Chapter 251: Sefira Has Poisoned The Royal Palace (1)

Before Riri could even raise her fist, Keter spoke first. “She went into the underground labyrinth of Liqueur. That’s the last I saw of Kadia.”

“The underground labyrinth... of Liqueur?”

Riri’s face twisted in confusion, to which Keter also frowned.

“You don’t know where Liqueur is? Ugh, it’s too much of a hassle to explain, but... think of it as a lover with a rotten personality but perfect chemistry.”

“I know what kind of place Liqueur is. What I don’t understand is: did you really meet Kadia there? A few years ago?” Riri asked.

“The last time I saw her was three years ago, and I first met her nine years ago,” Keter replied.

“So you were seeing Kadia for six years in Liqueur?”

“Well, not every day, but on and off. Even then, she came and went from the underground labyrinth.”

“What kind of place is that labyrinth?”

“A place filled with adventure, romance, treasure, and monsters.”

Explaining the underground labyrinth of Liqueur would take forever, so Keter only gave her a vague impression.

“She entered it three years ago, and you haven’t seen her since?” Riri asked.

“That’s right.”

“...As far as I know, Liqueur is a septic tank—easy to fall in, but impossible to climb back up. If you met Kadia there, that means you’re from Liqueur too... How did you get out?”

“I was born to the right parents.”

It sounded like a joke, but Riri could tell he was telling the truth as Keter’s expression was too serious, his tone too sincere.

“Please give—no, let’s make a deal. I’ll give you the information you want, and in exchange, tell me how to leave Liqueur.”

Riri had lived among humans for centuries, so she wasn’t as naive as other elves. She knew showing desperation made her vulnerable, but she couldn’t hide it.

Keter scratched the back of his head. “Come on, do we really need to call it a deal? Aren’t we friends? Anyway, I was only able to leave because I’m special. No one else can. The only way used to be through the Godfather of Liqueur, but now even that’s impossible.”

The Godfather had disappeared. Ultima and Ailos had proven that leaving Liqueur was possible by making some kind of deal with the Godfather, but no one had ever done so without his permission. As such, Keter believed there were no coincidences or secret exits out of Liqueur.

But still...

I guess it’s not completely impossible.

There were rumors—baseless, perhaps—that one could escape to the outside world through the labyrinth itself. Of course, no one had ever proven it. To do so, one would have to leave Liqueur and return, and who would be insane enough to try that?

Maybe I would have.

Keter had explored the labyrinth himself but never found a path to the outside world. He could only bring the treasures back up. Still, he couldn’t say for sure there was no exit.

Some people went down there chasing rumors, others because they were convinced an exit existed.

Kadia was one of those who were convinced there was an exit underground. She had come to Liqueur with a purpose: to explore the underground labyrinth.

At the time, Keter had wondered why. Of course, Liqueur’s labyrinth had everything, from rare metals like amantir and orichalcum, ingredients for elixirs, to even artifacts and relics. But still, it was Liqueur. Why would anyone come from the outside world just to live lavishly there?

Kadia clearly wanted something, but it wasn’t wealth. She didn’t have to explicitly say it for Keter to know.

Oh, wait. I think she did tell me that she was looking for something.

Just as he was trying to recall it...

“Do you... do you also know why Kadia entered Liqueur?” Riri asked, her voice trembling.

“I think she was looking for Nedi? I don’t know if that’s a person or an object, but that’s what she said.”

“Nedi? She said she was looking for Nedo? Really?”

Riri grabbed Keter by both arms, shaking him hard. Keter swayed like a scarecrow.

Damn, she’s strong. That’s not Authority; that’s pure muscle.

Muscles usually became bulkier as they were trained. However, elven muscles didn’t grow in size—they only grew denser. The Muscle Compression Technique was the skillful refinement of this elven trait, meaning that even though elves may look slender, their strength existed on an entirely different level from what their appearance suggested.

“What is this Nedi anyway?” Keter asked again.

Keter vaguely remembered Kadia explaining it, but he hadn’t cared enough to listen. Even his excellent memory couldn’t recall what he’d ignored.

Riri ignored his question, realization dawning on her face.

“So that’s why... That’s why no one knew. The World Tree is decaying because Nedi is gone.”

The World Tree was dying. This was devastating to elves, but to Keter, some big tree was just dying. Riri sensed his indifference.

“When the World Tree dies, it means the end of the world. Keter, this isn’t the time to sit here—you have to go back to Liqueur and find Kadia,” she said in a serious tone.

“Why are you saying that to me?”

“Did you not hear me? The world is ending! When the World Tree dies, Nidhogg—the God of Destruction—sealed within will awaken. Nidhogg is fulfilling his desires for destruction by destroying the World Tree. Once it’s gone, he’ll turn that destruction on the world itself! No one can stop him.”

“‘The world is ending,’ huh? Kind of cliche, don’t you think? From what I’ve seen, the world’s not that fragile.”

“You’re human. You haven’t lived long enough to say something like that.”

“Well... fair point.”

Even counting his past life, Keter hadn’t lived even a hundred years. Since elves lived for centuries, Riri was probably right.

Keter acknowledged what he needed to, then shook his head. “Still, if the world is ending because of the World Tree, you should ask the kings to handle it. Why are you making me the hero?”

“Because they can’t be trusted.”

“And I can?”

“Well, no... but still, I don’t think Kadia gave you the Blessing of Nature for no reason.”

“I’ve been wondering about that. It’s called a blessing, so it must do something, right? But I’ve never felt anything. What does it do?” Keter asked.

“How could you not feel it? You can live for centuries like an elf, your body heals quickly, and—” Riri stopped abruptly.

The ability to enter the World Tree’s domain... That’s the greatest gift, but I don’t think I can tell him something like that.

It wasn’t because Riri doubted Kadia; rather, she feared what Keter, whom she found incredibly reckless, would do if he found out that he could enter the World Tree’s domain.

“The biggest benefit is that nature itself protects you.”

“I never really noticed any of that. I’ve always healed fast, and immortality comes with being a Transcendental anyway.”

“Stop fooling around and focus! I didn’t call you here to debate whether the Blessing of Nature is beneficial. Kadia looking for Nedi in Liqueur means the fate of the world is at stake.”

“Yeah, well, that’s your problem, not mine.”

“How can it not be yours? Or Sefira’s? The world is ending.” Riri frowned.

“Well, because Sefira will be wiped out before the world ends, and I’ll be dead before that happens. Shouldn’t I focus on surviving first before worrying about saving the world?”

“...”

Riri couldn’t argue. She didn’t know or care for human politics, but she could feel that Sefira was standing on a knife’s edge. And now that she had a chance to calm down, it seemed like Keter didn’t believe her at all.

Deep down, she had believed that Keter would help her. After all, he was someone who had received the Blessing of Nature from Kadia. She had thought that someone like him would care about the fate of the world and willingly sacrifice himself like a true hero.

But now, Riri realized that Keter was not that kind of hero. So, she turned away.

“I understand, Keter of Sefira. Just telling me where Kadia is... I’m grateful for that,” she said coldly.

However, Keter didn’t seem to care.

“I can’t go out of my way to help you, but if you’re heading to Liqueur, I can lend you a hand.”

“It doesn’t sound like it’s free.”

“Of course not. Nothing’s free in this world.”

“What do you want?” Riri asked cautiously.

“What does the second prince hate the most, and what does he like the most?”

“That’s all?”

“One more thing, but start with that.”

Riri hesitated. She wondered whether answering Keter would harm the prince, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t see how it would.

“He hates silence. He loves wagers.”

He was trying to win the second prince’s favor. If it were for that purpose, Riri had no trouble giving him the information.

“Second: tell Kadia I said hello.”

“And?”

“That’s it. Here.”

Keter gave Riri his business card, and he made sure to sign it with blood.

“There’s a mercenary guild in Liqueur. Show this, and they’ll help you. Oh, and one more piece of advice: it’s better if you go alone, without the crown’s help,” Keter said.

“Do the people of Liqueur despise the crown or something?” Riri asked.

“Partly, but it’s more that I pity your misunderstanding.”

“What do you mean?”

“From the look of things, it seems like you’ve been searching for Kadia for a long time, and with the crown’s help, no less. So it’s strange that you didn’t know that she went into Liqueur.”

“Are you trying to turn me against the second prince?”

“I just met you today, but even I can tell that you would follow Kadia everywhere, even into a pit of lava. The same goes for Liqueur, right? If you’d known she was there, you would’ve gone immediately. Not that it matters to me, but if the second prince wanted to keep you by his side, I’d say he probably knew and pretended not to.”

“...”

Riri fell silent, and that silence scared her. She should’ve immediately said that Rakan wasn’t like that, but Keter’s theory sounded far too plausible.

The crown’s intelligence isn’t weak. Even if they didn’t know what Kadia was doing there, they should’ve known she entered Liqueur.

Keter had pinpointed the reason for hiding it all too well. As he said, if Kadia were in Liqueur, Riri would have gone there immediately. Rakan would’ve known that, too. But if he didn’t want Riri to go to Liqueur, a place where no one could ever leave?

“...I’ve stayed too long. I need to go.”

She needed to ask Rakan directly. That was all she could think about. Besides, staying near Keter any longer felt dangerous. Maybe it was because of Kadia’s blessing, but being around him made her feel uncomfortably familiar.

Click.

Riri pressed her hand against the ceiling, and a hidden door opened before Keter.

“Go straight down this path and you’ll reach the palace entrance. Don’t even think about wandering off. You’ve heard about the palace maze, right? All the stories are true. Without a guide, you could wander for life. Don’t wander,” she emphasized, knowing Keter’s personality.

“Yeah, yeah. Got it.”

“I mean it—don’t do anything stupid. I’m saying this for your own good.”

Even after saying that, Riri still seemed uneasy; she hesitated for a moment before going her own way.

* * *

Keter exited the hidden chamber through the open wall. There wasn’t a single guard or trace of life nearby, but that was normal for the palace maze. The entrance was heavily guarded, but there was no one inside. This was because the maze itself was the guard; even the guards would lose their way in there.

Just as Riri had warned, straying even slightly off the path meant risking an eternity of wandering through the palace. However, instead of going straight, Keter turned down the right corridor. Though it was partly due to Keter’s mischievous urge to do exactly what he was told not to, that wasn’t the real reason.

“I’ve just snuck into the royal palace. I can’t let this chance go to waste.”

Riri had led him inside through a secret passage known only to herself and the second prince. And since she’d said even the prince didn’t know about that hidden room, it meant that no one but Riri knew Keter was there. However, Riri was busy—far too busy to come back anytime soon.

In this situation, if Keter happened to know his way around the maze... Even if chaos broke out and Riri ended up in trouble for letting him in, that wasn’t his concern. Sure, she was close to Kadia, but why would Keter care about someone he’d only met today—someone who was also the second prince’s aide?

And once she goes into Liqueur, the crown won’t be able to do anything anyway.

He felt no guilt, and judging from Riri’s position, she wouldn’t be in any real danger from the palace anyway. So Keter darted confidently through the maze.

“Turn left at the yellow rose painting... Turn right at the statue holding an apple... Go straight until you see the chandelier, then take the corridor with the bell.”

He navigated the maze without hesitation, like someone who had been there before. And surprisingly, that was true. In his previous life, Keter had infiltrated the palace in an attempt to assassinate Lillian. Though he had failed to even catch a glimpse of her face, he had roamed the maze thoroughly, and that experience now guided him.

He had left Decameron behind at the bridge, but he wasn’t worried.

I told Decameron I’d be back by noon tomorrow, so nothing should happen.

Even if something did, he trusted Decameron to handle it. Besides, infiltrating the palace would be much more effective in shaking up the palace than simply blocking Her Majesty’s Bridge.

A plan only needs a conclusion. Everything in between can be handled on the fly.

And so, the place Keter headed for wasn’t some secret dungeon or treasure vault full of artifacts.

He marched up to a large door and knocked loudly. “Your Majesty the King Consort, are you in there?”

It was the room where Duke Lerkin, the king consort, was imprisoned.