Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 136

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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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A café run by the Dark Guild’s heir.
Chapter 136
At the Empress’s sudden words, the Crown Prince recoiled sharply, raising his voice.
“Mother! This is absurd. I would sooner take a concubine.”
But the Empress ignored the Crown Prince and bowed toward the Princess.
“When is the due date?”
“About seven months… away.”
“Such noble blood must be well cared for. I shall handle all the wedding preparations myself. We must inform the Kingdom as well, yes?”
Her tone had turned gentle, her expression warm.
The Princess stopped her tears at the Empress’s sudden shift, standing numb with her mouth hanging open.
Yet at the promise of the very position she had desired, she hastily nodded and grasped the Empress’s hand.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Call me Mother from now on. You must be exhausted—go and rest at once. Ah, I shall assign several more attendants to you.”
The Empress personally escorted the Princess to the door and returned to the Reception Hall.
Turning to her, the Crown Prince spoke curtly, his expression incomprehending.
“Mother, I object. Would it not be better to take a woman from the Five Great Houses who could lend strength to the Empire rather than as Crown Prince Consort?”
“Collect yourself. Do you think I would choose the Princess if I had a preference?”
If the Crown Prince too were caught in scandal following the poison affair, the entire house faced ruin.
“You must blame the Princess entirely. She fled in fear of premarital pregnancy—say that had you known, you would have accepted her gladly. Say you love her and are overjoyed at the Imperial Grandchild’s arrival. Make sure everyone knows this.”
Shift all blame to the Princess while displaying only the Crown Prince’s sense of responsibility.
In time, public criticism of the Crown Prince would fade, and his reputation would be restored.
His position had to remain secure for the Empress’s own secrets to be buried.
The Crown Prince’s wedding alone would be cause for festival—add an Imperial Grandchild to that announcement, and the entire Empire would be riveted.
By focusing all eyes there and displaying a perfect family, she meant to turn crisis into opportunity.
“…If that is Your Majesty’s will, I shall obey.”
“From now on, you must never see another woman in private. Perform the role of a man utterly besotted with the Princess.”
“What joy is there in that?”
Watching the Crown Prince’s face fall at once, the Empress clicked her tongue.
“This position is not meant for enjoyment. It demands only patience and endurance.”
“I have always shown patience and endurance.”
At her limit, the Empress glared at the Crown Prince and sank onto the sofa.
“Mother, what will you do about Biedler? Must I continue to watch him strut about?”
“That cannot be. I have sent someone from the house—a solution will present itself soon enough.”
“Please dispose of her as well—the one who showed me disrespect.”
“The Grand Mage’s granddaughter?”
The Empress’s eyes narrowed as she recalled Rosia.
“A pity, but… their bond appears quite strong already. The two of them must certainly be separated.”
“I leave it to Your Majesty. May I withdraw and rest now?”
Spotting the eagerness in the Crown Prince’s eyes as he made to leave, the Empress questioned him with suspicion.
“You’re not thinking of meeting that woman you saw at the party venue earlier, are you?”
“N-no, of course not.”
“You must give no one cause to criticize you for some time. Bear that in mind.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Once she had sent even Arthur out, the Empress released a heavy sigh. A headache pressed upon her, and she reached for a medicine bottle, swallowing several pills.
“Arthur’s ascension was truly within reach… and that wretch Biedler has ruined everything.”
She clenched her fist, regretting that she had not disposed of Biedler sooner—he had always been a thorn in her side.
“There should still be one bottle left that I haven’t disposed of.”
Used vials were destroyed at once, but she recalled that the medication she’d received recently remained unused. She rushed upstairs to her chambers.
Fortunately, before the Empress’s Palace could be searched, the poison bottle remained exactly where she’d left it.
“There will be no trace of my involvement. Without the Emperor’s condition as evidence, this will all fade to nothing.”
She would shift all responsibility onto her subordinates and slip away cleanly by severing loose ends.
The Empress uncorked the bottle, poured the poison into water, and erased the final trace.
***
The next morning.
I finished my preparations the moment I woke and opened the wardrobe. I pulled out the Raven Guild Robes I had buried deep inside.
“It’s been so long.”
Like the dress I’d worn yesterday, it was black—yet seeing this entirely different garment brought a bitter smile to my lips.
As I stepped into the living room in my guild robes, I spotted Grandfather reading the newspaper.
“You’re awake?”
“Yes. Is there anything in the papers?”
“The Strophane Clan appears to have suppressed it. There’s nothing.”
I took the newspaper and flipped through it quickly, half-hoping to see something, but found only bizarre gossip—not a single word about what had occurred at the Imperial Palace.
As I’d anticipated, I nodded and took Grandfather’s hand.
“Let’s go.”
“Without breakfast?”
“I haven’t been able to reach Sophia by Communication Device all night. I’m worried.”
Since returning to the café, I’d tapped the Communication Device several times to warn her about the map, but got no response.
This had never happened before, and the unease wouldn’t leave me.
“Show me the location.”
I unfolded the map and pointed to a spot near where Raven’s headquarters was hidden.
“Here.”
“Do you still intend to remain part of the Guild?”
Already wrestling with that question, I lowered my eyes and answered.
“I’m going to step down from the Prince Position.”
My mindset had shifted entirely from when I used to spend every day at the Guild, performing assignments alone.
While I’d already been treating the position as ceremonial, I’d now resolved to formally hand it over to another member.
“Then let’s go.”
Grandfather used a Magic Stone to open a Portal to the exact location I’d indicated.
The surrounding landscape shifted in an instant, and I marveled anew.
“What level of skill would I need to inscribe Transportation Magic onto a refined Mana Stone?”
“Simple inscription can be done at the Third Circle. However, the distance and speed of travel vary greatly depending on one’s magical prowess.”
The fact that Grandfather could traverse such vast distances in moments was entirely thanks to his magical ability.
“If you wish to learn, I can teach you.”
Suppressing my growing interest, I walked toward the Large Tree.
“There’s a Barrier here. If I disable them in sequence, the building will—”
“Is that it?”
“Hm?”
I turned in surprise and went rigid.
The headquarters building lay exposed before us—and I hadn’t disabled a single Barrier.
“Why is it visible? Did you do that, Grandfather?”
“I did nothing. It’s been visible from the start.”
Not only was the Barrier somehow already disabled, but as we approached the building, no one came to stop us.
“The gatekeeper should have emerged…”
As we climbed the steep hill, mist gathered thickly around us.
“Something feels wrong.”
“The air is thick with ill omen.”
Sensing that something had happened, I drew my sword and gripped it in my hand.
I felt the familiar sensation settle into my grip as I approached the building directly, my caution rising.
“I can’t sense any human presence inside. Can you feel anything, Grandfather?”
“Nor can I. There is no living soul in this vicinity.”
At his words, I gasped and bit my lip hard.
This was Raven’s headquarters—a place always full of people in residence.
Yet I sensed no trace of living breath.
My mouth went dry as I carefully stepped inside the building.
The interior was choked with an inexplicable mist. It clung to my body like something alive, eerie beyond measure. I felt I could have slashed it apart with my sword.
Grandfather created wind and swept all the surrounding mist outside.
Only then could I see the furniture overturned everywhere and documents scattered across the floor.
The entire building bore the marks of an assault. I examined the deep gouges in the walls and tilted my head in confusion.
“These aren’t sword marks. What could this be?”
“They look rather like claw marks.”
I swept through the building and opened Reilly’s Office. But here too stood empty.
“Blood stains…”
Signs of a fierce struggle scattered throughout the office—blood everywhere I looked.
“What could have happened?”
There were occasional conflicts between Dark Guilds, but Raven’s headquarters had never been directly assaulted like this—never had its interior been cleared entirely.
“How could everything be empty like this? If a major battle had occurred, there should be bodies or the wounded, shouldn’t there?”
“Those who attacked must have removed them all.”
Whether wounded or dead, taking them all to leave no trace was even more disturbing.
“Come outside. The aura permeating this building is foul.”
“Wait.”
I finally located Sophia’s Room. When I turned the handle, the door—which should have been locked—opened with a soft click.
……
Sophia’s desk came into view, stacked with books and covered in sticky notes.
The room remained unchanged except for the absence of its occupant. As I turned to leave, troubled, I spotted something glimmering in the corner.
“Sophia…”
It was a Communication Device. She must have left in tremendous haste to abandon even that.
I picked up the Communication Device and lowered my head. Grandfather’s hand settled on my shoulder.
“They are alive.”
“…Yes. They must be. These aren’t people who die easily. They’ve all escaped and are hiding somewhere, I’m sure.”
I pushed down my worry and tucked the Communication Device into my Artifact pouch.
“Grandfather, could you place a Barrier around the building again?”
“That is no difficulty. Should those attackers return, we’ll know of it.”
“Thank you.”
The place was full of documents and traces of Raven—it was dangerous to leave it exposed.
We stepped outside, and I watched as Grandfather wove his Barrier Magic around the headquarters building.
A far more powerful Barrier than before began to envelop the structure, rendering it invisible to sight.
I sighed and turned to descend the hill when something suddenly caught beneath my foot—a small stone or something similar.

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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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