Chapter 97: Chapter 97

"Oh, come on, let’s not dwell on the past. Just answer my first question—are the Grand Elder and Eden not on good terms?"

I smoothly redirected the conversation back to the original topic.

Cruello gave me a strange look but answered without resistance.

"No, the Grand Elder cherishes Eden deeply."

"Oh, then I was completely off the mark."

"The fact that Eden never learned dark magic or doctrine was also the Grand Elder’s decision. Maybe he was afraid Eden would end up like the other Elders."

Was he talking about that rule—the one where failing three times meant elimination?

"Even for his own son, the Grand Elder was that strict?"

"Unfortunately, the king of the cult wasn’t the Grand Elder. The Second Elder was the one obsessed with rules, and that must have played a role in the faction conflict."

"As for the hostage situation... well, Eden probably overheard something and recklessly tried to stop it, only to get caught himself."

That part of Cruello’s explanation seemed less convincing.

Maybe my doubt showed on my face because he let out a chuckle.

"There were other similar incidents before. Even just now, don’t you think something similar happened?"

"He gave you half-baked information and then disappeared. He probably meant to say something more serious but didn’t have the nerve to."

So that’s what it was.

Cruello’s words regained credibility.

"The way the situation is unfolding seems awfully neat, but don’t trust Eden. That’s just my advice."

"I never planned to trust anyone with White Desert attached to their name in the first place."

"That kind of hurts, you know."

"Oh, except for you, Cruello. What, are you a child? Fill in the blanks yourself."

Back when I first became Siora, I worried about how much he had been shaped by Fate. But that was a long time ago.

If he could still doubt me even after we had gathered three keys together, then he wouldn’t be able to trust anyone.

Besides, I had seen the real Cruello with my own eyes.

Whether he was joking or not, he let out a loud laugh.

Just as I was about to scold him, I sensed someone approaching the drawing room.

A few knocks sounded on the door before it opened.

Was everyone in White Desert absurdly tall? I had to crane my neck just to see his face.

Straight navy-blue hair and a pale complexion.

Despite his unkempt short beard, his sharp features made him look oddly dignified rather than scruffy.

Narrow eyes curled up in a smirk—this middle-aged man was none other than Cruello’s uncle, Tetanio White Desert.

"My dear nephew! How long has it been!"

He beamed and addressed Cruello with familiarity.

If not for his sickly pallor, he wouldn’t even look ill.

If this man was really an Elder, the visual contrast between him and Bonetti’s Elders was staggering.

For a brief moment, I almost felt sorry for those old men rotting in Whistle’s prison.

Though, considering Tetanio’s personality, I had no doubt he was worse.

"Oh, and you brought your ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) fiancée with you! A pleasure to meet you. I’m Tetanio, Cruello’s uncle."

He let out a hearty laugh and extended a handshake.

I wasn’t particularly pleased to meet him, but I returned his greeting with just enough politeness and accepted his handshake.

Tetanio took a seat across from us.

"So, you’ve come to introduce me to your fiancée, is that it?"

Cruello mirrored Tetanio’s cheerful tone, smiling with narrowed eyes.

Then, in the next breath, he doused that warm atmosphere in ice.

"I’m here to capture the culprit behind the Crown Prince’s attempted assassination."

Spring had seemed just around the corner, but maybe winter wasn’t over yet.

Tetanio’s expression shifted into something unreadable.

"What are you saying? Are you telling me the criminal has snuck into this estate?"

"No. He didn’t sneak in—he brazenly raised his head and greeted us himself."

Tetanio trailed off mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open like someone just slapped him with an outrageous truth.

Damn, he was good at acting.

"Surely, you’re not suspecting me?"

"‘Suspecting’ isn’t quite right. Certainty would be more accurate."

Tetanio’s voice cracked as he shouted, veins bulging in his neck.

"I’ve been holed up in my study all this time! Just reading books! How could I possibly commit such a crime?!"

"So, you’re saying you were alone. With no witnesses."

"I—! At least tell me what’s happened! How am I supposed to explain myself if I don’t even know what you’re accusing me of?!"

"I don’t particularly care to give you that chance."

As if to prove his sincerity, Cruello gathered mana.

The drawing room’s temperature plummeted.

Tetanio’s already pale face drained further as he instinctively stepped back.

"D-Don’t do this! I’m your uncle! L-Lady! Please, stop him! He mustn’t do something he’ll regret!"

I had been watching like a detached theatergoer, but now I was dragged into the scene.

Not that I had anything to say to Cruello.

Whether or not Tetanio was the hidden Elder, we’d have to check with the keys.

But even if he wasn’t, he was certainly no good man.

I knew exactly how he had treated Cruello when he was younger.

And if he had once served as proxy Duke, there was no way he was completely uninvolved with the Elder Council’s dealings.

I simply gave him a sympathetic expression.

"Unfortunate as this is, Uncle, even if this is a misunderstanding, there’s nothing to regret. You’ve already committed plenty of sins."

"W-What nonsense is this?!"

"You really thought I didn’t know who killed my parents?"

Cruello’s voice was too calm—so much so that I understood his words a beat too late.

Tetanio was the one who killed the previous Duke and Duchess?

And then he took over as proxy Duke?!

The audacity of power.

When I turned to look at Tetanio, his face was no longer just fearful—it was outright petrified.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Well, I can’t blame you. When I first heard it, I refused to believe it myself. But in the end, Qudil shoved the proof right in my face, so I had no choice but to accept it.”

Cruello smiled lightly.

“He called it my birthday present. A recording sphere containing the conversation from that day.”

Tetanio was one thing, but Qudil was truly something else.

His morals were beyond comprehension, but the fact that he was the one presenting the evidence made it undeniably credible.

Perhaps Tetanio thought the same, as his terror-stricken expression gradually faded.

He covered his mouth with one hand—but then, from behind it, laughter began to spill out.

“Kh... khaha... puh, puhahahaha!”

Bending at the waist, he laughed as if he would die from the absurdity.

He had been laughing when we arrived, and he was laughing now. Yet somehow, this time, the temperature of that laughter felt entirely different.

Wiping the moisture from his eyes, Tetanio spoke.

“I had a nagging feeling... so Qudil, that damned bastard, finally had his fun, huh?”

“So you’re not even going to deny it now?”

“Well, yeah. I never really thought this little act would fool you. I gave it a shot, just in case, but of course, I had other means prepared.”

The moment he said that, bodies rained down from the ceiling.

Or rather—I wasn’t sure if bodies was the right word.

They wore the robes of the cult, but they were already long dead.

Lifeless, they had an even fainter presence than Ares.

“Well, since we’re on the topic, allow me to introduce you.”

As I examined them, Tetanio beckoned two figures forward.

At his command, they removed their goat masks.

A man and woman in their mid-twenties. Their appearances were strikingly well-preserved.

And more than anything else...

They bore a strange resemblance to Cruello.

“...What are you waiting for, Cruello? Say hello to your parents.”

At those words, the truth became painfully clear.

Tetanio had reanimated his parents.

This man was truly insane.

I felt my facial muscles freeze in sheer horror.

Instinctively, I turned to look at Cruello—but he didn’t appear wounded by the sight.

Right—he had once said he barely remembered his parents’ deaths.

Maybe, in this moment, that was a blessing.

I exhaled slowly, releasing the heat that had surged in my chest.

“...Did you dig up their graves yourself?”

“Me? With my health? Why would I waste my time on something like that?”

“The Grand Elder handed them over personally. Said he’d let me have my fill of playing with dolls in exchange for taking on the role of acting duke until you were grown.”

Tetanio stacked the undead around himself like a living shield and stretched his arms wide.

The sound of cracking joints echoed through the room.

“It was an inconvenient task, but I couldn’t refuse. So I played along. And after all that effort, the little brat I raised is now lunging at me like a rabid dog.”

“An unpleasant experience, but well, what can you do? After all, you were meant to become our master.”

As he spoke, Tetanio reached into his coat.

A moment later, a round, mana-infused device appeared in his hand.

“Now then, play nice with my dolls. I need to get some rest.”

“You really think that’s possible?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? All I have to do is rub this seal.”

With that, Tetanio motioned toward Cruello.

At the same time, his army of blackened puppets lunged at him.

Creating utter chaos, he pressed the seal.

However, the only thing that happened was all of his undead instantly freezing over.

“...So you really thought that would work?”

Cruello repeated the question.

Still holding the useless artifact, Tetanio let out a dry chuckle.

“You even sealed the gate on your way in? You’re truly going all out. The mana cost must be ridiculous.”

“Well, that’s the price of getting a key.”

“A shame about the puppets, though.”

At his next gesture, a new wave of undead swarmed in from beyond the drawing room doors.

The sheer number was triple what had fallen from the ceiling earlier.

Had he spent all day making these?

“I really don’t see the point in this, Uncle.”

“The point is whatever I decide to make of it.”

Tetanio clapped his hands together.

A surge of dark mana rippled through the gathered undead.

The ice that had once encased them cracked apart, and in an instant, they regained their full mobility.

Now, they numbered four times more than before.

And their level of mana was significantly higher.

This time, they wouldn’t freeze so easily.

They weren’t outright invincible, but taking them all down in one go would be difficult.

Cruello narrowed his eyes, and Tetanio leisurely reached for the doorknob.

And just as he did, the incantation I had been diligently chanting reached completion.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way—”

“Wait just a moment—take this with you!”

—Sixth Spell: Brilliance.