To the Imperial Palace – 3

“We meet again, child.”

It was Minerva.

Her pure white hair, like a snow-covered mountain under the scorching sun, was the first thing that caught my eye. Perhaps due to the surrounding light, it looked ever so slightly silver.

Her straight silver hair hung long, reaching down to her ankles, and her bangs parted to either side from the center of her forehead. On her face, silver-white pupils, just like her hair, were visible.

She was wearing something resembling a bath robe. The material felt like luxurious fur, and its color was black.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what kind of clothing it was. It just felt most similar to a bath robe.

The lapels at her chest were wide open, revealing most of her breasts, which were slightly smaller than her head. It was so precarious that if it loosened just a little more, her nipples would likely be exposed.

Beneath the robe, alluring thighs extended plumply, contrasting with the black fabric. They looked so soft that my fingers would sink right in if I touched them.

Between her legs, black lingerie briefly caught my eye. Since nothing was visible on her chest, it meant she was only wearing underwear on her lower half.

As if to adjust her attire, her right hand subtly moved to her opposite thigh, lifting the hem of the bath robe. Through the gap, a black cord wrapped around her waist was revealed.

It wasn’t too difficult to imagine what the identity of that cord might be.

Only after taking in her appearance and attire did I finally realize that the strange magic, which had prevented me from perceiving her form even when she was right in front of me, had been dispelled.

“……Minerva-nim?”

As I muttered that in response to her unexpected visit, I heard the wizards behind Minerva whispering among themselves.

ㅡDid you hear that just now? She called her Minerva-nim.

ㅡMy goodness, is she already calling Skientia-nim by her name?

ㅡSkientia-nim didn’t say anything, so it seems she allowed it?

ㅡBut honestly, if he looks like that, wouldn’t it be to our advantage even if he asked to be called by name right away? I’d want to do that too.

ㅡEven though you just met him today? Well, if it’s a man like that……

They seemed to have lowered their voices somewhat, but it was still loud enough for me to hear everything clearly. I wondered if they truly didn’t intend to hide it, or if they were just oblivious to the fact that I could hear them; they were quite carefree.

Still, there was something to gain. The fact that Minerva’s surname was Skientia. In the game, she was only referred to as Arcana, the Eternal Mage, so I thought she didn’t have a surname.

“Be quiet.”

Thump. Minerva lightly tapped the floor with the staff in her hand. At once, the wizards who had been chattering among themselves instantly fell silent and returned to attention.

Minerva, having quieted her surroundings, smiled sweetly.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, I have been well. Thank you for your concern, Minerva-nim.”

“Kaikilia called you, didn’t she?”

“That’s right. What brings you here?”

Hearing my question, Minerva subtly stepped aside. The remaining individuals, who had been hidden, were revealed. There were exactly 10 of them in total.

“I’ve come to help. Children?”

“Yes, Skientia-nim!”

The wizards who had been standing behind Minerva rushed into the room. Aurora and the Knight Captains watched them with bewildered expressions.

There were two wizards per Knight Captain. A total of eight crowded around the Knight Captains, and the remaining two clung to Aurora’s side.

Aurora pushed away the hands that were fiddling with her uniform with a displeased expression.

“What is this all of a sudden, Minerva-nim? These are the wizards from the Magic Tower, aren’t they?”

“Surely you weren’t planning to meet Kaikilia looking like that, Aurora? More preparation is needed. Those children will help with the preparations.”

Aurora seemed to have more to say, but she closed her mouth, perhaps thinking there was no need to question why the Eternal Mage herself would help with her grooming.

“It won’t take long. It’ll be over in a few minutes, so don’t worry. They say they’ve already prepared thoroughly, so we can’t deny their hard work, can we?”

“Don’t worry! We’re quite skilled, you know!”

“Do you know how fiercely we fought when Skientia-nim herself told us to pick the ten best at this? We’re the ones who broke through that and were selected, so we’re really confident!”

The wizards chattered incessantly, drawing magic circles with their staffs. Like the nuns who helped choose dresses in the Holy Kingdom, people involved with clothing and grooming seemed to have this personality as a passive trait.

Fortunately, I seemed to be a step removed from that hell, so I quietly kept my mouth shut, when Minerva gently tapped my shoulder.

“Child, would you like to speak with me for a moment?”

I followed Minerva out of the reception room without a word. Click. The door closed by itself, and I took a secluded spot in the Imperial Palace corridor, following behind Minerva.

The silver staff, imbued with mana, glowed faintly. A translucent barrier enveloped us. At that familiar sight, I instinctively flinched.

It was a pattern I had seen ad nauseam during the Arcana boss fight.

“I’ve temporarily isolated this space. No one will see us, and they won’t hear our voices.”

“Why such magic now…?”

“Just know that what I’m about to tell you is that important.”

If she said it like that, there must be something significant. I tensed my body.

“Based on the data you provided me last time, I analyzed your body, child. And a very interesting result came out. There are two spells cast on your body. One is now only a trace, but the other is still fully effective.”

I had known for a long time that there was magic cast on my body. The ‘Abandoned One’ was born with the setting that all their stats had degenerated to 1 due to a witch’s curse.

Since that curse was just another name for black magic, it was magic nonetheless. The term ‘witch’ was also just another way to refer to a black mage.

Something like that was already-

‘Wait a minute.’

What did Minerva just say? She said something I absolutely shouldn’t overlook.

“Just a moment, Minerva-nim. Did you just say there are two spells cast on my body?”

“That’s right. One that is now only a trace, and one that is still exerting its influence. Why do you ask?”

“……Can you perhaps tell me why there are two?”

Minerva’s expression changed slightly.

“So you thought there was only one spell on your body, child. Which one was it?”

“The one that affects physical abilities.”

I replied with a slightly shocked voice. The idea that there were actually two spells on my body was something I had never even imagined.

“There were three main things I could figure out. The first is that there are two spells on your body. The second is that there’s a very high probability that both spells were cast by the same person. And the third is……”

Minerva paused for a moment, then continued with a light smile.

“That it’s a spell that, if anything, helps you, child, and will absolutely never cause harm.”

“……It won’t cause harm?”

“To be precise, I deduced that it wouldn’t harm you, child, though I can’t say the same for others.”

I felt even more confused. It could be harmful to others, but only I would be fine? I couldn’t understand at all what kind of magic would lead to such a statement.

Furthermore, it was a deduction, not a certainty, making the truth even more obscure. As far as I knew, there was no such type of magic among the active skills in B-Dark 4.

“…….”

I racked my brain with a blank expression.

The curse cast by the witch, which degenerated all my stats to 1, was clearly a negative effect, but another spell cast by the same person was actually beneficial to me? I wondered if that even made sense.

Even if that were true, I’d have to ask why first.

While progressing through sub-quests, you could meet the witch who cast the curse on the player, but that witch certainly didn’t have a favorable impression of the protagonist character from the start.

Was that so? I would tilt my head, and then if the player mentioned a few more options, only then would she go, “Ah! Oh, there was that too,” and dismiss it casually.

She just picked a random person off the street and used them as a black magic experiment, and that happened to be the protagonist. It was only natural that she wouldn’t remember.

While it was possible to form a friendly relationship depending on the choices, it unconditionally required the player to humble themselves, which annoyed most people, so they just fought the boss battle instead.

Ultimately, the core point was this: at least at this point, that witch had no reason whatsoever to do anything positive for me.

“……Could I get a little more detailed explanation?”

In the end, my chosen method was to ask. My current mind couldn’t possibly come up with an answer to this situation.

“I can tell you what I know, but what’s on your body, child, isn’t just magic, it’s black magic. Know that even I cannot fully analyze it.”

“It’s enough if you just explain what kind of magic it is.”

Right. I didn’t necessarily need Minerva to give me all the answers.

“I can just meet the person directly and ask the rest.”

“Delta!”

My mind snapped back to attention at the sound of my name. Rije, with a much brighter face than before, was looking at me with a worried expression.

“Why have you been so spaced out? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just, I have something to think about.”

“Your face says you’re not fine at all.”

“That’s because you’re too beautiful, Rije.”

“……You’re such a smooth talker.”

Rije gave me a sulky glance, then turned her head back to face forward. Even though she said that, I could clearly see the corners of her lips curling up into a silly smile.

In front of us, the massive gate leading into the Imperial Palace’s Central Hall stood imposingly. It seemed at least four or five times my height, and according to the Knight Captains, that enormous thing was entirely made of gold.

Not only that, but it was also enchanted with powerful protective magic, said to be able to withstand even a direct hit from Minerva’s highest-tier destructive magic at least once.

‘…….’

But I, for one, had no mind to care about such things. The information Minerva had told me was too deeply ingrained in my head.

‘So, the reason I……’

The reason I could fight grotesque monsters without fear from the moment I was transmigrated here.

It was all because of the black magic cast on me. Minerva’s words, that it would help me if anything and certainly wouldn’t cause harm, finally made sense.

If that black magic hadn’t been there, I would have been paralyzed with fear the moment I first met the Human Butcher, trembling and unable to do anything, then captured and killed.

‘I need to change my priorities.’

The next weapon to use after the blood-stained sword? Runes to ignore combat fatigue debuffs? Main story progression? None of it mattered. Finding the witch who cursed me was the top priority.

Minerva had also said she’d help me since she’d become personally interested. I already knew her location. If I could teleport, it wouldn’t even take a few minutes to get there.

There were so many things I needed to ask that woman.

ㅡKugugugung……

“Alright. Get everything ready. You know mistakes are forbidden if you don’t want your head to roll, right?”

As the golden gate slowly began to open, Aurora spoke with a voice full of tension. It was a completely different tone from her usual relaxed voice.

The Knight Captains also tensed their shoulders, re-checked their attire, straightened their backs, and looked straight ahead. I, too, pushed my thoughts aside for a moment and focused on this instant.

First, we had to get through the audience with Kaikilia safely to plan anything afterwards. If I had other thoughts even in front of the Emperor, I couldn’t guarantee what would happen next.

Since the gate was incredibly massive, it took a long time just for it to open. Only after more than a full minute had passed could we finally see Kaikilia.

Large marble pillars supporting the Central Hall, and chandeliers brightly illuminating those marble pillars. A red carpet running through the center of the hall.

And at the end of the red carpet, directly opposite us, a towering staircase and a solemnly placed throne upon it.

Kaikilia was seated on that throne.

With the holy sword leaning diagonally to the left of her throne, and one leg crossed.

Given the arrangement, we naturally found ourselves looking up at Kaikilia. No, this place was designed from the start to create such a composition.

To revere the Emperor.

ㅡEnter.

As Kaikilia’s permission was granted, Aurora was the first to slowly walk into the room. At a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow.

In the enormous Central Hall, large enough to easily accommodate thousands of people, there was only us. As I entered last, the gate began to close again.

Aurora, having approached a suitable distance from the stairs, knelt on her left knee, bent her right knee at a right angle, and placed both palms on the floor to her left and right.

The Knight Captains also assumed a similar posture, but the difference was that they bent their right arm and held it horizontally a little distance from their heart. I quickly followed the Knight Captains.

After a brief pause in that position, Aurora bowed her head deeply.

“We greet the Sun of the Empire.”

“We greet the Sun of the Empire!”

Along with Aurora’s quiet voice, the Knight Captains’ booming voices resonated loudly. We waited with bowed heads for Kaikilia to give her command.

“Last one. Raise your head.”

“…….”

Thinking, *This isn’t right*, I raised my head. Aurora and the other Knight Captains still had their heads bowed. Because permission to raise them hadn’t been given yet.

The heel of Kaikilia’s boot tapped the red carpet in front of the throne. It was a sign for me to come closer. I rose from my spot and walked towards Kaikilia as commanded.

I ascended the stairs one step at a time. Reaching Kaikilia’s front, I knelt on one knee and bowed my head, just as I had done below.

“I clearly told you to raise your head.”

Startled, I raised my head again. Kaikilia was slowly scrutinizing me from head to toe. I tried to hide my uneasy feelings and waited for her next words.

Kaikilia, who had been looking me over with her eerily shining golden pupils, casually uttered a single sentence.

“Did you have a pleasant time with the Pope?”

It was a remark that made my heart plummet.