Chapter 434

“Mistress, you there? It’s urgent.”

A voice came out of the door, interrupting the girls’ conversation.

Finding the voice familiar, Veronica opened the door.

Dave Morton was standing there. He politely bowed.

“Greetings, Mistress. I hope you are doing well.”

“I am. What’s so urgent?” Veronica directly went to the business.

“Master has called you. He wants you to meet him at his office,” Dave Morton informed.

.....

Veronica replied, “All right. I’ll be there. Thank you.”

After he left, Veronica looked at Catherine.

She told her, “I’ll be going to Arthur’s office. Something urgent came up. Take as much rest as you want. I will come to accompany you later.”

Catherine nodded.

Veronica went to Arthur’s office and found Zinnia, Darius and Felix with him. Their expression was grave.

Looking at their deadpan expressions, she became nervous.

“Did something happen?” she asked.

“Aria is dead,” Zinnia told her.

Veronica was stunned.

Aria was the infamous magician who thought Veronica a love rival. In the end, she hurt Catherine and then betrayed the Magic Tower.

Therefore, she ended up in the dungeon.

Veronica looked at Arthur. “Isn’t the dungeon a secured place? You said not everyone has access to go there.”

“Yes, not just anyone can barge in there. That’s why we need to figure out who did this,” Darius said.

Arthur had yet to say anything. He stayed quiet. He looked like he was deeply thinking about something.

“Before we try to find out who did this, shouldn’t we try to figure out why they did this?” Veronica asked. “She must have known something that shouldn’t have been disclosed.”

Darius replied, “As you know I was already interrogating her. She has sold out some important information about the Magic Tower. We needed to find out who else was involved with her.”

Veronica suggested, “So, we can guess that one of them killed her. From what I know, only higher-ranking magicians can enter the dungeon.

“It is even restricted to the higher-ranking magicians. It shouldn’t be difficult to figure out who did this. At the same time, you can find out how many are involved.”

“We would be happy if that was the case,” Felix responded this time. “However, the person who killed her has already taken his life.”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out who killed Aria. When we barged into the magician’s room, we found him dead,” Zinnia said.

“That can’t be!” Veronica was astonished. “They are one step ahead of us.”

“True,” Zinnia couldn’t agree more. “The question is – did that person really kill himself?”

“Are you saying another killer is roaming around in the Magic Tower in disguise as a good guy?” Veronica gulped.

No matter how brave she was, she could never be at peace when a killer was living and working at the same place she called home.

“I’m afraid this place is not safe for you anymore,” Arthur finally opened his mouth. His pair of golden orbs were looking at her. observing her reaction.

Veronica said, “There is a murderer out there. This place is not safe for anyone.”

Arthur pretended not to hear her.

He said, “For now, can you stay somewhere else? Why don’t you stay at Ironin or Merlin’s place?

“It’ll be safer for you. If not, we can let you stay at Ovior’s place. His house is in the capital.”

“I don’t understand. A killer is out there and I’m pretty sure I’m not that person’s target. Why do I have to leave?” Veronica asked.

Darius explained, “The traitors are working for the Queen. They are working with him to take down Arthur, the lowborn who suddenly became the master of the Magic Tower.

“Those worthless scums cannot defeat him face to face. So, they are using underhanded tactics.”

“Remember we aren’t sure yet whether the killed himself or someone else did it,” Felix reminded them.

Zinnia stated her thoughts, “There is a high chance it was done by someone else. Those who work under the Queen, won’t work for her if there isn’t anything to gain. That’s how she traps her chess pieces.

“Thus, there is a high possibility that the person who killed Aria was promised to get something in return. After killing Aria, the person was waiting for the gift he was supposed to get.

“However, what came to him wasn’t the gift but a murder weapon. He was killed with it and then the killer stuffed the knife in his hand and left.

“That’s how you create a perfect crime scene without a suspect. Anyone will think it was a suicide. That’s what the killer wants us to think.”

Darius said, “I can’t argue with you when you use your logic. But you said that there is no proof that someone has killed him. Then, how are we going to figure out who did this?”

“Ovior and Ironin went to inspect the crime scene,” Felix said. “Wait for their return.”

Zinnia silently stared at Arthur and thought, ‘Should I tell them that the spies in the Magic Tower already sold information about Veronica to the other kingdoms?’

‘There might be a chance that the Queen knows what she looks like too. But if I tell them, it might make Arthur take the wrong decision. He is so overprotective.’

She didn’t have time to think too much. Ovior and Ironin came back.

“You guys are all here. Good. Let me tell you what we found out.” Ovior sat on a chair and drank a glass of water.

Afterward, he added, “First of all, it’s not a suicide. Someone murdered him. Whoever murdered him is a left-handed woman. She is strong. Even an adult man like Ruda couldn’t fight her off.”

Veronica: “Ruda?”

Darius: “A girl?!”

Ironin explained it to Veronica, “Ruda is the one who died after killing Aria.”

Veronica understood. “Oh, that makes sense. But Ruda is a strong man. Isn’t he around forty? Such a strong, ambitious man died by a woman’s hand... I somehow feel proud.”

Zinnia smirked. “True. You won’t find women killers a lot.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She looked at Darius and said, “See? I told you he was murdered. He is such a selfish man. Maybe he was too greedy and asked for something that the Queen didn’t want to give him. As a result, he was killed.”

“But a strong woman who killed Ruda? Where will you find such a female magician in the Magic Tower?” Darius stroked his bald head in frustration.

“It’s hard,” Ovior agreed. “Our female magicians are strong magicians, there is no doubt. But physically strong enough to kill a strong man... well, we can’t leave a single female magician who is left-handed.”

“But, one problem remains,” he added. “There is no document saying that there is a girl who is left-handed.”

“Do you remember properly? You could be wrong.” Arthur stared at him with a grim expression.

Ovior frowned. “Just how is it to remember left-handed magicians in the tower? Unlike you, I read all the documents. If there is a unique feature, I will surely remember it.”

Veronica suggested, “We can check once again. If the documents aren’t proper, we can only examine them.”

Arthur ordered, “Seal the tower. No one can go in or go out. Make it an emergency shutdown. But before that, Nica, you have to leave this place. Take Catherine with you.”

Veronica: “No.”

Ovior: “No.”

Both of them denied Arthur’s order in unison.

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. “Just try to understand the situation.”

“I need Catherine. She needs to work when I’ll be busy with the murder case,” Ovior flatly stated his demand.

Veronica said, “I won’t leave. This is my home. People here are in danger. I cannot just leave them at a time like this.”

Arthur shook his head. “This isn’t time to argue.”

Veronica protested, “I’m not trying to argue. Every time something like this happens, you push me away. I’m not weak like before. I can fight for my own safety.”

The room suddenly became silent. Ovior stood up without a word and left. Others followed him.

After they all left, the door was tightly shut behind Veronica.

She stared at Arthur with accusing eyes.

Arthur rubbed his forehead. He started to have a headache.

Afterward, he stood up and walked toward Veronica. He stopped in front of her and grabbed her hands.

“Nica, it’s not that I don’t want you to fight alongside me. I’m just worried. If you stay by my side, I’ll worry too much.

“I’ll be distracted and can’t focus on where the actual problem is. I’m no god. I can’t do this like that.”

.....

His voice was gentle as though he was coaxing her.

Veronica wanted to push him away but her heart was unable to be so cruel.

She muttered, “You are bad. You cannot talk gently at a time like this. I want to be mad at you.”

Arthur pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “Be mad at me. Hit me. Curse me. Just go somewhere safe.”