The worst boss is definitely the one who assigns new tasks just because you’ve finished your previous work quickly. That’s what Karlail is doing now.

“Since the meeting ended faster than expected, I thought we could discuss a few more topics…..”

“….If the meeting ended faster than expected, it would be a good idea to let us go home early.”

Karlail, who is always overloaded with work, tried to handle a few more items, but Hugo sharply cut him off. Karlail brushed his chin as if embarrassed.

“No, Duke. These days, the Duchess doesn’t visit the palace frequently, so I don’t have the chance to ask for her advice. Since you’re here, we could handle everything at once…..”

“Our daughter is half asleep. Can’t you see she’s dozing off?”

As soon as she was mentioned, Evelia quickly wiped the drool at the corner of her mouth and widened her bleary eyes.

“I just closed my eyes to think!”

Elysia sat Evelia on her lap, comforted her, and smiled lightly.

“Speak your mind, Your Majesty. It would be troublesome to visit the palace again, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to exchange opinions while we have the opportunity.”

“As always, the only one who understands me is the Duchess!”

Karlail laughed heartily and banged on the table. He immediately leaned back in his seat, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.

Given that even the knights were paying attention, it seemed to be a serious matter. As Hugo’s face turned serious, Karlail leaned forward, lowering his voice.

“The Golden Tower.”

“…..It seems the royal family has also caught something.”

“Based on the information you provided, Duke, we’ve been digging around the Forbidden Valley.”

Karlail leaned towards Hugo, whispering as if he was sharing a secret.

“It’s full of alchemical traces. The whole valley is filled with Quintessence.”

“This is a nuisance.”

Hugo sighed and gulped down his cooling tea. Karlail closed his eyes and nodded, as if there was no need to say more.

While spooning pudding, Ludwig, who had dropped his spoon, gave Evelia his own and asked,

“Quintessence… isn’t that the source of power used by alchemists?”

“You’re wellinformed, Your Highness. Quintessence is essentially considered the fifth element, synonymous with life itself. It is the medium for the power that alchemists use.”

Impressed by the young lord’s knowledge, Elysia responded softly.

Seeing her friend act knowledgeable, Evelia’s eyes sparkled as if she couldn’t fall behind.

“Potato Tower?”

“It’s the Golden Tower, dear. It was once called the Golden Tower (金製塔), made of gold to honor its glory. But now, it is referred to as the Forbidden Tower (禁制塔), indicating the forbidden deeds performed there.”

Forbidden things always invoke interest. Evelia straightened up, showing interest.

“Forbidden deeds? What kind of deeds were done?”

“There were countless deeds.”

The rituals of King Solomon, who once sealed some of the 72 demons of Lemegeton, were also based on alchemy.

Hundreds of years had passed since people built a tower of gold to honor the alchemists and their glory and honor of that time.

The tower rose without knowing the height of the sky, and the alchemists looking down on people from the top of the cloudtouching tower started to rule the world.

“They collected the blood of numerous children to create the Philosopher’s Stone, and randomly mixed restless corpses in an attempt to create a new species.”

Elysia looked deep into her young daughter’s eyes. While it was cruel, it was a fact that Evelia had to learn eventually.

“Over that long period, imagine the countless unethical experiments that must have taken place. I dare say no one could imagine the extent of it.”

‘…Experiment?’

At the mention of a familiar term, Evelia froze for a moment.

“Not all alchemists were bad, but those who were in the Golden Tower generally had a twisted ideology.”

“Where are those alchemists now?”

“During the First Demon War, the Golden Tower was destroyed and the whereabouts of most of the affiliated alchemists became unknown…… I had thought that they couldn’t all have died, but I didn’t expect them to be buried in the Forbidden Valley.”

Elysia made a chilling sound from her fingers. She harbored an extreme hatred for the alchemists of the Golden Tower even during the past war.

Their ability was almost demonic, derived from research exploiting other lives.

As Elysia’s face once again turned red with anger, Karlail handed her a box of chocolates.

“Their enmity is not yet directed at us. There are too many uncertainties for us to act preemptively in this situation. So we will focus on reconnaissance for the time being.”

Elysia, who swallowed the chocolate in one bite, slowly tapped the table with her graceful fingers.

“Artina is also involved.”

“Thank you, but I don’t understand why you would jump in first in a game where you can only lose without gaining anything.”