Chapter 12 Part 2

As Locus mumbled in confusion, still reading, the guild member patted him on the shoulder. ‘So you’ve got some connection to those kids too, huh?’ Even that attempt at comfort elicited no reaction from Locus, so the guild member shrugged and moved over behind the counter.

“Where is Tornado located?”

“It’s on the outskirts. If you head toward the northwest outer wall, there’s a point where you can go up a mountain path. I hear it’s not far once you get on that path. The road is maintained, so if you follow it properly, you’ll find it.”

Locus memorized those words, tossed a silver coin as a tip, and left the guild. The guild member, caught off guard by a tip exceeding his daily wage, stood there blinking in confusion before soon rushing off to share the news with his colleagues.

Because he had never needed to go to the northwest outer wall, Locus had no teleportation coordinates set up for that area. So, he simply grabbed any carriage near the marketplace and headed toward Tornado.

Holding the paper detailing information on Laen and Daien as if his life depended on it, he boarded the carriage to Tornado and read that not-so-brief document over and over again. He had never imagined that his nieces, whom he believed were safe, would be suffering somewhere unknown to him.

Having lost their parents at a young age, Locus and his older brother had naturally become vital to each other. Locus, who adored his brother more than anyone, couldn’t help feeling protective toward Laen and Daien, the brother’s daughters, especially since his brother had never once let go of Locus’s hand even after learning he possessed mana.

Perhaps it was because he saw himself in those girls who had lost their parents so young, or because they were the children of the brother he loved more than anyone, or maybe it was both. Locus himself wasn’t sure, but it was undeniable that he cherished Laen and Daien deeply.

“I should have noticed sooner, seeing Daisy Queenie use studying, napping, or picnics as excuses every time I tried to meet the children. I was foolish not to visit them often, using busyness as an excuse.”

Locus felt disgusted with himself for not knowing any of this until now, and he hated Daisy Queenie for deceiving him. She used him as much as she could, yet didn’t keep a single promise she had made. Overwhelming regret and surging anger paralyzed his reason.

“My lady, Mr. Tora from Tornado has arrived.”

“Huh? All of a sudden? Did something happen?”

Mr. Tora, who had hardly ever left Tornado, came directly to the mansion? Hearing that he, who usually didn’t even go to the market, had come all the way here, Garnet and I went to the parlor to meet him.

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Yes, my lady. We and the children are all doing well.”

I took a seat and served tea. Possibly because he came in such a hurry, his face was covered in sweat, so I offered him a handkerchief, which he accepted without refusal, catching his breath and wiping away the perspiration.

“What brought you here so urgently? If you had sent a letter, I would have dispatched a carriage for you.”

“I felt I had to inform you as soon as possible, my lady. There are knights there, but just in case…”

Something has happened that requires the royal knights to move? It was surprising enough that someone significant had arrived in such a remote place, but it was even more puzzling that there was no sign of anxiety or nervousness on Mr. Tora’s face as he spoke about it.

I didn’t know what was going on, but if something was serious enough to mobilize the knights, it seemed best for me to go in person. When I signaled to Garnet with a glance, she caught my meaning and left to prepare the carriage.

“Let’s go together once the carriage is ready. Is it urgent?”

“The knights said they would like you to come, my lady. They also said it would be best if you could arrive as soon as possible.”

“What exactly happened? Was there an attack?”

Word might have gotten out that Tornado shelters children with mana? Maybe someone ordered an attack… It sounds absurd, but considering the imperial citizens’—especially the nobles’—fear and hatred of mana, it’s entirely possible.

If it were an attack, I was mentally listing potential knights to dispatch around Tornado, but Mr. Tora, looking flustered, waved his hands.

“Goodness, an attack? No, that’s not it. A stranger showed up at Tornado, and the knights are blocking him from entering.”

“A man…?”

Tornado was built on the outskirts of the capital. Since the surrounding forest and mountains enclosed it, it wasn’t an easy place to find unless someone specifically followed the road leading there. That was precisely why I’d been able to hide the children there. Yet now, a stranger had shown up.

If he’d taken a wrong turn on the mountain path, the knights would have handled it without issue, but from the look of things, that wasn’t the case.

“Do you know why he came to Tornado?”

“We asked, but… he didn’t answer. And he won’t be able to right now, either. The knights knocked him out and tied him up.”

Mr. Tora’s eyes shone with complete confidence in the knights, which made me laugh despite the situation. As royal knights, they handle these matters better than anyone, so there had been no need to worry. Feeling more at ease, I offered Mr. Tora some tea and waited for Garnet to return.

“We’ve arrived, my lady.”

“Ugh, reading documents in a moving carriage is pure torture.”

“You’re not feeling nauseous, are you? If you feel unwell at all, please let me know anytime.”

Looking into Garnet’s concerned eyes made me feel like a five-year-old child, and I couldn’t help but smile. I stretched widely and took Sir Teran’s hand as I got out of the carriage.

“You’ve arrived, my lady.”

“I thought we wouldn’t meet this time, but I’m sorry it had to be under unfortunate circumstances.”

Even though they had subdued the intruder, the knights’ faces still showed genuine regret. I quickly shook my head. Beyond them, I caught a glimpse of a man tied to a tree.

“It’s not your fault at all. Rather, I should be the one thanking you.”

“There’s actually one more problem. We managed to subdue him, but after learning his identity, we realized we couldn’t decide his fate on our own.”

“His identity?”

Since Mr. Tora hadn’t mentioned anything about it on the way, it seemed he didn’t know either. Was he someone important enough to warrant a grand word like “identity”? The man, tied tightly to a tree and still unconscious, looked just like any typical citizen one might see in the marketplace, so I tilted my head in confusion.

“In fact, I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to worry anyone, but he’s a mage.”

“A mage?”

Until now, the only mage I’d ever met was Tower Master Carib. Mages are fundamentally shunned by people; encountering even one in a lifetime is considered extremely lucky or unlucky. I never expected to meet another one so soon.

The royal knights are all selected through the royal examination, so if they say he’s a mage, that must be certain. But I still couldn’t fathom why he had come to Tornado. Like Carib before, had he sensed the children’s mana?

“How is he?”

“He’s only unconscious at the moment. He may be a mage, but he’s not especially skilled, so we subdued him easily.”

“I see……”

Hearing that he’s a mage makes it difficult to decide what to do with him. Part of me wants to find out why he came to Tornado, while the other half wants to hand him over to the royal palace as is.

There’s no guarantee this will only happen once, so now that we’ve caught him, I’d like to hear his motive. But my head spins at the thought that, if he somehow frees himself and starts casting spells, what then?

“Why did that mage come here…?”

“We tried to talk to him a few times, but he kept his mouth firmly shut… We haven’t learned anything.”

“He seemed to ignore us entirely, as if his only interest was Tornado.”

“Hmm… Would it be dangerous to wake him up now?”

The two knights exchanged a look, then shook their heads. The mage appeared to be a man in his forties, knocked out in one blow, cleanly bound with no visible injuries. He had a gag in his mouth that looked quite painful, but given he was a mage, there was no helping it.

“We’ve blocked his mouth so he can’t cast anything, and we also tied him up further so he can’t move his hands. In fact, for a perfect restraint, we’d add more restraints on top of this, but…”

“‘He wouldn’t be in Tornado, right?’

“Yes, exactly. Plus, he doesn’t seem aggressive, so we just moved him here, away from Tornado.”

I looked down at the unconscious mage, feeling uneasy. Then I asked the knights to wake him up. Garnet, looking frightened, kept trying to pull me away, but I stood my ground and watched as he opened his eyes.

Forced awake, he blinked groggily, trying to make sense of his surroundings. Then he spotted me and his eyes went wide. Whether he recognized who I was or was just surprised to see a seemingly unguarded noble lady standing there, I had no way of knowing. His gaze didn’t leave me, and the others became even more wary.

“Please step back, my lady. It’s dangerous.”

I wanted to speak directly with the mage, but since both knights and Garnet stepped in front of me, I didn’t insist. Even so, his eyes continued flicking in my direction.

“Mage, what’s your purpose for coming here?”

“Are you registered with the Mage Tower? If you don’t answer, we’ll have no choice but to inform the guard—no, the authorities.”

Yet, in line with what they’d told me—how he hadn’t said a word—the mage stayed silent despite the knights’ attempts to coerce him into speaking.