Chapter 295

The air inside the carriage was cool and damp. The rain had been falling again for the past few hours.

Shhhh...

The rain fell in a fine drizzle, giving the impression of mist. Despite the heavy, dark clouds hanging in the sky, the rain felt somewhat light and gentle. Ian, leaning comfortably against the window with his chin resting on his hand, seemed relaxed, his gaze lazily drifting outside. There was no need to worry about the rain today, as they were only a few hours away from reaching the city.

"What’s this book about?" Seras asked softly.

In the past few days, the atmosphere inside the carriage had shifted in many ways. Philip, despite sitting across from the princess, had his head leaned against the window, mouth slightly open, fast asleep.

Asme, now fully recovered, was busily combing Seras’s tangled hair with a brush. She had also started speaking once or twice a day, usually whispering small remarks like, "You’ll overindulge again, Your Highness," though her voice remained soft and hesitant.

Meanwhile, Elia sat on the carriage floor, her cloak spread out beneath her, engrossed in a book. It was a curse caster’s spell book she had started reading that morning. Unable to watch her pace around anxiously, cleaning the carriage over and over, Ian had handed her the book to occupy her.

He had explained to the princess and her group that Elia was a scholar studying the Black Wall and that the forbidden text had already been censored by him. Of course, neither Phaden nor Asme looked pleased. Both shot uneasy glances at the book, but didn’t dare say anything, trusting Ian’s word. Otherwise, Elia might have found herself in chains long ago.

Seras, however, seemed the only one whose attitude had changed.

"Can you not hear me at all, young lady?" she asked, looking down at Elia with the same curious expression she often gave Philip.

She had taken a liking to Elia, and now her interest was becoming more apparent. However, Ian wasn't particularly concerned.

"Young lady?"

"... Did you call for me, Your Highness?"

"At last, you’re answering me."

"My apologies. As I mentioned, I..."

"You often don’t hear sounds when you’re focused. I know. That’s why I’ve been so patient," Seras replied with a teasing smile.

"... Thank you for your understanding."

"Now, tell me about the book you’re reading. You’ve started a new forbidden book, haven’t you?"

"

Um

... I think it’s better if you don’t know, Your Highness. I’m sorry."

Most of their conversations went like this. Elia was always polite and respectful, but Seras’s authority had no effect on her. Perhaps it was natural, given Elia was a Dragon’s Child. It could also have been an unintended side effect of Ian’s influence on her.

Elia seemed incapable of picking up on Seras’s subtle hints. Then again, it was possible she knew exactly what Seras was getting at and simply ignored it. Judging by her usual behavior, however, it seemed more likely that Elia was just too uninterested to care.

"Sir Ian said he erased all the dangerous parts, didn’t he? Just share a little."

"I can’t reveal the details. But so far, it has described how the author created unique curses."

"And the process, of course, must have been horrific?"

"Most likely, yes."

Seras threw question after question about dark magic and the Black Wall, but Elia always responded calmly and vaguely. This only increased Seras’s fascination.

At least she seems to recover from the shock,

Ian thought to himself

Ian lifted the bottle to his lips, reflecting on the past few days. After hearing Philip’s story, Seras struggled to sleep. Despite her composed expression, she had barely eaten the next day, clamming up as if in deep shock. The revelation had clearly shaken her.

It wasn’t surprising. She had learned, far too late, that a secret order operating within the Empire was actively plunging the continent into chaos. Worse still, they had already succeeded, at least in part. Darkness had consumed the frontier, and the western lands were half-devastated. Had Ian not killed one of the council’s members, tipping the balance, more regions might have fallen into turmoil.

And back then, they wouldn’t have had the means to respond, even if they had noticed, just like in the game.

Of course, Seras had no way of knowing that part. What had truly shocked her was that such a massive force had gone undetected right under their noses.

At least the arrogance that the royal family knows everything should be broken by now.

Ian mused silently, turning his gaze back out the window. Regardless, he was certain Seras wouldn’t reveal anything about the Parliament, not to the Emperor or even her brother.

It wasn’t just her oath that bound her to silence; she understood the severity and danger of the situation. She also likely realized that uncovering and dismantling the Parliament could pave her way to the throne. If she played her cards right, she could rise to the top of the succession.

... This means she’ll probably assist Philip to ensure she gets a grip on things. It would be convenient if she also kept an eye on Elia while she was at it.

With a somewhat detached conclusion, Ian pushed aside any lingering thoughts about Seras. It was her issue to handle, though not an easy one. After all, she had been the one who eagerly asked to listen, even swearing an oath.

Ian returned to gazing at the rolling storm clouds and the sparse, gray plains beyond, quietly sipping his wine. He idly mused about how he craved something stronger and more bitter than this wine.

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes before Ian’s relaxed gaze sharpened. Something flickered in the distance beyond the clouds, but it wasn’t the flicker itself that caught his attention.

Boom—

A deep, rumbling thunder followed after a long pause, shaking the sky. The sound, though faint, was enough to cast a hush over the interior of the carriage.

"... For a moment, I thought we were under attack," Philip muttered, his voice filled with relief after being startled awake.

A faint smile played on Seras’s lips as the tension in her face melted away. "Yes, that was quite a surprise."

"If it’s that loud, anyone near the center of the storm will have ringing ears for a while. Good thing we’re not there, or the horses might’ve collapsed in fright."

Despite Philip’s attempt to lighten the mood, Ian didn’t turn to respond. His gaze remained fixed on the distant, roiling clouds.

Another flash of light illuminated the horizon, and Ian’s eyes narrowed.

As I thought. It wasn’t just my imagination.

A sinister red glow lit up the clouds beyond, bleeding across the sky like a dark omen. He couldn't determine where the light came from, but it colored the surrounding clouds in crimson hues, almost as if it left a stain. Thin, lightning-like streaks flashed briefly, resembling veins spreading across the sky before vanishing.

It was a phenomenon Ian remembered well from the game. If he recalled correctly, he had first seen it while journeying toward the Temple of the Brazier. This time, however, the ominous flashes didn’t stop after just one strike.

Seras finally followed Ian’s gaze, her eyes locking onto the unsettling red light beyond the clouds. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

Boom, crash—

Thunder rumbled again, louder and more intense, following the earlier flashes. Philip, who had sat beside Ian, now staring blankly out the window, hesitated before finally speaking.

"My lord, maybe it’s just my imagination, but... haven’t we seen something similar before?"

Philip turned to look at Ian’s profile. "When we crossed from the frontier to the west, outside that cave. It wasn’t as unsettling a red glow as this, but still..."

"... Perhaps," Ian murmured softly, nodding slightly.

There were certain similarities to that stormy night when something came through the rift. However, the sky glowing red now was in the complete opposite direction of the frontier. In the game, Ian had never given it much thought, but from what he remembered from the game, that direction led to...

"The Black Wall."

The quiet voice echoed through the carriage, and all heads turned toward the source of the voice at once. Elia, who had put her book down and stood up, was now gazing out the window, oblivious to the attention. She fixed her heterochromatic eyes on the red glow, as if etching the burning clouds into her vision.

"... The Black Wall is having a seizure."

Rumble, crash!

Thunder roared through the sky.

Philip swallowed and blinked, muttering, "I’ve heard that the Black Wall sometimes has seizures, but... isn’t this far from the front lines?"

"People refer to any strange occurrence at the Black Wall as a seizure. However, that’s a misinterpretation," Elia responded immediately, her gaze still locked on the horizon. Her voice was calm, her tone steady—like she was reciting a passage from memory.

"Most of the unusual phenomena occur when the Black Wall releases chaos in waves of madness, which actually helps it maintain a stable state. True seizures of the Black Wall—"

She wasn’t just quoting memory; she was speaking from the very texts she’d studied.

"—are clear signs of an impending incursion, and can even be observed during the process. The first incursion was preceded by a seizure visible even in the capital. According to records from that time..."

Elia finally turned her gaze toward Ian, her breath catching briefly before she whispered, "... the clouds turned blood red, and the sky screamed as if it were collapsing."

A heavy silence fell over the carriage. Everyone stared at Elia as if time itself had stopped.

"So, does that mean the incursion is starting now?" Ian’s calm voice broke the silence.

"No, not yet. This kind of seizure will continue to happen, but the intervals between them will become shorter. The incursion will begin then. According to records from the first incursion..."

Elia’s voice wavered slightly as she continued, "If this is the first seizure... There’s less than two months left."

Seras’s eyes widened, and Philip froze, his breath catching in his throat.

Ian’s gaze, however, narrowed differently.

So, the timeline for the incursion has been accelerated after all.

It was something Ian had already suspected—the vicious cycle. His actions had ultimately sped up the incursion, making it arrive several months earlier than it had in the game.

That his prediction had come true gave him no comfort. If anything, it meant that the unknown was approaching faster, and each passing day brought him closer to the ultimate moment when he had to face an impossible situation.

"Two months..." Philip let out a long sigh, murmuring in disbelief.

Everyone except Ian had gone pale. It was a natural reaction. In two months, the Black Wall would expand once again, unleashing hordes of maddened monsters in its wake. At the same time, madness would seep into the world, opening new demonic realms across the land.

"As I mentioned, it won’t be quite two months. I wish I could be more precise, but the book didn’t contain that kind of detail," Elia clarified, though her voice still trembled slightly.

"That means... this will be the first incursion in over a decade," Seras muttered, her face slowly regaining composure.

Her face, still rigid like a mask, reflected memories of her childhood. "I remember the chaos that swept through the Empire for some time."

After taking a moment to collect herself, Seras continued, "We need to return to the capital immediately. I must speak with my father. We should bypass Garad and head straight for the capital—"

"No. We need to stop in the city," Ian interrupted.

Seras snapped her head toward him, eyes wide with disbelief. "Even after seeing that? Why would we—"

"I need a hot bath tonight. A proper meal, too, and I want to buy a few more bottles of wine. I’m almost out," Ian said, shaking the wine bottle in his hand lightly, "Including this one."

"Wh-what are you talking about...?" Seras stammered, at a loss for words.

Ian continued without missing a beat. "One day won’t make a difference. The capital would’ve seen the same thing we did. The palace will be in chaos, and His Majesty will be just as busy. It’s better to enter the city after the first wave of panic has passed."

"..."

"You mentioned that after Garad, we’ll be within the capital’s territory, correct?"

Of course, this wasn’t the only reason. There were things Ian needed to do before entering the capital, especially now that the Black Wall had acted up. He also had matters to resolve with Elia before they parted ways.

"Besides, even if we go straight to the capital, we can’t exactly present ourselves in this state. You wouldn’t want to appear before His Majesty looking like this, would you?"

Ian met Seras’s blue eyes, his tone calm. "The longer I stay in the capital before heading to the palace, the more likely you’ll find yourself in a situation you’d rather avoid."

Seras’s open mouth slowly closed. Asme, standing beside her, nodded in agreement, signaling her support for Ian’s decision.

"... Very well. We’ll do it your way," Seras finally replied, looking at Ian with newfound admiration.

"You truly are remarkably rational, even in moments like this, Sir Ian."

Too many experiences made it difficult to be shaken by something like this.

Ian snorted softly instead of replying. He turned his gaze back to the window.

"As you mentioned before, we’d better hope the front lines are well-prepared."

Ian stared at the now eerily calm sky for a moment longer before quietly adding, "... Two months is much shorter than you’d think."