IDED | Chapter 131

Episodes 131

One hour later.

Ophelia returned with a composed expression, as if she had never cried. However, the way she kept biting her lips made her seem somewhat shy.

Leonard’s behavior also seemed awkward. He kept lowering his gaze and forcing the corners of his mouth down.

‘Suspicious.’

Serena keenly observed the two, switching her gaze between them.

Since the room was soundproof, she had no idea what Leonard and Ophelia had talked about.

However, the atmosphere they gave off was anything but ordinary. At that moment, Jack mumbled to himself with a rather dazed expression.

“They say a quiet cat climbs onto the stove first… Damn it. They say if you get jealous, you lose, but I’m about to die of envy.”

Unfortunately, Serena was standing right next to him and heard everything too clearly. Knowing how much Jack had always talked about romance, it was hard to hold back her laughter.

Suppressing the laughter that was about to burst out, Serena spoke.

“Ahem. I’ve heard a rough explanation.”

“Yes, sorry for hesitating. I needed time to organize my thoughts.”

“I understand. It’s quite a big issue to grasp all at once.”

“To be clear, I have nothing to do with what my father has done. If I had known, I would have stopped him.”

Ophelia hurriedly defended herself, afraid that she might be suspected of being in league with the Duke.

Since the investigation had already confirmed that Ophelia wasn’t involved, Serena answered calmly.

“I know. That’s why I’m asking for your cooperation.”

“I heard from Leo. He said you were the first to suggest working with me.”

“Leooonard?”

“Ahem.”

Jack glared at Leonard, who quickly averted his eyes and pretended to clear his throat.

Serena ignored them and continued speaking to Ophelia.

“That’s right. I thought that if it were you, you would wisely choose the best path for Greenwood.”

“We weren’t exactly on good terms, yet you thought that of me? That’s a bit embarrassing.”

“The way I see it, you are someone who knows how to clearly distinguish between public and private matters.”

“You don’t even know me well.”

“You’re right. That’s why I sought my teacher’s advice.”

Serena smiled subtly, making Ophelia tilt her head in curiosity.

“Your teacher?”

“Yes. Nocturne told me this—Pai doesn’t warm up to just anyone. There must be something about you that made Pi lower her guard.”

After getting in touch with Nocturne, Serena had asked if it was safe to involve Ophelia in this matter. The response had been clear.

[Ophelia is a bit unpleasant, arrogant, self-centered, and overly concerned about her public image, but she’s not stupid enough to turn a blind eye to a crime.

She knows how to separate public matters from personal ones, so she will definitely cooperate.

This is an objective assessment from someone who has been by her side for a long time.

If you don’t trust me, Pai will vouch for her. Pi has an uncanny ability to sense bad people and avoid them.

Is this answer sufficient?]

It was hard to tell whether it was praise or an insult, but ultimately, it meant that Ophelia would cooperate.

However, there was no need to relay the message exactly as it was.

Serina selectively omitted the parts Ophelia wouldn’t like and rephrased Nocturne’s words.

Fortunately, Ophelia seemed to accept it without suspicion, smiling in satisfaction.

“For Nocturne, that was actually a rather useful thing to say.”

“Well… yes.”

“To think that Nocturne was Dorothy’s owner… Poor Dorothy. It should have met me first.”

Ophelia clicked her tongue as if she truly found it regrettable.

Both Nocturne and Ophelia had very low opinions of each other.

They had no hesitation in criticizing and ridiculing each other.

But that was only when dealing with each other.

When it came to making important decisions, they ultimately supported one another.

‘Now that I think about it, they’re unmistakably siblings. The two of them.’

Ophelia and Nocturne’s relationship was exactly the kind where one says, “Only I can insult my family.”

They detested others speaking ill of them but had no qualms about tearing each other down.

As Serena observed them anew, Ophelia spoke up.

“So, you’re saying we need to rescue Nocturne.”

“Yes. And before that, I’d like to check if you are also under the same spell.”

If the Duke had cast a spell on Nocturne, there was no reason to think he wouldn’t have done the same to Ophelia.

He was a highly suspicious man, so it was likely that he had placed spells on everyone around him.

With a slightly tense expression, Ophelia quietly nodded.

Serena slowly approached Ophelia and pressed a spot near her chest.

A moment later, she felt something being absorbed, accompanied by a ripple of violet energy.

As expected, the Duke was a cunning man.

He was also a fool who trusted no one.

Serena took a step back and murmured.

“It’s there.”

“…I never imagined my father would do this to me.”

Ophelia clutched her forehead with a troubled expression.

It made sense—her father, whom she had served all her life, had placed a time-bomb-like spell on her.

How could she not be shocked?

Ophelia’s eyes, which had held a trace of sympathy, turned cold.

“Now that I know, I won’t just stand by.”

“Does that mean you’ll cooperate with us?”

“Of course. But you must keep your promise that the Greenwood family will not be punished, even if my father’s crimes are fully exposed.”

“Of course. You’re personally becoming the whistleblower to bring the Duke down—such a promise must be upheld.”

Azaid reassured her and handed her a contract, agreeing to the cooperation.

It was an official document stamped with the imperial seal.

No matter how this incident ended, it guaranteed that the Greenwood family would not be destroyed.

After signing, Ophelia asked,

“But is it really okay to just absorb the spell that was on me? I’ll be returning to the castle and facing the Duke soon.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.”

Serena smiled and pulled something out of her bag.

Upon closer inspection, it was no ordinary stone—it looked like a sacred relic imbued with divine power.

Ophelia fiddled with the small stone and asked,

“What is this?”

“It’s a stone that prevents the flow of mana from being detected. It’s a type of holy relic created by reversing the principle that mana and divine power are incompatible.”

Serena continued as she handed over a glass of water.

“If you swallow this stone, divine power will naturally circulate in your body. As long as the divine power is maintained, the Duke won’t realize that his spell has been dispelled.”

“It must not be easy to create a relic that utilizes divine power. Finding a priest capable of doing it must be even harder.”

Ophelia murmured as she curiously examined the relic.

Unlike mages, who had no hesitation in developing magical tools for practical use, priests tended to treat divine power as sacred.

Because of that, even relics like this were never made lightly.

It was only natural for Ophelia to find it intriguing.

Especially since maintaining such a level of divine power in a small gemstone would require someone at least of archbishop rank.

And among those Serena knew, there was one perfect candidate for the job.

Serena thought of Raffaello, who must have stayed up all night making several of these stones.

She was not the kind of person to forgive wrongdoing without compensation.

For Serena, forgiveness always came with a price.

So not taking advantage of Raffaello’s eagerness to atone would have been a waste of resources.

‘Besides, He did this for Azaid’s sake anyway.’

Serena planned to forgive Raffaello once this was over.

After all, he cherished Azaid more than anyone.

Serena wasn’t stubborn enough to keep making such a person feel uneasy.

Of course, the fact that she was already thinking about continuously exploiting Raffaello’s divine power for the rest of his life was a secret she kept to herself.

Shrugging her shoulders, Serena said,

“The person who wronged me greatly happens to be a rather useful priest.”

“I don’t know how serious his mistake was, but one thing’s for sure—you definitely know how to handle people, Serena.”

“I appreciate the compliment.”

“And as expected, you have no humility.”

Ophelia wrinkled her nose at Serina before swallowing the stone with the water.

Since it was about the size of a pearl, swallowing it wasn’t difficult.

Once Serena confirmed that the divine power had properly spread through Ophelia’s body, she began discussing the main issue.

The autumn rain fell lightly, making the villa’s atmosphere gloomier than usual.

“Just how long do we have to stand guard over this villa?”

“How should I know what the higher-ups are thinking? I heard they’re keeping someone locked up in there.”

“Nobles sure have some twisted hobbies.”

Two guards stationed at the entrance grumbled back and forth.

They were furious that knights directly under Greenwood’s command were being tasked with something as trivial as guarding a single person.

Just then, a large-built man approached them and spoke.

“Shift change.”

Hearing the deep, cave-like voice, one of the guards checked his pocket watch and yawned.

“Hmm? It’s already time for the shift change. You’re going to have a rough time in this rain.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Hmm… But I don’t recognize your face. Which unit are you from?”

When asked about his unit, the man pulled out a badge from his coat and replied.

“Eleventh Unit. I was assigned to Lady Ophelia’s escort but was recently transferred here.”

“I heard the Duke and the Lady haven’t been on good terms lately. Looks like they even cut down the personnel on her side.”

“Enough with the pointless chatter. Let’s go already. A warm bowl of potato stew would hit the spot right now.”

Once the knights checked the badge, they passed by the man without much suspicion.

After their footsteps completely faded, the man pressed a button on a magical device.

At that moment, a thick fog engulfed the villa, and the other guards on duty collapsed one by one.

After confirming that everyone was asleep, the man put his index finger in his mouth and gave a signal.