When Ian and I returned to the Grand Duke’s residence, Kyle was already waiting for us in Ian’s office.
“You’ve arrived,
“Have you been waiting long?
“Well, waiting is practically my job, isn’t it?” Kyle replied lightly, though his expression seemed unusually sullen today.
“For days, I’ve been running around on the other side of the continent carrying out my lord’s orders, only for you to rush off without so much as acknowledging me. And now you return, safe and sound, as if nothing happened.”
He’s sulking. Definitely sulking.
Watching Kyle grumble pointedly at Ian, I felt certain.
I sneaked a glance at Ian, only to see him shrug with a nonchalant expression, completely unfazed.
It’s obvious what happened.
Ian must have dashed off to me as soon as he received word, leaving Kyle in the dust.
Caught between Ian’s calm indifference and Kyle’s petulance, I awkwardly gestured to both of them.
“Take a seat, for now.”
“My luck…”
Grumbling under his breath, Kyle followed us to the sofa, where he sat across from us after letting out a dramatic sigh.
“So, you’ve found something?” I asked quickly, before the conversation could veer off-topic again.
Kyle nodded.
“Yes. It’s the information I managed to gather over the past two days while ‘rolling around’ on the other side of the continent, not that my lord cared to notice.”
“Ahaha…”
Yep, he’s genuinely upset.
“Well, to get straight to the point, it was a success. The thread Her Grace provided is indeed a tool commonly used in rituals by the shamans of that continent, just as you mentioned.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. There isn’t much information about it on our continent. In the Levant Empire, where magic is so advanced, ritual magic is mostly dismissed as folk superstition. But in Jerron, including the Nomos Empire, ritual magic is studied quite extensively.”
“Interesting.”
That explained how Diana knew about it when it was almost impossible to find information across Levant. I nodded slowly in understanding.
“So, the important part is how the thread is used. Did you find anything about that?”
“Who do you think I am? I’m your capable subordinate who goes above and beyond. Of course, I found out. The thread is mainly used for rituals involving human relationships—connecting two people, severing ties, creating new destinies, or even swapping souls.”
“Swapping souls?”
Both Ian and I looked at each other simultaneously, the same thought crossing our minds. Ian’s deep blue eyes widened slightly, uncharacteristically showing his surprise.
“Normally…” Kyle began to continue, but then paused, his eyes narrowing as he looked back and forth between us.
“What are you two doing?”
Only then did I remember Kyle’s presence. Clearing my throat, I gestured for him to go on.
“Nothing. Please, continue.”
Kyle squinted at us suspiciously.
“I’m over here being worked to the bone, and you two are having secret conversations without me, aren’t you? I have no intention of intruding on a married couple’s private matters, but this is starting to feel a bit hurtful.”
Well, he’s not wrong.
But it’s not like I could just blurt out the truth about Eloise’s soul-swapping situation to him. That was out of the question.
Feigning indifference, I simply shrugged.
“You’ve been acting suspicious lately, you know,” Kyle muttered, narrowing his eyes even more before sighing in resignation. Then, though still looking skeptical, he resumed.
“As you may already know, the thread is regarded as a symbol of connection on that continent. When used in rituals, it’s often crafted into accessories—rings, bracelets, or hair ties, depending on the specific purpose of the ritual.”
“Accessories…”
“Yes. Does anything about that stand out to you, Your Grace?”
I shook my head.
The grimoire Eloise had left behind did include some descriptions related to knots, but unfortunately, the pages detailing the exact ritual methods had been torn out.
Kyle frowned, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“Hmm… that could be problematic. While most rituals involving connections use threads, there are dozens of similar rituals, each with a completely different method. Without knowing the exact procedure, breaking the spell would be nearly impossible.”
“I see…”
“Of course, if Her Grace has even a vague idea of the method, it could help…” Kyle trailed off, glancing at me hopefully.
So, in the end, it boiled down to me figuring something out.
“Well, I’ll need to think about it a bit more… Ah!”
I was about to answer, dejected, when a sudden memory flashed through my mind.
Wait a second. That bracelet the old woman put on me in the alley before—how did it look again?
Reflexively, I looked down at my left wrist. Of course, there was nothing there now.
Think carefully. How did it look?
Though I only saw it for a brief moment before it disappeared, I faintly remembered that it was a bracelet strung with several beads. I recalled the clinking sound it made when the old woman placed it on the desk, as well as the fleeting weight I felt on my wrist once it was secured.
“…Kyle, you’d need thread to string beads together, right?”
“Pardon? Yes.”
Kyle blinked, looking puzzled as he nodded, his expression saying, What else would you use to string beads?
Could that bracelet also be… related to this thread?
The old woman seemed to know more about Eloise’s magic than I had initially realized. The problem was that most of what she said was incomprehensible muttering.
Maybe the bracelet she gave me is connected to this thread.
The thought quickly solidified into a strange certainty.
It’s not definite yet, but…
As my expression shifted rapidly, Kyle, who had been watching me quietly, finally asked, “Did something come to mind?”
“Something similar happened before, but I’ll wait until I’m more certain to share it.”
I didn’t want to confuse everyone with uncertain information.
“For now, let’s keep discussing.”
❖ ❖ ❖
After Kyle’s report was concluded, I immediately returned to Ian’s office and retrieved Eloise’s grimoire from the desk drawer.
I opened it, half-hoping for a miracle, but as expected, the pages containing the ritual’s solution were still missing.
“Of course, no luck.”
Given Eloise’s personality, she had probably torn out the pages herself before performing the ritual. Ritual instructions usually include a way to undo the spell, and Eloise would never have left something like that lying around for others to see.
On top of that, the fleeting encounter I’d had with Eloise before the bracelet was placed on me suggested that she hated the idea of the spell being undone and things returning to normal.
“So, I really have to figure this out myself…”
Ian had promised to look further into the matter following Kyle’s report, but I wasn’t optimistic about finding answers easily.
Sigh.
If only I could solve this, I’d finally know something.
Leaning back against the chair, I absentmindedly touched my left wrist where the bracelet had once been.
“If only I could see that bracelet again…”
And then, it happened.
A foreign sensation brushed against my wrist, followed by the sound of beads softly clinking. Something cold pressed against my skin.
What?
Startled, I bolted upright and looked down at my wrist.
There, impossibly, was the bracelet. The same one the old woman had placed on me.
“What the…?”
Why was it here now?
• • •
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