SYMDF 25

Chapter 25

 

His caution was understandable—several eyes were indeed following them.

“Please, speak quickly. Too many are watching.”

“I want to know how Camillus is doing. Remember the night I went to the forest? I haven’t seen him since, and I’m worried.”

Ion deliberately softened his tone, clinging like a child pleading. Sir Ernst, straightening Ion’s clothes, bowed his head slightly—but being so much taller, Ion clearly saw his face. His expression all but asked, And who are you to worry for him?

But Ion pressed on, unwavering.

“…He wasn’t punished by His Majesty and locked away again, was he? You know… that matter?”

The question froze Ernst’s expression at once. His voice hardened.

“Young master—that is under Imperial gag order.”

Ion’s mind sharpened.

A gag order. Of course. That’s why everything has been so silent.

Camillus’s circumstances meant two things at least: the great crime of Ion Craiger, and the disgrace of the Imperial Family.

The system window triggered.

[You have fulfilled one condition to recover a lost memory. (1/3)]
[Condition 1: Obtain information about Camillus Valderas Clodel from a third party, non-blood relation.]
[Remaining conditions are locked until completion.]

So… there are three stages.

It was already a victory. This conversation held worth beyond measure.

“I—I’m sorry.”

Feigning an innocent face, Ion blinked his green eyes piteously. Ernst’s gaze wavered, torn, before he grasped Ion’s arm firmly to guide him home.

“You need not apologize. Please return and rest.”

“But…”

“…?”

Not ready to let go, Ion lowered his voice.

“I’d like to send Camillus a message. If possible…”

Trailing his words, he slipped a folded paper from his sleeve, palm half-opening just enough to show it. Ernst’s brows knitted tightly.

If he refused, Ion’s path forward would collapse into ruin. This was a wager with life itself.

Days had passed with only glimpses of Camillus’s eagle—not the boy himself. If things continued, Ion wouldn’t even complete the second meeting in the “three reunions” quest, let alone the third.

Sitting idle was just inviting death.

When Ernst still hesitated, Ion lowered his lashes, casting shadows under them. His face was arranged into a fragile disappointment.

“…But it must be difficult, huh? If I step outside and collapse, it would be disaster. And Father wouldn’t allow me to see Camillus anyway…”

Ion coughed into a handkerchief, chest rising visibly, and Ernst’s conflict deepened. At last, when Ion turned flushed eyes upward, Ernst reached out.

“Young master’s handkerchief has collected too much dust, it seems. I will tell the maid to replace it.”

As his hand brushed Ion’s, the hidden note slid away with deft inconspicuousness.

Ion’s lips curved in the faintest smiling crescent.

“Thank you, Sir Ernst.”

[Player has successfully swayed Alexei Ernst.]

Three days hence, I have been invited to the Crown Prince’s luncheon.
— Ion

It was in Ion’s hand, the small note passed into Camillus’s possession. The boy traced Ion’s writing with his fingers, but his expression darkened.

He already knew Vernian had visited the Craiger estate days ago. Reports reached him that the Prince, long disinterested, suddenly stormed in with a Tower mage in tow. Camillus had wanted to race off then and there—but he could not.

His blue eyes narrowed to the shimmering wards drawn across his doors and windows. His hand on the bedpost, veins stood tense.

“I do not wish to go north. I will stay in the capital.”

Those words, spoken to his father the Emperor, had earned him confinement. Soldiers deployed to encircle his mansion, locks of arcane seal pressed onto every gate and door. He was not starved—imperial maids delivered meals—but it was clear. He was not to leave.

Not that he couldn’t break out.

The counter-magic was already mapped in his head. He could shatter it at will. But if he did, the response would be harsher. They might even set the Tower itself against him. So he endured.

Camillus rose from the bed and approached the window, sweeping his gaze across the grounds. Roughly thirty knights patrolled—each clad in enchanted armor of the magic battalions.

His hand clenched involuntarily, crushing Ion’s note.

“…Vernian.”

The Prince’s invitation was no coincidence. Camillus felt certain: it was aimed, at least in part, at him.

Was it because I refused exile to the North?

Perhaps the Emperor stirred Vernian to ignite confrontation—strengthening one son, sapping the other. Making the Prince a ruler, and reducing Camillus to a chained dog.

His lips tilted crookedly. Fingers brushed the sigil at the window, red glow ebbing faintly to shimmer blue under his touch.

Three days. He would go. Because Ion needed him—and there was no world in which he could refuse.

Clip-clop.

Ion’s carriage reached the imperial gates. Papers were presented, seals recorded, and soon he was drawn into the palace heartland until at last the Crown Prince’s residence rose before him.

“Young master, we have arrived.”

Inside, he patted Yomnyong gently, whispering:

“Be still. Wait here, all right?”

“Kkuu…”

The dragon chirped, shrinking his form, but Ion only stroked his head and straightened.

The door opened. An attendant awaited.

“Welcome, young master. His Highness awaits.”

Supported by Sir Ernst, Ion descended to the ground. But when informed that attendants could not enter the Prince’s audience hall, he parted from the knight and followed servants through corridors gilded with chandeliers.

Considering the occasion, he expected bustle. Yet the atmosphere inside the Crown Prince’s mansion was curiously still.

Ion walked slowly, his shoes pressing into red carpet. Then came boot-steps—followed by a voice above.

“Here, Ion.”

He looked up. At the top of the stair separating the hall from inner corridors stood Vernian, framed by light spilling from the garden doors just behind him. He had only just come indoors.

Footnotes:

• Imperial Gag Order (함구령): Reveals why Camillus’s history is silenced; both to punish Ion Craiger’s “crime” and conceal imperial disgrace. 
• System Quest: Ion discovers memory recovery linked to outside information—in steps. 
• Note Passing: An espionage maneuver showing Ion’s survival instincts and politicking. 

House Arrest: Camillus confined after refusing exile north; wards easily escapable, but he restrains himself.