TOOCM | Chapter 030

Episode 30

After sending Lady Mary away, Aiden let out a quiet sigh.

“Soon, Lady Mary will come to you saying Reina is trying to drive a wedge between her and Dahlia.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s been secretly placing her own people around Dahlia. I also found evidence she’s been taking bribes to recommend certain tutors.”

“Why would Lady Mary…?”

“I don’t know the full reason, but now that we know, you’d better be cautious. For your sake and Dahlia’s.”

When his brother first warned him, Aiden had been skeptical.

He thought it was just a personality clash causing friction with Reina.

But to think it was all to install her handpicked etiquette tutor.

Having been with Dahlia since her birth, Lady Mary’s actions left Aiden uneasy.

It would be best if this could pass quietly.

But if she persisted, his brother might step in.

And then, even Aiden wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Shortly after, the scheduled guest arrived.

“Hello, Young Lord.”

As Reina greeted him with proper etiquette, Aiden hurried to meet her.

“Just call me Aiden, Sister-in-law. Oh, um… is it alright if I call you that?”

“Of course, Aiden. I’m grateful you consider me family.”

Reina’s warm smile put Aiden at ease as he led her inside.

“I was planning to visit you about the last matter, but I didn’t expect you to reach out first.”

“I heard you’re the busiest person in the ducal castle after Kaiden. I was worried I might be taking up your time.”

“Not at all. I heard from Brother that you’re well-versed in magical beasts. I just didn’t expect you’d want to see a Goreth egg in person. As you can see, it’s not exactly pleasant to look at.”

Aiden pointed to the Goreth egg in a beaker.

The egg resembled a lung, with semi-transparent membranes containing half-hatched eggs pulsing inside.

The hatching process was halted by a magical device.

Reina gazed at it with curiosity.

The North was the frontline in the war against magical beasts.

If the North fell, the entire empire would suffer from beast-related troubles.

Thus, even the Emperor didn’t wish for the North’s complete collapse.

At the same time, he didn’t want it to achieve total victory either.

Reina was the prophetess essential for balancing that delicate line.

And now, she stood on Crensia’s side, not the Emperor’s.

Pointing to an egg with a red membrane, unlike the others, Reina asked.

“This one looks different.”

“You noticed right away. It seems to be a variant. We’re still researching what kind of beast it’s mixed with. I’ve held off breaking the egg since we can’t predict what might happen.”

Reina nodded lightly at Aiden’s words.

It seemed he hadn’t yet grasped its nature.

If left alone, they’d miss the chance to counter the variant that would emerge later.

Unable to stand by, Reina offered a subtle hint.

“Wasn’t the area where the Goreth egg was found originally a habitat for Slanders?”

“Yes. I considered that, but Slanders don’t mate with other species, so the likelihood of a hybrid is low.”

“Well, I’ve heard variants don’t always arise from mating. If a Goreth consumed a Slander as its main food source while carrying eggs, genetic mutation could naturally occur.”

“Oh…!”

Aiden realized he’d been fixated on mating as the cause of variants, overlooking other possibilities.

Adjusting his glasses, he muttered.

“Now that you mention it, Slander offspring break through red cocoons when born. That could explain why this variant’s membrane is red.”

“And Slanders are weak to fire.”

When Reina picked up a match from the lab’s corner, Aiden blinked in confusion.

“Why the match…?”

As he looked puzzled, Reina lit the match without hesitation.

The moment she brought it near the beaker with the egg—

Chiiik!

A loud noise came from inside, and the eggs within the membrane recoiled from the flame.

Aiden’s eyes widened.

“Good heavens.”

“Does this prove it’s a Goreth-Slander hybrid?”

Aiden’s eyes sparkled at Reina’s calm remark.

It would’ve taken him ages to think of testing the egg with fire.

He’d have prepared endlessly for potential risks.

Perhaps that’s why?

Unlike him, slowed by overthinking, her composed and decisive action to prove her hypothesis seemed impressive.

Thanks to her, a problem he’d agonized over for days was solved in an instant.

“Yes, yes! Of course! How did I not think of this? I nearly wasted ages digging in the wrong direction.”

“When you’re too immersed in research alone, it’s easy to miss small clues.”

“Exactly. Now I understand why people have assistants. If you weren’t my sister-in-law, I’d hire you as mine on the spot—your idea was perfect.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

As Reina’s cheeks flushed, Aiden puffed up with enthusiasm.

“This will be a huge help in finding weaknesses if variants emerge later. You’ve practically saved the northerners!”

“I’m glad I could help the North.”

Thanks to Aiden’s quick understanding, Reina felt relieved.

Variants were set to proliferate endlessly.

It was a disaster caused by overly active mutation processes.

Finding the weaknesses of each new variant was the North’s ongoing task.

Fortunately, Reina knew the weaknesses of many variants.

‘This should allow us to prepare without issues.’

Reina knew Aiden was a skilled alchemist and magical device maker.

With this clue, he could handle the crisis facing the North.

“I heard you made the device to halt hatching yourself, Aiden.”

“Yes. It’s a custom device for the 100-year cycle. Though it’s useless if hatching reaches 80%. We nearly failed this time, but thanks to the priestess, we managed.”

“Priestess?”

“Brother told me. You came to the North on her behalf.”

Reina quietly nodded at Aiden’s words.

Indeed, Aiden was Kaiden’s most trusted confidant.

There was no need to hide their contract marriage from him.

It seemed Kaiden had described her as the priestess’s proxy to keep their secret.

Since Aiden was knowledgeable about magical beasts, explaining how she knew the Goreth’s spawning grounds likely required such a cover.

“Exactly. The priestess couldn’t come herself, so I had to. Marriage was the most plausible pretext.”

Hinting at the contract marriage, Aiden asked.

“So, you didn’t want this marriage? Did Brother force you into it?”

Reina, startled, quickly waved her hands.

“No, no! I proposed first. Honestly, Kaiden’s too good for me. I’m always worried I’m holding him back.”

Seeing her visibly drooping eyes, Aiden said lightly.

“Come on. To me, it looks like luck rolled into Brother’s lap in droves.”

“What?”

“Honestly, I thought he’d stay a bachelor forever.”

Spot on.

Reina inwardly marveled at Aiden’s sharp judgment.

It was so accurate she almost wondered if he’d regressed too.

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