Chapter 208 : Chapter 208
Chapter 208 - The Second Magic Teacher
A tea time with Raymond, a high noble and one of the Three Generals of the Empire.
It was not a particularly comfortable atmosphere. This was because it was an interrogation disguised as tea time.
"The moon was quite bright last night."
"I wouldn't know. I fell asleep without even having a chance to look up at the moonlit night."
"Despite that, I heard you were quite busy last night."
"Did your attendant say that?"
The Youngest Son's bloodshot eyes turned toward David, who was standing behind Raymond. The eyes of a Millesdusk blood relative were naturally fierce, so the attendant instinctively lowered his gaze.
Since the situation he had reported was what it was, he even lowered his head following his gaze.
"I have nothing to say other than that I am truly sorry for last night..."
The Head Maid was right. The romantic tension between a man and a woman was above unspoken rules. Raymond also did not particularly dwell on last night's deviation. Therefore, the Youngest Son also did not go out of his way to escalate the matter.
"That's enough. I just hope you'll be a bit more careful from tomorrow night."
"Yes, yes."
David bowed his head once more, and Raymond touched his teacup.
"Since he was merely following my orders, I hope you will generously forgive him."
"There is nothing to forgive. If you look at it, I didn't do anything right either. Moreover, because of such a deviation, I am even receiving such a misunderstanding."
The reason tea time was formed out of the blue. The reason one of the Three Generals was in this spot even while delaying his entry to the palace.
"I heard something quite pleasant happened last night."
"It is quite so for Millesdusk."
"Right. It must be quite embarrassing for the palace and quite irritating for Wisdom. I am in a good mood from the morning because of the good news I heard for the first time in a while."
"I am glad to hear that, but you, Young Son, must know our position."
"I know very well."
Answering composedly, the Youngest Son drank the tea Raymond had prepared.
He had been thinking since a while ago, but the tea was quite aggressive.
The taste, which changed quickly in his mouth like the weather over the sea, made him not get tired of it. Like the scent and taste of this tea, Raymond also changed his expression in an instant.
"Now is the time, Young Son."
"What do you mean?"
"A confession."
The corner of the Youngest Son's mouth lifted.
"A confession?"
"If you tell me everything you did last night, I will make sure you suffer as little damage as possible, considering the current relationship between Wisdom and Millesdusk."
At those words, the Youngest Son put down his teacup and laughed.
"We were just talking about the awkward meeting between David and me. Have you already forgotten?"
"Of course, you were in this mansion last night, Young Son. But just because you are here doesn't mean Millesdusk is not outside."
"I don't understand what you mean. Your attendant must have personally confirmed that the delegation was in this mansion last night."
"Young Son. I am one of the Three Generals of the Empire. Do you think I wouldn't know the strategies and the nature of the Great Families?"
The Youngest Son erased the smile from his lips. Instead, he leaned his back comfortably against the backrest.
"What do you want to say?"
"Last night. A murder case occurred at the library where Wisdom's group had set up camp. They were overwhelmingly crushed without hiding their power."
"I wouldn't know. I haven't been to that scene nor seen the state of the corpses."
"That's why I brought it."
As Raymond finished speaking, David pulled a cart in from outside. However, it was not a food cart for carrying food. The blood relative's sensitive nose told him so. Furthermore, the white cloth on the cart meant only one thing.
"It is one of the corpses from the scene. Since the cause of death for all the corpses was identical, it seemed there was no need for multiple specimens."
"Interesting. Are you planning to use this corpse as a pretext to frame me as the culprit? Even if you don't struggle like this, I will face His Majesty."
"A pretext like a bet no longer works. If a crime has been committed, one must be punished. Whoever it may be."
Raymond, who jumped up from his seat, pulled back the white cloth in an instant. The pale corpse that had been hidden inside was revealed.
However, because its appearance was so hideous, David turned his gaze away. Only the veteran soldier Raymond and the blood relative from the East looked at the corpse calmly.
"How is it?"
"Well. Are you asking me to raise it as an undead? I can do that."
"The murder. How do you think this corpse died?"
"Why don't you ask the coroners instead of me?"
"I am curious about your opinion, Young Son. There are many things for me to judge as well."
"......"
The Youngest Son looked into Raymond's eyes for a moment. The blue pupils, resembling thunder, were unshakable. He was indeed a man as straight as an arrow.
"Phew. Right. I will play along with the farce."
The Youngest Son stood up after finishing his tea. Approaching the corpse, he scanned it from top to bottom with his bloodshot eyes.
"There is no place without a hole. Blood must have leaked out through these holes. He must have died without being able to put up much resistance."
"Yes. It must have been so. The problem is how these holes were made."
"It doesn't seem to be sorcery."
Raymond also agreed with the opinion of the direct blood relative of the East.
"Yes. It is not a form of sorcery. If it were a curse, there should be a mark on the corpse, but there is nothing of the sort."
"Then is it not magic?"
"If it were magic..."
The Youngest Son spoke composedly.
"The pure magic of these Wisdom guys."
Since sorcery or curses are violent powers, it was difficult to care for the state of the corpse.
But magic was different, and that's why he gave his opinion. However, seeing those narrowed eyes, it seemed he had been dismissed.
"Was there no trace of the culprit at the scene?"
"Surprisingly, there was none."
"What a great fellow."
"Such a great fellow is an object that must be excluded for the Empire."
Raymond's gaze turned toward the Youngest Son.
"A massacre occurred within a week of letting Wisdom and Millesdusk into the capital together."
"They are not even Imperial citizens. Is it something to care about this much?"
"That is the final line that should not be crossed. Before that final line, the culprit crossed the line of the location."
The location was the Imperial Capital. It was one of the many libraries in the capital.
"Furthermore, a library is a public place, a place no different from the main road outside."
"That's a leap in logic."
"That is not for you to judge, Young Son."
Raymond gestured to David. The attendant once again covered the corpse with the cloth and left. The room naturally became a place for only the two of them. Raymond let out a long sigh.
"Just don't get caught."
"Caught with what?"
"With anything. Don't let it catch my eye, don't let it reach His Majesty's ears, and above all, be careful of Leo."
"Are you talking about another of the Three Generals?"
Raymond gave a small nod.
"He is a man more suited to be called His Majesty's guardian knight than one of the Three Generals."
"The Family Intelligence Department calls him a fanatic."
"......"
He remained silent but did not deny it. General Leo. He is a knight who is called His Majesty's most faithful sword and possesses the highest honor.
But his loyalty was excessive enough that even other Three Generals briefly dismissed him as a fanatic.
Because of such loyalty, he was able to possess a sword even in front of the Emperor, but there was no doubt he was an unpleasant man.
Raymond continued.
"Recently, Leo has been watching our family. To be precise, he is watching you, Young Son, who is within our family."
"Watching me? Why?"
"...Are you asking because you really don't know?"
"Fine, fine. I can't even tell a joke."
The Youngest Son, who laughed without a sound, said.
"Thank you for the advice as well. With this, you must have something to report. You interrogated me diligently but gained nothing. Something like that."
"...A case that will remain unsolved anyway. I am merely adding as much flesh as possible. Because I cannot submit a report without even a single suspect."
The suspect shrugged his shoulders until the end.
"Right. I will be your suspect for today. The tea was good."
The Youngest Son turned his head one last time before opening the door to leave.
"I will provide a donation."
"A donation?"
"Isn't a library a storage for knowledge, regardless of the books inside? I will provide funds, so rebuild it."
"No than—"
Clatter—
The Youngest Son went up to his room without even listening to the answer. As he did so, Enad was having the same thought.
[That soldier fellow. He is certain that you are the culprit. If you had dropped even a single strand of hair, the entire delegation would have been finished.]
"I suppose so."
The Youngest Son nodded in agreement. He had not left any trace at the scene, but the gaze focused on him did not vanish. Rather, it became even more intense. Since the fanatic knight of the Empire was openly digging into his back.
[Those guys called the Three Generals. Can you win?]
"Well. I'll have to fight to know."
[Seeing you answer so vaguely, it seems your win rate is over sixty.]
"I have no intention of engaging in a power struggle with the Three Generals for now. What we have to do is engage in a battle of wits."
Just as Millesdusk had attached itself to Raymond, Wisdom had attached itself to another of the Three Generals.
To Kunkan, the last of the Three Generals except for the fanatic knight.
If he could just erase that link, the Wisdom delegation would be a well-baked turtle.
A turtle with a shell as weak as it can be, which would break with just a few taps. To do so, there was something to do with the prisoner he had captured last night. It was a kind of game.
***
"Do you want to 'play Sein' as well?"
At the words whose meaning he could not understand, he narrowed his eyes.
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"Sein taught me magic in exchange for his own life. In the end, because I even awakened the magic of the Ice Dragon, he ended up in this state."
CRACK—
The spatial artifact opened, and a robed figure walked out.
"S-Sein..."
Tolan, who was of the same collateral branch, saw a very familiar face and friend. It was Sein of the Ice Chain. Sein, who had become much paler than when he last saw him, had skin as cold as the freezing he handled.
"If you win, I will release you from here. Along with your roommate next to you."
"If I win, does that mean if you've acquired telepathy magic?"
"Yes. We can even decide the time by mutual agreement. For your information, for Sein here, it was one day."
"...You awakened the Ice Dragon's magic in just one day? How am I to know if you just learned freezing magic, broke your promise, and killed him?"
The Youngest Son gestured to the Head Maid. She wordlessly untied the binding that bound Akiell's hands and feet.
"I, I am..."
Ignoring the roommate who was quietly asserting his presence, Akiell stood up on the plastic. The Youngest Son spoke.
"Whether you believe it or not is up to you. The problem is that you have no choice. Since I am the one giving you even the chance to knock on the coffin."
"......"
"Tell me. How long did it take you to awaken telepathy magic?"
"...It took a week from theory to basic use."
"Then I'll set it at two days for you."
Since the time left until the bet with the Emperor was about that much, it was perfect for passing the time.
"Two days...?"
It was the time the Youngest Son had declared for the acquisition of telepathy. However, it took less than ten seconds to provoke the anger of Wisdom's telepathy genius.
"If you're going to play around, at least try to be creative. A provocation that doesn't arouse even a sliver of interest is just laughable."
"I don't know what kind of evidence I should show to interest you. But if so, how about this."
Crack crack crack—
He created an ice rose identical to the one he had given the Princess on his hand. At that single flower, the mage's mouth momentarily stopped. One flower was enough to make his mouth hang open, but what should be done to make his eyes widen?
"I can't show you anything great because outside Imperial citizens shouldn't detect my mana waves, but I can do something like this."
He brought his hands together to form a bowl and put red chill inside it. The role of the hands became two batons following the bowl. They pointed to the direction the chill would go and controlled it. The chill soon gathered into red snowflakes and soared through the air like a kite on the wind.
"I know this kind of thing is quite difficult."
"......"
"Is this not enough to provide at least a minimum of proof?"
Poof—
He gathered the snowflakes into a ball and burst it in the air. Following the warm outside, snow fell into the warm interior. It was a red snow that was truly ominous.
This red snow, which must have been Sein's gambling hand, had been lost to the Youngest Son.
However...
"I will teach you that telepathy cannot be gained through luck."
"That is what I was hoping for."
The Youngest Son smiled. It was the smile that Sein had also seen just before he died.