A beautiful white room decorated with luxurious ornaments was the place where a meeting was held.
The location was in the palace of the Arklight Empire, located in the center of the Ixion continent.
The empire is one of the largest countries in the world, it is a power among powers, thus gaining many enemies.
A group of more than thirty men were gathered, they were urgently called to meet.
"As you can see from the documents, the mysterious criminal named Licht, has been murdering different people for the past few months. His latest victim was the eldest son of Iscariot Household."
the men were going through the documents on a large circular table.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"The magic knights have not been able to track him down?"
"I'm afraid not. I questioned them several times and none of them knew what to answer. This individual hides his trail perfectly. We can't easily follow him."
"I see."
"Please check page twelve, there are more details about the incidents there."
As they turned the pages, a man shouted.
"Hold on!"
"Yes?"
"It says here that one of the ten holy wizards was killed! And that his murderer may have been that Licht fellow!"
Everyone's expressions were grim and only one raised his hand.
"Is there a possibility that he's a spy or a stripped soldier on behalf of the Ideal Empire?"
"... We can't deny that. But we can't confirm it either."
"We only have what we have found out from the corpses whose brains were not smashed and the information those young men gave."
"I understand."
"I'm sorry I can't say more than this."
"That's all right. Gentlemen, it was a pleasure to see you so quickly and in this manner. My apologies, you may go."
"Yes. Your Highness."
The men left the room one by one after saying their goodbyes, after no one was left, the last person inside came out.
He felt bad, his head hurt, that's why he ended this meeting quickly.
As he walked a few yards, he noticed a certain acquaintance coming from the direction he was going.
"Nice to see you, Blake."
"Same here, Sirius nii-sama."
Both were well dressed, in white suits with the finest and most expensive fabric you could buy.
On the right shoulder, both had a black colored cloak, the emblem was of the empire. Only those belonging to the imperial family could wear it.
The short man was 21 years old and the taller one was 24 years old.
The one who had a bad expression on his handsome face was the second prince in the line of succession.
A young man with blond hair and blue eyes, slim with muscles, his haircut was short and combed to the left, he had a small braid at the end of his hair.
He was Blake. Blake Greg von Bryes.
While the man with the pleasant smile and angelic aura was none other than the rightful crown prince.
Slim with no muscles, long blond hair; tied back resting over his right shoulder. His eyes were blood red, but his gaze and facial features made him look very harmless.
Sirius Emile von Bryes.
They were both very attractive, the reason for that is because they were both extra targets for capture.
This world is not a simple fantasy world. It's an otome-themed world.
And they, they were characters in that game.
"I heard from someone in my faction that last week the Iscariot family was arrested for various secret crimes. The boss was instantly executed and his influence destroyed at the same time. I am very sorry indeed."
"That doesn't sound like a condolence, you know."
The second prince was saying to the crown prince.
"I'm sorry, mother always taught us to speak the truth. And I want to honor her memory with it."
"As always, you are someone who should know how to choose his words better, my dear older brother."
"Next time I'll be careful."
"Hoh? Are you implying this will happen again?"
Prince Blake is walking around upset, that's because he has received several reports where members of his faction have been involved in cases of corruption, arms sales, among even worse things.
And, for some reason, the one to blame for leaving that evidence is always a mysterious being by the name of Licht.
"I'm not trying to insinuate anything. I'm just saying that for the next time we talk, I'll talk things over better."
"Ha, yeah."
Blake was walking towards his older brother, heading to his private mansion to rest.
After crossing paths with Sirius, he said to him.
"Oh, that's right! I forgot. Hey, did you hear about what Lux-kun did last week?"
Blake stopped and turned his head to look at his brother.
"What did Lux do?"
Sirius didn't change his expression, but the corner of his mouth showed a strange twitch.
"That boy committed a crazy thing. He was trying to break off his engagement to the Rosenbergs' daughter in public. And to make it even crazier, a strange boy and Cid-kun challenged him to a duel."
Blake's eyes widened like saucers to blurt out a comment.
"He did what!!!"
◇
Life is Russian roulette, they say.
You never know when the bullet will hit you.
Anyway, enough of this boring talk.
I, Razel Bartlet, am an imposter in this game world.
I died in an accident and was reincarnated in an otome game based world.
I was trying to live my life as a simple baron with no territory and help the protagonist and capture targets from the shadows.
My reason for doing so is that in this way, I could prevent many calamities from happening and help save the world and prevent its destruction.
The two years that the royal academy of magic lasted should have been simple and boring as I tried not to stand out and be a background character like friend A.
But all that was ruined.
The blame for that is because I avoided a major event in the game. The end of the horrendous villainess. The problem is, for some strange reason it was taking place.
This event was happening at graduation and only when the protagonist and the capture targets have gathered evidence to punish her.
But for some reason, the stupid third prince was bullying her.
The villainess, Eli, is my childhood friend.
I wanted to keep something bad from happening to her originally, but what the stupid beau said to her was something that made my blood burn.
That was yesterday.
My friends and teachers called me crazy.
I told them I was.
For some reason, we had to go to the Duchy Rosenberg, or what's left of it, to report it.
The girls left that same night for Eli's house.
While me and my good friend, the fourth prince, Cidfert von Bryes or simply Cid.
We decided to defend it.
We were in a cellar at the academy.
Classes were over and the students went home because next week is a festival that lasts a whole week.
"Razel, stop wasting time looking at the sky and help me too."
Who was telling me that was Cid.
A tall, handsome boy with navy blue hair and dark blue eyes. He was one of the extra capture targets in the game, but he was well obnoxious.
In reality, he is very nice and a good friend.
He came out to defend Eli from his half-brother.
Quite the opposite, to me. A simpleton and ugly guy.
My hair and eyes are black, I have small irises and strange shadows under my eyes.
I really am very ugly without a doubt.
"Razel, I'm going to beat you up if you don't come right now."
Without even waiting another minute. Cid threw a box in my face.
"Ahhh!"
I screamed because of the pain.
Can't a man think of a reason why he's doing this?
I mean, we're going to fight the prince and his friends in a duel in seven days.
And the method of the duel is a joust, just like in the event.
I have no idea how to ride a horse.
That was a problem, the worst thing is that they are not normal horses like in the classic knight movies.
They are actually some kind of flying horses.
Just like I say, they are flying horses. But not as anyone imagines. It can certainly seem confusing, even more so because they are called Pegasus.
They are built with magic spells so they can fly.
They are usually used for sports. For combat they are not used, but years ago the nobles decided to upgrade the jousting and so jousting with Pegasus was born.
There is a magic stone inside that acts as an engine, similar to riding a motorcycle.
Back to Cid.
"Don't you want to let me rest for a moment?"
"Rest from 'what' exactly?"
"Yesterday we challenged Regulux and his friends to a duel, we came today to the academy's warehouse because the janitor with the keys was returning in the morning."
"We came to get a Pegasus for you."
It's just as you say, I don't have one. So, the academy will lend me one.
Obviously it will be an old and used one since, if it's stored in the cellar it's because nobody uses it or wants it.
Very nice these teachers.
◇
We've been looking for a Pegasus for me for two hours.
This place is as huge as a pier.
There are many, but they are damaged or the magic stone was removed long ago.
I don't have the money to buy a new one, nor does Cid.
The worst thing is that the price is over 5000 thousand gold coins.
It will really give me a heart attack.
"There must be one around here somewhere."
As I was removing rubble from junk stored here.
I found something.
"Hey Cid, come take a look at this."
In the middle of all that trash, I found my Pegasus... but it's not what I expected.
Cid came running over and then like me, he was surprised to see this.
"Are you serious?"
He was amazed as we found a Pegasus.
Like all Pegasus, its upper body without the legs was the mount.
It had wings on the sides, it was either decoration or they served the same purpose as airplanes, I have no idea as in the game it was never over probed.
Dust off, it looks like a perfect flying horse.
The only weird thing is.
"Why is it black?"
His color was black. It wasn't just one part, it was everything.
From the tip of his nose to his tail he was black.
The only thing that wasn't black was the eyes, but those were blood red.
It was very frightening.
"Let me check if it's any good."
Cid went over to check it out, fiddling back and forth.
"It seems to be in excellent condition. The magic stone is intact and was not removed. If it were removed, it would be useless as each Pegasus runs on the magic stone it was built with."
Cid put his hand to his chin as he looked at this boy.
"I heard a rumor once."
"Rumor?"
"Yes. It was about a fairy tale, that, if you took great care of an object, it would come to life through fairies living in it."
Funny.
In Japanese mythology, there is a terminology for those beings. They were called tsukumogami.
It was something like the story of the doll that wanted to be a real boy.
"Why do you say that?"
I would ask him.
He would answer me.
"Look. There's a name written here. It's not common to see this."
Cid would point out to me on one part of his neck a name written.
"Schwarz?"
"What a weird name."
Apparently it belonged to someone. Never mind, you are mine now and we must leave as soon as possible for the Duchy Rosenberg to report the duel to the Duchess, the mother of the villainess.
__________________________
Nii-sama: Older brother in a very respectful way.
Tsukumogami: According to legend, when objects such as umbrellas, sandals and musical instruments turn 100 years old, they come to life. It is popularly believed that they receive a soul. Their forms change and they gain certain anthropomorphic features. They can be benign or malignant depending on the use the owner gave them.
Schwarz: Black color in German.
Sorry for the delay, I had to upload this on Monday, but I got a stomach virus and it's had me dumb all this week, but don't worry, all this weekend I will upload vol 2 and 3 not only of this novel, also my other novel, get ready for a marathon of mixed emotions!!!!
Rosenberg Duchy. Once known as the second largest territory in the empire, second only to the imperial capital. Rosenberg Household was once known to be a symbol of progress. Employment was so high that hands were always missing and no one was ever fired. One could eat up to 6 times a day just for pleasure. All the streets were so clean and the houses of the poor were equal to those of the rich. A good place to live it certainly was. But that ended the day the lord of these lands, the duke, fled leaving a great debt to his family and territory. The territory, much of it rather, passed into the hands of the imperial capital. The palace officials levied extremely high taxes on everyone. Businesses closed. Poverty was reflected in the streets. It was the end of the Rosenberg duchy, people began to call it the new lawless city. But fortunately, two dukes decided to invest in the ruined territ
The day of the duel finally arrived. The week of practice with the Pegasus was really hard. It's like riding a motorcycle that only accelerates, but never brakes. Really scary. We had been left practicing at the academy training ground where the duel was to be. The strange thing is that it won't take place there. The reason is because of these rumors I was told. "Hey, did you hear that the third prince and the fourth prince will have a duel?" "Yes. Is that really true, I mean. A feud between members of the imperial family?" "It was all over Duke Rosenberg's daughter.I heard rumors that her family fell into ruin and that her fiancé, His Highness Regulux, wanted to undo their engagement, but the fourth prince intervened along with some nobody guy." "Hey, that sounds interesting, I want to see that duel!" That was how rumors about the duel were spreading throughout the capital. Neither the a
Once we arrived, we went straight to change. We were wearing tight cycling clothes, the reason for that was because it was more comfortable when moving around. Cid's suit was black with blue lines while mine was white with black lines. I don't understand why, but I feel annoyed for some reason. Our Pegasus were ready, we were just waiting for the order of who would go first of us. "Huh, I'll go first?" "Yeah." Cid's bastard was using me as cannon fodder it seems, as he said to me. "Razel, I suggest you go out to fight before me, not only in the first round, the other two as well." "Why should I be the one to carry all the weight on me!!!" Cid gave me a cold stare. "Really?" He said, then revealed to me. "...Listen, you know we're going to fight against a prince and his friends, right?" "Yes." "Well, think about this for a second. Who's the most dangerous of them al
Pleven Household is no different from other houses. That is what the future head, that is me, Oscar, knows better than anyone else. Like all noble families, we started out as a house of knights. After completing the 100 years of service required to become barons. When we became nobles, our family was the worst of all at using the sword or martial arts. But one day, the current head of that time discovered that he had a talent for magic. Thanks to that, Pleven Household managed to rise in a few years to be a house of counts. We needed to have more connections, so we became vassals of the imperial family. We became a house of marquises because of that. We swore to serve the imperial family and were granted a place in the seats of the holy wizards. But thanks to my grandfather, our house became one of the most renowned and important. For that reason, when I was a child, I was invited to a birthday party. It was Pri
I, Bellange, am the heir to the Fraser Household. A house of earls of the frontier. Our family gained prestige since we were a house of viscounts, but one day my grandfather did an incredible feat and we were promoted to earls. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away and it was my old man who received that title. He always made me follow this principle. "If you are not the strongest, then you are nobody." With those words I was raised to be very strong. My skin got tanned and my hair got darker for some reason. One day, in a nobleman's house, I was studying in something called elementary school. One of my playmates was none other than Prince Regulux. I fought him plain and simple since he was a prince. I thought he was just another weakling until he threw down his weapon and said to me. "Can you take me seriously? I know you are strong, but this is very disappointing. Don't treat me like a frag
Razel sat down at his resting place. It was Cid's turn. Cid's horse was one specially made just for him. For he was the fourth prince. It was blue, had two horns; one under the other and was named Mordred. He watched Lambert bowing to Regulux. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could imagine they were talking. "Your Highness, I apologize greatly for those incompetents. I will win, you can rest assured." "Thank you Lam, try not to hurt Cidfert too much." "Understood." Lambert's steed was a beautiful gray one, it was special like Cid's as it was also built exclusively for its owner. On the side could be seen his name, Lancelot. Razel touched Cid's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?" "Yeah. Just thinking." "About what?" Cid's mind remembered things from his childhood, related to Lambert. ◇◇◇ Cid knew Lambert a little after he joined the imperial
In the imperial palace, Prince Blake was seated. "Is that all?" He was being briefed on the secret and criminal acts of the Iscariot family. To make his day even more bitter, many members of his faction were corrupt. That bothered him greatly. "I'm afraid it does. Those involved have erased evidence of what they have done. It's very difficult to trace them." "I understand..." It was well past noon and Blake was in a bad mood, then he remembered one thing. "Right. Do you know what became of the duel between Lux and Cid?" "..." "What's with that face?" "Your Highness.... don't tell me you didn't hear about it? It was a big scandal what happened." "What are you talking about?" Blake was very confused and intrigued about what he says. "Tell me what happened while I was resting for that headache." The man's mouth was moving, and Blake's face was contorted in horror at w
Regulux smiled with an expression of victory. He activated a magic attack of the game, star rain. That attack was a level 11 attack. It was very weak in the game, but in reality, it was a very strong attack. The dust cloud kept coming out. It wasn't moving at all. "Even if my orion whip didn't hit you. You're too much of an idiot to fall for that weak attack." "Lambert can dodge it with no problem. I trained with him a lot. He's my right-hand man for a reason. Anyway, easiest win in the world." Regulux turned to leave, but at that moment, a small nugget covered in electricity flew straight to his cheek. Blood was spurting out. Turning around, he watched as a shadow came into view. It was Razel. He had a bit of dust and blood on him, but he was intact on his steed. In fact, that's the strange thing. The attack was too fast, even if he activated his Hawkeye, at least one or two hits