“Say more.”
Gaston bit his lip slightly.
Who would have thought it would come to this?
But if he wanted to live, there was no choice.
Nothing was more important than an individual’s life.
Meanwhile, Wizard Bolse was taken aback by the confession.
“B-Bordeaux?! You? I knew something was off with you, you thick-headed…!”
“Quiet.”
At a glance from Eliya, Bolse immediately zipped it.
She coldly looked down at Gaston again.
“Don’t think about stalling. I have nothing to lose by getting rid of you.”
That’s a lie.
Since she had decided not to challenge Molsin Church publicly, Gaston’s whistle-blowing was quite important.
She wasn’t sure what kind of information would come out, but it was worth a listen.
She was merely pretending to be at ease on the surface.
“To be precise, I was employed by the Bordeaux family.”
“Wandering knight, huh?”
“That’s right. I was previously a believer of the Molsin Church as well. I don’t know their ultimate goal…”
“Don’t throw out excuses; just say what you know.”
“…I’m sorry. They instructed me to watch the lady’s behavior and report periodically. I was also ordered to learn about the mansion’s structure and the surrounding terrain.”
Gaston had been watching Judas under Balak’s command.
But his original intention was different.
The true mastermind was Molsin Church.
The target was Eliya.
Eliya asked, looking puzzled.
“But you. Aren’t you from the training camp?”
“I got dragged there during the recent personnel change.”
Thanks to Judas.
From the very first day, that kid shook up the entire training camp, dragging Gaston, who was in the mansion, along with him.
Eliya inwardly smiled.
Smart kid.
“Since you didn’t run away after moving to the training camp, it seems you haven’t handed over all the information yet.”
“…That’s right.”
Surveillance on her.
Checking the terrain around the mansion.
It was almost as if he were preparing for war.
It was indeed strange.
How dare Molsin Church take a stand against her?
Even if she were an illegitimate child, she was a child of the Bevel family.
If they declared war without just cause, the entire Bevel family could turn against them.
Molsin Church couldn’t handle that. Bevel was far too strong.
‘…Could it be? They—?’
A faction that would have a reason to oppose the Bevel family.
A group with the power to do so.
There was one.
‘No, don’t jump to conclusions. It’s not certain.’
After continuing to hear Gaston’s testimony, there was no meaningful information.
The only thing of note was that Salaman had been given a small title connected to the Bordeaux family?
From Eliya’s perspective, that was useless information.
In the end, Gaston was just a disposable pawn.
“Sir Gawain. Bring Dalant and Shylock too.”
Shylock already knew, but he needed to act like he didn’t.
Very few knew he was a double agent.
Having too many people know would bring trouble.
“And Gaston. You might have some useful information, so I’ll keep you alive for a while.”
“Thank you for your grace.”
“I, I—!”
Bolse hurriedly interrupted.
When Eliya looked down at him coldly, he immediately shut up.
A wizard.
A valuable asset.
But did he really need him?
Especially since ever since her wild magic had blossomed, her magical abilities transcended imagination.
She didn’t need a master anymore.
But it felt awkward to let him go.
Bolse had just heard of the subtle power struggle between Molsin Church and himself.
If released too carelessly, there was a risk information would leak.
“I need time to think.”
“Y-Yes! Of course! Will there be anything, hehehe.”
Eliya turned her back on the obsequious grin of his.
She wasn’t particularly interested.
It was just that her relationships around her were a total mess.
More than she had realized.
‘Should I clean house again…?’
While waiting for Dalant and Shylock, Eliya pondered the personnel of the training camp.
Salaman and Envinil would be dealt with quietly separately.
They were worthless beings that had poked at Judas with no information to extract.
They had to pay the price.
‘I wish I had been more careful last time.’
Thanks to Judas, she had once replaced the personnel.
At that time, Eliya had left it all to Gawain.
She hadn’t been interested in the training camp itself.
She just found Judas somewhat intriguing.
Now, the situation had changed.
She had developed a bit of interest in the training camp.
She decided to set aside the reason for it.
‘Among the current personnel, there’s no reliable talent. People are inherently unreliable. Narcissi… Should I strike her down to prove strength? Maybe I’ve been too passive, waiting for an opportunity.’
Just hoarding power without showing any is meaningless.
Strength should be appropriately showcased and displayed.
Someone arrived at the underground prison.
The first to arrive was Shylock.
Confused, he looked flustered, having been dragged here without a clue.
As he saw Gaston locked up, he soon realized the situation.
“From your expression, it seems you understand what’s going on?”
“…….”
“Good to know you’re quick on the uptake. That’ll save us some trouble.”
Shylock grasped the situation in an instant.
He admitted his guilt like a sinner and apologized, and Eliya listened as if it were the first time she had heard it.
They exchanged known questions and answers.
After finishing her act, Eliya let out a shallow sigh.
This time it wasn’t an act.
She was simply fed up.
Interference conducted under the guise of family.
What was the difference from violence?
It was a life she had never wished for, so her very birth was violence to her as well.
When her mother was by her side, she hadn’t been this cynical about life.
Just then, Dalant entered the underground.
His face was expressionless, seemingly already anticipating the situation.
“It seems you’re quite quick-witted over here as well.”
Eliya’s expectations fell short.
Dalant kept his mouth tightly shut.
“Why are we making each other tired like this…?”
Eliya, mid-sentence, felt a strange discomfort.
Her senses as a wizard were on edge.
The twisted magical wave was seeping out from Dalant.
Dalant’s eyes were rolling back.
With whites showing and drool trickling between clenched teeth, Hermis reflexively blocked in front of Eliya.
Eliya observed Dalant through Hermis’s arms.
‘What on earth is that…?’
Even with her eyes that could see magic, the wave was not clear.
Everyone took a step back from Dalant in fright.
“Ugh…!”
Dalant, trembling and shuddering, fell to his knees and then slowly collapsed.
Thud! His face hit the ground.
The heavy silence that followed the uproar.
Eliya squinted her eyes.
‘The swirling magic… has vanished.’
Not just the magic had vanished.
There was no sense of vitality whatsoever.
Shylock cautiously approached and poked him lightly with the tip of his sword.
No movement.
After flipping him over and checking for a pulse, he said,
“…He’s dead.”
Ria hurriedly spoke up.
“Lady. This is suspicious. We need to get out of here first…”
“No.”
Eliya raised a hand.
Cutting her off, she continued to think.
‘The swirling magic. That was a reaction from some magic that had been planted in the body.’
With a firm face, seemingly having made a decision or perhaps given up, her lips pressed tight.
And right at the moment she needed to interrogate, he died.
Without leaving any clues.
‘…A suicide for the purpose of information concealment.’
Dalant was not a wizard.
In other words, someone had implanted magic into Dalant.
A suicide magic that activates under specific circumstances.
Eliya had recently come across this magic while looking for spies.
A magic that forces spies sent into enemy territory to take their own lives should they leak information.
When implanted in the human body, it activates according to the desired conditions.
“First, bring a physician to check for poisoning.”
Eliya ordered.
Though she suspected magical suicide, other possibilities should remain open.
Without confirmation, she couldn’t assert anything.
Soon the physician arrived and completed a simple examination.
“For a precise test, we would need to open the abdomen, but as of now, no toxic substances have been detected.”
Eliya paused her thoughts, finding herself blocked by the wall.
There was a lack of solid reasons to think further.
Someone astute enough to plant a magical suicide.
But how difficult was that magic?
Eliya was fairly good at self-assessment.
She knew her magical talent was no ordinary matter.
But just how impressive it was, she didn’t know.
She had very few experiences meeting other wizards.
The twisted magical waves emanating from Dalant had clear signs of being artificially processed.
Difficult to detect before or during activation.
How challenging could that be, including that?
Next to her was someone who could provide a clue.
“Was it Bolse?”
The wizard who Gaston had sent.
At the same time, the wizard who had been betrayed by Gaston.
“Yes! Bolse!”
“You said he’s a wizard.”
“Yes, indeed.”
Bolse answered earnestly.
He had been betrayed by Gaston.
So scandalously, right before his eyes.
If he could make a fool out of him, he was ready to do whatever it took.
And after all, this young noble before him held the reins of his life.
He was a man ready to grovel for his own safety.
“Where did you learn magic?”
“I studied formally at the Magic Tower… before getting kicked out. Due to my conduct, um… yes.”
He decided to hide his disgrace of being tangled in alcohol and gambling.
Not all truths need to be revealed.
“Which floor did you reach?”
The Magic Tower consists of a total of 33 floors.
The number of floors a wizard can reach is limited by their level.
So far, no wizard has broken the seal and entered the 33rd floor.
Except for the sages of a distant past who built the magic tower.
Among those sages was the progenitor of the Bevel family.
Someone with eyes like Eliya.
“Ninth floor.”
The ninth out of thirty-three.
Considering Bolse’s age, that was a reasonable level.
Additionally, the Magic Tower was a conical structure.
The higher the floor, the smaller the space, making it exponentially harder to enter.
Reaching the ninth floor made him a fairly credible wizard.
In terms of skill.
“What do you think? That magic that killed Dalant.”
“…Huh? Magic? Was there magic?”
“…?”
Eliya frowned at Bolse.
He looked back and forth between Dalant’s corpse and Eliya and bowed his head, seemingly apologetic.
“I-I didn’t see any magical traces at all…”
And he truly meant it.
While Eliya felt the magical waves, Bolse felt nothing.
“If what you say is true, it means that magic was implanted on him to trigger under specific circumstances, and that the magic’s presence was concealed or erased during the crafting process…”
Bolse explained while stealing glances at Eliya.
He didn’t dare think Eliya was mistaken.
Even if he thought so, he didn’t have the guts to say it out loud.
“Typically, suicide magic has rough and large waves. It has to rely on others’ magical circuits, so it can’t help but be unstable.”
In other words, there aren’t many who could craft such magic.
Eliya began to adjust her evaluation of herself and narrowed down the possible factions that sent Dalant.
High-level magic and crafting at a difficult level.
Only a few factions could manage that.
Unconsciously, Eliya started to knead the paw of her cat plushie, continuing her contemplation.
‘First, the Magic Tower.’
The foremost authority on magic worldwide.
But quickly she dismissed that.
Wizards from the Magic Tower wouldn’t take on such tasks.
Unless they had been expelled or escaped.
At the very least, the “Magic Tower” faction was not behind Dalant.
‘Second, Balak.’
A wizard of current skill that far surpassed her own.
One of the best in the world.
But he lacked the motive.
Why would he employ a suicide spell out of fear of his spy getting caught?
Besides, the person in charge had obviously received direct orders from Balak.
If such a wizard cast a suicide magic on him, it would rather point the finger at Balak.
That would be just unnecessary hassle.
From the outset, Eliya hadn’t been able to interrogate Dalant.
The likelihood of Balak being his true backing was low.
Balak dismissed as well.
‘Third. The Information Guild.’
Quickly excluded as well.
The Information Guild doesn’t act like this.
That left the fourth. Just one remaining.
The true motive was unknown, yet vaguely familiar.
One of the two families that currently split the continent.
Publicly friendly with Bevel Principality but secretly engaging in underhanded dealings with each other.
‘It wasn’t Molsin Church…’
An assassin from Molsin Church come to kill her.
A spy from Molsin Church had invaded her mansion.
The Molsin Church was just the scapegoat.
She realized there was another power trying to kill her beneath the pretense of Molsin Church.
The power she had thought of earlier.
A force with reasons to oppose the Bevel family.
A faction capable of doing so.
‘Helios…’
Only the imperial family of the Helios Empire remained as a suspect.
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