Chapter 40
Edward, who had appeared so suddenly, was escorted to the mansion’s reception room.
There were countless questions they wanted to ask him, but more importantly—it was necessary to show proper etiquette to a member of the royal family. That was what Mother had decided.
Meanwhile, Father… though he was heading toward the reception room, he had turned into a man who could only mutter, “A date…” under his breath.
“Um… Lord Edward, did you come here by magic?”
“Yes, I used teleportation magic.”
The handsome-faced Edward sat gracefully in his chair and added with a faint, fearless smile,
“After the war, this kind of magic finally took form—it allows us to travel long distances now.”
“I–I see…”
As Natalie marveled at Edward’s magical talent, he straightened his posture.
“To get straight to the point, the reason I came here… is because I received a report that you, Natalie, saw a suspicious person.”
Their eyes met—his deep green gaze locking onto hers.
His words were within her expectations, but… was it really such a serious matter that even Prince Edward himself had to come?
She waited for him to continue.
“The one causing the current commotion in the kingdom… isn’t just some petty suspicious person. It’s not only that he’s hiding his appearance with magic—his magical energy itself is…”
Edward’s expression darkened, and the words he carefully spoke next were—
“…that of the former Chancellor of our kingdom.”
“…Eh?”
“M–My goodness…”
Natalie and her mother both gasped in shock. Even her father seemed to finally return to reality and began to listen seriously.
“The Chancellor… he’s still on the run, isn’t he?”
“…That’s right. We were supposed to capture him during the war, but he managed to escape.”
The temperature in the reception room seemed to drop—an icy chill spreading as they came to terms with that grim reality.
“It’s because of my own inadequacy that we still haven’t caught him… I truly apologize.”
“N–Not at all!”
“That’s right. Our family—the Pettigrews, especially Natalie—have nothing but gratitude toward Your Highness,” said Mother gently.
“Thanks to you, we can live in peace today.”
Natalie nodded in agreement, for she too believed that the peace they now had was due to Edward’s efforts.
“I see… Hearing that makes me glad,” Edward said, his expression brightening slightly, encouraged by their words.
“I understand about the Chancellor… but he’s not only hiding in the Pettigrew territory, is he? He’s been seen across the kingdom too, correct?”
“That’s true, however…”
“Yes…?”
“Based on your report, Natalie, we re-examined traces of the Chancellor’s magic—this time focusing solely on the Pettigrew territory… and then we found something.”
Prompted by Natalie’s question, Edward explained that they had used the same kind of magical detection instruments often employed during wartime.
At the royal castle, there were subordinates highly skilled in magic handling, so it wasn’t unusual to use such tools whenever a wanted criminal was being tracked.
They had probably conducted this “investigation” at the castle. Natalie waited for Edward’s results.
“…From the mountains within Pettigrew territory, a faint trace of the Chancellor’s magical energy was detected.”
“…What?”
“It seems he’s been using the Pettigrew family’s own protective magic as camouflage.”
In other words—he was hiding within the Pettigrew’s environmental protection barrier, the magic meant to stabilize the region’s climate and prevent damage from the elements.
Since the Chancellor’s presence was “faint,” it likely meant that at first, his magic signature had been buried under the overwhelming amount of Pettigrew family magic—and therefore overlooked.
To think he used the terrain and their own wards to hide himself…
When had the Chancellor started hiding there? Could it be—that old man she met the other day…?
A chilling thought ran through Natalie’s mind, and she shuddered.
“I’ve been assigned to handle this personally,” Edward continued.
“So I also wanted to hear your account directly, Natalie. That’s why I used the teleportation device from the castle to come here.”
He explained calmly, turning to Father with a polite smile.
“I appreciate your cooperation.”
Understanding the situation more clearly now, Natalie frowned in thought but nodded.
“I see… I understand.”
“I may have startled you by showing up so suddenly,” Edward said gently. “But could you tell me exactly what the person you saw looked like?”
“Of course, well…”
As Natalie described the features of the “old man” she had encountered, Edward’s smile gradually disappeared from his face.
“I see…”
“That’s all I can recall, but… is there something wrong?”
“The more I hear, the more certain I am… The Chancellor must be using disguise magic.”
Disguise magic—Natalie remembered seeing it when she’d once gone out to the city with Edward.
She had thought it was just a minor spell—something that changed one’s hair or eye color.
But reading the uncertainty on her face, Edward quietly added:
“Actually, that spell… was one the Chancellor himself taught me.”
“Oh… I see.”
“It’s ironic,” Edward said with a wry smile, “but his talent for magic was remarkable. Changing one’s entire form would be trivial for someone like him.”
To back up his words, he added,
“The Chancellor once worked in the department responsible for magic detection. He was exceptionally well-versed in magical theory.”
The more Natalie heard, the more troublesome the Chancellor sounded—a man with both cunning and talent.
“That’s his profile in brief,” Edward concluded.
“And it seems that recently… he was spotted somewhere around here in Pettigrew territory.”
“R–Really…?”
Edward spread a sheet of paper across the reception table, pulling it seemingly from thin air—likely stored within that “shadow space” Natalie had seen him use before.
It was a detailed map of the mountains near Pettigrew territory.
He pointed to a specific location, and as her parents tilted their heads in puzzlement—Natalie’s eyes widened in shock.
“Th–That place…!”
“Hm? You know it—?”
Know it? Of course she did.
It was the very spot she had shown him before—
the place where Teardew Grass grew.
