◈ Episode 274: Devalk Imperial Castle (1)
De Valk Imperial Castle is a huge silver castle that symbolizes the Exilion Empire itself.
Receive the blessing of the sun by day, and the grace of the moon and stars by night.
The fortress, which stood tall as if to announce its presence, was a symbol of history that no one could invade.
A place where no one would normally enter.
Rudger was following the guide.
‘I never thought they would open the door to the imperial family.’
Ludger looked around the inside of the imperial castle.
He wasn’t alone.
Because there were other teachers besides Rudger in this seat now.
“and. It is really beautiful.”
Selina said as she walked down a hallway filled with ornate decorations and art.
“okay.”
Rudger also responded moderately and agreed with his words.
Selina’s reaction is similar to that of other teachers.
No matter how much Seorn’s teacher, the chance to enter the imperial castle was not common.
They say that the place they are walking now is a glass corridor, and the corridor itself is a work of art made of glass, crystal and mirrors.
This gigantic and beautiful work created through glass was called the two major glass art works of Lindebrune along with the Crystal Palace.
‘Rather, would it have been better than the Crystal Palace?’
Unlike the Crystal Palace, where anyone can enter by buying a ticket, only a select few could enter the Yuri Corridor.
Considering its rarity, it’s safe to say that this is much more valuable.
‘I was proud that I had seen all sorts of unusual things while traveling around the continent.’
Rudger traveled with Master and explored remote parts of the world.
Secret ruins, fiery skies and frozen lands, natural wonders beyond common sense.
Among them, I also witnessed the Elemental Lord, who is said to be unseen by ordinary people.
Ludger’s accumulated experience was different from others to be surprised by something.
Compared to the wonders of Mother Nature, the works of art created by mankind are inevitably lacking.
I thought so.
Even Rudger couldn’t help but admire Yuri’s hallway.
Even if it is artificial, there is beauty calculated to the limit in the work created by countless artists with all their might.
If he hadn’t come to the imperial family, he wouldn’t have seen anything like this.
‘Thinking about it, this is the first time I’ve been in the imperial palace for so long.’
That day 7 years ago.
Even when he met Princess Eileen, Ludger had never entered the imperial palace.
At the time, Princess Eileen lacked her own power within the imperial palace, and there were too many eyes watching her.
So the place where the two met was a dark back alley in the city or an abandoned street with few people.
Now that I think about it, it was pretty funny.
Now, the place where the next emperor and the academy teacher who is raising the highest stock price of all time met is a dirty wasteland.
I wouldn’t even consider it a joke.
But there were definitely times like that.
Just like a person who can wield omnipotent power runs away hiding in an alleyway.
It shines brightly now, but it wasn’t always like that.
‘Because not everyone was great from the beginning.’
“Mr. Rudger?”
“yes.”
Rudger erased his thoughts at the sudden sound of Selina’s voice and looked back at her.
Selina, who came together as a lead teacher, was staring at Ludger with a transparent gaze.
“What do you think?”
“I just thought it was beautiful on the inside.”
“Ah, too! Same for me. I never dreamed that I would come to a place like this. Besides, the artworks are beautiful.”
“yes. So, I plan to enjoy it for now. Opportunities like this are rare.”
Rudger said that and did not stop looking inside the imperial family.
It was such a large place that I couldn’t check even the imperial warehouse yet, but I still needed to figure out the overall structure.
‘Anything wider than that is filthy wide. The places that are allowed to look around are only a small part of the entire imperial castle, but this is it?’
The hallways were endless.
At first glance, the size of the courtyard of the imperial palace, which stretched beyond the window, was reminiscent of a public park in Laedervelk City.
It occurred to me that I might have to travel by carriage or steam car rather than walking.
The De Valk Imperial Castle was so huge.
‘Even if I steal a Relic Fragment from a place like this, I might be able to properly run away.’
There was only one reason why Ludger came to the imperial castle in the first place.
It is to obtain the fragments of the few remaining ancient artifacts.
‘I’m sure there is a piece in the capital of the empire, but Hans said he couldn’t find it even if he searched like a tooth.’
It might be a bit of an overestimation, but I could confidently say that there was no place outside of Hans’ intelligence.
No matter how secret a place is, if a person touches it, there is no choice but to know.
Even so, Hans said he couldn’t find it.
Rather, it became a clear clue due to the method of elimination.
‘It has to be here.’
There is a storage room inside the imperial palace where valuable items are stored, so if there is one, it is probably there.
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However, there were not one or two scattered problems.
Even if they knew the location of the warehouse, considering the size of the imperial family, the warehouse would also be quite huge.
‘Shards resonate with each other when they get close, so it won’t take that long to find them if they just go in.’
The problem comes after the successful stealing.
‘The imperial palace is too wide. If they knew that the goods had been stolen, soldiers would come from all sides and try to surround them. If that happens, escape will be virtually impossible.’
Rudger counted the number of cases.
What if we move through space through shadows?
‘It’s difficult to move through space. There is a high risk that the coordinates will be twisted due to the magical barriers installed throughout the imperial family.’
The reason why Ludger had been using space movement magic so far was because he was clearly recognizing the coordinates with his eyes and head.
The moment the coordinates deviated even a little, there was a possibility of falling from a high altitude.
that’s rather fortunate
If it’s stuck in a wall or buried under the ground, that’s when it becomes a real problem.
Space magic can only be used by Ludger, but considering the danger, even Ludger could not carelessly use it.
If that’s the case, you have to get out of this castle with your own two legs, not pure magic.
That also seemed impossible.
First of all, the imperial castle was too wide.
As wide as it was, there were many users and many soldiers.
‘Not to mention the soldiers, the knights who protect the imperial family are formidable.’
Even now, as I walked through the corridors, I could see the uniformed knights standing as if they were guarding their seats.
Imperial Family Guard Knights.
It is different from the three major knights of the empire.
Compared to the 3 major knights, who went to rough terrain and took on the hard work, the guardian knights were inferior.
But still, an article is an article.
They are underestimated because they stay in a peaceful place or just patrol.
‘And the biggest problem is the Royal Guard.’
Knights who only exist to protect the lineage of the imperial family.
Royal Guard is a kind of title given to those who are strong enough to be counted among the knights.
They are few in number, but that is why the power each possesses far exceeds that of an ordinary knight.
I’ve heard that Terry and Lion Howl could have been royal guards, but they said they resigned because they didn’t fit in that position.
‘Even if not everyone is a master level strongman, at least it should be regarded as a level equivalent to that.’
Defeat the overflowing Guardian Knights and the Royal Guard and escape from this vast imperial palace?
‘How could that be possible?’
Rudger suddenly thought, “If I use the power of God,” then shook his head.
Gathering relics was something to be done very secretly.
But if you use the power of God, then you hide it and there is nothing.
Beyond secrecy being blown away, citizens across the capital may witness an unbelievable sight.
‘You won’t be able to use a reasonable amount of force against the power of the imperial family. I might have to give up a lot in order to deal with the corresponding power.’
Rudger shook his head after looking at the simulator in his head.
Anyway, this went too far.
‘I can’t change the map just to steal a small fragment.’
Above all, there were not only the Guardian Knights and the Royal Guard in the imperial family.
There were magicians who belonged to the imperial family, and there were obviously still unrevealed powers.
‘Like the dagger of the shadows.’
In the past, 1st Princess Eileen’s hidden dagger was a term referring to ‘Jack the Ripper’, one of Ludgar’s identities.
However, Jack the Ripper suddenly disappeared after solving the case seven years ago.
Even so, the story of the princess’s dagger circulated like an echo among the nobles.
Periodically, if uninterrupted and forgettable.
It was impossible to maintain the illusion for 7 years, so there was a high possibility that a new person was seated in the vacant seat.
‘If this is the case, I’ll have to fundamentally reconsider robbing the imperial warehouse.’
If Hans had heard that, he would have asked with a straight face, ‘No, did you really intend to rob him?’
Surprisingly, Ludger was serious about robbing the imperial family.
Although not now.
Rudger suddenly became curious.
‘I don’t know if Hans and Sedina are doing well.’
* * *
Sedina Rosshen is now blocked by a large wall.
‘Why is it with this person?’
Sedina’s gaze turned to her mentor, Casey Selmore.
Casey Selmore was also conscious of Sedina, Ludgar’s assistant.
Originally, Sedina intended to gather information from her surroundings through paper magic while pretending to be taking lessons from her mentors.
Senior Hans said he would step in, but we couldn’t just sit still and do nothing.
But the mentor didn’t have the time to do that.
The opponent is the person who tracked Ludgar Celish to this place in search of whereabouts.
Since she was called the greatest detective of the century, there was a possibility that even Sedina would be found out if she used magic recklessly.
‘My magic is particularly stealthy, but there’s no guarantee that a person with that level of skill won’t find out.’
I don’t know if I’d rather have turned my attention to this side, but it was a big problem that Casey was also conscious of Sedina.
‘What is the purpose?’
At the time when Sedina was seriously thinking, Casey Selmore thought.
‘If I become close with this child, my teaching assistant, wouldn’t I get to know him better now?’
The reason Casey applied as a mentor was to increase contact with Rudger.
Ludger’s past she saw was completely different from what the world knew.
Even if Rudger had intended it, if all of this was a misunderstanding, it would have to be corrected once the truth was known.
However, when Casey, who would normally have spoken boldly, stood in front of Rudger, his words didn’t come out properly.
I saw your past.
I found out the truth that day.
This side wasn’t quite proud either, so the words didn’t come out of my mouth easily, and in the end, there was nothing I could do except forcibly submit the mentor application form.
Eventually, Casey decided to change his ways.
By attacking Ludger’s neighbors and getting to know them step by step.
Sedina, who did not know that fact, couldn’t help but feel anxious that she might have been caught.
‘Maybe it’s good?’
Even more troubling was that there was one more person in the group who was uncomfortable with Sedina.
Gee.
An intense gaze staring at him from the side.
Sedina had to try desperately not to look back on purpose.
Julia Plumheart.
All of a sudden, she was in the same group and kept staring at Sedina from the side.
Perhaps because this side didn’t respond, something went wrong, and Julia also didn’t seem to have any intention of averting her gaze.
‘I shouldn’t be like this.’
For Sedina, it was just uncomfortable for Julia to look at her like this.
Of course, it wasn’t without regret.
As children, Sedina and Julia were close friends.
Julia was the first time Sedina had opened her heart to anyone, and Julia was no different.
However, from the moment Sedina decided to join the Black Dawn, things fell apart.
‘Even though I’m on the side of Mr. Ludgar instead of the Black Dawn now, nothing’s changed.’
Sedina was no longer an ordinary student.
The world she lived in was different from Julia’s.
Even for Julia’s sake, Sedina shouldn’t have gotten involved with her.
What was contained in his gaze toward Sedina was a mixture of anger, betrayal, and weak goodwill.
Sedina deliberately ignored Julia’s gaze, feeling apologetic that was difficult to express in words.
However, no matter how much this side tried to ignore it, Julia didn’t seem to have any intention of giving up.
In the midst of such a strange tension, Sedina shed tears inwardly.
‘Please someone help me.’
* * *
“No, what the hell is this guy doing? There’s no news about it?”
Hans, who had been waiting in the camouflage house, crossed his arms and trembled in frustration when he didn’t hear anything from Sedina.
‘There are knights everywhere, so they can’t help it either.’
Hans was well aware that Sedina admired Ludger.
The fact that there has been no news from Sedina must mean that the situation is not going well regardless of her will.
‘Then, at least I have no choice but to handle the work as my older brother ordered me to do.’
For now, as advised by Grander, who is still lying on the sofa over there, I mainly looked around the underground sewers.
To be honest, Hans was skeptical about whether the information he wanted would come out.
‘Still, it’s right to try it first in case you’re going to be pointed out for not listening.’
Just as Hans was thinking about it, one of the mice he had sent returned.
“what. You came quickly. Did you check already?”
snap! snap!
“The basement? Did you look inside the sewer?”
Squeeze! Chew!
“what?”
Hans couldn’t help but be puzzled by the news he had heard from the mouse.
“You can’t go further down the aqueduct?”
At Hans’s question, the mouse raised its beard and nodded.
