Chapter : 20
Wiz stood up successfully. With her chin held high, she picked up the coat she had left on a corner of the counter.
“Shall we go now?”
“…….”
It was hard to tell if her confidence was genuine or just an attempt to hide her embarrassment. Regardless, they decided not to dwell on what had just happened.
Elresier bent down and picked up the two books she had left on the floor. He set them on the counter and moved ahead. Wiz followed, a little slower as she put on her coat while walking. Once outside, she locked the door with a large padlock.
Elresier, who had stepped aside and was waiting for her to finish, noticed something peculiar. The padlock gleamed like new. Had it been changed recently?
From there, the two of them walked side by side on the way back to the Silver Fox Guild tower.
Until they arrived, Wiz occasionally slipped her hand into her coat pocket to smooth out the note she had found tucked between the two books.
From the day she started working, Wiz proved to be far more helpful than expected.
On her first day, she reviewed reports on the evidence and the condition of the corpses for one of six cases, narrowing down possible artifacts that could have caused the deaths. It took five hours. She glanced at the second case briefly before leaving.
It was, after all, the end of her working hours.
All the knights investigating the cases at the elf shop were extremely envious when they heard that.
Mini, who had been assigned to oversee Wiz, brought her in again the next day. Wiz prepared diligently and waited for her. The knight, who had previously monitored Wiz closely and was surprised to learn she lived so systematically, was not startled and guided her.
Elresier had been meeting with the king when Wiz arrived at work.
Although almost every topic he discussed with Balombrosa was important, this one was particularly crucial—on par with when they had received news of Jay’s return. A messenger was arriving from Onnevalle, so it couldn’t be less than critical.
He met with the king for about an hour. He only saw Wiz after returning from that meeting, having first received the report he absolutely needed.
Emerging from his office, Elresier headed toward the meeting room where Wiz was seated.
She was reading case files at the large desk prepared for her, silently focused. Even from the door, her eyes moved rapidly.
“…….”
Elresier told Mini to return to her duties and approached Wiz.
Perhaps because a shadow had fallen over her head, Wiz looked up as if she had never been concentrating. Blinking, she asked:
“Uh… I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before… Have we met, sir knight?”
“I’m glad you haven’t forgotten that this is the knights’ guild building.”
“Oh… no, of course.”
“…….”
It wasn’t a compliment.
But since Wiz seemed genuinely embarrassed, he had nothing further to say. There was no need to make anyone feel awkward. Elresier had another reason for speaking to her: his gaze quickly scanned her round forehead, where the poison had been injected yesterday.
It was clean.
Completely relieved, he smiled faintly and changed the topic.
“How’s the work going?”
“So-so… um…”
“…….”
“But… what was your name again…?”
“…….”
Right… it wouldn’t be him if he didn’t ask that in context.
He couldn’t help it. With a soft look, he answered kindly:
“Elresier. Captain of the Silver Fox Guild.”
Until recently, Daniel had met Wiz more often than Elresier had, and he had thought months ago that the person standing in front of him was a bipedal goldfish. That day too, he had tolerated her very graciously.
Experience had made Elresier increasingly tolerant.
They had developed a sense of mercy and understanding for Wiz, which was really a product of resignation—but that fact didn’t matter.
“Oh, right. Miss Elastine.”
“…….”
It was significant that Wiz could instantly shatter that mercy and understanding.
She blinked vacantly for a moment before speaking.
“Also, I’m curious about something.”
“Yes?”
“On my way here today, I met a few knights who were… dying. It’s astonishing.”
“…….”
“You seem to be working really hard. Honestly, if I invested a bit of time in what I’m reviewing… maybe a year of effort, the knights could figure out a fair bit too.”
A year. That seemed like a long time.
But Elresier seemed to understand what Wiz was asking. After a moment’s thought, he replied:
“Apart from the cases you’re helping with now, there have been many simultaneous murders across the country. Most likely, magic is involved.”
“Oh…”
Wiz let out a faint noise.
Elresier raised his eyebrows then lowered them. He didn’t seem surprised. He felt like she was just picking up whatever information was at hand.
He swallowed his curiosity quickly and continued.
“That’s why we’ve become so busy and hired you.”
“Ah, I see. So, when you say simultaneous, it’s sudden? Is there some common factor?”
“Well… we’re still investigating.”
Even if there were a common factor, it wasn’t something he could easily disclose to Wiz.
Smiling faintly, she nodded in acknowledgment, her eyes still scanning left and right, reading the records as they talked. Her right index finger hovered over several sentences in a middle paragraph. Her nail paused briefly.
Elresier followed her gaze.
It rested on a list of the deceased victims’ relatives. Something seemed to trouble her. He watched carefully, and after a moment, Wiz spoke:
“This is bad.”
“Pardon?”
“I haven’t told Pete not to prepare my meals for a while. He’ll worry.”
Elresier quietly looked at her face. How had she connected that name to the situation? Wiz stared seriously at the papers.
Pete…
“The painter next door. Meals.”
Mini silently mouthed the words. Elresier understood immediately—it was the name he had heard while monitoring Wiz.
Mini, who had seen the scene firsthand, now looked uneasy.
She didn’t seem the type to worry. In fact, it didn’t seem like anyone had ever prepared a meal for Wiz. If they had, there wouldn’t have been cries like “This brat again!” at every meal.
Seeing the usually dignified subordinate’s expression, Elresier’s smile became awkward. Meanwhile, Wiz removed her finger from the papers and turned the page with a crisp flick.
The sound drew his gaze.
Just as she seemed about to read a line or two further, Wiz suddenly looked up.
“Oh, right. Give me the testimony records I was reading earlier.”
“Here they are.”
Mini, seated near Wiz, immediately handed them over. Elresier, looking silently at Wiz with a calm smile, was intimidating enough.
The thick bundle of papers was placed before Wiz again. As she flipped through them, she glanced at Elresier and tilted her head.
She braced herself, expecting he might ask for a name again, but then lowered her head.
He watched her rest her chin on her hand and flip the pages quietly. He didn’t want to disturb her focus. Elresier stepped aside, looking at Mini. His subordinate was already standing tall, awaiting instructions.
He spoke softly:
“If Wiz needs anything, try to accommodate it. If it’s beyond your duties, come to me.”
“Yes.”
Wiz probably wouldn’t ask for more than a candy-level favor, but it was better to give instructions. He added a bit more:
“I’ll be away frequently for the envoy work, so please take good care of Wiz until my return.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll look after her well.”
It felt like a conversation between someone entrusting a child and the person accepting the responsibility.
There was an awkward silence. The thought of being Wiz’s guardian was already headache-inducing. Kindness, understanding, mercy, and this tension were separate issues.
Elresier finally looked at Wiz one last time before leaving the meeting room, and Mini escorted him out.
They didn’t see the moment Wiz’s eyes paused on a passage or the flicker of intensity in them.
Her small lips moved silently. A flower. A white flower.
But when Mini returned to her seat and looked at Wiz, she had turned the page with a composed expression.
After her second day, Wiz returned home and stood quietly in the dark, fireless bookstore.
For a long time. Immersed in darkness.
The atmosphere was dreary, but her face was calm.
Then, at some point, she drew a breath and lifted her chin.
Her breath moved slowly, as if awakening from a long sleep.
She tightened her grip on the small note. She felt the crease of the once-folded paper. She opened her hand. Seeing the crumpled paper, she closed her eyes and turned her head away, afraid she might waver again.
She hadn’t expected this.
She never imagined she’d be holding onto someone who had died…
Wiz knew how cold and rational the Grand Duke, searching for the late Duke, could be. But if he were truly rational, he wouldn’t act this way. Why cling to the dead? It had already been over two and a half years.
Had she lost her mind? Was the shock too great? That couldn’t be.
Then the late Duke had meant that much to the Grand Duke.
It felt as if that thought was the key to opening a door, tightening her chest with thick emotion. The emotional response slowly unraveled, halting briefly, then starting again. She answered herself—a painful answer for the dead.
Ah, yes.
Yes…
But the late Duke had died without attachment.
Wiz clenched her hand.
The late Duke had died without lingering regrets, for the sake of a purpose.
“…….”
She repeated the suffocating thought. No regrets.
After a while, her eyelids lifted. The calm expression she had worn moments ago vanished, leaving no trace of the emotions that had swirled in her eyes.
Wiz became completely composed.
Her gaze fell on the clock. Already nine o’clock. Rising from her seat, she headed to the kitchen and lit a fire to boil water. She used the flame to light five candles on the counter.
One flame touched the note, and she watched it burn black. Her eyes, dark as the smoke, followed it until the paper was almost entirely charred. Then she dropped it to the floor.
Soon, no white remained.
It would be okay. Even if she turned away, everything would be okay. She stared at the paper, knowing it would crumble completely if stepped on. Then, a calm hand removed something from her.
Wiz looked up and saw the person standing before her, shouting belatedly:
“Ah!”
“…….”
(To be continued in the next chapter)
