“You’re late.”
Inside, the fourth concubine, lounging carelessly against the back of a chair, greeted Diana with a cigarette in hand.
The last time Diana had seen her at the hunting competition, she had at least made an effort to present herself for the public event. Now, the fourth concubine’s hair was so disheveled that the word ‘unkempt’ would be a compliment. With tired eyes framed by glasses, she looked more like a scholar worn out by research than a concubine.
Diana gave a slight bow and shifted her gaze to the long cigarette holder in the fourth concubine’s hand. “That’s quite an unusually long cigarette holder. Did you make it yourself, like the bow from last time?”
“No, this is something imported from the West. They made it over there. By the way…”
The fourth concubine gestured with her head towards the window behind her, causing Diana, who had been about to turn around, to pause. She took a deep drag from the long cigarette holder, then exhaled a smoky breath through her teeth, fixing her gaze on Diana.
Diana noticed that the fourth concubine’s perpetually tired eyes now held a hint of interest, similar to what she had seen in the forest but subtly different.
“Is Marquis Kadmond your lover?”
“Cough… What?”
Diana, too shocked to maintain her composure, coughed as she accidentally inhaled wrong, finally managing to stammer out a response in a dazed voice. But the fourth concubine shrugged nonchalantly, as if her question had been perfectly reasonable, and nodded toward the window on one side of the room.
When Diana reflexively turned her gaze there, she could see the entrance to the fourth concubine’s palace clearly through the window. In other words, the Fourth Concubine had seen the entire scene of Ludwig and Diana standing and talking, followed by Ludwig kissing her hand.
Diana took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Once she had regained her composure, she shook her head firmly, her voice calm and resolute. “…I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but you’re mistaken.”
“Why?”
“…Pardon?”
“Well, it’s a shame you’re not in that kind of relationship. I thought something interesting might happen for the first time in a while.”
When Diana repeated her denial, the brief spark of interest in the fourth concubine’s eyes faded instantly. Clicking her tongue in disappointment, she turned her head away, once again puffing on her cigarette.
Diana blinked in disbelief. …So, right now, she thinks it would have been amusing if I had a lover? I already thought she was unusual, but… The fourth concubine seemed to be even more detached from the ‘common sense’ than Diana had originally thought.
“How boring… there’s nothing more to research.” The fourth concubine muttered with a sigh, taking a deep drag from her cigarette.
Diana, who had been using the pause in conversation to look around the lab, froze at the fourth concubine’s next words.
“It would be nice if I could kill a spirit and study it properly. But when an elementalist dies, the contract ends, and the spirit returns to the spirit realm, so I can’t capture them. And no elementalist would willingly hand over their spirit for research…”
Diana slowly straightened up and turned to face the fourth concubine. By then, the fourth concubine was already staring at her blatantly. Lifting one corner of her mouth, the fourth concubine spoke again.
“Ah, since you’re an elementalist too, does this kind of conversation make you uncomfortable?”
“…”
The faint smile on Diana’s face slowly vanished as she narrowed her eyes at the fourth concubine. This is an offer.
“I’ll keep your secret. But in return, you should come to visit my lab sometime and let me know what kind of elementalist you are.”
The fourth concubine had deliberately mentioned Diana being an elementalist, subtly pressuring her. She was essentially offering to keep Diana’s secret as an elementalist in exchange for being allowed to research her spirits.
This is actually better.
The fourth concubine had indeed promised to keep Diana’s identity as an elementalist a secret when they were in the forest. But Diana knew that such a promise was just empty words. After all, silence without any price is often the most dangerous factor.
Of course, Diana had no intention of actually sacrificing her spirits. As the fourth concubine herself had pointed out, no matter how much trouble a spirit may cause, the bond between a spirit and its user is like that of one body and soul.
As Diana’s gaze grew colder, the fourth concubine’s eyes lit up with interest once again. Finally, Diana smiled coolly, her expression calm and calculating.
“I can’t help you with any serious research. But I’ll allow you to observe the characteristics and magical wavelengths of my spirits.”
The fourth concubine raised an eyebrow, staring at Diana as if she were foolish. “What do you take me for? I’ve already studied those aspects with other spirits…”
“What if it’s a spirit with an attribute that’s never been discovered before?”
“…What?” The fourth concubine couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Instead of replying, Diana subtly activated her magic. Her eyes darkened to a deeper shade of violet. Swoosh—An intangible breeze stirred. Around Diana, the energy of her magic, similar to what had been sensed in the forest but now more restrained, began to swirl. And then, moments later—Pii. Small black objects, resembling puffs of dust, rolled out from beneath Diana’s dress. Soon after, a black cat and a wolf, which had been hiding behind her, came forward lazily.
The wolf, Yuro, grumbled into Diana’s mind.
<This is insane. What kind of elementalist would sell their spirit to a mad scientist like her?>
Do you want to die instead?
<I-I…>
Faced with Diana’s sweet yet threatening response, Yuro was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing in silent protest. He finally sighed deeply, resigning himself to his fate, and shook his head.
Meanwhile, the fourth concubine’s eyes widened in shock as she watched the three spirits reveal themselves. “…A high-level elementalist? But those…”
“Let me ask you again, Fourth Concubine,” Diana interjected with a soft smile, her voice as sweet as the color of her hair. “Are you interested in conducting research?”
“…Ha.” The fourth concubine ran a hand through her messy hair, letting out a low chuckle. Even after pushing her hair back, she continued to laugh quietly, as if she had lost her mind.
Then, suddenly, the fourth concubine snapped her head up. Yuro flinched instinctively at the abrupt movement. Unlike before, her dark eyes now gleamed with sharp vitality. She bared her teeth in a grin.
“If I pass up this opportunity, even the riffraff in Arlas would call me insane. Let’s make a deal.”
“But I have one more condition.”
“What is it?”
The fourth concubine’s fingers twitched eagerly as if she were itching to place Diana’s spirits on the lab table right then and there. Sensing something ominous from the fourth concubine, the Hillasa trembled and quietly rolled back under Diana’s skirt.
Diana, without bothering to ease their anxiety, spoke calmly. “Please also research whether there are any places within the empire where the magical wavelengths similar to those of these spirits can be detected.”
Diana and her companion had been unable to find any clues, but there might still be some records related to a dark attribute elementalist hidden somewhere. If that were the case, even a faint trace of similar magical wavelengths might be detected in those records.
More importantly… There could be another dark attribute elementalist hiding within the empire who isn’t Diana herself. The chances are slim, but it’s better than doing nothing.
If, by some miracle—If I could find definitive evidence related to a dark attribute spirit…
“…”
Kayden’s face suddenly flashed through her mind, but the hope was so faint and fleeting that it quickly sank back into her subconscious.
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