Chapter 35
“By the way… Lady Ria, what brings you here?”
Korend asked as he looked at Ria.
It sounded like a casual remark meant to dispel the awkward atmosphere, but Ria didn’t let down her guard. For a moment, she had the illusion that his eyes gleamed behind his monocle—just like when she had run into him in the corridor not long ago.
“Because Jen called me. We’re engaged—what other reason could there be?”
“…I see.”
Korend replied slowly. He didn’t probe further, but that made Ria feel even more uneasy. She had the unsettling sense that he’d already seen through her words as a lie. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie, but still.
“And what about you, Uncle? Why the sudden book? And… how did you end up coming to the academy?”
This time, Jen’s eyes sharpened.
“This storeroom has been one of my favorite places since childhood. It was here when I attended the Royal Academy, so coming back reminded me of those days.”
On the surface, it was a perfectly logical answer.
“As for the academy… It seems, Your Highness, you did not hear, since you don’t attend the magic classes. I was invited to teach restorative magic. My humble skills may be lacking, but I came at the request of my mentor, Professor Happel.”
The words flowed so smoothly it was as though he had rehearsed them beforehand. Even Ria, who knew the original story, almost fell for it. Jen pressed his lips shut while Korend gave a gentle smile.
Clang—
At last, a gilded door opened at the end of the corridor.
“Wow…”
Ria let out an unconscious gasp. Unlike the plain bedrooms and sitting rooms she had seen until now, this was a storeroom piled high with all sorts of objects.
Everything was spotless, not a speck of dust on the neatly arranged items. It looked more like a curio shop. And unlike the outside appearance, the inside stretched surprisingly deep.
Ria’s eyes widened as she looked around. Many objects had no obvious use. Some looked like cheap toys, others seemed priceless beyond measure.
Korend wove his way through the dangerously stacked objects as though he knew them intimately. In no time, he retrieved a book and stepped back out.
“You found it awfully fast,” Ria said in genuine admiration.
“Indeed. Almost as if you already knew where it was,” Jen added with a twisted tone.
Korend didn’t flinch, simply smiled.
“Of course. Why do you think all these objects remain exactly as they were when first placed here, without a speck of dust?”
“Magic…?”
“Yes, Your Highness. And it was I who placed the spell. Naturally, I remember the use and the place of every item here.”
He looks like a fragile scholar, but inside he’s a snake.
Ria clicked her tongue inwardly. Jen seemed intent on squeezing information out of him, but it was clear who would come out ahead. This wasn’t a man one could defeat with words.
“…What kind of things are stored here?” Jen asked, still pushing.
Korend shrugged.
“Some are personal mementos. Others are treasures handed down through the royal line.”
“Does that mean… the Orb as well?”
The Orb? Like a royal regalia?
Ria’s eyes darted around. There were all sorts of items, but none seemed appropriate to hold such a treasure. Surely something like the royal Orb wouldn’t be kept here.
Korend gave a faint, almost amused smile.
“Of course not. The Orb and the Scepter are stored separately in the palace.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
Jen turned his body as though he had no further business here, adding lightly:
“Even if Uncle bears royal blood, surely you wouldn’t know where the Orb is kept.”
A blatant provocation…
Contrary to Ria’s thought that it was pointless, Korend paused mid-step. His eyes narrowed briefly.
“You are right.”
He quickly regained composure, but Ria caught the glint of something cold in his gaze. Was he indeed coveting the throne? Somehow it didn’t seem to fit.
He doesn’t feel like the sort who would be interested in worldly things like a throne.
Maybe that was why Jen never suspected him fully.
As soon as Ria stepped out, Korend murmured something toward the door and cast a spell.
“What kind of spell is that?” she asked.
“It ensures the door only opens when someone comes to retrieve what they themselves entrusted here. Even royals have things they wish to keep to themselves.”
“Only when they come to retrieve it? Then… does that mean everything inside belongs to you, Professor—no, Your Grace?”
“You may call me Professor.”
Korend smiled again.
“No, it belongs to everyone. For example…”
His gaze flickered toward Jen before turning away.
“If I coveted an item that was not mine, say the Orb, the door would never open. Even the faintest greed would prevent it.”
“But you said the Orb isn’t here.”
“That was only an example for easier understanding.”
He smiled again—like a teacher explaining patiently to a slow student.
So in the end, it was a spell born of mutual distrust: the door opened only when one sought their own item with no ulterior motive.
Wouldn’t it be simpler just to keep things elsewhere?
Ria thought, but she kept quiet.
“By the way, since we arrived, I’ve been wondering, Your Highness…”
Korend’s voice made Jen stop and turn.
“Why are you… bleeding?”
Jen’s brow twitched.
“How do you know that?”
“On the way here, I noticed red drops on the carpet.”
He saw that?
Ria’s eyes widened. Yes, if one looked closely, it was visible—but only if you already suspected it.
“It was nothing, just a minor accident. Nothing to worry about.”
“An accident, you say… This lady, she is to be your crown princess, yes?”
Though the question referred to Ria, his eyes were on Jen.
“That’s correct.”
Korend spoke agonizingly slowly.
“Then if you were to… go somewhere. A festival, for example.”
Festival?
Ria snapped her head toward him. The only festival she knew of was the winter festival Jen and Syclaen had attended—the one where assassins struck on their way back, where Jen met his death.
Noticing Ria’s glare, Korend continued calmly.
“If you were to attend such a place, you would go with Lady Ria, would you not?”
So early… was he already planning Jen’s death?
Ria’s pupils trembled. Jen too turned slowly, hand drifting toward his sword. His face was deathly cold, as though shadows themselves leaked from him.
“You…”
Jen forgot his honorifics. Korend’s eyes widened slightly.
“Is there a problem with what I said?”
“Why… the festival, of all things?”
“As I said—it was merely an example. …If I offended you, I apologize.”
Korend bowed deeply, his politeness almost mocking. Jen’s body shook with barely contained fury. It seemed he might really draw his sword.
I can’t let Jen think he knows about his own death.
If Korend sensed something amiss, suspicion would follow. Ria quickly stepped between them.
“It hasn’t even been officially announced that I’ll become Crown Princess yet,” she said brightly, grabbing Jen’s trembling wrist before he could draw.
“When you say things like ‘a date,’ it’s a little embarrassing.”
The words tasted like poison even as she said them, but Korend only straightened and smiled warmly.
“I see. A date, then… I can already picture the two of you at a festival together.”
What?
Ria stared into the black eyes behind the crescent of his monocle.
Without realizing, she grasped the hilt of Jen’s sword.
Jen jerked his head toward her, quickly covering her hand with his own, as if to ask what madness she was attempting.
Her pupils shook violently. She recalled the original story—Jen and Syclaen at the festival, chased by assassins, Jen becoming the decoy, and dying to save her.
And suddenly, the realization struck like lightning. Korend wasn’t only referring to Jen.
Because the story has twisted… this time, he’s targeting me. Using me as the bait to make Jen let his guard down.
The original story wanted to flow as it was meant to. Jen had chosen Ria.
Ria felt the weight of Jen’s large hand over hers. Slowly, she looked up at him.
In the original, he had died because he loved Syclaen. If it was Ria beside him instead of Syclaen…
She looked into his eyes, which gazed down at her with puzzlement.
Could it be that the one who dies… is me?
Her hand shook uncontrollably on the sword hilt. In Jen’s eyes, she could see not a trace of love.
In a dark room, under moonlight seeping through the window and the glow of a small lamp, a man read a book. At first, the pages looked blank, but when he muttered incantations, green light shimmered and letters appeared.
His monocle glinted in the darkness. It was Korend. He read slowly, his expression utterly different from before.
His eyes were icy, his lips pressed in a hard line that would never form a smile.
“Ria… Kaeblik.”
Thump—he set the book on the desk and gazed out the window. His voice was barely audible, like a whisper.
“So it is… Ria Kaeblik.”
In the empty room, only the gleam of his eyes shone in the darkness.
