I silently watched the child. It was the same emotion I felt when I met Beatrice. The power I sensed from her was similar to the one I felt from Ron. There was only one thing it meant.

Perhaps the magician in the Duke’s mansion, the one who used magic on Ron and Leudelro, was herself.

I couldn’t know how Beatrice gained such immense power, but it was undeniable that I could sense power from her.

So, she could use magic without hesitation on her own child. After that, she might have used magic on Ron as well.

“Yes! I can feel it. Shasha’s power, Hwanghu Mama’s power, and…”

“Is it similar to the power of that woman from earlier?”

“Yes. In the Astral Palace, layers of strong magic are intertwined, making it a bit difficult to find, but it’s not hard for me. And among the power that has reached here, there is a power similar to that woman.”

“Then, when Merkin returns to the demon tower today, will you track the power connected from the Astral Palace with reliable people? They must be adults, and they shouldn’t have connections with others. However, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Unni, Shasha can do that! Shasha is very strong!”

Shasha seemed to be waiting for this.

“I know. Shasha is incredibly strong. But this needs someone’s confirmation.”

“Confirmation…?”

“Yeah! Confirmation. So, Merkin. I’ll ask for a favor. I need evidence. You can say it’s a request from Hwanghu. Even if it’s anonymous, can you make it into documents?”

“Of course. It’s a request from Hwanghu Mama. Don’t worry.”

I gently stroked the child’s head.

“Thank you.”

“Um… Can I ask you one thing?”

“Sure.”

I wondered if it was about Serhelus, but it wasn’t.

“Is that woman making it difficult for Leudelro… I mean, Crown Prince?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“She’s a friend. I don’t want to forgive someone who makes my friend suffer. I’ll make sure to find out.”

Flames flared up in Merkin’s eyes, who always maintained calmness.

“That’s right! I won’t forgive anyone who makes my friend suffer!”

Following Merkin, Shasha also clenched her fist.

“Leudelro will like that.”

“Well… It’s not something Crown Prince wants. Just… because we’re friends…”

Awkwardly smiling, Merkin scratched his head. I looked at such a child with a proud gaze, but a bitter smile crossed my face.

“But, Merkin, you don’t ask anything. If you understand the flow of power… there might be something you’re curious about.”

When Merkin said he had something to ask, I thought he might ask about Serhelus. However, Merkin shook his head without any hesitation.
“That person always comes and goes like the wind. And I believe there must be a reason for everything. I trust that person. So… you don’t have to think too much. I’ll take care of what you said! Or should I go to the Demon Tower right now and bring them here?”

“Sounds good.”

I shifted my gaze to Ken, who was standing at a distance from us. He had been making a very unpleasant expression since Beatrice appeared, but he loosened his expression belatedly.

After Ron’s incident, Ken’s expressions became quite diverse.

“Ken, would you like to ride with Merkin and go to the Demon Tower? The carriage coming to the Astral Palace will pick you up at the Demon Tower.”

“Understood. Let’s go. Mr. Merkin.”

“Feel free to call me Merkin. Ken.”

“Yes. Understood. Let’s depart right away.”

And so, the two quickly disappeared.

I watched them silently and then reached out to Shasha.

“So, Shasha, shall we look for Leudelro?”

“Yes! But Leudelro has Heaven by his side. He said he was worried and ran together earlier.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“At first glance, it may seem so, but Heaven is more affectionate than you think. Whenever we fight, he always steps forward to reconcile us. But he fights too.”

Shasha shook her head from side to side. Apparently, she couldn’t understand Heaven’s actions.

“I see.”

“Yeah yeah. It’s funny. But still, he’s affectionate. This time, he said if we go, it won’t help anyway, so he should go himself, and we should look after Unni.”

“Heaven’s strength and weakness are being too honest, and he speaks that honesty without embellishment.”

So, they would continue to argue with the children. It was obvious even without looking. He used to fight constantly with the adult Caritos as well.

“Yeah! Very honest!”

In the meantime, we entered the Astral Palace. Einna was by Shasha’s side, but when we entered, Cherti, who had been by Leudelro’s side, greeted us.

“He is in the room.”

“Oh, okay.”

I wondered if he had gone somewhere else, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

‘In this aspect, he’s quite consistent.’

Usually, it could be going somewhere where no one knows, but seeing him dutifully entering the room made me think of Lian.

When we arrived at the door of the room, Heaven was standing in front of it. Whether he was worried about what might happen inside or not, Heaven had his ear against the door. He seemed so focused that he didn’t notice us coming.

I approached Heaven and tapped his shoulder.

“Heaven, what are you doing?”

“I’m keeping watch. In case someone cries… Oops! It surprised me.”