Sesil seemed perplexed by my confinement. I shrugged too. Espen was undoubtedly convinced that something could be schemed if I went out of the room.

‘Well, it’s not a completely wrong idea.’

Even though it’s memories from a hundred years ago, I know more about the palace than Espen does.

Sesil briefly explained the structure of Baekokgung on paper.

“There’s a wall here, and there’s a wall here too. There’s a magic circle on this side of the wall….”

“A magic circle?”

Sesil may not know what kind of magic circle it is, but surprisingly, she transferred the details of the magic circle to the paper.

“Wow, did you memorize all of this? Just by glancing at it?”

“I’ve been confident in memorization since I was a child.”

“Sesil, you’re really amazing!”
At my compliment, Sesil blushed as if embarrassed. I bit my lip while looking at the drawing. Although the gazes of the maidservants who occasionally watched us were a bit bothersome, they didn’t obstruct our conversation.

‘It means that the situation doesn’t deviate from Espen’s orders.’

Apparently, they, too, were not in their right minds. It also meant that Espen’s powerful mental magic had a significant influence on them.

‘Maybe it’s because the demon he contracted with helped him.’

Even though it seemed like I had captured them all, where did one survive and even contract with Espen?

‘It would be great if I could eliminate the demon separately.’

While thinking about that, I looked at the magic circle. Its content was about mana amplification.

‘…? Could it forcibly trigger a rampage?’

Why was such a magic circle engraved in the palace? It was when I was pondering this with my chin in my hands that Sesil spoke to me.

“To diminish the effect of this magic circle…”

Due to the rules of Baekokgung, she couldn’t ask me questions directly, so she blurred her words. I immediately understood her intention and nodded.

“Sesil, are you a mana possessor?”

“No.”

“Then it’s very simple. Just erase the magic circle anywhere.”

“Erase the magic circle?”

Sesil’s eyes widened. This was common knowledge in the era I lived in. I explained to Sesil in a low voice.

“Mana possessors can only break magic circles with other magic. But ordinary people without mana can touch the magic circle.”

So, on the battlefield, caution was needed to prevent civilians from tampering with pre-installed magic circles.

‘If it’s engraved on the wall like this, it would be effective to carve gold into the wall. But… if you just overwrite it with something like ink, the effect would drop significantly.’

Listening to my explanation, Sesil nodded. I carefully examined the drawing Sesil had given me.

‘But this wall…’

The newly built wall blocked the secret passage. If Hadel came down here, he wouldn’t be able to enter.

‘How can I deal with this…’

I was lost in thought when suddenly the palace seemed to stir.

“Huh?”

It wasn’t just me who felt this strange atmosphere. Sesil, with an uneasy tone, said.

“The maidservants seem strange.”

“Oh.”

As she said, the maidservants were different from before. Some showed a confused expression, while others walked around in a restless manner.

‘Why are they acting like that?’

Did something go wrong with the brainwashing magic?

Amidst the suddenly strange atmosphere, that person arrived.

“Marian-nim.”

“Evelyn?”

It was Evelyn, the lord of Neres, the disciple of the sorceress Yulnisia.

The moment I saw her, my face turned pale.

‘Could she be here to perform a heart transplant!’

Now we really don’t have much time left.

‘Quickly, Hadel needs to save his family…’

I wonder if he hasn’t saved them yet. I can’t hear any news because I’m trapped in the palace.
“No, not now. Evelyn is here.”

I grabbed Evelyn. In this luxurious palace, the appearance of Evelyn made my heart uneasy.

“Evelyn, I can’t say it’s nice to see you. Are you transplanting the heart today?”

“Not today. I delayed the time.”

At her words, I let out a sigh of relief. However, it wasn’t entirely good news. It meant that the transplant would happen soon, even if not today.

Evelyn blinked as if intrigued.

“But you really seem to be in human form now. Since entering the capital, I heard you’ve never changed into a sparrow even once.”

“I find that strange too.”

Originally, I couldn’t maintain a human form for more than half a day. Even though I had intimate contact with Hadel, maintaining a human form for several days was unusual.

‘It’s like having a small generator attached.’

I pressed my chest with my palm. My heart, which couldn’t produce mana due to a malfunction, was now gradually creating flames. Even though it was at a level far below my original body, it was a vivid flame.