Moonlight Ball - Chapter 134

At the tender age of thirty-one, Frederick En Surah bore an uncanny resemblance to his father in certain aspects. However, it was his attitude towards women that was most reminiscent of his father’s. Despite his noble lineage, Frederick found it difficult to handle women with the grace and poise expected of a man of his stature. In his circle, there was nary a lady to be found, and so he often resorted to terrorizing maids or women who could not oppose him.

As time wore on, Frederick’s hobby of terrorizing women morphed into something far more sinister than mere fright. The passing of a count’s wife, whom he had terrorized, several years ago had only served to intensify his obsession.

It was on a summer morning that the thunderbolt struck, shattering Frederick’s world in an instant. “Hey, hey!” he exclaimed, his voice trembling as he recoiled from the woman’s lifeless form. Just like the last time he had forcibly touched and kissed his mother’s body, he felt a strange sense of unease wash over him.

The woman had been a maid, one of many who had been recruited to the capital. But this one had caught Frederick’s eye from the very beginning, with her perfect figure and a striking resemblance to the queen. The way she looked, the way she moved – it was like crushing the queen’s very essence.

Thoughts of the queen made Frederick’s teeth grind in frustration. Her blatant disregard for his family during a royal gathering had left them ostracized from society. And it was during this time that he had first noticed the maid.

Frederick dragged the maid into his room, her protests falling on deaf ears. She was the perfect prize for him, and he reveled in her resistance, playing with her like a toy throughout the night. But then, in the morning light, he found her lifeless body lying beside him.

Panic set in. This was his room, and he had spent the entire night with her. If the truth were to come out, he would be the prime suspect. And after all he had done to climb the social ladder, he couldn’t let that happen. His mind raced as he wrapped the bedsheet around her body, the weight of her dead form feeling incredibly heavy.

All day, he was on high alert, pacing back and forth, feeling the weight of the situation bearing down on him. He couldn’t trust anyone with this secret, not even his own family. They wouldn’t understand. They would only see him as a liability, a threat to their own reputation. And so, he made the decision to handle it on his own.

He buried the maid in the mountains, hoping that the truth would never come to light.

* * *

Iris lifted her head, brows furrowed in confusion. Ghosts? In this day and age, there were still people who believed in such things? The noblewomen who knew of her great wizardry spoke cautiously, yet eagerly, of the phenomenon.

“Your Majesty, they say that ghosts roam the slopes of Mt. Sato at night, even during the foggiest of days.”

“The herb gatherers were the first to bear witness. They were so terrified that none have dared to climb that mountain since.”

A ghost?

As someone who had made pacts with various spirits and was still paying the price, Iris found it hard to swallow such a story. Ghosts were not a species one came across easily. When humans died, they could not hold malice. Death was the time for the soul to depart from the body. A ghost was an anomaly that occurred when the body died but the soul lingered with ill intentions. That was the definition of a ghost.

It was a complex phenomenon. The soul and the body were inextricably linked, and they perished together. Iris was currently inhabiting someone else’s body, and she could only imagine what it was like for a wizard to experience it for the first time. But a ghost?…

…But if it was true, it piqued her curiosity.

Among the wizarding community, the existence of ghosts was a topic of intense debate. Did ghosts exist, and if so, could they be artificially created?

The recipe for creating a ghost flitted through Iris’s mind. The fact that it involved using a human soul made it so morally reprehensible that it couldn’t be used. Yet, she was intrigued… Intrigued to know if they existed at all.

Iris Elaine was not one to let things go. Her obsession with magic drove her to seek answers whenever her curiosity was piqued. Besides, didn’t the king give her free reign to pursue her interests?

“You’re venturing to Mt. Sato?” Lily inquired, the head of the queen’s escort. She appeared puzzled.

“Yes,” Iris replied.

“If I may ask, what is the nature of your business there?” Lily inquired.

“Uh…” Iris trailed off. She knew she had to provide a convincing explanation, but she was not skilled at deception.

Lily observed the queen’s fluttering lashes in silence. She was certain that the queen’s retinue of soldiers in crimson armor were watching their exchange closely. There was something about this queen that commanded attention.

A few days prior, the king had summoned Lily and shared a shocking revelation that left her reeling.

“The queen is Iris Elaine,” Sidrain had disclosed.

In her heart, Lily knew it to be true. The queen was unlike Rosemary in every aspect. Now, it was a matter of what decision the king would make. Lily tried her best to mask her anxiety as she gazed at the king’s handsome, yet otherworldly features.

“She is my queen. Protect her at all costs, Oswald.”

A feeling of elation coursed through Lily’s veins, and she could not conceal it. The news that the queen was not the infamous Rosemary but the esteemed princess of the Magic Tower, Iris Elaine, had filled her heart with a sense of relief and hope. Finally, a just and compassionate ruler had ascended to the throne, someone who had dedicated her life to the art of magic and the well-being of others.

Thus, Lily En Oswald joined the ranks of those who knew Iris’s true identity. She was ready to unsheathe her sword against the Magic Tower’s owner. Protect the queen? No, Lily thought the king’s words were too soft. The royal family should have complete ownership of the queen. She wouldn’t let the Magic Tower get even a single hair from the queen!