Chapter 48

Russell was well aware of Erez Bauter’s frequent visits to the palace, snooping around without any particular reason.

If left unchecked, Erez might start probing into things, looking for answers. It was better to proactively show him what he wanted to see, rather than let him dig around.

“And it would be even better if you could definitively determine whether the Miracle is influenced by control or not. Erez Bauter will likely try to verify both.”

“Considering he’s already caught onto the fake ability, he’s probably looking for an opportunity to confirm his suspicions.”

Aneta rested her chin on her hand, propped up by her elbow. As she seemed to agree with Russell’s plan, Carlos responded next.

“How do you plan to convince him?”

“We’ll use the assassins imprisoned in the palace. We’ll spread the word that they are the ones who temporarily sealed the Glories and that we are torturing them to extract a confession.”

This way, Erez will naturally be reassured that the Emperor and the nobles had wrongly accused others.

This was the scenario Russell aimed for.

“We’ll decide what to do with the assassins afterward.”

“I heard you promised them forgiveness if they confessed.”

“…That’s absurd. Are you seriously considering it?”

Aneta frowned, finding the idea impossible, and Russell responded with a gentle, overly kind smile.

“Of course. I made a promise.”

That merciful smile, which momentarily made the surroundings seem pure white, brought relief to Aneta.

‘Ah, the forgiveness Your Majesty is talking about is not the forgiveness I thought.’

It was a smile that one couldn’t help but realize the true meaning.

“By forgiveness, I mean I’ll grant them a peaceful death for their confession.”

As expected, Russell, with a face more holy than a statue in a temple, spoke of the assassins’ bloody fate.

That was the greatest mercy he could show them. After all, mercy is not something bestowed upon the wicked, but the righteous.

They do not deserve anything more than that. Russell openly displayed this belief.

Aneta closed her mouth, realizing her unnecessary worry. Her concern was never something she could direct towards Russell in the first place.

With the discussion concluded Aneta and Carlos stood to leave. They invited Serce, who had remained silent, to join them, but he declined, saying he had something to discuss with the Emperor.

After the two left the office, a brief silence settled in with the closing of the door.

Russell gulped down the now-cold tea and asked,

“So, you have something to ask me.”

Even without seeing his expression, it was easy to guess the question.

“I’m curious why you called me to this meeting.”

“I think I already told you why.”

“I don’t think that’s the only reason. After all, I belong to the noble faction.”

Indeed, informing a noble affiliated with the noble faction about such matters was risky. However, not all nobles within the faction opposed the Emperor.

For instance, Duke Hetchen, despite having the standing to lead the noble faction as the head of a Glory family, silently fulfilled the role of a servant.

Russell believed that Serce was no different.

“Well, it’s because I know, unlike the late Duke Raphaeli, you’re only nominally part of the noble faction and have reasons that prevent you from betraying this side.”

“And those reasons are…?”

“You probably don’t want to hear it directly from me.”

Without elaborating further, Russell gestured towards the seat where Aneta had been sitting.

Serce immediately grasped what Russell was implying.

“You intend to use me, then?”

“If necessary.”

The statement carried a blatant implication, more revealing than any direct affirmation. Seeing Serce’s furrowed brow, Russell smiled nonchalantly.

“After all, I believe in using whatever means necessary to achieve my goals.”

Such is the role of an emperor.

Hearing this, Serce could not help but lower his resistance.

“Understood. I will do as you say.”

Even if he refused now, he knew that if Aneta asked for help, he couldn’t deny her. There was no way to escape this, and he had nothing to gain. Serce gave the expected answer and left the office.

He headed straight to the main gate where his carriage awaited.

As he passed the knights standing guard at the massive doors, he saw Aneta and Carlos, who had exited the office earlier.

Watching the two board the carriage bearing the symbol of Adenauer, he was reminded of the event at the banquet when he repeatedly missed chances to be with Aneta.

‘Missed chances, indeed.’

When Aneta had acted impulsively, he not only failed to dissuade her, but he had also stood there stupidly without even following her.

Thinking that the situation could become more dangerous if the targets gathered, that was all he had done, like an idiot.

‘If it had been the Duke of Baltimor who was with Aneta, would he not have hesitated to make a different choice than I did?’

Serce felt a deep frustration, biting his lip as he watched the carriage quickly disappear into a mere dot in the distance.

***

Leaving Serce behind, Carlos and Aneta prepared to leave the palace and head to the same destination as usual.

Carlos naturally joined Aneta in her carriage, following Duke Baltimor’s carriage as they made their way to the Adenauer estate.

The scenery rushing by the moving carriage left only blurred after images like paint bleeding into the water. Aneta, staring absently at the view, suddenly realized how familiar this commute home from work with Carlos felt all too familiar.

During this time, Aneta not only learned meticulous control techniques with Carlos’s help but also discovered the limitations of the Miracle.

The first limitation she discovered was that to manifest the abilities of other glories, the original owner had to be present, and their consent was required.

Even excluding that, there were two more limitations. Aneta realized that the manifestation process consumed a significant amount of her physical and mental energy and that the Miracle’s power became unstable after sunset.

In the case of the former, she could only conclude that it was because she was manifesting two abilities simultaneously, but she had no guesses for the latter.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

For some reason, she had been unable to communicate with the Miracle since that first and only instance of contact—right before she realized its existence when she answered its question about wanting power.

‘Since then, I couldn’t hear the Miracle’s voice, not even a faint trace of its emotions.’

At first, she thought it was just due to her inexperience in handling the Glory. But now that her control skills had improved and she was interacting with the two glories more frequently, she realized this issue had nothing to do with her ability to control them.

The issue must lie elsewhere. She turned her gaze to the one watching her, seeking his opinion.

It was a somewhat impulsive decision.

There was no need to deliberately attract his attention. The moment she turned her eyes, she met his gaze, shimmering like fragments of the sun.

“Carlos, why do you think I can’t communicate with the Miracle?”

Aneta didn’t add anything further, but it was unnecessary for Carlos.

The golden eyes filled with clarity immediately grasped the true meaning behind her question.

“Perhaps it has been that way from the beginning.”

His calm voice flowed effortlessly as if to reassure her that it wasn’t a problem.

To avoid seeming overly confident or complacent, he quickly added further explanation.

“Since the Miracle exhibits unprecedented behavior, I think it’s a mistake to equate the Miracle with other glories. So don’t worry too much about it, Aneta.”

“…That makes sense. Thank you.”

Now that she thought about it, his words were right. The Miracle had always been different from the other glories. Aneta had been trying too hard to fit it into her existing framework of understanding.

It was her mistake.

‘Or maybe, without realizing it, I was hoping for it to be like the others.’

Aneta thought this as she tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear.

Meanwhile, the carriage had arrived at the Marquis’s residence, and as usual, they headed to the back of the estate rather than the main building.

Unlike the first day, the pavilion had regained its pristine white color. Simple snacks were laid out on the table, but neither of them paid any attention to it.

Aneta, who had received a Glory from Carlos, began practicing with a single pebble, as a warm-up exercise.

She manipulated it with the wind, pushing it back and forth, until it finally shattered with a small explosion, sending fragments flying.

Deflecting the irregularly bouncing fragments was part of the practice.

Following Carlos’s instructions, she blocked the airflow as if creating a barrier, causing the fragments to bounce back as if they hit an invisible wall.

Once warmed up, Aneta moved on to handling the Glorious Sky as per Carlos’s guidance.

He always emphasized developing more delicate control, rather than aggressive use of abilities.

He was fulfilling his promise to teach her the basics.

Aneta was enthusiastic about learning and put in a lot of effort, often to the point where Carlos would worry about her overexerting herself.

However, not everything was going as she intended. Aneta glared silently at the unyielding rock.

Her competitive spirit, underlying her drive for achievement, stirred within her.

‘Just a bit more. Just a bit more.’

Even though she knew she was reaching her physical limits, she stubbornly persisted, sweat beading on her forehead.

As it dripped down her chin, causing her to frown, Carlos lifted his gaze from her damp forehead to the sky.

The sun had started to dip, and cloud shadows drifted over it. As the surroundings suddenly grew dim, Carlos spoke.

“That’s enough for today.”

His voice signaling the end disrupted her concentration. It was then that the clouds blocking the sun parted.

The liberated light flooded the ground, enveloping Aneta in a formless, swirling crimson glow. Trapped by an unknown force, she could not move her body, and even her abilities slipped out of control.

Boom!

In an instant, an unbearable power burst out, shattering the rock that had been the focus of her attention into dust, with no chance to block the fragments.

Startled, Aneta’s wide eyes watched the remains scatter, and her legs soon buckled, losing strength.

It was Carlos, who had quickly moved to support her and keep her from falling.

His arms firmly wrapped around her waist and steadied her, but his eyes met hers with a lost, unsettled gaze. He was just as shocked as Aneta.

“Are you alright?”