As night descended, the slender crescent moon hung high in the sky, its faint silver light casting an ethereal, almost ghostly glow over the landscape. The illumination was so delicate that it barely touched the ground, leaving most of the surroundings cloaked in shadow. The wind carried a biting chill stirring the garden.
A lone figure standing beneath the towering walls of the Ducal House, their robe whipped from their body by the cold breeze.
The robed figure, Cassius, stood beneath the towering walls that protected the Ducal House, his gaze fixed on the dimly lit windows of the mansion. He was here at the Duchess's command, though doubt gnawed at him in the quiet of the night. His mind replayed the choice that had led him to this mont, the weight of it pressing heavily on his chest.
Just as Cassius was contemplating whether to leave, as if on cue, a window on the upper floor creaked open. A black shadow—swift, fluid, and leaped from the sill and dropped into the night, and darted in Cassius' direction.
"Let's go, let's go," the Duchess whispered urgently, her voice trembling with excitent as she drew closer to Cassius.
"Head Butler?" Cassius asked, his voice steady but laced with curiosity, as he glanced at the black veil that concealed the Duchess's face.
"He won't notice anything," the Duchess replied, her tone calm, almost dismissive, though the thrill in her voice lingered. She didn't elaborate on what she had done to the Head Butler, but the implications were clear.
'Just how did that old crook even beco an Imperial Mage when he got drugged by my little pudding?' the Duchess thought, her mind briefly wandering as she cast a sideways glance toward Cassius.
The Duchess had struck a deal with her daughter - she had agreed to hand over the new necklace that she got from her husband in exchange for her daughter cooking sothing using the mysterious ingredients provided by her, and then feeding it to the Head Butler.
The Duchess was familiar with the personality of the Head Butler, he loved her little pudding a lot. If she cooked sothing for him then he would not care if it was an elixir or poison, he would devour it without a mont's hesitation, blind to any danger it might pose. It was this sa blind devotion she had learned to exploit over ti.
Cassius would never have suspected that the Duchess, for sothing as simple as an outing, would go so far as to use her daughter to drug the Head Butler.
The Duchess tossed two scrolls in Cassius' direction and then walked past him. She moved towards the long walls. Reaching a particular slab, she pressed her hand against it, and in an instant, her form began to shift, fading as her body phased seamlessly through the cold stone. As her body passed completely through to the other side, he stepped up to the sa spot. In the next breath, his own form lted into the stone, joining her on the other side.
Once they stepped outside, Cassius wasted no ti. He quickly unfurled the two scrolls in his hands, and as the ancient symbols were revealed, intricate magic circles began to glow faintly above them. Their bodies shimred, then blurred, fading as the magic took hold. Within monts, they beca transparent, nearly invisible against the darkened backdrop of the night.
What Cassius used were concealnt scrolls made by the Magic Tower. They were the highest-tier scrolls with the best efficiency, only available to the VIPs at a very high price. Well, the word VIP still fell short for Duke who brought the scrolls in bundles like vegetables.
Cassius and the Duchess soared into the sky, their forms becoming blurred as they ascended. The night air whipped past them, but they glided effortlessly.
Below them, the main market lay quiet, the flickering lights of stalls barely visible in the distance. As they flew over, the Warp Portal ca into view. But they didn't pause, their destination unchanging as they sped towards the Harbour.
For over five minutes, Cassius and the Duchess soared through the night sky. Below them, the sprawling landscape began to give way to the vast, endless expanse of the sea.
As they approached, the waters stretched out in every direction it was black in color. But even in its inky blackness, the sea shimred with a thousand silver reflections, each one a glimr of the moon's light. The sea of the night was even more srizing than its dayti counterpart, which was colored in deep, tranquil blue. Under the moonlight, the vast expanse below seed to take on a life of its own. The interplay of black and silver created an exotic, almost surreal atmosphere as if the ocean itself were wrapped in a cloak of mystery.
"See this, Cassius," the Duchess said softly, her voice carried by the wind as she gazed out at the vast expanse of the sea below. , She closed her eyes for a mont, savoring the cool sea breeze on her skin. "To gaze at the beauty of the night sea is worth far more than the gold found in the mansion."
Cassius, ever the pragmatic one, furrowed his brow, his gaze fixed on the dark waters beneath them. "Miss, I don't understand," he replied, his tone laced with confusion. "What is it about the beauty of this sea, which looks entirely black? It's not even your first ti coming to the night sea."
"Hah!" The Duchess let out a long sigh, her gaze shifting downward. Her eyes scanned the nurous ships anchored in the harbor, their dark silhouettes dotted across the water like silent sentinels.
But there was one ship that stood out among the others. Unlike the rest, which sat still, untouched by activity, this one was alive with movent. Workers bustled about on its deck, carrying heavy boxes and barrels on their shoulders.
The Duchess flew to the deck of the shop followed by Cassius. They both stood on the deck unnoticed by the workers.
Then, a loud, piercing voice cut through the noise. The rchant, standing on the railing near the edge of the deck, was shouting at the workers below. "Work faster! Work faster!" His voice was shrill with frustration, echoing off the wooden planks. "It's high ti we set sail for the Western lands. I don't want to ruin my relations with the Duke because of your incompetence. You peasants work like snails!" His words rang out across the ship.
"It's the dead of night, not noon! Why are you working like snails? Work faster!"
The rchant, his anger still simring, stord off toward the cabin, muttering curses under his breath. Cassius, watching him carefully, turned to the Duchess and asked "Shall we head inside the cabin?"
"Why would we go there? Did we co here to sleep? Follow " The Duchess's feet barely seed to touch the ground as she made her way to the ship's bridge. With effortless precision, she settled on the railing by the steering wheel, her back to the crew and her gaze fixed on the endless sea before them. Cassius, ever vigilant, positioned himself a few steps behind her. Though the effect of the Concealnt Scroll cloaked them from sight, he remained alert.
The ship glided smoothly into the black sea, its sails catching the wind as the final crates were loaded. The Duchess sat elegantly on the railing, her feet moving rhythmically as she humd a soft, ethereal tune, her voice barely rising above the whispers of the sea. Her gaze remained fixed on the vast, dark expanse before her, As the ship sailed deeper into the black sea, watching the waves as they danced and crashed against the ship's hull. The harbor behind them grew steadily smaller until it completely vanished from plain sight.
"Cassius, are we still near the harbor?"
Cassius, standing close by, his eyes scanning the horizon, replied with unwavering precision, "Miss, it's been over thirty minutes since we passed the harbor."
"Then why do the waves look the sa?" she asked, her voice laced with an unspoken unease.
Cassius's eyes snapped to the sea below, his attention suddenly razor-sharp as the Duchess's question gnawed at him. His gaze flicked over the waves, now seeming strangely shallow. After a tense pause, he spun around to face the Duchess, his normally calm deanor shattered. "Miss," he said, his voice tight with urgency, "we have to leave. Right now. No questions asked."
Before the Duchess could speak, Cassius's senses flared with urgency. He whipped around, his eyes locking onto the horizon as an overwhelming surge of mana flooded the air—unnatural, powerful, and terrifying. His breath caught in his throat, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
A colossal tsunami lood right behind them at its maximum height before anyone could react, the wave crashed down, swallowing the entire ship in a single, overwhelming surge of water.
Then, just as abruptly as it had appeared, the wave vanished. Within five seconds, the water returned to its calm, normal state, as if the monstrous tsunami had never existed at all but there was not a single trace of the ship.
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