“Please visit Flima Castle again, Lady Christine Yusten. We’ll be waiting.”

“Thank you, Baron Thomson.”

I replied in a gentle voice before boarding the carriage. As soon as the carriage departed, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I wanted to rest and replenish my energy a bit before arriving in the capital.

* * *

The next morning.

After getting a good rest in my bedroom for the first time in a while, I immediately wrote two letters. One was for Duke Haven, and the other was for Sorcerer Emlyn. I handed the two letters in their respective envelopes to Annie and said:

“This one is for Duke Haven, and this one is to be delivered to the Information Guild.”

“Yes, young lady.”

After Annie left the bedroom, I looked around my room. All my cosmetics and furniture had been replaced with new ones. It was as I expected. I burst out laughing.

‘I don’t know what you were trying to find by ransacking my room, but what you’re looking for isn’t here, Danae.’

I had already torn up and burned all the important letters, and the jewels I received from the duke and the princess were hidden in a jewelry box under Annie’s bed.

I inwardly laughed to my heart’s content, imagining her trembling with anger after finding nothing.

* * *

A few hours later.

I checked the duke’s reply.

[Alright. As you said, I’ll act like a dying patient from now on. I’ve instructed the knights to spread rumors that I’ve been poisoned with a deadly toxin and am dying. Soon, the news will reach all the nobles in this empire.

The princess and Sir Tott have graciously agreed to keep the fact that I’ve recovered a secret until the culprit behind this incident is revealed. So you can focus on persuading Sorcerer Emlyn without worry.]

After confirming the contents of the letter, I tore it into small pieces and burned it, satisfied.

Now all that was left was to meet Sorcerer Emlyn and persuade him. I decided to stay in the annex until his reply arrived.

‘If my prediction is correct, Emlyn will send a reply by tomorrow night at the latest.’

I thought to myself, feeling relaxed. After sending Annie out of the bedroom, I sat in a chair by the window and read a book. As I was deeply engrossed in the book’s content, I looked up at the sound of tapping on the window.

There, I saw an ivory-colored pigeon with a letter tied to its leg, pecking at the closed window with its beak.

I quickly opened the window and let the bird into the bedroom. The pigeon walked towards me with tottering steps and held up its leg with the attached letter. I chuckled softly at its cute behavior and said:

“Is this for me?”

The pigeon cooed in response. I carefully untied the letter from its leg and unfolded it.

However, there was nothing written on the small piece of parchment. Perplexed, I muttered to myself:

“…Did they send the wrong letter?”

At that moment, the ivory-colored pigeon spoke in a mischievous voice.

“No. It’s the right one, actually?”

I turned towards the pigeon sitting on the table, startled.

Suddenly, a pale mist spread throughout the bedroom, obscuring my vision. When I reflexively closed and opened my eyes, instead of the pigeon, a young boy with long ivory-colored hair tied back was standing next to the table.

Composing myself from the surprise, I said to him:

“It’s been a while, Emlyn.”

“Hello, boring young lady of the Yusten family.”

Emlyn responded in a playful voice as he sat down in the chair opposite me. I said to him:

“I didn’t expect you to come in person. I was quite surprised.”

“I had no intention of coming myself either. No, I was planning to ignore your letter completely. If only you hadn’t mentioned having the seed of Clepiad.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I thought I should at least check if you really got the real seed. Come on, show it to me quickly.”

He said, brazenly holding out his hand to me. I quietly stood up and went to the dressing table. Then I brought the jewelry box where I had put the seed and handed it to him. Emlyn immediately placed the seed on his palm and recited an incantation.

A soft purple light flowed out, illuminating the surroundings. His eyes sparkled with a strange light as he confirmed that the seed was real. I smiled and said to Emlyn:

“Now that you’ve checked, you know? That it’s the real seed.”

Emlyn frowned and glared at me sideways, saying sarcastically:

“So? What’s this favor you want to ask that you’d go so far as to get me this precious seed? …I’ll tell you in advance, if you’re going to say you want to make money by sacrificing all the earth spirits like your boring cousin, you’d better forget it. I absolutely cannot grant such a request.”

I slowly shook my head and said to him:

“It’s the opposite.”

“…What?”

“I’m the one who tried to stop Danae from doing that. So why would I make such a request? And if you knew why Emlyn was so desperately searching for the seed of Clepiad, you’d never make such a request, right?”

“Oh? You say you know why I was searching for that seed?”

Emlyn asked me in a challenging tone. I nodded and opened my mouth.

“Yes. 600 years ago, you’re trying to revive the Earth Spirit King Noah, who fell into a state of death after giving you his heart, with that seed. Am I wrong?”

Emlyn’s eyes widened in surprise at those words. He trembled his lips and said to me:

“How do you know that? It’s a secret I’ve kept even from those Magic Tower bastards…!”

“I had my informants planted throughout the empire investigate the ingredients you buy from apothecaries and what magic those ingredients are used for. Unicorn horn, mandrake root, phoenix feather… They’re all ingredients used in forbidden magic to revive spirits in a near-death state.”

I paused for a moment before continuing.

“Then I wondered which spirit you were so desperate to revive. I happened to get in touch with a mage who left the Magic Tower and is living in seclusion, and he said he was your disciple and told me about why you came into conflict with the Magic Tower. That’s how I found out.”

“…Ha.”

Emlyn let out a hollow laugh. He slumped down in the chair opposite me and said in a deflated voice:

“To think you’d find out that much. Really, you’re an annoyingly boring young lady.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Emlyn.”

“…Hah, even sarcasm doesn’t work on you. Fine. Since your effort to investigate me this thoroughly is commendable, I’ll at least listen to what this favor is. What is it?”

He asked me with his chin propped up crookedly. I answered as if I had been waiting for this:

“Please lend me your power so I can take revenge on Duke Yusten and those who sided with him.”

“…What? Young lady, weren’t you on the same side as that duke? Why suddenly talk about revenge?”

Emlyn asked quizzically.

I briefly told him all the facts, except that I had come back to life. Emlyn’s eyes lit up with interest and curiosity as he listened to my story. I looked at him straight in the eye with a meaningful expression and said:

“You must know well how it feels to be betrayed by someone you trusted, just like me. …Isn’t that why your friend the Spirit King ended up like that, because he was betrayed by some witch? And you, like me, took revenge on that witch. Isn’t that right?”

I finished speaking and quietly smiled. Emlyn looked at me and let out another hollow laugh.

“…This is crazy. What is it that you don’t know? Who on earth spilled so much about me?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that. As someone who employs informants, it’s only right to keep their identities hidden.”

I responded glibly to his words. Emlyn chuckled and muttered to himself:

“…Interesting. To think something can be interesting because it’s so annoying and boring, this is a first for me.”

“It’s too early to find me interesting, Emlyn. If you become my ally, I’ll make things even more interesting for you. And as a bonus, you’ll be able to get the seed of Clepiad.”

I said, gesturing towards the seed of Clepiad.

Emlyn’s large apricot-colored eyes sparkled as he looked alternately at me and the seed. I quietly waited for him to finish deliberating and open his mouth. Finally, Emlyn smiled meaningfully and spoke:

“Alright. I’ll take your side. It seems more interesting that way.”

“Really?”

“But, I’ll only help you when I feel like it. Is that okay?”

“Yes. I’ll only ask for favors that you’d be inclined to do, Emlyn. Including what I’m about to ask now.”

“…Hah, seriously.”

Emlyn laughed lightly at my words. He pushed the seed he was holding into his robe pocket and said to me:

“So? What is it?”

“Someone used a witch’s blood to make a poison, and secretly fed it to Duke Haven, who is a Sword Master.”

After that, I briefly explained what had happened. Emlyn listened quietly to my story.

“Hmm. So that’s what happened. So, have you found the witch who fed the duke that poison?”

“No. Based on Sir Tott and the duke’s testimony, it seems the culprit is someone living in the imperial palace, and they fed the poisoned tea to the duke at a gathering of the entire imperial family. But I don’t know specifically who the real culprit is.”

“…Oh?”

“So I’m asking you this. Please uncover the true culprit behind this incident.”

I said that while looking at him with a desperate gaze. Emlyn grinned and readily answered.