Chapter: 9
I didn’t know much about magical tools, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
“If the Duke really hated Cain, he wouldn’t have contacted him at all.”
Yet, until recently, there had been some news. That meant there could have been a problem with the messages we sent, preventing a proper response.
“And this isn’t a coincidence.”
A purification stone mixed into a magical tool was absurd.
“Tristan must have schemed to drive a wedge between Cain and the Duke.”
The moment I reached for the magical tool, he had reacted over-sensitively and even grabbed my arm.
“He must have sensed the divine energy. He wanted to stop me from noticing the purification stone.”
I set the purification stone on the table and glared at Tristan.
“This… how did this get in here!?”
Tristan acted shocked, as if he had no idea.
“Exactly. Maybe someone put it here on purpose? It’s probably some petty, cowardly person who likes tormenting others!”
I played along, pretending to know nothing, and Tristan’s expression immediately turned sour.
“There’s no proof it was a person yet… you don’t have to say it like that.”
“Trust me. I heard the tool worked fine when we tested it. They must have taken it out then.”
Right?
Rain, still in shock, blankly muttered,
“This is the worst…”
Tristan ground his teeth for a moment.
“Alright, next step.”
I continued without pause.
“Now that this has happened, send someone to contact the Duke immediately. The magical tool might be completely broken because of the purification stone.”
“…Understood. I’ll send someone to contact the Duke.”
Even now, Tristan tried to stop me. But it was useless.
“That’s fine, but I can’t trust anything with this purification stone in play. If you can’t bring the Duke here, at least get a sign from him that he received the message, okay?”
“…Yes, understood.”
I furrowed my brows and spoke as worriedly as I could.
Tristan, at a loss for words, turned away with a face red enough to suggest he might explode.
Perhaps I’d gone too far.
“Wait a moment.”
I called Tristan back before he could leave.
“You also need to apologize to the young master. Your mistake almost caused trouble between the Duke and him. And you’re acting as the Duke’s representative here.”
Tristan’s face looked like it was about to burst.
“I-I’m sorry, young master. I’ll be more careful from now on…”
He trembled as he bowed and quickly left the room, not forgetting to glare at me fiercely on the way out.
“Please deliver the message to the Duke quickly,” I said, smiling innocently at him.
The last glimpse I caught of Tristan showed his face completely twisted in anger.
Thunk.
The door shut with a satisfying sound. I suppose he couldn’t slam it harder.
I decided I would never become an adult like that, then looked away from the door and smiled at Cain.
Cain’s eyes had widened in surprise.
Bang!
Tristan slammed the door to his office.
“How dare that brat toy with me!?”
His face flushed red and blue with rage.
It was humiliating. He remembered bowing to apologize to Cain.
“I could’ve just asked for some gems, but they had to demand something like that in return!”
Tristan didn’t want to alert Duke Argent that there had been a disturbance in the Duke’s residence. The reason was clear:
He wanted to flaunt that the residence was peaceful under his management.
He didn’t want Gerard’s son to grow close to the Duke.
And later, he wanted to monopolize Duke Argent for himself as a new husband.
Normally, this wouldn’t have been difficult. Controlling Cain was as easy as breathing.
Indeed, when Cain warned that Duke Argent might be worried, he immediately agreed to keep it hidden.
“But if this continues, Duke Argent will find out.”
Perhaps even the fact that he placed the purification stone in the message tool would be discovered. Not just that, but other things too…!
“I have to stop it. By any means!”
Tristan muttered anxiously.
“It’s all that brat’s fault. If that brat hadn’t been around!”
His anger circled back to Winiel. From the start, Winiel had annoyed him.
A holy maiden candidate, claiming to have something to tell the young master…
“I just have to deal with that brat. Once that’s done, I can undo everything.”
Sure enough, she became a variable, got in his way, and even rescued Cain to bring him inside the Duke’s residence.
“Huh, but at least that’s lucky.”
Cain still kept his distance from the Duke. A few more words about the rumors and a little guilt would ensure he’d stay silent forever.
As long as Winiel could be silenced, things would be fine.
A long moment passed while Tristan raged, thinking of Winiel, until he suddenly stopped.
“…Right. That’s still left.”
Tristan opened a safe and pulled out a paper from a hidden compartment.
It was covered with a complex magical circle.
Leering at the paper, Tristan scrawled his name across it.
“This will be perfect.”
He set the pen down on the desk without noticing it rolling off, a sly smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
Several days passed since the purification stone was discovered in the message tool.
During that time, Cain had been receiving the purification he had missed before.
Tristan had strongly recommended it, worried that the Duke might notice any mistakes.
I didn’t like that he suddenly changed his behavior, but purification was good for him, so I didn’t stop him.
“I wanted to make him indebted by doing the purification myself.”
Unfortunately, Cain insisted on using the purification stone.
Tristan also seemed unhappy with me being near Cain, and actively supported him.
It didn’t feel good, but one fact became clear:
“So Tristan really tried to brainwash Cain not to receive purification.”
He must have feared that if anyone saw Cain receiving it, they would consider it serious and report it to the Duke.
“Like that maid… Rain.”
She seemed to be the only person who might talk. At least having one witness was important. She would later confirm this to the Duke.
Rain had also helped me in countless ways.
“She even helped me summon the Duke, and after that, took care of me.”
She had begun cleaning the rooms until they shone daily, and brought freshly made snacks several times a day.
The chocolate muffin I was eating now… Rain had made it.
“Uh… where did the muffin go?”
I frowned at the empty plate, not even a crumb left.
No need to find the culprit.
“…I ate it all.”
I got up from the chair.
“She looked busy, so I should put them out myself.”
It seemed Rain was managing most of the residence alone. Was it possible for a noble house to have so few staff?
“Was this Tristan’s doing too?”
Whatever the case, I needed to report it. Originally, I’d planned to drop hints indirectly, but after the message tool incident, I decided to change my approach.
“I’ll just tell them outright.”
Keeping quiet wouldn’t help Cain. It might earn me dislike at first, but it had to be done.
“And I’ll do it, even if it frustrates me.”
I reached the kitchen, washed some dishes, and set them aside.
Even the occasional staff had grown used to me and barely glanced before returning to work.
“Where’s Rain? Cleaning elsewhere, maybe?”
I expected her to be here since it was almost lunchtime.
Looking around the kitchen, I returned to my room.
Even if I offered to help, Rain ignored me completely.
“I’ll wash the dishes later myself.”
Just as I returned to my room…
“Hmm?”
A dark presence brushed past me.
This… could it be…?
A chill ran down my spine.
“Ahhh!”
Before I could think further, a scream echoed from the first floor.
Panicking, I ran down the hallway.
At the bottom of the stairs, I confronted the black slime-like monster I had seen before.
“!”
The situation was worse than I thought. There were not only monsters, but also Rain and a knight.
The scream must have been from the knight, and Rain looked like she had already been attacked and fallen.
“Dark magic… inside the Duke’s residence!?”
Though a flood of questions clouded my mind, my first priority was to deal with the monsters.
I filled the Temple’s Emblem with divine energy and threw it at the monster.
Whoosh!
The monster vanished in white flames.
Without a moment’s rest, I rushed to Rain.
“Are you okay!?”
She had been fine just moments ago, handing me muffins, and now she was collapsed. My heart raced.
“She’s not dead, right?”
I checked her tremblingly.
“She’s breathing…!”
But her arm had already turned gray, touched by the monster.
“Quick… purification…”
I placed my hand on the tainted area.
“What happened?!”
“Rain has collapsed!”
The servants, having heard the scream, rushed over.
“Good… if I can just get her to a bed…”
Then the knight beside me stepped back, shouting,
“This… this girl summoned the monsters with dark magic!”
