Chapter 194: An Old Friend (10)

"Pfft... So this was what you were trying so hard to hide until the very end?"

I felt like I was standing on the scaffold, my mind being shredded by anxiety and dread.

"Don't worry so much, okay? If you just do what I say, nothing will happen to her."

It was horrifying. I couldn't tell if he was reading my movements or my thoughts. Not knowing exactly how he was doing it only made it worse. Rubia was at my side now, holding my arm tightly as she smiled up at me.

"You're back! I missed you!"

Isaac chuckled in my mind.

"Your hidden wife? Or is this the necromancer who raised you? She doesn't look nearly strong enough for that..."

"..."

"Hurry up and greet her. What are you doing, just standing there like a stranger?"

I tensed up, but Rubia didn't seem to notice. She just kept beaming up at me, oblivious.

"I have some good news," she said.

"Good... news?"

Her smile was painful to see, knowing the monster coiled inside me. "Lord Yube found a copy of one of Kevin Ashton's books for you."

"Did she just say... Kevin Ashton?"

Isaac murmured internally in an odd tone.

"And? What of it?"

However, he didn't answer me. The constant chatter from before went silent, as though he'd been plunged deep in thought. Even as I worried what that sudden stillness might mean, Rubia kept chattering away.

"You said you wanted to read everything Kevin Ashton ever wrote, right? I can't help much in other ways, but... I'll remember these things for you!"

Rubia was so bright and cheerful, but I couldn't relax for even a moment. I knew that at any second, my hand might snap out and break her neck, tear her apart the moment Isaac decided to kill. If he ever turned that intent on her, there'd be no stopping it. And then... it would be me killing Rubia.

"Are you well, sir?" Rubia asked.

Yube had followed us out and was bowing respectfully. If Isaac decided to go on a rampage, this man's fate would be no different.

"Kevin Ashton's book, sir. I heard you were searching for it..."

He handed over a worn volume bound in red leather. Yube really was remarkable, offering this level of courtesy to someone he'd only just met. He wouldn't have survived this long if he showed that kind of trust to every stranger who crossed his path. But there was no reason to refuse the book.

The Doll That Imitates Humans

Kevin Ashton's name was printed at the bottom corner of the cover.

"I'd be grateful if you'd accept what's inside, as well," Yube said.

He opened it for me, revealing a small bulge within the pages. Two black cards, marked with pentagrams, lay tucked inside—one was the same as the card I'd already shown him, the other a new addition.

"Then I'll leave you be. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call upon me."

Yube stepped away, leaving me standing there with Rubia still clinging to my arm.

"Would you like to read it now?" she asked.

"I'll... read it later," I said.

The idea of opening Kevin Ashton's book while Isaac watched made my skin crawl. I didn't want to give him even the smallest scrap of information about me. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd already crossed a point of no return.

"What are you thinking?" Rubia asked, her eyes wide and worried.

She must have seen how deep in thought I was.

"Rubia."

"Yes?"

"It's nothing... I'm fine."

Isaac didn't seem to hear that exchange—or perhaps he just pretended not to. Either way, there was nothing Rubia could do to help. It would be better if she didn't know anything at all. If she learned even a little, it would only poison her.

"Let's go back to the inner castle," I said.

Rubia's eyes widened in delight. "Wow! You know the Lord of Grassmere too?"

In other circumstances, her innocent wonder would have made me smile. However, there was no room for that now.

"That's amazing! You've only been awake for a few days, and already you're meeting such important people. You must have been someone really important yourself when you were alive..."

Damn it. Isaac is listening to all of this.

"It's like... beginner's luck! That I could be the one to wake you up..."

It was too late to silence her now. I didn't even want to think about how Isaac might use what she'd said. I focused on getting back to the inner castle as quickly as possible.

***

"You've returned!"

The steward greeted me with a broad smile, and the lord followed close behind.

"And this young lady?" the lord asked, gesturing at Rubia. His voice was low and hesitant.

"See to her safety," I said. "As much as possible."

"Me?"

Rubia asked.

"Just do as I say for now."

Rubia blinked at me, then gave a small nod of understanding. The steward led her away, trailed by maids and guards. It was bitterly ironic. Those same guards I had asked to protect her... if Isaac decided to act, they would be the first to fall.

Not one of them could hope to stand against him. Not even I knew if I could stop him if he decided to kill. But as the distance between me and Rubia grew, I felt a tiny bit of the tension ease.

"May I take a short walk around the castle?" I asked the lord.

"Of course! I'll send someone to guide you."

"That won't be necessary."

All I needed was a sense of direction. I refused the steward's offer to accompany me and began walking away, in the opposite direction from where Rubia had gone. That was when it happened.

"Why are you so jumpy? I told you—I'm cooperating, didn't I? Why don't you trust me, hmm?"

Had he been waiting for Rubia to leave?

Isaac's voice returned, low and calm, echoing inside my mind.

"What do you want?"

This time, I wouldn't lose Rubia in such a hollow, meaningless way. I would never let it happen—never let it come to pass that I killed her with my own hands. If it came to the worst, I'd rather actively cooperate with Isaac and slowly look for an opportunity to strike.

I wondered what he was really thinking. He kept talking to me in that unnervingly friendly tone.

"Let me give you a tip. In situations like this, you have to act like you don't care what happens to her. If you keep broadcasting to the world that she's your weakness, you'll only make it easier for people like me to find out."

"..."

"Most people wouldn't even notice if you didn't make it so obvious. Look around. Everyone in this castle knows now that she's your weakness."

"Just tell me what you want."

Isaac went quiet for a moment, thinking deeply.

Then, in a surprisingly serious tone, he asked,

"Kevin Ashton... what exactly is your relationship with him?"

I hadn't expected that question. He wasn't asking how I knew Kevin Ashton or why I liked his books—he was asking about my connection to him.

How am I supposed to answer that?

However, I could sense that he already had strong suspicions.

"I told you. He's just an author I like," I answered.

Telling him the truth would only give him another weapon to use against me. And I knew Isaac wouldn't believe it anyway.

"Tell me how you know Kevin Ashton. If you do that, I promise I won't hurt that girl."

A bitter laugh rose up inside me.

As if I'd fall for that again.

After seeing the cult destroyed, after Isaac had sworn loyalty to Malphas and still found a way to trap me... A man who could even deceive death, living half-dead in his coffin for centuries.

"You're still suspicious of me, aren't you? I haven't even started lying yet."

"I'll give you this much—your ability to read my mind is impressive."

"It's not mind-reading. It's just intuition. Besides, I have no reason to lie to you. Want me to prove it? I could call her back right now. How about it?"

I felt my grip tighten around my sword. I glanced around. Thankfully, I had already sent everyone else away. But if Isaac so much as shouted, the guards would come running, eager to tell him exactly where Rubia was. It was still bright outside, but it felt as dark as midnight.

"Don't even think about killing yourself. It's not as easy as you think,"

Isaac threatened.

"Fine. I'll tell you everything. But you'll tell me why you're so interested in Kevin Ashton first."

If I had to talk, I would at least get something out of it. I had to gather every scrap of information I could for the next time I faced Isaac. In knowledge, skill, and psychological games, he was far beyond me. To be honest, he was too much to handle for a single lifetime.

But leaving him locked away in his coffin, never approaching the Grassmere tomb again? That would be an even greater waste.

"Fine... that much, at least."

Isaac agreed more easily than I expected. Maybe he was so sure of his advantage that he didn't mind sharing.

"Of course, that's assuming you're completely honest with me."

I had no intention of lying.

"Kevin Ashton. Every time I read one of his books... my Wisdom increases."

"Wisdom? It's only natural to become wiser when you read. What kind of nonsense is this?"

Isaac was still gripping the blade, but he didn't call me a liar. His instincts told him I was telling the truth, even if he couldn't make sense of it.

"No. It doesn't matter what the book is about. Every time I read one of Kevin Ashton's books... a translucent blue window pops up, telling me my Wisdom has increased by one."

"What?"

"Every time. Without fail."

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"A... a blue window?"

"It says: Your Wisdom has increased by one. That's why I seek out Kevin Ashton's books."

"Ha... ha ha... ha ha ha..."

Isaac let out a low, eerie laugh, but there was no malice in it.

"Heh heh... heh heh heh... Go on. Keep going."

"You think I'm insane, don't you?"

It didn't matter. I was telling the truth, and if it kept Isaac away from Rubia even for a little while—if it gave me a chance to read his intentions—then I didn't care what he thought of me. But what he said next was utterly unexpected.

"Are you telling me... everything you see, everything about you... is reflected in this blue window?"

"To an extent, yes."

"Ha ha ha ha... a person who can perceive the hole in the heavens itself! So Kevin Ashton had even prepared for that... who was he, really?"

Isaac's laughter turned into a flood of manic muttering. I could feel his madness growing, slithering through the back of my mind.

"You have terrible intuition... Yet you know so much, despite having risen not too long ago... And you know things you wouldn't have unless you've met me before... This explains it all..."

"What are you even talking about?"

Isaac fell silent for a moment. Not the heavy silence of a threat, but there was the strange, weightless pause of something finally being released.

After a long silence, he softly said,

"I have a theory."