Chapter 42
‘What could this mean?’
The Door of Truth—only a member of the royal family of Lornord can tamper with dragon magic.
So… does “the sinner of the treacherous blood” mean Lornord?
Or is there another hidden meaning behind it?
Even though I knew a great deal through the spirits, I still didn’t know everything about the Empire.
‘If I could get my hands on the original work, I might know everything.’
Suppressing the faint ripple in my heart, I quietly looked at Gobad.
At some point, he had started rambling in detail about how he had discovered this method after much trouble, how he had confirmed its safety after several tests, and how, as a secret trump card, he hadn’t reported it to the Emperor—so I should also keep my mouth shut.
I cut him off cleanly.
“You’re dragging the preamble out too long.”
Perhaps realizing it himself, Gobad clicked his tongue and the tips of his ears flushed slightly.
“The point is, this mirror is connected to another mirror inside the storage.”
As he said that, Gobad placed his hand on the mirror’s surface.
A moment later, the mirror rippled, and his hand sank smoothly inside.
After confirming it, he glanced my way.
“The time when the dragon’s protective ward disappears is short. Let’s go in.”
‘Go in? Does he mean… together with me?’
When I stared at him for a moment, Gobad furrowed his brow, reading my gaze.
“What, did you think I’d send you there alone?”
“…Suit yourself.”
After all, the mirror Gobad discovered only reacted to Lornord’s magic.
If I went into the storage alone, it would mean I couldn’t return to this ruined palace.
So taking Gobad with me was essential.
‘If I really were a Lornord…’
With that meaningless thought, I stepped into the subtly glowing mirror before Gobad.
Wooong—
Along with the sensation of passing through some transparent barrier, a completely different sight from the collapsed palace unfolded before my eyes.
‘This is…’
An expansive interior space so vast it couldn’t be taken in at a glance.
Inside it, countless treasures were neatly displayed on pedestals.
‘So this is the Imperial Family’s secret vault.’
Strictly speaking, these were spoils of war and bribes that Lornord had amassed using its power and influence.
As I looked around, I spotted a mirror identical to the one in the ruined palace.
Beyond it, Gobad appeared.
“So, what exactly are you planning to do here?”
I hesitated for a moment, then calmly opened my mouth.
“My mother’s belongings are here.”
“What?”
Whether it was because he hadn’t expected me to answer, or simply hadn’t expected that answer, Gobad’s expression went slack.
“Her belongings are in here?”
“Yes. His Majesty put them all here.”
“Why would he go out of his way to…”
“There’s something among them I have to find.”
“….”
“But in a space this big, I have no idea when I’ll find her things.”
I murmured as if to myself, deliberately turning my gaze toward the vast vault.
No matter how big the Central Palace was, it wouldn’t have any space larger than the grand banquet hall—so this too must be dragon magic.
I slowly stepped forward.
‘The fact that all these treasures are neatly displayed in this vast space…’
Since only the Emperor and Crown Prince could enter here, could it mean the two of them personally organized each and every treasure?
‘As if.’
“That’s not the right way.”
Right on cue, Gobad’s voice came from behind me.
When I turned, he was already walking off to the right.
“Follow me.”
As I walked after him, Gobad began explaining on his own.
“This vault is maintained by another dragon spell besides the protective ward. When you toss a new item inside, it automatically creates space for it and displays it.”
‘I knew it.’
[Wow! The vault is smart! That’s amazing!]
[So it’s automated~? That’s an interesting system~?]
[As expected, dragon magic is on a whole other level from human spells. Hmph, if only the master could learn this magic…]
Leaving the spirits’ chatter behind, I sank into thought.
‘The time I can stay here is short.’
So if I wanted to find the original within the time limit, I had to make use of Gobad.
As someone born Crown Prince, of course he knew more about this vault than I did.
‘If I hesitate, Gobad will probably take the initiative.’
Wasting time here would be inconvenient for him as well.
‘So I assumed he’d help me…’
But what was that expression when I mentioned my mother’s belongings?
It was far removed from the hostility he usually showed toward me and my mother.
‘If anything, it was almost as if…’
Just then, Marin, who had been following along as usual, stopped.
[Oh—wait a second~.]
[Marin, what’s wrong?!]
[Don’t you feel something over there~?]
[Is there something there?]
[Mm~, I think I need to go check it out~.]
With slightly urgent movements, Marin flew off.
It made me a little curious, but with Gobad beside me, I couldn’t show it.
[Now that Marin said that, I think I feel something too.]
[Want me to go with her?!]
‘No, she’ll be right back.’
It didn’t seem like there was anything here that could threaten Marin anyway.
‘…Creatures like Hist are rare to begin with.’
Glancing in the direction Marin had flown, I resumed walking.
Soon, Gobad stopped in front of a display case.
“The most recent arrivals are stored here. They stay in this case until new items come in, then after a certain period they get moved to the category they belong to.”
I stepped past him and looked at the display.
As expected, it was neatly arranged with familiar items.
Carefully, I reached out and picked one up.
‘This is…’
—Since it’s the flower our Neroli gave to Mom, if we press and dry it like this and make it into a bookmark, we can keep it for a long, long time.
For a moment, I saw my mother smiling gently as she whispered those words.
I could almost feel her hand patting my head again.
The display case was filled with more bookmarks than I could count.
Making bookmarks from flowers I gave her had been my mother’s hobby.
‘So keeping one should be fine…’
With that thought, I slipped the bookmark into my clothes.
That was enough reminiscing.
I immediately moved to the bookshelf beside it.
‘The original’s title…’
The books weren’t arranged by title, but by size.
And the ones my mother had written herself didn’t even have titles on the covers.
So I had to check them one by one with the spirits.
Clicking my tongue softly, I went through each of her books.
‘It’s not here.’
[Not here! It’s not here!]
[Strange… No matter how I look, I can’t find the book with the original in it.]
I was certain my mother had received the original from God.
And the Emperor had locked away all her belongings in this secret vault.
‘Then why isn’t it here?’
Was it stored somewhere else?
But all of my mother’s books were here.
Besides, the vault’s categorization was done not by human hands but by dragon magic.
‘Which means there’s no way it made a mistake.’
The worst possibility rose unbidden in my mind.
‘Could the Emperor have noticed something?’
Some Lornords had an uncanny sense—almost like wild beasts.
Among my siblings, Darien was like that, and so was Moren.
‘And the Emperor had the keenest instincts of all Lornords alive.’
So he might have singled out only the original from among all my mother’s books and stored it elsewhere.
The worst-case scenario I’d hoped would never happen was now threatening to become reality, and cold sweat ran down my back.
“Are you done?”
Gobad’s voice came from beyond my tangled thoughts.
I calmly regulated my breathing and slid the last book I held back into place.
“Yes.”
“From the look of you, I take it you didn’t find what you were after?”
I didn’t bother answering that jab.
Instead, I racked my brain for the next move.
‘Think.’
If the Emperor knew the original like I did, he wouldn’t have let Gobad’s wedding be ruined.
He would have identified Agatha, the root cause of the conflict, from the start and eliminated her neatly.
That was the Emperor’s way.
‘But Agatha stayed in my palace safely, then returned to Senderin with Brillint.’
Not only that—Gobad had been pushed from the position of Crown Prince, and the Prince’s Contest had been held—everything had gone according to my plans.
Since the Emperor had wanted to pass the throne quietly to Gobad, the son of the Empress, this was all contrary to his intentions.
‘Which means at least until the Prince’s Contest, he didn’t know the original’s identity.’
As I pieced together countless suppositions, a hurried voice rang out from the side.
[Master~! Master~!]
Marin came flying toward me at incredible speed.
[Come here~! There’s something to check~! Hurry~!]
Hearing the spirit’s urgent tone, I quickly followed her.
“Wait—where are you going?”
“I don’t think what I need is here.”
“What? You clearly said it was the Fourth Consort’s belongings!”
Gobad barked after me in irritation, trailing behind.
It was a little annoying, but I focused on Marin in front of me.
‘Marin, what is it?’
[Ah! Hold on! Is this…?!]
[Oh my…! Now that we’re close, I can feel it too!]
The other two spirits sped up to join Marin.
Seeing them, I found myself running through the vault as well.
Gobad shouted something from behind, but I didn’t hear a word.
Rounding the corner, I stopped before a display case—
[Master~! You need to take this~! Quickly~!]
[Whoa! What is this?!]
[My word! I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this in my life!]
Amid the spirits’ astonished cries, I quietly reached out my hand.
