Chapter 29

The path back from the audience with the Emperor was already shrouded in darkness.

Convincing the Emperor to allow her to join the capital investigation had taken a considerable amount of time, as His Majesty initially refused.

Black magic is often called a curse. A horrifying curse that clings like a shadow for life and only disappears upon death.

‘I don’t know why, but I’m the only one who can sense the aura of dark sorcery. If I go, I can quickly eliminate the group.’

“……”

Silence accompanied the darkness.

Tonight, the absence of chirping insects made the walking path feel even quieter.

The only sounds were the occasional rustling of leaves in the wind and the faint shuffling of footsteps.

Eched, whom she glanced at briefly, had his lips pressed into a firm line.

His tightly closed lips were stubborn. It was as if he was silently protesting, demanding that his feelings be understood.

She didn’t bother to speak to him. Except for her own awareness of his mood, the distance between them felt the same as usual.

‘Don’t mind it.’

She repeated this thought to herself, but before she knew it, she found herself sneaking glances at Eched. His piercing gaze was unsettling.

The wind blew.

Though it was spring, with summer just around the corner, the nights were still cold in the western continent, where winters were long.

Sniffling, she crossed her arms to maintain some warmth.

When another gust of wind made her shiver, something heavy draped over her shoulders. It was Eched’s knight uniform, which always carried the faint scent of sunlight.

“……”

Eched, standing in front of her, silently fastened the coat around her. He buckled the collar and buttoned each button, one by one.

Though he still looked angry, his hands fastening the buttons were incredibly gentle.

As he bent down to secure the lower buttons, his face was so close that she could smell his scent more strongly, making her tense up.

She counted the thick lashes framing his eyes. As she stared at his silver irises, he suddenly lifted his head, and their gazes met.

In that moment, the events of the masquerade ball flashed through her mind.

The warmth of his soft lips, the firm chest she had felt beneath her palm.

Startled, she flinched and shrank back. Her face burned as if it might explode.

“Are you alright? You seem feverish.”

Eched reached out to touch her forehead, but his hand stopped abruptly in front of her face. He then stared at his hand in silence.

The thick gloves he wore were clearly unsuitable for checking someone’s temperature. After a moment of contemplation, he began taking them off and held them out.

However, she had no free hands to take them. Her body was tightly wrapped in his coat.

“Ah…”

Eched, noticing her awkwardly staring at him, let out a short sigh.

“It’s fine.”

She wriggled her arms out from the coat. Since it was oversized, her hands were hidden inside the sleeves, making gloves unnecessary.

After another stretch of silence, Eched escorted her to her bedroom and left without hesitation.

Watching his retreating figure, she realized she hadn’t returned his coat.

Having no choice, she hung it on a corner of her room and prepared for bed.

That night felt unusually long.

No matter how much she tossed and turned, sleep wouldn’t come.

When she finally managed to drift into a light slumber, someone spoke to her.

[Is it that painful?]

The soft voice sounded as though it was mocking her. Irritated, she replied.

‘Someone died because of me. How could I not be in pain?’

[Well. Do you really think that person died because of you? Don’t you think it was their fate all along?]

‘What? What do you mean by that?’

Startled, she asked, but there was no reply. Instead, a faint bell chimed, and the scene changed.

She saw Mesh entering a shop in a basement.

The interior of the shop was filled with a dark, damp atmosphere.

‘I heard about this place. They say you sell potions here.’

The shopkeeper smiled faintly, nodding, and soon brought out a bottle filled with blue liquid. Strange symbols were engraved on the cork stopper.

‘You’ve come to the right place. This is the potion of love. Just one drop will make anyone fall in love with you.’

‘Potion of love…’

Mesmerized by the shimmering liquid, Mesh bought it without much thought.

He tucked it carefully into his chest and left the shop.

The woman who drank the potion-laced tea fell under the influence of dark sorcery. Mesh died by her hand, and she died by her own. It was a tragedy.

[That person was destined to die. It just happened a bit earlier. So, there’s no need for you to feel guilty.]

Who are you? Who’s showing me this?

But no words came out, so she couldn’t ask.

The scene shifted again.

This time, it was a dark space lit by a single torch. Anella was tied up there.

Ah, she finally realized what this was. It was a scene from the original story.

But something was strange. In the original story she knew, Anella was safely rescued by Orgon.

However, in the scene unfolding now… someone was draining Anella’s divine power, taking her life.

As she thought she met the eerie eyes of the perpetrator, she woke from the dream.

It was dawn.

Only about an hour had passed since she fell asleep.

‘Why…’

“Why…?”

She bolted upright. Her heart raced, and her sweat-soaked body felt clammy.

The original story had changed.

Anella was going to die.

She had just seen the future.

‘Who showed me this?’

Though confused, the urgent matter was Anella’s imminent danger.

She needed to contact Anella or Orgon immediately. If this was related to dark sorcery, there was no safer place than the temple where they currently were.

To contact the temple as quickly as possible, she had to go to the Mage Tower, which had a communication device linked to the temple.

“Shaterian. Where are you going?”

As she hurried across the hall, Eched called out to her from the top of the stairs.

Ah, she had been in such a rush that she forgot.

Wherever she went, Eched had to accompany her.

“Eched, come with me to the Mage Tower.”

“The Mage Tower?”

“I need to contact the temple. Quickly, come down.”

Though she was in a hurry, Eched’s steps toward her were unhurried.

When he reached her, he looked at her flushed face and brushed aside her sweat-dampened hair.

“You couldn’t sleep until late. Are you unwell?”

His concern softened her mood, and she deflected the question.

“More importantly, I need to contact the temple. Anella or Orgon.”

“If that’s the case, there’s no need to go to the Mage Tower. Orgon should have an emergency communication device. We can contact him from the office.”

Eched calmed her frantic state and led her to the Crown Prince’s office.

Using the key provided by the butler, they entered and contacted Orgon.

—Terry? What’s going on at this hour…?

Orgon’s voice was drawn out, as if he had just woken up.

Through the communication screen, she could see Orgon’s face buried in a pillow.

“Orgon. Stay at the temple for two, no, three more days.”

—Huh? What are you talking about? Why all of a sudden?

“Not just you, but Anella too. Stay by her side.”

—Anella too? Did something happen?

Orgon, now sitting upright, looked serious.

Unable to explain, she shook her head slightly and pleaded.

“No, but… can’t you just do this for me?”

—……

After a long silence, Orgon nodded.

—Alright. If anything happens, let me know.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Relieved that he didn’t press for reasons, she ended the communication.

One hurdle was cleared. Now, the only remaining task was to capture the dark sorcery users.

Thanks to the dream, she recalled a detail from the original story that she had forgotten.

There were two shops selling auction tickets.

One was the northern shop where Mesh bought the love potion, and the other was the eastern shop Orgon discovered while searching for Anella.

The auction house sold all sorts of stolen and illegal goods, many of which were connected to dark sorcery.

She didn’t know how much of the original story had changed, but she planned to eliminate the cause entirely. To prevent Anella’s kidnapping from happening in the first place.

Lost in thought, she looked up and met Eched’s gaze.

When she asked why he was staring, he shook his head dismissively.

“What about the investigation team?”

“I’m thinking of going with Eurell Mon Pellinier and Taltos.”

Eched narrowed his eyes at her. He still seemed displeased with her participation in the investigation.

“A team of four should suffice, but we should station knights nearby. If we’re going to capture them all at once.”

Though she didn’t know how many were involved, the illegal auction house was the largest in the capital, so thorough preparation was necessary.

‘This is the perfect chance to root out dark sorcery.’

Preparations for departure went smoothly. There wasn’t much to prepare for a criminal raid.

She donned fitted trousers, a tunic, and a black robe. Finally, she strapped a dagger pouch to her right thigh.

Just as she finished, Eched knocked and entered. Without a word, he handed her a high-quality leather pouch. Inside was a dagger.

“It’s custom-made to fit your hand. The handle is embedded with a sacred relic, so it should be somewhat effective.”

A custom-made dagger with a sacred relic?

She accepted it in disbelief.

As he said, the dagger fit perfectly in her hand, making it easy to grip.

“You were so against this.”

“Now that you’re going, your safety comes first.”

He spoke with disarming nonchalance.

Feeling flustered, she coughed and strapped the dagger to her thigh.

“…Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

Why her face felt so warm, she didn’t know.