Chapter 89
The two mages stared at each other for about five seconds. Then, after a moment of intense thinking, they came to a conclusion.
“If you can guarantee confidentiality, we’ll do it.”
“Y-yes! Just make sure our identities stay secret, Your Highness!”
“You should be more careful about your own mouths than mine.”
“You don’t have to worry about us, sir!”
Blinded by money, the mages fell completely for Severian’s scheme. They had a few doubts, but they didn’t feel guilty. After all, the only ones who’d suffer would be the barbarians.
The noble crowd was gathering in the great plaza.
While they waited for Severian and the mages to arrive, Isolen and Gremory stood behind the archbishop—growling at each other the whole time.
“Hah! Black magic? Give me a break! I’m telling you, Mori is definitely a witch! Why won’t anyone believe me?”
“Oh, shut up already! You’re the witch! How many people saw you flying around with wings?”
“You’re the one who impersonated me! You even kidnapped me!”
“Agh, my ears! Archbishop, stop framing the barbarians out of nowhere and listen to me! They already lost their chief—how unfair would it be to falsely accuse them too?”
The archbishop, long used to their constant bickering, closed his eyes and tried to meditate.
The nobles surrounding the plaza in a wide circle whispered among themselves.
“Did you hear that? Lady Mori just made a suspiciously protective comment about the barbarians. She’s probably under their black magic influence.”
“If it’s true they were manipulated by black magic from the southern tribes, how shameful. Thank goodness the archbishop uncovered the truth quickly.”
“The barbarians might be hiding within the empire, observing everything. We should begin the search at once.”
Watching the maids acting their hearts out, Chession let out a short laugh—a mix of relief and concern.
Those two really used their brains. Impressive they got out of such a tight spot with just acting.
But would they be able to survive what comes next?
And finally—
“His Highness, the Crown Prince, has arrived!”
Severian entered, flanked by the two mages. The nobles respectfully stepped aside.
He came to a halt before the archbishop, who gave a deep bow.
“It’s an honor to have you here in person, Your Highness.”
“Of course I came. I’m a specialist in handling black magic, after all.”
Beyond the bowed archbishop, Severian spotted Gremory and Isolen.
For a brief moment, Severian’s eyes met Gremory’s. She smirked wickedly and curled one side of her lip.
Severian flinched and cleared his throat.
“Let’s just get this over with. We don’t know what the barbarians are planning, so time is of the essence.”
“Indeed. Then I shall first remove the holy restraints.”
The archbishop removed the restraints from Gremory and Isolen’s necks, then stepped back.
Severian signaled to the mages behind him. They bowed and approached the two women.
“We’ll begin now.”
At the older mage’s voice, a large magic circle appeared beneath Gremory and Isolen.
It glowed in a brilliant golden hue.
The two mages flinched. A golden glow meant no traces of black magic.
The mages exchanged looks, then began to deliberately manipulate the circle’s color—turning it black. There was no one here knowledgeable enough in detection magic to notice the change. Not the nobles, nor the temple priests, who only knew divine magic.
The elder mage shouted dramatically:
“The circle has turned black! There are clear traces of black magic!”
The nobles fell for it immediately.
“With such conclusive results, we must now focus on purging the barbarians.”
“They could be hiding all over the empire. We’ll have our hands full rooting them out.”
“I’m sure His Highness the Crown Prince will handle them. After all, he personally beheaded their chieftain. Cleaning up the stragglers should be nothing for him.”
The archbishop felt proud. His brilliant judgment had saved two innocent women and protected the empire from falling prey to black magic.
Severian looked at Gremory with satisfaction.
See that? I saved your ass. So keep your mouth shut.
Gremory gave a small nod. Message received.
The mages continued their flawless act.
“The maids’ memories should recover naturally in time. Memory alteration via black magic is only temporary.”
“Yes. No matter how powerful black magic is, it can’t permanently change someone’s memories.”
As the situation wrapped up and the two women were cleared of charges, Chession grew suspicious of Severian.
Why would he save them?
He had a hunch. If the existence of witches became public knowledge, the fact that the Crown Prince had summoned one could be revealed too. So Severian was probably trying to cover his own tracks.
Severian met Chession’s eyes and smirked as he approached.
“What, nervous? Afraid something would happen to your precious maids?”
“……Thank you for proving their innocence.”
“Of course you should thank me. So what now? Heading straight back to the Edel Duchy?”
“For now, yes.”
“Then I’ll go with you. I don’t think I can handle the barbarian cleanup alone, and I’d like your help. We’ll plan things out in Edel.”
Chession had a lot of questions, but for now, he played along.
“It’s an honor to join your noble cause, Your Highness.”
“Oh please, spare me the fake flattery. By the way, mind if I ride in the carriage alone with Mori? I have something to discuss with her—something just between us. A secret you wouldn’t understand.”
“Whatever the secret is, I probably already know.”
“You sure don’t look like you do.”
Just then, Gremory stepped between the two men.
“All three of us can ride together. It’s fine.”
Severian looked baffled.
“What? Even he knows you’re a wi… I mean, a beautiful woman? Wasn’t that our little secret? You spilled everything?”
“It just kind of happened.”
“Sigh… you’re really something. Fine. We’ll all ride together.”
And so, the three of them got into the carriage. Isolen, sensing the mood, got into another one.
A sunny afternoon, inside the carriage headed to the Edel Duchy.
Severian leaned back smugly.
“Well, I helped you out. Now you handle the poor, falsely accused barbarian survivors.”
“They’re not all that innocent. They’ve been invading the empire for decades and killed hundreds of thousands. You picked the perfect scapegoats.”
“That was Gremory’s idea. Hey, Gremory. Be honest. You set this whole thing up, didn’t you?”
Gremory shook her head.
“Nope. I’m not that kind of mastermind witch.”
“So when the archbishop made the wrong guess, that was actually a real crisis for you? Wow. I saved your butt then.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Then why are you speaking so informally to me?”
“Should I go back to the temple and tell everyone I’m a witch—and you summoned one?”
“…Fine, you get a pass today. Anyway, can you guys explain something? What were those natural disasters, and how did Isolen suddenly fly into the sky?”
Chession explained everything that had happened so far. Surprisingly, Severian listened seriously.
“So that’s why Ibelia collapsed from divine punishment. And why the cursed lands suddenly got purified.”
“How is Ibelia now? She didn’t look good after she woke up.”
“That’s top secret, but… she’s in a coma. She stabbed herself in the neck. Was that the witches too? I mean, she is probably the biggest threat to the Demon God, so maybe the witches targeted her.”
“Damn. She’s in a coma?”
“They say her life’s not in danger, but no one knows when she’ll wake up.”
“…Hah…”
“Hey, now’s not the time to worry about Ibelia. We should be focusing on finding the last soul fragment. Or going after that witch—what’s her name, Etna?”
Gremory yawned, clearly tired.
“Etna’s done for now. She’s exhausted from triggering so many disasters, and with Marbas dead, she can’t stay hidden anymore. She’ll be busy running from me.”
“Then we focus on the final soul fragment. Hey, Chession. Let me see that ‘ham’ thing. Maybe it’ll point us to the next location.”
Chession pulled the ham from his pocket. But—
“…What the hell?”
The ham had turned pitch black and was completely hardened.
