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Chapter 94
Jerome surprisingly stepped aside without resistance.
“Really? You’re not even curious?”
He was the Vice Tower Master, yet showed no interest at all.
“Well then, I’ll be in the lab… Please feel free to talk.”
Leaving behind the snacks and desserts as if encouraging them to chat comfortably, and walking out—it almost seemed suspicious.
“Don’t tell me he’s secretly recording or eavesdropping…?”
Elizia couldn’t hide her suspicious expression as she glanced around, but Finn reassured her.
“There’s no one listening in. The Magic Tower is strict about security.”
“…Then, about why you’re being reinvestigated this time…”
Elizia cautiously brought up the subject.
“First of all… I’m sorry. I feel like you’re in trouble because of me.”
“Why do you think it’s because of you, my lady?”
“Isn’t it because it’s too unbelievable to say you defeated the monster alone…? They must be suspicious of you because of that.”
She trailed off while glancing at Finn. He answered in a calm tone.
“It’s fine. Honestly, I’m more concerned about whether you are okay.”
Watching her expression, Finn added,
“After all, your great achievement is being downplayed.”
“Ah, that… Honestly, I don’t care whether people know or not.”
What good would it do to boast, “I killed all the monsters myself!”? Either no one would believe her, they’d find her suspicious, or they’d insult her regardless of the achievement. It would be one of the three, anyway.
“I feel the same. Whether I’m reinvestigated or not, it doesn’t matter.”
Glancing down at his clasped hands, he continued.
“I figured the time would come sooner or later. There’s a limit to hiding things.”
“…Still, don’t you secretly wish to keep it hidden?”
By now, Elizia couldn’t deny the truth. Finn wasn’t just an ordinary mage. He could teleport and even defeat monsters—while being a healing mage.
In the game, no character of this level had ever existed.
Which is why she had this uneasy feeling—that if left alone, events would spiral into completely unexpected directions. As if dragging a background character unnaturally onto the stage.
Of course, all of Elizia’s actions so far had already broken the game’s script… but it wasn’t intentional! Circumstances had simply forced her.
But this was different. Someone who originally had nothing to do with the game—an extra—was getting pulled into the center of the story, all because of her.
…And Elizia felt responsible for that.
“Before that, may I ask you something? Does Deputy Tower Master Plumen know that Sir Ende is stronger than his reputation suggests?”
“Yes.”
That meant Finn wasn’t hiding his power with malicious intent. Jerome was a kind character even within Lady Marigold, so he likely wouldn’t act against the world’s well-being. If he judged that keeping Finn’s ability secret was for the greater good, that made sense.
But right now, the situation is even worse.
At this rate, Finn might even end up shouldering the blame for what she had done. Elizia bit her lip.
“How will the reinvestigation be conducted?”
“Well, they’ll ask me about the events of that day again.”
“Then shouldn’t I also be questioned?”
How could they leave her out and only question Finn?
“His Grace the Duke is paying attention, so the Tower can’t recklessly interrogate you. Besides, in the first investigation, you weren’t officially named as directly involved, so you’re fine.”
“No, I am involved, so it’s not fine.”
Her voice was firm.
“Please, let me say it was me.”
“…!”
Finn protested earnestly,
“My lady, you don’t need to force yourself to do something you don’t want.”
“No… Thinking back, I panicked at the time. When I ran into Father, I was too focused on hiding it. That mistake… I don’t want you to carry it any longer.”
Though it had burdened Finn, she wanted to set it right this time.
Seeing her resolute gaze, Finn finally nodded.
“…Understood. The official reinvestigation is tomorrow, so perhaps you should think it over once more.”
“But the access restrictions are today, right?”
“Yes. Preparations are needed for the inquiry, and today is also a day when distinguished guests are visiting. That’s why they restricted access.”
That meant she still had some time to decide.
“For now, you’ve been through a lot. Why not rest a little?”
He gestured toward the table of desserts. The snow leopard cub in Elizia’s arms let out a startled cry.
Meowrr…! (These snacks are safe, right?)
It seemed to recall almost dying the last time it ate treats in Elizia’s room. She gently set it down and examined the cakes and cookies.
The spread was dazzling—cream cake topped with glossy strawberries, pie glazed with blueberry jam, cookies loaded with chunks of chocolate. They looked no less exquisite than the Duke’s or even the Imperial family’s desserts.
“Wow, these look delicious.”
Compared to the time the Crown Prince hadn’t even offered her tea, this was worlds better. Elizia eagerly reached for a chocolate cookie.
Crunch.
Crisp on the outside, filled with melting chocolate inside. Not too sweet, with a balanced bittersweetness, and even little bits like cream cheese adding richness.
“…Amazing. This is seriously good.”
“I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Finn gave a small smile. Excited, Elizia next tried the cake—the creamy richness perfectly balanced by the fresh burst of strawberry.
Even better, there was no system warning that the dessert was poisoned! Relieved, she offered some to the cub, then remembered something.
“Oh, by the way—when I collapsed before…”
“…That was after you ate dessert, wasn’t it?”
Publicly, it was said she fainted because of the sweets. Finn’s face darkened slightly.
“Are you uncomfortable being reminded of that? Shall I clear the table?”
“No! Not at all!”
Why would she throw away something so delicious? She frantically waved her hands.
“I just heard that the Imperial Palace, Tower, and Temple each took some for testing. I wondered if the Tower found anything.”
Finn was silent for a moment.
“…Haven’t the results come back yet?”
“Well…” He averted his eyes, as if troubled.
“The initial poison tests… showed nothing.”
“What?”
Elizia’s voice rose in shock.
Nothing?
Impossible. Her status window had clearly indicated poison. And besides—
“Even the Saintess got sick after eating it. And my snow leopard too…”
Meow-meow! (Yeah! It was definitely bad!)
The cub, cream smeared on its face, protested furiously.
“…The cat ate it too?”
“Ah.”
Right—no one else knew the cub had eaten any. The only reason no one realized was because Elizia had used her skill to take on its poisoning symptoms.
“I mean… Forget I said that. But the Saintess did suffer when she tested it.”
“That’s why I found it suspicious. No poison was detected, but people were harmed. In fact, one researcher—so dedicated to experiments—secretly ate some himself.”
“What? He ate it?”
“Yes. And yet he was perfectly fine.”
“…!”
“In all other tests, the food was no different from normal. Officially, it was found to contain no poison at all.”
“That can’t be…”
Elizia suddenly remembered the Duke’s words:
‘…The food that day, when tested, showed no problems.’
Back on the first day of possession, when she’d complained about strange food, the Duke hadn’t dismissed her—he had it tested. But nothing was detected then either.
Now, the same thing again. And this time, another person ate it and was unaffected.
“Now that I think about it, something’s been off all along.”
Her food had always been poisoned—yet no one else in the Duke’s household had ever been harmed. If dishes were accidentally swapped, it should have been exposed instantly, even causing a disaster.
For such bold attempts to go undetected for so long, there had to be a reason.
Like… poison that didn’t affect just anyone.
“So far, the only ones poisoned were three: myself, the Saintess, and the snow leopard.”
Her gaze shifted to the cub. Unlike other monsters, Hilain snow leopards were considered holy beasts.
“…Don’t tell me.”
Was this poison effective only against those with divine power?
The thought made her expression grim.
But there’s a flaw in that theory.
The original “Elizia Semperion” hadn’t possessed divine power at all.
…So why had they used this poison on her in the first place?
