-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: The Crystal Annex
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Late at night, at the edge of the forest in the Auraria Imperial Palace.
The small, old tower had been transformed so much that it was completely unrecognizable.
It was once where Lellia lived, but not anymore.
Now, it was Princess Yuriana's secret hideout, a place she treasured.
Whenever she felt down, she would come here to relax or gaze at the stars in the night sky.
Before leaving with the subjugation force, Cedric and Damian had the entire building renovated as a gift for Yuriana.
Since then, it had been called the ‘Crystal Annex.’
It was indeed as splendid as its name suggested.
“So this is where she lived before she ran away?”
Standing before the conspicuously luxurious annex, the four young men stared at the building with dumbfounded expressions.
Perhaps because it was late, all the lights in the annex were off.
It was a space solely for Yuriana, so no one came when she wasn't visiting.
“Honestly, what a taste.”
Romeo muttered under his breath, looking disgusted.
The building's style was so flamboyant that it blatantly brought certain people to mind.
“I know, right.”
What they all thought of were the faces of Princes Cedric and Damian.
Cedric and Damian had joined the subjugation force late.
To put it simply, they were not on good terms with the four men present.
Cedric and Damian were always the center of attention, while these four preferred to avoid the spotlight and stick together.
But in the end, it was these four who had made the greater contribution to the Mad Dragon subjugation force.
They considered the brothers Cedric and Damian to be ‘all-talk-no-action bastards.’
Moreover, the twin brothers were the sons of Emperor Perseus.
As things stood, Emperor Perseus was one of the most likely people to be the culprit's backer.
It was only natural that they didn't look upon Princes Cedric and Damian favorably.
Of course, they couldn't be certain yet that Emperor Perseus was the culprit's backer.
To find conclusive evidence, they first had to find the person named ‘Lellia,’ the most likely culprit.
“So she killed Leo, lived comfortably in a place like this, and then ran away... But why did she run?”
Calix muttered, lowering the eyepatch that had been covering his eye.
“She probably thought she could become the empress by killing Leo, but then Emperor Perseus suddenly appeared, and she panicked. Maybe she ran away because she was afraid Emperor Perseus would find out.”
Griffith answered.
Romeo, who had been listening quietly, added another hypothesis.
“She might have tried to assassinate Cedric and Damian, too, and then fled.”
Oscar also offered his opinion.
“Conversely, Emperor Perseus might be the one hiding her.”
The more new information they gathered, the less things seemed to add up.
One question would lead to another, and then they'd be back where they started.
But the four of them instinctively believed one thing was certain.
That a woman named ‘Lellia’ was deeply involved in Leo’s death. That she was the most likely culprit.
The biggest basis for this suspicion was the final dying message Leo had sent.
“How are we supposed to find someone the Emperor gave up on tracking?”
Calix said, staring pointedly at Romeo as if telling him to do something about it.
“…”
At his gaze, Romeo blinked, looking incredulous.
Romeo had always possessed magic, but he gained an immense amount of it after the battle with the Mad Dragon.
The fact that he had absorbed the magic dwelling in the Mad Dragon's heart was a secret known only to these four.
However, his power had not yet stabilized, and he suffered from periodic, painful seizures.
“Hey, you need something to track with magic. What do you expect me to do with nothing?”
When Romeo retorted, Calix turned his head to look at Griffith and said,
“…Griffith. This is your chance to prove that divine power is superior to magic.”
“It's the same for me. How am I supposed to track someone with nothing?”
When Griffith answered irritably, Calix muttered, “This is why you can't trust in gods.”
Oscar asked Romeo.
“What about the fountain pen, then? We'll have to try doing something with that.”
“Ah, right.”
A few years ago.
Romeo had learned something through a mage from his home country.
It was the fact that he could track the magic stone embedded in the fountain pens he had shared with his friends.
However, when he tried to track Leo's fountain pen using the method the mage had given him, it was impossible.
The mage from his home country had explained the reason.
*It seems someone separated the fountain pen and the magic stone. The magical wavelength was cut, making it impossible to track.*
Hearing this, Romeo and his friends speculated that the culprit had done it. Or that someone had stolen it in the chaos of the moment.
In any case, Romeo had requested that the mage research another way to track it, and he had recently received good news.
But at the time, Romeo's magic hadn't fully stabilized, making it difficult to attempt.
“I guess we'll have to try that method, at least…”
Of course, no one knew what had happened to the fountain pen.
Leo might have disposed of it, someone might have stolen it, or the culprit might have taken it.
But with nothing else to go on, they had no choice but to try tracking that.
“For the time being, we need to keep a close eye on the Emperor, too.”
At Romeo's words, their eyes glinted sharply.
Even if the culprit turned out to be the emperor of this empire, they were determined to see their revenge through.
