Dungeon Defense (WN)

Author’s note: This chapter is a ‘what if’ supplementary story. Those of you who dislike Bad Endings can skip this chapter.

Ending conditions

1. Lapis Lazuli’s affection is lower than 30. 2. Dantalian’s infamy is above 150.

. . .

Imperial Calendar, 1506, the morning of the 22nd day of the 1st month. Today was a day where it didn’t matter whether it was the 21st or the 23rd, nor did it matter if it was the 12th month or the 2nd month. The only noteworthy thing about today was the fact that it was snowing. It was a blizzard. The snow poured down like rain. The wheels of carriages were buried under the snow and carters would avoid taking passengers unless offered a handsome fee. 

“There is no certainty that we will arrive on time.”

Carters would say this even after being offered a handsome fee. The carter used his entire body to block the snow and wind before lighting his pipe.

“Hm, this is the first time I’ve ever seen a blizzard like this.”

That was a lie. It wasn’t last year, but this much snow had fallen the year before that. But why did that matter? Both the carter and the passenger knew what ‘first time’ implied here. In other words, they knew that the phrase only acted like an adverb like ‘very’ or ‘incredibly’.

“It does not matter.”

A girl wearing a fur coat responded sternly.

“Take me to Tenebris Opera House!”

“Kuh. All right.”

The carter removed the straw mats he had covered his horses under.

The carter wanted to leisurely smoke his pipe and rest on a day like this. White snow was falling from the sky, so didn’t this mean God, or, at the very least, angels were scattering them from above? There must be a profound meaning behind this. Would it not be disrespectful to go against this and drive a cart!?…….

The carter had gone to brothels frequently without his wife knowing, and he intended to cheat whenever the opportunity presented itself. Nevertheless, he still believed that he was a sincere devotee. Not only did he pay his taxes along with his community’s taxes, but he also donated to charity as a member of the community of believers which consisted of only carters. He had several things he could use to prove that he was a decent human being. That was more than enough for him. Similar to most other people, carters also didn’t need more than 3 reasons to justify their own lives.

‘She must be the daughter of some rich family that wants to go overseas or something.’

The carter glanced at his passenger. Her face was hidden behind the hood of her fur coat; however, the luxuriousness of her fur coat and gloves were extraordinary. She had a rapier on her waist which was meant for self-defense and had been trending among women lately. He could infer from this that she belonged to a family that was affluent enough to afford to teach their daughter fencing. Therefore, this meant that she had a lot of things to protect to the point of having to learn self-defense.

‘Hmph! Rich people, of course they’d watch something as pointless as opera.’

The carriage traveled through the snow-covered city.

Everything was slow. The snow falling from the sky was slow. The carriage was slow. People’s footsteps were slow. People’s coats brushed against each other as they walked through streets that were narrow as if they were meant for animals. Even the bonfires shared by bums flickered slowly. The lengthy sighs they let out occasionally fogged up the air slowly. The smoke coming out of the chimneys billowed slowly as well.

“…….”

The girl sat on the passenger seat⎯⎯it was a type of carriage where the passenger seats were exposed to the outside⎯⎯and took in the slow scenery, paying no mind to the cold. She inhaled calmly as if she intended to take in the cold air all the way into her insides. Air flowed in between her small, pink lips. She was thinking like a Buddhist monk that was reaching enlightenment while holding a bottle.

The theater was packed despite the ongoing blizzard. It felt like almost every single carriage in the city was currently gathered here in this one spot. A performer whose name had been trending quite a lot lately was making an appearance. Adding to that, today was the premier.

Aristocrats, citizens of high repute, merchants, and people with at least a pinky in the upper class were all gathered here. As people handed over their invitations, claiming to have been introduced by someone else, the guides would smile and welcome them while eyeing the invitations to make sure they were real.

One of the guides discovered the girl. He hastily confirmed the quality of her coat, gloves, and shoes and determined that she was undoubtedly a part of the upper class.

“Where have you traveled from, Miss?”

“I heard that there will be a peculiar play today.”

She spoke in a taunting tone that was unique to women of high standing.

“I am here to see <The Tricks of a Fasting Clown>.”

“……!”

The guide’s eyes widened slightly; however, he managed to skillfully pull himself together like a pro. He was surprised because the girl was exceedingly young for someone who had come here to watch <Tricks>, but it wasn’t like there weren’t other girls her age who couldn’t overcome their curiosity and had come here as well. The guide acted more courteously than before as he bowed.

“We are honored to have you here at our theater today. This one shall be your guide.”

“Are you saying it’s an honor while knowing who I am?”

“Pardon? Ah, I…….”

The girl snorted. She gestured with her hand for the guide to proceed with haste.

It had been a long time since the guide last received such ridiculing words⎯⎯working as a guide here at the opera was something that people envied⎯⎯so his face became red, but, in the end, he didn’t display an expression or gesture that could bother the other party. He knew that the guests that were here to view <Tricks> were nobles among nobles, upper class among the upper class, after all.

The guide led the girl into the theater. After getting through the crowded lobby, they walked through a hallway that was only accessible to employees. There was an iron door at the end. Once he unlocked the door with a key and opened it, a descending staircase was revealed.

“I hope you have a pleasant viewing.”

The guide bowed at a 90 degrees angle. The girl shook her head before descending the stairs. The iron door shut behind her.

A red rug covered the stairs. Magic stones that emitted a glow were embedded into the stairs. The girl was certain that the stone emitting a light blue glow was a magic stone of the highest grade.

‘A waste of money.’

You could feed hundreds of people with that stone alone. While feeling disgusted towards the existence of this theater, the people who had come here, the ornaments on their clothes, and finally, her own fur coat, the girl descended the stairs. Did they say that this was a coat that was made with only the armpit fur of foxes? Even though this was the cheapest winter clothing she had, it was still too luxurious.

“Welcome, Your Excellency.”

At the end of the stairs, a gentleman in a black tailcoat welcomed the girl. As the manager, he handled the performances at the back of the stage instead of the opera on the surface.

“We are eternally grateful that you have graced our theater with your presence.”

“I see that everyone here only knows how to say one thing. Do you know who I am to be feeling eternally grateful?”

“Naturally.”

The gentleman approached the girl and bowed. He then kissed the top of her glove.

“Your Excellency, Countess Evatriae.”

“Hm.”

The ends of the girl’s mouth twisted downward.

In the Empire of Habsburg, peerage titles are given to members of the royal family according to traditions. Both the imperial prince and princess are given their own territory the moment they are born. A majority of the peerage titles are in name only and don’t have any land attached to them, but it becomes a stepping stone to work confidently as one of the empire’s aristocrats.

Among those titles, Evatriae’s title of ‘countess’ is a peerage mostly given to the second imperial princess.

The girl was one of the three imperial princesses on the continent.

“No one is allowed to know that I had come here today.”

“What do you mean by that, Your Excellency?”

“From this point forth, a shadow will follow you for the next five years.”

The manager gulped.

He had heard about the Shadow of the imperial family. Despite having fallen in terms of authority and national power to the point of being pitiful when compared to their greatness a hundred years ago, the reason why the imperial family still has absolute authority over the other nobles is because of the shadows that act behind the scene. The manager knew very well about how the nobles that oppose the imperial family, the republicans that object to monarchy, and the priests that circulate pagan ideas would disappear without a trace.

“I will bear it in mind.”

“How foolish. What do you intend to bear in mind?”

“…….”

“Pathetic.”

The girl clicked her tongue.

If the manager were wise, then he would have paid a little more attention to when the girl said ‘from this point forth’. He would have taken it literally. If he did, then he wouldn’t have indirectly referenced the existence of the Shadow by saying he’d bear it in mind. It would have been fine if the manager didn’t react in any way and simply guided her.

‘He will most likely die in 2 months.’

The girl knew from experience that it’s exceedingly rare for someone whose brain is lacking to pass the Shadow’s test for more than 2 months. Calling him pathetic was the girl’s last mercy she could give the manager, as by doing so, it would give him a reason to think about what he had done wrong. Although it seems her mercy was pointless as the manager appeared confused.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Allow me to carry your coat.”

The girl pulled back the hood of her coat. At that moment, the manager who had seen countless noble ladies for the past 25 years was in awe. Similar to other successful men, the manager also despised women for several intellectual reasons, and he was almost at the point where he would even start to dislike the beauty of women. However, even he had no other choice but to accept the fact that perfect beauty did exist in real life.

Brilliant silver hair flowed out from her hood. Silver hair that would normally be seen as a sign of ill health was nothing more than a beautiful accessory to the girl.

Her blue eyes were darkened because of her thick eyelashes. There was a depth to her eyes like tea and they were also transparent at the same time. She stared at the manager with slight scorn in her eyes as if he were someone she had known for a long time, but she soon turned her gaze away as if there were no need to discover an already discovered scientific fact twice.

A telltale aura ran amuck between her eyes and delicate lips. An aura that was clearly superfluous appeared on her face. With her detailed gaze and lips, she was controlling the energy perfectly with her expression. The perfect harmony of instincts and rationality was present on her features.

Silver hair was the symbol of the Habsburg imperial family’s bloodline. There are rumors that the imperial family often takes part in incest in order to preserve this hair color. The manager believed this rumor to be true and he considered the imperial family as a cave of lunatics for intentionally taking part in something like that. There’s that much value in their hair…….

“I told you to lead the way, but it seems you intend to stare holes into my face.”

“Ah! I-I apologize. I will take the lead right away, Your Excellency.”

“Tsk.”

The imperial princess decreased the manager’s survival length from 2 months to half a month. The shadows that followed the princess were very impatient. There was a passionate follower of the imperial princess among them, and he did not wish to let those who fell for the imperial princess live.

The manager led her to a parlor surrounded by glass. It was a glass room where you could see from the inside out but not the other way around. There was a high-quality sofa in the middle of the room with a hot cup of black tea on a table next to it.

Referentially, there was also a bed. Once the imperial princess realized what the bed was for, she furrowed her brows. Even the way she drew her brows together was like a masterpiece that had been exquisitely captured by a master artist. While giving her a sidelong glance⎯⎯this action assured that the manager’s remaining half month decreased further to two days, but the manager himself had no way of knowing this⎯⎯the manager was in awe again of how it was possible to create such a perfect expression.

“If there is anything you need, please touch the magic stone on the table. We will be at your service immediately. Please have a pleasant time, Your Excellency.”

“Haah.”

The girl sat on the sofa.

Her muscles that had tensed up while out in the winter air slowly relaxed. She looked around her. There was another glass wall beyond the glass wall of her room. It was the next room over. There were dozens of other glass rooms similar to the one the imperial princess had just entered. The imperial princess wanted to vomit once she pictured what could possibly be happening within those rooms.

This probably shows how popular tonight’s performance is.

‘I was also attracted here, after all.’

The imperial princess mocked herself before quietly burying her body into the sofa.

Shortly after, the magic stones that were illuminating the room dimmed down. The manager’s voice could be heard from somewhere.

⎯⎯I give my sincerest gratitude to everyone that has come here to watch tonight’s performance.

The imperial princess didn’t open her ears to those words. She had absolutely no interest in them. Eventually, once the tedious words of appreciation were over, the stage that was built so that every guest room could see it lit up. A single man was dragged on stage. The man had black hair and a skinny but sturdy body. He wasn’t wearing anything.

The girl turned her gaze towards him.

The man was Dantalian, Rank 71st Demon Lord.

***

TL Note: Thanks for reading the chapter. The author says it in the next chapter, but this is a “what if Lapis never came to rescue Dantalian at the slave auction”. The author said it at the beginning of the chapter, but if you don’t want to read these BAD ENDs, then feel free to skip them. They don’t impact the story. It’s simply an opportunity to take a glimpse at the other characters in the world. This bad ending has 2 parts, so if you don’t like this stuff, skip the next chapter as well.