Chapter 87. The Sealed Space

Aster observed the Duke’s reaction. It seemed the Duke hadn’t found Marco yet. This meant Marco hadn’t moved to a safe place.

If the Black Shadow couldn’t be mobilized immediately, they must be plotting something.

“Yes. I will do my best to search without disappointing you.”

Aster bowed as if he was pledging loyalty to the Duke. With Isabelle, one of the Duke’s wings, clipped and Black Shadow absent, he aimed to replace the broken wing.

It was the instinct of a villain to try to recover a broken wing with a new one. And the most suitable candidate was Aster himself.

Now, as the sole heir, he was sufficient to be the Duke’s reliable support. Though he didn’t believe the Duke would completely trust anyone. If he did, he wouldn’t be so quick to cast out Isabelle Brilly.

For the Duke, people around him were just chess pieces to be used.

So Aster planned to use him in return. Those who considered their opponents inferior often had many gaps. Just pretending to trust him was beneficial for Aster.

“Yes. I trust only you.”

The warmer the Duke’s smile is, the colder Aster’s blood felt. Leaving the study, Aster headed straight to Moss.

* * *

After receiving my father’s message, I arrived at Moss, unable to sit still and pacing around.

I was here to receive something I had requested earlier. To avoid the Duke of Blanche’s eyes, we had to meet in Moss instead of Francis Castle.

This shabby tavern frequented by commoners was perfect for avoiding attention.

Soon, a hooded man descended into the basement of Moss.

“Camilla.”

“Father!”

My father, removing his hood, smiled and embraced me. With the recent string of unfortunate incidents at Blanche, I had been avoiding official meetings with my father.

It was to prevent any fallout from reaching Francis.

My father got straight to the point.

“I’ve modified what you asked for. Now, all that’s left is to use it.”

“Is that true? I heard reassembling magic tools isn’t easy.”

“When it comes to magic tools, isn’t Francis the best? It was entirely possible with just some time.”

With that, my father handed me a small box. Inside were the whistle we had taken from the Black Shadow and a compass.

The two were connected with a long string, tightly intertwined as if they had always been one. It was a different type of magic tool from the pocket watch I had given Aster last time.

My father explained carefully.

“If the other party blows the whistle, you can track their location in reverse.”

“With this, we can find the Black Shadow’s base. They must be conducting the experiments under the Duke’s orders.”

“It’s dangerous, so use the knights of Francis. It’s fortunate the Duke’s movements are restricted.”

My father seemed pleased with the recent misfortunes that had befallen Blanche. After confirming that the Duke of Blanche had killed my mother for his selfish desires, he was practically a sworn enemy.

“Thank you for your help. I will definitely bring down the Duke. It seems the heavens are on our side, as the Duke of Blanche keeps making bad moves.”

“It’s karma coming back to him.”

It was when I was enthusiastically criticizing Duke Blanche with Father, the door opened. Aster entered.

“Father-in-law.”

“You’ve come.”

“You’re here?”

As I smiled brightly and approached, Aster lightly kissed my hand.

“It seems that the Duke has yet to uncover Marco Almand’s whereabouts.”

“That means he is still in the capital. With all the gates blocked by the Imperial Knights, it will be hard for him to escape.”

“He will surely seek help from his subordinates.”

“In that case, we can use this magic tool soon. The moment Marco calls for help, his location will be revealed to us.”

As I proudly presented a box containing a whistle, Aster’s face lit up.

“You’ve already completed this? It hasn’t been long since you received the pocket watch.”

“In Francis, this is nothing special.”

“That’s truly impressive, Father-in-law.”

As Aster praised him sincerely, Father’s shoulders rose higher and higher. Honest compliments like Aster’s had a tremendous effect on Father, who was weak to flattery.

The previously cold atmosphere had long since dissipated. Father, who had been furious at the time, must have realized that Aster had nothing to do with the evil deeds of Duke and Duchess Blanche.

We were in the middle of discussing our next steps when suddenly, the compass began to spin and point somewhere.

* * *

Meanwhile, Marco, unable to leave the capital, was moving somewhere. Whenever he saw the Imperial Knights, he hid behind pillars and held his breath.

The Imperial Knights were searching for him throughout the castle. With the gates of the Apelli walls closed by the Imperial Knights, it was only a matter of time before he was discovered.

‘How did they find out?’

Not even a full day had passed since the incident, and the Almand Merchant Group was already being searched. Unless someone had reported it in advance, the timing didn’t make sense. It happened almost at the same time with Paris’s events.

In his haste to escape, he hadn’t managed to bring the summoning device. It was impossible to break through the gates blocked by the Imperial Knights with his bare hands.

Unable to move, Marco decided to hide in a temporary shelter on the outer walls of the castle.

No matter how thorough the Imperial family was, they wouldn’t easily find the secret passage leading there. There was also a temporary summoning device there, so he could contact Duke Blanche.

“It’s still the same here.”

Marco, who had finally arrived, quietly looked around the closed laboratory. It had been sealed off ever since the experimental subject, which was on the verge of success, had escaped ten years ago.

After briefly scanning the large magic circle engraved on the stone floor, Marco hurriedly moved.

Although all the materials had been moved, traces of the experiment remained, emitting a strong stench.

Marco looked around to see if he could find the summoning device. He searched for a long time.

“Found it.”

Marco’s face lit up as he held the summoning device from the drawer. The Black Shadow used this whistle to communicate their locations. Duke Blanche must have already informed the Black Shadow that there was a problem with his safety. Marco blew the whistle.

Escaping alone was impossible, but the situation would change if his subordinates arrived. They could contact the Duke and resolve the current situation.

He just needed to get in touch with the Duke. While he waited with that hope,

Tap, tap.

The sound of an adult man’s footsteps echoed quietly. Marco tensed at the approach without any signal of recognition.

Soon, the person who appeared was none other than Aster Blanche. Marco couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Aster instead of his subordinates.

“Young duke?”

“…So you were here.”

Aster approached Marco with a sword in hand. Seeing his wary appearance, Marco was anxious about how he had been found.

Aster played it cool.

“I searched for a long time to find where you were hiding.”

“Did you really follow me all the way here?”

“I just wanted to talk to you in private.”

Aster let him believe that he had been followed. It seemed Marco couldn’t even dream that Aster possessed the Black Shadow’s whistle.

After all, there were no records of Aster and Camilla being on the cruise. Since all the Black Shadows on the cruise had died that day, it was even harder to find out.

Aster grinned and said.

“I had my knights secretly search for you as you were avoiding the Imperial Knights. I saw you passing by and followed.”

“What are you planning…”

“His Grace is looking for you.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Marco realize that Aster had been sent by the Duke and felt relieved. It seemed things had gone awry, and he had been brought in to help.

Aster, confirming that Marco’s guard was down, continued in a friendly manner.

“You must have been worried since we lost contact.”

“I couldn’t bring the summoning device, so I couldn’t contact you. I planned to do so once I reached a safe place.”

Aster looked around. The place was filled with a sinister atmosphere.

“You’ve found quite a place.”

“I discovered it by chance.”

Marco pretended not to know the place. He judged that a cautious person like the Duke wouldn’t have told Aster everything.

But Marco underestimated Aster. Aster had already realized that this place was the main site of the incident ten years ago.

‘They said it wasn’t far from where Camilla’s accident happened. So there was such a place hidden in the heart of the capital.’

Seeing the traces of experiments everywhere, it was certain. Aster planned to take Marco to the Duke first.

Only then would the Duke trust him and tell him about the experiment. Aster pretended to be uninterested in the place and led Marco.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Marco followed Aster without suspicion. Shortly after the two disappeared, Camilla’s party arrived at the laboratory. They had just captured one of Marco’s subordinates who had been summoned.