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Chapter 51
“Seems like Riman was truly sorry.”
“Looks that way.”
On the carriage ride back, the Tower Master handed something to Silia, saying it was a gift from Riman. Because she had stormed out in the middle of the meeting, she hadn’t received it directly.
It was a copy of the Jekal Family’s White Book of Magic.
“That’s quite a valuable item. It’ll help you greatly with your magical studies. You’ll need to organize the content in your own way, of course.”
“Is it that good? I thought it was just some regular textbook.”
“That book contains centuries of the family’s secret magic techniques. Its worth is comparable to several castles. Normally, no one outside the family is ever allowed to have it.”
“That’s a pretty big gesture of reconciliation, for someone like him.”
“I heard Count Jekal even gave his full permission. He seems grateful that you saved Riman’s life.”
“Well, I’m just glad we got back safely.”
Fleur looked visibly relieved — she’d been exhausted from all the relentless offers that had come their way before they left.
“Lady! My lady! I swear we’ll match every condition for the marriage contract!”
“Our family’s quite respectable, you know!”
“How about Riman? He’s about the right age! I bet he’d be delighted too!”
They’d heard all kinds of nonsense. Silia had dismissed it cleanly, thinking of it all as utter rubbish.
Fleur, caught in the middle, had turned pale as a sheet. The insane proposals of those equally insane mages had left her visibly shaken. In the carriage, her expression stiff, she asked cautiously,
“…If a letter happens to arrive from the Jekal family in the future, would it be alright if it went through me or Carla first?”
“Of course.”
Even without saying so, Julin would’ve screened any letters first. But if it eased her patron’s worries, Silia saw no reason to refuse. Only after her approval did Fleur’s expression finally relax a little.
In any case, the day’s outing had achieved its purpose. The moment they returned to the Diamant estate, news broke that Riman Jekal had recovered, and soon after, an investigation team descended upon House Jekal. Seeing him again after that became nearly impossible.
‘Well, whatever comes next is his problem to solve.’
The Tower entered a period of reorganization. Silia only attended a few academy classes, leaving her with plenty of time to think — though the lack of answers or clues was frustrating.
“There’s still nothing that really clicks.”
“What do you mean?”
“When did you get here?”
“You called me, remember?”
The scarecrow-like mage stood beside her with a timid expression.
“Ah, right.”
“If you’re going to summon me, at least remember doing it.”
“How’s your body?”
“…Fine.”
He’d regained consciousness not long after Riman had woken up.
Ever since Silia began suspecting Crondel, she hadn’t been able to rest easy. This wasn’t just about investigating his disappearance. If there really was something about him — especially something related to the monsters —
‘Why can’t I stop thinking about this?’
It might not even be her business. And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to know. That was why she’d called the man here.
“The man Riman said he saw — you don’t know who that is?”
The scarecrow mage fidgeted before replying.
“I… don’t know anyone like that.”
“Really? No one comes to mind?”
“I don’t pay much attention to other people…”
Whether he truly didn’t know or was pretending not to, Silia couldn’t tell. She almost pulled out the pendant to test him — but stopped herself.
‘Once I confirm that it works on people…’
It would be hard to look at someone she’d once trusted the same way again. Trust between allies was paramount on the battlefield — once broken, it rarely healed.
‘Maybe that’s why this is bothering me so much.’
Suppressing her frustration, Silia said in a probing tone,
“I can think of someone who fits.”
“Who?”
“You were a royal mage once. You should know — the second prince’s bodyguard. The sharp-looking one.”
The scarecrow mage blinked, as if recalling something.
“Really? I… don’t recall well. Though, yes, I’ve heard rumors that the second prince has an unusual obsession with magic.”
“Even the royal mages gossip about that now, huh? Anyway, you seriously don’t remember? How can you not know a royal guard?”
“I didn’t serve long in the palace.”
“You once said something strange was going on in the royal family, didn’t you? So you were there long enough to notice.”
“…Yes. I sensed something dangerous — that they were conducting forbidden experiments. I stole the crystal I gave you and fled. It seemed like proof.”
“What kind of experiments? Did you see anything?”
She’d found traces in the forbidden archives, but so much was redacted that all she had were guesses.
The mage spoke carefully.
“I don’t know much. But… I saw people being taken underground.”
“People?”
“Yes. Mostly vagrants or servants without connections. And after they disappeared, those fragments would appear nearby.”
“……”
“Those people were never seen again. I got spooked after a while and ran.”
[‘Of living things… in exchange for…’]
There had definitely been that phrase — “of living things” — in one of the erased documents she’d seen.
‘…No way.’
Still, it was all circumstantial. No solid evidence.
Silia pressed her fingers to her temple and reopened the Jekal family’s White Book of Magic.
“You’re reading that again? You’re unbelievable…”
“Workaholic? Yeah, I know.”
It had become a habit — whenever her head hurt from thinking too much, she’d dive into magic formulas to memorize something new.
Thanks to that, she’d progressed from basic magic to advanced applications. Others said she was just avoiding her problems by burying herself in more work, but—
‘What can I do? I get anxious when I sit still.’
Fleur and the others had expressed concern, saying she never rested. They weren’t wrong. Since her resurrection, she hadn’t had a single moment to truly stop. She couldn’t afford to waste time — yet ironically, she couldn’t get any closer to Ilrod either. The Heinz family’s security was still airtight.
The scarecrow mage muttered cautiously,
“At this rate, you’ll collapse first.”
“I won’t. You’re worried about me?”
“You think I don’t know you’re my protector? If you die, I’m next. So yes, I’m worried.”
“If you know that, why didn’t you dig deeper back then? If you’d just found something useful…”
“What, was I supposed to walk up and ask, ‘Excuse me, what are you doing down there?’ and get myself killed? Just knowing those experiments existed was enough to make me a target!”
“Fine. So if we can’t ask directly…”
Silia suddenly closed the magic book. Her abrupt, energetic movement startled him.
“…then we’ll just ask in person.”
“W-What?!”
He could only stare blankly as she strode out with determined steps.
⋆⋆⋆
A cold wind swept across the quiet lakeshore that night.
Sand dunes still lingered here and there — remnants of the treasure vault’s destruction. The royal family had supposedly cleaned it up, but black sand still mixed with the earth, a haunting reminder of that day.
Silia glanced at her pocket watch, then called out behind her. She’d already checked multiple times to ensure no one was around.
“Hey! Let’s talk about that deal we made before.”
Only the whisper of the reeds answered her. Silia tied up her hair and called again.
“I ran into the prince at the Jekal estate recently. You guys were tailing him too, weren’t you? Not that you got inside — the wards would’ve stopped you.”
She inhaled the damp scent of sand and lakewater and turned as if to leave.
“Well, if you’re not interested, forget it.”
“Depends on whether you brought something useful.”
Finally, a familiar voice echoed. Silia smiled and turned to face him.
“Long time no see, Fatty.”
“It’s Jun, actually.”
Ignoring his stubborn correction, she went on,
“You’re the only one who ever shows up. You and ‘Sharpie’ not on good terms or what?”
“You’re free to interpret that however you like, my lady.”
“So you do know he was inside the mansion. Impressive you tracked that far — though you didn’t get past the entrance, huh? The place was enchanted. Still, that’s something, isn’t it? Worth a bit of value?”
“……”
“If you’re just gonna keep quiet, fine. Oh, right — you never did hear what happened inside the treasure vault, did you? Shame to just give it away for free though. I think it’s about time I got my reward.”
“Let’s hear what kind of reward you want first.”
Yeah, cautious as ever. Ask too much and they’d drop her — typical of him.
Silia smirked.
“That ‘Sharpie’ of yours. Let me have him for a day. Even an hour’s fine.”
All she needed was to question the man directly.
Jun refused flatly.
“Denied.”
“So stingy. It’s not like I’m asking to meet the Crown Princess.”
“That, actually… I could arrange.”
Jun’s reply was surprisingly casual.
“If, of course, the lady is interested.”
