~ 70 ~
“You…?”
“Ah, I also want to spread the fact that you tried to make a fake necklace and that the real one is in your possession.
Lillian gnashed her teeth and Psychke didn’t care.
“The returned Princess of Silkisia didn’t have the real Keitan’s necklace, therefore, tried to make a counterfeit. How do you think people would see you as?”
Psychke crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“Even if it’s not the case, it’s an incident that Silkisia is entangled in but was silent, so it must look suspicious enough.”
“Do you think people will care about what happened 20 years ago?”
“It’s probably about throwing stones at the calm water.”
All you have to do is knock on the hearts of those who find the incident suspicious.
All you have to do is to give up digging into the terrible oppression and disappearing evidence, and only draw out the suspicions of the people who hid.
There are many people who disapprove of the current emperor and Silkisia.
Then the Leas case will be ignited again, and maybe…
“Do you think you will be okay then? You are Silkisia too!”
“Since when did I say that I was a Silkisia?”
Psychke laughed helplessly.
“Say, where is the necklace?”
Lillian hesitated. She crumpled her fine eyebrows and fidgeted with her beautiful nails.
And she resolutely opened her mouth.
“No. I won’t answer you.”
Fine. No matter what I threat, I knew it would come out like this.
Because to Lillian, Keitan’s necklace is,
“That’s not the mark your mother left, Lillian.”
It was like the only trace left by her mother.
This was the answer to Psychke’s personal question to Verndia, ‘Why was Lillian so obsessed with necklaces?’
“You, how did you know that one, too?”
Psychke spoke dryly to Lillian, who was taken aback.
“I met a guy named Jess.”
“Why does he want you?!”
“He asked about you, so I asked him to meet you in person.”
Lillian’s hand, hidden by the hem of her dress, trembled. She was afraid of meeting Jess.
Psychke saw it clearly.
“I said I would set up a place for him, but if you don’t want to meet him, you don’t have to. I speak well-”
“It’s alright. That’s my affair, don’t mind-!”
“Okay.”
Even to shut her mouth, Lillian will meet with Jess.
Then it’s comfortable for me, Psychke nodded her head in agreement.
“Anyway, he said. You wore a necklace every moment until someone tried to steal it. You said my mother would come to see me soon if I had this.”
“…”
“You know she will not.”
Lillian’s expression softened in an instant.
An object that should have been kept as evidence to the imperial family was found in the middle of the desert.
Someone had abandoned it there to destroy evidence.
So even the five-year-old girl found with her necklace wasn’t actually lost…
“Or what?”
The abandoned princess, who had been biting her lip, asked poisonously.
“What do you care? That necklace is mine. Don’t pay attention to it!”
“It’s not eye-catching.”
“The necklace, my mother’s or not, has protected me. Thanks to her, I miraculously survived in the middle of the desert, and was able to meet Duke Evergreen and come all this way.”
Lillian gripped her chest like someone wearing a necklace. She smiled proudly, her eyes shining like a fanatic.
“Rumor? Do whatever you feel like. The necklace will protect me this time too!”
“As expected.”
That posture of holding her chest tight whenever you’re having a hard time is a posture she had seen a lot.
She guessed Lillian had been used to it.
It never occurred to her that she would be able to find out where the real necklace was.
That was not the purpose of summoning Lillian today.
Psychke took her luck quietly.
“The real Keitan necklace wasn’t a poison dart necklace.”
“…!”
“If it was a poison dart necklace, you wouldn’t be doing that.”
Lillian’s hand, which was clutching her chest, fell helplessly. Her face was completely white.
Even as she looked at it, her face was bitter.
She was really framed, Leas case.
For some reason, Psychke felt that she was going to cry, so she bit her lip.
* *
“It wasn’t really a poison dart necklace?”
Lia, who had been contacted by Verndia, staggered to her knees.
She looked like a distraught person.
“Right. I knew it. I knew it.”
She looked down at her parlor floor with her empty eyes.
Tears fell on the polished marble.
“Leas couldn’t have done that… Dural you bastard!”
Dural was the name of the current Baron Hillace.
Lia, who had been calling out to Dural with bloodshot eyes, poured out her madness.
“You b*stard! You tricked me even though you knew everything! I saw Leas conspire against treason, and she’ll die at this rate! I, I will kill you!”
Lia’s eyes, which had been shouting, howling, and cursing without hesitation, landed on one spot.
It was Aiden standing next to him with his head bowed with a gloomy expression.
Lia apologized profusely.
“Sorry.”
“No. I was also the one who condoned my father’s behavior on the pretext of being young.”
I knew the relationship between Lia and Hillace long ago.
Aiden fully understood her feelings.
Lia, who had been cursing for a while, looked at Verndia, who was immersed in his thoughts expressionlessly.
There were only three people in the parlor because Psychke said she had a headache and wanted to rest.
After sparks flew from his wagon, she often complained of her headaches.
“So what about the necklace? You said Lillian or someone had it. Can’t you just take it from that person?”
Verndia, who was pondering something about her, replied.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Why, because she is a princess of Silkisia? You don’t care about that.”
“Why would I……. It’s not good to hand over what you have to do to others.”
He couldn’t find a reason to step in unless the Princess asked for it.
As long as she clearly knew that she was framed, it wouldn’t change anything right away just because she came looking for the necklace.
‘Only the emperor can lay such a false accusation on Silkisia. Even if you find the original and reinvestigate it, nothing will change much. What if the Princess regains her memory?’
Verndia was once again lost in shallow thoughts.
It was Lia’s crying voice that broke it.
“But is that really true? Isn’t it fake again?”
“It must be right. It matches exactly the characteristics of the necklace you described.”
Verndia pointed at Lia with her chin.
“A large emerald gold necklace.”
Up to this point, Lia’s expression on her face hadn’t changed.
However, as she continued, it became worse.
“A broken lock, the initials G.S engraved on the back of an emerald. A cool blue aura that surrounds and protects the necklace when a great shock is applied.”
“That’s right. It’s my magic.”
Tears welled up in Lia’s eyes.
“When the baby accidentally broke the lock, I put a protective spell on it so that it won’t break again.”
“You said you broke Her Majesty’s gift?”
“That wasn’t a present for Her Majesty the Empress.”
With a trembling voice, Lia wiped her wet eyes with her sleeve.
“It was a gift from Leas to her baby. It was basically a necklace with a big emerald the color of her eyes.” “It was a gift from the emperor.”
“I don’t know either.”
Lia cried.
“I don’t know either… Dural should have not believed that bastars! She said she saw clearly when Leas asked for extra work on her necklace and put stinger in it!”
Unable to overcome her anger, Lia finally cried out as she hit her ground.
Aiden, her visibly darkened expression, pulled out his handkerchief.
Verndia clicked her tongue.
“Does that mean the dead come back?”
The bloodshot eyes turned to him.
Sadness only dulls people. I understand how she feel, but it was not what she needed right now.
Verndia spoke harshly.
“What happened to the magic on the princess you said you were looking for?”
“You really are a bastard with no blood or tears.”
“It’s been a long time since that was gone. What is the answer?”
“As expected, it is forbidden magic.”
Lia calmly continued her explanation, dabbing her tears with Aiden’s handkerchief.
“Do you remember the baby’s original name?”
“I asked her about it, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t remember her name, even any of her childhood memories.”
“Me too. Isn’t it weird? It’s said that paper records can be cut out, but human memories can’t be done like that.”
“Is that because of forbidden magic?”
“That’s right. I heard that among the forbidden magics, there is a kind that obscures the existence of people.”
A look of despair spread across Lia’s face.
If it weren’t for that magic, she would have recognized her right away when she came to ask the Magic Association.
At least she must have felt a sense of Deja vu that she resembled someone.
“I think it’s got a stronghold. She didn’t even know who she was. She reinforced it by overlaying her false memories on it.”
“Then you can break it. Did you find a way?”
“The best thing is to find the wizard who cast the spell on it.”
“Shiona, isn’t that the woman? They say she’s good at hallucinations and mental systems.”
“I’m still looking into it, but I think you’re right, but there’s no way he’s going to let her go, so I’ve come up with the next best thing: a neutralizer.”
Lia mentioned a neutralizing spell that is used to dispel magic by those who have been affected by mental magic.
“Until now, I didn’t tell you because I had to know exactly the principle of the magic to neutralize it, but now I’ve found the principle.”
“A neutralizer. Making potions isn’t your specialty, is it?”
“Hmm. It’s not something that can be solved by pouring my strength into it like the medicine you take. So, I’m going to ask a friend.”
“With just that, will the magic on the Princess be completely lifted?”
Lia nodded her head with her confident face.
“In theory, yes.”
“That’s a little strange, Lia.”
His eyes, finding the contradiction, narrowed like incontinence. His purple eyes that appeared between them fell coldly.
Lia was stingy, but she straightened her back as if nothing was wrong on the outside.
“What?”
“Why do you know so well?”
“What?”
“You didn’t.”
He slowly rested his chin on the back of his hand. And then she spoke more slowly than he did.
“The neutralizing agent is only effective when you know ‘exactly’ the principles of the magic it is trying to neutralize.”
“Yes. And now that I know the principle-”
“That’s what’s weird.”
Verndia cut her off.
“There is so little information that it is said that forbidden magic is dead. That’s what you should know best. You haven’t been able to find a magic formula even after ten years of searching.”
“…”
“But then, after about a month of trying to find out a magic that would work on the Princess, you found the principles.”
“…”
“Lia.”
There was power in his voice that grabbed attention.
Lia flinched but couldn’t look away either.
“Who are you? Who informed you?”
“… Does it matter now?”
“It does. Since it’s called a cult.”
She also possesses considerable knowledge of forbidden magic.
“Well, I think I know who it is.”
~ 70 ~
“You…?”
“Ah, I also want to spread the fact that you tried to make a fake necklace and that the real one is in your possession.
Lillian gnashed her teeth and Psychke didn’t care.
“The returned Princess of Silkisia didn’t have the real Keitan’s necklace, therefore, tried to make a counterfeit. How do you think people would see you as?”
Psychke crossed her arms and tilted her head.
“Even if it’s not the case, it’s an incident that Silkisia is entangled in but was silent, so it must look suspicious enough.”
“Do you think people will care about what happened 20 years ago?”
“It’s probably about throwing stones at the calm water.”
All you have to do is knock on the hearts of those who find the incident suspicious.
All you have to do is to give up digging into the terrible oppression and disappearing evidence, and only draw out the suspicions of the people who hid.
There are many people who disapprove of the current emperor and Silkisia.
Then the Leas case will be ignited again, and maybe…
“Do you think you will be okay then? You are Silkisia too!”
“Since when did I say that I was a Silkisia?”
Psychke laughed helplessly.
“Say, where is the necklace?”
Lillian hesitated. She crumpled her fine eyebrows and fidgeted with her beautiful nails.
And she resolutely opened her mouth.
“No. I won’t answer you.”
Fine. No matter what I threat, I knew it would come out like this.
Because to Lillian, Keitan’s necklace is,
“That’s not the mark your mother left, Lillian.”
It was like the only trace left by her mother.
This was the answer to Psychke’s personal question to Verndia, ‘Why was Lillian so obsessed with necklaces?’
“You, how did you know that one, too?”
Psychke spoke dryly to Lillian, who was taken aback.
“I met a guy named Jess.”
“Why does he want you?!”
“He asked about you, so I asked him to meet you in person.”
Lillian’s hand, hidden by the hem of her dress, trembled. She was afraid of meeting Jess.
Psychke saw it clearly.
“I said I would set up a place for him, but if you don’t want to meet him, you don’t have to. I speak well-”
“It’s alright. That’s my affair, don’t mind-!”
“Okay.”
Even to shut her mouth, Lillian will meet with Jess.
Then it’s comfortable for me, Psychke nodded her head in agreement.
“Anyway, he said. You wore a necklace every moment until someone tried to steal it. You said my mother would come to see me soon if I had this.”
“…”
“You know she will not.”
Lillian’s expression softened in an instant.
An object that should have been kept as evidence to the imperial family was found in the middle of the desert.
Someone had abandoned it there to destroy evidence.
So even the five-year-old girl found with her necklace wasn’t actually lost…
“Or what?”
The abandoned princess, who had been biting her lip, asked poisonously.
“What do you care? That necklace is mine. Don’t pay attention to it!”
“It’s not eye-catching.”
“The necklace, my mother’s or not, has protected me. Thanks to her, I miraculously survived in the middle of the desert, and was able to meet Duke Evergreen and come all this way.”
Lillian gripped her chest like someone wearing a necklace. She smiled proudly, her eyes shining like a fanatic.
“Rumor? Do whatever you feel like. The necklace will protect me this time too!”
“As expected.”
That posture of holding her chest tight whenever you’re having a hard time is a posture she had seen a lot.
She guessed Lillian had been used to it.
It never occurred to her that she would be able to find out where the real necklace was.
That was not the purpose of summoning Lillian today.
Psychke took her luck quietly.
“The real Keitan necklace wasn’t a poison dart necklace.”
“…!”
“If it was a poison dart necklace, you wouldn’t be doing that.”
Lillian’s hand, which was clutching her chest, fell helplessly. Her face was completely white.
Even as she looked at it, her face was bitter.
She was really framed, Leas case.
For some reason, Psychke felt that she was going to cry, so she bit her lip.
* *
“It wasn’t really a poison dart necklace?”
Lia, who had been contacted by Verndia, staggered to her knees.
She looked like a distraught person.
“Right. I knew it. I knew it.”
She looked down at her parlor floor with her empty eyes.
Tears fell on the polished marble.
“Leas couldn’t have done that… Dural you bastard!”
Dural was the name of the current Baron Hillace.
Lia, who had been calling out to Dural with bloodshot eyes, poured out her madness.
“You b*stard! You tricked me even though you knew everything! I saw Leas conspire against treason, and she’ll die at this rate! I, I will kill you!”
Lia’s eyes, which had been shouting, howling, and cursing without hesitation, landed on one spot.
It was Aiden standing next to him with his head bowed with a gloomy expression.
Lia apologized profusely.
“Sorry.”
“No. I was also the one who condoned my father’s behavior on the pretext of being young.”
I knew the relationship between Lia and Hillace long ago.
Aiden fully understood her feelings.
Lia, who had been cursing for a while, looked at Verndia, who was immersed in his thoughts expressionlessly.
There were only three people in the parlor because Psychke said she had a headache and wanted to rest.
After sparks flew from his wagon, she often complained of her headaches.
“So what about the necklace? You said Lillian or someone had it. Can’t you just take it from that person?”
Verndia, who was pondering something about her, replied.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Why, because she is a princess of Silkisia? You don’t care about that.”
“Why would I……. It’s not good to hand over what you have to do to others.”
He couldn’t find a reason to step in unless the Princess asked for it.
As long as she clearly knew that she was framed, it wouldn’t change anything right away just because she came looking for the necklace.
‘Only the emperor can lay such a false accusation on Silkisia. Even if you find the original and reinvestigate it, nothing will change much. What if the Princess regains her memory?’
Verndia was once again lost in shallow thoughts.
It was Lia’s crying voice that broke it.
“But is that really true? Isn’t it fake again?”
“It must be right. It matches exactly the characteristics of the necklace you described.”
Verndia pointed at Lia with her chin.
“A large emerald gold necklace.”
Up to this point, Lia’s expression on her face hadn’t changed.
However, as she continued, it became worse.
“A broken lock, the initials G.S engraved on the back of an emerald. A cool blue aura that surrounds and protects the necklace when a great shock is applied.”
“That’s right. It’s my magic.”
Tears welled up in Lia’s eyes.
“When the baby accidentally broke the lock, I put a protective spell on it so that it won’t break again.”
“You said you broke Her Majesty’s gift?”
“That wasn’t a present for Her Majesty the Empress.”
With a trembling voice, Lia wiped her wet eyes with her sleeve.
“It was a gift from Leas to her baby. It was basically a necklace with a big emerald the color of her eyes.” “It was a gift from the emperor.”
“I don’t know either.”
Lia cried.
“I don’t know either… Dural should have not believed that bastars! She said she saw clearly when Leas asked for extra work on her necklace and put stinger in it!”
Unable to overcome her anger, Lia finally cried out as she hit her ground.
Aiden, her visibly darkened expression, pulled out his handkerchief.
Verndia clicked her tongue.
“Does that mean the dead come back?”
The bloodshot eyes turned to him.
Sadness only dulls people. I understand how she feel, but it was not what she needed right now.
Verndia spoke harshly.
“What happened to the magic on the princess you said you were looking for?”
“You really are a bastard with no blood or tears.”
“It’s been a long time since that was gone. What is the answer?”
“As expected, it is forbidden magic.”
Lia calmly continued her explanation, dabbing her tears with Aiden’s handkerchief.
“Do you remember the baby’s original name?”
“I asked her about it, but it didn’t work. She couldn’t remember her name, even any of her childhood memories.”
“Me too. Isn’t it weird? It’s said that paper records can be cut out, but human memories can’t be done like that.”
“Is that because of forbidden magic?”
“That’s right. I heard that among the forbidden magics, there is a kind that obscures the existence of people.”
A look of despair spread across Lia’s face.
If it weren’t for that magic, she would have recognized her right away when she came to ask the Magic Association.
At least she must have felt a sense of Deja vu that she resembled someone.
“I think it’s got a stronghold. She didn’t even know who she was. She reinforced it by overlaying her false memories on it.”
“Then you can break it. Did you find a way?”
“The best thing is to find the wizard who cast the spell on it.”
“Shiona, isn’t that the woman? They say she’s good at hallucinations and mental systems.”
“I’m still looking into it, but I think you’re right, but there’s no way he’s going to let her go, so I’ve come up with the next best thing: a neutralizer.”
Lia mentioned a neutralizing spell that is used to dispel magic by those who have been affected by mental magic.
“Until now, I didn’t tell you because I had to know exactly the principle of the magic to neutralize it, but now I’ve found the principle.”
“A neutralizer. Making potions isn’t your specialty, is it?”
“Hmm. It’s not something that can be solved by pouring my strength into it like the medicine you take. So, I’m going to ask a friend.”
“With just that, will the magic on the Princess be completely lifted?”
Lia nodded her head with her confident face.
“In theory, yes.”
“That’s a little strange, Lia.”
His eyes, finding the contradiction, narrowed like incontinence. His purple eyes that appeared between them fell coldly.
Lia was stingy, but she straightened her back as if nothing was wrong on the outside.
“What?”
“Why do you know so well?”
“What?”
“You didn’t.”
He slowly rested his chin on the back of his hand. And then she spoke more slowly than he did.
“The neutralizing agent is only effective when you know ‘exactly’ the principles of the magic it is trying to neutralize.”
“Yes. And now that I know the principle-”
“That’s what’s weird.”
Verndia cut her off.
“There is so little information that it is said that forbidden magic is dead. That’s what you should know best. You haven’t been able to find a magic formula even after ten years of searching.”
“…”
“But then, after about a month of trying to find out a magic that would work on the Princess, you found the principles.”
“…”
“Lia.”
There was power in his voice that grabbed attention.
Lia flinched but couldn’t look away either.
“Who are you? Who informed you?”
“… Does it matter now?”
“It does. Since it’s called a cult.”
She also possesses considerable knowledge of forbidden magic.
“Well, I think I know who it is.”
