Crazy Like a Fox

Chapter 6

Even amidst this, her lips curved up dutifully as if smiling were a habit ingrained in her body.

“You two, leave.”

Lucife pointed indifferently at Jekyll and Rodges and then immediately gestured toward the door. Jekyll reacted immediately. The knife and fork in his hand were placed silently on the plate, and he stood up.

“I will take my leave, Father.”

Lucife didn’t even respond to his eldest son’s farewell. His eyes turned back to his second son, who was still seated. Rodges’ reaction was a beat slower. He slowly set down his utensils but did not rise from his seat. Instead, he stared at the king without blinking.

“Is there a reason you’re suddenly moving up the succession to the throne?”

“Because my death is imminent,” Lucife answered simply.

Lisbelle was inwardly surprised by his words. Had the illness already progressed to that extent? Throughout the meal, her father had shown no signs of discomfort whatsoever. He handled the tableware smoothly and seemed to have no trouble chewing or swallowing his food. If the disease that was causing his body to harden like stone had already progressed to the point where it couldn’t be treated, he wouldn’t be sitting perfectly fine like this.

Lucife coldly rebuked him, “I have nothing more to say to you. Leave.”

Lucife had essentially dismissed his second son. Rodges still hesitated. His deep blue eyes briefly met Lisbelle’s.

Why is he acting like that? He must have lost his mind… However, now didn’t seem like the time to worry about Rodges. After all, their father hadn’t told Lisbelle to leave.

Rodges stood up slowly and walked away at a steady pace, neither rushing nor dawdling. Now, only Lucife and Lisbelle were left at the table.

Lucife’s gaze fell on his only remaining daughter. Lisbelle looked anxiously into her father’s eyes, then suddenly realized something. He had not moved his body even a little bit during the meal, aside from his hands and mouth. His elbows, shoulders, chest, and waist had remained strangely motionless—and perhaps his lower body too... It might indeed be true that his death was not far off.

Lucife spoke quietly, “Who do you think it will be, Princess?”

Who do I think it will be? Is he asking which of the princes, Jekyll or Rodges, I think will become the next king? Lisbelle briskly pushed her chair back and stood up. Quickly, she hurried to the head seat of the table with light steps.

“I really don’t know about that.”

The king remained silent, watching her.

“I just want to live in this beautiful castle for a long, long time. Until my hair turns white, yes. For a very long time…”

Her words were truly sincere. Lisbelle embraced her father’s neck and kissed his corpse-cold cheek. Despite her face showing no sign of worry, inside she was rotting and crumbling. All I want is to live for a long, long time. There’s nothing else I wish for!

Lucife chuckled weakly.

“Unfortunately, my princess...”

Lisbelle looked at her father.

“...the grace period is over now.”

Her heart sank.

Lucife whispered softly, “You see, I don’t want to die yet. At least not before the dogs of the empire arrive.”

Lisbelle heard that quiet whisper very clearly.

“But… I cannot delay finding the child of the prophecy any longer.”

She remained silent.

“The child who survives among you will be the one to save me. The one who will rescue me, the strongest warrior of Valdimar.”

She was left speechless. Lisbelle realized in a flash that it wasn’t the throne that mattered. He never had any intention of handing over the throne in the first place. What mattered to her father was that the child of the prophecy—the strongest royal of Valdimar, the one who would survive until the end, the one who would heal him. So it was meaningless to simply hope that her two older brothers would not kill her.

Only one would survive.

Therefore, she had to become the one, the sole surviving royal at the end. The one child who meets her father’s needs! And at that moment, Lisbelle had another realization, one that hit her like a bolt of lightning.

She had misunderstood. The statement about handing over the throne after the delegation leaves wasn’t a declaration of the succession war that would follow the delegation’s departure. He’d meant before the delegation’s arrival, during these remaining few days—a little over a week, really. The succession war was set to begin from this very moment and run until just before the delegation arrived, spanning the next ten days.

“You resemble Lilah, princess. Do you want to live a long life?”

Lilah—the name of Lisbelle’s deceased mother.

Lucife laughed coldly. “If so, then kill your two brothers and become my only surviving child. I’m not sure if you can actually accomplish it, however.”

She remained silent.

“Still, I’m really curious about how long you can survive. It really pisses me off that you’re the spitting image of that insolent b*tch.” Her father’s last words pierced her heart, not her ears. “Whether it’s Jekyll or Rodges, I wish someone would hurry and take care of you soon, so I don’t have to see you anymore.”

In that moment, Lisbelle made up her mind. She had to escape. Pretending to be insane in the royal castle was no longer an option. There were ten days left until the delegation arrived in Valdimar. Two of the three siblings would die within that time.

* * *

As Lucife left—supported by a servant—his giant snake Igor slithered smoothly along behind him, leaving Lisbelle alone at the table.

She stared down at the cold piece of meat on her plate.

“Escape...”

I need to escape. But how? You can’t escape, Lisbelle, her inner voice whispered. The past four years were your final grace period. You can’t escape. You’ll be buried in this castle.

“No...”

Lisbelle was startled by her own voice that suddenly came out without her realizing it. But soon, she bit her lip tightly. Whether she stayed in the castle or was caught while trying to escape and dragged back, she would end up dying anyway. Whether by poison, having her throat slit, or a sword through the heart...

A fire sparked in Lisbelle’s blue eyes.

“Yeah... It seems no matter what I do, nothing makes a difference, huh?”

For a moment, a golden light flashed at Lisbelle’s fingertips, but she didn’t notice it. She ground her teeth. Since returning to the past, her sole guideline was clear: To avoid death, one must be prepared to die. To live, one must not fear death.

Even if I get caught and my limbs are torn apart, I should try to run away. Just as Lisbelle resolved to escape, the chilling sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath seemed to scrape against her eardrums.

She froze.

Without looking back, she could feel it. Someone was standing behind her, aiming a sword at the back of her neck.

“I didn’t really want to get your blood on my hands, you know. Lisbelle.”

Jekyll.

“It would be troublesome if you got scared and tried to run away.”

She remained silent, not that she could have made a sound even if she wanted to.

“Now that it’s come to this, it’s better to eliminate the bothersome ones first.”

That sneaky bastard. It had been less than half an hour since the meal ended, and Jekyll seemed intent on announcing the start of the succession war with her death. Lisbelle took a deep breath. Don’t be afraid in front of the sword. Don’t tremble. Her body, practically brainwashed over the years, obediently followed her command once more.

At that moment, light flashed from Lisbelle’s fingertips again. This time, however, she clearly saw it. What was that?

Jekyll, who was standing behind her, didn’t seem to have noticed it. He said mockingly, “If you hadn’t danced that dance, I might not have wanted to kill you. How did you even find out that your mother was a lowly dancer? Huh? You never even saw her face.”

Lisbelle knew that no answer would help her escape this situation.

“That dancer drove my mother to her death. You shouldn’t have reminded me of that.”

Now Lisbelle’s entire hand was covered in a golden glow. She half-listened to Jekyll’s voice coming from behind, absentmindedly looking down at her hand. The golden light was becoming increasingly intense and began overflowing from her palm. Lisbelle didn’t know what it was, but… Could I really be the madwoman protected by the goddess? If that was true...

Goddess Hellare.

“You probably don’t want to keep risking your life like this over and over again. I’ll end it quickly.”

Lisbelle tightly clasped her hands as they shimmered with golden light and prayed desperately.

Oh, gracious and merciful goddess who protects the continent… If it truly was you who bestowed this prophecy upon me, if you are truly watching over Valdimar, then please, don’t let me die like this again!

“Farewell. Beautiful sister.”