Chapter 287
“Huh?”
The mage who ca to deliver docunts paused with a puzzled expression.
The office was firmly closed with an attendant standing guard outside. This ant Ian’s office, which never went dark even at dawn, was empty.
Where had he gone in the middle of the night? Visiting another departnt? As the mage stopped in the middle of the corridor, the attendant greeted and inford him.
“He stepped out briefly.”
“St-stepped out? You an outside the palace?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Damn it! Why didn’t you say so earlier!”
To think the Minister wasn’t even in the palace! If he’d known this, he would have thrown his overti to the dogs and gone ho.
No, at this point “escape” would be more fitting than “going ho.” Why sacrifice his lifespan writing reports when his superior wasn’t even around?
The mage imdiately turned and ran down the corridor. His colleagues lounging in the lobby clicked their tongues at the sight.
“Look at him run. Such energy. Was he slacking during the day?”
“Minister Ian isn’t in the palace! He went ho!”
“He must be crazy. What nonsense… What!?”
“The office is empty if you want to check.”
“But the Minister didn’t have any outside appointnts today?”
“That’s why I’m saying he went ho. I’m leaving first. Goodbye.”
He hadn’t ntioned anything earlier in the day though? The mages briefly exchanged glances before simultaneously jumping to their feet.
Ti to go ho right now. Ti to get ho and sleep deeply. Even if work remained, it didn’t matter. With no one in the office to approve docunts, what could they do?
Patter patter!
Neeeigh!
Just as the mages were running down the main building’s stairs, carriages pulled up in a line and stopped right in front. And then familiar faces appeared.
“What are you all doing?”
“Huh? Did sothing happen?”
It was Beric and Romandro, followed by Ian stepping down. Several mage colleagues also erged from the other carriages.
Ah, those guys. So they hadn’t gone ho after all.
“…Is there a problem?”
“Oh, w-welco back! We were eager to deliver reports to you. Haha. That’s why we ca out to greet you. So, you’ve been sowhere?”
Ian gave a faint smile seeing the mages’ empty hands. But he simply ignored it and walked past them while giving instructions.
“If you have anything to bring, bring it. I’ll wait. I expect to work especially late tonight, so anyti. Those who were on field duty are dismissed.”
“Yes, Minister. We’ll see you tomorrow- no, this morning.”
“Good work.”
The mages who had tried to escape were dragged back into the Ministry of Magic following Ian, and the group arrived at his office.
Creeak.
As soon as the door closed, Romandro, who had been standing perfectly fine, collapsed face-first onto the sofa. With a groan-like sigh.
“Ian, what do we do? She was already hard enough to find, and now she’ll be even more cautious about hiding.”
“She knows the Imperial Palace joined the pursuit. She’ll likely leave Bariel soon. We should tell the border patrol to be extra vigilant.”
Ian also expressed his regret while removing his outer coat.
Even the magical barrier proved useless. Though mages watched the sky and soldiers turned the alleys inside out, she slipped away. How could she vanish so completely, as if darkness was part of her very being?
“Beric. Did you say she crawled when you saw her in the morning?”
“Hm? Yeah. Since she had no legs.”
Beric, who had collapsed on top of Romandro, responded while playing around. He was putting his full weight into pressing down. Though Romandro kicked and struggled telling him to move aside, Beric paid no attention.
“It seems her mobility changes at night.”
“That’s why she asked to et Beric at night. In case sothing happened and she needed to escape. Oh co on, move aside! You fool!”
She was soone who carried the dangerous temptation of secrets within her. Now he understood how such a person had managed to survive this long.
If they’d had more ti, they could have gathered information and prepared properly. Romandro scolded Beric while stretching his cheeks side to side.
“If only you’d told us earlier, hm? Earlier!”
“Uuugh. It’s amazing I didn’t forget at all!”
True. It’s remarkable he rembered to tell them at all. As Ian pressed between his brows showing his fatigue, Beric observed him carefully. Was it because he went out after so long? He looked even more exhausted than usual.
“Ian, are you okay?”
“…What do you an?”
“Your face is all pale. What did the old lady do?”
“Co to think of it, your conversation was quite long. Ian, what did you talk about?”
Even Romandro joined in, moving closer to Ian. Though Ian waved his hand saying they were too close.
“…I learned the secret of Burgos’ previous king. Though it wasn’t publicly known, it seems their relationships were extrely unstable.”
“You an the predecessor of the current King Damon?”
“Yes. It seems there are hidden bloodlines scattered about, besides King Damon. I suspect that’s why the king is trying to find the Gypsy – to discover them.”
When appropriate truth ets silence, lies are born. Ian cut out the fact of the Burgos king’s regression and only conveyed fragnts.
The more people who knew, the more holes through which things could leak. This was better known only to Ian.
Information about the future would be clearer and more certain from him.
After all, he was living through the sa era twice. Even though Ian was from a hundred years later, there were still disadvantages.
However, now he knew who his opponent was.
That alone brought balance.
“When is King Damon scheduled to arrive?”
“Three days before the main inauguration ceremony, so let see.”
Romandro counted the days on the calendar.
Just under two weeks remaining. Since the leaders of the three nations would stay during the sa period, it would be difficult to approach them personally.
Ian remained silent with his chin propped up, as if deep in thought.
“About the alliance of the three nations.”
“Hm? Why bring that up?”
“Who do you think proposed it first?”
He was asking who first suggested they band together, taking advantage of the chaos in Bariel.
“I’d think it was Ruswena. Wouldn’t they have received news faster than other countries through Hayman? Their delegation even visited the Imperial Palace.”
Looking at overall possibilities, that made sense. But knowing the King of Burgos was a regressor, Ian couldn’t exclude him.
In his two repeated lives, wouldn’t he have judged this the perfect timing for an alliance? If so, it was proof that Bariel was now in crisis.
“…We should prepare thoroughly for our guests.”
“Of course. Everyone in the Imperial Palace is doing just that.”
Knock knock.
Just then, hearing movent outside, Romandro opened the door. It was a mage who had failed to escape, now loaded with reports.
As Romandro stood at the door talking with him, Beric poked his head in slightly.
“Ian.”
“Yes?”
“You gave the old lady a secret, didn’t you?”
He seed curious about what was given. But now Ian’s body couldn’t tell even if he wanted to. Ian arranged his papers while responding playfully.
“She said she ate many delicious things while you were sleeping.”
“That’s a lie. His Highness said you can’t speak after having your secret eaten.”
“You knew and still asked? You’re more impressive than I thought.”
“I want to give a secret too and hear sothing interesting. But the old lady said I don’t have any secrets. So I’m asking – do you know about stealing at from the dining hall?”
“Since it wasn’t just once or twice, which ti are you talking about?”
Beric sprawled out saying that settled it.
As the night outing to capture the Gypsy drew to a close, Beric fell asleep right there, and Romandro who had been helping Ian also collapsed in the next room.
Only Ian remained, treating the silence as music while processing the remaining docunts. As dawn broke, very faint footsteps could be heard.
Rustle.
Ian stopped what he was doing and looked toward the door. Soone seed to have stopped in front of it, hesitating due to the hour. If it were a mage, they wouldn’t act like this. Realizing it was ti for Jin to wake up, Ian called out first.
“…Your Highness?”
“Lord Ian.”
“Please co in. You’re up early.”
Having co right after waking up, he was dressed casually. Jin poked his head in with a regretful smile.
“Don’t tell you haven’t slept?”
“I have a free afternoon schedule today. What brings you here?”
Ian turned in his chair to welco the child, gesturing him to co closer. If he had woken up from sleep, Ian was about to add kindly that he would read him a book. Just then-
“Didn’t you say you were going to catch the Gypsy at night? I was curious how it went. Since the King of Burgos is concerned about her, I’m concerned as well.”
Ah. A child with the qualities of an Emperor. So he’d lost sleep worrying about this.
Ian stroked Jin’s disheveled hair with a bitter smile, as if there was no other way to express his embarrassnt.
“My deepest apologies. The Gypsy proved truly extraordinary, and we lost her. She’ll likely leave Bariel soon, so the border patrol may be our last chance.”
“She was indeed mysterious. Was there no particular gain?”
Ian relayed the sa information he had told Romandro and Beric. The child’s pale eyes fixed firmly on Ian.
For so ti now, Jin had wanted to look deeply into Ian. What was in that mind, what did he see, and what did he want to see? These curiosities made him turn thoughts over and over, leading to more questions.
“Why do you look at so, Your Highness?”
“…Lord Ian.”
The child called to him with a careful smile. His soft voice matched the dawn perfectly.
“Do you have separate intentions for proceeding with the Ministry of Magic annex construction?”
Ian paused at the unexpected question. He t the child’s gaze directly before asking in return. There must be a reason for suddenly bringing this up.
“May I first ask why you inquire about this?”
“The number of mages has decreased, yet the Ministry of Magic has grown larger. The reason for needing an annex is unclear, so your actions puzzle . Though you say it’s being done with your own funds, that makes it even more suspicious. You don’t seem like soone who would waste ti and effort on unnecessary things.”
Though Jin was careful, he couldn’t hide the underlying hint of opposition. Ian raised his eyebrows as if briefly surprised, then nodded. As if encouraging him to continue.
“And they say the trees in the garden received the fairies’ blessing. I’m a bit worried that sothing terrible might happen if we cut them down.”
Are you worried? Then I won’t do it.
Jin hoped Ian would say that. Then Jin too would reply:
No. I just ant it would be better to convince everyone.
“Your Highness. That is rely an unrecorded rumor.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes, it is.”
But Ian’s response differed from expectations. Though kind, it felt sohow distant. The words “What would you do if I oppose it?” lingered on Jin’s tongue, but the child held back well.
Not yet. Whatever Ian’s answer might be, the right ti would be when he himself found no issues. The young lion’s claws twitched slightly.
“I understand. Now get so rest. My heart troubles , fearing you might collapse again.”
Jin gripped Ian’s hand tightly. Their warm energies mixed together, seeming to dispel the dawn’s chill. Ian responded by embracing the child.
“Please set your heart at ease, Your Highness. Your peace is everyone’s peace.”
The child left the office with a bright smile, and Ian stared down at his palm that still held warmth.
Jin had begun harboring doubts and resistance. An admirable yet subtle emotion. He gently stroked the table with his warm hand.
The wariness that arose since the Hayman incident. It wouldn’t have suddenly erupted after settling down – was there a trigger?
The child ntioned the garden trees. This was one of the main argunts of those opposing the annex construction. Soone on the opposite side of Ian must have told him.
Was it Barsabe?
Or…
‘But His Highness burned one of the papers. I tried to save at least half, but it had completely turned to ashes.’
Looking at traces of the paper he had burned, Ian suddenly recalled Philea’s words from long ago.
She said that when Gale handed over the traitor, he had thrown away one page to threaten them.
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