Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Hernu's Son, Volta
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Sip.
While drinking the beverage Erika had brought out, Elenoa casually glanced around the interior of the lab.
She had visited the labs of other professors a few times, but since Erika Bright wasn't in charge of first-years, they essentially had no connection.
"Hmm."
After finishing the drink, Elenoa asked with a light smile, seeming somewhat pleased.
"It doesn't seem like you and your fiancé get along all that well?"
"......"
Erika's gaze sharpened at the rather rude question. Even so, Elenoa crossed her legs without losing her princessly poise.
"I just thought you might have at least one photo hung up."
She shrugged and asked, and Erika responded flatly.
"Not every engaged couple in the world hangs pictures of their lovers in their rooms."
"Is that so? If it were me, I think I would."
Elenoa shrugged again, subtly probing. Erika couldn't understand why she was asking such things.
Because she had no idea about the relationship between Elenoa and Deus Verdi.
She only knew that Elenoa wasn't harboring any bad feelings toward Deus, based on how she had defended him to the dean last time.
"Let me be direct."
In the end, it was Elenoa who drew her sword first. Her eyes transformed from those of a student enjoying a nap into those of a resolute and noble princess.
"I have feelings for Deus Verdi. More than you might imagine."
"......?!"
Erika's icy expression cracked at the bluntly straightforward declaration.
Elenoa didn't miss that opening and pressed on.
"I've heard from Deus that it's an engagement arranged by your family. I assume there's not much affection between you two."
"......"
"Someone of your caliber, Professor Erika, could meet plenty of fine men. I could even introduce you to some through my royal connections."
Each word from Elenoa, laced with fiery determination, began to heat up the lab.
It was more than disconcerting—it was shocking.
A princess of the realm.
Elenoa, the only remaining blood kin to King Orpheus, wanted Deus.
But just as much so.
Erika's eyes settled calmly. If the princess's emotions were a hot and passionate courtship.
Then the fiancée's were a chilling cold that could freeze everything.
"Elenoa."
She didn't call her princess.
Elenoa felt her emotions cool abruptly at the frigid voice.
"Do you realize what line you've just crossed?"
Elenoa Luden Griffin had grown.
She had overcome nightmares, merged her personalities, and stood firm without kneeling to the pressures of being a princess.
That was largely due to Deus Verdi's influence, without a doubt.
"But even forgetting your position as princess, as a mere student, you shouldn't speak so recklessly."
Erika Bright was no longer the woman of old.
She wasn't the one whose vision had been blinded just to save one man. She wasn't the fragile woman swayed by her family.
She had returned to her once radiant and beautiful self, armed with unshakeable convictions that wouldn't waver those around her.
For the sake of becoming a woman the man she loved could behold.
And so, she continued coldly.
"Whether my personal relationship with Deus Verdi is good or bad is irrelevant. An engagement arranged by the family? What does that matter."
Erika's frozen expression pushed sharply against Elenoa.
"I am his fiancée. If word gets out that you said such things in my presence, the world's finger-pointing will pour down on you, Elenoa."
"......"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear it. I'll chalk it up to childish impulses from your youth."
Erika slowly returned to her seat and began reviewing documents.
There was nothing particularly urgent, but it was clearly a dismissal.
She also subtly kicked the bottom drawer of her desk shut with her foot.
It was locked, and inside was the dissolution of engagement document with Deus.
"......"
Elenoa bit her lip hard, clenched her fists, and lowered her head.
She knew better than anyone how spoiled she was being.
But she wanted to act spoiled that much.
She wanted to wield her position as princess that freely.
Because that blunt man had taken up so much space in Elenoa's heart.
"Think of it the other way."
Elenoa slowly rose from her seat and turned her head toward Erika, who was still looking at her documents.
"It means my feelings as princess are genuine enough that I don't care about the eyes of the world."
"......"
Erika slowly lifted her head, as if she couldn't just let it slide.
Their gazes met perfectly.
"I'm not giving up."
Elenoa spun on her heel and strode out, her steps filled with resolve and determination.
Erika watched her retreating figure tensely and responded inwardly.
*I'm not planning to give up either.*
Just like that.
As their battle of wills seemed to end.
A door suddenly creaked open right in front of Elenoa. The startled princess stepped back, and the one entering was a woman with striking long black hair.
It was Aria Rias, who had set out from Graypond and just arrived at the academy.
"P-Professor, I heard you were back?!"
Seeing her reaction, the two women could only let out sighs of exasperation.
* * *
"Hmm."
Having once again submitted a dispatch request to Robern Academy, the place I headed to was the village of Fernan to the west.
It wasn't just me moving alone; Magic Inquisitors for the warp were accompanying me as escorts.
Normally, I would have brought Pindenai, but she suited rampaging freely more than protecting someone, so I left her in Graypond.
She was probably buying time for the church's assassins, who would be stomping around in frustration as they periodically ventured into the city.
With her flashy rampages, their attention would naturally be drawn there.
*Talks with the academy side are done.*
Through my conversation with the dean, we settled on starting lectures after summer break.
Even having become a Necromancer chosen by the king, I had no intention of leaving the academy where the protagonist Aria attended.
And by then, the uproar would have died down enough that accepting me wouldn't be difficult.
"We've brought her."
The one the Magic Inquisitor brought was an old woman with wrinkled skin, a hunched back, and grime under her nails.
She looked malnourished, her bony frame exposed, her eyes swollen with sorrow.
"Th-that... um......"
The old woman trembled and avoided my gaze. I approached her carefully and asked.
"I am Deus Verdi, Necromancer of the Griffin Kingdom. Are you Hernu, mother of Volta?"
"Ah, y-yes. That's me."
Was it because I mentioned her son?
Hernu looked at me with eyes ready to burst into tears at any moment.
"I've heard about the incident. Might I see your son for a moment?"
At my words, her eyes widened, and she hesitated before nodding.
The news must have reached her late; she didn't seem to know much about who I was.
Well, since I came secretly, it would be strange if she knew details.
She believed I was affiliated with the royals only because of the Magic Inquisitors.
I followed Hernu into the village. The western Griffin Kingdom connected to the sea, so many residents worked in fishing.
As such, the village air stung the nose with saltiness, fishy smells, and gut odors.
Unlike the passionate debates about me raging in Graypond, it was a peaceful village.
Watching them focus on their work amid the seagull cries somehow calmed my mind.
Of course, the flashy golden robes of the Magic Inquisitors trailing me drew plenty of attention.
In any case, I entered Hernu's dilapidated house. A black shack that seemed ready to collapse any moment.
It felt like a place where sunlight never reached.
"H-Here he is."
And what Hernu showed me was a man carefully placed in a cleared corner of the dirty front yard.
Both arms and legs severed.
Volta, Hernu's son, divided into five parts.
The key point was that each body part was in a different state of decay.
Flies still buzzed around the left hand, feeding and laying eggs.
The opposite right hand was thick and swollen. Shellfish-like insects clung densely to it.
The left leg reeked the worst, swarming with the most bugs—maggots wriggling visibly.
The right leg had no flesh left at all. Just bare bones, as if much time had passed.
And finally, the torso.
The head was cleanly severed and missing.
It still felt warmly fresh, as if just killed. No breath, but it seemed like life could pulse from it any second.
"Hmm."
The important thing was that I learned of this incident before the grand debate.
One of the unsolved cases I mentioned there too.
A young man living in a fishing village.
Hernu's son, Volta.
He was murdered one day by someone. At first glance, a simple homicide.
But the crucial details were the positions and states of the corpse.
Body parts scattered across the east, west, south, and north of the Griffin Kingdom.
And the differing times of death evident from each part, along with the fact that the corpses hadn't changed further.
"W-Will you resolve my son's wrongful death?"
Hernu sniffled and asked. Normally, I should be biding my time quietly and negotiating with the church side.
Assassins aiming to kill me would be coming sporadically.
But I couldn't let this case slide.
I judged it needed swift resolution amid the assassins' threats.
"Yes, I'll take care of it."
I nodded and looked down at Volta's corpse, full of pathos.