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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: An Unlikely Investigation
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‘No!’
I couldn’t let all these people witness Isaac’s hand snapping off and falling to the floor. And with the Crown Prince among them?
That would be grounds for immediate execution!
If the Crown Prince grew suspicious and started investigating, they’d find our trail in no time.
‘Isn’t there some way?!’
If I were a more skilled warlock, I could have temporarily strengthened Isaac. After all, he was practically my familiar now.
But every time Lev nagged me to practice my dark magic, I’d just avoided it. Naturally, I had no idea how to use reinforcement!
‘Lev, I guess this is what I get for not listening to you.’
But there was no time for regrets. I quickly reviewed my pathetic dark magic skills, picking out what little I could do.
‘Yes. This might work!’
I swiftly clenched my fist. The pain of my nails digging into my palm was sharp and clear.
There was no time to hesitate over the pain.
‘Just a little. Even a single drop will do…!’
*Crunch!*
The tips of my fingers felt slightly damp. I barely managed to soothe the thing squirming in my palm.
‘That’s right. Good boy. You can go shatter that light fixture up there, can’t you?’
The thing in my hand stirred as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. As I quietly opened my palm, it slid down the leg of my chair and seeped into the floor.
The blood of a warlock is, in itself, like a familiar.
Therefore, even a novice like me could draw my own blood and give it a simple command.
“Young Lady.”
“Yes?”
I tried my best not to show my surprise.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Ah… the duel.”
Tristan gave a calm nod. His expression remained as cold as ever, but my long experience as a scribe told me he was finding this duel quite interesting.
“Well. Normally, I would have bet on my brother Isaac’s victory, but as you know, he isn’t in the best condition right now.”
“Sir Isaac’s strength is usually considered his strong suit, but watching this duel, it seems that’s not all there is to him.”
He spoke without taking his eyes off Isaac.
“His technique and sense are also remarkable. He’s using his opponent’s strength against him, and he hasn’t even broken a sweat.”
*That’s probably because he can’t sweat.*
Instead of saying that, I smiled brightly and nodded. Aside from Isaac’s precarious wrist, the tide of the duel seemed to have turned in his favor.
Harold was sweating profusely, focusing all his energy on his attacks, while Isaac calmly parried every single one.
I glanced up at the ceiling.
My blood-infused familiar had already crawled up the wall and was positioned near the light fixture.
‘Just a little… more…!’
Isaac’s wrist was at its limit. I didn’t know the details, but I could vaguely sense his body’s condition.
“Hmph, just dodging like a little rat.”
Harold wiped the sweat from his brow and corrected his stance once more.
“Let’s end this with this move.”
“No, wait a moment.”
Isaac tried to stop him, but Harold paid him no mind.
“Here I coooome!”
As if it were his final strike, Harold raised his sword high and charged. It was a desperate move, one that could easily break his posture.
There was no way to deflect that without putting immense strain on Isaac’s wrist.
“Hyaaaaaaah!”
*CRASH!*
A deafening roar echoed through the hall, and a thick cloud of dust billowed up. It was a rare sight in an indoor training hall, not some sandy arena.
“Wh-what was that?!”
“The floor shattered! It’s dust from the floor tiles!”
“Who won? Sir Isaac? Or Sir Harold?”
Murmurs filled the training hall. While everyone was trying to guess the outcome, I secretly let out a sigh of relief.
‘That was close.’
As the dust slowly settled, a faint silhouette was revealed.
The first person to become visible was Harold, his face deathly pale.
“It’s Harold!”
“Did Harold win?”
But soon after, Isaac, still standing, also came into view. At the sight, everyone fell silent.
*Clink.*
A piece of the light fixture rolling at Isaac’s feet made a small noise.
Yes. The light fixture.
The light that had just fallen was completely shattered between Isaac and Harold. The damage to the floor was also its fault.
A fixture the size of a grown man’s torso had fallen from that ceiling. If things had gone wrong, someone could have been seriously injured.
“You…”
Amidst the chaos, Harold’s face contorted in a snarl as he shouted.
“Why did you save me!”
“……”
“Are you saying someone like me is no threat to you!”
He screamed, filled with rage. I could roughly guess why he was sitting slumped on the floor next to the fallen light.
“Let’s go again. A fair and square match…!”
“I think that’s enough.”
Just then, Tristan stood up from beside me and spoke.
The hall fell silent in an instant. Harold’s lips twitched as if he had more to say, but he couldn’t bring himself to defy the Crown Prince’s command and shut his mouth.
“It’s a stroke of luck that no one was hurt in this accident. We should end it here for today and everyone should return.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Sir Isaac, you’re all right as well, I presume?”
When Isaac didn’t respond, Tristan singled him out.
“…Yes, of course.”
Isaac forced a smile. Tristan couldn’t see it, but I could. A hairline crack had already formed on his wrist.
Pushing Harold out of the way must have been the final straw for that wrist.
“Good. Then have them both moved to the infirmary. Sir Ducre, you will be responsible for cleaning this up.”
“Yes, sir! I understand!”
Ducre, a member of the knight order who had been unexpectedly given a command by the Crown Prince, shouted back with sharp discipline.
“Your Highness. Would you permit me to take an early leave and return home? I will have my personal physician check my condition.”
He couldn’t let the royal medical staff examine him. When Isaac made the request, Tristan readily agreed.
“You look pale. Go home and get some rest.”
“Thank you for your grace, Your Highness.”
Isaac did his best to hide his wrist as he offered his thanks. As he stepped back, he shot me a quick wink.
It seemed he’d figured out that the suddenly falling light was my doing.
‘Honestly, this guy…’
Why did he have to go and cause trouble so out of character? Of course, I had a good idea of the reason. The only time Isaac charged in without thinking was when his family was insulted.
‘And House Walker has a very symbolic flaw.’
Me. Emily Walker.
You’d think he’d be used to it by now, but Isaac always acted as if it were the first time I’d ever been insulted.
“Huuuh…”
As a sigh escaped my lips, Tristan, who was walking ahead, stopped. Lost in a train of thought, I hadn't realized we had arrived at the small garden of the Juliet Palace, situated between the training hall and his office.
‘Was my sigh too loud?’
What other reason could there be for the Crown Prince to stop so suddenly? I held my breath as he turned to face me.
“Young Lady.”
“Y-yes?”
“It seems you’ve noticed as well.”
“Pardon?”
He stroked his chin and lowered his gaze. I had no idea what he was talking about, but as he stood there among the blooming roses, his eyes looked like rose petals themselves.
“House Walker has always been blessed by the gods. It’s nothing particularly surprising. Though Sir Walker didn’t seem to have noticed…”
“Pardon?”
Like a fool, I could only repeat myself.
“Yes. This is the very reason I’ve put the knight order on high alert.”
“…I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I understand your desire not to get deeply involved. But if you have the ability to read the remnants of dark magic…”
“What did you say?”
Forgetting all propriety, I stared at him with wide eyes. I mean, how could I not? He had just mentioned ‘dark magic.’
*Am I caught?*
The question arose on its own. Was that why he led me to this secluded garden?
I took a hesitant step back, only to bump into Werner, who was standing behind me.
“!”
I was surrounded.
The thought sent a chill down my spine. Finding my reaction amusing, Werner chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Your Highness, you’re frightening the young lady. I’ve told you before. It’s that grim expression of yours that scares all the young ladies away!”
“…I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Tristan looked awkward and took a step back himself. The atmosphere between them wasn’t hostile.
At the very least, it wasn’t how one would treat a warlock, the common enemy of the continent.
‘I’m not caught.’
The thought brought a wave of relief.
“Young Lady, please don’t hide it and tell us. During the duel earlier. You already knew the light was going to fall, didn’t you?”
“……”
“You looked up at the ceiling before it even fell, didn’t you?”
So that was it!
All I did was glance up to check if my familiar was doing its job, but he had keenly noticed it.
“To be honest, we’ve recently grown suspicious… that warlocks may have resumed their activities.”
It was a truly chilling story.
Tension coiled in my gut once more. How on earth did he know? Had I left some kind of trace? My mind raced.
“So we’ve been conducting our own investigation, but we’ve run into several limitations. We’re using various tools to track the remnants of dark magic, but their use is restricted, and most are single-use.”
Werner spoke in a tone one might use to soothe a small child. He seemed utterly convinced that I was terrified, being cornered between two grown men.
“The accident earlier is a case in point. I used this detector just in case, and it turns out it sensed dark magic!”
*Because I used it…*
“It seems you have an innate ability to sense this kind of demonic energy, Young Lady.”
*That’s because I’m a warlock…*
“Would you be willing to cooperate with our investigation?”
Werner looked at me with sparkling eyes. When I turned my head, I saw Tristan pretending not to, but he was also studying my expression.
‘This is insane!’
Did these people have any idea what they were saying? Asking a warlock to help them hunt down warlocks.
‘Of course they don’t…’
If they knew, I’d be in even bigger trouble.
I wanted to just refuse and pretend I didn’t know anything, but it wasn’t that simple.
Obviously, hunting warlocks had nothing to do with a scribe’s duties. This was an absurd work order, on par with asking a scribe to do their child’s academy homework!
But how often does a subordinate employee object to an unfair work order?
He was my superior, and we would have to continue seeing each other.
‘Keep your enemies closer, was it?’
If they really were onto something, it might be better to stick close and find out the status of their investigation.
“Naturally, you will be paid for the overtime.”
Tristan quickly added. It was a bit late to bring it up, but I had no share in the inheritance of House Walker’s fortune.
“……I’ll do it.”
There was no other choice.
