Mess 155

155.

“People can really change for the better!”

That afternoon,

As soon as Seraphie returned to the mansion, she held a small party.

The guests, as always, were her usual lover and friends. So, it was really nothing more than a slightly fancier dinner.

Yet it was enough for Seraphie to show off her excitement.

“We recycle even trash—why on earth couldn’t a person be reclaimed as well? Ah, it took me a whole year to realize this truth!”

“Darling, am I bleeding from the ears?”

“Not yet.”

Kal carefully examined both of Looney’s ears.

“Is she drunk?”

Orchis picked up the glass at Seraphie’s seat and sniffed it.

Because her biological father had been an alcoholic, Seraphie avoided drinking. As expected, the glass held non-alcoholic champagne.

“She can act like that without drinking…”

Looney began to feel a twinge of fear.

“Hey, quiet down.”

And finally, Fura spoke up.

“Even a dog shouldn’t be disturbed while eating.”

“But you’re not dogs, are you?”

“Right now, I wish I were.”

Fura grumbled as she stuffed a large piece of steak into her mouth.

“You really act a bit off sometimes, you know that?”

“Fura, you think so too?”

Looney immediately jumped in to chime along.

Seraphie, who had been in high spirits, pouted and sat back down. She found her subordinates—bantering and cursing right in front of her, under the guise of camaraderie—altogether too cheeky.

“What’s gotten into her, anyway?”

Still unaware of the situation, Kal asked Orchis.

“One of the painters she supported has become famous.”

“Ah, the painter of the darkness?”

“And with each work, the money…”

Orchis began to explain the circumstances. Kal finally nodded, as if he understood, and gave an admiring sigh.

“She’s really extraordinary.”

Seraphie’s ears perked up at Kal’s praise.

“It’s truly difficult for someone to recognize their mistakes and change. I really respect that.”

“That person happens to be my own protégé.”

At last, Seraphie, having received praise, squared her shoulders. Her little “ahem” was an added flourish.

“So what happens now?”

“I’ll arrange another appointment to renew the sponsorship contract. By tomorrow, rumors will spread that Aidahl is my protégé, and the gallery will give him a chance for a solo exhibition.”

“The gallery owner is really going out on a limb.”

Orchis sipped her wine lightly.

“The painter’s themes are so intense, I thought it would be hard to put on a show.”

“So Indira is racking her brains, trying to figure it out.”

It was a rare honor for an artist to be given a moniker.

And yet not one, but two such painters had emerged from Indira’s gallery—one bearing the name of “light,” and the other “darkness.”

No wonder, then, that to Indira, the opportunity to exhibit Aidahl’s work was not to be missed. It was also why she was looking a bit thinner than before.

“I’m curious what the painting looks like.”

Fura mumbled around a mouthful of food.

“So what kind of painting is it?”

“A painting of a demon defeating another demon.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Fura, you haven’t seen it, have you? Actually, Seraphie has the power to exorcise even demons—”

As Looney teased her, a knife whipped through the air right by her face.

The steak knife that Fura had only moments ago was now embedded in the door. There was a faint thud as it struck the wall, but no scream was heard.

“…Who did that?”

Fura’s voice was guarded.

Kal quickly pulled the stunned Looney into his embrace. Orchis rose from her seat, casting a wary glance at Seraphie.

Seraphie, catching Orchis’s eye, tilted her head. Orchis, surprisingly, remained unruffled.

Just then, the dining room door began to open slowly.

“Well, now.”

At the sight of the figure entering, everyone’s eyes widened in unison.

“Is this how you greet an old friend—by throwing knives?”

Peonia, her black hair gathered high in a ponytail, twirled the knife blithely in her hand—a trick she’d clearly once practiced with a pen.

“Huh?”

Upon seeing Peonia for the first time, Fura immediately looked at Orchis, noticing the resemblance.

“You’re built like her, aren’t you?”

“…My younger sister.”

Ohh. Fura nodded. Orchis heaved a deep sigh.

“Penny! My goodness, it really is you, Penny, isn’t it?”

“When did you get here? Look at the state of you!”

“Seems your eyesight’s gone downhill, hasn’t it?”

Startled, Seraphie and Looney rushed to Peonia at last. The three embraced tightly, expressing their joy at the reunion.

“It’s such a delight to be welcomed like this.”

Peonia beamed, grasping Seraphie’s hand firmly.

“You’ve been through so much. Was it uncomfortable in Validus?”

“Not at all. I loved every moment.”

Taking a step back, Peonia offered Seraphie a courteous bow of gratitude.

“On behalf of the Tower of Magic, I thank Countess Validus for giving us the honor of developing a new material. Our tower will be certain to repay this favor.”

Seraphie’s face glowed with bashful pleasure.

“Wow…”

Peonia, bowing so respectfully before her, looked just like a painting. Every gesture exuded a kind of artistic grace.

“You unfilial brat.”

Orchis quietly stepped in front of Seraphie.

“If you’re back, you should have gone home first.”

“On my way home, the Validus mansion was closer, so I stopped by first. And what about you? Living here now?”

“How indifferent the heavens are—giving me a sibling like this…”

“Yes, isn’t it, though? If the heavens weren’t indifferent, I wouldn’t have such a sibling myself…”

But family was still family, and Orchis and Peonia indulged in the affectionate reunion they had longed for.

“I rather like her, too,”

Fura said, warming up to Peonia.

---

“Once the party’s finished, the tower will begin a trial run of the experiments using the new material.”

Peonia joined the meal as if it were the most natural thing in the world, blending right in despite her unexpected arrival.

Suddenly, the table grew lively.

“So that means you won’t have to send anyone around to exchange news anymore—you can just communicate directly?”

“There’s a limited range, but as long as you’re connected, it works.”

“How far is the range?”

“The confirmed range is, hmm, about the capital? We succeeded in an experiment exchanging messages from Validus to Akashi.”

As Peonia gave a brief account of what had happened in the Validus territory, she suddenly turned to meet an inquisitive gaze.

“And who is this? I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“That’s Fura, our new hire.”

Fura gave a little wave of greeting.

“My, what a fine physique you have.”

Peonia’s interest turned to Fura.

“Would you consider joining our family’s order of knights?”

“Hey now, don’t get any ideas.”

Seraphie interjected swiftly.

“She’s my bodyguard.”

“You’re founding a knightly order?”

“Not exactly…”

Finding it hard to explain, Seraphie glanced at Kal. Meeting her eyes, he smiled reassuringly and responded for her.

“The Iris Order was just disbanded. But we can’t afford to neglect the Northern border, so Seraphie is looking at taking over the order herself.”

“The Imperial family will do anything to make me spend money…”

Seraphie gave a deep sigh.

Yet this was no small matter.

“……”

Peonia felt a tremor run through her.

‘The Imperial family…’

The empire strictly forbade private armies. For a single noble to maintain a force was, without question, an act of rebellion against imperial authority.

Thus, only two houses were ever granted the privilege of noble knightly orders: Felicia and Iris, both rewarded for their merit in service to the Emperor.

And yet, Validus had now been granted that same privilege.

Once this became known, the hierarchy of the empire’s nobility would be shaken to its core.

‘And…’

The Glake who’d come to activate the foundry at Validus had relayed to the magicians what had transpired at Iris.

The news hit the magical community hard. Peonia and several senior magicians had uncovered the incident’s full story.

‘Felicia and Iris have long been the shield of the imperial family.’

In future, these two houses were meant to safeguard the crown prince on his ascension to the throne.

But now, one of those houses—one of the empire’s pillars—had been ruined.

By a noble said to be the Emperor’s most loyal subject.

‘…His Majesty, he means to cast aside the Crown Prince.’

Those in the know understood.

The incident at Iris was only the harbinger of the great storm yet to come.

“Kal.”

Peonia called out to her cousin.

“How is my aunt doing these days?”

“She’s confined within the palace.”

“Did she confess to anything?”

“Not at all. She hasn’t spoken a word since entering the palace.”

“……”

Peonia’s unease grew as she heard the details. A suspicion occurred to her, one that only a magician might recognize.

“She may not even be able to speak, you know?”

“Her mouth?”

Seraphie reflexively touched her own lips.

“It’s a type of binding spell. To prevent secrets from being leaked, a spell is cast on the informant’s body with certain conditions attached.”

Peonia rubbed her throat as she spoke.

“The most common place is right here—the throat.”

“But that sort of magic…”

Kal’s expression turned grim. The same shadow passed over everyone else.

“…What is it?”

“I have no idea,”

said Seraphie, just as clueless as Fura, both unfamiliar with magic.

“To put it simply,”

explained Orchis,

“if you try to reveal a secret, your neck is severed by the spell.”

“Eek!”

Fura recoiled in horror. Seraphie flinched even harder at Fura’s outcry.

“These barbaric, disgusting Imperial bastards! How dare they call us Glake savages when they pull such stunts? We never do anything so cruel!”

For a moment, the Imperials, now at a loss for words, clamped their mouths shut as if by common consent.

“…At any rate, the point is,”

Orchis cleared her throat and continued,

“As we said, a spell to silence someone is both brutal and dangerous. Only a mage of considerable skill could cast it.”

“So the tower was involved?”

“On the contrary, they wouldn’t dare.”

It was Looney, silent until now, who shook her head. The Tower espoused political neutrality; if it took part in something like this, it would spell disaster.

“Seraphie, you know. There’s someone who can use magic even without belonging to the tower.”

At those words, Seraphie immediately pictured someone in her mind.

“The Duke of Felicia…”

Not a member of the tower, but a magician known to all.

In short, they would have to look into magicians outside the tower.

“…I should tell my father about this at once.”

Deep furrows formed on Orchis’s brow.

“If my father confirms it, our tower will move immediately. This is no ordinary matter.”

“Is it really that serious?”

“Seraphie, do you remember when I told you the magic tower is a politically neutral body?”

The reason for that neutrality needed no explanation.

Magic was simply too dangerous, too selfish a power.