With her head up, Valletta took a step back to avoid Reinhardt, who put his face right in front of her.
ââŠâŠ you, what is it? Why are you laughing all of a sudden?â (Valletta)
âAhâŠ.. well, I like it.â (Reinhardt)
Valletta swallowed a vain laugh at Reinhardtâs nonsense.
What the hell is this saying? When Valletta looked at him with stern eyes, Reinhardt shrugged.
âNow Iâm waiting in the southwestern village of Talos. I think the same thing is going to happen.â
âIs that magic?â
âI doubt that it was actually magic that destroyed the village. It looks like traces of a roast.â
âRoast?â
âYes. But thereâs a possibility that roast is magical. And the one that brought the corpse back to life is definitely not magicâŠ.. The corpse is more like ⊠alchemy.â
Reinhardtâs voice was low and contained doubts, which meant that he was not sure either. Reinhardt had no talent or interest in alchemy, so he might not know.
âWhat else did you find out?â
âThere were traces of an ancient magic circle in a village in the north. If Iâm right, itâs most likely the magic circle that generated roast.â
âRoastâŠâŠ.â
âIt seems that it was an ancient magic circle that destroyed the building of the Dukeâs residence. And I also found out that whoever it is can use more powerful magic than I can.â
Reinhardt crossed his arms, but he did not look troubled. Rather, he looked relaxed as if it was within the scope of the assumption to some extent.
âSo why is Master trapped here?â
âThere was an attack on Duke Delphineâs residence.â
âYes, it was an ancient magic circle for mass destruction.â
âAfter that, I made a potion and distributed it to the injured servants. However, the servants who drank it all died. And on top of that, I was the suspected accomplice to the murder of Count Delight.â
Valletta shrugged her shoulders as if it wasnât serious. Unable to move, Kien, who had to hear and see everything that was going on, was simply speechless. Because from what he heard, she was framed, but she was too calm.
âIs it possible that Master made a mistake?â
Reinhardt, who smiled, asked mischievously. Vallettaâs face hardened. She stared at him, not hiding her displeasure, and Reinhardt stuck out his red tongue and licked his lower lip.
âThat wouldnât happen.â
Reinhardt shrugged his shoulders at Vallettaâs determined answer.
âI donât doubt my ability. But when I gave it to Snorta, it was fine.â
ââŠâŠreally? Thatâs weird.â
âThe corpse is weird too. I checked and found that the wounds had mostly healed. The potion was okay, so I think it healed the wounds. But thereâs something about itâŠ..â
Valletta blinked slowly. There must be something different. Maybe it wasnât the potion she had created in the first place. Then there was the situation where another potion was given to them.
âDid you find out what the emperor is after?â
âI donât know yet. But I think he hid something in his office. There were traces of alchemy.â
âI actually want Master to come to the village and see that corpses come to life. Because I donât feel anything about alchemy at all.â
âWait a little longer.â
âThen again, no matter how you look at it, the destruction of the village is far from magic and alchemy. Thatâs why Iâm hoping that Master will come and see it.â
Valletta fell silent at Reinhardtâs words. She was tempted to do the same, but she couldnât leave right now.
Valletta swept her forehead hesitantly.
âI didnât tell you, did I?â
âTell me what?â
ââŠâŠ the necklace you lost. The Crown Prince has it. It seems the Emperor stole it and gave it to him.â
ââŠâŠ.â
Reinhardtâs face hardened. Seeing his expression, Valletta sighed. In fact, she honestly didnât expect Milord to pop out from there.
âThat gold?â
Reinhardtâs fingers twitched.
âI hated that gold, can I kill it?â
âNo. And⊠if you can find out something here, Iâll go with you to the village.â
Reinhardtâs shoulders twitched at Vallettaâs words. He crossed his arms and nodded his head with an even more venomous expression. Valletta turned and looked at Kien.
âLet him go.â
âIs that an order?â
Valletta narrowed her forehead as she saw Reinhardtâs smiling face. She put her palm to her forehead and nodded.
âPlease, Reinhardt.â
ââŠâŠ.â
Reinhardtâs gaze met hers as she spoke with a gentle voice.
With a look of disbelief, Valletta pointed at Kien.
Snap!
Reinhardt snapped his fingers and the movement that had been blocking Kien was released. There were no words from Reinhardt, who released him honestly. Kien, whom they thought would attack them right away, looked at Valletta with an expression of incomprehension.
âWhy did you bring me here?â
âThe Duke told me that he believed in you. I trust that you will keep what you hear here a secret.â
âI donât believe you.â
Kien said with a hard expression. Valletta frowned.
âWho wants you to believe me? Just report what you just heard to the Duke and Carlon. And forget everything. Thatâs enough.â
She needed someone to tell the Duke what was going on. And they needed to be warned. The Duke would inevitably get involved.
âAnd tell them to watch out for Lesir.â
âLesir?â
âA living, moving corpse. You heard what this guy said earlier, didnât you?â
Reinhardt glanced at Valletta as she spoke. It was a word he was familiar with. Reinhardtâs specialty was ancient languages, and so was Valletta.
The basics of alchemy and magic have been handed down since ancient times. In the old days, there was also a saying that alchemy and magic had the same source. In other words, there were times when alchemy and magic were one and the same.
âLesir âŠâŠâŠ means resurrected in the ancient language.â
Valletta nodded at Reinhardtâs words. Kien stared at Valletta and Reinhardt. They were obviously much younger than he was, but they were good at dealing with all situations.
ââŠ.. If you are right, that means youâre being framed, but youâre very calm right now.â
Reinhardt burst out laughing at Kienâs words. He stroked his chin, looking very amused. Valletta, who was staring at him, opened her mouth.
âSurvival is my specialty.â
âAre you doing this because you canât get out of here?â
âWhatâŠ..?â
âYou canât put me and my Master in the same standard as you. She and I could destroy everything and run away, but weâre just keeping pace with you.â
Kienâs eyes widened at Reinhardtâs laughter.
Reinhard shrugged, looking at Kienâs incomprehensible gaze.
He looked at Valletta and opened his mouth.
âI am trying to live within that ordinary framework you speak of. If I want to do that, it is the slaveâs job to compensate for it. Isnât that right, Master?â
âWould you mind stepping out of slavery for a moment?â
âI donât have the right words, do you?â
At Reinhardtâs words, Valletta sighed, turning her head, as if she was tired. She felt her stomach churning whenever she talked to him.
Kien stared at them in a daze. He felt like he was in a whole different world which people said the two were out of standard.
âCan you deliver it to Duke? Lesirâs problem will be solved by me and this guy, so never step in.â
âIâll deliver your messageâŠ.â
âAnd what happened hereâŠ..â
âToday you visited the garden. I donât know about anything else. But I wonât let it go a second time if something happens like today.â
Valletta nodded as she listened to Kienâs firm reply. In fact, there was nothing more she wanted from him.
Seeing her sigh low, Reinhardt tilted his head. The sky was still very blue. He blinked slowly at the dazzling sky.
âI will come back again.â
âOkay.â
Reinhardtâs gaze finally met hers at her gentle reply. Valletta couldnât pretend to be unaware of his gaze and opened her mouth.
âWhy?â
âThereâs something strange about Master today.â
With those last words, Reinhardt stood still for a moment and then with a snap of his fingers, he disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, the spell was broken. Valletta turned away, as if she had no more regrets.
âThe room is stuffyâŠ.â
Where would it be a little easier to get information? She couldnât just go to the Office right nowâŠâŠ.
âCan you take me to the library?â
âSure.â
She didnât seem the least bit interested in the emotionless reply. If there was no kind of magic that could bring people back to life, there was a high probability that it was alchemy. If that was the case, she had to get some information on alchemy.
âOh here you are.â
âLord Gillian.â
âWhere have you been?â
âI went to the garden, is there a problem?â
Valletta replied irritably, interrupting Kien who was not a good liar. Gillian shook his head at Vallettaâs counter-question with his eyes looking at her as if she was a child.
âNothing. If you have time, how about a cup of tea?â
Vallettaâs brows narrowed. She didnât want to drink even a drop of water if he gave her. The man was definitely up to something. She was pretty sure that this man was the one who killed people with the potion he made. At the very least, it was a strange trick that came out of this manâs head.
âIâm going to the library to read books, so Iâll pass.â