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Episode 112: The Forest Connection (II)
A man entered the banquet hall.
A man who could be a <witness> about the illegal operation of Gerard’s Forest, as Annette said.
He had long blond hair and dark blue eyes, and Gerard knew him.
The last time he saw him was over 10 years ago.
“My name is Julius Lipart, a Marquis of El Dorado and also a great wizard.”
He smiled softly.
“Additionally, I am a teacher, who taught noble etiquette to the children in the Forest.”
“

!”
Julius greeted the people smoothly, then looked at Annette.
He had feelings he couldn’t hide.
He received her call the day before.
It was just last night.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
“It would never be a coincidence.”
In the residence of the Duchy of Valienne, the day before I met Gerard.
I sat down on the sofa, quietly contemplating, and finally made my decision.
It was no coincidence that my mother died now.
“What if it wasn’t a coincidence?”
Heinrich, who had his long legs crossed loosely on the opposite sofa, asked. He clenched his red lips.
“
Who intentionally harmed Sister’s mother?”
“Mhm.”
I answered with a cold face.
“My mother must have been killed by Gerard.”
“

!”
“Are you sure?”
The clues were sparsely scattered, but when I put them together into a puzzle, a picture of perfect logic was completed.
“Victoria told me this. Gerard has been after me since I was in my mother’s womb.”
When my mother refused, the man who eventually took me away with a ‘black snake’ raised me in a cradle called the Forest.
As expected previously by Sordi and Um, Gerard already knew my potential.
‘However, what’s different from those expectations
’
‘I didn’t know he has been aiming at me since the womb.’
“Madam Mimosa has long been known for her ‘casted eye’.”
Afterwards, in cahoots with Madam Mimosa, he brought me to the Forest and had me grow up there.
Come to think of it, the test in which I ‘inherited’ the soul of Exordium was quite strange.
All of a sudden, I was thrown into the advanced course in some sort of accident.
It was the first time such an accident had occurred in the level test of the Trees.

What if that wasn’t a coincidence?
‘It must have been done on purpose to awaken me.’
It was not uncommon for a child who was in a predicament to the point that his life was threatened to suddenly awaken his powers and protect himself.
Nevertheless, since it was thought that I had failed in awakening in that test, Gerard might have wanted to adopt me and try to awaken me himself.
‘He has been wanting me much more persistently than I thought. Gerard.’
‘I must have been the best child.’
I must have been the jewel that Gerard wanted to hold the most.
In the end, judging from my awakening of the power of Exordium, my soul must have shone in a very precious color in Gerard’s ‘casted eye’ from a very long time ago.
I muttered coldly.
“He would never want to fail in adopting me this time. My mother, who was still alive in the meantime, must have been a very annoying factor. Anything that annoyed him, even the dust
”
Heinrich took my words in a languid manner.
“He must have wanted to nip it in the buds.”
“

.”
“Isn’t he a complete bastard?”
Heinrich’s fine forehead crumpled relentlessly. Unlike the silver-haired man, whose anger was fully exposed on his face, I was rather cold.
It was like cold water was poured all over my body.
“Maybe it was Gerard’s fault that my mother lost consciousness and collapsed.”
Heinrich had already learned that Gerard had signed a contract with a sorcerer’s soul. So he was also quick to understand.
“How are you going to deal with it, Sister?”
I couldn’t accuse him of murdering my mother right now. Because there was no evidence.
Besides, it was too easy.
As much as what my mother and I had been through.
The same.
No, I wanted to give it back several times.
“It’s time to act carefully. As I’ve told Sister earlier, the rumors about you in society aren’t very good right now.”
The reason why Heinrich visited the residence of Valienne was to let me know what he had briefly observed in the social atmosphere.
“There are strange rumors going around in El Dorado.”
“What rumors
?”
“Rumors that Sister committed a fatal crime, ran away, hid, and then reappeared to get adopted again.”
I could guess who paid for it.
‘A person revered as a perfect prince while being such an evil human being.’
It was clear that Gerard was good at public opinion warfare.
This was meant to make me hold my breath and live as his puppet. Warning me that I have nowhere to set foot on in El Dorado, no, in the entire continent.
An eye for eye.
A tooth for a tooth.
If public opinion and his reputation were so important to him, then I wanted to destroy them first.
“Yes, Heinrich, you are right. I should act prudently
”
I got up calmly and looked down at him.
“Or boldly bite his throat. Or both.”
I got up from my seat, looked down at Heinrich, and spoke nonchalantly.
“I’m going to bite off his neck and peel that disgusting shell off.”
“

!”
We must reveal the ugly skin behind the mask to everyone.
Heinrich asked with a little rise of his cheeks.
“How?”
“I have to reverse people’s opinion of us and shake Gerard’s strong reputation.”
“
How?”
I smiled and pulled out a ring.
It was the ‘Pluto ring’ that I took out after a long time. First, we needed a witness that Gerard was operating an illegal childcare facility.
‘I’m thinking of bringing out my high-class wizard slave after such a long time?’
As I smiled viciously, Heinrich, whose face was red for some reason, covered his mouth. Then he whispered with his beautiful handsome face.
“Sister, am I crazy if I’m excited about this?”
“

.”

No?
‘You’ve always been crazy, Heinrich.’
‘It’s just a new way.’
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Julius looked at Annette with his hands behind his back, and glanced at the crowd.
The reason he came here as a ‘witness’ was simple.
It was because the owner of the ring summoned him after 10 years (Just in time before he sleeps in his favorite heart-patterned underwear. It was a mystery why he was always summoned when he was wearing only boxers) and made a sweet suggestion.
It was also an offer that could never be rejected.
“Please testify that Gerard was the real force behind the Forest.”
“
Damn, you’re calling me out after 10 years to do something like that? That’s too much!”
Wearing only underwear, Julius was frantic.
“If you do that, you won’t live in El Dorado. Do you mean to antagonize the prince?”
The existence of the forest was revealed to the world, but Gerard was actually the one who had been running it, so all the teachers were relieved of their sins by his power.
Instead, Madam Mimosa received only a small punishment as the representative.
Thus, Julius was spending his days peacefully in the mansion. It was clear that the tranquility would be broken if he got into a feud with the prince.
“You owe the children.”
“

!”
The woman’s steadfast eyes pierced Julius’ conscience.
“You taught the children in the Forest, and of course you were a great teacher who was pretty good at working. However, there are some bad parts.”
“

.”
“You helped sell the children to the nobles, Julius.”
Developing affection for your disciples was unavoidable. Julius, in one way or another, had secretly cared for the trees.
“Uncovering the reality of the Forest is the way to pay off the debt to the children.”
“
Why am I the one? I am not the only teacher, why?”
“You’re the only one who can do that. A great wizard like you would be able to leave El Dorado and live out of Gerard’s reach.”
If other teachers do it, they would be killed.
“Shit. You’re really grown up, Annette.”
‘How dare you persuade me. Peace is over for the time being.’
As Julius was clutching his forehead, Annette smiled brightly at that moment.
—Like the girl he knew.
“As a token of my gratitude, I will return the ‘Pluto Ring’. Now you’re free.”
This generous woman (suddenly, Julius’s appreciation for Annette soared) returned the ring on the spot.
Therefore, Julius’ was here out of his own free will.
In front of the high priest, he said,
“I can assure you here, what Duchess Valienne said is true.”
“

!!!”
―What, Prince Gerard ran an illegal childcare facility?
There was a great stir among the people.
Considering Gerard’s usual image and reputation, it was unimaginable.
A brave nobleman asked as if shocked.
“Isn’t that like human trafficking?”
“

!”
Gerard’s face was already in flames. He looked like he had lost his composure.
He wasn’t used to being humiliated in front of so many people.
“There was an operator named ‘J’ who handed over the funds to Madam Mimosa, who ran the Forest. He was the patron of the Forest and a longtime companion.”
Julius said, looking straight at Gerard with a clean expression.
“The teachers all knew that ‘J’ was Prince Gerard.”
“Can you vouch for that?”
Annette responded to the high priest’s question, saying,
“Not only can I vouch for it, I have proof.”
Annette submitted the documents she had been given over to the high priest.
It was a document kept by Julius, a ledger that recorded the profits from selling each child that Madam Mimosa gave to Gerard.
Gerard replied, barely controlling his breathing.
“Manipulating the ledger and bribing Julius, my daughter. That doesn’t erase your sins?”
The snake-like man suddenly changed his expression and muttered to the audience.
“I told Annette, who would be my daughter, that she should be willing to pay the price, even for her sins of more than a decade ago. I said I could take her as my daughter after that.”
“

!”
“Then, out of fear, she is framing me and trying to run away again. Just like 10 years ago.”
Even in this situation, Gerard was using Annette’s bad reputation to manipulate the situation to his advantage.
Annette grinned, as if she had expected such things from him.
There was not even the slightest bit of fear on her face.
Once again, she looked straight at Gerard and spoke up.
“No, the reason I ran away was because I was afraid of the Prince.”
It was finally time to reveal the truth. The truth about the words Gerard foolishly believed a long time ago.
“Because that night, I witnessed the Prince killing High Priest Arthur with my own eyes while hiding in the grass.”
“

!!!”
A strong shock was applied to the back of Gerard’s head.
He blinked in shock, as if he had been hit hard with a blunt force.
—What?