Chapter : 79
The knight had placed a luxurious chair in front of the iron bars.
“Are you really okay being here without me by your side?”
“Of course~. What danger could there be when family members are talking?”
“……Then I’ll wait on the opposite side. Call me when you’re done.”
With that, the knight walked down the corridor and disappeared from sight.
Once he was gone, I deployed a sound-blocking barrier around me and sat in the chair.
Immediately, Eani’s sister, Aldine Nasel, who had been glaring at me, spoke.
“How did you find out?”
“Find out what? That you two are addicted to gambling?”
“You!”
Aldine shouted, her face flushing.
I wouldn’t be here for long—just until Harthun came looking for me—so I didn’t have time for tedious back-and-forths. Instead, I decided to get straight to the point and extract only the information I needed.
“I know that you sent me to Harthun Saind and made a fortune of 500 million gold.”
“W-what?!”
“You said you’d lost your memories…?”
“And I also know that with that huge sum, you indulged in luxury and settled in a territory in the West.”
That territory also happened to host the empire’s largest racetrack.
In the Arestan Empire, horse racing was a legal form of gambling, so naturally, the Nasel family got hooked once they suddenly came into a huge sum of money.
“It would have been better if you’d just focused on horse racing…”
But those who recognized the family’s spending habits tempted them further down a path of corruption, taking them to illegal gambling halls filled with every sort of game and scam.
The mother and daughter became completely addicted, showing up every day—
‘…and then, they disappeared.’
At some point, the Nasels no longer appeared at either the racetrack or the gambling halls.
Addicts don’t just suddenly get their wits back. Most likely, they got involved in something bad related to gambling.
‘Looks like my guess was entirely correct.’
“Having fun with illegal gambling must have been difficult, huh? Well, those who don’t know the value of money never come back intact from a place like that.”
“What do you know!”
Baron Nasel shouted for the first time, his expression fierce.
“I was winning! If those vile bastards hadn’t cheated, I could’ve earned money!”
“Fascinating. Did you really think you could make money at such a scam-filled illegal gambling den?”
It was obvious that only cheaters thrived there. Wasting precious money on such nonsense was something I couldn’t understand at all.
“Just a little more! Then—!”
“Enough of these personal tales.”
I crossed my legs and stared intently at the Nasels.
“So, what happened after you lost all your wealth at the illegal gambling halls?”
“Well… that is…”
Beside the hesitating Baron Nasel, Aldine’s eyes sparkled.
“If you already know everything, there’s no need to hide it.”
“Aldine…!”
“Dad, maybe this is an opportunity,” she muttered, gripping the iron bars.
“Eani, I’ll tell you everything. I’ll answer all your questions, so please, help us just this once.”
“How exactly should I help you?” I asked.
Aldine shouted boldly.
“Pay off our debt!”
“Oh my, the debt? Me?”
“Yes! You’re engaged to Viscount Saind, you have power, and a huge resort far away! That means you must have a lot of money, right?”
Seeing Aldine speak so confidently, Baron Nasel seemed to reconsider, joining in her plea.
“Yes! Eani, save your father! If you help him just once, I’ll repay you for the rest of my life!”
I didn’t respond, simply watching the mother and daughter.
Their pleas only grew louder.
“The debt isn’t that big! It’ll be pocket change to you! Eani, please! Look at your father and me—surely you wouldn’t want to leave your family like this?”
“Eani, if dad has hurt you, I’ll apologize. I was wrong…! So please, just this once! You’ve always been a good daughter who cared about her family…!”
“If you have so much money, you can share a little! If we hadn’t sent you to Viscount Saind, could you have ever become the fiancée of such a grand family? Right?!”
“Family isn’t something you can buy with money. Daughter, I’ll never let go of your hand again! Let’s go back to the happy times! Once this is resolved, everything will be fine!”
“…Looks like the Magi Tower is connected to the illegal gambling halls.”
Silence.
With that one remark, the mother and daughter stopped their noisy pleas simultaneously.
I tilted my head slightly as I looked at their frozen expressions.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s the Magi Tower. Your puppet master.”
“…….”
“If you go bankrupt at illegal gambling halls, your freedom is taken, and you’re forced into labor… The fact that you’re here means the Tower and the gambling halls are connected.”
“H-how did you—Ugh!”
Before Baron Nasel could finish his muttering, blood poured from his nose as he collapsed with a thud.
“Father!”
“Argh! My head! My head hurts so much!”
I stood and looked down at the suffering baron.
Still worried for their parent, Aldine Nasel checked on him and shouted at me.
“Don’t just watch! Do something! Dad might really die!”
Ignoring her, I used telekinesis to grab the fallen baron by the collar and lift him.
“Ghhah!”
“Hey! Are you crazy?!”
I held him at eye level, staring straight into his face.
“Amazing… to have transformed a spell of obedience like this.”
‘I had my doubts in the banquet hall…’
What was the difference between this and the original spell of obedience?
Observing them more closely, I understood.
‘This is a much higher-level version.’
The magic was so sophisticated and powerful that I couldn’t comprehend it at a glance.
To develop obedience magic this far… it sent shivers down my spine.
Admiring the intricacy of the magic formula, I released Baron Nasel from my telekinetic grip.
Thud—!
“Father!”
Aldine Nasel looked at her fallen father in alarm.
“Don’t worry. I put him to sleep before the spell could completely damage his brain.”
“Put him to sleep?”
“It seems the side effects occur the moment he admits connection to the Tower. This way, he survives.”
I muttered this and quietly looked down at Aldine Nasel.
“Now, let’s continue our family game.”
“What?”
“You’ve always been a good daughter who loved and cared for her family, right?”
Aldine seemed to sense danger and began to back away.
“Then now, it’s your turn to be a good sister and father for me~.”
“W-what are you trying to say!”
“I didn’t really want anything from you two before… but now I do~.”
To resist the Magi Tower’s terrifyingly exquisite obedience magic, I’d need these two.
With that thought, I smiled faintly at Aldine Nasel.
She pressed herself against the wall, frightened.
“Go away! Don’t come near me!”
“Oh, how disappointing~. Earlier, you begged me to come closer~.”
“That was—!”
Before she could finish, I cast sleep magic on Aldine Nasel.
She trembled as if resisting, but soon her body went limp, and she fell into a deep sleep.
‘She won’t wake up for a while.’
Just in case the Tower’s people came looking, I laid down multiple layers of protective magic and moved forward.
From afar, I saw the silhouette of the knight who had guided me here.
“All done here, let’s return now.”
I called out to the unnamed knight and approached him.
For now, I’d leave the Nasels with him and return to the council chamber.
I could lie down a bit there until Harthun arrived.
‘If Harthun comes before me and asks where I went, I’ll just say I went for a walk…’
I stopped mid-step.
“…Harthun.”
Because he was standing exactly where the knight should have been.
