CH 54

1-7. The Keeper of History, The Silent Marcotte

*Author’s note: I’m sorry, I want to put Count Chardin’s story in chapter 53 later, so this will be chapter 54.

Historie Palace is located at the opposite end of the area where the royal castle stood.

It is said that hundreds of years ago, the royal family of that time bestowed this gift to the Duke of Marcotte in recognition of his achievements at that time.

However, the details are not clear. This is because the Dukes of Marcotte, despite their immense influence among the four great dukes, have never belonged to any faction in any period of time, and have remained completely solitary and neutral, —in other words, “silent”.

Dwelling in the Historie Palace, in a position that overlooks the royal capital of Corliss, they simply observe the history of Pluvia Kingdom and never move from there. And so, the quiet pressure of their centuries-long existence has led, since some time ago, to be called such as this.

“The Silent Marcotte”

The carriage in which we were riding stopped.

I had just returned to the royal capital from Count Chardin’s territory yesterday. I don’t have anything planned for the last few days of this extremely busy summer. It was as if they knew about my schedule, and that alone was chilling.

I glanced behind the curtains of the carriage and saw a gatekeeper in a black mask and black knight’s outfit standing there, blending in with the night.

I gulped.

Along with the letter Mika received that day, an invitation to me was also included. It made me wonder how on earth did they know I was with Mika. Then, the butler of Count Chardin’s mansion handed me a black box as big as my head. The black box was decorated with a delicate foil-stamped pattern, and the box alone was enough to be considered a work of art.

Inside it, there was…

“I never thought I’d be asked to wear a mask.”

“On top of that, your mask even has a veil so that your conspicuous silver hair can’t be seen.”

Even the voice that I trust coming from next to me cannot reassure me enough today.

Out of the black box came out a shiny silver mask.

The delicate pattern is reminiscent of the curves of a plant, and one wing of a butterfly covers only the right eye. Its insides were studded with real diamonds, and this mask alone could have bought a small mansion.

Mika’s mask was dull, unlike mine, but he appeared even taller than usual with goat-like ears open to the side and two horns towering above.

After receiving the invitation, I discussed it with Mika and decided to dress in a way that would definitely not reveal my true identity.

Mika was dressed in a loose-fitting sorcerer’s robe-like design, and I was dressed like a knight. I don’t really want to think about the fact that my mask has a butterfly wing, veil, and such, which makes it strangely androgynous.

It was written that the carriage would be provided by them, and I wondered what on earth they meant by that. Then night fell, and a black carriage arrived at the royal castle. But as we were being rocked in the carriage, Mika noticed something.

That there were a number of the same black carriages running through the royal capital.

(They’re trying to hide who, what for, and where we are going to…)

What in the world is about to begin tonight?

Truthfully, this is how the Duke of Marcotte used to hold his evening parties… If I had no memory of that, I wouldn’t know about such rumors, nor would I know that they had the financial resources to give such masks to the participants. In my first life, five years ago, I didn’t know about this at all.

Now that I actually participated in it, it was a surprise to learn that even the carriage had been crafted to conceal the event, but it made sense that it would start a rumor if there were a number of black carriages running around the royal capital like this.

Mika reacted by uncharacteristically furrowing his eyebrows while pondering about it. He also said he hadn’t heard about such rumors.

With a click, the carriage door opened.

With both of us masked, we looked at each other, then Mika slowly stepped out of the carriage. We were greeted by the black knight we had seen earlier from inside the carriage. Through his mask, he smiled at me and said, “Welcome,” but I kept my face expressionless.

It’s a mysterious evening party. I was already wearing a veil with my mask, but I still tried to avoid speaking out as much as I could.

Appearing from somewhere, a man with a raven-like beaked mask invited us inside.

Since it’s an evening party while concealing our identity, we probably don’t have to worry about our status or ranks. I step into the Historie Palace side by side with Mika, and slowly make my way down a long, long hallway with dark wood planks.

There was no sign of people at all.

With the gazes of all the kings of Pluvia displayed overhead, the weight of the Dukes of Marcotte who’s known as the “Keeper of History” seemed to pile up on my shoulders more and more.

At the end of the hallway, there was a large black door.

Apparently, that is our destination for tonight. The man’s mouth, under the mask’s beak, arched like a half-moon.

And then… the moment the door opened.

Suddenly, a loud noise rang out. A gust of wind blew through.

I don’t know what kind of mechanism it was, or if it was magic. In the silence that has filled the area up until now to the point the sound of creaking floorboards echoed through the room, suddenly a maddening trumpet-like sound pierced through. When I blinked my eyes wondering what it was, several large beasts were rampaging about.

(That’s…an elephant? I guess?)

A circular stage like a large theater spread out before our eyes.

There was even a tiered upstairs seating area surrounding it. But nothing was being played out. The elephants stomped their feet. The water on the fountain flowed down from high, high up even though it was indoors.

And then… a huge crowd.

An overflowing crowd of masked people, each in their own costume, drinking, singing, and laughing.

Glittering confetti danced from above, and an orchestra played wildly in a melody I had never heard before.

The clowns danced and the magicians performed enchanting magic. People dressed as fairies swayed on swings suspended from the high, high ceilings.

“Wha-…”

My flippant resolve to try not to utter a word was quickly blown away.

I couldn’t help but speak out, and I couldn’t shut my open mouth. Involuntarily, I grabbed the hem of the robe Mika was wearing. However, I could see that Mika, too, was frozen with his mouth open.

(So even Mika didn’t know about this at all…)

It’s not only me, who is socially inept. Even Mika seemed unaware that such a crazy evening party was taking place, which was unnerving.

I can’t believe that the organizer of tonight’s event, who speaks so eloquently, is the “Duke of Silence”. I had no idea at this point what in the world was the reason we were being called in for tonight, or why.

Again, I gulped.

Clenching my fists tightly, I slowly took a step toward the feast of madness with Mika.

Behind us, a raven-like man closed the black door without a sound.

The end of the summer of my second life… —was the beginning of a nightmarish night.

**I’m sorry the chapter updates have been inconsistent lately! Updates might become more sporadic from now on, but I’ll try to update one chapter a week at least. Thank you for reading and all the support!