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Chapter 60
“…There’s… another one?”
Violetti asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
The man flinched and quickly turned to look at Harnen.
“N-No, that’s impossible.”
Despite his pupils darting around like a man possessed, he spoke with a certain conviction.
Harnen let out a small chuckle.
“You seem really anxious, even though I haven’t even told you what the second curse is yet.”
“What is the second curse?”
Violetti asked, and Harnen shrugged.
“It’s typical of that bastard. To put it simply…”
His gaze landed on the man’s back, where a ritual symbol had been etched.
“It’s a curse that causes the heart to explode after a certain period if the magic remains suppressed. He must have set it up anticipating that he might be captured.”
A curse designed so that if one were ever caught by an enemy and escape was impossible, they would simply die.
Now that the man was in Elberk’s custody, his fate was down to two possibilities:
-
Succumb to torture, try to leak secrets, and have his heart explode.
-
Endure the torture until time passes, and his heart explodes anyway.
“…Then there’s nothing more we can extract from him.”
Violetti muttered matter-of-factly as she finished compiling the report and turned around.
“Thanks to you, Harnen, we were able to find out that Duke Cervante was behind the arson in the County of Sachsen. I appreciate it.”
“No, thanks to this, I also learned something interesting,” Harnen replied.
That the place he was born had actually sent a spy under Duke Cervante’s orders.
They had been so careful with security.
“N-No… He wouldn’t abandon me…”
The man muttered to himself, trembling in fear.
Harnen cast him a sideways glance, then followed Violetti out of the interrogation room.
Not long after, a dull thud accompanied by a brief scream came from behind.
It seemed that the set time had ended.
After a quick wash, I returned to my bedroom, but no one was there.
I knew this.
Before going to wash, As had told me he was busy today and had to go to his office, so I should go to bed first.
I knew it, yet…
“….”
I blinked blankly in the middle of the room, then let out a small, bitter laugh.
“…I really am ridiculous.”
I had always been alone until now.
Yet in less than a month, after sleeping next to Akes, the room felt unbearably empty without him.
“Pull yourself together, Einra. You’re an adult.”
As an adult, I shouldn’t be whining unnecessarily!
‘Only cute little kids get that “aww, you’re so adorable” treatment.’
I nodded and slid under the covers.
The emptiness I felt because he wasn’t here disappeared the moment my body touched the blankets, and I drifted off to sleep almost unconsciously.
“Mm…”
I had been asleep for a while when a light stirred me awake.
Rubbing my eyes, I looked up to see something flickering in violet right beside my bed.
“What… is that? A magic circle?”
I gawked.
It was covered in intricate geometric symbols, just like something straight out of a fantasy novel—a real magic circle.
Ah, well, this is a fantasy novel world… so maybe it’s really a magic circle.
‘A violet magic circle, huh…’
I folded my arms and stared intently at the glowing circle before me.
“Magic, curses… hmm, I think Dante’s mana is violet.”
I jumped down from the bed and circled the ritual once.
‘According to what I crammed in during academy lessons…’
The pattern indicated spatial transfer. The object next to it is the target. The one below is the destination.
Of course, I couldn’t decipher the encrypted parts.
As I reviewed the symbols, the truth of the circle hit me.
“…This is a summoning circle.”
And I’m the target.
‘They’re probably trying to kidnap me.’
It should have been cast directly on me, but thanks to the defensive magic spread throughout the Grand Duchy of Serenia, it was miscast.
“This damn brat again…!”
My fists trembled with rising anger, but I paused.
“…Wait a minute.”
Maybe I could turn this to my advantage.
‘Right now, there are no spies in the Bahar-Man Grand Duchy.’
If I were “kidnapped,” it would give me the perfect chance to act as a spy openly.
“Then I can find out if the Bahar-Man Grand Duchy is really connected to Belzesti.”
And if the two factions really have joined forces, I might be able to uncover Belzesti’s secret plans.
‘If I want to learn Belzesti’s true intentions, it’s better to do it through the somewhat careless Bahar-Man Grand Duchy.’
Thanks to the power Eliya imbued into my affinity, I had nothing to worry about.
Without hesitation, I jumped into the summoning circle.
It was only afterward that I remembered I hadn’t been able to inform Akes.
“Einra—!”
With a loud bang, the bedroom door flew open.
I met As’s shocked eyes.
He ran toward me, reaching out his hand.
Instinctively, I reached toward his hand—but then my vision warped.
And the next moment, I found myself in a completely different space.
‘…I’m screwed.’
The thrill I’d felt earlier about playing spy had completely vanished.
‘I need to contact As immediately!’
Just as I was about to summon Quiel…
“Einra.”
A man’s voice suddenly came from behind.
Startled, I quickly dispersed my natural affinity.
Turning my head, I saw the smiling face of Grand Duke Bahar-Man, Lloyd, approaching me.
“It’s been a long time, Einra.”
“….”
“I told you to wait, didn’t I?”
A large hand reached toward me gently.
I instinctively stepped back.
“Grand Duke Bahar-Man, what are you doing?”
I asked calmly, though inside I was anxious since I couldn’t contact As yet.
Lloyd, following my exact step back, lowered his head dejectedly.
“I didn’t want to suddenly bring you here like this…”
“…Excuse me?”
Is that what a kidnapper says?
When I looked at him, speechless, Lloyd avoided my gaze, fumbling.
“I originally planned to bring you gradually, exchanging letters…”
I didn’t voice my objection, though it was annoying.
“But you didn’t respond to my letters first.”
“…Letters?”
Blinking at the unfamiliar term, I pieced together the situation.
‘It’s probably the Emperor’s doing…’
Officially, I was supposed to be staying at a hotel in the capital.
And the person managing that hotel room was the Emperor.
Anything Lloyd called “letters” would have been destroyed under the Emperor’s orders.
“Since you didn’t come when I sent for you, I had no choice but to bring you here myself.”
“….”
Kidnapping someone… really.
I didn’t know where to begin criticizing, but it seemed pointless to argue with someone who could be erased from this world anyway.
‘Better to focus only on gathering the information I need…’
For my own sanity, that was the best approach.
Lloyd continued rambling nonsense—about how I had such a low-class friend (probably Harnen), how he misinterpreted my surprise at my status as dislike toward him, and other nonsense. Then he added, “I decorated the room nicely for you to arrive.”
He held out his hand.
“Shall we go?”
“…Fine.”
There was no need to provoke unnecessary friction after sneaking in like this.
I placed my hand in Lloyd’s.
Einra disappeared from the space in front of me.
“….”
The red eyes stared silently at the spot where the violet summoning circle had just been flickering.
Violetti, who had followed in, looked at her lord and spoke carefully.
“Your Grace…”
“….”
“The estate is covered in defensive magic. From this, it seems that Lady Einra was not kidnapped but intentionally moved inside the circle…”
“If anything happens and you need to leave here,”
A low voice slowly muttered.
“You were supposed to tell me first.”
Sensing something off from the monotone mutter, Violetti immediately fell silent.
It was best not to speak when her lord was in a strange state.
“Count Chevila.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Summon the knights.”
“…Which knights, Your Grace?”
“To punish the traitor.”
Clang.
The sound of breaking glass echoed eerily.
From the place where the platinum-colored light had subsided, the boy who had just appeared slowly tilted his head.
“One or two aren’t enough.”
