Chapter 92: Chapter 92

Julian’s skin was covered in strange blotches.

At first, I thought it was dust, but when I looked closer, they appeared to be black lines.

I lifted his sleeve, and the pattern became clear.

I checked a few more spots and confirmed my suspicion.

Julian’s entire body was covered in a drawn magic circle.

"People don’t use magic circles anymore unless it’s for large-scale magic."

Magic circles were primarily used for spells that required a massive amount of mana as an energy source.

A curse shouldn’t require something —his body alone should have been more than enough to handle it.

The moment I started to question it, Cruello’s words resurfaced in my mind.

"So, the last Elder... most likely never practiced dark magic."

I muttered under my breath and turned to look at Cruello.

He had come to the same conclusion.

He nodded immediately.

Pebula actually gave us useful information?

The world might just be coming to an end.

Thinking that, I glanced out the window—just to make sure.

"Do you suspect something?"

Daedire’s sharp voice cut in. She must have noticed my strange reaction.

There was no need to tell her everything.

I brushed it off as nothing, but she didn’t seem convinced.

"You do want to learn something from Julian, don’t you?"

"Even if he wakes up, there’s no guarantee he’ll talk."

"He cooperated during the imperial ball—"

"That wasn’t cooperation. That was compliance. I took you hostage and forced him to comply."

Cruello confessed the truth without a shred of hesitation.

Daedire was momentarily speechless.

But only for a moment.

"Then Julian has nothing to bargain with. You can extract everything you need from him through force."

Was it just me, or was she way too casual about Cruello’s threats?

For someone who was supposedly an imperial investigator, Daedire was surprisingly tolerant of very illegal behavior.

Honestly, it was amusing, but also a bit disappointing.

I would’ve liked to see Cruello locked up in chains at least once.

Just like I had been during the Harvest Festival.

That would’ve been fair.

"Just answer me this—must Julian die?"

"I don’t particularly care about his life. As long as he turns himself in, he’ll be fine."

"Tell him to apologize to Gavotte, though."

I felt Cruello’s odd gaze on me.

It’s not that kind of affection.

"That... is something I will need to address myself. Understood."

"You’re not planning to use my divine power as leverage against me, are you?"

"Pardon? Oh, no. I never reported it, nor do I intend to. You have nothing to worry about."

I had expected her to at least mention it as a bargaining chip.

Instead, she moved on as if the topic had never even come up.

"However, I do have something that might interest you."

Her manner was so clean-cut that it actually caught me off guard.

"Information we uncovered after investigating Julian’s condition."

"...Is it about the hidden Elder?"

"If anything, it seems like they are feeding us information, darling."

"I'm not entirely sure," Daedire said. "But it may be related to Marchioness Somon. The data is statistical in nature."

So they had looked into Elin’s death and its aftermath.

"Take a look. If you find it useless, I am willing to compensate you in another way."

"I understand that you have a fondness for money, Lady Siora."

"Hmm. I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I like money at a normal level. Nothing excessive."

"I meant no offense. If I misspoke, I apologize."

Ugh, she’s so hard to deal with.

I frowned, about to ask exactly how much she was offering—

But then something else caught my eye.

"My entire fortune should be more than sufficient—"

I shook my head and pointed past her.

At Julian Minerva, who was slowly sitting up.

Both Daedire and Cruello followed my finger, their gazes locking onto the man on the bed.

And I confirmed what I was seeing.

"Julian!" Daedire called urgently. "Are you conscious?"

"And... his eyes look a little weird."

The moment the words left my mouth, Cruello grabbed my waist and yanked me aside.

A split second later, a mass of thorny vines crashed down right where I had been standing.

And this is the guy Pebula wants me to save.

I was about to voice my many complaints when I locked eyes with Julian.

His pale blue eyes were vacant.

A black inverted pentagram burned ominously.

"You can’t halt the investigation! This is unacceptable, Your Majesty!"

Crown Prince Polaris dared to raise his voice at the emperor.

For once, his father, who always seemed powerless when it came to certain noble families, had drawn his sword.

Polaris had believed his father’s stance had changed.

That now was the time to strike.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Yet again, the emperor commanded her to lower her sword.

Yes—the emperor. The ruler of this empire!

"Marchioness Somon has been undeniably exposed as a key figure in the cult! And now you tell me not to summon the White Desert Elders as well?"

"We must capture the Grand Elder immediately and interrogate him! If we wait, the evidence—"

"You, too, take imperial decrees lightly, I see."

The emperor’s voice remained calm and low.

And yet, the Crown Prince fell silent.

She clenched her teeth. The emperor sighed deeply.

"Do you not understand? The incident at the imperial ball happened with the Grand Elder’s approval. It was a factional dispute. Now that their goals are met, they will not be granted leniency any longer."

"That family must not be touched. Enough—remain confined for the time being, Crown Prince. That is my decree."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

The Crown Prince struck her own chest, voice rising in fury.

She recalled Cruello’s words.

The anger she had felt then.

The humiliation of being powerless to act.

"Who truly rules this empire?"

"My life is mine to decide. Worry about your own safety, Father."

But the Crown Prince turned sharply and strode out of the grand chamber.

Drops of blood dripped from her clenched fists.

Her bloodshot eyes burned with hostility.

The moment she stepped outside, her most trusted subordinate approached.

Disguised as a palace attendant, he was the head of the Imperial Secret Investigation Bureau.

"Crown Prince, I have an urgent report."

He scanned their surroundings to ensure no spies were listening, then spoke quickly.

"We are close to locating the Sanctuary of the Goat."

It was a codename for the Black Serpent Cult’s hideout.

The Crown Prince let out a breathless chuckle.

"Does anyone not know that it was already reduced to rubble?"

"No. This is the second sanctuary. We suspect the remaining members relocated there."

She halted, scanning the area before lowering her voice.

"We received word from one of our infiltrators. The location is still being verified, but we will confirm it soon."

"After the last incident, between 55% to 80% of their numbers were eliminated. Witnesses also reported that the two 'sacrificial lambs'—their newly appointed Elders—are dead."

So all of the new Elders were killed as well.

"Should I call it luck? Or a perfectly laid trap?"

The Crown Prince rubbed her chin, lost in thought.

The investigator waited patiently.

"If it were anyone else reporting this, I would have cut off their head on the spot and washed out my ears."

"I cannot guarantee it isn’t a trap. That’s why we are working to gather more evidence—"

If she didn’t take the bait, she might never get another chance to wipe them out completely.

"The moment the location is confirmed, report to me immediately. I will personally handle it."

The investigator blanched, startled, but she would not be swayed.

Her choices had always been limited.

Live as a tamed lion, inheriting her father’s ways—

Or stake everything on a sliver of hope.

‘Not that I have any choice left now.’

She knew who had been orchestrating the countless assassination attempts against her.

And she would rather die than live under them.

A smirk played on her lips.

"I will be confined, as His Majesty commands. If there are urgent reports, deliver them to the glasshouse."

Several times, violet vines lashed toward us.

Several times, they froze and shattered.

Each time, the temperature in the room dropped sharply—

But no one was dying.

Now this was the true job of a bodyguard.

I clung to Cruello’s arm, casting spells without worry.

—Dual Invocation, Sensory Expansion.

"Julian! Get a hold of yourself!"

Realizing the severity of the situation, Daedire finally drew her sword and stepped between us.

Her blade clashed against the vines.

Normally, one would expect plant stems to be cut.

But surprisingly, the vines withstood the strike.

It was as if metal were striking metal.

...Julian’s power seemed stronger than before.

For a moment, I wondered if he had consumed Beatitudo.

The magic circle drawn across his skin—

It was enhancing his magic.

"Cruello, are you sure that’s a remote execution curse? There’s something else going on."

"The violet hue is from the execution curse. The black magic circle is something different."

"Different as in... two separate curses?"

"Probably. The curse I told you about slowly °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° drains life force over time. Your chain prevented that effect. It should only be about the size of a palm."

So then... what was this second magic?

I tried to analyze it further with my expanded senses—

But it seemed our commotion had drawn attention.

I could feel several people making their way upstairs.