Shadowless Night

atelyn grinned and poured the tea lightly into the palm of her hand.
She brought it closer to her nose to inhale the scent a little deeper, and touched the liquid with her fingertips.
For a moment, her body shook.
There was a familiar aura from the shallow puddle of tea in her palm.
It gave her eyes, which could no longer see, a vivid sight.
Something like a dark-red rose colored haze began to form on her palm.
It was a very small amount, but she knew what it meant.
It was her motherland Balta’s long-cherished dream.
While she was captured in Illavenia, they had succeeded in combining poison and magical power.
They succeeded in manufacturing Fragment.
She unconsciously clenched her fists.

Her actions convinced Ricardis.
Her reaction to the colorless, tasteless, and odorless poison meant that it contained an aura that she could feel.
Since she is a demon possessing magical powers, she would have felt even a small amount of magic.
She took her eyes off her hand and looked back at Ricardis.
A smile filled her face.
She wore rusty handcuffs on her wrists, wore shabbier clothes than anyone else, and was in the weakest state she’d ever been in, but she seemed to be more elated than anyone else in this place. 

[demon in this story refers to people who born with magic, and is described with the hanja (魔人): 魔 means ‘demon; magic’ while 人 means ‘person’.
We will not translate it as ‘magical person’ unless you want put 2 comedy tags for this novel.]

Her harsh voice resonated happily, “What do you want to know?”

“What do you know?”

She sat comfortably in her seat, looking somewhat impertinent, so Isserion secretly cursed her.

“I… Ricardis, I know a lot.
I know what you want to know.
Also, I know that the light of Idelavhim has begun to fade, and that your odds are no longer high as long as ‘this’ has appeared.”

“I’m still very good on my own.”

“… You’re cheeky.”

During the three years of her captivity, she had never handed over information to Illavenia.
Even the information she spit out after persistent torture was of no use since the incident had already occurred.
She didn’t choose to open her mouth this time because Ricardis is less fortunate than the 1st Prince Elpidio.
Nor was it because of the gift he had brought her that fulfilled a long-cherished dream of Balta.

It was because she was sure that everything would now go according to Crean Tidanion’s will, and that even if she revealed the identity of the poison, nothing would change much.
She felt a black veil descending on the Illavenia Empire, and Katelyn trembled finely with the euphoria that enveloped her.

“If you see what you brought me, you must already know.
Yes, that’s right.
This is the product of the great Crean Tidanion.
A realm of complete chaos where Idelavhim dares not to intervene.”

“Do you have the talent of talking like a dog?”

“…This poison is mixed with magical power.”

“Now it’s nice and easy to understand.
Perfect.”

He had already predicted the identity of the poison, so there was no sudden shock.
Aside from Ricardis and Isserion, who nodded their heads quietly, many people who followed them were confused.
The prison shook with commotion.
A combination of poison and magic.
It was unbelievable, but the shabby woman in front of them was a former Black Moon executive.
She couldn’t be trusted, but they couldn’t easily ignore her.
A poison that cannot be healed by holy power.
And the words came out of the witch Katelyn’s mouth, who was from the Black Moon that worships magical powers and contains many demons in their group.
Many circumstances supported Ricardis’ opinion.
The men standing behind Ricardis and Isserion scribbled something down on a small piece of paper.
Those testimonies will be passed on to the emperor, Elpidio, and the nobles.

Ricardis waved his hand, signaling that their quest was over.
Many secretaries and aides escaped the prison quickly.
It seemed like they wanted to get out of this space full of bad smells and bugs as quickly as possible.
Ricardis looked at their backs and clicked his tongue, then gave the woman one last look.

“All that’s left is that gift, Katelyn.
It won’t do good for your body, but it’ll do good for your mental health.
I will give you a chance to end your life of torture.
A life without being able to eat or move properly in this dark and humid space that doesn’t have a single ray of light,” said Ricardis. 

Katelyn let out a small laugh.
Unlike Elpidio, who would subject her to all kinds of vicious torture, Ricardis could be considered a prince with cute taste.
Ricardis, who read the meaning from the sound of her laughter, wrinkled his face.

“I am not going to use this gift, sweetheart.”

‘This woman is for real.’ Ricardis’ voice grew sharp, “Then you won’t die in peace.”

“Everyone will return to Lord Crean Tidanion’s arms.
I may be blind, but my sight will be bright.
I have a duty to live to see that scene.
So, please, do your best as well.”

As the people escaped, the prisoners banged the bars again.
The prison quickly became restless with the screams and shouts.