The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 1 (Light Novel)

by Daisuke Aizawa

Iris nods and narrows her eyes. “I have my most trusted knights surveilling him. We’ll wait for the next report.”

  “I pray for Alexia’s safety.” Mr. Zenon offers a bow before taking his leave.

  Just as he opens the door, a young girl skids through it into the room.

  “Your Highness! Please listen!”

  “Claire! What are you doing here? Excuse us, we’ll be leaving!”

  Mr. Zenon grabs the girl with black hair, Claire Kagenou, attempting to push her out of the room.

  “Marquess Zenon, who is she?”

  He halts. “She’s…”

  “Claire Kagenou! I’m Cid’s older sister!”

  “Claire! Sh-she’s currently one of our top students, and she’s shadowing the members of the Knight Order.”

  “I see… All right. I’ll listen.”

  “Thank you so much!” Claire exclaims, approaching Iris and pleading her case. “My brother would never kidnap Princess Alexia! This must be a mistake!”

  “The Knight Order is taking every precaution in its search to avoid any mistakes. It hasn’t been confirmed that your brother is the criminal.”

  “Yes, but if no one finds the real culprit, he’ll take the fall!”

  “Our knights are carefully investigating the matter. I can assure you that no one will be wrongfully convicted.”

  “But!”

  “Claire!” Mr. Zenon warns, stopping Claire from desperately pressing Iris any further. “Settle down. I know how you feel, but any more would be an insult to the Knight Order.”

  “Ksh…!” Claire lets out before glaring at Zenon and then Iris. “If anyone lays a hand on my brother, I’ll…!”

  “That’s enough!!” Mr. Zenon cuts her off and yanks her out of the room.

  Slam.

  Iris lets out a sigh, staring at the closed door behind them.

  “Huh. We feel the same way about our respective families…,” Iris murmurs. “Alexia, I hope you’re all right…”

  The two sisters used to be close, but somewhere along the way, they started drifting apart. In fact, they haven’t spoken in years, and Iris knows they may never again.

  “Alexia…”

  Iris shuts her wine-red eyes and lets a single tear trail down her face.

  When Alexia opens her eyes, she finds herself in a dimly lit room with no windows and a candle as the only source of light. A heavy door is embedded in the stone wall before her.

  “Where am…?”

  She doesn’t remember anything after saying good-bye to Fido on her way home from school.

  Upon shifting her body, Alexia hears the clang of metal striking metal and looks down to see her limbs bound to a low table.

  “A magical restraint…”

  That means her magic is being subdued, and it might be tough for her to escape on her own.

  Who brought her here and for what purpose? She goes down the list of possibilities: Abduction, blackmail, human trafficking… There’s no definitive answer. Though Alexia may not be the heir to the throne, she knows she has enough leverage as a princess to attract criminals.

  That said, she has too little information to figure out the current situation.

  She takes a step back. A new thought pops into her mind.

  Is Fido okay?

  Yeah, Fido. An asshole of a friend. But she likes him for speaking his mind without fear.

  If he’s dragged into this mess, his life would be… Alexia stops herself from finishing that thought, shaking her head to clear it before scanning the room.

  A stone wall, a steel door, a candlestick, and…something that looks like a black pile of trash. That heap is chained up for some reason, seated beside her.

  Alexia is staring at it curiously when she thinks she sees it move slightly.

  It’s breathing—something in tattered clothes.

  “Can you hear me? Can you understand—…?!”

  The being turns to look at her.

  It’s a creature.

  Alexia has never seen one this malnourished before. She can barely make out its eyes, nose, and mouth in its black, festering face. Its entire body is distorted and bloated, and its right arm is longer than Alexia’s legs. In contrast, its left arm is thinner and stumpier than hers, and there is a protrusion in its body as if it is carrying something in its stomach.

  The creature is right next to Alexia.

  Her hands and feet are chained to the table, but it’s only bound by its neck. If it were to just extend its long arm, the monstrosity could potentially touch her.

  Alexia hushes her breath, averting her eyes to avoid provoking it.

  She’s being observed.

  There is a long pause that seems to freeze time…and then its chains begin to rattle.

  Alexia shifts her gaze to the side, and the creature is lying facedown as if it has fallen asleep. She heaves a huge sigh of relief.

  It isn’t long before the door opens.

  “Finally. I’ve finally got you.” A lanky man in a white coat enters the room.

  His cheeks are sunken, his eyes caved in, and his lips cracked. The little wisps of hair left on his thinning head are slicked down with the oil from his scalp, from which wafts a dreadful smell.

  Alexia calmly watches the man.

  “Royal blood, royal blood, royal blood.”

  Royal blood.

  As the man in the white coat repeats this phrase, he retrieves a device equipped with a thin syringe. Maybe he’s planning on drawing her blood. The castle doctor took it many times before.

  But she doesn’t know why this man would kidnap a princess for her blood.

  “May I ask you a question?” Alexia asks coolly.

  “Hmm, hmm?” A strange gurgle emerges from the man.

  “What will you use it for?”

  “Y-y-you have the blood of a demon. I’ll use it to resurrect them in the modern day.”

  “I see. Pretty neat idea you’ve got there.”

  Although she can’t understand what he’s trying to say, she’s very aware he’s gone completely mad and realizes he must be motivated by religion—or something.

  “Hey, I’ll have a hard time staying alive if you take too much blood. I’m not ready to die, you know.”

  “Heh-heh-heh… I kn-know. I want all the blood you can give me. I’ll siphon bit by bit from you each day.”

  “Yes, please do.”

  As long as he needs her blood, he won’t kill her. Which is why she keeps docile and doesn’t try to resist. For the time being, she decides to wait to be rescued instead.

  “Th-th-this wasn’t supposed to happen. I blame those morons for all this.”

  “Uh-huh, I hate idiots, too.”

  She stares at the man in the white coat as she mumbles under her breath, “Because dealing with them wears me out.”

  “They destroyed my…my laboratory. It all started with that dumbass Grease.”

  “Uh-huh, dumbass Grease is the one who started it.”

  “And then they kept coming and coming and—Aaaghh!”

  “That’s a shame. I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Yes! Yes, it is! My research is almost done! If I don’t finish it soon, I’ll be banished…banished…!”

  “That sounds terrible.”

  “C-curse it all! That good-for-nothing…nothing!”

  The man in the white coat approaches the chained creature and punts it as far as its chain will allow. He kicks it over and over, stomping on its body, as the creature all but keeps still, huddling into itself.

  “Weren’t you going to take my blood?”

  “Oh, right. Right. With your blood… With your blood, everything will be complete.”

  “Good for you.”

  The man in the white coat readies the device and sets the syringe against her arm.

  “With this… With this, it will be complete… I—I won’t be banished.”

  “Don’t hurt me.”

  It’ll make me want to clock you, Alexia ad
ds in her mind.

  The needle enters her arm, which she watches as though someone else’s blood is filling the glass tube.

  “Heh-heh…heh-heh-heh…”

  When it’s full, the man in the white coat lovingly carries it out of the room, and Alexia waits for the door to close before releasing a heavy sigh.

  I’ve prepared everything for this day.

  Two days after I’m released from interrogations, I look through the prized mastermind collection in my dorm room and grab everything of potential use.

  These cigars…aren’t fitting for my age. But this vintage wine…a rare collector’s bottle worth nine hundred thousand zeni from Pordeaux in the southwest of French. Yes, it’s perfect for tonight—when the moon remains hidden behind the clouds. Now, I’ll pair it with my finest glassware… This Buitton is the best in French and costs 450,000 zeni. And with this antique lamp and that elusive painting The Shriek, which I just so happened to stumble upon, on the wall… Voilà. Fantastic.

  Oh, my heart is full.

  I’ve hunted bandits and scrounged for coins on my hands and knees, all for this.

  Tears of joy stain my cheeks as I gaze upon my bedroom—a product of my superior collection. All I have to do is set up the invitation I just received today and wait.

  I will wait for that moment.

  Waiting.

  Waiting…

  And waiting…!

  Then…the moment arrives.

  I murmur to myself at the same time the girl in ebony enters through the window.

  “The time is ripe… The shadows run the world tonight…”

  Yes. I’ve prepared everything for this day…

  “The time is ripe… The shadows run the world tonight…”

  Those were the words he used to greet his underling, Beta.

  He sits in a chair with his legs crossed, his back to his subordinate. It might be unguarded, but Beta knows that it’s distant and lives in a world completely separate from hers.

  The wineglass in his hand glows in the light of the antique lamp. It’s even clear to Beta, who isn’t too familiar with alcohol, that he’s casually sipping on one of the rarest, most unattainable wines of all time.

  Beta is stunned not only by the luxury items that color his room but also by the painting she spots on his wall. The unobtainable masterpiece The Shriek. No amount of cash could ever purchase this work of art. Beta almost asks how he came to possess the painting, but she suddenly realizes it would be meaningless and stops herself in time.

  Everything falls into his hands because he is who he is.

  That explains it all.

  It’s only natural for him to own The Shriek. In fact, even if one searched every corner of the world, one could never find a more suitable owner for that painting than Shadow.

  “A world of shadows. The clouds cascade over the moon tonight. How fitting. For us,” Beta adds.

  Shadow silently glances at her and places his mouth on the rim of his glass.

  “We’re ready.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  He knows everything. Or perhaps it’s his omniscient tone that creates this illusion. Well, the truth is, he actually knows almost everything Beta is about to say.

  But Beta continues to speak regardless, as is her duty.

  “Under Lady Alpha’s command, we’ve assembled all the people in the area and mobilized them in the capital. There are one hundred fourteen in total.”

  “A hundred fourteen?”

  “—…gh!”

  Is that too few?

  Considering the strength of the Shadow Garden, she imagined that 114 new members would be more than enough.

  But it doesn’t take long for Beta to realize she misunderstood him.

  After all, these people are supporting characters, and less than 10 percent of them are qualified for the job. He’s the star of tonight’s show. As sidekicks to bring the main character’s story to light, 114 seems outrageously small in number.

  “I’m s-sorr—…!”

  “You’ve hired extras…?” Shadow asks, interrupting her, but that last word isn’t in Beta’s vocabulary. “Never mind. Just talking to myself.”

  “Understood.”

  Beta doesn’t inquire any further, because she knows his words contain more depth than she could ever fathom, and she has neither the right nor the power to ask for more details.

  That said, she can’t stop hoping for a day when she’ll stand beside him and support his every secret. But until then, she’s going to keep these feelings hidden.

  She continues to speak.

  “Our strategy is to launch synchronized attacks against the hideouts of the Fenrir sect in the Cult of Diablos scattered throughout the capital. At the same time, we’ll search for traces of Princess Alexia’s magic. Once we locate her whereabouts, we’ll switch plans and prioritize her rescue.”

  Shadow nods, silently encouraging her to keep going.

  “Gamma will handle tactical commands. Lady Alpha will command the battlefield, and I will serve as her assistant. Epsilon will lead support from behind, and Delta will ambush them, marking the beginning of our entire operation. The troops will be formed by…”

  Shadow raises his hand, stopping short her detailed explanation.

  He’s holding a letter.

  “An invitation,” he adds, flicking it behind him.

  Beta catches the sheaf of paper, which he urges her to read.

  “This is…” She trails off, shocked and angered by the crass message.

  “Send my apologies to Delta…but this prelude is mine to perform.”

  “Yes, we’ll make sure that happens.”

  “Come with me, Beta.” He turns to her. “Tonight, the world will find out who we are.”

  Beta trembles with joy upon knowing she gets to fight beside him.

  The ransom note brought him to the forest path deep in the woods. Shadow makes his appearance in his school uniform, close to where Princess Alexia was abducted, and Beta covertly lurks a short distance away from him.

  It only takes a little while before he senses two energies approaching.

  Something flies in his direction, which he catches in one hand and glances at.

  “Is this…Alexia’s shoe?” he mutters.

  And then they appear—two men on the path.

  “Hey there, chick magnet. What’re you doing with Princess Alexia’s shoe?”

  “Ooh, and it contains traces of magic. You’re the culprit, Cid Kagenou.”

  Both are in the armor of the Knight Order. There’s no doubt they’re the ones who interrogated him before.

  “I see. That’s what you’re trying to do.”

  The men unabashedly sneer at Cid’s words.

  “If you’d cracked sooner, we wouldn’t have had to get in this mess.”

  “You could’ve gone through it without getting messed up.”

  The two wield their swords and brazenly close the distance separating them from Cid.

  How stupid… Beta can’t find the words to describe their idiocy.

  “Okay, Cid Kagenou. You’re under arrest for the abduction of a princess.”

  “Don’t fight back. Struggling will get you nowhere.”

  One of them haughtily chuckles as he thrusts his sword toward Cid.

  “Hmm?”

  But Cid has stopped the blade with two of his fingers. Then, there’s a flash of light as his right foot grazes the man’s neck.

  Blood subsequently erupts from that exact location.

  There’s an ebony dagger sticking out of Cid’s right shoe.

  “AAAH… Agh…augh!!” The knight drops to the ground, clutching his neck.

  He’ll die in time.

  “You bastard!!” His partner panics and tries to slash Cid, but his attack is too simple and careless.

  Cid dodges by tilting his head, then literally swipes the man off his feet, leaving him empty below the knees.

  “Aaaaaaaggghhhhh!!” shrieks the knight as
blood gushes from his thighs, which he clutches. “My…my leeeeegs…!”

  He starts crawling away from Cid.

  “D-don’t think you can get away with hurting the Knight Order, you swine…! I-if we die, you’re gonna be the first one they suspect!”

  Cid leisurely treads the man’s trail of blood and draws closer.

  “E-eek…! I-it’s over for you…! Over…!” screeches his prey, desperately and fumblingly dragging himself across the ground.

  “When dawn breaks…they’ll find the corpses of two knights.”

  “Y-yeah! Come morning, it’s game over…!”

  The man inches forward. Cid follows his bloody path.

  “But you don’t have to worry anymore.”

  It’s at that very moment the fool realizes that Cid is behind him.

  “Eek!”

  There’s a flash of light from Cid’s right leg.

  “Because when dawn breaks…everything will be done.”

  The man’s head is flung into the sky, and Cid turns around, blood raining down on him. Beta shudders at the sight.

  But Cid is no longer there in his school uniform.

  Instead, there’s Shadow, head to toe in ebony. Adorned in an inky bodysuit and boots, he holds a black katana in his hand as his coat sways in the breeze. His hood hangs over his forehead, hiding the upper half of his face. Only the lower half sees light. It’s as if he’s wearing a magician’s mask, where the only real visible parts of him are his mouth and the red eyes peering out from the darkness.

  After nearly fainting upon seeing his commanding and arresting silhouette, Beta hastily retrieves The Chronicles of Master Shadow from between her breasts and draws a rough sketch of the scene. Next to it, she records his utterings from that day. And voilà. All this takes but five seconds.

  On an unrelated note, these drawings and lists of his catchphrases comprise the wallpaper in Beta’s bedroom. Writing a new entry in The Chronicles of Master Shadow every night before bed brings her one of her greatest joys in life.

  The roar of a distant explosion drags her back to reality.

  “Is that Delta…? Nocturne has begun. Let’s go, Beta.”

  “O-okay! Coming!”

  Beta stuffs the notepad back into her cleavage and dashes after him. And, of course, Shadow is totally unaware that she’s done any of that in the first place.