"Your Highness. Shall I call the royal physician?"
"If you wish, I will summon the royal court mages as well."
The guards watched the prince's madness with concerned tones. The prince’s eyes twitched, and he soon mumbled in a fading voice.
"... I-It's fine. I think I was mistaken..."
"Are you certain, Your Highness? Haven't you been having trouble sleeping lately? For the sake of your health, we should at least have you checked..."
"I-I'm serious. There's no need to check."
In the end, they could do nothing about the prince who vigorously shook his head. If he refused, dragging him away by force would be an act of treason. With no other choice, the guards left, heading for the hall instead of standing watch at the door.
[Did you see how he couldn't even meet our eyes?]
[Yes. My, to be so frail...]
[He's still young... ahem. Let's make our report first.]
The prince's state of mind seemed so bad that even the guards were worried. As soon as he confirmed the sound of their departing footsteps, the prince, slumped over his desk, let out a deep sigh.
"Sigh... What is it this time..."
This time, he says. It was about time I made my move. I took off my mask and stepped out onto the terrace.
The prince's terrace had been built narrow, in case assassins infiltrated the palace, making it difficult for even one person to stand there. It was just large enough for a single boy. I shook my feet to gauge my current physical strength and gathered a small amount of Thunder Wind.
The compression rate was much lower, and I wouldn't release it at a single point. Looking down at the dizzying drop, I steeled myself. In any case, I had never died from a fall. -Thump!
I leaped high. Of course, it wasn't far enough. There were still several meters to the terrace, and I began a slow descent...
I detonated the Thunder Wind beneath my feet. With a sound like a small firecracker, I flew the additional distance. It wasn't a graceful landing.
The output was stronger than I'd thought, so I barely managed to grab the terrace railing and pull myself up ungracefully.
"Huh?"
The prince heard the noise and looked toward the terrace. To be precise, he saw me through the glass window.
"...?"
He must have received the education of a prince. In a situation like this, he should have called the guards and alerted them to an intruder, but— "Th-This time, it's a bit different..." His curiosity seemed to be stronger.
I wasn't sure what he meant by that, though. I grabbed the terrace door handle. It was locked, but picking it was no trouble at all.
Click.
The door opened, and only then did the prince grow tense.
"A-An Assassin??"
We might look alike, but I was still an intruder. Someone who snuck into a prince's room usually didn't have good intentions. The prince quickly backed away and made a threat.
"I-If you take one more step, I'll call for help...!"
Even his voice lacked conviction. A tone lacking confidence, eyes that couldn't meet my gaze, narrow shoulders. It was a familiar sight.
I had met this type a few times at the orphanage. Children who arrived when they were a bit older, aware that they had been abandoned by their parents. Their self-esteem tended to plummet without end.
I didn't know why this boy, a prince, had ended up like this, but putting that aside, dealing with such children is simple.
"It's nice to finally meet you, little brother."
"...?"
"Come here, let me give you a hug."
"What?"
They are weak to familial affection. Of course, the prince didn't believe my words.
"No, what are you... I don't have an older brother!"
"Father met another maid in his youth, and I was born. It's only natural that you wouldn't believe it."
I casually styled my hair with the currents.
"But what about now? Even to you, don't we look alike?"
"Ugh..."
When I frowned slightly, the resemblance was truly startling. The prince stared with his mouth agape before, flustered, he shook his head again.
"Looking alike could just be a coincidence!"
"Is that so. Then how about this."
I scanned the prince's body with Tide Sense. A precise Tide Sense cast at such a close distance could perfectly distinguish even the small blemishes on his skin. Pretending to recall a memory, I hummed and asked a question that likely only the prince himself would know the answer to.
"Hmm... I remember when we used to bathe together. You had two moles on your thigh. Are they still there?"
"...!"
At those words, the prince's eyes widened in surprise.
"We... used to bathe together...?"
"Yes. You were too young, so it's understandable that you don't remember."
Still confused, he shook his head from side to side.
"No, that's not right. Father wouldn't hide something like that from me... Then, then use magic!"
"Magic, you say?"
"Y-Yes!"
The prince blinked hard. A single star appeared, and a flame ignited in his hand. I narrowed my eyes.
That could cause big trouble. But perhaps because his enlightenment was low, the deep sea creatures showed no reaction. Separately, the prince's flame was of a very high level.
Even for elemental magic, he was only 1‑Star, yet it was strong enough to scorch the ceiling. The prince puffed up with pride and declared.
"If you're my brother, you have to be stronger than me! Otherwise, you don't share our father's blood."
"Hmm."
So he has the pride of a royal. Without a word, I snapped my fingers. -Poof...
"... Huh? Hey? Why did it do that?"
The flame the prince had conjured was extinguished in an instant. The bewildered boy looked at his hand, then met my gaze.
Two stars.
It took him ten seconds to realize that my age was not that different from his, and to understand what it meant to have summoned two stars at that age. Even Lumia of the Imperial Family had reached 2‑Star at an age slightly older than mine and was called a peerless genius. The prince's reaction was predictable.
"Brother...?"
In his gaze, filled with reverence, not a single shred of doubt remained.
"Why... why did Father hide your existence from me?"
"Respect our father's choice. I was the son of a maid, and my very existence would have invited bloodshed. Hiding me was unavoidable."
"I-I see..."
Sitting at a nearby desk, the prince looked up at me with sparkling eyes, his gaze almost burdensome. It seemed he found the sudden appearance of a mature, 2‑Star mage for an older brother quite fascinating. To think he's a puppet, yet there's nothing different about him from a real human.
While I felt the Red Lotus's technology was incredible, I also felt a sense of dread. Don't tell me they created a fallen one of the Deep Sea, just like me? And he just awakened?
Then was this entire massive kingdom just a breeding ground to raise this prince? I didn't know. First, I extended my hand to my cute, gullible puppet, who looked like he would tell me anything.
"My name is Horn."
"Ah, I'm Rahyan! My name is Rahyan."
So that's my real name. We shook hands, and I explained to Rahyan with a serious expression.
"Little brother, there is much I wish to discuss, but now is not the time."
"Huh? Why?"
"This kingdom is in danger."
Rahyan, blinking in confusion, suddenly opened his mouth wide.
"Why...!"
"Shh."
I quieted him after confirming that the guards outside had returned to their posts.
"In this situation, no one can be trusted. That is also why I did not seek out Father. It is a terrible thought, but even he could have fallen into the enemy's clutches."
"That's... impossible!"
"I think so too. But I came to you first, just in case."
"Wh-What in the world is going on?"
"Have you ever heard of the Red Lotus?"
"No..."
Rahyan shook his head as if he truly didn't know. Through this, I became certain. These puppets were not normally under the control of the Red Lotus.
After all, if they had to be managed every minute of every second, a certain number of personnel would have been tied to this kingdom for seven straight years. They were, quite literally, just like living, breathing people. Then how can I tell them apart?
There's practically no difference between the puppets and real people. Should I wait until nightfall and ask Dersia?
"Brother Horn?"
I had been lost in thought. I reassured the anxious Rahyan and explained the situation.
"Those people have infiltrated the royal palace, and they are wearing the skins of others, pretending to be human."
"If we don't find them, this place will be slowly devoured. Eventually, the entire kingdom will fall."
"Is that... really true?"
"Yes. I came here to stop it."
I have to find a way to tell them apart, no matter what. As I focused on Rahyan...
"... Could it be."
Suddenly, Rahyan's eyes widened as he fell into thought.
"B-Brother. I'm not sure, but maybe... maybe those people did something strange to me."
"Something strange?"
"Yeah. It's still happening now."
"What is it?"
"Th-This time it's a little unusual, but fish are floating in the air. And... it's a bit dark. That's how the world looks to my eyes."
"... Is that so? They might have done something."
You've fallen.
As I hid that thought, Rahyan continued with an even more serious expression.
"But, I've had similar experiences before."
"What?"
"Sometimes... suddenly, for no reason, everyone in the world looks just like me."
"...?"
"That's why when I first saw you, I thought it was something similar to that, but this time, I thought it was a little different..."
The hesitating boy said something I couldn't comprehend at all.
"I've tried to explain it to Father and others several times, but no one understood. Could this be the process of them trying to devour me?"
"Could you tell me more about this phenomenon?"
"Well, um..."
Rahyan gazed into the air as if trying to recall something, then mumbled.
"Everyone looks like me, and among them, I don't know who I am."
"It's so confusing, and then the person I thought was me starts talking to me."
"Then I realize that the me I thought wasn't me is actually me, and I barely manage to answer..."
To summarize, he sometimes became unable to distinguish between the individual and the collective. That's what it was. Of course, this was not a burden of the Deep Sea.
I had never known or seen such a burden. I rested my chin on my hand, deep in thought. He sometimes receives that strange burden.
He became a fallen one of the Deep Sea when I came near. Was he being replaced by another fallen one... ...
No. "Rahyan.
Let me borrow this for a moment."
"Uh, okay."
I tore the room's curtains and made a rope. I tied it to the terrace and jumped down. After about three minutes, I climbed back up.
"Did anything change?"
"Y-Yes!"
Rahyan nodded his head enthusiastically.
"When you were nearby, the fish were swimming around, but when you left, they disappeared!"
I stared intently at the prince. Distinguishing between puppets and people.
Beyond that...
Maybe I could do the reverse. I grabbed Rahyan's shoulders and said proudly.
"Rahyan."
"Y-Yes?"
"It seems you may be the one who can save this country."
"M-Me?"
Seeing the puppet with the same face as mine looking bewildered, unable to believe in himself, I smiled deeply inside. This boy, Rahyan, for some unknown mechanism— He possessed the ability to see the world of a fallen one nearby.
The palace kitchen was always busy. But today, it was especially so, due to the sudden arrival of the princess's imperial envoy. They were lavishly using high-quality ingredients not normally used, to the point that not only the cooks but even the maids had to help in the kitchen.
In a situation where mistakes were bound to happen, the worst one did. -Crash! A pot full of boiling water spilled, scalding the top of a middle-aged woman's foot. The head chef ran over in horror "Head Maid!
Are you alright??"
"Hm? I'm fine."
"B-But the boiling water..."
The head maid finally looked down at her foot and grimaced as if in pain.
"... I see. I think I need to rest a little."
"I-I'm so sorry! It was my mistake..."
"It happens when we're busy. Excuse me."
The head maid headed to her private room to rest, dragging her foot at a steady pace. The head chef stared blankly at the absurd scene before being called back to the battlefield.
"Tsk."
As soon as he entered the room, the head maid's demeanor changed. He opened a diary he had in his robes.
[Confirming. Stand by.]
As soon as he saw that order, he roughly scribbled with a pen.
[What do you mean, stand by? If an envoy is here, it means we've definitely been found out. Let's just kill them all and go back with the treasured items that bitch made.]
[We'll do that in the worst-case scenario.]
[Isn't this the worst-case scenario?]
[Checking the reports, that knight came here with only baseless suspicion. And his search of all the surrounding cities is a product of near coincidence. There's no reason to flee.]
[Can't we just kill him? That damn knight looks pretty strong. If we don't take care of the other knights in advance, I'll be in danger.]
[...]
For a moment, nothing was written on the paper. But soon, a different message was written.
[The order stands. However, I will summon Suirak in advance.]
[That bastard hates me, doesn't he? What if he doesn't come to save me?]
The next message wasn't written. The mass sighed and put the diary away. Wait, wait, and wait again.
'Agh, they're stopping me like hell just because I caused a little trouble.' Waiting around like this was only making the burden worse. It had gotten to the point where it was hard to tell whether he was the one who was hurt, or if the head chef who called him was himself.
He had to kill, to wound, to convince himself that only the survivor was him. And that he was the most gruesome one. Also, that he was the most hideous monster, one no one could ever imitate.
He had to remind himself of it over and over. To him, a mission that involved waiting was excruciatingly boring.
"Maybe I'll have a little fun in secret..."
He was starting to get restless. The mass's hand twisted bizarrely. Maybe he could go on a small killing spree in a nearby village, if not the royal court.
As he licked his lips at the thought— -Knock, knock, knock!
"Head Maid! You're being summoned!"
He had no choice but to restore his hand to its original state and open the door.
"What is it?"
The maid answered with a look that said she didn't know either.
"The Imperial Envoy..."
"The envoy?"
The mass lowered its voice. He would decide based on this maid's words. If they had really noticed something.
If it was the worst-case scenario— first, he would kill this girl, then take what he needed. As the mass thought this and began to transform the hand behind his back again, words he could never have imagined reached his ears.
"He's causing a scene, asking how we dare to host such a small banquet for him..."
"?"
"He-He says that if we don't immediately hold a banquet a hundred times larger, he will consider the Imperial Family to have been insulted!"
Hmm.
The mass carefully relaxed his hand.