101 – Clue
I took the tattooed man to the underworld window.
As if she had expected me to come, Sylvia’s men led me straight to her.
Unlike usual, this time we headed to Changgwan’s basement. In contrast to the decadent feel of the ground level, the basement felt dreary darkness and a prison-like atmosphere.
Sylvia was waiting for me right there.
A mysterious woman with vivid crimson hair and auburn eyes. Wearing tight leather armor reminiscent of an assassin, she was Sylvia’s original appearance that she hadn’t seen in a while.
It was a disguise technique that made it impossible to understand that it was not magic. How can you disguise yourself as a small and delicate girl with a body like that… I don’t think it can be physically compressed.
Sylvia, noticing my arrival, gently crossed one of her legs and smiled at her eyes. As she approached her, instead of the musty smell of her subterranean body, the distinctive scent of roses wafted out.
“Did you come? Arrived early as expected.”
“Yes.”
I didn’t ask her why she had to go to the basement like this.
Instead, he took out her note from her arms and went straight to the point.
“Are you sure about this note?”
“Of course not. I am Sylvia Rosenfeld. Would you have written down unconfirmed information?”
I sat down on the chair across from Sylvia.
“Tell me more.”
“Since he fanned that b*tch- ghmm, Frieda, the other three underworld have been quiet. She would have spent an enormous amount of her back money, but since she couldn’t pay for it, she suffered a loss, and if she didn’t, she would be stamped out by the imperial family or the royal guard, so she bought herself. That’s why most of the intelligence agents active in the underworld secretly noticed and joined me, and thanks to that, information gathering became much faster-“
I interrupted Sylvia by raising her hand.
“It’s all rubbish, so let’s talk about the main topic.”
“… She was just about to compliment her on making things easier.”
Sylvia calmly rolled her eyes before continuing her words.
“Our informants have found survivors of the Ionian Kingdom.”
“So?”
“But I am not an ordinary survivor. Until just before the incident, she was a maid who worked in the royal castle, and she served the king’s illegitimate son herself.”
“If you are the king’s illegitimate child….”
According to the information Sylvia provided in the past, there was a high possibility that Ella was an illegitimate child created by the previous King of Ionia while studying abroad in the Empire.
Therefore, serving the king’s illegitimate son meant that it was very likely that she would have met Ella herself.
Seeing my deep thoughtful expression, Sylvia burst into a small laugh.
“How is it? Pretty interesting, right?”
She couldn’t deny that.
I asked with a small nod.
“Where is that lady-in-waiting?”
“Unfortunately, it is not in the Empire. Right before the kingdom was destroyed, he took refuge not in the empire, but in the kingdom of Gaul in the south. He seems to be living with relatives there now. It’s a bit difficult to bring it directly to the system. Instead….”
Sylvia pulled out a small pebble-sized marble between her breastbones. And she threw it at me.
I easily grabbed the marble as if it were natural.
The scent of roses emanated from the beads heated by body temperature. When I thought about where I got this bead from, it seemed like a lot of mischievous intentions.
“… What are you doing?”
“Whoops, it’s just a joke. I wanted to see a little embarrassed expression, but it’s still not easy.”
“… ….”
She wasn’t even a puberty boy, so there was no reason to be embarrassed about that.
This wasn’t exactly the first time Sylvia had pranked me. Does it feel close to me that much, or does it have other intentions… Of course, you don’t have to react.
I put the marble on the desk. It was a crystal ball that recorded voices.
As if it had already been activated, the voice of an old woman echoed through the marbles underground.
It was a voice filled with anxiety, fear, and deep remorse.
[…] … Yes that’s right… she was that kid Bright blonde hair and blue eyes like jewels… I had never seen the sea, but I thought it must have been that color. The illegitimate children I cared for were all blonde, but he was a little different… No, she was special….]
[…] … Didn’t she have one or two children? Um, the old king… It is said that there is no king or country anymore, but I have really enjoyed women’s s*x since I was young. There were many illegitimate children both inside and outside the kingdom. Queen Dahlia and Princess Daisy suffered a lot because of the previous king’s disposition….]
[…] … Sorry, story leaked. Was it about the child? Its name… I still can’t forget it. Ella… She called herself Ella. He wants no honorifics, she just wants to be called Ella….]
“… ….”
Unbeknownst to me, my fists tightened.
But the woman’s voice coming from her marbles continued for a long time.
[…] … Where did the wizard who worked before go… I don’t know what experiment the new court mage was, but most of the children who were taken there from time to time never came back. Even if she returned at most, she would die in a day or two after being sick.]
[…] … The atmosphere of the detached palace was like a palace, but in fact it was different from a prison. The new kid at that time was Ella. She said the child was special. Even if she was dragged into the wizard’s experiments, she came back intact. The elf wizard was very pleased and told her to take good care of Ella. From then on, she served as former Ella’s maid of honor.]
[…] … Several years passed like that. Ella’s lively expression lost its luster as the days went by, and she was gradually withering… She was definitely alive by then. Rather, she became the hope that the existence of that child, that she would someday be able to get out, to the other children who had been brought to her long ago but who had not yet been sacrificed and who were still alive.]
[…] … But one day, all of a sudden, she told me that the boy was there. If she goes like this, she’s all going to die. She needs to get out of here right now… What the hell did you see in the wizard’s lab? She gave her jewelry and gold coins she didn’t know where she got them from and said she had to run away today.]
[…] … But she had no intention of escaping the child. No one else knows, but she says that if she runs away, she’ll find out right away… Her self will be fine, so she said don’t worry… She said that she would buy time for me and the other children to escape.]
[…] … She finally did her ex Ella’s favor. Her other children, including Ella, were already like mine. If I could save those children, I would do anything. We made our escape that night. It was amazing. Something… I got the feeling that unknown beings were helping us escape.]
[…] … But in the end I got caught. To that wizard… Her eyes flashed, and she heard Ella’s voice telling her to run away. We are all scattered. When I came to my senses, I realized that I had left the palace by myself.]
[…] … What more could the old woman do alone? There was no way to return to the palace again, and it was impossible for the child to throw away her life for saving her… I ran away alone. Headed to the kingdom of Gaul, where her married brother lives. Soon after, refugees poured in from the vicinity of the capital. The undead appeared….]
[…] … That’s how I joined the procession of refugees, and that’s how I was the only one who survived. Is the child alive? Will the other children be okay? If, like me, you escaped somewhere safely, I wanted to know the news, so I kept looking for it….]
[…] … No, no. It’s all excuses. I knew that too. If I had stayed there, I would have been killed someday… It was my only chance to escape. I abandoned that child… As soon as… I… !]
After the old woman’s weeping, the crystal ball lost its light.
I kept my mouth shut for a while. Because there was a lot to think about.
Sylvia also waited for me to open my mouth without urging her.
The woman’s story was very long. However, there was also a lot of information about Ella in it.
I had a lot to think about, but… First of all, it was one of the most important.
I said with a deliberately firm brow.
“This isn’t enough.”
I know what Ella went through in the Ionian Kingdom. But much of it was empty to be sure she was alive.
Sylvia was thorough in this area. If this was all information, she wouldn’t have written a note saying that Ella might be alive.
There must be something more. I looked at Sylvia with that meaning in mind.
As if my guess was correct, a small smile spread across Sylvia’s lips.
“Of course there is more information. Have you heard the expert’s opinion about the ritual performed by that elf mage, the leader of the Immortal Corps? I just want to talk to you… Do you want to see me sometime?”
“Expert?”
I was puzzled and at the same time nodded her head slightly. If Sylvia can be said to be an expert, her skills are trustworthy.
“Okay. She says she’s waiting?”
From noble mtl dot com
The only people I can feel in this basement are me and Sylvia. There was no one else.
That was the moment.
Flame!
In the middle of the cellar, where the only light was the soft glow of a magic lamp, a pale flame suddenly began to burn.
The flame, which looked like a small bonfire, gained momentum and transformed into a gigantic flame that surpassed the height of a person.
And the flames drew the shape of a man, escaping from an unspecified movement.
“I was just waiting for that word.”
A man wearing a deeply pressed robe barely showed his nose and mouth. But it was instantly recognizable by his familiar voice.
“You….”
He is a great wizard called the Crimson Sage.
It was Llewellyn Elcid.