Chapter 60
“…….”
Kabala, who was sipping tea she had brewed herself in her study, didn’t respond.
Andrea paced around her mother, exasperated, raising her voice.
“I’m serious! If Marquis Pelsus was murdered, it was definitely the work of Marquis Rodrian!”
Kabala, savoring her tea, quietly set down her cup.
“Andrea.”
“Yes, Mother?”
“Shut your mouth. You’re being noisy.”
“……!”
Andrea flinched. Her face burned red with embarrassment.
Kabala paid no attention to her son and leisurely finished her cup of tea. By the time she had finished her second cup, her expression had softened into one of contentment.
Andrea, who had been struggling against his frustration while biding his time, now stood completely intimidated, carefully watching Kabala’s every move.
Kabala’s gaze was both elegant and cold as she looked at him.
“Andrea, where have you come up with such ridiculous ideas to bother your mother this time?”
“It’s not ridiculous—I mean, really…!”
Andrea tried to think of how to exaggerate his story further to make Kabala believe him. But Kabala seemed to read through his intentions and clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“If I believed everything you said, I’d look utterly foolish.”
She instructed her servant to summon Dnepf.
Dnepf, busy lately with the search for Kabala’s lost treasure, arrived at her study later than usual.
Meanwhile, Andrea had no choice but to wait beside Kabala, who was reviewing documents, feeling utterly deflated.
Though he could have left in frustration, he stubbornly remained.
‘If she realizes I’m telling the truth, she’ll have to acknowledge me.’
Though he wanted to escape his mother’s shadow, Andrea remained psychologically tied to her, constantly craving her recognition.
He clenched his fists, turning the shame Kabala had inflicted into anger, and directed it at Chloe.
‘If Chloe had just obediently married Marquis Pelsus like I told her, everything would have gone smoothly! I would have been rich! It would have been good for everyone!’
Of course, that “everyone” did not include Chloe.
‘If only that had happened, Mother would have trusted me and acknowledged me!’
Kabala, seemingly unaware of Andrea’s tantrum, casually instructed Dnepf, who had entered the study.
“Dnepf, find out if what Andrea says is true. That boy has a tendency to exaggerate.”
Kabala then turned to Andrea.
“Do you really believe Marquis Rodrian murdered Marquis Pelsus?”
Andrea glanced nervously between Kabala and Dnepf.
Moments ago, he had been adamantly claiming that Marquis Pelsus had been killed by Marquis Rodrian, but now, under the spotlight, he faltered.
“No, what I mean is… after Marquis Pelsus went to the North, there was no contact. And since it coincides with the time Marquis Rodrian went north, one might speculate… strictly speaking, Marquis Rodrian was an adversary of Pelsus… so perhaps to prevent future trouble…”
In the end, it was just speculation and imagination.
Moreover, how could he have known that Pelsus was in the North after Calias left and planned a murder?
Watching Andrea babble inconsistently now that he had the stage, Kabala sighed, as if she had expected it.
Andrea flinched at the sigh.
Kabala, showing little expectation, gestured for Dnepf to leave.
“Anyway, find out. If there was any connection between Marquis Pelsus and Marquis Rodrian that wasn’t reported to me, it means the servant I sent with Chloe isn’t doing their job properly.”
“Yes, I’ll report back soon.”
Dnepf hurriedly left the study.
Kabala returned her attention to the documents and asked Andrea,
“Anything more to say?”
“No… nothing.”
“Then leave.”
“Yes….”
Andrea slouched out, shoulders drooping. Kabala lifted her gaze briefly to watch him leave and shook her head in dissatisfaction.
‘If only he were even half as competent as Dnepf… whom does he take after to be so unreliable?’
She set the documents down, exasperated.
Her eyes fell on the map of the Arental Empire beneath the papers.
She cleared the documents and spread the map across her desk.
It was the latest map, possessed only by the Emperor and Kabala. Unlike older maps, it included newly incorporated territories near Ronheim and border regions.
‘Ronheim is quite far.’
Kabala estimated the distance from her capital to Ronheim.
‘It’s so far that the arrogant Marquis Rodrian still thinks he’s part of the royal family of the Ronheim kingdom.’
Kabala wanted to pressure Calias into complete submission.
Even the southern duchies, if provoked, could be easily overwhelmed, groveling at her feet. But Ronheim, small and poor, seemed almost within reach yet remained untouchable, frustrating her.
‘Their remoteness and isolation work in their favor, so they won’t bend easily.’
She studied the regions with teleportation magic circles and pointed to a specific location in Ronheim.
“This would be the perfect spot to install a teleportation magic circle…”
The ideal location to set up a teleportation circle. Kabala didn’t realize that this was exactly where Calias had promised Chloe a gold mine. Nor could she imagine that, at this very moment, Chloe and Calias were plotting to overthrow her there.
Calias, who had promised to show something impressive, put me on his horse and took me somewhere.
It was a white snowfield surrounded by sheer cliffs.
“Where is this?”
“This is the Moon Garden of Reknes, where the flowers bloom,” Calias said mischievously.
I immediately understood what he meant.
It was the code from the letter I had sent to meet him at the Lovers’ Day event.
“So this is the gold mine!”
I spun on the spot, surveying the surroundings.
It looked very different from what I had imagined.
I hadn’t expected so much snow or such an empty wasteland.
‘I thought it would be a cave full of gold.’
I didn’t know much about the mine myself. In my previous life, I had only overheard bits and pieces of Andrea’s plan to use this location as a base to attack Calias with other nobles.
Calias asked,
“What do you intend to do with this place? As you know, even if developed, there won’t be any significant amount of gold to extract.”
“I never intended to develop it as a mine. I told you, I wanted to make it a flower garden.”
“Really…?”
“Yes!” I answered confidently.
“If this mine had been sold to Count Elbern as Calias planned, he wouldn’t have developed it as a mine either.”
Calias seemed curious how I knew that, but instead asked for my opinion.
“So what would he have done?”
“Something more profitable than mining—he would have installed a teleportation magic circle.”
“A teleportation magic circle?”
I looked around again.
“Imagine installing a teleportation circle here and building a military fortress on that cliff. What do you think?”
“It would be hard to capture the fortress.”
“Exactly. Even a few archers skilled in long-range attacks would make it difficult for enemies to cross here.”
Calias acknowledged my words but seemed lukewarm.
“I understand the Tower forbids magicians from using their powers at will. They wouldn’t approve a teleportation circle here, would they?”
“I hate to say this, Calias, but that’s a naive thought.”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you really think the Tower still operates independently, free from all continental interests?”
“The Tower has for hundreds of years…”
“Even Ronheim, which resisted Arental’s army for centuries, faced defeat in our generation.”
“…….”
“The world is changing.”
I only knew ten years into the future, but I understood the massive changes coming.
“The Tower can no longer fully control individual magicians. It has lost its authority and prestige. It’s already divided internally.”
“How do you know all this?”
Calias, curious, could no longer hold back and asked.
I shook my head gently.
“I can’t tell you. But I can prove that I’m right.”
“How?”
“By installing a teleportation circle here that is beyond the Tower’s surveillance.”
