“Uh… Something feels off.”
Freya Imperial University Chairwoman’s Residence.
Standing in front of the main gate, Selene was stamping her feet.
To repay Schlus Hainkel, she needed to hand over Erica’s information…
It felt like betrayal, and she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
Taking a deep breath, Selene pushed the gate and stepped inside.
*Knock knock*
Three seconds after knocking on the door.
There was no response.
Tilting her head in confusion, Selene knocked harder.
Yet still, there was no reply from inside.
Wasn’t Schlus the one who asked her to come at this time?
Just when Selene was pondering that, she thought maybe it was for the best…
“Ah… Sorry. There’s an urgent matter I’m dealing with right now… Haah…”
The door swung open, and Schlus’s attendant appeared.
The attendant’s face and neck were drenched in sweat.
Startled for a moment by the sight, Selene cleared her throat and began to speak.
“Ahem, um, I’m here to meet Schlus Hainkel.”
“Oh. It seems that he won’t be able to see any guests right now.”
“Guest? I was the one who was called here!”
“Ah… but it might be difficult. There’s been an urgent matter.”
“Urgent matter? Is he out?”
“That’s not it… I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose the details. It would be best if you could leave for today. I’ll contact you later.”
“Ugh…”
With a respectful bow, Selene ultimately had to turn around.
To call her and then treat her this way without even making accommodations?
The fact that she wasn’t told in advance not to come indicated that it was an unusual situation.
Maybe it was a command from the Emperor himself?
While she thought of this, as Selene walked through the garden—
“Whoa?!”
Suddenly, a possibility struck her, and her face flushed bright red.
If he could forget that he had an appointment, then it must be a pretty urgent matter…
And that urgency might not necessarily be related to work.
For instance, it could be something building up, something he couldn’t contain any longer.
Plus, the disheveled appearance of the attendant from earlier…
It really seemed like they were in the middle of some heated activity.
‘That can’t be!’
Selene quickly shook her head, trying to dismiss the impure thought.
It was only 8 in the morning.
Surely no one would do such things first thing in the morning…
She firmly believed that was true and took heavy steps forward.
Though she desperately wanted to press her ear against the door and eavesdrop inside, as a noble, she simply couldn’t stoop to such a vulgar act.
…
*Huff huff… Hoo…*
Ragged breaths.
Drops of sweat fell onto the floor.
Emilia, with her mouth open, was—
“All done with cleaning!”
She hung up the mop and beamed with a smile.
Having started cleaning since dawn, after three hours of struggle, she had completely finished.
She had hoped to be there beside Schlus when he woke up, so she started cleaning this early.
With a goal in mind, no matter how much she cleaned, she didn’t feel tired.
Now that it was over, there was nothing to worry about any longer.
Emilia dashed to the bedroom and slowly opened the door.
“…..”
She saw Schlus soundly asleep.
He had fainted and was still sleeping since last night.
Suppressing the smile that was creeping up on her lips, Emilia sat on the edge of the bed next to Schlus.
“What if I… implant a spell in his heart and lock him away?”
A somewhat dangerous thought crossed her mind.
If left alone, he would likely run out and get into dangerous situations again.
Then she would be left anxiously waiting for him.
Considering that, it might be better to make him unable to use magic and lock him up to raise him.
“That can’t be, right? No way, right?”
Gently stroking Schlus’s cheek, Emilia forced a bitter smile.
She couldn’t do that.
Not yet.
Schlus was a rising star of the empire, trusted by the Emperor and favored by the Crown Prince.
As long as she didn’t want to engage in direct conflict with the empire, the Intelligence Agency needed to keep him alive.
So this was merely a test.
A test of how much Schlus trusted her.
He was a master of transformation magic, capable of seeing through the identity of the Crow Jin, detecting poison right away.
Would he really suspect that there was a sleeping potion in the tea she gave him?
The conclusion was clear: no, he trusted her deeply.
This time, she had only put him to sleep for a few hours, and she hadn’t done anything, so a simple excuse would let her pass.
But later, when Schlus was to be eliminated…
It would fall upon Emilia to carry out that task, no one else.
“I don’t want to… I don’t want that…”
Emilia clenched Schlus’s hand tightly, grinding her teeth.
She did not even want to imagine that day.
At some point, she had noticed it.
Her feelings for Schlus.
She had made excuses, claiming it was part of her mission, but after hearing Trie’s blunt remark, she had come to acknowledge it herself.
I like Schlus Hainkel. As a romantic interest.
As an agent of the Intelligence Agency, she knew it was horrible to feel this way towards a surveillance target.
But recognizing it didn’t change anything.
As Trie said, it was a love that couldn’t be realized.
Even if one side liked the other, or if both liked each other, it couldn’t happen.
That was the nature of the relationship between an elite of the empire and a spy of the kingdom.
So close yet never able to reach each other.
“The mission comes first…”
No matter what, she couldn’t let her emotions cloud her mission.
Liking him was one thing; the mission was another.
If orders came down from above to assassinate Schlus, she’d repeatedly request to reconsider but ultimately follow the command.
With tears in her eyes, she would poison his drink.
Then, Schlus would smile, completely unsuspecting, and drink it down.
And then slowly, he would lay his head on his knees and close his eyes gently.
Without pain, peacefully…
Like falling asleep.
“Emilia.”
“Huh?”
“Why are you crying?”
At that moment, he squeezed her hand tightly, holding it firmly.
Turning her head, she saw Schlus, now awake, looking at her with concern.
Only then did Emilia realize she was crying.
Quickly, she wiped her eyes with her handkerchief, feeling miserable.
Having forced him to sleep with sleeping pills, and now he’s worried about the culprit right after waking up?
It broke her heart to think that she would kill someone like him.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I suddenly thought that I might never see you again…”
“Why wouldn’t you see me? That’s not happening.”
“Is that so?”
“If I die, this world will end too, so what would it matter?”
“Don’t joke around…”
If Schlus were to die, even if the world would lose its meaning, it wouldn’t exactly end.
In response to Schlus’s joke that wasn’t a joke, Emilia burst into laughter.
“So can you explain what you did? You put me to sleep and all.”
“I cleaned! A thorough clean-up. I thought it would disturb you if you were awake.”
“Just cleaning, really?”
“Yep. Just cleaning.”
“If you say so, it must be true.”
“…..”
Seeing the unquestioning faith in her, Emilia felt an uncomfortable sensation as if her heart was being crushed.
Even if she brought poison to him right now, he would probably drink it down.
“You’ve seemed really busy lately… So I thought I’d let you rest for a day without any worries.”
“Really? Now bow your head for a moment.”
“Bow my head? Waaaah!”
“You scoundrel! You can’t just put a person to sleep like that!”
“Ugh… It hurts…”
As her cheeks were stretched tightly, Emilia made a face like she was about to cry.
But on the other hand, she felt comforted by Schlus getting angry.
“Well… thanks to you, I slept well. I think this is the freshest I’ve ever woken up.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Look, even my dark circles are gone.”
“Wow! Without dark circles, you don’t look like the real you!”
“Haha…”
Schlus chuckled as he got up from the bed, despite the unwholesome intentions behind it, he had indeed slept well thanks to Emilia.
‘Now I think I see the path ahead.’
With a good night’s sleep and a cleared mind, ideas on what to do next began popping into his head.
Schlus clenched his fists as he left the room.
‘I’ll use Aria to kill the Emperor.’
He was already resolved.
*
“Ugh… What’s with the summons in the dead of night?”
In an abandoned classroom underground of the Imperial University.
Professor Sergey’s teaching assistant scratched his head as he entered.
Inside, he found a dozen people clad in black hoods.
Since they all knew each other’s faces, he wondered what nonsense they were up to.
The assistant clicked his tongue and walked into the crowd.
“I’ve arrived. Now I shall make an important announcement.”
A high-pitched voice flowed from the hooded figure standing on the podium.
“It seems our operation can begin soon.”
“Operation? What do you mean?”
“Yes, I mean the Untier.”
“…!”
A murmur began to spread among the crowd.
They had only been told that it would still take over three months for the seal to be deciphered.
After calming the noise with an outstretched arm, the hooded one pulled a thick book from inside their robes.
It seemed to be a luxurious and very old book.
“Some noble bestowed this upon us, and it has greatly accelerated our seal-deciphering efforts.”
“What is it?”
“It’s an ancient compilation of research on seals conducted by the Majin.”
Durandal, the Magic Sword, the Untier, etc…
Dangerous weapons and monsters sealed anciently by Majin using barrier spells were scattered all over the continent.
This book contained the results of research made by Majin who had directly witnessed all those sealing barriers.
It was said that the Majin burned it to prevent it from falling into the hands of humans, but how had it reached here…?
The assistant wanted to ask who the ‘noble’ that gave the book was, but decided against it.
It was obvious anyway.
“This is an amazing book. It will bring great advancement to barrier studies. But for now, let’s concentrate on releasing the Untier. I predict we can lift the seal within 14 days.”
“In 14 days?!”
“That day will be the day we carry out our operation. Though each of us may be weak, together, we will unleash a formidable power. First, we will demonstrate it by trampling the Imperial University.”
“Oooo…!”
“The time has come! Now we’ll collapse the flawed order of humanity, and it will be the perfect Majin who will seize the world!”
The hooded figures began to produce strange sounds.
Glancing around, the assistant thought inwardly with disgust.
‘What a bunch of lunatics.’
