Kalia, the eldest daughter of the Zenonia territory, had just arrived at the estate and reached the study where the Count was. She found herself once again thinking about a man she had recalled numerous times.
Alon Palatio, who had recently killed all his brothers in the Count's family and secured the position of heir.
"…'Famous,' indeed."
Kalia recalled the look in the man's eyes as he had gazed at her. Eyes that revealed nothing, as if peering into an abyss beyond the northern lands, indifferent to everything. No matter how many times she thought about it, those eyes sent chills down her arms.
Through those eyes, Kalia realized something: that he was the same "kind" as herself.
In truth, if that were all, Kalia would have stopped thinking about him once he had rejected her proposal.
Rejecting her proposal essentially meant that they could not be allies, which in turn implied that they were now adversaries.
Despite this, Kalia's curiosity persisted—because of something he had said.
"…'Famous,' he said."
The Zenonia family is certainly famous. Even if they didn't involve themselves in politics, the financial and physical power the Zenonia family wielded was strong enough to overturn the current state of the kingdom at least once.
However, that renown ultimately belonged to the Count of Zenonia himself, not to the Zenonia family as a whole, and certainly not to Kalia.
Yet Alon had spoken of it.
He had referred to her so clearly and distinctly.
In a situation where far more nobles had never seen her face, having only attended balls twice, he had called her famous.
Not the Count of Zenonia, but her.
Of course, Alon had said this without much thought, recalling her fame as a villain when the original storyline began.
But to her, those words held great importance.
"How intriguing."
Kalia turned her gaze toward the Count, seated in the study.
The Count was simply processing paperwork in silence.
His head was bowed as if she wasn't even there, focused solely on his work.
Click, click—
As Kalia walked over to the Count, his eyes naturally rose to meet hers.
The same red eyes as hers stared back at her.
Though he said nothing, the Count's appearance was brimming with vitality.
—Snap!
At least until Kalia snapped her fingers once.
As soon as the snapping sound echoed, the light vanished from the Count's eyes.
The eyes that had been so sharp a moment ago turned vacant like those of an idiot, and his tightly closed mouth drooped open, drool trickling out.
The Count was in a state that clearly wasn't normal.
Kalia mumbled as she stared at "him."
"How did he know? No one was supposed to know."
Kalia's expression was filled with curiosity as she thought of Alon, who had spoken as if he knew the secret she had kept hidden since she turned her father into an imbecile.
"Or maybe he was just taking a shot in the dark?"
With such doubts in mind, Kalia left the study where she had been performing her ongoing act for the past five years.
"K-Kalia, my lady."
"What's wrong?"
"T-There's a corpse in your room…!!"
At the sudden outburst, Kalia quickly made her way to her room.
And there—
"Hah…"
She saw it.
The informant she had placed on Alon two weeks ago lay dead, his head twisted around twice, his eyes open wide, unable to find peace even in death.
"It seems the seal didn't activate, so it doesn't appear he revealed any secrets."
This was the report from one of the knights.
'The informant didn't leak any secrets, yet they brought his body into my room…'
Reflecting on this, Kalia let out a sigh.
She felt her suspicions turn into a certainty.
"…Looks like he found a big weakness of mine right after we met."
She murmured with a smile.
✦✦✦
Evan grimaced as he looked at the golems glowing bright red in the darkness of the night.
Having worked as a mercenary for over 15 years since childhood, his eyes moved busily, trying to locate the golems' weak points, yet he couldn't hide his anxiety.
He was confident in his skills, but precisely because of that, he was even more cautious of the unknown entities before him.
He had experienced firsthand just how much danger something unknown could pose.
Moreover, he had someone to protect at the moment.
Facing unknown enemies whose characteristics he didn't even know was the worst-case scenario.
To make matters worse, the number of enemies appeared to be easily over twenty. As Evan pondered how to handle the situation—
"I'll handle this."
"Huh…?"
He responded absentmindedly to the sudden voice, watching as Alon, without him realizing it, stepped forward.
His expression was as indifferent as it had been when they entered the labyrinth.
Evan found Alon incredibly mysterious and intriguing all over again.
He was genuinely puzzled at how his master could maintain such an expression even in this situation.
At least from Evan's perspective, the current situation was quite a crisis.
In front of them were over twenty human-shaped golems that clearly needed to be dealt with, and it was certain that each one of them possessed considerable combat power.
Yet, even in such a situation, Alon had stepped forward, saying he would handle them.
To speak honestly about his thoughts, Evan didn't believe that Alon could deal with the golems before them.
Of course, Evan knew that Alon was no ordinary person and that he had a talent for magic.
He had become a respectable magician, reaching the 2nd Rank through self-study without a mentor.
However, impressive as that might be by general standards, it didn't mean that such accomplishments would be enough for this kind of situation.
While it was true that he had reached the 2nd Rank through his own efforts at a young age, even a mere golem in front of him would be difficult to handle with just that level of power.
Thud!
As soon as these thoughts crossed his mind, the golems, which had been standing still, suddenly moved and started rushing toward Alon.
And then—
"I enact the Constraint."
Alon's voice resounded like a declaration.
✦ The Constraint ✦
As Alon murmured the incantation, the world seemed to come to a halt.
His vision turned black and white, and the movements of the golems charging at him felt as though they were being recorded by a high-speed camera.
And then—
[A fragment inheriting the great will of Niacula, state the two Constraints you wish to impose.]
A voice that sounded like all genders and all ages echoed in his mind.
'As expected, it's different from the game.'
The artifact called Constraint that he had obtained from the Whispering Labyrinth imposed limitations in exchange for power.
In the game, choices appeared as menus.But here—only a voice that sent his heartbeat racing.
Letting out a deep breath, Alon spoke.
First Constraint
"The use of magic requires the absolute execution of Babylonian hand signs."
[What do you wish to gain from this?]
"Power that can slightly twist the laws of the world."
[Granted.]
Second Constraint
"The use of magic requires the limited execution of the great Babylonian incantations."
[What do you wish to gain from this?]
"The same as before."
Silence…
Alon wondered if he had chosen wrong.
[I accept.]
[To you, who remember the hand signs and mysteries of a forgotten great god, I offer my gratitude for inheriting the will.]
"…?"
The words puzzled him, but he had no time to dwell on them.
The black-and-white world faded.
The golems charged.
Mana surged from his body.
A dim orb appeared—weak, but controlled.
He felt no disappointment. He knew his limits.
Yet—
"Refraction."
The orb distorted.
"Rebound."
It scattered.
"Blue Light."
The ravine was lit by cold blue radiance.
His fingers formed the sacred sign.
And the final incantation echoed—
"Linear Diffraction."
Snap!
A blinding flash.
Silence.
Then—
Crack—Crackle!
The golems crumbled like dust before the wind.
Evan stopped in his tracks, frozen.
"What in the world…?"