Volume III

Chapter 5. Enemies All Around

The commotion in the banquet hall was officially concluded as an attempted poisoning by heretical fanatics, and Adelia was reported to be in need of rest due to weakness, though her life was not in danger.

After the great disturbance brought by the Emperor and Crown Prince passed, Adelia’s palace finally found peace.

“At last, it’s quiet.”

Adelia sighed deeply and pulled back her covers. She hopped down from the bed in light indoor clothes.

The navy lace on the chest and the flower decorations at the waist of the dress that revealed her shoulders fluttered gently.

Adelia walked steadily toward the window while stretching her arms up high.

The bedroom, now empty of people, was extremely quiet. In the bedroom darkened for rest, only bright moonlight filled the space.

The unusually round moon illuminated the room brightly.

“I should go check soon.”

Adelia approached the terrace attached to the room. Opening the large glass window led to a cozy terrace large enough for three or four people.

The terrace, which offered a panoramic view of the most beautiful garden in the imperial palace, had a tea table and two chairs, surrounded by clean marble railings.

She placed her hand on the spotless railing and leaned her head out.

The lukewarm summer night breeze gently caressed her cheeks.

Adelia’s gaze, seemingly fixed on the air, was directed toward the sparsely populated imperial forest.

“There must be a hole over there.”

A thin golden thread stretched from the banquet hall to the imperial forest. It was the trace left behind from the white magic Adelia had left on the suspicious man.

The traces grew fainter as they moved away from the banquet hall.

“Better to struggle a bit than leave thick traces that might catch someone’s attention.”

The traces gradually became unclear as they passed outside the palace. Only faint traces remained toward the center of the capital, and it was such a small amount of magic power that the traces would disappear when leaving the outskirts of the capital.

“They wouldn’t be stupid enough to set up a base near the palace. Seeing how they come to our guild regularly, they can’t be too far away. Perhaps in the commoner district’s slums?”

Adelia muttered quietly while staring out the window.

The capital was quite vast. Centered around the imperial palace in the middle, it was surrounded by the noble district where aristocrats’ townhouses and luxury shops were located.

And behind that, moving further from the palace, there were the middle-class district where wealthy commoners gathered, the commoner district where ordinary people lived tending to their fields, and finally the slums where poor imperial citizens and those without citizenship gathered in order.

“Someone who sets up a base in the capital and even sends spies to the banquet hall……”

There were countless people who despised the Eileen Merchant Guild, but if you consider those who could send someone to the banquet hall where the saintess was, the scope narrowed considerably.

The most likely suspects were the imperial faction and noble faction aristocrats.

“Because of the Eileen Merchant Guild, all noble merchant guilds have lost their momentum. They’re outwardly flattering while seething with anger inside, so they certainly have a motive.”

But they had no power. If any force capable of opposing white magic had emerged within the empire, the shrewd imperial family would have noticed.

Even if there were others who possessed power, the haughty nobles would be even less likely to pledge loyalty to such a person. Only the imperial family stood above the nobles.

“Then…… revolutionary forces or the hidden mastermind?”

Adelia tapped her fingers on the railing as she thought.

The revolutionary forces opposing the current imperial family rejected the Emperor who had ascended to the throne through bloodshed. Their position was that they couldn’t accept someone who had taken the throne through unjust means.

However, after the current Emperor seized power, the empire became more prosperous, and the revolutionary forces were no longer threatening.

“Though the relationship isn’t friendly, they have no connection to the merchant guild, so it’s not the revolutionary forces……”

Then all that remained was the hidden mastermind.

But it wasn’t time for the hidden mastermind to appear yet. In the original story, the hidden mastermind obtaining white magic happened at least four years later.

Nothing related to the hidden mastermind was supposed to happen around this time.

“Or…… is there a force I don’t know about? I don’t know of any forces targeting the white mage.”

Even if there were forces opposing white magic, there was no way to know.

Information about the final hidden mastermind was revealed late in the original story. Until then, their identity remained shrouded in mystery. Even about white magic, the original story only briefly mentioned how to obtain it, with little substantial information.

“Calligo Bellium Silentium.”

The king of Silentium, whom she thought couldn’t be a threat, surfaced in her mind.

She had thought that without white magic, he was no different from the revolutionary forces.

“Maybe I should learn more about the King of Silentium in advance. Even a toothless tiger’s bite still hurts.”

Once the King of Silentium became a suspect, Adelia’s mind began working even faster.

The first thing to consider was the motive.

The Eileen Merchant Guild hadn’t extended its reach to the Silentium Kingdom. While there was some hesitation because it was the kingdom where the hidden mastermind resided, the incompetent king, consumed by his anger, neglected his country. There couldn’t be any investment value in a kingdom turning into a lawless city.

The only connection with the King of Silentium was white magic.

“Come to think of it…… the original path to obtaining white magic was through an ancient book, right?”

The King of Silentium, who lived his entire life in anger towards the current Emperor, discovered one ancient book while gathering power. The book, written in barely understood ancient language, came into his possession by chance.

By truly coincidental circumstances, the King of Silentium was inexplicably drawn to that book and managed to translate its first line.

[Do you wish to obtain the powerful force inherited from the One who created everything?]

After that, the king poured all his efforts into translating that book. With various languages from different eras of each country mixed together, it required an enormous amount of time, money, and manpower.

“It probably…… took 20 years just to translate? Then the translation must be well underway by now.”

Just the cost of hiring scholars would have far exceeded several years of the kingdom’s budget, and it was a plan he had been pursuing for over a decade.

If someone had snatched away the white magic he had been searching for by investing so much time and money…

“I’d be angry too.”

Adelia muttered with a hollow laugh.

Why hadn’t she thought of this before?

She didn’t know exactly what was written in the book the hidden mastermind obtained. In the original story, the hidden mastermind had said something like this while looking at that book:

— Everything about white magic is in here. With this book, no one can defeat me when I become the white mage!

There was clearly more information than just how to obtain white magic.

The book’s contents might be even more extensive than the information that had flowed along with obtaining white magic.

While she had learned about the magic possible with white magic, information like its weaknesses had come from the original story.

“Could it be that the hidden mastermind gained power to counter white magic because that information was in the book?”

It was just a hypothesis that popped up randomly. But the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Adelia let out a deep sigh.

“If it’s true, this is really serious. I should call Kai soon.”

Kai, the Guardian of Light, might be able to bring new information.

Though he couldn’t say much due to the Guardian’s oath, she could get answers to specific questions.

Adelia stopped her tapping fingers.

“Let’s handle this alone for now. Going to see for myself is better than thinking about it dozens of times.”

Following the traces might lead to accurate information.

Adelia hopped up onto the railing, lightly perching on the flat, cold surface.

Her blue eyes, gazing into the distance, grew cold.

“Still, it’s fortunate that white magic is in my hands. It must be so powerful that even the hidden mastermind said no one could defeat the white mage.”

Numerous thoughts tangled in Adelia’s mind.

While she tried to reassure herself verbally, her inner thoughts grew increasingly twisted.

Should she assassinate the hidden mastermind before they grew stronger, should she strike first since the first strike leads to victory, should she raid their base right now?

As her inner thoughts twisted, a sneer bloomed on Adelia’s face.

Adelia quickly scanned the visible traces. She calculated in her head which direction to go, how much time it would take, and if she had enough magical power.

“Now that I’ve reabsorbed the magic I gave to the saintess, I have plenty of power. I can even stop by the merchant guild.”

Only after calculating that she would have enough magic and time to do everything did Adelia move.

Just as she grabbed the railing to leave—

“Where are you going?”

A familiar male voice came from inside the room.

Adelia hurriedly turned her head toward the voice. In the dark room, a beast’s red eyes gleamed ominously.