Traces of the Fugitive
I must've blacked out for a moment.
When I opened my eyes, I was in what appeared to be a deep, dark cave.
Something heavy was pressing down on me, making breathing difficult.
Mm...
Where am I? And why is the ground so squishy?
Something soft yet weighty squirmed, pressing harder against my body.
B-Bell...!
C-Captain?!
What were you thinking jumping in right before the spell completed?!
That was a close call!
S-sorry... Anyway, watch out!
Something... heavy... is trying to crush us!
Something heavy?
I don't feel anything like that.
But the ground is soft... except one spot. It's rock solid.
Ngh! A-a monster is... touching my—
W-what? Are you okay?
Can you tell me what's going on—
Ngh! Errgh!
The strange squirming intensified and I let out a strained groan.
Breathing became harder by the second.
Hold on! I'll cast a light spell!
Bell hurried through a chant, and a faint orb of light illuminated the space.
At last, I saw what was pinning me down.
That's... Huh?
...
...
Bell, who was on top of me, fell silent the moment our eyes met.
...
Wait. D-don't move.
Don't say anything until I wrap my head around this.
N-now that I think about it, it's not so bad.
Aaaah! I said don't talk!
And don't move either!
B-but if you keep groping me like that—
No one's groping anyone!
You idiot! I ought to place a curse on you!
It took quite a long while before we could have a normal conversation again.
*Huff...* *Huff...*
Anyway! They're all your fault!
Getting caught in the spell!
Ending up underneath me!
Getting... getting... that thing down there...
Anyway! It's your fault! All of it!
S-sorry... ARGH!
I tried sitting up, but an agonized moan escaped my throat instead.
I didn't realize it earlier, but my back was throbbing painfully.
W-what is that? Blood...?
Looks like a wound from that monster... Wait, you didn't—
I must've gotten hit right before we fell, when I shielded Bell.
Is that from you trying to protect me...?
...
H-hmph! Did I ask you to do that?
Serves you right for butting in!
...
But... it doesn't hurt too much, does it?
If the pain becomes unbearable, let me know.
I'll engrave any last words you have into your gravestone...
Seriously? Engraving my last words? Who said I'm dying?!
I began to regret saving this pipsqueak.
Just patch me up, will you?
Patch you up?
I-I don't have any bandages... I only have special parchment for last wills...
Oh, hold on...!
Looking flustered, Bell rummaged through her bag as if remembering something.
And she pulled out an enormous roll of bandages.
You have them!
Th-this wasn't my idea! Claire packed it for me!
An heir to House Rhys would never carry a symbol of weakness!
Come to think of it, Bell was talking to Claire before departing.
They seemed to be discussing something important...
Before departing, were you talking to Claire about something related to all this?
Bell froze while bandaging me.
...
Bell...?
With a shadowed expression, she hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.
About this [curse]...
It's likely my [sister's] doing.
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered Bell telling me that she was the second daughter of the Rhys family.
And she served at Candle Square because of the [Firstborn's Duty].
Which means her [sister] is...
The official [Master Maid] of Candle Square whom Claire is temporarily [acting on behalf].
[Carnelia Rhys].
My big sister.
The Master Maid of Candle Square is a position of very high authority.
Then why is Claire [acting in her place]?
And she ran away a few years ago.
She ran away from Candle Square...?
She vanished.
Ran away with her badge of office, an artifact called the [Light of Dawn].
...We sent people and collected any clue that could lead us to her, but it was no use.
Since it was clear that she had disappeared with the [Light of Dawn], my family assumed she fled to escape her responsibility.
That's how I took on the [Firstborn's Duty] in her place.
Candle Square kept pursuing her whereabouts in secret.
And that's part of the reason why I [volunteered] for this mission.
So Luna was right. You came here on your own will.
S-shut up! That con just got lucky!
I don't believe in superstitions like prophecies!
Then is your sister inside these ruins?
...Yes.
I'm almost certain.
She's the only one in Lavistar who bears the [curse of immortality].
What exactly is the curse of immortality?
Bell hesitated again, then began to tell me.
She told me the secret history of her family—the same tale she revealed to us on the train.
The [Immortal King Mogulus] was defeated, but his curses continued to plague the lands.
Long after his fall, the curses resurfaced again and again, claiming victims.
This is another reason the heir of House Rhys has been serving at Candle Square.
The virtue of being a maid helps them gather and process intel.
The curse of immortality was probably Mogulus' most powerful curse.
His very title was the [Immortal King], after all.
And my sister... was a victim to that curse.
That's why... ever since we were little, she tried to take her own life many times.
W-why would she do that?
I don't know.
She said it was to [see that she was alive]...
But I still don't understand what she meant.
...
Over time, she stopped trying.
Maybe she overcame the curse...
Or maybe she accepted the fact that she couldn't die.
And using her enormous amount of talent, she mastered the Rhys family's hexomancy...
And rose as the Master Maid of Candle Square, earning everyone's respect.
Until she vanished?
...Until she ran away.
Since then, I've been studying the [curse of immortality].
Even to this day, the curse is too powerful for me to break...
But I created a spell that detects its power and relocates you to its source.
So we ended up falling here because...
Yes. It's the tracking-teleportation spell I prepared for when she showed herself again someday.
I used it, and you got dragged along.
Then she must be nearby.
Maybe... Probably.
I got up.
If Bell's sister is the cause of all this, finding her was essential to completing the trial.
When you find her... what will you do?
...
My sister, Carnelia, is a fugitive of Candle Square.
She abandoned her Firstborn's Duty and disgraced our family's name.
So... in other words...
The only way to restore my family's honor...
Is to have her [executed].
That's also probably why Claire sent me here.