Mariana’s house was surprisingly modest for soone who had once saved the Emperor.
In fact, it was said the Emperor had tried to keep Mariana in the capital, recognizing her pivotal role in putting him on the throne.
But Mariana had firmly refused, even turning down treasures of gold and silver, and returned to her hotown.
Sothing she said at the ti beca sowhat well-known:
— I need to breastfeed my baby. It’d be shaless to keep leaving him with the neighbor lady, don’t you think?
Mariana gave us an empty room and told us to rest for a while.
In the anti, we chatted quietly.
Xenia spoke first.
“Miss Mariana seems like a very good person.”
“That’s quite a generous assessnt for a holy knight talking about a necromancer.”
“Ugh. I’ve decided to change my perspective a bit. After all, you really need to et people and talk to them in person.”
“Well, I don’t think she’s a bad person either. She’s got a decent personality.”
The two of them stopped there and stared at .
As if to say, And what do you think?
“I agree. I could tell at a glance.”
Naturally, Trail had to chi in.
[Didn’t you completely think she was the culprit? At least until you saw the blood writing.]
‘……’
[Feels a little shaless, even to you, huh?]
Shut up, Transparent One.
Anyway, it seed like my agreent gave them so kind of strange reassurance.
“If even Mide says so, then it must be true.”
“Right.”
My conscience gave a little twinge.
I changed the subject.
“By the way, Xenia. That kid, Adwin.”
“Oh… pfft. He’s quite the peculiar one, isn’t he?”
“Peculiarly weird.”
“I’m not exactly sure, but apparently it’s a condition that occasionally shows up in children around that age. It’s not an illness, so no need to worry.”
“For sothing rare, you seed pretty good at handling it.”
It was a casual question on my part.
Sothing I’d been curious about even before regressing—but back then, I hadn’t cared enough to pry into other people’s business.
But unexpectedly, Xenia’s face turned slightly somber.
“Ophelia was like that too, back in the day.”
“Huh?”
“I ntioned it before, right? That I had an old friend who joined the Holy Knights with . Actually, we knew each other since childhood.”
Neril’s expression darkened too.
“She started saying weird things around thirteen or fourteen.”
“……”
“I got used to it because I stuck with her for a long ti. Ophelia recovered naturally before she beca an adult, so Adwin probably will too.”
“Uh, right.”
Maybe it was because she saw the awkward looks on our faces?
Xenia quickly waved her hand.
“I didn’t an to make it sound so serious. Anyway, let’s set so plans now.”
I cleared my throat lightly.
“Ahem. Right. First, we obviously need to find the one behind this incident.”
“You an the person who put the spell on the body? We can’t exactly go around the estate asking people to strip down. What should we do?”
“Hmm.”
I asked Xenia:
“Can you do it like you did before to find Agril… I an, Lady Ariena?”
“You can just say we’re working with Agril. That’s fine.”
“Oh? It’s okay to say that?”
In my mories from before the regression, it seed like a trump card she’d tried to keep secret until the very end.
Especially from Neril.
But Xenia’s expression now was perfectly calm.
“Well, we’re all comrades, after all.”
I never imagined I’d live to see the day she’d say “we’re comrades” with Neril right in front of her.
Neril subtly turned her head to the side.
Her face seed a little red—probably just my imagination.
Xenia continued.
“Agril’s sight can definitely see underground, but if the spell was made transparent like Sir Tivre said, it’ll be hard to detect.”
“I figured as much.”
“Yeah. Sorry I’m not much help.”
I was just about to say Don’t say that.
“Don’t say that.”
Only, I wasn’t the one who said it.
Xenia and I both turned wide eyes to Neril.
She frowned.
“What? Did I say sothing weird?”
“No. Not weird, just…”
“You’re being more helpful than you think, Xenia. No need to bla yourself.”
Xenia chuckled softly.
“It would’ve been perfect if you hadn’t said ‘more than you think.’”
“That’s the key part, though?”
The two of them imdiately started bickering again like always.
I watched with a smile, wondering when to jump into the conversation—
Knock knock.
A knock ca at the door.
It was Mariana.
“Everyone, dinner is ready.”
Well, let’s eat first.
At the end of the day, everything we do is so we can keep eating.
In the end, we spent more ti chatting that day than actually planning anything.
Adwin would act strange, Xenia would fix him,
Neril would throw sharp jabs, and Mariana would calmly take them.
I sipped my drink, and Trail grumbled.
[I wasn’t even saying anything!]
It was an unusually cheerful—and even sowhat heartwarming—ti.
Just as I was beginning to think that maybe it wasn’t so bad to have monts like these—
Clink.
The sound of armor clashing echoed faintly in the distance, as if to declare the end of our break.
Click.
I set down my glass with a sigh.
“Looks like that’s it for dinner.”
No one else seed to have heard it yet. They tilted their heads in confusion.
The next to catch on was Xenia.
Her expression hardened in an instant as she spoke.
“Twenty… twenty-five, maybe?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Impressive as always. But judging by how all the footsteps blend into one, they’re trained elites.”
“I recognize the lead footstep. It’s Tivre. He must’ve called for reinforcents from the lord.”
Xenia responded in a tone unusually cold for her.
“They haven’t even confird anything yet. I need to file a complaint with Captain Father.”
“There’s a title like ‘Captain Father’?”
Then Neril spoke.
“You all have such sharp senses. I can hear them too now.”
“Miss Celia should be fine, right?”
“You’re putting in the front lines? Against the Holy Knights of Light?”
“Ugh.”
It was then—
Mariana, who had been quietly listening to us, said sothing very unexpected.
“There’s no need for you to use a false na.”
“…What?”
“Celia’s not your real na, is it? Aren’t you the Witch of Carnage, Neril Slane?”
This ti, I was genuinely surprised.
We’d never once ntioned Neril’s na in front of her.
Mariana calmly set down her spoon and continued.
“My son told .”
“Adwin did?”
“Yes. Adwin, it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. Try explaining it yourself.”
Adwin had his head down like soone who’d been caught doing sothing bad.
But with Mariana’s gentle encouragent, he timidly opened his mouth.
“I… um… I can see people’s souls, like a radiant glow behind them.”
“Say that again?”
“Heh. Saying I can see souls might be hard for culprits to understand. It’s like the gray hue of a murky world—”
“Speak plainly.”
“O-oh. Yes. I ant it just like I said.”
Maybe because Neril’s aura was so intense, Adwin’s symptoms seed to clear up right away.
“Souls have their own colors and traits. If you observe carefully, you can see the traces of their life.”
“……”
“But Miss Neril’s soul is really, really old.”
I thought I heard sothing snap.
Children’s innocence is truly terrifying.
“Feels like… 150? 200 years old? Sothing like that.”
“H-hooh. Keep going.”
“There’s only one person who’s lived that long—The Witch of Carnage. So I told Mom she might be Neril Slane.”
So that ans Mariana casually joked with the Witch of Carnage just monts ago.
‘A being on a completely different level from soone like the Martial King…’
Clap.
I lightly clapped my hands.
“I get the gist of it. The important thing right now isn’t that Neril’s gotten old.”
“Hey.”
“It’s dealing with an uninvited guest who ca late at night, isn’t it?”
Bang.
As if it had been waiting, the door slamd open the mont I finished speaking.
The lock had been completely destroyed.
As expected, it was Tivre who appeared.
Mariana’s face stiffened at the sight of him.
“What’s the aning of this? This is incredibly rude.”
Tivre replied in a slow, lazy tone.
His words weren’t aid at anyone in particular.
“I heard the Witch of Carnage was discovered in the Quelk territory. Seems like she got into a fight with soone, left a huge trail of mana behind.”
He must be referring to the fight between Neril and .
As far as I know, the Holy Knights of Light dispatch mages to each territory.
And with Tivre’s na, it’s not surprising that he’d be in contact with those mages.
“You—who introduced yourself as Celia—you must be that witch, right?”
“So what if I am?”
“Hah. You’ve got so nerve, walking around with that shaless face.”
“Yeah, I’m kinda known for that.”
“Shut your mouth!”
At his harsh shout, Xenia stepped in.
“I’ll explain, Sir Tivre.”
“No. There’s no need.”
“What?”
“I’ve already reported to Captain Da that I discovered the Witch of Carnage. But he told not to worry about it, that the Vice-Captain would handle it. I assu you’re here to accompany her for surveillance, not arrest?”
“……”
“Let’s leave aside why it’s surveillance and not arrest. I can’t override the Captain’s orders. But just as I have no say in that matter, Lady Xenia, you also have no say in mine.”
Xenia tilted her head in confusion.
“Your matter? So you’re not here to arrest the Witch of Carnage?”
“No. The one I have business with is Mariana over there.”
“……”
“Let ask, Mariana. You were in the capital when the late emperor passed away, weren’t you?”
Mariana nodded calmly.
“Yes. That’s sothing everyone in the Empire knows, isn’t it?”
“You wouldn’t know what ca after. You uncovered a terrible secret with necromancy and gained His Majesty’s favor. But you refused all gold and treasure, and returned here, your holand.”
“That’s also widely known.”
“But no one knows there was soone who ca back with you.”
Soone accompanied her?
Mariana’s face turned deathly pale.
She shouted in panic.
“Stop…!”
“What are you hiding? I already know everything.”
“Stop it!”
“Didn’t your husband return with you?”
Mariana turned ashen and imdiately looked to Adwin first.
His eyes were trembling like an earthquake had struck.
“Mother. You told Father passed away before I was even born…”
Wait a second.
This might be traumatic.
Suddenly, I rembered my mother.
And the na of my father that had been written above her head.
‘But.’
–No guilt.
Still, above Mariana’s head, that sa phrase was written.
I believe it.
I believe in my ability, which saved my life countless tis before and after my regression, and gave more opportunities than I could ever imagine.
anwhile, Tivre kept talking.
“Because it was such an incredible feat, everyone around her hushed it up. Even though it was deeply suspicious.”
“You…”
“There’s no spell on your body. So I can’t arrest you for that.”
“……”
“But as a suspect in your husband’s murder, I can arrest you, can’t I? Perhaps a heart-to-heart in the interrogation room will bring more cris to light. Arrest her.”
I stepped forward slightly.
“Just a mont.”
“You again. Lady Xenia, as I said earlier, this has nothing to do with you. Please call off your subordinate.”
“I’m not Xenia’s subordinate. I’m her colleague.”
“I wasn’t talking to you, you insolent brat.”
“You’re impossible to talk to. Ms. Mariana.”
Mariana flinched and looked at in surprise.
Even then, she kept glancing nervously at the trembling Adwin.
“Y-yes?”
“What’s your husband’s na?”
“……”
“Please. This is important.”
Though she didn’t understand why, perhaps because she trusted , Mariana answered obediently.
“Sol Ayn.”
Good.
‘Show .’
[There must be many secrets between a married couple—what kind do you want?]
‘One that reveals the truth behind this matter.’
[Okay.]
A scene appeared.
A man bearing Adwin’s features—blood doesn’t lie—Sol, ca into view.
He was anxiously staring at the food laid out on the table.
“Mariana’s late.”
As he murmured that, the door opened and Mariana entered.
She gave Sol a light kiss and spoke.
“Sorry. I’m really late, huh?”
“It’s fine. You made it before the food got cold.”
“Hehe. Let’s eat then.”
They began eating happily.
Their conversation revolved mostly around Adwin.
“I miss our son so much I could die.”
“Just one more week. Then he’ll be here. Hang in there.”
“Yes… Sigh, I really shouldn’t have taken this job.”
“When the Emperor of the Empire gives you a command, you don’t get to say no.”
“I don’t care who sits on the throne. My emperor is you.”
Wow. What a lovey-dovey pair.
Sol smiled so wide it could be called ridiculous.
From their conversation, it seems they were on their way back ho after helping the new emperor ascend.
Then Mariana said,
“Oh, by the way, I t a strange woman earlier.”
“Strange woman?”
“Yes. I don’t an to speak ill, but she seed… ntally unwell? She kept calling a ‘perfect vessel’ or sothing…”
“Huh?”
“It was such nonsense I almost ignored it, but her expression really creeped out. The world’s full of weird people.”
All the hairs on my body stood up. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel-fire.ɴet
It had been a while since I felt such an electrifying intuition.
‘I think I know who that woman is…’
Sol asked,
“Hmm. Did you get her na, by any chance?”
“Yes. She said it was Idria.”
With that, the vision ended.
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