Deathbound Duke’s Daughter: Volume 1

by Terasu Senoo

  No, humans are a lot scarier. When I think about it that way, ghosts sound a little easier to handle.

  The grudges, envy, and hatred of living humans—surely these were what she truly needed to fear. At the tail end of her flashback, she ran into someone. A living, breathing human being.

  “Is that... Is that you, Erika?!”

  There stood a haggard-looking Claus Hafan.

  Chapter 2: The Seafarer’s Ruins

  1

  “Claus! Are you alright?!”

  Erika found herself sprinting toward him. She was overcome with heartfelt relief the moment she saw his face rather than his turned back.

  Claus must have been relieved to see her as well; the sternness gradually vanished from his eyes.

  “Yeah, I’m perfectly fine. I’m more surprised you managed to come here alone... That aside, what are you wearing?”

  His rude remark drove Erika to take another good look at her outfit. The clothes Eduard had worn at age eight fit the image of a young nobleman perfectly, but crossdressing wasn’t in the playbook of your average noblewoman.

  “I borrowed Eduard’s clothing. As you can imagine, it would be quite hard to crawl around these old ruins in a dress.”

  I was looking for something practical, and I was in a hurry, she added internally.

  “Oh, so that’s how it is. It suits you better than that other stuff you were wearing.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  So men’s clothes fit me better than glamorous dresses?

  Erika smiled bitterly. She’d thought her facial features were delicate enough, so was it the way she carried herself that lacked womanliness?

  No, it’s a good thing to be able to pull off practical clothes, so let’s feel good about it.

  Once she had convinced herself, she switched gears.

  “I’m glad I found you so quickly. This is the most dangerous place in Aurelia, you know?”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to see why. I never thought I’d use up so much mana after just a little bit of exploration,” Claus said, looking genuinely concerned.

  Erika tilted her head. All the darkness and dreariness threatened to unnerve her, but were there really areas here that required a ton of magic to traverse?

  “Err, Claus, what do you mean by that?”

  “You’re telling me you got all the way here without noticing?”

  “I haven’t noticed a thing.”

  “You’re pretty slow.”

  “Aurelians and Hafans are different. What am I supposed to do about it?”

  Being slow and meticulous was a virtue in Aurelia.

  Oh, and I’m sure my lack of talent and effort has something to do with it, Erika thought bitterly.

  “There’s a mana-draining spell at work in these ruins. For a while now, even activating low-level magic has been placing a terrible burden on me.”

  “Can we tell where the effect is coming from? We might find something if you use Glámr-Sight.”

  “I’ve already identified what I presume to be the source, but I couldn’t dispel it. No idea why.”

  “I bet there’s a metal or gem that naturally obstructs magic embedded in it. In other words, there’s no spell to break.”

  Erika had heard of such metals before. For instance, in Lucanlandt, there existed a metal with powerful magic-dispelling properties. It wouldn’t be strange if there was some other metal out there that could absorb or obstruct it. Perhaps some combination of materials could produce the same effect.

  “If that wasn’t bad enough, wide-range magic is intercepted too. Anything beyond a certain area of effect just misfires.”

  “Come to think of it, my brother said there were traps here that’d already been tripped, but he couldn’t tell what they did.”

  “I see.”

  A minor inconvenience to Aurelian alchemists but considerably ill-suited to a Hafan magician.

  The Seafarer’s Ruins were practically a gallery of the lost technology of Aurelia. Perhaps these lost arts, rather than actually being “lost,” had simply been removed from the knowledge pool—thrown away, so to speak—for being too problematic. For example, the prior occupants of this continent, whose society the Seafaring Tribe had sought to merge into, likely wouldn’t have taken too kindly to this mana-obstructing trap.

  “Because of that... Well, have a look at this.”

  Claus spread out a large sheet of parchment. The page had a thick, rectangular border which listed out the names of the gods of the twelve winds in decorative script. This template usually meant that the document was a map.

  However, apart from the border and some lines of Hafan magic words, it was pretty much blank. There was nothing remotely map-like about it.

  “I thought I would try automapping, so I placed spell cards along my route. But thanks to that troublesome trap, chanting the spell does nothing for me.”

  “Oh, so that’s what the cards were for.”

  “Had I known sooner that my map was going to be nullified, I wouldn’t have gone in so deep.”

  He cursed, sighed, and began trudging onward. As it seemed Claus was done talking for the time being, Erika promptly brought up what was bothering her.

  “So, umm, Claus... Would you happen to know where Anne is?”

  “Wha...?! Why are you bringing up Anne?” he blurted, flinching.

  That reaction makes him seem like a little animal.

  “I used Urðr-Sight to chase after you, and when I did, I saw not only you but Anne as well.”

  “I didn’t bring my little sister with me. I’m not stupid.”

  “It seemed like she was pursuing you.”

  “I’m sure I put her to sleep. Oh no, don’t tell me she anticipated that I would slip out and heightened her magical resistance?”

  Evidently, he had taken his own precautions to make sure his sister didn’t tag along to such a dangerous place.

  So, you’re not that bad of a brother after all. However, Anne had one-upped him this time. Just like Claus, Anne was also a young and talented magician. As a result of her own insight and efforts, she had managed to resist her brother’s magic.

  Claus’ secrecy backfired on him. The more someone tells you not to do something, the more secrets are kept hush-hush... the more it plagues your mind. Looks like these siblings share their burning sense of curiosity.

  “I didn’t see Anne on the way here. She must have gone down a different path.”

  Thinking she’d find Anne with him, Erika had given her undivided attention to tailing Claus and neglected to check for his sister. She was also trying to preserve the limited uses of the expensive Urðr-Sight wand.

  I should have used it more often, she scolded herself.

  “Shall we turn back, Claus? We can look for Anne along the way.”

  “Yes, you’re right. It’s clear I wasn’t prepared enough to explore these ruins,” Claus sighed, eyeing Erika’s equipment. His gaze flitted across her alchemist’s leather gloves, her bag stuffed to the brim with wands, and her thick-soled boots.

  “Unless I come back as readily equipped as you, I feel like I’ll lose my way quite quickly.”

  Erika was a little relieved to hear him accept it so easily. She really had no recourse if he became defiant and insisted he wasn’t going to turn back.

  “Now that that’s settled, let’s get right to searching for Anne,” she said.

  “Sure.”

  “If we can’t find her, we should return to the Spring Palace.”

  “Right, this maze is a bit much for children to tackle. We’ll need some help.”

  “Speaking of mazes, please do make sure you dispel that phantasmal maze in the palace,” Erika said, though it was also to remind herself. By this point, it wouldn’t be strange if a number of the maids had found themselves stranded.

  “Hm? You noticed?”

  “If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have come out dressed like this.”

  “I thought you were eager
to join me. Is that not it?”

  “Definitely not!”

  Erika made sure to drive the point home. She wouldn’t want anyone to misunderstand; it wasn’t that she had been in on Claus’ little expedition. Unless she strongly insisted she’d come here to stop him, she would likely be treated as an accomplice.

  “We’ll backtrack and use Urðr-Sight at every fork. That should tell us where Anne got lost.”

  “An Urðr-Sight wand? May I use it, too? I was keeping Glámr-Sight up the whole time until I ran into you, so it’s going to take a while to restore my mana.”

  “I don’t see why not. It’ll be more efficient to have two sets of eyes looking for her.”

  Eastern magic shaved away not only one’s mental stamina but their physical strength as well. Even if Claus was a genius, he was still ten years old. In the Seafarer’s Ruins, where his mana expenditure was apparently intense, keeping Glámr-Sight active for so long was an impressive feat.

  However, the idea of two people using the wand led Erika to wonder how much magic it had left. She had already used it around sixty times before she found Claus.

  The Urðr-Sight wand was made of ash wood. Its tip was yellow tourmaline, and the handle was gold etched to mimic woven fabric.

  Its most prominent feature was its wick: a magnificent, ten-meter-long silk tapestry patterned with gold and silver thread. It had been compressed with spatial magic until it was mere millimeters across, only to undergo further processes to make it light enough to wield. This piece had taken considerable time and money to produce.

  When a wand’s magic was recharged, the wick would have to be replaced. In other words, this magic was extraordinarily expensive.

  I’m so sorry, Eduard! Erika apologized silently to her brother as she opened up the box containing a second Urðr-Sight wand.

  Just how many wands would she go through in one night? And how much would they all cost? The thought was beginning to terrify her.

  2

  Erika handed Claus the partially used Urðr-Sight wand along with an alchemist’s glove that would lessen its recoil. She broke the seal on the brand-new wand and held it aloft.

  “So this is an Aurelian wand... How do you use it?” Claus asked.

  “Just swing it with a clear idea in mind.”

  “That’s surprisingly simple. May I test it out?”

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  Claus cautiously waved the wand. The Urðr-Sight magic activated without a hitch, concentrating itself in a white magic circle over his eyes. Claus blinked a few times in wonder.

  “This is convenient. Not only am I not using any of my own mana, I can already see you from a few minutes ago.”

  “You won’t be able to see events too far back. If you keep a specific target in mind when you activate it, it should automatically focus on them.”

  “So I just have to think of Anne when I use it?”

  “That’s right. Now let’s get going.”

  Perhaps due to the oxidation of the room’s star crystal lamps, the light in this chamber was somewhat weak. Erika fished through her bag and took out her own lantern to make sure she didn’t let any important clues slip by.

  “Claus, please carry this with you.”

  “Got it.” Claus tied the lantern to the end of his staff.

  Swinging their wands now and again, the two of them pressed onward, diligently lighting the way back with the two lamps.

  “I’m seeing you muttering to yourself a lot.”

  “Please don’t tease me.”

  “Are you afraid of ghosts or something?”

  “Claus, please concentrate on finding Anne.”

  Erika lightly reproached Claus for his wholly unnecessary take on the matter. She didn’t want to be teased for her childishness when they had such important matters to attend to. It was all the more embarrassing when she took her actual age into account.

  “You look awfully fretful, and your eyes are dark. Can’t you look a bit more like a proper eight-year-old?”

  “How about you search a little more seriously?!”

  “I mean, now and then, you have a look in your eyes like you’ve given up on life.”

  Erika glared back at Claus’ cold, inhumane eyes.

  For crying out loud, that’s the one thing I don’t want to hear from the likes of you. I mean, at the start of the game, your portrait art practically shows you with the eyes of a dead fish.

  Erika desperately held her tongue, however. These words would just be incomprehensible to Claus, especially as he was now.

  Oh, but he did have a sadistic side to him. Given that he was toying with her immediately after discovering her weakness, Claus was already showing foreboding signs. Not that it mattered; for now, they had to concentrate on finding Anne. Erika endeavored to ignore him and returned her undivided attention to the search.

  “Have you spotted her yet?”

  “No, I haven’t seen head nor tail of her. The Urðr-Sight keeps focusing on you.”

  “Are you properly thinking about your sister when you use it?”

  “Yeah, I’m doing it, I’m doing it. It’s really irritating that I have to keep watching you.”

  This little brat! No, no, no, he’s not wasting any more of my time.

  Claus’ thoughtless statement set her shoulders aquiver, but she managed to keep her cool.

  “Is Anne really in here? I haven’t found a single trace of her.”

  Err, wait, something’s not right here.

  “Umm, Claus, do you remember where you put those automapping spell cards of yours?”

  “My cards? Of course I remember. In this room, they’re...”

  Claus ran over to the corner and began feeling around the wall. He seemed to be having some trouble. After holding up his lantern and walking the length of the room a few times, he returned with a baffled look on his face.

  “They’re gone.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “What could this mean? I definitely put one here... That’s strange. It’s almost as if...”

  Claus probably wasn’t mistaken. Erika didn’t have a particularly vivid memory, but she did recall seeing his unused spell cards when she was searching for him. Now they were gone.

  Why do my worst hunches always seem to come true?

  Erika looked around before addressing him.

  “It looks like the rooms and the corridors of the Seafarer’s Ruins move around, and it’s not by magical means. They’re moving mechanically.”

  At that moment, an ominous clink resounded through the labyrinth. It was a faraway sound from a distant room.

  “A mechanical labyrinth?!”

  “Father’s told me about similar anti-theft measures the people of Aurelia used long ago, but I never imagined there would be one this large.”

  With the absurdly loud sound of grating gears, the ground at their feet began to shake and sway. This was no earthquake; at this moment, the room they were in was moving.

  “You said you saw both me and Anne in the room with the gate, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was that first room the last time you saw Anne?”

  “Yes.”

  “That means the pathways were probably the same when I first came and when you chased after me... but when Anne passed through, the passage led somewhere else.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “And now that the maze has shifted again, we’ve lost our current location. Is that right, Erika?”

  “Indeed. At this point, there’s no guarantee we can make it back to the warp gate.”

  They had now lost both their sole lead on Anne and their means of returning to the Spring Palace. The hunter had become the hunted; while they were searching for a lost child, they hadn’t noticed they’d become lost ages ago. It was far too late now.

  “You’re pretty calm about all this,” Claus noted.

  “You think so? I’d panic if panicking would do something for me,” Erika replie
d.

  Erika’s biggest worry right now was Anne. Unlike the two of them, Anne was wandering these dim ruins alone. As Erika imagined the small seven-year-old girl anxiously pacing these halls, she felt a tight grip on her heart. Moreover, what would happen if Anne was possessed by the ancient spirit?

  Erika quickly pulled the brakes on that pessimistic train of thought. Right now, finding Anne and getting back to the palace were the only two things she had to consider.

  Unfortunately, she already felt like the search had reached a dead end, and she was on the verge of giving up.

  If I wait for morning to come, won’t my father and Duke Hafan notice and send a search party? She paused and thought about it for a moment. No, by that time, Anne will have died, just like in Liber Monstrorum.

  Their relationship was different this time around; it was hard to say whether or not Anne would come to kill her in six years. But even if Erika had managed to destroy her own death flag, she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Anne to her fate. She had grown somewhat attached to the girl and didn’t want her life to end in such a miserable way.

  “Things are just going to get worse if we keep moving around without a plan,” said Claus.

  “There must be something we can do. Let’s put our heads together.” Erika set down her bag and opened it wide.

  What could she do with what she had on hand? She once again checked through her inventory.

  “You really brought a lot of stuff.”

  “There’s no telling what might happen. You know what they say—you can never be too prepared.”

  Was there any magic that could get them out of this situation? Erika flipped over box after box, checking each label.

  “A Grease wand? That’s the magic that makes things slide. Cast it on your opponent’s hands, and they won’t be able to grab anything; cast it on their feet, and they’re liable to trip. But what use is that in a maze? It’s so situational...”

  “I was in a hurry, okay?! Not everything has to have an apparent purpose right away!”

  Claus curiously peered in and joined her in sorting through the jam-packed bag.

  “I can’t find any wands that will solve this in a flash. This is pretty hard. If only wide-range search magic worked in here...”