I gave a small nod.

By now, Ruben was also focusing on me.

“When I first found that book, I didn’t know who the original owner of the castle was, so I just looked at it out of curiosity and set it aside. But after returning and meeting Ivy, I examined the book again.”

“Why? Was there a reason you needed to look at it?”

I quietly lowered my head and stared at my hands.

“When Ivy turned my hand into a mummy, I saw her own hand rotting pitch black. That’s when I remembered the passage written in the dark magic book.”

“What passage?”

I lifted my head as I gently rubbed my fingertips.

“It said that those who use dark magic will have their skin rot away.”

One corner of Edan’s eye crinkled. Ruben, who seemed to have roughly grasped the situation through the conversation, asked:

“So you’re saying Grand Priestess Ivy used dark magic?”

“Probably. And at the back of the book, there was a spell similar to what Ivy used—it contained a passage about witches.”

“Witches?”

Ruben sounded genuinely shocked, his voice rising slightly.

“The book didn’t describe the exact method of the spell. Instead, it stated that it could only be passed down through the blood of a witch.”

“But if the method isn’t written down, how can you be sure the Grand Priestess used it?”

“Yes.”

Ruben let out a hollow chuckle, then turned to look at Edan.

“My Lord Duke. This is…”

“I know. If she used a spell passed down through witch’s blood, there’s only one conclusion: Grand Priestess Ivy is a witch.”

“That’s why I needed a book about witches. But since the library didn’t have one, I was at a loss—until Maxim arrived and told me this castle belonged to the Archmage. So…”

Perfectly timed, Maxim interjected into the conversation.

“So I suggested to you that there might be a hidden secret chamber.”

Edan lifted his head and scanned the bookshelves again.

“You mean we must find a book about witches here.”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t the Temple’s archive have any records?”

“No. The Temple’s archives strictly prohibit any materials concerning witches or dark magic.”

Ruben, who had been silently lost in thought, spoke up.

“If the Grand Priestess used dark magic, this becomes very serious. It’s not something we can simply overlook. Even if, by some slim chance, she isn’t a witch, the mere fact that she used dark magic will utterly ruin the Temple’s reputation. Also…”

Ruben looked at Edan with a worried expression.

“The dignity of the Imperial Court, which placed such a woman on the throne of Grand Priestess.”

Edan slowly closed and opened his eyes, as if acknowledging that Ruben’s point was valid and he wouldn’t deny it.

“Indeed. Especially if it’s proven she’s a witch.”

Maxim hesitated, then spoke.

“Um, actually…”

Both Edan and Ruben turned their gazes toward Maxim.

“I already told Lady Latieana, but… I actually saw it myself.”

“Saw what?”

“That Grand Priestess Ivy turned the Holy Maiden candidate into a mummy.”

Maxim grimaced as if recalling that moment with pain. Edan let out a faint, mocking chuckle.

“That’s not particularly surprising. She already tried to turn Latieana into a mummy—I witnessed it myself.”

As he spoke, Edan seemed to be organizing his own thoughts.

“Now some mysteries are starting to make sense. If you think about it this way, it even explains why Holy Maiden candidates kept dying in the Temple—the mysterious incidents you couldn’t explain before.”

“Exactly.”

Ruben rubbed the back of his neck, looking troubled.

“This is becoming very complicated indeed. How on earth did such a woman ever…”

“Her healing power was clearly immense when measured. Speaking of which, Lady Latieana, as I mentioned last time, I brought the artifact to verify your healing power…”

While the three men were talking, I found the black book. But no matter how much I looked around, I only saw brown leather-bound book covers.

Then, nearly completing a full circle around the circular bookshelf, I spotted a red book at the very bottom.

My hand reached for it naturally, and I opened the red book—which, like the dark magic tome, bore no writing on its cover.

Inside were illustrations and information about magical beasts.

And as I turned to almost the final page, I found information about witches.

“Found it! It’s here!”

Ruben and Maxim turned their eyes toward me.

Even Edan, who had been reaching toward a high shelf, turned to look at me.

“Really? Let me see it too!”

Maxim rushed over to me, and I spread the book open on the desk so we could read the witch-related information together.

Maxim suddenly shuddered.

“That’s creepy.”

“What is?”

“If you just look at Grand Priestess Ivy’s outward appearance, you’d never guess she’s like this.”

“That’s true.”

“But secretly, she’s harboring such monstrous thoughts? She steals the Holy Maidens’ healing powers, turns them into mummies, and still lies shamelessly about it.”

She’s certainly a cunning woman, enough to send chills down your spine—outwardly, Ivy appears incredibly beautiful and innocent.

“She must be hiding it perfectly.”

Edan, who had quietly moved behind us and was reading along, added:

“Look there.”

Edan pointed with his fingertip to the last line of the page.

This passage connected directly to what I’d read in the dark magic book.

Memories of everything Ivy had done to me flashed through my mind in sequence.

Without much speculation, it was certain she had cleverly exploited this spell.

She must have altered the life-stealing spell into a healing-power-stealing spell.

Maxim, who had flipped to the next page while examining the book, seemed to have reached a similar conclusion.

“She cleverly modified this spell. She intended from the start to steal Lady Latieana’s healing power… and, thinking back to that moment, she’s almost certainly a witch.”

Just then.

With a clunking sound, the bookshelf to the left suddenly began to move.

We turned to look at Ruben, who had been standing beside it.

“Ruben?”

“Oh, I was just trying to pull out a book…”

Ruben looked just as startled.

The bookshelf he had carelessly touched was sliding apart to both sides.

Another hidden space was being revealed between the shelves.

“Good heavens…”

The Archmage must have been an industrious and eccentric oddball.

The newly revealed space was packed full of various magical ingredients he had collected.

Preserved under some sort of maintenance enchantment, everything was spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust.

We stepped inside and began examining the countless glass bottles stacked on the shelves.

Seeds of singing plants, nightmare-inducing candies, blood of corrupted birds, owl talons, and so on.

“First claw of a magical beast? Why would anyone keep this?”

It was fascinating. As we leisurely browsed through these rather macabre items for an Archmage, Maxim suddenly shouted.

“This is it! This is what we need!”

We all focused on Maxim.

In his hands was a glass bottle containing a few ordinary-looking brown leaves.

“What is that?”

“Butterfly herb!”

I stepped closer to Maxim, who was answering Edan’s question, and examined the glass bottle.

“Butterfly herb? It says here it’s just medicinal herbs soaked and dried in wine.”

It was slightly odd to soak herbs in wine—maybe it just contained a bit of alcohol? Compared to the other ingredients, this seemed utterly mundane. But Maxim shouted even louder.

“Exactly!”

He fetched the book that had the witch section and flipped to the next page he’d been reading.

“It says here: Witches are allergic to butterfly herb. Butterfly herb is made by soaking butterfly tree leaves in wine and drying them. It’s the easiest way to identify a witch.”

“Really?”

“It says that if you grind the butterfly herb into powder and sprinkle it on a witch’s skin, it will react with redness. If we sprinkle this on the Grand Priestess and she develops a rash, we can prove she’s a witch!”

Intrigued by this, Edan snatched the book and rapidly scanned the contents.

“Priest.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll give you a hundred times the gold coins I usually pay you.”

“…Huh?”

What on earth is he talking about in this situation?

Both Maxim and I were bewildered by this sudden statement, but Edan smiled calmly with icy eyes.

“Go test this on the Grand Priestess.”

“What?”

“I’ll take full responsibility for the aftermath.”

“Are you serious?”

“Do I sound like I’m joking in this situation?”

“No!”

Just a short while ago, Maxim had been thrown into the underground prison for helping me under Edan’s orders—he might have refused, but now his eyes gleamed with determination.

Just how much does Edan usually pay him for spy work to make his eyes shine like that?

He seemed ready to accept without hesitation.

“Then let me confirm one thing first!”

As if making a great resolution, Maxim reached into his pocket and pulled out the artifact.

“I want to measure Lady Latieana’s healing power.”

Edan muttered indifferently, “What’s this about now?”—but I nodded.

“Alright.”

I had promised him I’d let him verify it before, and I myself also wanted to properly confirm it this time.

I placed my hand on the artifact, slightly tense.

Then, the Archmage’s secret chamber filled completely with the artifact’s radiance, becoming so dazzlingly bright it hurt the eyes.

It was an intensely bright, powerful light—as if I’d moved the sun itself inside.

When I removed my hand and the light faded, Maxim was kneeling before me.

“…….”

Lately, is it just my imagination, or have the men around me been dropping to their knees awfully easily?