Chapter 55
“…We tried that as well, but it had no effect. Instead, it triggered a seizure.”
“A seizure?”
“Yes. A seizure caused by magical backlash.”
“Backlash…? You mean Lady Blante’s subconscious rejected your magic? But Lady Blante isn’t a mage—”
Aster frowned in confusion before stopping mid-sentence.
Because he had realized what had rejected Seoden’s magic and erased Lady Blante’s memories.
The powerful ancient magic contained within the pocket watch.
It had been humanity’s overwhelming wish that broke the seal on the ancient magic and saved Lady Blante.
When he had seen her peacefully lying there with her eyes closed, he had already thought of it once.
Lady Blante’s wish probably hadn’t been to live.
The Grand Duke Seyard had been there when Lady Blante threw herself off the cliff.
Aster recalled Grand Duke Seyard’s deathly pale face.
The Grand Duke, looking as though his soul had left him, had stubbornly believed that Lady Blante was still alive.
So the wish that had saved Lady Blante was…
“…Grand Duke Seyard’s.”
And Lady Blante’s wish had not been to live.
“…It was to forget everything.”
Aster’s blue eyes darkened.
Their wishes had been different, but the overwhelming desires of both of them had broken the seal on the ancient magic.
For a moment, Aster couldn’t think of what to say.
Truthfully, when Seoden had contacted him to say Lady Blante had regained consciousness, Aster had been more inclined to send her back to the Empire. After spending the entire day investigating what had happened to her, he had also learned that the remaining members of Marquis Blante’s household had been thrown into great shock.
So if she wanted to talk, he had intended to listen.
If she didn’t, then he would simply help ensure she never made such a foolish choice again.
He would help her settle down in the Empire, while keeping his distance.
After all, as Seoden had said, she was a citizen of the Pentium Empire.
Moreover, Grand Duke Seyard was searching for her like a madman.
If things went wrong, it could become a national issue, just as Seoden feared, so Aster had intended to make a rational decision.
But to want to forget everything—to the point of not even wanting to remember who she herself was.
Just what could have happened for someone to abandon even themselves?
Aster thought of the one person who could answer that question.
“…Caroline.”
“Caroline? Who is that?”
Hearing the unfamiliar name from Aster’s lips, Seoden looked at him in confusion.
Instead of answering, Aster grabbed Seoden by the shoulder.
At the same time, Seoden spoke.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s all no. Don’t do it.”
Seoden shook his head vigorously.
Even though Aster hadn’t said a word, Seoden instinctively realized it.
Aster intended to involve himself even more deeply in this matter.
Seoden hurriedly continued.
“Tower Master. As you know, hypnosis magic hasn’t been around for very long, so I’m still inexperienced with it. Why don’t you try it instead? Then Lady Blante’s memories—”
“They won’t come back. They’re not merely buried. They’ve been sealed by ancient magic.”
“Sealed by ancient magic? Why would that seal Lady Blante’s memories…? I thought it had already fulfilled its purpose by saving her life…”
Seoden looked completely bewildered.
Aster cut him off firmly.
“No. It wasn’t finished. That’s why there’s somewhere I need to go for a moment. After I come back, I’ll make the final decision about what to do with Lady Blante. Just wait a little longer.”
“Tower Master…”
“I won’t be gone long this time.”
Aster released Seoden’s shoulder, despite Seoden trying to say something more.
He looked silently at the motionless Lady Blante with dark eyes.
Then he cast a teleportation spell.
Not to Cascade Beach—
But to the Pentium Empire, to the Duke of Viastes’s estate.
After Aster disappeared, Seoden remained alone.
He quietly murmured the words he had been unable to say earlier.
“Lady Blante… is not Princess Pailin.”
Ha…
Seoden let out a bitter sigh that would never reach Aster.
Late at night, just before midnight, the sharp sound of slaps echoed through the lobby of the Duke of Viastes’s estate.
Smack—
Smack—
Not just once, but repeatedly.
The noblewoman with her black hair elegantly pinned up raised her hand once again.
Her palm struck the cheek of the brown-haired woman with merciless force.
At last, blood burst from the woman’s lips, staining the Duchess’s fingertips.
The woman hurriedly approached the Duchess.
As though she didn’t even notice her own split lip, she reached out to wipe the blood from the Duchess’s fingers.
But the Duchess coldly brushed her hand away before wiping the blood from her own fingertips with a handkerchief.
Looking down at the woman, who quietly lowered her gaze once more, the Duchess clicked her tongue.
“Caroline, you foolish girl.”
The noblewoman striking her servant in the now-empty lobby was the Duchess of Viastes.
The woman being beaten was Caroline, the Duchess’s head maid.
No matter how much Melish thought about it, her anger refused to subside.
She had ordered Caroline to investigate the progress of the search for Lady Blante.
Yet less than two hours later, Caroline had been dragged back to the estate by Lowell without learning anything about the search.
Worse still, she had been caught red-handed by the Tower Master while wearing a mage’s robe.
“His Excellency the Tower Master graciously overlooked it, but had this matter grown any larger, even Her Grace the Duchess would not have escaped blame. Please never attempt something like this again. His Grace the Grand Duke asked me to tell you that if it happens again… he will not help.”
After delivering Kailance’s message, Lowell had left the estate.
How could Melish not be furious?
Her relationship with Kailance was already hanging by a thread, and Caroline had practically poured oil onto the fire.
As if that weren’t enough, she had been caught by the Tower Master.
She had even tarnished the honor of the Duke of Viastes’s house.
The Duchess shouted sharply.
“You dared lay your hands on a mage’s robe! You knew perfectly well the Tower Master was there. You must have lost your mind! Otherwise, how could you even think of making a deal with a mage?”
“The security at the entrance was so strict that there was no other way—”
“Silence!”
Melish had no interest whatsoever in Caroline’s excuses.
She had given an order.
Caroline had failed to carry it out.
And she had failed miserably.
That was all that mattered.
Once again consumed by anger, Melish raised her hand.
But she soon grimaced and lowered it again.
If she slapped Caroline now, only more filthy blood would stain her own hand.
If it were up to her, she would have fetched a whip and flogged Caroline until her skin peeled away.
But such behavior did not suit someone of her standing.
As Melish clenched her fists, struggling to suppress her anger, Caroline dropped to her knees and bowed her head.
“It is entirely my fault. I have committed an unforgivable crime, Your Grace.”
Every time Caroline spoke, drops of blood dripped from her lips.
Yet she began repeatedly smashing her forehead against the floor.
Thud.
Thud.
The skin on her forehead split open, leaving bloody marks across the cold marble floor.
But Caroline felt no pain.
Her entire being was focused solely on the Duchess of Viastes.
To others, it might have looked like laughable loyalty.
But Caroline was sincere.
If not for the Duchess of Viastes, she would have been beaten to death in the slums long ago.
Melish looked down at Caroline with icy eyes before finally letting out a sigh.
“That’s enough.”
Caroline immediately stopped moving.
Frowning, Melish stepped closer.
“I am truly disappointed in you. I trusted you too much. I believed your intelligence would be of great help to me, yet you’ve done something so foolish. And to make matters worse, you failed to learn anything.”
She was about to order Caroline to disappear from her sight immediately.
But Caroline suddenly lifted her head.
“Although… I was discovered, that does not mean I learned nothing. I found out everything about the search.”
Melish paused.
“A moment ago you claimed you hadn’t heard anything… So you lied because Lowell was there.”
“Yes.”
Melish’s expression softened slightly.
Seeing that, Caroline hurriedly continued.
“Yes. I couldn’t tell the truth with the aide present. However, according to what I learned, the search situation was the worst possible.”
“The worst? What do you mean?”
“Everyone was saying there was no chance Lady Blante was still alive. They said that even finding her body would be difficult. Furthermore, a corpse with red hair was found near the cliff, and His Grace the Grand Duke personally inspected it.”
“Personally? Surely that corpse wasn’t… No. If it had been hers, the search would have ended.”
“Yes. It was not Lady Blante. However, after that body was discovered, the mood among the search party became even more certain.”
“Certain that Lady Blante was dead?”
“Yes.”
