KMPEG 85

Chapter 85

It’s time to let him go.

I raised one hand and waved to Frederick.

“You can go now, Frederick. Really, nothing happened. And Tiago put a protection spell on my room.”

“Tiago gave you a protection spell?”

One of Frederick’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

I nodded casually.

“Well then… I guess I didn’t need to come.”

His tone suddenly turned cold. I felt a small pang of regret at his sudden change, but I didn’t want to lie to keep him near me.

“Yeah. I’ll be okay. Go back to Charlier. Not just now—I’ll be okay from now on too.”

“……”

Frederick stared at me without saying a word.

He was smart. I was sure he understood what I meant.

I was telling him that from now on, he should take care of Charlier, and that I would be with Tiago instead.
And I could see from Frederick’s eyes that he got the message.

“…Alright. I’ll go. I’m glad you’ll be safe.”

I nodded and opened the bedroom door.

It seemed like Frederick wanted to say something more but decided not to.

As he was about to leave the room, I called out,

“Goodbye, Frederick.”

“……”

He stopped in the doorway and looked back at me.

“Delphine, stay safe.”

“I will.”

Frederick gave a small nod and walked out of the room.

As I closed the door, I also quietly closed the door on Frederick in my heart—once and for all.

Edward frowned as he opened his eyes. Morning sunlight peeked through the curtains and hit his face.

He sat on the bed, holding his head.

Why does my head hurt so much?

He pressed his hands to his temples and shut his eyes tightly before opening them again, trying to clear his mind.

After blinking several times, his head slowly began to clear.

What’s going on? I didn’t even drink last night. But I feel like I spent the whole day drinking.

—Throb.

A sharp headache hit him. Frowning in confusion, he stood up.

At the same time, Leo was suffering from the exact same symptoms.

Leo was still lying in bed, blinking and trying to figure out what was causing his headache.

But neither Edward nor Leo could figure it out.

The truth was, their headaches were caused by Tiago’s memory-erasing magic.

That kind of magic had side effects—like a powerful hangover.

Edward squinted, as if trying to remember a dream that had already slipped away. A wave of emptiness washed over him.

Was it a dream? Did I dream something?

He squeezed his head, trying to remember, but nothing came to mind.

The memory about Delphine’s possession had long been wiped away.

Screw it. I’m thirsty. I’ll just get some water.

Edward got up, grabbed a cup from the table, and drank the water in big gulps.

Hmm? Something’s not right. I know something happened…

He felt the lingering magical residue—like the aftershock of a major spell.

What happened last night?

He tilted his head, confused. But he never imagined that Kereman had come near the palace… or that Tiago had made a deal that would cost him his life in a few months.

Still feeling uneasy, Edward slumped onto the sofa.

—Knock knock knock.

There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

At his response, Edward’s personal servant entered the room.

The servant held out a rolled-up scroll with both hands.

“A letter from Lord Tiago.”

“What?!”

Edward couldn’t hold back his annoyance and snapped.

The servant flinched and responded in a small, squeaky voice.

“A letter… from Lord Tiago…”

Edward snatched the scroll and waved his hand.

“Leave.”

The servant bowed and quickly left the room.

Edward stared at the scroll in his hand.

It wasn’t even properly sealed. Just rolled up messily—it looked more like a scrap note than a formal letter.

This jerk. What’s he playing at, sending me this first thing in the morning?

He unrolled it with an irritated flick.

In neat handwriting, it said:

Edward. Come to my room. Right now.

“What the hell? Who does he think he is, giving me orders?”

Edward crumpled the note angrily.

But what annoyed him more than the message itself… was that he couldn’t ignore it.

Tiago held all the cards right now.

And Edward didn’t even remember that Delphine had been possessed—that was supposed to be his trump card.

“Ugh…”

He sighed heavily and drank another glass of water. Like it or not, he had no choice but to go to Tiago.

Holding his throbbing head with one hand, Edward left the room.

“Lord Edward has arrived.”

When Edward entered Tiago’s room, he realized Tiago wasn’t alone.

Sitting across from him was… Leo.

Edward tried not to show it, but the moment he saw Leo’s face, his own expression twisted.

What the hell is this? Why is Leo here? Did they already talk? Don’t tell me that bastard joined Tiago’s side?!

He tried to read the situation, but there were no clear clues.
Tiago and Leo just sat facing each other. Leo sat on a simple wooden chair, while Tiago sat on a soft sofa.

Tiago gestured to a nearby armchair for Edward to sit.

Edward was deeply confused by all this but hid it and sat down.

“What’s going on? Why did you call me this early in the morning?”

Edward was the first to speak.

Tiago looked at both Edward and Leo calmly and said,

“Edward. Leo. I’ve called you here because I have a proposal.”

“A proposal? First thing in the morning?”

Edward sneered.

Leo glanced nervously at him.

Tiago extended a hand toward Leo.

“I’ve already explained everything to Young Master Leo.”

Edward immediately looked at Leo. His face had gone stiff. It was clear he’d heard something bad.

Tiago smiled slightly, as if he were enjoying Edward’s discomfort.

“Take a look at these first.”

—Snap.

With a clap, the stack of ledgers in front of Leo floated over and landed in front of Edward.

Edward didn’t even touch them. He just glared at Tiago.

“What is this?”

“Go on. Take a look. I think you’ll find them… interesting.”

Leo looked at Edward with anxious eyes, silently urging him to read.

“Tch.”

With a sigh, Edward reluctantly picked up one ledger and opened it.

It was simple: names of noble houses and what looked like large sums of money listed beside them.

Tiago rubbed his hands together and explained,

“These ledgers list all the noble houses who bought curse orbs—and the amounts they paid.”

Edward stared at him, looking like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Tiago met his gaze firmly.

“They’re all real.”

“……”

“This one ledger alone could drag more than half the nobles in the Pignon Empire into a huge scandal.”

Edward’s hand trembled slightly as he held the ledger. He quickly closed it and set it down.

Tiago noticed and spoke again, clearly enjoying himself.

“What do you think? Isn’t it interesting? If you’d like, I can show you the pages for House Marbo and House Trinity. Maybe that’ll really get your attention.”

Edward crossed his arms and pretended to be unfazed.

“So what if you have this ledger? It could easily be faked. No one’s going to believe you.”

Tiago responded calmly.

“Because I’m a former slave? You think no one will believe me because of that?”

Edward flinched.

He hadn’t said it out loud—but Tiago had read exactly what he was thinking.

Edward looked to Leo. But Leo only stared back helplessly, silently begging for help.

Tiago added,

“Actually, Young Master Leo was quite reasonable. Probably because of this contract.”

He snapped his fingers again, and a contract floated from in front of Leo to Edward’s hands.

It was the exclusive contract Leo had once signed with Tiago.

As Edward’s eyes scanned the document, his expression hardened.

When he finished reading, he stared at Leo as if to ask, Did you really write this?

Feeling that gaze, Leo looked down and avoided his eyes.

“…Yes.”

Tiago answered for him.

“That contract was written by Leonard Marbo himself. And you, as a mage, should know—”

“……”

“—that magical contracts, especially those stamped with a noble house’s seal, can’t be faked.”

Edward’s eyes burned with growing anger. Leo couldn’t even lift his head, breathing heavily.

Edward growled,

“Leonard. Answer me yourself.”

“……”

“Did you really write this? Did you really sign this contract?!”

Edward shouted, and Leo flinched.
In a small, defeated voice, he nodded.