#57. Because a Continental War Must Occur
Although he had not long been under Cryer’s command and had yet to receive any direct orders, Isaac, relying on the finely honed survival instincts he had developed while living in Arkendel, was able to draw an assessment that came remarkably close to the truth.
“If they want to work, there’s no need to insist they rest. Very well. That servant went back to the quarters, claiming to be sick.”
“Then we should check whether they’re using sickness as an excuse to shirk responsibilities.”
“No, they didn’t seem that foolish. Instead, gather information from those close to that servant.”
“Hasn’t the investigator already checked?”
“You’re not the investigator, are you?”
Isaac hesitated at Olivia’s firm words, unsure how to respond, yet instinctively he averted his gaze from her. With his fox-like eyes narrowed in thought, he scratched his cheek and then bowed his head.
“I will carry out your orders.”
With that, Isaac left, while Ambre remained at the table, fidgeting with a teacup. After setting down the now-cold cup, he spoke.
“That temple… I couldn’t recognize the symbols either, but… it’s a temple of the Ancient God, isn’t it?”
“Yes. There’s no reason to build a temple for another deity at this point.”
Having carefully examined the temple before the walls collapsed, Ambre began to sketch its layout. Soon, the general structure became clear, and he pointed to a specific section.
“You mentioned there’s an altar underground. This was the entrance leading down. And now that the walls have collapsed, there’s an opportunity to investigate further…”
“No. It’s enough to confirm that there’s a temple and an altar.”
“Really? But—”
Ambre tilted his head in confusion.
“You don’t need to see inside to know. If a temple has an altar, it’s obvious.”
Olivia gave Ambre a wry smile.
“You’ve experienced it firsthand, after all.”
“Ah! Right! The offering! It was to be presented to the god! Since it’s the same deity! Ahhh!”
Ambre’s face lit up as he recalled the memory of almost being taken as an offering.
“I see now! I was short-sighted!”
“Hmm…”
Olivia’s expression darkened slightly as she looked at Ambre, who was grinning as brightly as the sun. Talking about a near-death experience so cheerfully seemed… unusual. She already knew he wasn’t an ordinary child.
“Ambre.”
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?”
“Of course!”
“No… I mean, are there lingering nightmares or aftereffects from that incident?”
“Not at all!”
Though Olivia silently wondered why there weren’t any, she decided it was enough that there truly weren’t.
“You’re worried about me?”
Seeing the sparkling eyes of Ambre, she thought it best not to mention the strangeness of the question. Ambre, moved, gazed at her quietly with a noble smile worthy of a princess, then sprang to his feet.
“I’ll work even harder! May I take my leave now?!”
“Working hard is good, but you must always be cautious. I told Isaac the same—having seen a wizard this time, if you encounter one again, flee immediately.”
“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ambre’s bright response was followed by a slight hesitation, then he added:
“That wizard is always with the Crown Prince—or rather, the king of Norden now—so I’m not sure if I can avoid him.”
“That means you shouldn’t go to Norden.”
“Ah…”
Yet to gather the information only the heir of Taren could access, Ambre would have to go to Norden. Olivia, noticing his hesitation, decided to redirect his attention rather than forbidding him outright.
“First, can you look into the missing servant?”
Humans often desire what they’re told not to do. It was better to redirect his focus elsewhere. Ambre, seizing on Olivia’s suggestion, clenched his fists and declared resolutely:
“Yes! I’ll do my best! I’ll take my leave now. I’ll see you again, knight!”
Unlike with Isaac, Ambre left after greeting Cryer with an almost impossibly cheerful energy. Alone now, Olivia’s gaze fell on the closed door, and she spoke softly.
“Is the temple worth investigating?”
She had told Ambre not to worry about it; in truth, she could guess what might be happening inside.
“No. The wizard already mentioned it.”
“Only the wizard’s daughter remains now—would it be the same?”
“There’s only one thing worth doing with a temple: the summoning.”
At the word “summoning,” Olivia let out a deep, drawn-out sigh from within and shook her head.
“I have to finish this before that grand summoning occurs.”
“Absolutely. If the Ancient God is to descend.”
Slowly, from the shadows, Cryer stepped forward, glancing at Olivia’s profile.
“Because a continental war must occur.”
No sooner had Isaac returned from Norden than he set off without a pause, taking on a new task. Soon, he blended into the group of servants at the princess’s quarters, listening and filtering through countless conversations without revealing himself. Piece by piece, he gathered information about the servant who was supposedly sick that day.
“Goodness, I don’t see them around.”
“Oh, they said they weren’t feeling well and are taking a day off.”
“Really? They seemed fine yesterday… Are they that unwell?”
One servant asked with concern, and another sharply replied:
“It’s not the body that hurts, but the heart.”
Then came silence. The servants holding snacks all fell quiet, as if by unspoken agreement, watching each other nervously. The oppressive stillness lasted until the sound of cookies crunching broke the tension.
“How sad that their heart hurts,” a stranger’s voice remarked. It seemed to provoke the previously sharp servant to continue:
“Truly unfortunate. The man they stole from a friend disappeared overnight. Ah, the friend disappeared too, didn’t they?”
The malice in the voice was unmistakable. Instantly, Isaac recalled what the young lady of the Taren family had mentioned earlier:
“Oh, right… one of the household’s servants has gone missing.”
“They didn’t quit or get dismissed—they disappeared.”
A servant with a different ribbon, her friend, the missing Taren servant, and a love triangle. If the differently-ribboned servant had taken her friend’s lover, the friend would have plenty of reason to confront the servant in the dead of night. It was clear that the princess hadn’t been targeted from the start. The missing servant likely being the lover in question, Isaac now needed to understand why they vanished at such a critical time. Expanding his thoughts like a spider’s web, Isaac quickly formed a plausible scenario and moved into action. Once he confirmed the location of the servant with the different ribbon in the quarters, he could investigate the vanished friend and the missing Taren servant. Nodding to himself in the shadows, Isaac quickened his pace, recalling the crimson eyes that glowed quietly in the dark. Without the strange, almost fairy-tale-like wizard, he was quite capable.
While Isaac pieced together the love triangle, Ambre returned to Taren and summoned the butler.
“You called, Miss?”
“Yes. About that servant I mentioned earlier.”
“Are you speaking of John, who suddenly disappeared?”
Ambre tilted his head slightly.
“Wasn’t it a disappearance? Did they leave a reason behind?”
“No. They vanished overnight, so it should be considered a disappearance.”
The butler hesitated mid-sentence, as if something seemed off, prompting Ambre to ask directly:
“What is it? If it concerns the servants, there’s no one I trust more than you. Speak freely.”
Seeing the trust in her round eyes, the butler looked at Ambre, reflecting on the girl she had known since birth, before speaking.
“This servant had previously caused minor issues. Too trivial to punish, and varied enough that dismissal wasn’t appropriate.”
The butler sighed weakly, rubbing the back of her white-gloved hand.
“Because of these issues, it’s difficult to confirm whether this is a disappearance or simply a voluntary absence.”
Though she bowed with regret, Ambre’s eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly.
“In that case, we need to uncover the truth!”
Since she had been instructed to report all disappearances, this information was shared; if there were hidden circumstances, it might help the princess.
“Let’s start with the place where that servant stayed…”
Before Ambre could finish her enthusiastic suggestion, a knock sounded. -Knock, knock.
“Miss, there’s an urgent document.”
Despite hearing a voice she didn’t particularly wish to, Ambre signaled the butler to allow the visitor in. Bowing, the butler stepped aside, revealing the youngest aide of the Taren Marquis carrying a pile of documents. Ambre puffed her cheeks in obvious displeasure.
“Father passed this on to me again?”
“Haha… He trusts you to handle it.”
The aide awkwardly smiled as she set the documents in their usual place, wrapping up the papers passed down from the Marquis. Yet Ambre, uncharacteristically, did not trust this explanation. It wasn’t the first time her father had offloaded tasks onto her. While her capabilities as the heir of Taren made it manageable—and occasionally she was tested—about seventy percent of these cases were simply her father avoiding the work. Even the aide’s polite words no longer earned Ambre’s trust. Frowning deeply and pursing her lips, she asked:
“Father?”
