The sword that was weakly held in Eilaâs hand fell.
Blood flowing from a deep cut wound dripped down on top of him.
After a while, Aila opened her mouth and a voice like salt, cracked by the scorching sun, barely came out.
âhowâ¦â¦?â
How did you know the name and how did you find out about the new store?
How did you already reach the path of the sword?
It was a question mixed with many questions, and a light with the same meaning appeared in his eyes, but Calian had no intention of saying a single word.
Immediately, Calian took a step forward and stood looking into Aelaâs eyes. Then he reached out and grabbed Ailaâs chin strongly. Aila let out a single word without realizing it.
âUgh!â
It was an attempt to remove the poison that the Sejaks always carried around, but no poison was found anywhere in Ailaâs mouth. I hadnât already swallowed the poison. Calian laughed when he realized that he had taken the poison himself.
âAila.â
When Calian called again, Aela shrugged her shoulders. Calian spoke in a low voice.
âTell me. Proof.â
Should I lie and say that such a thing never happened in the first place?
Should I say that I will hand it to you if you send it from here?
Several thoughts flickered in Ailaâs mind and then disappeared repeatedly. Aila, who was looking for a way to get out of this situation because she knew that if she was caught like this, would die that way, asked vaguely.
âIf I tell you, will you let me go?â
âNow?â
Calian asked back with an expressionless face.
They attacked with all their might, sending deadly threats, but now they are begging for help. So what more opportunities can I give you? Calian spoke again.
âEveryone says that Secretians are harsh, but it seems like you are not.â
And he added in a tone that sounded like he was talking to himself.
âI donât know if itâs not true or not.â
It was difficult for Aila to understand exactly what he meant. However, looking at Calianâs face, it seemed like he had no intention of saving his life.
Soon, Eila stood with her back straight facing Calian. He then pointed to the fragments of the sword scattered on the floor. They said they would not save him, so he tried to find a way to live.
âThe Swordmasterâs sword was broken by an Auror. He is not a knight, but carries a sword that is worse than that of a guard. Why is this?â
Aela was mentioning Kirieâs sword when she saw it. Calian stared at Aela without answering. Aila, who interpreted this as meaning to say the next words, opened her mouth again.
âPeople around you donât know. Are you hiding your skills?â
Aela, who was observing Calian with such a secret expression of luck, had the look in her eyes of those who occupied a superior position. This is because I saw Calian slightly clenching his fist. Ayla spoke without stopping.
âYouâd better just let me go, or Iâm going to tell the drivers outside what I just saw.â
Kalyan clearly gave it a chance.
Iâll turn a blind eye to everything, so just leave the evidence.
I gave him a chance to save him somehow.
Calian, who had been standing silently, eventually let out a small laugh.
â Woe!
Suddenly, Calian grabbed Eila by the collar and pulled her forward. Then he looked closely at Ailaâs face, gritted his teeth, and spoke fiercely.
âIf you wanted to live, if you were going to do this and ask for my life, you shouldnât have done something that would kill me in front of me!â
Calianâs murderous energy exploded and pushed Aila down. The red eyes flashed as if they were going to devour Aila at any moment.
There was instinctive fear on Ailaâs face.
âDonât get your hopes up. Youâve come too far for that.â
No one will know what Kalianâs insides are like right now. You wouldnât be able to empathize with it or even imagine it. Calian looked at the ceiling for a moment, then turned his head and looked at the pouring rain.
After a while, life slowly dissipated.
Calian, who returned to his usual face and voice, looked at Aela and said.
âItâs not a secret worth trading your life for. So tell me the evidence, and Iâll make sure you donât have to be interrogated again.â
Assassination attempt on the royal family. Of course it is beheading. Whether it is known that he is a secret agent or an assassin, there will of course be torture that will force him to spit out everything he has hidden. What he meant was that he would avoid it.
Eila chuckled.
This is because I never thought that I would be caught and killed like this. Because of this, she decided to let go of the injustice by dying without ever telling where the evidence was.
As if he had read his mind, Calian opened his mouth again.
âIf we have to interrogate him, we wonât do it. Iâm thinking of calling someone.â
Eila looked at Calian again with frowning eyes. Calian concluded his speech with a dry face.
âWhite Suri. He will do the interrogation.â
Those words were sincere.
Since he betrayed both Kairis and Secretia, he should also share the power of punishment.
Only then did a deep-rooted fear fill Ailaâs eyes.
It was similar to the way it was when faced with Calianâs death.
Calian also knew well the cruelty of the White Suri towards traitors. After seeing the traitorâs body tracked down and captured by the white eagle, Chase was unable to eat for more than three days.
Aila also seemed to know that she was the one showing the bottom of life to those who turned their backs on her.
âThe building next to the bar. The third staircase leading down to the basement.â
Because I said this right away.
* * *
Eila was bound and taken to the dungeon.
Yuran and the knights began direct surveillance. Calianâs strict orders were to not allow them to escape until the royal knights arrived and transported them to Kairisis.
Calian then ordered all the remaining knights, except the two who went to Hanson Village with Kyrie and the six who would watch over Aila and Norton, to search the place and the tavern that Aila mentioned.
While the castle servants were moving Calianâs small luggage to another VIP room in the castle, Calian went to the dungeon alone. I was on my way to find Norton, not Aila, whom I no longer wanted to face.
After looking around for a moment, Calian held out a small object wrapped in paper to Norton. Norton took it and asked bluntly.
âWhat is this?â
Calian answered with a smile.
âEat it for breakfast tomorrow.â
After saying that, Kalian got up and left without any further words or explanation. When I unfolded it, I saw that it was a piece of sugar that I had been hiding. Norton didnât really know what it was, but he just felt like he couldnât do anything anymore, so he took care of it and hid it in his arms.
After returning to the room, Kalian picked up a blank piece of paper and wrote something down. It was a letter asking for a generous forgiveness for Malcolm Chetish, who had helped greatly in catching a serious criminal in Kairis. Kalian said after sealing it and handing it to Jan.
âJust give it to the butler.â
Jan responded that he would be happy to do so.
* * *
Meanwhile, that time.
Hail Latran was walking around the room with an anxious expression on his face. He was chewing on his nails, which had already been bitten off.
The situation was not very satisfactory. An assassin entered Kalianâs room. They fought until the whole castle shook and there were holes in the walls. However, Kalian does not explain or interrogate him.
Plus, Malcolm is gone.
Since I couldnât see him at some point, I was thinking that I should say something when he came back, but he didnât come until the night was over.
âHow on earth did this happen?â
A servant brought a small, rolled up letter to Hale, who was biting his fingernails again in frustration. This was the news that was delivered through Jeonseo-gu.
âIs it true that the royal family searched the house?â
It was possible, but I wasnât too worried about things at home.
Hale didnât leave any evidence behind anyway. In addition, Hale had sent Jeon Seo-gu in the morning to inform Lennon Brissen of the situation and ask for help. Havenât you put in so much effort so far to help with this cause?
Hale, who thought he had prepared well in advance, opened the letter.
And I opened my eyes wide.
It wasnât from his house.
â Youâll need someone to represent you. So, to help you out, I explained to Queen Sillike what you sold and what happened. So relax.
A letter fell from Haleâs hand.
I felt like I needed to check how much Calian knew. Is it really true that the âsomethingâ written in Alan Manasilâs letter means new material?
Hale hurried out of the room. Then I changed my mind and came back in.
âNo. That sly wizard already knew everything and sent a letter like that. Iâm tired of groveling to that commonerâs child and calling him a prince. Letâs just hide it for now.â
Haley locked the door to his room. There were items that had to be hidden in case those sent by the royal family discovered this secret space during a search. Something that Silike or the Marquis Briesen should never know.
Sick of it!
The intention was to take out a new item that had been purchased from Blue Solsae but had not yet been delivered to Brisen Merchant.
â Drurk!
When I turned the clock on the bedroom stove, the bookshelf next to the bedroom moved making a small noise.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
And I could see countless valuables piled up inside. Hale didnât pay attention to them and hurriedly took out a box from the far corner.
Then I opened the lid for a moment and checked what was inside.
I saw quite a collection of sacred items. I would have been able to make a fortune with this amount, but when I saved it up to negotiate a little more with Lennon Brissen, this problem arose.
Hale, who ate his food in disappointment, quickly closed the lid of the box and stood up.
âthank you.â
And I heard this.
Haley raised his head in surprise. A manâs head was floating before his eyes. Then, as if drawing a picture in the air, the head, neck, shoulders and upper body appeared little by little.
Hale, faced with an unexpected situation, sighed and sat down.
âWho are you!â
He looked somewhat familiar.
The wizard who came to Calian wet from the rain the night beforeâ¦
A wizard!
Soon, his entire body was visible, and he looked at Hale and belatedly introduced himself. It was a serious face with no hint of laughter.
âWizard. This is Arsene Hertz.â
The reason why no one was able to open the magically locked door while Aela and Calian were fighting was because the only wizard who could open it was hiding in Haleâs room.
Of course, the reason was to find an indispensable piece of evidence that even Butler Malcolm did not know the location of.
Calian said that the more evidence there is, the better.
Of course, transaction records written on paper are important, but wouldnât it be even better to have something this visible?
Therefore, Arsene Hertz, who had been hiding in Haleâs room for several hours while maintaining the 4th Circleâs invisibility magic, opened his mouth in a very polite tone.
âI will use it well as you took the trouble to find it.â
Arsene took the box from Haleâs stunned hands. Then he said with a look on his face that something suddenly occurred to him.
âAnd⦠I will definitely tell this to the prince, who is the son of a snub-like wizard and a commoner, because the Count obediently handed it over to me without any resistance. You donât have to decline.â
Haleâs face was bleached white.
A gasping sound escaped his lips.