He lightly kissed her cheek and left the room.
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Serios tapped his desk with his pen.
"There's a leak sowhere."
"What?"
"Information."
At those words, Beramund turned his gaze to him. Serios's office was, as usual, occupied by just the two of them. Serios narrowed his eyes as he looked at him.
"Don't you have any ideas, Beramund Lunatil?"
"No."
Beramund replied firmly, maintaining his reclined position on the sofa.
"Of course, it's not important stuff that's leaking. But small things, things only we should know, are leaking out."
"Then let it be."
"You know sothing too, don't you?"
When Serios asked with narrowed eyes, Beramund didn't answer. Serios spoke in a low voice.
"Don't make
doubt you too, Beramund."
"There's no way I would betray you, right?"
"I thought the sa about Rudinal until he stabbed
in the back."
Though his tone was light, there was a sharp edge to it. Beramund finally sat up slowly.
"I'm not Rudinal. And— it's sowhat intentional. We need to leak a little for them to trust us, don't we?"
"If that's the case, you should tell
first."
"It wasn't important content. Just things that give trust while being harmless. That's all."
"So, is her activity going well?"
"More or less."
Beramund answered vaguely. He didn't tell Serios that Sigrid seed to be poisoned. If he had, Serios would have suspected her and cut her off imdiately.
He couldn't let that happen.
Serios sighed.
"Alright. I trust your guarantee."
"Yes, trust my guarantee. So, how's Rudinal these days?"
"I don't know."
At Serios's words, Beramund raised his eyebrows as if to ask what he ant. Serios rubbed his forehead and said:
"He's my brother. I thought I knew him well. I thought I knew my brother well. But now? How is he, you ask? I don't know. Is this the brother I've known for over a decade? Were all my thoughts, all my judgnts completely wrong? Is this my brother? It doesn't seem like it, what is this?"
"......Serios......."
"Of course, he says it was a mistake. That he just wanted to be equal to . He's still young, so maybe it could be called a montary mistake. But he'll have to take responsibility for that mistake. And trust—"
He smiled bitterly.
"It will take a decade— no, decades to regain trust or brotherly affection. I'll talk to him next week. I'll say he was attacked by magical beasts on the way, lost everything, and returned with the help of the West."
"Will that story work?"
"Yes, it'll give us a reason to praise the West. And His Majesty will also learn that we know about the magicians. I hope he gets nervous and makes a mistake. She should have gained enough trust by now."
"......."
Beramund didn't answer and got up from his seat to approach him. He lightly patted Serios's shoulder as if to comfort him, and Serios waved his hand with a bitter smile.
"Don't, I might cry."
"Oh, that would be awkward."
"Right?"
Serios laughed lightly. Seeing that his mood seed to have lightened a bit, Beramund shrugged and said:
"It seems there's been progress on the magician front too."
"Really?"
Serios's eyes glinted. Beramund nodded.
"Having magicians on our side, we got lucky. We must definitely grant her a high title."
Serios said, shaking his head. It was frustrating that the magician wouldn't et unless it was through Sigrid. If it weren't for Sigrid's straightforward deanor, he would have surely thought they were lovers.
Serios glanced at his friend.
"How about you?"
"What?"
"With Lady Ankertna......."
At those words, Beramund smiled bitterly.
"Terrible."
"That's unusual?"
Serios tilted his head with an "Eh?" When had Beramund Lunatil ever shown such weakness in matters of won?
"Just, this and that."
Beramund sighed and said.
"I'll be going then."
"Alright. On your way out, please give this to an attendant."
As he pushed so docunts towards him, Beramund said "Sure" and took them. After leaving the office, he handed the bundle of docunts to a waiting attendant and started walking. Suddenly, a presence appeared beside him. Startled, he grabbed his sword hilt and turned sharply, only to find Arkana standing there. Beramund let go of his sword and grumbled:
"Don't appear so suddenly, will you?"
"If I don't, I can't co here secretly."
"Other magicians can't detect you?"
"Of course I ca without being detected."
Arkana shrugged as if to say, "What a stupid question." Beramund said, "Right, my mistake for asking," and started walking, with Arkana following beside him and saying:
"By the way, other people can't see ."
"So I look like a madman talking to thin air?"
"Yes."
He answered firmly and added:
"And it seems to be true that you're mad."
The reason was obvious without asking, so Beramund groaned and entered a nearby empty room. There was no shortage of empty rooms in the Imperial Palace.
After closing the door, Beramund asked in a low voice:
"Did Sigrid say that?"
"I drew that conclusion based on what Sigrid told ."
Right, kissing her under the pretext of being drunk deserves being called mad.
"I heard you said it was just a ga relationship?"
"Yes. Why? Did Sigrid say she was relieved?"
His tone unconsciously beca sarcastic. Arkana, unfazed, said:
"And you thought that was for her benefit, right?"
If she was dating him even though she didn't want to, you probably tried to make it seem not serious to lighten her heart.
"Why ask if you know everything?"
"No, I just think it's a poor way of caring for soone."
At those words, Beramund groaned again.
"She's precious, so I don't want to hurt her. Is that wrong?"
"Isn't sothing precious ant to be held onto?"
"......."
Beramund blankly raised his head to look at Arkana. Arkana stood askew and said:
"How dull."
If Siri hadn't said she liked him, there would be no need for this kind of advice(?).
Beramund let out a deep sigh.
"To be honest, I'm not sure. It's the first ti I've had sothing this precious."
He was just desperate not to hurt her.
He was surprisingly weak when it ca to wanting, aiming for, and winning sothing.
'Except when it cos to swords?'
Beramund thought for a mont, then chuckled and shrugged.
"I guess I've gotten used to being a spare. Used to stepping back."
"A spare?"
"There's that subtle line where you need to be good enough to be a substitute for your older brother, but never better than him."
"The very idea that soone can replace soone else is incredibly arrogant."
Arkana retorted rcilessly, and Beramund fell silent.
"Everyone has their own way of doing things, and no matter what you do, you can never completely replace soone. Isn't it strange to say 'I'm soone's substitute'?"
At those words, Beramund was at a loss for words. He groaned and said:
"You just directly refuted my entire life."
"It's good that you're realizing now how stupid that idea is. Substitution creates comparison, and comparison only creates inferiority complexes. And inferiority complexes mostly produce human trash."
Arkana spoke as if stabbing him repeatedly, showing no intention of going easy on him, and added:
"By the way, Morris Deforest confessed to Sigrid, so if you're going to do sothing, you'd better hurry."
At those words, Beramund turned to him sharply and growled:
"He did?"
"Yes. And now for the main point."
"Speak."
"Immortality magic, or rather, lifespan extension magic. To perform this ritual, a prepared room is needed. By preparation, I an preparation over a very long ti. When lifespan is extracted from the slums, it's released to another place through the drawn magic circle. That's where the lifespan extension is received."
Beramund was dumbfounded by Arkana's explanation. He had thought the conversation would naturally turn to Morris. Seeing his expression, Arkana said coldly:
"You didn't think your love life was the main point, did you?"
"Uh, no."
Sohow, it felt like he was constantly being outmaneuvered.
Beramund swallowed a sigh and nodded.
"So we need to find that place? Is there a limit to how far it can be, or sothing like that?"
"You're surprisingly using your head. Yes, there is. It must be within a 1km radius."
"That's wide."
"We'll have to investigate."
"The Imperial Palace is within that range too."
"Yes."
"I see. Is there any danger to you personally?"
"It's fine for now. They seem to think that any magician who's left the magic tower would agree with their views. Whether you call it naive, stupid, or the limitations of those who only research at desks."
Arkana muttered, thinking of Bibi. While Adolf, the leader, was casting suspicious glances at him, Bibi was giving him absolute trust.
Even if Adolf was suspicious, the fact was that they needed Arkana's brain to complete the magic circle, and since Arkana was actively cooperating, there was no overt suspicion.
"Ah, and is there sothing like a detoxification magic?"
"There are so many types of poisons, it's surprising you think one magic can cure them all."
"You healed my wound, didn't you?"
"Physical external injuries are different."
Beramund rubbed his chin and said in a low voice, "I see."
"Sigrid might have been poisoned."
At those words, Arkana's eyes sharply scanned him.
"What do you an?"
"I t her recently, and it looked like she had coughed up blood. And that Emperor, he's the type to control people with slow-acting poison. She doesn't say anything, but how is she? Is her physical condition strange or anything?"
"......I have an idea where to look."
"As I thought?"
Beramund gritted his teeth with a crunch. Arkana took a mont to compose himself and said calmly:
"Then we'll have to look into the poison too. I understand."
"Right."
As Beramund nodded, Arkana gave a light bow and stepped back, then vanished on the spot. Beramund blinked and scratched the back of his neck.
'I still can't get used to that.'
But since there was a possibility of fighting magicians, it was good to get used to this kind of movent.
'Should I ask him to face
a few tis?'
Thinking this, Beramund gripped his sword hilt, then let go and left the room. He needed to go tell Serios about this and have the surroundings investigated, and—
—Sigrid had received a confession.
That fact kept echoing in his mind. If it was Morris, he knew him too.
'He's close to Siri.'
It was obvious just from watching that she had almost absolute trust in him. The reason must be related to her past—before she returned.
'Surely they weren't lovers in the past......?'
The thought made his stomach churn. A fla of jealousy that threatened to blacken his vision licked at his heart.
There was only one thought:
'I absolutely won't hand her over.'
It was pathetic to feel such rising anger at the thought of soone else touching her now, when he had let go himself. But he was prepared to be as pathetic as necessary.
He didn't mind crawling on the ground.
Beramund opened his palm and looked at it.
'Precious things—'
He realized they weren't ant to be let go.
Not letting go, but holding on. And then treating them preciously in the palm of your hand.
He clenched his fist and grinned.
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Carrying the now familiar migraine, Sigrid visited the park. It was where she had co on a date with Beramund not long ago.
'The weather is even better than it was then.'
Sigrid looked around. The ground, which had been muddy, was now firm. She smiled faintly, rembering riding horses with Beramund, but soon spotted a yellow flag. A yellow flag was attached to a shiny light brown carriage. It was the agreed-upon sign ntioned in the letter.
As Sigrid approached the carriage, the coachman turned to look at her. Sigrid showed the letter from her bosom, and the coachman climbed down from his seat to open the door himself. Sigrid got into the carriage. The interior was spacious and luxuriously decorated.
Sigrid knelt on the floor of the carriage. The spaciousness of the carriage made this motion possible without difficulty.
"I am in the presence of Her Majesty the Empress."
"Rise."
The Empress was wearing a veil. As she extended her white hand and spoke, Sigrid kissed the signet ring on her finger and stood up, taking a seat on the opposite chair.
"You must be curious why I called you."
"I thought it might be about His Highness the Prince."
Sigrid answered, bowing her head. Recently, ntions of his mother had significantly decreased in Awen's speech.
Moreover, the Empress had tried to separate her from Awen. According to the Crown Princess, this was one way of protecting Awen.
"Yes, that's one of the main reasons. Awen seems to follow you."
"I'm deeply honored."
"And I hear he's even studying these days."
"He has taken an interest in his studies."
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