Chapter 53
“Your Majesty, Baroness Clozet, the head maid of the Duke’s household, confessed that she lied to Duchess Yudis, claiming she had taken care of the First Princess. But in truth, she deliberately left the girl behind.”
Count Hester carefully reported, then glanced at Emperor Silis—only to be startled by the shadow that fell across the emperor’s expression.
When he first heard that the emperor had chosen that girl to be Irina Haiga’s friend, he was shocked. But he hadn’t expected the emperor to worry about her to this extent.
Which is why Count Hester hesitated before delivering the next part.
“That was Duchess Yudis’s explanation. Now, I’ll share what we heard from the maid we planted inside the Duke’s household.”
“Speak.”
“It seems the Duke and Duchess simply forgot about Lady Izana entirely. They didn’t realize until they reached the capital and then scolded Baroness Clozet.”
Emperor Silis didn’t stop reviewing the pile of documents in front of him.
Still staring at the papers, he asked,
“Is Baroness Clozet dead?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Just as you expected. She was taken away immediately under the Rohia region’s law.”
Rustle, scratch.
Silis kept signing documents, reading, and stamping them without a pause.
But Count Hester, who had served the emperor for many years, could tell:
The emperor was angry.
“Are you concerned about [Materia]?” Hester asked.
He thought the emperor was upset about the Duke and Duchess’s heartless behavior—wondering if such cruel parents could raise [Materia] properly, or angry that they ignored his warnings and still neglected the girl.
But instead of answering, Silis changed the topic.
“Glass Orsheus contacted me on my private communication stone. [Igrio] is heading to Rohia.”
The moment he heard the name Igrio, Count Hester’s face went pale.
“He acted on impulse after hearing Materia’s prophecy. Most likely, he’s going after her.”
“That’s…”
“When he realizes she’s not there, he’ll head to the capital. I’ve already ordered the royal mages and knights to prepare.”
Silis brushed aside the hard-to-read documents with a frown.
“Whether he lashes out at the Rohia estate or comes quietly, we won’t know. But there’s nothing I can do for that girl. Sending a few soldiers won’t help—they’ll just get killed by Igrio.”
That’s when Count Hester finally realized the emperor’s true concern.
“So you were worried about Lady Izana. But what do you mean by ‘she performs tricks’?”
“That little girl can fit three whole dinner rolls in her mouth at once. All at once.”
Count Hester stared at the emperor in disbelief.
Silis had become emperor at a young age, constantly fighting political enemies and cleaning up the mess left by the former emperor.
He rarely had time to eat properly, let alone interact with children. He wasn’t married, had no siblings, and no children—so he saw kids almost like strange animals.
Even though he had once been a child himself, he had to grow up faster than anyone. So Hester didn’t bother pointing that out.
“I was hoping to see if she could manage a fourth today. A shame.”
“…If you’re that concerned, should we send someone to bring her back? The Shadow Unit could do it.”
“They probably left to get her before Rohia even reported to me. But even if they’re fast, they may not reach her before Igrio does. And if they bump into Igrio and something goes wrong… it’d be a disaster.”
Silis frowned.
“Send a magic message to Peres, who refused to return and went to Elahi. Tell him to find and protect Lady Izana. He’s the best option right now—he already risked his life entering the plague zone.”
“Brilliant decision, Your Majesty. I’ll do that. And what about [Materia]?”
“They probably didn’t bring many servants in their rush to leave. Send the ones we selected for the royal house. I want full reports on everything—what she mumbles in her sleep, how much food she leaves uneaten, everything.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Silis realized he had stopped writing and was now lighting a cigar.
He hoped that girl was safe. What was God thinking, putting a child like her through so much?
Even with the return of dragons as proof of the divine, Silis was still close to being a non-believer.
And if that so-called divine lizard ended up hurting such a small girl—
He wasn’t sure he could continue showing even the smallest respect to any god.
***
Since I’d only ever used secret passages before, I realized—too late—that I didn’t actually know the way to the underground prison.
“It’s alright. I know how to get there,” Winter said.
Thankfully (or not), Winter had been imprisoned here before, so we didn’t waste time getting to the underground prison.
[Lala, Ricon! Selena!]
Suddenly, Raglia—who had been quiet—started making a fuss, as if realizing this was where she had once been kept.
I scolded her like a mom scolding a noisy child.
“Raglia, quiet.”
“Izana, it’s not good to keep giving her orders,” Winter warned.
Apparently, the higher the rank of a dragon-slaying weapon, the harder it was to suppress the dragon’s free will.
If I used it too often, the magic of keeping it obedient would weaken. Unless absolutely necessary, it was better not to use force.
As expected from a weapon that used to be the strongest being alive—it was extremely proud and high-maintenance.
[Bring me jewels! The treasures you promised!]
And annoyingly loud too.
At this point, I was wondering if carrying Raglia around was more trouble than it was worth.
“Most dragon-killing weapons have one desire they care about deeply. If you meet that need, they become easier to handle.”
Winter spoke calmly to the noisy Raglia.
“Obey her quietly, and I’ll give you something so valuable that the treasures you hid in the Rustina Valley will look like pebbles.”
[Wha—?! How do you know about those? Those were my life’s greatest works! I’ll roast you and turn you into gold coins!]
“If those were your best, your standards are low. But if such junk satisfies you, then I’m glad. Makes it easier for me.”
[What do you even have that’s better?!]
“Shut it. You’re noisy.”
[But! I have to get my poor coins!]
As Raglia started ranting about her hoard again, I sighed and frowned.
“The underground storage room is close to the prison. Let’s go grab some gold quickly. I promised I’d bring some, and if I don’t, she’ll keep whining.”
So, to quiet Raglia down, we headed to the underground storage first.
It was right beneath the prison, so we only needed to go down one staircase.
But then—
[Mari! Lala! Nooooooo!]
When we opened the storage room, ignoring the warning signs, it wasn’t Lala or Selena waiting for us.
“What… is this?”
What appeared before us was a massive root.
It was dark, like the feathers of a crow, and it cut straight down through the storage room.
We realized it was a root because it had giant leaf-like growths the size of my torso, and thin branch-like veins as thick as my fingers sprouting from it like blood vessels.
And the root was slowly moving. Like a snail.
Downward… deeper…
Just like the baobab trees in The Little Prince, it looked like it could drill right through the earth.
But that wasn’t our immediate problem.
“Annoying magic’s hiding here.”
Winter sighed.
“Izana, don’t come in. The magical energy here is going wild.”
I was about to follow him inside but quickly jumped back.
“Also, it’s better if you stay out of my sight for a bit. I think I got caught in some weird magic the moment I stepped in.”
Oh no. I know this type.
Like those magical potions that make you fall in love at first sight… just from eye contact. Something like that.
Ugh, this is really bad.
“Suddenly… I feel very hungry.”
…Yep. This is really going to be a problem.
