Symphony for the Insect Princess

Under everyone's questioning gazes, York clicked his tongue, then sighed deeply, looking a little haggard.

"I started to have doubts when I first saw the way my father died. Now that I've seen Anhans' body and his heart dug out, I'm basically certain... Everyone, please return to the hall."

He said this and led the way back. The rest of the people looked at each other, but immediately followed him.

"besides,"

He suddenly spoke again.

"Everyone, please keep an eye on Molly. She is most likely the murderer's next target."

"what!?"

Molly was startled when her name was suddenly called. She looked around in panic, as if the murderer would jump out from the shadow of the column and kill her in the next moment. Lux frowned and asked York, "Don't be so mysterious. Why don't you explain it immediately? What is the murderer's purpose?"

"...It's Saklorish."

York almost muttered the strange term.

But everyone's eyes widened, even more shocked than when they found their father's body.

"Wait... York... This is not a joke..."

"Am I kidding?" York's tone was filled with impatience. "'Sakrolish', which means 'great secret treasure' in Dragon language, one of them has been hidden in this manor for hundreds of years!"

Chapter 11 Treasure

"Saklolish".

In Dragon Language, "Sark" means "ultimate, most noble, greatest", and "Lolish" means "deeply hidden treasure, secret, key element".

Taken together, they are often referred to as the "Great Secret Treasure" by the world. As the name suggests, it is the most precious treasure in the world, bar none.

There are many valuable things in the world, and there are also quite a few amazing treasures, but none of these things is "generally recognized" as the most valuable.

For example, an endless supply of gold coins may be of infinite value to the common man, but to the ascetic monk, it is just dirty, smelly metal; a divine bow that can shoot down stars may be a perfect artifact for an archer, but just a pretty decoration for a swordsman. It's just like that: one person's most precious treasure may be just decoration or even garbage to another.

But there is only one thing that can definitely satisfy everyone's wishes, and that is the "Great Secret Treasure".

It has a special property that is almost miraculous and no one can explain its principle.

That is, "when it is not obtained by anyone, it will remain in an amorphous state. Once it is obtained by someone, it will become whatever the owner wants and take shape according to his wishes."

If a swordsman obtains it, it can transform into a peerless divine sword. If a poor person obtains it, it can transform it into the world's rarest jewel. If a person suffering from a serious illness obtains it, it can transform it into a panacea for all diseases. It is so omnipotent. Even more amazing is that the objects it transforms into will actually have the corresponding effects. If it becomes a divine sword, it will not only have a gorgeous appearance, but also truly have divine power.

That's why everyone in the world is attracted to it.

No one can truly say how many great secret treasures there are in the world. All that is certain is that they are extremely rare. Once discovered, they are seized upon by everyone from the lowest thugs to the highest royal relatives, unleashing a bloody storm. The few known owners of these treasures are either the royal families of superpowers or the most powerful individuals at the pinnacle of the pyramid, such as sages and war emperors. Any mortal who obtains them will only bring untold disaster.

Precisely because the Great Secret Treasure was so valuable... its existence was no secret to anyone. Any magician or mage warrior had undoubtedly heard of it, and even ordinary people unrelated to magic would have heard of it through word of mouth, invisibly magnifying its value.

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"Yes, you heard it right, and I'm not making things up. There is a great secret treasure in this mansion, and it's ownerless."

York's voice echoed in the hall, and everyone else listened attentively, creating a strange sense of oppression that made York feel uncomfortable.

Generally speaking, once a great secret treasure is owned by someone and shaped into what that person wants, it will remain in that state for a long time. Even after the owner's death, it will take at least a hundred years for it to return to its unshaped state. Therefore, an unowned great secret treasure is more precious than a shaped great secret treasure. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the truly most precious thing in the world.

If you were to say how precious it was…if its existence were to be exposed, the Kingdom of Allen, a small country with only a few hundred years of history, would probably be destroyed in no time. Not to mention neighboring countries, even those world-class masters who have been reclusive would probably be scrambling to get it.

To everyone present, the ownerless secret treasure was simply a legendary existence that would never be seen, but now they were suddenly told that it was within reach.

"This...this...York...I'm a little confused...but, why?"

"Don't stutter, Lux. I already said it's true."

"Why don't we know?"

"The only ones who know... are the heads of the three major families in this land."

As he spoke, York glanced at Molly.

Molly Zane blinked and immediately panicked.

"Wait a minute! I...but I don't know anything...Father didn't mention it at all when he passed the position of Patriarch to me!"

"I believe you're not lying... Maybe Earl Zane thinks you're not mature enough and wants to wait until you're a little more mature before telling you. Maybe he gave you the position of head of the family so early just to train you in advance."

"Then, then, Anhans also—"

"He probably doesn't know either, for the same reason as you."

"So... But, York, how do you know this?"

"I'm the future head of the family, and my father seems to have recognized my abilities, so he told me this secret without hesitation... But don't overthink it. I only know that the great secret treasure is in this manor, but my father hasn't told me the exact location. Maybe he still has concerns."

"Um..." Surprisingly, the person who raised her hand was Nia. "...I'm a little curious. Can you...tell me more about it?"

"Actually, I'm a little interested too..." Lillian also spoke. She still looked very scared, but her concern for the sudden appearance of the great treasure seemed to overwhelm some of her fear.

Everyone looked at York with burning eyes. York hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and compromised.

"Now is a critical moment, so I'm forced to reveal the existence of the great secret treasure... Well, now that we've come this far, it doesn't hurt to reveal a little more. Over three hundred years ago, when the Kingdom of Aaron gained independence from the neighboring great power, our ancestors of the Zelah family traveled extensively to quell unrest and stumbled upon the existence of the great secret treasure in the underground ruins of Falling Moon Valley. The ancestors of the Forion and Zane families also made the discovery. Fortunately, they were all rational people, knowing that rashly revealing this item would bring disaster, but they were also unwilling to hand it over to the royal family and give up this treasure, so..."

"So...we hid this secret together?"

"The great treasure is hidden deep within this manor, and a barrier has been added to seal it. To keep it in check, the key to unlocking the barrier has been divided into three parts, passed down through the heads of the three families... I'm sure you've all wondered why Zelah's direct descendants live in such a remote place? Why is this suburban manor considered so particularly important? Why are even your biological mothers housed within the city (Author's note: The Kingdom of Aaron allows high-ranking nobles to have multiple legal partners), with only direct descendants allowed to reside there?"

““““““…”””””””

"Originally, these matters would only be passed on from the previous patriarch to the next. My disclosure would be considered a serious offense. However, after what happened, I had no other choice. Everything I did...was to stop the murderer, or even force him out."

"Force it out...Brother York, you probably haven't shared the most important information yet, right? What is this so-called 'key to open the seal'?"

"Nelris... you're quite perceptive. That's right, and here's the key point. Molly, when Earl Zane passed the position of head of the family to you, there must have been a ceremony or something, right?"

"Ah, yes! It's said to be a traditional investiture ceremony, but it's just a formality..."

"During the ritual, is there a step like 'touch your left chest with something' or something like that?"

“This… ah!”

Molly thought about it for a moment, then something hit her.

"Using the family cane, held by my father, and lightly touching his left chest, it seems to indicate that he is taking the obligation of 'making the family prosperous' to heart."

"That's the key, the heart."

“““““…Huh?”””””

"It's the heart," York pointed to his left chest. "The key to the seal exists in the form of a magical seal. It's not somewhere else but branded in the hearts of successive family heads, passed down from generation to generation."

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"When my father died, his heart was dug out. I already had my suspicions. And when I saw Anhans also lost his heart, I was basically certain... The murderer's ultimate goal is the great secret treasure. He wants to collect the hearts of the three family heads, kill all of us, and unseal the great secret treasure."

York said so.

And "he" had to try hard to pretend that he knew nothing and suppress the anxiety in his heart.

hateful!

Damn, damn, damn!

That's right, he didn't destroy Crafa's body at the beginning in order to set up this trap and deter everyone. A body alone would not allow York to determine "his" true purpose.

But...but what about Anhans?

That’s right, although he didn’t do it himself, it was indeed “he” who killed Anhans.

However, according to his own plan, Anhans's body with its heart dug out should also be destroyed!

Why are you still lying there?

The body of Crafa alone was certainly not enough, but with the body of Anhans... it was enough for York to understand everything!

(Damn it…)

Chapter 12 The Long Night (Part )

"So, Brother York, what should we do now..."

"Everyone, gather in the hall. No one should leave. Hold your ground. The murderer can only be one of us. Everyone, keep a distance and keep an eye on Molly to ensure the murderer has no chance to take advantage. The Harvest Festival lasts only three days. The murderer doesn't have unlimited time. When the deadline approaches, the murderer will either force an action and reveal his identity, or give up. Whichever possibility, as long as we hold our ground, ensure no mistakes, and persevere to the end, everything will fall apart."

Very negative approach.

But it is indeed safer.

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hateful.

Damn, damn, damn!

"He" was gnashing his teeth in secret.

The result was the situation that he least wanted to see.

Yes, every step you take is accompanied by risks, and yes, mistakes can happen at any time.

However, two parts of the plan - "destroying the body of Shadow Servant" and "destroying the body of Anhans" - all went wrong, and these two steps were set up by himself to confuse them and cause chaos.

Is someone sabotaging this? No, that's not right! If the plan were leaked, I'd be stopped from the start. There's no point... Wait, could it be—

Black eat black?

There are other people like me who know that there is a great treasure in the mansion and want to reap the benefits -

(No, that’s not right!)

If I fail, then that person will also fail. If that person really wants to rob me, he shouldn't hinder me. Instead, he should help me secretly, right?

It's a self-contradiction.

Excluding that, that is...

(Tsk… As expected, is that the problem?)

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"The Flame General serves at the door, dispelling evil with his flames and washing away filth with his heat... Seal and protect with the Flame Spirit!"

Clusters of flames were evenly distributed on the four walls of the hall. Although they were flames, they appeared to be frozen like ice.

This is Chloe's magic, which can defend against any external enemies approaching the hall, and can also respond quickly to emergencies in the hall.

"drink!!!"

Ellen swung her greatsword vigorously at each door, as if venting all her anger. However, the flashes of her sword didn't destroy the door, instead leaving silvery streaks on it. This was a special skill that temporarily stored her slashes on the door, injuring any enemy who touched it.

Now everyone was gathered in the hall, each sitting in their chosen seat with a small pile of things in front of them.

They had to stay in the hall—which meant they couldn't leave. So, they had to at least bring the most basic necessities here. To that end, everyone gathered together and went to each person's room one by one, taking the shortest distance possible. Each person, under everyone's supervision, took a few daily necessities from their own room. It took quite a while, but it was worth it.

Everyone still kept a certain distance, was wary of others, and hardly talked to each other.

York and Lux ​​sat relatively close to each other, at either end of the long sofa on one side of the hall; Lillian and Nia huddled in the corner, pressed close together, with Nia still hiding behind Lillian. Lillian held on to the cushion she had brought out of the room, her face looking very bad; Chloe sat cross-legged by the main entrance of the hall, keeping a wary eye on others while confirming whether the barrier was in place; Ellen sat on the sofa near the inner door of the hall, with her sword leaning against her hand; Nellis sat on a chair on the other side, fiddling with her "personal belongings".

"Woo...Woo..."

Molly, the most likely next victim, huddled in a ball in the middle of the hall, watched by everyone else. The fear of being killed next and the pressure from everyone else had worn her down, yet she couldn't sleep. She could only shiver and glance around, looking pitiful.

Maintaining this state, time passed by minute by minute, and the atmosphere became very heavy.

The two strongest men, Allen and Chloe, were in extremely bad moods. Allen was still very anxious, constantly stroking the hilt of his sword, and looked like he wanted to dismember the murderer immediately to vent his anger; Chloe was at the other extreme, her eyes were very gloomy, and even the movement of checking the barrier looked mechanical.

The completely different auras released by the two people made the atmosphere even worse.

York's eyes wandered over everyone, but he didn't notice anyone with a strange expression... or rather, almost everyone looked strange. He wanted to say something several times, because everyone's nerves were too tense, and doing so would only add to the fatigue. However, York didn't know what to say to ease the atmosphere, so he had to give up.

(Um?)

York's gaze paused when it moved to Nelris, and he suddenly felt a little strange.

(Nelris...what...?)

The silver-gray-haired girl still sat upright in her chair, but she felt a little different. York couldn't put his finger on what was different, but he just felt... she had become...

(…?)

York suddenly felt someone fixated on him for a long time. He followed the feeling and saw that it was Lillian. He was about to ask what was wrong when Lillian's face darkened and she immediately turned her head away.

(What the hell… seems to be hesitant to speak… Never mind, just ask.)

"Lillian, do you have anything to say?"

"—!"