🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 27
A Beautiful Night
“It wasn’t particularly difficult information to obtain.”
The woman standing in front of him continued in a flat, emotionless tone, even as glass shards rolled across the floor.
“There were rumors in the black market that certain goods were only sold to important figures. I traced the source, and it turned out that bottles imbued with magical power were being circulated. When I tracked down the seller, it led to the House of Duke Heinstein.”
Each word flew toward Lowell like a dagger.
“…It might not be the Princess Heinstein’s magic. They surely knew that extracting and selling magic is a grave crime, so would the ducal house really risk that?”
Lowell struggled to organize his words. Even in that brief moment, he had to squeeze his eyes shut to ignore the flood of scenes that surged unbidden into his mind.
How much had Shion coveted Aria’s magic in previous timelines? At one point, in another time, Shion had even compelled Aria to extract her magic.
But magic extraction was done in a way that drew blood, causing immense pain to the one whose magic was taken. Because of this, Shion, unable to restrain a strongly resisting Aria, had only extracted her magic at intervals.
Above all, selling magic was a grave crime. Shion, concerned that his honor would be tarnished if the crime was discovered, only used Aria’s magic for extremely personal needs.
At least… that had been the case until now.
“Well… maybe they didn’t consider it dangerous.”
The woman spoke dryly, looking down at Lowell’s slightly trembling shoulders.
“Huh?”
“Clearly, forcibly extracting and selling magic is a grave crime. But if the princess gave it willingly, then there’s no problem at all. And if a servant secretly sold it on the black market, the ducal house wouldn’t even be punished.”
“Gave it willingly? That doesn’t… make sense…”
“It’s true that the possibility is low. But if they behaved as though they were openly promoting it without trying to hide it, there must be a reason.”
Lowell’s uneasy gaze dropped to the floor at her words. Time passed silently as he tried to organize his thoughts, with the woman standing in front of him without a word.
“Then I will take my leave.”
When he saw a servant running into the garden to fetch a broom to clean up the shards, the woman broke the silence.
Bang!
But the woman’s steps to leave stopped immediately.
“C-could you… take me to the seller too?”
Lowell spoke desperately, holding onto her arm.
“……”
Caught off guard, the woman raised an eyebrow.
“I want to see for myself.”
Though Lowell couldn’t hide his trembling gaze, there was a solemn determination in his voice.
Thanks to the pitiful look in his eyes, Lowell was able to follow the woman’s guidance toward the black market.
It’s not possible.
Lowell, cloaked in a red mantle, bit his lips as he thought. His unease left dark scars on his lips.
“Lowell… please, help me…”
He remembered clearly the moment he first found Aria being drained of her magic. Even now, Aria’s painful cries left a deep scar on him.
“So… where are you from?”
A bearded man interrupted his thoughts, appearing before him. He scanned Lowell, who had pulled his cloak over his head, from head to toe, then sat down.
“…I can’t reveal my affiliation. But instead—”
Clang.
Lowell placed a package on the table instead of answering. Through the slightly open top, gold coins could be seen filling the package.
“This should be enough for you to get what you’re selling.”
“Hmm.”
The man opened the package slightly with one finger. The coins jingled as they shifted to the side.
“Haha, seems like a wealthy household, huh?”
He stroked his beard and muttered. Then, after some thought, he spoke.
“Sorry, what we’re selling is rare. We can’t just sell it casually. There are rules, even in your world.”
“What?”
“Even the richest person in the empire would have trouble buying if they don’t reveal their affiliation. Trust is everything in this business.”
“……”
“Well, if you add a little extra…”
Clatter!
“Catch that bastard!”
A commotion broke out outside. At the same time, the tent behind Lowell was pushed aside. He stood and went outside to see what was happening.
Outside, a man in tattered clothes was running frantically, clutching a small bottle.
Clang!
But the man was quickly tackled by the pursuing group, and the bottle he carried shattered on the ground.
“How dare you pretend to be a noble to get our goods!”
“Please! My son is dying at home!”
The captured man shouted desperately.
And in that moment, the scent rising from the broken bottle reached Lowell’s nose. A fresh, forest-like fragrance.
It was Aria’s magic.
“Ah, that was quite a commotion. Now, back to what we were talking about…”
The merchant who had been speaking with Lowell clicked his tongue and turned back, but Lowell had already disappeared.
“What? He’s gone already? Hmm… I was going to sell it myself.”
He pursed his lips regretfully.
“Can’t spread rumors properly if you just bounce around like that.”
The man muttered as he returned to the tent.
“Why would the young duke take such a risk? He can’t even use the magic himself, and he’s soon to inherit the dukedom.”
That night, Lowell returned to the mansion, and Leon muttered in disbelief at what he said.
“The goal is to prevent the young lady from properly using her magic. They probably want to ensure she doesn’t achieve anything in the upcoming war. Or… perhaps the purpose is the pain that comes from extracting the magic itself.”
Lowell’s dry answer drifted toward the darkened window.
“It happened last time too. Back then, it was only a small amount extracted as a warning…”
Lowell trailed off, looking at the floor.
“So this is the first time magic has been extracted and circulated?”
“Yes. It’s never gone this badly before. Perhaps they discovered a weakness?”
Lowell touched his lips, biting at the corner while thinking. From the demon’s approach to Shion’s extraction and distribution of magic, everything seemed pushed to the extreme.
“Could it be… because I left her? My leaving caused bad changes in this timeline…”
Whoosh.
Lowell’s anxious words stopped as Leon gently placed his hand over Lowell’s lips.
“Don’t.”
Leon softly held Lowell’s wrist and looked at his lips for a long moment before speaking.
“You left to protect the princess. It’s not your fault.”
Leon’s blue eyes pierced Lowell, and he felt his uneven breathing begin to regain rhythm.
“R-really…”
“Yes.”
Leon moved his hand to rest on Lowell’s lap, then slowly let go.
After a pause, Leon spoke first.
“Let’s take care of urgent matters first. At sunrise tomorrow, we need to report the young duke to the guard so he can’t exploit the princess any further.”
Leon quickly reviewed the punishments the imperial family had given those who circulated magic illegally.
“No.”
“…What?”
“I reported similarly last time, but if someone is about to inherit a dukedom, they can easily make it disappear. This time, too, they might hide even deeper and exploit her more.”
Lowell met Leon’s gaze, voice tense.
“Then what should we do? Report it to Duke Heinstein? He’ll question his son since it’s about his daughter.”
Leon looked down at Lowell, who was standing right in front of him.
“No. The Duke doesn’t care about the lady or his son. Even if he hears of this, he’ll just give a brief warning and stop.”
Silence followed.
“Leon, you’re right.”
After a long breath, Lowell spoke, and Leon’s gaze returned to him.
“I left to protect the princess. So tomorrow, I’ll face the problem myself.”
“Face it yourself?”
“Yes. Only by facing it can I know the best way to resolve it.”
Lowell’s eyes, once dim, now shone with determination.
“Can you hint to the guards tomorrow that magic is being circulated in the black market? At least then, the ducal house will lay low for a while.”
“And after that?”
“After that… I’ll meet the princess myself and solve the problem.”
Clenching his fist, Lowell approached the moonlit window.
“I promised her. I promised to protect this beautiful night. And I will keep that promise.”
Turning to Leon, Lowell smiled.
“…Yes.”
Leon observed him silently before answering. Perhaps Lowell’s light had reached him. Seeing Lowell’s smile, Leon briefly wished that she would also strive to protect her own beautiful night.
Even just thinking about it made his heart ache in a strange way, one he couldn’t name at the time.
