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Chapter 75
“So I’ve prepared another expert.”
The moment Alexander finished speaking, Tiago entered the chamber.
Everyone in the conference room was startled—but none more than Edward.
Normally, any magical investigation within the palace would fall under Edward’s authority. As the empire’s chief mage, all decisions related to magic were his domain.
Edward’s teeth ground together in rage and humiliation.
“Allow me to introduce the one who will lead this investigation—Tiago.”
Tiago stood at Alexander’s side and gave a short bow. His face revealed no expression at all.
Alexander continued the introduction.
“Tiago is the most skilled mage in our empire.”
With every word, Edward’s face grew more twisted.
“And he will oversee this investigation as the chief expert.”
“……”
Everyone glanced briefly at Edward. They all knew how deeply insulting this was for him.
But Edward could say nothing, and no one else dared to speak either.
Edward’s face flushed red with fury.
Alexander looked him squarely in the eye and said,
“Our imperial mages…”
Edward knew he should look up, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Alexander smirked.
“…from now on, you will obey Tiago’s orders in all matters of this investigation.”
“……!”
Under the table, Edward’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles ached. Around him, people looked away.
‘This… this can’t be real…’
He couldn’t believe it. Inside, he kept denying what was happening, struggling to suppress his exploding rage.
17. Twisted Schemes
Edward stormed back toward his laboratory, seething.
‘Damn it, I should have seen this coming. I need to act now.’
His thoughts were consumed by one thing: destroying Tiago.
‘A lowborn slave… I won’t let trash like that trample me. I’ll pay him back twofold, threefold.’
His jaw tightened.
‘No matter what, I’ll bring you down.’
But as soon as he entered the corridor to his laboratory, his steps halted.
“What is this…?”
To his shock, two guards stood stationed at the door.
Edward walked up, intending to push through as if nothing had changed.
“You cannot enter.”
The guards crossed their long swords in an X across the door to block him.
Edward let out a laugh of disbelief.
“This is my laboratory. Are you seriously telling me I can’t enter my own lab?”
His commanding tone made the two guards glance uneasily at each other.
At last, the taller and paler one spoke.
“Orders from above, sir.”
“Above? I’m the one with ultimate authority over this laboratory. Whose orders are you following?”
“……”
Instead of answering, the guard looked past Edward. Edward turned—
“It was me. I gave the order.”
Tiago stood there.
‘You bastard.’
Edward’s rage surged the moment he saw him. His expression looked ready to leap at Tiago and strangle him on the spot.
But Tiago only smiled faintly, calm as ever.
“Cooperation.”
“…What?”
“Please cooperate. The curse orb investigation has begun. The imperial mage laboratory is also subject to inspection.”
“W-what? What nonsense is this?”
Edward planted his hands on his hips, shoulders squared, and barked out a bitter laugh.
“Hah! You’re investigating the palace’s curse orbs, so why the hell are you inspecting the laboratory? This is absurd!”
But Tiago remained unmoved.
“Until the investigation is finished, access to this lab is forbidden.”
“……”
Edward tilted his head sharply, glaring at him.
‘So this is how you want to play it.’
He exaggeratedly nodded, mocking.
“Fine, fine. Go ahead and wave that great authority of yours around. Do whatever you like. Just return it quickly. There’s nothing here anyway.”
Turning to the taller guard, Edward clapped his shoulder twice.
“Good luck guarding the lab. It’s not your fault. You’re just following orders.”
The guards avoided his eyes. Edward lowered his voice, threatening.
“Just remember—I won’t forget this. Better pray I never become your superior.”
Tiago said nothing, simply watching. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through Edward.
Grinding his teeth, Edward turned away—but not without shooting him one last glare as he passed.
‘Slave-born scum. Search all you want—you won’t find anything here. I’m not stupid enough to make curse orbs in this lab. Everything is hidden in the basement.’
And so, Edward changed direction.
‘I’d better move what’s in the basement somewhere safer.’
The Basement
Edward descended into the palace’s underground levels. Only a few people were permitted entry there.
As he approached, the gatekeeper unlocked the heavy iron lock.
‘Strange. He’s here earlier than usual.’
The gatekeeper thought it odd. Edward usually came and left at fixed times, like clockwork. Today, his mood was clearly darker.
But the gatekeeper wisely kept quiet. With the palace already in turmoil, he wasn’t about to invite trouble.
Edward didn’t even notice the gatekeeper’s curious glance. He had no energy to spare for that.
—Creak.
He opened the underground door.
The air was thick with dust and faint torch oil. The narrow passages were dim, lit only here and there by torches, like an ant’s nest.
Edward strode through confidently, familiar with every turn. He made his way to the deepest chamber—the magical storage vault.
Only the chief mage of the empire could enter. The location was nearly impossible to find, and even if discovered, multiple layers of protective wards guarded it. Without Edward’s approval, no one could enter.
He raised his hand and began to release the wards.
“…Huh?”
A chill ran down his spine. The wards fell away far too easily.
Normally, such barriers only grew stronger with time. A vault sealed for long periods should have been nearly impossible to break.
But today, they yielded to the faintest effort.
Edward’s brow furrowed.
‘No… it can’t be…!’
He pressed his palm to the door. It swung open on its own.
Inside, the lanterns flickered to life one by one, illuminating a chamber about the size of a room.
It wasn’t meant for storage—true magical warehouses had infinite capacity. This place was only for tools he used often.
And for another purpose.
This was where Edward made his curse orbs.
At once, a wrongness chilled him to the core.
“……”
He scanned the chamber.
‘The humidity is different.’
The bubbling of boiling curse potions was gone.
He rushed to the great cauldron in the center. It was cold and empty.
‘Th-the potions… they’re gone!’
The magical flame that had burned for years without ceasing was extinguished.
“No… no way…”
He touched the cauldron. It was icy to the touch.
—Bang!
In fury, he hurled it to the ground. The bronze cauldron clattered noisily across the stone floor.
“Gone… all gone…”
Half-crazed, he looked around again. The shelves that had once been packed were now dotted with empty spaces.
“Where… where did it go?”
He flicked his fingers. All the drawers flew open. Normally, curse orbs would float up into the air.
Nothing happened.
‘Stay calm… stay calm…’
He pulled out his staff, steadied his breathing, and swung it.
“Curse orbs.”
“……”
Silence. No clinking of orbs, no sounds of magic at work.
“Damn it.”
The curse burst from his lips. Now he understood.
All the equipment and materials for curse orbs had been stolen.
Edward clutched his head, breathing heavily.
And it wasn’t hard to guess who had done it.
Only one person in the palace had the magical power to break through such a warded vault.
“That bastard Tiago.”
His face twisted with fury.
‘This is bad.’
Edward’s mind raced frantically.
