CH 21

Those earrings were what Eristella used to control her magical power when she was young.

That meant the earrings contained her magic.

Objects imbued with the magic of a supposedly dead wizard.

They were objects that had magical powers, different from the magic stones that came out of nature.

So they were worth a lot on their own. In particular, things imbued with the magic of an archmage like Eristella were often traded for astronomical amounts.

But this was no mere theft.

‘The magic of a dead wizard has no resistance.’

Therefore, it could be easily mixed with other ingredients.

This was helpful from a research standpoint, but it could have fatal consequences if used in a bad way.

Therefore, it was also a study that was allowed only in limited cases.

‘The most dangerous way among them is fusing it with black magic.’

This made it clear that the County of Azurdi was involved in black magic.

It seemed they intended to study black magic using the objects imbued with Eristella’s magical power.

Count Azurdi was also a family that produced wizards, so the possibility was higher.

The corners of Eristella’s eyes twitched with anger.

‘I can’t let them leave like this.’

‘I have to hold on to them.’

She really couldn’t let them out of this place like this. It was the moment Eristella was about to step out.

The door to the Imperial Palace opened. It was not opened by Count Azurdi and his wife.

The door opened from outside.

And a familiar, low, cold voice rang out.

“What are you doing here?”

‘Henricion, nice timing!’

The instant Eristella saw him appearing at the perfect moment, she almost wildly clapped and cheered.

*******

It was no coincidence that Heinricion went to the Imperial Palace.

Heinricion continued to keep an eye on Eristella’s movements. And he noticed the way she trotted out of the banquet hall.

He knew why Eristella didn’t tell him the entire reason why she wanted to come here today.

‘I guess you can’t trust me.’

On the road to the Imperial Palace…

Heinricion’s eyebrows narrowed gradually. As he got closer to the Imperial Palace, he noticed there was no proper security. It was like an abandoned space. And as he approached, his mood grew heavier and heavier.

However, Eristella was not alone in her bedroom when he arrived.

‘I didn’t expect this.’

Heinricion’s eyes became thin. It was quite an interesting situation.

He didn’t expect that it wouldn’t be just Eristella in the Imperial Palace, but also the Count and Countess of Azurdi.

The corners of Heinricion’s lips rose slowly and he parted his lips.

“What is happening here, Count Azurdi?”

Heinricion quickly looked around the room.

In the corner, there was a fox, half-hiding its body.

Then he looked again at the Azurdi couple and noticed what they were holding in their hands.

However, Heinricion did not show that he had spotted it.

Wouldn’t it be difficult if they conceal or throw away the item?

In any case, Count Azurdi and his wife were bewildered by Heinricion’s sudden appearance and could not afford to look around.

However, he did have one question. That Heinricion was as unnatural as they were here.

“Well, Your Excellency, why are you here?”

Count Azurdi asked cautiously.

“You are curious about the same thing as I am.”

One corner of Heinricion’s lips went up in response.

The count couple felt a chill in their backs and broke out into cold sweat.

“My fox is gone. I came this far while searching for it.”

There was no one who didn’t know that Heinricion brought a fox today.

But it was not like Grand Duke Heinricion to come all the way here in search of a missing fox.

“The fox is not here…”

As Count Azurdi spoke, something flashed before his eyes.

‘I’m here!’

Eristella jumped up and into Heinricion arms.

“You’re here too.”

Heinricion put on a pleased expression, naturally, like he was really looking for the fox.

Eristella also did not lose and rubbed her head against Heinricion’s arms, pretending to be a fox happy to meet its owner.

“…I-It was here?”

The Count and Countess of Azurdi looked at Heinricion and the fox alternately with a stunned expression.

They were completely unaware that the fox was in the same room. Their eyes trembled at the fact that the fox had just seen everything.

But anyway, it was just a fox, not a human.

‘Ah. We were nervous for nothing. What would an animal know even if it did see us?’

The couple’s tension eased and they regained their confidence. 

Of course, the instant their eyes met Heinricion’s, the confidence they had barely recovered disappeared in a heartbeat.

“Then tell me now.”

“Yes? Ah, what are you talking about…”

“Why are you here?”

Heinricion asked politely. However, it was fully conveyed to the Azurdi couple that they should be prepared if they failed to give a proper answer this time.

Eristella sent a signal.

Suspicious. Danger. Fishy.

It was one of the hand signals for emergencies.

Heinricion’s cool gaze turned to Count and Countess Azurdi.

Count Azurdi, who had just been embarrassed, took control of his expression and boldly opened his mouth, saying,

“We still cannot believe that Her Highness the Princess has passed away. I came here because I thought there might be a clue to finding the Imperial Princess, any chance.”

“Then, shouldn’t it be a formal request?”

“The funeral has already been held. It would be against His Majesty the Emperor’s will for us to continue looking for her, wouldn’t it?”

“Please understand that we had no choice but to do it in secret.”

The count and countess spoke one after the other, in perfect sync.

In Eristella’s eyes, it was an abomination using well-crafted words. She thought that people who didn’t know anything would believe it unquestionably if they heard it.

‘I’m here, and those are lies!’

And because of that, Eristella’s displeasure had increased.

‘You’re not going to believe in that nonsense, are you?’’

Eristella stared at Heinricion with a face of disbelief.

“Is that so?”

‘Cion!’

At Heinricion’s calm reply, Eristella shouted. It was the first time she had ever felt so frustrated that her voice could not reach anyone.

It was time to glare, huff, and puff to convey that she would never let it go if he accepted it as it is.

“Well, we should go back to the banquet hall.”

The Count and Countess of Azurdi tried to leave quickly.

Then, naturally, Count Azurdi reached for the earrings that had fallen. He came all the way here and wouldn’t know when he would get another chance, so he wanted to take them with him.

Eristella’s eyes gleamed sharply as she caught it.

She was waiting for this very moment.

The second Count Azurdi and his wife clasped Eristella’s earrings in their hands.

One prerequisite was necessary for objects with strong magical powers to harmonize well with black magic. That’s right: that it was the stuff of a dead wizard.

However, Princess Eristella did not die. She was alive, even though she was in the form of a fox.

Thus, they wouldn’t get the reaction they expected.

Conversely—

Right when they touched Eristella’s stuff, side effects would occur.

“Count and Countess Azurdi.”

Heinricion called and caught them.

Eristella’s gaze turned to the object the count couple was holding.

“I would like to hear more about the fact that you are looking for the princess. Can you tell me about what you have learned so far?”

Heinricion deliberately continued the conversation.

“Unfortunately, no progress has been made yet. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know right away.”

“Is that so? So maybe that’s the reason why you’re taking some things now?”

“What? Ah, that’s right. Just in case, haha, just in case haha…”

“Do you mind if I take a look?”

At Heinricion’s interest, Count Azurdi and his wife exchanged glances.

They injected their own magical power in the earrings to hide the fact that they contained the magical power of the princess.

“If that’s the case… Hey, what is this…?”

Suddenly, the bodies of Count and Countess Azurdi stiffened in sequence, as if they had broken down.

There was a convulsion around their eyes as if they had noticed something was wrong with their bodies.

Their arms were trembling uncontrollably. If one looked closely, one could see that they were gradually turning a dark color from the tip of the nail as if they were rotting.

Eristella’s eyes narrowed at that sight.

‘I knew it.’

‘It’s a reaction to black magic.’

Rejection occurred from the earring.

It was clear evidence that Count Azurdi and his wife were involved in black magic.

Heinricion, too, seemed to identify their condition as soon as he saw it.

His expression instantly turned deadly.

The panicked Azurdi couple also appeared to slowly realize what had happened.

They screamed in shock.

“What, this can’t be… Don’t tell me…! Is the princess still alive!”

“Nonsense!”

The faces of the count and countess were filled with astonishment and turned blue.

Their reaction was so contrary to what they had just said — that they did not believe in the death of the imperial princess.

Their eyes slowly shifted to Heinricion for confirmation. They realized that he was in a state of serenity and calmness, not in the slightest bit surprised.

They entered another shock.

“Did you know that the princess is not dead?”

“…….”

“Where is the princess now?”

‘Oh, my. They’re short on words right away.’