Chapter 288 : Vortex (3)
Chapter 288: Vortex (3)
One thing was certain: to Lian Gwendil, the Imperial Knights were a group tied to him only through ill-fated enmity.
Even in his previous life, they had relentlessly pursued him for years under the command of Velita, who had become the Emperor at that time.
If he had not met Berenistella, it would not have been strange if he had died much earlier—their pursuit had been unimaginably persistent.
In public, there were even mocking voices claiming that since the Imperial Knights were a place where the sons and daughters of nobles gathered, they were merely flashy on the outside and laughably incompetent once you looked beneath the surface.
But think about it logically.
If the Imperial Knights had truly been nothing more than glitter on the outside, would they really have been able to guard the Imperial Household and the Imperial Family for hundreds of years?
Without exaggeration, if one were to name the most powerful groups within the Empire, they would certainly be among those counted on one hand.
That was the Imperial Knights.
Not only that, they were just as persistent and relentless as the Agents.
In his previous life, among the countless people who had hunted him down, there had been a reason Lian had placed them on the same level of danger as the Agents.
Above all, looking only at the final outcome—were they not the very ones who ultimately captured and killed the former Lian?
Because of that, Lian could not help but become extremely tense and wary upon hearing his name come out of their mouths.
“……”
As Windime had instructed, Lian suppressed even the sound of his breathing.
Fortunately, the magic she had cast seemed to block even one’s presence. None of the people here appeared to notice that Lian was standing right beside them.
“That can’t be.”
Windime snorted.
“That child is the Mastermind?”
“That is what the circumstances suggest.”
“A mere Academy student—one who has only just enrolled as a freshman—has carried out something this enormous. Is that what you’re saying right now?”
“…We are merely following orders.”
The man replied.
“Our personal impressions or doubts are unnecessary.”
“How impressive. To think a mere freshman could cause such a disaster… If a single freshman can do this much, why hasn’t the Academy conquered the entire continent already?”
Windime stared at him with cold eyes.
“What a ridiculous notion.”
“…Please mind your words.”
“You people must already know that child is my disciple. I had originally intended to keep it hidden, but halfway through I changed my mind and deliberately spread the word that I was protecting him.”
She bared her teeth as she spat the words out.
“And yet you dare to come to me, threaten me like this, and even use my disciple’s safety as leverage.”
“That is not the case.”
“Not the case? You came fully armed, carrying restraints capable of subduing Mages and Priests, and surrounded me.”
Windime smiled faintly.
“Did you really think that if enough of you gathered together, you could handle someone like me?”
“…My apologies. That was not our intention, Lady Windime. Please forgive our offense.”
At the man’s gesture, the others stepped several paces back.
Even so, the pressure emanating from Windime remained extremely ominous.
“Well then, go ahead and try to persuade me.”
She said coldly.
“If you fail, I’ll have to issue an arrest order myself—for the crime of smashing the Imperial Knights.”
“Yes.”
The man began explaining in his calm voice.
“First of all, regarding this incident… as you said, Cardinal Bruyant was deeply involved. It was an act carried out independently by certain factions within the Holy Sun Church… Our investigation has confirmed that several individuals who did not support him were imprisoned or killed.”
He added:
“One representative example is Cardinal Bernard, who came to the Capital together with Cardinal Bruyant. It seems he had already been murdered. The circumstances suggest Cardinal Bruyant was responsible.”
“What a mess.”
Windime snorted.
“Then investigate their internal conflict. Why drag my disciple into it? Because he belongs to the Holy Sun Church, so you decided to rope him in just in case?”
“No.”
The man answered.
“We discovered the name of the Gwendil Count family—his family—within Cardinal Bruyant’s confidential documents.”
“…!”
At those words, Lian’s body flinched.
“Furthermore, Cardinal Bruyant had contacted him several times and had even met him alone to speak.”
“There is a strong possibility he served as a communication link between the two. Regardless, he cannot help but be suspected as an important party in this incident.”
“And above all…”
The man met Windime’s gaze with equally cold eyes.
“At the time the incident occurred, we secured multiple testimonies that he had been moving outside the Academy. Furthermore, at the entrance to the Underground Auction House—the epicenter of the incident—we were able to protect Princess Velita, and we also learned that Lian Gwendil had made contact with her.”
His expression remained emotionless, yet a faint, sinister smile seemed to appear at the corner of his mouth.
“Receiving secret orders from Cardinal Bruyant, contacting his family, heading to the epicenter of the incident on the very day it occurred, and making contact with Princess Velita of the Imperial Family… Would it not be stranger not to suspect him?”
He continued:
“So please hand him over now. If the investigation proves he has no charges, he will of course be released.”
A frame-up.
That was Lian’s immediate thought.
None of their words were lies.
Everything they said was technically true.
But they had taken those truths and forcibly assembled them together under the assumption that he was the culprit.
And above all…
“How truly impressive.”
Windime widened her eyes in apparent amazement and clapped once.
“I’ve heard the Imperial Knights were competent, but I never imagined they were this competent.”
Then she added, sounding genuinely astonished.
“The chaos has only just settled, yet you’ve already conducted such a detailed investigation and identified the culprit with perfect consistency. When exactly did you manage that?”
“……”
“Just collecting the testimonies you mentioned would take several days. How remarkable. Did you gather witness statements while fighting the mire creatures and the Revenants in the streets?”
At her sarcastic remark, the man pressed his lips together.
“…The fate of the nation was at stake.”
“Oh of course. I understand. It’s important. When the fate of the nation is on the line, you must find the culprit within half a day… no, not even that. Less than an hour, perhaps?”
Windime’s lips twitched as she mocked him again.
“Why don’t you replace me as an Archmage? Even someone like me—who can use Duplication Magic and teleportation—couldn’t possibly find a culprit that quickly.”
“…May I take that to mean you have no intention of cooperating?”
At his faintly threatening question, Windime smiled sweetly.
“Yes. I won’t cooperate.”
She spoke with the same smiling face.
“Try touching my disciple. I won’t stay still if you do. If there were clear charges or evidence, I might accept it, but this is nothing more than children’s make-believe…”
“We received an anonymous tip.”
“Then I’ll make a report with my name attached. The claim that my disciple is the culprit is nothing more than a clumsy scheme and a false accusation. Why not punish the one who brought that story instead?”
“Are you truly planning to oppose the Empire—the Imperial Household?”
“And you? Are you planning to oppose me?”
Windime slowly looked around at them with murderous eyes.
Every person she glanced at lowered their gaze in a hurry—except the man she had been speaking with.
“…Go find him. He couldn’t have gone far.”
“Who says you can move? Anyone who moves now will be crushed so completely there won’t be a trace left.”
At last, the man ground his teeth.
“If you continue like this, we will have no choice but to regard it as the Academy’s official stance. Must we truly drag the Academy into this?”
“So your failure to clean up your own mess, and deciding to pin everything on an innocent person and kill him—is that the Imperial Household’s noble will?”
“It is not only us.”
The man said.
“The Holy Sun Church will soon act as well. If we arrest him, he will at least receive a proper trial. You know well that the Holy Sun Church’s ‘trials’ are trials in name only—essentially executions.”
As the argument continued, Lian quietly began to think.
…Who?
More than fear, what he felt was confusion.
Looking at the entire chain of events, it felt as if someone had been targeting him from the very beginning.
No—it was certain.
This was not simply an attempt to frame him.
Whoever had been deeply involved in this incident had aimed at him from the start.
…Then who?
Velita?
No. It wasn’t her.
Lian was certain.
She wasn’t the type to use such crude methods. She preferred subtle, quiet schemes—methods that made the one caught in the trap surrender willingly.
This rough and disorderly tactic was not her style.
And above all…
There was no way the way she had charged at the Man without a Head, shouting about her older sister’s death, had been an act from the beginning.
Then who…?
While Lian was deep in thought—
“I believe Lian’s older brother is a member of the Imperial Knights.”
“…That is correct.”
“Then is he also under investigation?”
Windime asked.
“Answer properly. Without hiding anything.”
“…Currently, Princess Velita is insisting upon the innocence of Artiac Gwendil and Lian Gwendil. She is also claiming that he saved her life. Furthermore, she requested to witness Artiac Gwendil’s interrogation, so only a brief questioning is being conducted—what are you doing?!”
The man, who had been speaking unconsciously, suddenly tried to stand in alarm.
But Windime moved faster and pointed a finger at him.
“Whose. Orders. Were they?”
“The Second Prince ordered it, and we do not know the details. And the original report itself was—stop!”
A vicious cracking sound rang out.
The man had stabbed his own hand with a dagger he had drawn.
“…Breaking free from Suggestion through pain. Not bad.”
Windime shrugged, seemingly unconcerned.
In truth, she had already heard enough.
“Yes. Just as I thought—you needed a scapegoat to take the blame for everything. And that scapegoat was Lian. Perhaps even his entire family.”
Windime muttered to herself.
“Whose idea was it? The Holy Sun Church? No… the Imperial side wouldn’t start it first…”
She paused before nodding.
“…Right. Someone in the Imperial Household must have been working with Bruyant. But now they’re afraid the flames might spread to them, so they’re pinning everything on the already-dead Bruyant while dragging others into it for their own purposes.”
Having reached her conclusion, she said:
“Go ahead. Try to take him.”
If you can.
She whispered.
“But first, you’ll have to kill me… And tell me—are you truly more dangerous than two Dragons?”
Despite Windime’s chilling warning, no one moved.
Even the knight speaking with her could barely remain standing under her pressure.
“……”
In the midst of it all, Windime cast a quick glance—one only Lian could see.
It meant: leave.
Right now.
Yes… first I should escape…
Then—
Then what should he do?
“…?!”
At that moment—
Someone suddenly grabbed him.
It was none other than Berenistella.
“Shh.”
She whispered.
Despite her sudden appearance, no one else seemed to notice anything strange.
Only one person had noticed.
Windime.
“….”
But she showed no reaction.
Instead, she blinked twice as if urging them to hurry.
“…Thank you, Windime.”
Berenistella whispered.
“Let us go.”
Before her words had even finished, the scene before Lian’s eyes changed.
The world surrounding him shifted as well.