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~Chapter 42~
After Keia and Edell went down to the village, the investigation team sent from the central government arrived two days later.
Lerazie was nervous when she saw the investigators coming into the castle. She was the one who bought Sarah’s Flower, and she had even gone herself to get it while visiting the information guild.
She didn’t know who stole it and started the fire. But now, it was too late to claim it was stolen.
If anyone found out she’d gone to the black market, people would start gossiping about her bloodline again. She never thought the central government would really send people to investigate.
“You really mean it wasn’t the two of you?”
The Marquis called in Lerazie and Basilie and questioned them strictly. Basilie, who was actually guilty, pretended he didn’t know anything and scratched his ear. There was no proof, and Lerazie was the one who bought the item. Lerazie also denied it—she had bought it, but she wasn’t the criminal.
“If you don’t tell me the truth, I can’t help you.”
Hearing this, Lerazie made a very hurt face.
“Father, why do you doubt us? It’s obvious Marciela did it.”
The Marquis felt suspicious as he looked at Lerazie’s upset face.
“Alright, go on, then.”
Lerazie left the room, still sulking. Basilie walked out too, smelling of alcohol, and the Marquis sighed as he watched him leave.
Can I really trust these kids with the Spirit Territory?
He always had this doubt. They were still immature and there wasn’t much time left before they would have to take over.
Just then, his assistant came in with a report.
“The investigators have gotten the black market trader’s ledger from the capital. Since Sarah’s Flower expires after a week, the ledger lists all sales from that period.”
“Alright.”
“Also, there’s something else…”
The assistant lowered his voice and continued.
“Lady Lerazie was recently seen at the black market.”
“She must have gone to buy something for her exams. She wouldn’t go for any other reason.”
“I gave a bonus to the mage who escorted her, to keep him quiet.”
The Marquis rubbed his face and nodded.
“Lerazie isn’t stupid enough to do something like this. She would hire someone or get an expert to help—she would never leave proof behind.”
Basilie could easily do something like that, but there was no proof he’d been to the black market.
Was Marciela the kind of girl to hurt others for her own gain? Even in the past, at the academy, when a poor student was about to be blamed, Marciela refused to sign the expulsion papers.
The Marquis stared at the air, lost in thought.
“Still, she’s a traitor’s child. If I leave her alone, she’ll only bring more trouble.”
A spirit of jealousy whispered in his ear.
“Everything she did was just to make you accept her. Who could’ve known your wife would hurt you and betray you so deeply?”
The Marquis closed his eyes, staring blankly.
‘Irellia, why did you betray me after I loved you?’
A sad question filled his mind, darkening his thoughts so much he couldn’t think straight.
At the edge of the village, Edell let out a deep sigh as he stayed in a small house, realizing he wouldn’t see Ciella for a while.
He knew Ciella had sent him here to hide from the investigators since he was a dark mage.
“I won’t get caught. She just worries too much.”
Even the Crown Prince, who was a first-class priest or mage, couldn’t sense Edell’s energy.
Edell opened his book to the page marked with a green ribbon.
“Everyone wears a mask of goodness in daily life. When faced with a choice, that’s when good and evil are decided.”
He was remembering a story Ciella had told him.
“A long time ago, I risked my life to save a child.”
“Did you get hurt, Noona?”
She spoke like it was a story from long ago.
“I died—no, I was fine. But I don’t think it was a purely good deed. I wasn’t such a good person back then.”
“Then why did you save the child?”
“Maybe I did it because I learned I was supposed to?”
Ciella always said she wasn’t a good person. What kind of person had she been in that distant past?
“If you were an adult… you’d have to take care of things yourself, right?”
He remembered Ciella saying that if Edell was an adult, she wouldn’t be responsible for him.
Was she only taking care of him because he was a child?
Either way, he had to act like a normal kid to hide who he really was.
Now that his body was small, sometimes he even acted a little childish without meaning to.
“Who are you? I haven’t seen you before. Did you move here?”
A passing farmer spoke to Edell. Edell stared back with a completely uninterested look.
“Why do you care?”
“Oh, uh… I just wanted to give you some sweet potatoes…”
“I don’t need any.”
Someone offering something for no reason was strange to Edell. He still felt wary of this kind of thing—he’d been even colder when he first met Ciella.
The farmer, embarrassed, laughed awkwardly and walked away with his bag.
Suddenly, someone roughly patted Edell’s head.
“Hey, Ciella’s little shadow.”
Edell turned to Keia, looking completely annoyed.
“What?”
“Let’s go to the market. You need to eat, right?”
“Just make something for me. I’ll eat it.”
Keia shook his head.
“If you have a conscience, you should cook for yourself.”
“Why should I?”
Keia picked Edell up from the table and stared into his eyes.
“Do you know you’re not a normal kid?”
Maybe because he’s a mercenary, Keia was sharp. Edell always found him annoying. Keia continued calmly.
“Kids who were raised as dark mages by the Dark Sect have strong negative emotions, but their other emotions are weak. They’re not like normal kids.”
What is he getting at? Edell looked at Keia without expression.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That’s how you are. Some people might start to suspect you.”
Did he know Edell was a dark mage? Just his vibe was enough to make Edell remember the old captain of the royal knights, with cold green eyes under his silver helmet.
Should I just get rid of him here?
“But dark mages give off a demonic aura. You don’t have any of that, so…”
Keia tilted his head and smiled.
“It might mean you’re a failed experiment—someone who lost their memory and got thrown away, brat.”
Edell’s eyes widened as he remembered being abandoned at Oren’s house, wandering the snowy field.
He’s trying to provoke me on purpose.
Edell narrowed his eyes and shot back.
“Are you saying I was a failed dark mage?”
“Yeah. No matter how much I look, there’s no information about you anywhere.”
Edell scoffed, turned his head, and glared again.
“So what? Is that a problem?”
“No. Unless you have a different sense of right and wrong, don’t trust people, or lack social skills and empathy. Or if you someday awaken as a dark mage.”
To Edell, it sounded like Keia was warning that he might end up causing trouble for Ciella.
Maybe he was thinking about quietly getting rid of Edell here. Keia hummed a tune and put him down.
“That’s why, while you’re with me, I’ll teach you.”
“Teach me what?”
“I won’t nag you to be good. Just learn how to act like a normal person.”
Edell made an unhappy face, so Keia explained more.
“People already suspect you because of how you act. That’s bad for Ciella too, right? You should help her stop being an exile. Maybe, if she wants, she could even become the head of a family someday.”
“But why are you helping me?”
Keia grinned at Edell’s suspicious look.
“Because I was a failed experiment too.”
