Celebrity Lady - Chapter 86

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 86
Victor blinked.
It was difficult for him to know, one by one, which Spirits the dozens of Royal Family members had contracted with.
However, Naysen was a Spirit Mage who had contracted with a High-Rank Spirit. Victor was at least aware of the existence of a Spirit named Poze.
But……
“Why would the Second Prince attempt to kidnap my sister?”
“Because Naysen is my political rival.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Since things have come to this, you need to know everything, Commander Victor.”
Lark rose to his feet as he spoke.
“Naysen is trying to eliminate me to seize the Imperial Throne. There have been dozens—no, hundreds of attempts so far.”
“……”
“This time, he had a sorcerer approach Lizbet, framing her for targeting First Princess Bella. That was also Naysen’s doing.”
“W-what did you say?”
“And the reason why the Princess got caught up in this struggle over the throne——”
“……”
“——was because she helped Lizbet during this trial. Unlike what’s known, the Princess has never met the sorcerer and doesn’t know his face. She merely committed perjury in court to reduce Lizbet’s sentence.”
As Lark confessed, Victor’s mouth fell open.
“S-so, to summarize……”
He trembled as he continued.
“……Your Highness and the Second Prince have been fighting in secret over the Imperial Throne. The Second Prince learned during this trial that Rubetria was helping Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
“Seeing that Rubetria and Your Highness appeared to have some connection, he tried to kidnap her to take her as a hostage?”
“……”
Lark fell silent at that question.
There were too many inconsistencies for it to be simply that Naysen had seized her to blackmail him.
‘In the first place, there would be no need for Naysen to risk so much to execute a hostage scheme. If he planned to blackmail me that way, there were plenty of other targets besides the Princess.’
Lizbet, the full sister Lark treasured, and the Empress, his birth mother—both were within arm’s reach.
But there was a reason Naysen had not resorted to such shallow tactics.
A hostage scheme might shake Lark’s composure, but it could never achieve what Naysen truly wanted.
Moreover, if his involvement were discovered, the risks he would have to bear were considerable.
‘He’s not trying to shake me or blackmail me. Naysen was targeting Rubetria herself.’
Lark clenched his fist at the realization.
‘Why? Could he have learned her secret?’
If that were the case, everything would fall into place. If Naysen had discovered that Rubetria was a contractor of Bista, a Spirit who could see the future……
The countless tragedies throughout history perpetrated by those who hunted Bista’s contractors flooded Lark’s mind, and he fell into despair.
‘But how? If he really did learn her secret, what path led him to it? Could it be……’
As his head began to ache with doubt——
“If the Second Prince had ill intent, wouldn’t it be hopeless, sir?”
Victor muttered, his composure shaken.
“So you’re saying that what felt to me like a mere blink of an eye was actually the Second Prince stopping time, and in that interval, he spirited away the kidnappers? Is that correct?”
“Correct.”
“How could we possibly stand against such an enormous ability?”
Victor despaired.
“I’m amazed Your Highness has survived this long without being killed. He could simply stop time while you’re eating, poison your food, and it would be game over, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s impossible, Deputy Commander. Spirit abilities don’t apply to Spirits of equal rank.”
Ren interjected with an explanation.
“The Crown Prince’s Spirit, Randian, is not subject to time being stopped. Randian would have witnessed the entire poisoning attempt and informed His Highness.”
“Then what if the Second Prince simply severed his neck?”
“If His Highness suddenly had his neck severed, anyone would suspect a Spirit Mage capable of stopping time. Even if the Second Prince tried to make it look like someone else’s doing, it would still create suspicion. The Second Prince isn’t foolish.”
At Ren’s rebuke, Victor, who had been clutching his head in confusion, cried out.
“Even so, it’s still hopeless! It’s completely unfair!”
“Calm yourself, Commander Victor. I understand what you’re imagining, but the Spirit isn’t quite that overwhelming. It has clear limitations. There are likely weaknesses we’ve yet to discover.”
“What could they be?”
“Poze has appeared four times so far. Including Naysen, that’s a total of five contractors.”
Lark crossed his arms and added.
“From the known summonings, Poze does have constraints. Namely, dependence on spatial range.”
“Spatial range?”
“Poze can only stop time within a certain range of space. And Naysen, the contractor, must absolutely be within that range.”
“Ah……”
“It doesn’t mean all of time stops simultaneously across the entire world when Poze uses the ability. Moreover, Naysen cannot sit in his room and freeze time in distant Reuben.”
Had Poze been a Spirit unconstrained in stopping time, it would surely have been designated as a Dangerous-Rank Spirit.
But the reason Poze was not classified as such was precisely because of these clear limitations.
“One more thing. No one but Naysen can enter the space where time has been stopped. The knights you lost—Naysen must have removed them one by one himself.”
“Wow……”
“What’s known is roughly this much, but there are aspects we cannot yet fathom.”
“Aspects we cannot fathom?”
“For instance, exactly how wide a range of time he can dominate. Or how long he can keep time frozen.”
Lark closed his eyes slightly and bit his lip as he murmured with difficulty.
“Setting aside those various constraints, it is certainly an ability far too dangerous.”
* * *
A place whose exact location could not be determined.
The five knights who had vanished from Victor’s sight in an instant beheld Naysen before them and sighed with relief.
“Second Prince, we are deeply sorry.”
“Our apologies!”
All the knights dropped to one knee before Naysen.
“No, no. Well done. Victor Diolus was that strong? He must have contracted with…… a Spirit of the Indestructible Body? His flesh became like iron plate?”
“Yes, we had only heard tales and encountered it for the first time. It was utterly impossible.”
“Even if we sent ten, twenty, a hundred men, it wouldn’t help.”
As two of the knights clicked their tongues, Naysen, who had been stroking his chin, swallowed.
“I see. My brother has stationed an immense guard force in Reuben, making it truly impossible to breach the defenses. That’s why I thought I’d attempt an infiltration through you.”
Naysen shook his head with apparent regret.
“I didn’t expect Victor Diolus to be quite so formidable.”
“We are ashamed!”
“Forgive us!”
“Haha, no. How could you contend with a man whose body cannot be pierced by blade?”
The five knights were entirely won over by Naysen’s gentle smile.
When Naysen had said he would rescue them even if the operation failed, the knights had been skeptical.
But Naysen kept his promise. He had extracted them before Victor could interrogate them.
“We shall devote ourselves to the Second Prince’s service! Thank you!”
“Thank you for sparing our lives, Your Highness!”
“Haha, how embarrassing. No more. There’s no need to thank me.”
Naysen knelt before one of the knights in the center and gently patted his shoulder in encouragement.
“Your Highness……”
In an instant, the tenderness in Naysen’s expression solidified into ice.
“Because you’re all going to die now.”
“……?”
“……What?”
It was over in a heartbeat.
Assassins burst from the darkness and, in one swift motion, twisted the necks of the five prostrate knights and cut off their breath.
“Tch.”
Naysen rose slowly, withdrew a handkerchief from his garments, wiped his hands, and cast it away like garbage.
“Dispose of them without a trace.”
“Understood.”
The assassins, having received their orders, vanished swiftly.
As Naysen irritably swept his hair back and turned, he saw Poze floating lazily in the empty air.
“Kekekeke…… You certainly are cruel.”
“Shut it.”
Naysen’s expression hardened menacingly as he walked over and dropped himself onto a seat, then asked.
“Rubetria Diolus. You’re certain there’s a value worth taking such risks for, yes?”
“Of course.”
“Damn it. What Spirit did she contract with that the Crown Prince trembles while guarding her?”
When Poze broke the taboo and revealed Rubetria Diolus’s secret.
Naysen had thought it would be easy to approach Rubetria and discover which Spirit she had contracted with.
But he was wrong. Lark had defended Rubetria’s surroundings with meticulous care.
Judging by Poze’s words, Rubetria was indeed some sort of tremendous “key.”
“What Spirit could it be…… I can’t think of anything but ‘that one.'”
“That one? What is it? Which Spirit do you think?”
“Bista.”
When Poze asked, Naysen answered immediately.
“Oho. I see.”
But Poze’s response was ambiguous. Naysen’s brow furrowed.
“Why do you think so?”
“If the Crown Prince were to obsess over it to that degree, it would have to be either a High-Rank Spirit or a Dangerous-Rank one.”
Naysen continued, pressing a throbbing temple.
“Among the ten High-Rank Spirits, two remain uncontracted: Wisht and Chamber. But it won’t be either.”
“Hmm.”
“If it were Chamber, there’d be no reason for the Crown Prince to obsess over it. And if, by any chance, it were Wisht, I would have been eliminated long ago without ever getting a chance to act.”
“Right, that makes sense.”
“Then it must be a Dangerous-Rank Spirit. The Crown Prince is acting as though he knew my schemes in advance, so it’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“You could think Bista, certainly.”
‘Could think?’ Naysen nodded as if intrigued, but something about Poze’s tone felt off.
Watching Poze being deliberately evasive, Naysen ground his teeth.
“Is it Bista?”
“Curious?”
Poze’s eyes turned serious.
Naysen, meeting that gaze for a moment, felt tension rise and nodded.
But Poze’s face promptly turned playful.
“If you’re curious, that’s too bad~”
“Damn it.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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