IAYA 38

chapter 38

Teansis was sitting in his office inside his dormitory at Kamar Academy.

In his hand was a detailed record of Velia’s recent actions, reported by the subordinates he had stationed around her to keep her safe.

[On the day of the festival, Lady Anox visited the dormitory.]

Teansis paused for a long moment on the part of the report with those words. He didn’t speak, but it was clear that he wasn’t pleased.

Fabian, watching him nervously, cautiously spoke up.

“Most likely, it was also Lady Anox who sent the dead bird to the apothecary teacher.”

“…I know. Have we gotten any evidence?”

“No. She moved so carefully that there’s nothing concrete—just circumstantial evidence and strong suspicion.”

“Enough. Even if we present evidence, she’ll just create another scapegoat to escape.”

Reigeni was a smart woman, perfectly suited to high society. Like two sides of a coin, her public and private faces were completely different.

It was obvious she would set up someone else to take the blame and smile innocently at Teansis as if she knew nothing.

Teansis felt a surge of irritation.

But this was the type of woman from a noble house he had always known.

No one loved purely like Velia. She was the first to give her heart without calculation, to act sincerely.

Perhaps that was why he kept being drawn to her—because receiving such pure love was new to him.

Thinking of Velia, Teansis unconsciously smiled faintly. Seeing this, Fabian was startled and spoke up.

“Duke?”

Teansis, pulled out of his thoughts by Fabian’s voice, looked at him.

“What is it?”

Fabian rubbed his eyes, witnessing the sudden disappearance of Teansis’s smile. Even a mirage wouldn’t vanish this fast.

“Ah, no. What do you intend to do with Lady Anox?”

Returning to the main topic, Teansis stroked his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he spoke quietly.

“Cut off all connections between the Acruze and Anox families.”

“If the goods imported from the North are cut off, the Anox family will suffer greatly. What should we say if they protest?”

Teansis let out a small, grim smile—a smile Fabian knew well. It wasn’t one of happiness, but the kind he made when displeased.

“Do we need to explain? Lady Anox herself thought she could act without evidence. Let’s return the favor in kind.”

“Understood. We’ll sever the ties one by one so the Anox family won’t notice.”

Teansis nodded, then spoke again as if remembering something.

“Reject all marriage proposals for me. Make sure no one dares say they’re betrothed to me ever again.”

“But if you cancel them all… there may be no suitable noble women left in the Valcanus Empire for you to marry.”

Teansis was the most desirable bachelor in the Valcanus Empire.

Among the high nobility, every family with daughters or nieces of his age had proposed to him.

Reigeni probably didn’t know, but countless families had offered marriage to Teansis. The Anox family was promising, yes, but there were simply too many for him to consider individually.

“I will choose my own spouse. Are you worried I won’t be able to marry?”

“No, of course not.”

Fabian knew firsthand just how popular Teansis was.

“Then no excuses—reject them all.”

“Yes, sir.”

Even after dealing with that, Teansis continued reviewing Velia’s report and asked,

“Lady Velia had a wound on her knee. Have you investigated it?”

“Yes. It seems she had a minor altercation with a drunken person during the festival.”

“A drunkard?”

Teansis furrowed his brows, sensing something unpleasant.

After hearing a brief explanation from Fabian, his expression darkened. He lowered his voice.

“Who was it?”

“Viscount Yuren, a noble living near Kamar Academy. He has a wife and daughter but is secretly having an affair.”

“Ha… the nerve.”

Teansis, after a moment’s thought, spoke softly.

“Expose his affair publicly. If his wife wants a divorce, ensure she gets all the property and full custody of their daughter.”

Fabian, listening quietly, asked in surprise,

“You intervene in such trivial matters?”

“Call it justice.”

Though Fabian still looked unconvinced, he remained silent, knowing these were Teansis’s orders.

As Teansis continued reading Velia’s report, he suddenly spoke again.

“And…”

“Meow! Nyaaah!”

Suddenly, the sound of a cat meowing reached him. Since Teansis’s dormitory was strictly controlled, no stray could have entered.

At first, he ignored it, but then he remembered the cat-like creature Velia had brought with her.

Teansis sprang to his feet.

Rustle—

He opened the curtains and saw the cat-like creature crying right below his office.

Like Velia, it couldn’t speak, so he couldn’t understand it, but something had clearly gone wrong.

With a stiff expression, Teansis turned to Fabian.

“Where is Lady Velia right now?”

“Of course… in her dorm…”

It was at that moment that the office door burst open, and a knight of the Acruze family entered.

“Sir, something terrible has happened!”

An ominous feeling settled over Teansis.

The knight continued as Teansis looked at him anxiously.

“The apothecary teacher has been taken to the interrogation room.”

Zer was in a foul mood. Velia’s words kept replaying in his mind.

─Duke Acruze…

She had spoken so cautiously, and it was about him again.

─That day, I entered Professor’s mansion because of me… I don’t know if I should say this, but can we just let it slide?

He was infuriated.

‘Who does she think she is?’

Velia had no right to order him around. Letting Teansis go that day had already been a major concession on her part.

If Velia hadn’t looked at him with a flushed face, she wouldn’t have let Teansis leave so easily.

She had been generous, wanting to ensure Teansis could return to his dorm safely.

‘Hmph, ungrateful.’

Yet Velia seemed unaware of her own actions. She was simply concerned for Teansis, who had come all the way to her.

─How can I… not care? It’s Duke Acruze. I just hope it’s resolved peacefully.

Zer could not understand why women liked Teansis so much. He admitted he was handsome, but not that much of a personality wreck.

Irritated, Zer pushed aside the damaged documents. His eyes then fell on a tabletop mirror.

His reflection revealed a tired, slightly disheveled face. He touched his chin and muttered,

“Still, my face isn’t… bad…”

He didn’t finish the thought but felt a chill at the fleeting idea.

Zer quickly overturned the mirror, frowning.

“What am I thinking? Spending time with that fool must have rubbed off on me.”

The night he drank with Velia had been unusual. She was someone he had to obtain, so he had even considered taking advantage of her if the opportunity arose.

Sex changes everything. Being closer to Velia, developing intimacy, wasn’t a bad idea—he wanted to capture her heart.

Up until now, he hadn’t treated her kindly. Using the “experiment” excuse to drink with her had been a calculated move.

But…

─It’s the first time someone has set up a drinking table for me. Or maybe the first time I’ve ever drunk with anyone. I was under twenty when I first realized my mother had dementia. I feel happy. I didn’t expect this.

Her naive trust in him was absurdly endearing.

─I’ll help too. Since it’s an experiment about me, wouldn’t it be faster if I helped?

Even though she didn’t know what the experiment was.

Had the experiment required Velia to be sacrificed, Zer would have done it without hesitation.

─You treated me well. So I want to help. Think of it as paying for today’s drinks.

She was too naive, trusting him blindly…

Zer’s thoughts stopped there.

‘Trust? Why trust?’

After a moment, he realized the answer.

‘Ah, my desire disappeared.’

The desire to touch Velia vanished. His lust had died in response to her ridiculous innocence.

Some guilt was included too.

Zer could never be a good man for Velia. His goal was always singular.

Regaining his composure, Zer returned to the work on his desk. He couldn’t waste time on idle thoughts. Now that he knew Velia’s abilities, he needed a plan to use them.

Then, without knocking, the door suddenly opened.

“Marquis.”

Looking up, he saw Nick’s urgent expression.

“They’ve taken the apothecary teacher.”

“What?”

“He’s being investigated for allegedly mixing Frecklin into a student’s medicine…”

Zer jumped up before hearing more. A student nearly dying was a serious matter. The more Velia was investigated, the more her secret identity would emerge.

She had countless secrets, and Zer was the only one who knew them all.

“Where are they now?”

“Kamar Academy interrogation room.”

Zer immediately headed to the interrogation room at Kamar Academy.

On the way, Nick explained the situation. Velia may have lacked knowledge about the medicine, but she wasn’t careless enough to make such a basic mistake.

‘So someone must have framed her.’

The priority was clearing her name.

But it wasn’t easy. Velia had no experience as an assistant apothecary and her identity was unclear. Naturally, suspicion fell on her.

Zer pressed his temple, frustrated. Then he had an idea.

“Did the Acruze family get involved?”

“Yes. Duke Acruze himself is heading to the interrogation room.”

“Ha, even taking this step…”

Teansis had been overly generous to Velia. Zer suspected something was off. He couldn’t let her be taken by Teansis.

With dark gray eyes shining, Zer said,

“Let’s hurry.”

When Zer and Nick arrived near the interrogation room,

BANG!

A huge crash shook the door to the academy’s basement.

At the entrance were Teansis and Fabian, who had arrived first.

An academy guard rushed to block Teansis.

“D-Duke… even so, causing a disturbance in Kamar Academy like this—”

Teansis said nothing. With a rigid expression, he passed the guard and hurried inside.

His urgency was palpable, uncharacteristic of the formidable Teansis.

Zer felt inexplicably annoyed. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but Teansis’s behavior irritated him.

Nick asked,

“What should we do?”

“…We go in too.”

Suppressing his discomfort, Zer followed Teansis into the basement.

They quickly reached the interrogation room, and Zer froze at the sight inside.

“This is…”

Velia’s right hand was covered in blood.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem she had been severely tortured—otherwise, it wouldn’t have been just her hand.

But the white hand tied to the rack continuously bled.

For some reason, seeing it chilled Zer to the bone.

Velia’s clear eyes finally spotted Teansis. With a pale face, she spoke,

“D-Duke…?”

At her fragile voice, Teansis, rigid moments before, collapsed into her embrace.

“Lady, it’s alright now. I’m here.”

Teansis’s voice was unusually gentle.

Hearing him comfort her, Zer felt an inexplicable bitterness.

Even with him there, no one else seemed to care.

Velia only looked at Teansis, and he only looked at her. They seemed to be each other’s entire world.

Gritting his teeth, Zer tensed.

At that moment, the staff interrogating Velia spoke, flustered.

“W-What…! You can’t act like this during an investigation, especially with an unidentified suspect.”

“Suspect…” Zer muttered internally.

Before Teansis could reply, Zer stepped forward.

“Who do you dare call a suspect?”

As Marquis Zer advanced, the staff flinched. His influence in Kamar Academy was significant.

“Eh… Professor of Alchemy?”

“If you were curious about my assistant’s identity, you should’ve asked me. Do you think I’d hire someone with an unclear identity as an assistant?”

“But they didn’t reveal their family…”

“She is my niece.”

“Eh?”

“Her name is Velia Hesel Fredov. Can’t you understand simple words?”

Everyone present stared at Zer in shock. That included Velia herself.