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Chapter 65
“Then… you’re planning to rescue that mage?”
“Mm, well, I don’t think I’ll actually be going to Fanon myself, but yes—roughly speaking, it’s similar, right?”
“Aha. As expected, purity is better than schemes…”
Emma squeezed my hand tightly.
“If there’s anything I can help with, just say the word.”
“Yes, I will. Ah—just in case, could you pass along some of this sand to your three friends too?”
“They’re not exactly outstanding in magic, so I don’t know how much help it’ll be, but all right, I’ll give it to them. If you tell them anyone who figures out the spellwork gets a magic stone as a reward, they’ll probably leap at it with joy.”
I had just finished drinking the now-cold tea and was about to head back when—
Knock, knock.
Someone rapped on the door.
Had Emma’s friends already arrived?
But when the door opened, the person standing there was—
“Member Elisha! So you were here!”
“Madam Helena?”
It was Helena, the guildmaster.
A quick glance told me Emma was puzzled as well.
“What’s this, Madam Helena? Do you need your magic tools serviced?”
“No, Member Emma. I came for Member Elisha. I checked the pawnshop first but you weren’t there, so I thought you might be here… Ah, there’s no time to explain.”
Helena had clearly run here in a hurry.
Still catching her breath, she suddenly grabbed my shoulders.
“Member Elisha. You aren’t opening a second branch, are you?”
“No, of course not. I’m barely managing my current shop as it is.”
“In that case—just as I thought! We need to convene an emergency countermeasure meeting!”
“Emergency… countermeasure meeting? For what?”
“To protect the rights of our members, of course!”
Both Emma and I blinked in confusion as Helena ground her teeth.
“Because a new pawnshop has just opened in town!”
“Whaaat?!”
Emma leapt to her feet with a loud crash.
Fanon Count’s Residence
Hugo nervously chewed at his fingernails.
“When is sister coming back… this is driving me crazy…”
He kept glancing toward the door, jittery. His aide, unable to watch any longer, cautiously spoke up.
“My lord Count, what troubles you?”
“What do you mean, what troubles me?! It’s the bomb my sister dropped into the residence!”
“If you mean the person in the underground prison, he’s wearing the restraints, isn’t he? He won’t be able to harm you.”
“How can you trust restraints when it’s a mage we’re talking about? What if they undo them in a heartbeat?”
Hugo’s legs bounced restlessly as he muttered under his breath.
“And besides! I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“What sort of feeling, my lord?”
“What if Uncle can already see through our every move? Just like when he blindsided us with the 《Colonia Forest》 auction and spirited Nicholas away…”
Surely that was just paranoia? The aide tilted his head.
“The auction, maybe, but to say the former Duke was the one who abducted Lord Nicholas? If anything, it seems more likely Duke Alchemia was behind it. After all, Nicholas is being sheltered in Alchemia’s duchy even now.”
“That’s because you don’t understand how meticulous Uncle is! And besides, Duke Alchemia and Uncle, they—”
Click, clack.
At the sound of approaching heels, Hugo fell silent.
Rozanne strode in briskly, her expression icy.
“Take me to the underground prison.”
The Fanon estate was a rural backwater. Which also meant—it was relatively free from the oversight of central authorities.
In principle, any modifications to a noble’s residence required imperial approval. But Fanon, being off the radar, had secretly expanded its basement into a prison.
That’s why sister sent that mage here.
As they descended toward the underground, Hugo cautiously asked, watching her expression.
“Um, sister, about those restraints… are they really safe?”
“Do you think I would handle matters carelessly?”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant, I just… the thought of a mage right under my bedroom makes me nervous…”
Rozanne glanced back at him with irritation and sighed.
“As long as you don’t do anything foolish, they won’t break free.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because these are sacred restraints—impossible to undo by oneself.”
“R-right! And mages are naturally opposed to holy power too!”
“It was originally one of the measures we considered to imprison Uncle. We’re merely putting it to the test early.”
One of the methods intended for their tiger-like uncle?
Then it was only natural that even a powerful mage couldn’t break free.
Relieved, Hugo exhaled.
Sister said it herself—once we have this mage, we can turn Uncle into a toothless tiger. I don’t know exactly how, but still…
Rozanne was still seething from what had happened at the auction with Nicholas.
Given her burning hatred toward their uncle, she wouldn’t make half-baked plans.
Yes, Uncle must be busy dealing with the newly opened pawnshop.
By now, Uncle would surely have learned of it—Rozanne’s secret pawnshop opening right across the street!
Since Uncle treated pawnshops as his lifeblood, he’d be too preoccupied fending that off.
And that’s when we’ll catch him off guard. I was worrying for nothing! Sister is brilliant!
His anxiety forgotten, Hugo strode ahead.
Reaching the prison, he pulled out the keys.
The mage inside lay sprawled weakly on the floor.
I was too scared to even look until now… tch, they’re so skinny. Without magic, I could probably beat them myself.
Casting a sidelong glance at the filthy robed figure, Hugo unlocked the door and stepped back.
Rozanne entered confidently, looking down at the mage as if at an insect.
Tap, tap.
She nudged the mage’s foot with the tip of her shoe, then suddenly ground down hard on their ankle.
“Urgh…”
The pained groan made Hugo flinch back.
Wait—it’s a girl?!
“W-water… please, just a sip of water…”
When the mage weakly raised her head, Hugo glimpsed short sage-green hair under the robe’s hood.
And then—
“As if I’d give water to a thief. There’s something else you ought to beg for, isn’t there?”
Rozanne seized her hair and spoke coldly.
“How about begging me to release these restraints?”
“S-sorry, I-I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t trying to… please, release—”
“Don’t call that a mistake. What I do—someone with everything—is called a mistake. What you do, someone worthless and insignificant, is simply called a crime.”
Smack.
The mage’s cheek stung as she crumpled to the floor, her left wrist glowing pale.
The restraints.
Rozanne’s lips curled upward as she stared at them.
“Judging by how you can’t even resist, they’re very effective. But I should test them, just to be sure. I like certainty.”
A bad premonition gripped Hugo. He clamped his mouth shut.
What’s with that mage’s right hand… why is it pitch black? No, more importantly, what is sister…
“W-what are you—aghhh!”
The moment Rozanne pressed a small button, sparks leapt from the restraints. The mage screamed, curling into herself in agony.
Her shriek was far more horrifying than the sight of her blackened right hand.
Hugo staggered back in shock, while a cruel smile spread across Rozanne’s lips.
“Ugh… nngh…”
“Yes. This will do nicely.”
At last releasing the button, Rozanne spoke with a disturbingly gentle tone.
“Crime demands punishment. You dared sneak into the Lionet duchy to steal a first-class magic stone. Naturally, you must pay the price.”
“Ugh…”
“But you’re lucky. I’m rather merciful. If you do just one task for me, I might forgive your crime.”
The mage’s lips trembled, wet with tears.
“N-no way…”
“Oh? You already know why you’re here, don’t you? Perhaps you wonder how I discovered your filthy past… but let’s save that talk for later.”
Her eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
“After you’ve rummaged through Nicholas Raum’s mind, shredded it, and turned it to mush.”
What?!
Hugo staggered.
So this was what his sister intended to make the mage do?
“Take away every memory he has of painting. Ensure that he can never again draw his own pictures!”
She’s planning to destroy Nicholas?!
And not only Nicholas—there was still the matter of capturing Uncle Michele.
She plans to keep using this mage… forever!
Her promise of forgiveness after a single task was a blatant lie.
“And I know you can transplant those memories into someone else.”
“Hhngh…!”
“Yes. Nicholas will be trapped forever in another’s mind, forced to paint replicas only for me!”
Hugo collapsed onto the floor in horror at her words.
The mage shivered violently and stammered out,
“B-but that’s… black magic… In restraints like this, I c-can’t… I won’t survive it…”
“Why should I care?”
Rozanne smiled. Elegant. Merciless.
“You’ll manage it somehow. Won’t you?”
Click.
“If you want—”
Click.
“—my forgiveness?”
“Ahhh… Aaaaghhh!”
“Let me know when you’re ready. I’m generous enough to wait.”
Pressing the button several more times, Rozanne chuckled softly and turned away.
“For a few days, at least.”
Tap, tap.
Brushing off her hands, she left.
The prison was filled only with the sound of Hugo retching and the mage’s tearful sobs echoing in the void.
