IAYA 12

Chapter 12

After Zerr and Belia disappeared, Fabian approached the now lone Teansis.

“Are you sure it’s okay to send them like this?”

“Even if I don’t want to, what can I do? They appeared holding the flag that His Majesty gave them.”

“Still…”

“Don’t beat around the bush. If you have something to say, just say it.”

“…You don’t know the relationship between the lady and the alchemy professor, do you? They went so far as to use such a precious flag to take her away. Do you think she’ll keep her promise with the Duke?”

“We’ll find out in time.”

There was no guarantee that Belia would keep her promise. It hadn’t been long since Teansis had seen her, and it was impossible for him to have such trust in her.

But there had been no other choice earlier.

When Fabian reported that Zerr was likely to use the flag, Teansis had no place to step in.

Though it had been a brief moment, Belia’s behavior—whether she kept the secret or not—had been something Teansis had already considered.

Teansis, staring at the place where Belia had disappeared, spoke.

“First, bring me the list of all Academy staff. Since the professor said they were his employees, start with alchemy and gather everything nearby.”

“Yes.”

“And investigate the name Belia. Look up every woman named Belia in the Vulkanus Empire, without exception.”

“Understood.”

Just because Belia had said nothing didn’t mean Teansis hadn’t figured anything out.

Teansis, lost in thought, continued in a quiet voice.

“By the way, remember when there was an incident at Kamar Academy and a monster went on a rampage?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know at the time, but…”

When Belia had been attacked by a monster earlier, Teansis had felt something was off. Monsters don’t just rampage for no reason.

Then there was her ankle.

Even though the monster had grabbed her, Belia’s ankle had been fine without a scratch, and that had bothered Teansis.

Still, since there were no obvious signs of something being wrong, he had concluded that the monster had simply attacked a human, as usual.

But thinking back now, it was different.

“To us, it seemed like the monster attacked first and then the tree fell, but what if the monster had actually noticed that the tree was going to fall on the lady? Maybe that’s why it caused such a ruckus, to protect her.”

“I don’t understand.”

Fabian seemed to struggle to grasp the idea.

He didn’t know the full details of what had happened in the warehouse, so it was difficult for him to understand.

Teansis shook his head, dismissing it as nothing for now.

“Never mind, it’s just my deduction for now.”

Teansis believed that the monsters were incredibly loyal to Belia. That’s why they had sacrificed their lives in the warehouse to save her.

Although he still had many questions about why such things had happened, he would find out in time. That was the duty of the Acruze family, who ruled the North.

Unfortunately, due to Zerr, an official investigation could not be conducted, but that didn’t matter.

“Report as soon as you have any results.”

“Yes, Duke.”

After hearing Fabian’s response, Teansis turned toward his quarters. As he walked away, he spoke in a low voice.

“Contact the North as well. Let them know I’ll be staying at Kamar Academy for a while.”

“Understood.”

Fabian bowed deeply.

* * *

I followed Zerr to his laboratory.

Throughout the walk, Zerr, who had kept silent, finally gestured for me to sit before speaking.

“Are you injured?”

“Me?”

The question caught me off guard, and I widened my eyes in surprise.

But Zerr, with a serious expression, continued.

“I’m not joking.”

I wasn’t in the mood for jokes either, but I couldn’t believe the question came from him.

“No… I’m not injured.”

As I answered, I was reminded of the monsters that had died for me, and a pang of guilt gnawed at me.

It felt as though ever since I became younger, a series of surreal events had been happening one after another.

“I’m glad you’re not injured. What happened with Duke Acruze?”

I had been waiting for this question.

Now, I was at a crossroads: should I keep my promise to Teansis or tell Zerr the truth?

For a moment, I hesitated, but just as I had kept the secret about Zerr’s experiment from Teansis, I decided to keep it this time as well.

“I was on my way to the warehouse… I ran into a monster and hesitated because I didn’t want to face them again. The explosion happened in the warehouse, and although it was a bit far, the Duke found me and took me to his quarters.”

“I see. I investigated the Duke’s whereabouts, and he left for the warehouse late. If you had been inside, you would’ve been dead.”

It seemed that Zerr had already investigated the Duke’s movements. Surprisingly, that alibi made him believe my story more easily.

‘Well, it wasn’t the Duke who saved me… it was the monsters.’

I couldn’t say that to Zerr, though.

“Then what about the monster blood on your clothes?”

“Oh! I fell down, and there was monster blood there…”

“Blood? But you didn’t see the monster?”

“No, I didn’t. I’m not sure how it happened…”

At my words, Zerr’s expression seemed to shift into a thoughtful one. But soon, he resumed his usual neutral face and spoke.

“So you hesitated because you didn’t want to see the monsters again? Had you encountered them before?”

“Yes. When I first came to Kamar Academy for an interview, I saw Duke Acruze’s procession. The monster attacked me at that time.”

“Ha, that was you?”

I nodded.

Zerr looked at me with both surprise and interest.

“I heard about it, but I didn’t know it was you.”

It made sense that he hadn’t known. Back then, I hadn’t made my contract with Zerr yet, and I didn’t even know I had become younger, so it was impossible for anyone to recognize me.

“No wonder you disappeared from my lab and then showed up three days later. So, did the Duke take you because of that encounter? Given his personality, I wouldn’t think he’d keep a woman close…”

As Zerr’s words continued, I couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

Neither Zerr nor Teansis was someone easy to deal with. Keeping secrets from them was no simple feat.

“I’m not sure why Duke Acruze did what he did…”

“Well, whatever. Whether it was because of pride or because he noticed something when he saw you that day, it seems he’s restricted his actions to avoid an official investigation. No one, not even the Acruze family, can disobey the Emperor’s orders. Right now, it’s better that they’re taking action secretly.”

Zerr’s mention of the flag given to him by the Emperor came to mind again.

The value of that flag was immeasurably significant.

“I… I can’t believe you used such a precious flag because of me.”

Zerr glanced at me, then leaned back comfortably on the sofa and said, “Well, it’s a bit of a waste, isn’t it? It’s been passed down for generations, and now it’s being used like this.”

I hadn’t asked him to use the flag to save me, but for some reason, I couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty.

Should I apologize? I hesitated, but then Zerr’s voice interrupted.

“Don’t worry about it. Right now, there’s nothing more important to me than this experiment. I don’t mind giving up even more if I can finish it. If the Duke had even the slightest suspicion about you, he would have locked you up or investigated you publicly. Stopping it in advance wasn’t the worst idea.”

“Well, yes…”

Zerr’s prediction was spot on. In fact, Teansis had told me that I couldn’t leave unless I told the truth.

“More importantly, because of today’s incident, the Duke will likely conduct a secret investigation into you, so be extra cautious. Though, honestly, I doubt anything will come of it.”

Zerr smiled confidently.

Considering my younger appearance and the fact that the Acruze family didn’t know much about me, it was hard for them to uncover anything.

I didn’t want my true identity to be exposed, so I’d be careful, but…

‘Will I ever see the Duke again?’

It was safe to say I would never see Teansis again. He wasn’t someone you could just meet because you wanted to.

As always, once his business in the capital was over, he would return to the North and wouldn’t come back for at least half a year.

For me, someone who had admired him, even the brief encounter we’d had felt like something to be grateful for.

Zerr stretched widely and then suddenly stood up.

“Now, let’s get to today’s experiment, shall we?”

Although I wanted to beg for a break since today had already been so exhausting, I couldn’t say it out loud.

After all, I had already gotten accommodations and a job as compensation for the experiment. I couldn’t start complaining now.

Besides, Zerr had used the precious flag for me.

I knew how important this experiment was to him, so I couldn’t refuse. This was the contract I made with Zerr.

I wiped the weariness from my face and nodded.

“Alright