IDEFP 17

Chapter 17

If the scouting party returned with Dick safely, then for the foreseeable future, no one would be able to enter the Black Forest again.

And that meant Noah’s death.

There was no longer any time to wait for anyone.

With the ceiling towering above, every step I took echoed sharply through the hall. In the heavy silence, I finally spoke.

“I will serve as support.”

Every gaze in the hall turned toward me.

Under the sudden pressure, I swallowed dryly. The first to speak was the aide, Bentley.

“…Young lady?”

As if agreeing with him, a heavy silence spread.

I understood his reaction.

A daughter who had left home as a child, returned years later without notice, suddenly speaking up in a crisis like this—it could easily be seen as disruptive.

Not everyone welcomed me like my father or Joseph.

Some people saw me as nothing more than a failed noble daughter who had dragged a “savage” into the house. Among them was Bentley, my father’s aide.

I straightened my shoulders to resist his pressure.

“I am a certified graduate of the academy. So—”

“A dropout, wasn’t it?”

Bentley pushed up his glasses.

It was obvious he was referring to my first-semester results—the ones Austin had mentioned.

He was the kind of man who always spoke the truth, no matter how sharp it was. I had always hated that about him, though my father seemed to view it as loyalty.

Which is why he still keeps him by his side.

I clenched my teeth.

“Academy grades do not define all my abilities.”

“Generally, they do.”

My words caught in my throat.

I wanted to shout that I had already graduated early and been awarded the title of a 7th-rank Grand Mage—but that would only cause more chaos. And the worst part was: I couldn’t use magic.

I needed another reason. Something more convincing.

Then it hit me.

In the past few days, I had almost forgotten something important.

Who I was.

I crossed my arms and tilted my posture slightly. Bentley frowned at the change.

“You know support magic basics are a first-year required course. You’re from the academy, Sir Bentley.”

“…I am.”

“My grades aside, I attended that class and entered the academy without my family’s help. That alone should qualify me to act as support. Or do you disagree?”

“That assumes you actually attended properly—”

“And.”

I cut him off cleanly.

“If I say I’m going, then I’m going. Since when did you become the one who decides for me?”

There was no need to convince everyone properly.

In the world I had lived in, power spoke louder than reasoning.

Bentley’s lower lip trembled. Another word from him would now be an open challenge to authority.

A cold silence swept through the hall.

Then my father spoke.

“I agree with Bentley.”

My breath paused.

“The Black Forest is not something someone with only basic training can handle.”

“…I was about to say—”

“And yet,” he continued calmly, “I am surprised you are willing to involve yourself in the affairs of the family.”

“…What?”

“You have never done so before, Isabel.”

For a moment, memories flashed through me—years spent living only as “Isabella” after leaving home.

He knew. He knew I had been hiding my full name.

My mouth closed on its own.

My father smiled faintly.

“I assume you have a reason for wanting to join the scouting party. So tell me. Just to me.”

“….”

“Is it because of the child you brought?”

He had never once asked about Noah until now. He must have been holding back questions all along.

I finally nodded.

“Yes.”

At my firm answer, murmurs spread through the hall.

Noah had already become a topic of curiosity since I brought him here. No one dared speak openly under the head of the house’s silence, but curiosity had not disappeared.

My father continued.

“Why are you so invested in him?”

All attention sharpened toward my answer.

Austin, unable to stay silent any longer, stepped forward.

“My lord, that’s—”

“I owe him my life.”

I cut him off.

Austin froze.

It seemed he had expected me to launch into a long explanation about the slave market in Midtown.

Volke quickly pulled his son aside.

My father continued calmly.

“You owe him your life?”

“Yes. That is why I ask permission to take Noah with me on this mission.”

After all, this was the only way.

Golden Tea had to be consumed immediately after being picked to maximize its effect.

The only chance was now—when the final scouting party would retrieve Dick.

“I need Golden Tea from the center of the Black Forest. Father always said: do not create debts—but if you do, repay them.”

I recalled the family motto I had seen in his office on my first day here.

“Please allow me to save both of them.”

I bowed deeply.

My father’s eyes widened slightly.

My changed demeanor clearly unsettled him.

Bentley, still displeased, muttered,

“…We are out of time. A decision must be made.”

The marquis glanced at the central clock and finally nodded.

“Prepare Isabel and the child immediately. You must finish within a day. The longer you delay, the worse this becomes.”

I closed my eyes briefly and opened them again in acknowledgment.

“Are you out of your mind, Isabel?”

Back in the annex, I wrapped Noah—still asleep—in layers of thick clothing when Austin followed me and said it.

His tone wasn’t loud, but it drew the attention of nearby servants and knights.

Even if we were childhood friends, there was still a hierarchy between us.

He quickly lowered his voice and stepped closer.

“Support mage? That’s not just support—that’s at least a 4th-grade level—!”

“We’ll leave soon.”

I handed my jewel pouch to a maid.

She hesitated, then signaled the knights and left the room.

Once the room emptied, Austin sighed deeply.

“I know the patient is urgent. But how are you going to go into that place without even proper magical control?”

I calmly put on my robe.

“On the paper you gave me, it said Golden Tea grows in areas saturated with mana.”

“And so what?”

He paused.

“Isabel… when you said you had a problem using magic… do you mean—”

“….”

“A problem with mana control?”

“….”

“That’s not a ‘small issue.’ That’s not like you at all.”

I changed into low-heeled shoes.

Austin watched me carefully.

Mana came from strong desire—and Isabella had been overflowing with it.

But I, now, was far removed from that mechanism of desire.

I’ve never even properly dated anyone.

Austin looked like he wouldn’t let this go until he got an answer.

I felt uneasy under his gaze.

If this continued, even if it was impossible, he might realize I wasn’t the same Isabella he knew.

I shifted the topic and looked toward Noah.

He was still sleeping peacefully.

After confirming that, I spoke quietly.

“You asked before. What I’ll do after the treatment ends.”

“…Yeah.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do what everyone wants. He’s an Ombre child, after all.”

Austin exhaled heavily, staring at my expression.

Then he spoke again.

“You said Golden Tea grows in the center of the Black Forest, but finding the center itself is the hardest part.”

“Because everything rotates and looks the same?”

“Yes. But there are two ways to know when you’re close.”

“What are they?”

“One is light. It gets darker as you go deeper. But that’s practically useless—the human eye can’t distinguish it.”

“Then the other?”

“Frost.”

“Frost?”

“Yes. The closer you get to the center, the colder it becomes, and the ground freezes. Frost forms—and Golden Tea grows right along that boundary.”

At his reluctant explanation, I realized he had been withholding information from the start.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

Austin pouted slightly.

“Because I knew you’d run straight into the Black Forest the moment you heard it.”