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“Welcome, Miss Valletta. You can come in.”
“All right.”
As she was about to enter, two knights blocked in front of Ceylon with their swords in their scabbards.
Ceylon’s lips flinched under his robe. Before he could move his hand, Valletta stepped back and blocked in front of Ceylon.
“What are you doing?”
“Only Miss Valletta could come inside.”
“He’s my escort. Let him pass.”
He was the most reliable escort. There was no way Reinhardt would attach someone to her without any reason.
At least, he was nothing but a magician who can fight against these uncouth knights.
“He can’t.”
“Then I just won’t come in.”
“Miss Valletta, please don’t do this.”
Honestly, she has no regrets.
She doesn’t want to face the Crown Prince right now and argue needlessly.
“Just let them in.”
Valletta’s eyes narrowed at the familiar voice that came from behind.
As she slowly turned around, a man she didn’t want to see was standing there.
“Gillian…?”
“It’s an honor to be remembered by you. Please come in. That person can come in as well.”
Valletta’s forehead narrowed.
She was honestly startled that the man she never expected appeared. He went in first, followed by Valletta and Ceylon.
“I’m back, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Good work. Ah… Lady Valletta, have you been well?”
“Yes, but you’re visiting early in the morning without prior notice. I’m sensitive in the morning, so honestly, I don’t like it. I thought you were a polite person.”
The thought of having to talk to him in the morning with a throbbing headache didn’t make her feel so good.
When Valletta tried to sit down, Ceylon pulled the chair out.
At the table surrounded by three people, Carlon Delphine didn’t look good.
“Good morning, Valletta.”
“… Yes, good morning.”
“Yes. Except for the hangover and a bit of a headache.”
Carlon Delphine ruffled his hair with his brows furrowed.
The combination of these people invading early in the morning and his splitting headache, made his mood hit the ground.
“So Valletta is here, please talk, Your Highness. No matter how much I call you Crown Prince, this kind of visit to a duke’s residence is not good.”
“I’m sorry about that. We have an urgent matter and I need to ask Lady Valletta for help.”
“Help…?”
Valletta, who narrowed her eyes, asked.
She leaned back leisularly in the chair, pressing her temple a couple of times. Her eyes rolled.
‘I really don’t want to deal with this.’
The feeling of not wanting to listen to this conversation and wanting to get out of her seat, was a bad sign. A beeping sound rang in her head.
Valletta’s violet eyes slowly turned downwards, then slowly returned upwards.
“What is it?”
“It’s about the Magic Tower’s Master.”
“Magic Tower’s Master?”
At Milrode’s firm voice, Valletta slightly tilted her head to express her curiosity and opened her mouth.
“What about that guy?”
“He recently annihilated every single villager in various parts of the Empire in the same way he did to Count Delight.”
I knew it.
Valletta pounded the back of her head against the chair and sighed.
She didn’t know that it would be revealed like this. She shook her head and glanced to her side.
She could see Ceylon’s expression under his robe. Judging from his paleness, it seemed like he was thinking about something else.
“Isn’t that guy going somewhere recently? Going out often.”
“… Yes.”
She sighed at the conversation that came to mind.
‘I’m sure he said that he went out a lot.’
If it had been Quilt, he would have doubted it and would rebut that it was absolutely not him.
‘So their personality is different.’
Valletta, who had her head tilted, let out a deep sigh.
The morning was not refreshing, the headache was severe, and it seemed that the headache was going to get worse, so he was warning her to be prepared.
‘How kind.’
If possible, it would have been better if he gave her a warning that would allow her to escape from this place today.
“In less than a week, four villages, large and small, were destroyed. The deaths of all the villagers were confirmed, and the bodies were displayed in strange shapes, usually with dismembered limbs.”
Valletta blinked slowly and tilted her head
It was also great in many ways to explode in village units.
She wanted to have a conversation with him about who he was thinking about.
Milrode opened his mouth again when she didn’t show the reaction that he was expecting.
“Considering the sequence of events, it took at least a week between each village.”
“What about the evidence?”
“It happened in a short period of time, and the scene of the incident itself is evidence. Above all, there was one witness who survived.”
This was a little surprising.
If it really was Reinhardt, there was no way he wouldn’t feel it if someone was still alive.
Valletta’s violet eyes deepened in worry.
“A witness?”
“There’s one child who survived.”
“A child?”
“Yes, the child said that the person was floating in the air, his silver hair and red eyes shone under the moonlight.”
She could hear Ceylon swallowing his breath from behind.
She doesn’t know why, but Gillian has been staring at her since before, and Carlon Delphine was…
‘I think he already knew about it.’
While listening to the story, there was no agitation in his gaze. Perhaps he already knew that the suspect was Reinhardt.
Valletta turned her eyes again and raised her head.
‘If that’s the case, I have no choice but to doubt the magicians, and the Magic Tower’s Master, Reinhardt.’
She remembered him blocking the exits one by one. Valletta’s eyes narrowed.
“I see. But why is Your Highness conveying this to me?”
“That’s…”
Milrode pursed his lips as if embarrassed, then clenched his fist and raised his chin.
“I want you to know the truth about the people you trust.”
A crooked smile crept onto Valletta’s lips. She rarely thought that she was about to laugh, so she raised her hand and covered her mouth.
She could roughly guess what the Crown Prince in front of her was thinking.
‘If this is also possessiveness, is he possessive?’
Compared to that hateful guy, his possessiveness was nothing so she wasn’t that nervous. This was why early education was important.
“During Count Delight’s annihilation, he even gave me a show in front of him, so there’s no way I wouldn’t know about his cruelty.”
Milrode’s eyes widened at Valletta’s words.
Valletta shrugged her shoulders while quietly looking at his trembling gaze.
Clearly, he was misunderstanding something.
“Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t watch it because I wanted to.”
She shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyway, if that was your only purpose, I understand. So, I think you can go back now.”
As if not expecting Valletta’s indifferent reaction, Milrode tightened his grip on the armrest.
Tendons sprouted from the back of his hand, and his blue eyes flashed dangerously.
“One more! That was only the gist. There is something I wanted to ask you for help with.”
“My help?”
I knew it, my senses were telling me something.
This was probably the topic she didn’t want to hear about too much.
Another sigh escaped from Valletta’s mouth.
It wasn’t like she hated Milrode, but there was a bit of basic reluctance. It was similar to the discomfort of seeing a bright light or twinkle in a dark place.
He was so pure and upright that she hated getting close. Although she knew that he loved her with his pure heart.
“Yes, you may have heard of it, but in some villages in the south, a dangerous disease called Lost has been occuring.”
“Aha…”
“If we don’t rapidly extinguish it, it will greatly spread. However, the cure requires an alchemist’s potion. We need Lady Valletta’s help.”
Lost. She had been paying attention to that for the past few days, and now it’s impossible to make a surprised expression.
Valletta narrowed her eyes and straightened her chin.
“… In the end, this is how things turned out.”
At Valletta’s low muttering voice, Gillian’s gaze and Ceylon’s gaze, who was behind her, reached Valletta.
Carlon Delphine watched the situation with his eyes wide open.
“By any chance, was it His Majesty the Emperor that gave you that information?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
With a puzzled expression on his face, Milrode meekly answered.
Valletta leaned back on the chair with a tired look, stroking her forehead with her index finger.
Surely, this would give them a reason to imprison her and also an excuse to put pressure on the Magic Tower.
‘I still don’t know what they are aiming for.’
What was the reason why the Emperor was aiming for the Magic Tower, and wanted to have her so badly?