073. Intersection (1)
Four days passed faster than expected.
And at the end of that time, news of the engagement of the two people was announced.
It was a pre-arranged announcement by the Duke of Verdain and the Duke of Edelt.
In social circles and noble society, there were reactions expecting such news, conveying words of congratulations.
Meanwhile, the investigation of the attempted assassination of Saint Xia was gaining momentum.
Bella successfully revealed that both kingdoms were involved in this incident and was now trying to find the connection with the remaining kingdom.
She asked for Kyle and Owen’s help for that reason.
Contrary to the conversation at the banquet where they were supposed to meet on the tower, Bella invited the two to the temple.
“Welcome. Lord Tower and Duke Verdin.”
Bella, who had experienced the Sihae incident, was surprisingly smiling.
She greeted the two, dressed in the temple’s conquest attire.
Where Kyle and Owen were invited was a building designated solely for the saint in the vast temple.
Bella, who had become the owner of the place that had been empty for 200 years, invited the two to the reception room.
“Would you like some tea? I’ve also prepared some snacks as the conversation might be lengthy.”
The temple built with white bricks was bright even inside.
The marble floor and the ceiling engraved with the temple’s patterns were impressive.
The temple’s pattern was a silver deer.
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A neat chandelier hung on the ceiling, where deer carved alongside stars were harmonized.
Owen glanced briefly at the pale sight and then took his seat.
Honestly, he was still puzzled.
There was no reason to invite Duke Verdin and the Tower Lord to the temple.
It seemed even more peculiar given their strained relationship with the tower.
It wasn’t convincing to think it was just because Bella was more open-minded and unbiased than the usual temple people.
– Everyone considers it sacred, making it an easy place to hide greed.
Lucia’s words came to mind.
– Why do you assume the saint is a sacred and noble being?
Having read “Flower of the Empire,” Owen had naturally assumed that Bella was such a person.
Kind, graceful, and good-hearted.
Noble and overflowing with goodness.
– She had eyes that wanted to possess. Eyes that wanted to own you.
But Lucia had said so.
And he felt it too.
That Bella was different from the original.
Before him was a Bella entirely different from the original, as evidenced by her silver eyes that were hard to read emotions from.
‘There might be a reason behind it.’
After much thought, Owen’s conclusion was this.
But even if he reached a conclusion, he couldn’t just leave the place.
Regardless, it was the saint’s request, a reasonable one at that.
Ignoring an official request was not an option.
It would be a great discourtesy.
“Uriah Kingdom and the two kingdoms have revealed their apologies and agreed to establish a new treaty. The only thing left is to establish the relationship with Haelrun Kingdom.”
It wasn’t difficult to find evidence from the two kingdoms and reveal the truth.
Because, as Owen knew, Duke Verdin was doing business with all four kingdoms.
The Assassin’s Guild was also somehow connected to the Duke.
Thanks to this, Owen easily found people who had contact with the Assassin’s Guild by riding on others.
Simply finding out the truth through contact was difficult, so a little intimidation was also used.
Kyle, too, gathered various evidence by interacting with the towers of other countries and handed them over.
Thanks to this, the Empire discovered that there were individuals connected to the Assassin’s Guild in each of the four countries’ leadership.
The fact that the four countries secretly communicated with each other was also revealed with the help of the towers.
Since the medium of communication was the towers, it was possible.
If one were to ask why the towers of other countries were so cooperative with Freyon, there were about two possible answers.
First, it was because the magicians were primarily power-oriented and there were many eccentrics obsessed with magic.
As the most powerful magician in the world, the Tower Lord of the Freyon Empire willingly complied with Kyle’s demands.
Naturally, Kyle offered the formal transfer or teaching of magical spells as compensation, but even then, the response was quite favorable in the eyes of others.
The second reason was historical.
Currently, there were five towers, one in each country, totaling five.
But originally, they all stemmed from one, originating from the Freyon Empire.
For this reason, the five towers used the same symbol of a blue fox, albeit each being different.
“If it’s the Haelrun Kingdom, they were the only ones completely unrelated to the Assassin’s Guild, right? They destroyed the communication medium as well, so we couldn’t use that as evidence.”
Kyle pondered seriously about the ongoing investigation.
Bella echoed in his voice.
“That’s right. However, both the two empires and the Kingdom of Uria have implicated the Kingdom of Haelrun.”
With the psychology that one cannot die alone, the three countries where the crimes had already been revealed were falling over the Kingdom of Haelrun.
As if that wasn’t enough, soon the three countries would join forces to find evidence.
Owen, who knew the original, knew.
So, there was no need to work hard on the discussion of the case.
Anyway, there was no other way if this was excluded.
“Then we can present witnesses for now.”
“Yes, that seems possible.”
Owen remained silent, just listening to Kyle and Bella’s conversation.
He said he needed help, but practically, the only story he could contribute was a summary of the current situation.
And maybe using the information of the Matops and the Duke of Verdine again.
“Well, but….”
It was a time when the two people’s conversation went back and forth for a while.
Kyle’s voice slowed down.
When Owen turned to look at him, Kyle’s eyelids seemed to droop.
“Kyle?”
Kyle seemed to be dozing off.
It was quite strange.
He wasn’t the type to suddenly doze off like this.
Especially in such an important place.
When Owen turned his head to face him, Bella was casually holding a teacup to her lips.
However, the tea in the cup hadn’t decreased at all.
Just like Owen’s teacup.
Among the three teacups, only Kyle’s was empty.
“…Saintess. What is this?”
It wasn’t poison.
Kyle was breathing properly.
He just seemed to have fallen asleep.
“As you can see, it’s just a tea with a sleep-inducing effect.”
Bella replied in a casual tone.
As Owen furrowed his brow, Bella chuckled.
“It’s true. This sleep potion can’t do anything. You know that.”
“….”
Owen couldn’t gauge Bella anymore.
Contrary to Lucia’s words, Bella wasn’t noble or holy.
Even if it was a plant that didn’t harm life, it was a sleep potion.
It must have been very strong to affect Kyle, a 9th-class magician.
If an ordinary person had it, they might have slept for a week.
If a child had it, they might have fallen into eternal sleep.
“Duke of Verdine.”
Bella called Owen in a quiet voice.
Owen stared at the eyes that called his name.
“Your Grace, are you really Your Grace?”
The following words were unexpected.
Wondering what it meant, Owen narrowed his eyes, and Bella added more words.
“Is that an act? Or are you now truly deluding yourself into thinking you’re Owen?”
At the subsequent words, Owen stiffened his face.
There was no other choice.
The meaning of those words….
“It’s really ridiculous. Are you serious?”
The fact that the other person knew his true identity.
And at the same time-.
“No, no. If you’re not Owen, why would I bother talking to you.”
It also meant that the other party was not ‘Bella’.
“Who are you.”
When Owen coldly spoke, Bella smiled sarcastically.
“I should be asking you. So, who are you?”
Bella tilted her chin with her hand and asked, “Who dares to inhabit that body, huh?”
“…Do you have the right to say such things? You seem equally dubious, don’t you?”
When Owen replied in a low voice, Bella scowled.
“Don’t mimic Owen. It’s awkward.”
“You’ve been deceiving well until now, and now…”
Owen sarcastically teased Bella kindly.
It didn’t matter if the other person was in a similar situation to theirs.
It meant they couldn’t reveal each other’s secrets.
They couldn’t disclose others’ secrets just because they were occupying a body that wasn’t theirs.
He watched Bella with relief.
Now he understood.
Why the person was so different from the original, and why the events unfolded differently from the original.
“Don’t aggravate me further with that, alright?”
“Who was playing pranks with the sleep aid just now?”
“You called, but he didn’t come out.”
Bella sighed and touched her head.
Then she opened her mouth again and asked, “So, where is ‘Owen’ now?”
“That’s the question I want to ask. Where is ‘Bella’?”
“Oh, don’t use that tone. Why mimic Owen?”
Expressing dissatisfaction, Bella tapped the table and asked again.
“I assume Owen is also inside that body. Right?”
“…You seem to be in the same situation.”
“Oh, not again. Stop using that tone with that face and voice.”
“…”
What was he supposed to do?
Owen chose to remain silent.
Staring at Bella, who scowled again, he had nothing to say.
“Were you an apprentice before possessing Owen? Why are you imitating Owen so well?”
“That’s not something you need to know.”
“I’ve read ＜Empire’s Flower＞ about ten times. And I’m generally good at whatever I do.”
“…”
Self-praise with that face.
Owen fell silent, unable to respond.
“Why are you behaving like Owen even without speaking? Has it become a habit?”
“…It’s similar.”
“Geez.”
Another low curse slipped out.
As Owen silently looked on, Bella sighed again and said, “Were you also a reader of ＜Empire’s Flower＞? Or are you originally from this world?”
“The former.”
“That tone… No, forget it. Just speak.”
Bella muttered to herself and then looked at Owen.
“I like ‘Owen.’ In Korea, I was just a fan as a reader, but things changed when I became Bella. I thought I needed to have ‘Owen.'”
“…As Lucia said.”
The new Bella, not Bella as she used to be, had a strong sense of possession.
“But my plan has failed miserably. It’s probably because of you. Right?”
“…I can’t deny that.”
When Owen agreed, Bella continued with a question.
“Why? You said you read ＜Empire’s Flower＞. Then you must have known that Owen is connected to Bella, right?”
“I knew.”
He knew it very well.
The other person mentioned reading the original about ten times, but Owen had read it much more.
Considering that they had only read Lucia’s parts, it might be difficult to calculate.
While thinking about that, Bella suddenly stiffened her expression and exclaimed in a frightened voice, “Wait a minute. Are you a fan of Lucia?”