Chapter 119
As soon as I realized who the true owner of the necklace was, I instinctively knew that my appearance was also the work of that monstrous being.
“W-What should I do now?”
My hands trembled uncontrollably with fear beyond my capacity to handle.
Even though I had figured everything out, I couldn’t remove the necklace from my body, nor did I have any idea how to resolve this situation.
“Do I really have to go to the temple?”
Previously, when my body didn’t react to the priests’ healing spells, I had suspected that this might be some kind of curse or sorcery.
Honestly, I knew nothing about such things, so I vaguely thought that simply going to the temple to receive purification or a blessing might be enough.
But now that it was becoming a reality, I was losing confidence.
I didn’t even know if this was truly a curse or some high-level magic beyond my understanding.
But what mattered most was—
“Money. I need money.”
Even if I decided to go to the temple, I would need money to meet a priest with divine power rather than just an ordinary cleric. A large sum of money, at that.
However, it was already late at night, and without the duke’s permission, it would be difficult to access the bank vault to withdraw any funds.
‘Then, I have no choice but to…’
Hurriedly, I got out of bed and opened the wardrobe.
The only place I could get money immediately was Darel.
There was still time left until the promised date, but I had to ask for my money now, whether it was complete or not.
“Quickly…!”
I had definitely stored the communication orb in the wardrobe, intending to return it after receiving the final payment.
My hands trembled so much from urgency that I struggled to find it.
Since I hadn’t created any more magic stones after that, I planned to infuse it with mana as soon as I found the orb.
I moved my hands frantically.
***
At that moment, in the annex of the marquisate, a massive and intricate magic circle floated in midair.
Observing the slow rotation of the formation, the grand duke, who was performing the final checks, suddenly spoke.
“Ascart.”
“…Yes?”
Ascart, who had been standing absentmindedly, raised his head a beat late.
“Is something wrong? Did I make a mistake…?”
“No, nothing is wrong. The formation is perfect.”
“Then why…”
“You seem completely unable to focus.”
“Ah…”
At his father’s words, Ascart’s face reddened.
He had tried not to show it, but it seemed he had been transparent.
“If you’re so preoccupied with that girl, don’t make her wait. Just go and see her. I can handle the rest here alone.”
“No, it’s fine. We’re in the final stage, I should finish it.”
Ascart responded immediately.
Of course, ever since the butler’s visit, he had been too curious about what important matter Lia wanted to discuss, making it hard to concentrate.
He was worried that something bad had happened. At the same time, he wondered if she was finally responding to his invitation to the principality.
However, this was also the first crucial step in a long-planned endeavor.
The massive magical device installed here would collect signals from similar devices spread across the empire, detect Adriana’s mana, and immediately relay her location to the principality of Belus.
“It’s fine. What I’m doing right now is more important.”
Seeing Ascart’s resolute expression, the grand duke nodded and did not push further.
And shortly after…
When the final checks were complete, the grand duke placed a top-grade mana stone from the principality into the device. With a humming sound, the magic formation carved into the device activated.
“Let’s confirm that it’s working properly.”
The grand duke picked up the communication orb connected to the principality.
If he, a blood relative of Adriana, infused his mana, the device should detect and analyze all mana in the vicinity, glowing as it transmitted the location to the principality.
Just as he was about to extend his hand and channel mana…
“…!”
The previously silent device suddenly flashed brightly and began spinning violently.
Startled, Ascart and the grand duke exchanged glances.
“Ascart, did you just..?”
“No, I didn’t.”
At the same moment Ascart denied it, the communication orb in the grand duke’s hand blinked twice.
This indicated that mana identified as Adriana’s or that of her bloodline had successfully been transmitted to the principality.
A shiver ran down his spine.
As the room fell silent and both Ascart and the grand duke remained frozen..
Bang!
The door suddenly burst open, and the grand duchess entered.
Swallowing hard, the grand duke quickly checked his wife’s hands.
She wasn’t holding anything.
‘If she didn’t use aura, then could it really be…’
Suppressing his racing heart, the grand duke spoke.
“Dear, just now—”
“Ascart, stop associating with that maid. She’s a very wicked girl.”
His words were cut off by the grand duchess.
Startled by the sudden statement, Ascart asked in confusion.
“Mother, what are you talking about?”
“I just spoke to the butler, and he said something absurd. He told that maid to wait for a while, didn’t he? There’s no need to meet her.”
“What… Are you talking about Lia?”
Ascart’s gaze sharpened as he spoke her name.
Noticing this, the grand duchess’s tone became even firmer.
“Yes. That girl you and your father keep protecting.”
“I don’t know what Lia did wrong, but she’s still just a child. Can’t you just consider it a small mistake and let it go?”
Hearing Ascart take her side without even listening, the Grand Duchess’s eyebrows furrowed sharply.
“A small mistake? You expect me to forgive her when she had the audacity to lie to me, claiming she’s my daughter, and play such a vile trick?”
At that moment, Ascart’s pupils wavered.
After a brief silence, he slowly opened his mouth.
“Are you sure you weren’t just having a nightmare? Why would she say something like that to you?”
“Hah! So now, in your attempt to defend that girl, you’re treating me like a madwoman?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“J-Just a moment, dear.”
At that moment, the Grand Duke, who had been frozen in shock, asked with a pale face.
“Did she really say that? That she is A…Adriana?”
“Your Grace, why do you look so…”
“Please, tell me. Did she really say those words?”
Seeing the Grand Duke raise his voice so uncharacteristically, the Grand Duchess assumed he was just as furious as she was and nodded.
“Yes. She said it to me. That she is Adriana. It was so absurd that I…”
“The reason!”
“Pardon?”
“The child wouldn’t say something like that for no reason. There must have been something that made her think that way. What exactly did she say when she claimed that?”
“That is…”
The Grand Duchess hesitated for a moment, then slowly traced back her memory.
“…A necklace. Yes, that’s right. She asked me if I didn’t recognize some necklace, pointing at my neck as she spoke… But there was nothing around her neck.”
“And then?”
“And… I didn’t listen. I was angry. I thought she was playing a cruel joke, so I…”
“Ah…”
The Grand Duke’s eyelids trembled violently.
“Is she outside? I must see her immediately.”
“Father!”
It was Ascart who stopped the Grand Duke just as he was about to rush out.
“This isn’t the time for that. I’ll speak to Lia later. For now, we need to check on the magic device…”
But as Ascart turned to check, he was rendered speechless.
The device, which had been shining so fiercely, was already shut off.
“We need to contact the Principality immediately, her location must have been transmitted…”
While Ascart struggled to process the situation, the Grand Duke grabbed the door handle without hesitation.
At that moment, the Grand Duchess grabbed his arm.
“Your Grace, the girl is not outside. I have already sent her away.”
The Grand Duke, who had been on the verge of dashing out, froze in place.
With his eyes suddenly welling up, he turned to look at his wife.
“Dear… Please tell me it’s not true.”
“…Your Grace?”
“Tell me you weren’t cruel to her… That even if you were angry, you didn’t say anything that would hurt her. Please…”
“Why are you acting this way, Your Grace? What exactly are you saying?”
The Grand Duke bit his trembling lips as he looked into his wife’s eyes, now clouded with unease.
She hadn’t answered.
But he already knew the meaning behind her silence.
***
The sun had already set. The snow, which had briefly stopped during the day, had begun falling again.
The snowflakes grew larger at an alarming rate, yet Jack remained in the training grounds.
He felt dazed, as if his mind had drifted away.
Earlier in the day, a woman claiming to be the leader of the Belus Principality’s Magic Swordsmen had come to the ducal estate’s training grounds.
She wasn’t a knight or a mage… she introduced herself as a magic swordsman.
From what he gathered, she had been one of those who helped rescue the young lady from the orphanage, and she seemed to know Lia well.
⟨Lia is sick? Where? Is it just a cold?⟩
When the young lady, who had come to watch the training, arrived with another maid instead of Lia, Allen reacted immediately.
It was Bianca who was most affected by the news that Lia was resting due to illness.
With a worried look, she muttered that she would check on Lia after inspecting the sword.
Jack had thought about following her—that was the case at least until training started.
Now, Jack closed his eyes tightly again. The shocking sight from earlier remained vivid in his mind.
Not long after training began, something happened.
As Bianca explained something to Allen, his sword trembled.
Then, for a brief moment, a distinct blue aura formed around it before vanishing.
It was aura.
Though it disappeared quickly, Jack could never forget that moment, the very ground around them had trembled at that moment.
“Jack!”
A loud voice snapped Jack out of his daze.
The one responsible for his inner turmoil had appeared at the training grounds.
Allen ran up to Jack, breathing heavily, and asked urgently.
“Jack, have you seen Lia anywhere?”
Jack, now fully alert, furrowed his brows.
“I haven’t. Isn’t she in her room?”
“She’s gone! I went to check on her, but she wasn’t in her room or anywhere else!”
