TYND 11

Theon stood there, his brows furrowed deep in thought. Rothy, noticing the shift in his mood, shrank back nervously. He’d been sitting at the table in the middle of his etiquette lesson, but from the look on his face, it was clear that was the furthest thing in his mind. 

“Zey.”

“Yes, we’ll continue searching for the weasel without delay. But it’s a problem, isn’t it? Considering the fact that we’re leaving tomorrow, what do we do if Chi-chi isn’t found by then? I doubt those lot from PLEIN will go trudging through Gretin Forest for Rothy’s sake— not when the snowstorm yesterday has turned the forest into a sheet of ice.”

“I’ll make a separate request to His Imperial Majesty.”

Theon was determined to find the weasel—it was likely Rothy’s only solace during those harrowing days—before he left. However, a grim suspicion began to take hold. The creature was probably dead by now; if it had spent its life indoors, it wouldn’t have stood a chance against the cruel bite of winter. 

“What if we search the magic tower again? We’ve been combing through the forest with no results.” 

“Split the team up and search.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Zey left somewhat hurriedly, but Chungnip lingered, hesitating. He scanned the room briefly before deciding to stay put; Theon hadn’t given any order for him to leave. Though Chungnip was a loyal subordinate who’d fought alongside Theon during the war—even though they weren’t from the same unit—he was neither from Falsen nor a member of the Black Lion Knights. He’d chosen to follow Theon of his own accord, having received invaluable help from him during his aimless teenage years. While he’d be officially recognised as a part of Falsen once they returned to the north, for now, he remained an outsider—a status that made him tread more cautiously than the rest. Sliding his chair closer to Rothy, Chungnip leaned in and whispered gently, 

“Rothy, I know the mages from PLEIN are scary, but the horrible things you’ve gone through won’t happen again. His Imperial Majesty will watch over you, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes……”

“You won’t be beaten or starved either. It’s safer than you think.”

“Yes……”

But Rothy’s weak responses made it clear that Chungnip’s reassurances were falling flat. Awkwardly, Chungnip wiped at his brow and continued patting Rothy’s back in a clumsy effort to comfort him. Meanwhile, Theon pulled out a booklet—not some literary journal or magazine, but rather a record of Falsen’s harvests over the past three years. Seeing this, Ultje realised that Theon intended to stay until the mages arrived. Though he wasn’t one for comforting words like Chungnip, this was Theon’s own quiet way of showing concern.

Could he actually be sympathising with Rothy?

Ultje had been left shocked and mystified by Theon’s recent behaviour. If he really did feel pity for the child, that was something impressive in itself. 

“Ultje.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Bring some tea and refreshments.” 

“Yes……”

Ultje exchanged a surprised glance with Chungnip, who was equally taken aback, and then stood up. Theon never indulged in things like tea and snacks. It was obviously meant for Rothy. 

He’s unusually gentle with Rothy…

Puzzled, Ultje left the room, but he never got the chance to fetch the tea and refreshments. The elevator was already on its way up, and when it stopped, the emperor emerged, flanked by the captain of the Imperial Guards, his entourage, and the mages from PLEIN.

Clearly, these mages had rushed over eagerly, seeing as they’d arrived right after lunch. Ultje hastily bowed deeply. 

“I greet the Sun of the Empire.”

“Rise. Is Rothy inside?”

“Yes, His Grace’s also present.”

“So that’s where he was. Very well. Lead the way.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.”

***

Tremuhle.

It was both a magical artefact and a natural phenomenon—something beyond human creation. Tremuhle was something that mysteriously appeared across the world through some unknown natural phenomenon and was then utilised by humans. 

To put it into perspective, it’s something closer to natural elements like rocks, rivers, fields, and brume rather than man-made objects like a wand, a sword, a bow, a desk, or a chair. Each tremuhle was imbued with holy power, capable of special functions beneficial to humanity through catalysts like magical or holy power. For this reason, tremuhle was widely regarded as a gift bestowed to humanity by Seará. 

And perhaps out of jealousy, the leader of the Fallens—the most vicious and vilest of Maton’s offspring—would sometimes steal them. Despite the thefts, the Zibiah Empire remained the only nation with over a hundred tremuhles in its possession. Of these, the one used to create a magic stone reactant was the most ancient tremuhle in Araxys, known simply as Number One.  

Number One had the ability to produce a reactive substance—a reaction stone that responded to magic stones. Only the foolish followers of the dark god Maton dared to doubt the reliability of the reaction stones produced by Number One. 

“Astounding……it was really possible……”

Harrié Geelin stared, transfixed, at the brilliant blue flames of magical power glowing within the reaction stone. Teetering on the edge of awe, he was on the verge of losing himself to the discovery. The blue flames flared to life when the small orb was placed in Rothy’s hand—an eternal, unquenchable flame signified the generation of infinite magical power.

No one had believed that implanting a magic stone into a living being could succeed. Even Harrié had assumed Yolone Sirin’s experiments were merely just that, experiments. To think he’d actually achieved the impossible—implanting a magic stone into a human heart. It was truly…

“Oh my goodness…… this will change the course of history……”

“Gracious heavens……Oh my God……”

“O’ Lord above……” 

The mages fell to their knees, offering praises to Seará. Their faces glowing with awe and jubilation. On the other hand, those who weren’t mages wore starkly different expressions. 

“So Lord Yolone actually went through with Faye’s experiments. This is nothing short of dark magic.” The emperor said, his voice cold and his face grim. The guards and attendants mirrored his severity, their faces equally rigid. It was no surprise; the revelation that the man they’d revered was no hero but a vile evil who’d subjected children barely over ten to brutal experiments was appalling.

“……”

In the midst of the maelstrom emotions swirling in the room, Theon calmly took the reaction stone away from Rothy’s trembling hand. The flames extinguished the moment the stone touched his palm, leaving it looking like nothing more than an ordinary orb. He tossed it back into its box with a careless flick, then knelt on one knee before Rothy, his gaze level with the child’s. 

“Are you alright?”

No one else had noticed, but Theon had caught the pained expression on Rothy’s face when the reaction stone had flared. It was the same tortured look he’d seen countless times on soldiers poisoned by fiend venom. 

“Where does it hurt? Tell me.”

It was only then did the others notice Rothy was shaking like a leaf. 

“That thing… it makes my heart…hurt. I hate it……”

His voice was barely a whisper, but in the silence of the room, it was heard by all. Chungnip, looking stricken, hurriedly explained. 

“The reaction stone stimulates the magic within the implanted stone and measures its feedback. If the magic stone’s in his heart, the pain must’ve been excruciating—like having your heart squeezed in a vice…” 

“Lord Chungnip, you’re clearly exaggerating,” Harrié interjected swiftly. 

“Your Grace, look at the child. If the pain were really that terrible, he’d be writing on the floor by now, not sitting calmly like this.” 

“He’s just terribly good at enduring pain,” Theon shot back.

“Rothy. From now on, if it hurts, say so immediately. You don’t have to endure anything anymore.” 

Rothy looked up at Theon, his large emerald eyes glistening with unshed tears. Those eyes said it all—he didn’t believe Theon’s words at all. And yet, he reached out, clinging to Theon’s sleeve. Theon’s gaze drifted to the child’s thin wrist, marred with burn scars, and his expression hardened. 

“……”

Harrié tensed, realising the sentiment in the room was dangerously shifting toward sympathy for the child. He quickly knelt before the emperor. 

“Your Imperial Majesty, this child’s the first living magic stone vessel in history. The fact that our empire has obtained such a miracle’s nothing short of providence. If you entrust him to us at PLEIN, we’ll dedicate ourselves wholly to research, refining his abilities for the empire’s benefit.”

“I knew you’d say that.” Dierm sighed wearily, pressing his fingers to his forehead as if warding off a headache.  

“And how much more suffering will this child have to suffer in the process?”

“Your Imperial Majesty…… before I became a mage, I was a priest devoted to Seará. I’ve no desire to conduct cruel experiments on humans either. I swear to Seará that all research and experiments will be carried out in ways that don’t harm the child.”

“Even if your research succeeds, it’ll bring its own set of problems. How would we even announce it? The world would brand us an empire of dark mages. The temple will turn its back on us, and Solten will undoubtedly declare war.” 

“Your Imperial Majesty… there’s no need to disclose the full truth. We can easily alter the records of how we achieved this. For instance, we could claim that we stumbled upon a child who’d somehow swallowed a magic stone…”

“Who’d believe that? Do you take our citizens for fools?!”

For the same reason, even if they framed it as the rogue actions of the archmage himself, no one would buy it. Everyone would simply assume the emperor himself had sanctioned those experiments himself. 

“I’ve no desire to go down in history as a tyrant who sacrificed children to end the Human-Demon War.”