as he saw Theon and toddled towards him. Grasping Theon’s cloak with his mittened hands, he looked up at him cautiously. 

“……”

Certainty came to Theon in that moment. The young man in his dream was indeed this child—grown up and his arms. And… he’d whispered something to him. Though he couldn’t hear the words, he could read the lip movements reflected in Rothy’s eyes.

My mate.

That was what he’d said. It made no sense, simply absurd, but……if that dream had truly been Seará’s response, then that absurdity was the answer. 

“Rothy.”

“Yes… I’ll do my best to find it……”

Rothy’s green eyes trembled slightly. He must’ve already heard what he needed to do here. His body moved on its own when he saw the hint of fear in Rothy’s eyes. When he knelt down on one knee, Rothy’s eyes widened in shock. Everything went quiet. Knights and mages all stared at Theon, their faces were just as surprised as Rothy’s. Ignoring the curious and shocked onlookers, he aligned his gaze with Rothy’s. 

“Don’t be afraid. Fearing the dead’s a foolish waste of your energy.” 

Theon conjured a blade of aura and sent it flying toward the outer wall of the mage tower. Had he struck with full force, the tower would’ve crumbled instantly, but his light dispersal merely crumbled a few bricks.

“Do you see where it’s broken?”

“Yes…”

“This is neither an impregnable fortress nor a prison with no escape. It’s a place that’d immediately collapse with just a little force. There’s no reason to be afraid.”

Rothy, staring at the broken bricks, gave a small nod. Then, taking a small step towards Theon, he released the cloak he’d been holding and stretched out his arms.

“……”

Rothy blinked his large eyes, waiting for Theon’s next move.

Theon, after a moment’s hesitation, lifted Rothy by the waist. Rothy wrapped his arms around Theon’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Theon’s firm forearm supported Rothy’s bottom as he stood and walked towards the mage tower. 

“……!”

“……!”

The knights reacted with disbelief—some poking their eyes, others pinching themselves, some kneeling in prayer to be awakened from this nightmare. Even the mages were staring with their mouths agape, hardly able to believe their own eyes. Amid the silent chaos, Theon strode confidently into the tower’s interior. Ultje and Chungnip followed, wearing oddly proud and satisfied smiles. Only then did the frozen knights react, rushing to keep up. 

One knight, unaware of Rothy’s identity, asked Zey, 

“Dame Zeynith, who’s that child? the archduke’s hidden son… or daughter?”

“Do you think this is the time for jokes?”

“No, I’m seriously asking who that child is.”

“It’s a secret. Don’t ask.”

“Sure… but didn’t His Grace smile just now?”

“Yes, I saw it too. Just shut up. Don’t ask anything. I’ll bury you in the snow otherwise.”

“Yes.”

Since the other knights heard the exchange as well, they refrained from asking anything further. On the other hand, the mages, who knew the child’s identity, exchanged uneasy glances in silence with each other. It’d be disastrous if the archduke were to grow fond of that creature and refused to let go. While Harrié firmly shook his head saying that wouldn’t happen, there was no stopping the anxiety from spreading among the mages.

Theon carried Rothy as he slowly ascended from the first floor of the mage tower. Rosie made no attempt to break free from Theon’s embrace. He simply nestled there quietly, his eyes curiously scanning the tower. But Theon noticed something strange in the child’s gaze.

“Rothy.”

The child turned his eyes toward Theon.

“Is this your first time seeing the place?”

Rothy gave a small nod. 

“What? That’s impossible. Are you confused because you’re scared? Say it clearly! There’s no way you wouldn’t know this place!”

Harrié, who’d been following closely, barked out. Rothy shrank back, burying his face deep into Theon’s shoulder.

“You’re being too loud.”

Theon patted the child’s back and shot Harrié a sharp glare. Despite the Aura Master’s intimidating gaze that’d make anyone cower, Harrié stood his ground defiantly.

“Archduke. It’s clear that Yolone Sirin conducted those experiments. The laboratory must be somewhere within this tower. Have him walk on his own two feet to look around. How can the child properly observe anything while being carried by a man walking at such a brisk pace?”

“That man completed his research during the war, so why’re you so certain the laboratory would be in the tower? He died just two weeks after returning from the frontlines. Do you really think he managed to set up a laboratory in that short time?”

“For an archmage, spatial teleportation would’ve been child’s play. Plus, with the infinite magic stone, he could’ve travelled here several times a day. There must be a secret laboratory. We need to find it.”

“Lord Geelin, how far have you progressed with decrypting the research journal?”

It was a question that struck a nerve. In truth, the journal’s decryption hadn’t progressed since discovering the magic stone and learning it was named Rothy. That blasted old archmage—genius as he was—had created a new cypher system every few pages in his journal. 

“The research journal… though decryption’s slow at present, if we could find even one magitool used in the experiment, it might provide clues for the deciphering them.”

Harrié then shifted his focus. 

“Rothy! Stop pretending you can’t hear and cling to him—start searching! You’re clearly a superior mage to us, so why’re you acting like you don’t know anything?!”

“Harrié Geelin.”

The archduke’s voice struck his ears like a heavy blow. 

“Who do you think you’re shouting at?”

The already low voice dropped even lower, forcing Harrié to recoil slightly. However, one thing he was certain of was that while the archduke was intimidating, he wasn’t someone who’d use force against a mage half his size. This emboldened him to retort sharply. 

“Your Grace. That thing you’re holding will eventually belong to PLEIN. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

“So in the PLEIN leader’s eyes, this child’s merely an object?”

“Hah! Is this really the time to discuss this?”

Just as he was about to rebut the ethical concerns about the living mana stone, his eyes met Rothy’s. He found himself momentarily speechless as he stared at him intently with those jewel-like beautiful eyes, glistening with emotion. Not even he could treat a living child—especially one with such a gaze—no matter how cold and pragmatic he could be. And besides……

How could someone end up looking so delicately pretty?

Perhaps even that appearance was an effect of the magic stone.