32.
Several letters arrived at McFoy.
The first was a letter confirming the conclusion of the matter related to Kiso.
There were two main points in the content. Kiso’s escape and their hiding place were dealt with neatly. There were no survivors.
I burned the letter without any expression on my face. It’s been a long time since I became numb to this kind of thing. If I hesitate even a little, I’ll be trampled. Not just me, but everyone around me.
“That was faster than I thought. It was worth leaving the handling of the family to Kano.”
Kano wanted to go to Nectar and return to McFoy, but he wasn’t granted permission. He went straight to the south to deal with the escaped Kiso family. Since he had vague intentions to go to Nectar, he must have been visibly upset at the order to go down to the south.
Finally, Gael and the greedy Kiso were eliminated.
‘Now I can move on to the next step. Finally, it feels like something is happening.’
I chuckled softly and picked up the next letter.
The second letter was sent by Nicholas Diazi.
I confirmed the name and raised my left eyebrow. A rare blue letter could only be sent by the Diazi family head.
The letter contained information about the situation regarding Nyx and details about Norma Diazi.
The high priest and the Diazi family head are stationed in Baghdad, pouring their power into Nyx every day, maintaining the seal, but it’s still incomplete. They are exploring new methods.
The information provided through the informants I planted in the Holy Land was already known to me. At least, so far, the reports from the Diazi side had been truthful and complete.
On the topic of Norma, the main story related to the greeting of the top Romdak figure I sent to Diazi to pay him back. In addition, it was said that Diazi would compensate Norma for his work as well.
Diazi owes a great debt to McFoy. This favor will be repaid the way McFoy desires.
“Kakakaka!”
At that passage, I laughed loudly, pounding on the desk.
“I never thought I’d receive a letter like this from Nicholas Diazi. I’m lucky he’s still alive!”
Erica looked at me somewhat pitifully from the side, but I didn’t mind.
“Oh, I’m in a good mood. Hmph.”
He’s a rough and gloomy guy. People say he’s handsome and quiet, but I don’t know.
He was chasing Nyx with Ophelia and making such a fuss? I’ll pay him back for this once Nyx’s business is finished.
Somehow, I always felt like there was something fishy about Nicholas whenever I saw him. That guy was hiding a lot from me.
Perhaps it was because he had things to hide that he was on guard against me. Regardless, personality-wise, he and I didn’t get along. It was like oil and water.
The Diazi family itself is a strict adherent of imperial law, so there were times they criticized everything I was trying to do. No flexibility at all!
Also, every time he heard my foul language, he looked at me as if I were some kind of parasite. But you can’t help it when you work with pirates.
He probably didn’t like it when I casually mentioned that I’d have Ophelia killed if she ever betrayed me. Our paths crossed often because we were both chasing the same person. The suspicion that Ophelia was with Nicholas also stemmed from this.
Once, I had him brought over to provoke Nicholas and show him how I would torture a heretic. If I had known that he and Ophelia had such a relationship, I wouldn’t have used that method.
Come to think of it, I think I messed up Nyx-related things twice because of me in <Ophelia and the Night>… Some holy man got angry at me that day for no reason.
‘…Well, they should have known. You have to speak to know. Of course, Nicholas probably didn’t hear anything from my side.’
I made an effort to erase such thoughts. Anyway, I, too, had an aversion to Nicholas on a physiological level, or so it seemed. That’s why I often acted impulsively around him.
Now that I think about it, maybe it’s all because he and I are the main and supporting characters who constantly interfere with each other in <Ophelia and the Night>.
‘Instinctively, we’re polar opposites, I guess. When I see that guy, I just… I just get annoyed, you know?’
Is this a predetermined setting?
It’s quite childish, but cursing at Nicholas as a rigid guy when I see him passing by is the default. Teasing him during a conference was the daily routine.
Starting with pouring fruit juice on his face, occasionally tearing at his hair, and in severe cases, even putting a sword to his throat. I really gave Nicholas a hard time. I had a grudge, but since there was no evidence, I could only keep picking fights.
When I, who had gotten angry at Nicholas’s usual indifference to my taunts, finally initiated a bold attack, it became a pattern.
In particular, when I put a sword to his throat in the previous confrontation, Nicholas’s reaction was somehow strange. Now I remember, it seems that he had vivid memories of the time when a sword was put to his throat.
‘…Well, I may have gone a bit too far, but you guys knew. He made me angry first, didn’t he?’
That day was the day my confrontation with Nicholas reached its climax due to the issue with Ophelia’s whereabouts.
In any case, the relationship between the two family heads could only be horribly bad. Erica even told me to stop picking fights, and honestly, my past actions were a bit embarrassing.
…Of course, I couldn’t help it. When I saw Nicholas, I couldn’t help but get annoyed, and that guy tormented me constantly.
‘Ha, still, instead of hitting that guy’s neck, I should have aimed right at the center.’
With that thought, I focused on the letter again. There was nothing else in it.
However, underneath Nicholas’s letter, there was one more letter sent under the name of the Diazi family. The stack of papers, different in color from Nicholas’s letter, didn’t seem like an official document.
With a puzzled expression, I flipped over the envelope and found a name written on it.
[Norma Diazi.]
‘…The handwriting is quite nice.’
It was a slightly comforting feeling that eased the discomfort I felt towards Nicholas.
As I opened the thick envelope, it appeared to contain something. What came out was a well-preserved terasa flower. I looked down at the vibrant terasa with a strange expression.
Slowly, my forehead furrowed. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable or bad; it was just that I couldn’t grasp Norma’s intent behind sending me the terasa.
I quickly unfolded the letter enclosed with the dried terasa. In that brief moment, I felt a sense of unease for some reason.
Do you know the story that says good luck comes if terasa blooms for more than a week? Last time, I gave you a terasa without knowing that and just said it looked like Lady Aisa’s eyes. I’m embarrassed.
….
…I’ve dried the terasa that bloomed for more than a week. I wish for the McFoy’s family head’s good luck.
….
…I plan to be by Nicholas’s side, as Lady Aisa suggested, for the time being. I want to fill your spare time, even if it’s just a little.
However, we will meet soon. I’m eager to meet you and express my gratitude. I also have something I want to say. I’ll be looking forward to that day.
The main content was this.
I reread the letter from the beginning for a while and stared blankly at the terasa, repeating this process several times. Then, I paused with the terasa in my hand.
‘Lasted for over a week?’
At that moment, I remembered the three terasas that started to wither in my hot palm on the way to the territory and let out a bitter laugh.
‘Anything can happen. Is good luck a default setting like Ophelia?’
My mood rapidly rose, bordering on being buoyant. That’s when Erica poured cold water on the atmosphere.
“What did you eat wrong… Why are you making that face while looking at a letter from Diazi? Stop laughing and let’s quickly solve the next problem.”
“What? When did I…”
I laughed? I threw the terasa aside and sobered up.
“The Kiso matter is settled. Now it’s time to focus on Romdak and the west.”
Oh, it’s the turn I’ve been waiting for. I smiled with a sardonic grin, as if asking when I ever got flustered.
“Hmm, Erica. Why does it suddenly feel like Nyx, who we haven’t seen for a decade, has reappeared?”
“Isn’t it because, as we expected, Ophelia also couldn’t kill Nyx, and she could only seal him? The effect of that seal was for ten years.”
Erica gave me a look as if to say, “Why are you talking nonsense when we have work to do,” and she answered earnestly.
“Yes, that’s true. Basically, Nyx was sealed in a fragmented state, so he can’t break free on his own. He needs a ‘trigger.’”
“Sealed in fragments? Where did that information come from… Wait, does that mean someone performed some kind of ritual?”
“You do have a keen sense. That’s right. Ophelia herself broke Nyx into pieces and sealed him. How large of a ritual do you think it would take to wake him up? Fanatics caused quite a commotion this time.”
This was the crisis stage to reach the climax of <Ophelia and the Night>, and the most horrifying ritual.
Deaths of various groups, large and small, occurred simultaneously across the empire as offerings for that ritual. It was a similar principle to how Nyx had sacrificed McFoy in the past to gain the power of Alpo.
“…It’s an enormous heretical act. Why wasn’t it reported earlier?”
Erica also seemed to be recalling McFoy’s tragedy, her voice low and somber.
“The number of missing persons would have increased significantly throughout the empire. After abducting people from different places and mixing them together again, it would have been difficult to notice.”
“…You should have informed us earlier.”
Erica grumbled with an even more troubled expression.
“I couldn’t fully trust my own memories either, so I checked while dealing with Kiso.”
I couldn’t possibly remember all the place names from a novel, whatever it was.
Determining the locations of a total of seven places was an enormous chore. Moreover, fumbling through memories and having them line up exactly was bittersweet.
‘It feels like I’m being killed after confirming that reality is nothing more than a cheap novel.’
“People are simple. They easily forget what doesn’t concern them. McFoy and the west remember what happened ten years ago, but to them, it’s all in the past. They seem to have forgotten that heresy is the thing McFoy despises the most, right? The west… Thinking that McFoy is a heretic doesn’t make any sense with even a little bit of thought.”
“We should just continue with what we were originally doing.”
“Rumors are just rumors. There’s no need to go into all the details.”
I chuckled.
“Have you ever seen rumors being controlled like this? We do what we can. Since those fanatic idiots caused a big commotion, it’s been a while since we showed the entire empire that the heretics are McFoy’s enemies, Erica.”
Do what you can. That was McFoy’s creed.
Seeing Erica’s broad smile, it seemed she liked the plan.
Originally, completely sealing Nyx and uncovering the truth behind the horrific ritual that took place throughout the empire, as well as exposing the mastermind behind it, was an event for Ophelia. With this, Ophelia would suddenly become a hero and be able to proudly reveal herself.
The west, centered around McFoy, already had experience in rallying together against the heretics. This time, it wasn’t just the west that was affected. Perhaps, through this condemnable event, the entire empire would be united.
At the center of it all, it wouldn’t be Ophelia, but McFoy.
According to the informants, there was no movement from Diazi regarding this matter. It was quite suspicious, but it was probably for the best.
‘Ophelia. Let the west, and McFoy, take the highlight of your grand, heroic saga. Hahaha!’
“I will dictate a few regions and given names later. Arrange the knights and send them. We also need to conduct a purification ritual, so make contact with the High Temple beforehand.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“What was the response to the Romdak procession that went to Diazi?”
“The procession was larger and more colorful than usual, so it will soon be rumored that the head of the house received help from Diazi and escaped from Tartaros.”
Everything flowed according to plan. Since Diazi was a family close to the temple, they would be helpful in many ways.
Commoners who lacked reading material or information tended to believe strongly in what they saw and heard. What they see has more impact than one might think.
“Well, yes. With this, the west and McFoy might be even better off than before.”
This was a classic case of turning adversity into advantage. It was my specialty. From Kiso to the heresy issue, it was a development I really liked.
As I casually picked up the next letter, my brow furrowed deeply.
‘This guy… I completely forgot about him.’
It was a letter from my fiancé, Philip Morph.
