Chapter 9 - Garden

Just as the pressure in the throne room peaked, the world dimmed to monochrome.

Fog clouded my vision, and when it cleared, Before I knew it, I was in a garden where flowers were all withered. I was sitting on a white fancy chair inside a gazebo.

In front of me was a stone table, and on it, a corpse.

He looks... Just like me...

Interestingly, I'm not panicking. I'm more terrified of what stands beyond the corpse.

A woman.

"Luden, have you been well?" the woman spoke, her voice mature. She was as pale as me, as ghostly as me, dressed in a gothic, dark black gown.

"I am, mother..."

My lips moved on their own, I wasn't in control, I was trapped behind his eyes, a helpless passenger inside the real Luden's body.

» [System]: Player, that woman in front of you, is the banshee queen.

Luden.... Was the son of the banshee queen?!...

As shocked as I am, I listened carefully to this... Forsaken conversation that's about to unfold.

"Luden, pick up that fork in front of you, go ahead... Taste your father..."

"He is as delicious as his pretty face, which you so endearingly inherited."

...

...What...

...Am I Witnessing?...

Luden's face somehow grew even paler than it already was, a sickly appearance that blended with his usual white formal attire.

His fingers trembled as they touched the silverware, and the hesitation in his every movement was profound.

This was disgusting...

"Apologies, Mother. I have no interest in feasting, I'm quite full."

Luden was lying. He hadn't eaten in days, his mother never bothered to properly take care of him.

This body was much skinnier; I could almost feel the bones beneath my skin. It was nothing like when he lived with Rayleigh.

I was relieved when he refused. If he had gone through with it, I think I would've been traumatized for life.

But the corpse… that's his father?

How did he end up like this?

---

"Defying me? Being the only male banshee, you have so much to prove~"

I'm terrified for Luden, this woman's presence was choking me, and even in this memory, I'm already feeling ill.

"Luden, pick up the fork~" she insisted.

"No mother, I'd rather not..." Luden rejected, but his mother didn't take that lightly.

She smiled, it was a cold wide smile...

---

"Tell me, Luden, how else are you going to prove you're a true Banshee?"

"It disgusts me that human blood runs through your veins. See those Banshees over there? Alongside the ghouls? They're starving for your father."

Luden turned around and what he saw would burn itself into my memory.

The True Banshees, they hovered just above the ground, with tangled hair and eyes so hollow they could follow me into my nightmares.

They wore tattered and bloodstained white gowns, beside them were ghouls, long-tongued things with half-decomposed flesh and bodies distorted beyond recognition.

This place was vile.

The stench of rot, dried blood, and something far fouler...

This is... The Karthalem?

---

"Pick up the fork, Luden..."

I could feel it, the real Luden's thoughts, he wants his father to be buried properly and not be treated as mere meal, his already scheming.

How was he gonna escape this place? Along with his father's corpse?

Luden took a controlled deep breath...

He raised his right hand...

He held the fork with such refined elegance.

So this is how he acts, I'm nothing like him.

The fork moved toward the corpse's skin, inch by inch but Luden's left hand was already slipping silently into the pocket of his black trousers, careful not to draw his mother's attention.

He pulled out the Wand of Elegy.

While keeping a calm head, he pressed his index finger to its tip until blood welled up.

The wand drank eagerly.

A clever trick, to awaken its true power.

Then, without hesitation, he aimed the wand beneath the table, directly at his mother.

And fired.

A blast of dark arts tore through her body, he then immediately struck the rest of the ghouls and banshees, as he ran off with his father's corpse.

---

» [Error]: You don't have access to Luden's full memory.

Why?

» Player, I am unable to merge the original Luden's memories with yours. Your data is corrupted, and this body and mind have not fully accepted you.

» Perhaps one day… you'll earn the right to negotiate with the real Luden.

Tch.

...Fine...

---

But that's how far the memory goes, the moment Luden did that, I was pulled back to the present time in the throne room.

I did want to know if he managed to escape… if he buried his father as he planned.

But today wasn't the day for it.

» [System]: Memory Ended.

The king and the two inquisitors were ready to end my life. Rayleigh, ignoring the risk to her reputation, tried to retaliate.

But the inquisitor escorting her blocked the way. And it didn't help that she was unarmed.

I stood tall, provoking every adversary in the room, and finally met the king's gaze without submitting to his overwhelming presence, I bellowed:

"MY FATHER IS A HUMAN!"

---

I heard comical gasps coming from the throne walls, and considering the facial expression of the king. I'm convinced that none of them expected me to be half-human.

Or if it's even possible for a banshee and a human to procreate, seems like they don't know either but I do know the banshee queen was... Human-like in appearance.

In all fairness, I assumed I was a full Banshee too.

But Rayleigh, I think she knew that I was half-human, though I'm not sure whether she also knows that I'm the son of the Queen of Banshees. I'm not risking asking her anytime soon.

The king ordered the inquisitors to stand down, and a moment of order in the throne room ensued.

"Speak banshee..." the king commanded.

---

Remembering how formal and soft-spoken the original Luden was, I tried to mimic his speech pattern.

» [Warning]: Never tell them, that you're the son of the banshee queen.

...I know...

...That would get me killed, instantly...

"I fled from a manor, from the banshee queen, as she forced me to eat the very corpse of my father."

"My mother was a lowly banshee, who fell in love with a human, that's how I was conceived..."

I lied my way through.

The king's eyes. For the first time, he was surprised, perhaps even interested.

"…You're claiming betrayal of your bloodline?" he asked.

"The Queen of Banshees, forced you to commit cannibalism upon your father's corpse?"

I hold my ground, this time facing him despite the pressure of his overwhelming power, "Yes, Your Highness, that was her idea of torturing me, for being a half breed, my banshee mother has long since perished."

"All I ever desired was to bury my father's body with the respect it deserves."

..."A dramatic and admirable tale, if it is true." then the king's eyes fixed on me, it felt like a deep stab.

"Or is it a performance? A trick to evoke sympathy from humans? Answer me, banshee, am I to believe this sob story, or is this some elaborate lie crafted to worm your way into our kingdom?"

Tch, the king wasn't budging...

"Prove me wrong, banshee."

There's only one thing that came to mind...

I attempted to pull it out, and in an instant, I felt three knives at my throat, it was too fast, I didn't even see them move.

» [Notice]: They likely used a blink ability.

That's obvious enough, I just don't want my neck to bleed again, that will be the second time today.

"Give him a chance to prove himself!" Rayleigh shouted from the doorway. The king heard her, and with a simple gesture of his right hand, the three inquisitors stepped back.

---

"I won't do anything..." I promised as I slowly revealed the Wand of Elegy.

"My king, this is the wand of elegy, I inherited it from my mother..." I lied. There was no inheritance from this wand; it was stolen from the banshee queen's treasury.

The king tried to touch the wand out of curiosity, but I immediately pulled it back.

» [Note]: The wand allures the living to touch it. I advise you not to carelessly waft it.

Should've told me that way sooner...

"What's the meaning of this?!" An expected reaction. And again, all knives at my throat.

The constant grazing of my neck is starting to wear on me...

"Your Highness, the wand is cursed. Anything that isn't undead must not hold it, If they do, I can't guarantee that they'll live." I explained, and the king seemed smart enough to understand.

"Hold it out, Banshee. Let one of my men inspect it." another command, which I gladly obeyed.

One of the inquisitors stepped closer, thoroughly inspecting the wand.

Do they have some sort of scan ability?

» [Notice]: Indeed, they do.

I see... Good to know...

"The Banshee is telling the truth, Your Highness. The wand has a curse," the inquisitor said, which cleared some suspicion off my back.

"Your Highness, if Luden wanted to do any harm, he would've let you touch the wand," Rayleigh added in the argument as she stepped closer to my side.

The king was starting to consider my existence, but I wasn't confident yet. There was still so much to prove.

"Rayleigh, what are the chances you're possessed? There's still the possibility of ulterior motives we cannot yet discern. Are you as trustworthy as you seem to be?" His Highness remained ever guarded, and that, I believe, was why he was king.

I expected Rayleigh to be pressured by the king's words, though it seemed she had an answer ready.

"My king, I am not easily brainwashed or manipulated. If you suspect I am, I won't resist execution, right here and now."

Was she... Suicidal?! She keeps putting her life on the line!

The king looked into Rayleigh's eyes, searching for lies and hidden motives. Perhaps he was proud of the kind of person she'd become, though some of her actions were... concerning.

"No need," he said. "Rayleigh, you are courageous and bold, qualities we expect from future Ascendants."

"It would be foolish to lose someone like you."

Rayleigh's heart rate seemed to calm down, the tension in the throne room easing. She nudged me, encouraging me to take action.

I sighed more—

Let's be dramatic. Royalty loves this kind of thing.

I kneel.

Rayleigh followed my gesture.

"I, A Banshee, Luden V. Augustine, swear fealty to the Leon Kingdom. I swore that I would end the banshee queen with my own two hands..."

"In your name."

Upon hearing my words, the king was impressed that a banshee would be against its queen, being half human certainly helps with my innocence.

"Stand, Rayleigh. And you, Luden," the king spoke, his eyes less intense than before.

"Luden... I have no intention of blindly trusting you. I'll order one of my men to make a seal specifically for you. You do understand why, correct?"

His actions were interesting. His eyes were always scanning me, and I respected him for being cautious.

Rayleigh and I looked at each other, knowing there wasn't really anything we can do. We simply agreed to the terms, if it meant sparing me.

I did wonder what kind of seal he'd be placing on me.

But I saw an opportunity.

"My king, may I make one request?"

The king noted my audacity. A Banshee, asking for a request? From his majesty?!

"Oh? Then speak Banshee. What is it you wish?"

"Grant me the right, to become an Ascendant..."

The throne room fell utterly silent.

A banshee as a Leon Kingdom Ascendant? It sounded absurd.

» [System]: You have taken your first steps toward conquering the Tower once more... Player...

Chapter end.