The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 42

“You’re probably the first to break someone out of the imperial dungeon.”

“Hey~ You should speak correctly. This is an achievement we all accomplished together. Don’t try to sneak away from it.”

“Are you going to keep at it until the end?”

“Isn’t that only natural? We’re all in the same boat now. We live together or die together. None of you can escape from this. Understand?”

“You’re really relentless.”

“Come on, Lisa, you know you like it.”

Despite the bickering, everyone was smiling. Hale’s gaze turned to me. Seeing his concerned look, I nodded to reassure him.

“You’ve been through a lot, Officer.”

“It’s nothing. But where are we headed now?”

“We’re going to the Lily Palace.”

The Empress’s palace. I had suspected an internal ally but didn’t expect someone so high-ranking.

“If we’re taking a risk, we need a strong backing.”

Hamar grinned mischievously and winked. I couldn’t help but chuckle, causing Lisa to speak cautiously.

“I’m glad you made it out safely. Was everything alright in there?”

“Yes, thank you for your concern.”

“What do you mean ‘yes’? This guy is seriously injured. We need to treat him first.”

Camille, clicking his tongue, interrupted sternly. The relieved atmosphere quickly turned tense again with his words.

“Injured? Oh my, now that I think about it, what happened to your clothes, Sei? Is that blood?”

“Were you tortured?”

Following Lisa’s shock, Hale also began examining me urgently. After giving Camille a brief glare, I sighed and answered.

“It wasn’t torture… just some incidents. It looks worse than it is.”

“With all that blood, and you say it’s not bad? Do you think we’re fools?”

“But it’s true. It doesn’t even hurt much.”

“No way, Sei. We can’t trust what you say. We’ll judge for ourselves, so take off your shirt. Right now.”

“What?”

Take it off here and now? I was startled, but once again, my shirt was off before I could react. I wondered if clothes were always this easy to strip off.

A heavy silence followed. Lisa, Camille, and Hamar seemed unable to take their eyes off me, their faces reflecting wordless shock. Seeing their expressions, I looked down at myself.

‘…It is pretty bad.’

I had thought my pierced shoulder was the problem, but now I realized my entire body was covered in bruises. They must have formed from the rough physical struggle. Combined with the dried blood, I looked like I had undergone extreme hardship. Even after hurriedly putting my shirt back on, the frozen atmosphere lingered.

“Who did this?”

Edmil’s eyes were fierce as he asked quietly. At this point, adding more excuses seemed pointless. I didn’t want to keep lying to those who had risked themselves to save me.

“Actually, Taron came to see me.”

When I answered truthfully, their eyes widened in surprise.

“Taron? You mean that palace physician who tested the medicine?”

“Why would that guy come to see you? Wait, did he do this to you?”

Following Camille, Hamar pressed with a low tone. Just then, realizing something, Hale’s expression grew grave.

“I hope this isn’t what I think it is, Officer Sei. But… is it?”

“Unfortunately, I’m afraid you’re right.”

“So, he really is…?”

“Yes, he’s a Demonic Beast.”

Another wave of silence enveloped us. In that moment, no one could even muster anger; they all stared at me, disbelief etched on their faces.

“A Demonic Beast? That palace physician?”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I wish I could deny it, but it’s true. He revealed his true form right before my eyes.”

“How could that be…?”

Lisa’s clenched hands trembled. Although our investigations had hinted that Demonic Beasts could disguise themselves as humans, this was the first confirmation of such a reality. I had never anticipated that they could mimic us so convincingly, especially someone in the role of a palace physician. This meant that while we had been out searching for the antidote, the Emperor had actually been under their control. Dismay washed over everyone, and the weight of the revelation hung heavily in the air.

“You were lucky to survive.”

“I was fortunate.”

“Why did he seek you out?”

“He was pressing me for Serige’s whereabouts. It seems that the red solution is lethal to their kind.”

“Damn it! I knew it!”

Hamar gritted his teeth in anger.

“I told you! He spilled the solution on the carpet on purpose, didn’t I? To prevent it from being presented to His Majesty and to completely destroy the evidence!”

“I have nothing to say. We were completely played.”

“By the way, what happened to the medicine? Was it also destroyed?”

“No, it was proved harmless and was presented to the Emperor. But it had no effect.”

“That’s unfortunate…”

“Damn, this is so frustrating! We should have mixed in that solution!”

More outbursts of frustration followed, but no one blamed Hamar. Everyone clenched their teeth, their faces reflecting a shared anger and helplessness.

Just then, the carriage slowed to a halt. I thought we might have arrived, but the lack of signals indicated otherwise. Footsteps approached, plunging us into silence.

“Where is this carriage heading?”

The ominous question hung in the air, marking a tense pause in our escape.

“We’re heading to the Lily Palace.”

Roil’s voice answered from the driver’s seat. The steps drew closer.

“Is anyone inside?”

“No, it’s just an empty carriage. We dropped off some passengers and are on our way back. Is something wrong? Why the sudden inspection?”

“A prisoner escaped from the imperial dungeon. We need to conduct a search, so please cooperate.”

The air thickened as everyone exchanged tense glances. It was astonishing how quickly they had discovered our escape.

“But it really is an empty carriage.”

“Then there shouldn’t be any problem showing us.”

Roil’s timid attempt at resistance was futile.

“Everyone stay quiet.”

Lisa whispered urgently, pulling a small wand from her pocket and murmuring a spell. Soon, red shimmering particles filled the air, creating a noticeable ripple.

The door opened almost simultaneously. We froze at the sight of soldiers wielding lanterns. Just as I thought our eyes had met, they looked away as if they hadn’t noticed us at all. After scanning the interior for a moment, the soldiers stepped back, their expressions tinged with disappointment. The door closed with a soft click.

“There’s nothing here.”

“See? I told you it was empty.”

Roil’s voice carried a noticeably brighter tone.

“If it’s empty, why is it lit inside?”

“Oh, was it? I must have forgotten to turn off the lantern after the passengers got off.”

“Tsk tsk, how can someone as young as you be so scatterbrained already?”

“Haha, give me a break. It’s this late after all.”

“True, it’s a very late hour. We were all abruptly summoned, so everyone’s a bit out of sorts. Who would have the guts to raid the imperial dungeon…”

Their grumbling continued for a while. After receiving an encouraging word to keep up the hard work, the carriage started moving again. “They’re out of sight now,” Roil’s whisper reached us. Finally, everyone let out a sigh of relief and relaxed their tense bodies.

“Wow, light magic is the best! You’re really an amazing mage, Lisa.”

“Thanks, Hamar. It’s a spell that creates an illusion by refracting light. The duration is short, but it’s quite effective. If you want to know more about the details—”

“No, no, that’s okay, haha! Seriously, I was so scared we’d get caught, and you saved us. But why did they start the search so early? The Sleeping Grass should still be effective.”

Hamar skillfully changed the topic before Lisa could launch into her lecture, his expression turning serious. The others also wore grim faces.

“Perhaps there were other visitors besides us.”

“At this hour? It’s not even during the shift change.”

“Officer Sei discovered Taron’s true identity. He may have retreated for now, but with the interrogation likely tomorrow, they’d need to silence him before then.”

A cracking noise echoed. Camille’s face was hardened, his fists clenched tightly.

“First, let’s treat Sei. His injuries are severe.”

Lisa, with a pale face and trembling voice, pulled out a first aid kit from under the seat. She hurriedly began to apply the medicine, likely fearing more sudden developments. But as she worked, her hands paused, realization dawning upon her—many of my wounds had already healed.

“What…?”

Seeing her eyes widen like a startled rabbit, I offered a small smile. The others were too preoccupied devising a plan to deal with Taron to notice. I spoke calmly to draw their attention.

“I didn’t get a chance to mention it earlier, but if His Majesty has taken the pill, there’s still hope.”

“Hmm? What do you mean, Officer?”

Hale, who had been lost in thought, looked at me quizzically. Accepting the medicine from the hesitant Lisa, I smiled again.

“There’s a way to obtain more of the solution.”

* * *

The carriage safely arrived at the back gate of the Lily Palace. As we disembarked, a waiting maid signaled for us to follow her, leading us to a small windowless room.

“Please wait here for a moment,” she instructed before leaving us alone. It was only then that the tense expressions began to relax.

“Sei, you rascal! What on earth happened? You were supposed to be on a business trip! How did you end up in the imperial dungeon? Do you have any idea how much I panicked?” Roil exclaimed, his voice booming.

He seemed completely unaware of the situation; all he knew was that I had been detained, which prompted him to throw himself into this reckless rescue plan. If his family knew, they would probably clutch their hearts and swoon.