CHAPTER 115
"엇."
눈부셔 감았던 눈을 떴더니 익숙한 장소가 보였다.
It's the garden of the Duke's mansion? I was preparing to endure a scary scene together, but...
"Selina?"
When I turned my head at the sound of Bella's voice, she was looking at me through the open window.
"When did you arrive?"
"Oh, just now! Just now."
"I didn't hear the carriage."
That's because the Marquis sent me here by magic.
Feeling a bit dazed, I entered the mansion. The peace was such a stark contrast to the scene from a moment ago that I felt bewildered.
* * *
Lewis visited the Duke's mansion that evening. It wasn't long after Michael had returned to the mansion.
"Marquis!"
I called out as soon as I saw Lewis. He smiled, seeming pleased.
"Aren't you welcoming me a bit too enthusiastically?"
"I didn't call you to make you happy."
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Lewis.
"I wanted to see it together too."
"What's the point of seeing blood when you get scared of such things? It would just make you feel sick."
"But still..."
I thought it would be fine if I was by Lewis's side.
Since we were talking in the first-floor lobby, I didn't say much more. Besides, Michael had just appeared.
"What are you two doing?"
"She's welcoming me too warmly."
Not even a second of hesitation with such shameless words!
"Haha. Let's talk while we eat."
Michael laughed and led Lewis and me to the dining room.
The three of us had just sat down when the Duke and Bella joined us.
"Lewis, do you have something important to say?"
"Yes, I have something to discuss."
The Duke looked back and forth between me and Lewis, who were seated opposite each other.
"Is it really about that this time?"
"Unfortunately, it's not."
What are they hinting at, leaving out a word?
"What is it? What's going on?"
Bella seemed just as confused.
Instead of explaining what they were talking about, the Duke asked Lewis a question.
"If it's not that, is it about the matter you were investigating?"
"Yes."
Since all the servants had left, it was just the five of us in the dining room. Because it was a sensitive topic, Lewis spoke in a low voice.
"The Crown Prince is planning to summon demons."
"What?"
Bella's loud voice immediately filled the dining room.
"What are you talking about? Demons? Do they even exist?"
"Demons..."
Michael seemed as surprised as Bella. After all, who wouldn't be shocked to hear that the Crown Prince plans to summon demons?
"The other day, I found my father's journal in the mansion."
Lewis began explaining in a somewhat calm manner. He recounted the story of how we found a clue in his father's journal while at the Marquis's mansion together.
"It detailed the research the late emperor was conducting. He was attempting to summon demons to gain eternal life."
I supplemented Lewis's explanation here and there.
Our explanation continued until we conveyed the Crown Prince's plan that we learned today. The Croft family listened intently, their meals going cold.
They could have eaten while listening.
When our explanation ended, there was a brief silence at the table.
"Your father's journal contained such information?"
The Duke spoke first, furrowing his brows.
"This is... quite unexpected."
"Both the late emperor and the Crown Prince are trying to summon demons? They must be completely insane!"
Bella cursed Philip. For Bella to say such things, Philip must be truly out of his mind.
Oh, come to think of it, I haven't heard the outcome yet.
I asked Lewis about what happened earlier.
"Marquis, what happened with the demon summoning? The Crown Prince was trying to do it earlier, right?"
It must have failed, right? It was supposed to be difficult to succeed, and if it had succeeded, Lewis wouldn't be so calmly visiting the Duke's mansion.
As expected, Lewis gave the answer I anticipated.
"It failed. He tried drawing the magic circle with goat's blood, but it didn't work. Only the goat was sacrificed in vain."
Poor goat...
Lewis chuckled at the sight of my face.
"Does it bother you?"
"The goat was sacrificed."
Though Philip had used it as a sacrifice, it lost its life meaninglessly because of such attempts.
"So, what's your plan now?"
The Duke asked Lewis as if inquiring about his next steps.
Bella also questioned.
"Aren't you going to make it public? You need to expose the royal family's disgrace!"
"I will."
Lewis responded calmly.
"But before that..."
Before that?
Everyone looked curiously at Lewis, who grinned crookedly.
"I plan to torment him a bit. The Crown Prince has bothered me several times, so I should repay him to some extent, don't you think?"
* * *
Lewis witnessed a detailed explanation of the situation at the magic tower two days later.
"Madden drew two types of magic circles: one from old records and one from the temple."
So he had drawn two magic circles despite the failure.
"Isn't he likely to prepare a different magic circle? Just like his father did."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Tower Lord, I have urgent news."
It was Lewis's aide, whom I had seen a few times.
"What is it?"
The aide glanced at me nervously and approached Lewis.
Is it something I shouldn't hear?
"Please, if you could just step aside for a moment..."
"Just say it. There's no need to be so cautious."
"Yes, sir!"
The aide, looking very tense, took a deep breath and then spoke.
"The Crown Prince has discovered the secret of the temple's magic circle."
What? That can't be.
At that moment, Lewis's communication device lit up.
-Lewis!
It was Michael!
Lewis connected the device, and Michael immediately asked,
-Did you hear the news? The Crown Prince has uncovered something about the magic circle.
"I was just being informed."
Lewis gestured for the aide to leave as he answered.
After the aide left, the conversation continued.
"The Crown Prince said he would reveal what he discovered?"
-Yes. He didn't specify exactly what, but he said he'd explain in detail at the temple.
"The temple?"
-Yes. Considering he invited nobles to the scene, he must have something definite to show.
Lewis simply confirmed the information and quickly ended the communication.
As soon as the communication ended, I asked Lewis,
"What do you think he means?"
Philip knows the relationship between the temple's magic circle and the ancient demon summoning circle. So he must be trying to summon demons using that knowledge.
"Do you think the temple knows about this? If we want to reveal the truth, we need to inform them that the temple's magic circle might be for summoning demons, right?"
This was my main concern. The temple had once asked Lewis to stop his investigation, fearing it might tarnish their authority. So why would the priests allow Philip to say the temple's magic circle resembles a demon summoning circle?
"We should verify the situation immediately. I was thinking of visiting the temple. Would you like to come with me?"
"Yes!"
Curious, I immediately agreed to Lewis's suggestion.
Wouldn't the temple's atmosphere be tense?
* * *
Contrary to my expectations, the atmosphere at the temple was quite peaceful.
Did they not hear about the demons? Or did they hear something else entirely?
After waiting briefly in the temple's reception room, the High Priest entered.
"Did the Crown Prince uncover the secret before me?"
Lewis didn't waste time on formalities and got straight to the point.
The High Priest replied calmly,
"Yes, he contacted us this morning."
Philip had asked if he could reveal it publicly, and the High Priest had given his approval.
"Why don't you tell me first? What is this secret that the Crown Prince discovered?"
Lewis asked without hesitation.
"Since I am involved in this matter, there's no reason not to tell me, is there?"
"Indeed."
The High Priest's response was more friendly than I expected. He didn't seem as concerned as when Raven was involved.
But the High Priest's next words were completely unexpected.
"It was a magic circle to pray for rain."
"Rain?"
I asked, and the High Priest turned to me.
"Yes. It was created 60 years ago during a severe drought in the empire. At that time, there was a great famine due to the drought."
It was widely known that the emperor had prayed for rain during the drought 60 years ago.
"At that time, the emperor prayed for rain at the temple, and it seems they attempted to use magic as well."
"But historical records only mention the emperor's prayers."
Lewis raised a question.
"If drought was the cause, why keep the magic circle secret? Even the priests didn't know about it."
"The priests might have known. Many records were lost in a fire at the temple, so no one can be certain."
The High Priest before us was the oldest member of the temple. However, 60 years ago, he hadn't yet joined the temple, so he seemed to believe Philip's claim could be plausible.
"It was a rather ordinary magic circle. I wonder why there was so much concern about it..."
The High Priest laughed, relieved.
So that's why they allowed the announcement!
In the carriage returning from the temple, I had a deep conversation with Lewis.
"It's completely fake. Why is the Crown Prince planning to announce a fake?"
"The Crown Prince is the one who boasted about investigating the magic circle."
Since it was just the two of us, we could say things we couldn't in front of the High Priest.
"Seeing that he drew the temple's magic circle at the cabin, it's clear what the Crown Prince thinks of the temple's magic circle."
"Right? He thinks it's a demon summoning circle!"
"But if he's talking nonsense about droughts in front of the
priests, there must be another reason."
What could that other reason be?
As soon as I had a question mark in my head, something came to mind.
"Is he trying to bury this issue?"
To pretend it never happened?
Comments
Post a Comment