Deathbound Duke’s Daughter: Volume 2

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Color Illustrations

  Prologue: Erika Aurelia, Destined to Die

  Chapter 1: Ynys Negesydd

  Chapter 2: The Joust

  Chapter 3: The Angel’s Crypt

  Chapter 4: The Sky Throne

  August Ignitia’s Journal

  Last Chapter: Where the Sun Sets

  Records of Eduard Aurelia

  Bonus Textless Images

  About J-Novel Club

  Copyright

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  Prologue: Erika Aurelia, Destined to Die

  Once upon a time, in a faraway place, there lived a young girl. She was the daughter of a ducal house famed for its alchemy. Her name was Erika Aurelia.

  Only two months ago, the girl had suddenly awakened to memories that were not her own. What’s more, if her conjecture was right, the world she was living in belonged to Liber Monstrorum: The Winter Maiden and the Phantasmic Beasts, a game she had played in another life. In this game, Erika Aurelia was the first victim of a serial murder.

  Huh? Wait, if I enter the academy six years from now, won’t I be the first to die?

  Erika’s life in the game was a tragedy. A villainess whose pathetic death served as just desserts for all her lying and cheating—that was the fate of Erika Aurelia.

  However, this Erika—who carried regrets from a life where she was unreasonably stabbed over a love affair she didn’t even remember having—was determined to use her memories of Liber Monstrorum as a weapon to survive no matter what.

  She was soon visited by her first death flag, the game’s first potential love interest. His name was Claus Hafan, and he was the heir to a house of magic.

  In the plot of the original game, Erika antagonized Claus’ sister, Anne, and lured her to the dangerous Seafarer’s Ruins, where she would ultimately die. This event would force Claus to live with inescapable regret and sorrow. Inescapable, at least, until he met the heroine and learned to move on. Erika, on the other hand, would be the first to be killed by Anne, who was possessed by the evil spirit of the ruins.

  This time around, Erika had deepened her friendship with Anne and tried to steer her away from the ruins. Unfortunately, owing to the curse on her necklace, both Claus and Anne had ended up in the danger zone.

  Relying on the magic items her brother and talented alchemist Eduard left behind, Erika had plunged into the ruins alone to search for the siblings. She’d found Claus easily enough, but as the two of them looked for Anne, they got lost in the winding corridors, sprung a death trap, suffered a floor collapse, and accidentally revived an ancient monster.

  Erika had managed to save Claus, Anne, and even the soul of the lonely beast sleeping in the innermost depths. Her life hanging by a thread, she had broken down her first death flag, but it would not be long before the next came creeping toward her.

  ☆

  The story begins at the Spring Palace, in the Wunderkammer of Eduard Aurelia. A Wunderkammer was the studio of an alchemist, a showcase of the world’s natural history stuffed to the brim with special ores and the body parts of many a beast, phantasmal or otherwise.

  At the work desk in the center of the room sat Eduard, a young man with blond hair and gentle green eyes. Beside him was Erika, who shared these same features, staring at his work with deep intrigue.

  There was a shallow box on the table, its exterior an inconspicuous black and its interior upholstered with plush, ultramarine velvet. Atop the velvet rested a row of beautifully decorated wands, each about the length of a conductor’s baton. They were all alchemists’ wands embedded with magic spells.

  The alchemists of this world cast magic from such wands, which had been imbued with their spells in advance. One wand could only contain one spell, and it had anywhere from fifty to a hundred charges. While this limited alchemists in comparison to their magician counterparts, they did not have to chant and could easily utilize convenient magic with the simple swing of a wand.

  Of the orderly row, Eduard first lifted up the Magic Missile wand.

  The wand’s shaft was golden oak carved with spiraling grooves. Its wick was a mix of charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter while its handle was silver with an obsidian pommel. The tip was flint ornamented with more silver.

  Eduard stared at the wand, confirming its quality before opening his mouth.

  “A splendid wand. It should serve you well.”

  He took out a case just big enough for a single wand and put the Magic Missile away. Next, he picked up the Hail of Stone wand. He carefully scrutinized this one as well before tucking it into its own container.

  “Magic Missile and Hail of Stone are good choices. They compensate for each other’s weak points.”

  “That’s a relief to hear, Eduard.”

  Eduard had asked Erika to pick out some wands in the name of self-defense.

  “With those two, you won’t just be able to protect yourself; you should be able to fight off a vicious beast.”

  “I simply wanted to take precautions. You never know what might happen. Was it a tad excessive?” Erika asked.

  “No, it’s always good to be cautious,” Eduard said as he handed over the two wand cases.

  Erika meekly accepted them. She handed them to the miniature armored golem keeping a low profile beside her, and the golem, with exceedingly organic movements, tucked them away in a leather bag.

  “You chose Jump and Levitate for emergency maneuvers. Well thought out on your part.”

  “Yes, I heard there were many tall buildings in the capital.”

  “And in preparation for natural disaster, you picked Disintegrate, Wall of Stone, and Barbed Wire. The Disintegrate wand is especially dangerous. You have to be very careful with it.”

  “Of course.”

  “Finally, a Magic Map wand for if you get lost. The capital can be quite confusing, after all.”

  “I heard there are lots of ancient ruins underneath it as well.”

  “Okay, I think you chose an optimal selection. I should give you a few fundamental wands too.”

  Offering some courteous advice, Eduard handed over box after box.

  “Thank you so very much, Eduard.”

  Erika thanked him from the depths of her heart. Only with her brother’s generosity could she assemble so many different wands. With such a wonderful assortment at her disposal, she would not want for any sort of magic she might need.

  However, even Eduard was unable to arrange for an Urðr-Sight wand—a wand that had performed so magnificently in her last exploration. The materials simply wouldn’t make it in time.

  But now I’m prepared to deal with my next death flag.

  Erika breathed a sigh of relief, and yet, as her mind wandered to her previous escapade, a shadow was cast over her face.

  “Are you anxious about the royal capital? Father will be with you, so you should be fine unless something terribly drastic happens.” Eduard gently stroked the top of her head. He must have noticed her expression.

  “Yes, let’s hope so.”

  House Aurelia had received an invitation to a festive banquet hosted by Ignitia’s royal family. Their father, Duke Ernst, was obligated to attend. Erika’s heart swirled with fear and anxiety, dreading their departure.

  August, First Prince of Ignitia, would raise her next death flag. Unsavory rumors about the “Foolish Prince” had even reached the ears of young children such as herself.

  “I’d like to lend you my bag too, if I could, but—”

  “Oh no, that bag is important to you. You have serious business to attend to, don’t you? You won’t make it i
n time if you have to repack.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  Eduard had to set out somewhere to take part in some kind of investigation. Erika hadn’t asked about the details, but considering it took precedence over a royal invitation, she could tell it was significant. The worrywart that he was, Eduard had given Erika the tools to protect her in his stead.

  “I need to get going. Another time, Erika.”

  “Have a safe trip, Eduard.”

  “Tell me all about your adventures when I get back.”

  Eduard kissed Erika on the cheek and left the workshop, his bag in his hand.

  “Good grief, what a secretive man.”

  The voice raising this complaint did not belong to Erika.

  “He must have his circumstances. It’s not our place to intrude. Besides, I’m not all that different, am I?”

  “Heh heh, point taken.”

  A laugh rumbled from within the golem-esque figure at her side. He was one of Erika’s secrets, and a powerful ally. Not a golem she made, but a monster from ancient times.

  This was the evil spirit Erika had met in the Seafarer’s Ruins on that spring night two months prior—more precisely, the philosopher’s stone created by Aurelia’s ancestor, a twin-horned homunculus similar to a dragon. After losing in combat, he had been sealed away, and now he was one of Erika’s closest friends.

  Once a nameless monster, he now chose to be the guardian beast of the girl who had offered him the name “Tirnanog.” However, only Erika knew of any of this. If the truth came out, it was possible he would be sealed away again, so he was instead disguised as a starsteel golem.

  Chapter 1: Ynys Negesydd

  1

  Erika returned to her room, shooing everyone away under the pretense of wanting to get some good rest before the trip. It was only when the servants were gone that she could kick back and talk to Tirnanog.

  “You don’t have to worry, Erika. I’ll be with you.”

  “Thank you, Tir.”

  Having spent two months together, Erika felt close enough to this monster to call him by a pet name.

  “I’ll get rid of this August boy for you.”

  “Hmm, I don’t think he’s the sort that needs getting rid of...”

  Erika recalled the August from Liber Monstrorum, a frivolous prince with long, blond hair and tan skin. He never dared to develop a deep relationship with anyone, instead running away the moment someone tried to close the distance. Despite his carefree nature, he had a thick shell around his heart. He was always surrounded by one scandal or another.

  “If we do end up fighting, you’ll probably be up against his Beast of Contracts.”

  The Beast of Contracts was a fearsome monster that appeared in the second route of the game, the “Androphagi Archangel Incident,” where August was the focus.

  This part of the story took place at the Academy of Magic in Lindis, where the Feast of the Archangel was being celebrated. In the midst of these merry festivities, a terrible incident occurred, and the vestiges of a gut-wrenching tragedy were discovered in the chapel.

  An obscene amount of blood was splattered all over the scene, lending a sinister air to the chapel’s festive decorations. Within the sea of red was the left ear and three fingers of a girl and the left arm of a boy. They had been crudely severed from their bodies, like a beast had torn them off.

  Those who inspected the human remains identified the victims as August and Erika. The mouth of the chapel’s angel statue was left smeared with blood, as if the angel had eaten the two of them alive.

  Chloe, the game’s resident protagonist, was swept up in the events when she spotted the shadow of a large, one-armed beast at the crime scene. That night, she encountered Prince August, who was supposed to be dead.

  What had caused this tragedy?

  Motivated by his inferiority complex, August sullied his hands with the forbidden arts. He was unable to ride dragons, despite being the prince of a country of dragoons. Because of this, many decried him as an illegitimate son. Nevertheless, he continued to put in all his effort and then some. But in the end, if he couldn’t ride a dragon, his labor would only reap doubts and disdain.

  Once he could no longer stand the pressure, August finally committed a taboo. He revived an ancient phantasmic beast known only as the Beast of Contracts and fused with it. Although August gained the ability to ride dragons thanks to the beast’s power, he had surrendered something far more valuable: his humanity.

  Over the next six years, August remained stalwart; the beast, on the other hand, could no longer bear the burden placed on its imperfectly coalescent body.

  Eventually, the beast split off from August. In a half-human, half-bestial form, it ambled around devouring whatever monster it came across in order to regain its power. But the creature bit off more than it could chew, losing an arm as a consequence. As it rushed to reclaim its arm and scamper back to the academy, the wounded beast came upon pitiful Erika Aurelia.

  Erika was eaten alive simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and with her death, the curtains rose on the second route of Liber Monstrorum. However, the present Erika knew she wasn’t simply an unlucky, tragic victim. After all, it was Erika herself who had triggered August’s descent into darkness.

  Right, she got her just desserts again. Erika let out a troubled sigh.

  Just as in the first route, where she provoked Claus’ little sister, Anne, into rushing to her death, in the second route, she mocked August for his failures and tore the last remnants of his pride to shreds. Her ridicule was the last push, the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  Erika knew she would have to be careful. She swore never to laugh at August. That was all she could do for him at the moment.

  If August still reached for the forbidden regardless, she anticipated she would either have to negotiate with the Beast of Contracts or defeat it in battle. She had told her brother the wands were just for self-defense, but she had also chosen them with the idea of fighting a mighty beast in mind.

  “Very well. When the time comes, I will be your shield and your spear.”

  “Glad to hear it. I’m counting on you. But before we think about combat, there’s something I need you to do.”

  Erika glanced down at the five leather bags sitting on the carpet. They were each around the size of an ottoman and were reinforced with metal to make them solid and sturdy. They mostly contained clothing and shoes, among other daily necessities.

  The clothes Duke Aurelia had prepared for his beloved daughter Erika were all embroidered with Paralyze magic to prevent assassination and kidnapping. If their wearer were so much as scratched, they would momentarily restrain anyone in the general vicinity. He had additionally prepared a small mountain of accessories that could redirect curses.

  On top of the wands she’d received from Eduard, Erika also had a star crystal lamp that would glow whenever mana was present, an animated rope that could be controlled at will, and a number of other magic items. She had also stuffed in emergency food, water, and medicine; books that might prove useful; the tools and materials to make a golem; and whatever else she could think of.

  “You see... I push and I pull, but these things just aren’t going anywhere.”

  Each bag was not only too heavy for Erika herself, but they weighed so much that she wondered whether she could possibly ask a servant to take them on.

  “Leave it to me, friend. They are no more than feathers to me.”

  Before she had even finished asking, Tirnanog was already at work, hoisting up the bags and stacking them on top of one another. They were furnished with straps, so even the small golem could hold them.

  “Indeed, this is nothing. I feel nothing at all,” he declared once he’d gotten a hold of three of them.

  “How many do you think you can handle? Are you alright? No need to push yourself.”

  “Bwahahaha, don’t make light of me.”

  Erika shot Tirnanog a conce
rned look as he proudly puffed out his chest.

  “You’ve only just revived. Don’t overexert yourself, okay?”

  “How laughable! Overexert? I’m not even exerting! This much doesn’t even require a warm-up. I’ve carried whole cities before! How could this be too much for me?” said the monster who was originally the size of an island.

  Tirnanog lifted a tower of all five bags, walking without the slightest difficulty.

  “Bwahahahaha! Why, it’s lighter than air!”

  “I’m glad you can lift them, but take care not to drop anything.”

  “Who do you think you’re dealing with?!”

  Now I’m perfectly prepared, Erika thought, relieved.

  That being the case, the wands, books, and magic items crammed into these bags were originally her brother’s. If possible, she wanted to return them unused.

  2

  Duke Aurelia, then Erika, and finally a line of servants passed through the transfer gate of the Spring Palace. Their destination was a small city a short distance from Ignitia’s royal capital of Ynys Negesydd.

  In the interest of national security, any direct transfers to the royal capital were strictly prohibited—barring emergencies, of course. It would be a short carriage ride from the nearest transfer point.

  The city they stopped by was lively in preparations for Adventmas. Statues of angels holding swords and eggs were erected all over town, and they were all decorated with plenty of flowers.

  Adventmas was an early summer festival that merged the legend of Ignitia’s Founding King with other summer celebrations already held independently in the northern and eastern parts of Ichthyes.

  A slave warrior born in Ignitia—which was then but a province in the continent of Karkinos to the south—caught the eye of a single angel. The angel bestowed upon the lowly slave the power to control dragons, and with this power, he drove back the vampyres who controlled Ichthyes. Thereafter, he was crowned the Founding King of Ignitia.

  Outside of Ignitia, he was also known as “the Conquering King.”

  This was a heroic epic any young boy born in Ichthyes should know by heart. The angel who descended that day was the star of Adventmas and the subject of all these beautifully decorated statues.