At around eleven that night, after Lux and the others had finally had their fill of fun, they all climbed into their carriages and headed home.
Two hours later, Luke and Quinn quietly slipped out of the courtyard as well.
Deep in the night, when everything had gone still, three figures moved with purpose along a forest path outside the capital.
Dupont looked at Marta, who was leading the way ahead of them, and asked, "Are you absolutely sure you're ready?"
There was a note of urgency in his voice.
The longer he stayed in the capital, the more uneasy he felt.
And this matter could not be delayed any longer.
His older brother back in Granlott might not have much time left.
Marta replied, "Rest assured, Your Highness. After a full day of preparations, I'm confident I can break the seal."
"Good."
Dupont glanced at Panis, who was keeping pace beside him, and reassured her, "Once tonight is over, everything will be settled."
"Mm."
Panis nodded.
The three of them continued sneaking forward and soon arrived at the cave they had visited the day before.
They lit two torches, one carried by Dupont and the other by Panis.
After checking the surroundings, the three of them slowly entered the cave.
There was not much space inside. After walking twenty or thirty yards and turning past a bend, they reached the end.
And at the end stood nothing more than an ordinary stone wall, bare and empty, with nothing there at all.
The three of them stared in silence at the suspiciously flat wall.
Marta stepped forward and slowly drew out her staff.
As she chanted, magic flowed from the tip of the staff and drifted toward the wall.
A moment later, with a low hum, violet light suddenly blazed across the stone. As the glow intensified, a mysterious formation made of runes slowly emerged.
It blocked all attempts at detection.
"This is a sealing array left behind by a powerful mage."
Marta muttered to herself, a fascinated smile appearing on her face. "I never expected Demacia to have once been visited by a mage this powerful."
Still, the entire day of preparation she had put in had not been wasted.
As the inheritor of an ancient astrological tradition, the magic she wielded came from a long and old lineage as well, and she knew many secrets the world had long since forgotten.
Looking at the sealing formation before her, Marta began another chant. At the same time, she used her staff to trace patterns across the seal.
Then, something strange happened.
The runes within the array shifted as if they were parts of a mechanism, and the light dimmed a little.
Then, with several more movements from Marta, the runes began rotating one after another, and each turn made the glow fade further.
On the final turn, the formation suddenly flared with one last burst of bright light, like a dying flash before the end, and in the next second it disappeared completely.
At once, the unnaturally smooth stone wall began to collapse.
The entire cave trembled.
Dupont stepped in front of Panis protectively, keeping watch over the shaking cave and the rocks crashing down around them.
"Don't worry. It's only what lies behind the seal revealing itself."
Marta spoke up when she saw their reaction.
Once the dust from the collapse settled, the place where the wall had stood now revealed a pure white door carved from solid stone.
"This is... petricite?"
Dupont looked at the door, confusion rising in his eyes.
The material reminded him of petricite.
"That's right. It is petricite."
Marta looked unsurprised as she turned to Panis. "Princess, please use the key to open the door."
Panis nodded and slowly removed the necklace from around her neck.
On closer inspection, the key appeared to be made of the same material as the door. She stepped forward and inserted it into the keyhole.
The door felt tremendously heavy, and she had to strain to turn the key to the right.
Finally, with a sharp click, something inside seemed to trigger, and with a deep rumble, a narrow gap appeared in the door.
Seeing that it had opened, Panis withdrew the key and hung it back around her neck.
Then Dupont stepped forward, braced both hands against the door, and shoved with all his strength.
The heavy petricite door slowly swung inward, revealing a dark corridor beyond it, and the unknown waiting at the far end.
At last, they had reached this point, and all three of them took a deep breath.
Then they stepped through the doorway.
The air inside was cold, as if the temperature had dropped several degrees without them noticing.
The torchlight illuminated their way as they moved forward until they reached the end of the corridor, where they found a spiral staircase.
They descended step by step and gradually began to see a faint source of light below.
At the very bottom, they found a number of strange stone pillars giving off a soft white glow that lit the entire space.
It was clearly a great hall that had once been carefully constructed.
And when they looked farther in, they saw that throughout the large chamber stood a number of display pedestals made from white stone. Resting atop them were one timeworn treasure after another.
No one seemed to have entered this place for a very long time, so dust had naturally accumulated everywhere.
"So the legend of the vault was true after all."
Looking at those treasures, Marta's eyes shone with excitement and delight.
The legend had been passed down in her family for generations.
There was said to be a mysterious vault hidden in Demacia, one that held powerful relics and treasures, every one of them possessing extraordinary power.
And somewhere in this vault was a relic powerful enough to change the fate of her family.
Excitement also appeared on Dupont and Panis's faces.
If this vault truly existed, then that meant the royal family's legendary relic truly existed as well.
The two of them dropped their torches and immediately stepped forward.
The vault was bright enough already. There was no need for the extra light.
They split up and began searching, glancing over each treasure on every pedestal, only moving on at once if it was not what they were looking for.
At that moment, Dupont picked up one of the treasures to inspect it more closely, only for it to crumble into ash and drift away the instant it touched his hand.
He froze. "What happened?"
Marta glanced over and answered casually, "After enough time passes, they're no different from us humans. They can't resist the erosion of time forever. It's only natural for them to disappear in the end. Of everything here, only those that fear no passage of time can truly be called treasures."
She lifted her staff and casually prodded another object.
Sure enough, the moment the staff touched it, the treasure quickly crumbled into dust and vanished.
"This vault is at least several hundred years old." Marta looked around, her face still lit with excitement. "And we are the first people to reach it in all those centuries."
She also began searching, trying to determine which treasures had not yet been devoured by time.
Seeing that, Dupont and Panis began touching the treasures as well, praying that the one they sought would not end up the same way.
Panis soon stopped in front of a pedestal twice the size of the others and gave the item resting on it a strange look.
It was a shield of unusual shape. On either side were hooked protrusions like sharpened claws. The shield itself was silver-white with gold trim.
At the center was a long diamond-shaped ruby.
The hooked blades on either side were blood-red.
Even after the long passage of years, it showed not the slightest sign of age or decay. It looked as pristine as if it had just been forged.
And unlike the other treasures, this shield was wrapped in chains made of petricite.
It looked as though it had been sealed here.
And more than that, it gave her a terrible feeling. Just looking at it sent a chill down her spine.
As she stopped there, Marta noticed the shield too and immediately walked over.
After one glance, Panis turned and left, heading toward the next pedestal.
That shield was definitely not what she was looking for.
After examining three more treasures, she realized Marta was still standing in front of the shield.
And the expression on her face was growing more and more excited.
At that moment, Panis did not think too much about it and continued searching for the object she had come to find.
Then, after passing three more treasures, she stopped before another pedestal.
The instant her eyes fell on it, her heart leaped. A strange resonance seemed to ring out inside her, as though something were calling to her.
Resting there was an object shaped like a pendant, with a silver frame surrounding a gemstone that shimmered in many colors. It too showed no trace of corrosion.
But the jewel's radiance had already become very faint.
Panis slowly reached out, her hand trembling in the air as she extended it toward the jewel. The moment she touched it, the tightness in her chest finally eased.
It did not vanish.
And for some reason, the instant her fingers brushed it, she immediately understood the treasure's name, as well as how to use it.
The relic was called Redemption.
The same name as the relic from the royal family's old stories, the one said to have been bestowed by that lilac-skinned healer.
And in that same instant, she also understood why it had been sealed away here.
Though it was called Redemption and possessed immensely powerful healing abilities, its drawback was that overuse would bring misfortune upon the user.
And so, once people discovered that a power able to heal all things would also invite calamity, the relic had been permanently sealed in this place.
Now, after the long passage of years, Redemption held only the last trace of its sacred power.
It was likely enough for only one final use.
But one use was enough.
Joy welled up inside Panis.
If that was true, then her father, the king, could be saved.
At that moment, she heard the harsh sound of chains being tugged and immediately turned toward it.
Then she saw Marta using her hands to tear the chains off the shield one by one.
Because the chains were made of petricite, magic was useless against them, so she had no choice but to use brute force.
And apparently Marta was stronger than she looked, because the chains rattled loudly as she yanked at them.
Watching what she was doing, Panis could not help asking, "What are you doing?"
"Anything that hasn't been worn away by time is a real treasure."
Marta kept tugging at the chains as she spoke. "Shouldn't treasures like that be taken back to our homeland?"
"It's wrapped in petricite chains like this. What if it's something dangerous? I think we should leave it alone..."
Panis thought back to the chill she had felt earlier and spoke again, trying to stop Marta.
"Princess, rest assured. I can guarantee it poses no danger."
Marta turned and smiled at her.
Then came a sharp crack as one of the chains was torn loose.
Panis's heart suddenly jumped, and an awful, skin-crawling sensation ran through her. After resonating with Redemption, she could now sense more than before.
Inside that shield, it was as if there was some desperate scream echoing from the depths, something that filled her heart with dread.
Thinking of that, Panis said firmly, "Marta, stop. We can't touch it."
Hearing the commotion, Dupont came over as well. When he saw the relic in Panis's hands, joy flashed across his face. "You found it? Redemption?"
"Yes." Panis nodded, but then noticed that Marta was ignoring her command.
She was still pulling at another chain, so Panis ordered her again. "Marta, I am commanding you now. Stop!"
A ruler's authority radiated from her at that moment.
Dupont looked puzzled. "Why are you stopping her?"
After a brief pause, Panis answered, "That shield is dangerous."
Dupont did not overthink it. He simply turned to Marta and said, "Marta, we've already found Redemption. There's no need to keep messing with that shield."
They had only come here for Redemption. While there were certainly other treasures here of great value, that shield was large, and if it made even Panis feel uneasy, then it really was unnecessary to risk creating more problems.
He had watched Panis grow up. He knew about the unusual gift she had possessed since childhood.
So he did not doubt her judgment now.
And the determined look on Panis's face made it clear that she had fully made up her mind not to let Marta touch that shield again.
As the seal weakened, the sense of danger the shield gave her became stronger and stronger.
"You came here for Redemption. I came here for that shield."
At that moment, Marta seemed like a different person entirely. Her face turned cold. "Originally, I meant to wait until we were on the road back before making my move. It would have reduced the chance of anything unexpected happening."
As she spoke, she suddenly raised her staff, and a surge of magic shot at Dupont before he could react.
He had no time to defend himself. The spell struck him head-on, and with a muffled groan he collapsed on the spot.
"Uncle!"
Panis cried out in alarm.
"No need to worry, Princess. I'm not foolish enough to kill him here." Marta looked at Panis, who had immediately become wary. "I have to admit, your magical aptitude really is troublesome. But don't worry. Once you've slept for a while, there won't be any problem."
If she killed Dupont and Panis here, Demacia would discover it by morning.
And Marta had no intention of drawing Demacia's attention.
A mage like her would not necessarily be able to act freely once Demacia set its sights on her.
As she spoke, she began chanting again, and another spell quickly flew toward Panis.
Panis did not possess much real combat strength. She simply had unusually strong perception and greater talent in magic than most people.
Faced with Marta's attack, all she could do was dodge in a panic.
But the spell still struck her squarely.
And then, in the next second, nothing happened.
"I nearly forgot. You still have the key on you."
Marta looked unsurprised as she remembered.
The key was made of petricite, which gave it the ability to resist magic.
And the spell she had used just now was only a sleep charm, not a destructive attack. It was perfectly normal for it to be nullified.
"Why are you doing this?" Panis stared at Marta, utterly confused. "Aren't you the royal court's chief mage?"
Marta's family had been serving the Granlott royal family for a very long time.
And now Marta herself was the royal family's chief mage, so why would she do this?
"The relationship between my family and the royal family has always been one of employment, nothing more. Loyalty was never part of it."
Marta's face remained calm. "The only reason we came to Granlott in the first place was to use your royal family. And now that I have this shield, even the throne itself will be within easy reach."
Panis froze.
She had never expected that.
"So you were using us all along..."
It had been Marta who first approached Dupont and claimed she had discovered where Redemption was hidden.
For the sake of the bedridden king, Panis and Dupont had followed her without hesitation and set out for Demacia.
And yet all along, she had only been using them to obtain the key needed to open the vault.
"It was mutual use, nothing more. Did I ever lie? Redemption really was in this vault."
Marta smiled faintly. "But very soon, it will belong to me too."
The moment Panis realized Marta meant to steal Redemption as well, she retreated at once, more guarded than before, her eyes darting around for any possible way to escape.
She did not cry out for help. Even she knew that this was deep in the wilderness, and there was no one outside to hear her.
Calling out would be useless.
"Stop struggling, Princess. Take off the necklace, and all you'll have to do is sleep through a very long dream. Then you'll forget everything that happened here and return to Granlott."
Marta began chanting again, stronger magic gathering at the tip of her staff.
Panis desperately tried to think of a way out while her legs moved at the same time, carrying her in a sprint toward the exit.
But she had barely taken a few steps when a spell exploded in front of her, sending her flying backward several yards.
She hit the ground hard.
The pain in her body mattered less than the despair filling her now.
She knew the little magic she had learned was no match for Marta. And in a remote mountain forest like this, there was no way she could escape.
What was she supposed to do?
Just then, with a sharp hiss, an arrow shot through the air, flying at Marta with incredible speed.
But just before it struck her, it cracked against something with a sharp, shattering sound, lost its force, and dropped to the ground.
What revealed itself in midair was a magical barrier.
"So cautious, huh?"
Luke slowly walked in from the entrance, studying Marta.
Even he rarely ran into villains this careful.
After tailing them for so long, he had not expected to stumble into a full hero-saves-the-beauty scene waiting for him down here.
Panis and the others really had been searching for some kind of treasure, and the thing in Panis's hand, wasn't that Redemption?
Luke recognized the item.
So this had to be the treasure they came here for.
Then, very quickly, his gaze shifted to the shield nearby, and his brows furrowed.
That was not some treasure.
At that moment, Marta was thrown off for a second by the arrow that had come out of nowhere. Then she looked toward the entrance, saw Luke, and froze again.
"Your Highness?"
Panis also noticed Luke standing there in the entrance, her face full of surprise and confusion.
At the same time, the same question rose in both of their minds.
Why was Luke here?
What Marta could not understand was that she had clearly set up anti-tracking magic, so how had someone still managed to follow them all the way here?
And she had not sensed anyone tailing them the entire time.
Most absurd of all, the one who had appeared here was Demacia's prince.
At that moment, Marta suddenly had the feeling that things had become a very serious problem.
She glanced at Panis. She knew the princess had grown quite close to the prince lately, but Panis's equally bewildered expression made one thing clear.
She had not leaked their movements.
So how, exactly, had Luke ended up here?
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