BFT | Chapter 22

Ulrich

Two days after the terrifying night visitor left, the queen summoned Ulrich. Ulrich headed to the palace with a satisfied smile.

Just then, as soon as the terrifying night visitor had left, he had begun the body-swapping spell. To make sure he never had to face the night visitor again, he had offered up nine infant corpses as sacrifices and gone two straight days without sleep to work the spell. The timing of the queen’s summons was perfect.

So my body-swapping spell has already succeeded.

"Arthur has changed."

The queen’s first words confirmed Ulrich’s suspicion. He forced himself not to laugh and plunged a hand into his skirt, pinching his thigh hard over and over.

"He acts perfectly normal during the day, then gets strange at night. Once it’s past eight in the evening, he locks himself in his room and keeps repeating odd things... He murmurs things like, 'Promise me, send me to paradise,' and prays all night long."

The queen wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

"The prince says it’s a prayer of atonement for his past sins... But to me, there must be another reason. Maybe the prince’s mind suddenly went askew..."

The maids standing in a row behind the queen all lowered their eyes at once. Like Ulrich, they were all trying their hardest not to burst out laughing. In this country, only the king and queen believed Arthur was nothing more than a mildly spoiled brat.

Ulrich took a sip of tea and said, "I’ll go see the prince now. I’ll observe his condition and then think about a treatment."

"Just in case, I’ve kept his hair here."

The queen held out a silk pouch. Ulrich snorted inwardly, but took it obediently. He already had more than enough of Arthur’s hair. A handful had been handed over when a noblewoman who bore Arthur a grudge commissioned the black-magic rite.

Ulrich had a different scheme in mind. The night visitor had seemed not to fully understand his explanation, but the heart of the body-swapping spell was, quite literally, swapping bodies. It would exchange that half-witted demon the night visitor had picked up with Arthur’s body.

If the spell succeeded, Arthur’s soul would be trapped for life inside the demon’s body. On the other hand, the demon would have to live on as Prince Arthur. Ulrich planned to control the fake Arthur and seize this country in his grasp.

Because the demon had pathetic magical power, there was no way he would disobey his orders.

All the way to Arthur’s quarters, the queen kept praising her only son.

"No one knows how proper he is during the day. His Majesty has been praising the prince more often lately too. In fact, the Bishop of Fyerd’s sexual harassment scandal only became public because the prince took such an active role."

"Of course."

Ulrich echoed her at the right moments, but inwardly he clicked his tongue. It was true that Bishop Fyerd had repeatedly molested boys from the choir, but compared to Arthur’s record of sexual assault, it was hardly worth mentioning.

"I can let other things go, but I can’t stand the fact that the prince is barely eating. It’s already been nearly two months since his condition worsened, and the crown princess only seems indifferent to her husband..."

Ulrich suddenly felt puzzled.

"Your Majesty, has it been nearly two months since the prince’s condition worsened? Recently... no?"

"No, it’s already been two months. How could I sleep with something like this on my mind?"

Ulrich was greatly disappointed. So Arthur’s strange symptoms were not caused by the spell, but by the worsening of a mental illness. Then again, it was unlikely the effects of the body-swapping spell would show up within just a day or two.

As they neared Arthur’s study, Ulrich flinched. Catherine MacBain was walking toward them from the opposite corridor. The queen’s maid was the maternal cousin of the Duchess of Portsmouth, who had been murdered by the black-magic rite Ulrich had carried out.

The moment Catherine saw Ulrich, her expression twisted. Ulrich hurriedly pressed himself close behind the queen.

"Arthur, are you in there?"

The queen said this as she entered Arthur’s study. Arthur was standing by the window, looking outside. The queen approached him.

"I heard you barely ate breakfast again today. Do you know how worried I am about you?"

Only then did Arthur turn around. Brown hair, green eyes, and a face covered in freckles made him look less impressive than a knight’s squire. Yet the instant Ulrich took that shabby face in, a huge shock ran through his whole body.

No way... That is...

A black, skull-like shadow was drifting over Arthur’s face. It was a mark that appeared only on those who had willingly offered their soul to an evil spirit.

That can’t be the spell I cast... What is going on?

Suddenly, Prince Arthur shot him a glance. Ulrich let out a gasp and stumbled backward. Deep within Arthur’s green eyes, a ruby-red glimmer was swirling.

Arthur, who had been staring at Ulrich for a moment, gave a slight smile.

"You old hag, so you were the one playing tricks? Thanks to you, these past two days have been a real nuisance."

"Arthur? What are you talking about?"

The queen tilted her head, and Arthur looked at her as if she were hopeless.

"That old hag, isn’t she a famous witch? To keep company with a witch who worships demons, Mother, you’ve committed a sin even worse than Bishop Fyerd’s. Hand that witch over to the Inquisition right now..."

Before Arthur could even finish, a horrifying scream erupted. The queen spun around in alarm, only to see Ulrich bolting out of the study. Screeching incoherently, "Agh, please forgive me, I never knew, I never knew," the witch ran wildly, stepped on the hem of her skirt, slipped, and tumbled head over heels down the stairs.

"Oh my!"

The queen, who rushed after him, gaped. The old witch sprawled at the bottom of the stairs with her neck bent at an unnatural angle and her tongue lolling out. The queen, the maids, and the servants all stood speechless for a long time, stunned dumb. Then suddenly, snickering laughter burst out.

"Pwahaha!"

Catherine MacBain pointed at Ulrich’s corpse and laughed uproariously.

"At last, the witch who had bewitched people for so long is dead! If humans won’t punish her, then heaven itself will do justice!"

The queen’s face turned bright red. Catherine’s sharp words were aimed at the queen, who had long supported Ulrich. The queen wiped her face with her handkerchief and hurried over to Prince Arthur.

"Why would Ulrich suddenly... I really have no idea what on earth is going on, child."

"Who knows."

The beast replied with a smile.

"Maybe she annoyed someone."