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chapter 11
Let’s rewind a bit to when Lirian was at the fountain watching the puppet show—
Lirian realized that “Moonlight Witch, Rose” wasn’t on the puppet show list and decided to stop watching midway.
Though she wouldn’t admit it, it was probably natural—after all, Rose wasn’t a very popular show, and hardly anyone would have watched it anyway.
Holding her father’s hand, she stepped out into the square and found it packed with people.
That was the nature of the fountain area where the puppet shows were held, and the glass dome area where the Dawn Blade was located.
“Let’s begin the consecration prayer.”
Especially near the main temple, the crowd was so dense that it wasn’t just a mountain of people—it was like an ocean.
The space was packed with people trying to receive the priest’s blessing or just to watch, leaving no room to move. It looked like countless ants trapped in a transparent jar.
“Lirian, you don’t have to watch, you know.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to.”
Lirian, however, wasn’t interested at all.
Though she had always been a curious child, fluttering around like a butterfly on the flower of curiosity, she had no interest in this. Caesar found it odd but respected his daughter’s wishes, so the two decided to return to the mansion.
At the time when everyone was most focused and gathered, the two who had chosen to go home instead circled around the alleys—and that’s when they happened upon something suspicious.
‘Suspicious. Very suspicious.’
They hid behind a wall simultaneously.
Lirian picked up her magnifying glass, a detective’s essential tool.
Through it, a suspicious scene was unfolding right before her eyes.
“Ugh, this is heavy.”
“Let’s move it quickly. We have to finish on schedule.”
Two strong men were moving several heavy sacks.
Up to that point, everything seemed normal.
But what if those sacks were wriggling as if alive?
“Hah, stubborn little things…”
Thud!
One of the men kicked a sack roughly.
Thud thud!
Not stopping there, he beat it as if taking out his frustration.
“Ugh…!”
A faint groan came from inside the sack.
The sound was weak enough to be easily drowned out by the surrounding noise, but Lirian, who had hearing far superior to ordinary people, recognized it.
“Dad.”
“I heard it.”
Lirian looked up at Caesar.
He sighed and nodded.
This was at least a kidnapping, and at worst, a human trafficking operation.
He pondered for a moment.
‘Better to leave this to the guards.’
Caesar didn’t want his daughter involved in such dirty work.
Just as he was about to tell her he would hand it over to an uncle he trusted,
“Rose is a villain who never backs down when facing evil.”
Her amethyst eyes seemed to pierce right through him.
“If you don’t know, that’s one thing, but running away when you do know is cowardly.”
“……”
“You told me, didn’t you, Dad? Always do what’s right.”
He let out a long sigh.
‘Caesar Ersioni, this kid…’
How had he raised a daughter so sharp and decisive?
He should have raised her to be a little selfish, cunning, and self-centered.
With a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair and knelt down on one knee in front of Lirian.
“You know what I always say. If you start something…”
“You must be able to take responsibility until the very end.”
Their identical eyes met.
“I can take responsibility.”
Lirian smiled confidently.
“And I have you, Dad. Because you’re here, I’m not scared at all.”
“…She’s saying exactly what Seran would.”
“Hehe!”
Yes, he’d lost.
Caesar surrendered.
With his daughter insisting she wasn’t scared because he was there, how could he say they should run away?
“Alright. I’ll take care of it.”
“Wait! Magic leaves traces in the mana waves.”
“Our daughter knows that too?”
“Detectives are smart!”
“Then what should we do?”
“Like this.”
Saying that, Lirian picked up a large stone from the ground.
For a moment, Caesar was taken aback.
With a swing of her right arm, fast enough to make a whoosh sound—
“Yahap! Go, stone!”
She threw it straight at the strong men.
The stone flew with a speed comparable to an arrow and hit one man squarely on the back of his head.
Thwack!!
“Ugh!”
He collapsed with a sound like a watermelon cracking.
“…Is he dead?”
Caesar seriously wondered how he’d deal with someone if his daughter became a wanted criminal.
Another man, realizing the situation too late, shouted,
“Who—who are you!”
Lirian didn’t hesitate and threw a stone at him too.
Thud! Thump…
“Finished!”
She shouted cheerfully and dashed toward the bloody scene.
Caesar thought seriously.
That strength, that speed, that accuracy.
‘Could my daughter become a stone-master someday?’
He smiled, thinking the proud parent thought at least once: My kid is a genius.
He didn’t care that there was a bloody scene in front of him.
“Dad, look here.”
“They’re unconscious. Hmm? Wait, this is…”
After untying all the sacks, they indeed contained people—twelve in total.
As Caesar checked them one by one, he noticed something on the arm of a man who seemed to have been beaten unconscious by the strong men.
“A sacred mark.”
It was proof that he had been officially ordained as a priest, confirming his affiliation with the cult.
He hardened his expression and checked the rest.
Three men, including the first, had sacred marks.
One could be a coincidence, but three? That changed things.
A group that valued affiliation above all else wouldn’t manage their followers so carelessly—especially by stamping them on people.
“Are all these people cult members?”
“I can’t be sure, but it seems so.”
Those without marks were likely trainee priests taken under the cult’s protection.
Usually orphans or those without anywhere else to go became trainee priests. They accumulated holy power through prayer, service, and spiritual training, and after completing a pilgrimage called “The Path of Trials,” they could be ordained.
If they survived the journey.
Every year, several didn’t return.
And two years ago, the Fifth Prince had been one of these trainee priests.
Caesar’s expression grew serious.
“We’ll need to investigate this.”
They had stumbled onto a bigger case than expected.
His gaze went upward.
The setting sun stained the sky red.
Then he turned back toward the square.
Where the consecration ceremony was probably still in progress.
“Tsk. To think they’d exploit the consecration ceremony like this.”
They were definitely drawing attention with the ceremony while doing something shady.
“Dad, what do we do now?”
It was too soon to take on the cult.
They were only just beginning to prepare to shake the empire. If they collided with such a powerful group too early, even Ersioni could be in trouble.
‘Not that it’s a life-or-death matter yet.’
It just meant there was no need to unnecessarily attract troublesome flies when they had a clear path.
The cult’s cardinals were as stubborn as the elder council and would certainly interfere with Ersioni’s plans at every turn.
“First, let’s destroy the evidence.”
“Okay!”
Caesar spoke like a villain from a story.
Lirian nodded naturally and, seeing one of the unconscious men start to stir, sent him back to dreamland with another stone.
Thunk!
After clearing the surroundings, the two used Caesar’s magic to drag away the sacks and men, disappearing without a trace.
