30 – Discovery 2
“Mustn’t it be the empire’s trickery?”
“It couldn’t be excluded that it might have come from a secret society within our own kingdom.”
“There are no secret organizations within the kingdom capable of such an act. I’ve killed them all.”
Even as Cassandra and Maria were engaged in intense debate,
The gaze of Katarina, sitting at her office desk, was fixed on Thomas.
Looking at him, she was lost in old memories.
Charles, who had been her husband.
He was a kind of mock gift sent by the empire as a proof of friendship, suggesting they use him as a spy.
Katarina, who still lacked a stable government at the time, left him neglected in the royal palace.
When she first saw his appearance, she felt nothing but anger towards the empire.
And then, a little time passed and the day of Katarina’s first departure to the battlefield arrived.
Still inexperienced, she fought a terr
Thomas Anderson was a man who reminded her of her husband for the first time in a long while.
In fact, he seemed taller and more rugged than her husband.
But she had already confirmed her taste in men a decade ago.
‘Even so, I like him…’
“Your Majesty?”
Duke Tyler called to the queen, but her thoughts had not yet been interrupted.
‘Can I not draw him in once?’
Without even realizing where her thoughts were headed…
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“Your Majesty, are you listening!?”
At the louder summons of the duke, Katarina was taken aback.
“Uh, hmm? I was just lost in thought. I’m sorry.”
‘What was I thinking…’
This is going to be Betty’s husband, who is like my own nephew.
‘Get a grip, Katarina!’
She forcefully warned herself.
It’s been over ten years since she’s been grieving the loss of her spouse.
However, no matter how insatiable her desires, there were bounds to respect.
Before being a queen, there were human bounds.
“So, where were we?”
“Yes, in the end, all we can do is speculate among ourselves.”
“I suppose that’s true… What if that’s the case? He would have come if my thoughts were correct, right?”
Katarina asked Maria.
Before Maria could even open her mouth, Albert Anderson revealed himself from a corner of the office.
“hehehe, It’s been a long time, Your Majesty.”
He did not kneel but instead bowed in respect, as nobility does among each other.
“It’s been a while, Albert.”
Katarina blushed upon seeing him.
Sorcerers were the ones who personally stepped in to assist whenever a significant issue arose in the kingdom.
Especially this old man, the oldest living sorcerer, served from her great-grandmother’s era.
When Anderson said he would be bringing this time, she had been predicting it.
“Please speak freely,” he urged.
“I’m afraid I can’t.”
Even in the presence of a king, he could not speak casually.
“Is it okay, though, for you to reveal yourself to Tyler?”
Catarina asked, looking at the old man, a question that seemed natural.
After all, Anderson had only ever appeared directly to his direct family and former kings.
“Hmmm… considering they will soon become family, what’s wrong with that?”
Catarina looked at the old man who appeared carefree and guessed there must be another reason, but she didn’t voice her suspicions.
She didn’t want to add more concern.
——————
‘Is she looking at me?’
Once the queen sat at her desk and we gathered around the table in the middle of the office, I felt her gaze on me.
It was quite risky to look at her upper body, so I tried to focus on my companions.
‘Why, why is she looking…’
A burning gaze continues to stab the side of my face.
‘Am I doing something wrong?’
Recalling how she treated Betty earlier, almost like a dear niece, I wondered…
‘Am I being tested for worthiness as her niece’s husband?’
“Your Majesty? Are you listening!?”
Fortunately, the duke pulled the queen into the conversation and her gaze was finally averted.
And then, the monster mentor revealed himself.
The old man and the king exchanged ceremonial greetings before getting to the main point.
“Do you have the sword? Could you show me once?”
“It’s here.”
The queen took out the sword from beneath her desk.
I involuntarily stiffened, assuming a defensive position.
In an instant, cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
‘I guess I already have a bit of a trauma…’
Suddenly, I felt warmth in my left hand.
It was Betty, who was sitting to my left, secretly holding my hand under the table.
As I looked at her, she sent me a smile.
I couldn’t distinguish whether the subtle trembling I felt from my hand was mine or hers.
I returned her an awkward smile.
Meanwhile, the old man, who had received the sword, carefully observed it.
“Hmm… quite a high-purity mithril… Certainly, one needs to be more than a common craftsman to procure this.”
After expressing a brief admiration for the sword itself,
“emfjsofk”
the old man murmured something in an unintelligible language while gently stroking the blade of the sword.
‘Huh? What did he say?’
Even with the translation magic I was under, I couldn’t understand its meaning.
“Oh, that…”
Duke Tyler expressed his admiration.
Betty’s eyes were wide-open in surprise.
Magic circles began to float in the air as if they were holograms projected from the blade.
‘What is that?’
When I sent a questioning gaze, Maria answered for me.
“It’s a dragon spell.”
‘The dragon spell from the fantasy novels?’
“Oh…”
I also couldn’t help but marvel.
The old man seemed a little different to me.
‘He did mention something about a dragon lineage…’
It didn’t feel so real when I heard it only in words, but it seemed impressive to see the evidence directly before me.
The old man spent a while observing the magic circles floating in the air.
“What a fascinating trick you’ve played, huhuhu.”
Everyone was staring at the old man, swallowing hard.
“I’ve put some magic into security. So, it would only leave a trace.”
“If that’s the case…”
The queen’s expression turned serious.
“Such an act is only possible if there is a level difference between the person who set the security spell.”
The old man explained.
“Since the one who set the security has been identified as Duke Hex, it means that the culprit must be a magician of at least level 6.”
The queen supplemented.
“A magician above level 6? Aren’t Sorcerers the only ones who exist in this era?”
Duke Tailer asked.
“hehehe, there could be more.”
“Are you possibly talking about elves? They have no reason to do this…”
Maria asked, as if it didn’t make sense.
“Doesn’t any other existence come to mind?”
“…..”
In the midst of everyone’s dismay, a cautious voice was heard from my left.
“De, demons?”
“Our daughter-in-law is the best, hehehehe.”
The old man lifted his thumb.
Betty blushed and looked down.
“I, I just came across some story about demons in the book I’ve read….”
The books she usually reads were novels where female warriors beat the villains.
She must have read somewhere the description of demons among the villains.
“Demons? Didn’t they get extinct during the God-Demon War 350 years ago!?”
The duke shouted as if it didn’t make sense.
“They simply lost their masters and went into hiding.”
The old man calmly responded as if stating an obvious fact.
“If it’s from you, who is one of the mediators of the human world, I shall take note.”
The queen said, looking serious at the old man’s words.
“Then isn’t this an issue no longer confined to just the kingdom!? Shouldn’t we issue a warning to other countries, no, to the entire humanity?”
Duke Tailer shouted.
‘Is the appearance of demons such a big deal…’
Looking at Maria, she didn’t seem particularly surprised.
‘Anderson had known about the existence of the demons beforehand.’
Thinking back, even Carol, the simple servant, had made mention of the demons when he came across the white rock.
‘Hold on… the white rock…’
What had the white rock said back then?
‘The master is a powerful and strong demon!’
Words from the creature’s former master.
Suddenly, my head started to throb.
‘Do I need to mention this…’
There is a chance that they might dissect the white rock in order to investigate.
‘No, I should still say something…’
The culprit could possibly be the white rock’s former owner.
If that’s the case, then I would be an accomplice for hiding him.
If they consider the demon’s servant as an accomplice, that is.
As I looked around, ready to admit my guilt, the elder looked at me and put his index finger up to his lips.
He silently smiled at me with a warmth in his eyes.
Seeing his gesture, I dropped my hand.
A strong belief that it was not necessary to admit anything welled up within me after seeing the elder’s actions.
The kind smiling elder brought to my mind a trustworthy wizard from a movie that started with the word ‘liver’.
Finally, the Queen broke her silence and opened her mouth.
“There is no evidence yet that this was done by the demons, so we should concentrate on stabilizing the domestic public sentiment first. If necessary, we can later send an ambassador to neighboring countries.”
“……”
No one else was able to voice their disagreement.
The Queen’s opinion is the best course of action we can take right now.
I decided to keep my mouth shut.
‘The old monster will somehow take care of it.’
Thinking about it, revealing the white rock right now doesn’t seem like it would solve anything.
‘I should try talking to this guy…’
And then, if the former owner is revealed as the culprit, we would have no choice but to accept it.
There was a sudden silence in the room, followed by the king issuing a dismissal.
“Then, everyone else may leave now. Though, Young Master Thomas, stay behind for a while. I have something to tell you.”
Except Me.