CHAPTER 38
“Shall we head this way, Lady Aristina?”
Aldensis and Zikren escorted me outside the imperial palace.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Your Highness the Second Prince.”
People we passed turned to look at us. They all greeted us calmly, but after we passed by, they turned around as if it were planned.
Aldensis—tidy and dignified with golden hair and blue eyes.
Zikren—flamboyant and carefree with red hair and golden eyes.
Lady Aristina—cold and proud, with golden hair and red eyes.
The combination of these three was striking enough to draw attention, of course… but that wasn’t the only reason.
A girl trailing openly behind two men who’d never before allowed anyone close.
“…?”
People whispered while glancing our way.
I paused briefly and spoke to them with grace.
“What are you staring at? Never seen someone headed to the training grounds before?”
“W-What? Oh, no, not at all…”
Startled, the people quickly scattered.
Yes, I’d provoked them on purpose. It was a way of broadcasting my destination far and wide.
“Soon, the rumor that the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and Lady Aristina are heading to the training grounds will spread through the entire imperial palace.”
And I hoped that rumor would reach Ruelian.
After our last parting, he must have investigated to learn what secret mission I was on.
“He’s probably looking for me right now.”
If so, it’d be convenient for him to track me easily. I’m considerate like that.
“Is something wrong?”
When I slowed down slightly, Aldensis and Zikren turned to look back.
“No, nothing.”
I replied.
The two exchanged glances and whispered to each other for a moment. I tried to catch up and overhear, but couldn’t catch a word.
“What were you two talking about?”
I asked. They replied in unison.
“Nothing important.”
“It’s nothing!”
Then they resumed walking quickly.
As we passed the spacious garden behind the main palace, I began to see knights running drills in the training yard.
Beyond the trees, a wide building with a white roof—almost the size of a soccer field—came into view. The imperial training arena.
“One! Two! One! Two!”
“Halt! Charge! Halt! Charge! About-face!”
As we entered, loud shouts and the clash of weapons bombarded my ears. But strangely, the moment the knights saw Aldensis and Zikren, all the noise ceased.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your Highness the Second Prince!”
The knights, sweating profusely from their drills, immediately ran over and lined up with perfect discipline.
“No need to mind us.”
Zikren waved both hands.
“We’re just here to show Lady Aristina, who’s been appointed as the project manager, the strength of our forces—to assure her there’s no security issue.”
Since the operation to capture the phantom thief was top secret, we made this excuse to keep it under wraps.
“Understood, Your Highnesses!”
The knights responded in unison.
The two brothers—transcendents with dragon blood—were revered idols among the knights. Their eyes were filled with admiration.
“Would you like us to prepare anything, Your Highnesses?”
“Bring out Experimental Unit No. 21.”
Aldensis ordered.
Soon after, several knights appeared, carrying a massive humanoid figure. Its entire body was pitch black, but under sunlight, it shimmered with a rainbow-like sheen.
“What is that?”
I asked.
“It’s a Level 10 Golem,” Aldensis replied.
“A golem is a magically animated construct that can be enhanced with enchantments.”
“Then Level 10 means…”
“Each enhancement is counted as a level—Level 1, Level 2, and so on. Ten is the maximum, so a Level 10 golem is the strongest known golem. According to Zikren, that’s the minimum level required to be on par with the phantom thief.”
“That’s right. I fought him once—I know.”
Zikren chimed in.
So this golem was like a crash test dummy?
“Watch closely now, Lady Aristina.”
Aldensis approached the golem.
“That night, Zikren failed to catch him. That’s all people know. But there’s something only we two brothers are aware of.”
“What is it?”
“When a shackle made from a dragon artifact was clamped onto the thief’s wrist, a powerful curse was transmitted through the contact and embedded itself in his body.”
Aldensis lowered his voice.
“He may be well-informed, but he has no idea this happened. A human could never perceive it. That curse was placed using ‘Dragon Tongue Magic,’ which only transcendents who carry dragon blood can wield.”
“Dragon tongue? As in language?”
“Exactly,” Zikren replied.
“Transcendents like us are born with the ability. You could call it magic, but it’s really more like a language.”
“Just like how you can’t read a foreign language you’ve never learned, even the most intelligent human could never detect Dragon Tongue Magic. They simply won’t perceive it at all.”
So that’s the trap they set—the magic was composed in the language of dragons. In other words, they used a cheat code against us mere humans.
“Now then…”
Aldensis twisted the golem’s wrist backward. At that moment, a blazing sigil appeared on its wrist.
“We’ll plant the same curse into this test unit. You won’t see it, Lady Aristina, but…”
Actually, I could see it just fine. Likely because I was under a special enchantment right now.
The flame-like sigil blazed briefly, then disappeared into the golem’s body.
“Now, when this subject approaches the designated target, the curse will activate.”
“Here—this is the target.”
Zikren placed a gold bracelet on the floor. The next moment, Aldensis snapped his fingers.
“…!”
The golem’s eyes flew open—and it immediately let out a shriek and charged forward.
“Ah…!”
Just as I flinched behind the brothers, there was a loud pop! and a burst of power erupted from the bracelet.
“The trap has activated. You can’t see it, but…” Zikren began.
Actually, I could.
A hidden magical power awakened from my wrist, revealing the structure of the trap before me.
Countless swords hovered in the air—blades tinged with blood.
“I will lend you a mysterious power that allows you to modify the magic circle created by two transcendents.”
With the dragon’s words echoing in my mind, a magical wand floated into view.
Simultaneously, a timer appeared—paused at “15:00.”
As I took all this in, Aldensis and Zikren vanished before my eyes.
“Surprised, Aristina?”
“When the trap activates, we’re summoned inside it, no matter where we are.”
A moment later, they reappeared right beside the golem.
“Graaaah!”
Swords from the sky rained down, tearing the golem’s body apart in an instant.
It couldn’t even flee.
Chains and whips sprang from the ground, binding and crushing it. Steel bent and buckled under the force.
“It’s gonna break again,” Zikren muttered as he lifted the golem’s shoulder.
Suddenly, the tattered golem sprang up and tried to flee.
“I said no running.”
Aldensis grabbed its other shoulder.
Crack!
Level 10 steel crumpled like a cardboard box.
“Bro, can you ease up on the strength…”
“Ah, right.”
“I’ll hold its head.”
Zikren grabbed its wildly thrashing head.
“Sit. I said sit down.”
He pushed down forcefully. The golem’s body slowly sank and began crumbling under the pressure, cracks spreading from where it touched the ground.
It trembled violently—not from pain, but from the sheer force.
“Just give up and surrender quietly now.”
As its spine was about to snap, the golem suddenly tried to rise again—
“Maybe it’s better without legs?”
Aldensis kicked its legs. The steel limbs shattered.
At the same time, Zikren’s grip crushed its skull with a loud crunch.
Its remains hit the ground with a thud, over half of it in pieces.
“Damn, broke it again. No matter how much I practice, it’s tough.”
Zikren clicked his tongue.
“If it resists this much, there’s no helping it. At least we didn’t let it escape,” Aldensis replied flatly.
“……”
I stood there, mouth half-open, staring.
“So that’s how it works.”
As I blanked out, the two suddenly looked at me.
“Just as I thought,” Aldensis said.
“You’re safe now, Lady Aristina.”
“Pardon?”
“Zikren told me you were scared the phantom thief might really be a ghost?”
“You’ve been zoning out and hesitating—it’s because you’re scared, right?”
“Still, your courage is admirable for stepping up in spite of that fear. Don’t worry. As you’ve seen, the thief is no match for us. Understood?”
“……”
I was speechless.
So now I’d somehow become “the brave soul who dared to stand against the phantom thief despite her fear.”
Well, it’s not bad to be seen positively, but…
“The thing I’m scared of right now… is your power.”
Seeing it in person, it was even harder to believe—that I could counter this strength.
“I really need to test it.”
I shivered slightly at the thought.
“Yes, I understand now. I’m not scared anymore. Thank you for the demonstration.”
“You’re welcome.”
“No problem.”
Aldensis and Zikren nodded at me and turned to inspect the golem’s damage.
While they were distracted, I quickly began to think.
“What should I try first? Since the trap summons them upon activation…”
“I should block the summoning.”
They must never realize the phantom thief activated the trap.
Let’s try it.
My gaze turned to the floating wand blinking in the air.
“Come here.”
As I summoned it into my hand:
“Beginning modification of the magic circle.”
A voice rang out, and tiny dwarf-like fairies appeared, each holding hammers.
“How shall we modify it?”
So that’s what they meant by modifying? The fairies were literally fixing it!
Momentarily stunned, I spoke quickly.
“Change the summoning target! From Aldensis and Zikren—to me!”
As soon as I gave the command, the frozen countdown at 15 minutes began ticking down.
The fairies rushed to the magic circle, hammering and sawing away.
“Summoning target changed to ‘Contractor of the Transcendents.’”
The glow around Aldensis and Zikren disappeared.
I held my breath, afraid they might notice…
“Huh? It’s over?”
“Looks like the magic ran out.”
They didn’t suspect a thing.
Whew.
I finally relaxed.
The magic hadn’t ended—only I could still see it. They had no clue.
Good. I need to use my time wisely.
“End it now.”
The wand shrank and returned to my wrist. The fairies vanished.
That took one minute. I now had about 14 minutes left.
Next time the trap activates, I’ll be the one summoned—not them.
“Wow…”
I stared at the sigil inside my wrist in awe.
“It really is incredible.”
