I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy

Chapter 48

There were no visible flames, but the massive plumes of smoke billowing upward were unmistakable.

“Alicia, it looks like we won’t be able to have dinner out.

Let’s head home, and I’ll make us something to eat.”

Alicia glanced at the smoke and nodded.

“Y-yeah.”

Since she had nodded, there wasn’t much need for her verbal response, but that was just like her.

The clustered small buildings obstructed the view, making it hard to see what was happening.

For some reason, my hands and feet were trembling.

No, it felt like I’d experienced this before.

Something about this was deeply familiar, though I couldn’t place why.

Since earlier, I’d been plagued by a sense of déjà vu, as if my mind was slipping into madness.

Any moment now, I expected to hear something explode.

And as if on cue, the sound of a massive explosion rang out.

Alicia instinctively recoiled, taking a step back.

What happens next? What comes after?

My mind was foggy, as though enveloped by dark clouds, and I couldn’t recall anything further.

Was someone attacking us?

Or could it be a neighboring nation conspiring to raid the capital?

But with our military standing right in front of them, what would they hope to achieve?

Even if they succeeded, what then?

Killing the emperor wouldn’t change much—the country was already run by the nobility.

The emperor was just a puppet, and they’d replace him with another—perhaps a grieving, gullible son—to keep up appearances while retaliating against the surrounding nations.

No matter how corrupt and dysfunctional this nation was, its technology and manpower were far superior.

The explosion’s source appeared to be the restaurant next to the hotel.

But what could anyone gain by attacking here?

Sure, wealthy people gathered here, but…

“Ellen, I hear screams over there.”

Alicia stared, dazed, in the direction of the sound.

When I closed my mouth and focused, I could faintly hear the screams of many people.

These weren’t the cries of someone restrained and in pain—they were the panicked, terrified shrieks of a crowd. The sound sent chills down my spine.

“We need to return to the estate.”

There was no time to figure out what was happening.

I needed to find my parents.

With them, it wouldn’t matter if soldiers or unknown enemies approached—they’d handle it.

“Alicia, stay close to me.”

I hadn’t brought even a small blade, let alone a gun.

Who carries weapons while wandering around for leisure?

At least I wasn’t drunk. Not that I would’ve been, given that I was with Alicia.

The road to the theater was chaotic.

People fleeing from the fire ran in panic, some collapsing with partially burned limbs, begging for help from those around them.

“P-please, help me! Just help me up—I can lean on the wall and walk on my own! Please!”

Alicia looked at me, her gaze questioning.

As much as I wanted to act indifferent, I couldn’t let Alicia see me as anything less than a dignified, brave, and just older sister.

Initially, I considered leaving them behind. But when I hinted at the idea, Alicia’s expression darkened, and I had no choice but to relent.

I had to give her what she wanted—as long as it wasn’t too dangerous.

I helped a succubus who had been dancing outside the cabaret, wearing only her underwear, and aided others lying injured by the roadside.

“What’s happening here?!”

“The beggars and demons—they suddenly showed up in hordes! A-and my daughter… I left my daughter behind. I… ah….”

The man collapsed to the ground, utterly distraught.

After helping him up, seeing him fall again was frustrating. What was I supposed to do now?

A strong sense of unease told me staying here any longer would be dangerous.

After helping a few others nearby, I forcibly pulled Alicia, who was still worried about the injured, and started dragging her away.

When she resisted, trying to run back, I grabbed her by the collar with enough force to keep her in place and slapped her.

“Alicia, we might die here.

Julian and our parents might already be dying.

We don’t have time for this—stop whining and follow me.

You can blame me all you want later.”

“…Okay.”

We ran for what felt like ages before finally reaching the theater.

The building was partially ablaze, but the fire was on the outside.

Though it was made of stone and unlikely to burn completely, the flames could eventually spread to the wooden interiors, causing serious problems.

Inside, past the large entrance, would be rows of seats and private rooms, each equipped with a bed and table.

Our parents often dined on the third floor while watching performances, so they were likely there.

Though the building was burning, I told myself it would be fine.

Those two wouldn’t die.

They were the ones who had so mercilessly cut down countless others and raised me through their relentless discipline.

To me, they were almost like gods—rewarding those who pleased them and punishing those who didn’t.

Aside from the chancellor, who manipulated the emperor like a puppet, everyone else trembled before them.

I ascended to the second floor.

The fire was beginning to spread inside, but that hardly seemed to matter now.

From the third floor, I could see them. My parents were fighting against a group of attackers.

These must have been the assailants who started the fires in the capital.

Each one was armed, their weapons glinting in the flickering light.

My parents were surrounded.

My mother was already dead, a sharp wooden shard embedded in her neck as she lay beneath a bed.

My father, wielding a small blade—likely taken from one of the attackers—was desperately fighting back.

There was no escape.

Jumping from the third floor would surely break my legs, and breaking through those numbers without a weapon was impossible.

Would it be right to leap forward and try to help?

Even if Alicia and I went to their aid, what could two defenseless girls possibly change?

Judging by the blood pouring from his abdomen, my father had already been stabbed.

Could I even manage to get a wounded person and Alicia back to the estate safely?

But I didn’t have to make the decision.

Those people—those monsters—kindly erased my options along with my hope.

They doused my father with something from a bottle—alcohol or oil, I couldn’t tell—and then threw a torch. Flames engulfed him instantly.

The fire consumed the man who had ground me down with a single blade, taught me everything I knew, and shaped me into a proper member of the Speyer Family.

I had always thought that even if something like this happened to him, I wouldn’t feel anything.

After all, he had always seemed like someone who wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed.

Though I never understood why he was so soft with Alicia.

To me, my father was nothing short of a god.

He was a god who granted rewards when I pleased him and dealt out horrific punishments when I displeased him for reasons I often didn’t understand.

He was an idol to be worshipped and emulated…

They call a creature that toys with dinosaurs, drops meteors when bored, drowns humans, and sets them ablaze a god. If that’s the case, why shouldn’t my father be called one?

When a person burns, the flames first consume the outer layers, but the human body isn’t as flammable as one might think.

The heart pumps blood vigorously through the body, and as long as some strength remains, the person screams, writhes, and struggles against the flames.

Once the flames subside, leaving behind tattered clothing and revealing the skin beneath, it’s pale—almost unnaturally so.

I couldn’t tell if it was because the outer layers had peeled away or if the white was bone.

The muscles cooked by the fire caused the fingers to stiffen, curling into claws, and the body to hunch like a cat’s back. All that remained was the faint hissing sound of air escaping.

If the fire had been stronger, it would’ve burned the body to a crisp, leaving the posture intact. But with just oil or strong alcohol as fuel, this slow, horrifying end was inevitable.

In the end, my father wasn’t a god—he was just a man.

A man who died when set on fire, bled out when stabbed, or suffocated when hanged.

It wasn’t just him; countless others were enduring horrific fates.

Most of the women were being assaulted, while the men were burned alive or forced to kill their wives with their own hands.

These attackers weren’t acting with some grand purpose or lofty ideal.

They were filled with rage and had simply found targets to unleash it on.

It was grotesque and repulsive, but for most people, such scenes invoked terror.

I was no exception, nor was Alicia.

Even without saying a word, it was clear from our pale faces that we were terrified.

Alicia was sobbing silently as she clung to me, watching what was left of our father, his lips faintly moving even in that charred, pitiful state.

I held her close and began descending the building with her in my arms.

The streets were a nightmare.

To describe them as “a mess” felt almost insulting—like the term fell laughably short of capturing the horror.

What made it worse was the eerie familiarity creeping in.

For reasons I couldn’t understand, the unfolding reality felt… normal.